Brethren bits: Personnel, 'Pennies for Seeds,' and much more.

• Leland W. Flora, director of admissions for Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind., has announced his resignation effective June 30. He served Bethany just under one year. Prior to his work at Bethany, Flora was a teacher, assistant principal, and for 27 years a personnel supervisor for the Prince William County, Va., public schools. He plans to enjoy more time in retirement and volunteer activities.
  
  
• Bethany Theological Seminary announces the appointment of two associates in the Institutional Advancement office. Theresa Eshbach, who earlier this year announced her retirement as executive director of Institutional Advancement, will continue in this new capacity half time, working from her home in York County, Pa. Fred Bernhard, pastor of Oakland Church of the Brethren in Greenville, Ohio, will join Bethany's staff, working from his home in Arcanum, Ohio. Bernhard and Eshbach will serve for two years as Bethany completes its "Inspired by the Spirit, Educating for Ministry" financial campaign.
  
  
• McPherson (Kan.) College has named Michael Schneider vice president of advancement, a role in which he will provide leadership for career services, communications, and development. Schneider has served the college as director of career services since Aug. 2002. He is a 1996 graduate of McPherson and completed an MBA at the University of Denver.
  
  
• Bethany Theological Seminary announces an opening for director of admissions, available immediately. The school seeks a creative professional to help identify and encourage leaders to develop their gifts through graduate theological education. The director of admissions will be responsible for student development and recruitment, will represent the seminary at off-campus events, and travel to visit students and attend camps and conferences. Applicants should hold a bachelor's degree with seminary experience preferred. Understanding of the Church of the Brethren is required. Two to five years of professional experience in a field working with people is valuable. Applicants should demonstrate skills in communication, listening, organization, and the ability to help individuals discern vocational direction. Experience in communication technology and multicultural recruitment is a plus. Bethany is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from those who can enhance the breadth and diversity of the educational community. Submit a letter of application and resume to the Executive Director of Student and Business Services, Bethany Theological Seminary, 615 National Rd. W., Richmond, IN 47374.
  
  
• McPherson (Kan.) College is accepting applications for director of development and director of career services. In a recent release the college announced that it has restructured its advancement department to replace the position of director of alumni and community relations with a second director of development. Each development position will provide constituent relations from a team approach. Members of the development team will lead alumni events and coordinate community programming. For more information contact Michael Schneider, vice president of advancement, at 620-241-0742 ext. 1227 or e-mail schneidm@mcpherson.edu.
  
  
• After the children of Calvary Church of the Brethren in Winchester, Va., collected "Pennies for Seeds" for the Global Food Crisis Fund, someone left an anonymous donation at the church office: a five-gallon bucket full of pennies. Karol Hottle, the Sunday school superintendent who already had counted and wrapped most of the $225 worth of pennies collected by the children, knew she needed help when the bucket showed up. She took the bucket to a bank that wrapped 207 more rolls of pennies—10,396 in all. "Our check for Pennies for Seeds came to $332.24," she said. "We also got two washers, one button, two foreign coins, and three paper clips! This morning, there was a small bank envelope with more pennies in my church box. This project not only helped the hungry, but it got a bunch of pennies back in circulation!" Hottle wrote in a follow-up note to General Board staff, "Next year I think we'll do 'Dollars 4 Seeds'!"
  
  
• A "19th Annual Run for Peace" and "4th Annual Walk for Peace" will begin at 8:15 a.m. June 28 at Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren. Runners and walkers will follow a course through town and the Elizabethtown College campus. A 5K run, 10K run, and 5K walk will be held. Registration costs $15 before June 21, then $20 until race day. This year's beneficiaries are the Brethren Housing Association and the Emergency Disaster Fund, according to the church's newsletter. For more information visit www.etown.edu/cob/peace-run-walk.htm.
  
  
• A program on Civilian Public Service will be presented by Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center, 2 p.m. June 19 at Garbers Church of the Brethren, Harrisonburg, Va. The video "A Life of Peace in a Time of War" will be shown followed by a discussion. Exhibits will highlight the CPS story. Al Keim, first director of the center and author of "The Politics of Conscience" and "The CPS Story" is the program coordinator. For more information call 540-438-1275.
  
