Grace President Manahan Testifies to House Subcommittee on College Costs

Posted by Terry White on November 30, 2011  |  No Comments

Dr. Ron Manahan, second from left, testified in Washington D.C. this morning before a House subcommittee focusing on ways to reduce costs of college education.

Dr. Ron Manahan, president of Grace College and Seminary, this morning testified before a House subcommittee taking a look at the rising cost of college tuition and what higher education institutions are doing to streamline costs and save money.

Chair of the Education and Labor Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), said in a statement that the federal government has done all it can to reduce costs and that it is up to the institutions to reduce the burden on students.

According the subcommittee’s news release, tuition and fees rose 8.3 percent at public four-year universities in the past year. Dr. Manahan explained the cost-containing measures Grace has taken in past years, and also explained some of the innovative ways Grace is seeking to reduce college costs, including the three-year degree and the Weber school in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, Ind.

Dr. Manahan’s testimony begins at 22.34 of the C-Span recording, which may be accessed at http://www.c-span.org/Events/Solutions-to-Rising-Cost-of-Higher-Education-Sought/10737425897/

Youth Pastor, Wife Search Internet to Help Daughter

Posted by Terry White on November 30, 2011  |  No Comments

The family and seriously ill daughter of Matt Leach, associate pastor at the Grace Brethren Church in Owings, Maryland (Robert Wagner, pastor), is featured in local media. The focus is on using the internet to research rare diseases. Here is an excerpt–to read the entire article, click here.

Photo by NANCY KAVANAGH O’NEILL The Leach family clockwise from left: Matt, Julie, Abby and Caleb. Abby was two weeks old and still in the NICU.

Julie Leach of St. Leonard knew something was amiss during a routine checkup.

“At my 20-week sonogram, the technician took an awful long time trying to get a shot of her jaw,” Leach said.

Later, when she and her husband, Matt, learned the rare diagnosis of their newborn daughter, a condition that puzzled doctors, they turned in desperation to the Internet.

The Internet often provides those like the Leach family unfiltered health information and access to specialists. It also has increasingly become the place where people connect with others who share similar diagnoses, through blogging, Facebook and other social media.

“Twenty to 30 years ago when we didn’t have the Internet, our parents probably had to go to the library,” said Jae Eun Chung, an assistant professor at Kent State University who researches health communication in new media. “Now we are just one click away from medical information.”

A study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that one in five Americans uses the Internet to find people with similar health concerns. For people with chronic illnesses, it’s one in four.

Traditions at Christmas

Posted by Terry White on November 30, 2011  |  No Comments

Larry and Gladine McCall

Gladine McCall, wife of BMH author Larry McCall, was recently interviewed by Nancy Leigh DeMoss on how Gladine uses traditions in the home to help reinforce the values of Christmas. To see a transcript, or to hear the audio, click here.

Pastor Ralph Miller of Roanoke With the Lord

Posted by Terry White on November 29, 2011  |  1 Comment

Pastor Ralph F. Miller, 78, of Roanoke, Virginia, whose story was featured last week on this blog, went home to be with the Lord Sunday, November 27, 2011.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Norman and Esther Miller, brothers, Elmer, Stuart, and Jerry Miller, and sister Norma Truax.

Pastor Miller served churches in Ohio, Iowa, West Virginia, and Virginia. His last pastorate was at Boones Mill Grace Brethren Church. He was a veteran of the U S Army. Surviving are his wife of 46 years, Nancy Schrock Miller; daughters, Lori Miller, of Roanoke; Janice Via, of Graham, N.C.; grandchildren, Nicole Hall, Danny Via, Brett Miller, Bryanna Brown, and Brendan Martin; six great grandchildren; sisters, Lanny Miller and Esther Ou, both of Mountain Top, Pa.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be made to Patterson Memorial Grace Brethren Church, 5512 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Va. 24019. Funeral services will be conducted 11 a.m. Thursday, December 1, 2011 at Simpson Funeral Home, 5160 Peters Creek Road, by Pastor Don Eshelman. Interment will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the Virginia Veterans Cemetery, Dublin, Va. The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Simpson Funeral Home, 366-0707.

