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01 Apr

April 1, 2011 |

L-r: Joseph Stowell, Ted Bendall, Phillip Howard, Bill Fisher.

Huntington University’s annual Commencement exercises are coming up in May. This is the 113th edition.

Date: May 14, 2011
Time: 3 pm.
Location: Merillat Physical Education and Recreation Complex.

The university will award 333 graduates with master’s, bachelor’s, or associate degrees.

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

The Commencement speaker is Dr. Joseph M. Stowell, president of Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich. His address is titled “True Identity” and will focus on Matthew 4:18-22. He is a nationally known speaker and author of more than 20 books including “Jesus Nation,” “The Trouble with Jesus,” “Simply Jesus and You” and “Radical Reliance.” From 1987 to 2005, he served as the president of Moody Bible Institute, and as the teaching pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel in suburban Chicago 2005-2008 prior to assuming the presidency at Cornerstone.

Three honorary doctorate degrees will be awarded to:

  • Dr. Joseph Stowell, the Commencement speaker (Doctor of Divinity).
  • Theodore L. Bendall, a Huntington attorney whose firm has provided legal counsel to Huntington University since 1968 (Doctor of Laws).
  • Phillip G. Howard, president and co-owner of InterDesign, which has served as the university’s architect for over 30 years and is responsible for most of the buildings on the campus (Doctor of Commercial Science).

Rev. Bill Fisher, Huntington University dean of Christian Faith and Life, will present the baccalaureate sermon at 10:30 a.m. in the fieldhouse. His message is titled “Sticky Business” and will focus on a passage from John 15. Fisher became Huntington University’s dean of Christian faith and life in 1993.

You can read more about from the official university press release.

01 Apr

April 1, 2011 |

Registrations for this summer’s US National Conference have now hit 210, with new registrations being added every day.

You can register online, or by using the registration brochures mailed to all churches.

Reminder:

Date: July 6-9, 2011
Location: Saw Mill Creek Resort, Huron, Ohio

If you haven’t made hotel reservations, you need to do that as soon as possible. Especially if you want to stay at Saw Mill Creek, where the meetings will be held. It’ll be filling up before long. (But there are lots of other hotels in the area.)

01 Apr

April 1, 2011 |

Global Ministries is sponsoring three summer trips. We’ve already publicized them. One is completely filled up, but spots remain open for the other two.

Spain (July 12-19, 2011)

We need four persons for this trip. Participants will work with UB missionaries Ron and Brenda Anderson in a Family English Camp on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The cost is $500 plus airfare.

Poland (June 24 – July 5, 2011)
We have 9 people for this trip, but could use up to 7 more. This trip is open to high-school aged students through adults. Participants will work with Polish teens in a camp atmosphere to improve their conversational English skills. There will also be time for informal teaching of basic sports skills. The trip is being led by Roger andf Sharon McDonald of Auburn, Ind. Cost: $700 plus the cost of airfare.

Honduras (June 17-25, 2011)

This summer’s medical trip is all filled up (once again).

If you’re interested in participating on any of these trips, please contact Donna Hollopeter in Global Ministries.

31 Mar

March 31, 2011 |

Jenaya with some students

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

One of our team’s strategies in Macau is to engage students through conversational English. Three of our staff work directly in the local school system as English teachers and look for ways to engage students both in the classroom and outside. In addition to her class time, Jenaya invites students to her home to make cookies and socialize. Bridger plays soccer and hangs out at “noodle” houses. David and Melissa Kline have a revolving door at their home as students come and go throughout the day and evening.

The constant challenge is in engaging students for Christ. There’s an acute sense of apathy among young people in Macau who have little direction for the future in a city-state dominated by the world largest gambling industry. Just days after leaving Macau last month, I was informed by David Kline that one of his students was found floating near the ferry boat pier in what appears to have been a suicide.

Pray for the work in Macau and neighboring regions and for spiritual breakthroughs in the lives of students and adults.

30 Mar

March 30, 2011 |

We just received word about the death of Rev. Kenneth A. Beattie on Saturday, March 26, 2011. Rev Beattie, a minister for over 55 years, died in Toledo Hospital of complications from dementia. He was 83.

Rev. Beattie began showing symptoms of dementia about three years ago, and had broken both hips in separate falls during the past two years. He lived at home and was undergoing rehabilitation for his most recent break when he was taken to the hospital on March 22 because of difficulty breathing.

He was a Navy SeaBee during World War II, serving in the Philippines. Before entering the ministry, he worked for a machine products company and farmed in Defiance County, Ohio. He preached and held tent revivals in the Defiance area.

Rev. Beattie received degrees from Fort Wayne Bible college and the Huntington University Seminary. He served 13 years at churches in Sherwood, Ohio, and Camden, Mich., plus several years in evangelistic work. Then, in 1969, he became pastor of Harvest Lane UB church in Toledo, Ohio. He stayed for 12 years, overseeing the expansion of the sanctuary.

After leaving Harvest Lane, he pastored two UB churches in Michigan on a circuit–Riverside UB in Monroe and Morocco UB in Temperance. He then moved on to Pontiac, Mich., to pastor First Christian Missionary Alliance Church.

Reverend Beattie planned to retire in 1988 when he returned to Toledo, but then discovered a small Wesleyan church that needed a pastor. He volunteered part-time for a while, and then went fulltime, serving as pastor until retiring in 2009.

