NEWS

• Church membership shows largest decline in three years.
  
• Brethren leaders support ecumenical statements on Iraq, Middle East, Sudan.
  
• Bethany Seminary celebrates ninety-ninth commencement.
  
• Visit to Nigeria a profound experience for US delegation.
  
• Older adult unit begins term of service with BVS.
  
• Brethren bits: Mission nurse remembered, National Press Club, and more.

PERSONNEL

• Joe Buss leaves New Windsor Conference Center.

RESOURCES

• New gardening book published by Brethren Press.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE PREVIEW

• Conference-goers are invited to bring Gifts of the Heart.

Church membership shows largest decline in three years

Church of the Brethren membership showed its largest decline in three years in 2003, according to year-end figures in the Church of the Brethren Yearbook published by Brethren Press. The denomination had a net loss of 1,363 members last year, a decline of just over 1 percent.

Official Church of the Brethren membership in the US and Puerto Rico now stands at 132,481. The 2003 decline follows losses of 984 members in 2002, 1,051 in 2001, and 2,425 in 2000. The Church of the Brethren last showed an annual net gain in membership in 1974 (a small figure that some attribute to a statistical fluke), but the overall decline dates to the early 1960s.

Fifteen of the denomination's 23 districts reported net losses in membership, while eight were higher. Declines were more intense than increases, however, with six districts reporting triple-figure losses. West Marva District had the largest numerical and percentage net gain, up 154 members (2.66 percent). Shenandoah District had the second-largest numerical gain, adding 65 members, while Atlantic Southeast District--which had the largest decline a year earlier--recorded the second-largest percentage gain, up 1.7 percent (net gain of 33).

Atlantic Northeast District, the denomination's largest, had the greatest numerical net loss in 2003. The district reported a decrease of 442 members, a drop of about 2.85 percent. Idaho District, the smallest in the denomination, grew smaller with the biggest percentage decline at 11.8 percent (a net loss of 83 members). Shenandoah District remains the second largest in the Church of the Brethren, now with about 700 fewer members than Atlantic Northeast. Virlina, Western Pennsylvania, and Mid-Atlantic round out the top five, all with at least 10,000 members. By contrast, Idaho, Missouri/Arkansas, and Southern Plains each have fewer than 850 members.

The total number of Church of the Brethren congregations in the US and Puerto Rico also continued a downward trend, dropping from 1,032 to 1,025. A number of new churches were planted, but not enough to offset the number closing. The number of fellowships and projects remained steady, at 32 and 5, respectively. Total reported average worship attendance was down about 5,000 members from a year earlier, at 67,767 per week.

In some good news, total per-capita giving rose from $41 to $44 per person. Giving was up to all special-purpose funds and to all agencies except for gifts to the General Ministries Fund of the General Board, which fell about 4 percent.

Yearbook figures are based on data provided by congregations that turn in updated statistical reports; about 70 percent did so for 2002. The totals do not count overseas membership in the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and the large Ekklesiyar Yanuwa a Nigeria (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria)--which is now larger than the US church at about 150,000 members and growing.

The Church of the Brethren Yearbook will be sent before Annual Conference to all who have placed a standing order. To order, call 800-441-3712. It also will be sold at the Brethren Press bookstore at Annual Conference.

Brethren leaders support ecumenical statements on Iraq, Middle East, Sudan

Three ecumenical statements made in May have received support from Brethren leaders. The statements call attention to situations in Iraq, the Middle East, and Sudan.

A Pastoral Letter on Iraq from the National Council of Churches (NCC) was shared in a May 17 mailing from the General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office, which encouraged congregations to read or share it during morning worship on Sunday May 23. The letter has received endorsement from Stan Noffsinger, general secretary, Church of the Brethren General Board.

Recognizing "the broad perspectives of many in the faith community in regards to war" and the stronger stance taken by the Church of the Brethren, the office called "the unified voice represented here as one vital, and needed, in such days as these." The Pastoral Letter is written "out of a deep love for this country, but also out of a profound concern at the direction this cycle of violence is taking us" and calls for a change of course in Iraq. The letter can be found at www.ncccusa.org/news/04iraqpastoralletter.html.

