06 Jan Christmas at Our Church: Temperance, Mich.

Mark Smith, Morocco UB, Temperance, Mich.

Christmas at Morocco is always a busy exciting time.

• The first Saturday in December is the Christmas In Ida Parade. We designed and had a float in the parade with several walking behind handing out candy and showing our love to all with a “Merry Christmas.”
• Our annual Christmas Program was held December 19, with many from the congregation performing specials, and as always our Mark and Company Skit was a hit!
• Then Christmas eve our beautiful decorated sanctuary was the spot where several came to a beautiful service and message by Pastor Todd Greenman.

06 Jan UB Retiree Keeps Busy with Volunteer Work

Judy Alchin, 70, a member of Fowlerville UB (Fowlerville, Mich.), volunteers her time at the Christian-based Family Impact Center in Fowlerville. The center provides a variety of services–food, clothing, spiritual counseling, and basic needs assistance. Alchin serves on the board of directors and runs the office when the executive director is away.

“It’s a joy to come in here knowing I am helping someone,” she says.

An article about Judy Alchin and her volunteer work was published on LivingstonDaily.com.

05 Jan Christmas at Our Church: Reedsville, W. Va.

Marshall Woods, senior pastor, Mill Chapel, Reedsville, W. Va.

Our church has a wonderful director of plays and director of music. We had a play/cantata, “It All Happened in the Country.” There were such large turnouts that we had to do the play 2 nights. Also, we had a Christmas Eve service at 10 pm. It lasted about 30 minutes and ended with a candlelight service. About 100 people attended.

We also collected bags of new socks to send to a Guatemala orphanage.

05 Jan Christmas at Our Church: Rockford, Ohio

Marvin Schwartz, senior pastor, New Horizons Community Church

Christmas is always a special time of the year for us at New Horizons Community Church. The highlight of the season (Jesus’ birth) is our Christmas Eve Candlelight service. However, this year was different from previous years (unplanned).

We had scheduled a Children’s Christmas program for an evening service on December 11, but because of the weather we had to cancel that night. This left us scrambling for another date and time. Because of scheduling and other church events, our only option was December 24 during the Candlelight Service. This rescheduling brought with it some uncertainty with regard to attendance and the amount of time needed for the added program.

The LORD knew what He wanted with this event, and we could not have planned this any better. Our church was full! We had over 300 in attendance with a wide range of ages. We most likely will plan this way for another year.

04 Jan Youth Raise Over $2800 for Haiti

The Together Student Life group at Mount Zion UB (Wayne, Ohio) raised $2,818 through a 30-hour famine. The money was sent to Global Ministries to benefit the children of Haiti and to help with rebuilding from Haiti’s earthquake last January.

04 Jan Ten-Year-Old UB Spearheads “Coats for Folks”

Ten-year-old Dylan Culler, standing with his dad at the bus stop one morning, remarked about how lucky they were to have coats, since many people didn’t.

“Coats for folks,” said his father, Bobby Culler, who is associate pastor of Mount Pleasant Church in Chambersburg, Pa.

An thus began a campaign to collect “gently-used” coats for the Salvation Army and local homeless shelters.

Dylan got permission from his schoolteacher to solicit coats at Falling Spring Elementary School. Soon, “Coats for Folks” fliers were being distributed throughout the school, and an email was sent to parents.

Bobby Culler also solicited coats at Mount Pleasant UB. One area shelter told him they could use as many coats as they could get.

Ultimately, 111 coats were donated. Bobby picked them up and delivered them to shelters.

28 Dec Photos from the Bishop’s Travels

Phil Whipple, Bishop

Here are some photos from my recent travels to various UB churches.

17 Dec Mill Chapel Reaches Out to People in Need

Marshall Woods, senior pastor of Mill Chapel UB church (Reedsville, W. Va.), sent this note:

Our church has sensed a need in our community and have opened a weekly Clothing Bank. Erica Hines is the coordinator for the outreach ministry. The clothes are given away freely.

Also, our church is now offering a ”Free Food and Fellowship” to the community. There are many folks in our community who have fallen on hard times and we just want to help out. We are blessed with many volunteers. Gloria Woods is the coordinator.

17 Dec Daughters of UB Pastors Headed to Sierra Leone

Emily Bruce and Samantha Little are preparing for a medical mission trip to Sierra Leone December 27 through January 10. They will accompany a group of students and faculty from the Nursing School at Indiana Wesleyan University to serve the people Kamakwie Wesleyan Hospital.

The medical mission team will fly into Freetown and travel by water taxi and van to Kamakwie Hospital. They will do rounds with a doctor and work alongside national nurses to provide education updates for the nurses and staff. They will also travel to three outlying clinics to assist in surgeries, deliver babies, provide inpatient care, and treat patients.

Please pray for Emily and Samantha as they represent Christ, the United Brethren in Christ, as well as their university.

Emily is the daughter of Pastor Bob and Kathy Bruce. Bob serves on staff at Emmanuel UB in Fort Wayne, Ind. Samantha is the daughter of Pastor Chris and Keri Little. Chris is senior pastor of Mt. Pleasant UB church in Chambersburg, Pa.

17 Dec Dailey Family Returning to Indiana

Previously, we reported on the Dailey family from Park UB (Bluffton, Ind.). They were in a serious accident in Fargo, ND., while on vacation. Parents Ben and Jackie were treated and released, but children Caleb (5) and Lydia (2) were hospitalized in critical condition.

The children remain in serious condition, but they are gradually improving. You can follow their progress on CarePages.com. Jackie gives regular updates.

On Thursday, December 16, Jackie wrote the following:

Want to hear the best news EVER?! We’re coming to Indiana tomorrow! From what we understand, the flight is scheduled for Friday morning! Both kids will be flown on the same flight to Riley Hospital. HOORAY!!! I will be riding with both kids. Can’t say flying is my favorite thing in the world, but I’m going to do it because it’s what needs to be done to get my kids the care they need.

We had a choice between flight crews and decided to go with the crew here at Sanford. We’ve heard they REALLY want to take our kids, and we know they’ll provide amazing care during the flight. Plus, they know our kids and their conditions–they visit every other day and check up on the kids. Ben will be taking a commercial flight to Indy. Please pray for safe travels and a stress-free trip for both kids.