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Donna Hollopeter has been excited about participating in the China team this summer. On Thursday, July 9, the first group of 16 people are scheduled to leave for China. But on Monday, Donna was diagnosed with bronchitis. She saw a doctor, but had a reaction to prescribed medication. She’s seeing a doctor again today.
Last week I sorted through 15 years of correspondence, 1978-1993. We were cleaning junk out of the warehouse, and I had two file cabinets of stuff from way back. I knew I’d want to keep some of the letters in those files, and that meant going through each one. Took me most of two days.
Those were the years of the monthly United Brethren magazine, which I edited from 1982 until it ceased in 1994 (and worked on as assistant editor before that). There were, as you can imagine, some negative letters. People called me on the carpet for various literary offenses. In some cases, folks subjected themselves to severe contortions in order to scrunch between the lines of things I published, finding meaning which neither I nor the angels and demons knew was there. One person accused me of writing “editorial drivel,” which was actually true more than I’d like to admit.
My favorite was the fellow who, in a light-hearted piece of satire, imagined a slight against gun owners (which I could never locate). That led to conclusions about my patriotism and Christian commitment, which he expressed thusly: “I am very let down that you people are not only un-American, but also against Freedom and apparently pro Communist. Where are the true Americans who used to be pro-Christian freedom-lovers and God-fearing? Please don’t answer this letter, as I am not in the mood for some stupid liberal trying to convince me that living in slavery is good.”
Letters like that stand out. Most of the negative letters, though, made good points. Some, as I look back, were totally valid (though in my defensiveness, I may not have felt that way at the time).
But as I plowed through hundreds of letters, here’s what really struck me: the overwhelming graciousness of UB people.
Put aside the occasional negative letter. Most of the letters I read during those two days contained affirmations, compliments, positive statements, and assorted words of appreciation. The sheer volume of warm fuzzies totally eclipsed the occasional bad-mouthing.
It really humbled me, and renewed my appreciation for all of you. Thanks, UBs, for being good people.
Good Morning America ran a “Your Three Words” video collage which included Polly Dunten and her three children. They are the very last clip. It begins with a photo used in a “Your Three Words” segment last summer, after Polly’s surgery to remove a brain tumor. Husband Darwin Dunten is pastor of First UB church in Findlay, Ohio.
When I went to Mainstreet, the church had been on a steady decline for several years, going from 330 people to 220. The worship service was so structured that if you went in at 11:10 any time of the year, they would be doing the same thing. If they did the responsive reading at 11:10, that’s where they did it every Sunday. The preacher quit at 11:30 whether he was done or not.
The power brokers of the church were members of the fully-robed choir. They marched in and sang the anthem
Then I showed up. My first Sunday, in 1993, I told them I wanted to begin the service with the song “Majesty.” “You’ll march in from the back, through the double doors, and charge forward like you’re capturing the mountain. And I want you to sing.”
They groused about it, but they complied. Because the new guy said so.
They had been doing things one way. I took them into the neutral zone. But what I wanted was to get to the point where we didn’t have a choir at all. That’s not something you pull off overnight. But in time, we got there.
The US National Conference made over 20 changes to the United Brethren Discipline, including two changes to the Constitution.
The revised Discipline is now ready. You can view it online, or download a PDF copy. The only way to get a printed copy is to download the PDF and print it out yourself. Since the national conference now meets every two years, instead of every four years, the Discipline’s shelf-life has been cut in half. It’s just not worthwhile to print up copies for that short period of time.
But the PDF is good. Plus, in the extraordinary event that an error is discovered, it can be easily corrected.
The other major document is the Pastoral Ministry Handbook, which gives information about our various ministerial licenses, our assignment procedures, etc. That document is updated regularly by the Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team. You can download the latest version as a PDF file.
Randy Carpenter, from Walbridge, Ohio, is leading a trip to Israel November 1-13, 2009. Currently, 14 people are signed up, but there is space for others who may be interested in going. The cost is $3200 per person (not including taxes and tip to tour guides). The trip is using Bible Lands & Reformatin Group Travel. If interested, contact Randy at: (419) 708-7994. Or email him. (Itinerary in a MS Word file)
If you search for it, you can find a lot of United Brethren stuff on YouTube. Here are some videos which show the worship team of Mainstreet Church in Walbridge, Ohio. This team provided music during Thursday and Friday nights at the 2009 US National Conference. It also shows the platform setup for Mainstreet’s new facility. These videos were uploaded by John Authenreith, the worship pastor at Mainstreet.
Church planter Gordon Kettel spoke during the business session of the 2009 US National Conference about Imagine This LLC, the church he started in Grand Ledge, Mich.
Some of you may remember Phyllis Lahr, who was executive secretary for nearly 20 years to bishops C. Ray Miller, Wilber L. Sites, Clarence Kopp, and Ray Seilhamer. Phyllis’s husband, Mert, passed away June 8, and the funeral was held last Friday. They had been married since 1963.
Mert had been in a nursing home in Markle, Ind., but Phyllis wasn’t content with the care he was receiving. So she sold their home in Markle, bought a place in Fort Wayne, and moved Mert into this new home where she could take care of him herself. That’s what she did for the past several years.
