May 2002 News Archive

May 13, 2002

Big Laurel, Kentucky. Ken Smith, pastor of Cedar Chapel at Laurel Mission, was in a serious accident on Saturday, May 11. He remains in very critical condition. For persons familiar with the mission, Cedar Chapel is located right next to the parsonage where Director Titus Boggs lives.

According to initial reports, Rev. Smith suffered a broken neck. That was incorrect. From this point, we'll continue with the words of Tom Brodbeck, superintendent of Central Conference.

"The only good news that I can report at this time is that the neck is not broken. According to Debbie Boggs (wife of Laurel Mission director Titus Boggs), everything below the neck is broken, with the exception of one arm.

"Ken was in surgery yesterday [Sunday: May 12]. The surgery lasted over nine hours. He is scheduled for more surgery today. At the last report, he is still bleeding internally. The phrasing I am hearing contains words like 'If he lives ....' My conversations with Titus and Debbie just a few minutes ago contained many such cautions.

"Apparently, Ken drifted left of center and hit another automobile head-on. The passenger in the other car suffered some injuries; the driver's injuries are similar to those suffered by Ken. The highway on which they were traveling is on the other side of the mountain from the mission, on what Titus calls the Ôstraightest stretch of road in the county.' It is unclear why Ken drifted into the other lane.

"The highway was shut down for several hours. It took almost three hours to get Ken removed from his vehicle. Debbie tells me that the front tire was pushed back to the area where Ken's door previously was.

"A number of other prayer concerns surround the need for prayer on Ken's behalf.

"First, Ken's son, Titus Wayne, is also hospitalized at this time. Several months ago, he, too, was in an automobile accident and has subsequently suffered recurring infections in one leg. He was admitted with a very high fever about a week ago, and still remains hospitalized. His mother Sharon (Ken's wife) was with Titus Wayne when news of Ken's accident was received.

"Second, this week is graduation week at the Living Water School. Sharon is an important part of the work of the school, and was to have been a key participant in the graduation exercises that are scheduled for Thursday evening. Titus, Debbie, and others are trying to cover for Sharon at this time."

Rock River Conference. Last summer, Rock River Conference voted to disband as a conference and become a church extension district. The US National Board, during its April meeting, made it official. The handful of churches in the Rock River Church Extension District will now operate under the direct supervision of Bishop Paul Hirschy.

May 6, 2002

Huntington, Ind. Global Ministries Director Gary Dilley and his wife, rhonda, returned from their three-week trip to the Far East on Saturday, May 4. The trip included Hong Kong, Macau, China, and Myanmar.

Findlay, Ohio. First UB hosted a Deaf Revival on April 6-7. Missionary Kevin Maki, who is commissioned by Baptist Church Planters to plant churches with the deaf, was the guest evangelist. Maki, who is hearing, along with his wife, Kenyata, and son, Samuel, are traveling during the next few months on deputation before going as state-side missionaries to Fremont, Calif., to serve a deaf congregation. The revival was an outreach ministry of the Findlay church's Missions Commission.

The active Deaf group at First UB extended invitation to the Deaf community, and all enjoyed a potluck dinner on Saturday before the evening service. On Sunday morning, Maki preached to the hearing congregation an Kenyata interpreted the service for the deaf in attendance.

The deaf ministry at Findlay began seven years ago. It is well respected in the community by both hearing and deaf, and is a model of cross-cultural ministry. Mrs. Sue Atkins interprets the Sunday morning worship weekly for the deaf and facilitates a deaf Bible study on Wednesday evenings.

Shippensburg, Pa. Mongul UB of Shippensburg is looking for an Associate Pastor. Responsibilities include supervising a contemporary worship service and preaching. A college BA or BS degree in a ministry-related field is required. Total salary package is $36,000 plus medical insurance and unlimited reimbursable mileage. Please send a resume no later than May 17, 2002 to Pastor Rick Fischl c/o Mongul UB Church, 4162 Roxbury Road, Shippensburg, PA 17257. For additional information call (717) 532-2771.

Macau. Jana Hoobler, director of Macau Mission, sent these items on May 6:

• "I had a great trip to Myanmar and a great visit with Gary and Rhonda Dilley. I loved seeing ministry in another part of Asia. Our time together was a special time for me to get to know the Dilleys and share our lives here with them. Continue to pray for Gary as he leads the Global Ministries of the United Brethren Church."
• "This morning we had eight children in our primary Sunday school class at Living Word Church. This is a record for us since we divided into two Sunday school classes. Pray that several new students will continue attending."
• "Next Sunday night, May 13, we're having a special Mother's Day outreach at Living Word Church. We'll be inviting ELP students. Please pray that students will come and will be challenged by the gospel."

Here are a few other items to get caught up on.

• On the Saturday before Easter, a Child Evangelism Fellowship evangelistic Easter Party--The Good Shepherd--was held for the children attending Living Word Church's Children's Fellowship. Local church members led the children in singing, games, drama, and making photo cards. Pastor Connie Sung presented a gospel message. We were thrilled to see one of the girls who has attended regularly accept Christ that afternoon!
• On Taipa, a group of housewives regularly attend a Friday morning English Bible Study. Jana Hoobler notes, "They are becoming more and more open in their sharing with one another. There were many tears as we held a farewell party for one of our group who is returning to Korea. It's amazing to see how God has brought this group together in less than one year's time. Pray for the salvation of several unsaved attenders.
• Living Water Church is holding monthly evenings of fellowship in church members' homes this year. This has given the church opportunities to have contact with the unsaved parents of some members. It is also training the local church members in Christian hospitality.

