September 1998 News Archive

9/28/98

Phyllis Lahr Concludes 16 Years as Secretary to Our Bishops. For 16 years, Phyllis Lahr (above, left) served as secretary to bishops. When she first came to the United Brethren Headquarters, she was secretary to Bishops C. Ray Miller, Wilbur Sites, Jr., and Clarence A. Kopp. In recent years, she has been secretary to both Bishop Ray Seilhamer and Church Services director Paul Hirschy. If you have called to talk to a bishop or Paul Hirschy, chances are you talked to Phyllis first.

This summer, Phyllis felt it was time to move on and try some different things, and so she turned in her 30-day notice. Phyllis left with nothing but praise and fond memories from her coworkers in the United Brethren Headquarters family. She embodies so many of the characteristics you want in a worker--conscientious, efficient, positive, pleasant, humorous. On top of that, Phyllis is a godly woman, a wonderful grandma, and a cherished friend. She still stops in at the Headquarters to say hello to her friends there.

Now, how can such a person be replaced?

Welcome to Susan Hoopingarner, the New Voice in the Bishop's Office. Meet Susan Hoopingarner (pictured above, right), the new secretary to Bishop Seilhamer and Paul Hirschy. Susan, a member of College Park UB church in Huntington, started in that position in mid-August. In this short period of time, she has proven to be a superb addition to the Headquarters staff--capable, hard-working, a dedicated Christian, and very fun to be around.

Dan Maas, Pastor of the new Fresh Breeze UB church of Walker, Mich., reports: Our office space is in jeopardy, and our worship space is going to be halved at the end of the year. The city is changing their policy, so we can only lease one of the two levels we currently use. That means we will lose our children's worship space. We currently use two levels, both of which have about 1500 square feet of open space. The new policy says any church seeking to use the space can only use one of the areas. This puts us in a real bind.

Who Would Say "No" to Receiving Presents? When Lela Schwartz turned 90, she decided she didnÕt want cards or gifts. Instead, she told people to donate items to the Good Samaritan Center. On August 9 Lela's church, Hopewell UB of Auburn, Ind., threw a birthday reception in her honor. Members brought enough food to overflow four shopping carts, which Lela and her children delivered to the Good Samaritan CenterÕs food bank the next afternoon.

Over 100 food items were sent to LelaÕs home, and some people took items in her behalf directly to the food bank. "I donÕt want to be selfish in the world," Lela said. "I want to do something for somebody else."

9/25/98

Another Death in the Family. Glenn Betterly, a longtime minister in Ontario Conference, passed away September 23. Two memorial services will be held:

On September 26 (10:30 a.m.) at College Park UB in Huntington, Ind.
On September 30 (4 p.m.) at Shiloh UB in Tiverton, Ontario.

There will be a service to bury his ashes in the cemetery in Port Elgin, Ontario, at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday the 30th before the memorial service.

Pastoral Changes.

Tom Datema is the new pastor of the Zanesville, Ind. He previously served as associate pastor of Dillman UB near Warren, Ind.
David Riddle began as pastor of Hillsdale UB (St. Mary's, Ohio) on September 1. He had previously pastored the Otterbein UB church in Rockford, Ohio.
Tom Stricker is the interim pastor of Otterbein UB in Rockford, Ohio.
Randy Fennig is the new pastor of Prince of Peace UB in Springfield, Ohio, as of September 6. The previous pastor, Jay Fulton, went to seminary.
Jim Gillette is associate pastor of Eagle Quest UB (Columbia City, Ind.) as of September
Larry Clark is the new pastor of Mt. Hope UB in Carson City, Mich. For the past year, he has taught at the college level. Before that, he pastored a community Baptist church and tghe UB church in Ypsilanti, Mich. He and his wife, Naoma, have three adult children.
Mark Gaus started September 1 as youth pastor of South Mountain UB in Pennsylvania. Greg Helman is the senior pastor.

From First to First. Gary Dilley is leaving First UB church of Blissfield, MI, to become pastor of First Love UB in Reynoldsburg, Ohio (Columbus area). Gary has served Blissfield for 13 years, building the attendance from around 180 to over 325. First Love was founded by Dan Kopp, who left that church this summer to start a new church in northwest Columbus. Rick Petty has been serving First Love as interim pastor.

9/22/98

Rhett Butler Family Returning to the States. A medical emergency involving one of the Butler children has prompted the return of the entire family to the States. Rhett Butler, his wife Suzanne, and their three children boarded a plane at 9:00 (EST) Tuesday morning and began the long trip back to the States.

Their destination is a medical facility in Grand Rapids, Mich. A member of Banner of Christ UB made available a condominium for the family. That will be their home for an indefinite period of time.

