07 Aug HU Prof Wins Indiana State Fair Photo Contest

“Indiana Soy,” by Bryan Ballinger.

Bryan Ballinger (right), a Huntington University professor–and animator, and illustrator, and photographer–took first place in the Indiana State Fair photo contest sponsored by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.

The photo, “Indiana Soy,” was taken near Lancaster Elementary School in Huntington, Ind. Ballinger is an associate professor of digital media arts at HU. He has been recognized many times for his photography.

Ballinger has been recognized many times for his photography, and has had photos on exhibit in various places.

Ballinger has worked as an illustrator for companies such as Microsoft, Nintendo, Disney, and Harley Davidson. He was also the lead 3D designer for five years at Big Idea Productions, the creators of VeggieTales.

To see more of Ballinger’s work, visit his person website at www.breadwig.com/photography.

29 Mar The UB Preacher in the Statehouse

At the Statehouse: Mike Brown, pastor of Franklin UB church (New Albany, Ohio).

Mike Brown, pastor of Franklin UB church in New Albany, Ohio, gave a prayer to open the Ohio House of Representatives session at the Statehouse on March 27, 2012. He was invited by his state representative.

Brown noted that, a couple of years ago, there was a lot of controversy from the Speaker of the House regarding prayer content, including the use of the name Jesus. He was told by an aide to the representative that if he wanted the prayer to be recorded in the official Statehouse history, he had to submit the prayer in writing and get it approved by the Speaker’s office.

“My nature is a bit rebellious at times,” Brown said. “I did not want to submit it, and considered declining the offer to pray. But I talked with another pastor who has prayed at the Statehouse. He said: ‘Do it. Use the name Lord and let them interpret it as they want. Besides, this is a Daniel moment.’ Good advice…so I did.”

Here is Mike Brown’s prayer:

Dear Father in heaven and over all the earth, we hold this truth to be self-evident: that all men, women, and children are created equal. Red and yellow, black, brown and white, we are all precious in your sight. You love the little children and all the people of the world.

I pray today that in Ohio we not only believe but we live our state motto: “With God All Things Are Possible” Your amazing grace has given us this great State and this great nation. One nation under God, we pray that both this state and this nation will always be indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

In every hallway, every corridor, in every room and every chamber of this magnificent Statehouse, let freedom ring and justice reign. Guide, guard, and give every State Representative the wisdom to make the best decision for their constituents and for the citizens of the state of Ohio. And while they are here away from their families, making such a great sacrifice, may their families never be away from their heart. Extend your grace to their families and also give their families great patience as their husband or wife, mother or father, son or daughter serves in this important capacity. Throughout all the travel, please be sure to allow them to arrive back home safely.

Until the very last day of the 129th General Assembly, may the laws of man always be governed by the laws of God, for you are the supreme Governor of the universe, you are the God in whom we must trust. In the name of the Lord I pray, Amen.

09 Mar Workers Needed at Camp Cotubic

Dave Stephens, Director of Camp Cotubic (Bellefontaine, Ohio)

The summer of 2011 was one of the largest ever in terms of numbers of kids attending camp at Cotubic. It appears that the summer of 2012 will be another very busy time. Please pray for all the staff as they host around 3,000 kids this summer. There will be many meals to cook, activities to run, worship and teaching services to lead, songs to sing, toilets to clean, etc. Something special happens when a young person goes to church camp.

We have several large projects to take care of before summer. Between now and June, we will probably be working every Saturday on the following:

Water Slide. The camp was given two commerical water slides last summer. We have removed the old slide, cut down some trees, and are trying to prepare the hillside for the construction of all the pieces of slide laying in a pile. This will be a big job and we need many strong backs to help. Give us a call if you have a crew of men who could help for a day.

Cabin Roofs. We hope to replace the roofs and side exterior walls on three of the A-frame cabins this spring with metal. This will also be a big job.

Mowing. In a couple of weeks, the mowers and tractors will be running non-stop trying to stay ahead of the growing grass. If you have a few hours to spare and can sit on a riding mower, we could use your help probably right after Easter.

