(260) 356-2312
Kevin Whitacre (right), senior pastor, Corunna UB church (Corunna, Ind.)
At Corunna, we enjoyed a delicious Seder meal on Good Friday, remembering God’s work through the ages. Our members did a great job inviting newcomers, resulting in the largest attendance we have seen in many years. Much more importantly, eight people prayed to receive Christ as their savior!
Roxton Spear (right), senior pastor, Mongul UB (Shippensburg, Pa.)
Easter weekend at Mongul Church was one of our best. On Saturday, we held our third annual Easter Eggs-travaganza at a local park. It was our largest ever! More than 600 registered, with over 700 in attendance. Six thousand eggs were given away, as well as 4 bicycles and many other prizes. In addition, our volunteers helped with crafts, food, and games. Several people in our community asked for more information on Mongul Church. We are grateful for God’s favor in our community.
Easter Sunday was truly blessed by God. We had 290 attending, including 11 first-time guests. One of our home groups organized and served breakfast for at least 150. Seven individuals indicated a decision for Christ.
God is truly giving us opportunity to impact the lives of men, women and children in the Shippensburg area. We are committed to God’s mission for us!
What happened at your church during this Easter season? Tell us on this form.
L.A. Gossert, Mt. Pleasant Church (Chambersburg, Pa.)
On our off years (when we don’t do a large musical Passion Play), we at Mt. Pleasant have done a few other things instead–simple cantatas, special Maundy Thursday services, solemn and dark Good Friday services, etc. This year we tried something new which really blessed me and many others I know: “Experiencing the Last Supper.”
All outward appearances pointed towards a simple drama involving Jesus and his disciples at their final Passover meal together. We watched them sit down for the meal and when Jesus announced he would be betrayed, Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting appeared before our eyes, each character frozen into his position as in the painting. This became a springboard for twelve monologues, as each disciple stood and told us about how he met Jesus and had been changed; and each considering the coming betrayal and questioning, “Lord, is it I?”
But where “Experiencing the Last Supper” stood out for me, and others, is that we were a part of it. Each of us had in the pew one of those communion-cup-and-wafer combos. As the man who played Jesus stood and broke the bread and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat,” we also took and ate. The bread. Then the “wine.” What we do in remembrance took on a new dimension. It was very beautiful.
Now, I was not a part of the drama and I am not on staff, so I do not know stats nor do I have access to pictures. But I know the sanctuary was packed out (I think I heard just over 300 there) and I know there were some visitors among us. In fact, I got word that a family who had been looking around for a home church texted a friend of theirs from our church (the one who played Judas, interestingly enough) to say how much they enjoyed the evening, felt welcomed, and now they intend to make Mt. Pleasant their home.
What happened at your church during this Easter season? Tell us on this form.
The Easter season–-Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday-–is always exciting for churches. There are special events, and often large attendances. Churches do some pretty creative things to capitalize on the Easter season.
Tell us what happened during the Easter season at your church. You can use this form. Then we can share it with other UBs right here on UBCentral.
If you have digital photos, send them along using the mechanism on the form, or email them directly to news@ub.org
The March 25 fire at the former Conway UB church.
The former Conway UB church near Fowlerville, Mich., was destroyed in a fire late Sunday night, March 25, 2012. The building has been home to the New Covenant Christian Church. In the 1980s, the United Brethren congregation relocated into the town of Fowlerville under the leadership of Rev. Steve Malson, and is now the Fowlerville UB church.
The church building was constructed in 1888, but the original congregation dates back to 1855. The cause of the fire is undetermined.
Bishop Phil Whipple (left) and Josh Kesler, senior pastor of The Well (click to enlarge).
Looking at the property from US 24 (click to enlarge).
The current store part of the building. Josh Kesler (right) is bringing in a photocopier for the office area. Cathy Reich, a longtime parishioner, is on the left.
L-r: Jeff Bleijerveld, Frank Y, and Phil Whipple look over one of the additional buildings on the property.
It looks like The Well in Huntington, Ind. will soon have a new home.
The congregation, a fresh restart of the former Good Shepherd UB church, has been meeting in temporary facilities for the past two years, since moving out of the former St Felix Friary which had been their home since 1981. An article on March 5 told what is happening with that property.
For the past year, the Well has been holding services in the Huntington YMCA, and it’s been a good situation for them. But all the while, they’ve been searching for a property which would become their own.
The property of Huntington Lumber, on old US 24, became available. They now have a signed purchase agreement. There are a few conditions which need to be met, so it could, potentially, fall through. But everything looks good.
The owner of Huntington Lumber, Bob Oliver, has even invited Pastor Josh Kesler to move the church offices into the building. Oliver is a member of Emmanuel UB church in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Some of the Healthy Ministry Resources staff took a field trip to Huntington Lumber on Monday, March 12. Cathy Reich, administrative assistant to Bishop Phil Whipple, attends the Well.