The Butlers have been in Macau since mid-1997. Rhett is the Macau field director. In his absence, Mission Director Kyle McQuillen appointed Jana Hoobler as Interim Field Director. Jana is the longest-serving missionary on the field.

The situation came about suddenly, and requires a lot of prayer on the part of the United Brethren family. Sorry, but details cannot be given at this time. Suffice it to say that the Butlers, along with the missionaries remaining on the field (Jana Hoobler, Paul Coy, Linda Burns, Jennifer Blandin, Jayne Mote) and the two national pastors (Karis Wong and Connie Sung) covet your prayers as they continue the ministries of the English Language Program and the churches.

9/17/98

Death in the Family. Dr. S. Roger Birdsall, a longtime pastor in the UB church, passed away. His funeral was held Wednesday, September 16, at College Park UB church in Huntington, Ind. Dr. Birdsall pastored UB churches in Peoria, Ill., Sylmar, Cal., Camden, Mich., and Fort Wayne, Ind. He is survived by his wife, Mary Lou, daughter Connie, and sons Doug, Brent, and Brian. Brent is pastor of College Park UB in Huntington.

9/15/98

HC Enrollment Hits 900. Sarah Harvey, the Huntington College registrar, turned in the numbers for the fall enrollment. They show that the student body has grown 56 percent during the past six years (up from 578 in the fall of 1993). HC is well on its way to achieving its goal of 1000 students (or 850 fulltime equivalency) by the year 2000.

Bishop C. Ray Miller back in the Pastorate...for a bit. C. Ray Miller left the pastorate in 1973 when he was elected bishop. For September, he's filling in as pastor of Good Shepherd UB in Huntington, Ind., while Pastor Larry Taylor is away getting some much-needed relief.

9/8/98

A Good Summer at Rhodes Grove. Dave Thrush just completed his 22nd year as director of Rhodes Grove Camp in Chambersburg, Pa. He recently sent this report about the summer at Mid-Atlantic Conference's campground.

This was another record-setting summer at Rhodes Grove. In the seven weeks of youth camp, a record enrollment of 625 was recorded. Of that number, 19 people made first-time decisions for Christ and 141 made recommitments.

During the week of Specialty Camp, a new camp was featured. In addition to basketball, volleyball, and wilderness camps, this year we added an ice-skating camp. We used a new Olympic-size ice rink about eight miles away. Campers spent about three-and-a-half hours each day on the ice.

Missions is always highlighted during the summer youth camps. Again this year, campers were challenged to give in the weekly missions offerings. The response of the campers was outstanding. They gave a total of $2190 during the seven weeks.

Anniversary for First Love. First Love UB in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, celebrates its 14th anniversary this Sunday, September 13. The church began in 1984 in a basement in the home of one of the founding families with 13 adults and 5 children. About 180 people are expected for the celebration, which will include worship, special music, and a potluck dinner.

9/2/98

Nancy Ramsden of Zion UB (Blissfield, Mich), reports: We just finished our annual VBS. The average daily attendance was 49 children. "God's Kids Pray - H.O.P.E. World Tour" was this year's theme, and the daily lessons focused on different aspects of prayer. The week went smoothly for the many outdoor activities--no rain, no injuries, NO MOSQUITOES. God blessed us! Because of the generous giving hearts of the children and their parents, not to mention the infectious enthusiasm of Pastor Aden Porter, Zion's VBS helped over 45 families in Sierra Leone. Over $900 was raised during this week alone! The children really understood what the money was for. One of the little boys went along to the bank as we were depositing the money, and he asked the teller where she was going to put the money. He then said, "That money is supposed to go to Africa!"

Recognition from US News. Huntington College has again been listed in the top tier of Midwestern liberal arts colleges by US News and World Report. The magazine's 1999 review of colleges and universities marks the fifth time in the past six years that Huntington College has been ranked among the best in its class. Notably, Huntington College's academic reputation score jumped 25% in this year's rankings. All of HC's scores were within the range represented by the Top 10 schools.

Homecoming Concert. Homecoming 98 is scheduled for October 2-4. The Homecoming concert features Sierra, Greg Long and Nikki Leonti.For a complete schedule of events, follow the Homecoming link from the HC home page.

A Plug-in to CBS. Exciting news for Media Communication majors and the HC campus in general. HCTV, the campus TV station, now has access to the national and regional news footage available on CBS News Path. Thanks to an agreement worked out by Prof. Lance Clark and CBS headquarters in New York City, new satellite dish is being installed that will allow students to link in to their news feeds in the same way CBS affiliate stations gather their national news. Over 200 CBS stations and affiliates subscribe to CBS News Path. It has changed the way they cover regional, national, and international news. It will have just as dramatic an impact on the curriculum of Media Communication majors at Huntington College. With CBS News Path, HCTV can choose from a full selection of stories including news, sports, weather, medicine, business, and entertainment. HCTV goes back on the air September 24.