Reverend Beattie and his wife, Jean, were married for 63 years. Surviving are his wife, two daughters, and a son.

Services were held Wednesday, March 30, at 11 am in the Reeb Funeral Home in Sylvania, Ohio.

30 Mar

March 30, 2011 |

If you’re a shutterbug and would like to share some of your photos at national conference, we invite you to participate in our “Love God, Love Others Photo Contest.” It’s not necessary that you attend the conference. You just need to attend a United Brethren church.

We’re looking for photos from your church which in some way reflect the conference theme, “Love God, Love Others.” Submissions must be sent to us electronically (digital photos) no later than June 1, 2011. Make sure the resolution is high enough for us to print out a good copy in 8×10 size (at least 3 megapixels, no more than 6 megapixels).

During the conference, photos will be displayed in a gallery and conference attendees can vote on their three favorite photographs. Prizes will be awarded as follows:

First Place – $150 Amazon Gift Card
Second Place – $100 Amazon Gift Card
Third Place – $50 Amazon Gift Card

Participants must attend a United Brethren church and may submit no more than two images.

A form is available on the National Conference site for sending your photos. Or, you can email photos to photocontest@ub.org, with this information: Your name, address, church name, phone number, and a brief description of each photo.

By entering the contest, you affirm that the photograph is your own and grant license to the United Brethren in Christ to reproduce, display, and create derivative works of the entries.

28 Mar

March 28, 2011 |

Davis Hall now includes a film studio with a large green screen.

Huntington University has been selected as a recipient of the 2011 BCA Excellence in Construction Awards for the renovations to Becker Hall.

Becker Hall, formerly known as the Administration Building, is the university’s first building. It was erected in 1897 and has acted as classroom, gymnasium, chapel, and administrative space over the years.

During the summer of 2010, renovations were made to the basement and lobby, including donations from Fetters Construction of period-like wood trim and ceramic tile for the lobby. The biggest renovations were to Davis Hall, on the third floor of the building. It now supports a film studio with a greenscreen, a stadium-seat theater, faculty offices, editing rooms, and an equipment cage. The addition of a new elevator completed the renovations during the fall of 2010. The building will still serve in its current administrative role, but now also houses the future of the digital media arts program.

The project was recognized in the “Renovation – Under $2 million” category from the Building Contractors Association. Fetters Construction submitted the project for consideration.

“Receiving this award helps to confirm that we achieved our goal of trying to emphasize the heritage of the building while enhancing its ability to meet current program needs,” said Tom Ayers, vice president for business and finance/treasurer.

The renovations to Becker Hall are part of the larger $21 million “Together: The Campaign for Huntington University” that will also expand the Merillat Physical Education and Recreation Complex and grow the University Fund and endowment.

28 Mar

March 28, 2011 |

The Children’s Ministry Summit, previously scheduled for May 17-18, 2011, has been cancelled. They had hoped for 15 registrants, but weren’t close to that number, so the decision was made to pull the plug.

28 Mar

March 28, 2011 |

Jason Sheets, associate pastor of Shepherd of the Valley UB church (Logan, Ohio), sent a report on a youth group activity. Sixteen youth from the Shepherd of the Valley and nearby West Pleasant Hill (Rockbridge, Ohio) UB churches participated in a 30 Hour Famine. The groups together raised over $1500 to help fight world hunger. (click photo to enlarge)

28 Mar

March 28, 2011 |

Phil Whipple, Bishop

On January 25-27, Sandy and I visited our Haitian church in Bradenton, Fla. I did three leadership training sessions for them, using the “Habitudes” materials.

About 30 people came on Friday night. My session lasted about two hours. When I finished, one of their guys did a ten-minute recap of the main points in the Creole language, which is used widely among Haitians.

Something similar happened during the Saturday morning and evening sessions on Saturday, though the translation became more detailed as the day wore on. About 20 people attended both of those sessions, but not always the same people; some people came for just one session, depending on their work schedules.

We arrived at the church on Sunday morning during the Sunday school hour. They have three adult classes which meet in the sanctuary at the same time. In our American culture, we think you need a separate walled room for each class, but that wasn’t the case here. One class of about 30 met on one side, a group of 15-20 ladies met a little further back, and clear in the back of the sanctuary was a class of about 15 guys. All three teachers were every animated and engaged with teaching their material, and the people didn’t seem distracted by the noise. They were really focused on their teachers.

At the end of the Sunday school hour, the children and youth came in from their areas. Everybody moved up to the front, and they had a traditional Sunday school closing, complete with awards for the classes that gave the most money and brought the most visitors.

I delivered the morning sermon, with the help of a translator. I estimate that 100-110 people attended that morning. Although the community includes Hispanics and other ethnic groups, this was very much a Haitian congregation.

Pastor Jean Claude Presendieu would like to see them expand to other groups, but as long as they speak Creole, they’ll be a Haitian congregation. He said most people communicate in English at their jobs. But when they come to church, they prefer using Creole, which is their native, heart language.

One lady gave an announcement in English. She’s Haitian, but was more comfortable speaking in English than in Creole. They didn’t translate for her, so I figured enough people could understand what she said.

The Bradenton congregation keeps a strong tie to Haiti, especially in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake. Pastor Presendieu will go to Haiti in April or May to help conduct a crusade. They’ve done some projects, like putting together buckets of supplies to send back to Haiti.