May 3, 2002

Huntington, Ind. On April 9, Huntington College dedicated a new radio tower and 100-watt transmitter. A flip of the switch by Communications professor Lance Clark activated 24-hour broadcasting on the new frequency, 105.5 FM.

WQHC, nicknamed "The Fuse," has been in development for several years. It went on air 1994 as a one-watt experimental campus outlet. Last fall college secured an FCC license to construct a tower and operate a 100-watt transmitter. The new signal reaches most of Huntington County.

The mission of WQHC is to "serve our campus, community and listeners around the world by providing programming and Christian music that edifies the body of believers and brings glory to God."

WQHC's programming caters more to adult listeners in the morning and afternoon, with some light rock and alternative music. It switches to a more hard rock and alternative format at 6 p. m. for younger listeners. The Fuse has giveaways almost every hour and the request lines are always open.

The Fuse can also be heard on the web at www.hcradio.net. Email song requests are always welcomed. Access to the request and contest line can be reached by calling (260) 359-4113. The online broadcast is the most popular feature of HC's award-winning web site and has received fan mail from around the world.

The new tower is located near the intersection of County Roads 300 West and 800 North on property leased from Mr. Doug Teusch.

Canada. The Canadian National Conference will be held May 31--June 2 at the Stanley Park UB church in Kitchener, Ontario. It will be a historic meeting, as the conference installs its first bishop. Two bishops from the United States National Conference--Bishop Emeritus C. Ray Miller and the present bishop, Paul Hirschy--will assist in that service.

On Sunday afternoon at 1:30, there will be a service of installation to recognize the ordinations of Jim Somerville, Mike Martinelli, and Dan Nickless. Other ministerial licenses will also be granted.

The conference begins at 7 p.m. on Friday night with a half-hour of devotions and two hours of business. At 8:30 Saturday morning, Bishop Paul Hirschy will give devotions, then business will continue. On Saturday night at 7:00, they'll travel to the old Freeport UB church at Doon Pioneer Village for an "Unplugged" service, where former Bishop C. Ray Miller speaking on "Jesus as our Foundation."

The Sunday morning service will start at 10:00 a.m. and Global Ministries Director Gary Dilley will speak on "Jesus our Future."

Pasadena, Calif. Dave and Cathie Datema are expecting their third child during the third week of August. The Datemas serve with the US Center for World Mission in Pasadena. Son Cuyler is 8 and daughter Callie is 3. Dave is secretary of the Global Ministries Leadership Team. He was recently accepted into a PhD program at Fuller Theological Seminary. He writes, "I plan to focus on the topic of contextualization, which has to do with taking the gospel into other cultures."

Willshire, Ohio. The Willshire and Zion UB churches of Willshire voted to merge. They plan to construct a new worship facility.

Big Laurel, Kent. Titus Boggs, director of Laurel Mission, reports: "On March 18, we had a devastating flood in Harlan County that left lots of personal belongings hanging in the trees along the river banks. Many helping hands helped our neighbors remove water-soaked furniture and household belongings. Shoveling mud was the exercise of the day. Thankfully, none of the mission buildings were damaged, but our bridge took a pretty hard lick. Several boards were knocked loose and some are missing. After two days of repair, we were able to cross the bridge to the outside world."

Harlan, Ind. On April 27, four youth groups met at the Garmater Auto Salvage in Harlan and competed in a junkyard war for demolition derby cars. Over 40 youth from four churches participated.

The event was a scavenger-type hunt for the cars and for parts. A Demolition Derby will be held on May 18 at the Harlan Christian Youth Center, a ministry of the South Scipio UB church of Harlan. Debi Knoblauch, the center director, explains, "We had the junkyard war so that the teams could meet each other while picking out their cars for the demo derby. We just spiced up the day by turning it into a junkyard war Ôscavenger hunt.' At the end of the junkyard war, the teams took their cars back to their churches to prepare them for the demo derby."

Six uniquely-named teams are participating in the Demolition Derby.

• "Harlan Hubcaps," from Harland Christian Youth Center.
• "Kunkle Crushers," from Kunkle UB (Kunkle, Ohio).
• "Union Chumps," from Union Chapel UB (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
• "Montgomery Bonsai", from Montgomery UB (Montgomery, Mich.)
• "Lutheran Crusaders," from Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
• Decatur UB (Decatur, Ind.). They haven't chosen a name yet.

Four of those groups participated in the junkyard war: Montgomery, Union Chapel, Harland, and Holy Trinity. The junkyard was prepared ahead of time with the cars and parts, and the teams raced to find them while a car was being crushed in the car crusher (which served as the timer for the event). The game lasted about an hour. The youth wore yellow hard hats bearing their team's name. The Harlan Hubcaps won.

"This event helped to unite the teams before the Demolition Derby," says Debi Knoblauch, director of the Harland Youth Center, which is a ministry of South Scipio UB church. "It was fun, safe, and everyone got to take home some junkyard grime on their shoes and clothes."