Growing Spiritual Conversations in the Inner City

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on February 6, 2012  |  No Comments

Dan Green, pastor of Global Ministries at the Grace Brethren Church, Columbus, Ohio, helped initiate container gardens at an inner city clinic in Columbus. The result was not only yummy vegetables, but opportunities to talk with people about Jesus.

Leadership Development: Taking a Chance on a Young Guy

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on January 30, 2012  |  No Comments

Dave Kennedy, pastor of Community of Grace Church, a Grace Brethren church in Richmond, Va., says he’s been entrusted by God to encourage a young pastor. Read about his mentoring relationship with Associate Pastor Brad Gromis in the Winter 2012 issue of FGBC World. It is now available for free at local Grace Brethren churches.

The quarterly magazine of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches is also available online at fgbcworld.com. To watch more of the interview with Dave Kennedy and Brad Gromis, click here.

Worthington Principal Benefit Helps With Medical Expenses

Posted by Terry White on January 16, 2012  |  No Comments

Tom Anglea is the principal of Worthington Christian High School, which is affiliated with the Grace Brethren Church of Worthington (Polaris), Ohio (Mike Yoder, pastor). Anglea is battling stage IV brain cancer.

This past Thursday night more than 600 people gathered to honor Tom and Lisa Anglea and all they have meant to many people at Grace Polaris Church and Worthington Christian Schools over the years.

As of Saturday, more than $92,000 was raised, all of it to go directly to the Tom Anglea Fund to help defray expenses associated with Tom’s illness. The “Night With Angleas” benefit was held at the Villa Milano in the 1600 block of Schrock Road in Westerville. An anonymous donor  committed to match all contributions up to $25,000.

A commemorative scrapbook is also being created for the Anglea family, with notes, funny remembrances, wonderful time shared with Tom, a Bible verse, or photo to be included.

Anyone wishing to make a donation should make checks payable to Huntington National Bank Account #01892793498. Write “Tom Anglea Fund” on the memo line, and write “for deposit only” on the back. Send donations to “Anglea Benefit Dinner,” P.O. Box 2370, Westerville, OH 43086-2370. All proceeds are designated for Tom Anglea, and cannot be considered for tax deductions.

Vision2020: Integrating the Gospel into the Community

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on January 8, 2012  |  No Comments

Integrating Gospel with Community from Grace Churches on Vimeo.

Jonathan Carey, pastor of the Ellet Grace Brethren Church in Akron, Ohio, updates a story that was in the November-December 2010 issue of FGBC World. In that issue, ‘Love Your Neighbor’ Comes to Life in Akron, told how the Ellet congregation adopted the Ritzman Community Learning Center, a K-5 elementary school in the Akron public school district, and began to send them school supplies, sponsor pre-school-year fairs, and even cut a hole in the fence between the properties so the church parking lot could be used for after school programs or during special events at the school.

After this video, which was recorded in July 2010, was sent as part of Moderator Bob Fetterhoff’s weekly e-zine last month, Pastor Carey sent an update:

This past fall all the students and staff of the school had their picture taken in front of our building and then they invited us over for a special presentation. They received their results back from the state and were one of two elementary schools in the city to receive an excellent two years in a row. The presented us with a plaque with the picture on it that read, “Your sincere kindness, support, and generosity has helped to make our school achieve ‘Excellence’! Our community ‘grows’ because of you.” They said they couldn’t have achieved this wtihout the help and support of our ministry. They also made posters with the picture, which went to the city council and mayor. We continue to build the relationship with the school and just recently baptized a young mom who is thrilled to be growing in her faith and desiring to reach the rest of her family.

New Issue of “Veritas” Available

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on January 6, 2012  |  No Comments

The January-February 2012 issue of “Veritas,” a journal of counseling and discipleship, is now available. This issue is the second installment of “The Struggle of the Faith,” which looks to Joshua of the Old Testament. Whether one remembers Joshua’s first appearance in the pages of Scripture as a spy for Moses in the Promised Land, his triumph at the battle of Jericho, or his consummation as the leader of Israel, Joshua was a man of great faith.

The online magazine is a product of the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, Ohio (Mike Yoder, pastor) and is available online by clicking here.

Meyersdale Game Supper Features Former MLB Player

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

Brethren Game Supper to feature Sid Bream

MEYERSDALE – A former major league baseball player, Sid Bream, will be the featured speaker at the annual Game Supper to be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 14 in  the Meyersdale (Pa.) Grace Brethren Church Activities Building.

