Brethren bits: Job opening, Annual Conference, and more.

• Camp Eder seeks a fulltime executive director. The 400-acre facility is a year-round Church of the Brethren camp and retreat center near Gettysburg, Pa., in the southern Pennsylvania mountains. The qualified candidate will be a Christian with a growing faith, a heart for evangelism, understanding and acceptance of Brethren values, passion for outdoor ministry, ability to implement planning as directed by the camp board, capability and enthusiasm for interpreting the mission and vision of the camp, a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, and strong fiscal, management, and communication skills. Previous administration and camping experience is preferred. Application deadline is June 1. Send a letter of interest and resume, and provide letters of professional reference from three or four people, to Kris Longwell, Search Committee, 319 E. Hanover St., Hanover, PA 17331; or e-mail e319hanover@juno.com.
  
  
• Short-term resident volunteer opportunities are available for people interested in serving as hosts and hostesses at the New Windsor (Md.) Conference Center. Duties include welcoming guests and other hospitality tasks. There is a special need for volunteers in May, but other dates are available as well. Meals and an apartment on the Brethren Service Center campus are provided. Contact Connie Bohn at 800-766-1553 for more information.
  
  
• The Annual Conference Office has issued a reminder to pre-register, for those planning to attend the Conference this summer in Peoria, Ill. Those not attending as church delegates can pre-register online or by mail. Doing so before May 20 saves $10 and eliminates the need to stand in long registration lines onsite. To register online, visit the Conference homepage at www.brethren.org. To register by mail, complete the registration form from the Annual Conference Information CD that has been mailed to each Church of the Brethren congregation, or from the Information Packet on the website. Mail registration forms to the Annual Conference Office, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120.
  
  
• The Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) annual Older Adult Orientation will be held April 17-29 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. The unit will be made up of seven older adults including five members of the Church of the Brethren. The unit will spend two weeks exploring project possibilities and topics of community building, faith sharing, diversity training, and more. Two work days will be included, at the Brethren Service Center and at the Church of the Brethren Soup Kitchen in Washington, D.C. Field trips are planned to the Young Center at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, the Ephrata Cloister, and Grace LeFever's organic farm. Guest staff and speakers include Larry and Alice Petry, Joyce Nolen, Rebekah Helsel, Al Herring, and David Eller. For more information call the BVS office, 800-323-8039 ext. 410.
  
  
• The situation in Darfur, Sudan, is the topic of a letter-writing campaign publicized by the General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office in its most recent newsletter. The office is urging Brethren to write to the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and members of the Security Council to help stop the violence in Darfur. The newsletter stated that "since spring 2003, over 300,000 persons of Darfur have died from violence, disease, and starvation. More than two million people have been forced from their homes and over 2,000 non-Arab villages have been destroyed. To date, three UN resolutions have done little to stop death and destruction in Darfur. A fourth resolution, being considered this week, should include strong language that pressures the government of Sudan and its proxy militia to halt the ongoing atrocities." For more information call the office at 800-785-3246 or e-mail washington_office_gb@brethren.org.
  
  
• Online registration has opened for the Heartland Song and Story Fest co-sponsored by On Earth Peace July 6-12 at Joyfield Farm in North Manchester, Ind. The annual family camp features Brethren musicians and storytellers. See www.brethren.org/oepa/SongandStoryFest2005.html or call On Earth Peace at 410-635-8704 or e-mail oepa_oepa@brethren.org.
  
  
• Elkhart City (Ind.) Church of the Brethren has changed its name to Creekside Church of the Brethren because land purchased for a new building is outside the city. A statement on the church website says, "We are a baptism community and water is an important factor in this imagery."
  
  
• Bells of the Valley, a group from Codorus Church of the Brethren in Loganville, Pa., will join other church musicians performing in a benefit for O.P.E.N., the HIV/AIDS ministry of the York County (Pa.) Council of Churches. The concert will be hosted by Otterbein United Methodist Church (301 W. Philadelphia St., York) at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 17. Admission is free, and a free-will offering will be taken.
  
  
• Benefit concerts for cystic fibrosis were presented in two Church of the Brethren congregations in Maryland in early April. Locust Grove Church of the Brethren in Mount Airy, Md., hosted its seventh annual "Sing for Breath" concert April 9, and Frederick (Md.) Church of the Brethren hosted its 23rd annual "Sing for Breath" concert April 10. Freewill donations went to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
  
  
• "Wonderful World of Wildflowers" is presented by the Southern Ohio District Outdoor Ministries from 2-5 p.m. on April 17 at Charleston Falls, south of Tipp City. Robert Henn, author of "Wild Flowers of Ohio," will lead the program including a walking tour. Children, adults, and older adults are invited. For more information call Bruce Rosenberger at 937-417-1184.
  
