Terry Taylor has been appointed as the senior pastor at Innisdale Church (Alexandria, Ind.), effective September 11, 2005. He had been serving with Rev. Larry Schimmel (the former pastor) as an associate pastor.

Pastors and church treasurers will want to note that the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department has announced an increase to the optional standard mileage rates for the final four months of 2005. The rate will increase to 48.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven between September 1 and December 31, 2005. This is an increase of 8 cents from the 40.5 cent rate in effect for the first eight months of 2005.

The Zanesville United Brethren Church is organizing the 1st annual Tom Ponsot Memorial Classic Florida Scramble to benefit Camp Cotubic. It is scheduled for Saturday, October 1, beginning at 9:00 a.m., at the Woods Golf Club in Van Wert, Ohio. Organizers are looking for hole sponsors at a cost of $100 a hole and are also in need of teams to participate. Tom Ponsot, a strong supporter of Camp Cotubic, passed away earlier this year. Persons interested in participating should send an email to Zanesville UB.

Huntington University will accept up to 20 college students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Tuition, fees, room, and board will be waived for these students for the Fall 2005 semester. Students may enroll in classes, either full- or part-time, on a special emergency transfer basis until September 17.

Transcripts will not be required, but students are asked to present a current, valid ID from an accredited college or university damaged or closed by Hurricane Katrina. Students interested in enrolling should contact the Registrar at (260) 359-4011.

Huntington University is also organizing volunteers through the Joe Mertz Center to assist with clean up and recovery. Plans are being made to send work teams to the Gulf Coast region in October, January, and March. A special fund has been established to support these volunteer efforts. Interested donors should contact the Advancement Office, or direct their gifts to Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund, Huntington University, 2303 College Avenue, Huntington, Indiana 46750.

Huntington University students and personnel are raising funds and collecting supplies for a variety of relief organizations and churches serving storm-stricken areas.

People continue asking about Hurricane Katrina relief efforts by the United Brethren church. United Brethren people have a history of responding with funds and as volunteers when disaster strikes. When hurricanes hit Florida, we worked through our UB churches there providing relief. After the tsunami last December, we worked through our workers in India. Because we do not have any close United Brethren connections in the area that has been hit by Katrina, we are referring people to other reputable organizations that are able to mobilize this relief effort. Several reputable organizations are listed below, on a post made August 31. We’d like to add one.

Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian relief organization led by Rev. Franklin Graham, is helping to facilitate groups of people who want to help Hurricane Katrina victims repair their damaged roofs and clean up their properties. Their website is www.samaritan.org. This is the same organization that many UB churches have partnered with in Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

Here is the note on their website: “Perhaps your church or group would like to send a work crew. We need groups of at least five individuals. The minimum age is 18. Construction skills are helpful but not necessary. If you are interested, call the Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief staff at (828) 262-1980 or email disasterresponse@samaritan.org.”

United Brethren people have a history of responding with funds and as volunteers when disaster strikes. When hurricanes hit Florida, we worked through our UB churches there providing relief. After the tsunami last December, we worked through our workers in India.

Several UB people have inquired about ways to help victims of Katrina. Because we do not have any close United Brethren connections in the area that has been hit by Katrina, we are referring people to other reputable organizations that are able to mobilize this relief effort.

Please contact the organization of your choice. We suggest the following:

World Relief
World Vision
Samaritan’s Purse
Salvation Army
Red Cross
AmeriCares

  • Huntington College will officially re-open as Huntington University with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and special chapel service on Thursday, September 1. The public is invited to attend. The ribbon-cutting will take place at the campus’ main entrance at the intersection of Guilford Street and Merillat Boulevard at 9:30 a.m. on September 1. The ceremony will be followed by an all-campus convocation at 10 a.m., in Zurcher Auditorium.
  • Ned Kiser, HU’s Vice President of Advancement since 1995, has accepted a position with Asian Access, a mission agency that seeks to develop leaders for churches across Asia. Kiser’s new position will allow him to continue living in Huntington.
  • Taking part in the Volunteer Plunge has become a rite of initiation for new students at Huntington University. For the past 12 years, Huntington University’s new students have participated in the Joe Mertz Center Volunteer Plunge. This year 18 teams of freshmen and transfer students will volunteer at various places in the Huntington community, bringing to life HU’s campus mission of impacting the world for Christ. The annual Volunteer Plunge is held in conjuction with the two-day new student orientation. Students will help clean, paint, participate in yard work and other various indoor and outdoor projects throughout the Huntington community. Service locations for the 2005 Volunteer Plunge include the Youth Services Bureau, the American Red Cross, Eastbrook Ranch, Connecting Friends, Love Inc., Horace Mann and Riverview Elementary Schools, Lincoln Elementary School, YMCA, Kid’s Kampus, the Dan Quayle Center, Huntington Head Start, Lancaster Elementary School, the Boys and Girls Club, Huntington House, Good Shepherd Church, and the Park Department.

The following was sent out to the UB email list by Pat Jones, the new Director of Healthy Church Ministries. He provides some information regarding what lies ahead as the United Brethren church embarks on radical transformation in how we operate, and as we begin implementing a new structure based on cluster group.

“An age of change has come for the United Brethren church. After a time of challenge, we have come together to look toward the future by copying a chapter from our past. Otterbein and Boehm were men who came from different backgrounds, but agreed on their purpose: reaching people with the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ.
(more…)

The Underwood UB church (Oakland, Md.) has licensed two men as ministers: Mike Bernard and Marty Wilt. The church also baptized 15 people.

The Mill Chapel UB church (Reedsville, W. Va.) also licensed one new minister: Nick Bryan. In addition, 16 people have been baptized in recent months, and another 15 are to be baptized on August 21.
Both churches are looking at building projects, since they are becoming overcrowded. God is blessing and lives are being changed. Marshall Woods is the pastor of both churches.