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Aposento Alto church in Honduras
The Richfield Road UB church (Flint, Mich.) helped build the Aposento Alto church (above) at El Naranjal, Honduras, during a mission trip this past February. They also held a Bible school, during which 12 children gave their hearts to the Lord and many more promised to attend church. The church now has an attendance of over 50. The photo shows the outside of the church.
Preeminence
On Saturday, May 15, Huntington College honored 206 graduates of the Class of 2004. HC’s 106th commencement services took place at 3 p.m. on the front lawn of campus. Dr. KunMo Chung, a licensed nuclear engineer and experienced science administrator from South Korea, delivered the commencement address.
Preeminence, a group of talented student musicians from Huntington College (see photo above), is touring the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions this summer. They will present about 60 performances between May 29 and August 14 in churches, camps, and conferences.
On May 25, Bishop Paul Hirschy had his fifth of six chemotherapy treatments. He also learned that cat-scans gave him a clear report, showing no swelling in the lymph nodes. He will only need one more chemo treatment, which will occur in three weeks. Bishop Hirschy is grateful for everyone’s prayer support.
Mid-Atlantic and Michindoh Conferences met during May. Michindoh re-elected George Kreger as conference superintendent. Mid-Atlantic elected two new superintendents to replace Pat Jones and Rick Fischl. The two continuing superintendents, Anthony Blair and Michael Mudge, took on new areas of responsibility. Here is the new Mid-Atlantic line-up:
* Anthony Blair: Administration.
* Michael Mudge: Pastoral Development.
* Billy Simbo: Church Multiplication and Urban Ministry.
* Jim Bolich: Church Growth and Renewal.
Rev. Alfred “Bud” Price passed away Tuesday evening, May 25. He pastored the Blissfield UB church (Blissfield, Mich.) for over 30 years (1952-1986), and also served as fulltime superintendent of Michindoh Conference. The funeral will be held at 11 am on Saturday, May 29, at the Central UB church in Montpelier, Ohio. Viewing will be on Friday, May 28, at the Wilson-Geesey Funeral Home in Montpelier.
The UB Historical Society will hold its annual meeting July 29-30 in southern Ontario. You are encouraged to take part in this event, which will include a tour and banquet.
Huntington College has approved several new programs.
Master of Education. HC plans to begin offering the Master of Education degree in 2005. Master of Education concentrations will be available in Elementary Curriculum and Instruction, Elementary Reading, Early Adolescent Education, and Adolescent and Young Adult Education.
Business: Economics and Finance. Starting next fall, HC will offer a new bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance. The program will prepare students for employment in fields such as financial services, banking, insurance, risk management and real estate. Since 1997, business program enrollment has grown 37 percent. Over that same time period, enrollment in the economics track has grown over 300 percent. The new Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Finance is designed to meet this demand and serve greater numbers of students.
Digital Media Arts. In the fall of 2004, the Communication Department will launch a new Bachelor of Science degree in Digital Media Arts. It will prepare students for careers in web design and publishing, disc authoring, television production, film making, photography and image editing, illustration, 2D and 3D animation, advertising, and design.
Political Studies. Also beginning this is a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Studies program. It will prepare students for careers in public administration, the legal professions, teaching, public service, and political research and writing.
Social Work. Huntington College will launch a bachelor’s degree in social work in the fall semester of 2005.
Sports Ministry. A bachelor’s degree in Recreation and Sports Ministry will begin this fall. It will meet the needs of recreation and sports ministries in the local church, youth organizations, and other related agencies.
Worship Leadership (fall 2005). A Bachelor of Science degree in Worship Leadership will offer students a unique combination of ministry leadership preparation and specialized skill development in such fields as music, multimedia, and theater.
In addition to the seven new academic programs to be launched in 2004 and 2005, Huntington College is currently studying the feasibility of developing a new undergraduate degree in nursing.
HC held its annual appreciation dinner for faculty and staff May 11. Randy Neuman was recognized as Staff Member of the Year. Neuman, the College’s associate director of library services and director of the United Brethren Historical Center, was chosen by faculty and staff members. He has served the College for 22 years.
Congratulations to Scott and Lydia Stover, proud parents of new daughter Kimber Lee Ann, born April 29. This is their first baby. Scott and Lydia are key participants in our NorthPointe Church and Scott is also working on his MDiv at Ashland Seminary in preparation for ministry.
Also: congratulations to and prayers for Ryan and Becky Clark. Their son Michael was born on April 27. Michael has had some complications and is currently a patient at Dayton’s Childrens Hospital. Ryan began his tenure as pastor of the Van Wert UB Church (Van Wert, Ohio) on April 18. This is their third child.
David Leraaen, associate pastor of of Homefront UB, sent this report:
“As a brand new church (we began having regular Sunday Services in September, 2003), we wanted our first Easter together to be something truly memorable. We wanted to invite our congregation and our community to celebrate the resurrection of Christ with us. So we hosted an art exhibit!
“We invited local artist John Katerberg to exhibit eleven of his original oil paintings depicting the life of Christ. The exhibit opened to the public on the two Fridays and Saturdays preceding Easter Sunday, complete with tour guides, refreshments, interactive children’s activities on Saturday, and an opportunity to meet with the artist as he worked on a new painting. Especially featured were the three paintings that comprise the artist’s Passion Series, which graphically depict the crucifixion of Christ. Though conceived and painted long before its release, the images in these three paintings are reminiscent of scenes from Mel Gibson’s film, ‘The Passion of the Christ.’ With the paintings still adorning our entry way and main hall, we hosted two Easter Sunday morning services, with 329 people on hand to celebrate the joy of the resurrection.
“This Mother’s Day will mark the first anniversary of our “Sneak Preview” service at Homefront Church. Now less than eight months after beginning regular Sunday services, an average of 170 people attend each week, and most call Homefront home.”
Christianity Today magazine named Huntington College one of “The 50 Best Christian Places to Work” in a report of its second annual national workplace survey. Huntington College placed third in the mid-size Higher Education category. Other finalists in this group, which includes colleges and universities with 151-300 employees, included Dallas Theological Seminary (Dallas, Texas), Belhaven College (Jackson, Miss.), The Master’s College (Santa Clarita, Calif.), Westmont College (Santa Barbara, Calif.), and Simpson College (Redding, Calif.).
The focus of this year’s survey was to find Christian companies where leaders strive to create a climate of trust. Best Christian Workplaces Institute (BCWI), which administered the survey, polled more than 10,000 employees from 107 organizations in a variety of industries. The process began by soliciting self-nominations from interested organizations that had more than 15 employees and a Christian mission. Employees in these organizations were then asked to complete an online survey examining their company’s practices. One hundred twenty-two Huntington College employees participated in this survey.
An independent panel of judges weighed together the averages from the employee scores, the participation rates of every organization’s employees in the survey and information from the management profiles. The finalists in 12 categories are listed in the May 2004 issue of Christianity Today.