Grace and Ancilla Colleges Sign Articulation Agreement

Posted by Terry White on November 29, 2011  |  No Comments

Grace College and Ancilla College Sign Articulation Agreement – November 15, 2011

Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana and Ancilla College, located in Donaldson, Indiana, signed an Articulation Agreement on November 15 to allow Ancilla graduates to continue their education in Grace’s GOAL (Grace Opportunities for Adult Learners) degree completion program.  The Ancilla graduates can enroll in the GOAL program and earn a B.S. in Management through Grace College.

Dr. Ronald L. May, President of Ancilla College and Dr. Ronald E. Manahan, President of Grace College & Theological Seminary signed the agreement in the Orthopaedic Capital Center on the Grace College campus.

The articulation agreement provides opportunities for Ancilla College graduates to complete their B.S. in Management through Grace College’s GOAL program.  The GOAL program is an excellent opportunity for Ancilla graduates by offering the flexibility of an entirely online program or the traditional educational format of a physical campus, depending on the student’s individual needs and preferences.  Both options use a cohort model, allowing students to be a part of a community of learners.

Grace Director of Online Education, Tim Ziebarth, is excited about the articulation and the opportunities it provides to new students.  “The Grace/Ancilla collaboration is representative of the shift in Indiana Institutions of Higher Education towards partnerships.  Five to ten years ago, students did not see these types of agreements between colleges.  We’re making headway in the right direction in providing student-centered solutions to educational needs.”

Founded in 1937 by the Catholic religious congregation of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, Ancilla College is a two-year liberal arts college located on an idyllic campus in Donaldson, Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is chartered to grant the Associate of Arts Degree (AA), the Associate of Science Degree (AS), the Associate of Science in Nursing Degree (ASN), and the Associate of Liberal Studies Degree (ALS).

Manahan to Testify on College Affordability

Posted by Terry White on November 29, 2011  |  No Comments

On Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 10 am, Grace College President Dr. Ron Manahan will testify before the Congressional Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training in Washington, D.C.  Invited to join a small panel of pioneering educators, Dr. Manahan will advise the subcommittee on Grace’s innovative campaign to make college affordable.  The hearing entitled “Keeping College within Reach: Discussing Ways Institutions Can Streamline Costs and Reduce Tuition” can be viewed online at http://edworkforce.house.gov/Calendar/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=270118

E-Zine: Loving Neighbors through a Food Pantry

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on November 29, 2011  |  No Comments

Food Pantry Ministry at Woodville Grace
Listen to Pastor Ron Smals of Woodville Grace Brethren Church in Mansfield, Ohio, talk about ministry through a food pantry.

To learn more about the Mansfield church’s efforts to reach the people in their neighborhood by partnering with the Cleveland Food Bank, see A Cupboard Overflowing in the Late Summer 2011 issue of FGBC World.

GO2 on Radio This Monday

Posted by Terry White on November 28, 2011  |  No Comments

Click here for a live link to the station.

For Liberty GBC, ‘The Dream Was Worth the Wait’

Posted by Terry White on November 26, 2011  |  1 Comment

The Johnstown (PA) Tribune-Democrat this morning carries an article about Pastor Doug Black and the newly-remodeled facilities of his church, Liberty Grace Brethren Church.  Here is an excerpt — to read the entire article click here.

‘God has blessed us along our journey’ | Liberty Grace Brethren Church completes extensive remodeling project

BY TOM LAVIS TLAVIS@TRIBDEM.COM

Finding a home that is right sometimes takes time, but for members of Liberty Grace Brethren Church, the dream was worth the wait.

Pastor Doug Black in the newly-remodeled worship area.

Liberty Grace has completed  extensive remodeling of the church at 1081 Tener St. in Richland Township, and celebrated with an open house in October.

