- Cross-Cultural Celebration meets on the theme of peace.
- Consultation receives report from Intercultural Study Committee.
- Christian Citizenship Seminar explores ‘The State of Our Health.’
- Brethren give $50,000 to agriculture in N. Korea, among recent grants.
- Disaster Child Care continues work in New Orleans.
- Brethren bits: Corrections, remembrances, personnel, and much more.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
NEWS
Cross-Cultural Celebration meets on the theme of peace.
“Paz (peace). Croyez (believe). Joy....” The theme banner in five languages at the Cross-Cultural Consultation and Celebration also featured the words for “It is good” in Japanese, and “The good path” in Cree. The banner made by Dena Lee, a physician from Ohio and member of the On Earth Peace board, followed the scriptural theme from John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you....”
The gathering April 19-22 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., attracted some 100 Brethren of a wide variety of backgrounds from across the US and Puerto Rico, to share daily worship, Bible study, fellowship, and opportunities for conversation about cross-cultural issues. Main sessions were offered with Spanish translation.
Daily Bible study sessions were offered for small groups, some in multiple languages. The scriptures and questions for study focused on peace, but participants also had an opportunity to share personally from their lives and experiences, and to develop new relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ. Youth had an opportunity to make new friends at an overnight retreat hosted by Union Bridge (Md.) Church of the Brethren. The conference also included a report from the Intercultural Study Committee (see story below).
Worship and music in many languages and styles formed the heart of the celebration. Members of the Bittersweet music ministry led by Gilbert Romero, pastor of Bella Vista Church of the Brethren in Los Angeles, were joined by many other musicians and singers as the Spirit led. Opportunities were given for participants to bring testimonies, prayers, songs, and dance. Don Mitchell of Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren led congregational singing. Youth helped lead the Saturday morning worship, when the music included some favorites from National Youth Conference.
Preachers included Stephen Breck Reid, academic dean of Bethany Theological Seminary, who spoke about the meaning of Christian baptism. “What does it mean to be a people in water that might carry you away?” he asked. Reid called the church to participate in the baptism of Jesus Christ in order to claim a new identity, and to transform the world into the Kingdom “that is beyond racial and class distinctions.”
“There is no peace in the world without Christ,” said Gaston Pierre Louis in the Friday evening sermon. Louis serves as a pastor at Eglise des Freres Haitiens, a Haitian Church of the Brethren in Miami, Fla. His message was given in French Creole, and translated by Founa Augustin, a member of his congregation. “If we don’t have peace together, how can we share it with the world?” he asked. “Let’s walk in peace with Christ. Let’s live in peace together...even with those that hate us. Christ will say, come here my children, this is my Kingdom.”
Among other speakers, the gathering also heard from Annual Conference moderator Belita Mitchell, who sang “What a mighty God we serve” as she walked to the podium; from Carol Mason, coordinator of Congregational Life Teams, Area 3, who spoke for closing worship; and from On Earth Peace board member Doris Abdullah of Brooklyn, N.Y., who gave a prayerful meditation on the stations of the cross. She asked for remembrance of suffering people around the world, just as Christians remember the suffering Christ. “We remember the dark CIA prisons... we remember the two million in the camps (in Darfur, Sudan)... we remember those crossing the borders,” she prayed. “We remember how you loved us to your death. Help us peacemakers to change the world.”
A presentation by Mennonite guests Conrad Moore and Titus Peachey received a standing ovation. The two men told their personal stories: one was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, the other a Vietnam veteran who has become an advocate for peacemaking. They challenged the church to provide opportunities for employment and service to members of all ethnic and minority backgrounds. “The issue is access to opportunities,” Moore said. Inviting youth in the congregation to rise and be seen, he said, “Stand up young woman. Stand up young man. We need to make sure he has an opportunity to go to the mission field.”
The board of On Earth Peace held its spring meetings concurrently with the consultation, and joined in worship and Bible studies. A presentation about On Earth Peace prompted questions about the agency’s work against military recruitment, what resources are available for those faced with gang recruitment, violence against immigrants, and whether peace resources are available in Spanish. Several invitations were extended for On Earth Peace staff to visit in congregations.
Closing worship featured the newly formed Best Friends group, dedicated to sharing music from the African-American tradition. Founder James Washington Sr., an ordained Church of the Brethren minister from Whitehouse, Texas, introduced a set of songs that ranged from a soulful a cappella “Precious Lord,” to upbeat praise. The set included two of five original compositions that the group has in its repertoire. Best Friends performed a short tour of congregations earlier this year. It will be featured at Annual Conference in July.
