Brethren bits: Remembrance, personnel, job opening, and more.

• Rae Hungerford Mason, a career missionary for the Church of the Brethren, died Dec. 3, 2006, in Portland, Ore. She was the widow of George Mason, who passed away in 1983, and together with her husband had served in Puerto Rico, China, and India. In Puerto Rico they contributed to the building of the hospital in Castaner. They next served the church in China, until they were forced to leave by the communists. In India they were mission workers for 26 years, from 1952 until they retired in 1978. They worked in rural development, first in Bulsar then in Anklesvar, Gujarat. While raising her children, Rae supported her husband through his work of co-creating and running the Rural Service Center. Her work in India included relief food distribution in schools, hosting international travelers, substitute teaching in music, and serving as a housemother at Woodstock School. The couple retired to Centralia, Wash. Rae Mason had been born in Pullman, Wash., was a 1941 graduate of the University of Washington, and in high school played violin in the Portland Junior Symphony. She was active in peace and justice causes, was a life-long member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, participated in civil rights sit-ins of CORE and NAACP, supported Japanese-Americans during the internment after Pearl Harbor, and participated in anti-nuclear protests during the 1980s. Her activism included supporting the rights of conscientious objectors--she met her husband when he was in alternative service at the Cascade Locks camp for conscientious objectors. She is survived by her daughters Anne Mason and Greta Mason Nelson and husband, Peter, and daughter-in-law, Carol Mason, and by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her son, Ralph Mason, who was a Brethren mission worker in Nigeria.
  
  
• Margaret Drafall began March 26 as customer service resource specialist for Brethren Press, working at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill. She brings more than 24 years of experience in office management, including customer service, human resources, and business administration. She is an active member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Elgin, where she serves on the church council and the worship committee, and is liaison to the Child Development Center.
  
  
• The application deadline for the position of “lead team” for the Church of the Brethren mission in Sudan has been extended. The Global Mission Partnerships of the General Board continues to seek two couples or families to serve as the lead team to begin the new ministry in Sudan, seeking to rebuild and heal communities after decades of war. As a holistic effort, the work will include the formation of churches. A complementary team that includes people bringing one or more of the following skill sets is preferred: peace and conflict transformation, healthcare, church planting and Christian education, community development preferably with experience in developing nations, dealing with trauma, and literacy and adult education. Candidates should bring relevant education and experience in their area of specialty and previous experience in international cross-cultural settings, be well-grounded in Church of the Brethren identity and practice, and have a team orientation. Secondary skills in repair and maintenance of computers, houses, or vehicle mechanics will be useful. Team members will participate in raising their own support under General Board oversight. The application deadline has been extended from previous announcements of this position. The extended timetable is for interviews and decisions to be made during this spring, with placement possibly by the fall of this year. Application forms may be requested from Karin Krog, Office of Human Resources, by telephone at 800-323-8039.
  
  
• Great Harvest Church Planting of Illinois and Wisconsin District seeks individuals who desire to fulfill the biblical mandate of the Great Commission by starting new, multiplying congregations of believers in the district. “Church planting is considered the most effective means of evangelism,” said the announcement from Lynda Lubbs-DeVore, apostle for the district’s New Church Development Board. “Great Harvest Church Planting is working hard to develop systems and strategies in order to equip church planters to launch healthy, missional churches in the district,” she said. Great Harvest Church Planting will offer help to church planters including help with assessment, training and coaching, and grant funds to get started. “We will do all that we can to assist you and your family as you explore and respond to the call to plant a successful, multiplying church,” the announcement said. “If you are not satisfied with ministry that is ‘status quo,’ if you have a heart for lost people and God has given you a desire to live and do ministry in our region, church planting may be what God is calling you to. Don’t ignore that call!” Contact DeVore at Lynda@ncdb.org or 630-675-9740.
  
