BMH Editor's Blog

Today's Columbus Dispatch includes a story about Carlo Corral (in photo at right), the children's pastor and Hispanic church planter at the Southwest Grace Brethren Church in Grove City, Ohio. To read the complete story, click here.

Bilingual clown translates as funny
Even in a parking lot, Chulo the Clown can create magic.

With a few dance moves, twists of balloons and a merry monologue, he entranced a group of children huddled on a West Side bench on a recent chilly day.

But Chulo -- whose real name is Carlo Corral -- has another weapon at his disposal, as he demonstrated at a recent birthday party for 7-year-old Mauro Sanchez-Hernandez.

"Feliz cumpleanos!" ("Happy birthday!") Chulo yelled to the delighted Mauro, who speaks Spanish as well as English.

For central Ohio's growing Latino population, Chulo -- one of the few known bilingual clowns in the area -- offers a way to entertain kids without sacrificing language.

To read the rest of the story and watch video of Chulo performing, click here.

An article in today's Farmington, New Mexico, newspaper gives background on the new interim city manager, who comes from a well-known Grace Brethren family and has served in a Grace Brethren church. Here is an excerpt--to read the entire article click here.


FARMINGTON — Though he hasn't been at City Hall long, interim City Manager Rob Mayes said his experience managing organizations such as Piñon Hills Community Church prepared him to lead the city's 1,035 employees.

Mayes, 43, took the reins at the city as interim city manager on March 11, after the City Council fired his predecessor, Mike Miller.

Mayes has worked for the city for less than two years. He started in June 2006 as executive assistant to then-city manager Bob Hudson, was promoted to assistant city manager and took over as interim city manager the first time when Hudson retired in April 2007. . .

. . . Born in southern California, Mayes grew up in Fort Wayne, Ind. He attended Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., and earned a bachelor's degree in youth services and clinical and clerical counseling.

He worked as youth services director and associate pastor for Grace Brethren Church and School in the Washington, D.C., area, and earned a master's degree in religious philosophy from Liberty University in 1990.

In 1998, he moved to Farmington to take a job as executive pastor at Piñon Hills Community Church.

A Grace College student was featured in the local (Warsaw, Indiana) newspaper this week for having spent her spring break ministering at an orphanage in Mexico, and having written a book about the experience. Here is an excerpt from the story on Hope Rauchenstein (pictured with orphan). To read the entire article click here.

WINONA LAKE - While many students spent their spring break partying, Grace College freshman Hope Rauchenstein used her passion for children and spent her spring break volunteering at an orphanage in Mexico.

Rauchenstein, 19, an elementary education major, spent her spring break volunteering at Door of Faith Orphanage in La Mision, Mexico, a town south of San Diego, Calif.

Retirement doesn’t seem to have a place in Wayne Beaver’s vocabulary. (He is pictured at right with his wife, Dorothy.) The veteran missionary and emeritus professor at Grace Theological Seminary is now helping his son, Dan, begin a Bible school in the Philippines.

To learn more, see the March-April issue of FGBC World, which is available at your local church or on the web.

FGBC World is the bi-monthly newspaper for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Printed copies of the March-April issue have been shipped to each church in the Fellowship and may be obtained there at no charge.

To read the complete issue online, click here.

If you'd like a free subscription to FGBC World (mailed to your home), click here.

Today's Indianapolis Star includes a story about Life Spring Church, a new Grace Brethren congregation in Brownsburg, Ind., just outside of Indianapolis.

To read the complete story, click here.

Parishioners meet at fire headquarters

In a building designed to train firefighters to save people from car accidents and fires, a group of believers is spending Sundays saving souls.

Members of Life Spring Church this month began meeting in the Brownsburg Fire Territory headquarters on Northfield Drive. It's the latest move for a group of believers that first met in a living room in August 2006.

"I like the idea of starting with nothing and God putting a church together," said the Rev. Phil Gabriel, 55. "It is our belief that a church isn't a building, but is the fellowship of believers in Christ living in relationship with one another. There are thoughts of having our own church building someday but our focus right now is really growing people."

To read the rest of the story, click here.

To learn more about Life Spring Church, click here.

The investigation into the death of Jeffery S. “Scott” Noel, who attended the Grace Brethren Church of Portis, Kansas (Dave Sarver, pastor), continues as authorities search for a sedan and at least two people wanted for questioning in connection with the Tuesday murder.

Continue to pray for the people of Portis and Pastor Sarver during this time.

To see a story about the murder from today's Salina (Kansas) News, click here. To read the obituary of Scott Noel, click here.

Can you use your skill with finances to reach people for Christ?

Yes!

Grace Brethren International Missions, Winona Lake, Indiana, is seeking a person with strong accounting background to join their team as Controller. God can use your skills to keep GBIM ministries fiscally strong, so missionaries are free to focus on and grow their ministries – to take the church where it is needed most!

For more information, see www.gbim.org. Please send your resume to Joan Hoke at jhoke@gbim.org or call her at (574) 268-1888 ext. 21.

Pastor Dave Sarver and the Grace Brethren Church of Portis, Kansas, will appreciate your prayers as they experience the shock and grief of the murder of one of their parishioners, Scott Noel (pictured). Here is a short excerpt from one of the media stories. Further information is at http://new.khastv.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=12886&storytopic=4 and at http://www.saljournal.com/rdnews/story/Portis-murder-follow-3-26-08

The Osborne County Sheriff's Office and the Kansas Bureau of Investigations are trying to figure out who killed Scott Noel.

The 55 year old was found dead Tuesday afternoon in his home near Portis.
Police say it could be a burglary gone bad.

Investigators spent the day in and around Scott Noel's farmhouse just southeast of Portis.

For some, it is their first local murder case.

"We have not had anything remotely similar to this in 15 years," said Sgt. Jack Ennis.

The Sheriff's office is not releasing many details, but believes Noel was killed sometime between 11 and 2 Tuesday afternoon.

Since then the public has been flooding them with possible leads.

"We are receiving phone calls constantly. We are following up all the information we get as fast as we can because we are very concerned about getting this solved," said Ennis.

Just over a hundred people live in Portis.

So in a town where everyone is considered family, a murder affects everybody.

"I think everybody was traumatized and heartbroken. Everyone felt victimized. Cannot imagine what the family is going through. Everybody's heart goes out to them," said Alison Holt.

Two Grace Brethren churches hosted helicopter egg drops as an outreach in their community.