The Cross Cultural Ministries Team Steering Committee that plans the annual celebration includes Barbara Date, Thomas Dowdy, Renel Exceus, Sonja Griffith, Robert Jackson, Marisel Olivencia, Gilbert Romero, and Dennis Webb, with Duane Grady as staff support from the General Board’s Congregational Life Teams. Carla Gillespie, a student at Bethany Theological Seminary, assisted with coordination of the event.
Find a photo journal of the event at www.brethren.org, click on “Photo Journals.” The dates of next year’s Cross Cultural Consultation and Celebration are April 24-27, 2008, in Elgin, Ill.
Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline
“Paz (peace). Croyez (believe). Joy....” The theme banner in five languages at the Cross-Cultural Consultation and Celebration also featured the words for “It is good” in Japanese, and “The good path” in Cree. The banner made by Dena Lee, a physician from Ohio and member of the On Earth Peace board, followed the scriptural theme from John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you....”
The gathering April 19-22 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., attracted some 100 Brethren of a wide variety of backgrounds from across the US and Puerto Rico, to share daily worship, Bible study, fellowship, and opportunities for conversation about cross-cultural issues. Main sessions were offered with Spanish translation.
Daily Bible study sessions were offered for small groups, some in multiple languages. The scriptures and questions for study focused on peace, but participants also had an opportunity to share personally from their lives and experiences, and to develop new relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ. Youth had an opportunity to make new friends at an overnight retreat hosted by Union Bridge (Md.) Church of the Brethren. The conference also included a report from the Intercultural Study Committee (see story below).
Worship and music in many languages and styles formed the heart of the celebration. Members of the Bittersweet music ministry led by Gilbert Romero, pastor of Bella Vista Church of the Brethren in Los Angeles, were joined by many other musicians and singers as the Spirit led. Opportunities were given for participants to bring testimonies, prayers, songs, and dance. Don Mitchell of Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren led congregational singing. Youth helped lead the Saturday morning worship, when the music included some favorites from National Youth Conference.
Preachers included Stephen Breck Reid, academic dean of Bethany Theological Seminary, who spoke about the meaning of Christian baptism. “What does it mean to be a people in water that might carry you away?” he asked. Reid called the church to participate in the baptism of Jesus Christ in order to claim a new identity, and to transform the world into the Kingdom “that is beyond racial and class distinctions.”
“There is no peace in the world without Christ,” said Gaston Pierre Louis in the Friday evening sermon. Louis serves as a pastor at Eglise des Freres Haitiens, a Haitian Church of the Brethren in Miami, Fla. His message was given in French Creole, and translated by Founa Augustin, a member of his congregation. “If we don’t have peace together, how can we share it with the world?” he asked. “Let’s walk in peace with Christ. Let’s live in peace together...even with those that hate us. Christ will say, come here my children, this is my Kingdom.”
Among other speakers, the gathering also heard from Annual Conference moderator Belita Mitchell, who sang “What a mighty God we serve” as she walked to the podium; from Carol Mason, coordinator of Congregational Life Teams, Area 3, who spoke for closing worship; and from On Earth Peace board member Doris Abdullah of Brooklyn, N.Y., who gave a prayerful meditation on the stations of the cross. She asked for remembrance of suffering people around the world, just as Christians remember the suffering Christ. “We remember the dark CIA prisons... we remember the two million in the camps (in Darfur, Sudan)... we remember those crossing the borders,” she prayed. “We remember how you loved us to your death. Help us peacemakers to change the world.”
A presentation by Mennonite guests Conrad Moore and Titus Peachey received a standing ovation. The two men told their personal stories: one was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, the other a Vietnam veteran who has become an advocate for peacemaking. They challenged the church to provide opportunities for employment and service to members of all ethnic and minority backgrounds. “The issue is access to opportunities,” Moore said. Inviting youth in the congregation to rise and be seen, he said, “Stand up young woman. Stand up young man. We need to make sure he has an opportunity to go to the mission field.”
The board of On Earth Peace held its spring meetings concurrently with the consultation, and joined in worship and Bible studies. A presentation about On Earth Peace prompted questions about the agency’s work against military recruitment, what resources are available for those faced with gang recruitment, violence against immigrants, and whether peace resources are available in Spanish. Several invitations were extended for On Earth Peace staff to visit in congregations.
