01 Jun Facebook Galleries of National Conference
Photo galleries from each day of General Conference have been posted on the United Brethren Facebook page.
We’re talkin’ several hundred photos, all with captions. Take a look.
01 Jun The 2013 General Conference Delegates
2013 General Conference delegates (click to enlarge)
Each national conference is eligible to send two voting delegates to General Conference. The international bylaws call for “the bishop or equivalent and his or her designee.” National conferences are responsible for the expenses of their own delegates.
Each of the ten national conferences named two delegates. However, three national conferences sent no delegates, and two sent only one delegate. Here’s the entire list of delegates. The ones who didn’t attend are in italics (the issues primarily involved problems getting visas to Canada).
Canada
Rev. Brian Magnus, bishop
Mr. Paul Plato, missions team leader
Guatemala
Rev. Francisco Najera, superintendent
Mrs. Trinidad Gonzalez de Najera
Honduras
Rev. Mrs. Juanita Chavez, superintendent
Ms. Damaris Canales
Hong Kong
Rev. Yiu Kin Keung, superintendent
Mr. Daniel Ko
Jamaica
Rev. Isaac Nugent, bishop
Rev. Winston Smith, pastor
Mexico
Rev. Denis Casco, bishop
Rev. Guadalupe Vazquez
Nicaragua
Rev. Juan Pavon, superintendent
Mr. Sergio Canda Garcia
Philippines
Rev. Prudencio Lim, superintendent
Mr. Aaron Lim
Sierra Leone
Rev. John Pessima, bishop
Mr. Sahr Kobio Foyoh
United States
Rev. Phillip Whipple, bishop
Rev. Jeffrey Bleijerveld, Global Ministries director
Mrs. Donna Hollopeter, associate director of Global Ministries, served as secretary of the General Conference. Mr. Jorge Botero provided Spanish/English translation.
Also attending were the leaders of two mission districts. A mission district consists of United Brethren churches in a country which are not yet organized as a national conference, and are under the supervision of an existing national conference.
- El Salvador: Rev. Gonzalo Alas, superintendent
- Haiti: Rev. Oliam Richard
We have several other mission districts which were not represented at General Conference:
- Thailand and Macau: under the supervision of Hong Kong.
- Costa Rica: under the supervision of Nicaragua.
- India: under the supervision of the United States.
- Germany: under the supervision of Sierra Leone.
In addition:
- Mexico Conference oversees about ten Hispanic churches in the United States (Los Angeles; El Paso, Texas; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Chicago; and Miami.
- Hong Kong oversees a church in Poland.
- Hong Kong oversees a ministry in Myanmar.
- Mexico has started a ministry in Belize.
31 May Final Day of General Conference
Interpreter Jorge Botero (left) and Gonzalo Alas, superintendent of the work in El Salvador, during the prayer for the El Salvador churches.
The close of the General Conference meeting.
The Mill Crossing worship team.
During the Mill Crossing service.
Juanita Chavez, superintendent of Honduras Conference, preached at Mill Crossing.
Liz Cudney, co-pastor of Mill Crossing, having some fun.
The 2013 General Conference is the 51st edition, going back to 1815. For most of that time, it was held every four years. And always in the United States. The only exception was the 1925 General Conference, which convened in Kitchener, Ontario–the site of the 2013 edition. (The 2010 General Conference, of course, was held in Honduras.)
Day 3 of General Conference began with more reports about national conference missions efforts. By noon, they adjourned. Rev. Martin Magnus, a retired minister in Ontario who has been a voting delegate to various General Conferences over the years (and is the father of Canadian bishop Brian Magnus), closed the conference in prayer.
The conference then moved into executive session, which consisted of the highest leader from each national conference (in other words, about half of the delegates).
After lunch, the delegates took an afternoon excursion to a local Christian media company and then to CH Global, the organization with which we partner in various ways in Jamaica.
The evening service was held in nearby Cambridge at the Mill Crossing United Brethren church. This church began in 2005 as a daughter church of Parkwood Gardens UB church in Guelph. Neil and Liz Cudney co-pastor this church.
