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Josh Kesler, pastor of The Well in Huntington, Ind., is mourning the loss of his father, who passed away during the night. People are leaving condolences on Josh’s Facebook page. Please keep Josh and the Kesler family in your prayers.
Here are some thoughts about Bishop Raymond Waldfogel, who passed away last night, from UB church leaders who knew him well.
C. Ray Miller, Bishop, 1973-1993
Raymond and Wardena were very good friends of Lanie and me. We knew Raymond as a fulltime superintendent in the North Ohio Conference, as a bishop, as a pastor, as a hospital chaplain, and as a friend. It was certainly a real privilege to know him in all these ways. We worked together in the denominational offices, when we served together as bishops. His counsel was always very much appreciated. It was our privilege to stay with them in their home and to travel together to NAE conventions.
More recently, it was a privilege to visit with him in a nursing home. I was amazed at his sense of humor and his wonderful attitude, in spite of his pain and suffering. He had a real interest in the work of the denomination and talked often of the pastors on his district, whom he prayed for fervently. As a pastor, he took a deep interest in the members of the congregation and often shared some of the good experiences he was having.
Raymond will be missed greatly, not only by his family, but by those of us who knew him and loved him
Paul Hirschy, Bishop, 2001-2005
I will remember Raymond as a huge gentle man! He was very much interested in helping others who were going through difficult times. This is one of the things that made him such a good fit for the chaplain’s role at the Huntington hospital and the visitation role at the College Park Church. We are going to miss him!
Ron Ramsey, Bishop, 2005-2009
Bishop Waldfogel was a great man of prayer. I loved to hear him pray. Maybe it was in part his deep, resonate voice, but you got the impression that he knew God well enough to be very personal with him in prayer. He was also a great man of faith. I suppose that goes with prayer. He was a great encourager, and could see good even in bad situations. He was a loyal friend and brother. I don’t recall ever hearing him say anything bad about anyone.
He had a very well-honed sense of humor, a dry wit that sometimes went over your head until later when you would get it. He was fun to be with! He was a man of humility. He was a leader in a rather understated way. He didn’t wave a flag that said “I am the leader,” but when I was around him I recognized his leadership abilities. He made it easy to follow him as a leader. He was a forceful preacher, delivering deep content with a deep voice that commanded your attention.
He loved his wife and family deeply. He lived his faith. What he believed he lived. He was faithful, consistent, humorous, loving, generous, fun to be with, and treated people with respect.
Gary Dilley, Senior Pastor, College Park Church (Huntington, Ind.)
Our friend and colleague, Raymond Waldfogel, has faced declining health in recent months. After his passing Tuesday evening, staff in the care facilities came to express their appreciation to the family for Raymond. He had brightened the skilled care wing of Heritage Pointe in Warren, Ind., by daily “singing praises” to his Lord.
We at College Park Church will miss Raymond greatly. He served for many years at CP doing pastoral care, along with chaplaincy at the Parkview Huntington Hospital. He was teaching Sunday school until a few months ago when his health no longer allowed him to continue. Ray was still writing sermons in his mind right up until the closing days!
We celebrate a servant of the Lord receiving his reward, but also grieve with the family in the loss of someone we cared about deeply.
Bishop Emeritus Raymond Waldfogel
Raymond Waldfogel, who served as bishop 1969-1981, passed away during the night of September 13, 2011. He was 85 years old.
The funeral will be held Saturday, September 17, in Huntington, Ind. The details:
Viewing Times: 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm Friday, September 16.
Viewing Location: Myers Funeral Home, 2901 Guilford Street, Huntington, IN 46750.
Funeral Time: 2 pm Saturday, September 17.
Funeral Location: College Park Church, 1945 College Ave., Huntington, Ind. 46750.
Raymond Waldfogel was born on April 27, 1926, in Fulton County, Ohio. He was converted as a boy in the Fountain Chapel UB church.
Raymond graduated from high school in 1943, and in 1946, at age 20, received a quarterly conference ministerial license from Fountain Chapel. He went on to graduate from Huntington College in 1950, and from its seminary in 1956. He was ordained in 1956 upon finishing seminary.
All of Raymond’s pastoral experience came in North Ohio conference. His first pastorate was Olive Branch Station, 1950-1953. From 1953-1955 he pastored the two churches on the Hopewell Circuit. He served the South Scipio church 1955-1958, and the Stryker Circuit 1958-1959.
After he had served as a pastor for nine years, the conference showed him their confidence and respect by choosing him as their fulltime superintendent. He held that position for six years, until 1965, when the conference adopted a system involving three pastor-superintendents. Raymond then began pastoring Harvest Lane UB church in Toledo, Ohio, while continuing as one of the three pastor-superintendents.
