18 Nov Introducing the New UB Website

We’ve got a new flagship United Brethren website. The totally redesigned UB.org is now live. Check it out!

The previous site was designed in 2005, with continual tweaks and upgrades along the way. However, it was time for several significant changes:

• A whole new design.
• Adopt a Content Management System (in our case, WordPress).
• Move the site into the “cloud,” rather than host it on a computer at the national office.

So that’s what we did.

We didn’t go all-out with fancy bells and whistles. But we did want to improve the appearance and usefulness–not only for UB people, but for the thousands of other people from numerous countries who, for whatever reason, find themselves on our website.

Related Sites

We also wanted to tie together four sites:

• UB.org. Our official, flagship site.
• UBGlobal.org. Our Global Ministries site.
• UBCentral.org. Our news site.
• UBChurches.org. Our online church directory.

UBGlobal has its own distinctive look. However, the other three sites now share a common look in the heading.

That heading includes a “Related Sites” dropdown on each site’s homepage, which enables you to easily go to any of those sites.

Printing

Each page includes a “Print” feature. It puts the page in a print-friendly format without all of the graphics. You can then print the page, or export it as a PDF document. This will be especially helpful if you want to print a chapter from the Discipline or other official documents.

Use the Search Field
A search field is very prominent on the homepage of UB.org. You’ll also find the search field on every other page, in the left-hand sidebar. The search field is the fastest way to find something specific. For example, if you want information on setting the pastor’s salary, type in “pastor salary.” Keep it simple.

HOWEVER….The search function uses Google. Until Google indexes the new site and deletes the obsolete links to the previous site, you may find yourself on a “Page Not Found” page. So give it some time to catch up.

Look Around

We welcome your suggestions for improving the site. And if you find any errors–bad spellings, broken links, etc.–we want to know about it. We even provided a special form you can use to report errors.

We hope you enjoy the new site. And we always welcome your feedback and suggestions for making it better.

Below are a number of screenshots–mostly from UB.org, but a few from the other sites as well.

10 Oct Congratulations to Frank and Ginny

Levi, born this morning to Frank and Ginny

Frank Y, the new associate director of Global Ministries, is now a father. His wife, Ginny, gave birth to a baby boy at 4:37 this morning (October 10, 2011).

Levi weighs 7lbs, 3 oz, and is 20.5 inches long. He has a full head of hair, and is very healthy.

Congratulations to Frank and Ginny on the birth of their first child!

10 Oct Two Weeks of Meetings

October is always a time for denominational meetings. These groups will be meeting during the next two weeks, all in Huntington, Ind.

• Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team: October 10-11. Lee Rhodes, pastor of Countryside UB (Breckenridge, Mich.), is the chairman.
• Global Ministries Leadership Team: October 13-14. Kurt Uhen, a layperson from Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.), is the chairman.
• Executive Leadership Team: October 17-18. Bishop Phil Whipple chairs this group.
• Higher Education Leadership Team: October 19. J. Michael Caley, pastor of Banner of Christ church (Byron Center, Mich.), is the chairman.
• Huntington University Board of Trustees: October 20-21. Kelly Savage is the chairperson.

15 Sep Final 4 ELT Members Chosen

The 8 persons elected to the Executive Leadership Team at the US National Conference in July have appointed four additional members, as called for in the Discipline. They include one person from each region, including 2 ministers and 2 laypersons.

East Region: Daryl Elliott. Daryl has been a United Brethren pastor since 1985, serving four UB churches in Pennsylvania and Florida before his present assignment at Fountain Church in Keyser, W. Va. He holds degrees from The American University (B.A., Political Science, 1981), Evangelical School of Theology (M. Div., 1986), and Drew University (Ph.D., 1992). Other past roles include conference superintendent, Huntington University trustee, and President of the UB Historical Society. He and his wife, Ruthann, married in 1986, have two children.

