Union Chapel

Men’s Fellowship

welcomes you to a breakfast with

special guest speaker Charles J. Curran,

Montgomery County Commissioner

Saturday, November 18     ŕ       8:30 a.m.

¨     Our breakfast menu is sure to please, with a classic spread of breakfast favorites, plus coffee and juice. No one goes home hungry!  Breakfast is free, though donations are gratefully accepted for our church’s Men’s Ministry.

¨     Best of all, there will be food for your soul!  Our special guest speaker will be Chuck Curran, who will share from his own experience of faith in Christ.

¨     This is a great opportunity to grow closer to the Lord and  other believers, so why not join us?  Please invite others to come, too — family, friends, co-workers . . . all are welcome!

  

From the November 2006 Chapel Chimes Newsletter:

 A Message from Pastor Dave

 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

 – Heb. 13:8 (NIV)

          The legendary baseball player Satchel Paige once said, “Don’t look back -- something might be gaining on you.”  Be that as it may, our Charge Conference gave me reason to do just that, since each congregation was asked to submit a local church history report for the “Archives of Ohio United Methodism.”

 So I pulled out the slender file I inherited some years ago, with a few pages that trace the story of Union Chapel. I have a soft spot for history anyway, so I read again with some affection the account of United Brethren history in this neck of the woods, which began about the year 1820. At that time, according to our history, “a couple of families which had come under the UB influence elsewhere moved here, bringing with them a great love and attachment for worshipping God in this particular way. Upon settling here, their influence spread to others, who also were constrained to serve and love the Master.”

Editor’s note:  “Constrained to serve and love the Master” – don’t you just love that description of hearts on fire for Jesus Christ?

 Within a few years, a United Brethren Church had been organized. “The religious services were held in groves, in the homes of members, and occasionally in the homes of some who had not yet accepted Christ; it proved to be a lasting blessing for them, for often this led to conversion of some member of the family – sometimes of the entire family.”

Editor’s note:  How cool is that?  Though the “house church movement” may be a hot new trend, it turns out our Union Chapel ancestors were doing it – and doing it well – nearly 200 years ago!

 Preachers, who back in those days traveled almost exclusively by horseback, became known as circuit riders. Union Chapel’s first minister, William Davis, wrote in his diary in 1846: “I have been an itinerant minister in the church of the United Brethren in Christ for 16 years. I have traveled for ministerial purposes 54,200 miles. I have preached (or tried to preach) 5,110 sermons. I have received an earthly remuneration of $652.” 

Editor’s note:  OK, the salary wasn’t much – but I’m sure the rewards were “out of this world.”

 In 1861, with an eye toward expansion, the community’s United Brethren faithful erected their first structure for worship. The church was named Union Chapel, “in sympathy with the cause of the Union of States, which, in 1861, became involved in a terrible civil war, and from the membership of which, many men joined the Union army, from which some of them were never permitted to return; men who made the supreme sacrifice on the battlefield or in the hospitals.”

Editor’s note: I always feel sad reading that line, even as I am saddened – and deeply moved -- when young soldiers give their lives for their country today. As Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

 Sometimes it is good to pause, take stock, and look at where we come from, even as we look to the future with hopeful hearts. That’s true for us as individuals and families, and true for congregations of the faithful, too. One thing is for sure: over the course of time, everything changes in this old world, with one beautiful exception – our Lord Jesus Christ. In this season of gratitude, we have much to be thankful for. Above all, let us give thanks for the One who “is the same yesterday, today and forever.” 

 And may all of us be “constrained to serve and love the Master.”

 YBIC,

              Dave

             P.S. -- Remember, God loves you & there's nothing you can do about it!

 

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Digital Photos -- Do you have a digital photo (or photos) of church-related activities, or members of our church family, that you would like considered for use on the Union Chapel Online photo gallery?  If so, please e-mail them to web master, Dan Kepple, at dbkepple@sbcglobal.net.  In addition, please be sure to include a brief description of each photo you submit (Who?/Where?/What?/etc.), so an appropriate caption can accompany the picture.