Brethren bits: Correction, personnel, job opening, and much more.

• Correction: Karen Orpurt Crim joined the board of Brethren Benefit Trust in the fall of 2006. Newsline incorrectly reported on Dec. 20 that Karen Crim Dillon had joined the BBT board.
  
  
• Shanita Hamlin has resigned as customer service specialist for Brethren Press in order to begin a job with Chicago Metro AEYC, the Illinois Chapter of the National Association for Young Children. In this position she will inform preschool providers about funds that have been allocated to enhance preschool in Illinois, and will assist them in applying for the funds. Jan. 17 was her last day with Brethren Press. "Shanita has been a strong advocate for the new Gather ’Round curriculum during these important months of introduction," said Wendy McFadden, executive director of the press. "We will miss her on the Brethren Press team."
  
  
• Wendi Hutchinson, director of church relations at Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind., has resigned from the position as of Jan. 12. She began Jan. 16 as director of alumni relations and special events for the College of Consumer and Family Services at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Many at Manchester College will share the church relations responsibilities following Hutchinson’s resignation, including new campus pastor Steve Crain, trustees, Manchester president Jo Young Switzer, faculty, and others on the college staff. The campus pastor and president Switzer will share leadership for church relations; admissions secretary Sandy Bendsen will provide administrative support. For more information contact executive vice president Dave McFadden at dfmcfadden@manchester.edu.
  
  
• Diane Ford Jones of Cleveland, Ohio, has been named national director of Every Church A Peace Church (see www.ecapc.org). John Stoner, co-founder and coordinator for the past five years, will continue in an advisory role. Jones is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC), and since 2002 has been the minister for communication and education mission of the UCC Justice and Witness Ministries, in the denomination’s national office. She spent formative years with the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, D.C., and holds masters degrees in divinity and journalism from Boston University. She will lead a strategic planning process, promote conferences, supervise production of a peace study curriculum for churches, expand television and web-based communications, and will promote the National Registry of Peace Churches. Every Church A Peace Church was begun by an ecumenical group including Church of the Brethren representatives.
  
  
• Sharing Services Agency/MutualAid eXchange (MAX), a property and casualty insurance company serving Anabaptists across the US and Canada, is seeking a producer/agent in its Goshen, Ind., office. Responsibilities include developing strong connections to the Anabaptist community, generating opportunities for providing MAX insurance, and delivering outstanding service to members. Previous insurance experience and a current Property and Casualty insurance license is a plus. Training the right person not already licensed can be considered. To learn more about the company and those it serves, visit www.mutualaidexchange.com. Resumes may be e-mailed to skwine@maxkc.com or faxed to 877-785-0085.
  
  
• A Middle East Peacemaking Delegation co-sponsored by On Earth Peace and Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) arrived in Israel/Palestine on Jan. 11. The delegation will conclude on Jan. 22. The trip began in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and then travels to Hebron and the village of At-Tuwani, to join in CPT’s ongoing work of violence-deterrence, accompaniment, and documentation. The 12 delegation members includes participants from the US, Canada, Ghana, and Northern Ireland, including several with Church of the Brethren connections. Delegation leader Rick Polhamus is a member of Pleasant Hill (Ohio) Church of the Brethren. The group planned to meet with members of the Israeli military, Israeli settlers, Palestinian families, and human rights and peace workers from both Israel and Palestine; join in a public witness that nonviolently confronts injustice and violence; tour the ‘security wall’ separating Israel from the West Bank; and visit Palestinian families whose homes and livelihoods are threatened by expanding Israeli settlements. Track the delegation’s activities at http://hebrondelegation.blogspot.com. For more information go to www.brethren.org/oepa/programs/special/middle-east-peacemaking/index.html.
  
  
• Disaster Child Care Level 1 Training Workshops planned for early 2007 include events on Feb. 16-17 in Atlanta, Ga.; Feb. 23-24 in Tampa, Fla.; March 9-10 in Dallas Center, Iowa; March 16-17 in Fort Wayne, Ind.; March 23-24 in Natchitoches, La.; and April 20-21 in Littleton, Colo. Disaster Child Care is a ministry of the Church of the Brethren General Board that trains, certifies, and mobilizes volunteers to disaster sites in the US to provide crisis intervention to young children of families suffering from natural or man-made disasters. Volunteers must become certified and successfully complete an intensive 27-hour training workshop. The training covers information on the needs of children following a disaster, learning skills for effective interaction with children, and experiencing a simulated disaster aftermath. The Disaster Child Care program currently has volunteers working two-week shifts in New Orleans at a "Welcome Home Center" set up by FEMA--since the beginning of the year a total of eight volunteers have served 75 children. For additional information and a registration form, visit www.disasterchildcare.org or call the DCC Office at 800-451-4407 (option 5).
  
  
• The Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership is offering several courses this winter and early spring, among them "Confronting Death, Proclaiming Hope: A Brethren Approach to Funerals and Memorial Services," on Feb. 11-12 at Shepherd’s Spring Outdoor Ministry Center in Sharpsburg, Md., and March 2-3 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., taught by James Benedict (registration deadline Jan. 26, go to http://bts.earlham.edu/academy/pdf/BenedictClass.pdf); and "Exploring Christian Faith: An Introduction to Theology," an online course Feb. 26-April 28, taught by Craig Gandy (registration deadline Jan. 29, go to www.bethanyseminary.edu/pdf%20files/IntrotoTheology-Gandy-2007m.pdf). Courses offered through the academy are open to Training in Ministry and Education for Shared Ministry students, pastors, and lay people. For more contact 765-983-1824 or academy@bethanyseminary.edu.
  
