Brethren bits: Correction, request for stories, and more.

• In a correction to the story "Bethany Seminary board participates in accreditation, strategic plan," in the Dec. 17 issue of Newsline, the seminary's financial campaign "Inspired by the Spirit-Educating for Ministry" has exceeded $13 million.
  
  
• The General Board's Communications Team is collecting stories of how the the Church of the Brethren Christmas Eve service on CBS affected the lives of individuals and congregations. The team also seeks copies of any news stories about the service and any advertisements that were placed for the service. Send copies of news articles and advertisements to Communications Team, Attn: Christmas Eve Service, Church of the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. Submit stories by e-mail to cobweb@brethren.org.
  
  
• A third annual War Toy Public Witness was co-sponsored by Skyridge Church of the Brethren and Kalamazoo Friends Meeting in Kalamazoo, Mich., Dec. 5. The witness was held along South Westnedge Ave., the region's main retail corridor according to a story by Olga Bonfiglie in the "Kalamazoo Gazette." The 13 people participating in the witness included seven Brethren. Ineke Way, a social worker and Skyridge's Outreach Committee co-chair, told the paper that she was concerned that war toys teach children to glorify war and settle their conflicts with violence. Stephanie Higdon, a graduate student, hoped that the witness would prompt shoppers to think twice about buying violent toys for children. Shaun Hittle, also a social worker, said he resents toy manufacturers who make money off of children through violence and appeals to patriotism. He also linked the toys to military recruitment of young people. "Some shoppers appreciated the presence of the demonstrators," the paper reported.
  
  
• The San Diego (Calif.) Church of the Brethren is offering hospitality to Brethren pastors attending the National Pastors Convention and Emergent Convention in San Diego Feb. 1-5. "The San Diego church can make it more affordable by offering a bed and a quick breakfast during the course of the conference," reported Jeff Glass, the General Board's Congregational Life Team Coordinator for Area 5. Call the church at 619-265-8183 or e-mail office@sdbrethrenchurch.org. Glass will arrange a meal for Church of the Brethren participants during the conventions. Call 888-826-4951 or e-mail jglass_gb@brethren.org, if you are interested in meeting other Brethren who are attending or for more information about the conventions or about San Diego.
  
  
• Camp Bethel will host a Faith Quest spiritual retreat for youth in grades 10-12 on March 4-6, 2005. Themes for the weekend are "Discovering Self," "Discovering God," and "Discovering Our Relationship with Others." The retreat will include presentations by youth and adults, small groups, music and singing, and the spiritual disciplines of silence, worship, Bible study, prayer, and fasting for one meal. Money that would have been spent on the meal will go to the General Board's Global Food Crisis Fund. Contact Virlina District, 540-362-1816 or e-mail virlina@aol.com.
  
  
• Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind., has received $1 million to enhance its "intellectual capital." The Lilly Endowment Inc. grant will enhance Manchester's faculty and information technology, purchase high-tech equipment for a new Science Center, and determine new use for aged buildings. The grant is part of $100 million the endowment has awarded to 37 colleges and universities for its Initiative to Recruit and Retrain Intellectual Capital for Indiana Higher Education Institutions. The college will invest $400,000 in faculty development, teaching, learning, and research; plans to use $250,000 to purchase the latest science technology for the $17 million Science Center that will open this summer; and will use another $250,000 for information technology and $100,000 to determine the maximum possible use of aged buildings including the current science hall, the 45-year old Holl-Kintner Hall. For more information see www.manchester.edu.
  
  
• Volume II of "Unionists and the Civil War Experience in the Shenandoah Valley" is now available, reported the co-publisher of the series, the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center. Norman Wenger, a Harrisonburg, Va., businessman, was a leading researcher-compiler of the volume. The book tells the stories of 32 families including Brethren and Mennonites as well as Methodist Episcopal and German Reformed, who lived in Rockingham County during the war. Editor Emmert Bittinger, professor emeritus of Bridgewater (Va.) College, prepared the documents for publication and wrote the introduction to the 735 pages. Wenger and Rockingham County businessman David S. Rodes scoured archival records of the Southern Claims Commission to tell how family members held to their convictions regarding slavery and war and maintained loyalty to the Union, despite personal struggles and loss of life and property. Contact Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center, P.O. Box 1563, Harrisonburg, VA 22803; or mail order for $58.50 from Valley Research Associates, P.O. Box 526, Dayton, VA 22821.

Source: 12/31/2004 Newsline