August 2003 News Archive

August 26, 2003

Decatur, Ind. Mark Beers has been named senior pastor of Decatur UB church. He had been pastor of Gaines UB in Caledonia, Mich. Mark is originally from Emmanuel UB in Fort Wayne, Ind. He will start at Decatur in mid-September.

Jim Sturgeon, the current pastor at Decatur, will officially retire on Sunday, August 31. Dr. Paul Fetters will serve as Minister of the Word for the Decatur church until Mark's arrival.

Willshire, Ohio. Zion UB church in Willshire held a celebration service on August 24 to formally conclude its ministry. Zion and the Willshire churches have merged, and are preparing to build a new worship facility in Willshire. The Zion building has sold and the new owners will take possession September 1.

Port Orange, Fla. Chuck Causey has been named as interim pastor at Faith Church in Port Orange.

Churchville, Va. The high school group at Jerusalem Chapel UB went on a missions tripo to Holly Hill, Fla. They participated in various "Conspiracy of Kindness" projects within the Holly Hill and Daytona Beach communities. They worked through Matt McKeown, youth pastor at First UB in Dayton.

Stan Becker, associate pastor at Jerusalem Chapel, reports, "The youth performed exceptionally well doing tasks for the Holly Hill Municipal Building, the Boys and Girls Club, the UB church, and the church thrift store.

"The highlight of the trip was a 'drink giveaway' on Daytona Beach. We drove in three vans up and down the beach giving cold water and juice drinks to over 400 people. As we were giving out the drinks, we would give them a small card explaining what we were doing and would say 'This is from our youth group to show you God's love in a practical way.' We reached many people with God's love that day ."

Fairfax, Va. Doris MacDonald, a longtime UB missionary serving with Wycliffe, collaborated on a Christian CD by singer Sharon Dennis. Doris played keyboard, did background vocals, and helped with some songwriting. The CD can be purchased at www.sharondennis.com.

Camden, Mich. The Michindoh Conference held a Mini Missions Conference for Children on June 21. It was led by Troy Hendricks, missionary to Spain, and Pastor Steve Smith of Lakeview UB (Camden, Mich.). It was held at Lakeview.

Rhonda Dilley challenged the children to participate in missions. They made mission-oriented crafts, and learned to play a new game called Soccette, which was likened to needing to learn a new culture. They also assembled nearly 100 shoeboxes to be given out by the Lakeview youth as they conduct a VBS at Laurel Mission. They were served lunch and then were treated to a concert by the 7th Street five-member band that combines rock, folk, and country sounds. The band is from First UB church in Blissfield, Mich.

August 20, 2003

Lake Odessa, Mich. David Meece will be in concert at Pleasant Valley United Brethren Church on Saturday evening September 20, starting at 6:30 pm. There are 200 reserved seats and 100 additional seats available on a first-come basis. Reserved seats can be requested by calling pastor Gary Taylor at 616-693-2366. A free will offering will be taken at the concert with proceeds going to the local pregnancy resource center. The church is located 10 miles west of Lake Odessa, Mich., on highway M-50.

Macau. Jana Hoobler sent these notes on August 15.

• Last Saturday night, Jennifer Blandin and I went to a singing competition sponsored by the Macau University Christian Fellowship. Eighteen individuals and groups participated, most of them teenagers or young adults. It's great to see the younger Christian community in Macau growing!
• This week both churches are holding their Vacation Bible Schools. I visited both on Wednesday afternoon, and it's great to see our church members growing in their ministry skills and working increasingly independently of missionary involvement.
• Lamar and Karen Crumbley, former UB missionaries in Honduras, are arriving on August 29 as short-term volunteer missionaries. We're in the process of moving our guest apartment due to the end of our rental contract at the old one. Pray for God's timing as we get the new apartment set up for the Crumbleys' arrival.
• This week we're sending follow-up materials to the children who accepted Christ at our Taipa Center this summer. Pray that they'll use the devotional materials we send and keep in contact with us.

Fairfax, Va. Doris Au MacDonald, a UB missionary serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators, has been involved with a music ministry as a singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter. In June, she and singer Sharon Dennis published a CD with some really good stuff on it. Check out their website: www.sharondennis.com, for CD orders, booking information, and other info.

Idaville, Pa. Dirk Small, pastor of the Idaville UB church, and his wife Julie were in an accident August 13. Dirk wrote on August 19, "I am now home, but incapacitated. Julie is fully recovered, praise the Lord! On Wednesday, August 13, Julie and I were relaxing on our bike before prayer meeting, and I lost control on a newly paved road. We were traveling around 35 miles per hour and had no impact on anything. The slide did major damage to my body. I was taken to Hershey via Life Lion and there my spleen was removed. I have several broken ribs also. I'm on a heavy regiment of percacet, but the pain is still hard to manage. My incision, which runs from my chest to the groin, is healing nicely. I expect to be laid up for a couple of weeks yet. God does some wonderful things in your spirit when you become completely vulnerable to Him."

