26 Aug Chuck Causey Named Interim Pastor
Chuck Causey has been named as interim pastor at Faith Church in Port Orange.
26 Aug Zion UB Hold Final Service
Zion UB church in Willshire, Ohio, held a celebration service on August 24 to formally conclude its ministry. Zion and the Willshire churches have merged, and are preparing to build a new worship facility in Willshire. The Zion building has sold and the new owners will take possession September 1.
26 Aug Mark Beers Assigned to Decatur UB
Mark Beers has been named senior pastor of Decatur UB church (Decatur, Ind.). He had been pastor of Gaines UB in Caledonia, Mich. Mark is originally from Emmanuel UB in Fort Wayne, Ind. He will start at Decatur in mid-September.
Jim Sturgeon, the current pastor at Decatur, will officially retire on Sunday, August 31. Dr. Paul Fetters will serve as Minister of the Word for the Decatur church until Mark’s arrival.
20 Aug Dirk and Julie Small in Car Accident
Dirk Small, pastor of the Idaville UB church (Idaville, Pa.), and his wife Julie were in an accident August 13. Dirk wrote on August 19, “I am now home, but incapacitated. Julie is fully recovered, praise the Lord! On Wednesday, August 13, Julie and I were relaxing on our bike before prayer meeting, and I lost control on a newly paved road. We were traveling around 35 miles per hour and had no impact on anything.
“The slide did major damage to my body. I was taken to Hershey via Life Lion and there my spleen was removed. I have several broken ribs also. I’m on a heavy regiment of percacet, but the pain is still hard to manage. My incision, which runs from my chest to the groin, is healing nicely. I expect to be laid up for a couple of weeks yet. God does some wonderful things in your spirit when you become completely vulnerable to Him.”
20 Aug Macau Update
Jana, Global Ministries staff in Macau, sent these notes on August 15.
- Last Saturday night, Jennifer Blandin and I went to a singing competition sponsored by the Macau University Christian Fellowship. Eighteen individuals and groups participated, most of them teenagers or young adults. It’s great to see the younger Christian community in Macau growing!
- This week both churches are holding their Vacation Bible Schools. I visited both on Wednesday afternoon, and it’s great to see our church members growing in their ministry skills and working increasingly independently of missionary involvement.
- Lamar and Karen Crumbley, former UB missionaries in Honduras, are arriving on August 29 as short-term volunteer missionaries. We’re in the process of moving our guest apartment due to the end of our rental contract at the old one. Pray for God’s timing as we get the new apartment set up for the Crumbleys’ arrival.
- This week we’re sending follow-up materials to the children who accepted Christ at our Taipa Center this summer. Pray that they’ll use the devotional materials we send and keep in contact with us.
20 Aug David Meece at UB Church
David Meece will be in concert at Pleasant Valley United Brethren Church (Lake Odessa, Mich.) on Saturday evening September 20, starting at 6:30 pm. There are 200 reserved seats and 100 additional seats available on a first-come basis. Reserved seats can be requested by calling pastor Gary Taylor at 616-693-2366. A free will offering will be taken at the concert with proceeds going to the local pregnancy resource center. The church is located 10 miles west of Lake Odessa, Mich., on highway M-50.
14 Aug Eagles Wings Church Closes
The Eagle’s Wings church (Brice, Ohio) has disbanded. Central Conference is in the process of selling the property and dissolving the membership roll.
14 Aug Among Ministers
- Calhoun Hodgson has been assigned to plant a church in Dansville, Mich., effective August 1. The church is called Heritage UB Church.
- Al Carter began his tenure as pastor of West Pleasant Hill UB (Rockbridge, Ohio) on August 3. He concluded his ministry as senior pastor of Hillsdale UB (St. Mary’s, Ohio) on July 31. The Hillsdale church will be unassigned for now.
- Dennis Rowe began serving as senior pastor of Living Word UB (Columbus, Ohio) on August 3.
- Todd Yoder announced his resignation as youth pastor at Monroe UB (Monroe, Ind.) to accept a similar position at Jerusalem Chapel UB (Churchville, Va., Mid-Atlantic Conference). That resignation is effective August 31.
14 Aug Monticello UB Provides Van for Ken Smith
Ken Smith (right) and Titus Boggs.
Ken Smith, pastor of the Cedar Chapel UB church in Big Laurel, Kent., was involved in a serious car accident over a year ago. But after 17 surgeries (with more on the way), Ken has recently been released to drive. Due to his need for a wheelchair, he asked the Lord for a van with sliding doors on both sides. Titus Boggs, director of the Laurel Mission, took this request to the July meeting of Central Annual Conference.
The Monticello UB church, near Spencerville, Ohio, worked with Tom Ahl of Lima, Ohio, on purchasing a van that would allow Ken to pull his wheelchair into the van through the sliding door. Several other UB churches in the area played a part.
On July 26, Monticello group delivered a 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan to Laurel Mission. They had the privilege of seeing Ken drive to church on his own for the first time in over a year.
14 Aug Women’s Conference Meets in Huntington
Kathy Bruce, chairperson of the Women's Ministry Leadership Team, addressing the conference.
The International Women’s Conference, July 25-27, brought about 140 United Brethren women to Huntington, Ind. They came from eight states: Indiana (40), Ohio (25), Michigan (29), Pennsylvania (16), plus others from Alabama, Illinois, Kansas, and Virginia. In addition, eight women came from Ontario.
The conference featured a variety of seminars and keynote addresses, complemented by drama by the group “All for One,” and music by the group “One Faith.”