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03 Apr

April 3, 2012 |
A quilt from Keystone Quilters

A quilt from Keystone Quilters presented to Centennial School (click to enlarge).

One of the five sewing machines donated to Centennial.

One of the five sewing machines donated to Centennial.

Centennial students

Centennial students


Joe Abu (right), Sierra Leone Liason to UB Churches in North America

The infrastructural rebuilding of Centennial Secondary School in Sierra Leone is well underway by the tri-partnership of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), the Centennial School Community, and the alumni association of the school (Centennial Old Students Association, or CeOSA). There are fringe benefits that are directly and indirectly in collaboration with the project implementation. This the story of one fringe benefit.

During the second trip of Engineers to Centennial Secondary School in order to refurbish the toilet/bath houses, the team members were appalled at the devastating lack of teaching materials/tools in all of the areas of the school, especially in the laboratories–the chemistry lab, physics lab, home economics lab, etc.

Jamee Pemberton, one of the EWB team members, returned home and shared the plight of the school with her women’s guild called Keystone Quilters. This group not only raised money for some sewing machines, but also collected needles, thread, and other kinds of sewing materials. Also, at the 2011 CeOSA convention, a group of the alumni association donated funds to buy five sewing machines for the school. God bless their hearts! Following are some pictures when the machines and sewing materials were presented.

The five sewing machines have been delivered to Centennial, along with a beautiful quilt from Keystone Quilters and boxes of various sewing materials.

03 Apr

April 3, 2012 |

Huntington University’s 114th commencement exercises are coming up. Degrees will be awarded to 264 graduates.

Date: May 12, 2012
Time: 3 pm
Location: Merillat Physical Education and Recreation Complex.

Dan Wolgemuth (right), president and CEO of Youth for Christ USA, will give the commencement address. Wolgemuth, a 1977 Taylor University grad, joined Youth for Christ USA as its president and CEO in 2005.

The university will also award three honorary doctorate degrees.

1. An honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree will be presented to commencement speaker Dan Wolgemuth.

2. An honorary Doctor of Divinity degree will be presented to the Rev. Luther Whitfield (right). Whitfield joined Youth for Christ in 1991 as the urban inner city director. In many years of service with the organization, he has helped to develop urban ministry programs for Fort Wayne, including the formation of the Primetime Community Center. Primetime inspires the youth of Fort Wayne through Campus Life ministries, juvenile justice programs, and sports programming. Whitfield continues to serve Primetime today as its senior director. He is also the senior pastor of New Covenant Worship Center, a church based at the Primetime Community Center.

3. An honorary Doctor of Humane Letters will be presented to 1977 Huntington alum Charles Curie (right). Curie is the principal/owner of The Curie Group LLC in Rockville, Md., which is a management and consulting firm specializing in working with national and international leaders in public and private health care. He is a 1977 graduate of Huntington, with degrees in psychology and sociology; he served as student senate president during his senior year. He also holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Chicago. In 2001, Curie was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the US Senate to head the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Dr. Tim Smith (right), Huntington University associate professor of history, will present the baccalaureate sermon at 10:30 am in the fieldhouse. His message is titled “The Empire Strikes Back” and will focus on Ecclesiastes 9:11.

Smith joined the Huntington history and political science department in 2007. He previously taught history at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. His research and teaching focus on British imperial and diplomatic history. He is also the director of the Centre for Non-Western Studies. Smith recently published two books on the Vietnam War titled, “Churchill, America and Vietnam, 1941-45” and “Britain and the Origins of the Vietnam War: UK Policy in Indo-China, 1943-50.”

The commencement exercises and the baccalaureate sermon are open to the public, and no tickets are required.

02 Apr

April 2, 2012 |

Frank with little Levi.

Peggy Sell (holding Levi) and Ginny.

Frank Y, associate director of Global Ministries, celebrated a birthday on Thursday, March 29. But he received a special surprise that afternoon, when his wife, Ginny, showed up with infant son Levi, who was born in October.

It was also a surprise for the rest of the office staff. We knew Ginny was coming, but none of us had yet seen Levi.

Plus, Ginny brought bagels from Panera Bread.

02 Apr

April 2, 2012 |

Andrew Martin

Dr. Del Doughty

Grading essays and writing assignments just became much easier thanks to an iPhone/iPad app created by Huntington University professor Del Doughty and 2011 graduate Andrew Martin.

