Association of Brethren Caregivers Board issues visioning statement for denomination.

The Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) Board has approved a visioning statement encouraging a new look at how the Church of the Brethren structure enables the mission and ministry of the denomination. The document, "A New World Coming--A Renewed Church Emerging," was approved during board meetings Sept. 23-25 in Elgin, Ill. The statement describes how ABC sees the denomination and itself, and challenges the Church of the Brethren to intentionally organize and position itself for ministry and mission in the future.

The paper begins by stating why the ABC Board is interested in bringing attention to the organizational health of the denomination. "A key component of the vision of the Association of Brethren Caregivers--to seek and secure the well-being of all people--causes the ABC Board to address growing concerns over the way in which Brethren are currently organized for ministry and mission," the statement says in part. "Out of love and care for our denomination, and in pursuance of Christ's prayerful petition 'that they may all be one,' the ABC Board is committed to working earnestly and collaboratively to address the inadequacies of our current structure, as well as its inability to account for widely differing expectations within our denomination."

"On the eve of our 300th anniversary as Brethren, and in anticipation of discussions soon to be held concerning Brethren ecclesiology, we offer a pro-active call for transformational change which will define the Church of the Brethren as it transitions into being the church for the present age," the document continues.

The statement was written by an ABC study committee that evaluated how ABC relates to the denomination. Committee members were Connie Burk Davis, chair; Wally Landes, chair-elect of the ABC Board; Eddie Edmonds, ABC treasurer; Marty Barlow, former General Board member; and Sandy Bosserman, executive minister of Missouri and Arkansas District.

Former staff and board members of ABC raised similar concerns at meetings in 2003 with the Interagency Forum and other denominational committees, noted Kathy Reid, executive director of ABC. "We see the document as continuing a needed and difficult conversation. To that end, this paper offers our humble observations and a hope for structures that more suitably meet the needs of the church," Reid said. "The paper also states ABC's intention of continuing to serve the caring ministries of the Church of the Brethren within the current denominational structure." The full paper can be downloaded in a PDF format from www.brethren-caregivers.org.

In other business, the board approved a proposed budget of $534,960 for 2007; received reports about ABC's ministries and their initiatives including resources available to churches for Disabilities Awareness Month (October), National Observance of Children's Sabbath (Oct. 14-16), and National Donor Sabbath (Nov. 13); heard reports about Annual Conference activities; heard about plans for the next National Older Adult Conference, Sept. 4-8, 2006, at Lake Junaluska (N.C.) Assembly; and discussed the recent Caring Ministries Assembly that drew more than 200 participants to Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren Aug. 11-13. The board overwhelmingly agreed for staff to begin planning for a 2007 assembly, to continue its programming for deacons, chaplains, and pastors.

The board also participated in a development program around a theme of nationalized health care. Landes gave a presentation prepared for a state-wide meeting of Physicians for a National Health Program, comparing statistics of US health-care costs and efficacy with statistics from countries that offer national health-care programs.

Following the launch of ABC's "Lighten Up, Brethren!" campaign and wellness ministry, collectively the ABC board and staff have lost 76 pounds. This achievement has taken place over the last six months.

The contributions of board chair Sue Moore Ranson of Roanoke, Va., and board member Katherine Ramsey Melhorn of Wichita, Kan., were recognized as their terms end. Ranson has been a part of the board since 1998. The board appointed Edmonds of Martinsburg, W.Va., as chair-elect for 2006 and Dan McRoberts of Caledonia, Mich., as treasurer for 2006; accepted the resignation of Brian Black of Ephrata, Pa., who resigned due to a change in employment; appointed Tammy Kiser of Dayton, Va., to fill Black's term; and appointed Bill Cave of Cleona, Pa., to a three-year term.

Source: 10/12/2005 Newsline
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