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11 Dec

December 11, 2003 |

June Brown, former missionary to Sierra Leone, underwent quadruple bypass surgery in late September in Harrisburg, Pa. That surgery went very well and she experienced a relatively short recovery period. In early November, June had a lumpectomy to remove a cancerous tumor. The doctor feels that the cancer was self-contained, and while June will be undergoing radiation treatments, the doctors are quite positive about her overall medical condition. If you would like to send cards of greetings and encouragement to her, the address is:

June Brown
2716 Rocky Spring Road
Chambersburg, PA 17201

11 Dec

December 11, 2003 |

Our missionary couple in India wanted United Brethren people to be aware of an incident which occurred November 19 in Shadnagar, in the same state where they serve.

“A team of 20 American Christians (8 women) came from Florida to this town to do some Christian work through a small school for elementary school children and to help the women by giving them sewing machines so that could earn their livelihood through tailoring. For this purpose a building was rented.

“The local Christians and their American friends were inaugurating the work in the back yard of their office, with a good number attending. While they were praying, the Hindu fundamentalist party (BJP) group came and shouted that they were converting people to Christianity. The Indian Christians who were hosting these were beaten up. The crowd ran away and the Americans went into the van they came in. Soon police came and the BJP group quickly disappeared.

“The people said that the Americans and Indian Christian groups were trying to help them by donating sewing machines and doing a child literacy program. People also said the visitors only prayed but never asked them to become Christians.

“This incident was shown in our local and state news channels. We cannot believe what happened. The Christians did not officially complain to the police. The police say that they will not act unless they receive a complaint. We think the Christians decided to remain silent as probably they Americans came on tourist visas, which legally complicates the picture.”

11 Dec

December 11, 2003 |

The UB Executive Leadership Team met on December 9 with the Missionary Church Transition Team. A process for joining the two denominations was agreed upon, and 36 questions which have arisen in United Brethren circles were discussed. On most of those issues, statements were agreed upon, and will be published here around mid-December. A mailing to United Brethren ministers is being prepared. The material–including all of the agreed-upon statements–will then be published on the website.

30 Oct

October 30, 2003 |
  • Sunfield UB hired two persons to care for their youth ministry. Dennis Weber will work with junior high students, and Raquel Brace will work with senior high students. Also, Roy Atherton joined the staff as Assistant Pastor. He is from Portland, Mich.
  • Shannon Colwin, formerly the youth pastor at Good Shepherd Church in Huntington, has resigned that position as of July 13, 2003. He is serving in another denomination.
  • Jennifer Barlow resigned as Youth Pastor at First UB (Columbus, Ohio) as of July 31.
  • This month Rev. Bobby Blaine celebrates his 60th year of ministry. He took his first church the same week that he and Virginia were married…which means they are also celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Rev. Blaine is a retired minister in Central Conference, and the former longtime pastor of what is now Good Shepherd UB in Greenfield, Ohio.
  • Jim Sturgeon and his wife Joanne, having retired August 31 from the pastorate of Decatur UB (Decatur, Ind.), have moved to Rockford, Ohio.
  • It has been learned that William M. Wood, a retired minister in Central Conference, passed away in June.
  • Nathan Garret has been hired as youth pastor at New Horizons UB (Rockford, Ohio) effective October 10. He was most recently youth director at Shadyrest Bible Church in Chesterfield, N. J.
  • Ben and Lisa Geiser are the parents of a baby girl, Monica Ann. Ben is associate pastor at Christ Fellowship (Westerville, Ohio).

30 Oct

October 30, 2003 |

On October 13, the UB Executive Leadership Team and the conference superintendents held a special meeting in Huntington, Ind., to consider options for the future of the United Brethren church. A special study committee, having studied several options, recommended that we pursue joining with the Missionary Church, an evangelical denomination based in Fort Wayne, Ind. After meeting with the superintendents on October 13, the ELT voted unanimously to pursue joining with the Missionary Church.

