Ronald Allen Guiles
Tony Teodoro Luna

Ronald Allen Guiles of Warsaw, Ind., 75, died Saturday, September 17, 2011.

He was born on October 25, 1935, in Philadelphia, Pa., to James Ernest and Ellen Margaret (Snyder) Guiles. On October 6, 1956, at Third Brethren Church in Philadelphia, he married Irene Ann Horst, who survives.

After graduating from Northeast High School in Philadelphia, he attended Temple University. He was graduated from Grace College and from Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Ind., with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Divinity degree. He worked as the financial aid director,  and then served on the board of trustees of Grace Schools for 16 years.

While in Grace Seminary he  pastored Skinner Chapel in Twelve Mile, Ind.. He served as a pastor in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches in Bethlehem, Pa.; Fort Worth, Tex.; and Maitland, Fla. In October 2000, he retired from pastoral ministry,  moved to Warsaw, Ind., and began working for Grace Brethren International Missions. He was a member of Community Grace Brethren Church of Warsaw where he served on the board of elders, was pastor of seniors, taught Bible classes, and led small groups.

He will be lovingly remembered by his wife, Irene Ann Guiles, of Warsaw, Ind.; one daughter, Susan and husband, Rev. Ron Smals, pastor of the Woodville Grace Brethren Church of Mansfield, Ohio; and one son: Rev. David Guiles, executive director of Grace Brethren International Missions, and his wife, Sue, of Warsaw, Ind.

Also surviving are five grandchildren: Daniel, Jonathan, Brandon, Mark and Melisa; as well as his sister, Joan, and her husband, Bill Ambacher, of New Holland, Pa. He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister.

Callers were received at Irene’s home and a private family graveside service was held at Oakwood Cemetery of Warsaw, Ind., on September 23. A memorial service was held Saturday, September 24, 2011, at the Community Grace Brethren Church, Warsaw, Ind., officiated by Rev. Steve Bailey.

Memorial donations in Ron Guiles’ name may be directed to Grace Brethren International Missions, P.O. Box 588, Winona Lake, Indiana 46590 and would be appreciated by his family.

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 was preceded in death by his parents, Antonio A. Luna and Corina Romero Luna and a 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); granddaughters, Tamara Trujillo (Alvin), Terese Vigil (Billy), Amanda Higgins (Matthew); grandsons, Joshua Archuleta, Antonio M. Luna, Freddie, Robert and Jesse Santistevan; nine great grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends.

A funeral service was held on July 29, 2011, at the Grace Brethren Church with interment following at the Grace Brethren Cemetery in Canon.

Mark SaundersDr. Mark Saunders, who recently retired from a long-term ministry as pastor of the historic First Grace Brethren Church in Dayton, Ohio, has been named by the Association of Grace Brethren Ministers (AGBM) to be their director of pastoral ministry.

“I am excited about this new position with AGBM because it gives me the opportunity to give back to the pastors and leaders in our fellowship what the fellowship has given to me,” says Saunders. “After many years in the ministry, I have come to realize that there are a lot of ups and downs in pastoring. Th e times I was down, I needed someone I could talk to that would listen to me and give godly words of encouragement. Fortunately I had someone there for me during those times.”

In addition, several pastors will be representing AGBM in their regions. Currently these men are Roy Halberg, S. California; Greg Howell, Northwest; Joel Richards, N. California; Bob Arenobine, Central; Bob Combs, Ohio; Dan White, Northeast; and Randy Smith, Florida. These men will be making regular contact with the pastors and leaders in their regions to support, encourage, pray and listen as needed.

By Kelsey Mitchener

The Happy Church, nestled in Appalachian Kentucky, rests in the poorest region of the United States at the seat of the nation’s third-poorest county. It’s a growing Grace Brethren congregation with a powerful ministry to the local poor.

We want to help get their moral compass pointing in the right direction,” says Pastor Mike Tabor. “We want to grow them up, teach them to work, and improve their situation.”

