Kudos

Women of Grace USA has awarded their 2011 Honor Her Scholarship to Mary James for a summer internship to France with Grace Brethren International Missions. Mary is a sophomore at Grace College and attends the Grace Brethren Church, Ashland, Ohio. She will be serving at the Chateau de St. Albain in areas of cooking and hospitality. The Honor Her scholarships are made possible through the gifts of women in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches who wish to honor women whose lives have demonstrated a love for the Lord, faithfulness in serving Him, and a heart for spreading the Gospel to every corner of the world through praying, giving, and going.

A new Ezra-Nehemiah commentary by Tiberius Rata, professor of Old Testament Studies and Chair of the Department of Biblical Studies at Grace College and Seminary, Winona Lake, Ind., has been published in the Mentor series by Christian Focus Publications (Scotland).

On the Move

Pierre Prinvil has joined the staff of CPR-3 as Haiti national director, according to Dan O’Deens, director of CPR-3. Pierre is a Haitian pastor trained in the USA, who started and led a Haitian congregation in Florida until he returned to his homeland to serve his own people. He has started and built two orphanage homes outside of Port au Prince and has served countless families and children. CPR-3 is a cooperating organization of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

Matthew Raley is the new pastor at the Grace Brethren Church, Chico, Calif. A native of Chico, he most recently served as pastor of a Evangelical Free Church in Orland, Calif.

In Memoriam

Melvin Curfman, 79, a founding member of the Toppenish, Wash., Grace Brethren Church, died March 21, 2011.

Bob Kern, 77, of Quarryville, Pa., died February 17, 2011. He was a long-time Grace Brethren pastor.

J. Norman Mayer, 79, a former Grace Brethren pastor of Hagerstown, Md., died March 29, 2011.

Speakers at this year’s conference will challenge conference goers to look to the future of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Beginning with the fellowship moderator, Bob Fetterhoff, pastors who take to the platform will look at church planting, the glory of God, the church, prophecy, and leadership.

Vision2020 includes some pre-conference options that will help your ministry. Classes will be held July 21, 22, and 23 at the Grace Brethren Church, 4599 Burbank Road, Wooster, Ohio. Unless otherwise indicated, classes are all day. For fee information and to register for a class, see vision2020now.com and click on pre-conference options.

Phil Wickham

Contemporary Christian vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist

7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Grace Brethren Church, Wooster, Ohio

The concert is included in the price of the full conference registration.

Wickham is a San Diego, Calif.-based artist who recently released his third album, Heaven and Earth. The album claimed the number two spot on the Christian/Gospel chart on iTunes, while the song, “Safe,” topped the Christian/Gospel singles chart at number 1. “Safe” also placed in the top 20 on Billboard’s Christian AC and Soft AC/Inspirational charts and has the support of more than 75 stations. He has toured with some of the industry’s most renowned artists, including MercyMe, David Crowder Band, and Shane & Shane.

Sponsored by the Brethren Missionary Herald Company.

The city of Wooster, county seat of Wayne County, welcomes the Fellowship of Grace Brethren to the Vision2020 conference this July. A bustling community with a population of about 26,000 set in the bucolic countryside of east-central Ohio, Wooster is set in Wayne County (named for George Washington’s war colleague General “Mad Anthony” Wayne) and is distinguished by its rural charm, rolling hills, lush woods, and scenic farmland. It is known as the “Gateway to Amish Country,” as Wayne and several counties to the south are home to the world’s largest Amish population.