12 May Ordination of Andy Sikora

Andy and Meri Sikora kneel, along with one of their two daughters, as Bishop Phil Whipple conducts Andy’s ordination.

Andy and Meri Sikora with Bishop Phil Whipple (right).

Andy Sikora was ordained by Bishop Phil Whipple on Sunday, May 4, in Berea, Ohio. Assisting in the ordination were Rev. Marty Pennington, pastor of Mainstreet UB church (Walbridge, Ohio) and Dr. Luke Fetters, a professor at Huntington University.

Andy Sikora is senior pastor of ReNew Communities in Berea. He founded the church in 2010.

22 Apr Prayer for Gary Gates: Surgery on Wednesday

Gary Gates (right) will undergo at least a three-bypass heart surgery on Wednesday morning, April 23. Please keep Gary and his wife, Rebecca, in your prayers.

Gary is pastor of South Scipio UB church in Harlan, Ind., and also works part-time as the UB Director of Ministerial Licensing.

The surgery will occur in Fort Wayne, Ind. They do not want visitors. However, you can send cards to:

Gary Gates
24990 Antwerp Road
Harlan, IN 46743

15 Apr Rev. Ken Thompson Suffers Two Heart Attacks

During the past few days Ken Thompson, a former UB pastor, suffered two heart attacks and underwent two surgeries.

Ken pastored three UB churches beginning in 1987–Welcome chapel n Van Buren, Ind., New Hope in Huntington, Ind., and Hillsdale UB in St. Mary’s, Ohio. His wife, Barbara, was administrative assistant to the president of Huntington University until last fall. Ken had accepted a job as principal of Granger Christian School in Granger, Ind.

The most recent report is that doctors removed the heart pump this morning. There will be many tests today and rest is significant in the healing process. Please pray that his heart will continue to gain the necessary strength.

Cards can be sent to Ken and Barb Thompson at 51551 Stratton Court, Granger, IN 46530.

07 Apr Michelle Blocher Ordained as a UB Minister

L-r: Kim Fish, Phil Whipple, Michelle Blocher, and Matt Graham.

Michelle Blocher and her husband, Tim.

On Sunday, April 6, Bishop Phil Whipple attended Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) to presented United Brethren ministerial licenses to three members of the staff.

Michelle Blocher, pastor of Early Childhood Ministries at Emmanuel, was ordained as a United Brethren minister. She has served on staff at Emmanuel since 2004. Michelle and her husband, Tim, were married in 1979 and have one child.

Bishop Whipple presented the provisional license, the entry-level denominational license, to two persons. The

• Kim Fish, director of Women’s Ministries at Emmanuel. Kim and her husband, Steve, previously pastored the Shoreline UB church in Oak Harbor, Ohio. Kim is the daughter of Kent and Carol Maxwell, who served several decades in United Brethren ministry.
• Matt Graham, a pastoral intern at Emmanuel since September 2013. Matt is completing his Masters of Ministry degree through Bethel University (Mishawaka, Ind.).

27 Mar New Cancer Concerns for Dave Stephens

Scott Stephens, director of Camp Cotubic (Bellefontaine, Ohio), provided this update on Tuesday about his father, retired UB minister Dave Stephens (right).

“Dad was admitted into the hospital at Ohio State and is still there. He had gone in on Monday for his last radiation treatment on his hip when his doctor became concerned with his skin and eye coloring. Changing or yellowing of the skin and eyes is a sign of issues in the liver, which the doctor had told us we’d need to keep an eye on throughout chemo treatments. They did a CT scan today (Tuesday) and are going to do an MRI late tonight looking at his liver. We should know the results in the morning.

“This could be one of many different things with worst case being the cancer has spread to his liver. If that’s the case, it’s a game changer. Needless to say, we’re very concerned and praying this isn’t the case. We’re concerned but not worried! We know who holds Dad in the palm of his hand!”

Dave’s mailing address:

David Stephens
2158 Road 25 North
Bellefontaine, OH 43311

You can also leave a note on his Facebook page.

19 Mar Scott Hardaway: a Pastor Who Made a Difference

Brent Liechty (left) speaking as other gather around Scott Hardaway.

Brent Liechty (right), senior pastor, Pathway Community Church (Jackson, Mich.)

On Sunday, March 16, Pathway Community Church paid tribute to its former pastor, Scott Hardaway.

Todd Fetters, director of National Ministries, came to speak and kick-off our new series, “All For Christ.” He did an excellent job. Then we had a special lunch to honor Scott Hardaway, who was the senior pastor here from 2005 to November 2013.

In October 2012, Scott’s wife, Tanya, passed away soon after being diagnosed with cancer. Scott realized he could no longer be both a single dad and a pastor, so he resigned. Pastor Scott worked hard to lead with integrity and passion, and to love the congregation to become All For Christ.

Many people shared stories of how their lives were changed through Scott’s time here at PCC. He was presented a scrapbook filled with pages from people within our church, with pictures, letters, and more stories for him to remember his time with us fondly. We finished by having past and present elders lay hands on Scott and pray over him.

Scott is currently working towards a paralegal degree at Baker College, and will take his two boys to summer with his parents in Washington State.

I’m very proud to have worked with Scott as his associate pastor. We were a good team. He has changed me for the better in so many ways.

17 Mar Let’s be Careful Out There

Two pastors’ wives experienced mishaps over the weekend.

• Juanita Watterly fell at a church bowling event on Saturday night, March 15, and needed six staples to close the wound on her head. At the time there were no signs of a concussion, but on Monday, husband Ron reported, Juanita was having blurred vision and dizzy spells. Ron is pastor of McCallum UB church (Delton, Mich.).
• Over the weekend, Rebecca Gates fell and broke her hip. She underwent surgery on Monday morning, March 17, to replace the ball joint of the hip. Her husband, Gary, reported that she stood on it today and starts therapy on Tuesday. Gary is pastor of South Scipio UB church (Harlan, Ind.) and the denominational Director of Ministerial Licenses.

13 Mar Three Men Receive Ministerial Licenses

L-r: Kevin Poole, Mitchell Owens, and Jeremiah Ketchum.

The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team has granted three new ministerial licenses.

• A specialized ministry license has been granted to Kevin Poole, the children’s coordinator at Fowlerville UB church (Fowlerville, Mich.).
• A provisional ministerial license has been granted to Mitchell Owens, executive pastor of New Hope Community Church (Bryan, Ohio).
• A national conference license has been granted to Jeremiah Ketchum, recently appointed as lead pastor of Brown Corners UB church (Clare, Mich.).

28 Feb New Pastor in Garnett, Kansas

Cody Knapik has been serving as supply pastor of Garnett UB church (Garnett, Ks.) since February 2014. He took the place of Anne Loewe, who retired after serving at Garnett for 14 years.