Central Region: Timothy Krugh. Tim has attended Mainstreet UB church (Walbridge, Ohio), since 1975. He is an attorney with a Toledo-based law firm, with plans to slow down his practice in 2012. He has served on various denominational boards and commissions over the years, including the ELT 2007-2011. Tim and his wife, Jeanie, were married in 1975 and have three adult children.

North Region: Bob Tobey. Bob is a laymen from Colwood UB (Caro, Mich). He and his wife, Jolene, who grew up at Colwood, met at Huntington University and were married after graduating in 1980. Bob is a schoolteacher and athletics coach. He and Jolene have been very active at Colwood during the past 30 years, and for a number of years directed the denominational Bible Quiz program. They have two daughters.

West Region: Kent Koteskey. Kent is executive pastor of Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.). He has served in ministry since 1992, and at Emmanuel since 2001, initially as youth pastor. He is a previous chair of the denominational Youth Ministry Team. Kent graduated from Asbury College in 1992 and from the Huntington University graduate school in 2002, and was ordained in 2002. Kent and his wife, Amy, a registered nurse, were married in 1994 and have four children.

01 Aug 2011-2013 UB Discipline

The 2011-2013 UB Discipline is available for download. However, no changes were made at the recent US National Conference. So if you already have the 2009-2011 version, that will suffice for another two years. The only change is the date on the cover.

01 Jul Seeing Our Churches on Their Turf

Phil Whipple, bishop

When I came into this position as bishop in 2009, I decided I wanted to see things for myself. One of my goals for these past two years was to get into all of our churches and meet our pastors on their turf. I was able to accomplish that goal, visiting all of the United Brethren churches in the United States. It was an enjoyable journey.

Here are some of the things I have learned and observed during my travels.

Pastors

I found our pastors to be enjoyable people with a strong love for the Lord and His church. They are mostly male and of the baby boom generation. They are committed to their families and have a fairly strong commitment to the UB church.

We have some strong leaders among us and many who want to learn how to lead more effectively.

Churches

It is no surprise that many of our churches are in rural locations. Most of them have been maintained very well, both inside and outside. We have many who are working at developing their facilities to reflect the changes that have emerged in the methodology of doing church today.

Congregations

We are slowly and with some struggles moving into a balanced style of worship in many churches. We have some that are far ahead of others and some that are very traditional.

We have many good cooks among us. I have attended many potlucks and have found some wonderful dishes.

Our people are friendly, but we must do a better job of opening the front door through outreach and closing the back door through effective assimilation and discipleship. We must move discipleship away from just a learning experience to a lived-out relationship with Jesus that impacts all that we do.

Lay Leaders

We have some sharp leaders on some of our leadership teams at the local church level. They are made up of men and women who have a desire to see the church move forward and impact their community.

A number of churches are changing their structure to an accountability governance model.

The Cluster System

I have met with a number of our cluster groups. The cluster system is still a work in progress, but it has made some huge strides forward in the last two years.

Denny Miller has helped to keep the connection with our cluster leaders. We have many cluster leaders who are doing a great job with their cluster, and who are being the first point of contact when issues arise.

Overall Assessment

I have concluded that while we have some significant issues, we have a bright hope for the future.

I was impressed by the warm hearts from so many of you. I also saw churches and people engaged in the Great Commission. This is happening in some locations but clearly needs to be the rallying cry for UB churches everywhere, so that we reach the people Christ wants us to reach in these days.

I believe the commitment to the Great Commission is improving. We need to move further into the implementation of reaching people for Christ and growing strong disciples in our churches.

I want us to remain committed to our confession of faith and our core values. At the same time, I want us to be willing to aggressively move into the flow of God’s Spirit to see the church advance. We began as a movement of the Spirit of God, and that is where we must return.

26 May Marilyn Waters Leaving the National Office

Jane Seely (left) and Marilyn Waters in the bookstore.