The building is shared with members of Richland Christian Church, who signed over ownership of the structure to Liberty Grace.

The Rev. Doug Black, Liberty Grace’s pastor, said his church has been blessed by the gift of the building and hopes to share the blessing with the community.

As part of that mission, renovations totaling $175,000 have been accomplished.

“Renovations to the sanctuary were needed to update the space to make it more versatile to do different ministries,” Black said.

“We went with chairs instead of pews, which opened up an additional 30 feet of space, and we now can accommodate about 165 people.”

An addition to the entrance of the church was a small café, where as many as 12 people can gather to enjoy refreshments and fellowship.

Pastor Robert Wagner Finds Joy in Lives Transformed by Christ

Posted by Terry White on November 25, 2011  |  No Comments

Pastor Robert Wagner of the Calvert Grace Brethren Church in Owings, Maryland, was one of several pastors interviewed by a southern Maryland newspaper on the subject of being thankful. Here is an excerpt–to read the entire article, click here.

The Rev. Robert Wagner of Grace Brethren Church of Calvert County in Owings has led the congregation since 1982, when the church started out as a Bible study. Wagner served at the Grace Brethren Church in Temple Hills for seven years before the Owings church became a church plant, where members of a church support the establishment of a new church in a different location. After three years, the congregation had a church home at Northern High School before settling in its current home on Route 260.

Wagner said his duties as a pastor have expanded to include administration and mentoring of staff in the church, counseling responsibilities, teaching, relating to people, hospital visits and community outreach. Wagner said he finds joy in “helping people to see that there is purpose and design in life and it is found in a person, Jesus Christ. I take a great pleasure in seeing lives being transformed by the Gospel.”

Wagner’s role in administration might have expanded with more staff, but he said some things stay the same.

“People’s needs have not changed no matter the change in the culture. The overriding need is a relationship with God,” Wagner said.

Pastor’s Son Raising Free-Range Turkeys

Posted by Terry White on November 24, 2011  |  No Comments

The Yakima, Washington, newspaper today carries a story about a turkey-raising son of Grace Brethren pastor Dwight Cover. Here is an excerpt–to read the entire article, click here.

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GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic

David Cover takes away food and a feeder from his flock of turkeys, leaving them only a little feed that had spilled on the ground at his Grandview-area home Nov. 21, 2011. Cover slaughtered the birds the next day and did not want them to have a full stomach. Though he’s only 18, Cover is raising and selling free-range turkeys as a business.

The next morning was not so pleasant. No breakfast on the day of slaughter, when 18-year-old entrepreneur David Cover gathered them in crates, hung them upside down from a fruit tree and butchered them one by one.

“It’s a lot cleaner if their systems are emptied out,” said David, a home-schooled high school senior starting his own sustainable farm.

Today, six families will pull up their chairs to his pastured-raised birds, while his own family will eat four of them.

But this Thanksgiving story goes deeper than turkeys, entrepreneurship and sustainable farming practices. It’s about a family of 10 that teaches hard work through a combination of necessity, intention and prayer.

“I like knowing I’m needed,” David said.

Broad-breasted bronze turkeys are just the latest adventure.

Teaching self-reliance

David’s parents, Dwight and Sherrill Cover, moved from Grandview to their 2-acre parcel north of town in 1999, partly for more room and partly to instill responsibility.

“How am I going to teach these young men how to step up and be a man?” Dwight remembers thinking.

Over the years, the Covers have raised sheep, pigs and chickens while home-schooling their children. They spent nearly four years building an addition to their home without borrowing money, sometimes using salvaged lumber.

Part of it simply was stretching the budget the way any large family would. Meanwhile, Dwight has served as the pastor of different Grace Brethren churches and has not been able to farm full time.