Jones added his signature to a letter from ecumenical leaders to US President Bush sent on May 7 and coordinated by Churches for Middle East Peace. The letter asked for understanding of "the crisis in the Holy Land confronting Christian Palestinians, Christian institutions, and those who wish to visit the birthplace of Christianity." Concerns regarded the effects of the separation barrier being constructed by Israel, taxation issues that may force some church institutions to close due to the removal of their longstanding tax-exempt status, and "the denial and delay of visas, by Israel, for clergy and church personnel result[ing] in understaffed seminaries, churches, hospitals, education and other institutions." Fifty Christian leaders signed the letter.

In another statement on an apparent attempt at ethnic cleansing in Sudan, the Executive Board of the NCC called attention to a genocide going on in Darfur that already has claimed tens of thousands of lives, a May 19 release said. The statement called on the government of Sudan to stop attacks against civilians and called on the US "to continue to press the Sudanese government to bring to a halt this unfolding horror and to support appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian, conflict resolution and peace enforcement efforts by the United Nations to these ends." The statement came after an April 23 observance of the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, sponsored by the NCC, at which speakers noted that the world is not stepping up effectively to stop the killing in Sudan.

"The Church of the Brethren would certainly echo this call of concern guided by the 1996 Annual Conference Statement on 'Nonviolence and Humanitarian Intervention,'" said Noffsinger.

Bethany Seminary celebrates ninety-ninth commencement

On Saturday May 8, Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond, Ind., celebrated her ninety-ninth commencement. Two observances marked the occasion: a ceremony for conferring degrees in Bethany's Nicarry Chapel, and a public worship celebration held in Stout Meetinghouse on the adjacent Earlham College campus.

John H. Gingrich, professor of Religion and Philosophy and dean emeritus at the University of La Verne, Calif., and chair of the Bethany Board of Trustees, gave an address at the conferring of degrees ceremony on the topic "High Hopes," based on a biblical text of Isaiah 65:17-25. Russell Haitch, Bethany's assistant professor of Christian Education and director of the Institute for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults, was the speaker for the afternoon worship service. His message, "You are the Light of the World," was based on Matthew 5:11-16.

Eleven students received Master of Divinity degrees, one with an Emphasis in Ministry with Youth and Young Adults. Six students received Master of Arts in Theology degrees, four with an emphasis in Peace Studies.Those who received degrees are:

Master of Divinity, with an emphasis in Ministry With Youth and Young Adults: Noel S. Naff, of Tryon, North Carolina.

Master of Divinity: Jeremy Ashworth, of Fort Wayne, Ind., with Distinction in Ministry Studies; B. Elizabeth Cox, of Waynesboro, Pa.; William House, of New Castle, Ind.; Paul Liepelt, of Madison, Conn.; Patricia L. Meeks, of Greenville, Ohio; Brian P. Messler, of Baltimore, Md.; Ever Mudambanuki, of Zimbabwe; Mbode Ndirmbita, of Nigeria; Andrew Sampson, of Forest, Ohio; and Richard Yeager-Stiver, of Marion, Ohio.

Master of Arts in Theology, with a Peace Studies Emphasis: Thomas Coursen, of Richmond, Ind.; Leslie Ann Billhimer Frye, of McPherson, Kan., with Distinction in Theological and Historical Studies and her thesis work; Mark Godfrey, of McPherson, Kan.; and Holly White, of North Hampton, Ohio, with Distinction in Theological and Historical Studies.

Master of Arts in Theology: Joshua Brockway, of North Canton, Ohio; Kathryn S. Eisenbise, of Elizabethtown, Pa., with Distinction in Biblical Languages.

Graduates' future endeavors include careers in pastoral and congregational ministry, teaching, and additional graduate study. Bethany Theological Seminary was founded in 1905 and is the graduate school and academy for theological education for the Church of the Brethren.

Visit to Nigeria a profound experience for US delegation

A small delegation of Church of the Brethren leaders visited Nigeria April 28-May 8. The group included Stan Noffsinger and was the first visit of a Church of the Brethren general secretary to Nigeria in a decade. "It was profound," Noffsinger said of the trip. Merv Keeney, General Board executive for Global Mission Partnerships, emphasized the importance Ekklesiyar Yanuwa a Nigeria (EYN--Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) placed on the visit.