The beautifully renovated part of an old industrial building. It has the feel of a coffeehouse–very intimate and relaxed.
The Mill Crossing music team led in worship, and did so superbly (with Pastor Neil playing mandolin and banjo). Each of the General Conference delegates were given the chance to introduce themselves and say something to the congregation (which included people from several area United Brethren churches). Then Mill Crossing gave each person a gift, and prayed for them.
Juanita Chavez, superintendent of Honduras Conference, preached, with the help of interpreter Jorge Botero. She sang a song in Spanish toward the beginning, and then concluded by leaping into the deep to sing “Shout to the Lord” in English. She did well, and was helped by the congregation joining her.
Ice cream cake was served afterwards.
On Saturday, a missions conference for all of the Canadian UB churches will be held in the morning and afternoon at Stanley Park UB church in Kitchener. Most of the General Conference delegates will have the chance to speak. Should be a fun day.
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- Martin Magnus praying to close the 51st General Conference.
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- Jeff Bleijerveld and Yiu Kin Keung heading off on the afternoon excursion.
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- Damaris Canales of Honduras (with Jorge Botero) brought greetings to the Mill Crossing congregation in English.
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- Gonzalo Alas accepting a gift from the Mill Crossing congregation.
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- During the Mill Crossing service.
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- Neil Cudney, co-pastor of Mill Crossing, on the mandolin.
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- During the Mill Crossing service.
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- Hands around the sanctuary at the conclusion of the service.
29 May General Conference Begins in Ontario
Brian Magnus opening the General Conference meeting.
Bishops John Pessima (Sierra Leone, left) and Isaac Nugent (Jamaica).
The General Conference delegates.
The 2013 General Conference got underway at 9 am Wednesday, May 29, at Emmanuel Bible College in Kitchener, Ontario. General Conference is an international meeting held every three years. Each national conference can send two delegates.
Seven of the ten national conferences are represented.
- United States (Bishop Phil Whipple and Jeff Bleijerveld are the delegates).
- Canada (Bishop Brian Magnus and Paul Plato, a layperson, are the delegates).
- Jamaica (Bishop Isaac Nugent and Pastor Winston Smith)
- Honduras (Superintendent Juanita Chavez and Ms. Iveth Raudales)
- Hong Kong (Superintendent Yiu Kin Keung and Mr. Daniel Ko).
- Sierra Leone (Bishop John Pessima).
- Mexico (Bishop Denis Casco).
Bishop Brian Magnus of Canada, chairman of the 51st General Conference
Three national conferences are not attending: Nicaragua, the Guatemala, and the Philippines.
Donna Hollopeter, associate director of Global Ministries, is serving as secretary.
Two persons representing mission districts are also attending. A mission district consists of UB churches in a country which have not yet organized as a national conference, and are under the supervision of an existing national conference. We have mission districts in Haiti, India, Germany, Thailand, Macau, El Salvador, and Costa Rica. Attending are:
- Rev. Gonzalo Alas, a Honduras pastor now serving in El Salvador and overseeing the churches there.
- Rev. Oliam Richard, superintendent of the UB churches in Haiti. He won’t arrive until Wednesday night (a plane crash at the Port Au Prince airport in Haiti threw everything off and caused his delay).
Rev. Alas’s visa was initially rejected by the Canadian embassy, but Brian Magnus’s Parliamentary representative stepped in and got him cleared. The delegates from Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Costa Rica were not so fortunate–either they were denied entry visas, or they started the process too late.
Bishop Brian Magnus of Canada is chairman of the international executive committee, a position to which he was elected in 2001 when the United Brethren denomination first reorganized with an international structure. He is chairing the General Conference, as he did in 2005 (in Huntington, Ind.) and in 2010 (in Honduras).
Magnus began the meeting with a devotional on “Growing Spiritually in Life.” He addressed leadership issues such as responsibility, finances, difficult relationships,
The General Conference meetings last Wednesday through Friday. However, most persons will be in Canada through Sunday. Here’s what the schedule looks like:
Mornings: business sessions of the General Conference.