This set into motion a two-year process which will require affirmation by the US National Board in April 2004, a positive vote in a referendum by the UB constituency in October 2004, and a two-thirds vote by the US National Conference in June 2005. Only the US National Conference can make the official final decision. Much discussion about this is occurring online on the UB Discussion Board. Various resources will be posted here.

22 Oct

October 22, 2003 |

Jeff Reser, associate pastor at Fowlerville UB (Fowlerville, Mich.), sent this note:

“‘Splash!’ Children’s Ministry opened shop September 7 with two sessions meeting simultaneously with the 9:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. worship services for K-6 students. The structure follows the Promiseland model at Willow Creek Community Church.

“Kids arrive at their small group, made up of other kids in the same grade, to participate in a fun game or activity together. Their small group leader has a chance to ‘catch up’ on how their week went here. After a short time of activity, all small groups gather for worship and a biblically based lesson, presented creatively, in the large group. Small groups are then dismissed to go to their designated spaces to talk about implementing the learning, to pray, and care for one another. These small groups can gather outside of the church setting so kids can build relationships with one another. They can also serve in kid-sized ministry or peer evangelism opportunities!”

06 Oct

October 6, 2003 |

On September 21, Dewitt UB (Dewitt, Mich.) celebrated ten years of ministry with Superintendent Dave Burkett and founding pastor Mike Arnold in attendance.

06 Oct

October 6, 2003 |

On October 12, Sunfield UB will dedicate a new 82-by-60 foot building addition, which will provide a fellowship area and more Sunday school classrooms. The building was begun a year ago. Former pastors and members will take part in the service. Mark Ralph is the current pastor.

06 Oct

October 6, 2003 |

Annette Haines of Eden UB (Mason, Mich.) sent the following news items.

“Angela Oesterle returned at the end of June from working as a volunteer in the library of Jamaica Bible College. She helped catalog hundreds of books to be shelved in their new building. She also taught as a substitute in the college and worked with Jamaicans in Bible studies and Sunday school. She was stretched physically and spiritually from the challenge of working in a different culture. She had previously gone twice with a group from Eden Church for two-week missions trip, and she knew the Lord wanted her to give more time to Jamaica. Angela plans to return to Jamaica when several details are worked out, such as further education and finances.

“In August, we held VBS with the theme “Crown Him King.” This was for the whole family. Margaret Maybee, our music director, and her husband, Milan, one of our former pastors, organized the program. Wanting someone to minister to parents who is still raising children, they brought in Valerie Reynolds, the associate pastor at Mt. Hope UB church in Carson City, Mich. She talked about why God sends tests into our lives and how to handle them.

“While Valerie talked to the adults with young children, the older adults conducted the class time for the children. A staff person from the Lansing Campus Life chapter talked to the teens about learning to be like Christ in four specific areas.

“The missions project was to raise money to buy shelves for the Jamaica Bible College library. Over $800 was raised in five nights for this project. On the last night, 3-4 tornadoes touched down near the church, causing some unexpected excitement! The Lord protected Eden; no one was hurt and no property was damaged, although there was a lot of damage near the church.

“Phase 2 of a three-part building project has begun. Phase 1 was the completion of a new parking lot, because a Family Life Center is being built where the old parking lot was, behind the church. The Family Life Center, which will cover almost 22,000 square feet and cost $2.2 million (including the new parking lot), was begun by a ground-breaking ceremony on September 7. In this ceremony, six men who are church leaders, including the three pastors, turned over a shovelful of dirt. Then they each handed their shovel to a child, who then turned the next shovelful. This was a symbolic means of showing that Eden belongs to the present and to the future.

“The Family Life Center will include a gymnasium that can be used for many things besides sports events, such as receptions, concerts, and eventually, worship services. It will be open to the community as much as possible as a means of establishing relationships and reaching people for Christ. The building will also have classroom space for the Sunday school.”