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Please pray for the young daughter, just a toddler, of Justin Marva (right), one of the four superintendents in Sierra Leone. She is a very sick girl, battling both malaria and typhoid. Rev. Marva is superintendent of Administration and Finance for Sierra Leone Conference.
Huntington University is launching the Great Books curriculum, an honors program designed for high-achieving students who want to challenge themselves to explore history’s greatest ideas and authors.
The Great Books curriculum includes books which are considered the foundation of western literature. For each course, students will be required to read two texts of cultural significance, such as “War and Peace” or the works of Aristotle or Plato; attend lectures; produce an independent project; perform 20 hours of service; and attend cultural events, such as a professional theatrical performance.
“For students who want to improve their critical thinking skills or build a stronger vocabulary or become more eloquent speakers and writers, there’s no more effective means of doing so than the Great Books curriculum,” said Dr. Del Doughty, interim vice president for academic affairs.
The program will launch in the fall of 2014. Initially, the program will accept 10 students based on academic achievement and a commitment to serving others. The program aims to grow each year.
Union Chapel (Fort Wayne, Ind.) is organizing a work team to go to Jamaica to work on the dining hall complex at Regent College of the Caribbean. The tentative dates (still flexible at this point) are June 21-29, 2014.
The team is open to individuals or churches that would like to join them.
Current estimated cost is $875 plus airfare. Current airfare from Fort Wayne is around $700, but could change by June.
To be part of the team, you must have a valid passport and agree to follow the team rules. To apply for the team, get more information, or if you would like to contribute to construction cost which would lower individual cost, send an email to Dwight Kuntz.
Dr. Ruth Ford and students.
Huntington University is preparing to launch its first doctoral-level program: in occupational therapy. Dr. Ruth Ford was hired to lead the program, and will assume the director’s role in January 2014.
Ford, who previously served as the associate dean of occupational therapy at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., comes to HU with 13 years in academia, including broad experience in the clinical and business aspects of the field. She has 37 clinical years of experience in management, acute care, rehabilitation, outpatient, long-term care, and home health. She has managed more than 500 occupational and physical therapists and speech language pathologists, and has opened multiple occupational therapy programs.
The program is being developed in a unique collaboration with Trine University, Parkview Health and the City of Fort Wayne. This doctoral program will be based in Fort Wayne, Ind., within the Life Science Education and Research Consortium of Northeast Indiana. It will build on Huntington’s undergraduate degrees in psychology, nursing, and exercise science. A bachelor’s degree and certain prerequisite courses are required for this program.
You can read more about the program on the Huntington University website.
John Beukema (right) has resigned as senior pastor of King Street UB church (Chambersburg, Pa.) effective January 12, 2014. He has accepted a position as senior pastor of Cypress Bible Church in Houston, Texas.
In an announcement to the board of administration and elders at King Street on November 6, Beukema said, “Early in 2012, I began to realize that God might have different plans for me, rather than to remain at King Street for the next 10 years. I began to pray for clear and specific direction.” He said his gift mix better suits investing in multiple churches for 8-10 years each.
Cypress Bible Church announced Beukema’s selection on November 7.
Beukema became senior pastor of King Street in 2005, after the previous senior pastor, Pat Jones, became the denominational Director of Healthy Church Ministries. At the time, King Street had a weekly worship attendance of about 1300, making it the largest United Brethren church in the world. Under Beukema’s leadership, King Street’s weekly attendance increased to about 1800, with four worship services every Sunday morning.
A recent ruling by a US District Court has raised questions about the status of housing allowance for ministers. Some UB ministers have called the national office, wondering, “How does this affect me? Do I need to do anything different?”
The short answer is: continue what you’ve been doing. Nothing will take affect until all appeals have been exhausted. That could take a couple years.
Ministers of all religious groups are allowed housing allowance to pay expenses related to their home—rent, mortgage, utilities, insurance, repairs, furnishings, property taxes, etc. The church must state in advance (preferably in board minutes) the amount of salary designated as housing allowance. That amount, then, is not taxable. For instance, if a pastor makes $40,000 and $15,000 is designated as housing allowance, the minister will be taxed on just $25,000 of income. (Here’s suggested wording for a board resolution.)
On November 22, 2013, a US District Court in Wisconsin ruled that the housing exemption violates the Constitution’s “establishment of religion” clause. The judge said it unnecessarily “provides a benefit to religious persons and no one else.” She felt that housing allowance provides an unconstitutional preference for religion, and that denying housing allowance wouldn’t infringe on freedom of religion.
You can read much more about housing allowance in this article on UBCentral.org.
Gary Boston (right) has resigned as senior pastor of Mount Carmel UB church (Fulks Run. Va.), effective December 31. He has served there since January 2012.
About 160 photos from the Seven Churches of Revelation Tour of Turkey have been posted in a Facebook album. They are on the United Brethren Facebook page.
A major article about the tour was posted previously on UBCentral.
Gary Gates (right), director of Ministerial Licensing, will represent the United Brethren denomination in January at a meeting of the Denominational Prayer Leaders Network. He’ll report on the prayer emphases in the United Brethren Church.
Gary prepared a simple survey. He would greatly appreciate it if you’d take a few minutes to give some of your feedback. You can use this survey form.
Thanks!
A parade, with the various district youth groups represented, is part of the annual youth camp in Sierra Leone.
Once a year, Sierra Leone Conference holds a large camp for all United Brethren youth in Sierra Leone. Over 400 young people attended the 2013 youth camp, which was held in Bo, the country’s second-largest city (and the location of the conference headquarters).
The camps use workshops to train the youth in various areas. They also do in-the-field training. Bishop John Pessima (right) says, “We take them out two times during the camp to reach out to the community. They use tracts and the Bible. We also present the Jesus film to the community, wherever the camp is held. Then, after the film, the youth move around and talk to the people, and then bring for follow-up the names of people who accepted Christ.”
In 2014, says Bishop John Pessima, they’ll probably hold the camp in Mattru. “We tax the various churches to contribute to the youth camp,” says Bishop Pessima. “That is the only funding we have.”
Bishop Pessima says Sierra Leone Conference is working with AWANA, the Christian children’s program popular in the United States. In fact, Bishop Pessima is AWANA’s national chairman for all of Sierra Leone.
This fall, Bishop Pessima met with the regional African director, who has visiting Sierra Leone. “He has visited us three times now, and is working directly with us,” says Bishop Pessima. “AWANA is working very well for us. If we teach these young children and bring them up in the way of the Lord, it will change all of Siera Leone.”
He says there is also interest in reviving Christian Endeavor, which was once widely used in Sierra Leone. “Through it, some of us came to the Lord,” he says.