  
• Volunteers to help with the blood drive and a display booth at this year's Annual Conference in Charleston, W.Va., are sought by the General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries. The blood drive will be held 10 a.m.-4 p.m. July 5 and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. July 6, and five volunteers are needed each day to help with registration, escort donors, and serve in the canteen. Volunteers also are sought to staff the ER/SM booth, to greet guests and answer questions related to the Disaster Response and Disaster Child Care programs. Contact Diane Gosnell at 800-451-4407.
  
  
• Helen Stonesifer and Glenn and Helen Kinsel, of the General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries, attended a Region III Disaster Child Care Reunion at the home of Jean and Carl Myers in Sinking Spring, Pa., on June 5. Approximately 28 child care givers attended the event from Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. "Everyone had a great time of fellowship, fun, sharing disaster response pictures and stories," reported Stonesifer.
  
  
• Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) Unit 260 is holding a potluck 6 p.m. July 31 for former BVS workers and Civilian Public Service (CPS) workers and anyone connected to BVS or CPS in the area of Union Bridge, Md. The potluck will be held at Union Bridge Church of the Brethren. "We see this potluck as a wonderful opportunity for the volunteers in training from Unit 260 to be able to connect with people who have done similar service," said Sam Bowman, assistant to orientation. "Please bring a covered dish to share, or any other type of food for the potluck. There will be a short informal time of introduction and sharing. We hope to see you there."
  
  
• Brethren Village, a Church of the Brethren retirement center in Lancaster, Pa., was given attention in a Workforce Management publication reported Ralph McFadden, staff for the Association of Brethren Caregivers' Fellowship of Brethren Homes. Under the title, "They Don't Retire Them, They Hire Them," Brethren Village was commended for its policy of hiring older adults. The article noted the leadership of David Fleming, who heads human resources. "Because Lancaster is an older area, so is Brethren's workforce: 34 percent of its workers are over age 50," the article read in part. "Fleming goes to senior job fairs when he stresses the many job attributes at Brethren that surveys show are particularly important to older workers....If workers want to spend the winter in Florida, Brethren will be happy to employ them during the warmer months. Knowing that health insurance can be a hot-button topic for older workers, Brethren gives health-care coverage year-round to part-time workers."
  
  
• The Cedars, a Church of the Brethren retirement center in McPherson, Kan., was honored April 29 with two awards from the Kansas Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. The Cedars received a Clinical Care Award for its risk management program, which demonstrated significant improvement for residents in the areas of weight, skin integrity, fall prevention, restraints, infections, and pain. The Cedars also received a Recognition Award that is presented to association members receiving three or fewer nursing care deficiencies on their annual surveys. The Cedars received only two.
  
  
• The Good Shepherd Home, a Church of the Brethren retirement center in Fostoria, Ohio, went to extremes to make the news in May, according to Ralph McFadden, staff of the Association of Brethren Caregivers' Fellowship of Brethren Homes. The town newspaper ran an article titled, "Stag wreaks havoc, injury at Good Shepherd" after a deer jumped through a window in the home's assisted living facility at about 3:30 a.m. on May 20, injuring two residents and three staff members. The police and fire departments captured the deer. The home's executive director Chris Widman noted that the response of the home's staff to the emergency was tremendous.
  
  
• Heifer International's 60th anniversary will be celebrated June 25-27 at HI's Midwest Regional Center in Goshen, Ind. The event will recognize the beginnings of HI in Elkhart County, where Church of the Brethren leader Dan West first found support for a shipment of heifers to Spain in 1944. The weekend will include educational forums, dedication of the center, a Ken Medema concert, animal displays at the Elkhart County fairgrounds, speakers from HI projects around the world, a celebration banquet at Greencroft Senior Center, and church services Sunday morning. A Dan West monologue co-authored by his daughter, Jan Schrock, will be performed at the banquet by Brian Kruschwitz, a former Brethren Volunteer Service worker. Registration is required for the concert and banquet. For more information call 574-642-3096.

Source: 6/18/2004 Newsline
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