Brethren bits: Personnel, job openings, trips, and much more.

• The Church of the Brethren General Board has announced the placement of Roy Grosbach as interim part-time director of Information Services, serving since the departure of former director Ed Leiter. Grosbach has more than 20 years of information services expertise in a wide range of industries and work areas, and has been a technical consultant helping nonprofit organizations use technology to further their missions. He lives in Evergreen, Colo.
  
  
• The Church of the Brethren General Board seeks a fulltime director of Information Services located in Elgin, Ill. A position description and application form are available on request. The application deadline is Feb. 16. Responsibilities include developing, maintaining, and implementing a technology system to support General Board programs; providing management responsibility for day-to-day operations; maintaining and developing appropriate hardware and software systems; budget development, monitoring, and reporting in information services arena; providing for accurate and efficient support of use of computers to meet user needs. Qualifications include knowledge and experience in planning and implementing an information system, budget development, and management; strong technical skills in programming and systems analysis; progressive administrative and leadership skills. Education and experience required include a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in information sciences or a related field, a minimum of five years of significant information services experience including systems analysis and design, and programming involving networks. Complete the General Board application form, submit a resume and letter of application, and request three references to send letters of recommendation to the Office of Human Resources, Church of the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120-1694; 800-323-8039 ext. 258; kkrog_gb@brethren.org.
  
  
• Sharing Services Agency/MAX (MutualAid eXchange) is offering a producer/agent career opportunity in the Anabaptist community. Sharing Services Agency/MAX provides property and casualty insurance products (homeowners, farmowners, church, auto, and commercial policies) and Mutual Aid Ministries programs. The Goshen, Ind., office is seeking a producer/agent to develop strong connections to the Anabaptist community, generate opportunities for providing MAX insurance, and deliver 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 may be considered. To learn more visit www.mutualaidexchange.com. Resumes may be e-mailed to skwine@maxkc.com or faxed to 877-785-0085.
  
  
• Annual Conference moderator Belita D. Mitchell and her husband Don Mitchell, will travel to Nigeria from Feb. 26-March 9. The visit with Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) will be a historic one for Mitchell as the first African-American woman to hold the highest elected position in the Church of the Brethren. She pastors First Church of the Brethren in Harrisburg, Pa., and will lead the Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, in July. The Mitchells will be accompanied on the trip by Merv Keeney, executive director of Global Mission Partnerships for the Church of the Brethren General Board, and Janis Pyle, the board’s coordinator for Mission Connections. In Nigeria, the group will be joined by David Whitten, Nigeria mission coordinator.
  
  
• The Executive Committee of the Church of the Brethren General Board will visit Gulf coast areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, from Feb. 15-17. The group will meet with survivors, disaster volunteers, and staff of local longterm recovery organizations, and will visit the Disaster Child Care site at FEMA’s Welcome Home Center in New Orleans as well as Brethren Disaster Response rebuilding sites in Pearl River and St. Bernard Parish, La., and Lucedale, Miss. The trip was organized to provide the committee with a broad overview of the Emergency Response program, and to prompt discussion of key issues related to disaster response and recovery. The committee includes chair Jeff Neuman-Lee, vice-chair Timothy P. Harvey, Dale Minnich, Vickie Whitacre Samland, Ken Wenger, and Angela Lahman Yoder. Accompanying the group are Emergency Response director Roy Winter, associate director Zach Wolgemuth, and director of Identity and Relations Becky Ullom. The trip will begin in New Orleans, where the group will tour the Lower Ninth Ward. In Lucedale a highlight will be participating in a house dedication. A night will be spent in FEMA trailers that house volunteers in Pearl River. The trip will end in Florida with a visit to Rebuild Northwest Florida.
  
  
• The deadline to apply for the summer 2007 Youth Peace Travel Team has been extended to Feb. 23. This team will provide leadership to Church of the Brethren outdoor ministry programs, sponsored by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, Brethren Volunteer Service, Youth and Young Adult Ministries, the Outdoor Ministries Association, and On Earth Peace. Four youth or young adults between the ages of 18-22 will be selected. A stipend is available. Go to www.brethren.org/genbd/WitnessWashOffice.html and click on "Youth Peace Travel Team" to download the application form.
  
  
• The March, April, and May issue of "A Guide for Biblical Studies" is available from Brethren Press. This quarter’s Bible study is titled "Our Community Now and in God’s Future," and addresses scripture passages from 1 John and Revelation. Author Frank Ramirez is pastor of Everett (Pa.) Church of the Brethren. Order for $2.90 each plus shipping and handling, or in large print for $5.15 each plus shipping and handling; call 800-441-3712.
  