Closing worship featured the newly formed Best Friends group, dedicated to sharing music from the African-American tradition. Founder James Washington Sr., an ordained Church of the Brethren minister from Whitehouse, Texas, introduced a set of songs that ranged from a soulful a cappella “Precious Lord,” to upbeat praise. The set included two of five original compositions that the group has in its repertoire. Best Friends performed a short tour of congregations earlier this year. It will be featured at Annual Conference in July.
The Cross Cultural Ministries Team Steering Committee that plans the annual celebration includes Barbara Date, Thomas Dowdy, Renel Exceus, Sonja Griffith, Robert Jackson, Marisel Olivencia, Gilbert Romero, and Dennis Webb, with Duane Grady as staff support from the General Board’s Congregational Life Teams. Carla Gillespie, a student at Bethany Theological Seminary, assisted with coordination of the event.
Find a photo journal of the event at www.brethren.org, click on “Photo Journals.” The dates of next year’s Cross Cultural Consultation and Celebration are April 24-27, 2008, in Elgin, Ill.
Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline
Consultation receives report from Intercultural Study Committee.
Revelation 7:9 is “a revelation of the true intended nature of God’s church in the here and now,” not just a description of God’s church at the end of time, said chair Asha Solanky as the Intercultural Study Committee presented its work to the Cross-Cultural Consultation and Celebration. The committee’s report will be a major item of business when the 2007 Annual Conference meets in Cleveland on June 30-July 4.
Committee members reviewed their recommendations for the denomination, and explained their study of the situation of the church, outlined the findings of their work, and talked about how they came to agreement on recommendations. They highlighted as a major recommendation the suggestion that the Church of the Brethren adopt Revelation 7:9 as the denominational vision for the remainder of the 21st century.
When the floor was opened for questions, participants asked about the feasibility of cross-cultural requirements for church committees, the advice to congregations to become acquainted with their communities, the nature of mentoring that the church may offer to new leaders from ethnic and minority backgrounds, the need for a directory of church leaders with experience working interculturally, recognition of different cultures among Anglos, and the requirements for a new Congregational Life Teams position that is being advocated by the committee.
Solanky’s response to several questions was to reiterate that although the recommendations may seem difficult, they are necessary to accomplish the goal of becoming an intercultural church. “If we’re serious about this, we have to start somewhere. Yes, it will be hard,” she said.
“It’s not like our church can’t do it,” added committee member Nadine Monn. “We can do it. We are able.”
Asked if the committee considered homosexuality as a culture to be included in the concerns of its report, committee members said that this had not been addressed. They cited the two queries that led to the formation of the study, which dealt with the inclusion of racial and ethnic groups, as setting the parameters for the study.
The committee received expressions of encouragement and support, as it brings the report to Annual Conference. “We need to pray about this (report), that something is going to happen,” said Gene Yeazell of Arden, N.C.
“I know how difficult it has been for you to work on this,” said Ruben DeOleo of Maranatha Multicultural Fellowship in Lancaster, Pa. “What they (the committee) have been doing is for us,” DeOleo then said to the gathering. “We need to go to Cleveland to Annual Conference to support what they’re going to say there. That’s our report to the church. What they’ve been finding is our life in the Church of the Brethren.”
Committee members are chair Asha Solanky, recorder Nadine L. Monn, Darla Kay Bowman Deardorff, Thomas Dowdy, Neemita Pandya, Gilbert Romero, and ex-officio member Glenn Hatfield of the American Baptist Churches USA. Find the full report and recommendations at www.brethren.org/ac.
Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline
Revelation 7:9 is “a revelation of the true intended nature of God’s church in the here and now,” not just a description of God’s church at the end of time, said chair Asha Solanky as the Intercultural Study Committee presented its work to the Cross-Cultural Consultation and Celebration. The committee’s report will be a major item of business when the 2007 Annual Conference meets in Cleveland on June 30-July 4.
Committee members reviewed their recommendations for the denomination, and explained their study of the situation of the church, outlined the findings of their work, and talked about how they came to agreement on recommendations. They highlighted as a major recommendation the suggestion that the Church of the Brethren adopt Revelation 7:9 as the denominational vision for the remainder of the 21st century.
