- Correction: The General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries has revised the count of Gift of the Heart kits and clinic boxes collected at Annual Conference. A total of 1,551 health kits, 658 school kits, 2 baby kits, and 37 clinic boxes were donated.
- A former General Board staff member instrumental in establishing the SERRV International Gift Shop at the New Windsor (Md.) Service Center has passed away. Wilma Glover Champaygne died July 22 at Manor Care Nursing Home in Dallastown, Pa. She was 88 years old. With her first husband, Elmer Glover, she served with the Brethren Service Commission at New Windsor 1946-66, starting out as a cloth cutter in the program supplying clothing for World War II refugees. She was a member of Hanover (Pa.) Church of the Brethren and is survived by a brother and sisters.
- Publishers of the forthcoming Gather 'Round Sunday school curriculum seek an experienced, fulltime editor to help edit materials, manage scheduling and production of all products, and assist the project director with overall development and administration. Applicants should be well grounded in Mennonite or Church of the Brethren beliefs and practices, have excellent editorial and communication skills, and have high ability to manage detail. Denominational balance on project staff will be a significant factor in selection. Preferred location is Elgin, Ill. Start date is negotiable, but participation in a September writers conference is desired. Contact Gather 'Round project director Anna Speicher at 800-323-8039 ext. 209 or e-mail gatherround@brethren.org. Deadline for applications is Sept. 3.
- In an update appropriate for Aug. 6--the 59th anniversary of the first use of a nuclear weapon--demolition has begun on Building 771 at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons factory in Colorado. Clean up began in mid-July of what was called "the most dangerous building in America" in an Associated Press report. Hundreds of Brethren have taken part in protests as well as prayer and worship services at Rocky Flats. Church of the Brethren youth attending National Youth Conferences in Colorado have witnessed outside its gates, Brethren members have been put on trial for civil disobedience committed there, and Brethren college students have traveled to Rocky Flats to protest the building of nuclear bombs. The plant once handled highly radioactive plutonium used in triggers for nuclear weapons. Part of Building 771 was closed 30 years ago because "radiation levels were off the charts," the AP report said. The plant as a whole was closed in 1989. Decommissioning began in 1994 and may be completed in 2006. The land will be used for a wildlife refuge.
- Becky Ullom, the General Board's new director of Identity and Relations, leaves for the Dominican Republic Aug. 10 to speak at the eighth annual young adult camp of the Dominican Church of the Brethren, which will be held Aug. 13-15. Ullom will deliver two Bible studies in Spanish on the camp's theme, "To meditate and reflect on the obedience and holiness of the Lord." She also will visit Brethren congregations.
- The Association of Brethren Caregivers is calling attention to a unique seminar offered in conjunction with National Older Adult Conference (NOAC): "Effective Ministry For, By and With Older Adults" Sept. 6-8 at Lake Junaluska, N.C., for district executives, pastors, chaplains, and lay leaders. Author and lecturer Tex Sample, coordinator of the Network for the Study of US Lifestyles, will provide leadership. The seminar will give a vision for older adult ministry that includes four key partners: congregations, retirement communities, districts, and denominational agencies. Participants will learn "tools" to establish an older adult ministry. Continuing education credit is available for Brethren clergy and EFSM/TRIM students. The student fee is $285, cost for others is $175 excluding accommodation and meal expense. Registration includes participation in NOAC. Visit www.brethren.org/abc/ or call 800-323-8039.
- Northern Plains District and Northern Ohio District will hold conferences this weekend, Aug. 6-8. Northern Plains will meet at the University of Northern Iowa with Beth Cage as moderator. The conference will include a blood drive, an auction with proceeds going to Heifer International, old Brethren style worship, and the Mennonite duo Ted and Lee. Northern Ohio will meet at Ashland University with Bruce Jacobsen as moderator, on a theme from Ephesians 2:8-9, "Grace Alone." The conference will include performing arts musicals, messages from the moderator and executive minister John Ballinger, installation of moderator-elect Terry Baldwin, a variety of insight sessions, and a silent auction for the District Peace Endowment Fund.
