30 Oct Among Ministers….

• Sunfield UB hired two persons to care for their youth ministry. Dennis Weber will work with junior high students, and Raquel Brace will work with senior high students. Also, Roy Atherton joined the staff as Assistant Pastor. He is from Portland, Mich.
• Shannon Colwin, formerly the youth pastor at Good Shepherd Church in Huntington, has resigned that position as of July 13, 2003. He is serving in another denomination.
• Jennifer Barlow resigned as Youth Pastor at First UB (Columbus, Ohio) as of July 31.
• This month Rev. Bobby Blaine celebrates his 60th year of ministry. He took his first church the same week that he and Virginia were married…which means they are also celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Rev. Blaine is a retired minister in Central Conference, and the former longtime pastor of what is now Good Shepherd UB in Greenfield, Ohio.
• Jim Sturgeon and his wife Joanne, having retired August 31 from the pastorate of Decatur UB (Decatur, Ind.), have moved to Rockford, Ohio.
• It has been learned that William M. Wood, a retired minister in Central Conference, passed away in June.
• Nathan Garret has been hired as youth pastor at New Horizons UB (Rockford, Ohio) effective October 10. He was most recently youth director at Shadyrest Bible Church in Chesterfield, N. J.
• Ben and Lisa Geiser are the parents of a baby girl, Monica Ann. Ben is associate pastor at Christ Fellowship (Westerville, Ohio).

03 Oct Among Ministers….

• Don Palmer concluded his ministry as pastor of Pennfield UB (Battle Creek, Mich.) on September 30. A supply pastor is being secured.
• Angela Burnside is the new Director of Children’s Ministries at Gaines UB (Caledonia, Mich.), as of September 3. She succeeds Kelly Dutcher, who concluded her tenure in that position on August 15.
• Marion Hall, as of August 17, is the new pastor of Harrison UB (Harrison , Mich.).
• Brian Biedenbach is the new Associate Pastor of Student Ministries at Emmanuel UB (Fort Wayne, Ind.), as of September 28. This is a fulltime position. He replaces Rudy Tamez, who accepted a position with a church in another denomination.

25 Sep Among Ministers….

• Darren Duncan, formerly a pastor in Central Conference, holds the rank of Captain in the US Air Force. He began his active duty chaplaincy at McChord Air Force Base in Washington on May 30. He says he will be deploying to a classified location from November 4 to March 4.
• Tanya Hardaway is the new Director of Children√ïs Ministries at Hillsdale UB (Hillsdale, Mich.), effective June 15. She is part-time and not licensed.
• George Rhodifer has been named Interim Pastor of Hillsdale UB of St. Mary’s, Ohio, effective September 14. He was formerly the associate pastor at Park Layne UB in Dayton, Ohio.
• Eric Ross is supply pastor of Eden UB (Reedsville, Ohio). Gary Reed, the lay leader at Eden, had been serving as supply pastor.
• Angela Burnside is the new Director of Children’s Ministries at Gaines UB (Caledonia, Mich.), effective September 3. She replaces Kelly Dutcher, who resigned from that position as of August 15.
• Doug Wendt, who had been music minister at Gaines UB (Caledonia, Mich.), resigned from that position in June.

23 Sep Bishop Miller Injured in Yard Accident

Bishop Emeritus C. Ray Miller was trimming some trees on September 15, and was on the final one, when the ladder toppled. He sustained multiple fractures around his shoulder area, three or four other small fractures around his pelvic and lower back area, and also jammed his hip. A full recovery is expected. However, he faces 8-12 weeks of bed rest. Address for cards: Bishop C. Ray Miller, 2260 Dieringer Drive, Huntington, IN 46750.

23 Sep Wilber and Mossie Sites Back in Jamaica

Bishop Emeritus Wilber and Mossie Sites are in Jamaica, serving another short-term stint at Jamaica Bible College.

23 Sep Vincentis Welcome Baby Girl

Mark and Angela Vincenti, both of whom serve on staff at King Street UB in Chambersburg, Pa., are the parents of a baby girl. Kiana Kristy Vincenti was born early in the morning on September 23, weighing 7 lbs., 7 oz. Everyone’s doing fine.

18 Sep Dirk Small Recovering from Cycle Accident

Dirk Small, pastor of the Idaville UB church (Idaville, Pa.), is still having serious difficulties with injuries sustained over five weeks ago in a motorcycle accident. He has a serious infection in the 14-inch incision from the surgery. He is in a lot of pain and would appreciate our prayers.

04 Sep Jim Ellifritt Prepares for Afghanistan

Jim Ellifritt, the Northwest Conference superintendent, is a major in the National Guard. He reports that beginning in mid-October, he will be ordered to active duty for language training in Dari, the majority language for Afghanistan. He writes:

“Our unit will be officially activated on November 30 and sent to Fort Bragg, N. C., and certified for deployment. We will arrive in Afghanistan around the first week of January. I will be in a town called Bagram. The deployment is schedule for 12 months beginning November 30. Prayerfully it will only be 12 months in country.”

Jim says he’s grateful that his children are older–Kori is 15, Stacy 18, and Jim 23. “I am cautiously excited about opportunities of ministry to soldiers and civilians. All of this, like everything else with the military, is subject to change. It will be more real to me when I finally step onto the tarmac in Bagram.”