Brethren bits: Personnel, NOAC, and more.

• Ben Kreider began Aug. 23 as a Brethren Volunteer Service worker with the 2005 Workcamp Team in the General Board's Youth/Young Adult Ministry Office. He joins Beth Rhodes and Cindy Laprade in planning for next summer's workcamps. Kreider is a member of Annville (Pa.) Church of the Brethren and a 2004 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
  
  
  
  
• The National Older Adult Conference (NOAC) sponsored by the Association of Brethren Caregivers will take place next week at Lake Junaluska Assembly in North Carolina. More than 1,100 Brethren are expected to attend the five-day event, from Sept. 6-10. See www.brethren.org for daily reports, complete with photos. Special NOAC events this year include a hymn festival led by Brethren Benefit Trust president Wil Nolan; the return of ventriloquist Steve Engle and his friend Hildy; a closing ceremony using fabric brought from the Watu Wa Amani conference of the African Historic Peace Churches; and the Brethren premier of "Listen to the Sunrise," a hymn adapted from a poem by the late Ken Morse. A hike on the Appalachian Trail will be a new offering this year, along with a bus trip and shopping in a town on the Cherokee reservation. Newsline will feature a full report from NOAC in the next issue.
  
  
• Haruun Ruun, executive secretary of the New Sudan Council of Churches, will give a presentation at the Brethren Service Center, New Windsor, Md. on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. He will talk about the new challenges that will be brought by the final signing of a peace agreement in the south of Sudan and will share news of a New Sudan Council program that will lead in developing civic leadership for the region. The event is coordinated by the Brethren Service Center and the General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office. No registration is required. Contact Kathleen Campanella at 410-635-8747 or e-mail kcampanella_gb@brethren.org.
  
  
• In its Action Alert of Aug. 27, the General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office called attention to legislative issues and the Sudan Day of Conscience Aug. 25, and called for prayer for the safety of public witnesses in New York during the Republican National Convention. The office "is not promoting or sponsoring the protests," the alert stated. The two legislative pieces highlighted were a campaign supporting debt cancellation for impoverished countries, and the "sunset provision" allowing the federal assault weapon ban to expire Sept. 13 unless Congress or the administration choose to act. Brethren were asked to contact their representatives to support the ban, part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act.
  
  
• To mark the Aug. 25 Sudan: Day of Conscience, staff of the General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office joined a group of 300 from the Washington, D.C., Save Darfur Coalition in front of the Sudan Embassy. General Board staff in Elgin, Ill., observed the day with a chapel service led by mission connections coordinator Janis Pyle. Annual Conference moderator Jim Hardenbrook, in Elgin for meetings that day, reported that his congregation in Nampa, Idaho, raised $5,500 for the children of Sudan through a Vacation Bible School project. Sudan: Day of Conscience was organized by the Save Darfur Coalition of the National Council of Churches and 70 other groups, to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
  
  
• Help "dig through the roof" (Mark 2:3-5) this October. The Association of Brethren Caregivers is encouraging congregations to celebrate the month as Disabilities Awareness Month. Resources from the Church and Persons with Disabilities Network are available at www.brethren.org/abc/, including worship resources, Sunday school lessons, materials for children, ideas for raising congregational awareness, an accessibility checklist, information about ABC's Open Roof Award, funding suggestions, and resources for adapting rituals for those with special needs. The network also has started a list serve for those interested in disability ministries to communicate with one another. Contact Jacki Hartley at 800-323-8039 or e-mail jhartley_abc@brethren.org.
  
  
• A cross cultural/peace studies trip offered by Bethany Theological Seminary in cooperation with the Global Mission Partnerships Office of the General Board, is being opened to other interested persons. The 17-day trip, to take place Jan. 5-22, will enable participants to engage Muslim-Christian dynamics in Nigeria that have both fed violence and facilitated reconciliation. The trip also will offer an introduction to Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) including visits to historic mission sites. Estimated cost is $2,200. Contact Scott Holland at 800-287-8822 or e-mail hollasc@bethanyseminary.edu, or contact Global Mission Partnerships at 800-323-8039 ext.230 or e-mail mission_gb@brethren.org, by Oct. 1.
  