"Wow…what a day! Weather was great!," Pastor Mike Silliman at Elk Creek Church in West Grove, Pa., wrote on his blog this week. "Tons of people showed up. I have no idea how many people…If I had to guess, I would say 3,000-3,500!" The photo at right is from their event, which was held on Saturday, March 22. (See blog post from Thursday, March 20, 2008 for more details.)

Catalyst Church, a Grace Brethren congregation in Kent, Ohio (Jonathon Herron, pastor), also held a helicopter egg drop on Saturday. To see coverage of that event, click here. (There is also information on this blog. See the Friday, March 07, 2008 post.)

BTW, Elk Creek's event on March 30 with Jon and Kate Gosselin, of TLC's Jon & Kate Plus Eight, is sold out. However, Pastor Silliman has 25 tickets left. Visit his blog to see how you can win a pair!

From the current newsletter of the North Central Ohio district, as distributed by district coordinator Todd Scoles:

ClearView Church Begins Sunday Gatherings

Andy and Trish Wirt report that eleven people attended the first-ever worship gathering in their home on March 16. On Easter Sunday, sixteen people were present.

Pray for the birth of this new church in the New Albany area. Pray for and consider the support needs of ClearView.

Contact Andy at andy@clearviewgrace.com for more information.

One final important prayer request: Pray for the Wirts as their new baby girl is scheduled to arrive next Monday, March 31!

During this past year, BMH Books of Winona Lake, Indiana, has employed a subsidiary rights contractor to leverage its products into foreign language translations, large-print editions, audiobooks, digital versions (Libronix, WordSearch), and more.

The first of these, a German language edition of Transformed in His Presence: The Need for Prayer in Counseling by Roger Peugh and Tammy Schultz (at right) has now been released by a German publisher, Christlicher Mediendienst.

A Portuguese edition of Walking Like Jesus Did by Larry McCall is now on the press, an audiobook licensing agreement for the McCall book is pending, and a contract is pending for BMH's Edmund Hiebert commentary series to appear in digital form.

For more information, contact BMH publisher Terry White at tdwhite@bmhbooks.com.

Orville Flora, 105, a longtime member and leader in the Grace Brethren Community Church of West Alexandria, Ohio (Elbert Sorrell, pastor) passed away March 23, 2008.

Orville was saved at age 17 in the Camden,OH, Brethren Church and served there for many years. Later, he became a member of the Grace Brethren Community Church, West Alexandria,Ohio, where he served for nearly 60 years as Deacon, S.S.Supt., and S.S. teacher.

Orville loved to attend Grace Brethren National Conference and in 1982 was selected to receive the Senior Medal of Ministry. His last time to attend National Conference at Winona Lake, Indiana, was at the age of 91 as he was a delegate from his church.

Flora also enjoyed Southern Ohio District church camps, mission work, and traveling to New Mexico to the Navajo Mission.

BLACKLICK TWP., Pa. -- Grief counselors were on hand Tuesday at Blacklick Valley High School in Cambria County as students return for the first time since Saturday's crash that killed two students.

Meanwhile, funeral arrangements have been made for two of victims of the crash.

Viewing for Tiana Rose will take place Tuesday from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Askew Houser Funeral Home in Nanty Glo. Her funeral service will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Pike Grace Brethren Church in Mundy's Corner with burial to follow in the church cemetery.

Viewing for Nick Maniccia will also be held Tuesday from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Askew Houser Funeral Home. His funeral service will be held Wednesday at the funeral home beginning at 11 a.m.

Rick Clark is pastor of the Pike church. An additional story on the accident may be seen at http://www.wjactv.com/mostpopular/15694526/detail.html

BMH Books of Winona Lake, Indiana, has just released new versions of two highly-acclaimed books on prophecy by the late pastor and Bible teacher Lehman Strauss.

The Book of the Revelation contains outlined studies of the last book of the Bible. In his introduction, Strauss says, “Genesis is the book of commencement; Revelation is the book of consummation.”

The author identifies three distinct systems of interpretation of Revelation—The Preterist School, The Presentist School, and The Prophetic School. Subscribing to the latter, Strauss holds that the largest part of the Book of Revelation is prophetic, and thus it applies to a period still future.

In The Prophecies of Daniel, Strauss has written an engaging and informative commentary quite applicable in this day when there is great curiosity about future events and what the Bible says about them. Both these books will be helpful either to the preaching pastor or to the serious lay Bible student who wishes a better understanding of biblical prophecy.

Lehman Strauss, Litt.D., F.R.G.S., taught Old Testament history for eight years at Philadelphia Bible Institute and served as pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in Bristol, Pennsylvania, from 1939 to 1957.

He was pastor of Highland Park Baptist Church in Highland Park, Michigan, until the end of 1963 when he resigned to devote full-time to an itinerant Bible conference and evangelistic ministry. Dr. Strauss was residing in Florida and was writing his 19th book at age 86 when the Lord called him home in June of 1997.

Both books retail for $17.99. The ISBN for The Book of the Revelation is 978-0-88469-090-0 and the ISBN for The Prophecies of Daniel is 978-0-88469-089-4. Both are available in paperback at www.bmhbooks.com or by calling (toll-free) 1-800-348-2756.

In The Prophecies of Daniel, Strauss has written an engaging and informative commentary quite applicable in this day when there is great curiosity about future events and what the Bible says about them.

The ISBN for The Prophecies of Daniel is 978-0-88469-089-4. Both books are available in paperback at www.bmhbooks.com or by calling (toll-free) 1-800-348-2756.

Hispanic church planter Oscar Chavez (pictured), who pastors an Hispanic Grace Brethren church in Lancaster, California, and is active in encouraging and assisting Hispanic church plants, included some updates in a recent newsletter. Here are some excerpts:

We are excited at the possibility of planting two or maybe three churches by the year 2009 in the following areas. Please begin praying for these cities: (1)East Palmdale, (2) Rosamond, (3) California City.

This year our impact church in Lancaster will become stronger in different areas of ministry and outreach as we prepare to give birth to these new churches. We are creating two teams of people who will commit two years of their lives, ministry and finances to these baby churches. These teams will be headed by a graduate from our Bible training and one of our elders.

This year is the year of training and preparation for these new church plants. We will keep you informed so that you can join with us and pray for the vision God has given us, “Church planting is the best way to reach new people for Christ.” Please take 60 seconds to pray for this vision right now.

