Brethren bits: Annual Conference registration, Brazil mission staff, and more.

• On Mar. 17 advance registration opened for non-delegates planning to attend AnnualConference in Charleston, W.Va., July 3-7. For the first time registration is online at www.brethren.org/ac/. The site features check or credit card payment options for registration, meal events, booklets, and age-group programs. The Conference information packet also is available online as well as a link to housing registrations at Conference hotels, which are being made through the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau. The information packet is being sent on CD to each Church of the Brethren congregation through the Source mailing. Printed registration forms and information packets may be requested from the Conference office, 800-323-8039 or e-mail annualconference@brethren.org.



• New General Board mission staff Greg and Karin Davidson Laszakovits, and infant daughter Ellen, left Mar. 8 for Brazil. They will work alongside Marcos Inhauser, national director of the Church of the Brethren mission there, his wife Suely Inhauser, and the leadership of the Brazilian church. The family's arrival overlapped with the presence of Board staff Carol Bowman and Beth Sollenberger Morphew, who were in Brazil to lead stewardship training for the church.



• Marlin L. Heckman has been appointed to a three-year term on the Brethren Historical Committee by the General Board's executive committee. Heckman is retired from service as librarian and professor at the University of La Verne (Calif.), and also has served as library director at Bethany Theological Seminary.



• An action alert issued by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office invites Pennsylvania Brethren to oppose state legislation linking Selective Service registration to drivers' licenses, and to inform state representatives of the Church of the Brethren's historic peace stance. "Registering for the Selective Service is the way in which each person is accounted for in case of a draft," the alert noted. "For those whose conscience forbids them from taking a life in war, not registering for Selective Service or writing 'conscientious objector' on their Selective Service card is a way of showing their faith in Christ's teachings of peace. However, if a person is automatically registered for Selective Service upon receiving a driver's license... that person is left without the aforementioned means of protest." The US Congress is considering legislation that could re-enact the draft in the near future, according to the alert. For more information contact the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, 800-785-3246; e-mail washington_office_gb@brethren.org.




• The Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren hosted a Level I Disaster Child Care (DCC) Training Workshop Mar. 5-6. Nineteen participants attended, some traveling from as far away as Virginia. Leadership was provided by Jean Myers, of Sinking Spring, Pa.; Donna Uhlig, of New Enterprise, Pa.; and Helen Stonesifer, of the DCC program. The purpose of the 27-hour training was to prepare individuals to provide specialized care to young children affected by disaster. The training is part of a certification process that also includes personal references and a criminal background check.



• Four volunteers have been trained as a resource for a two-year "Growing Faithful Disciples" emphasis in Middle Pennsylvania District. The Gifts Assessment Team of Jerriann Heiser Wenger, Harold Bowser, Chris Knepp, and Duane Rhodes will assist congregations in examining gifts discernment as a process of identifying personal spiritual gifts, and putting into motion a gifts assessment plan. Jan Glass King, coordinator for Congregational Life Team Area 1, provided training to the team which will, in turn, respond to invitations from congregations and church leaders interested in pursuing gifts assessment.



• "Enriching Worship Music" will be held by the Church of the Brethren's Shenandoah District and the General Board's Congregational Life Team (CLT) Area 3, Apr. 16-18. Guest leader is Shawn Kirchner, minister of music at La Verne Church of the Brethren and music coordinator at last year's Annual Conference. The event includes a two-session "Theory and Practice" workshop for church musicians and worship services followed by question and answer sessions at First Church of the Brethren, Harrisonburg, Va.; Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren, Sunrise Fellowship meeting at Eastern Mennonite High School, and Front Royal (Va.) Church of the Brethren. Continuing education units are available. For information call CLT coordinator Julie Hostetter at 800-244-5896.



