12 Jan 2009 Financial Report Forms
Churches send financial report forms to the national office every month. The 2009 form has been posted online. Make sure your treasurer knows about it.
12 Jan “There Shall be No Connection….”
Found on the internet, in an obituary: “They are consistent members of the United Brethren church and he is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.”
It’s always amusing when stuff like this surfaces.
09 Jan Update on Bishop Sites
Bishop Emeritus Wilber Sites, Jr., has improved greatly since Wednesday. He was suffering from congestive heart failure which is now being managed and is under control, and he is headed the right direction. The other complication was an upper respiratory infection (rather than the suspected double pneumonia). The family
greatly appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers at this time, as well as the graciousness of God in Wilber’s life.
08 Jan The National Conference Covenant
Every two years, United Brethren churches are required to sign the National Conference Covenant, which includes your affirmation of six statements.
The unsigned covenant was mailed to your church in December. When Bishop Ramsey receives the signed covenant, he’ll sign it and return it to your church. The deadline for returning the covenant: March 15.
By signing the covenant, your church is affirming these six statements:
You are committed to the United Brethren Confession of Faith.
- You agree with the core values of the United Brethren in Christ, International.
- You agree to abide by the Constitution and Discipline of the US National Conference.
- You are passionate about fulfilling the Great Commission through our local church.
- You will support the ministry and mission of the United Brethren Church, USA, through the annual partnership fee.
- You will participate in a cluster.
The covenant is discussed in chapter 15 of the UB Discipline.
06 Jan Year-End Reminders
We sent out a mass email last week with various year-end reminders. It’s worth repeating them here.
Annual Reports Due March 15
The annual reports have been mailed to all churches and pastors.
- The Local Church report, which senior pastors must complete.
- The Minister’s report, which all licensed ministers must complete.
It is VERY important that we receive your report on time (the deadline is March 15), so we can record the information in our database and compile reports to send to delegates for the US National Conference.
Any church not submitting the church annual report form by March 15 will not be allowed representation at National Conference.
You can also download these reports as MS Word forms which you can fill out on your computer and then email back to the bishop.
February: Referenda Voting
February is when churches vote on two proposed changes to the UB Constitution. We call them “referenda.”
You need to put someone in charge of that–getting ballots to people, checking off names as people vote, recording results, etc. The results must be returned to Bishop Ramsey by March 15.
Who are Your Lay Delegate(s)?
Your church needs to select laypersons to represent your church at the US National Conference. Every church can send at least one person. Churches have been notified of the number of delegates they can send.
Bishop Ramsey needs to know by March 1 who your delegates are.
05 Jan Big MAC Ski Attack: February 6-8
The annual Big MAC Ski Attack brings about 500 youth to a retreat center near Pittsburgh, Pa. This event has been happening for about 20 years (originating from the former Mid-Atlantic Conference). UB teens have come not only from the Mid-Atlantic region (Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia), but from Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio as well.
With a top-notch guest speaker, great music, and fun activities, good things happen in the lives of teens. Read all about it, and bring some youth from your church.
01 Jan Happy 2009!
We trust you’ve all have a wonderful News Year’s Day, regardless of whether or not your team won (sorry about that, to all of our constituents in Pennsylvania).
The Healthy Ministry Resources office is closed until Monday.
May this be a great year for the United Brethren in Christ!
31 Dec The National Conference Nominating Committee
The National Conference nominating committee always has an important job, especially when a new bishop will be elected. That’s the case right now.
Upon the recommendation of Bishop Ron Ramsey, Executive Leadership Team approved a nominating committee of three ministers:
- J. Michael Caley (Banner of Christ, Byron Center, Mich.). He’s the chairman.
- Greg Reed (Morning Star, Kokomo, Ind.).
- Todd Fetters (Devonshire UB, Harrisburg, Pa.).
- Greg Voight (Lancaster UB, Lancaster, Ohio).
They, in turn, selected several laypersons to serve on the committee.
The nominating committee will put together a ballot for:
- Bishop.
- 8 members of the Executive Leadership Team (1 layperson and 1 minister from each of the four US districts).
Keeps these folks in your prayers as they go about discussing candidates and contacting people. They already held one meeting.
29 Dec What Did Your Church do for Christmas?
United Brethren churches do a lot of neat things over the Christmas holidays.
- Helping needy families
- Participating in programs like Operation Christmas Child.
- Putting on special Christmas programs.
- Special gifts and recognition for the pastor and staff.
What did your church do this year? Let me know, so we can share it with others.
24 Dec Have a Great Christmas!
An ice storm hit northeast Indiana last Friday, knocking out power to businesses and homes all over the area. Most power was finally restored today. But trees are down everywhere.
Such was Jeff Bleijerveld’s welcome back from his trip to Sierra Leone. He arrived on December 23. He’ll no doubt have plenty to report.
Anyway, all is well. We hope your church has a wonderful Christmas season (what’s left of it), and that you personally have a joyous time. The office was closed today, and will be closed on Friday, the 26th. But we’ll see you next Monday