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11 May

May 11, 2018 |

Jim Bolich (right) has been appointed senior pastor of Mount Pleasant UB church (Chambersburg, Pa.) effective July 1, 2018. He had been senior pastor of Prince Street UB church (Shippensburg, Pa.) since 2002, and prior to that served in associate pastor roles at two other Pennsylvania UB churches–Franklin (New Castle) and Mongul (Shippensburg). He is also part-time Director of Ministerial Licensing for the US National Conference.

At Mount Pleasant, he will replace Dr. Ray Seilhamer, who is concluding a two year assignment as interim pastor. He and Ruth will be moving back to their home in Roanoke, Ind.

08 May

May 8, 2018 |

Brad and Janet North

Brad North was appointed senior pastor of South Scipio UB church (Harlan, Ind.) effective April 1, 2018. He had been in camp ministry since 1997, most recently as director of Camp Living Waters in Luther, Mich., since 2013. He replaces Ken Thompson, who had pastored South Scipio for two years.

08 May

May 8, 2018 |

L-r: Josh and Sara Good, Les and Linda Smith, David and Jennifer Dakin.

Josh Good has been appointed senior pastor of Hillsdale UB church (Hillsdale, Mich.) effective June 4, 2018. He has been in United Brethren ministry since 1998, serving in youth ministry until 2012, when he became senior pastor of Homefront UB church in Grandville, Mich.

Lester Smith is concluding 20 years as senior pastor at Hillsdale. Smith is retiring on June 1 after 38 years in United Brethren ministry. During that time, he served at four different UB churches in Michigan–Pennfield (Battle Creek) 1980-1982, Maple Hill (Grandville) 1982-1987, Richfield Road (Flint) 1987-1998, and Hillsdale since 1998. He has provided leadership in a number of roles within Michigan Conference and at the denominational level, including assistant chairperson of the Executive Leadership Team.

David Dakin has been appointed senior pastor of Homefront UB church (Grandville, Mich.) effective June 11, 2018. He had been associate pastor of Jerusalem Chapel UB church (Churchville, Va.).

30 Apr

April 30, 2018 |

About 55 United Brethren pastors and spouses are attending the third Pastors Summit, which begins tonight (April 30) in Daytona Beach, Fla. This summit is for senior pastors and spouses from churches with an attendance less than 150. They are coming from seven states–Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and Kansas.

Also attending are Bishop Todd and Lisa Fetters, and National Ministries director Mike and Pam Dittman. The summit will conclude at noon on Thursday.

The Pastors Summit for churches of 300+ attendance was held three weeks ago (April 9-12), and the summit for churches of 150-300 attendance was held two weeks ago (April 16-19). Last week, April 23-27, was the annual UB Youth Summit for youth leaders in UB churches.

That leaves only the Associate Staff Summit, for ministers serving in staff roles at UB churches. It will be held next week, May 7-11.

All of these events are being held in Daytona Beach, Fla.

19 Apr

April 19, 2018 |

Attendees of the April 16-19 summit in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Lisa Fetters (right) with Janet Bolich, from Prince Street UB church (Shippensburg, Pa.).

Bishop Todd Fetters (left) with Marc Stephenson, pastor of Mt. Olivet UB church (Chambersburg, Pa.).

Every other year–the year when we don’t have National Conference–we hold Pastors Summits for senior pastors and spouses. Three such summits are happening during April. All are being held in Daytona Beach, Fla., starting on a Monday and ending on Thursday.

The first summit was held April 9-12. It was for senior pastors and spouses from churches with an attendance above 300. Nine pastoral couples attended, along with Bishop Todd and Lisa Fetters, National Ministries director Mike Dittman, and UB Global associate director Frank Y.

The second summit is ending today. It is for senior pastors and spouses from churches with an attendance of 150-300. The attendees include nine pastoral couples, three senior pastors by themselves, plus Bishop Todd and Lisa Fetters and Mike Dittman.

The third Pastors Summit will be held April 30 – May 3. This one is for senior pastors and spouses from churches with an attendance below 150. This will be the largest group. There will be 22 pastoral couples, plus six senior pastors attending by themselves. Todd and Lisa Fetters and Mike and Pam Dittman will also attend.

