Annette Sites, pastor’s wife at Jerusalem Chapel UB (Churchville, Va.) and a member of the denominational Women’s Ministry Team, is the keynote speaker at the annual Ladies Breakaway Retreat. The retreat will be held March 14-15 at Rhodes Grove Camp in Chambersburg, Pa. This inter-denominational retreat has been happening for over ten years. This year’s theme is “A Balancing Act,” based on the verses in Galatians about carrying each other’s burdens.

Registration begins on Friday, March 14, at 4:30 p.m. The retreat concludes at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The cost is $90 per person for a full room (4 persons). If interested, contact Jeanie Helman for a brochure by email or by phone at 717.263.0659. The registration deadline is March 7.

“Leading Change: Challenges and Opportunities for the 21st Century Church,” is the title of the next continuing education class being offered through the Ecclesiastes Institute, a ministry of Rhodes Grove Camp in Chambersburg, Pa. The class will be led by Anthony Blair, dean of Academic Affairs at Easter College (Philadelphia, Pa.) and a UB minister, and Jo Ann Kunz, a member of the pastoral staff of Hosanna Christian Fellowship. The text Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church, will be used as a tool and is available to purchase through Rhodes Grove. A buffet lunch will be provided by the camp.

Date: Monday, February 9, 2008
Time: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

The classes are offered in partnership with Lancaster Bible College and qualify for a .5 CEU rating and an accompanying certificate.

The course “Effective Christian Leadership” will be taught November 6 at Rhodes Grove Campground in Chambersburg, Pa. This course is part of the camp’s continuing education ministry, The Ecclesiastes Institute. The course, which involves essential leadership components that today’s Christian leaders need, will be taught by Rev. Carl Shank, formerly on the pastoral staff at Antrim Brethren in Christ church and now ministering in Mount Joy, Pa. Participants can earn .5 Continuing Education Unit from Lancaster Bible College. The time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can register online, or call the camp office: 717.375.4162. Registrations are requested by October 29. A buffet lunch is included.

laytraining_300.jpgA series of training events for laypersons will be held in five different locations during September and October. They are designed for anyone serving in some type of local church ministry. The training will include principles that can be applied to any size church and to any segment of ministry.
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laytraining_300.jpgA series of training events for laypersons will be held in five different locations during September and October. They are designed for anyone serving in some type of local church ministry. The training will include principles that can be applied to any size church and to any segment of ministry.

Each event will be held on a Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm.

  • September 22: Mount Pleasant Church (Chambersburg, Pa.)
  • September 29: Mainstreet Church (Walbridge, Ohio)
  • October 6: Eden Church (Mason, Mich.)
  • October 13: Lancaster UB Church (Lancaster, Ohio)
  • October 20: Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
  • October 27: Atlantic Avenue UB church (Franklin, Pa.)

The schedule will be the same at each location, with these four sessions:

9:00 – 10:30: The Non-Negotiables for All Churches
10:45 – Noon: Structuring Your Ministry to be Effective
1:30 – 2:30: Push Backs to Effective Ministry
2:30 – 3:00: Question and Answer time

The cost is free (though lunch is on your own at nearby restaurants). You can register online, or email the names of people from your church to Bishop Ron Ramsey’s administrative assistant.

Training for United Brethren youth workers will occur at the same time. This is a whole different track. The youth training will occur in the same locations as the lay training events, and will follow the same schedule.

Come spend a weekend celebrating 40 years of Christian camping at Camp Living Waters (Luther, Mich.). A special commemorative weekend will be held September 14-16. There is no cost, but a free-will offering will be taken.

Events during the weekend include a Saturday evening concert by Eric Cherry, a Sunday morning worship service, plus horseback riding, hayrides, tours, singing, memories, and a Saturday night hog roast.
Check-in begins at 7 pm Friday. Checkout time is 2 pm Sunday.

Housing will be male/female cabins. RV sites are also available.
If interested, please RSVP for lodging and/or meals to:
1-800-CAMP-LWA
231-797-5107

worshipweekend_180.jpgA “Worship4Life weekend” will be held August 24-25 (Friday and Saturday) at Emmanuel Community Church in Fort Wayne, Ind. The event features John Chisum, an Integrity usic worship artist, songwriter, music publisher and producer, and instructor with the Integrity Worship Institute.

The weekend begins on Friday night with a concert by John Chisum at 7 pm. Then on Saturday, from 9 am to 3 pm, he will lead three workshops:

  • Worship4Life: the Power of Personal Praise and Worship.
  • The Word on Worship: Reclaiming Our Biblical Heritage in a Post-Modern World.
  • Com Expecting Jesus: The Pursuit of Authentic Corporate Worship

The cost is $5 for the concert, and $8 for both the concert and conference. Emmanuel prefers that people call for tickets andpick them up the day of the event.

Group_childrenworkshop.jpgA workshop for children’s ministry, called “Come to Jesus,” will be held September 29, 2007, at Emmanuel Community Church in Fort Wayne, Ind. The workshop is sponsored by Children’s Ministry Magazine, which is a Group publication.

The workshop promises the following:

  • Discover how today’s kids are wired and how to best reach them for Jesus.
  • Get powerful tools that dramatically increase your teaching impact.
  • Discover 16 no-fail secrets for making discipline challenges all but evaporate.

Registration is $59 for an individual, $49 per person for groups of 2-9, and $45 per person for larger groups.

A Women’s Missionary Fellowship Convention will be held August 21 at Rhodes Grove Camp near Chambersburg, Pa. It begins at 9:30 a.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring auction items. The speakers will be Bob Eberly, Lois Conway, and Rev. John Christophel.

The 3rd Annual Tom Ponsot Memorial Classic Golf Tournament will be held on September 15, 2007, with the proceeds going to support Camp Cotubic in Bellefontaine, Ohio. Many of us have fond memories of attending summer camp while we were growing up. Friendships were formed, knees were skinned, challenges were conquered, life-long lessons were learned, and most of all, many were introduced to Jesus. Now that we are older, we are glad such places still exist for our kids and grandkids.

Camp Cotubic is one such place, and it held a special place in the heart of Mr. Tom Ponsot, who passed away in the spring of 2005. Tom saw the great potential of Camp Cotubic and volunteered his time and financial resources to preserve it as a place where his own grandkids and many other children could continue to have summer camp experiences. Tom served as the Chairman of the Board for several years and was passionate about the camp’s ministry. We seek to continue that work through this fundraising event.

You can help in two ways:

  • Enter a Team. Find three other friends and enter a team. The cost is $50/person and includes greens fees, cart, and lunch. You can register by sending your name to [email protected].
  • Be a Sponsor. Your business, church, affinity group or you can sponsor a hole for $100. You can also make a prize donation to be given away during the tournament.

The tournament will be held at The Woods Golf Course, 12083 US 127 South, Van Wert, Ohio. Sign-in at 7:30 am. Tee-off at 8:00 am.

For more information, contact the Zanesville United Brethren Church at (260) 638-4040 or [email protected].