Dirk Small resigned as pastor of Idaville UB Church (Idaville, Pa.). He has taken a staff position with Otterbein Church in Waynesboro, Pa. (a former UB church that withdrew in 2005). Idaville is now looking for a new senior pastor.

Doug and Ruth Weber and family, missionaries with HCBJ Radio, returned to Ecuador in August after a two-month furlough. In their September 2008 newsletter (which you can download in full as a PDF file), they told about what they did on furlough (technicallyl, called Home Ministry Assignment):

• Traveled 8000 miles.
• Slept in 21 different beds.
• Visited with 21 different families.
• Spoke at a camp and five churches.
• Hosted two dessert and sharing times.
• Spoke at a ladies tea.
• Attended three reunions.
• Celebrated four birthdays (and their own wedding anniversary).
• Atended a colleged registration weekend.

They also moved daughter Rachel into her new home: a residence hall at Huntington University. She will mjor in Digital Media with an emphasis in animation. "She also has a real heart for ministry to junior high kids and would like to get involved with the youth at the church she will be attending. She has seen how god has provided for her needs and is excited about preparing herself for his service."

The other three children are still at home. Daughter Becca is starting her junior year of high school in Ecuador, Daniel is starting 7th grade, and David is in 3rd grade.

Doug has returned ot his job as Radio Director, while Ruth has started her fifth year of teaching 3rd grade.

They write, "Becca and a friend wasted no time remodeling the room she shared with Rachel. They have re-painted the room and plan to paint some customized designs on the walls. Rachel’s “loft” is also being re-
purposed as an “art room.

"Giving this room a fresh start is just what we want to do with this new term of service in Ecuador. Getting a fresh start can sometimes help us regain our perspective and prioritize the things that we do. With renewed energy, we can then accomplish the really important things in our family and ministry. We hope to do just that in the next 2 years."

Lifehouse Ministries--that's the new name of the church formally known as Ithaca United Brethren Church (Itaca, Mich.).

Laurence Smith, father of Stephen Smith, senior pastor of Lake View Church (Camden, Mich.), passed away on Saturday, September 13, 2008. At the time of his death, Mr. Smith was living in Pennsylvania. Memorial services will be held:

• September 27, 11 a.m., in Winston-Salem, N.C.
• October 3, 11 a.m., in Midland, Mich.

George Rhodifer (right) learned today that he has bone marrow cancer. A doctor told him he has three months to live. George, a longtime ordained minister in our denomination, is pastor of Olivet UB church in New Lebanon, Ohio. He is also a cluster leader.

George says:

"My blood count has been low for several months and they could not find a reason for it. They sent me to a blood doctor and she wanted to do a test on the bone morrow which makes blood. She read the report to us today in her office. It seems that I have bone morrow cancer--luekemia of the bone morrow. She told my wife and I that I have about three months to live. With low-dose chemotherarpy, I could possibly live six months, but that is not a guarentee.

"This came as a complete surprise to us. I have a pinched nerve in my back which has affected my right side. I was getting ready to go on pain management, but the doctor told me I may as well cancel that and just take pain medicine."

Please remember George in your prayers. You can contact George by email or by writing to:

The Huntington University site posted a lengthy article, with photos, about this summer's teacher training project in China.

Wardena Waldfogel, the wife of Bishop Emeritus Raymond Waldfogel, just came out of surgery on her carotid arteries. The doctor was optimistic about how things went. She'll be going home within a day or two. Please pray for her continued healing.

The Waldfogels live at 2002 North Avenue, Huntington, IN 46750.

The following was submitted by Dalton Jenkins, pastor of Bethel Temple of Praise, a UB church in Yonkers, N.Y.

It all began in the fall of 2007 with a call from then director of Global Ministries Gary Dilley. He ask if I was interesting in having a Youth Pastor, who was looking to do some missions work that summer, come and help us out with Vacation Bible School. I was glad for the opportunity and was later introduce to Pastors Dennis A. Sites, Todd Yoder, and Jerusalem Chapel.

This was around the time of the 2007 UB National Conference. Providence would have it that of all the places Todd and I could find in the hall to sit, we ended up next to each other. What made it more interesting is that we did not recognize each other until Bishop Ron Ramsey introduced me to the convention.

There we were, two guys from two different worlds, with the same passion, serving under the same banner. Little did we know that this was the start of a friendship built on the desire to mobilize the church to a missional cause, ministering to the total man.

Pastor Todd led a group from Jerusalem Chapel that summer to conduct a VBS for us at Bethel Temple of Praise. It was Virginia meets Yonkers. The spirit of the "We are brethren!" declaration of Otterbein and Boehm lived on. We put aside our differences and stood together as disciples commissioned to proclaim the Gospel.

This summer we decided to give back-to-school supplies to the kids in Yonkers. Qe were in the process of fundraising for the event when Pastor Todd called. He said they would love to buy supplies for our VBS this year. Since we were not planning a VBS, because we did not have the personnel, I told him of our efforts to give out supplies. He committed to contributing to our efforts.

With the contribution from Jerusalem Chapel and our own fundraising efforts, two groups of volunteers distributed over 70 bags of supplies at two locations--one group at a park near our church, the other in the middle of town. Two nurses did about 50 blood-pressure tests and provided other medical advice to persons who stopped by. This was done during two hours on Saturday afternoon, August 24. Thanks, Pastor Sites amd Todd and Jerusalem Chapel. This partnership is invaluable to the proclamation of the Gospel.

Reactions to our efforts were refreshing. Many were surprised that the church was giving away free supplies. Some people promised to visit our church.

