John Gregory's Father With the Lord

Obituary for Franklin Forbes “Bill” Gregory

Franklin Forbes “Bill” Gregory, 94, of Stephenson, VA, went home to be with His Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at a local nursing home.

Mr. Gregory was born in 1915 in Altoona, PA, the son of the late Charles E. and Teresa C. Gregory. He was Assistant Plant Manager for National Fruit Products (White House) in Martinsburg, WV, retiring in June, 1984 after 49 years of service.

He was a member of Blue Ridge Grace Brethren Church in Winchester, and a former member of Rosemont Grace Brethren Church in Martinsburg, where he had served as a Deacon and Trustee. He was an avid Atlanta Braves fan and enjoyed playing softball and baseball on several local teams.

He married Nellie Robinson Morrison Gregory on February 21, 1981 in Duncansville, PA.

He is survived by a daughter, Hazel Geukgeuzian and her husband, Vahe, of Stephens City, VA; two sons, Don Gregory and his wife, Connie, of Winchester, VA and John Edward Gregory and his wife, Betty, of Columbia City, IN; a step-daughter, Judith Whitacre and her husband, Larry of Highview, WV; three step-sons, William Morrison and his wife, Lee, of Clearbrook, John Morrison and his wife, Darlene, of Stephenson, and Charles Morrison of Pennsylvania; nine grandchildren, nine step-grandchildren, nineteen great grandchildren; fourteen step great grandchildren; nine step great, great grandchildren, and a sister, Mary Lou Evans, of Barstow, CA. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Myrtle Morrison Gregory, who died on October 13, 1979, and also three brothers and one sister.

A Celebration of Life will be conducted at 11:00 AM on Tuesday at Blue Ridge Grace Brethren Church with Pastor Darrell Taylor officiating. Interment will be in Pleasant View Memory Gardens in Martinsburg, WV at 3:00 PM.

Pallbearers will be Keith Gregory, Dan Gregory, Jeremy Hammer, Michael Geukgeuzian, Stephen Geukgeuzian, Jonathan Geukgeuzian, Jay Foreman and Brian Blackburn.

The family will receive friends Monday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at Omps Funeral Home, Amherst Chapel.

Memorial Contributions may be made to Blue Ridge Grace Brethren Church, 1025 Cedar Creek Grade, Winchester, VA 22602.

Upper Arlington Seeks Associate Pastor

Associate Pastor

The Upper Arlington Grace Brethren Church of Upper Arlington, Ohio; (UA Grace) desires a long term working relationship with a man who can organize, manage and grow the church’s numerous ministries. This man will partner with the Senior Pastor allowing both of them to live in their God-given gifts and responsibilities.


Responsibilities

•Administration of church organization and ministries
•Areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to, ministries of children and youth, worship ministries, financial and facilities management
•Assist the Sr. Pastor overseeing both paid staff and lay/volunteer staff
•Assist the Sr. Pastor in managing, planning and implementing all church programs and activities
•Assist the Senior Pastor in preaching and teaching

Qualifications

•Calling from the Lord Jesus to be a minister of the Gospel
•Meets the biblical qualifications of an elder/shepherd
•As a member of UA Grace, agrees with church’s Statement of Faith and is willing to follow the vision of the church
•Demonstrates an attitude and approach of being faithful, available and teachable
•Is a pastor/teacher (Senior Pastor travels to speaking engagements regularly)
•Demonstrates effective interpersonal and organizational communication skills
•A record of experience in church/ministry administration (either as a lay person or as a professional.
•A record of experience in exercising the gift of teaching (either as a lay person or as a professional.
•Demonstrates a heart for evangelism and discipleship in the local community as well as in missions
•Answers to the Sr. Pastor
•A willingness to live and minister in our community.

Education

•Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited institution
•Seminary degree is a plus
dsylvester09@columbus.rr.com

614-547-5001

Upper Arlington Seeks Worship Leader

Director of Worship Arts – Upper Arlington Grace Brethren Church, Upper Arlington Ohio, is a Christ-centered family of believers rooted in the truth of Scripture, passionate about serving the Lord Jesus Christ, transformed by the Gospel, and excited about whom the Lord will call to serve as our Worship Leader. We are seeking to fulfill this position by summer of 2010.

