28 Mar Anchor Holds Service on St. Francis U Campus

The Anchor worship team leading the music part of the service. (click to enlarge)

On Palm Sunday, 4pm in the afternoon, Anchor Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) did a service on the campus of St. Francis University, about a mile down the road from the church. Several churches in the 46808 zip code took turns conducting a service, one service a month, as a way to introduce St. Francis students to some of the nearby churches. Palm Sunday was Anchor’s turn.

Associate Pastor Kevin Whitacre gave the sermon, starting off with a drama in which he put himself in the position of one of the thieves crucified with Jesus. The Anchor worship team led the music.

26 Mar Helping a City–and Canada–Mourn

Constable Jennifer Kovach.

Over 5000 police offers participated in the funeral procession.

Police officers carry the casket to the front of the packed arena for the funeral.

Bishop Brian Magnus on the platform during the service.

The Ontario city of Guelph experienced a major loss on March 14 when Constable Jennifer Kovach, 26, was killed while on duty. She was responding to a call for assistance from another officer when, amidst the snow and poor road conditions, her cruiser crossed the center line and hit a transit bus head on. The bus had no passengers at the time. Firefighters extracted her from the vehicle and she was taken to a hospital, but she died of her injuries.

Constable Kovach was the first Guelph policeman to die in the line of duty since 1964, and only the third in the city’s history.

Over 5000 policeman from across Canada and the northern United States attended the funeral on Thursday, March 21, in the packed municipal arena. They formed a huge procession marching through the streets–police officers on foot, on horseback, and on motorcycles, including over 30 police dogs. Flags flew at half mast, and all city buses changed their signs to read, “R.I.P # 72,” which was Kovach’s badge number.

Brian Magnus (right), bishop of the United Brethren Church in Canada and pastor of the Parkwood Gardens UB church in Guelph, was heavily involved in the funeral. After days of grief counseling and four sessions of visitation–11 hours on March 19 and 10 hours on March 20–he conducted the funeral before over 6000 people in the Sleeman Centre. The funeral was broadcast across Canada on national TV. In attendance were many members of parliament, federal and provincial leaders, the Premier of Ontario, the Lieutenant Governor (the Queen’s representative), and others.

For Bishop Magnus, there was a very personal connection. She was a personal friend.

“We lived next door to the Kovach family for ten years,” he wrote. “Jennifer and our daughter, Heather, were friends since Jennifer was two years old. She was at our house for sleepovers, birthday parties, youth events, etc. The funeral was as moving an event as I’ve ever experienced. I’ve been stopped by many people while in the store, walking the dog, etc., to talk. It’s opened up opportunities to share Christ!”

21 Mar Hillsdale UB Opens Skatepark

The Hillsdale UB church (Hillsdale, Mich.) opened a skatepark in January 2013. It is held 6-8 pm on Sunday nights in the church’s activity center.

The skatepark began as a group of three friends, and has grown to see as many as 17 people attend. Josh Quiggle, a volunteer who has served on the youth leadership team for about four years, heads up the ministry.

Kurt Charleville (right), director of Worship & Student Ministries, explains some of the background.

“A couple years ago we looked into starting an outdoor skatepark, as there is a need for one in our community. The overall cost of the park was too great, so we put the project on hold. Recently, we were given permission to skate on the floors inside our activity center, and the resulting skate times have experienced rapid growth and lots of interest. Even with only a few ramps and obstacles, it has still drawn people.

“Its amazing how once we opened the doors to this ministry, people jumped in wanting to help get it going. We have ramps and half pipes being offered to us, and we have volunteers making up the waivers for us.

“Best of all, we have already seen a couple of younger students come to the Wednesday night middle school program, where they are being exposed to the Gospel. It is an incredible opportunity to get to know people from the community, and it gives us a chance to invite them to church.”