Apple released the new application, called HighMarks, on March 5. It cuts the time spent grading papers for teachers up to 50 percent.

“For most teachers, the toughest part about the job is grading papers,” said Doughty, professor English. “It’s especially tedious when one has to keep making the same comments. That led me to wonder, ‘In what ways can I rethink the grading process to eliminate the repetitive, tedious parts?’”

Doughty began brainstorming ideas to design a new application to make the grading process easier. Realizing he needed a developer to design the actual application, Doughty turned to animation alum Martin, who had just finished developing the application, “Mafia Card-Generator,” a popular video game.

HighMarks incorporates touch-screen and voice command technology into the grading process of essays. A student sends his or her writing assignment to the teacher’s e-mail. The teacher then pastes the assignment into HighMarks. The teacher may leave comments, use grammatical correction options, and assign a letter grade.

The application costs $1.99, and may be purchased through the iTunes Store.

29 Mar

March 29, 2012 |

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.

29 Mar

March 29, 2012 |

Honduran pastors involved in leadership training.

Sunday school teacher training at Puerto Cortes.

Thirty-two Honduran UB pastors participated in a training event. The conference is training leaders from each conference district using a program called ETBIL (Local Church-Based Theological Education). Thus far, 14 have completed the entire program.

Participants meet twice a month, for 6 hours at a time, to work through the units of study together. The idea is that this first generation of 14 will go on to train pastors in all districts, and then pastors will provide the same training for their own congregations.

“We continue being very focused on preparing leaders,” writes Superintendent Chavez.

Honduras has invested tremendous effort over the past three years to provide numerous regional training events of this nature. Many pastors have limited education and theological training. They also are often bi-vocational, so the on-site training is appreciated. Superintendent Juanita Chavez sees this as a high priority, and local churches are experiencing the benefits.

In addition, a workshop for Sunday school teachers was held on a recent Saturday in the Wesley Zion Church in Puerto Cortes.

As of January 2012, Rev. Gonzalo Alas was appointed to serve only the work in El Salvador and will no longer spend any of his time the El Copan region, where he had previously served as a church planter. Honduras oversees the work in El Salvador, but any gifts from other conferences would always be welcome and can be directed through Global Ministries.

28 Mar

March 28, 2012 |

A group of students from the Taylor University School of Business traveled to Sierra Leone in January 2012. They taught entrepreneurship skills and other business-related skills to Sierra Leoneans. The team was led by Jeff Sherlock, a former UB missionary and current Global Ministries Leadership Team member.

Chad Cazel, a student member of the team, developed this video about the trip. Enjoy.

28 Mar

March 28, 2012 |

The March 25 fire at the former Conway UB church.

The former Conway UB church near Fowlerville, Mich., was destroyed in a fire late Sunday night, March 25, 2012. The building has been home to the New Covenant Christian Church. In the 1980s, the United Brethren congregation relocated into the town of Fowlerville under the leadership of Rev. Steve Malson, and is now the Fowlerville UB church.

The church building was constructed in 1888, but the original congregation dates back to 1855. The cause of the fire is undetermined.

26 Mar

March 26, 2012 |

Six persons are from the United States are now in Sierra Leone, where they will participate in the annual Women’s Institute.

  • Donna Hollopeter, associate director of Global Ministries, and her husband Jason.
  • Penny Cole, pastor’s wife from Park UB in Bluffton, Ind.
  • Matenneh Abu, wife of pastor Joe Abu of Mount Zion United African Church in Philadelphia, Pa.
  • Two other women from the Mount Zion church.

26 Mar

March 26, 2012 |

This fall, Huntington University will launch an innovative new program in athletic training.

The 3-2 athletic training program starts with three years of undergraduate study at Huntington, followed by two years of graduate work at Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind. Students will emerge with a Bachelor of Science degree in pre-athletic training from Huntington and a Master of Athletic Training degree from Manchester.

Dr. Matthew Ruiz (right), HU associate professor of exercise science, says, “There is a large and growing demand for athletic training experts in the workforce. In coming years, professionals without a master’s degree will be underprepared to meet the realities of the industry. This partnership with Manchester will ensure that our students are ready and equipped to enter the workforce.”