10 Feb If You Use Email, I Recommend Feedburner

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.

07 Feb A Lesson in How to Eat an Ice Cream Cone

Bob Bruce, Pastor of Spiritual Care at Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.), shows Din Wan, a recent Burmese immigrant, how to eat an ice cream cone.

My wife and I, along with Bob and Kathy Bruce from Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) are involved with a family of Burmese immigrants. A couple days ago, Bob and I took the five children to McDonald’s for ice cream. They had never eaten ice cream before.

To to honest, the reaction was somewhat mixed. Some thought ice cream was pretty tasty; others couldn’t figure out why anyone would eat something that cold on a winter night.

But the biggest challenge seemed to be eating it. However, not to fear, Bob Bruce (or Mr. Bob to the Burmese kids) demonstrated with fine fashion the most effective method of eating an ice cream cone.

06 Jan Funeral Arrangements for Phyllis Cherry

Phyllis Cherry, wife of retired UB minister, Herb Cherry, passed away on Tuesday, January 5, 2010. Her funeral arrangements are as follows:

Visitation: Friday, January 8, 5-8 pm

Location: Chas. J. Burden & Son Funeral Home, 1806 E Michigan Ave, Jackson, MI 49202-3646 (517) 784-3104  www.dignitymemorial.com

Funeral: Saturday, January 9, 11 am. Visitation 10-11 am

Location: Eden UB Church, 1938 Eden Road, Mason, MI 48854 (517) 676-1376

Herb Cherry’s address is: 3913 Sage Court, Bloomington, IN 47401

09 Dec Podcast of Bishop Whipple on WBCL

Last Thursday, Dec. 3, Bishop Phil Whipple was a guest on the popular Mid-Morning show on WBCL, a Christian radio station in Fort Wayne, Ind. He was joined by two Huntington University graduate school professors, Mike Cook and Jerry Davis, along with another Fort Wayne pastor. The topic: “Healthy Church, Healthy Pastor.”

08 Dec Death of Thelma Sommers

We received word that Thelma Sommers, wife of Pastor Walter Sommers, passed away on November 9, 2009.

08 Dec Six from Mount Pleasant UB Heading to Mexico Dec. 9

A group of six persons from Mount Pleasant UB (Chambersburg, Pa.) will fly to Mexico tomorrow, December 9. Youth pastor Bobby Culler, his wife, and four other persons will meet up with Bishop Denis Casco of the Mexico National Conference. They are looking for a UB church with which to partner. Mount Pleasant has partnered with one UB church in Mexico for the past five years, but has released those reigns and are looking for a different church.

19 Nov Rick Warren: More than a Junk Twitterer

Rick Warren got into the Twitter game a couple months ago, and I’ve been following him. His tweets are some of the more interesting and redeeming ones. Lots of fluff and nonsense out there, but Warren sends out very useful and sometimes provocative tidbits.

Last week, Warren sent out this tweet:

Finding time to read the great spiritual classics is no mystery. Turn off the TV. Nothing on TV today will matter in 10 years.

Then, to drive home the point, he sent this tweet:

“A wise person is hungry for truth, while the fool feeds on trash.” Proverbs 15:14 (NLT)

All I can say is: touche.