On January 25, Bishop Emeritus Paul Hirschy began a new job as a development officer at Huntington University. His primary responsibilities are to cultivate relationships and generate financial resources for the University. Hirschy will travel the tri-state area meeting with alumni and friends to share the Huntington University story.

“Paul is a sincere, compassionate, committed Christian man whose love of and historic ties to Huntington University make him a natural fit with the Advancement staff," says Troy Irick, vice president for Advancement. "Paul and his wife Barbara have 40 years worth of ties to HU as students, alums, parents of alum,s and as a UB pastor and bishop of the church."

Hirschy served from 2001-2005 as bishop of the United Brethren in Christ Church, USA. Prior to that position, he was the director of the Department of Church Services for the United Brethren in Christ Church beginning in 1982.

“I hope to serve Huntington University by making good contacts with people who believe in the University’s mission, and I plan to help build church and University relations through my extensive contacts with pastors and churches,” Hirschy said.

Hirschy and his wife, Barb, a schoolteacher, attend College Park Church in Huntington, Ind.

Mike Brown, pastor of the Franklin UB church in New Albany, Ohio, is currently looking for persons interested in joining a 10-day mission trip to the Philippines. Members of this team will participate in a week-long evangelistic crusade, working in partnership with the new Philippines National Conference. These crusades, held annually for the past 18 years, have consistently resulted in new churches being formed. Individuals with the following giftedness are needed: musicians, books, medical personnel, persons for testimonies, altar counselors, and miscellaneous helpers.

Date: March 29 - April 8, 2006
Cost: $1,350 per person

This is a chance to be among the first North American UBs to visit and become acquainted with the new Philippines National Conference, which became a member UB conference in June 2005. For more information about the trip, contact Rev. Mike Brown at 614-855-1391 (church phone) or 614-855-3276 (home phone).

"End of the Spear" is a version of the story of the five missionaries killed in Ecuador by the Auca Indians in 1956. This great missions film opens in local theaters beginning January 20. Note that it is rated PG-13 due to some spearing scenes. Find it online.

Doug Weber, a UB endorsed missionary serving with HCJB Radio in Ecuador, comments, "I have seen 'The End of the Spear.' It is extremely well done! It would be a great thing to take a non Christian friend to, and could easily be used as an evangelistic tool. We got a sneak preview, as HCJB was involved in producing parts of the film. It is a fairly intense movie, but our kids all saw it, even our 6 year old. It was very thought provoking for even them and created some great after-movie conversations about the Lord, missions, missionaries, etc."

About ten slots are still open for a mission trip to Poland this summer. It starts June 29 and ends July 11, 2006. The purpose is to work alongside UB endorsed missionaries Arek and Donna Delik (right) as they reach out to young people in Kutno, Poland, a city of 50,000. The event will involve teaching English as a second language to teenagers in a camp setting. It will cost $1700 per person. Donna Hollopeter will lead the group, and needs to know of your interest by March 1. Contact Donna by email.

• Abby Farmer (right), one of our newest endorsed missionaries, is leaving this month for Papua New Guinea, where she will teach missionary children. Abby is from the Blue Rock UB church in Waynesboro, Pa.
• Angie Swanson, a member of First UB church in Findlay, Ohio, is extending her stay at Jamaica Bible College through July 2006. She has been teaching a variety of classes, has mentored a number of students, and has been involved in a local United Brethren church. Angie needs an additional $3000 in support to get her through July. Contact missions@ub.org if you're able to help.

• Mike and Jennifer Burtnett and family (right), also new endorsed missionaries, left the staff of Hillsdale UB church (Hillsdale, Mich.) this month to join Wycliffe Bible Translators. They will serve at Wycliffe's World Mobilization Center in Orlando, Florida.

It is a new year for the United Brethren Church--not just because the calendar says it's a new year, but because of all the changes that became official on January 1. One of those changes involves organizing our churches and pastors into Healthy Church Clusters, rather than organizing around conferences. The Healthy Church Cluster is now the entity to which congregations and pastors are primarily accountable.

A cluster is a group of 7–10 pastors and churches who meet on a regular basis for mutual support, pastoral development, encouragement, coaching, accountability, friendship, healthy church development, fun (yes I said fun!), sharing of ideas, prayer, and reporting. Thus far, 31 cluster groups have formed. Pat Jones, our new Director of Healthy Church Ministries, has worked hard at organizing these clusters. Some decisions remain in certain areas of our denomination, and some pastors have not responded to the call to join a cluster. But for the most part, we are well organized.

One of the bishop's responsibilities is to appoint a leader for each group, a person we are calling the Healthy Church Cluster Coach. Bishop Ron Ramsey has announced the leaders for all of the clusters which have formed thus far. You can view the clusters and leaders here.

The first Cluster Leader Training will take place on January 25 and 26 at the Michindoh Ministries Camp and Conference Center in Hillsdale, Mich.

As of January 1, the new National Conference structure is official. One major change involves the way we handle assessments (sending monetary support for denominational ministries). Each church will now send 3.5% of its total income (minus new construction funds, missions giving, and estate gifts) directly to the United Brethren Headquarters. No longer will churches send assessments through the conference. Each church is responsible for calculating the amount they need to send.

Please note that the 3.5% is just the assessment portion. Any other funds, such as pastor pension, need to be kept separate. Conferences may require an additional percentage (for instance, Central Conference churches must give an additional 1% to support conference ministries until the conference is able to official dissolve--something it can't do yet because of pending legal action against the conference).

Your church's treasurer should have already received forms to use when sending money to headquarters.

Bishop Ron Ramsey provides the following update on his wife's physical condition. "Many of you have been praying for my wife, E. J. I want to report that prayer works. As you may recall from an email in early December, she was diagnosed with a serious eye condition that could cause total blindness in as little as three weeks. She had already lost partial vision in her right eye. She was started on a course of steroids that could last 1-2 years to combat the disease. But after only four weeks of steroids, her latest blood test came back normal and she began to be weaned off the steroids. I thank God for all of your prayers. There is no doubt in my mind, or hers, that God supernaturally touched her. And I praise God today afresh for his compassion and healing.

In cooperation with Huntington University, we are sponsoring four worship seminars on the following dates and places. Bob Myers, professor of the new church worship leadership major at HU, will conduct these seminars. They are open to anyone--ministers or laypersons--interested in improving their worship experience. Put these dates on your calendar. More information will come soon!

• February 25: Michigan Area (North Region)
• April 11: Pennsylvania Area (East Region)
• March 25: Ohio area (Central Region)
• April 1: Indiana area (West Region)

On January 19, the annual reports for the year 2005 were mailed to all ministers. The forms have changed very little from previous years. However, the reporting process has changed. The originals will be sent to the Bishop (instead of to the conference superintendent). In addition, Bishop Ramsey wants pastors to make copies for their fellow cluster members. The cluster will serve as the "auditing" committee, since it is the place where congregations and pastors are primarily accountable. Information about the reports, including downloadable forms, is available online.

On January 15, 2006, Pastor Adam Will was offically installed as pastor of Eden UB church in Reedsville, Ohio. This happened 10 months since he took over as pastor on Palm Sunday in March 2005. He was surprised to find many people in attendence, because the congregationm had surprised him with his local conference license. The ironic thing was that the title to Pastor Adam's message was "Shhh! It's a Secret!" By the Grace of God, the church, having been through so much, is starting to grow again in Spirit, energy, and even numbers.