When the floor was opened for questions, participants asked about the feasibility of cross-cultural requirements for church committees, the advice to congregations to become acquainted with their communities, the nature of mentoring that the church may offer to new leaders from ethnic and minority backgrounds, the need for a directory of church leaders with experience working interculturally, recognition of different cultures among Anglos, and the requirements for a new Congregational Life Teams position that is being advocated by the committee.
Solanky’s response to several questions was to reiterate that although the recommendations may seem difficult, they are necessary to accomplish the goal of becoming an intercultural church. “If we’re serious about this, we have to start somewhere. Yes, it will be hard,” she said.
“It’s not like our church can’t do it,” added committee member Nadine Monn. “We can do it. We are able.”
Asked if the committee considered homosexuality as a culture to be included in the concerns of its report, committee members said that this had not been addressed. They cited the two queries that led to the formation of the study, which dealt with the inclusion of racial and ethnic groups, as setting the parameters for the study.
The committee received expressions of encouragement and support, as it brings the report to Annual Conference. “We need to pray about this (report), that something is going to happen,” said Gene Yeazell of Arden, N.C.
“I know how difficult it has been for you to work on this,” said Ruben DeOleo of Maranatha Multicultural Fellowship in Lancaster, Pa. “What they (the committee) have been doing is for us,” DeOleo then said to the gathering. “We need to go to Cleveland to Annual Conference to support what they’re going to say there. That’s our report to the church. What they’ve been finding is our life in the Church of the Brethren.”
Committee members are chair Asha Solanky, recorder Nadine L. Monn, Darla Kay Bowman Deardorff, Thomas Dowdy, Neemita Pandya, Gilbert Romero, and ex-officio member Glenn Hatfield of the American Baptist Churches USA. Find the full report and recommendations at www.brethren.org/ac.
Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline
Christian Citizenship Seminar explores ‘The State of Our Health.’
Seventy-two senior high youth and advisors explored questions related to "The State of Our Health" in the US and abroad at this year’s Church of the Brethren Christian Citizenship Seminar (CCS). The event began March 24 in New York and concluded five days later in Washington, D.C., with an assortment of presentations, small-group discussions, a United Nations tour, worship, and sightseeing in between.
Many speakers focused on the merits of a “single-payer” health care system, which would eliminate the insurance companies as an intermediary in the process. Instead, standard rates would be negotiated by the government in each region, similar to what is done in Canada and in many nations in Europe and elsewhere. While funded publicly, care would still be delivered privately.
Each worker would pay a small percentage from his or her paycheck to fund the system, providing resources for those who cannot afford health care on their own. Recent government estimates put the number of Americans without health insurance at about 46 million. Many companies are also being squeezed by the cost of health care coverage.
“The present system is sick and just doesn’t get the job done,” said Bill Davidson, a Church of the Brethren cardiologist from Lebanon, Pa. “Health care is the next big social battle that’s going to take place, and you as young people have a front-row seat.” Davidson noted that the World Health Organization currently ranks the US number 37 in overall health care worldwide.
Marilyn Clement, national coordinator of Healthcare-NOW, focused on House Resolution 676, which proposes a US National Health Insurance Act, guaranteeing universal access to high-quality and cost-effective health care. Clement’s organization is leading a petition drive for the bill to be passed. “Getting there is going to be hard,” said Clement, who noted that health care costs could top 20 percent of the gross national product (GNP) by 2020 under the current system. “It’s not going to be easy.”
Palmyra (Pa.) Church of the Brethren pastor Wally Landes observed in an opening session that Brethren have often not chosen the easy road in a quest for mutuality. “Issues of health and wholeness are in our bones as Brethren,” Landes told the group. “I think God’s will is for wholeness, and sometimes stuff gets in the way.” He emphasized that health is a theological and spiritual issue, that Brethren “have always taken health and healing seriously,” and the ability of Brethren to do big things despite their relatively small size. Often, he added, some have made sacrifices to bring about justice for the larger community.
One day of the seminar focused on the more specific health issue of AIDS, which is still running rampant, especially in Africa. Church World Service (CWS) policy analyst Kathleen McNeely outlined the work being done through the CWS Africa Initiative, tackling issues of water, hunger, and poverty in addition to HIV/AIDS, while Brooklyn (N.Y.) Church of the Brethren pastor Phill Carlos Archbold related his personal story of caring for AIDS patients, using photos to show the devastation the disease brings.
