October 1998 News Archive
10/29/98
Israel Trip. The Mount Olivet and the Crider's UB churches
near Chambersburg, Pa., are planning a 10 day trip to the Holy Land
February 17-26, 1999. For more information call Stan McCammon (717)
369-4005 or Dave Newell (717) 369-3673.
10/26/98
Anchor Community Church got off to a great start on Sunday,
October 18, with over 160 people attending.
Anchor is the new name of Third Street United Brethren Church in
Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Third Street officially closed on May 31, 1998,
and the assets were turned over to Emmanuel. After extensive surveying
of the community, the formation of a strong core group, two mass
mailings to the community, and over $80,000 in remodeling (provided
mostly by Central Conference), the church reopened.
Tim Hallman, now in his second year as intern at Emmanuel, is the
preaching pastor, and Associate Pastor Bob Bruce is providing a few
hours a week of pastoral care and other work.
The core group from Emmanuel consists of about 26 adults who have
committed anywhere from three months to an indefinite period of time
to the new church, which is located in a nice neighborhood just west
of downtown Fort Wayne.
A Block Party on Highland Avenue. The Highland Avenue church
of Chanute, Kansas, held an outdoor Block Party on Wednesday, September
16, as a means of outreach. Invitations were hand-delivered to homes
in a six-block area surrounding the church. The city granted permission
to barricade the street adjoining the church parking lot.
Everyone enjoyed the sloppy joes, hot dogs, chips, homemade cookies,
and cake. Each guest received an ink pen imprinted with the church
name and the message "Where Broken Hearts are Mended."
VBS Kids on a Fishing Mission for Jesus. Vacation Bible
School is a fun opportunity to open the door to personal evangelism.
Mongul UB of Shippensburg, Pa., opened its doors this past summer
for VBS under the theme "Hooked on Jesus." The children caught the
joy of God's Word through Scriptures, songs, and stories about "Fishing
with Jesus."
Dedicated directors Manieka and Tim Wright and the VBS staff grabbed
their gear to teach for five nights, casting out nets and throwing
out hooks, so to speak, to reel in a full loadÑ155 students.
Throughout the week, the VBS members collected and brought in soda
can tabs as a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House, which offers
free lodging for parents while a child is in the hospital. The tabs
also were counted as votes to decide who would end up in a dunking
booth at the carnival which would close the program. By attending,
reciting Bible verses, bringing friends, and bringing Bibles, children
earned tickets for carnival games.
About 400 people packed the sanctuary for the closing program on
Sunday morning. The VBS choir, which included preschool to junior
high students, sang various songs. Afterwards, people were invited
to see the creatively-decorated classrooms and the children's handmade
crafts.
The day's grand finale was the outdoor carnival, which featured
sunny weather, free hot dogs, sodas, and amusing games with prizes.
Highlighting the carnival was the dunking booth. The dunkees were
VBS teacher Jamie Caudill, music director Tim Wright, and Pastor
Rick Fischl.
At least one new family has been assimilated into the church over
each of the past ten years through Mongul's VBS ministry.
Bengals Vs. the Browns. Is this any way to treat the pastor
who has served you for almost five years?
On his last day as pastor of Otterbein UB in Rockford, Ohio, Pastor
Dave Riddle found himself on the losing end of a contest. The contest
was between the Cincinnati Bengals (Dave's team) and the Cleveland
Browns (parishioner Mike Heiser's team). The congregation was divided
into the respective teams for the Thank Offering emphasis, and they
competed to see which team could raise the most money.
The Browns received $2,209, and the Bengals received $971, for
a total of $3,180.
The loser in the contest had to have his hair cut off. So, with
the help of Helen Hurless, Pastor Dave lost his hair.
10/20/98
Making the Church Handicap Accessible. Here's a report from
Jerusalem Chapel UB of Churchville, Va.: "After eight years of waiting,
Jerusalem Chapel is pleased to be able to "transport" people from
the upper level of the church to the fellowship hall for social events
via their brand new elevator/lift. When construction of the original
facility was underway, the price quoted for an elevator was cost-restrictive.
So, people have either had to be literally "carried" downstairs or
just didn't have the option of participating in some banquets, classes,
or fellowship meals.
"The Chapel strives to be a people-minded church, and is thrilled
to now be able to include all of her people in the many activities
that go on inside her doors. The lift was installed this summer and
was recently dedicated in honor of a former pastor, Rev. Howard Yohe.
Since the dedication of the elevator on Friend Sunday, September
13, there have been quite a few occasions to use the new lift."
Pastoral Changes.
- Don Dennie began serving as interim pastor of the UB church in
Convoy, Ohio, on October 18. He retired from Third Street UB of
Fort Wayne, Ind., on May 31.
- Robert Peters will become pastor of Olive Branch UB of Lakeville,
Ind. (Michindoh Conference) on October 17. Previously, he was co-pastor
(with Lee Cook) of a cooperative UB parish in Ohio which consists
of three churches--Elgin, Convoy, and Wren.
