BMH Editor's Blog

Prof. Don Ogden Married at Winona Lake Church

2008-07-26T15:14:00.003-04:00

Prof. Donald Ogden, longtime chair of the music department of Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana, and minister of music at the Winona Lake Grace Brethren church, was married this afternoon to a longtime friend, Ethelee Jones, in the Fireside Room of the Winona Lake church, followed by an open reception.

Ogden's first wife, Wanita, died in 2006 and Ethelee's husband recently passed away, as well. The bride many years ago worked at Rodeheaver Hall-Mack Music Publishing Company, which was headquartered in the Westminster Hotel in Winona Lake. Her previous husband was a traveling evangelist and pastor.

Participating in the ceremony were Ogden's three children, Dianne, Kathy, and Ron, along with several of the grandchildren. Ogden's brother, Russ, performed the ceremony. The couple will live in Ogden's home at Lamppost Manor in Winona Lake.

2008-07-26T15:13:00.001-04:00

Russ Ogden, Ph.D., brother of the groom and retired Grace Brethren pastor now living near Indianapolis, Indiana, performed the ceremony in the Fireside Room of the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church.

2008-07-26T15:11:00.003-04:00

The newlyweds had the traditional cake-cutting followed by a large open reception in the courtyard of the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church.

Grace Brethren Gather in Tampa for Annual Conference

2008-07-26T14:57:00.003-04:00

Grace Brethren people from all around the U.S. and some other parts of the world are gathering in Tampa, Florida, at the Innisbrook Resort this week for ig08, the annual national conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

Registrations were brisk before the opening session of conference this morning. Helping at the registration desk were Judi Rose, Sandy Barrett, and Carol Allebach. The FGBC Coordinator's office, under the direction of coordinator Tom Avey, has planned and is implementing the conference, which will conclude with a delegate's brunch and conference business session on Thursday, July 31.

Conference activity for this evening, Saturday, July 26, includes an International Food Fest and fellowship time sponsored by Grace Brethren International Missions. Tomorrow is a full day with the Brethren Missionary Herald Co. corporation breakfast at 8 a.m., a morning celebration service with Mark Cahill speaking at 10 a.m., Grace College and Seminary luncheon and corporation meeting at 12:30, seminars in the afternoon, and the military chaplains appreciation dinner and Grace Brethren Investment Foundation corporation meeting at 5 p.m., followed by another general session with Mark Cahill speaking.

2008-07-26T14:56:00.001-04:00

Jeremiah Olson, who leads music and worship at the Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Indiana, is leading worship for the conference this year, along with musicians from his church. In all, about 40 individuals from the Goshen church are attending this year.

2008-07-26T14:53:00.002-04:00

Pastor Jim Brown of the Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Indiana, is this year's moderator and he began the first session of igo08 conference showing video footage of on-the-street interviews with individuals on the street in the Tampa area, clearly revealing that many have a need for Christ in their lives. Visits to "other nations" including trips to Buddhist and Hindu temples are part of the conference programming this year.

2008-07-26T14:51:00.001-04:00

Pastor Dan Gregory was the speaker for the first official session of conference Saturday morning, using Luke 5 as a base and giving motivation and instruction on how to be fishers of men. Gregory, who has just finished 14 years as pastor in Columbia City, Indiana, will be joining the staff of the south campus of Grace Church in Akron (Norton) Ohio.

Today at Momentum -- Students Become the Hands and Feet of Christ

2008-07-26T10:58:00.003-04:00

Student and staff participants at Momentum, the annual youth conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, fanned out across the Ohio Valley today (Saturday, July 26) to become the hands and feet of Jesus.

They distributed groceries to the needy, ministered at nursing homes, assisted with outreach carnivals at local churches, and helped in a variety of other ways.

Some stayed on campus to pack meals for the hungry (see photo at right). When they are through, they will have packed 100,000 meals that will be shipped to a third world country.

The students, in an assembly-line process, mixed a scientifically formulated mixture of rice, textured soy protein, dehydrated vegetables, and a chicken flavored but vegetarian powder that has 20 vitamins and minerals into a bag, which was then sealed. Each bag serves six people, according to Aileen Morrissey, site supervisory for the Chicago office of Feed My Starving Children.

Those bags were packed into boxes, 36 to a box, then put on a truck, 33 to a pallet, according to Morrissey. "The next people to open those boxes will be the kids on the other side," she said.

Each meal costs 17 cent each of $1.02 to produce, according to Morrissey.