The delegation also included Robert Krouse, who will begin this summer as Nigeria mission coordinator, and board member David Sollenberger, who filmed the trip for this fall's mission offering emphasis. The group met with mission workers, held a consultation with EYN leaders and visited key EYN institutions, visited Hillcrest School, and worshiped with students at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria.

Noffsinger felt a special connection with EYN's new general secretary, Yohana Y. Balami, who like him is the first lay leader to serve as general secretary of the denomination. "We represent a different generation and a different genre of leadership," said Noffsinger.

The US and Nigerian church leaders discussed developing a new level of relationship between the two general secretaries, both to facilitate discussion about how major issues facing the church affect both bodies and to develop respect for the experiences of each nationality. "It's not just about being the church in the US," Noffsinger said. "We're in a church that spans the globe." Keeney reported that, unfortunately, visa requests for EYN leaders to be at this year's Annual Conference were denied by the US government.

Some questions asked of him during the trip came as surprises and highlighted the Nigerian awareness that Christianity is growing much faster in non-western areas of the world--an awareness that Noffsinger shares. When asked, "Why is the world headquarters of the Church of the Brethren in North America?" he was quick to respond that the Church of the Brethren doesn't have a world headquarters. But he took the point of the questions, that the Nigerian church is larger than the US church. Noffsinger said that he had "a great conversation" with those posing the questions.

Noffsinger also preached for two Sunday services--one in English and one in the language of Hausa--at the Yola Jimeta EYN congregation, which has an attendance of 1,000 to 1,800 at each service. The event was filmed by Nigerian television, and Noffsinger was interviewed for a nationwide news broadcast.

Unhappy news greeted the delegation on their return to the US, with the unexpected death of one of their hosts in Nigeria. Gunnar Berndsen, a worker with European-based Mission 21, a longtime partner in Nigeria with the Church of the Brethren, died May 11. Berndsen was working in EYN's Theological Education by Extension (TEE) program, and one of his passions was to develop museums and heritage centers for the Nigerian church, Keeney said. Noffsinger mourned the loss personally, as well as the loss to the church. "What I saw in Gunnar was a man deeply committed to his life and mission as a servant of Jesus," Noffsinger said, "and that commitment was lived out as he shared his gifts and talents through TEE and his interest in bringing improved building structures to the lives of those he served. His death gives a new sense of urgency to the church's mission, to share our talents each and every day with those we serve."

Older adult unit begins term of service with BVS

The Brethren Volunteer Service Older Adult Unit 259 held its training in New Windsor, Md., April 25-May 7. The seven participants all decided to take an assignment in the near future.

David Ort, from Altoona, Pa., will begin serving a one-year commitment at the Brother David Darst Center in Chicago, Ill., on June 1. Carolyn and Edgar Graham, members of Fellowship Church of the Brethren in Martinsburg, W.Va., will be going to CooperRiis in Mill Spring, N.C., in mid-October for a six-month term of service. Roger and Phyllis Ingold, from Spring Creek Church of the Brethren near Hershey, Pa., will be starting a six-month term of service at Meeting Ground in Elkton, Md., on the first of the new year. Frank Kane and Marilyn Schirk, of Ontario, Calif., will be starting a six-month term of service at the Center for Conscience and War in Washington, D.C. in late October.

Brethren bits: Mission nurse remembered, National Press Club, and more

• Former Church of the Brethren missionary to Ecuador, Leanna Faye Koontz Benalcazar, passed away May 10 in Ecuador. She was 86. She worked as a nurse for the General Board's mission in Ecuador for close to a decade beginning in the early 1950s, running a clinic and serving the Quechua Indians of the high Andes as a rural health nurse. Achievements during her time with the mission included setting up family planning clinics with mission doctor John Horning, training of community nursing aides, and a first-ever vaccination of school children. Following her employment with the mission, she continued nursing in Ecuador for almost four more decades. She attended Bethany Bible College and was a graduate of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College as well as the Windber Hospital School of Nursing. She is survived by her husband, Hector Benalcazar, who taught in the mission's primary schools in Ecuador for many years.
  
  
• The appearance by Scott Holland and Ann Riggs at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., has been moved to June, with no firm date yet set. Holland, assistant professor of Peace Studies and Cross Cultural Studies at Bethany Theological Seminary, and Riggs, National Council of Churches associate general secretary for Faith and Order, are members of an organizing committee for the "Watu Kwa Amani" conference in August in Kenya, the next in a series of Historic Peace Church conferences engaging with the World Council of Churches' Decade to Overcome Violence.
  
