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Appointment in Sabetha, Kansas

Micheal E. Dean has been appointed senior pastor of Sabetha UB church in Sabetha, Kansas. He holds a local conference license.


Partnership with Samaritan's Purse

Godspell Meets Survivor: HU Summer Tour

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United Brethren churches in the midwest and mid-Atlantic regions are invited to schedule a performance of "Godspell" during the summer months. Student actors and musicians from Huntington University will launch the summer tour of “Godspell” with a free show at College Park Church (Huntington, Ind.) at 7 p.m. on June 8. Then they'll hit the road, anticipating doing up to 40 performances.

For booking information, contact Paul Hirschy at 260-359-4357.

For the third consecutive run of the production, director David Shamburger has incorporated a “Survivor” meets “Castaway” theme into the Gospel of Matthew. Godspell includes almost word-for-word retellings of several of Jesus’ parables.

GodspellLogo_300.jpg"While the ‘stoic’ thinkers of the past and present find themselves locked up in their ‘ivory towers’ and eventually falling to their knees, our band of players find themselves on a deserted island in what might be considered ‘Paradise,’ free from the rigors of legalistic thinking and exploring a new kind of journey led by a native islander named Jesus," Shamburger said.

The presentation includes pop-culture references to "Fantasy Island," "Hawaii 5-0," "Gilligan’s Island," "Tarzan," "Survivor," "Lost," "Cast Away," and "The Amazing Race."

The 2008 Godspell tour features powerful acting and vocal performances as well as a live band with guitar, piano, keyboards and drums. Leading up to the production, students completed a semester-long course and a two-week “boot camp” to prepare them for the rigors of approximately 40 shows between June and August in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Some related links:


Death of Marie Else

Marie Else, wife of Warren Else, who pastored in Kansas, passed away early in the morning on May 19 in Abilene, Kansas.

  • Viewing: Thursday, May 22, 6-8 p.m., at Martin Becker Carlson Funeral Home, Abilene, Kansas.
  • Funeral: 2:30 p.m. Friday, May 23, at Abilene United Brethren church.


HU Student Receives Worship Award

Macau and the China Earthquake

Melisssa Kline sent this note from Macau:

"A few of you may be wondering about the earthquake in China that happened yesterday and if it effected us at all. Macau is quite a distance from the epicenter, but at 2:30 pm on Tuesday I did feel our building sway. Our fish didn't know what to think as they went sloshing from one side of the tank to the other. Nothing other than a slight movement though so that was a blessing.

"But from what the Macau paper said today, 8700 people have so far been found dead in mainland China and I would guess that number will increase over the next few days as they dig through the rubble. Please keep this situation, the families who have lost loved ones, and the believers in those areas in your prayers."


Church Closing

Prince of Peace UB (Springfield, Ohio) has voted to close.


Posting from China and the Philippines

New Sign in Front of the UB Office

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The new sign for Healthy Ministry Resources, which was unveiled on May 2. It stands outside the building along Lake Street in Huntington, Ind.
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The former sign, which technically hasn't been the international headquarters since 2001.

A sign for Healthy Ministry Resources now stands in front of the UB national office building in Huntington, Ind. So it's official and very public. The office has a new name.

Eleven fulltime staff work out of the national office. They include Bishop Ramsey, three persons working in Global Ministries, two persons in Finance, two persons in the bookstore, a director of Healthy Church Ministries, a Communications director, and an administrative assistant.

The United Brethren offices were originally located in downtown Huntington on the corner of Warren and Franklin streets. The denomination constructed that building beginning in 1915, with occupancy in 1916 and a formal dedication on May 2, 1917. It housed the United Brethren Publishing House in addition to offices for the various denominational officials.

In May 1976, the printshop and offices moved to a brand new building at the corner of Lake and Guilford Streets. The publishing house, which occupied about a third of the building, was closed in 1981. Over the years, as the number of staff members decreased, portions of the building were rented out to other parties.

In 2001, the Huntington University Graduate School of Christian Ministries moved into one large section at the front of the building (facing Lake Street), with Family Centered Services occupying the offices at the back of the building. When Family Centered Services moved to a new location in the fall of 2007, their offices were taken by the Huntington University EXCEL program. Now, the entire Huntington University Graduate School is housed in the building.

