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Many United Brethren churches send children to summer camp at Camp Cotubic, the former UB camp in Bellefontaine, Ohio. Here are the dates for the summer 2011 camps, so you can plan ahead:
June 12-17: Teen Challenge Camp (grades 7-12).
June 26 – July 1: Discovery camp (grades 5-6).
July 17-21: Voyager Camp (grades 2-4).
Chick Fil-A is chipping in to help with a unique fundraiser for Camp Cotubic in Bellefontaine, Ohio.
On Tuesday, October 26, the Chick Fil-A at the Jefferson Pointe mall in Fort Wayne, Ind., will donate to the camp 15% of all sales made 5-7 pm. Friends of the camp will be on hand to clean tables, greet friends, and answer questions about the camp. So if you live in the Fort Wayne area, head on over to Jefferson Pointe.
Members from Zanesville UB church (Zanesville, Ind.) arranged this event. Note: the Jefferson Point Chick Fil-A is the only location participating in this promotion for the camp.
In fall 2008, Munster, Ind., and other northwest Indiana communities were greatly affected by a flood that damaged more than 18,000 homes and businesses. Some were lucky, regaining their homes within a matter of weeks. Others were not.
A group of eight Huntington University students and one staff adviser will be traveling to Munster from October 15-19 during fall break to rebuild and tear down houses that were greatly affected by the flooding. The team will work with LARRI (Lakeshore Area Regional Recovery of Indiana), a local relief organization, as well as ArcBridges to do some site maintenance to its building and to a few other residential buildings.
“We are going on this trip because it is important to serve God and serve others through service,” said Zach Keller, a junior math and math education double major from Portland, Ind. “The Munster area is still in need of clean up, and we are very excited to be able to help with that.”
The trip is sponsored by Huntington University’s Joe Mertz Center for Volunteer Service.
Paul Hirschy, who served as bishop 2001-2005, dealt with lymphoma cancer during his years as bishop and and before. Now his cancer has returned. He will begin chemo treatments on Thursday, October 21, and it will continue over a period of months.
You can send cards to:
Paul Hirschy
5493 North Goshen Rd
Huntington, IN 46750
Joan Sider has made many trips to Haiti with her fellow Canadians. Now she’s there again, this time with a team of 12 persons from Canada, plus one from Honduras. They are working on the Delmas church in Port au Prince.
We’re beginning work on a redesign of the UB.org website, the official website of the United Brethren in Christ Church, USA. The current design has been in place for over 5 years. Time for an upgrade.
We want your suggestions as we begin developing a new flagship site.
Please send your suggestions to Steve Dennie, the Communications director.
Anything is fair game. So fire away!
UB.org will complement these two new sites:
The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team is meeting October 4-5 (Monday and Tuesday) in Huntington, Ind. The PMLT is responsible for issues related to pastoral education, licensing, and ordination. Lee Rhodes, pastor of Countryside UB (Breckenridge, Mich.), is the chairman.
The Convoy UB church (Convoy, Ohio) voted to close during a local conference meeting on Sunday, September 26. Bishop Phil Whipple spoke during the morning service, and then led the local conference meeting.
The congregation attending Family Day at Faith UB
Deon McLennon
On September 26, Faith United Brethren Church climaxed its month-long family celebration with the all day ”Family day” program. The first Sunday in September focused on the role of the mother, the second Sunday on the role of the father, the third Sunday on the role of youth, and the fourth Sunday–Family Day–on the role of the family.
Family Day began with a special 9 a.m. service where Pat Eves-McKenzie delivered an inspirational sermon on the role of the family. After the service, all participants attended a special Sunday school which looked on issues relating to married couples and single people.
The 203 strong attendance then congregated outside to take the group picture for the 60th anniversary magazine. We then enjoyed a wonderful dinner together after which all enjoyed a spirit-filled concert which displayed the variety of artistic gifts God has blessed us with.
The Institute for TESOL Studies at Huntington University has signed a five-year agreement to continue training English teachers in Doumen, a city in China’s Guangdong Province.
Since 2007, Huntington University has provided a three-week training camp to English teachers currently in the country to help them better teach the language. The camp trains approximately 80 teachers each summer and also offers a two-week English camp for children. The children’s camp provides valuable practice time for the teachers.
“We’ve trained over 500 teachers who are now beginning to offer training in their own schools,” said Dr. Luke Fetters (right), director of the Institute for TESOL Studies (ITS). TESOL is the acronym for “Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages.”
The five-year contract, which begins in 2011, allows ITS to consistently work with the Doumen School District in the southern Guangdong Province of China. The relationship will hopefully open doors for an educational exchange between the schools in China and the Huntington County school system, as well as opportunities for Chinese teachers and students to study at Huntington University.
“It gives us the opportunity to plan for the future in ways that are strategic for the training that we deliver and the cultural exchange that we hope to foster,” Fetters said.
Even though Huntington University’s relationship with the Chinese schools began in the early 1990s, the teacher training camp was not officially offered until 2007. 
Valerie Geer (right), associate director of ITS, has been involved each year in the teacher training camps in China.
Through ITS, a group of Huntington University and community educators, along with HU students and other volunteers, travel to China each summer to provide professional development to Chinese teachers who teach English in those schools. The students and other volunteers then help operate the children’s camp which teaches the children English through lessons and other fun activities.
ITS was established by Huntington University in 2009. The program offers certification to students as well as local teachers.
