BMH Editor's Blog

Miriam Pacheco Surgery Complete

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

Here is a late Monday afternoon update on surgery this morning done on Miriam Pacheco (pictured here on a recent missions trip with African orphan).

Her husband, Dan, says, “Miriam’s surgery is over and the doctor was very pleased with the entire operation.

“He said the biopsy they did showed the tumor to be benign and a complete pathology report will come back in 3-4 days. They took out 18 inches of her colon.

“Right now she is in recovery. Thanks for praying for her and our family.”

Miriam is expected to be in the hospital for about a week. She is currently in room 427 of the Kosciusko Community Hospital in Warsaw, Indiana.

Missionaries’ Son is ‘Ultimate Cage Fighter’

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

Ted and Vivien Ruiz are missionaries with Grace Brethren International Missions in Quezon City, Philippines. A recent update to their friends and supporters carried this interesting piece of information:

Alta Loma Stresses Spiritual Fitness at Wellness Fair

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

Wooster’s Don Streit Dies at 82

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

NOTE: Don Streit will be fondly remembered by many as the longtime youth sponsor and quiz coach at the Grace Brethren Church in Wooster, Ohio.

WOOSTER — Donald F. Streit, 82, of Wooster, Ohio, died Thursday, April 26, 2007, at The Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus.

A celebration of life service was Monday at noon at Grace Brethren Church with Pastors Robert Fetterhoff and David Marksbury officiating. Entombment will be at Sherwood Memorial Gardens, Wooster.

Online tributes may be made at www.robertsfuneralhome.com.

Memorial contributions may be made to Grace Brethren Church, in care of Touching Tomorrow, 4599 Burbank Road, Wooster 44691.

Don was born Dec. 28, 1924, in Ashland to Fred L. and Elsie G. (Lindecamp) Streit. He married Marie Roseborough on Oct. 15, 1944. She survives.

Don worked for The College of Wooster for 33 years, retiring in 1991 as the director of custodial services.

He was an active member of Grace Brethren Church in Wooster. Don enjoyed reading, travel and spending time with his family.

Don will be deeply missed by his wife, children, Dean (Dawn) Streit, Carol (Bob) Smith, Alan (Linda) Streit, all of Wooster; grandchildren, Sandy Streit, Nikki (Tim) Broughton, Matt Smith, Amy (Curt Jr.) Murray, Hillary Parris, Michael Smith, Krista (Jason) Miller, Matthew (Amber) Streit, Kara (Kyle) Alberson and eight great-grandchildren.

Don is preceded in death by sister, Hilda Leibolt, and two infant sisters.

Remember When Cars Cost $5?

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

John Burtoft of Winona Lake, Indiana, is calling attention with this delightful photo to the 88th birthday this past week of his father, James Burtoft.

John Burtoft says, “My dad (Jim Burtoft) turns 88 years young this week. If you know him, you know what a truly great and giving man he is.

“The photo I have included is my favorite picture of him. I believe he was 20 years old at the time and is sitting in his first car which he purchased for $5.00. Every time I look at this photo I wish I could run up and hug him.”

The elder Burtoft is a longtime member of the Ellet Grace Brethren Church in Akron, Ohio (Jonathan Carey, pastor).

Norwalk Church Commended for 50 Years

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

GRACE BRETHREN CHURCH

On this occasion of Norwalk’s 50th anniversary of incorporation. Your church has been a sanctuary for it members and a spiritual pillar with our community thereby making the City of Norwalk a better place to live.

The Grace Brethren Church of Norwalk, California, yesterday received a commendation for 50 years of service in Norwalk City in a ceremony hosted by Mayor Rick Ramirez.

Pastor Wayne Ayer received the commendation and was asked to sing Great Is Thy Faithfulness for a gathering of over twenty churches. Pastor Wayne Ayer (at left in photo) was also presented by Grace F. Napolitano with a Congressional Recognition during this ceremony.

Grace Brethren Church Norwalk was founded in 1953 when the Second Brethren Church moved from Compton and 62nd Street, where it had been since 1909. Henry G. Rempel, who had become pastor of the church in 1949, continued to faithfully shepherd the new Norwalk congregation for the next 19 years.

The facility included a chapel with baptismal, choir loft, and study, and a wing of rooms for Bible School with two rooms for a Christian day school. Now, more than 50 years later, the Norwalk Grace Brethren Church has Brethren Elementary, a Christian day school that serves students from Pre-K to 6th grade under the leadership of Don Pettinger.

Rev. Wayne Ayer is the current pastor of Norwalk Grace Brethren Church. Grace has set a vision to be in heart of the community with the community at heart and they are fully committed to this venture. God has moved in amazing ways in the last two and half years.

Pastor Ayer says, “We really believe that revival is in view. Grace Brethren Church is a spiritually ready church and they are a community of baptized believers seeking the sovereign moves of God.”