Hispanic Church Planting in North America

Working with GO2 is one of the most exciting things that I have done in ministry. We are working as a team to put together all of our expertise to create a strong church planting movement in North America.

For this purpose we have created a process that begins with a pre-assessment of a church planter by one of our regional directors, then to an assessment to ensure they understand all that is required in taking on this precious task. Once they have completed both assessments they will begin a training process with an established church planter.

April 3-5, 2008, the assessment team will be in Telford, PA, for our first assessment for GO2. Jesus Munoz (Go2 Hispanic church planting Director) and Oscar Chavez (Go2 West coast Director) Ron Boehm (Midwest field director) and Ned Denlinger, pastor of Mason Family of Grace in Mason, OH, and Dave Kennedy from Richmond, VA will train and be part of the assessment.

Please pray for the nine couples registered and praise the Lord for the three of these couples that are Hispanic.

From Dr. Larry Chamberlain and the Eagle Commission:

Come and celebrate the strategic and effective ministries of our Grace Brethren Chaplains who serve the brave men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The annual “Chaplains Appreciation Dinner” will be held on Sunday evening, July 27, from 4:45 to 6:30 p.m. at the Innisbrook resort in Tampa as part of this year's national conference. Tickets are available via your conference registration materials.

Hear testimonies from Grace Brethren Chaplains who are attending the FGBC National Conference. Honor several Chaplains who are retiring this year. Let our Chaplains and their families know that our Fellowship cares about them and prays for them as they share the goodness and grace of our Lord with the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who defend our freedoms, often in harm’s way.

Sponsored by The Eagle Commission
and Grace Brethren Investment Foundation

(The dinner will include a brief corporation meeting
for Grace Brethren Investment Foundation, Inc.)

Neil Cole, pastor of Awakening Chapel, a Grace Brethren church in Long Beach, California, and executive director of Church Multiplication Associates, has written a new book which will be released April 1.

Promotional copy on the new book says Christians today are on a rescue mission. Each of us is called to get involved in God’s plan to make disciples. A former California lifeguard, Neil Cole weaves together his personal experiences of saving lives with biblical principles for how to make and multiply disciples.

Cole shows how to create Life Transformation Groups that can help a Christian grow in a safe and transparent relationship with one or two other spiritual pilgrims.

Full of heroic and even humorous stories, Search and Rescue captures readers’ imaginations and hearts and doesn’t let go until they want to make a difference and know how to go about doing it.

To obtain the book, click here.

Elk Creek Church, a Grace Brethren church in West Grove, Pa., is using the Easter season to reach their community by offering two events to connect with people. They are planning a Helicopter Egg Drop on March 22 and will host Jon and Kate Gosselin from The Learning Channel’s Jon & Kate plus 8 during their worship service on March 30.

The Helicopter Egg Drop is a first for their community, according to Elk Creek pastor Mike Silliman. It will be held at 1 p.m., this Saturday (March 22) at Harmony Park in West Grove. Twenty thousand eggs will be dropped over the football field at the park. There will also be drawings for a Nintendo Wii game system, Nintendo DS Lite, and an iPod Shuffle.

The event is for kids up to age 12. Registration begins at Noon. (The church is expecting between 1,000 and 2,000 people for the egg drop.)

The Gosselins, who are the parents of two sets of multiples – a set of twins and a set of sextuplets, will take the stage during the 10:30 a.m. worship service on March 30. In place of the sermon, Pastor Mike Silliman will interview the couple.

“I’ll ask them questions about their life in general and eventually will ask them about the role of their faith and how that plays out in their lifestyle…especially with being celebrities,” Silliman said. (The Gosselin children will not be at this event.) The service is held in Avon Grove High School’s auditorium in West Grove.

The event is free, but tickets must be ordered in advance. The auditorium seats 800 and many tickets have been spoken for, according to Silliman. They may still be ordered at http://www.elkcreekonline.com/jk8.htm.

On March 30, there will also be a special children’s program while the Gosselins speak during the main service. It will be led by Elk Creek’s Children’s Director Monica Frank.

“We’re trying to host bridge events that really connect us with the community,” said Silliman. – by Natalie Rummel

Peggy Owens (left in photo), an employee of CE National and a member of the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren church (Bruce Barlow, lead pastor) was honored this week as one of the recipients of a 2008 Heart of Gold Award.

Recipients were honored at a reception, presented by Kosciusko County Community Foundation Inc., was held at Center Lake Pavilion in Warsaw, Indiana.

Recipients are recommended by community members who nominate them. Ten nominees, including Peggy, were selected by Kosciusko County Community Foundation volunteers to have their stories highlighted during the reception.

Recipients were selected based on their service to others, identifying a need and fulfilling it, working to create positive change and inspiring others to volunteer.

"The purpose of the award is to celebrate ordinary citizens who serve others in extraordinary ways," said Kosciusko County Community Foundation Executive Director Suzie Light.

Each person nominated for a Heart of Gold award received a Heart of Gold pin, a certificate and the opportunity to recommend a Community Foundation grant to the area charity of their choice.

Marsha Cook and Tracy Jackson read the nominees' and nominators' names and highlighted the stories of 10 nominees, including Peggy Owens, for her volunteering at the Kosciusko County Jail for the past nine years bringing her joy of music with her keyboard on Sunday mornings and Monday evenings. She also teaches a Bible study to female inmates.

This morning's Altoona (PA) Mirror reports on the death of a deacon at the Vicksburg Grace Brethren Church in Hollidaysburg, PA (Roger K. Myers, pastor). Here is an excerpt--to read the entire article click on http://www.altoonamirror.com:80/page/content.detail/id/505736.html?nav=742

Charles H. Beltz Jr. of Hollidaysburg RD told his friends Monday morning at King Valley Golf Club in Imler that he would be back in the afternoon to play a round of golf.

He never made it.

Beltz died after the tree he was trimming that afternoon fell on him, Blair Township police said. He was 63.

Those at the golf club were shaken by the news, club secretary Diane Knisely said Wednesday.

When Beltz failed to show up, his friends called his house, learned what occurred and went straight there.

Beltz was a course ranger at the golf club, where he monitored play.

‘‘He was more than just a member; he was like family to us,’’ Knisely said. ‘‘He would do anything for you. He was always there when you needed him.’’

Beltz, called either “Sonny” or “Charlie” by family and friends, served as a deacon at Vicksburg Grace Brethren Church, Reservoir Road, Hollidaysburg RD 1.