Youth later in the week lobbied their representatives in Washington on the Senate and House bills they had learned about, following a session on advocacy by Greg Howe, who grew up in York (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren. Howe, now a senior policy manager on health care reform issues under Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, described his call to advocacy work and offered pointers. He said that while many states are working at the issue, “we need a federal solution.”
Christian Citizenship Seminar is sponsored annually except in National Youth Conference years by the General Board’s Youth and Young Adult Ministries and Brethren Witness/Washington Office. Details are at www.brethren.org/genbd/yya/CCS.htm.
--Walt Wiltschek is editor of the Church of the Brethren “Messenger” magazine.
Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline
Seventy-two senior high youth and advisors explored questions related to "The State of Our Health" in the US and abroad at this year’s Church of the Brethren Christian Citizenship Seminar (CCS). The event began March 24 in New York and concluded five days later in Washington, D.C., with an assortment of presentations, small-group discussions, a United Nations tour, worship, and sightseeing in between.
Many speakers focused on the merits of a “single-payer” health care system, which would eliminate the insurance companies as an intermediary in the process. Instead, standard rates would be negotiated by the government in each region, similar to what is done in Canada and in many nations in Europe and elsewhere. While funded publicly, care would still be delivered privately.
Each worker would pay a small percentage from his or her paycheck to fund the system, providing resources for those who cannot afford health care on their own. Recent government estimates put the number of Americans without health insurance at about 46 million. Many companies are also being squeezed by the cost of health care coverage.
“The present system is sick and just doesn’t get the job done,” said Bill Davidson, a Church of the Brethren cardiologist from Lebanon, Pa. “Health care is the next big social battle that’s going to take place, and you as young people have a front-row seat.” Davidson noted that the World Health Organization currently ranks the US number 37 in overall health care worldwide.
Marilyn Clement, national coordinator of Healthcare-NOW, focused on House Resolution 676, which proposes a US National Health Insurance Act, guaranteeing universal access to high-quality and cost-effective health care. Clement’s organization is leading a petition drive for the bill to be passed. “Getting there is going to be hard,” said Clement, who noted that health care costs could top 20 percent of the gross national product (GNP) by 2020 under the current system. “It’s not going to be easy.”
Palmyra (Pa.) Church of the Brethren pastor Wally Landes observed in an opening session that Brethren have often not chosen the easy road in a quest for mutuality. “Issues of health and wholeness are in our bones as Brethren,” Landes told the group. “I think God’s will is for wholeness, and sometimes stuff gets in the way.” He emphasized that health is a theological and spiritual issue, that Brethren “have always taken health and healing seriously,” and the ability of Brethren to do big things despite their relatively small size. Often, he added, some have made sacrifices to bring about justice for the larger community.
One day of the seminar focused on the more specific health issue of AIDS, which is still running rampant, especially in Africa. Church World Service (CWS) policy analyst Kathleen McNeely outlined the work being done through the CWS Africa Initiative, tackling issues of water, hunger, and poverty in addition to HIV/AIDS, while Brooklyn (N.Y.) Church of the Brethren pastor Phill Carlos Archbold related his personal story of caring for AIDS patients, using photos to show the devastation the disease brings.
Youth later in the week lobbied their representatives in Washington on the Senate and House bills they had learned about, following a session on advocacy by Greg Howe, who grew up in York (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren. Howe, now a senior policy manager on health care reform issues under Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, described his call to advocacy work and offered pointers. He said that while many states are working at the issue, “we need a federal solution.”
Christian Citizenship Seminar is sponsored annually except in National Youth Conference years by the General Board’s Youth and Young Adult Ministries and Brethren Witness/Washington Office. Details are at www.brethren.org/genbd/yya/CCS.htm.
--Walt Wiltschek is editor of the Church of the Brethren “Messenger” magazine.
Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline
Brethren give $50,000 to agriculture in N. Korea, among recent grants.
Six recent grants from the Global Food Crisis Fund (GFCF) and the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) of the Church of the Brethren General Board total $90,500--among them $50,000 to support agriculture in North Korea, which continues to experience periodic famine.
The GFCF allocation of $50,000 for the Sustainable Agriculture and Community Development Program in North Korea represents the fourth year of supporting Agglobe International with the endeavor. Funds will help purchase seed, plastic sheeting, and fertilizer for farms in the program.
The alleviation of periodic famine in North Korea remains a compelling factor, said the grant request. “The Church of the Brethren’s reaching out to North Koreans goes beyond the matter of food security,” said GFCF manager Howard Royer. “It is a testament to risk-taking, bridge-building, and reconciliation in witness to the compassion and love of Jesus Christ for all peoples, and especially for the impoverished and estranged.”