Mulch Sale Raises Funds for Youth Activities

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

This past weekend, the parking lot at the East Side Grace Brethren Church (Chip Heim, pastor) in Columbus, Ohio, was covered with mulch. Bags and bags of mulch were stacked on wood pallets around the perimeter of the parking lot as part of the Living Proof Youth Group’s annual mulch sale.

For almost 20 years now, East Side’s youth group has sold mulch as a way to assist teens with funding for summer and winter retreats and camps. Each teen has an account, so whatever they raise goes directly into their account. If a teen has money left over, then that money is distributed to other youth in need of financial help to attend events. Each bag of mulch sold yields $1 to a teen.

Trucks start dropping off the stacks of mulch on Thursday, and by Monday morning the parking lot is back to normal. However, on Friday afternoon and all day Saturday, trucks, youth, youth workers, and parents are hard at work.

What started as an endeavor that could be accomplished using cars and a couple of pickup trucks has grown dramatically over the years. This year the group needed to rent two 24′ long trucks, plus a local company donated a fork-lift, and another family rented a 24′ long truck just to deliver their children’s mulch.

So how much mulch was sold by the Living Proof Youth Group? This year’s total was around 10,000 bags!

That translates to $10,000 that went directly to the teens. The two teens who needed the 24′ long truck, Cody and Cameron Johnson ,ended up selling 1,700 bags of mulch themselves!

If your church or youth group is interested in the details of using a mulch sale as a fund-raiser, contact Pastor John Harmony at East Side at 614-861-5810.

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

Ease Side youth pastor John Harmony was the forklift operator to load and unload the nearly 10,000 bags of mulch.

NCO Churches Hold District Celebration

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

The North Central Ohio District of Grace Brethren Churches held a great celebration of Jesus and His work in churches in Central Ohio on Sunday, April 29. The Celebration was held at the Powell, Ohio, Grace Brethren Church (Rick Nuzum, pastor).

Worship was led by Brian Blackburn and Phil Stoll (Praise and Worship leader at Powell). Todd Scoles, NCO district coordinator, told of new churches being planted in the area including an introduction of Andy Wirt, new church planter in the New Albany area of Columbus.

Tom Avey, FGBC Fellowship Coordinator told of the bigger national FGBC and worldwide picture. The evening ended with a combined multi-church choir (pictured). (Tom Avey photo)

East Side Creates ‘Mission Central’ in Lobby

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

Health Updates and Prayer Requests

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

Please continue praying for the recovery of Miriam Pacheco of Winona Lake, Indiana. Miriam, a leader in the Women of Grace organization and Grace Brethren International Missions board member, had colon surgery this morning (Monday) for removal of a benign tumor.

Dr. Jim Childs of the Kittanning, PA, Grace Brethren Church, has been moved to a rehabilitation facility to continue his recovery from a horrendous fall over a 250-foot cliff early in April. You can keep up with Dr. Childs’ progress at www.caringbridge.org/visit/jimchilds.

Phil Dick, former Grace College coach and athletic director who is battling lung cancer, is having some side effects from recent treatments. You can keep apprised of how to pray for Phil by clicking on www.caringbridge.org/visit/phildick

Pastors Gary Austin (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Howard Johnson (Davenport, Iowa) are both facing major cancer treatments in the coming days. Tomorrow Howard will enter a hospital in Chicago for a stem cell transplant procedure in which he he will be re-injected with previously-harvested stem cells from his body after he undergoes massive chemo treatment to kill any remaining cancer cells. He expects to be away from his church for at least four weeks.

Pastor Austin will have surgery at the University of Iowa on Tuesday, May 8, for removal of a cancerous tumor in the colon and rectum. Pray for Gary and Jean and also for their daughter, Debbie Momeyer, who will be coming home from France for Gary’s surgery and also for some medical treatment of her own.

Dick Coldren, who is from the Columbus, Ohio, church and is the father of Christi (Mrs. Bruce) Barlow, is also in treatment for prostate cancer. This recent update from Christi says, “Thank you for your prayers. He came through his emergency surgery on Wednesday morning. The situation was life -threatening and we are thankful to the Lord for sparing him and helping him through the surgery. We, along with our daughter, Hillary, and her husband, Jake, saw him for several hours yesterday in the hospital in Columbus. The surgeon is very pleased with his recovery thus far. But, the pain from his cancer continues to hinder his ability to get up and walk. We continue to pray – 1st Resort! – for God to intervene in his body in this struggle versus cancer. We are so grateful to the church family for their prayers.”

A Good Weekend With the Grace Brethren in Iowa

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

YIB (Your Intrepid Blogger) spent a lovely weekend ministering and fellowshiping with the Grace Brethren from the churches in the Iowa/Midlands District yesterday and Saturday.

After a morning of speaking and ministering in music with Pastor Gary and Jean Austin at the Cedar Rapids church (pictured), we hustled on down to Millersburg, Iowa, and the East Iowa Bible Camp, where we connected with representatives of all the other churches in the Iowa/Midland District for their annual district conference.