August 14, 2003

Huntington, Ind. The International Women's Conference, July 25-27, brought about 140 United Brethren women to Huntington, Ind. They came from eight states: Indiana (40), Ohio (25), Michigan (29), Pennsylvania (16), plus others from Alabama, Illinois, Kansas, and Virginia. In addition, eight women came from Ontario.

The conference featured a variety of seminars and keynote addresses, complemented by drama by the group "All for One," and music by the group "One Faith."

Spencerville, Ohio. Ken Smith, pastor of the Cedar Chapel UB church in Big Laurel, Kent., was involved in a serious car accident over a year ago. But after 17 surgeries (with more on the way), Ken has recently been released to drive. Due to his need for a wheelchair, he asked the Lord for a van with sliding doors on both sides. Titus Boggs, director of the Laurel Mission, took this request to the July meeting of Central Annual Conference.

The Monticello UB church, near Spencerville, Ohio, worked with Tom Ahl of Lima, Ohio, on purchasing a van that would allow Ken to pull his wheelchair into the van through the sliding door. Several other UB churches in the area played a part.

On July 26, Monticello group delivered a 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan to Laurel Mission. They had the privilege of seeing Ken drive to church on his own for the first time in over a year.

Among Ministers

• Calhoun Hodgson has been assigned to plant a church in Dansville, Mich., effective August 1. The church is called Heritage UB Church.
• Al Carter began his tenure as pastor of West Pleasant Hill UB (Rockbridge, Ohio) on August 3. He concluded his ministry as senior pastor of Hillsdale UB (St. Mary's, Ohio) on July 31. The Hillsdale church will be unassigned for now.
• Dennis Rowe began serving as senior pastor of Living Word UB (Columbus, Ohio) on August 3.
• Todd Yoder announced his resignation as youth pastor at Monroe UB (Monroe, Ind.) to accept a similar position at Jerusalem Chapel UB (Churchville, Va., Mid-Atlantic Conference). That resignation is effective August 31.

Brice, Ohio. The Eagle's Wings church has disbanded. Central Conference is in the process of selling the property and dissolving the membership roll.

Myanmar. Go Chin reports, "We thank God for the safe arrival of our second baby, Ian, on July 10, weighing 3.8kg. The mother and the baby are doing well, so is Daddy." Go and Karmen serve with Operation Mobilization.

August 5, 2003

Huntington, Ind. On Sunday, August 3, New Hope UB dedicated a new church sign. After the morning service, everyone gathered around the sign, and Rev. M. E. Burkett conducted the dedication ceremony, assisted by Rev. Kent Maxwell and Rev. Ron Evans. To end the ceremony, all believers received communion.

Honduras. A group from King Street UB in Chambersburg, Pa., delivered a new van to Honduras. Ray Ankerbrand reports, "We arrived late on Tuesday, July 15, a little late since we were held up at the Mexican border. The paperwork was not complete for permanent use, but the van can be used while it is being completed. The bus remains at the Guatemalan border pending completion of the paperwork, but it is just across the border in Honduras. We had a very good trip. One tire blowout on the bus."

Macau. Jana Hoobler, director of the Macau English Language Program, sent these notes on August 2.

"We gave an invitation to accept Jesus into their hearts to our children on Taipa during our last week of English classes and again this week at VBS. Six children responded. Praise the Lord for the work He's doing in their hearts! Pray for wisdom as we think about how to follow-up on these children, since we don't have Sunday school or a children's fellowship here on Taipa yet.

"Jennifer Blandin and I really enjoyed our time in Hong Kong last weekend. The unity among the broader missionary community in Macau is an incredible blessing in our lives.

"Last night Living Word Church had a BBQ at the reservoir. Several of the church members had invited family members or friends to come with them. Praise the Lord for the burden the church members are starting to feel for sharing the gospel.

"This Sunday night [August 3] is our closing VBS program on Taipa. Pray that many of the children and their parents will attend. We'll be sharing the gospel there, as we want the parents to know what we've been teaching their children. These parents don't send their children to our program because they want them to have Christian training, but because they want their children to practice English with foreigners. Pray that they'll see the value of the Christian training, too!

Jana Hoobler, dressed for the Taipa VBS.

"Linda Neely, who's been volunteering with us for a year, will be returning to the States on Tuesday, July 5. We're not looking forward to saying good-bye! Pray for God's leading in Linda's life as she looks for a job after her return to Pennsylvania. Pray, too, that the ELP students she's grown close to will continue to attend English classes and Bible studies after she's gone."

Among Ministers

• Jennifer Herring became part-time youth pastor at New Hope UB (Huntington, Ind.) on June 1.
• Darla Anderson is youth pastor of Mount Morris UB (Mount Morris, Mich.).
• Mike Wells is the new Children & Youth Pastor at Atlantic Avenue UB (Franklin, Pa.), effective July 27.