  
• Don Vermilyea has taken his 20 millionth step in his Walk Across America. The Brethren Volunteer Service worker is walking across the nation, with the goal of visiting every Church of the Brethren congregation. He took the historic step in Minnesota on May 12, and has now walked 9,689 miles. For more information on Vermilyea's quest, which began in Feb. 2002 in Arizona, go to www.brethren.org and click on keyword box to find the Walk Across America.
  
  
• Wanted: experienced writers for Sunday school curriculum. The Church of the Brethren, Mennonite Church Canada, and Mennonite Church USA are producing a new Sunday school curriculum with units for children ages 2-4, kindergarten to grade 2, grades 3-5, and grades 6-8. Two additional units will be a multi-age unit for children of a variety of ages or for intergenerational use, and a unit for parents and other adult caregivers. First use of the curriculum will be Fall 2006. For information on how to apply, please contact Anna Speicher, Project Director, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120; 847-742-5100 ext. 209; e-mail aspeicher_gb@brethren.org. The application deadline is June 15.
  
  
• A Faith Expedition to Guatemala is planned for Oct. 23-Nov. 2, jointly sponsored by the General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office and Global Mission Partnerships Office. Participants will see Brethren workers in action and participate in colorful cultural events surrounding the Day of the Dead. The expedition will be led by longtime Guatemala worker, Tom Benevento, General Board Latin America specialist. Projected cost is $850. Contact the Brethren Witness/Washington Office at 800-785-3246 or email washington_office_gb@brethren.org.
  
  
• Nigeria workcamp coordinator Jeff Mummau has announced dates for the next annual workcamp to Nigeria, Jan. 16-Feb. 12, 2005. Projected cost will be $2,100. For more information, see the workcamp section of the Global Mission Partnerships page on www.brethren.org, or call Mary Munson, at 800-323-8039.
  
  
• The General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office has a new resource packet on conscientious objection that includes education resources along with a tool to help youth groups, congregations, or individuals record their personal beliefs and convictions. Among many other resources available from the office are information and updates on pending draft legislation, background information on conscientious objection, and workshops on what it is to be a conscientious objector and how to claim conscientious objector status. The office also extends an invitation to anyone wanting to explore the issue more to call or arrange for a visit. Call 800-785-3246 or e-mail washington_office_gb@brethren.org.
  
  
• Jane Yount, the General Board's disaster response coordinator, was a presenter at the annual Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) conference in Louisville, Ken., on May 19. Yount joined other representatives of faith-based disaster response groups speaking on rebuilding homes with volunteer labor after a disaster. She was quoted extensively in an article on the presentation, "Rebuilding: what's involved?" by Susan Kim, which can be found on the Disaster News Network website, www.disasternews.net.
  
  
• Barb Sayler, co-executive director of On Earth Peace, and Kathleen Campanella, manager of communications at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., attended a Heifer International (HI) event on Capitol Hill, May 12. Campanella is the Church of the Brethren representative on the HI board. A briefing on the role of livestock in community development, economic growth, and childhood nutrition was followed by a reception honoring HI's global partners at the Russell Senate office building. Guests included Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas, and Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. One of the highlights of the day was Beatrice, the young girl from Uganda featured in the children's book "Beatrice's Goat," sharing her story of how an animal from Heifer International transformed her life.
  
  
• Church World Service (CWS) staff including executive director John McCullough, Disaster Response director Rick Augsburger, and Ann Walle, director of Marketing and Communications, were at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., May 8 to work with youth volunteers from the Park United Methodist Church in Bloomfield, N.J., filming footage for a new CWS video. The volunteers, working with General Board Service Ministries staff, unloaded a large trailer, packed 600 health kits brought from their church, and assembled a new type of Gift of the Heart kit that will be introduced in the Fall by CWS. This new children's kit has school supplies, health care items, and culturally neutral toys. A tour of the center and a visit to the SERRV International Gift shop were part of the weekend activities.
  