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

Posted by Terry White on April 30, 2007  |  No Comments

Dr. David Plaster (right), who this week is concluding his service as an administrator at Grace College and Seminary, delivered two keynote addresses yesterday, April 29, at the Iowa/Midland District Conference.

Plaster’s messages, reflecting the conference theme of “In Spirit and In Truth” laid out a solid theology of worship.

Grace College and Seminary will have commencement exercises this weekend, and Plaster will then transition into the senior pastor role at the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, Ohio, succeeding longtime Columbus pastor Jim Custer.

Equip07 Mailing Coming Your Way!

Posted by Terry White on April 27, 2007  |  No Comments

From Fellowship Coordinator Tom Avey:

Equip07 is just around the corner and volunteers at the FGBC National office are busy sending packets to folks who have already registered for the conference.

Packets include important information about meals, extras and child care. All packet information including on online options for ordering tickets are also available at www.equip07.com.

Pray as we prepare for one big step in our “Lifelong Pursuit of Wisdom” at Equip07.

Driven07 Early Bird Registration Ends May 1

Posted by Terry White on April 27, 2007  |  No Comments

John Ward, director of this year’s Driven07 conference for young adults, to be held on the campus of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, the dates of June 21-24, sends this reminder that the early-bird registration deadline is just about upon us:

Driven 07 is just around the corner. It’s in the air. Soon, we will all gather as a generation, in hopes of becoming catalysts for Christ – both in church – and culture.

At Driven 07, several hundred young adults will be given a challenge. It’s a life-changing challenge that not only will change the way we live our lives, but change the way that others live their lives.

Soon we will be challenged to go beyond being consumer-driven Christians, to becoming Radical Revolutionaries in the world around us.

Driven’s theme this year is “Making Our Mark”. Our generation has been called a Post-Modern, Post-Christian generation, full of pluralism and doubt, a generation who has been marked as seeing all the problems, yet not offering a solution.

This year, we will be challenged to do just that, make an impact in lives of others, for the sake of the Kingdom.

Let’s become a generation much unlike we’re being proclaimed on National Top 40 airwaves, of “Waiting On The World to Change”. Instead let’s become a generation of Christ Followers who adhere to His teachings and “Go and Make Disciples”.

Don’t forget, Early Bird Registration ends on May 1st.

DRIVEN is a conference for young adults designed to call and equip a generation to grab onto their God-given purpose and mission. Go to www.driven07.org for more information.

Northwest Chapel Ministry to Latinos Featured

Posted by Terry White on April 27, 2007  |  No Comments

Phil Guerena (pictured at far right) and the ministry to Latinos he conducts through Northwest Chapel in Dublin, Ohio (Terry Hofecker, pastor), was the subject of an excellent feature article in today’s Columbus Dispatch. Here is an excerpt–read the entire article by clicking on http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/04/26/religious_competition.ART_ART_04-26-07_A1_D56GL6P.html A shout-out of thanks to Mike Jentes of thequest for calling the article to our attention.

Long Beach Church Helps Rehab Houses

Posted by Terry White on April 27, 2007  |  No Comments

The Grace Brethren Church of Long Beach, California (Lou Huesmann, pastor) is participating tomorrow in a national house rehab day for low-income people. Here is an excerpt from an article in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. To read the entire article, click here:

About 196 local volunteers will undertake Saturday’s projects, which range from kitchen remodeling and roof repair to painting and general cleanup to installing locks and safety devices, as well as handicap access.

Of this year’s recipient families, five have at least one disabled family member, including two families with autistic children. All are low-income.

A number of local companies are donating materials, labor and expertise. Grace Brethren Church, Boeing, the Seal Beach Lions and Leos clubs and Union Bank are among those providing volunteer workers.

Six Free Seminars Sunday at Six in Winona Lake

Posted by Terry White on April 27, 2007  |  No Comments

“EQUIPPING IN LIFE SKILLS” is the theme this Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. for the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church.

The church’s Discipleship and Training Team has prepared this first evening of training in life skills. Participants may choose from six free seminars:

-Financial Freedom by David Jones of Lake City Bank;
-Experiencing Dynamic Groups by Randy Maxson, dean of Ivy Tech;
-Bible Study Basics by Prof. Christy Morr of Grace Seminary;
-Presenting Your Passion with Power Point by ICDI missionaryJim Hocking;
-Breaking the Sound Barrier by Jay Bell of Grace Brethren International Missions;
-Teaching that Sticks by Mike Yocum of the Grace College faculty.

Bringing friends from the community is encouraged. Activities for the kids include the Kids’ Chorale Party in the Worship Center; for kids who are not in Kids’ Chorale (ages kindergarten-6th grade), the new Veggie Tales movie will be shown in the first-grade classroom; childcare will be provided for infants-preschoolers.