Brethren bits: Remembrances, personnel, and more.

• J. Roy Valencourt, a former General Board staff member, missionary, seminary professor, and ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren, passed away March 20 in Goshen, Ind. Valencourt first served the General Board as adult curriculum editor 1966-69, editing the "Brethren Adult Quarterly" and teacher resources published in "Leader" magazine and serving on the editorial board of "Brethren Life and Thought." From 1969-75 he and his wife Carol and family were called to Ecuador where Valencourt worked in curriculum development at the Theological Training Center in Quito. He also helped complete legal steps that closed out the Ecuador mission. From 1984-86 the Valencourts returned to mission work at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria. He was active in the Civil Rights Movement and represented the Church of the Brethren in a program in which hundreds of college students registered voters in Mississippi in the summer of 1964. Valencourt also taught a year at Manchester College, North Manchester, Ind., and a total of 24 years at Livingstone College and Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, N.C. He was a pastor at Lakeview Church of the Brethren, Brethren, Mich.; Trinity Church of the Brethren in Detroit; and an A.M.E. Zion church circuit. He was a member of New Paris (Ind.) Church of the Brethren and a graduate of Manchester, Bethany Theological Seminary, and Vanderbilt University.
  
  
• J. Irwin Miller, a leader in the ecumenical movement and in industry, died Aug. 16 at his home in Columbus, Ind. He was 95. Miller was the first lay president of the National Council of Churches (NCC) 1960-63 and had served on the executive committee of the World Council of Churches. He also led the Cummins Engine Co. for more than 40 years, overseeing its transformation from a small Indiana firm to a Fortune 500 company. He is noted for leadership of the ecumenical movement on race, peace, and economic issues in the 1950s and '60s, an NCC release said. "Esquire" magazine proposed Miller as the ideal Republican candidate to run against Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. Miller also was a close friend of Church of the Brethren general secretary Norman Baugher. A story told of their friendship has Miller flying his friend home in a corporate airplane, when Baugher fell ill at an NCC meeting. "Miller added to the NCC's credibility," remembered Howard Royer, who recently completed 50 years as a General Board staff member. "He was more than a corporate executive; he was a churchman with a social conscience." A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, at North Christian Church, a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and Miller's home church.
  
  
• The General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office has said goodbye to two volunteers and has welcomed a new volunteer. Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) worker Bryan Lucore finished a term as Legislative Associate working on environmental issues and developing a voter registration and education program. He plans to attend medical school. Ministry Summer Service volunteer Mandy Wampler is returning to college after coordinating the development of a Sudan Study Guide. New BVS volunteer Matthew Whitten will serve for the next year as Legislative Associate focusing on environmental and voting issues and Latin America. He is a graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., with degrees in political science and French. His home congregation is Moscow (Va.) Church of the Brethren.
  
  
• Anna Emrick joined the Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) staff in Elgin, Ill., on Aug. 9 for a year of volunteer service with BVS recruitment. She is a member of Lansing (Mich.) Church of the Brethren and spent her first year of BVS at the Human Resource Development Council in Havre, Mont.
  
  
• A modified schedule for the General Board's fall meetings was confirmed by the board's Executive Committee in a retreat Aug. 12-13 in Elgin, Ill. The Executive Committee will meet the afternoon of Oct. 15, the board will meet throughout the day Oct. 16 and 17 and the morning of Oct. 18, and board employees and volunteers will hold meetings the afternoon of Oct. 18. In the retreat, the committee also met with the staff leadership team for a day, building community of staff and board, discussing expectations for the work of the board and staff, and considering what God's yearning is for the board as it serves the church. Tara Hornbacker, assistant professor of Ministry Formation at Bethany Theological Seminary, led the group in reviewing the principles of worshipful work. The committee chose "Bound Together, Finely Woven" as the theme for their meetings this year. "It was a discovering and envisioning time," said general secretary Stan Noffsinger.
  
  
• Aug. 25 will be observed as "Sudan: Day of Conscience" by the General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office, joining with the National Council of Churches and Save Darfur Coalition. On that day the office staff will join with the Washington, D.C., Darfur Coalition in front of the Sudan Embassy at 2410 Massachusetts Ave., from 12-1 p.m. "We invite Church of the Brethren members to join with us, and encourage those who cannot be here to plan events in your local community. Please let our office know of your plans as they are scheduled," asked an Action Alert from the office. "Lives are hanging in the balance on a massive scale." Churches are encouraged to plan activities—such as a service or vigil; meetings with local, state, or congressional representatives about the crisis; and support for the Darfur grants made by the General Board's Emergency Disaster Fund—to urge "immediate and decisive action to stop the killing, rape, and destruction of villages, and to assure that humanitarian relief reaches all those in need," the alert said. The office has been part of the Darfur Coalition through the summer, and in July director Phil Jones was arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience at the Sudan Embassy. The office has developed a new Sudan Study Guide that will be available soon. For more information and suggestions of activities contact the office at 800-785-3246 or see www.savedarfur.org or www.ncccusa.org/news/04savedarfurcoalition.html.
  