- Lester Smith, pastor of Richfield Road UB of Flint, Mich., is
switching from Michigan to Michindoh Conference. He will become
the new pastor of the UB church in Hillsdale, Mich. No replacement
has been named.
- Mike Arnold has resigned as pastor of the DeWitt, Mich., church,
which he founded several years ago. No replacement has been named.
10/13/98
A New Hatian church gets started this Sunday. We'll let
Chuck and Vicki McKeown of the Daytona UB church in Florida tell
you about it: "Rejoice with us! And breathe a prayer! Our conference's
first cross-cultural ministry officially begins worship services
in their newly acquired building in downtown Orlando this Sunday,
October 18th. The Eglise Haitian United Frere en Christ is under
the direction of Pasteur Dieudonne Pierre. Pasteur Pierre has a burden
for the 47,000 Haitians who live in Orlando.
"It has been phenomenal to experience God through the birth of
this church! The core group of 25 Haitians beginning this work entered
a week of prayer and fasting on Sunday, October 11. We invite you
to join us in praying that God will touch the world through our new
brothers and sisters in Christ!"
Church Restarting in Fort Wayne. Also this Sunday, October
18, the former Third Street church of Fort Wayne, Ind., will reopen
its doors under the name Anchor Community Church, and under the leadership
of a team from Emmanuel Community Church. The following information
was originally posted on July 17, and then revised October 13.
On May 31, 1998, the members of Third Street UB in Fort Wayne,
Ind., accepted a proposal from Central Conference to place the under
the leadership of Emmanuel UB (about 10 minutes away). Third Street
is located in a community just west of the downtown.
Third Street UB closed on May 31, and Emmanuel set about preparing
the church to reopen in the fall under the name Anchor Community
Church. A leadership transition team consisting of several members
of the pastoral staff, the treasurer, the Property chairperson, and
several others are providing general oversight of the project.
The Emmanuel congregation held a carnival on Wednesday night, July
29, at Third Street UB near the downtown area. An estimated 50-70
kids from the community came to participate in a variety of games.
A number of adults and older teens from Emmanuel hosted the games,
painted faces, made balloons, dished out ice cream, and served as
the targets of squirt guns attempting to clear their faces of shaving
cream.
Central Conference committed $80,000 toward upgrading of the facility.
This included a new roof, removing all of the pews and replacing
them with new padded chairs, recarpeting the sanctuary and foyer,
repainting much of the interior, installing new lights in the foyer
and sanctuary, and making numerous other facility improvements.
During the summer, four interns from Huntington College--two guys
and two girls--worked with children in the Third Street community.
The two guys lived in the now-vacant parsonage next to the church.
On July 29, a number of adults and teens from Emmanuel held a carnival
for the children of the Third Street community.
Emmanuel conducted extensive surveys of the area, going eight blocks
in each direction from the church, to determine the needs and desires
of people living there. The results helped shape the plans being
made for the church.
About 50 people from Emmanuel committed themselves to being involved
at Anchor Community Church for varying lengths of time, from three
months to permanently. The initial core group consists of about 30
persons; other persons will begin their short-term commitment later.
Tim Hallman, beginning his second year as intern at Emmanuel, is
the lead pastor for Anchor Church. He is the son of Gerald Hallman,
pastor of the UB church in Montgomery, Mich. Tim's wife, Tara, is
heading up the music ministry.
In addition to its aggressive church planting agenda, the conference
is exploring other places in which a strong church can become involved
in a nearby struggling church in the process known as Restart.
Red Mountain UB Turns 10. Red Mountain UB church of Birmingham,
AL, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this Sunday. Chuck McKeown,
pastor of the Daytona UB church in Holly Hill, FL, and the superintendent
of Southeast Conference, will speak during this event. Fred Johns
is the pastor of Red Mountain.
10/12/98
Dr. Carl Zurcher, known to several decades' worth of Huntington
College students, suffered a mild heart attack Saturday, October
10. He was taken to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind., and reportedly
rested comfortably that night.
10/1/98
Clint Foreman, a former missionary to Sierra Leone, died
Monday, Sept. 28, in an accident at his home in Fountain Hills, Ariz.
He was on a ladder trimming trees alongside the house, with his wife
Dottie at the base of the ladder, when he fell and landed on his
head. The accident occurred at 11:30 a.m., and he was declared dead
at 6:30 p.m. However, he never regained consciousness after falling.
The funeral will be held Friday, October 2, at Fountain Hills UB
church.
Clint and Dottie Foreman served in Sierra Leone in the early 1980s,
he as Business Manager in the Freetown mission house and she as hostess.
They later returned for an interim stay in those roles. Both have
served on the denominational Board of Missions over the years, and
they have been enthusiastic supporters of UB missions. In recent
years, they left the Fountain Hills church so they could work with
the Hispanic church being started in the Faith UB church of Phoenix.
Dottie's address: Dottie Foreman, 13013 North Panorama Dr., #203,
Fountain Hills, AZ 85268.
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