15 Jan Proposals for the 2025 U.S. National Conference

In July 2025, Fort Wayne, Indiana will host the U.S. National Conference of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. Beginning on Tuesday, the 15th, delegates will gather from UB churches across the country to worship, learn, and celebrate together. The business session of the conference will take place on Wednesday, July 16, in which delegates will discuss a variety of proposals, including potential changes to Part V of the U.S. Discipline. Bishop Fetters has formed a select task force to review, study, and recommend relevant changes to this section. 

Proposals, which must come from a group or official entity (e.g. local church board, denominational leadership team, denominational task force, clusters, etc.), must be submitted by March 31, 2025, to the Bishop’s office. The Bishop and the Executive Leadership Team will then be responsible for processing and approving each proposal and presenting them to the conference. The timeline from submission to presentation at the conference is as follows:

• March 31, 2025 – Deadline for submitting proposals to the Bishop’s office.
• April 15, 2025 – Proposals are finalized and formatted for the Executive Leadership Team.
• April 29, 2025 – The ELT reviews the proposals.
• May 1, 2025 – A draft of the proposals, as approved by the ELT, is posted on the conference website.
• May 2025 – The draft is discussed in regional meetings. Suggested revisions are noted and, at the Bishop’s discretion, revisions are made to the proposals.
• June 13, 2025 – A final version of all proposals is posted on the conference website.

How to Submit Proposals for Revising the Discipline:

1. Submit the exact wording you would like to see used (rather than just a general idea).
2. If it is new content, state where you suggest placing it (chapter and paragraph number).
3. If it is a revision to existing content, state the chapter and paragraph number to be revised.
4. Include a brief statement of the rationale for making the revision. A sentence or two may be sufficient, depending on the nature of the revision.

How to Submit Other Proposals:

United Brethren members may submit proposals that reach beyond revisions to the Discipline regarding the work and ministry of the U.S. National Conference. These proposals must also be submitted by a group (not an individual) and should include specific wording describing what you want to happen.

How Proposals will be Processed

• All proposals will be channeled to the Bishop’s Office.
• The Bishop will determine the best way to process proposals for eventual presentation to the national conference. Proposals may be referred to other leadership groups, and new committees and task forces may be formed.
• All proposals will be presented at the April 2025 Executive Leadership Team meeting.
• Proposals will be passed along to the National Conference delegates, either as proposals for consideration on the floor or as supplemental proposals. A supplemental proposal will not be considered on the floor unless delegates move to consider it.
• No new proposals will be added after the April 2025 ELT meeting. However, revisions can still be made at the Bishop’s discretion until June 13, and later if he feels it is necessary.

Send proposals to Bishop Todd Fetters at: [email protected]. Or mail to:

Bishop Todd Fetters
302 Lake Street
Huntington, IN 46750

10 Jan Death or Rev. Robert Shook

Rev. Robert Shook

Rev. Robert Shook, 84, a United Brethren minister since 1965, passed away January 7, 2025, at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind. He graduated from Huntington University and was ordained in 1981. Bob retired in 2005 after pastoring nine different UB churches in Ohio and Indiana. Most recently, he pastored the Mt. Zion Bobo UB church of Decatur, Ind., 1986-2005.

Rev. Shook was born in 1940 in Van Wert County, Ohio. He and Nancy, who survives, were married in 1961, and enjoyed 63 years of marriage before his passing.

Preferred memorials are to the Laurel Mission in Kentucky or Operation Christmas Child.

You can read the online obituary here.

Visitation

• Friday, January 10, 10-11am at Adams Woodcrest Porter Auditorium, 1300 Mercer Ave., Decatur, IN 46733.
• Friday, January 10, 2-7 pm at Zwick & Jahn Funeral Home, 520 N 2nd St, Decatur, IN 46733

Funeral

• 1-2pm Saturday, January 11, at Rockford Belle Community Church, 135 W Market St., Rockford, Ohio 45882. Viewing one hour beforehand.

(submitted by Steve Dennie)

06 Jan Youth Pastor Opening at Countryside United Brethren Church

Countryside United Brethren Church in Breckenridge, Michigan, seeks to hire their next youth pastor. The core function of the role is “to build relationships with youth and provide support for them and their families as they grow in Christ with the intent to integrate them into the larger body of believers.”

This is a 20-30 hour per week position. A full job description can be found here.

Interested candidates can submit a resume and cover letter to [email protected].

23 Jul Bring Huntington University’s Feature Film To Your Area

Many of you are likely familiar with the film Wayfaring Stranger that was written and directed by Matt Webb and produced by Lance Clark and Matt Webb in conjunction with Forester Films and Huntington University. This movie is the inspiring true story of a United Brethren pastor and his family who set out to build a new UB church in 1970s rural Michigan. Along the way, they face challenges that threaten to unravel everything when an afflicted carpenter becomes their unlikely source of hope, proving that faith in God is the true path to redemption, even in the most tragic circumstances.

The title of this film has since been changed to A Carpenter’s Prayer, and it is soon being released to a limited number of theaters nationwide. So far, the distributors have secured 40 theaters and hope to get it up to 200 in the next few weeks. We are sharing this information with you now because you have an opportunity to bring this movie to a theater near you by visiting their website and expressing interest. Just follow the instructions below within the next week, as the next few days are crucial to determining interest in order to secure theater locations. And even if you opt not to fill out the theater demand form, you can watch the movie trailer and read more about this film on their website.

• You can learn more about the movie and watch the trailer here: A Carpenter’s Prayer. You can also subscribe to be notified of theater locations and other news.
• You can fill out a form to express interest in group tickets or even renting out an entire theater for your group.
• To request that the movie make its way to a theater near you, fill out this form on their website. Please do this by Friday, 7/26, if possible, and pass on this information to as many people who might be interested.

And be looking for A Carpenter’s Prayer to perhaps be coming to a theater near you beginning in September 2024!

15 Apr New Episode of UB Now with guest, Matt McKeown

In the latest episode of UB Now, our host, Brian Biedenbach sat down with Matt McKeown from Daytona First Church of the United Brethren in Holly Hill, Florida. Matt is great storyteller and is full of great stories, and he was excited to talk about a partnership that is developing between two very different churches in their community.

This was a fun and insightful episode to record and is definitely worth a listen. You can listen by clicking on the media player above or by searching for it on your preferred podcast directory.