  
• Brethren Volunteer Service/Brethren Revival Fellowship orientation unit 261 will hold its training Aug. 22-Sept. 1 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. Coordinators John and Ruby Shank hope to have 11 volunteers take part.
  
  
• Becky Ullom, director of Identity and Relations, and Katie O'Donnell, a member of Green Tree Church of the Brethren in Oaks, Pa., represented the General Board on a recent trip to the Dominican Republic. They attended the Church of the Brethren national youth/young adult camp where they led two Bible studies focusing on the theme of being obedient to the Lord. In addition to attending the four-day camp they also visited local Church of the Brethren congregations; several micro-loan projects with Jeff and Peggy Boshart, the board's staff for economic development in the DR; and workcampers from Ridge Church of the Brethren, Shippensburg, Pa. Mission coordinators Nancy and Irvin Heishman hosted Ullom and O'Donnell during their time in the DR.
  
  
• A work team from Ridge Church of the Brethren, Shippensburg, Pa., spent a week in the Dominican Republic in early August. The group helped to repair the San Luis Church of the Brethren, which has been damaged by sinking due to unstable soil in the entire San Luis area. The group of 16 worked with San Luis members and a small construction crew to lay block, build walls, and form and pour lintels, reported Irvin Heishman, DR mission coordinator for the General Board. The Ridge group also brought gifts of Bibles, clothing, and Sunday school materials, shared in devotions and worship, helped cook meals, and visited the homes of San Luis members. In this rebuilding project—funded by the General Board's Emergency Disaster Fund, the Ridge congregation, Southern Pennsylvania District, Brethren World Mission, and the San Luis congregation—engineers were called in and designed a foundation deep and sturdy enough for the region, according to board staff. The San Luis congregation also "provided an enormous amount of sweat equity," Heishman said. His report expressed the gratitude of the San Luis congregation and construction crew for the "tremendous boost" given by the Ridge group.
  
  
• A World Hunger Auction was held Aug. 14 at Antioch Church of the Brethren, Rocky Mount, Va., raising $26,000. With funds raised at other events added in, the grand total for hunger relief was around $38,000, according to a preliminary report in Virlina District's e-newsletter.
  
  
• On Aug. 28-29 Pine Creek Church of the Brethren, North Liberty, Ind., plans to celebrate 150 years of ministry. Planned activities include a live black-smithing demonstration and a beard judging contest, as well as presentations on Brethren dress and Amish and German Baptist Brethren history and worship styles, a hog roast, and much more. Sunday morning will feature an old-fashioned service with lined hymns and men and women seated separately. For more information call the church at 574-784-2806.
  
  
• Lititz (Pa.) Church of the Brethren will celebrate its 90th anniversary and dedicate newly renovated and expanded church facilities on Sunday Oct. 17. The $3.7 million renovation was undertaken with the theme, "Building Together That More May Know Him." The celebration will include worship services with guest preacher Phill Carlos Archbold, a homecoming choir, review of the congregation's history with former pastors, a buffet meal, a community open house, and tours. Contact the church at 717-626-2131, e-mail lititzcb@ptd.net, or see www.lititzcob.org.
  
  
• Atlantic Northeast District is sponsoring a work camp to Nigeria, June 13-July 4, 2005. The workcamp is in response to a request from the leaders of Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) according to Charles Bieber, secretary of the district's EYN/ANE Ministry Team. Participants will work on a classroom building and a staff house at Gavva, the center for EYN's Literacy Program. Anticipated cost is $2,300. Applications may be made through the district office at 500 Cedar St., Elizabethtown, PA 17022; 717-367-4730; e-mail lwilliams_ds@brethren.org.
  
