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10 May

May 10, 2010 |

This year senior pastors were given the option, in place of regular cluster meetings, of taking training through the Center for Excellence in Congregational Leadership. This is a demanding two-year program.

A group of five UB pastors will begin the training today. They are now on their way to Green Lakes, Wiss., for the first of five classes they will attend over the next two years. The sessions begin tonight (May 10) and continue all week on the subject “Personal and Pastoral Integrity: The Key to Sustaining Pastoral Excellence.”

The five pastors are:

  • Josh Kesler (The Well, Huntington, Ind.).
  • Gary Dilley (College Park Church, Huntington, Ind.).
  • Gary Reiber (Union Chapel, Fort Wayne, Ind.).
  • Les Smith (Hillsdale UB, Hillsdale, Mich.).
  • Steve Fish (Shoreline Church, Oak Harbor, Ohio).

10 May

May 10, 2010 |

A Sunday school class of mostly senior citizens from King Street Church (Chambersburg, Pa.) was headed to Lancaster County on April 27 for a dinner theater. As their charter bus drove down I-81 on that Tuesday morning, a back tire blew. The driver couldn’t pull over, because the road had no shoulder, so he continued driving a half mile to an off-ramp.

When the driver checked on the tire, he saw smoke and flames. He then asked everyone to leave the bus. All 46 persons got off the bus safely before it filled with black smoke. Fire ultimately destroyed the interior of the bus. Fortunately, nobody was injured.

The passengers were bussed to the Newville fire station, where another bus from the charter company came to get them. They made it to the dinner theater on time.

06 May

May 6, 2010 |

Huntington University will award 279 degrees to students during the May 15 Commencement exercises, scheduled for 3 p.m. in the Merillat Complex for Physical Education and Recreation. Those degrees include:

  • 15 Master of Arts degrees
  • 6 Master of Education degrees
  • 75 Bachelor of Arts degrees
  • 155 Bachelor of Science degrees
  • 9 Bachelor of Social Work degrees
  • 21 Associate of Science degrees

In addition, honorary doctorates will be awarded to two persons: commencement speaker Dr. Herma B. Williams, and Donald Duff.

Martha Smith, Huntington University associate dean of students, will present the baccalaureate sermon at 10:30 a.m. in the Field House of the Merillat Complex.

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

05 May

May 5, 2010 |
Attaboy (l-r): Jeff, Amos, Chris.

Attaboy (l-r): Jeff, Amos, Chris.

Huntington University is cosponsoring the Rock Hop & Roll tour, headlined by Christian music group Attaboy.

The April 18 concert in Grand Rapids, Mich., brought in 750 pounds of food for the needy. All items were donated to Byron Community Ministries’ food and clothing pantry in Byron Center, Mich.

Attaboy was joined by special guests Highland Fall and Jared Mahone. Other consponsors of the event were Banner of Christ UB church in Byron Center, JQ99 Radio, and Cornerstone Church in Caledonia, Mich.

Byron Community Ministries is an outreach program of 22 local churches. Byron supplies food and clothing to 1000 adults and children each month.

Attaboy’s lead singer, Amos Caley, is the son of Rev. J. Michael Caley, pastor of Banner of Christ church. The other two group members are Jeff Edgel, who was a fellow student with Amos at Huntington University; and Huntington native Chris Brumbaugh. The group has been together for five years.

04 May

May 4, 2010 |

Jess and Fay Baker, from First UB church in Holly Hill, Fla., experienced a great tragedy some years ago: their adult daughter was murdered by her ex-husband.

Vicki McKeown from First UB writes, “After the years their son-in-law spent in jail, he asked for their forgiveness and they gave it. God is doing miraculous things in their lives. The father and son-in-law have even served together on a ‘Kairos’ team (the ‘Walk to Emmaus’ for inmates).”

Their story of forgiveness will air Thursday, May 6, on Pat Robertson’s 700 Club. This will be a powerful message to be shared. The segment lasts about six minutes. Check your local listings to see when the 700 Club airs.

04 May

May 4, 2010 |

On May 3, Gary Gates (right), pastor of South Scipio UB church (Harlan, Ind.), began serving one day a week as the denominational Director of Ministerial Licenses.

Previously, most UB ministers were educated through Huntington University. The university then dealt with courses to take, transcripts, and everything else needed to keep the person on track for their licensing and ordination requirements.

Since Huntington University is discontinuing the pastoral track of the graduate program this summer, a lot of responsibility will fall back to the denomination.

The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team revised the licensing and ordination requirements to include a list of up to 25 core courses, which ministers can obtain from various places. The Director of Ministerial Licenses will monitor and give direction to UB men and women as they work toward licensing.

Gary’s responsibilities will include:

  1. Help licentiates through the license and ordination process.
  2. Evaluate schools and courses against the core topics necessary for national conference license and ordination.
  3. Evaluate transcripts in a timely manner and communicate with candidates.
  4. Serve as a liaison between the Bishop and the Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team.
  5. Serve as an advisory member of the Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team.
  6. Recruit instructors to develop the courses that are not readily available through colleges.

Gary will spend Mondays in the Healthy Ministry Resources office. He can be contacted in these ways:

Phone: 1-888-622-3019 (toll-free)
Email: gary@ub.org

04 May

May 4, 2010 |

Steve Dennie, the UB Communications Director, is undergoing surgery May 5 for a torn cartilage in his left knee. It’ll put him on crutches for a few days, and keep him out of the office at least through the weekend. The surgery’s at around 8 a.m.

On April 16, Steve had surgery in which an “endolymphatic shunt” was placed behind his left ear. Since 2004, Steve has battled Meniere’s Disease, which causes vertigo, hearing loss, and a constant ringing in his left ear. The vertigo can be incapacitating at times. There is no cure for Meniere’s, but several surgical procedures can lessen the symptoms. The endolymphatic shunt is the least invasive procedure and has a high success rate.

Everything went well with that surgery, but it’s still too early to tell how much affect it will have in preventing future spells of vertigo. But, he’s pretty sure he’s noticed a positive improvement already.

03 May

May 3, 2010 |

Randy Carpenter (right) has been named senior pastor of Sunfield UB (Sunfield, Mich.). His first Sunday will be May 9. Randy is a 1990 graduate of Huntington University, and holds Masters degrees from Huntington University and from Winebrenner Theological Seminary (Findlay, Ohio). He was ordained in 1993.

Randy has served as senior pastor at two other UB churches:

  • 1993-1995: Third Street (now Anchor) UB in Fort Wayne, Ind.
  • 1995-2006: Oak Harbor UB (now Shoreline) in Oak Harbor, Ohio.

03 May

May 3, 2010 |

The UB Worship Summit is underway in Daytona, Fla., and you can follow along. They will be blogging live on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.  Go to www.worship360.wordpress.com to follow the action.  You can be ready to go by going to the site and clicking on the link.  That will take you to Cover it Live where you can sign up and get email reminders if needed.  The sessions are as follows:

Tues, May 4th
9:45 AM EST – Keynote session #1:  Bob Kauflin, “Why Theology Matters!”
11:00 AM EST – Breakout session #1:  Phil Burkett, “Biblical Worship”

Wed, May 5th
9:45 AM EST – Keynote session #2:  Efrem Smith, “Worship of the Beloved”
11:00 AM EST – Breakout session #2:  Jonathon Ford, “Spiritual Disciplines in Worship”