Student Volunteers are Answer to Prayer

2008-07-26T10:05:00.003-04:00

“Our youth group was going to participate in a dodge ball tournament, but we decided this might be more worthwhile,” said Hannah M., a high schooler from Grimes, Iowa, as she took a break from trimming weeds. Around her, activity buzzed as students from Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, in addition to Iowa, worked to cut down a sapling, pulled vines from the side of a vacant house, and scrubbed the inside of a well-used van.

Scott Davidson, international director for Soul Winners for Jesus Christ in Dayton, Ohio, believes the young people are a direct answer to prayer.

“We have been fervently seeking the Lord for the past seven years, asking God to give us his strength to reach the lost,” he stresses.

He says that the first answer came when Youth With a Mission (YWAM) targeted the city for an evangelistic campaign that will begin this fall. (YWAM is international, interdenomational mission organization specializing in training, mercy ministries, and evangelism.)

But it was an e-mail from Ed Lewis, executive director of CE National, which brought a breath of fresh air to a ministry that has worked in a plighted area of the city since 1995. The message brought an offer of assistance – the hands and feet of student volunteers who were attending Momentum, the annual Grace Brethren youth conference which was scheduled to meet at Cedarville University.

“I would call them (the young people) an expression of God’s love for Dayton, Ohio,” says Davidson with a warm smile, now standing outside a former crack house on a warm July afternoon. Students from Momentum, now meeting through July 27 at Cedarville University, have come to help.

Davidson’s mission involves a variety of activities, including a growing church on North Main Street, feeding the poor, encouraging pastors, and hosting a concert of prayer. He recognizes there are needs to be met while sharing the Gospel with people and for that reason, his organization has been a driving force in revitalizing the Riverdale area, a tired neighborhood nestled at the intersection of I-75 and the Great Miami River.

Inside the Gruner Street house that serves as an office for the Soul Winners organization, young ladies were scattered throughout the rooms, hand addressing envelopes that will be used to invite pastors to events over the next two years.

“I’ve been really selfish with my time,” admits Karyn, another student from Dallas Center, taking a break from her writing. “God wants us to be here and give all the glory to him.”

For many of these students, this service of love is a result of God touching their lives at the conference. “A lot of things have happened this week,” says Kelsy M., from the Pike Grace Brethren Church in Johnstown, Pa. “I’ve completely surrendered my life to God,” she adds. “I want to live it out.”

Pray for Conference

2008-07-26T08:58:00.002-04:00

The annual conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches begins today in Tampa, Fla. Tom Avey, conference coordinator, has sent the following requests. So take a few moments to remember these important meetings!

Pray that we help each other see the lost. Mission is not just for the missionaries but we have to see people!
Pray for all those un-planned super important encounters that happen at a conference. In some ways the program is just an excuse for the real work of hallway and poolside encounters.
Pray for tired pastors and their families. I see lots of young families here and this is a great family location. I want them to be refreshed in body and spirit.
Pray for the resort staff. They are watching. We will be Jesus to them.
Pray for Jim Brown, our leader and a person passionate about showing Jesus to people.
Pray for Sandy, Tom, Steve, Sandi, Carol, the Howards, the Walters, the Cosgroves and all the conference staff that we will sleep well and stay sweet.

Many people are traveling today to attend the conference. Also pray for safety on the road and in the air.

Canadian Church Prepares to Move to New Facility

2008-07-26T08:46:00.003-04:00

On Thursday, July 17, Grace Community Church in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, hosted an open house at the warehouse facility that will soon be their next ministry home. More than 100 people from the Grace family turned out to walk through the building and to hear the plans for construction and use of the space. Pastor Bartley Sawatsky shared the details of how the leaders at Grace felt great evidence that God had led the church to acquire this particular property. And he shared the build-out and move-in timeline with those in attendance. Pastor Bartley also invited the Grace family members to join in a four-month finance campaign in effort to raise $150,000 for the purpose of building modification.

For several months, the staff and elders at Grace have been in negotiations to lease the 22,000-square-foot warehouse building located at 6670 Campobello Road. This past week, the finishing touches were made to the lease and the keys were acquired. The hope, for now, is that Grace will begin hosting its Sunday services in the facility by mid-November.

The new facility will also be the office site for Grace Brethren Canada and Manantial (a new Hispanic church launching in September). Additionally, the church will license an independent Christian school called St. Jude’s Academy to operate it’s school program in the facility beginning January 2009.