  
• The Customer Service Department of Brethren Press is extending its hours of operation. Now customers can call the Customer Service line (800-441-3712) 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday. "We want to provide the best service we can, and this will allow those in the east to call after work if they need to," said Jewel McNary, director of Marketing and Sales. "The west coast churches have said they have to remember to call before lunch if they want to talk to someone, so this will be helpful." The Customer Service line, which at one time was closed from 12-12:30 p.m., now is available through the lunch hour as well. Orders also can be placed at www.brethrenpress.com and can be faxed to 800-667-8188.
  
  
• Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) is having a potluck Oct. 11, beginning at 6:30 p.m., for former BVS workers, Civilian Public Service workers, or anyone who has a special connection to either experience. The potluck will be at Union Bridge (Md.) Church of the Brethren. "We see this potluck as a wonderful opportunity for the volunteers in training from Unit 262 to be able to connect with people who have done similar service," said orientation assistant Samuel Bowman. Bring a covered dish to share, or any other type of food. Contact Bowman at 800-323-8039 ext. 423 or e-mail sbowman_gb@brethren.org.
  
  
• "What a Sweet Idea!" an article remembering apple butter making in the 1950s-60s at Spring Creek Church of the Brethren near Sidney, Ind., appeared in the Sept./Oct. issue of "Reminisce" magazine. Author Glee Eberly reminisced about the annual project that was started by a Willing Workers Class in 1950 "in Tommy Poland's garage with a couple of copper kettles," and grew so big that it was moved to a farm that the congregation owned, where a 30- by 50-foot shelter was built with room for 15 kettles to make 1,100 gallons of apple butter a year. A dozen photos of the congregation at work accompanies the three-page article.
  
  
• South/Central Indiana District holds its district conference Sept. 10-11 at Mexico Church of the Brethren, Peru, Ind., with Dave Donaldson as moderator. The theme of the meeting is taken from John 13:34-35, "...Love One Another...."
  
  
• Lebanon Valley Brethren Home in Palmyra, Pa., announced the First Annual Cathy Snell Memorial Golf Tournament on Sept. 10, beginning at 1 p.m. at Lebanon Valley Golf Club in Myerstown, Pa. The tournament is a "best ball scramble format" intended to provide an opportunity for both seasoned golfers and occasional "duffers." A dinner will follow the tournament. The event is a fundraiser for the home's Good Samaritan Fund, to help cover the care of those who can no longer afford to fully pay for their own care. Cost is $65. Contact Robert Price at 717-838-5406 ext. 310 or e-mail rprice@lvbh.org.
  
  
• A Sept. 9 convocation at Bridgewater (Va.) College will feature Amaya Brecher and Veronica Portillo of MTV's "Hawaii and Road Rules: Semester at Sea" in an interactive presentation on eating disorders and self esteem. The program is one of the Harold Row Endowed Lecture series. Other September convocations will feature David C. Taylor, producer of "Reagan: A Legacy Remembered" and "JFK: A President Revealed," speaking on "Investigating Past Presidents" Sept. 16; and Mary Lightfine, of Doctors Without Borders, speaking on "Nurses Without Boundaries" Sept. 23, in an Anna Beahm Mow Lecture series. The college also invites the public to campus worship with chaplain Robbie Miller 9:30 a.m. Sept. 7 at the Carter Center, on the topic "In God We Trust?"; and to a Fall Spiritual Focus Sept. 28 with David Radcliff, director of the New Community Project, a nonprofit organization related to the Church of the Brethren.
  
  
• A study guide has been prepared to accompany an Oct. 24 TV documentary on hunger. The National Council of Churches is producing the four-page guide for viewers of "Hunger No More: Faces Behind the Facts," a program of the NCC for the ABC-TV "Vision and Values" series. The documentary will feature denominational experts, humanitarian leaders, government and civic officials, scholars, and "on-the-ground" participants including Senators George McGovern and Elizabeth Dole, UN hunger expert Joan Holmes, and Columbia University ethicist Jeffrey Sachs. The study guide will accompany VHS and DVD copies of the documentary. Call 800-999-3534.
  
  
• An International Day of Prayer for Peace on Tuesday Sept. 21 is sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC) as part of the Decade to Overcome Violence. A WCC release said that churches representing over 550 million Christians worldwide have been invited to participate. The initiative links to the International Day of Peace declared by the United Nations, a worldwide effort for a day of global ceasefire and nonviolence. WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia encouraged congregations to hold 24-hour observances or vigils, and to include prayers for peace in worship on the Sundays before or after Sept. 21. Resources are available at www.overcomingviolence.org/peace2004.

Source: Newsline 09/03/2004
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