Brethren bits: Personnel, Annual Conference, and more.

• Marilyn Ziegler has been appointed interim manager of the Pension Plan and Church Workers Assistance Plan at Brethren Benefit Trust effective March 1. She will occupy the former office of Don Fecher. At this time, the appointment is until the end of 2005.
  
  
• Pre-registration for Annual Conference 2005 in Peoria, Ill., is now available online at www.brethren.org/ac or by using the pre-registration form in the Information Packet. The packet has been sent on CD to Church of the Brethren congregations in the March Source mailing, and is available online. For more information call the Annual Conference Office at 800-323-8039.
  
  
• The Annual Conference Anniversary Committee invites submissions of music, drama, and worship resources representing the 2008 Tricentennial theme "Surrendered to God, Transformed in Christ, Empowered by the Spirit." Music submissions, due June 30, may include hymns, folk songs, praise songs, anthems, and children's songs. Dramatic writings, due Dec. 31, may be full-length dramas, skits, monologues, and vignettes for adults, children, and/or youth. Worship resources, due Dec. 31, may include calls to worship, prayers, litanies, responsive readings, offertory statements, children's stories, benedictions, worship centers (description and/or drawing), power point presentations, and interpretive movements. All submissions become the property of the Anniversary Committee for use in tricentennial activities. Name, address, and phone number of the writer or composer should not appear on the submission but should be included on a separate page. Send submissions to the Annual Conference Office, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120.
  
  
• March 31 is the deadline for this year's "Messenger" youth essay contest. It is open to anyone age 13-18 during the current school year. Answer the question, "What do you like best about the Church of the Brethren?" in 300 words or less and send it to messenger@brethren.org or to 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120, postmarked by March 31. Include name, address, age, phone number, e-mail, and home congregation. Up to five entries will be published in the July/August issue; the writer of the top entry will be invited to share his or her essay at the 2005 "Messenger" dinner at Annual Conference.
  
  
• "Messenger" magazine readers noted a few months ago that a Church of the Brethren high school senior was recognized as a National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist. While these names often are published in local newspapers, there is no way to research the total Church of the Brethren list. If you are aware of a National Merit Scholarship finalist who is a member of the Church of the Brethren and attending either high school or college, please send that information to cobnews@aol.com.
  
  
• "Ever eaten a haystack?" asks the Global Mission Partnership Office of the General Board, sponsor of the Mission Alive 2005 conference in Goshen, Ind., April 1-3. Youth from Goshen's Rock Run Church of the Brethren are providing a regional dish known as a "haystack" for the Saturday evening meal at the conference, as a fundraiser for National Youth Conference. Participation by nearby congregations in meal preparation, music, and other aspects of the conference has been an important dimension of the event, organizers said. Participants also are coming from across the US and a few other nations. Keynote speaker Nathan Showalter is traveling from China to attend, and workshop and panel speakers Marcos and Suely Inhauser will attend from Igreja da Irmandade Brasil (the Church of the Brethren in Brazil). Participants are reminded to bring a gift for new missions from their congregations and "Hymnal: A Worship Book." For more information see the Mission Alive page of www.brethren.org, including the list of 21 workshops that will be offered. Registration also continues at this site, or call Mary Munson at 800-323-8039 ext. 230.
  
  
• The General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office is supporting activities March 18-20 in Fayetteville, N.C., to voice opposition to the war in Iraq on the second anniversary of the war. Activities will include a march and rally, a concert by hip-hop artists Ricanstruction and Little Brother, and a meeting on "Organizing in the South: Strengthening Our Communities, Sharpening Our Skills." The first national meetings of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and Gold Star Families for Peace are also planned. The Brethren Witness/Washington Office will set up a table March 19 and will gather Brethren participants to march together. Last year a similar event in Fayetteville, which is home to Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base, drew 1,500 people. Heavy involvement by veterans and military families makes the Fayetteville events unique, according to an Action Alert from the Brethren Witness/Washington Office. For more information see www.ncpeacejustice.org, call the office at 800-785-3246 or e-mail washington_office_gb@brethren.org. See www.unitedforpeace.org for information about events planned in other parts of the country.
  
  
• Don Vermilyea has passed the 14,000-mile mark and has begun year four of his Walk Across America. The Brethren Volunteer Service worker is attempting to walk to every Church of the Brethren congregation. See http://www.brethren.org/genbd/witness/Walk.html or listen to Vermilyea's phone message at 800-323-8039 ext. 239.
  
  
• "Study of the Psalms," a Teleconference Continuing Education Event sponsored by Bethany Theological Seminary's Susquehanna Valley Satellite 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. on April 9, will feature Robert Neff, a Church of the Brethren biblical scholar. Cost is $100 plus a $10 continuing education fee. Pre-registration is required by March 25. The teleconference is limited to 20 seats at each location. For more information call 814-643-6001 or e-mail svs@etown.edu.
  
  
• A church-supported boycott of Taco Bell and its parent company, Yum Brands, ended March 8 after Taco Bell agreed to a penny-per-pound increase in wages for migrant tomato pickers in Florida, reports Religion News Service. Church groups that joined the boycott included the National Council of Churches, the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the Presbyterian Church (USA). Tomato pickers earn about 40 cents for each 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick, according to "The Washington Post," and must pick two tons of tomatoes to earn $50. Labor leader Lucas Benitez said, "This is an important victory for farmworkers, one that establishes a new standard of social responsibility for the fast-food industry and makes an immediate material change in the lives of workers."
  
  
• The early-bird registration deadline is approaching for a New Life Ministries event led by Tony Campolo and Brian McLaren in Telford, Pa., April 26. "Renewing the Church—Reclaiming the Gospel" also features Brethren workshop leaders Fred Bernhard, Steve Clapp, S. Joan Hershey, David Young, and Paul Mundey. Save $10 by registering before April 1. Church of the Brethren attendees will earn .6 continuing education units. For more information call 800-774-3360, e-mail NLMServiceCenter@aol.com, or visit www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org.
  
  
• "Let March 20 this year be a celebration of the beginning of the end of the war and occupation" in Iraq, wrote Cliff Kindy, a Church of the Brethren member of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). March 20 is the second anniversary of the beginning of the war. "This is the day the US public should proclaim the end of the war," Kindy urged in a letter to supporters of his peacemaking work based in Baghdad. His suggestions for celebratory peacemaking actions on March 20 included bringing the US soldiers home, supporting military resisters, and wrapping peace ribbons around weapons factories, among many others. "CPT has been here in Iraq for well over two years. Please hear this proposal," Kindy asked. "March 20 will no longer be a time to remember war, but a time of new beginnings." For more information about Kindy's work see www.cpt.org. CPT is an initiative of the historic peace churches (Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers) with support and membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations.

Source: Newsline 3/16/05
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