Job Description
• Oversee Worship and Creative Arts Ministry for Upper Arlington Grace Brethren Church (UA Grace).
• Organize and lead praise teams for weekly worship practices and services.
• Work with Senior Pastor to coordinate worship and creative arts to match sermon messages and themes.

With specific strengths in:
• proficient instrumentalist, with keyboard and guitar desired
• Proficient at singing, reading music, and creating vocal arrangements for ensembles and choir.
• Has an ability to lead an established team of gifted musicians and vocalists.
• Has a servant’s heart, is a collaborative leader and good listener
• Able to provide vision, delegate/oversee responsibilities and expresses expectations clearly
• Strong organizational skills
• Heart for outreach
• Strong interpersonal skills

Candidate qualifications:
• In full agreement with and is doctrinally aligned with the UA Grace Statement of faith
• Must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
• Must be committed to prayer and ministry of the Word
• Spiritually sound in Christian doctrine
• Supportive of the pastor’s teaching ministry (not isolated in music alone).
• Ability to develop and manage department budget
• Proficient at singing, reading music, and creating vocal arrangements for ensembles and choir
• Bachelor’s Degree
• 3-5 years experience as a Worship Leader
• Preaching experience is a plus

Contact Information: Interested individuals should send a resume to Tom Heyl at: tom@wrfd.com. ALSO please send a DVD with a sample of your worship leadership and creativity to the Church – Attn: Tom Heyl

North Central Ohio to Examine Five

Todd Scoles, coordinator for the North Central Ohio District, has notified colleagues of the upcoming NCO Exams, April 7, Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, 9:30-12:00

Five men (two for ordination and three for licensure) are prepared.

Jeremy Bury (Marysville Grace) - licensure
Josh Jackson (Capital City Grace) - licensure
Eric Miller (Capital City Grace) - licensure
Kary Oberbrunner (Grace Church Powell) - ordination
Shawn Kaeser (Darby Grace) - ordination

Let's pray for these men as they take this important next step in their ministry journey.

Pray for Pastor Ray Feather

Your prayers will be appreciated for Pastor Ray Feather of Grace Community Chapel, the Grace Brethren church in Mukilteo, Washington.

Ray is in Provident Hospital in Edmonds, WA, and is anticipating surgery tomorrow. His son, Scott, from Winona Lake, IN, has joined the Feathers there. Ray and his wife, Sharon will be grateful for your prayers.

UPDATE FROM SCOTT FEATHER FRIDAY, MARCH 26 AT NOON EST: Looks like Dad is headed home around 11am (pacific)... He gets to celebrate his birthday at home!

New Pastor Named at Ormond Beach, Fla.

Erik Dubasak (pictured at right with his wife, Terrah) is the new pastor of the Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Ormond Beach, Fla. He is a graduate of Wingate University and is pursuing an M.A. degree at Southern Evangelical Seminary, Matthews, N.C.

He previously served at Grace Church, a Grace Brethren church in Sebring, Fla., where he was a Bible instructor at the Grace Commission Bible Institute. He also taught Bible, history, and literature at Heartland Christian School, Sebring, Fla. Earlier this year, he served as an intern with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

Pastor Henry Dalke With the Lord

The following note comes from Eddie Mensinger and Chuck Winter:

Pastor Henry Dalke passed away on Dec. 29, 2009 at Alhambra, CA. He had been a chaplain at the Kaiser Permanente. Henry had a Mennonite background and was raised in Kansas. He followed Russell Williams in the Yakima GBC church in 1954 as the second pastor when Williams went to Cheyenne, WY.

Jerry Young to Begin Chemo/Radiation Treatments

Jerry Young, ministry director for the Association of Grace Brethren Ministers, recently had a major operation and is battling cancer from his home in Tucson. The following post on his CaringBridge site by Jerry's wife, Loreen, gives an update:

We saw the oncologist yesterday and the next phase will begin in about three weeks. They put a port in the chest and we will have to go to the hospital five days a week to receive the non-toxic chemo/radia​tion treatments and that will last about five weeks. These are very brief each day but it is a 40 minute drive to the hospital so that will wear him out. Plus the side effect is fatigue which he already has but it could be much worse so I am encouraged.