Article Recalls 1974 Shooting of Grace Brethren Layman

Posted by Terry White on November 24, 2011  |  1 Comment

Pastor Bill Snell from Columbus, Ohio, has called to our attention a major (eight-page) article in the December 2011/January 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine featuring the story of Walter Witt, a Grace Brethren layman from the Meyersdale, Pa., Grace Brethren Church, who was accidentally shot and killed while deer hunting in 1974.

The magazine, which claims a circulation of 9.1 million readers, focuses on the events of that December, 1974 day when Witt and his two sons, ages 14 and 12, were hunting. The magazine says Witt, a ninth-grade earth science teacher and high school track coach, enjoyed hunting, but “his true calling was sharing his Christian beliefs.”

In fact, Witt was planning to speak the next day at a church in Maryland, and the article displays his sermon notes for his message, entitled “Heaven.”

In the 37 years since the accident, Witt’s two sons, the magazine says, “have spoken about their father’s death and their personal stories of spiritual renewal at churches and church=sponsored sportsmen’s dinners from the mountain hollows of West Virginia to the plains of Alberta.”

Although the sons have developed an extensive ministry stemming from the incident, including the writing and distribution of a tract entitled “Mistaken Identity,” the article says they had never returned to the woods where their father died.

Accompanied by a Field & Stream writer, the sons detail their efforts to locate the precise spot where the shooting occurred, and to re-create the events of that day.

Bill Snell, who pastored the Meyersdale church from 1960-1968, knew Witt well and had hunted with him. Robert Burns was pastor of the Meyersdale church in 1974, when the shooting occurred. The current pastor is Randy Haulk.

‘Discipleship’ Topic of Next Super Monday December 5

Posted by Terry White on November 23, 2011  |  No Comments

The next “Super Monday” program sponsored by CE National in Winona Lake, Ind.,  is Monday,  December 5 and will be held at CE National’s Russell Center in Winona Lake. Doors open at 9:30 am and the program begins at 10.

“Discipleship: Where It Starts and Why It Doesn’t End” on the art of discipleship is the topic, with Jay Halley, Knute Larson, and Ed Lewis.
Churches and individuals often talk about discipleship but many don’t understand how to get it started. From experience in his church and personal life, Jay Halley, pastor of mission at The Chapel in Akron, Ohio, will give practical insight into making discipleship an important part of church and life.

Knute Larson, pastor and church coach in the Evangelical Free Church, will give a list of questions and verses that have brought about growth and multiplication in the discipleship process.

Ed Lewis, executive director at CE National and Urban Hope Training Center, will be sharing his experiences at Urban Hope and how those can translate into positive discipleship strategies that churches can use to get people involved in discipleship.

The cost is $29 and includes lunch. The day will conclude by 3:00 pm. Register http://cenational.org/registration/supermondays/

Contact Lois at cenational@cenational.org or call 574.267.6622 with questions.

Chuck Winter Tells ‘The Rest of the Story’ on McClain

Posted by Terry White on November 23, 2011  |  No Comments

Pastor Chuck Winter of the Sunnyside (WA) Grace Brethren Church, has supplied his local newspaper with “the rest of the story” from a short piece they ran on Alva J. McClain. Here is an excerpt–to read the entire article click here.

In the Nov. 18 edition of the Daily Sun News, in the weekly column “Over the Shoulder” there appeared this item under 100 Years Ago (1911): “Sunnyside Nursery Company shipped 30,000 Christmas trees to Oregon, more than doubling the nursery’s business from the previous year.”

I thought it would be of interest for DSN readers to hear “the rest of the story.” This nursery company was started in 1909 by Walter S. McClain and H.M. Lichty and employed one Alva J. McClain, who became skilled in raising, pruning and budding apple trees.

Alva was 20 years of age when he began working for his father and history would note than those were the years when he was a “tad on the wild side.”

This was the same Alva J. McClain who would attend the University of Washington and became both the school’s quarterback and speedy member of the baseball team. But God had Alva J. in His sights for a far more important future.

