16 Jul Day One of the 2015 US National Conference

Registration volunteers ready for attendees to arrive.

Registration.

L-r: John Plumley (Fowlerville, Mich.), Mark Young (Chambersburg, Pa.), and Josh McKeown (Holly Hill, Fla.).

Emcees for the week are pastors from two nearby UB churches: Josh Good, right, pastor of Homefront UB in Grandville, Mich.; and Randy Carpenter, pastor of Sunfield UB in Sunfield, Mich.

Mike Whipple and the worship team from Colwood UB church (Caro, Mich.) opened the conference during the Wednesday night service.

A great worship time during the opening service.

Keynote speaker Wayne Schmidt.

The reception after the evening service.

The 2015 US National Conference got off to a great start on Wednesday, July 15.

Throughout the morning, volunteers and staff worked to get everything ready, especially in the registration area. Around noon, people began arriving to register, and they trickled in throughout the afternoon.

At 6:30, the conference officially began with the opening service. Todd Fetters, director of National Ministries, gave some remarks to begin the service, and then turned it over to co-emcees Josh Good and Randy Carpenter, who pastor nearby UB churches.

The worship team was from the Colwood UB church in Caro, Mich. Mike Whipple led the worship time in singing. Then Mark Wilson, pastor of the UB church in Fowlerville, Mich., introduced keynote speaker Dr. Wayne Schmidt, VP for Wesleyan Seminary in Marion, Ind. Mark had served on staff with Dr. Schmidt at Kentwood Community Church in the Grand Rapids area.

After the service came a reception, with various goodies. People lingered in the lobby, around the exhibits, for over an hour. It was a good day.

Thursday is devoted to business, with several weighty issues on the table.

Numerous photos from Tuesday and Wednesday have been posted on the UB Facebook page.

15 Jul Prepping for National Conference

Frank and David unloading the trailer.

Josh Good and Josh Greenfield assembling a large cutout of the UB logo.

Todd Fetters pushing in a cart filled with materials for the conference, as Cathy Reich watches.

Cathy Reich giving instructions to volunteers.

About 40 people gathered in Grand Rapids on Tuesday afternoon, July 14, to begin setting up for the US National Conference, which begins on Wednesday. They included 11 persons from the UB National Office in Huntington, Ind., along with 5 spouses. A number of persons from the Grand Rapids area were there, plus assorted others from Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana.

They all met around 3:30 at ResLife Church, where the conference will be held. Cathy Reich, administrative assistant to the Bishop’s Office, kept everybody organized. At 6 pm, a meal was held at ResLife for all of the volunteers. Cathy gave instructions so everybody was on the same page.

There were various display tables to set up, and a trailer load of materials to unload. A lot of work, including stuffing all of the attendee packets, was done ahead of time by volunteers organized through the Homefront UB church in Grandville (only a few miles from Reslife Church). That was a big help. Many thanks to Paula Averill, administrative assistant at Homefront, for heading up the volunteers.

Registration begins at noon on Wednesday. All morning, volunteers will busily prepare the registration tables and a myriad of details.

The conference officially begins at 6:30 with the opening service. Below are some more photos (click to enlarge).

13 Jul Stay Connected to What Happens at National Conference

Articles about the July 15-18 US National Conference will be posted on UBCentral.org, the official UB news site.

Numerous photos will be posted on the UB Facebook page.

Extended information will be sent via Connect, the official denominational e-letter. You can subscribe (free) here.

Download the UB App, which contains complete information about the conference. It works on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. You’ll find download links here.

13 Jul 780 Registered for National Conference

On Wednesday, July 15, about 780 United Brethren from across the United States will begin gathering in Grand Rapids, Mich., for the 2015 US National Conference. The venue is Reslife Church, a megachurch in Grandville, part of the Grand Rapids metro area.

Registration begins at noon. People will trickle in all afternoon. The conference actually begins at 6:30 with a worship service. Dr. Wayne Schmidt, who heads the Wesleyan seminary, is the keynote speaker on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights.

After the service, National Ministries will host a reception, while the youth enjoy a pizza party compliments of Huntington University.

The UB National Office in Huntington, Ind., will be closed the rest of the week and next Monday (July 14-20). The entire staff will be helping at the National Conference. They’ll head up on Tuesday to begin set-up.

26 Jun 730 People Now Registered for US National Conference

As of Friday, June 26, we have 730 people registered for the upcoming US National Conference in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Some things to point out:

• Registration starts at noon on Wednesday, July 15.
• Nearly all reports for the Thursday business session are available on the conference website. Delegates need to download and print out the reports (or get your pastor or somebody else to do it).
• Most information about the conference is available on the UB App. This includes links to view the various reports. You can use the app on smartphones and tablets for both Apple and Android, and also on the Kindle.

22 Jun Deadline for Proposals for National Conference

Todd Fetters, Director of National Ministries

Our practice since 2007 has been to go light on conference business every other year. We handled over 20 proposals in 2013, but this year is the “off” year. However, the docket has been filled with 13 proposals, some of which may generate considerable discussion.

We posted the Rules & Procedures for the upcoming US National Conference. The first order of business will be to officially adopt these rules.