  
• Stan Noffsinger, general secretary of the General Board, will visit Shenandoah and Virlina Districts with three informal times of conversation scheduled on Aug. 23 and 24. The first conversation will be in Shenandoah District Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. at Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren. The Aug. 24 conversations in Virlina District will be 2-3:30 p.m. at Central Church of the Brethren, Roanoke, Va., and 7-8:30 p.m. at Antioch Church of the Brethren, Rocky Mount, Va. The agenda will include time to learn about the ministries of the General Board and to share affirmations, concerns, and future direction of ministries.
  
  
• Northern Plains District has announced its new website: www.npcob.org. The site offers information on congregations, upcoming events, and youth programs, and gives links to related organizations and Church of the Brethren agencies. The district newsletter can be downloaded from the site as a pdf. Brian Gumm is the webmaster.
  
  
• Middle Pennsylvania District's 10th Annual Heritage Scramble Golf Tournament was scheduled to take place Aug. 17 at Iron Masters in Roaring Spring, Pa., with a dinner afterward at Albright Church of the Brethren. The event included a round of golf, prizes, dinner, a chance at Miller Auto's Hole-in-one car, and a $5,000 putt-off, the district newsletter reported.
  
  
• Western Pennsylvania District women will meet for a Camp Day Aug. 26 on the theme, "Green, Ripe, and Growing: The Practice of Spiritual Disciplines—John 15." The event will be held at Camp Harmony, Hooversville, Pa., with presenters Cindy Hileman and Pam Zimmerman of Ligonier (Pa.) Church of the Brethren and Sandy Baker, pastor of Plumcreek Church of the Brethren, Shelocta, Pa. The day will feature a Country Store with fresh vegetables, baked goods, and crafts. Cost is $7.25 and includes lunch. Contact the district office at 814-479-7058.
  
  
• Camp Bethel, Fincastle, Va., has reported nine weeks of summer activities with 652 campers and counselors. Susan Chapman, program director, explained the theme for the summer, "Be the Change"—"the change God calls us to make in our lives and in the world," she reported in the Virlina District e-newsletter. "Campers felt God's touch in a counselor's hug, smelled God's miracles in the campfire smoke, tasted God's goodness in blueberries found by the trail, saw God's beauty while hiking Horseshoe Bend, and felt the Holy Spirit during singing and worship," she said. The camp has received re-accreditation following a three-year visit by the American Camping Association, receiving a score of 100 percent on all standards of visitor inspection. For more information see www.ACAcamps.org and www.campbethelvirginia.org.
  
  
• "The Christian Family—Under the Design of God" served as the theme for the Brethren Alive Conference held at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, July 23-25. As many as 200 people participated in the services, workshops, and the Brethren Revival Fellowship General Meeting. "The theme messages by Garnet Myers, Kenneth Nell, Merv Keller, and Craig Smith were powerful in their delivery, and rich in their content," reported Harold Martin, editor of the "BRF Witness." Eric Brubaker and Walter Heisey were reelected to serve on the BRF Committee for five-year terms. Tapes of the main sessions and each of the workshops are available. Cost is $5 per tape for each session. Contact Kurtis Brubaker, 1269 Woodlyn Dr., Denver, PA 17517.
  
  
• Stephen Simons, a member of Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren, South Bend, Ind., is in Athens, Greece, working as a physician for the US Olympic team. Currently he is stationed at the boxing venue, according to his pastor David Hendricks. When track and field events begin—which Simons called his "passion" in an interview with South Bend's Newscenter16—he will be working at the Olympic Stadium. Simons is a specialist on foot problems and works at an orthopedic sports clinic in South Bend, teaches at a medical school, and travels across the country lecturing on sports injuries, Hendricks said. Simons told his pastor that the Olympics are "an experience of a lifetime." His ongoing "Doctor's Diary" from the Olympics, complete with photos, can be found at www.wndu.com. (If Newsline readers know of other Church of the Brethren members with involvement in the Olympic games, please send information to cobnews@aol.com.)
  
  
• Sharon S. Burner, a member of Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill., is a 2004 recipient of the "Sunshine Peace Award." The award is a national recognition by the Sunshine Lady Foundation, founded in 1996 by Doris Buffett to recognize individuals "who help to build communities that are intolerant of domestic violence." Burner works at Elgin's Community Crisis Center as coordinator of the Domestic Violence Program. She has developed resources for women and children who are victims and survivors of domestic violence and has participated in initiatives exploring responses to domestic violence by law enforcement, health care systems, and mental health agencies, according to a release from the center. Burner also serves on the Family Violence Coordinating Council for the 16th Judicial Circuit in Illinois. For more information about the award see the foundation's website www.sunshineladyfdn.org.

Source: Newsline 8/20/2004
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