In 1912 the pastor of the Sunnyside Brethren Church invited Evangelist Louis S. Bauman to hold meetings. Alva and his wife, Jo, attended on a Monday evening and heard a message on Biblical prophecy. Both husband and wife then and there made a commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior.

Retired FGBC Pastor Faces Tough Times

Posted by Terry White on November 22, 2011  |  No Comments

The Roanoke (VA) Times recently featured this story on retired Grace Brethren pastor Ralph Miller and his wife, Nancy. This is an excerpt—to read the entire article click here.

For former pastor, funds would help pay bills

When someone spends most of his life helping others, it’s tough when tables are turned.

By Betsy Biesenbach
Special to The Roanoke Times

Ralph Miller, 78, spent most of his adult life helping others. As a young man, he worked in a factory and spent his spare time going around with a friend talking to people about his Christian faith. “It just seemed natural,” he said.

When the friend decided to go to divinity school, Miller followed him, and in the ensuing 40 years, was the pastor at five different Grace Brethren churches in several states, most recently serving a small congregation in Boones Mill.

“Helping people is part of the ministry,” Miller said, and that’s what he liked the most about it.

He and his wife, Nancy, 73, brought up their daughter, Lori, 41, together. Lori’s son, Brett, 23, has lived with them since birth.

Miller said that for the most part, he was able to “more or less” make a comfortable living.

His last congregation was very small so he had to take outside jobs, working as a security guard and delivering auto parts for a supplier.

When the congregation folded two years ago, Miller said, he retired. A fall in June led to a partial hip replacement; his diabetes, with which he was diagnosed 10 years ago, has caused his kidneys to fail; and he also has congestive heart failure, he said.

Before his illnesses, he was very active, his wife and daughter said, but now he must use a walker, is tethered to an oxygen supply and must undergo kidney dialysis three times a week. Nancy also has some health issues, she said.

So Cal/Az District Examines, Approves Two for Ministry

Posted by Terry White on November 21, 2011  |  No Comments

The Southern CA/Az District Ministerial Examining Board  met with Danny Lee and Jordan Bakker of the Simi Valley Grace Brethren Church recently for ministerial examination. Both men were approved and appropriate confirmation was sent to the church leaders as only local churches license and ordain. John McIntosh is senior pastor of the Simi Valley church.

Seal Beach’s Shoemaker on Unconditional Forgiveness

Posted by Terry White on November 19, 2011  |  No Comments

The following column was prepared by Don Shoemaker, who retires next month as pastor of the Grace Brethren Church in Seal Beach, California. In addition to his pastoral work, Shoemaker has served as police chaplain and as head of the Social Concerns Committee for the FGBC for many years.

Forgiveness—Conditional or Unconditional?

My heavy involvement in the events and relationships that followed the mass murder in Seal Beach on October 12 have brought the issue of forgiveness to the front of my thinking.

It was my honor to officiate at the funeral of Randy Fannin, owner of the Meritage Salon and a murder victim on October 12.  At one point in my message I mentioned some of the feelings and issues we must work through and I mentioned “forgiveness.”  I said, “I am not one who believes in unconditional forgiveness.”

The next week I attended the last of the services for the eight victims.  The pastor said, “We need to love and forgive.”  So he and I both commented on forgiveness and that’s where the similarity ended.

After the pastor said that, an officer leaned toward me and said, “I’m not sure about the forgiveness part.”  And I later learned that all the officers who attended Randy’s service heard what I said about forgiveness loud and clear.  In fact, I was even contacted by a funeral director who listened. He said he was a Christian and had never heard anything like that ever said in church!

Well, it wasn’t my idea!  Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him” (see Luke 17:1-4).

Forgiveness is not just how I feel about being wronged by someone.  It’s not focused on my interior so much as it is an interpersonal concept. Forgiveness (and, if at all possible, reconciliation), in order to be full and true, has to have a process to address and resolve the issues that created the wrong in the first place along with a heart’s desire not to do it again.