He was instrumental in getting the church’s audio-visual equipment set up and operating.

“Being a deacon is a position of service. You have to be a man of integrity. [The individual] has to have a good head on his shoulders, and he has to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” said Pastor Roger Myers, Beltz’s pastor.

“He enjoyed music. He enjoyed a good joke. He liked to play golf,” Myers said of Beltz.

“He just enjoyed conversation. He didn’t allow the other things to draw him away from his commitment to Christ. His commitment to Christ made his life enjoyable,” he said.

Pastor Ron Smals (Mansfield Woodville), missions chairman for the North Central Ohio district, sends out a monthly district missions newsletter, assisted by Dean Risser and Vilas Dean. Featured this month is Sean Spoelstra (pictured, with wife Melissa and children) of the Powell, Ohio church (Rick Nuzum, pastor), which is sponsoring one of six church plants now underway in the NCO district. Here are a few excerpts from the interview with Spoelstra:

What led your church to plant a church in Jerome?

My wife Melissa and I were praying for a location to “rise to the top”. There were at one point a half dozen on our radar. Then one sunny afternoon in August of 2007 one of our staff pastors drove me out to Jerome Township and showed me all the home construction that was underway. I began hearing about the major development plans for the area and so we prayed. Jerome Township then rose to the top for us and all the while a sub-committee of our elders had been working on viable locations in the greater Columbus area to do a church plant. Without knowing about our desire to church plant or the location we were leaning towards these men also landed on Jerome Township (hwy. 33/42). What an incredible gift it was to hear their findings!


Do you have a team working with you?

Four of our church elders are walking through the process with us. They are already supporting us through prayer, encouragement and accountability. Two of them have planted churches before.

As far as a “launch team,” to date there are nine families who have verbally committed to planting the church with us and another ten or so who are still praying about the opportunity. Most of these individuals are between 35-45 years old with elementary or middle school children. Many have been very involved in children’s ministry at Grace Church.


How did you get the job of planting this church?

It was God who laid this idea on our hearts in the Fall of 2006. We prayed about it for a while, I took the RU a Church Planter questionnaire, spoke and met with Tony Webb and Ron Boehm, then brought it to my Sr. pastor Rick Nuzum. The church elder board also confirmed our desire and ability to lead in this church plant.

Dr. Robert Kellemen, noted psychologist, counselor, educator, and author, is currently receiving excellent media exposure for his two books recently released by BMH Books of Winona Lake, Indiana--Soul Physicians and Spiritual Friends.

If you are near one of these media outlets, you might want to listen in to his interviews. Here is a partial schedule of upcoming appearances:

MARCH 31, KGFT - Life Today, Colorado Springs, 5:00 PM CT (live, call-in)

APRIL 1, KNEO - Author's Corner, 11:00 AM CT (taped)

APRIL 14, KTIS - Along the Way, Minneapolis, 1:00 PM CT (live)

MAY 21, WMBI - Prime Time Chicago, 2:00 PM - in studio (live, call-in)

JUNE 24, Total Living TV, Chicago, 1:00 PM in studio (taped)

The life cycle of the monarch butterfly reminds Christians of the future that awaits us. It’s one reason Dave and Audrey Harding, members of the Penn Valley Church, a Grace Brethren church in Telford, Pa., are using their hobby of raising the colorful insects to share the gospel.

Learn more about the Hardings and their unique ministry in the March-April issue of FGBC World, which is available at your local Grace Brethren Church or on the web.

FGBC World is the bi-monthly newspaper for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Printed copies of the March-April issue have been shipped to each church in the Fellowship and may be obtained there at no charge. To read the complete issue online, click here.

If you'd like a free subscription to FGBC World (mailed to your home), click here.

A trip to the Ohio Division IV Boys Basketball Finals capped the season for the Worthington Christian Warriors. However, their opponents, undefeated New Knoxville, proved too much. New Knoxville won the Saturday night game, 74-52, in front of 14,117 people in Ohio State's Value City Arena.

Worthington Christian High School is a ministry of the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus.

To see complete coverage of the game, click here.

Photo at right: Worthington Christian's Brady Beals, right, looks for an open teammate as New Knoxville's Brad Piehl applies pressure.

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - Ryan Fiegi scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds Saturday night to lead 11th-seeded Oregon Tech to an 81-70 victory over Grace College (Ind.) and a spot in the semifinals of the NAIA Division II men's basketball championships.

OIT shot 53 percent from the field and held Grace to just 19 percent shooting (5 of 26) from 3-point range.

The two teams waged a closely fought battle in the first half marked by seven lead changes. But Tech shot a blistering 61 percent from the field in the second half to pull away, opening up an 11-point lead midway through the period.

Grace (26-10) was led by Kyle Johnson, who finished with 16 points.

To read more, click on http://www.timesuniononline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=226&ArticleID=31941

(3/14/08) Point Lookout, Mo. - Grace College (Ind.) became the first un-seeded team to reach the elite-eight with a 90-81 overtime victory over third-seeded Morningside College (Iowa) at the 2008 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. The 17th-annual event is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of the College of the Ozarks (Mo.).

Grace College (Ind.), now 26-9 overall, advances to play the winner of #6 Evangel University and #11 Oregon Tech (9:30 p.m.) Saturday in the Elite-Eight at 8 p.m. The 32-team, single-elimination tournament concludes on Tuesday, March 18.

For more details and photos, log onto http://www.grace.edu/athletics/

The story from the Warsaw, Indiana, Times-Union newspaper may be read at http://www.timesuniononline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=226&ArticleID=31902

From this week's e-newsletter of the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church:

NEW SPRING CHURCH is being launched on Easter Sunday in the Orlando/Maitland area of Florida. It is a re-start of what had been the Maitland GBC, and a number of folks connected to WLGBC are involved.

They include: Tyler and Kari Zielasko, Alex Hannah, Michael Trier, and Jason Brown. Let’s pray for God’s blessing and for people to come to know Jesus.

Dan O'Deens, pastor of Gateway Grace Community Church in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania, leaves today to lead a missions trip to France (click on image to enlarge).

Reports of the trip may be seen on Dan's blog at danodeens.wordpress.com

The 412 Commission students just got back from an amazing trip to Israel led by Dr. Randy Smith, shown here teaching the group. During the two weeks the group toured the country seeing various sites ranging from Old Testament cities to Armagedon.

