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19 Nov

November 19, 2012 |

Joe Leighton senior pastor, Salem Chapel (Junction City, Ohio)

We have 12 living veterans in our congregation, including one on active duty. A couple of them are having some health challenges. So for Veteran’s Day, we wanted to do a little something extra while we still have all of them with us.

At MedalsofAmerica.com, we ordered a 5 x 7 shadow box for each of them. Each shadow box held a brass plate with their name engraved and a medal commemorating their branch of service. We called each of their names and presented them with their medal during the opening of the worship service. We were fortunate to have 11 of the 12 in church that day (the 12th is re-habbing in a nursing home–he did receive his medal).

Our veterans greatly appreciated the gesture, and the congregation was delighted as well. Only the board knew ahead of time what we were doing, so it was a nice surprise that everyone very much enjoyed.

I have used this company to put together a shadow box to recognize my dad’s military service. For a fee they will mount the medals for you. The quality of the materials and the workmanship in putting everything together, right down to the shipping, is superior. We found this to be a tremendous way to tangibly thank those men and women who sacrificed and served our country with a momento that has an heirloom quality to it.

13 Nov

November 13, 2012 |

Teens at a 7 Project assembly in Jackson, Mich.

Pathway Community Church (Jackson, Mich.) brought the 7 Project to three local schools on Wednesday, November 7. They did assemblies in East Jackson Jr/Sr High School, Kidder Middle School, and Northwest High School.

Messages concerning making good choices in life were give concerning violence, bullying, drugs, alcohol, dreams, and scholastic achievement. Kurt Cullison, former NFL player Brian Pruitt, and the band Attaboy presented these messages to over 2000 teens in these schools.

At the evening event 111 decision cards were returned, with 34 first-time decisions to follow Jesus. Contact information for follow-up was provided to youth ministries, marking a cooperative effort involving four churches in our community.

Brent Liechty (right), youth pastor at Pathway, wrote, “Our little church came through with flying colors. Praise God for His faithfulness through difficult times. This has been a huge win involving over 90% of people attending our church.” The “difficult times” refers to the death of Tanya Hardaway, wife of senior pastor Scott Hardaway. Her funeral was held two days prior to the 7 Project.

13 Nov

November 13, 2012 |

Dan Paternoster (right), a member of the Executive Leadership Team who was hit by a car on August 28 while riding his bike, continues to heal. He has returned home, and is undergoing outpatient therapy. Dan’s wife, Nancy, posted this update on Sunday, November 11.

We’ve had a busy past week with Dan going to outpatient therapy and me starting back at school on Friday with the Title I program at Smith Elementary.

As you continue to pray for us, here are a few areas we would appreciate your prayers on our behalf.

  • Continued healing of Dan’s brain injury.
  • Healing of the nerve in his left eye.
  • That we would both remain healthy, especially now that I’ll be back at school daily.
  • That our appointment with the urologist would go well and we’d have a plan to deal with the bladder cancer.

We thank God for those that have offered to drive Dan to therapy. And the meals that have been brought to our home have been great!

13 Nov

November 13, 2012 |

On November 10, the Merillat Complex gymnasium at Huntington University got a new name: Platt Arena. The christening honors Steve Platt, a Forester basketball legend.

After a storied career at 79-student Union Township school outside of Huntington, Platt took five years off to focus on farming and raising his young family, playing hoops only in industrial and church leagues. But then Huntington University coach Keith Spahr persuaded the 6-foot-5 Platt to give college ball a try.

Highlights from Platt’s basketball career:

  • Platt was a four-time All-District Player of the Year.
  • He led the entire nation in scoring two years in a row: in 1973 (36 points per game) and in 1974 (38 points per game)
  • He and was featured in Sports Illustrated magazine (the article describes our denomination as the “United Brethren of Christ”).
  • He was an NAIA All-American, and was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1987.
  • He remains Indiana’s all-time collegiate leader in scoring, with a career total of 3700 points, placing him seventh on the all-time list of collegiate scorers at any level (including NCAA Division I).
  • He was drafted by the NBA’s Washington Bullets during the Elvin Hayes era, and was the last person cut from the team in the fall of 1974 (Washington reached the NBA finals 3 of the next 5 years).
  • Platt was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.
  • He was recognized by Fort Wayne’s News-Sentinel newspaper as one of Northeast Indiana’s Top 50 Athletes of the Century.

Platt later returned to coach the men’s basketball team, leading the Foresters to 329 wins, including a runner-up finish at the 2006 NAIA Division II National Tournament.

12 Nov

November 12, 2012 |

Betty L. Schwenk passed away Monday, November 5, 2012. She was the mother of Pat Schwenk, senior pastor of New Hope Community Church (Bryan, Ohio). The funeral was held Saturday, November 10, at Lakewood Park Baptist Church in Auburn, Ind.

Cards and condolences can be sent to:

Rev. Pat and Ruth Schwenk and family
823 Cardinal Drive
Bryan, Ohio 43506

12 Nov

November 12, 2012 |

Thirteen persons are registered for the Governance class, which will meet this Thursday (November 15, 2012) at the Healthy Ministry Resources office in Huntington, Ind. Eight will attend in person. Two persons will attend by video from Cochranton, Pa., two from Greencastle, Pa., and one from Pomeroy, Ohio.

Dennis Miller, senior pastor of Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) will teach the class. This course is a requirement for ordination in the United Brethren church.

09 Nov

November 9, 2012 |

Bishop Phil Whipple (left) present an ordination certificate to Stephen Smith, as Pam Smith looks on.

Stephen Smith, senior pastor of Lake View UB church (Camden, Mich.) was ordained by Bishop Philip Whipple on Sunday, October 28, 2012.

Rev. Smith has served in ministry since 1977, and came to the United Brethren church in 1986 as program director of Camp Michindoh (Hillsdale, Mich.), a role he held for three years. In 1989 he became an associate pastor at Hillsdale UB church, and in 1998 became senior pastor of South Scipio UB church in Harlan, Ind. He has pastored Lake View since 2003.

Steve and his wife, Pam, were married in 1976 and have three children.

09 Nov

November 9, 2012 |

Children from Shiloh UB church with boxes for Samaritan’s Purse.

Shiloh UB church (Tiverton, Ontario), a church of about 30 people, packed 528 boxes for the Samaritan’s Purse Christmas shoebox ministry. That came to 22 cartons of 24 boxes each. for Samaritan’s Purse Shoe box ministry.

06 Nov

November 6, 2012 |

Ricky Hull was appointed senior pastor of Mt. Hermon UB church (Pomeroy, Ohio) effective November 1, 2012. He holds a certificate in Biblical Survey/Pastoral Foundations from the Pastoral Leadership Institute (Missionary Church), and plans to graduate in 2014 from Winebrenner Theological Seminary (Findlay, Ohio) with a Master of Divinity.