August 10 – NAPPANEE – Union Center Church of the Brethren has announced that it will hold an open house in honor of its pastor, Frank Ramirez, as he retires after 45 years of pastoral service in the Church of the Brethren.
The open day will take place on Sunday, August 25 from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM in the church, 70535 CR 11. Everyone is welcome.
The event will take place on the day that Ramirez delivers his final sermon during the 10 a.m. worship service.
According to church information, he has “preached more than 2,500 sermons by his count.”
The message, based on 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and Revelation 21:1-5, is titled, “Goodbye and Thanks for All the Fish.”
He and his wife Jennie have three adult children and six grandchildren. They will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next year. Future plans include continued writing, reading, traveling, sports, gardening and yard work together, home improvements, occasional pulpit filling, and possibly retirement.
Ramirez earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from La Verne (California) College (1972-76) and a Master of Divinity degree from Bethany Theological Seminary (1976-79). He began serving as pastor of the Church of the Brethren on July 29, 1979, and will officially retire at the end of August. He has served the Ladera (Los Angeles), Elkhart Valley (Indiana), Everett (Pennsylvania) and Union Center Churches of the Brethren. He also served the denomination on the Annual Conference Program and Arrangements Committee, the People of the Covenant Bible Study Committee, the denomination’s General Board and the Board of Directors of Bethany Theological Seminary. Along the way, he served the communities where he pastored as a member of local boards, as a prison chaplain and as a volunteer in nursing homes, public schools and hospice, the statement said.
As a writer, Ramirez has published approximately 30 books, including many Bible studies, as well as Sunday school teaching materials and devotional booklets for the Church of the Brethren, Disciples of Christ, United Methodist Church, and ecumenical organizations.
The Union Center Church of the Brethren is located at the corner of CRs 11 and 50, just off Nappanee.
For more information, please contact the church at office@unioncenterchurch.org or call 574-773-4295.
