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Evaline M. Macy, 86, wife of Rev. Vernon Macy, passed away October 31, 2015, in Hastings, Mich. She and Vernon, a former UB missionary in Honduras, were married in 1986. For a brief time they pastored in Michigan.
The funeral was held November 4 at Hastings Baptist Church in Hasting, Mich.
In 2016, we will hold summits for senior pastors and spouses of churches of all sizes (as was done in 2014). The denomination will cover all costs except for transportation and a few meals. All three summits will be held at the Hilton Daytona Beach Hotel in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Summit 1: March 28-31
For pastors of churches with an attendance of 300+.
Summit 2: April 11-14
For pastors of churches with attendance from 150-300.
Summit 3: April 25-28
For pastors of churches with attendance less than 150.
Mill Chapel (Reedsville, W. Va.) honored military veterans during the service on Sunday, November 8. The guest speaker had been a Prisoner of War during World War 2. Forty veterans were among the 345 people who attended the service. A meal was held after the second worship service to honor all veterans.
Sunday, November 1, was a joyful and momentous occasion at King Street Church. Dr. Jody Bowser was introduced and preached his first sermon as King Street’s new senior pastor. As a part of celebrating the beginning of the next chapter in King Street’s 137-year history, Jody and his wife, Caryn, were prayed for in each of the four services. Bishop Todd Fetters was on hand to participate in the services.
Bethel Temple of Praise Church, now in its 11th year, has purchased the Yonkers Gospel Mission’s property located at 191 North Broadway in Yonkers, New York. Here are excerpts from a press release from the church:
On behalf of our pastor, Dr. Dalton Jenkins (right), and the Bethel Temple of Praise Church family, we express our gratitude to all those who have assisted financially and prayerful towards this purchase, especially Bishop Phil Whipple and the UB headquarters staff.
Our first Sunday service was held on Sunday, September 27 at 11:30 am.
The sanctuary and attached buildings will house the church’s ministry programs:
This purchase will allow us to fulfill our mission to reach the unsaved through the proclamation of the Gospel. We desire to make disciples through the teaching of the Word of God and to foster fellowship by strict adherence to biblical doctrines and ministries.
Bethel, an 11 year old church plant, offers a unique opportunity for global/urban ministry. Located in Yonkers, New York, it is only a 30-minute train ride from Grand Central Terminal, NYC. The church is much needed in this multicultural, multi-ethnic populated environment.
If you are planning your short term missions trip and need a place to go, please consider us at Bethel. We have several projects that can fulfill your plans. If you are led to help us please contact Dr. Jenkins.
Matt Kennedy with fellow team members and local people in Ethiopia.
In October, Matt Kennedy, pastor of Dillman Church (Warren, Ind.), spent two weeks in Ethiopia with Joni & Friends International and Christian Horizons Global. The team taught pastors and church planters how to minister to families and individuals with special needs. This trip was particularly meaningful to Matt because he and his wife, Jennifer, have a daughter with autism.
The team visited the cities of Asella, Hawassa, and Addis, conducting several days of disability ministry training with national church planters.
They were so blessed by the pastors’ desire to reach out to people with disabilities. The pastors desired not just to care for people with disabilities, but to empower those effected by disability to serve in the church.
The Ethiopian model churches are training people who are blind and deaf to serve in their churches. Repeatedly, the pastors said that this training had been beneficial in changing their attitudes toward people with disabilities.
One highlight for the team was making home visits to families impacted by special needs. This was such a blessing to those families, since the Ethiopian culture views disability as a curse or the result of parental sin being visited upon the children. They never hear that God loves them and views them as beautiful. They do not have people give them gifts and pray for them. Rejection and isolation is the common response to those with disability.
On the last day of the trip, the team visited the Center for Mentally Challenged Children. This program began in 1986 as a ministry of the Ethiopia Evangelical Church Mekena Yesus. It started with one child and now serves over 360 children and young adults. The team was deeply moved by the staff and their loving care and professional skills.
Through the Early Intervention program, parents are learning how to provide care at home and are seeing how much their children can learn. Their vision is to train their staff, who then transfer that knowledge to the parents. The Center brings disability awareness to the community and local churches.
Additional personnel are needed for two construction teams going to Jamaica in February 2016.
The first team is the Eden UB Church (Mason, Mich.), which is going to Jamaica the first week in February. They need two persons to assist them. For more information about this, please contact Dwight Kuntz or Martha at the Eden UB Church.
The second team is from Living Grace (formerly Union Chapel) in Fort Wayne, Ind. They are going to Jamaica the second week in February. They could use 2 or 3 persons. If interested, please contact Pastor Gary Reiber for more information. His email is <greiber_uc@verizon.net>. Or, you can contact Dwight Kuntz.
HU mascot Norm the Forester.
Huntington University is participating in a student-led food drive called “U Can Crush Hunger,” which has a goal of raising 125,000 pounds of food. It is sponsored by the Community Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Indiana, Inc.
The Oct. 19-31 drive is a friendly competition between five colleges and universities: Huntington University, IPFW, Indiana Tech, Ivy Tech, and Saint Francis. The goal is for each school to collect 25,000 pounds of food.
Although Huntington University is the smallest of the participating schools, they hope to win this “food fight” while helping to alleviate food insufficiency in Huntington County.
Students, faculty, staff, administration, alumni, community members and friends are encouraged to donate to the campaign. There are three options:
Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries
Following are some items from Jeff’s report to the October 2015 meeting of the Executive Leadership Team.
Central America
Africa
Caribbean
China
Thailand
Other
Jeff Bleijerveld (right), Director of Global Ministries
This past year, we formed an official partnership with the English Language Institute/China (ELIC). Since 1981, ELIC has been placing passionately committed Christians in teaching roles across Asia and the Middle East. A number of United Brethren people have served with ELIC, including Global Ministries Associate Director Frank Y.
We are sending churches a packet of information, along with a DVD that contains a short video highlighting our partnership and the opportunity to be involved in either short-term or long-term ministry on ELIC/Global Ministries projects. We recommend that you use it during your announcements on Sunday, November 8, or at your earliest convenience.
Through ELIC, we have the opportunity to send a team of eight UB volunteers to work among Syrian refugees in Lebanon next summer. ELIC’s 7+1 program makes it possible for one volunteer to travel free for every seven that join the team.
We hope that you’ll take advantage of this unique opportunity and present this ministry to your church family. If you have questions, feel free to contact us at info@ubglobal.org.