Dr. Smith, who is pastor of the Grace Brethren church in Sebring, Florida, lived in Israel for a number of years and is a recognized expert in the history, geography, and Bible-lands context for the scriptures.

One student said “It really opened my eyes to the way Scripture was written. I always had these assumptions, and this trip gave me a good dose of truth.”

The 412 Commission is a ministry of CE National. More reports and photos from the trip may be seen at http://www.cenational.org/cenational/newsBlog/index.asp?IDNum=1961&eventCode=

The Grace Brethren Church of San Diego, California (Glen Sykes, pastor) will hold its Three-Fold Communion Service focusing on the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday at 6:00 PM.

Easter Sunday, San Diego Grace Brethren will hold its annual Children's Easter Egg Hunt and Community Breakfast at 9:30 AM. Following the Egg Hunt and Breakfast, the church will hold its Easter Service.

The service will include special musical numbers, Easter hymns, and a message entitled, "The Stone and the Empty Tomb." The service will conclude with a special presentation by the children's choir. All are welcome to attend!

Lancaster (PA) Grace Brethren Church (Galen Wiley, pastor) 911 Rohrerstown Road, Lancaster, will hold an Easter egg hunt and children's program featuring an illusionist and prizes, at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 22, at the church.

The illusionist, the Rev. Rich Russell, children's pastor at New Holland Grace Brethren Church, will share the Easter message. Children will hunt for more than 1,000 eggs in separate hunts for ages 2-5 and 6-10.

There will be candy and prize eggs, as well as special drawings for adults.

The events will be held rain or shine. For more information, call 397-9991 or e-mail lancastergrace@fgbc.org.

Dave Guiles, Mike Yoder, and Tom Avey are in Bangui Africa for two weeks for networking with leaders and training. Frank Puhl (GBIM associate Africa director) is in Bangui this week and Bill Katip (provost at Grace College and Seminary) will join them next week.

From Tom Avey, Bangui, Central African Republic

We made it to Bangui! The flight was pretty good although I only slept a couple of hours. I've seen parts of "August Rush" around five times!

The BIG plane lands in a little airport and then you wait in a couple of lines, then in a big crowd and finally we gathered all our stuff. Staff from the missions guest center and Dr. Ngoumape picked us up in a couple of trucks. We slept a couple of hours this morning, ate a good lunch, then had some good time to relax and talk about our plans. Mike and I helped helped Heidi Sisson with her advanced English class then Heidi she took Mike and me to a nearby arts bazaar. Very interesting.

So far this is very third world. Dirty, difficult, very hot and humid. Bugs are not as bad as Florida (yet) but the people are very friendly. They are a delight. One student in the English class is one of three female police commissioners in all of C.A.R. Very impressive.

Tomorrow we visit the orphan care center and some potential sites for the seminary in Bangui. Sunday we preach in various churches and then we leave for Boali for ACT training. It sounds like that is going to be difficult; cots, not toilets, interesting food, etc.

I will teach two segments at the CIDEL training for government leaders next week, One on Nehemiah and one on Joshua. I'm looking forward to it.

This is a real adventure. So far, so good. I think it will be good even though difficult. Internet access is very limited so don't expect much from me. I'll update this blog when I can.

Keep praying.

Tom

On March 1, young people and adults involved in Student Ministries at the Grace Brethren Church of Aiken, S.C. held a walkathon called M’Baikithon. The purpose was to raise money to build student housing at the M’Baiki Bible Institute in the Central African Republic. Thirty- eight youth and family members raised more than $9,000, enough to build about three houses.

At right is the group that participated in the event. To see more photos, click here.

Don Soule, pastor of youth and families at the church says that many more houses need to be built (about 40 total). He challenges other Grace Brethren congregations to consider raising funds to construct more houses.

From CONNECTIONS, the weekly e-mail newsletter sent from Grace College and Seminary by Judy Daniels:

Word was received this week of the death of Terry Shrock,62 (pictured), former coach and faculty member at Grace.

Terry, a 1969 graduate of Grace College, served Grace from 1972-77 as an admissions counselor, professor in the Physical Education Department, and as men's soccer coach. He also served in the army during the Vietnam War.

Services for Terry were held yesterday in Kokomo, Indiana. He is survived by his mother, three sisters, two brothers, and several nieces and nephews.

His obituary is posted at http://www.kokomotribune.com/archivesearch/local_story_069234009.html

The Grace College men's basketball team qualified for the 2008 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, which began yesterday in Branson, Missouri. The Lancers, ranked 19th in the final regular season poll, will go into tournament play as the #18 seed in the field of 32. The Lancers drew the No. 14 seed Embry-Riddle Eagles from Daytona Beach, Florida. This is the Lancers' first appearance in the NAIA championship in 15 years.

Grace earned an At-Large bid to the tournament based on their final rating in the national poll. They head into the tournament with a 24-9 overall record. Both the Lancers and Eagles will attempt to bring home the second national championship for their respective programs. Game time begins today, March 13, at 5:45 CST and can be heard live via Stretch Internet. To read more, see the tournament brackets, and link to the NAIA and Stretch Internet, go to http://www.grace.edu/athletics/.

Please pray for travel safety and for a great time of competition for the Lancers in the tournament. Be sure to visit the Grace Web site often to keep up with the latest from Branson. Special thanks to James Bloemendaal, our campus dining services manager, and Grace's Office of Information Technology, who are arranging for a special game Webcast tonight at Alpha for students and employees on campus.

Today, the basketball team (25-1) at Worthington Christian High School, a ministry of the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, Ohio, will play Bedford Chanel (17-8) in the Ohio boys basketball Division IV semifinal tournament game. The game is at 5:15 p.m. at Value City Arena in The Ohio State University's Jerome Schottenstein Center.

The team was featured in today's Columbus Dispatch:

Worthington Christian has long-range goal on court: Warriors teach their players early on to shoot the three

As water boys for Worthington Christian's state tournament teams in 1999 and 2000, Tyler Joseph and Brady Beals absorbed more than one might imagine.

"The 2000 team could really light it up from three-point range," said Joseph, a senior guard. "Even at that age, I marveled at how easy they made it look."

Beals, a junior forward, reached a conclusion about Worthington Christian's style at the age of 9. "I remember thinking it was controlled chaos," he said. "Coach (Ray) Slagle knew exactly what he was doing."

