(260) 356-2312
Huntington University is emailing daily Advent readings written by HU alumni, faculty, and staff. These readings for each day of Advent, December 3-24, will help prepare your heart for the Christmas season and the birth of our Lord.
To receive these daily emails, please complete this very short online form by December 1.
Shushan Richardson uses a vowel sound dominoes game to teach pronunciation during a monthly English Teacher’s Round-table event hosted by the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China.
A Huntington University graduate is among 140 persons selected by the US State Department for a ten-month English Language Fellow project. Shushan Richardson is spending the 2017-2018 year training English teachers at South China Normal University in China.
Richardson graduated from HU in 2016 with a master’s in education and in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).
Since 1969, the English Language Fellow Program has been a premier international exchange program. Through projects developed by US Embassies in more than 80 countries, Fellows conduct teacher training, teach English, develop resources, and organize events and conferences.
“Teachers of English are often viewed as ambassadors of their cultures, countries, language, and more,” said Shoshannah Hernandez, Huntington University’s Director of the Institute for TESOL Studies. “This opportunity puts Shushan in an official role as a representative of our country and our university. We are proud to have her represent us through teaching English and training other teachers during this year as a Fellow.”
Bishop Lloyd Eby (right) passed away on November 27, 1969. He had lived a full life–missionary in Sierra Leone, pastor, planter of many churches, and bishop for eight years (1949-1957).
After leaving the bishopric, Lloyd and Eula Eby went back to Sierra Leone for one more term (their third). Then, in 1962, they settled down to retirement in Fort Wayne, Ind., and faithfully attended Third Street (now Anchor) United Brethren Church. During this twilight years, he focused on prayer. Tim Hallman wrote about it in the chapter on Lloyd Eby in “United Brethren Bishops, Volume 2.”
Eby regularly prayed for over 500 missionaries and staff personnel around the world. He kept a notebook with a page for each of “his” missionaries–photo, country, description, needs, etc. Maps and calendars supplemented his praying, along with at least 50 mission publications which kept him updated on the broader world of missions.
Eby divided his prayer list into sections, and covered some of it each day. He said he would kneel until he got tired, then would get up and walk around or stand and pray.
Eula Eby kept her own missions prayer list. They received at least 25 letters a week from missionaries. They also sent out a newsletter titled, “Intercessory Fellowship for Missionaries,” and opened their home to missionaries passing through Fort Wayne.
Bishop Clarence Carlson said of Eby: “I know of no other person who prays as fervently and persistently as he does. Most of his time throughout the day is spent in prayer.”
Betty Ruedger Guenzler
Betty Ruedger Guenzler, 83, passed away November 19, 2017, in Mount Carroll, Ill. Betty served three terms as a United Brethren missionary nurse at Mattru Hospital in Sierra Leone, 1963-1971.
The funeral service will be held at 11 am on Tuesday, November 28, at the Mount Carroll Church of God, with visitation one hour beforehand.
Betty became a Christian at a young age, and graduated from high school in Mount Carroll, Ill. She entered nursing school in Lansing, Mich., and during her final year sensed God calling her to become a missionary nurse. After graduating, she enrolled at Huntington College to study the Bible. While at HC, she applied for service with the UB mission board.
Mission director George Fleming said her duties during her three terms at Mattru included surgery supervisor, ambulance driver when needed, teaching in the nursing school, bookkeeping, and head nurse. During part of that time, Betty served alongside Juanita Smith, who was also from Mount Carroll (Juanita’s father, Cecil, pastored the Mount Carroll UB church). Juanita served 12 years at Mattru, 1953-1965.
Charles Guenzler and Juanita Smith were married in 1965. After Juanita became ill, Betty Ruedger was among a group of missionary nurses who came to Mt. Carroll to help Charles care for his wife. After Juanita’s death in 1981, Charles and Betty stayed in contact.
Charles and Betty were married on June 8, 1985. They enjoyed 32 years of married. Charles, at age 93, passed away on October 28, 2017. Betty died 22 days later. (Read her obituary notice.)
Nettie Birdsall
Nettie Birdsall, a 26-year-old from Clare, Mich., went to Sierra Leone in December 1920 as a teacher and served two terms, up through November 22, 1926.
After concluding her United Brethren work in Sierra Leone, Nettie spent five years with a Protestant French faith mission in French Equatorial Africa (what are today the countries of Chad, the Central African Republic, Cameroon, the Congo, and Gabon). Then she served seven years in the Belgian Congo.
After those lengthy assignments, Nettie returned to the States. In 1948, she once again applied with the United Brethren mission board. They sent her to Sierra Leone in January 1949 for a third term, where she served at the Minnie Mull Home. However, a stubborn illness cut her term to 11 months, and she returned to the States in December 1949.