• The Practitioner Network of the Ministry of Reconciliation will hold an informal conference Apr. 23-24 at the New Windsor (Md.) Conference Center. The network is made up of interpersonal mediators, group facilitators, and teachers of these skills. The conference will begin 7 p.m. Friday evening and continue Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The agenda is flexible, allowing participants a full introduction to the network, assistance with completing the network application, recognition interviews with Area Recognition Teams, or even peer review sessions with experienced practitioners. On Earth Peace is sponsoring the event at no cost to participants once they arrive. To register contact Darlene Johnson, On Earth Peace, P.O. Box 188, New Windsor, MD 21776; 410-635-8704; fax 410-635-8707; e-mail djohnson_oepa@brethren.org.



• "Conflict Transformation for Congregational Leaders," a workshop co-sponsored by On Earth Peace and Southern Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic districts, will be held Apr. 23 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. The event is for congregational leaders to learn conflict dynamics and transformation in a conflict setting, centered speaking and listening, to be a "non-anxious presence," and to handle power in leadership roles. The workshop will include separate sessions for pastors, deacons, and others who facilitate church meetings. Cost is $40 or $100 for three people from same congregation. Continuing education units are available. For more information contact Bob Gross, 260-982-7751, e-mail bgross_oepa@brethren.org. Register by Apr. 16 with Darlene Johnson, 410-635-8704, e-mail djohnson_oepa@brethren.org.



• Cliff Kindy, a member of the Church of the Brethren who is working with Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq, was interviewed on National Public Radio on Mar. 17. The interview about security concerns in Iraq was aired on the "Here and Now" program. To listen to the interview, access http://www.here-now.org/shows/2004/03/20040317.asp and scroll down to "Safety for Foreign Civilians in Iraq."



• Leaders of several church reform movements have signed a statement of support for legal measures regarding the definition of marriage in the US, including Craig Alan Myers, chair of the Brethren Revival Fellowship (BRF). The statement called for the adoption of the Federal Marriage Amendment to the US Constitution. "It is becoming increasingly clear that legal measures to protect the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman are necessary to preserve the place of marriage in our society," the statement said in part. It will be given to the President and leaders of Congress. For more information visit www.brfwitness.org or www.ird-renew.org.



• Steve Shenk has been appointed director of the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center in Harrisonburg, Va., commonly known as CrossRoads. He will be the first full-time director for the center, effective June 1. Currently Shenk directs public relations for Bluffton (Ohio) College. In previous positions he served as director of communications at Eastern Mennonite University, managing editor of the Mennonite Church's magazine, and news and information manager for the Mennonite Board of Missions.



• The Church of the Brethren is mentioned often in a new book, "Faces from the Flood: Hurricane Floyd Remembered," by Richard H. Moore and Jay Barnes. "It has gotten a rave review by Dr. Steve Lyons, a familiar face from the Weather Channel," reported Jane Yount of the General Board's Emergency Response. Hurricane Floyd recovery was the longest running project for Emergency Response, at two years and eight months. More than 1,900 Brethren disaster response volunteers gave 93,488 work hours to the effort, and 47 Disaster Child Care volunteers responded. For more information about the book visit http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-7059.html.



• A consortium of five health care-related organizations, including Interchurch Medical Assistance (IMA), has been awarded $335 million over five years to provide anti-retroviral therapy to HIV/AIDS patients in Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The award is part of the US administration's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, resulting from a $15 billion commitment. The consortium is led by Catholic Relief Services and includes the University of Maryland Institute of Human Virology, the Catholic Medical Mission Board, and the Futures Group. IMA warehouses medical supplies at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.



• In its National Clergy Renewal Program, the Lilly Endowment seeks to strengthen Christian congregations by providing pastors an opportunity for a period of renewal and reflection, away from daily parish life. This year, as many as 120 grants of up to $45,000 each may be awarded to congregations providing a renewal program to their pastors. The renewal periods are not seen as vacations but as time for regaining enthusiasm and creativity for ministry. Up to $15,000 of the grant may be used for congregational expenses associated with the program. The deadline for proposals is June 25. For more information visit www.clergyrenewal.org.

Source: Newsline 3/19/2004 top