Kent, Wash. GBC to Host the Continentals

2008-07-26T08:27:00.002-04:00

From today's (July 26) PNW LocalNews.com, news of a program at the Grace Brethren Church in Kent, Wash. (Shelton Sugg, pastor).

Well-traveled Christian music group to perform this weekend

The Continentals, who have performed their Christian music in Europe and Thailand, will perform in two shows this weekend in the south King County area.

Grace Brethren Church, located at 11135 SE. 232rd St. in the Kent area, is the site of today’s performance at 5 p.m. A show tomorrow at Kent Nazarene Church, 930 E. James St. in Kent, is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.

The group is part of an international, California-based musical ministry organization.

Pray for South Texas following Hurricane Dolly

2008-07-25T15:37:00.005-04:00

The recent category two storm, Hurricane Dolly, which hit southwest Texas near the Mexico border Wednesday impacted many people in McAllen, Tex., where the Grace Brethren Church is located. Here's a report from Pastor Robert Soto as he prepares to leave for the national conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches in Tampa, Fla.

It was 20 years ago that Iris and I drove the Ryder truck pulling our van from Winona Lake, Ind. What made this time so memorable is that a month after we arrived, we were hit by Hurricane Gilbert. So I thought it was very thoughtful of God to help us celebrate our 20th anniversary with a hurricane.

Hurricane Dolly hit the lower part of Texas on July 23. It quickly went from a tropical depression to a category two hurricane in a few days. I was on a ministry trip in Missouri so I drove 1,290 all through the night Sunday and Monday to make sure I had at least a day to prepare in case the hurricane hit. By the time I got home, people were evacuating the area and heading to higher ground. Since many people in McAllen have never been through a hurricane, you could see the panic in most of the peoples' eyes. I helped my daughter get some sandbags for her apartment. But as I did, I noticed the hopelessness in a lot of people's eyes so I decided to stick around and help shovel sand for as many as I could, sharing what little hope I could in a time like this. Wednesday we woke up with 40-mile an hour winds which gradually increased to 85-100 by late afternoon. I must confess, continuous winds scare a person. We lost our electricity by 10 p.m. which meant we had no air conditioner, no stove to cook, no phone service -- both home and cell -- and no lights. We had gathered a few flashlights and candles so the rest of the night we just lingered around our darkened home listening to the battery powered radio.

The hurricane finally left us around 3 a.m. Thursday and left a city without lights. The morning revealed uprooted trees, telephone poles snapped in two, homes in the poor communities destroyed and a lot of flooding. The water plant was without electricity so they were asking all of us to conserve water lest we run out. Thursday morning and throughout the day we spent cleaning up the mess the hurricane left behind. The only casualty was my laptop computer which did not survive a power surge when the lights went out. Pray I can find a quick replacement before we leave for conference. I praise the Lord that none of our church families suffered any kind of loss. The city is pretty much back to normal today. Everyone survived the hurricane and we will live to see another come and tell the stories of how we survived hurricane Dolly.

Keep us in prayer as we celebrate our 20th year in McAllen at McAllen Grace Brethren Church. I never imagined being here this long. But God is faithful, who has brought us through a lot and continues to use us to reach out into our community and the world for Jesus Christ.

For more hurricane coverage, click here.

Youth Conference Changes, Message Still the Same

2008-07-25T09:17:00.003-04:00

It was 1971. Apollo 15 was headed for the fourth manned landing on the moon. The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution had just been certified, reducing the voting age to 18. President Nixon announced a 90-day freeze on wages, prices, and rents.

That year, Dale Knepper, of York, Pa., attended Brethren National Youth Conference for the first time. The annual event now known as Momentum was held on the campus of Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind. It was a highlight of the summer and an opportunity to make friends from around the country.

At age 14, Dale had just finished his first year of high school. He remembers staying at McKee Courts, an old motel that once was located in the center of the island near the Grace campus. “It was a pit,” he remembers.

A year later, his brother, Dave, then a 13-year-old, joined him. He also stayed at McKee Courts. “I slept on a desk,” he recalls.

Since then, Dale has not missed a youth conference and Dave has missed only one. (The brothers are pictured above with their wives, from left to right, Dale, Ginny, Sue, and Dave.)

Both quietly transitioned from student to staff member, taking on varying roles of responsibility. Today, Dale coordinates sound needs during the week, while Dave currently serves, with his wife, Sue, as a dean, taking responsibility for the care and safety of the students who attend the event.