Please note rule 17, which states, “Any item of business, petition, or Discipline revision proposal must be submitted to the Bishop’s Office no later than Wednesday, July 1, 2015.”

Report 41, “Proposals,” contains the official list of proposals which will go before the delegates. Any proposals you wish to have included in Report 41 must reach the Bishop’s Office by July 1. The final version of Report 41 will be posted on July 3.

Of course, parliamentary procedure allows for setting aside Rule 17 to consider new proposals from the floor. Any delegates wanting to do this will need to take responsibility for duplicating the proposal for all 300+ delegates.

Most reports, along with all of the proposals submitted thus far, have been posted on the conference website. You can view them online or download them as PDF files.

29 May Luncheon for Retired Ministers & Missionaries at NC

The Bishop’s Office is sponsoring a luncheon at noon on Friday for retired ministers and missionaries, and their spouses. Thus far, 25 people have signed up.

The speaker will be Dr. Michael Wanous, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Huntington University. As Dean, Dr. Wanous supervises faculty, plans and operates academic programs, and oversees the library, student registration, and academic facilities. He is responsible for creating, updating, and overseeing the academic strategic plan for HU as well as providing leadership for assessment, accreditation, curriculum development, faculty development, faith-learning integration, and the use of educational technology.

Dr. Wanous holds a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of Missouri, a Master of Science degree in plant breeding from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy and international agriculture from the University of Minnesota.

Prior to his work at Huntington, he served at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He chaired the natural science division and biology department, in addition to teaching biology and genetics classes. He then became associate academic dean at Augustana, the position he held before coming to HU.

His research efforts have focused on plant molecular cytogenetics and gene expression. Dr. Wanous spent a sabbatical in Norwich, United Kingdom, working at the John Innes Centre, an independent, international center focusing on plant science and microbiology. He also served as President of the South Dakota Academy of Science.

20 May Proposals Discussed at Regional Meetings May 18-19.

Bishop Phil Whipple speaking to the group in Sunfield, Mich.

In Sunfield, Mich.

Bishop Phil Whipple presenting the proposals in Willshire, Ohio.

On May 18 and 19, regional meetings were held in Michigan and Ohio as a prelude to national conference. Pastors and others interacted over several proposals which will come before the US National Conference, which meets July 15-18 in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Bishop Phil Whipple presented a new statement on Cohabitation, which was developed by the Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team.

Cohabitation is an unmarried, unrelated couple living together. Cohabitation circumvents God’s plan for family life by simulating the marriage relationship without the covenantal commitments associated with marriage (Genesis 2:18). Even when celibacy is intended, cohabitation increases the temptation for sexual sin and fails to avoid the appearance of evil (1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:22). Members must avoid cohabitation prior to marriage. We urge our leaders to teach and counsel about the hazards of cohabitation. We also recognize that there may be situations in which a platonic, cohabitating relationship may be necessary, such as a caregiver-patient relationship.

Another proposal from the PMLT would create a centralized UB Ministerial Association, which satisfies a variety of practical problems concerning retired and inactive ministers.

A third proposal, from the Executive Leadership Team, would increase term-length from two years to four years, and would institute staggered terms (so that only half of the elected members would be chosen every two years).

A fourth proposal would eliminate the provision in the Discipline for nominating candidates for bishop from the floor of the National Conference.

On Monday, May 18, about 25 people met at the Sunfield UB church in Sunfield, Mich. Bishop Whipple presented the above proposals and led a discussion time about them. Then Jeff Reser, senior pastor of the East Washington UB church (Ashley, Mich.), presented a new proposal dealing with same-sex marriage. It emphasized providing legal protections to pastors. There was considerable discussion about his proposal.

The next day, about 25 people met at Praise Point UB church in Willshire, Ohio. All of the proposals, including the new one from Jeff Reser, were presented to the group. The same-sex marriage proposal didn’t receive as much discussion, but a new issue arose: removing the requirement that ministers totally abstain from consuming alcohol. In 2005, we removed the requirement that laypersons abstain from drinking alcohol, and there has been some desire to do the same for ministers. However, this idea has not been put forward as an actual proposal.

When the proposals are in final form, they will be published on the USNationalConference.com website.

One more regional meeting remains: 7-9pm on Monday, June 8, at the UB church in Lancaster, Ohio.

20 May Five Attend UB History Course in Fort Wayne, Ind.

L-r: Jim Olinger, Elliott Ripley, Paul Burrus, Michael Seigel, Matt Coppess, Bob Bruce.

Bob Bruce teaching the May 20 class.

Five persons are attending a one-day UB Church History course at Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.). Bob Bruce, pastor of Spiritual Care at Emmanuel, is teaching the course, which is a requirement for ministerial licensing in the United Brethren church.

The attendees are:

• Paul Burrus, pastor of Corunna UB church (Corunna, Ind.).
• Michael Seigel, youth pastor of Corunna UB church (Corunna, Ind.).
• Elliott Ripley, youth director of Monroe UB church (Monroe, Ind.).
• Jim Olinger, Connections Pastor at Hillsdale UB church (Hillsdale, Mich.).
• Matt Coppess, pastor of Family Ministries at Heart O the Lakes UB church (Brooklyn, Mich.).