  
• Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) has announced its 2007 Winter Orientation, Jan. 28-Feb. 16 at Camp Ithiel in Gotha, Fla. This will be the 273th orientation unit for BVS and will consist of 16 volunteers from across the US and Germany. Several Church of the Brethren members will attend, and the remaining volunteers come from varied faith backgrounds. A highlight of the three weeks will be a weekend immersion with the Brethren Haitian community in Miami and Orlando, where volunteers will have the opportunity to work at food banks, nature preserves, nonprofit organizations, and Habitat for Humanity. The group will also have a chance to work at Camp Ithiel for a day. A BVS potluck is open to all those who are interested on Feb. 4 at 5:30 p.m. at Camp Ithiel. "Please feel free to come and welcome the new BVS volunteers and to share your own experiences," invited Hannah Kliewer of the BVS office. For more information contact the BVS office at 800-323-8039 ext. 423. "As always your thoughts and prayers are welcome and needed. Please remember this new unit and the people they will touch during their year of service through BVS," Kliewer said.
  
  
• Reading (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren, located in Wyomissing, is taking advantage of a developer’s interest in its property and preparing to build a new facility, reports the "Reading Eagle." Pastor Timothy Speicher told the paper the church will build a new facility on three acres it will retain at the rear of the property, and in the meantime will worship at nearby Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom synagogue. During its own building renovation the synagogue met at Reading First. Read more at www.readingeagle.com/re/religion/1615525.asp.
  
  
• "Darfur Awareness Day" at Glade Valley Church of the Brethren on Dec. 10 brought more than 50 people from the congregation and community to learn about violence taking place in Darfur, Sudan. Caitlyn Leiter-Mason organized the event along with help from friends and members of Glade Valley. She reported that donations from the event totaled over $2,500. The contributions will be sent to Church World Service to support work with refugees from Darfur.
  
  
• Illinois and Wisconsin District has announced a new "satellite" office. Contact district executive minister Kevin Kessler at the new office, 120 N. 3rd Ave., Canton, IL 61520; 309-647-4828; kevink.iwdcob@sbcglobal.net. Contact district administrative assistant Duane Steiner at the former office, which will remain at York Center Church of the Brethren in Lombard, Ill.
  
  
• The Great Plains Office of Church World Service (CWS) has recognized Lee Rodgers, a member of Newton (Kan.) Church of the Brethren, for a half-century of service to CROP. Fifty years of counting CROP Hunger Walk money is enough, said Rodgers in a CWS release. He retired after last October’s CROP Walk, ending a run that began in 1956. "I started as a banker in 1938," he said. "When I returned from military service in 1956, my boss at the bank handed the CROP treasurer’s job over to me." Although in recent years Rodgers served as a local treasurer, in the past he was responsible for all of Harvey County, in which Newton is located. In those early days, methods were a little different, he said. Farmers took wheat to the grain elevator and donated the profits. Rodgers collected the proceeds and sent them to Church World Service. He recalled the Friendship Trains that would take the grain away. Rodgers is a life-long member of the Newton congregation. "The churches ran the walk. All I did was handle the money," he said. His time as treasurer was a labor of love, he noted. "It was worthwhile."
  
  
• On Earth Peace staff member Matt Guynn was one of a panel interviewed on national radio as part of an activist-oriented training network called Training for Change (see www.trainingforchange.org). The interview was broadcast from Philadelphia on Saturday, Jan. 13, as part of the show, "Weekend America." The show related to the Martin Luther King holiday and included clips from Dr. King’s speeches and responses from the panelists about the speeches’ relevance for today. Find "Weekend America" at http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org.
  
  
• CrossRoads Valley Brethren and Mennonite Heritage Center annual dinner meeting will be held 6 p.m. on Feb. 2 at First Church of the Brethren in Harrisonburg, Va. Tickets are $15, with registration required, call 540-438-1275. The program will include highlights of 2006, plans for 2007, and an address by Steve Watson, professor of religion and philosophy at Bridgewater (Va.) College. For more about CrossRoads go to www.vbmhc.org.
  
  
• New Life Ministries is sponsoring a Leadership Training Event entitled "Deep and Wide: Expanding Hospitality in the Faithful Church" on Tuesday, May 8, at Franconia Mennonite Church in Telford, Pa. Keynote speakers are Ron Sider and Eddie Gibbs. Participants will receive a copy of a new hospitality and assimilation resource by Steve Clapp, Fred Bernhard, and Ed Bontrager. Pastors will earn .6 continuing education units. Discounts are available for early registration and for multiple persons attending from the same congregation. For more information about the event and to register, contact Kristen Leverton Helbert, director of New Life Ministries, at 800-774-3360 or NLMServiceCenter@aol.com.
  
  
• During the week of Jan. 15-21, a campaign of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) against the use of depleted uranium weapons will be assisting residents of the Jonesborough, Tenn., area to conduct a health poll of the neighborhood around an Aerojet Ordnance plant where the weapons are made. CPT held a fall delegation related to the campaign, five days of which were spent in a prayer vigil at the plant where participants had contacts with neighbors and plant employees who expressed concerns about health issues because of the depleted uranium products, CPT member Cliff Kindy reported. "This health poll has developed as a response to those concerns. Perhaps it can serve as a stimulus for a more exhaustive and credible study," he said. CPT has announced two more delegations to investigate and challenge the use and manufacture of depleted uranium munitions, on March 16-25 and on May 18-27. Starting in Jonesborough, the delegations will meet with people affected by the weapons and will organize a nonviolent public witness. The March delegation may also travel to Washington, D.C. Delegates will arrange their own transportation to Knoxville, Tenn., and raise $300 for expenses. For more information or to apply contact Christian Peacemaker Teams, 773-277-0253, delegations@cpt.org; or see www.cpt.org. For more information about the campaign against depleted uranium weapons visit www.stop-du.org.

Source: 1/17/2007 Newsline