It was a natural progression. Their parents, Dale and Annette, were long-time volunteers at the conference and set the example. (Dale Sr. died in 1994.)

Dale Jr. admits it was easy to follow their pattern. “I never thought about it,” he says, noting that he also watched his parent’s involvement with the district Northern Atlantic camp. “This is what adults do.”

The brothers have seen numerous changes in the conference, including an increase in enrollment from 500 in the early ‘70s to a high of 2,600 in 2005. The tools have also changed. “We were showing 16mm films then,” remembers Dale, who started working at the sound board while he was a student.

But the message has always been the same.

Dave remembers morning Bible challenges in McClain Hall that were led by Grace Brethren missionaries and pastors like Don Hocking and Charles Lawson Sr. Evening sessions were held jointly with the adult conference, that was meeting over the hill at Rodeheaver Auditorium during the same week. (The two conferences are now held on two different, but consecutive weeks.)

“There was always a challenge – what are you doing with your life? It’s the same kind of challenge we are hearing today.”

The conference has been a centerpiece in their lives. Dale readily admits that much of the practical experience he has gained through the years at youth conference has been on-the-job training that translated to his professional life. He holds a degree in engineering and is the facilities coordinator for a school system in York.

Both men met their respective spouses at the conference. In 1981, Dale met Ginny Torian, although he says he’d talked with her on the phone previously. Dave met Sue Hays in 1982. Today, Dale and Ginny have a daughter who recently finished the 8th grade. She has accompanied her folks to youth conference nearly every year. “She couldn’t wait until she was old enough to be a ‘kid’ here,” says Dale.

Dave and Sue’s four children have also been involved. This week, their 20-year-old son is at home working, while their older daughter also is on the Momentum staff, having just finished a summer as an Operation Barnabas leader. Their younger daughters, a senior and a freshman in high school, are participating in the week’s programs.

They also value the significance of the conference.

“It’s the largest gathering in our fellowship (of churches),” stresses Dale. “If our students catch the vision of what it means to be part of a greater fellowship … as a result of being here at youth conference, (then) that means the future of our fellowship.”

“We need to continue to … help each other and work together,” he adds. “Then we can accomplish much more.”

Dave, now a structural engineer at a nuclear power plant, remembers coming from a small youth group. That same group continues to meet without a paid youth pastor at their home church, the Grace Brethren Church of York, Pa. (Dan White, pastor) and Momentum offers programs that might not otherwise be possible in a smaller church.

“This provides a venue where I can be exposed to things that our church could never pull off,” observes Dave, who is the current church moderator at York. He lists programs such as Operation Barnabas and the TIME program, a short term ministry opportunity. “Those are opportunities I would have never gotten if I’d stayed in my local church.”

For more of a walk down the memory lane of Brethren National Youth Conference/Momentum, click here.

Aaron Shust Praises Grace Brethren Kids

2008-07-24T22:46:00.003-04:00

Earlier in the week, singer-songwriter Aaron Shust led worship at Momentum, the annual youth conference sponsored by CE National. He was filling in for Steve Fee, the scheduled worship leader, who needed to stay home for a few days during his infant son's surgery. (Fee joined his band on Wednesday morning.)

Today, Shust blogged about the experience...

I had a great time filling in for Steve Fee and getting to play with the rest of the band earlier this week. A great bunch of High School students, those Grace Brethren.

To read the complete post, click here.

Momentum East continues through Saturday at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio.

Momentum Conference Raises More than $70,000 to Feed Poor, Build an Orphanage

2008-07-23T23:55:00.012-04:00

Momentum students and staff opened their hearts and their wallets Wednesday night as Jim Brown, pastor of Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Ind. challenged them to give sacrificially to feed 100,000 people. Within half an hour, more than $70,000 had been raised -- more than the original goal of the $15,000 slated to provide food for needy people.

(Tabulations made during the service originally estimated the giving at more than $90,000, but an official count of the funds revealed giving that evening at more than $70,000. The noise during the session with music playing and 1,500 individuals reporting to multiple people what they gave created the discrepency.)

The additional funds will be used to build an orphanage in Southeast Asia and provide clothing, food, and an education for those children for two years. The orphanage will be named for the conference -- Momentum.

Earlier in the evening, Brown shared from his recent experience in traveling to Cambodia, where his congregation has sponsored an orphanage.

