Brethren bits: Personnel, Annual Conference office move, and more.

• Ralph McFadden will serve as coordinator for the second Mission Alive conference, planned for April 13-15, 2007, filling a temporary, part-time position in the Global Mission Partnerships of the General Board. McFadden will coordinate a working committee to plan and implement the conference. He will work from the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., and from his home in Elgin. He has served in the Church of the Brethren as a pastor, district executive, and executive for Parish Ministries Commission of the General Board. Among his wide experience is coordinating the National Youth Conference in 1974. More recently he has been a part of the Association for Brethren Caregivers staff, and has served as chaplain for Hospice of Northeastern Illinois.
  
  
• As announced earlier this year, the Annual Conference Office relocates from the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., to the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., this month. The move takes place the week of Aug. 21-25. The office will open for business in New Windsor on Aug. 28. The new address of the Annual Conference Office is 500 Main Street, P.O. Box 720, New Windsor, MD, 21776-0720; 410-635-8740, 800-688-5186, fax 410-635-8742, executive director 410-635-8781. E-mail addresses remain unchanged for Fogle (lfogle_ac@brethren.org) and Conference assistant Dana Weaver (dweaver_ac@brethren.org).
  
  
• The annual Brethren Revival Fellowship orientation unit for Brethren Volunteer Service will be held at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., from Aug. 20-30. A total of 11 staff and volunteers are expected.
  
  
• An Action Alert from the Brethren Witness/Washington Office of the General Board, dated Aug. 3, calls attention to the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act of 2006 (S. 3698), introduced by Senator Jim Jeffords (I, VT). The legislation “is based on the increasing scientific evidence that global warming poses a significant threat to the public health and welfare of the US and to the global environment as a whole,” the alert stated. As well as giving details of the legislation, the alert quotes from the 1991 Annual Conference statement “Creation: Called to Care,” and urges Brethren to contact their senators in support of the act. “Your voice can make a difference,” the alert said. “As little as 10 calls or letters on an issue can be enough to convince an elected official to support or not support a piece of legislation. Let us take a serious stand on reducing global warming and caring for our environment.” For more information go to www.brethren.org/genbd/WitnessWashOffice.html or contact the office at 800-785-3246 or washington_office_gb@brethren.org.
  
  
• Virlina District is holding a teacher’s workshop for Christian educators on the theme, “Called, Equipped, Sent Forth” on Sept. 16 from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Germantown Brick Church of the Brethren in Rocky Mount, Va. The scriptural texts will be Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and Ephesians 4:11-12. The workshop will include worship, teacher training, inspiration, and a commissioning of teachers. Workshops will include training for the new curriculum “Gather ’Round: Hearing and Sharing God’s Good News” from Brethren Press and Mennonite Publishing Network; a workshop on serving those with disabilities; and a workshop on ministering to difficult behaviors. Cost is $15 for an individual or $25 for a group from a congregation. Carol Mason, staff for the General Board’s Congregational Life Teams and a retired school teacher and ordained minister with a master's degree in curriculum development, will provide leadership. For more information contact Virlina District at 540-362-1816.
  
  
• Bridgewater (Va.) College “enjoyed unparalleled fundraising success in fiscal year 2005-06,” according to a release from the school. Gifts and pledges totaled $8,074,548, the release said, with highlights of the year including several gifts in the range of a half million dollars, and additions to the college endowment of $4.2 million. In other news from the college, nine new fulltime faculty arrive in mid-August to join the departments of communication studies, education, health and exercise science, history, music, and philosophy.
  
  
• Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind., is changing its accounting offerings to reflect changing needs in the larger accounting environment, announced a letter from president Jo Young Switzer. “After 15 years with a good master of accountancy program that has dwindled in number of graduates, we will offer, instead, a program that allows students to complete their 150 hours required by the accounting industry in four-and-a-half years,” the letter said. “Accounting firms nationwide are clear that they prefer to hire new accountants who already have met the 150-hour requirement and are ready to sit for the CPA exam. Firms are telling us the master's degree does not carry weight in their hiring decisions.” The new accounting program will begin this fall. For more about the college go to www.manchester.edu.
  
