07 Sep Jody Harr Appointed to Van Wert
Jody Harr has been named interim pastor of the UB church in Van Wert, Ohio. He was previously pastor of the Willshire, Ohio, UB church.
31 Aug Hurricane Katrina Relief
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
29 Aug News from Huntington University
- 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.
26 Aug Letter from Pat Jones
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.
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18 Aug New Ministers, New Baptisms
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.
20 Jul Pat Jones Appointed to Denominational Role
Bishop Ron Ramsey has appointed Rev. Pat Jones as Healthy Church Director, a major new staff position at the United Brethren Headquarters. In that role, Pat will focus most of his time on developing the new “clusters,” which will consist of an average of seven churches. There will be about 30 clusters scattered across the country, and every United Brethren church will be required to join a cluster.
For the past 14 years, Pat has served as senior pastor of King Street UB church in Chambersburg, Pa. Before that, he planted the UB church in Carlisle, Pa., and also pastored the Devonshire UB church in Harrisburg, Pa. Pat has been a member of the Executive Leadership Team, is a member of the Huntington University Board of Trustees, and has filled various roles at the conference and denominational level.
Both Bishop Ron Ramsey and Rev. Pat Jones were able to sell their homes within a week, and for the full asking price. Pat and Pam Jones are purchasing a home on the southwest side of Fort Wayne, about 20 minutes from Huntington. Bishop Ramsey says, “We’ve decided to rent for a while to get better acclimated to the area before we rush in to build or buy.”
20 Jul New Process for Church Assessments
Beginning in January, all local churches will send 3.5% of their income (minus mission giving, building funds, and estate income) directly to the United Brethren Offices. This is a new process. A second check will go to the conference to cover any continuing conference assessments (check with your conference superintendent on this). Details regarding procedures for sending in the amount to the UB Offices will be sent to all churches this fall. However, at this point, you could warn your church treasurer that this change is coming, and also use this information as you prepare your church’s 2006 budget.
20 Jul Central Conference Approves Dissolution
Central Conference, during its July 11-12 meeting, took action on a detailed plan developed by Superintendent Tom Brodbeck which will help bring the conference into alignment with the decisions of the US National Conference. Because of a pending lawsuit, Central Conference cannot dissolve the corporate yet. However, they took the following actions to downscale what the conference does and prepare for full implementation of the cluster system:
- 1. The 2005 meeting will be the final annual meeting of the conference.
- The current conference leaders–superintendent, district superintendents, conference council–will continue in office through the end of 2005.
- The conference council will take care of any necessary business until the corporation can be dissolved.
- The superintendent will focus primarily on helping the Healthy Church director organize cluster groups for Central Conference churches, working with Laurel Mission and the camps to develop organizational structures, processing any issues related to the lawsuit, and handling other administrative matters involved in preparing for the transition to the cluster system.
- The conference council will focus mostly on giving final approval to the constitutions, deeds, and other documents needed for the camps, churches, and other Central Conference entities as they transition into the new structure, and will name a new superintendent and council of administration to serve beginning January 1, 2006.
- Beginning January 1, 2006, the conference leadership will consist of a superintendent ($100 a month honorarium, plus expenses), and a council of administration consisting of the superintendent plus three clergy and three lay at-large members. They will have full authority to act on all matters related to the conference.
- This resolution for dissolution was approved: “Resolved, that the Central Conference Council of Administration, acting on behalf of the churches and ministers of the Central Conference, be hereby authorized and directed to formally and officially dissolve the corporation known as Central Conference, Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA, Inc., and incorporated in the states of Ohio and Indiana, upon the final resolution of all legal and financial obligations before the corporation.” Central Conference includes churches in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, but no incorporation was ever done for the Kentucky churches.
- In 2006, churches will be assessed 1% of tithes and offerings to cover expenses, honorarium, and health insurance obligations. Funding for all conference ministries–the camps, Laurel Mission, and church planting–will end, as will the retiree health insurance benefit.
20 Jul HU Student Named Miss Indiana
Susan Guilkey, a 2005 graduate of Huntington University, was crowned Miss Indiana on July 25 during the Miss Indiana Scholarship pageant held in Zionsville, Ind. Guilkey will compete at the Miss America pageant in the coming months.
Guilkey, a native of Noblesville, Ind., graduated from Huntington in May with a degree in communication studies. In 2003, she won the Miss Huntington competition. At the Miss Indiana competition, Guilkey sang “I Don Quixote” from the “Man of La Mancha” musical for her talent. She also won the competition’s “People’s Choice” award.
Her platform as Miss Indiana includes publicizing Girls Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold. During the spring semester of her senior year at Huntington, Guilkey completed an internship with Girls Inc., in Indianapolis.
12 Jul Otterbein Church Withdraws
The Otterbein United Brethren church in Waynesboro has withdrawn from the denomination. Otterbein was the fourth-largest UB church, with an average attendance of 814 in 2004.
In a June 9 letter to Bishop Paul Hirschy and to the superintendents and officers of Mid-Atlantic Conference, senior pastor Michael V. Newman explained that the church’s elders and management Oversight Team held a joint meeting on June 8, during which they decided “by a unanimous vote to discontinue our affiliation with the church of the United Brethren in Christ effective Sunday, June 19, 2005. Beginning Monday, June 20, we will function as a nondenominational congregation.”
Newman said the two largest factors in the decision were the following:
“By almost everyone’s assessment, the United Brethren Church is struggling right now….Our leadership, after praying for God’s guidance, has decided that it is not good stewardship to continue to put large sums of money into an organization that is seeing little spiritual impact for the Kingdom of God. We believe it would have greater impact if used in our local church or in the hands of another ministry group.”
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