The bookstore operation uses a good share of the former printshop to warehouse Sunday school curriculum, which is sent to about 350 churches every quarter.


Introducing Healthy Ministry Resources
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The United Brethren national office has a new name: Healthy Ministry Resources. The name reflects the mission of the national office, which is: "To effectively resource pastors and congregations of the US National Conference to fulfill the Great Commission."

When Bishop Ron Ramsey took office in 2005, one of his strategic initiatives was to create a "brand" for the national office in Huntington which would:

  • Provide an official name and logo for the office. The generic "UB Headquarters" has been used until now.
  • Focus the office's purpose squarely on serving and resourcing local churches.
  • Emphasize that the national office's only reason to exist is to help UB churches. The churches don't exist for the sake of the national office.
  • Change the perception of the national office as an hierarchical entity.

“The real work of our denomination occurs at the local level," says Bishop Ramsey. "As a national office, our only reason to exist is to help those churches thrive. Many people in our churches around the country view us as a bureaucratic, top-down entity. I want to change that perception. Our purpose is to serve our churches. The new name, the website, and everything we do will emphasize that purpose.”

The branding initiative was unveiled on April 21 to the Executive Leadership Team, and went public on May 2. It includes:

UB.org remains the official website of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA, and UBMissions.com is the official website for Global Ministries. Those aren't going away. The new website deals specifically with the work of the national office.

The BishopBlog, which was launched in 2006, has been revamped and folded into the new website. It has a new purpose, and will be given far more attention than in the past. Communications director Steve Dennie describes the new BishopBlog as the "Grand Central Station" of UB communications--the one place to go to find out what's happening throughout the UB internet world.

The Healthy Ministry Resources name and logo apply only to the national office. It is just one ministry of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA.

  • We're not changing the name of the denomination.
  • This is not a new denominational logo.

Jeff Bleijerveld Heads to Asia

Jeff Bleijerveld, our new Global Ministries director, left today on his first overseas trip for the UB church. It started out a bit rocky, with weather delays in both Fort Wayne and Chicago, but he finally made it onto his plane in Chicago just as they were closing the doors.

Jeff will visit the Pearl River Delta part of China (which includes Hong Kong, Macau, and the surrounding province) until May 7, and then travel to the Philippines May 8-12 to take part in the 25th anniversary of the Looking Unto Jesus church, which is how our Philippines churches are known in their country.


HU Among Best Christian Workplaces

bestworkplaces_100.jpgHuntington University is one of 33 organizations listed among the Best Christian Workplaces Institute in the US, according to the Best Christian Workplaces Institute.

The survey involved more than 7,834 employees in 67 organizations across the US to identify great workplaces with a Christian mission and/or values. Based on the survey, people love to work for the Best Christian Workplaces for two reasons: the cause and the culture.


Greg Helman Assigned to Blue Rock Church

Greg Helman has been named senior pastor of Blue Rock UB (Waynesboro, Pa.) effective May 16.


Tidbits from Global Ministries
  • Randy and Toni Fennig plan to depart for their first term of service in Sierra Leone this month. Pray that they will complete their support-raising efforts, and then for their transition to the field.
  • The Looking Unto Jesus Church in the Philippines, one of our national conferences, will celebrate its 25th Anniversary on May 11 in the capital city of Manilla. Pastor Michael Brown (Franklin UB, New Albany, Ohio) and Jeff Bleijerveld (Director of Global Ministries) will participate.
  • The US Center for World Mission created a 20-minute DVD titled “Global Purpose.” It combines dynamic special effects with biblical, historical, strategic, and cultural perspectives to give an overview of God’s movement throughout history. It’s an effective teaching resource for Bible studies or small groups. You can borrow the DVD from our Global Ministries Lending Library. Contact Darlene at darlene@ub.org.

Survey: Online Programs at HU

Gary Small Having Back Surgery

Gary Small, pastor of Atlantic Avenue UB church in Franklin, Pa., will undergo back surgery on May 9. Your prayers are appreciated.