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10 Apr

April 10, 2012 |

Roxton Spear (right), senior pastor, Mongul UB (Shippensburg, Pa.)

Easter weekend at Mongul Church was one of our best. On Saturday, we held our third annual Easter Eggs-travaganza at a local park. It was our largest ever! More than 600 registered, with over 700 in attendance. Six thousand eggs were given away, as well as 4 bicycles and many other prizes. In addition, our volunteers helped with crafts, food, and games. Several people in our community asked for more information on Mongul Church. We are grateful for God’s favor in our community.

Easter Sunday was truly blessed by God. We had 290 attending, including 11 first-time guests. One of our home groups organized and served breakfast for at least 150. Seven individuals indicated a decision for Christ.

God is truly giving us opportunity to impact the lives of men, women and children in the Shippensburg area. We are committed to God’s mission for us!

What happened at your church during this Easter season? Tell us on this form. 

10 Apr

April 10, 2012 |

L.A. Gossert, Mt. Pleasant Church (Chambersburg, Pa.)

On our off years (when we don’t do a large musical Passion Play), we at Mt. Pleasant have done a few other things instead–simple cantatas, special Maundy Thursday services, solemn and dark Good Friday services, etc. This year we tried something new which really blessed me and many others I know: “Experiencing the Last Supper.”

All outward appearances pointed towards a simple drama involving Jesus and his disciples at their final Passover meal together. We watched them sit down for the meal and when Jesus announced he would be betrayed, Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting appeared before our eyes, each character frozen into his position as in the painting. This became a springboard for twelve monologues, as each disciple stood and told us about how he met Jesus and had been changed; and each considering the coming betrayal and questioning, “Lord, is it I?”

But where “Experiencing the Last Supper” stood out for me, and others, is that we were a part of it. Each of us had in the pew one of those communion-cup-and-wafer combos. As the man who played Jesus stood and broke the bread and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat,” we also took and ate. The bread. Then the “wine.” What we do in remembrance took on a new dimension. It was very beautiful.

Now, I was not a part of the drama and I am not on staff, so I do not know stats nor do I have access to pictures. But I know the sanctuary was packed out (I think I heard just over 300 there) and I know there were some visitors among us. In fact, I got word that a family who had been looking around for a home church texted a friend of theirs from our church (the one who played Judas, interestingly enough) to say how much they enjoyed the evening, felt welcomed, and now they intend to make Mt. Pleasant their home.

What happened at your church during this Easter season? Tell us on this form. 

09 Apr

April 9, 2012 |

The Easter season–-Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday-–is always exciting for churches. There are special events, and often large attendances. Churches do some pretty creative things to capitalize on the Easter season.

Tell us what happened during the Easter season at your church. You can use this form. Then we can share it with other UBs right here on UBCentral.

If you have digital photos, send them along using the mechanism on the form, or email them directly to news@ub.org

05 Apr

April 5, 2012 |

Fifth Street UB (Staunton, Virginia). Harry Moore (right), who has served as a supply pastor since before 1997, is retiring effective April 29, 2012. George Etling has been appointed the senior pastor, effective upon Harry’s retirement. George has held a local license with the Jerusalem Chapel Church, under the supervision of senior pastor Dennis Sites, for several years.

Homefront UB (Grandville, Mich.). Josh Good (right) has been appointed senior pastor effective May 1, 2012. He holds a National Conference license and has been the youth pastor at the nearby Banner Church (Byron Center, Mich.) since 2003.

05 Apr

April 5, 2012 |

Huntington University senior Zachary Keller (right) of Portland, Ind., has been awarded a $1200 scholarship from the Huntington University Women’s Auxiliary. This scholarship, designated for a math education student, was established in 1973 by Mrs. Elba Kriegbaum.

Keller, who will graduate in May 2012 with a degree in math education, has received the Auxiliary Scholarship for the past two years. Presently, he is completing his student teaching at Manchester Junior-Senior High School.

Chosen to be a teaching assistant for Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth in Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., last summer and again this summer, Keller will be teaching two college level math courses to talented high school students from across the United States.

At Huntington, Keller served as a program coordinator and tutor during his sophomore and junior years. Also, he was the student director for the Joe Mertz Center for Volunteer Service during his junior year and a program coordinator during his sophomore year.

Keller coordinated a trip to Jamaica, and participated in missions trips to India and New Orleans through the university. He also volunteered with Youth for Christ and Open Door Ministry, and worked as a summer counselor at Camp Lutherhaven.

03 Apr

April 3, 2012 |

Huntington University’s 114th commencement exercises are coming up. Degrees will be awarded to 264 graduates.

Date: May 12, 2012
Time: 3 pm
Location: Merillat Physical Education and Recreation Complex.

Dan Wolgemuth (right), president and CEO of Youth for Christ USA, will give the commencement address. Wolgemuth, a 1977 Taylor University grad, joined Youth for Christ USA as its president and CEO in 2005.

The university will also award three honorary doctorate degrees.

1. An honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree will be presented to commencement speaker Dan Wolgemuth.

2. An honorary Doctor of Divinity degree will be presented to the Rev. Luther Whitfield (right). Whitfield joined Youth for Christ in 1991 as the urban inner city director. In many years of service with the organization, he has helped to develop urban ministry programs for Fort Wayne, including the formation of the Primetime Community Center. Primetime inspires the youth of Fort Wayne through Campus Life ministries, juvenile justice programs, and sports programming. Whitfield continues to serve Primetime today as its senior director. He is also the senior pastor of New Covenant Worship Center, a church based at the Primetime Community Center.