In other grants from the EDF, $24,000 responds to a Church World Service (CWS) appeal to provide aid to Indonesia following flooding; $5,000 responds to a CWS appeal following severe storms and tornados in Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Arkansas in March; $4,000 responds to the United Farm Worker Foundation following a freeze that destroyed citrus crops and has affected some 28,000 farm workers; and $2,500 responds to a CWS appeal to support thousands who have been displaced by fighting in southern Colombia. The GFCF also has given $5,000 to help rebuild Liberia’s food capacity, in a grant requested by CWS and Church Aid, Inc.
Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline
Six recent grants from the Global Food Crisis Fund (GFCF) and the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) of the Church of the Brethren General Board total $90,500--among them $50,000 to support agriculture in North Korea, which continues to experience periodic famine.
The GFCF allocation of $50,000 for the Sustainable Agriculture and Community Development Program in North Korea represents the fourth year of supporting Agglobe International with the endeavor. Funds will help purchase seed, plastic sheeting, and fertilizer for farms in the program.
The alleviation of periodic famine in North Korea remains a compelling factor, said the grant request. “The Church of the Brethren’s reaching out to North Koreans goes beyond the matter of food security,” said GFCF manager Howard Royer. “It is a testament to risk-taking, bridge-building, and reconciliation in witness to the compassion and love of Jesus Christ for all peoples, and especially for the impoverished and estranged.”
In other grants from the EDF, $24,000 responds to a Church World Service (CWS) appeal to provide aid to Indonesia following flooding; $5,000 responds to a CWS appeal following severe storms and tornados in Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Arkansas in March; $4,000 responds to the United Farm Worker Foundation following a freeze that destroyed citrus crops and has affected some 28,000 farm workers; and $2,500 responds to a CWS appeal to support thousands who have been displaced by fighting in southern Colombia. The GFCF also has given $5,000 to help rebuild Liberia’s food capacity, in a grant requested by CWS and Church Aid, Inc.
Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline
Disaster Child Care continues work in New Orleans.
Disaster Child Care volunteers continue to serve in New Orleans as part of the FEMA Louisiana Welcome Home Center, established to help returning families in their recovery. As of April 9, 27 child care volunteers had interacted with 595 children since opening of the project on Jan. 3.
Barbara Weaver, previous Disaster Project Manager in New Orleans, included this story in her report from the project: “One morning a mom brought her young boy to be with us. He was so excited to stay and play. When she returned, he didn't want to leave. So she sat down and chatted with us for a while. She had been evacuated up ‘North’ and finally was coming back home. When we gave her the photo of her child and her, with big tears coming down her cheeks she said, ‘I don't have any pictures of my boy and me since the flood came. Thank you so much.’”
Disaster Child Care also is providing support for children at two special events: On April 11, a child care center at the Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum in Pittsburgh, Pa., provided support to veterans' young children during a "Returning Veterans Training Workshop" sponsored by Alleghany County; on May 30 volunteers also will care for children during a “Resiliency Event” in Lancaster, Pa., providing support to emergency responders and their families following the Nickel Mines Amish school shootings. Mental health professionals think children of responders may have been affected by their parent’s response to the incident, reported Disaster Child Care coordinator Helen Stonesifer.
Eight experienced Disaster Child Care volunteers have received specialized training to prepared them to work with grieving and traumatized children following an aviation incident or mass casualty event. The DCC Critical Response Childcare Orientation and ARC Critical Response Team Training took place in Las Vegas on March 26-30. Volunteers who received the training were John and Sue Huffaker, Treva Markey, Dorothy Norsen, Derrick Skinner, Kathleen Steffy, John Surr, and Samantha Wilson.
Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline
Disaster Child Care volunteers continue to serve in New Orleans as part of the FEMA Louisiana Welcome Home Center, established to help returning families in their recovery. As of April 9, 27 child care volunteers had interacted with 595 children since opening of the project on Jan. 3.
Barbara Weaver, previous Disaster Project Manager in New Orleans, included this story in her report from the project: “One morning a mom brought her young boy to be with us. He was so excited to stay and play. When she returned, he didn't want to leave. So she sat down and chatted with us for a while. She had been evacuated up ‘North’ and finally was coming back home. When we gave her the photo of her child and her, with big tears coming down her cheeks she said, ‘I don't have any pictures of my boy and me since the flood came. Thank you so much.’”