  
• The Annual Conference Office is listing e-mail addresses for communicating with the Annual Conference Officers. Each Annual Conference officer has an e-mail addresses through which he or she may be contacted on matters related to Annual Conference. Contact moderator Belita Mitchell at moderator@brethren.org. Contact moderator-elect Jim Beckwith at moderatorelect_ac@brethren.org. Contact secretary Fred Swartz at acsecretary@brethren.org.
  
  
• The Service Ministries program of the Church of the Brethren General Board has had a busy beginning to the year, reported director Loretta Wolf. International shipments of relief materials have been sent to Angola, with items from both Church World Service (CWS) and Interchurch Medical Assistance (IMA) organized through the Church of the Brethren Emergency Response; to Montenegro and Romania, through a cooperative effort of International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) and CWS; to Serbia, sponsored by Lutheran World Relief and IOCC; to Burkina Faso, on behalf of CWS; to Jordan, on behalf of Lutheran World Relief; and a pending shipment to the Palestinian Territories, for Lutheran World Relief. Domestic US shipments for CWS this year have included blankets to McAlester, Okla., and Austin, Texas, in response to winter storms; blankets to homeless and disadvantaged people in Binghamton, N.Y.; blankets, baby kits, health kits, and cleanup buckets in response to tornados in the area of Orlando, Fla.; blankets to disadvantaged border areas near Brownsville, Texas; blankets to St. Paul, Minn., for the homeless and disadvantaged; baby kits, health kits, and emergency cleanup buckets to Gould, Ark., following the tornados and severe storms that hit the southern US.
  
  
• Westernport (Md.) Church of the Brethren will hold a homecoming on Sunday, Aug. 5, to mark its 50th year of service at its present site, and its 80th year as a church, according to an announcement in the “Mineral Daily News-Tribune.” Pastor Leon Swigart will be the guest speaker. Activities will include morning worship, lunch, and an afternoon program with a “Walk Down Memory Lane,” choir, and open-mike period. Displays will feature memorabilia and photographs of church life through the years. A commemorative church history booklet is planned. For more information and to register contact the church office at 301-359-3762. The deadline to register for the luncheon is April 1.
  
  
• In an update on the Boca Chica church building project in the Dominican Republic (see Newsline of Nov. 22, 2006), Irv and Nancy Heishman, co-mission coordinators in the DR for the Church of the Brethren General Board, report that the congregation recently celebrated building accomplishments, including blocks built up to roof level. More fill will need to be added before the floor is poured. The building will include an extension at the back for bathrooms and stairs, leaving open the possibility of adding a second story as the church grows. In the congregation’s Sunday school offering for the construction project, each of four classes competed to be the highest giver for the month. “The winners for January were the ‘Damas’--the women's class,” the Heishmans said. “These women gained some of their offering money by making sweets and other goodies to sell in the streets.” The Heishmans thanked the Brethren World Mission and the General Board for financial support and coordination, and passed on thanks from the congregation: “The Boca Chica church is grateful for the support they feel from the Global Mission and Brethren World Mission.... Praise be to God for what the Spirit is doing here!”
  
  
• The 6th Annual Shenandoah Disaster Auction Kick Off Dinner will be held March 31, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Kline Campus Center at Bridgewater (Va.) College. Entertainment will be provided by the Sunset Mountain Boys.
  
  
• Fahrney-Keedy Home and Village, a Church of the Brethren retirement community near Boonsboro, Md., is remembering resident Charlotte Winters, who died March 27 at age 109. According to Scripps Howard News Service, she was the last living female World War I veteran.
  