3. An honorary Doctor of Humane Letters will be presented to 1977 Huntington alum Charles Curie (right). Curie is the principal/owner of The Curie Group LLC in Rockville, Md., which is a management and consulting firm specializing in working with national and international leaders in public and private health care. He is a 1977 graduate of Huntington, with degrees in psychology and sociology; he served as student senate president during his senior year. He also holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Chicago. In 2001, Curie was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the US Senate to head the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Dr. Tim Smith (right), Huntington University associate professor of history, will present the baccalaureate sermon at 10:30 am in the fieldhouse. His message is titled “The Empire Strikes Back” and will focus on Ecclesiastes 9:11.

Smith joined the Huntington history and political science department in 2007. He previously taught history at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. His research and teaching focus on British imperial and diplomatic history. He is also the director of the Centre for Non-Western Studies. Smith recently published two books on the Vietnam War titled, “Churchill, America and Vietnam, 1941-45” and “Britain and the Origins of the Vietnam War: UK Policy in Indo-China, 1943-50.”

The commencement exercises and the baccalaureate sermon are open to the public, and no tickets are required.

02 Apr

April 2, 2012 |

Andrew Martin

Dr. Del Doughty

Grading essays and writing assignments just became much easier thanks to an iPhone/iPad app created by Huntington University professor Del Doughty and 2011 graduate Andrew Martin.

Apple released the new application, called HighMarks, on March 5. It cuts the time spent grading papers for teachers up to 50 percent.

“For most teachers, the toughest part about the job is grading papers,” said Doughty, professor English. “It’s especially tedious when one has to keep making the same comments. That led me to wonder, ‘In what ways can I rethink the grading process to eliminate the repetitive, tedious parts?’”

Doughty began brainstorming ideas to design a new application to make the grading process easier. Realizing he needed a developer to design the actual application, Doughty turned to animation alum Martin, who had just finished developing the application, “Mafia Card-Generator,” a popular video game.

HighMarks incorporates touch-screen and voice command technology into the grading process of essays. A student sends his or her writing assignment to the teacher’s e-mail. The teacher then pastes the assignment into HighMarks. The teacher may leave comments, use grammatical correction options, and assign a letter grade.

The application costs $1.99, and may be purchased through the iTunes Store.

29 Mar

March 29, 2012 |

At the Statehouse: Mike Brown, pastor of Franklin UB church (New Albany, Ohio).

Mike Brown, pastor of Franklin UB church in New Albany, Ohio, gave a prayer to open the Ohio House of Representatives session at the Statehouse on March 27, 2012. He was invited by his state representative.

Brown noted that, a couple of years ago, there was a lot of controversy from the Speaker of the House regarding prayer content, including the use of the name Jesus. He was told by an aide to the representative that if he wanted the prayer to be recorded in the official Statehouse history, he had to submit the prayer in writing and get it approved by the Speaker’s office.

“My nature is a bit rebellious at times,” Brown said. “I did not want to submit it, and considered declining the offer to pray. But I talked with another pastor who has prayed at the Statehouse. He said: ‘Do it. Use the name Lord and let them interpret it as they want. Besides, this is a Daniel moment.’ Good advice…so I did.”

Here is Mike Brown’s prayer:

Dear Father in heaven and over all the earth, we hold this truth to be self-evident: that all men, women, and children are created equal. Red and yellow, black, brown and white, we are all precious in your sight. You love the little children and all the people of the world.

I pray today that in Ohio we not only believe but we live our state motto: “With God All Things Are Possible” Your amazing grace has given us this great State and this great nation. One nation under God, we pray that both this state and this nation will always be indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

In every hallway, every corridor, in every room and every chamber of this magnificent Statehouse, let freedom ring and justice reign. Guide, guard, and give every State Representative the wisdom to make the best decision for their constituents and for the citizens of the state of Ohio. And while they are here away from their families, making such a great sacrifice, may their families never be away from their heart. Extend your grace to their families and also give their families great patience as their husband or wife, mother or father, son or daughter serves in this important capacity. Throughout all the travel, please be sure to allow them to arrive back home safely.

Until the very last day of the 129th General Assembly, may the laws of man always be governed by the laws of God, for you are the supreme Governor of the universe, you are the God in whom we must trust. In the name of the Lord I pray, Amen.

28 Mar

March 28, 2012 |

The March 25 fire at the former Conway UB church.

The former Conway UB church near Fowlerville, Mich., was destroyed in a fire late Sunday night, March 25, 2012. The building has been home to the New Covenant Christian Church. In the 1980s, the United Brethren congregation relocated into the town of Fowlerville under the leadership of Rev. Steve Malson, and is now the Fowlerville UB church.

The church building was constructed in 1888, but the original congregation dates back to 1855. The cause of the fire is undetermined.

26 Mar

March 26, 2012 |

This fall, Huntington University will launch an innovative new program in athletic training.

The 3-2 athletic training program starts with three years of undergraduate study at Huntington, followed by two years of graduate work at Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind. Students will emerge with a Bachelor of Science degree in pre-athletic training from Huntington and a Master of Athletic Training degree from Manchester.

Dr. Matthew Ruiz (right), HU associate professor of exercise science, says, “There is a large and growing demand for athletic training experts in the workforce. In coming years, professionals without a master’s degree will be underprepared to meet the realities of the industry. This partnership with Manchester will ensure that our students are ready and equipped to enter the workforce.”