16 Apr

April 16, 2018 |

Christiana Danielle, a 2017 Huntington University graduate, has made it past the opening rounds of The Voice. Tonight, the live playoff rounds begin. And now, viewers can start voting. It would be great to have a Huntington University alum as a winner of The Voice!

At HU, students and others will gather at the Merillat Center for the Arts to watch the live show in Zurcher Auditorium. Free snacks from The Party Shop, JJ Java, and Sugar Mama’s Bakery will be available, along with a limited supply of Christiana Danielle shirts. The show will start at 8:00 p.m.

The alumni office sent out this information about how to vote. There are several different ways. If you have the Voice app on your smartphone or tablet, you can vote up to ten times on each device.

Voting is in real time, so you need to watch the Voice for the official voting times.

11 Apr

April 11, 2018 |

Children’s presentation on Easter Sunday at First UB.

Dan Maas (right), senior pastor, First UB Church (Findlay, Ohio)

First UB celebrated Good Friday with three separate services.

8:30 am: Totally Alone. Remembering the people who left Jesus to the authorities, and the forgiveness of Jesus towards those who left him behind.

Noon: Totally Abandoned. Remembering the dimming of the sun as the Father turned away from Jesus. We had a gradually dimming sanctuary eventually illuminated by only a small spotlight in the middle of the cross. A heartbeat in the dark commemorated the final pulses of hope in the world on that cross. The main theme was the determination of Jesus to finish the work of the cross through his death.

6:30 pm: Totally Accomplished. Celebrating the wonderful final words of Jesus on the cross, “It is finished!” Our freedom from sin was accomplished with that holy sacrifice of the Perfect Lamb! This service was special for the lighted atmosphere, two pieces of special music, and many visitors to the church. We asked Dr. John Noble, from Huntington University, to provide us a Hebrew reading of Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12. We played the recording and then had a responsive reading by Craig and Becky Kupferberg. It was amazing to hear and experience what Jesus might have heard in the synagogue!

Easter Sunday continued the theme with two services: Totally Alive (Sunrise) and Totally Accepted (Christ welcoming the disciples on the beach in Galilee with breakfast). The children celebrated with a special presentation, the worship team shared a meaningful piece, and others found different ways to bring the new life in Jesus into focus.

11 Apr

April 11, 2018 |

Rocky Spear (right), senior pastor, Kilpatrick UB church (Woodland, Mich.)

On March 31, Kilpatrick Church sponsored our first Easter Eggs-travaganza. We are endeavoring to reach our “Jerusalem” (Woodland, Mich.).

It was a cold (30s), rainy, windy (gusts 30+ mph) kind of a day. Typical Michigan. 157 children were registered, along with 35 adults. Around 250 people showed up. Our volunteers were troopers as they set up refreshments, registration, and then distributed 5400 eggs for the children of our community.

Six bicycles and two tricycles were given away via drawing, and 40 prize eggs were in the mix. Fourteen families indicated they wanted more information about Kilpatrick Church.

Easter Sunday was well attended, with our largest number on record. The best part: three individuals chose to make Jesus Christ their Savior.

09 Apr

April 9, 2018 |

The United Brethren Association’s Annual Ministry Leadership Resource Day is coming up. The deadline for registering is April 13.

Date: Monday, April 23rd
Time: 9 am – Noon
Location: Rhodes Grove Camp & Conference Center.
Address: 7693 Browns Mill Road, Chambersburg, PA 17202

Formerly known as “Pastor Resource Day”

UB Pastor Mike Dean will unpack II Corinthians 10:3-5. What is a “stronghold”? What does it mean to “take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ”? Learn Scriptural principles for healing, wrong thinking, and damaged emotions.

Anyone in any leadership position at your church is invited to attend. Please help us to spread the word! There is no cost to attend the seminar. Fees associated with lunch and Sunday night lodging are on the brochure.

Download and mail in your registration form, or register here.

09 Apr

April 9, 2018 |

At the Good Friday service.

The worship team leading music at the joint Good Friday service.

Josh Kesler, pastor of The Well in Huntington, Ind., preaching at The Well on Easter Sunday.

Four United Brethren churches in Huntington, Ind., and surrounding areas held a joint Good Friday service on March 30 at Huntington University. Churches represented were College Park, Dillman, New Hope, and The Well. New Hope hosted a Stations of the Cross before the service. Matt Kennedy, pastor of Dillman, delivered the message. It was a great group effort and meaningful night.