After that another phase will begin and that will take place at the closer hospital, 20 minutes away. Yesterday is the first time he said I feel stronger today so that was good to hear. This whole process is extremely slow and can get discouragin​g but God is helping us get through this whole process.

On another note, we are looking to sell the RV and truck, anyone interested? When we started our summer travels, Jerry told the Lord that we will travel as long as we have the finances and the health and now the health is gone so he is taking that as a sign that we need to discontinue the traveling. I am sad about that as we both loved doing that but we are heading into another phase of our lives.

Love you all. Thanks for reading and praying.

Neil Cole on Leadership Network

Grace Brethren pastor and church planter, Neil Cole, was interviewed today on the Leadership Network about his new book, Church 3.0. Revisit the interview at http://theshow.leadnet.org/. Neil is the founder and president of Church Multiplication Associates.

Justin Hayes Receives Active Duty Notice

Justin Hayes, who was recently ordained to the ministry in the Heartland District so he can enter the U.S. Navy chaplaincy, has received this good news:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers! The Lord heard and answered.

I received a call this morning from chief warrant officer Rudolph out of Indianapolis and he informed me that I have been selected for active duty! He wasn’t sure what school they would send me to yet, but that should be coming soon as well.

The earliest time of departure would be the May school. He thought that would most likely be the one they would send me to. Thank you all for your tremendous support. This would not have happened if you hadn’t poured yourselves into me and my family.

God Bless!

Justin

June Hall, 94, With the Lord

ASHLAND, OHIO -- June Elizabeth Hall, 94, Ashland, died March 2, 2010, following a short illness.

June was born in Sterling, Ohio, to Harvey and Mary Etta Hartzler, and married the late Nelson Hall on Aug. 21, 1938. He died on Feb. 2, 1979.

She served joyfully with Nelson, a Grace Brethren pastor, in churches in Homerville, Ohio; Long Beach and Tracy, Calif.; Albany, Ore.; Richland and Toppenish, Wash.; and Winona, Minn.

She taught Sunday school and Child Evangelism Fellowship, led women's ministries, including Spice of Life in Toppenish, engaged in hospitality and faithfully witnessed for her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She was strongly committed to Grace Brethren missionary efforts and contributed to an orphanage in the Central African Republic.

Surrounded by family members, she continued to share her faith until the end. She expressed confidence in imminently being with Jesus in heaven, while continuing to encourage others in making certain they have the same assurance.

She expressed gratitude to the staff of Kingston of Ashland and Cambridge Home Health Care for their dedication to her. She also appreciated the staff and residents of Mill Run Place.

A loving and devoted mother and grandmother, she is survived by her children Junelle (Ed) Bjerke of Albany, Ore., Jeanene Helfrich of Colorado Springs, Colo., the Rev. Jonathan (Linda) Hall of Ashland, formerly of Wooster; 10 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild.

Preceding her in death were two sisters, Ferne Barnard and Mary Gail Yeakley, and two brothers, Merle and Roscoe Hartzler.

Arrangements are being handled by Roberts Funeral Home.

A service of celebration will be held at Ashland Grace Brethren Church, 1144 W. Main St., Ashland, at noon Friday, with the viewing hour beginning at 11 a.m.

Memorial contributions may be made to Project Hope and Charite, which supports orphans in the Central African Republic.

Pray for Terry Daniels' Dad

John Daniels, father of Grace Brethren pastor, Terry Daniels (Grace Brethren Church, South Pasadena, Calif.), has been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer. John is a member of the Danville, Ohio, Grace Brethren Church (Albert Hockley, pastor). Pray for the Daniels family as John meets with his doctor and a treatment plan is determined.

Updated Prayer Requests

Just a reminder for those who are praying, that you can get updated news on AGBM ministry director Jerry Young at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jerryyoung

Updates on Columbus (OH) pastor David Plaster are at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/daveplaster

And pastor Ed Waken from the Phoenix area is keeping us updated on his wife's progress at http://web.me.com/edwaken/Debs_Journey/Debs_Journey/Debs_Journey.html