In July 1966, Nettie married John Swales of Lamont, Iowa. They had been students together, 1915-1918, while attending Huntington College. Nettie passed away February 3, 1970, and John died two years later.
Rev. Michael Long
Rev. Michael Long passed away on November 17, 1891, at age 77. He is considered one of the greatest soul-winners in the history of the United Brethren church, and is credited with being instrumental in the salvation of over 5000 people. Historian William Weekley wrote, “He lived for it, prayed for it, and put all else aside for it….It may fairly be questioned whether any one minister in the history of the denomination, [Christian] Newcomer excepted, has made a greater record as a soul-winner.”
Michael Long was born May 3, 1814, in eastern Ohio. He became a Christian, and a UB, at a young age. He was licensed to preach in 1836 by Sandusky Conference (northern Ohio) and was assigned to a circuit of churches—28 appointments which took 400 miles to cover (including nine crossings of the Auglaize River). He preached at each place once a month. At the time, there were no church buildings in the entire conference. Services were held in homes, barns, groves, and other places.
Long spent his entire ministry, nearly 60 years, in the Great Black Swamp of northwestern Ohio. The Black Swamp was tough on preachers. There were few roads and bridges, and many ways to get sick. Where horses couldn’t travel, preachers had to trudge through the swamp on foot.
Long was described as having a strong, “impressive” physique. His mighty voice was perfect for campmeetings, and he was a gifted singer, too. He was personable, cordial, with a “sunny disposition and a merry humor.”It was said that Long once preached three times a day for 30 days straight. He attended Sandusky Conference 56 years in a row, and never missed the opening prayer.
Long was a demonstrative speaker, and an extraordinary evangelist. His preaching, noted Weekley, “had that quality that broke down stubborn wills, melted the hardest hearts, and caused multitudes to repent of their sins and to accept Christ as Lord and Savior.”
Said one person who knew Long, “Entire communities were transformed by his noble Christian influence and the marvelous power of his ministry.”
William Weekley said many of the early United Brethren preachers were focused on evangelism, and neglected discipleship. Consequently, churches of other denominations picked up our new converts and trained them in Christian living. But Long was both an evangelist and an organizer. “The fruits of his great evangelistic campaigns were largely conserved to the denomination. This was the exception in those earlier days.”
In May 1864, Long traveled to Fort Ethan Allen in Virginia, where many soldiers from northern Ohio were stationed. He preached to them from 1 Chronicles 4:10, the Prayer of Jabez, which was quite appropriate: “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.”
Long and his wife Sarah were married in 1837 and had five children. All three sons became ministers. Sarah, three years younger than him, preceded him in death by two years.
Long was a close personal friend, and one-time neighbor, of President Rutherford B. Hayes (they were both buried in Fremont, Ohio). When Hayes learned of Long’s death, he said, “In the history of northwestern Ohio, the name of the Rev. Michael Long can never be disassociated from the very highest rank of moral and religious leadership. Nothing my friends might say of me when I am gone will be more truthful and honorable than what I can say of my friend Long—he was a devoted and successful minister of the Gospel.”
Philip William Otterbein. This painting was done in 1810, three years before Otterbein’s death.
William Otterbein, one of the founders of the United Brethren Church, died on November 17, 1813. He was 87 years old. He had been a minister for 65 years, and a bishop for 13 years. Martin Boehm, the other founder and bishop, had died a year-and-a-half before.
Since June, Otterbein’s health had been failing. He continued as pastor of what is now called Old Otterbein Church in Baltimore, and for the most part continued his ministerial responsibilities. But, as A. W. Drury wrote in his biography of Otterbein, “His fund of vitality was gone.”
By the time October arrived, Otterbein had stopped preaching. Rev. Frederick Schaffer, who had emerged from Otterbein’s ministry at his first pastorate, in Lancaster, Pa., filled the pulpit. Meanwhile, everyone around knew of Otterbein’s deterioration.
At the time, Otterbein was the only ordained United Brethren minister. UB ministers Christian Newcomer and James Hoffman came to Baltimore at the beginning of October with the request that Otterbein ordain them, so they could then ordain others in an unbroken chain from Otterbein to…well, to the present. That happened on Saturday, October 2, during a ceremony in Otterbein’s home. He also used the occasion to ordain Frederick Schaffer. The next day, both Newcomer and Hoffman preached at Old Otterbein Church, and Schaffer joined them in administering communion to the congregation. Newcomer and Hoffman left town the next day.
For the next six weeks, Otterbein’s health continued to decline. He finally passed away at 10:00 pm on Wednesday, November 17. His final words were recorded as, “The conflict is over and past. I begin to feel an unspeakable fullness of love and peace divine. Lay my head upon my pillow and be still.”
