14 Jun Pews and Hymnals – For Whoever Needs Them

Church Pews. PraisePoint UB church of Willshire, Ohio, has sold its former church building, and the new owners are not interested in the pews. They plan to convert the building into a home. So, PraisePoint is looking for someone who could use the pews. They ask only that a donation be made, as their means provide.
The pews are light oak. They all match, and have medium blue-green padded seats. They have 16 11-foot pews and 4 14-foot pews. If interested, please respond by email.
United Brethren Hymnals. Grace UB church of Manlius has closed. They have 58 copies of the red-cover 1973 United Brethren hymnal, plus two three-ring binder hymnals for piano and organ use. June 19 Update: Ruth Faber reports that the hymnals have been mailed to the Liberty UB Church in Stockport, Ohio.

07 Jun Arrests Made in Yesterday’s Park Layne Fire

Two men were arrested Tuesday, June 6, for starting a fire early that morning at the Park Layne UB church in New Carlisle, Ohio. Both men, David Taylor and Brandon Marlow, are accused of breaking into the church and setting it on fire. Investigators say tips from the community led to the arrests.

Tom Brodbeck, superintendent of Central Conference, visited the church site yesterday. He reports: “The building is a total loss. I didn’t go down into the basement, but the upstairs is gone. The fire was started in the pastor’s office, and everything there is a pile of ashes. All of [Pastor Roland Albert’s] books and files were lost. The front half of the sanctuary is ruined due to the heat. The keys on the organ are melted together. Things like hymnals and offering plates are singed or warped.”

The Bethel Township Fire Department has offered its firehouse to the church as a temporary worship facility. Prince of Peace UB church in Springfield, about 20 miles away, offered Park Layne the use of its facility. However, according to Brodbeck, “At this time, the church is thinking that if the weather is good, it would like to worship in a shelter house on its property as a symbol to the community that it is still present.”

Brodbeck offered two interesting side notes. “Auglaize Conference had three churches built from the same set of blueprints: Park Layne, Otterbein, and Monroe. Arson fires have now happened in two of those churches. The fire at Otterbein led to the relocation of the congregation into what is now New Horizons Church (Rockford, Ohio).”

In addition, Park Layne is in the same cluster as the Pleasant Hill UB church near Muncie, Ind., which suffered a fire in May of 2005. Brodbeck says, “Pastor Roland Albert attended the May 7th dedication of the rebuilt Pleasant Hill Church and was rejoicing at how God used the ‘evil’ of a fire to bring about something wonderful for that congregation. He told me that he is certain God will do the same thing for Park Layne.”

Echoing that thought, Pastor Albert told a reporter, “We’re very positive. We know that God is in charge and we’re going to keep on doing what we do best and that’s saving souls.”

06 Jun Another Fire: Park Layne UB in Ohio

Arson is suspected as the cause of a fire which started about 4:00 this morning (Tuesday), causing extensive damage to the Park Layne UB church in New Carlisle, Ohio. The pastor is Roland Albert. That is all the information we have at this time.

02 Jun More Info on the Fire at Jerusalem Chapel

Here is some more information regarding the fire that struck Jerusalem Chapel UB on Thursday, May 29. Jerusalem Chapel is a congregation with an attendance of 375 located near Churchville, Va.

• The oldest part of the church, including the sanctuary and Sunday school area, is what burned. Firefighters took a stand to protect the new sanctuary at a firewall between it and the already-engulfed oldest portion of the structure. The new sanctuary was built in 1990.
• Jerusalem Chapel held its usual two morning worship services on the Sunday after the fire, but Sunday school was canceled. Projected on a screen above the pulpit were the words: “We praise God that we are able to worship today in this sanctuary.”
• Congregation members Mitch Acord and Craig Smith were praying in the church about 5:30 a.m.–a regular ritual–when they heard a crackle. When they investigated and smelled smoke, they called the fire department.
• At the time of the fire, Pastor Dennis and Annette Sites were returning from Alaska, where a daughter has been serving as a missionary. They learned about the fire from their daughter Tabitha, back in Virginia, who called them in Denver.
• The damage is estimated at $750,000. The church is insured for $2 million.
• Investigators pinpointed decades-old wiring as the cause. They think a wire running from underneath a floorboard to the attic burned through its coating, and shorted after brushing up against a nail or another wire.
• The church dates back to around 1902, though a church has occupied that site since the 1850s.

02 Jun Baltimore, Md: UB Lighthouse

In April, the Brooklyn Park UB church (Baltimore, Md.) opened what they call the UB Lighthouse After School program. Pastor John Christophel (right) wrote on May 8 concerning the first month of operation, “To this point we have had 18 different young people come through our doors. We are helping these young people with homework and learn new recreational skills, and are planting seeds of God’s love in their lives. Of these children, 90% do not attend our church or any other church. We have made new connections with a number of their parents on a weekly social level. God is truly beginning to bless this wonderful ministry.
“I tried to help our church family understand that the best way to move from a struggling church to a strong effective church is by stepping out and caring for those in need. I said that God would bring in those who needed saved when we stopped focusing on our current condition and started caring more about the condition of those who were lost.
“God has begun to honor our new efforts. In the past week we have helped lead four people to the Lord and had five new visitors in the past month have rededicated their lives to the Lord. That is nine transformed souls for the Kingdom of God. Six individuals who have been coming since January have decided to become official members of the church. Our Sunday evening service has grown from the five we have had for the past year to an average of 16. It is now a praise and celebration service.”

30 May Pleasant Hill UB Rebuilds After 2005 Fire

A dedication service was held May 7 for the new Pleasant Hill UB church, located in the small community of Mount Pleasant about ten miles outside of Muncie, Ind. On May 1, 2005, a fire destroyed the old portion of the church and the sanctuary suffered severe water and smoke damage.
Pleasant Hill dates back to 1835, when informal meetings were held. The first church was a log building located near the present church site; a new church was built there in 1860.

The building which burned in 2005.

When the denomination divided in 1889, the people followed the leadership of Bishop Milton Wright in leaving the main church body. In the process, they, like many other such congregations, lost their building. They held meetings in a sawmill until a new church could be erected in 1892. The church, according to its history, was dedicated debt-free.
A room was added around 1915. Sometime later a small basement was dug, and it was expanded to a full basement in 1957. The original belfry was replaced with a new one in 1963. Men and women always sat on opposite sites of the church. That tradition ended following the marriage of Paul and Minnie Huffman, who insisted on sitting together.
Dr. Ray Seilhamer held revival services at Pleasant Hill in 1976. Afterwards, the congregation decided to build a new sanctuary and fellowship hall.