"We must do something for the poor and needy in this world," he said. He shared a variety of verses that called for believers to defend the poor and to do it in the name of Jesus.

Brown is the current moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

For more details and photos from Wednesday's events at Momentum, click here.

Momentum Participants Challenged to Find a Need and Fill It

2008-07-23T08:56:00.003-04:00

The first full day of Momentun, the annual Grace Brethren youth conference, ended Tuesday evening with a main session challenge from David Nasser (pictured at right) to live the mandate of Micah 6:8 as manifested through Jesus. The verse sets the "I Care" theme for the conference, "... what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

"Jesus found a need and filled it," he said, drawing examples from the feeding of the 5,000.

Earlier in the day, Francis Chan had challenged students to take time to talk with God. "Ask how you can act justly," he said. For complete coverage of Monday and Tuesday at Momentum, click here.

Nasser returns to the Momentum platform this morning for a second time. The day also includes Sponge Sessions (practical workshops for students), NAC/Quizzing opportunities, and the evening session with Jim Brown, pastor of Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Ind. and current moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

Believing Big is Opening Theme at Momentum

2008-07-21T22:44:00.005-04:00

“Ask God to blow your mind this week,” Francis Chan (pictured at right) told the opening session of Momentum East, the annual conference formerly known as Brethren National Youth Conference. The event kicked off this evening (Monday, July 21) at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio.

Chan, the pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, Calif., talked about the faith of Elijah and of Gideon in the face of seemingly insurmountable circumstances. “Elijah was a man just like us,” he said, quoting James 5:17. “Have faith,” he concluded, encouraging the audience of nearly 2,000 students and adults to believe that God can do big things. “These people were nothing,” he added, referring to Elijah, Gideon, and others mentioned in Hebrews 11.

As he wound down the evening, he noted that he felt like God was already working in some people’s lives. He extended an invitation for individuals to come forward, kneel, and talk to God. Young people streamed down the aisle, ending up on their knees at the front of Jeremiah Chapel in the Dixon Ministry Center. At the end of the evening, there were 134 decisions to follow Jesus.

The evening opened with the Operation Barnabas choir, testimonies from Momentum West, and worship led by Aaron Shust. Shust is filling in for Steve Fee, whose infant son had surgery today. Shust, probably best known for his song “My Savior My God,” released his debut album, Whispered & Shouted, in 2007.

Fee will join the conference later this week.

Tomorrow’s schedule includes the 9 a.m. morning session with Francis Chan, Sponge Sessions (workshops) for students, and a variety of afternoon options. Tomorrow night, David Nasser returns to the Momentum stage.

2008-07-21T22:42:00.002-04:00

Aaron Shust led worship at the opening session of Momentum East, currently being held on the campus of Cedarville University in Ohio.

2008-07-21T22:36:00.002-04:00

At the end of the opening session, students streamed toward the front to kneel before God.

Pastor Jim Custer's Father Dies at 92

2008-07-21T21:07:00.004-04:00

E. Lee Custer, 92, of Worthington, Ohio, father of longtime Grace Brethren Pastor Jim Custer of Worthington, went to be with his Lord on Saturday, July 19, 2008 at Worthington Christian Village. He was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and worked at Standard Limestone/Martin Marietta Company for 40 years before retiring.

He is preceded in death by Mary Pearl Custer, his wife for 62 years, who passed in 1999. He is survived by his two sons: Pastor Jim (Triceine) Custer, of Powell, Ohio and Douglas (Judi) Custer, of Cocolake, Florida.

He was blessed with six grandchildren: Daniel (Stephanie) Custer, of Columbus; Douglas (Marcy) Custer, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Timothy (Katie) Custer, of Lancaster, Ohio; Christie Custer, of Grand Haven, Michigan; Johanna (Mark) Mousa, of Columbus; and Rebecca (Christopher) Capezzera, of St. Augustine, Florida; 11 great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-law: Retha Busey, of Martinsburg, WV and Krista Busey, of Palm Coast, Florida.

Lee was a founding member of the Rosemont Grace Brethren Church in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

Family will receive friends from 2-4 & 6-8pm. Wednesday at the RUTHERFORD FUNERAL HOME at POWELL, 450 West Olentangy St., Powell, Ohio 43065 (614) 792-1471. (The funeral home is on W. Olentangy St./Powell Rd./SR 750 ¼ mile east of Sawmill Parkway.)