Afternoons: an excursion of some kind (Thursday is Niagara Falls).
Evenings: a service in one of the Canadian UB churches.
Saturday: a big missions conference for the UB churches in Canada.
Sunday: delegates will be dispersed to speak in various Canadian UB churches.
The business session agenda for the three days looks like this:
- National conference reports and updates (15-20 minutes per country).
- National conference mission efforts reports (outreach efforts within and outside of their own borders).
- Approval of any changes made to national conference governing document. This is mostly an accountability check to make sure national conferences haven’t taken actions which might violate the international Confession of Faith, Core Values, Constitution, and By-Laws.
- Miscellaneous issues.
21 May National Conference: Headed Toward 700
Registrations have now climbed to 658, including 120 children and youth.
Some new information is available on the conference website (UB2013.org). It includes:
- Schedule. The schedule has been updated with youth activities and other events. One addition: a luncheon on Friday for retired UB ministers, spouses, and widows.
- Teen Track. We currently have 34 teens signed up for the teen track, which Huntington University will lead. It includes a pizza party on the opening night, a full day of fun on Thursday, and two workshops on Friday morning.
- Floorplan. The floorplan of the Grand Wayne Center has been published, with the locations for various events mapped out–workshops, children and nursery, women’s track, youth room, exhibits, business and main sessions, etc.
- Workshops. Nearly all of the Friday morning workshops have been posted.
07 May Closing in on 600 Registrations
We’re almost to 600 registration for this summer’s US National Conference. And three weeks remain before the June 1 early-registration deadline.
Our keynote speaker this year (Wednesday and Thursday nights), is Dave Engbrecht. Dave has been the senior pastor of Nappanee Missionary Church (Nappanee, Ind.) since 1979. A gifted communicator, Dave’s humor, personable style, passion for developing fully committed disciples, and commitment to world missions is well reflected in his messages. Dave has been the featured speaker in venues across the nation and around the world.
The 26 proposals for revising the UB Discipline have been finalized. You can download them from the National Conference website. Other reports will soon be added to that page.
30 Apr Prayer Warriors for National Conference
Gary Gates (right), Director of Ministerial Licensing
I am looking for prayer warriors. This is not an easy task. Satan will do everything he can to keep you from doing this, but I need at least 13 people who will pray for a specific assigned area of National Conference. We have 13 areas we want to bathe in prayer leading up to National Conference.
Should you accept this challenge we ask that you…
- Pray at least once a week between now and June 17 prayer. Requests will be updated at least every other week.
- Pray daily from June 18-25 for your specific area.
To be assigned as a prayer warrior, email [email protected] and you will be assigned an area of prayer to prepare for a spiritually uplifting and challenging National Conference.
29 Apr UB Youth Summit Underway
The annual UB Youth Workers Summit began today in Daytona, Fla. Bishop Phil Whipple is there, along with about 25 youth workers from United Brethren churches. They’ll meet through Thursday, May 2. The keynote speaker is Arthur Wilson, campus pastor at Huntington University.
17 Apr Youth Summit Registration at 26
Online registration has closed for the annual UB Youth Workers Summit, which begins April 29 in Daytona, Fla. The housing is full, with 26 people registered (one more than last year).
16 Apr Registrations: Almost to 500
We are on the verge of having 500 registrations for this summer’s US National Conference. More registrations come in every day.
Hotel rooms in the two conference hotels are filling fast. There are limited openings at both the Hilton and the Courtyard Marriott, so make your reservations quickly!
- The Hilton is attached to the Grand Wayne Center, our meeting place. The cost is $95 per night, plus parking. The remaining rooms available there are mostly for people who are only staying there Wednesday and Thursday nights (not Friday night).
- The Courtyard Marriot is directly across the street from the Grand Wayne Center. The conference cost is $104 per night, with complimentary parking.
There are many other hotels within a short drive. Some hotel deals can be found at VisitFortWayne.com/deals. We do not have room blocks at any of the other hotels, so you will want to make your reservations soon.
For complete information and to register, go to: www.ub2013.org