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Rev. Robert Larimore has been appointed senior pastor of New Hope UB church (Camden, Mich.), effective December 1, 2020. He previously pastored the Trenton Hills UB church (Adrian, Mich.) 2003-2006, but has most recently served in the Nazarene Church.
Rev. Irvin T. Shultz
Rev. Irvin T. Shultz, 91, passed away December 20, 2020. He grew up in West Virginia, served as a medic in the US Army in Korea, and worked in public education before entering the ministry. He served 35 years as a pastor, including 13 years at Fountain UB (Keyser, W. Va.), five years at the UB church in Rohresville, Md., and eight years at Blue Rock UB in Waynesboro, Pa. He is survived by his wife, Janet, whom he married in 1954. There will be no public viewing or services at this time.
Frank Yang has been named Executive Director of UB Global, effective January 1, 2021. The UB Global board unanimously approved him for this position. He has been serving as Acting Director since June 1, 2020.
Frank and his family are members of Emmanuel Community UB church in Fort Wayne, Ind. He joined the UB Global staff in September 2011 as an associate director. His primary responsibilities have included supervising overseas staff, bringing new staff on board, and engaging local churches. He has also led UB short-term teams to Asia.
Frank was born in China, and came to the United States at a young age with his parents, growing up on the east coast. His undergraduate degree was in engineering from Cornell University, and he later earned a Master’s in Intercultural Studies from Wheaton College. He worked in financial services in Fort Wayne, Hartford, and Philadelphia.
Frank and Virginia, who was already attending Emmanuel Community Church, met in Fort Wayne and were married in 2004. They served together for four years as missionaries in Asia. Soon after they returned in 2011, Frank was invited to join the UB Global staff.
Frank and Ginny have two young children. Virginia is an adjunct professor at Huntington University, teaching in the TESOL program.
Grace UB Church in Sherkston, Ontario.
The sanctuary of Grace UB church.
Brian Magnus, bishop of the United Brethren Church in Canada, reports that the Grace UB church in Sherkston, Ontario, burned to the ground during the night.
He said the the pastor’s family, living in the parsonage next to the church, noticed smoke coming from the church building around 3:30 in the morning. They immediately called 911. Fire trucks came from Sherkston, Port Colborne, Fort Erie, and even Niagara Falls.
Bishop Magnus said, “The front half (sanctuary, lobby and basement) are down to the basement foundation walls. The back half is also burned, and smoke- and water-filled, and will need to be torn down to the concrete slab.”
The parsonage has some smoke damage. Fortunately, nobody was hurt in the fire.
Bishop Magnus writes, “Please be praying for this congregation. I guess the news spread and some of the church members and neighbors stood around watching the last couple of hours. They’re in shock and need God’s comfort.”
Grace UB has consistently been one of the largest contributors to United Brethren missions. Over the years, a number of UB missionaries have come from Grace, including Ruth Benner, Shirley Fretz, Kathy Jones, Audrey Federline, Olive Weaver, and Eula Eby, all of whom served in Sierra Leone.
Jana Gass has concluded nearly eight years as administrative assistant of UB Global. She will be greatly missed.
Jana joined the UB Global staff in January 2013. She planned dozens of international trips for UB Global staff and other travelers, sent countless letters and emails to keep people informed about UB missions, helped plan and coordinate aspects of the national conference meetings, and was the welcoming face and voice for guests in the UB Global building.
Jana also played an important role with the UB child sponsorship programs in India. The UB Global staffperson there, Miriam, writes:
“Jana’s efficiency, care, concern, and personal interest will be missed by me especially. She has been such a blessing in the ministry of child sponsorship. I know it was a lot of hard work for her, but she was so very patient in dealing with the last-minute changes and contacting the sponsors. I will always be grateful to her for the very important part she played in this ministry. I regret, she never had the opportunity to see first-hand the impact made by her work so many miles away. Children, touched by this sponsorship project and the differences made in their future, plus the love and concern of the sponsors was an amazing blessing. I will also miss her very welcoming smile in the office. My prayers will be with Jana as she shares her talents where the Lord will place her.”
Being a former missionary, Jana could relate to missionaries at every stage of their service. She and her husband, Herb, sensed God calling them to missions after completing the Perspectives course. In 2005, they and their two children, Alicia and Caleb, went to Papua New Guinea to serve as support workers with New Tribes Missions. While there, Jana worked in various administrative and hospitality positions.
They returned in June 2011, and the family became part of College Park UB church in Huntington. Two years later, the administrative assistant position opened up. She applied and was soon welcomed to the UB Global staff.
Jana accepted a new position with a local bank, and concluded her service with UB Global as of December 1. UB Global is grateful for Jana’s valuable work over these years and her underlying heart for world missions.
Roger and Marilyn Reeck, UB endorsed missionaries serving in Honduras with Wycliffe Bible Translators, have spent much of the year in San Antonio, Texas. Their daughter Amanda is a medical doctor in that city.
On Thanksgiving, the entire Reeck clan–the four daughters, their husbands, and the grandchildren–were all together in San Antonio. Marilyn wrote, “This is the first Thanksgiving together in a long, long time.”
However, Covid made its presence known. A number of them tested positive.
On Thanksgiving Day, Marilyn wrote, “Today, 17 days after Roger first displayed symptoms of Covid, he is doing well now in recovery mode! We are so, so thankful. God is so wonderful! Roger moved back home from Amanda’s house (which had been called the Covid house) yesterday and is so thankful to be home. Christy, her husband, and Amanda are still in the recovery stage but doing well.”
