Anthony L. Blair, an ordained UB minister, has been named President of Evangelical Theological Seminary in Myerstown, Pa. He was selected by a unanimous vote of the seminary’s board of trustees, and will take office July 1.

Blair, 46, is co-senior pastor of a non-denominational church called Hosanna! A Fellowship of Christians, and teaches in the master’s and Ph.D. programs at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., where he’s been on the faculty since 1997. In addition, Blair has taught church history at Evangelical Theological Seminary since 2009.

Blair has been a pastor, church planter, and superintendent in the former Mid-Atlantic Conference. He pastored these UB churches in Pennsylvania:

  • 1986-1989: Lurgan UB (Lurgan, Pa.)
  • 1989-1991: Macedonia UB (Greencastle, Pa.)
  • 1991-1994: Devonshire UB (Harrisburg, Pa.)
  • 1994-2000: Strinestown UB (Strinestown, Pa.).
  • 2000-2005: Grace Now! Ministries (Middletown, Pa.)

Blair holds a bachelor’s in religion from Messiah College; a master’s in religion from Evangelical Theological Seminary; a doctorate in history from Temple University; and a Doctor of Ministry from George Fox Theological Seminary.

He and his wife of 22 years, Carol, have two daughters.

Evangelical School of Theology has 185-190 students pursuing graduate degrees. Two other UB ministers, Ray Seilhamer and Kirby Keller, previously served as EST’s president.

Mrs. Marie Simbo, mother of Rev. Billy Simbo, passed away February 11, 2011, in Sierra Leone. She was 84 years old. Rev. Simbo, who concluded his transition role as bishop of Sierra Leone Conference in January, delayed his return to the States in case she passed away, knowing he would need to abruptly return. However, he decided to return to the States on February 4. He will head back to Sierra Leone for memorial services on February 25 and 27.

You can contact Billy Simbo at:

Billy K. Simbo
1822 Erlen Road
Elkins Park, PA 19027
Email

Here is information which Billy sent to Global Ministries on February 11.

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Do you have some of the old maroon 1973 United Brethren hymnals sitting around somewhere? We occasionally receive requests for that hymnal.

Most recently, The Village of Laurel Run (formerly Piney Mountain Home, once operated by Mid-Atlantic Conference) expressed interest in some. Lois Culler writes, “I go there and play the piano and I have found that some of these hymnals are in real bad shape. A group of us are going up to try to put masking tape on them to hold them together.” If they could get some donated hymnals in good condition, that would be great.

The Mount Zion United African Church in Philadelphia, Pa., pastored by Rev. Joe Abu, was also interested in obtaining hymnals.

If you have some hymals to donate, contact Steve Dennie.

A group of 11 persons from Blue Rock UB church (Waynesboro, Pa.) will travel to Honduras Friday 11-19, 2011. They plan to finish pouring the deck at the conference camp outside of La Ceiba, and to hold a Bible school.

Mainstreet Church (Walbridge, Ohio) is replacing its phone system, and wonders if another church or organization would like the previous system, which is 3-4 years old. They are switching to an IP Voice system. The phone system they are hoping to sell consists of:

  • Toshiba CIX40 Strata cabinet and Power Supply (CHSU40A)
  • CIX40 Processor Card (GCTU2A)
  • CIX40 4-Port TIS16 Voice Mail System
  • HPFB-6 Battery Backup Module for CIX40 and CTX28
  • Six (6) Toshiba DKT3220-SD 20 button digital Speakerphones
  • Two (2) Toshiba DKT3207-SD 7 button digital Speakerphones

If interested, contact:

Tom Caldwell, Pastor of Grouplife
Mainstreet Church
5465 Moline Martin Rd.
Walbridge, Ohio 43465
419-838-7600

Nick Woodall, pastor of Stryker UB Church (Stryker, Ohio), has experienced the loss of his father. Robert A. Woodall passed away Thursday, February 3, 2011, at age 82. He was a member of Mainstreet UB church in Walbridge, Ohio. The funeral was held Monday, February 7. You can send condolences to Rev. Woodall at:

Nick E. Woodall
P.O. Box 329
Stryker, OH 43557
Email:

The six living bishops. L-r: Ray Seilhamer, Paul Hirschy, Phil Whipple, Raymond Waldfogel, C. Ray Miller, and Ron Ramsey. (click to enlarge)

The six living bishops gathered for breakfast this morning in the new conference room at the national office in Huntington, Ind. Bishop Phil Whipple meets with them every couple of months; they are his accountability group. The original plan was to try to do a conference video hook-up with Wilber L. Sites, Jr., who lived in Pennsylvania; unfortunately, he passed away December 28.

On January 23, Hillsdale UB Church (Hillsdale, Mich.) dedicated an Activity Center. Bishop Phil Whipple gave a challenging address to the congregation before they went across the parking lot to enjoy a celebration meal in the new building.

Special guests included State Rep. Ken Kurtz, State Senator Bruce Caswell, and Congressman Tim Walberg. Rep. Kurtz, a member of Hillsdale UB, gave the dedication prayer to close the service.

The Activity Center was opened just in time to accomodate the explosive growth of the Upwards basketball/cheerleading ministry. In just its second year at Hillsdale, the number of children increased by over 100 and the number of teams grew from 19 to 30. Every Saturday, several hundred people pour in to watch the Upwards games. The majority do not yet attend services, but new families have been added to the congregation.

Even though Hillsdale County has had unemployment rates ranging from 15 to 20 per cent the last few years, an anonymous church member provided a check for $150,000 to purchase the building debt-free.

Tim and Christine Scroggs kneel as they are prayed over by (l-r) Bishop Phil Whipple, Robert Bruce, and Rick Pride.

Tim Scroggs was ordained January 31, 2011, at Eagle Quest UB church in Columbia City, Ind. Bishop Phil Whipple conducted the ordination during the Sunday morning service. Assisting him were Rick Pride, pastor of Eagle Quest, and Robert Bruce, associate pastor of Emmanuel UB in Fort Wayne, Ind. Tim has been Family Life Pastor at Eagle Quest.