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During the past week, Facebook says, the United Brethren Facebook page gained 13 fans and had 501 visits (compared to 484 visits the previous week, and 272 the week before that). Ten more fans, and we hit 300!
Meanwhile, the Huntington University page is approaching the 3100 mark!
Mabel Mundy, who has worked at the national office since 1987 (most of that time in Global Ministries), became a great-grandma this morning.
It’s always interesting to get outside perspectives on the United Brethren church. Here’s a blog post from the Church of God General Conference which makes envious reference to our Confession of Faith and other governing documents.
Billy Simbo, Bishop of Sierra Leone Conference, reports the death of Rev. Idrisa Murana, Pastor of the Trinity UB Church in Allen Town (the Western region). He had been sick with typhoid and malaria, which he was treating at home. He was admitted to the hospital on March 2 and passed away the next day.
Pastor Murana was 44 years old. He leaves behind his wife and four children. He will be buried in his home town of Talia, near Mattru.
Cold Springs UB church in Fayetteville, Pa., has voted to withdraw from the denomination and become an independent congregation.
We’re using a variety of ways to communicate via the internet, and people are taking advantage of them. Here’s a summary:
Darlene Burkett’s father, Max Conner, passed away Saturday night, February 20. Darlene is the administrative assistant in Global Ministries. Darlene and her husband, Phil, now Minister of Music and Worship at College Park Church (Huntington, Ind.), were one of the founding couples of the missionary work in Macau.
Funeral arrangements:
Visitation: 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm Tuesday, February 23; and one hour before the funeral on Wednesday.
Funeral: 11 am Wednesday, February 24.
Visitation and funeral location: Smith & Son Funeral Home, 207 North Main Street, Columbia City, Ind.
Max is survived by his wife, Sue; Darlene (their only child); and two grandchildren. He and Sue have been members of College Park UB church in Huntington, Ind.
In my opinion, “When Helping Hurts” is the single best book I’ve read on the topic of working with the poor. Not only should every Christian worker read it; every Christian ought to read it whether or not they work directly with the poor.
The authors of the book, Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, are community development specialists with the Chalmers Center for Economic Development and professors at Covenant College. Striking to me were the misperceptions we often have regarding the true needs of the poor. Summarizing the results of a polls, they comment:
Poor people typically talk in terms of shame, inferiority, powerlessness, humiliation, fear, hopelessness, depression, social isolation, and voicelessness. North American audiences (or the wealthy) tend to emphasize a lack of material things such as food, money, clean water, medicine, housing, etc.
The result of such misconceptions is that we seek only to bring relief or aid, when what is ultimately needed is rehabilitation and restoration in relationship with God and others. They write that there are three reasons we do this:
Key to their approach to relief and development is assessing local assets. Too often we ask, “What do they need?” and fail to ask the even more important question, “What do they have?” They point attention to Colossians 1:16-17, where we’re told the Christ is holding all things together and that he does not allow the effects of sin to completely destroy the inherent goodness of the assets he has created. In Christ, God is reconciling to himself all things–natural resources, individuals, neighborhood associations, schools, businesses, governments, etc. All are being liberated from their “bondage to decay” (Romans 8:12).
The process of assessment involves appreciating, envisioning, co-constructing and sustaining, and can only be done together. We need to move from “doing for” to “doing with” so that eventually they will be able to do it for themselves and even assist others in the same way they have been helped.
Finally, they wrap up the book with a chapter entitled, “Doing Short-term Missions Without Doing Long-Term Harm.” This is a Must Read for anyone going on a short-term trip. The key here is quite simple: don’t do for people what they can, or should, do for themselves. The goal is for the work to be done primarily by the community members with the team in a helping role. Stay away from the “go-help-and save-them” and maintain a “go-as-a-learner” attitude.
Camp Cotubic in Bellefontaine, Ohio, has announced its summer camp schedule.
June 13-18: Teen Camp (grades 7-12). Cost: $260
June 27 – July 2: Discover Camp (grades 5-6). Cost: $260.
July 18-22: Voyager Camp (grades 2-4). Cost: $240.
You can register online.
Camp Cotubic began in the 1970s as a year-round camp operated by Central Conference, which included UB churches in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. Though Camp Cotubic is no longer operated by the United Brethren church, it continues serving the United Brethren constituency.
Phil Whipple, Bishop
I’d like to give a little plug for Feedburner. I’ve been using this service to deliver UBCentral straight to my email each day. Anything posted during the previous 24 hours is sent to my inbox.
This works well for people who check email every day, but who don’t necessarily check the same websites every day. It comes to you; you don’t have to do anything except check your email. You can then scan it quickly to see what’s happening in the United Brethren world.
For people who may feel disconnected, Feedburner is a good tool to help them stay informed. I find it very convenient. It’s a free service from Google. About 50 UB people are currently using Feedburner.
It’s easy to signup. You submit your email address, and that’s it. Each email includes a link for removing yourself from the list.