The funeral was held on Saturday morning. It was quite an ecumenical event—a true tribute to William Otterbein, who wasn’t very concerned about denominational labels. Most of Baltimore’s ministers attended. A Lutheran minister, with whom Otterbein had labored for 27 years in Baltimore (and the son of Otterbein’s neighbor at his Tulpehocken pastorate), preached in German. Then a Methodist minister spoke in English. An Episcopal minister led the graveside ceremony in the church yard. Curiously, no United Brethren ministers participated in the funeral services. Newcomer and Hoffman had engagements in Pennsylvania.
Otterbein didn’t have many possessions to pass on. He willed $50 to Miss Elizabeth Drucks, a woman “now living in my family…as a testimony of my esteem for her.” Everything else he willed to “my friend Elizabeth Schwope, as a small but the only compensation in my power for her faithful services and uncommon attention to me for many years past.”
His most important legacy, as Drury points out, was the nearly 100 ministers who had been raised up under his influence, and who were now preaching the Gospel in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio—the core of a movement which, within 40 years, would spread from coast to coast.
During the last year of his life, Otterbein became concerned about whether or not the United Brethren movement would survive. He summoned two UB ministers, Christian Newcomer and Jacob Baulus, and they talked about the state of the church. They apparently relieved his concerns. Before Newcomer and Baulus left, Otterbein told them,”The Lord has been pleased graciously to satisfy me fully that the work will abide.”
Rev. Frank L. Mathna, 88, of Shippensburg, Pa., passed away on the morning of Tuesday, November 14, 2017.
Viewing: 3-5 pm Sunday, November 19, 2017.
Viewing location: Fogelsanger-Bricker Funeral Home, 112 West King Street, Shippensburg, PA 17257.
Funeral: 11 am Monday, November 20, 2017.
Funeral location: Lurgan United Brethren church, 7900 Roxbury Road, Shippensburg, PA 17257. Stan V. McCammon, Lurgan’s pastor, will officiate.
Frank Mathna was born on December 16, 1928, in Mongul, Pa. He served in the US Army during the Korean War, and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Theology from Huntington University in 1960.
Mathna pastored the Van Wert, Ohio, United Brethren church for five years. That was followed by 32 years as pastor of Park Layne UB church in New Carlisle, Ohio. He retired from there in 1994. He subsequently served periodically as associate pastor of Mongul UB church in Shippensburg, Pa.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Dot, along with four daughters, 12 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren.
Over 30 historical posters were displayed at the US National Conference in July. They were developed for this year’s 250th anniversary of the United Brethren Church. They cover a range of subjects–bishops, missionaries, mission work, higher education, the Civil War, General Conferences, and more.
People inquired about being able to make their own copies of some of these posters, to be used in their churches.
All of these posters can now be downloaded from the UB website. You can then take the high-resolution PDFs to a place like FedEx/Kinkos or FastSigns for quality printing on posterboard. Or, for a really nice look, get them printed on canvas (the website easycanvasprints.com does good work for a decent price).
The posters are designed in one of three sizes: 12×18, 18×24, or 24×36.
On this page, you can:
James Hott
Only one part of the United Brethren denomination was located in the Confederacy: Virginia Conference, which included the states of Virginia and Maryland. The conference’s churches were divided, since Maryland was part of the Union and Virginia lay in the South.
According to Anthony Blair, three UB ministers in Virginia were arrested for not pledging loyalty to the Confederacy, and Bishop Jacob Markwood scooted out of Virginia with a reward on his head.
James Hott was born in Virginia on November 15, 1844. Both parents had been United Brethren since their youth, his father was a UB minister, and the extended family included six ministers. So it’s not surprising that James became a Christian at age 13 and immediately sensed God’s call to the ministry. He was licensed to preach at age 17, and the next year, in 1862, joined Virginia Conference.
By then, the Civil War had started. His first assignment included churches on both sides of the lines, and during the course of the war, those lines changed about 20 times. One day the area would be swarming with Union troops, the next with Confederates.
Confederate conscription officers frequently arrested Hott, seeing only an able-bodied young man. But the Confederacy exempted ministers from military service, so once he proved that he was a minister, they always let him go.
Nevertheless, it was a harrowing three years. He could hear canon and musket fire, close or distant, and regularly approached pickett posts with soldiers — sometimes Blue, sometimes Gray — leveling rifles at him. Opportunistic marauders took advantage of anyone they encountered. But he weathered the war years well. He even crossed into Maryland in 1864 to be ordained, and a couple months later got married.
Hott continued pastoring until 1873, when he began nearly 30 years in denominational positions. He was editor of the denominational paper, The Religious Telescope, from 1877-1889, and was then elected bishop of the “liberal” United Brethren church, taking the place of Milton Wright, who had departed in the division of 1889. Bishop James Hott died in 1902, a year into his fourth term as bishop.