Picnic Table Remodeling. I have no idea how many picnic tables are around the camp. There are many. I do know that many of them need new tops and seats. We could really use a few retired men (and women) who have a couple of days to spare this spring to come work on some tables. We have all the tools and boards that are needed. We just need some folks who can operate saws, drills, nail guns, etc. This would be a huge help to the camp.

Painting. We could use a few folks that know how to scrape and paint. Several buildings need some interior help.

Drinking Fountains. Thanks to one of our camp friends, we will be digging up some water lines to install drinking fountains around the camp. If you have a day or two to spare and don’t mind getting a little dirty, come and help. This is a long overdue project.

Staff House Support Beam. Last summer, the middle support beam under the girls staff house broke. We must get under that building and repair or replace that beam. We could use a few guys for a day or two to help with this job.

Discovery Lodge Flooring. A big thank you goes out to the Discovers Sunday school class at College Park church in Huntington, Ind. This group donated this building back in the 90s and continues to help maintain it. They will be laying new ceramic tile in two of the rooms this month.

Nurses Needed. The camp provides 24-hour protection for our campers by having trained medical staff on hand for every event. We are looking for nurses, EMTs, doctors, etc., to volunteer for a week of our three weeks of camp this summer. If you might be available and willing, please contact me at the camp.

28 Feb New Pastor in Williamston, Mich.

David Gregg has been named supply pastor of Lighthouse UB church in Williamston, Mich., effective February 1, 2012. Since 2000, he had been on staff with First Baptist church in Williamston, with whom he was ordained in 2003. He and his wife, Wendy, has four children ranging in age from 19 to 23.

15 Feb Ash Wednesday

Dr. Paul R. Fetters

When an ashen cross is lightly marked on the forehead of a Christian participating in an Ash Wednesday service on February 22, worshippers who are present are reminded that we are earthly creatures made from the dust of the earth.

“…all come from dust, and to dust all return.” (Ecc. 3:20b)

As children of God, we will remember our baptism into the Christian faith and our journey with our Saviour following conversion. We will remember that we are the body of Christ, living in community with others who wear the smudge of the cross.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten Season. Throughout the Christian Church, this season is known as a time of repentance and turning from sin and renewal of faithfulness to the Gospel. Ashes and sackcloth were symbolic of repentance, sorrow, and grief in the Old Testament, throughout the intertestamental centuries, and in the New Testament as alluded to by Jesus.

The Lenten Season spans 40 days of spiritual devotion marked by three spiritual disciplines: alms-giving, fasting, and praying.

Since the time of my new birth at the Willshire Zion Church of the United Brethren in Christ, I have been observing the spiritual disciplines of the Lenten Season–fasting (the denying of self), alms-giving (self-denial offering for missions), and praying (reflecting on and meditating upon the suffering and death of Jesus Christ). For many including myself, the receiving of the ashes has become a meaningful part of the observance.

As Christian believers, foregoing or receiving the ashes, let us welcome the Lenten Season.

30 Oct Don’t Make Eye Contact with the Visitors!

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

One simple joy of vacations is attending other churches. Pam and I have visited some good ones over the years. Last year, in Texas, we visited Chuck Swindoll’s church, upon discovering that his church stood just a mile from our hotel.

When you pop in for a Sunday service, all you get is a snapshot. There is so much you never see–small group ministries, needy ministries, youth outreach, pastoral care, missions, evangelism and discipleship, etc. In no way can you judge a church (if that’s what you’re inclined to do) on the basis of a one-time, or two-time, visit. Though I’ve heard many people try.

However, I do take close note of how churches treat guests. And whether it’s a large church or small church, we usually get the same treatment: we are ignored. You’ve experienced the same thing, haven’t you? I say this not with some kind of indignation, but with high amusement, because it’s so common. It’s as if church people are afraid of visitors. As people walk by, avoiding eye contact, it tickles me. I want to reach out my hand and say, “Hey, I won’t bite.”
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19 Oct A Daddy Shower

Frank with some of his Daddy Shower gifts.