Service of Celebration will be held 10:00 a.m. Thursday, July 24, 2008 at Grace Brethren Church, Worship Center, 8225 Worthington-Galena Road, Westerville, Ohio 43081 with Pastor Tim Waggoner officiating. Burial services will be held Friday at Rosedale Cemetery, Martinsburg, West Virginia.

In lieu of flowers, friends are asked to consider memorial contributions to: The Lee Custer Memorial Fund, c/o Grace Brethren Church, 8225 Worthington-Galena Rd., Westerville, OH 43081, in Lee’s memory. Condolences may be directed to: www.rutherfordfuneralhomes.com.

Visitations:
2:00PM to 4:00PM on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at Rutherford Funeral Home at Powell

6:00PM to 8:00PM on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at Rutherford Funeral Home at Powell

Services:
10:00AM at Grace Brethren Church on Thursday, July 24th, 2008

11:00AM at Rosemont Grace Brethren Church on Friday, July 25th, 2008

Cemetery:
Rosedale Cemetery
Martinsburg, WV 25401

Memorials:
The Lee Custer Memorial Fund, c/o Grace Brethren Church, 8225 Worthington-Galena Rd., Westerville, OH 43081

Newspaper Features Operation Barnabas

2008-07-21T20:57:00.002-04:00

Here is a short excerpt of an article on the front page of today's Warsaw (IN) Times-Union newspaper about Operation Barnabas. To read the entire article, click here.

Local Students Serve In Operation Barnabas Ministry

Jennifer Peryam
Times-Union Staff Writer

Local students fed the homeless in Chicago and painted a church in Mexico this summer while involved in Operation Barnabas.

There are eight students from Warsaw Community High School and Grace College participating in the organization. The students attend Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church and Winona Lake Community Grace Brethren Church.

They have joined with approximately 81 other high school and college students from other churches in the United States, ministering since June to people whose paths they cross.

The students minister through manual labor projects, visiting and helping community service organizations, and offering free drama programs.

Operation Barnabas began in 1974 with one team that was mainly a music performance team. Over the last 35 years, the organization has grown to include four teams.

There are three teams traveling in the United States and other countries, including a Midwest team, Continental team and MidAmerica team. There also is an international team.

Operation Barnabas is a summer ministry training program for high school and college students sponsored by CE National, an organization with headquarters in Winona Lake. Operation Barnabas gets it s name from Barnabas, a man who is known in the Bible as the "Son of Encouragement."

Will ugo to igo? These tote bags will!

2008-07-21T14:44:00.003-04:00

Volunteers worked hard this afternoon in the BMH/FGBC offices to stuff BMH-provided tote bags scheduled to leave Winona Lake, Indiana, on the truck Wednesday for the Grace Brethren national conference in Florida.

Volunteers (from left) included Rosalie Niederhouser, Carol Allebach, Esther and Jim Morrison, and Nicole Barlow.

MOMENTUM East, the Brethren youth conference, is just getting underway on the campus of Cedarville University in Ohio. igo08, the national conference for adults, will begin this Saturday, July 26, at the Innisbrook resort near Tampa, Florida.

For more information, log onto www.fgbc.org. Daily photos and reports from both MOMENTUM and igo08 will be posted by BMH staff.

Also slated for release at Sunday morning's BMH corporation meeting are BMH Books' three latest releases--Heroes Who Live On, Volume 3 by Robert Cover, Sr. and Viki Rife; Restoring the Household by Dr. Todd Scoles; and He Touched Me, a personal memoir by military chaplain's wife Robyn Graham.

Kent State Catalyst Featured on Blog

2008-07-20T17:49:00.001-04:00

Pastor Jonathan Herron and Catalyst, the Grace Brethren church he is planting just off the Kent State (Ohio) campus, are featured this week on the Catalyst blog.

To read the post, click here.

Madame Zokoe Honored by WLGBC Women of Grace

2008-07-20T17:27:00.004-04:00

Madame Alexandrine Zokoe (right), the Africa-based director of Project Hope & Charite (PHC), which oversees the care of more than 500 sponsored orphans and 50 of their widow care providers in the Central African Republic, is currently visiting Winona Lake, Indiana.

She spoke at Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church this morning, and in this photo, she was the honored guest for an afternoon gathering of the Africa Circle of the church's Women of Grace group, which presented her with a set of windchimes to remind her of the group's regular prayers for her and the PHC program.

In the photo are (from left) GBIM missionary Barb Wooler, Honorine Marandet, GBIM board member Miriam Pacheco, and Madame Zokoe.