Marilyn has spent a lot of time with Jane during May, helping her understand the many aspects of running the bookstore operation.

To help say good-bye and show appreciation, the staff took Marilyn out to lunch on May 10. Then, on May 24, she opened several presents with a lighthouse motif, including this afghan (Marilyn collects lighthouses). On the right is Mabel Mundy, who works in accounting.

Since 1996, Marilyn Waters has been in charge of the Healthy Ministry Resources bookstore. She has diligently handled all curriculum orders from United Brethren churches, shipping out thousands of pieces of Sunday school literature and other materials every quarter.

But now, after 15 years, Marilyn has decided to retire. She let us know a couple months ago. Today, May 26, is her last day in the office.

Marilyn was hired in 1996 to manage the United Brethren bookstore following the departure of Euanna Holloway, who had held that position for many years. In addition to supplying Sunday school curriculum to 150 UB churches, she also handled curriculum sales for 180 other congregations. We are also the official distributor for the Missionary Church USA.

Marilyn and her husband, Ted, a former high school teacher, live in Bluffton, Ind., and are members of Park United Brethren church. They have two children, Scott and Sheri.

Replacing Marilyn will be Jane Seely. Jane has worked alongside Marilyn since January 2009. She is the person who actually boxes up and ships Sunday school orders. So she knows how things work.

Jane will work Monday through Thursday with the Healthy Ministry Resources bookstore. She is also a beautician, which is how she plans to spend her Fridays.

Jane is a former United Brethren pastor’s wife, and is the sister of Rev. Mike Caley, pastor of Banner of Christ UB church in Byron Center, Mich. Jane and her husband, Rod, live in Huntington, Ind. They have three children: Michael, David, and Rachel.

10 May UB Facebook Page Approaching 500 Mark

After a year-and-a-half, 489 people now “like” the United Brethren Facebook page. Seems like we should be able to pass the 500 mark by National Conference.

The Facebook page is often used to post urgent information about people and events.

15 Mar PMLT Initiates the New Conference Room

The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team, meeting on March 15, 2011. Cathy Reich, administrative assistant to Bishop Phil Whipple, is seated at the computer in the foreground taking notes. To her left, and continuing around the table, are PMLT members Dennis Sites, Terry Smith, Robert Bruce, Chris Little, Chuck Wheatley, Craig Burkholder, Gary Gates, Lee Rhodes (chairman), and Bishop Phil Whipple.

The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team met yesterday and today (March 14-15) in Huntington, Ind. They had the privilege of being the first denominational group to use the new conference room in the national office.

The PMLT deals with a range of issues related to ministers–licensing, education, accountability, restoration, the Pastoral Ministry Handbook, and much more. Lee Rhodes, pastor of Countryside UB in Breckenridge, Mich., is the chairman. All of the members are ministers.

24 Feb A Day of Farewells for Darlene Burkett

Darlene Burkett with Box Number 1.

Peggy Sell (left) and Darlene Burkett.

On Wednesday, February 23, the Healthy Ministry Resources staff recognized Darlene Burkett for her seven years as Administrative Assistant to Global Ministries. As reported earlier, Darlene will complete her work at the national office next week.

Darlene and her husband, Phil, will load up a truck on Friday, March 4, and move to Cass City, Mich., where Phil will become senior pastor of the Cass City Missionary Church. Until the end of 2010, Phil was Minister of Music and Worship at College Park Church in Huntington, Ind.

During the morning break time, the staff presented a bunch of nicely-wrapped gifts to Darlene. Each box held part of a large, elaborate nativity set. Darlene collects nativity sets.

Then, over lunch, the staff went to downtown Huntington to the Brick House Grill, where Phil was waiting. Everyone enjoyed a nice meal together as a send-off for Darlene. She’ll be back next week to continue training her replacement, Peggy Sell. But after that, Peggy will be on her own.

We at the national office wish Phil and Darlene well as they begin this new venture.