Slagle has moved on to Cedarville University, which will play in the NAIA Division II tournament, but the system he put in place in his 10 seasons at Worthington Christian continues to thrive under Kevin Weakley.

Heading into a Division IV semifinal against Bedford Chanel at 5:15 p.m. today, Worthington Christian (25-1) has made 230 three-point shots, an average of 8.8, on 39 percent accuracy.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Mary Ann Sibley, volunteer coordinator at the Grace Brethren church in Raleigh, North Carolina (Mike Lee, pastor) is opening registration to her upcoming volunteer conference to any Grace Brethren who would like to attend. Here is the basic information and contact info:

A Volunteer Workshop to XTEND ourselves in building His Kingdom

April 26th - SATURDAY
1pm – 8pm
(Registration opens at noon)

Early Bird Register by March 20: $20/person; $15/person for groups 5 or more
Regular Register by April 26: $25/person: $20/person for groups 5 or more


Noon – 1pm : Registration

1:00pm to 1:3pm: Begins promptly with opening Session: Dave Patchin, Executive Pastor

1:45pm to 2:45pm: First Break Out Sessions

3:00pm to 4:00pm Second Break Out Sessions

4:00pm to 4:30;m Break /Snacks & Beverage provided

4:30pm to 5:00pm Huddle with the Hope’s “First Impressions” Team

5:00pm to 6:30pm Sign up for and tour Hope “in action” during our Saturday Night Services;
Experience Kid City, our Children’s Ministry
Experience Refuge or Oasis, our Student Ministries
Experience Worship Service

6:30pm to 8:00pm Final session with Hope’s Team Leaders:
“Ouch! That’s Gotta Hurt!!” … Our blunders and ‘AH HA” moments.
(Dinner provided )

Breakout Sessions:

1. “I Got Out of Bed For This?”……...WHY we do what we do – creating excitement in serving & coming to church!
2. “No Budget; No Talent…No Problem” …HOW we do what we do – from scheduling to team work.

Questions? Need to register? Contact:

Mary Ann Sibley
Director, Volunteer Ministry
919-532-0620
Maryanns@gethope.net

Fellowship Coordinator Tom Avey (pictured) is currently enroute to the Central African Republic with a small group. He sends the following:

Dave Guiles, Mike Yoder and Tom Avey are on their way to Bangui for some A.C.T.S. strategy training, leadership training for government workers and to just build relationships with leaders of Grace Brethren Churches in C.A.R.

After a red-eye from Atlanta to Paris, Tom and Mike spent some time with Rob and Nichole Plaster and on a quick tour of the sites.

James Joiner, chaplain at Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana, has announced a special week planned to focus on “Exploring Islam” at Grace College March 18-20, 2008.

Speakers include an (unnamed) Islamic Ministries Specialist; Fouad Masri (Founder and Director of the Crescent Project); and Kamal Saleem (Former Terrorist and Director of Koome Ministries).

These guests will be speaking in chapel services as well as hosting additional seminars on the topic of Islam. All events are free and open to the public. Joiner says, "I believe that this will be an important and informative week as we learn more about this critical topic."

To obtain further information, or to obtain promotional posters and materials, contact Joiner at 574-372-5100 ext. 6489 or by email at chapel@grace.edu.

The Grace Brethren Investment Foundation (GBIF), Winona Lake, Ind. has recently approved two new loans totaling $392,168.00 for the following churches in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

• $292,168 to the Haitian work of Eglise Evangelique de la Paix (Pastor Elysee Joseph) to purchase their first facility for worship located at: 4859 N. State Road 7, Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. They had previously worshipped in a rented facility.


• $100,000 to the Grace Brethren Church of Goldendale, Wash. (Pastor Greg Howell) to assist in completing a 3,880 square foot addition at 1180 S. Roosevelt Avenue, which will be utilized by both the church and and its Christian school.

Ned Denlinger, coordinator of the Tri-State District (southwestern Ohio, Kentucky and eastern Indiana) is calling for prayer and celebration as a new Grace Brethren church on the west side of Indianapolis has its public launch this Sunday. Here is part of Ned's notice:

Life Spring Church in Brownsburg, Indiana, is having their public launch this coming Sunday, March 16th.

They were conceived about two years ago, and have been developing their core group and ministries since that time. A month ago they were running in the 60s. They then used a telemarketing campaign into 30,000+ homes and have about 150 interested families to follow up.

The last couple weeks, their attendance has gone up to the mid-80's. So they have new folks to assimilate, 150 families to follow up with more information, and they've invited city officials, friends and neighbors to their Grand Opening on Sunday. I believe the prayer goal is 200 for this service.

Would you join me in prayer every day this week?

- Strength for Pastor Phil Gabriel and his wife Sue - Energy, stamina, and good rest
- Wisdom to spend time on the "best" things, and maybe let some "good" things go, or delegate them
- That many who are invited would come to the service
- That God would be working in the hearts of those in Brownsburg, preparing them to hear and accept the Gospel message
- That God would use this in the life of the Life Spring Church, to encourage them in their mission

For more information on Pastor Phil Gabriel and this fine church, log onto http://lifespring-brownsburg.org/index.htm

Pastor John Smith of the Grace Church at Willow Valley in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, this morning reflected on his blog before departing to Winona Lake, Indiana, for Grace College and Seminary board meetings.

Smith has recently returned from a ministry trip to India. To see some of his reflections, photos, and highlights of the trip, log onto http://docjohns.blogspot.com/

Dr. Rick Fairman (left) confers with BMH board vice-chair Dan Thornton (right) during Brethren Missionary Herald Company board meetings just concluded.

In addition to caring for routine business, the board also met with Fellowship Coordinator Tom Avey and with GBIM's Tom Julien to hear reports, updates, and perspective on the current state and future potential of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. As a result, the BMH board adopted and prioritized seven key values that will guide the company's direction in the near-term future.

Members of the board, in addition to Fairman and Thornton, include Todd Scoles (chair), Bob Arenobine, Bruce Barlow, Nathan Bryant, Nate Harrison, Pat Phillips, and Barb Wooler. (Liz Cutler Gates photo)

Editor's Note: At the request of the Ravenna School District and due to weather conditions on the ground, the Easter Egg Helicopter Drop has been rescheduled for the next weekend, Saturday, March 22, 10 a.m., at Ravenna Football Stadium (Easter Weekend). Also, to help speed the registration process that morning, a pre-registration form has been added to the church website.