  
• In other news from Fahrney-Keedy Home and Village, the community is exhibiting its Celebrity Autograph Quilt and Wall Hangings on April 1, from noon to 3 p.m. The exhibit is free to the public and will be held in the lobby of the main building. A total of 92 celebrities of stage, screen, opera, sports, and music took part in the unique fundraiser, including Charlton Heston, Elizabeth Taylor, James Earl Jones, Lauren Bacall, Hank Williams Jr., and Nascar's Jimmie Johnson, among many others. All items will be offered to international memorabilia collectors on UBID.com internet auction beginning April 9. Proceeds benefit Fahrney-Keedy, and contribute to the Benevolent Fund. For more information, contact Betsy Miller at 301-671-5016 or bmiller@fkmh.org.
  
  
• Manchester College is offering a 150-hour accounting program, after suspending its master of accountancy program following a survey of regional and national accounting firms, according to a release from the college in North Manchester, Ind. Many firms do not pay higher starting salaries for a master's degree, nor do they consider it for promotions, the release said. Janis Fahs, CPA and chair of the Department of Accounting and Business, said the new program positions Manchester students in the job market well-prepared for certification as certified public accountants. The program moves students into the job market six months earlier than the traditional master's degree program, the release said. Students receive a bachelor's degree after completing 128 credit hours; the additional 22 credit hours fulfill CPA certification requirements. For more about Manchester's accounting programs, visit www.manchester.edu.
  
  
• New Life Ministries is sponsoring a Leadership Training Event entitled "Deep and Wide: Expanding Hospitality in the Faithful Church" on May 8 at Franconia Mennonite Church in Telford, Pa. Keynote speakers are Eddie Gibbs and Ron Sider. Registrations received before April 1 qualify for a discount--as well as those registrations with multiple persons attending from the same congregation. For more information visit www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org or contact director Kristen Leverton Helbert at 800-774-3360 or NLMServiceCenter@aol.com.
  
  
• The Brethren Peace Fellowship is encouraging meetings of silent presence to pray for peace throughout the world. A meeting for prayerful presence will take place in front of the Westminster (Md.) branch of the Carroll County Public Library on April 3, between 5-6 p.m. “If you too are longing for a more peaceful world, please come and silently pray with us,” invited Jane Yount, of the Brethren Disaster Response office.
  
  
• The Global Women's Project, a Church of the Brethren women’s organization, is in the process of weighing its future course. A consultation was held at Manchester Church of the Brethren in North Manchester, Ind., on Feb. 16-18 by the project’s Steering Committee: Judi Brown, Lois Grove, Nan Erbaugh, Jacki Hartley, and Bonnie Kline Smeltzer. The committee is in a discernment process on the future of the project, which is a grassroots movement that has lifted up lifestyle and justice issues and initiated women-to-women projects in more than a dozen developing countries over the past 30 years. Among the 15 participants in the consultation were representatives from the Church of the Brethren General Board.
  
  
• Resources for Earth Day Sunday, April 22, are available from the National Council of Churches (NCC). The 2007 Earth Day Sunday resource for worship, study, and action, is titled "Our Daily Bread: Harvesters of Hope and Gardeners of Eden." The resource focuses on creating a more sustainable food system in the US by seeking spirit-filled solutions to the root causes of injustice in farm and food policy. The council also is providing an opportunity for direct action with legislators for Earth Day Sunday, encouraging elected officials to “Sow Justice” in the 2007 farm bill. Congregations may also register their Earth Day Sunday celebrations with the NCC’s Eco-Justice Network so that others in the area can locate events. For more information go to www.nccecojustice.org/faithharvestworship.html.
  
  
• Church of the Brethren congregations may take part in a faith-based health care survey being conducted by the National Council of Churches (NCC). This is the first nationwide, in-depth, systematic study of health services provided by religious communities, according to the NCC. The project will survey more than 100,000 congregations to determine the level of health care education, delivery, and advocacy being offered. The study is made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. A comprehensive report will be released at the conclusion of the study. It will help faith leaders and health care providers determine, for the first time, what role the religious congregation is playing, or not, in the delivery of health-related services to communities across the country. Congregations may take part in the survey at www.ncccusa.org/healthsurvey.

Source: 3/28/2007 Newsline