His vision is one caught by Gladys Deloe, a former pastor’s wife from Winona Lake, Ind., who was moved by the stories of poverty the Tabors shared at national conference in 2005. Deloe felt called to somehow make a difference.

Kudos
Beau Stanley, Jonathan Wiley, and Gary Webb have been ordained into the ministry at the Grace Brethren Church, Columbus, Ohio.

In the North Central Ohio District of Grace Brethren Churches, Rick Dale and Mark Abel were both unanimously recommended back to their churches for the next steps in their credentialing process. Rick was examined for licensure and Mark for ordination. Dale is an associate at the Lexington, Ohio, Grace Brethren Church (Jason Carmean, pastor) and Abel is pastor at Southview Grace Brethren Church, Ashland, Ohio.

CE National has announced their annual awards:

• Youth Leaders of the Year Award: Jim and Laura Umpleby, Grace Brethren Church in Osceola, Ind.
• Church of the Year: Grace Church of Greater Akron, Bath Campus, Pastor Jeff Bogue
• Wall of Honor: Mike and Margie Brubaker, Grace Community Church, Frederick, Md.
• Children’s Ministry Award: Grace Community Church, Goshen, Ind., Pastor Jon Rauch
• Mercy Ministry: Dan and Gay O’Deens, Gateway Grace Community Church, Parkesburg, Pa.
• Men’s Ministry: Grace Community Church, Goshen, Ind., Pastor Jim Brown
• Servanthood Award: Sharon Feather, Mukilteo, Wash.; David and Del Rae Rice, Lititz, Pa.
• Senior Medal of Ministry: Harry and Jane Gearheart, Community Grace Brethren Church, Everett, Pa.
• Teamwork Award: The Knepper Family, York, Pa.
• Turn Around Church of the Year: Grace Community Church, Auburn, Calif., Pastor Phil Sparling
• Faithfulness Award: Barry Deetscreek, Pike Grace Brethren Church, Johnstown, Pa.; Charles Ashman, Grace Brethren Church, Winona Lake, Ind.; Vickie Darrough, Grace Church, Powell, Ohio; Larry Leonhardt, First Christian Church, Kendallville, Ind.; Marian Robison, Grace Brethren Church, Wooster, Ohio; Paul Horst, New Beginnings Grace Brethren Church, Myerstown, Pa.; John Waite, Grace Brethren Church, Martinsburg, Pa.; Bob and Peggy Richards, Grace Brethren Church, Pinellas Park, Fl.; Al and Janelle Swalley, Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, Worthington, Ohio; Dave and Carol Johnson, Grace Brethren Church, Toppenish, Wash.
• 2010 Operation Barnabas Faithfulness Award: Samantha Fisher, Community Grace, Warsaw, Ind.; Rebekah Kurtaneck, Community Grace, Warsaw, Ind.; Leah Lazer, Community Grace, Everett, Pa.; Brittany Lees, Grace Church, Ebensburg, Pa.; Crystal Lopez, Mt. Prospect Bible Church, Mt. Prospect, Ill.; Emily Miller, Ephrata Grace Brethren, Ephrata, Pa.; Zachary Pappas, Biblische Missionsgemeinde, Aalen, Germany.

Grace Church of Greater Akron (Ohio), a Grace Brethren congregation on the northwest side of the city, has been named to Outreach Magazine’s top 100 largest and fastest growing churches in North America list. Jeff Bogue is the senior pastor, with Dan Gregory leading the Norton, Ohio, campus.Jeff Fawcett

Grace College, Winona Lake, Ind., has again been named one of the “Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the Midwest” according to U.S. News and World Report. Grace ranked 39th out of the schools listed.