  
• The Ministers of Music, a male quartet from the Lancaster, Pa., area, presented a concert celebrating their 25th year on May 2 at Florin Church of the Brethren in Mount Joy, Pa. The group sang together for the first time at Florin in 1979, and over the years since have sung at Lititz (Pa.) Church of the Brethren and provided concerts throughout central Pennsylvania and in Florida, New England, and Indiana, according to the Lititz newsletter. The quartet includes Lititz pastor Bob Kettering, Lamar Dourte, Dale Engle, and Ron Ludwick.
  
  
• The Central, Ninth Street, and First Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, Va., are jointly sponsoring a Lafiya Weekend May 21-22, which is scheduled to be led by Kathy Reid, executive of the Association of Brethren Caregivers. The event begins 7 p.m. today at First Church and continues through early afternoon May 22. Emphasis is on preparing to be a more hospitable people in Jesus' name.
  
  
• The Southern Ohio District Disaster Response Auction is scheduled for May 22 beginning at 8 a.m. at the Preble County Fairgrounds. Furniture and items for the home, as well as artwork and other pieces will be auctioned. Also for sale will be food and theme baskets.
  
  
• This fall Middle Pennsylvania District will present "Angels Everywhere," a new musical by Frank Ramirez and Steve Engle, as part of a fundraiser to benefit the district's ministry education fund. The musical is about "one of the most intriguing incidents in colonial Brethren history," said Ramirez, the story of Catharine Hummer of the White Oak congregation in Manheim, Pa., who in 1762 claimed to see angels. She also was the first woman to preach among the Brethren. The play will be presented as a dinner theater on Oct. 9 at First Church of the Brethren in Roaring Spring, Nov. 20 at Everett Church of the Brethren, and Dec. 4 at Hollidaysburg Church of the Brethren. Ramirez is author of "The Love Feast" and the Out of Context feature in "Guide to Biblical Studies"; Engle is composer of "The Saint Judas Passion" and "A Rumor of Angels." For more information call Ramirez at 814-652-2634.
  
  
• Shenandoah District is planning a "Celebrating Our Connections" event 3-7 p.m. June 6 at the Brethren Woods camp in Keezletown, Va. The afternoon will include fun and fellowship, and opportunities for swimming, fishing, boating, and hiking, as well as a carry-in meal.
  
  
• The Brethren Revival Fellowship presents a Brethren Bible Institute on the campus of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College July 26-30. Courses will be offered on church history, contemporary issues, church leadership and administration, missions and outreach, pastoral care and counseling, and "A Gallery of Heroes." Other courses will study the books of Revelation, Mark, and Acts. Cost is $150. For an application form, which must be completed by June 25, write to the Brethren Bible Institute, 155 Denver Rd., Denver, PA 17517. Continuing education units are available for pastors who attend.
  
  
• Manchester College, in North Manchester, Ind., will honor Robert C. Johansen, at commencement May 23. Johansen, a member of Crest Manor Church of the Brethren in South Bend, Ind., and a Manchester graduate who played an important part in developing the college's pioneering program in Peace Studies, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. He is conducting research on enhancing UN peacekeeping and enforcement as senior fellow in the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. The college will deliver 223 bachelor's degrees, 16 master's degrees, and 7 associate's degrees at the ceremony. The college's first three graduates of its Master of Arts in Contemporary Leadership program will collect their diplomas, and 37 seniors will graduate with honor. For more information about the college, visit www.manchester.edu.
  
  
• The National Council of Churches' Eco-Justice Program is seeking clergy to help support the Climate Stewardship Act, coming to the US Senate in early June. "Protecting our climate is a religious duty," said Cassandra Carmichael, director of the program, in a letter seeking contact with religious leaders interested in the issue. For more information call 202-544-2350 ext. 27 or e-mail cassandra@toad.net or visit www.nccecojustice.org.
  
  
• Doug Archer, ordained in the Church of the Brethren and peace studies librarian at the Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame, has received the 2004 Intellectual Freedom Award from the Indiana Library Foundation. The award recognizes his longtime advocacy for intellectual freedom and support for local control of library policies, in opposition to last year's Supreme Court ruling that public libraries must have filters on their computers to block out potentially offensive websites. Archer is a member of Mount Pleasant Church of the Brethren in Bourbon, Ind. An article about the award can be found at www.SouthBendTribune.com.
  