  
• Middle Pennsylvania District presents "Congregations Alive '05: To Empower, Nourish, and Renew Congregations," from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. April 16 at Martinsburg (Pa.) Memorial Church of the Brethren. The event is sponsored by the Congregational Development Team. Childcare will be provided. Call the district office at 814-643-0601.
  
  
• West Marva District's Pulpit Exchange Sunday is scheduled for April 17 on the Annual Conference theme, "Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus." The scripture text will be Hebrews 12:1-4.
  
  
• A fourth annual Sounds of the Mountains Music and Story Festival will be held at Camp Bethel near Fincastle, Va., April 22-23. Topping the list of performers are John McCutcheon, five-time Grammy-nominated recording artist and Appalachian performer, and Donald Davis, master storyteller. Also performing are Brethren folk singer and instrumentalist Joseph Helfrich; Baba Jamal Koram, a traditional African storyteller and percussionist; Marshall Brothers and Highroad, a bluegrass and gospel band; and Steel Praisin', a steel drum band from Friedberg Moravian Church. The festival is a fundraiser for the camp. Lodging, RV, and tent sites are available. See www.campbethelvirginia.org/sotm.htm or call 540-992-2940.
  
  
• Bridgewater (Va.) College is honoring six alumni and a retiring professor as part of its annual Alumni Weekend April 15-16. William R. Johnson and Elbridge "Ed" and Louis Bowman Callahan, all members of Bridgewater Church of the Brethren, will receive the 2005 Ripples Society Medals. The Ripples Society comprises alumni who graduated 50 or more years ago. The others receiving awards during the weekend are Donald G. Simmons, Julie C. Hensley, Cheryl Lackey Fairchilds, and Ralph C. MacPhail Jr., professor of Theater and Communication Studies, who is retiring after 33 years on the faculty. Alumni Weekend opens Friday morning with campus tours and alumni seminars. For information call 540-828-5451.
  
  
• On April 12 the University of La Verne in La Verne, Calif., launched its Campus Center Project with a celebration for alumni. The project will transform the school's "Super Tents"--described in a release as the "university's most recognizable campus feature"--into a Sports Science and Athletics Pavilion. The project also includes the building of the Plaza, an outdoor, three-tiered central gathering place of circular pads, and the Sara and Michael Abraham Campus Center.
  
  
• Elizabethtown (Pa.) College's Durnbaugh Lectures will feature Donald E. Miller on "The Challenge of Being a Peace Church in Africa" at 7:30 p.m. April 14. Miller will report on the Aug. 2004 People of Peace Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The talk is part of the annual banquet of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. Participants may attend the banquet, lecture, or both. Miller also will present a seminar, "Expanding the Circle of Peace: The World Council of Churches (WCC), the Historic Peace Churches, and Violence in Africa" at 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. April 15 at the Young Center. He is professor emeritus at Bethany Theological Seminary, former general secretary of the General Board, and has served on the WCC Central Committee. The lecture is free; tickets are $14 for the banquet, $10 for the seminar. Reservations are required--call 717-361-1470.
  
  
• Wallace A. Lusk, visitation pastor at Locust Grove Church of the Brethren in Mount Airy, Md., was among five inducted into the Mount Airy Hall of Fame March 22. The ceremony hosted by the Mount Airy Historical Society honored positive contributions to the community.
  
  
• Larry O'Neill, moderator of Atlantic Northeast District, has pledged to "go backwards, so COBYS can go forward." O'Neill has promised to walk the COBYS "Family Fun Walk" backwards--if he can gather $1,000 in sponsorships. COBYS is an agency affiliated with the district, serving children and families in several Pennsylvania counties. The walk takes place on May 1. E-mail O'Neill at SkippackChurch@comcast.net.
  
  
• In the past six months, ten Brethren and Mennonite congregations or groups have joined the Supportive Communities Network (SCN) of the Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interests (BMC), according to a news release from the council. The communities in the network indicate public welcome of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and their families. The ten new communities bring the number in the network to 43, including 21 Church of the Brethren congregations and Brethren-related groups. The ten new members are Fellowship in Christ Church of the Brethren, Fremont, Calif.; San Diego (Calif.) Church of the Brethren; Springfield (Ill.) Church of the Brethren; Voices for an Open Spirit, a Church of the Brethren group; Womaen's Caucus, a Church of the Brethren group; The Group meeting at Palmyra (Pa.) Church of the Brethren; Christian Community, Inc., of Fort Wayne, Ind.; the Welcoming Dialogue Group of Lancaster County, Pa.; Mennonite House Church of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada; and the Inclusion Team of Assembly Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind. For more information call BMC at 612-343-2060 or e-mail bmc@bmclgbt.org.

Source: 4/13/2005 Newsline
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