The location is at the rear of the church, which is located at 112 Beachley Street.

The supper is open to the public and is free, although a free will offering will be taken to help defray expenses. Reservations are required and the deadline is Jan. 9.  They can be made by calling the church at (814) 634-5980. The menu will include a wide variety of donated wild game and fish in addition to other meats. Several door prizes will be awarded.

According to a news release from the church, there are two things that Bream has truly enjoyed in his lifetime other that his relationship with Christ and his family.  One of these was playing major league baseball for 10 years. In those 10 years he had the opportunity to play in four National League championship series along with two World Series. In his days of playing he was known for his dramatic slide in the seventh game of the league championship series against the Pittsburgh Pirates which sent the Atlanta Braves to the World Series in 1992.

He was a Pittsburgh Pirate from 1985 to 1990 after playing for several years in the Los Angeles Dodger organization. Bream retired during the baseball strike after signing with the Houston Astros in 1993. Now, nearly 20 years after the moment frozen in time that denied the Pirate fans their last real chance to reach the World Series, Sid has accept that as part of his legacy.

The other passion in Bream ’s life is hunting. He is an avid bow hunter who has hunted most of North America along with two trips to Africa. He loves to talk about God’s handprint in the creation He has given us, along with life’s lesson from his father.

Bream was born in Carlisle, and grew up as a St. Louis fan. He and his wife Michele have four children. His oldest son Tyler is an up and coming third baseman in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Youngest son Austin starred for a Seneca Valley High team that won the WPIAL championship last season.

Sid has also served as hitting coach for the Spikes, the Pirates minor league affiliate in State College.

The Zelienople resident has also coached sandlot teams at Seneca Valley and worked with youngsters through a program known as Hitters, Hackers and Hoops. A group of youngsters also got instruction from Sid and son Tyler on – of all things – the art of sliding.  Sid comments that “leadership principles thru the truth of God’s word, along with examples thru baseball, can be taught as well”.

Randy Haulk, Grace Brethren pastor,  emphasizes that the Game Supper is open to the public, but it is important that reservations be made by the Jan. 9 deadline.

Pray for Jack Park

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on December 13, 2011  |  No Comments

Tim and Jack Park

Prayer is requested for Jack Park, three-year-old son of Tim and Miriam Park. (Tim is the associate pastor, youth, at the Grace Brethren Church in Ripon, Calif.) Jack and Tim are pictured at right.

Last Wednesday, the couple noticed that Jack’s left eye was “wandering” a bit and by the next morning, he was stumbling and seeing double at times. They consulted their doctor, who referred them to an ophthalmologist. That was the beginning of several days of testing, including hospitalization in nearby Modesto and then Santa Clara, Calif. So far, testing has ruled out cancer, viruses, or leukemia, according to Tim’s Facebook post (and shared here with his permission).

As of today, Jack is home and they are anticipating an appointment with a neurologist to perhaps obtain an answer to what might have caused the problem.

Continue to pray for the Parks during this time.

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.

Five Churches Receive GBIF Loans

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on October 4, 2011  |  No Comments

The Grace Brethren Investment Foundation (GBIF) has recently approved new loans totaling $786,000 to the following ministries in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches:

Grace Brethren Church of New Holland (Pastor Tim Hodge), 415 South Kinzer Ave, New Holland, Pa., to complete a renovation of the church campus.

Liberty Grace Brethren Church (Pastor Doug Black), 1081 Tener St., Johnstown, Pa., to expand the sanctuary, classrooms, and parking space.

Grace Brethren Church of Allen County (Pastor Bob Arenobine), 4619 Stellhorn Road, Fort Wayne, Ind., to repair the church facilities.

Community Grace Brethren Church (Pastor Greg Howell), 1180 South Roosevelt Ave, Goldendale, Wash., to pave the church parking lot.

Grace Brethren Church of Orange County (Pastor Mike Sciarra), 2201 East Fairhaven Ave, Orange, Calif., to payoff a California lender and transfer their financing to GBIF.

“GBIF is very pleased to assist these FGBC ministries in seeking to grow and expand for Christ by improving their facilities”, shares Ken Seyfert of GBIF. “ They represent a diversity of locations throughout the USA, but alike in their common mission of reaching their communities and beyond for our Lord.  It is a privilege to partner with them.”