In a presentation Sept. 2, Parkview Huntington Hospital awarded a $75,000 grant to Huntington University's nursing program.

This gift is in addition to a $100,000 grant the hospital gave the university in February 2006 and a $75,000 grant presented in May 2007.

"Huntington University's new Bachelor of Science Nursing program will help to address the ever-growing national need for more healthcare workers," said Darlene Garrett, chief operating officer of Parkview Huntington Hospital. "We are proud to be able to contribute to this important educational opportunity."

The grant funds were used for the construction and equipping of the main lab/classroom in the Nursing Department located in the lower level of the university's Science Hall. The room is named in the hospital's honor as the Parkview Huntington Hospital Lab/Classroom.

Dr. Margaret Winter, director of the nursing program, said, "An essential part of nursing education for the students is to practice the necessary skills and procedures in a state-of-the art skills facility and then to transfer this knowledge into the clinical setting. Parkview Huntington Hospital is providing both of these opportunities with their financial support and in offering the hospital environment for student clinicals."

Huntington University has 38 students enrolled in the pre-nursing program with the first class of nursing majors set to graduate in May 2011.

It's another record enrollment for Huntington University: 1209 students for the fall 2008 semester.

• 978 traditional undergraduates (a new record).
• 130 students in the EXCEL adult degree programs.
• 101 students in the Graduate School (the first year the grad programs exceeded 100).

The 327 new fulltime traditional undergraduate students is a new record.

The new student residence, Livingston Hall, opened in time for the fall semester. It's already 97% full. Overall student housing is at 90% capacity.

"The long-range plan," said HU President G. Blair Dowden, "calls for increasing enrollment to 2000 students by 2016."

Other tidbits about the HU student body:

• 7% of incoming freshmen represent US ethnic minorities.
• Students come from 36 different states and Puerto Rico (with 56% from Indiana).
• 31 international students represent 17 countries.

This week, Global Ministries sent $1317 to Samaritan's Purse for Haiti hurricane relief. We have developed a strategic partnership with Samaritan's Purse to deal with disaster relief situations.

Oliam Richard, superintendent of our churches in Haiti, sent this note:

"In the southern South of the country, two people have been killed by Hurricane Hannah, and some of the churches have been flooded out in Cayes. In the northern part of the country, like Gonaives, is worse. We have a church there. People have lost their goods because their homes have flooded.

"In Saint-Marc, one of our churches was damaged; one part of the roof flew away in the story. The situation in Port-au-Prince is not as terrible as in other parts of the country.

"The living conditions of people is worse than before. We need your prayers. More hurricanes are on the way. Please pass this news to other brothers and sisters, so that they will pray for Haiti and sspecially our church members.

Dr. Kevin Miller, associate professor of communication, and freshman Brittany Hawkins of Fort Wayne, Ind., clean out leaves from the Church of the Brethren on Washington Street. Hawkins is a communication studies major.

Hundreds of Huntington University students plunged into their college experience by volunteering at several places throughout the Huntington community on August 23.

For 15 years, the university’s new students have participated in the Joe Mertz Center’s Volunteer Plunge. This year, 28 teams comprised of more than 350 freshmen and transfer students, 28 mentor students, and 30 faculty worked on projects from 1 to 3 p.m.

The Volunteer Plunge is a part-day of community service held each year in conjunction with Huntington University’s three-day new student orientation.

The teams helped with painting, cleaning out facilities, building maintenance, lawn care, mulching, washing vehicles, socializing with nursing home residents, picking up litter and repairing fences.

Continue reading "Students Plunge into Volunteerism" »

When Attaboy launches its Rock Hop & Roll tour in September, three of the band members will take their alma mater with them. The Huntington-based alternative rock group has partnered with Huntington University.

Attaboy includes (left to right) Micah Beckwith, Amos Caley, Jeff Edgel and Chris Brumbaugh.

• Drummer Micah Beckwith graduated from the university in 2005 with a double major in business management, and economics and finance.
• Amos Caley, also a 2005 alumnus, has a bachelor's degree in Bible and religion.
• Guitarist Jeff Edgel majored in elementary education and graduated in 2004.
• Though bassist Chris Brumbaugh is not an alumnus, he has lived in Huntington all of his life and is a United Brethren member.

"I'm really impressed because we're always touring, and we're always thinking about how we can market ourselves creatively," said Caley, vocalist and pianist for Attaboy. "We've seen many colleges and universities not thinking the same way. They don't try things out of the box....We've never seen a university hitch its wagon to a band. We're fully anticipating extending the partnership."

From the university's standpoint, Attaboy offered access to thousands of teenagers and young adults who otherwise may have never heard of Huntington.

Continue reading "Huntington University Teams with Attaboy" »

On August 31, Lee Hiney preached his last sermon as pastor of Mt. Zion UB church in Wayne, Ohio. That was nearly 20 years to the day from when he preached his first sermon there--August 28, 1988.

A local newspaper posted a lengthy article about Pastor Hiney, which talks about the past 20 years, reflections from parishioners and staffers, and plans for the future.

Two new staff openings have been posted. If interested, follow the links with the listings below.

• Hillsdale UB (Hillsdale, Mich.) is looking for a fulltime Family Life minister. Approximately half of the minister's time will be spent overseeing and developing a dynamic children's ministry. The remaining time will be used for family counseling, hospital visitation, and establishing a men's ministry.
• New Horizons UB (Rockford, Ohio) is looking for a fulltime youth pastor to oversee the church's youth program, including Bible teaching, event planning, and working with others involved in this ministry. This person will also aid the senior pastor where needed.