Catalyst Church in downtown Kent, Ohio, is doing everything it can to build relationships to further the kingdom of God. To help bridge the gap between someone who is far from God and the church, it is hosting a free community Easter Egg Helicopter Drop on Saturday, March 15 at Ravenna Stadium.

The stadium is located at 6589 North Chestnut Street in Ravenna, Ohio. Registration starts at 10 a.m. and is open to children in fifth grade and younger.

“We want to build visibility and relationships with people so that when faced with a spiritual need, they will think of Catalyst Church first,” says Jonathan Herron, lead pastor at the developing church.

An estimated 4,000 Easter eggs will be loaded with candy (and a few iPods) and spread across several fields for the different age groups. Then a few hundred more eggs will be dropped from a helicopter.

“In Kent, more than 281,000 people within a 10-mile radius don’t know who Jesus is,” says Herron. “To engage families, we decided to throw a free community party at Easter.”

Catalyst is a Grace Brethren church plant that meets at the Kent Stage in downtown Kent. More than 100 people are involved after only 16 months of existence and it has continually sought to engage and create culture.

“Poring through the Gospels, we see Jesus always hanging out at parties,” Herron notes. “Jesus was all about building relationships with people far from God and revealing the inclusive Kingdom to them over time.”

Last year, the Easter Egg Drop was created only 10 days before the event, yet 600 people heard by word-of-mouth and showed up. This year, the church knew it needed a bigger and better location if it was going to reach more people.

Herron expects 1,000 people to come to this year’s event. Every person who attends will leave with a special invitation to attend Catalyst.

The rain date for the event is March 22. -- by Natalie Rummel


Click here to see the Facebook invitation for the East Egg Drop.

It is the bustling tourist season in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Suah is hard at work as a tuk-tuk driver. In the March-April issue of FGBC World, learn how Suah serves God through his job six days a week and is a Grace Brethren foundation layer (church planter).

To read the complete story, click here.

FGBC World is the bi-monthly newspaper for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Printed copies of the March-April issue have been shipped to each church in the Fellowship and may be obtained there at no charge. To read the complete issue online, click here.

If you'd like a free subscription to FGBC World (mailed to your home), click here.

Today's Inland Empire Sun, from the San Bernardino, CA, area, carries a feature story on a remarkable Scandinavian woman who was once active in the San Bernardino Grace Brethren Church. Here are several excerpts. To read the entire story, click on http://www.sbsun.com:80/news/ci_8444037

As a girl growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Elida Marie Bond relied on an oxen-pulled cart for transportation and walked to school in temperatures that often dropped well below zero.

In the summer, the daughter of Swedish immigrants helped her family out on the 160 acres of land they homesteaded near the Canadian city.

Those early lessons in survival helped Bond deal with whatever came her way.

In fact, she coped so well throughout her life that she lived to be 100 years old.

Elida Bond, who celebrated her 100th birthday in June, died Feb. 28 in Highland. . .

. . . While living in Toronto, the spunky Bond was invited to be on the "Truth or Consequences" radio show. Her role on the show was to pick up marbles with her toes and drop them in a bucket.

The couple lived in Toronto with their two children until 1949, when her husband had a heart attack and was told to stop shoveling snow and move to a warmer climate.

She had a brother living in Fontana, so the family moved south.

They settled in San Bernardino and she took care of the children while he operated Bond Auto Parts. . .

. . . She kept busy in other ways as well. She was active in Grace Brethren Church in San Bernardino, teaching 4- and 5-year-olds in Sunday School and taking food to church members when they fell ill.

Tom and Gracia McDairmant, former Grace Brethren missionaries to Africa, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past Sunday with an Open House at their new home just outside Winona Lake, Indiana. They were married March 2, 1958, in Santa Barbara, California.

McDairmants are active members of the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church. Gracia's blog may be read at http://www.xanga.com/ata_grandma

Four Warsaw, Indiana, Lakeview Middle School teachers will conduct an experiment while weightless aboard NASA’s Reduced Gravity Aircraft in Houston, Texas, today. Testing the ‘effects of microgravity on the absorption of water by various soil types’ will be (L to R): Mark McCollom, Roger Haeck, Dan Wray and Jose Gutierrez.

McCollom and Wray are members of Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church (Bruce Barlow, lead pastor), where McCollom serves on the Board of Overseers and Wray has been active leading disaster relief and cleanup teams in the deep south. (Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.)

To read the entire article on the trip from the Warsaw (IN) Times-Union, click on http://www.timesuniononline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=224&ArticleID=30831

The Dan Pacheco family from Winona Lake, Indiana (from left, Dan, Marna, Madeleine) is currently in China where today they received two-year-old Millie, whom they are adopting. With them in China is Millie's new grandma, Miriam (Mrs. Dan) Pacheco from the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church.

The unfolding story and ongoing blogposts may be seen at http://www.ahopefulfilled.blogspot.com/ Here is a short excerpt from today's post, entitled "We Received Millie Today!"

"This morning, we all got on a bus around 8:45am and drove to the civil affairs office that handles foreign adoptions. It took us about 20 minutes to get there. When we arrived all the children were already in the room. We were the last ones to get in the door, and when we walked in, there she was sitting on the couch.

"We were in the government office for about 90 minutes, and got back to our hotel rooms before noon. It was just a surreal time as we were finally able to touch and hold Millie after waiting for so long. God answered our prayers (and the prayers of many others) in that Millie definitely seemed prepared to meet us. Marna picked her up and held her. Millie was quiet and didn't really respond to anything. However, after 5-10 minutes, she was starting to respond. She didn't cry at all the whole time."

Andrew Serafini (pictured), the moderator of the Maranatha Grace Brethren Church of Hagerstown, Maryland (Jay Fretz, pastor) has been chosen from 19 candidates to fill a vacant house seat in Maryland. Here is an excerpt of an article from today's Hagerstown Herald-Mail -- to read the entire article click on http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=187602&format=html
HAGERSTOWN — Hagerstown businessman Andrew Serafini, a self-professed advocate of traditional marriage and conservative politics, has been nominated to fill the Maryland House of Delegates seat vacated last month by Robert A. McKee.

The Washington County Republican Central Committee announced its decision Monday to nominate Serafini, owner of Serafini Financial Services of Hagerstown. The nomination will go to Gov. Martin O’Malley for final approval.

“By God’s grace, and with the support of both my family and the local constituency, I will serve the community to the best of my ability and use my life experiences as a husband, father, businessman and member of our community to provide servant leadership to District 2A,” Serafini said.

