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Fifty-two future Huntington University students have been awarded a Presidential Scholarship of $7000. A few received an additional Colloquium Scholarship of $1500. The Presidential and Colloquium Scholarships at Huntington University are the highest honors bestowed on incoming students. Read about them and see their photos.
A team of three staff members and 11 Huntington University students traveled to China during the 2007 January Term for a 23-day experiential learning trip. Dr. Luke Fetters, associate professor of ministry and missions, and Campus Pastor Bill Fisher took the students to seven Chinese cities to learn about Christianity in China.
The team traveled to Hong Kong, Macau, Zhouhai, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Nanjing, and Beijing, covering an estimated 2000 miles.
Fetters wanted students to understand the complexity of the Christian experience in modern day China. “The general stereotype among Americans of the church in China is secret meetings, smuggling of Bibles, fear, and police,” said Fetters. “But in reality there is a government-regulated legal church with 20 million members. There is also a government-recognized printing company that has printed 15 million Bibles.”
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Huntington University approved a 3% increase for fulltime undergraduate tuition for 2007-2008. Annual tuition at Huntington University is currently $18,420. The increase amounts to $280 more per semester for fulltime undergrads.
Across the United States, the average tuition and fees at four-year private institutions this year is $22,218, reflecting an average increase of 5.9% over 2005-2006, according to College Board’s 2006-2007 annual survey of colleges.
Two groups of students spent their January Term, January 8-24, at United Brethren camps–16 students at the Michindoh Camp and Conference Center in Hillsdale, Mich., and ten students at Camp Living Waters in Luther, Mich.
Camp Michindoh. Dr. Bill Bordeaux (right), professor of chemistry, took 16 students to Camp Michindoh, where they worked with fifth and sixth graders from Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana schools. The class was called “Outdoor Environmental Education for Children.”
The students served as cabin leaders for 10-12 elementary students, helped the camp staff in classroom and laboratory settings, and taught team-building classes.
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Katie Jo Brown sits in the middle of the dull white classroom reading out loud. All around her is a mob of 36 children, 7-9 year-olds, all scrambling on top of her to point out the misplaced silly objects in the book. Their eyes are wide with wonder as they glance at the colorful pages trying to be the first one to find the hidden pieces.
Brown, a junior elementary education major from Eaton Rapids, Mich., was among seven Huntington University students who spent their two-and-a-half week January Term in Arizona. They were led by Kathy Turner, instructor in education.
The trip was offered to junior students who were required to have a practicum in a minority setting. Students that didn’t participate in the multi-cultural trip will be placed in a school in Fort Wayne, Ind.
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During Huntington University’s January Term, many students take advantage of trips offered by departments or professors. This year’s J-Term offered eight off-campus and 25 on-campus classes spanning the two-and-a-half weeks (January 8-24), giving students a chance to delve in-depth into a single subject.
One group traveled to Italy to study the country’s rich art culture. The group consisted of 29 students, two faculty members, and three non-student adults. Over the course of their trip, the group visited Venice, Florence, Siena, San Gimignano and Rome, gaining an understanding of the historical art and architecture. The group visited such landmarks as St. Mark’s Cathedral, the Guggenheim Museum, and St. Peter’s Basilica.
Rebecca Coffman, professor of art, and Ken Hopper, assistant professor of art, designed the trip so that students would learn to appreciate the different art styles.
Junior Melissa Shepard, an entrepreneurship/small business major from Brooklyn, Mich., said of her Italy experience, “The friendships and experiences will be a memory that I will never forget, and when I look back on college as I grow older, I will always have Italy as a climax to my experience in college.”
Irving Fryar, a former NFL wide receiver with the New England Patriots and five-time Pro Bowler, will speak to a group of teens fasting for world hunger at the Atlantic Avenue UB church in Franklin, Pa.
Fryar will be the guest speaker for the church’s second annual charity dinner and sports auction on Friday, February 23. All proceeds from the dinner will benefit the World Vision 30-hour Famine world hunger program.
Here’s a story about Lee and Huldah Gosnell, members of Central UB church in Rohresville, Md., who have now been married for 70 years. They were married in Central UB’s parsonage on February 18, 1937. Both are now 92 years old.
An early morning fire destroyed the home of Danny and Dorothy Bailey and their two children. All escaped without harm, though son Steve, 18, was treated for smoke inhalation after trying to save some possessions.
The Baileys are members of Fountain United Brethren Church in Keyser, W. Va. The church is collecting food and clothing for the family.
In light of the process every church is going through currently in signing the National Conference Covenant, some questions are being asked for clarification. The National Conference Covenant consists of eight statements which churches must agree to; the senior pastor and board chairperson sign it for the congregation, and the bishop signs it on behalf of the denomination. We thought it would be good to give answers to the most frequently asked questions about the covenant.
1. Do we have to sign it to remain a United Brethren Church?
Yes. In 2005, we chose to move toward being a proactive church that is held together by a common commitment to fulfilling the Great Commission and our common adherence to the Confession of Faith. We also moved from being purely hierarchical to more of an association of churches. The covenant is our way of making a mutual, on-going commitment to each other.
2. What is the 3.5% fee?
A part of the covenant is the agreement to contribute 3.5% of all non-missions, non-building fund monies as a partnership fee. This fee enables us to provide help to each local church through support services, coaching, resourcing, and leadership training. It is a small investment in each other.
3. What does it mean to partner with like-minded churches (point 5)?
The concept of partnering with like-minded churches involves working with other churches that share our passions. They may be UB or non-UB. The idea is that you work in cooperation with others to accomplish the greater good. Some churches may be passionate about the work in Sierra Leone or Honduras. It may be that two churches, though not located geographically close to each other, may partner to build a church or housing unit, or to support starting some new ministry in one of those countries. There could be many variations to the theme of partnering together. A cluster may decide to jointly plant a church and the constituent churches contribute prayer, people, or money to see it happen.
4. What does it mean to support the ministries of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA (point 8)?
This is considered by some to be more of a programmatic issue than a covenant issue. Support may be as little as praying for those ministries, or as much as funding them at a high level. That is up to the goals and desires of the local church and its mission. There is nothing mandatory in this provision.
5. What happens if our church doesn’t sign the covenant?
By choosing not to sign the covenant, your church is choosing to withdraw from the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA. If you don’t return the covenant at least 90 days prior to the National Conference, a process outlined in the Discipline, paragraph 602.2, kicks in. It starts with the cluster leader (or other elder appointed by the Bishop) arranging a congregational meeting (at least 60 days prior to the National Conference) to determine if it is, indeed, the desire of your church to withdraw. If a majority of the church’s members at that meeting determine not to sign the covenant, the church shall be considered to have withdrawn from the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA.
6. What are the ramifications of withdrawing?
Here are some of the key ramifications.
7. Is it possible that the bishop would choose not to sign our covenant?
Yes, that is possible, but it would likely happen rarely.
If you have any other questions, please give the Bishop a call.
