Huntington University’s EXCEL Adult Degree Programs will offer three new online degree programs.

  • Associate of Science degree program in Organizational Management (August 2010).
  • Bachelor of Science degree program in Business Administration (August 2010).
  • Bachelor of Science degree program in Human Resource Management (spring 2011).

All three programs will be entirely online. EXCEL began offering an online bachelor’s degree program in not-for-profit leadership in the spring of 2009.

EXCEL offers online and evening classes tailored to the schedule of working adults. Onsite classes are held one night per week, one subject at a time in Huntington, Columbia City, and Wabash, Ind. Classes last 5-8 weeks.

EXCEL also has the Gateway Program onsite and online, giving adults the opportunity to take continuing education classes for personal enrichment.

Financial aid is available. Options include grants, scholarships, loans, and a Three-Pay Plan. Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), WorkOne, and veteran’s benefits are accepted.

Annette Sites sent this update about her father-in-law, Bishop Emeritus Wilber Sites, Jr. (right). As reported earlier, he was admitted to Intensive Care in Chambersburg, Pa., on June 27.  Annette writes:

“Many thanks for all the prayers and well wishes sent on Wilber’s behalf over the past two weeks. We praise the Lord that he was able to come home this past Friday, July 9, after a nearly two-week stay at the hospital. Please continue to pray for his continued healing and increased strength in the days ahead.”

Elizabeth Lydia Grace Hunt, 81, of Ithaca, Mich., passed away Wednesday, June 30. She was the widow of Rev. William Hunt, a former United Brethren minister.

Arrangements

Viewing: 6-8 p.m. Monday, July 5.
Location
: Smith Family Funeral Homes Ithaca Chapel, Itacha, Mich.
Funeral
: 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 6.
Location: Ithaca Church of God.

Elizabeth married William Hunt in Sunfield, Mich., on December 23, 1957. Bill passed away in 2008. Elizabeth retired from teaching in the Ithaca Public Schools in 1985 after 30 years. She was a singing evangelist for 5 years in the United Brethren Church in 1952.

Online condolences can be sent from the Smith Family Funeral Homes website.

Teams from Bethany Evangelical UB hard at work with Serve FEST.

From June 24-28, Bethany Evangelical Church (Carlisle, Pa.) held its first Serve FEST to meet some community needs. Thirty teens and adults fanned out in work teams throughout Carlisle and surrounding communities.

  • One team built an awning over the new client entrance at Project SHARE, the local food bank.
  • Another team pressure-washed and sealed a picnic pavilion in a local park.
  • A team of artists decorated “The Shack,” a ministry center for elementary school students in Boiling Springs, Pa.
  • Another team cleaned and served lunch at Carlisle CARES, a resource center for the homeless.
  • Another team washed windows at the homes of a widow and a young couple who had their first child.

Serve FEST was directed by Amy Moreno (right), Associate Pastor of Christian Education at Bethany Evangelical Church. She also led teaching and worship experiences each evening for the work teams. The teams were fed by volunteers from Bethany.

“We were seeking to find tangible ways we could express the love of Christ while exposing our teens to the needs in our local mission field,” says Pastor Paul Dunbar.

Franklin UB (New Albany, Ohio) held its annual Faith and Freedom Sunday on July 27. Pastor Mike Brown says they use the service to to celebrate our God-given freedoms and honor those in the military who fought to keep them. Local leaders and politicians are invited. They also have “Guests of Honor.”

This year, they honored the Tuskegee Airmen, the military’s first black pilots. However, none of the nine surviving Tuskegee airmen from the Ohio chapter were able to attend–most would now be in their 90s.

Bishop Emeritus Wilber Sites was admitted to the Intensive Care unit at the Chambersburg Hospital (Chambersburg, Pa.) on Sunday, June 27, for a G I Bleed (diverticulitis). The bleeding has now stopped he is stable. They expect a few days’ hospitalization to keep a watchful eye on him and to gain strength. Please continue to pray for his quick healing and recovery.

George Speas has been appointed interim pastor at Pleasant Valley UB church (Lake Odessa, Mich.), following the resignation of Ken Himebaugh.

Ron Cook has been appointed long-term interim pastor at Criders UB Church (Chambersburg, Pa.) through 2011.

Thirteen people from the Mt. Pleasant Church (Chambersburg, Pa.) are headed to Zacapu, Mexico, July 15-26. They are beginning a partnership with a sister United Brethren in the Mexico National Conference. During their 11 days in Mexico, they will do some construction on the church and run a week of Vacation Bible School. A Facebook page is devoted to the trip.