- Year-end donations to the Association of Brethren Caregivers, Bethany Theological Seminary, the General Board, and On Earth Peace must be dated and postmarked by Dec. 31 in order to be counted as a 2005 charitable gift for tax purposes.
- Those making nominations for Annual Conference elective offices in 2006, using the new on-line nomination form at the Annual Conference website, are requested to have the permission of the person being nominated before the form is filled out and submitted. As the Dec. 1 deadline approaches, nominations are encouraged from all over denomination. "Thank you for participating in the selection of denominational leadership," said Annual Conference executive director Lerry Fogle.
- The Association of Brethren Caregivers seeks a director of Wellness Ministries to fill a fulltime position. Location is negotiable, with a minimum of half-time in the ABC office in Elgin, Ill. Starting date is Feb. 1, 2006. Responsibilities include promotion of wellness and the goals of the Wellness Ministry within the Church of the Brethren, working particularly with those enrolled in the Brethren Medical Plan; research and development of risk assessment programs in coordination with Brethren Benefit Trust staff; coordination, development, and assessment of educational programs that challenge church members to adopt healthy living behaviors. Qualifications include a minimum of a bachelor's degree with background in education or health/medicine/nutrition; basic knowledge of and commitment to wellness issues such as nutrition, physical, spiritual, and emotional health; modeling a positive, healthy lifestyle; oral and written communication and interpersonal skills; previous experience in a nonprofit environment. Applications will be received beginning immediately, with a deadline of Jan. 4, 2006. A position description and application form are available on request. Qualified candidates are invited to submit a resume, cover letter of application, and to request three individuals to send letters of recommendation to Mary Lou Garrison, Director of Human Resources, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120; mgarrison_gb@brethren.org.
- The Brethren Home Community of New Oxford, Pa., seeks a health care chaplain/congregational pastor. The community is a licensed Continuing Care Retirement Community located on a 200-plus acre campus serving approximately 900 residents and villagers. The position serves residents and the Church of the Brethren members on campus who attend The Faith Community of the Brethren Home Community. This fulltime position is currently open and will require four days a week. Responsibilities include clinical duties of visitation, devotions, and counseling; and congregational duties of preaching and worship leading. Candidates must be licensed or ordained and in good standing with the Southern Pennsylvania District of the Church of the Brethren. Chaplaincy experience is helpful and CPE is preferred. Send resumes to Merv Wunderlich, Director of the Pastoral Care Department and pastor of the congregation, 2990 Carlisle Pike, P.O. Box 128, New Oxford, PA 17350-0128.
- Don Vermilyea, a Brethren Volunteer Service worker on a Walk Across America, is currently in Chattahoochee, Fla. He has counted 17,253 miles to date since he began the walk in Arizona in Jan. 2002. Today is day 1,398 on the walk, with 643 nights homeless and 755 nights cared for by humanity, Vermilyea reported. He has picked up $1,470.58 along the road, and received $4,916.74 unsolicited from motorists to benefit the Global Food Crisis Fund and other charities. His next visit to a Church of the Brethren is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 18, at Good Samaritan Church of the Brethren in Brandon, Fla. For more see www.brethren.org/genbd/witness/Walk.html.
- Westminster (Md.) Church of the Brethren has established a Peace Studies Scholarship Program with the first grant going to Jordan Blevins, a 2004 graduate of Bridgewater (Va.) College. He is working on master's degrees in Theological Studies from Wesley Theological Seminary and in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University.
- Hanoverdale Church of the Brethren in Hummelstown, Pa., holds its Celebrate Christmas 2005 event on Dec. 3 with a live nativity, Teen Challenge Poinsettia Sale, Children's Gift Store of gifts all under $5 benefitting Heifer International, and a Christmas in Reverse Pageant. See www.hanoverdalechurch.com.
- Fundraising efforts for the University of La Verne (Calif.) Campus Center Project have reached $16,555,941. President Steve Morgan made this announcement during a Board of Trustees meeting, igniting a spontaneous celebration that momentarily interrupted the day's busy agenda. "This is a landmark event in the 114-year history of the University of La Verne," Morgan said. On Oct. 25 the university's private fundraising effort surpassed $16 million, a goal established in Feb. 2004 when trustee Michael Abraham issued a conditional pledge of $4 million toward the Campus Center Building. Conditions set by Abraham called for the members of the board to match his $4 million pledge and for the university to raise an additional $8 million, with the combined total due by the November meeting. In recognition the building will be named the Sara and Michael Abraham Campus Center. Trustee and former board chair Jim Long and his wife, Marie, made the contribution that pushed the total past the $16 million challenge mark. "It was both a pleasure and an honor," Jim Long said.
- Pinecrest Community in Mount Morris, Ill., a Church of the Brethren retirement center, is holding its second annual Community Open House on Dec. 10 from 2-4 p.m. Visitors will be able to have a picture taken with Santa, take home a free Pinecrest keepsake, and enjoy refreshments.
- Harold S. Martin and Craig Alan Myers, leaders in the Brethren Revival Fellowship, are among 29 leaders of "renewal movements" in mainline denominations who have signed an open letter from the Association for Church Renewal. The letter warns US Christians against "third way" proposals regarding sexuality. According to the association, the letter decries "a new strategy to win the church's affirmation of homosexual acts" through procedural devices. The letter was issued following an October meeting of the group and cites strategies proposed or adopted in denominations such as the Episcopal Church and the American Baptist Churches, among others. For the text of the letter and list of signatories, visit www.ird-renew.org/acr.
- Church World Service (CWS) has announced the election of Donna Derr to the position of director of the Emergency Response Program. Derr recently served as interim director of the program and earlier was associate director for International Emergency Response Programs. Prior to working for CWS, she spent 16 years with the Church of the Brethren as a program assistant and then as director of the General Board's Disaster and Refugee Programs. She will continue to work out of the CWS Washington, D.C., office.
- The National Council of Churches has issued an alert to support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers farmworker organization in a continuing struggle for fair wages and working conditions. For months, the coalition and allies across the country have called on McDonald's to follow Taco Bell's lead and work to establish fair wages and working conditions for farmworkers who pick its tomatoes. McDonald's has refused to do so, according to the NCC. In March an agreement between Yum Brands (Taco Bell's parent company) and the coalition set several precedents for social responsibility in the fast-food industry including paying a penny more per pound for the tomatoes it buys from Florida growers. This would nearly double workers' sub-poverty wages if extended throughout the industry, the NCC said. The NCC also commended McDonald's announcement that it will offer only fair-trade coffee in more than 650 restaurants from New York to Maine. The NCC called on Christians to pray for the restaurant chain to work with those harvesting its tomatoes and to send e-mails directly to McDonald's at www.bluelatinos.org/fairfood.htm. "God who labors and rests, we give thanks for and remember all those who labor to bring food to our tables," said a prayer from the NCC.
- When Bible scholars and students converged on the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature Convention in Philadelphia, Nov. 19-22, they found the New Revised Standard Version (copyright National Council of Churches), in a popular selling product for handhelds, Olive Tree Bible Software. According to a release from Religion News Service, attendees were be able to purchase the NRSV for the Palm and Pocket PC. Plans are in the works to introduce this translation in other formats as well, the release said. Olive Tree Bible Software provides Bible versions and study tools for Palm OS, Pocket PC, Smartphone and Symbian cell phones, and BlackBerry devices. For more see www.olivetree.com.
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