But early in the morning of December 5, Amanda’s husband, Amila, passed away. Marilyn made this announcement on Saturday:
“Our sweet son-in-law Amila Jayakody succumbed to Covid and was transported to glory today at 1 am. After being on oxygen for 2 weeks, he was transferred to a military hospital and further procedures were administered. During the week things worsened each day and the Lord silently took him home.
“Our 17-year-old grandson was at the hospital the moment Amila left this earth. He prayed: “Thank you Jesus for leaving Amila’s celebration in heaven to come to earth and suffer with us here.”
“Our daughter, Amanda, had finally found the love of her life at 35 years old and had two-and-a-half years with her Amila.
“Amila was passionate about Jesus, loved people, had a servant’s heart, and had truly become a son to us. He had strong plans for his future service in mission work.
“Praise God our whole family is here together in San Antonio and that Amanda’s three sisters were able to be with her at the hospital for the last 2 days. There will be a small family funeral in a few days.”
Please keep the Reeck family in your prayers.
L-r: Tim Sherman (chair), Christine Augustat, Kristi McConnell, Dalton Jenkins, Jeremiah Greenland, Steve Fish.
The Nominating Committee prepares the ballot for bishop and for members of the Executive Leadership Team. The following persons were appointed in July 2020 by the Executive Leadership Team. They will serve 4-year or 6-year terms starting in 2020.
The Nominating Committee is currently at work preparing ballots for the 2021 US National Conference, which will elect a bishop and four members of the Executive Leadership Team.
Today is the Huntington University Day of Giving. They set a goal of $100,000, which will go toward student scholarships. As of 9:30 am, $38,000 had been given. They keep a real-time running total of the gifts, so you can check throughout the day.
The Day of Giving page includes a map of the United States. The first gift in every state unlocks an additional $300, and that state is turned from gray to Forester green. As of 9:30 am, just six states were green–Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, and Idaho. The goal is to turn every state green (and claim that $300 for each turned state).
Another 16 states have United Brethren churches. It would be great for all of those states to be green by the end of the day.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb cuts the ribbon for the building.
The Don Strauss Animal Science Education Center
HU President Dr. Sherilyn Emberton speaking at the dedication.
Inside the 10,000-square-foot center.
Huntington University held a ribbon-cutting for the new Don Strauss Animal Science Education Center on Monday afternoon, November 16. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb did the honors with some very large scissors.
Construction began in early 2020. The building, located along Route 24 just down from the soccer field, is named in honor of the late Don Strauss, founder of Strauss Veal Feeds and Midwest Poultry Services in North Manchester, Ind. The 10,000-square-foot building will house many of the key livestock elements of HU’s agriculture degrees, including large flexible pen space and a classroom. The adaptable space will be equipped to host a variety of livestock to allow students up-close and personal hands-on learning experiences.
Huntington University’s Haupert Institute for Agricultural Studies was launched in 2014. It promotes a Christian perspective on agriculture, which recognizes a responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation and to examine questions of sustainability and justice.
Areas of specialization:
The institute welcomed its first students in the fall of 2015. As of this fall, over 50 students are pursuing degrees in the agriculture industry.
Phil and Sandy Whipple
Bishop Todd Fetters came to the United Brethren office in 2013 to fill a new position created by Bishop Whipple, that of Director of National Ministries. They worked closely together for the next two years, and Todd succeeded Phil as bishop in 2015.
“Those of us who served with Phil are saddened by the news of his passing,” said Bishop Fetters. “He gave each of us an opportunity to serve the Lord through the Church of the United Brethren in Christ with our unique gifts, abilities, and personalities. In this sudden loss of our brother and friend, our solace is found in the words of Psalm 116:15, ‘Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful ones.’ Phil is today where he has always been, ‘in Christ.’”
Phil Whipple was born in 1957 in Illinois, and grew up in the Church of the Nazarene. He cited March 1974 as the date of his conversion.
Phil graduated from Liberty University and later from the Huntington University Graduate School. He began his ministry in 1980 at a non-UB church in Illinois, followed by five years, 1984-1989, pastoring a Wesleyan church in Saranac, Mich.
In 1990 he joined the staff of the Richfield Road UB church in Flint, Mich., as an associate pastor, where he worked under the leadership of senior pastor Lester Smith. A year later, he was assigned as senior pastor of Pleasant Valley UB church in Lake Odessa, Mich, where he served seven years.
In 1998 he began ten years as pastor of Colwood UB church in Caro, Mich. Under Phil’s leadership, the attendance grew from 200 to over 500, and they baptized 130 people. Phil was serving at Colwood when elected bishop in 2009. He succeeded Bishop Ron Ramsey, who served four years in that role.
Some highlights from Bishop Phil Whipple’s six years as bishop:
Phil and his wife, Sandy, were married in 1979, and this past summer celebrated 41 years of marriage. They have two children, Mike and Josh, both of whom serve in ministry. When he was elected bishop in 2009, Josh was worship pastor at Mongul UB church (Shippensburg, Pa.) and Mike was the worship pastor at Colwood.
In 2015, Phil became pastor of Trinity Missionary Church in Yale, Mich. (in the thumb area). Mike Whipple announced his father’s death to the church, writing: “At 6 pm this evening my dad, Pastor Phil, slipped into Jesus’ arms. We were told he left this earth very peacefully, and we were so thankful for that news. Even though this is a time of mourning and we feel this pain deeply, we know Pastor Phil is meeting with Jesus now. What a joy that is. I want to thank you all for your kindness and your support over these last few weeks. You have all showed me what the church is capable of, and I am very grateful to have been able to walk through this with such a loving church body.”
We, too, are grateful that the Whipple family has been surrounded by a loving church family. Let’s join them with our own prayers for Sandy, and for the families of Josh and Mike, as they grieve the loss of a husband, father, and grandfather, while also celebrating a life well lived.