  
• The Lombard (Ill.) Mennonite Peace Center is searching for a full-time staff member to serve in the organization's conciliation ministry and assist other aspects of its ministry. Qualifications include a personal faith commitment to Christ and Christ's way of peace and discipleship as understood within the Anabaptist tradition; training and experience in Christian conciliation and mediation; skills in oral and written communication, marketing, organizing, and computer use; interpersonal skills; and an entrepreneurial spirit. Experience in teaching and training preferred. To request a full job description and application information, contact Richard Blackburn, Executive Director, Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, 1263 S. Highland Ave., Suite IN, Lombard, IL 60148; 630-627-0507, fax 630-627-0519.
  
  
• Midwest Peacemakers announces its 2004 conference, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Church of the Brethren Mill Ridge Village Community Center in Union, Ohio, on the theme, "Love or Die." The meeting will focus on the high costs of war, which a statement from the group says cannot be maintained. Speakers will include Wilson "Woody" Powell, executive director of Veterans for Peace; Michael Elzinga, Navy submarine veteran and research physicist; and Sam Hine, of the Bruderhof communities. Nine of the ten members of the Midwest Peacemakers' 2004 committee are members of the Church of the Brethren. For more information contact Charles Cooley at 614-794-2745 or e-mail cfcooley@wmconnect.com.

Joe Buss leaves New Windsor Conference Center

Financial constraints have forced administration to reduce staff of the Brethren Service Center (BSC) in New Windsor, Md., resulting in the reduction of the position of New Windsor Conference Center director Joe Buss. The conference center is a self-funded program of the General Board.

Since September 1997, Buss has provided leadership of the conference center's hospitality ministry. He also led in improvements at the center including the remodeling of Zigler Hall in 2002 and improvements in customer satisfaction, service, and community accessability that resulted in positive customer feedback. Buss's membership in the International Association of Conference Center Administration and other professional groups also helped the center reach clients and groups beyond the local area.

As of May 4, Buss began a three-month separation period with full salary and benefits. The responsibilities of the position will be distributed among other staff.

New gardening book published by Brethren Press.

A new book on gardening, "Gardening for the Earth and Soul" by Heather Dean and Tom Benevento, has been published by Brethren Press.

More than a sustainable gardening book, it's also a book of social commentary, global peace, and children's activities, all pulled together by Benevento's line drawings. Drawing on their education and personal experiences, the authors address both the practical and spiritual benefits of gardening. Benevento, the General Board's Latin America specialist, and Dean both have worked alongside the indigenous people of Central America and used their experiences to create community gardens that thrive in the urban landscape in North America. The book is a practical and inspirational "how to" manual.

Cost is $18.99 plus shipping and handling. To order, call 800-441-3712, go online to www.BrethrenPress.com, or buy it at the Brethren Press bookstore at Annual Conference this summer in Charleston, W.Va. Refer to item number 8534.

Conference-goers are invited to bring Gifts of the Heart.

In May and June, Newsline will offer short previews of special events or features of the 2004 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren, to be held July 3-7 in Charleston, W.Va.

Gifts of the Heart school and health kits and Church of the Brethren Clinic Boxes will be collected at Conference this year, in a project of the General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries program. The kits and boxes will be handed on to people in need around the world, with the help of Church World Service.

The kits include useful items such as pencils and paper in the school kits, and band-aids and soap in the health kits. Clinic boxes include supplies such as gauze pads and adhesive tape. Donations for shipping and handling, and for purchasing medicines and supplies appropriate for clinic use at wholesale prices, are being collected by mail, as donations cannot be accepted at Conference. For more information see page 66 of the Conference information packet, which can be downloaded from www.brethren.org/ac, or call 800-451-4407 ext. 3.

Credits

Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board, on the first, third, and fifth Friday of each month, with other editions as needed. Newsline stories may be reprinted provided that Newsline is cited as the source. Walt Wiltschek, Kathleen Campanella, Amy Adkins, Jeri S. Kornegay, Karen Roberts, and Marcia Shetler contributed to this report.

Newsline is a free service sent only to those requesting a subscription. To receive it by e-mail, or to unsubscribe, write cobnews@aol.com or call 800-323-8039, ext. 260. Newsline is available at www.brethren.org and is archived with an index at www.wfn.org. Also see Photo Journal at www.brethren.org/pjournal/index.htm for photo coverage of events. For additional news and features, subscribe to the Church of the Brethren magazine "Messenger." Call 800-323-8039.