Volunteers begin service, BVS announces training unit.

The Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) summer unit 265 completed training Aug. 12 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. BVS also has announced the start of its fall orientation unit, to be held Sept. 25-Oct. 14 in New Windsor.

Congregations or hometowns and places of service for unit 265 follow:

Samuel Baiduc, Wienhaunsen, Germany, to Camp Ithiel, Gotha, Fla.; Nikki D'Adamo, Mechanicsville, Va., to the Junction, Northern Ireland; Jodi Eller, a Church of the Brethren member from Merritt Island, Fla., to Kilcranny House, Northern Ireland; Dean Feasenhiser, Fruitland (Idaho) Church of the Brethren, to the Brethren Historical Library and Archive, Elgin, Ill.; Todd Flory, McPherson (Kan.) Church of the Brethren, to the General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office, Washington D.C.; Stephanie Grossnickle, Frederick (Md.) Church of the Brethren, to the Catholic Worker House, San Antonio, Texas; Christian Harr, Michelbach, Germany, to the Catholic Worker House, San Antonio, Texas; Alexander Kruger, Speyer, Germany, to Tri-City Homeless Coalition, Fremont, Calif.; Rachel Long, Woodinville, Wash., to Women in Black, Serbia/Yugoslavia; Kyle McCord, Panther Creek Church of the Brethren, Adel, Iowa, to the Northern Ohio District of the Church of the Brethren, Ashland, Ohio; Monica Rice, Akron (Ohio) Springfield Church of the Brethren, to the General Board's Youth and Young Adult Office, Elgin, Ill.; Julia Rosenblau, Eppelboru, Germany, to Su Casa Catholic Worker House, Chicago, Ill,; Ferne Steckman, Palmyra (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, to SERRV International, the Brethren Service Center, New Windsor, Md.; Emily Tyler, McPherson (Kan.) Church of the Brethren, to the General Board's Youth and Young Adult Office; Sanju Walker, Waukegan, Ill., to La Puente Home, Alamosa, Colo.; Stuart Wood, Beaver Creek Church of the Brethren, Bridgewater, Va., to Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

The fall training will gather 26 volunteers from the US and Germany, with Brethren members making up most of the group. The training will include a weekend immersion at an inner-city Baltimore homeless shelter. While there, the group will work at soup kitchens and Habitat for Humanity. Volunteers also will have a chance to work at the clothing warehouse and at SERRV facilities at the Brethren Service Center. Another day of service will be spent meeting needs of members of the local community around the center.

A BVS potluck is open to all those who are interested on Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at Union Bridge (Md.) Church of the Brethren. "Please feel free to come and welcome the new BVS volunteers and to share your own experiences about Brethren Volunteer Service," said Sam Bowman of the BVS office. "As always your prayer support is welcome and needed. Please pray for the unit, and the people they will touch during their year of service."

Source: 9/14/2005 Newsline
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