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The Healthy Ministry Resources (or Church Services) bookstore at the national office will adopt new hours in 2011.
Beginning January 4, 2011, the new bookstore hours are 8:30 am – 4:00 pm, Monday through Thursday. The bookstore will be closed Fridays.
Marshall Woods, senior pastor of Mill Chapel UB church (Reedsville, W. Va.), sent this note:
Our church has sensed a need in our community and have opened a weekly Clothing Bank. Erica Hines is the coordinator for the outreach ministry. The clothes are given away freely.
Also, our church is now offering a ”Free Food and Fellowship” to the community. There are many folks in our community who have fallen on hard times and we just want to help out. We are blessed with many volunteers. Gloria Woods is the coordinator.
Emily Bruce and Samantha Little
The medical mission team will fly into Freetown and travel by water taxi and van to Kamakwie Hospital. They will do rounds with a doctor and work alongside national nurses to provide education updates for the nurses and staff. They will also travel to three outlying clinics to assist in surgeries, deliver babies, provide inpatient care, and treat patients.
Please pray for Emily and Samantha as they represent Christ, the United Brethren in Christ, as well as their university.
Emily is the daughter of Pastor Bob and Kathy Bruce. Bob serves on staff at Emmanuel UB in Fort Wayne, Ind. Samantha is the daughter of Pastor Chris and Keri Little. Chris is senior pastor of Mt. Pleasant UB church in Chambersburg, Pa.
Ben, Lydia, Caleb, and Jackie Dailey
Previously, we reported on the Dailey family from Park UB (Bluffton, Ind.). They were in a serious accident in Fargo, ND., while on vacation. Parents Ben and Jackie were treated and released, but children Caleb (5) and Lydia (2) were hospitalized in critical condition.
The children remain in serious condition, but they are gradually improving. You can follow their progress on CarePages.com. Jackie gives regular updates.
On Thursday, December 16, Jackie wrote the following:
Want to hear the best news EVER?! We’re coming to Indiana tomorrow! From what we understand, the flight is scheduled for Friday morning! Both kids will be flown on the same flight to Riley Hospital. HOORAY!!! I will be riding with both kids. Can’t say flying is my favorite thing in the world, but I’m going to do it because it’s what needs to be done to get my kids the care they need.
We had a choice between flight crews and decided to go with the crew here at Sanford. We’ve heard they REALLY want to take our kids, and we know they’ll provide amazing care during the flight. Plus, they know our kids and their conditions–they visit every other day and check up on the kids. Ben will be taking a commercial flight to Indy. Please pray for safe travels and a stress-free trip for both kids.
The conference room at the national office is getting a makeover.
Bishop Phil Whipple surveys the "damage."
We are remodeling the conference room at the national office. Right now, it’s totally gutted. The current conference room had been in place since 1987. The new one will replace well-used furnishings, enlarge the room, and provide significant upgrades in technology (such as videoconferencing).
In the process, we tore out two closets, which contained audio-visual equipment and other things going back 30+ years.
We’re making everything available FOR FREE to United Brethren churches. All you have to do is come get it. We’re not shipping anything.
You’ll find short descriptions and photos on the UB website [Nov 2011 note: this information is no longer there]. Just contact Administrative Assistant Cathy Reich is you’re interested in an item.
At the end of each year, pastors are required to complete forms which tell about the church’s ministry during the past year and about their own ministry. The forms for 2010 will be mailed in January. However, right now they can be downloaded from the UB website.
The reports can be downloaded as Word files (which you can fill in on your computer and email back), or as PDF files (which you can fill in by hand). There are five documents:
The Unassigned Minister’s Report and the Women’s Ministry Report can both be filled out online.
All reports are due to the Bishop’s office February 15, 2011.
Alvordton UB (Aldvordton, Ohio) is trying something new: a live nativity. It will be held 6:30-8:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday, December 18-19.
The church is located on US 20 in Alvordton. Drivers can enter the horseshoe-shaped drive to view the Nativity, which will feature Mary and Joseph, the Three Wise Men, shepherds with sheep, a goat, and, of course “Baby Jesus.”
Music will add to the ambiance of the evening. Each vehicle will receive a bag of goodies as it exits the display.
Ben, Lydia, Caleb, and Jackie Dailey
Members of Park UB church (Bluffton, Ind.) held a prayer service Friday night, December 10, for the family of Ben and Jackie Daily, who are active members of the church.
The Dailey family, on a trip to visit friends out west, were involved in a terrible accident when their van collided with a truck near the Minnesota-North Dakota border. Ben and Jackie were treated and released, but both young children suffered serious head and other injuries: Caleb, 5, and Lydia, two-and-a-half.
Caleb and Lydia were taken to the Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, N.D., about 65 miles from where the accident occurred. They are listed in critical condition.
Ben and Jackie would appreciate your prayers, as they live far from home and care for Caleb and Lydia.
Jackie set up a Carepages site, where she posts regular updates. You need to set up a free account, but it is very easy to do.
We’re pleased to report that Steve Henry, pastor of Victory Heights UB Church in Franklin, Pa., did not have a heart attack as reported on December 6. Rather, the problems he experienced resulted from a leaking valve from a valve replacement surgery he had years ago. Steve will undergo another valve replacement surgery on Thursday, December 9.
Phil Whipple, bishop
Lansing UB had been using reserve funds to meet the pastor’s salary and operational costs, and Pastor Scott Hergert realized they would run out of money by the end of 2010. He laid out the options he saw: go to a part-time pastor arrangement, close the church, or close with restart in the process.
I met with the board and talked about what a restart might look like. A few weeks later, they voted to move in that direction. I led a local conference in September during which they voted to close the existing church and give their assets—including the church building and parsonage–to the restart. Their final service was held October 24.
The Lead Team from Michigan, which had supported the Imagine This church plant in Grand Ledge, Mich., was looking for their next project. We had already settled on starting a church somewhere in Lansing, but weren’t thinking about the existing Lansing congregation. So I suggested to the lead team that we throw our energies together—lead team and restart project—rather than start two different things in Lansing at the same time.
The church planter will be Tim Flickinger (right), formerly senior pastor of Fowlerville UB (Fowlerville, Mich.). In September, when the Lansing UB people made the decision to close, they had no knowledge about who the church planter would be. We had been talking to Tim about starting a church, but weren’t ready to announce anything at that time. However, a week before Lansing’s final service, Tim came to talk to the congregation to share his vision for the new church.
We took Tim Flickinger through the assessment process, and sent him to a couple church planting training events. His assessment came through very positively.
We’re looking for funding. We’re using some money which was part of Michigan Conference. Fowleville UB has signed up to be a three-year supporter. The pastors who are part of the Lead Team will be raising funds from their churches to help support the project. Whether they use the Lansing facility has not been determined. It’s an older building and isn’t handicap accessible. It would cost quite a bit to update the building to be a contemporary, community kind of church.
Tom Blaylock is serving as a church planting coach for Tim Flickinger. Tim is working on setting a vision for what the church will be and developing a core group. Some people from Lansing UB have already affiliated with the Eden UB church in Mason, Mich. However, some people from Imagine This, who currently drive to Grand Ledge from Lansing, may become part of the core group.
