08 Dec Death of Thelma Sommers
We received word that Thelma Sommers, wife of Pastor Walter Sommers, passed away on November 9, 2009.
08 Dec Helen Villanueva Nears Her Journey’s End
We received word that Helen Villanueva is near death, and could pass away at any time. Helen lives in Belize.
Helen (left) is the mother of Maira Raudales (right), wife of former Honduran superintendent Francisco Raudales. She is also the daughter of James Elliott, the minister whose influence brought the United Brethren denomination to Honduras. For a number of years, Helen pastored the Puerto Cortes UB church in northern Honduras.
08 Dec Jeff Bleijerveld in Mexico Until Dec. 10
Global Ministries director Jeff Bleijerveld has been in Mexico since last Thursday (Dec. 3), spending time with Bishop Denis Casco and the churches of the Mexico National Conference. He’ll return to the States tomorrow, December 9.
08 Dec Six from Mount Pleasant UB Heading to Mexico Dec. 9
A group of six persons from Mount Pleasant UB (Chambersburg, Pa.) will fly to Mexico tomorrow, December 9. Youth pastor Bobby Culler, his wife, and four other persons will meet up with Bishop Denis Casco of the Mexico National Conference. They are looking for a UB church with which to partner. Mount Pleasant has partnered with one UB church in Mexico for the past five years, but has released those reigns and are looking for a different church.
08 Dec Christmas Shoeboxes and the Pastor’s New Clothes
Judy Fortner, Pastor Greg Voight, and all the shoeboxes.
L-r: Pastor Greg Voight with Joe Crawford and John Fortner and the loaded SUV.
Lancaster UB pastor Greg Voight will be wearing his Sunday best, at least during December.
In October, the local WMF president, Judy Fortner, decided to make Operation Christmas Child a high priority. She challenged the congregation to donate 75 shoeboxes for the Franklin Graham organization, Samaritan’s Purse.
Not to be outdone, Pastor Greg Voight opened up his rather considerable mouth and challenged the congregation to double it…150 boxes. In fact, he made a friendly bet with the congregation that if they could do 150 boxes, he would wear a suit and tie every Sunday in December. If the congregation fell short, they would have to sit up front for the whole month.
Shoeboxes began to pour in. The eventual Grand Total: 185 boxes for kids around the world (including enough postage in a special offering to cover all the shipping). As a result, Pastor Greg got his best duds ready and God is reaching around the world through one local church.
“Our people really rallied around the challenge of putting their faith into action in a real and tangible way,” says Pastor Voight. “As so often happens with God, we have been blessed far more than the blessing we’re sending. It started a renewal and a sense of joy and purpose that is amazing. Praise God!”
08 Dec Jamaican UB Churches Raise Money for Missions
UB people file to the front to contribute their money.
L-r: Dr. Coril Warmington and Marian Stewart, representing missionary work in Liberia, with host pastor Rev. Dr. Lloyd Spencer.
The congregation watches a video presentation about the flooding in the Philippines
United Brethren churches in Jamaica Conference, from the Eastern District, held a combined missionary service on Sunday, November 29, to raise funds for two concerns:
- To help UB churches in the Philippines affected by recent floods.
- To help support missionaries in Liberia.
People from the 12 churches of the eastern district held this service at the Washington Gardens church in Kingston, the capital city. The theme this year was, “Reaching the Lost and Needy, with Open Hearts and Hands.” The service included:
- A video presentation by Mr. Andre Saunderson about the devastation in the Philippines.
- Presentations about missionary work in Liberia by missionaries Dr. Coril Warmington and Ms. Marian Stewart .
The service was coordinated by Pastor Barrington Johnson, moderated by Rev. Courtney Morgan, and hosted by Rev. Dr Lloyd Spencer.
07 Dec Urgent Prayer Needed for Missing UB Teen
A teen from Mainstreet Church (Walbridge, Ohio) has been missing since last night.
Jacob Hatfield, 15, was last seen at the church on Sunday night, December 6, around 8:30 p.m. He is the nephew of Tim Sherman, the church’s NextGen pastor. Jacob was wearing a black Coca-Cola stocking cap, a black pullover sweatshirt, a black winter coat, and bluejeans. And he had an iPod.
Anyone with information should call the Lake Township police at 419-666-5500, or the Wood County Sheriff at 419-354-9001.
We are mentioning it here so that UB people across the denomination can be praying for Jacob’s safe return.
UPDATE (9:30 pm Dec. 7): We just received word that Jacob has been found, safe and well. He was found by city police at 7:30 Monday night in Walbridge after a community-wide search by 30-40 volunteers. No other details.
The Hatfield family would like to express their extreme gratitude for your prayers, kindness, and help during the past 24 hours. An additional thanks to the mass of volunteers who were able to gather in support of the family and conduct a foot search for Jacob, to the many police and fire personnel who helped find Jacob, and to the media and other local churches who helped get the word out.
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04 Dec Bishop Whipple Addresses Visiting UB Students
This morning (Friday, Dec. 4), Bishop Phil Whipple spoke briefly to a group of youth from United Brethren churches who were visiting Huntington University. They met in the Longaker Recital Hall in the Merillat Centre for the Arts. The students had come for the Toby Mac Winter Wonder Slam concert, held the night before at Huntington University. They represented these churches:
- Cochranton Community (Cochranton, Pa.)
- Pathway Community (Jackson, Mich.)
- Jerusalem Chapel (Churchville, Va.)
- Fowlerville UB (Fowlervile, Mich.)
- Banner of Christ (Byron Center, Mich.)
- Bethel UB (Elmore, Ohio)
03 Dec Mudslide Destroys Home of El Salvador Pastor
Mrs. Walter Recinos at the site of the mudslide.
Torrential rains hit large areas of Central America this fall. In El Salvador, Pastor Walter Recinos and his wife lost their home in a mudslide. Nearly everything was lost as a result. We’re gathering funds to take with us to General Conference in January to present to Pastor and Mrs. Recinos, who will be attending as guests. El Salvador is a mission district, with oversight by Honduras Conference.