Robert Walker, one of the towering figures in Christian journalism of this past century, has died at age 95. Walker was the founder of Christian Bookseller magazine, now called Christian Retailing, and he also played a key role in the founding of the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) and the Evangelical Press Association (EPA).

The editor emeritus of Charisma & Christian Life, Walker passed away at a retirement community in Carol Stream, Ill., Saturday. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease and dementia since 2005.

Walker’s significant contribution to the Christian products industry was recognized in 1994 by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, which presented him with the group’s first Magazine Publishers Award.

Stephen Strang, president of Strang Communications in Lake Mary, Fla., said today: “Beyond all his accomplishments, Bob Walker was a deeply spiritual man who lived a life of utmost integrity. He impacted the lives of millions and will continue to through the publications he founded. We believe we’re the heirs of his publishing legacy. His life deeply impacted me and my entire organization. He’ll be missed.”

Born April 30, 1912, in Syracuse, N.Y., Walker originally enrolled at the University of Illinois, but later transferred to Wheaton College. After graduation, he worked at two newspapers in Michigan and for two years as a copywriter for a Chicago-based advertising agency.

Walker then accepted an invitation to return to Wheaton to start a journalism department. He was an associate professor there from 1941 to 1951, during which time he also responded to an invitation from a friend with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to start a campus magazine titled HIS.

That would be the first of many publishing endeavors. In 1941 Walker started a magazine called Sunday, which he renamed Christian Life in 1948 after acquiring Christian Life & Times from a friend. Christian Life would merge with Charisma in 1986.

Walker’s vision didn’t stop with for-profit enterprises. When he saw a need to help Christian writers, he started the Christian Writers Institute, and when he saw a need for missions outreach, he helped missionaries and founded Christian Life Missions.

Looking back on his career, Walker said he “would like people to think that I was sort of the chap who responded to what God wanted done. I sometimes kicked, and I often blew it by taking off in the wrong direction. (God) had to bring me back.”

Doug Trouten, executive director of the Evangelical Press Association (EPA), said that Walker's death ended “an important chapter in the history of evangelical journalism. Bob was the last of the founding members of the EPA. He and other pioneering publishers joined together to learn from one another so they could do a better job of serving God, and serving their readers.”

Trouten added: “Bob was a giant in our industry, and countless lives were touched through his work with HIS magazine, Christian Life and the Christian Writers Institute. The Christian journalism world has grown significantly since those early days, but only because we stand on the shoulders of giants like Bob Walker.”

Walker is survived by his wife; five children; two stepchildren; 18 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held March 14 at Wheaton Bible Church in Illinois.

Becky Grube (pictured), a member of the Meyersdale (PA) Grace Brethren Church (Randy Haulk, pastor) is featured today in the local newspaper. Here is a short excerpt. To read the entire article, click on http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/03/02/news/news838.txt

Becky Grube of Meyersdale is a dead eye archer and her sights are set on the 4-H National Shooting Sports Invitational.

Becky advanced to the national contest after winning the women’s compound bow division at 4-H State Achievement Days this August. She placed third overall at the state competition. Becky has been shooting for the past six years, ever since she was 12.

“I enjoyed it from the beginning because of the competition and there’s always something to learn about,” she said.

A memorial service will be held Friday, March 14, 2008, at 4:00 P.M., at Rose Drive Friends Church, 4221 Rose Drive, Yorba Linda, California, for longtime Grace Brethren pastor, Bible teacher, and Jewish evangelist Robert Elias Allen Miller (Robert E.A.) of Placentia, California, who peacefully went home to be with the Lord, surrounded by his children, on Thursday, February 28, 2008. He was 92.

He was the oldest of ten children born to Robert Paul Miller and Anne Alverta Meyers. For more than 60 years, he was a minister in the Grace Brethren Church and with Chosen People Ministries.

Miller attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, graduating in 1935 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. He married Althea Marie Schwartz on September 3, 1935, and after a brief honeymoon, they settled in Ohio, where he attended Grace Theological Seminary.

Upon graduation from seminary, he and Althea moved with their two young children to Tracy, California, where he served as a pastor for three years.

When Robert and Althea were married, their life goal was to serve as missionaries in Africa, but when it came time to make the final plans in 1939, the United States government would not permit them to leave the country as first-time missionaries with two small children because of international unrest. So they began their ministry with the Brethren church in Tracy, California.

In 1941 Miller accepted the call to pastor the Grace Brethren church in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, where he also taught public school since so many young male teachers were called or volunteered to serve in World War II. In Pennsylvania four more of nine children joined the family.

In 1949, the Millers moved Roanoke, Virginia, where Robert served as pastor of the Ghent Brethren Church. In 1956, the family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where Robert and Althea both taught at the Grace Livingston Hill Memorial School and Robert pastored a small church.

In 1960, they moved to Glendale, California, where Robert served as pastor of the Grace Brethren Church. While in Glendale, Robert took a stand against anti-Semitism by successfully protesting the establishment of the American Nazi Party headquarters.

In 1966, Robert and Althea joined the staff of The American Board of Mission to the Jews, now the Chosen People Ministries, as field missionaries, a call that moved them to Washington, D.C., where they served until 1972. They then returned to California (Orange County) where they continued their work with the Chosen People Ministries until their retirement in the early 90s.

Robert continued to teach, conduct Bible study classes, and mentor young men right up to the end of his life. For some years he wrote teacher quarterlies for adult Brethren Sunday School classes. He also taught a weekly Bible study class for more than 25 years at a Seal Beach (CA) retirement village that is home to many retired Brethren church pastors and members.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Althea Schwartz Miller, and his son Robert, Jr. He is survived by five siblings: Martha Lohnes, Jane Wilkins, Paul Miller, Carl Miller, and Wesley Miller; his eight children, William Ward Miller, David S. Miller, Dorotheann Barker, Sharon M. Lash, Paul K. Miller, Althea L. Miller, Ardyth L. M. Hallock, and Mark F. Miller; their spouses; and by 15 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.

There will be a memorial service on Friday, March 14, 2008, at 4:00 P.M., at Rose Drive Friends Church, 4221 Rose Drive, Yorba Linda, California. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Rose Drive Friends Church Mission Fund at the above address, or Hospice Care of California at 377 East Chapman Avenue, Suite 280, Placentia, California 92870.

To sign the online memory book, click here.