Mike Yoder Installed as Columbus Pastor

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

Mike Yoder (right), along with his wife, Letitia, and their four children, participated in the pastoral installation service this morning at the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus (Worthington), Ohio. At left is executive pastor Jim Augspurger

Mike Yoder was installed this morning as the fourth pastor of the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus (Worthington), Ohio.  Former GBIM Executive Director Tom Julien was the speaker. The service was followed by a massive potluck lunch under tents in the church’s parking lot.  Yoder, 40, previously spent about a decade as a missionary in Germany with the Grace Brethren International Missions.

Tony Luna, Elder at Taos Church, Dies

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 9, 2011  |  4 Comments

Tony Luna

Tony Teodoro Luna, 81, of Taos, N.M., died July 25, 2011. He was a licensed Grace Brethren minister and a member of the Grace Brethren Church in Taos.

He is preceded in death by parents, Antonio A. Luna and Corina Romero Luna and sister, Cora Luna Sánchez.

He is survived by his wife, Efrén Herrera Luna, sister, Ezperanza C de Baca, daughters, Ruth Luna (José Sánchez), Corine Luna (Greg Salazar), son, Anthony B Luna (Ruby), granddaughers, Tamara Trujillo (Alvin), Terese Vigil (Billy), Amanda Higgins, (Matthew), grandsons, Joshua Archuleta, Antonio M. Luna, Freddie, Robert and Jesse Santistevan, 9 great grandchildren, and many other relatives and friends.

Visitation was held on July 28, 2011 at Rivera Chapel. Funeral service was held on July 29, 2011 at the Grace Brethern Church with interment following at the Grace Brethern Cemetery in Canon.

Watching God at Work

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 9, 2011  |  No Comments

Pastor Jim Brown and a team from Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren congregation in Goshen, Ind., are in Cambodia and Thailand ministering at the orphan homes they sponsor through Asia’s Hope. Yesterday, after saying their good-byes in Battambang, they headed for Phnom Penh.

John McCollum, executive director of Asia’s Hope, tells the story on his blog:

Shortly after being dropped off at the Battambang bus station, they encountered a mob. Apparently, it was led by a group of thug police officers who were intent on disrupting service because the bus company had failed to pay the full amount of their bribe. Nice.

Unfortunately for the team from Goshen, Indiana, they were in a pretty major time crunch with a tight connection in Phnom Penh, leaving them very little time to spare. They were in danger of a very expensive set of missed flights to Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Fortunately for them, Savorn (Asia’s Hope Cambodia national director) heard about the disruption, headed to the bus station, rescued the team and rented them a van to Phnom Penh. I just now heard that the team made it to the airport — just in time.

Now, here’s the rest of the story from Pastor Jim’s blog. It picks up after the Goshen team had said emotional good-byes to the children in Battambang:

15 minutes later some corrupt thug policemen stood in the middle of the road and motioned for our bus to stop. The driver refused to turn like they wanted him to and the mob grew. The thugs began beating on the front of the bus with Billy clubs, pounding on the grill, headlights, glass door. We inched forward and they called in more bullies soon it appeared as if every Cambodian within the province of phnom penh was lined up. The thugs backed a truck up against the bumper of our bus, it was a showdown like most will never experience. Shouting, and bantering escalated it was good vs evil.

We were headed to Phomn Penh on a tight schedule with little time to spare. We didn’t have a translator with us and found ourselves right where God wanted us. I stood up and said to our team calmly “this is our chance to watch our God come through for us, this is our chance to watch our God win, this is our chance to pray.” I said we should not waste this moment, It is God’s moment to shine. Immediately the team prayed, Bibles were opened, team members quoted scripture, individuals sang worship songs. There was nothing physically we could do, but we knew that those that were with us were greater then those that were against us. The team never  panicked, never feared, they were ready for this moment.

Out of nowhere as if he were dropped from the sky above stood Savorn, he marched in and you could witness the anointing of God on his life. People gave him immediate respect, even the thugs, it was as if the eyes of these thugs saw a man ten foot tall. Before we knew it we were ushered off the bus in a mob of people and whisked away to a minibus, that transported us  4000 mph to Phomn Penh. We made our flight with 20 minutes to spare.

So how did you spend your morning? We serve an amazing powerful God who loves to show his power. As I type now from Thailand I recall what I said to our team, “we just added another chapter to the book of Acts. Good night for now. Our God is greater, bigger, and stronger!

Read the complete story on the Asia’s Hope Director’s blog or TheBrownBytes.