  
• Every six to eight weeks, On Earth Peace sponsors conference calls for those doing truth-in-recruitment organizing, or who want to get started with the work of opposing military recruitment. Two calls are offered this month on Feb. 28: the first at 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. eastern time, and the second at 7-8:30 p.m. eastern. The calls will feature Christian theological reflection on counter-recruitment, a chance to share and hear stories with other organizers, highlights of recent resources and new developments in the truth-in-recruiting movement, and strategic reflection on themes and common challenges including explanation of a strategy tool to use in counter-recruitment work in a local setting. Facilitators are Matt Guynn, coordinator of Peace Witness for On Earth Peace, and Deb Oskin, peace minister at Living Peace Church of the Brethren in Columbus, Ohio. Eight slots are available for each call. To participate send an e-mail to peacewitness_oepa@brethren.org. For more information go to www.brethren.org/oepa/programs/peace-witness/counter-recruitment/index.html.
  
  
• A new resource from On Earth Peace, "Shalom: Christ’s Way of Peace," is a practical guide to the scriptural roots of reconciliation and peacemaking. The booklet by Lani Wright and Susanna Farahat offers theological grounding, and examples and suggestions for reducing violence. With questions for reflection and discussion, it serves as a study guide for church school and other groups. "The Hebrew word shalom conveys a rich vision far beyond the word peace, which is its most common English translation," said On Earth Peace. "It includes health, wholeness, right relations, justice, and peace. The call to relationship and wholeness is deeply rooted in the fertile soil of scripture. It is an integral part of our faith story: the story of God’s action in the world; of Jesus’ life and ministry; and of the experience and testimony of the faith community." The 32-page booklet is available for $2 plus shipping and handling, call 410-635-8704 or visit www.brethren.org/oepa/resources/everyone/ShalomBook.html. A bulletin insert about the resource is available at www.brethren.org/oepa/resources/pastors/living-peace-news/index.html.
  
  
• The Committee on Interchurch Relations is seeking nominations of individuals or congregations in the Church of the Brethren who are doing exemplary work in interfaith peacebuilding, for the 2007 Ecumenical Citation to be given at Annual Conference in July. "We are looking for stories of either congregations or individuals that can be shared with others to show creative, meaningful ways to express Christ’s love for all people," committee member Robert C. Johansen said. Stories may include interfaith connections and witness through someone’s work or through volunteer activities, outreach through congregational activities, an ongoing church ministry to those of other faiths, and individual acts of kindness or compassion that cross boundaries which too often divide and encourage hostility between groups. Nominations may be mailed to the Office of the General Secretary, Church of the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120; or submitted at www.brethren.org, go to keyword "CIR/Ecumenical." The deadline is March 16.
  
  
• The Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies has announced a major step forward in a large fundraising campaign. In 2004, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded the Young Center a $500,000 matching grant, with the expectation that it would raise $2 million by Jan. 31, 2008. In a recent release the center reported that it has raised cash and pledges totaling $1.95 million, and is within $50,000 of reaching the goal. "We are looking forward to meeting our $2 million goal and to celebrating the completion of this campaign on April 5, 2008. That date also marks the 20th anniversary of the Young center," said the statement from interim director Donald B. Kraybill, and Elizabethtown College director of church relations Allen Hansell. The center is located at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College. The NEH award and the money raised will create a $2.5 million endowment, allowing the center to endow an academic chair, enhance a visiting fellows program, and expand its collection of books and archival materials. In the same release, the center also reported that a large portion of the late Donald Durnbaugh’s library has been donated by his wife, Hedda Durnbaugh. "A preeminent scholar of the Brethren experience in Europe and America, Durnbaugh cared deeply for the work of the Young Center and we are honored to have these materials," said Kraybill and Hansell.
  
  
• The National Council of Churches USA (NCC) is one of 100 groups calling for major changes in the "No Child Left Behind" law. The legislation is up for reauthorization during this term of Congress. The groups have released a joint statement that urges the law’s emphasis "shift from applying sanctions for failing to raise test scores to holding states and localities accountable for making the systemic changes that improve student achievement" (see www.edaccountability.org). The NCC’s Committee on Public Education and Literacy has created a webpage inviting responses to a Congressional Letters Project at www.ncccusa.org/pdfs/LeftBehind.html. The committee provides ten different letters, one for each of ten moral concerns it has identified, and is asking writers to add a personal story to each letter about how the legislation is affecting a particular school, child, teacher, or community.
  
  
• Ecumenical Advocacy Days are planned for March 9-12 in Washington, D.C., on the theme, "And How Are the Children?" The gathering is expected to draw more than 1,000 religious advocates from a wide array of Christian communions. Experts will train participants how to do advocacy and inform them of US domestic and international policies. The gathering will conclude with a visit to Capitol Hill where participants will ask their Congressional representatives to make the needs of children the center of the 2007 legislative agenda. Cost of registration is $150. For more information and to register go to www.advocacydays.org.

Source: 2/14/2007 Newsline