God forgives us, but not without conditions.  Sin must be atoned for in Christ.  We must respond to God’s offer in repentance and faith and commitment.  And we are called to forgive as God has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32).  This affirms and does not erase conditions.

Murder?  In this case full forgiveness is impossible for the primary victims who were violated are not there to extend it.  Family and others in the inner circle can forgive, but why should they without remorse and, as may be done, restitution?  Society cannot “forgive” unless the “debt to society” is paid (how it should be paid in the case of premeditated murder is another debate).

So I think I know what the other pastor was saying.  Someone who wrongs us shouldn’t get the double victory of watching us consume ourselves with bitterness.  But I also know what I was saying.  Forgiveness requires a process that is just and restorative.  I know the officers concurred.

Don Shoemaker
Senior Chaplain, Seal Beach Police Department

Alva J. McClain Remembered

Posted by Terry White on November 19, 2011  |  No Comments

Pastor Chuck Winter from the Sunnyside, Washington, Grace Brethren Church sends along this note of historic interest about Alva J. McClain, founding president of Grace College & Seminary:

Dr. Alva J. McClain

In the November 18 edition of the Sunnyside (WA) Daily Sun News is a monthly column called Over the Shoulder. It’s a look back in time from the newspaper files. In an item headlined, 100 Years Ago (1911) this appears:  “Sunnyside Nursery Company shipped 30,000 Christmas trees to Oregon, more than doubling the nursery’s business from the previous year.”

This nursery company was started in 1909 by Walter S. McClain and H.M. Lichty and employed one Alva J. McClain, who became skilled in raising, pruning and budding apple trees.  Alva was 20 years of age when he began working for his father and history would note that those were the years when he was a “tad on the wild side.”

David Hocking to Speak on Prophecy at Brethren High

Posted by Terry White on November 15, 2011  |  No Comments

Brethren Christian Jr. & Sr. High School Foundation is proud to announce a Speaker Series in 2012, to celebrate 65 years of ministry.  Three distinguished alumni will share from their area of expertise.  Each evening is sure to be a night you will want to be part of and won’t soon forget!

• Dr. David L. Hocking…on the subject of Biblical Prophecy   January 5th
• Dr. Martin Rindahl…his account of climbing Mt. Everest   March 10^th
• Mark Kroeker…”The World as I See It” from Disney’s top cop and a U.N. International Peacekeeper   June 16^th

I look forward to see you and your friends at each event!

Sincerely yours,

Janine Ransom

Director of Advancement

Brethren Christian Junior & Senior High School

21141 Strathmoor Lane ~ Huntington Beach, CA 92646

714.962.6617 ext.25  ~  BCHS.net

GBIM Renamed Encompass World Partners

Posted by Terry White on November 15, 2011  |  No Comments

Grace Brethren International Missions has been working on a strategic rebranding initiative in order to continue to fulfill our mission around the world as effectively as possible. That process has resulted in a new surface name for organization. We are pleased to announce that our new name will be Encompass World Partners. While the name change is effective immediately, the full transition from GBIM to Encompass World Partners will gradually take place throughout 2012.

I want to personally assure you that the vision and mission of the organization remains unwavering and constant. Although our name is changing, we’re staying true to the core principles upon which we were founded. We believe a new name will allow us to more effectively bring hope and compassionate care to those in need around the world. This fresh identity strategically broadens our reach into foreign lands that are closed to the gospel. It also resonates strongly with the next generation of global workers for Christ.

While the new surface name will help us to effectually carry out our mission globally, Encompass World Partner’s new legal parent name, “The Grace Trust,” signifies the mission’s continuing connection with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

I invite you to learn more about our name change at www.EncompassWorldPartners.org. We’ve included a Frequently Asked Questions page for your convenience.

We will continue to pray for God’s guidance during this transition and appreciate your prayers and continued support as well.

In Him,

Dave Guiles

Encompass World Partners, formerly GBIM

Executive Director