Meeting for Bi-Vocational Pastors Scheduled

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 9, 2011  |  1 Comment

Are you a bi-vocational pastor or church planter? Want to connect with other bi-vocational pastors in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches?  We are considering some ideas to make this connection in a way that fits your unique schedule.  Would you participate in an initial talk?  Shawn Kaeser (pastor, Plain City, Ohio) and Tom Avey (FGBC Coordinator) are hosting a Skype meeting on September 6 at 9:00 PM EDST/ 6:00 PM PDST.  If you are interested, contact Shawn at shawn@darbygrace.org.

Akron Pastor Ministers at Copley Prayer Rally

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 8, 2011  |  No Comments

Jeff Bogue, pastor of Grace Church, a Grace Brethren church in Akron, Ohio, addresses the crowd of several hundred people during a prayer vigil at Copley Community Park in Copley Township, Ohio, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011.

Metropolitan Akron, Ohio, was rocked this weekend with the news of a shooting rampage Sunday in one of its suburbs. Seven were dead in the small town of Copley, and the shooter was killed by police. Within hours, a prayer vigil was announced. More than 300 people gathered in Copley Community Park, not far from the scene of the shootings.

Among those participating in the event was Jeff Bogue, senior pastor at Grace Church, a Grace Brethren church in Akron, Ohio. The Akron Beacon Journal reported on the event:

“Father God, we turn to you in our time of trouble, and this is troubling,” said the Rev. Jeff Bogue, senior pastor of Grace Church of Greater Akron.

The pastor asked the crowd that gathered at Copley Community Park, west of the shooting scene on Good- enough Avenue and Schocalog Road, to reflect on several questions:

“Why such evil would come to our little township, Lord? Why we have to endure through that and why these families are affected in such a way?”

Those questions, he said, “are some of the great mysteries of life and faith,.

“I know we will never fully understand, but I also know that we can trust you in that you are not threatened or angered by our questions,” he said. …

Pastor Bogue asked the 300 at the vigil to pray not only for the victims, but also for the community and police and all safety forces “who have been through so much” on Sunday.

“We feel this together,” he said. “Help us and heal us and give us strength.”

To read the complete story, click here.

Warsaw Church to Host Leadership Seminar

Posted by Terry White on August 5, 2011  |  No Comments

Community Grace Brethren Church in Warsaw, Ind., has invited Pastor Dave Kraft from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Wash., to lead a one-day seminar for ministry leaders focusing on how to “run well” and “finish well.”

The seminar is August 27 from 9 am to 4:30 pm at Community Grace Brethren Church, 909 S. Buffalo Street, Warsaw, Ind. Pastors, church staff, lay leaders, small group leaders, Sunday school teachers, worship team leaders, elders, deacons, and anyone else involved in ministry is invited to attend.

One of the tools that Kraft says is important to finishing well is “having a solid relational network that includes at least one good friend with whom you can bare your soul.” Tom Abbitt, lead pastor of Community Grace says, “In the past year with the illness and death of my wife and ministry pressures at my church, I can tell you that I would not have made it without the solid relational network of my brothers in ministry. Come, be a part of helping develop that solid relational network for yourself and others.”

The cost is $30 and includes lunch. Visit leaderswholastwarsaw.org for information and to register.

Video Features Bike Workshop at Medicine Hat

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 5, 2011  |  No Comments

This is the week for the Great Canadian Adventure in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Individuals have come from across North America to help Grasslands Church, a new Grace Brethren church plant in Medicine Hat, Alberta, reach out to their community.

One of the activities this week was a BMX workshop led by Tim Park from Ripon, Calif. He was visited by comtv.ca, who reported on the event. Click on the link below to see the video.

Urban Rider* Tom @ Medicine Hat skatepark with Tim and Grasslands Church comtvdotca

Norwalk Church Celebrates 100 Years

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 5, 2011  |  No Comments

The Grace Brethren Church of Norwalk, Calif., located at 11005 Foster Road, Norwalk, is celebrating 100 years of God’s faithfulness on Sunday, September 18. The day begins with a 9:30 a.m. welcome reception and includes a 10:45 a.m. worship service and a picnic at 1:30 p.m. at LaMirada Regional Park, 13701 S. Adelfa Av., La Mirada, Calif.

The congregation has extended an invitation to anyone who would like to attend. If you are planning to join them, please call or email the church at (562) 863-7322 or info@gracelive.com.

Long-Lost Brothers Reunited

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on July 16, 2011  |  1 Comment

Long-separated brothers, Jim and Jack Parsons, found each had attended the same Grace Brethren church for many years and their paths had never crossed.