The Healthy Ministry Resources staff held a “Daddy Shower” for Frank Y, who joined the staff in September as an associate director of Global Ministries.

Frank and Ginny became parents on October 10, when their first child, Levi, was born. The staff gave Frank a variety of gifts which will be helpful when it comes to having a baby in the house–face mask, long rubber gloves resistant to toxic chemicals, tongs, ear plugs, Wet Ones, a very clever apron, strong black tea, and a manual titled, “Do Diapers Give You Leprosy?” Jane Seely, who makes jewelry, added a serious gift for Ginny–a colorful bracelet which included Levi’s name.

06 Oct Share Your Church’s Technology Experience

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

Churches frequently contact me for advice on technology needs, particularly in regard to the internet. Just yesterday, a church contacted me about their website. They need a new website, but also want some kind of online contact management system which several people could access (they are currently just keeping records in a Word document). Did I have any advice?

Those are basic needs for churches of any size–a website, and tracking people.

Our churches are using a lot of different things in both areas, from do-it-yourself tools to purchasing full-blown systems.

I told that church I would find out what some other UB churches are doing, especially in contact management, and get back with them. That’s what I’m doing now.

How is your website done? And what do you use to track people? Whether or not you’re happy with what you use, I’d like to know.

I created a form so you can respond.

I’ll compile results and post them on UBCentral.org. I’m sure it’ll be helpful to lots of churches that are asking the same questions this church asked of me.

06 Oct The Mac Cult in the National Office

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

Today, everyone’s focused on the death of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple. He’s a religious figure in that he started the Apple Cult. It started with Mac users, who (like me) could be extremely obnoxious in their evangelistic zeal. It has since spread to include iPod, iPhone, and iPad users. I am all of the above (though the iPad is actually my wife’s).

The Healthy Ministry Resources office has been entirely Macintosh since 1988. Prior to that, I produced the monthly United Brethren magazine on an AT&T PC with two 5.25″ floppy drives (no hard drive). I composed the articles in Wordstar, then sent the disc to a printshop, which printed out the typeset articles in long strips of heavy paper. I then spent up to two weeks doing layout, bent over a light table laboriously pasting everything down, with regular trips to the chiropractor.

When Denny Miller came to the office in 1987 as Associate Director of Church Services, he was already an Apple user. In mid-1988, he dragged me along to a computer store. I believe we went to look at Apple II computers. But instead, we were blown away by the insanely great Mac. I soon had a Mac II on my desk (2MB RAM, 40MB hard drive, monochrome monitor) and a LaserWriter Plus nearby. Within a month, with no training whatsoever, I learned this new computer, along with Pagemaker, and cranked out the October 1988 United Brethren magazine entirely on-screen.

The Mac, truly, changed my life. Or Denny did.

Today, every employee in the office uses a Mac. Gary Gates works here one day a week, and I believe he brings a PC laptop, for which he’s been given a special dispensation. We have a PC in shipping, because UPS requires PC software, and Finance Director Marci Hammel, in addition to her iMac, keeps a PC laptop open for banking purposes. But everyone else uses Macs entirely.

We basically do no training. And since problems are few, I provide support out of my back pocket. So, as a small office, the Mac serves us well. Bishop Whipple came to the office in 2009 as a veteran Mac user. Jeff Bleijerveld came from a PC office, but is now a devoted (but not yet obnoxious) convert. And now we’re working on newcomer Frank Y. It’s just a matter of time.

One more thing: we’ve not had a computer virus since 1991.

21 Jul Leadership Opportunities for Jamaica

Neville Tomlinson, pastor of International UB church in Allentown, Pa., writes:

“I am one of the members of the board of directors for “Teams For Medical Missions” that provides spiritual and medical services for the poor in St. Mary, Jamaica. We are presently seeking an Executive and  Associate directors to lead from our office in Macungie, Pa., due to the retirement of our present director effective February 2012. Could you please announce this in our UB family for me? For additional information about this ministry interested persons may visit t4mm.org.