- Michigan District will hold its conference next weekend Aug. 12-15 at the Wesleyan Conference Center in Hastings, where Bill Raymor, Jr., will serve as moderator. The theme will be, "Renewing Our Vision: Of God and His Word, Of His Church, Of Our Mission." The event will include a workshop on "Peace and Unity" and a workshop with Annual Conference moderator Jim Hardenbrook, a Love Feast, and worship services led by James Myer of the Brethren Revival Fellowship.
- Casa de Modesto (Calif.), a Church of the Brethren-related retirement center, has begun a "Tribute Gift Program" as a meaningful way to celebrate a person's life or to mark a special occasion. Donors can direct gifts to a specific purpose or to the center's general fund. For more information call 209-529-4950 or e-mail cdm@casademodesto.org.
- Bridgewater (Va.) College has announced several upcoming events, beginning with the Aug. 31 opening convocation featuring Phillip C. Stone, Bridgewater's president, 9:30 a.m. at Nininger Hall. Also beginning Aug. 31 is an art exhibit of "Sfumato: Italian Landscape Monotypes" at the Cleo Driver Miller Art Gallery on campus. Charles Goolsby, chair of the art department at Emory and Henry College, will exhibit prints drawn from the most ancient sites of Rome. A reception with the artist will be held 5-7 p.m. Sept. 6.
- Bill Davidson, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., and Sarah Bellak, a recent graduate of Juniata (Pa.) College, are taking international assignments through the New Community Project, a Brethren-related nonprofit organization. Originally from Lebanon, Pa., and Annville (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, Davidson recently arrived in Narus, Sudan, where he will teach at Blessed Bakhita School for Girls. Bellak is in a summer assignment at the Christian Commission for Development in Honduras, serving as a translator and coordinator for visiting delegations.
- Voices for an Open Spirit, a grassroots Church of the Brethren organization, will hold its third annual Fall Gathering in Portland, Ore., Oct. 1-3 with speakers Nancy Faus, professor emerita of Bethany Theological Seminary, and Tom Mullen, professor emeritus of Earlham School of Religion, on the theme "Weaving Story and Celebration." Participants at the meeting also will be asked to think about the accomplishments of the organization and adjustments or changes that need to be made to look to the future. For more information or to register, see www.voicesforanopenspirit.org.
- Christian and Muslim leaders have denounced the Aug. 1 bombing of churches in Iraq. At least 11 people died and 50 were injured. Half of those killed were Muslims who lived nearby, according to Religion News Service (RNS). The Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, leader of the Shiite Muslims in Iraq, condemned the attacks as "hideous crimes" and asserted the importance of respecting the rights of Christians. "This action further undermines efforts to rebuild Iraq as a democratic society where all religious communities and peoples can live in harmony," said Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches. The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the bombings as a perversion of Islam. The attacks were coordinated to target Sunday evening services. Bombs struck three Catholic churches, an Armenian Catholic church, and a Chaldean seminary. Another bomb was disarmed before it detonated. Officials blamed an al-Qaida ally and said the bombings were meant to drive Christians out of the country. An estimated 800,000 Christians live in Iraq, about 3 percent of the population.
- Fifteen-passenger Ford vans are the subject of a lawsuit by families of young adults killed or injured in a 2003 accident in California, according to Religion News Service (RNS). "The vehicles are often called 'church vans' because of their popularity with church groups," RNS said. In 2001 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a "Consumer Advisory" that 15-passenger vans transporting ten or more occupants had a rollover rate in single vehicle crashes that was nearly three times the rate of those that were lightly loaded, and that such vans need to be driven by experienced drivers. In 2002 the National Transportation Safety Board informed Ford that "fully loading or nearly loading a 15-passenger van causes the center of gravity to move rearward and upward, which increases the vehicle's rollover propensity and could increase the potential for driver loss of control in emergency maneuvers." The government prohibits public elementary and secondary schools from transporting students in 15-passenger vans. Settlement money from a fatal accident in Mexico involving a 15-passenger van has been used to create "Van Angels," a nonprofit program to help churches and schools retrofit vans to prevent rollovers by adding two rear tires.
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