Jack and Jim Parsons have been long-time members of the Grace Brethren Church in Columbus, Ohio.

Jack, 81, and his wife, Ann, and their family began attending the church in the mid-1970s. They had moved to Columbus in 1974 when Jack was transferred there with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. After he retired at age 55, he worked 1o years in the church copy center, overseeing the printing of bulletins, newsletters, and other materials.

Jim, 76, and his wife, Lee Ann, and family, had moved to the Columbus suburb of Worthington, Ohio, in 1979 when Jim, a long-time hospital administrator, began the first hospice program in Columbus. They purchased a home on Schrock Road, just doors from the Grace Brethren Church building, which currently is known as the South Campus. Over the years, they attended the church off and on, but formally joined the congregation 28 years ago.

Though both Jack and Jim were involved in the church, their paths never crossed. That is not unusual in a congregation that has numbered more than 3,000. But their photos appeared next to the other in the church directories.

People would ask if the two were related, and each would respond, “No, I don’t have any family around here.”

Jack had been raised in Virginia by his paternal grandmother, Big Mom, after his parents separated when he was six years old. His coal-miner father died at age 37 of a heart attack. He never knew what happened to his mother, much less whether he had any siblings.

Jim had been raised by his mother, who had moved from Virginia to southern Ohio to live near a sister when she separated from her husband. Another brother was born about five months after the move. Jim always knew he had an older brother named Jack and in 1968, he and Lee Ann began to search for him. The last place they knew he had lived was in Tennessee in the 1960s.

At the suggestion of their son-in-law, Jim Mosic, the chief of police in Worthington, Jim and Lee Ann hired a private investigator earlier this summer to pick up the search. To their surprise, she called two days later with the news that she had found the long-lost brother and he lived within 20 minutes of their home.

“The investigator called June 16 to confirm that she had the correct person and to give us his contact information,” recalled Lee Ann. “This God-sized dream had come true.”

But then came the a-ha moment — the other Parsons family who attended the Grace Brethren Church.

“I ran to get the church directory from 2004,” recalls Lee Ann, “and the address in the back of the book matched the address we were given.  Then, I looked at the pictures and there we were, side-by-side! We had gone to church together for 28 years and had never met.”

She continues. “It’s like God had put blinders on our eyes all these years.  Why?  Don’t know but God’s timing is always perfect.”

Indeed, Jack and Jim are biological brothers and they met, with their wives, Ann and Lee Ann, for the first time in late June at a local sandwich shop. Since that time, their families have connected and begun to build a bond.

“I’m still in shock,” says Jack, his southern drawl bearing traces of his Virginia childhood.

Jim, who searched for Jack more than 40 years, is most excited that his new-found biological brother is also a brother in Christ.

The brothers may never know the reason for their parent’s separation (though the two never divorced) nor why their own separation was for so long. But both are quick to give God the glory now that they have been reunited.

“When we look at how this reunion finally took place, only God could have orchestrated the events that finally led to our finding Jack and his family,” says Lee Ann.  “As important as it was to find Jack, our families have been the receivers of a God-granted miracle.  Now we can share friendship, love, laughter and tears, perseverance, courage and thankful hearts.”

Scott Weaver Obituary

Posted by Terry White on June 18, 2011  |  No Comments

Whittier Community Grace Brethren Celebrates New Location

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on June 10, 2011  |  No Comments

Community Grace Brethren Church, Whittier, Calif., renovated a former furniture store for their new church campus.

There were 140 in attendance the first Sunday that Community Grace Brethren Church, Whittier, Calif., worshipped in their new facility.

In the spring of 2009, Community Grace Brethren Church (Richard Todd, pastor) in Whittier, Calif., sold their facility to an evangelical, Bible-teaching church and embarked on a search for a new place to worship. While they looked for a permanent location, they met on Sundays at the Whittier Senior Center.

In September 2010, Pastor Todd announced that they had closed escrow on a former furniture store, located at 8109 Greenleaf Avenue in Whittier.

Since then, they have been renovating the facility for use as a church.

On May 27, they received word that they could occupy the building. This week, Pastor Todd recalled that moment in his regular newsletter to the congregation:

We were given the green light to begin worshipping at our new church campus on Friday, May 27, 2011. Then we started calling to get the word out. I was excited as we moved in to our new church campus on Sunday, May 29, 2011. In the future, each Memorial Day weekend we will have an additional remembrance in that we occupied our new church campus that weekend. I am still excited.