On the Move

Alan GrossnickleAt Grace College, Winona Lake, Ind., the following individuals have joined the faculty: Kris Farwell, Ph.D., assistant professor of Mathematics; Jeff Fawcett, D.B.A., dean, School of Business; professor of Marketing; Alan Grossnickle, M.B.A., director, William P. Gordon Institute for Enterprise Development and assistant professor of Business; Rachael Hoffert, M.Ed., assistant professor of Education; Chris Hull, Ph.D., LMHC, NCC, assistant professor of Graduate Counseling and Interpersonal Relations, School of Behavioral Science; and Rebekah Watson, Ph.D., assistant professor of Communication.Chris Hull

Rachael HoffertKelvin Cooke has joined the staff of the Marysville, Ohio, Grace Brethren Church.

Larry Edwards is the new pastor of the West Kittanning (Pa.) Grace Brethren Church.Rebecca Watson

Chris Hay, director of Zarephath Ministries and former Grace Brethren pastor, has been named director of church relations at Eternity Bible College in Simi Valley, Calif. He also will continue to lead Zarephath Ministries.

Rick Horner, who has served the past fi ve years on the staff of the Martinsburg, Pa., Grace Brethren Church, is the new pastor of the Conemaugh, Pa., Grace Brethren Church.

Danny Horton has been named director of Children’s Ministries at the Martinsburg, Pa., Grace Brethren Church.

Mickey Kaufman has joined Grace Brethren International Ministries as director of stewardship ministries.

Bailey Weathers has been named director of athletics at Grace College, Winona Lake, Ind.Ron Guiles

In Memoriam
Ronald Allen Guiles, 75, Warsaw, Ind., died September 17, 2011. He pastored Grace Brethren congregations in Bethlehem, Pa., Fort Worth, Tex., and Maitland, Fla.

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.

See complete obituaries here.

Two 30-foot Christmas trees hold the choir during the Living Christmas Trees concert.In 1974, then-Pastor Jim Custer invited recent Grace College graduate Randy Kettering to become the Worship and Music Director for the growing Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, Ohio. At that time, Pastor Jim proposed three goals for the church’s ongoing
ministries: reach as many people as possible with the gospel of Jesus Christ, involve as many people as possible in that mission, and strive to do everything with excellence because we serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

With those goals in mind, in 1986 the north Columbus congregation set out to tell the story of Jesus through a clear, memorable, live experience featuring music, drama, media, as well as any other creative element that could be employed. They built two towering, 30-foot tall, steel “Christmas trees” to hold the choir, constructed huge sets to transform the auditorium into biblical-times Bethlehem, and appealed to the congregation’s giftedness to help make Living Christmas Trees a reality.

They’ve taken the production from their own facilities in the suburbs to downtown venues and back. The productions have featured a variety of animals (from camels, donkeys, and sheep to horses, birds, and boa constrictors) along with angels that come to life as Christ’s birth is announced. Each year a new script tells the neverchanging story of why Jesus came as a babe in the manger – moving through His life from birth to death on the cross for the sins of the world.

Each year 600 to 800 volunteers spend more than a combined 20,000 hours to write new scripts and music; build and paint sets; coordinate and feed volunteers; learn lines, lyrics, and notes; decorate facilities; organize props and people; direct traffi c; and pray for the hearts of both those witnessing and those participating in the concerts. More than half a million people from around the Midwest and across the country have attended the event.

In 2011 the church, now known as Grace Polaris (Mike Yoder, lead pastor), celebrates 25 years of helping to make the story of Christ’s birth, life, and ultimate sacrifice more real to those who attend.

In this 25th anniversary season, the storyline introduces Cody, who’s been asked to bring cookies to his second grade holiday party to celebrate winter; and he’s left wondering who took the CHRISTMAS out of Christmas! Later that night he has a bad dream that Christmas might go away forever. Under the cloud of this being his last Christmas, Cody travels back to witness the fi rst Christmas
first hand.

Though it was all just a dream, Cody realizes that Christmas isn’t just here to stay. It’s for yesterday, today, and forever!

The Living Christmas Trees, which is still under the direction of Kettering, opens December 3 and continues through December 18 at Polaris Grace, which is located at 8225 Worthington-Galena Road, Westerville, Ohio, 43081.

Tickets may be ordered online at gracelct.org or by calling 614-431-8222 (toll-free 1-888-477-8573).