  
• Sculptor Jeff Adams has been commissioned to create a bronze sculpture to depict the spirit of compassion given to seniors at Pinecrest Community in Mount Morris, Ill. A “maquette” or model of the sculpture titled "The Good Samaritan" was unveiled at a fundraiser in July. The sculpture is to be displayed at the entrance of the Grove, a new 20-acre active adult community now under construction as part of Pinecrest.
  
  
• Fahrney Keedy Home and Village holds its Second Annual Heritage Day on Aug. 19, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Events includes live entertainment, a chicken barbecue, bake sale, yard sale, food vendors, craft vendors, trade vendors, and displays of quilts and celebrity autographs. Fahrney Keedy Home and Village is located at 8507 Mapleville Rd., Boonsboro, Md.
  
  
• Camp Eder in Fairfield, Pa., is hosting a “Moving Stories, Healing Stories” retreat on Sept. 22-24, with sponsorship from the Jubilee Troupe. The troupe is an endeavor of Brethren and others joining creative arts, social change, and spiritual renewal, sponsored by On Earth Peace, the New Community Project, and the Brethren Peace Fellowship. Keynote presenter is Julie Portman, an Obie Award winning performer and founder of Ki Theater in Washington, Va. The retreat is an opportunity to explore spiritual enrichment and community renewal processes through forms of interactive drama, movement, and other creative arts. Activities include working with storytelling tools and exploring personal stories; forums for sharing skills, ideas, media, and findings; "getting into our bodies" with quietness and play; personal and group devotional time; sharing meals and supportive fellowship. InterPlay instructor Judith Reichsman from Marlboro, Vt., also will lead a workshop to provide improvisational tools to further explore personal stories. Find out more and register online at http://jubileetroupe.org/events/2006-retreat.htm.
  
  
• Members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in northern Indiana have begun a nonviolent campaign to stop the production of depleted uranium weaponry. Leaders include Church of the Brethren members Cliff Kindy and Tom Benevento, who is Latin America/Caribbean program volunteer for the Global Mission Partnerships of the General Board. CPT was originally an initiative of the historic peace churches (Church of the Brethren, Mennonites, and Quakers) but now enjoys support and membership from a wide range of Christian denominations. The campaign focuses on depleted uranium production sites, such as the ones in Rocket Center, W.Va., and Jonesborough, Tenn., both operated or contracted by Alliant Technologies, said a release from the campaign. The focus is to only stop the production of depleted uranium, not to shut down the plants, the release said. Those participating in the campaign spend an hour in silence and fasting every Friday noon, and are encouraged to examine their lifestyles to ask how one lives a life that does not need to be defended by war. Plans have included monitoring trucks in and out of plants, holding prayer vigils for the victims of depleted uranium weapons, and scheduling public forums on the effects of depleted uranium weapons. For more go to the campaign’s website www.stop-du.org.
  
  
• A National Council of Churches (NCC) expert on international affairs and peace is scheduled to be on Fox News tonight, Aug. 16. Antonios Kireopoulos, the NCC's associate general secretary for International Affairs and Peace, is to be interviewed by Bill O'Reilly on “The O'Reilly Factor.” The program airs on the Fox News cable channel at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. eastern. Kireopoulos will discuss solutions to the war in Lebanon and Israel, and the root causes of terrorism. He has visited the region many times and has worked on issues of peace for several years. For more information about the programs of the NCC go to www.councilofchurches.org.
  
  
• A Greater Gift (SERRV) offers a “Summer Overstock Sale” on Aug. 23-26 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. The sale will include 60 percent off first quality items. A Greater Gift sells fair trade handcrafts and foods from around the world through partnerships with small-scale artisan and farmer groups. The organization was started by the Church of the Brethren. For more information go to www.agreatergift.org.

Source: 8/16/2006 Newsline
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