The 1969 General Conference elected Raymond as one of three bishops. During the 1969-1973 quadrennium, the bishops lived on their assigned districts. For the newly-elected bishop of the West District–everything west of Indiana–that meant moving his family to Sacramento, Calif. His pastor at the Hillsdale UB church in Sacramento was a young minister named Ron Ramsey.
The 1973 General Conference changed its mind about bishops living on their districts, and called all of the bishops back to live in Huntington, Ind. Raymond remained bishop of the West District until 1977, when General Conference stationed him on the Central District (Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Florida), which he served until 1981. He then returned to Toledo to again pastor the Harvest Lane church.
Bishop Waldfogel and Wardena eventually relocated to Huntington, Ind., and he served a number of years on staff at College Park UB church in Huntington and as chaplain at the Huntington hospital. He was also part of the “bishops’ cluster,” which Bishop Ron Ramsey started and Bishop Phil Whipple has continued, in which the former bishops meet periodically with the current bishop.
Raymond and Wardena were married in 1945 in Claytonville, Ill. They have five children.
Bishop Emeritus Raymond Waldfogel passed away last night, September 13. He served as bishop for 12 years, 1969-1981. Details about funeral arrangements will be posted here when available.
Pastor Kevin Whitacre (right) prepares to baptize one of the ten persons baptized on September 11 at Corunna. (click to enlarge)
The folks of Corunna watching the baptisms. (click to enlarge)
At Corunna, we chose to focus on our identity in Christ as our guidepost for the best and worst of days. We then moved forward with the renewal of our church by receiving 7 new members, and baptizing 10 believers at our celebration!
Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries
Sierra Leone has appointed Rev. Joe Abu (right) to serve as a liaison to United Brethren churches in Canada and the United States. Joe, a native of Sierra Leone, is senior pastor of Mount Zion United African Church in Philadelphia, Pa.
Earlier this year, an agreement was signed by the Sierra Leone Conference, Global Ministries, and Rev. Abu, to ensure that communications and projects have been approved first by the Sierra Leone National Conference and then by Global Ministries. Any funds for ministries in Sierra Leone will be handled by Global Ministries.
Jonathan Herron has resigned as senior pastor of Colwood UB church (Caro, Mich.). A letter was read to the congregation on August 28. Rev. Herron had been pastor of Colwood since September 2009.
Jason Garwood (right), associate pastor at Colwood, has been appointed interim lead pastor for an undetermined time.
Chet Conley, associate pastor, First UB (Findlay, Ohio)
As associate/music pastor of First UB church, I spent a vast number of hours putting together a Powerpoint presentation, timed to Don Moen’s “God Will Make A Way.” I mention this only because I viewed it in part so many times during the process that I almost knew at each beat of music what slide should be up and for how long. With each run through, I discovered my focus was on producing a well thought out presentation. When I completed it and viewed it from start to finish, I became so emotional, I couldn’t play it again. Thinking it was just me, I asked my wife Carol to view it and tell me what she thought. As she saw it, she too became very emotional.
I did not want to open or end our service on such an emotional note. Indeed, memorializing a monumental event in our nation’s history merits such a presentation. But, in lieu of all the preparation, it did not really tell a story of Christ’s compassion and mercy like the story of the cross does.
Empowered to make the musical decisions for our church, and after much prayer, I believe the Spirit led me to this conclusion: the best way our church might honor those who lost their lives that dreadful day was simply to observe a moment of silence. We used a Powerpoint slide of a young lady wearing a commemorative tenth anniversary 9-11 T-shirt shirt as a backdrop. Far less elaborate than I had planned. But the impact confirms that God is always on time. It proved a very poignant but effective opening moment in our worship service.
Mark Smith, Morocco UB Church (Temperance, Mich.)
Morocco UB church held an outdoor service on September 11, with 64 people attending. We allowed time to remember 9/11. Four young people were baptized in a pond. A carry in dinner was held following the service.
Pastor Todd Greenman is the pastor at Morocco, where exciting things are happening! We have a roof project going on, ordered 25 worship chairs for our overflow area, replaced railings on our outdoor deck, and are busy making preparations for our annual Family Fun Fest on September 24 (2-6 pm). This event will include live music, games, crafts for children, food, and lots of fun. If your in our area come celebrate with us!
What did your church do to recognize 9/11? Write up something on this form.
Jonathan Ford (right), pastor of Worship and Arts at King Street Church (Chambersburg, Pa.)
We invited first-responders in our community and church family to attend in uniform and took time to recognize and express our appreciation to them for their service. We also gave each a DVD titled “The Cross and the Towers” as a thank you.
We used 2 video elements in our service:
Our service included communion, which was followed by bagpipes entering from the rear of the church playing “Amazing Grace.”
Dr. Beukema preached a sermon titled, “When Towers Fall” (see http://www.kingstreetchurch.com/sermons for a copy).
We have heard already that the service was helpful to people who were looking for hope and consolation.
