Early Childhood Center Groundbreaking
Construction Begins on Wooster Student Ministry Center
FGBC Annual Meeting Set
Grace Village Opens Rehab Center
Ministerial Moves
Hofecker Elected to ASOR Board
In Memoriam
– Earl Replogle Bock
– Lowell Hoyt
– Donald F. Streit
– Stephen Young
This Issue Brought to You by GBIF
Early Childhood Center Groundbreaking
The heavy equipment moves in following the May 6 groundbreaking for the new Early Childhood Center at the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, Ohio. The facility will be added to the east end of the Grace Worship Center, 8225 Worthington-Galena Road, Westerville, Ohio. Twenty-three age-appropriate classrooms will be the foundation of the facility, along with indoor and outdoor playspaces, and dining and gathering facilities. The center will be utilized seven days a week by both the church and the school.
Construction Begins on Wooster Student Ministry Center
Students at the Grace Brethren Church in Wooster, Ohio, outline the shape of the 34,000 square foot Student Ministry and Activity Center prior to groundbreaking on April 29. The addition will add student ministry space, as well as provide rooms for adult Bible fellowships (ABFs), children’s classes, art and music offices for Wooster Christian School, and the seniors/legacy ministry. The project is expected to be finished in the fall, 2008.
FGBC Annual Meeting Set
The annual business meeting of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches will be held at 7 p.m., Sunday, July 29 in the Orthopaedic Capital Center, 610 Wooster Road, Winona Lake. The meeting is part of Equip07, the annual conference of the fellowship.
Grace Village Opens Rehab Center
Grace Village Rehabilitation Center marked its opening with a June 21 dedication ceremony. The Center is a part of the Grace Village Retirement Community, 337 Grace Village Dr., Winona Lake, Ind.
The Center is a short-stay recovery and outpatient facility that combines clinical quality with modern amenities to create a healing atmosphere and positive experience, according to Village officials.
Ministerial Moves
Al Kidder, who pastored the Suburban Grace Brethren Church of Hatboro, Pa., is moving to a new position as pastor of the Kenai, Alaska, Grace Brethren Church effective July 1, 2007.
Brian Mayes has joined the staff of the Grace Brethren Church in Brookville, Ohio, as youth pastor. Brian grew up in the Longview, Tex., Grace Brethren Church, and graduated from Grace College on May 5.
Dave Ogden has rejoined the staff of the Grace Brethren church in Sebring, Fla., to work with counseling and families. Ogden, who previously pastored the Sebring church, has most recently been pastor at Grace Christian Church in Okeechobee, Fla.
Paul Rhodes (pictured) has been named pastor at the Chico, Calif., Grace Brethren Church. He served the church in the late 1970s as associate pastor under the ministry of Lloyd Woolman.
Tim Spranklebegan his ministry as pastor of the Grace Brethren Church in Leesburg, Ind., in May. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, he most recently was involved in house church ministry in Denver, Colo.
Hofecker Elected to ASOR Board
Terry Hofecker (pictured), pastor of Northwest Chapel, a Grace Brethren church in Dublin, Ohio, and adjunct faculty with Grace Theological Seminary, has been elected to the board of the American Schools of Oriental Research(ASOR) as vice president of development. ASOR is a scholarly society committed to expanding and preserving the knowledge of the foundations of human civilization as found in the people and culture of the Ancient Near East. ASOR sponsors study and research centers in Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Jordan.
In Memoriam
Earl Replogle Bock, 87, a long-time member, deacon, trustee, and Sunday School teacher of the Grace Brethren church in Fremont, Ohio died April 30.
A life-long farmer in the Old Fort area, he was also employed at Basic Refractories and drove truck. He served with the U.S. Army during World War II in the European Theater.
His first wife, Ethel, preceded him in death. He then married Esther (Brooks) in 1990, who survives. Other survivors include his daughters, Janet (Ted) Vesa of Columbia City, Ind.; Joyce (Edward) Hamilton of Charlotte, N.C. and Janine (Roger) Divelbliss of Gibsonville, N.C.; step-daughters, Ruth Ann (Joe) Jackson of Joy, Ill. and Joan (Wayne) Suter of Fremont; brothers, Kenneth (Bernice) Bock of Tiffin and George Bock of Spring Hill, Fla..
Lowell Hoyt, 87, of Dayton, Tenn., died on April 6. A brother to the late Dr. Herman Hoyt, who was one of the founders and former president of Grace College and Seminary, Lowell Hoyt served on the Grace Board of Trustees from 1949-1982, and also taught part-time in mathematics at Grace.
He was a graduate of Bryan College, Grace Theological Seminary (BD 45, ThM 61), and the University of South Carolina.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Lola, and two sons. Lowell is survived by his wife, Rebecca (Peck), of Dayton; his sons, Bruce, of New Zealand, Loren, of Iowa, Stanley, of Georgia, Mark, of Texas, and Sherwood, of Pennsylvania; his daughter, Nelda Banek, of Texas; 35 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.
Donald F. Streit, 82, of Wooster, Ohio, died April 26. He was an active member of Grace Brethren Church in Wooster, where he served as a youth sponsor and quiz coach.
Don worked for The College of Wooster for 33 years, retiring in 1991 as the director of custodial services. He is survived his wife, Marie, children, Dean (Dawn) Streit, Carol (Bob) Smith, Alan (Linda) Streit, all of Wooster; nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Dr. Stephen Young, 61, of Denver, Co., died of liver cancer on May 15. Dr. Young was a 1968 graduate of Grace College. From 1975-78, he served as professor and chairman of the speech communication department at Grace College. He then moved to Denver, where he worked for US West (now Qwest) in various leadership positions. He joined the faculty at Denver Seminary in 2004 as the director of the leadership degree program. Previously, he served as the interim vice president for enrollment management and assistant to the president for strategic initiatives at the school.
Young earned Ph.D. and M.A. degrees from Purdue University. He is survived by his wife, Bonnie, two daughters: Stephanie Young and Alexis Jensen (and her husband, Joshua), and a grandson, Avery Jensen. He is the younger brother of Dr. Jerry Young, longtime pastor at the Lititz, Pa., Grace Brethren church and now research and development director for the Association of Grace Brethren Ministers. The Youngs’ mother, Edith, lives at Grace Village in Winona Lake, Ind.
This Issue Brought to You by GBIF
The entire pre-press, printing, and distribution of this issue of FGBC World is being funded by a generous gift from the Grace Brethren Investment Foundation, Winona Lake, Ind. BMH expresses its appreciation to Ken Seyfert, Larry Chamberlain, the staff, and board members of GBIF for their generosity.