It’s quite a large property. There is a main building, which will be targeted first for renovation. It’ll house the sanctuary, classroom space, and offices. Then there are two other fairly large buildings. They’ll have gobs and gobs of paved parking space.
The Well will employ an architect to redesign the main building. Josh Kesler envisions them possibly moving in by the end of the year. Hopefully, everything will work out.
Here’s a 14-minute video about the first year of Renew Communities, a UB church plant in Berea, Ohio (the Cleveland area). Listen to church planter Andy Sikora tell what they’re about.
The former St. Felix Friary and Good Shepherd UB church
Members of the Sisters of Mary order.
In 1980, the Grayston Avenue UB church in Huntington, Ind., bought the former St. Felix Friary. They changed their name to Good Shepherd UB church, and moved into the former monastery for the next 20 years.
Good Shepherd left the property in 2009 and began meeting in temporary locations. Now using the name The Well, the congregation holds services at the Huntington YMCA while looking for a permanent location.
In 2010, they sold the friary to the Mary Cross Tippman Foundation, run by a Catholic businessman in Fort Wayne, Ind. The foundation poured over $1 million into renovations. The foundation modernized the kitchens and restrooms, upgraded the wiring, painted, brought the facility up to code, and added new pews, statuary, an altar, and other items.
And now, it will become a nunnery. The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, an order founded 15 years ago and based in Ann Arbor, Mich. They will place about 40 novices in the west wing, which Good Shepherd used a a retreat center. The order states, “Our community exists for the salvation of souls and the building of the Church throughout the world.”
The order, which has about 100 sisters, focuses on teaching. Women joining the order go through an eight-year process before taking their final vows; they all earn a teaching degree during the formation process. The Huntington center, by providing housing for novices in the second and third years of the process, will relieve overcrowding at the main center in Ann Arbor.
The sisters serve in Catholic schools around the country, and currently work in six states: Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, California, and Arizona. According to a local Catholic spokesman, they are very much in demand.
The friary was home to Father Solanus Casey 1946-1956, a Capuchin monk who has gone through the first of three stages toward sainthood in the Catholic church. His second-floor dorm room in the east wing has been kept the way it was when he lived there.
Hillsdale UB's Upward Awards Program (click to enlarge)
On Saturday, February 25, the Hillsdale UB church (Hillsdale, Mich.) held an awards program to conclude the Upwards Basketball/Cheerleading season. This was the third year for Upwards at Hillsdale UB, with about 250 elementary age children participating this year. Over 700 came out for the closing program in the Worship Center.
Over 60 children responded to the invitation given at the conclusion of the awards program. Among them were a dozen players who made first-time commitments to Christ.
Each year, the Hillsdale congregation has gained new families from the Upwards ministry. This season, Pastor Les Smith (right) coached a kindergarten team, and the family of one of his players are now regular attenders. The father is superintendent of the local school district.
Scenes from Camp Living Waters Day at Sunfield. (Click photos to enlarge)
Leigh Pearson (right), Administrative Assistant at Sunfield Church (Sunfield, Mich.)
On Sunday, February 26, Sunfield UB church (Sunfield, Mich.) hosted a “Camp Living Waters Day” to promote summer camp and raise money to help send to summer camp area youth who may not otherwise be able to go and “experience God in His creation.”
Chad Saxton, Executive Director of Camp Living Waters, was our guest speaker. A “Silent Auction” was held, and the inside of the church was transformed into a makeshift Camp Living Waters. Picture were hung from the ceiling throughout the entire church showed smiling faces and activities available at camp. Areas throughout the church were renamed lodges or cabins that are actually at Camp Living Waters. The Kitchen became the Camp Store where camp-like refreshments–freshly made smores, rice krispie treats, trail mix, fruit snacks, popcorn, chips, juice boxes and hot chocolate–were served in lieu of the normal Sunday morning coffee and cookies.
The Silent Auction was open from 9 am to 12 pm. We asked the congregation to provide auction items (services or goods). We had over 65 items to bid on–dinner and a movie with Pastor Randy Carpenter and his wife (right), lots and lots of home-baked goods (pies were going for over $40), lawn mowing services, goodie baskets, food baskets, and more. One small group made homemade lasagna and had it available for taste-testing, and then took orders to provide homemade lasagna, haircuts, bowling, tie blankets, kids’ toys, etc.
There was something for everyone! We sold every item and at the end of the day, we raised over $1,800 in scholarship money for summer camp. It was a great day and everyone had a lot of fun. We are excited that the success of the day will benefit many youth to possibly meet Jesus for the first time or grow closer in a relationship with him while at camp this summer.