Disaster Child Care also is providing support for children at two special events: On April 11, a child care center at the Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum in Pittsburgh, Pa., provided support to veterans' young children during a "Returning Veterans Training Workshop" sponsored by Alleghany County; on May 30 volunteers also will care for children during a “Resiliency Event” in Lancaster, Pa., providing support to emergency responders and their families following the Nickel Mines Amish school shootings. Mental health professionals think children of responders may have been affected by their parent’s response to the incident, reported Disaster Child Care coordinator Helen Stonesifer.
Eight experienced Disaster Child Care volunteers have received specialized training to prepared them to work with grieving and traumatized children following an aviation incident or mass casualty event. The DCC Critical Response Childcare Orientation and ARC Critical Response Team Training took place in Las Vegas on March 26-30. Volunteers who received the training were John and Sue Huffaker, Treva Markey, Dorothy Norsen, Derrick Skinner, Kathleen Steffy, John Surr, and Samantha Wilson.
Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline
Brethren bits: Corrections, remembrances, personnel, and more.
- Corrections to the Newsline Extra of April 11: The Annual Conference flier from the Association of Brethren Caregivers incorrectly listed the amount of continuing education credit available for a series of insight sessions: each session offers .1 credit, not .01 credit as incorrectly reported. Continuing education units offered for the series of sessions on “Evangelism and Church Renewal” cost only $10 for the series, not $10 for each session. Also, the correct online address for Brethren Benefit Trust insurance plan information is www.brethrenbenefittrust.com/Insurance%20Page/insurindex.html.
- Tim Hissong, president and chief executive officer of the Brethren Retirement Community of Greenville, Ohio, and an Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) board member, died on April 15 after battling cancer. Hissong joined the ABC board in January 2006 in his role as chair of the Fellowship of Brethren Homes. He had a long history with the Brethren Retirement Community, having served since 2005 as president and CEO, and previously for 13 years as vice president of operations and treasurer. A member and former board member of Happy Corner Church of the Brethren in Clayton, Ohio, Hissong also had a long history of serving in Southern Ohio District. He served as moderator, board member, and board chair for the district, and was on the board of Camp Woodland Altars. He also was a board member for the Association of Ohio Philanthropic Homes, Housing and Services for the Aging, and the Senior Resource Alliance; was involved with the Greenville Rotary, having served on its board and as president; and taught for many years as adjunct instructor for the Business Technologies Division of Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. He held an MBA in management from Wright State University. He is survived by his wife, Dawn, and son and daughter-in-law, Bryan and Kim Hissong. On the evening of April 23 an informal community gathering at Oakland Church of the Brethren in Bradford, Ohio, was held to remember Hissong. A private service for staff and residents of the Brethren Retirement Community was held April 20. Memorial contributions may be made to the Brethren Retirement Community Resident Aid Fund, 750 Chestnut St., Greenville, OH 45331.
- Leland B. Newcomer, former president of the University of La Verne, Calif., died on April 9 at age 86. He is credited with growing the student body of the school from less than 1,000 to 5,000 students, developing an adult education program, and adding satellite campuses, several on military bases in the US and Europe. Newcomer became president of then-named La Verne College in 1968, following the retirement of Harold Fasnacht. Under his leadership, the school’s curriculum was overhauled, students took a more active role in their own education, and were given the option to design their own majors and the choice of direct or independent study programs. His administration also created adult off-campus programs, which offered working adults classes at night and on weekends so they could get their degrees while working a traditional job during the day; initiated a weekend series of classes for teachers; began a child care center to serve student-parents as well as the university staff and community; and in 1974 built the student center nicknamed the “Super Tents,” which is still considered a landmark structure. Newcomer was born in La Verne in 1921, graduated from La Verne College in 1942, and earned a master's degree from Claremont Graduate University and a doctorate from the University of Southern California. His career included positions as superintendent of school districts in Nevada and California. He was married for many years to Barbara Newcomer, with whom he raised four children. She passed away in 2003. In 2005 he met Mae Henderson at Brethren Hillcrest Homes in La Verne, where they both lived; they were married in 2005. Newcomer is survived by his wife, Mae Henderson Newcomer, and four children, twelve grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
- The board of the Brethren Retirement Community in Greenville, Ohio, has appointed John L. Warner as acting president and CEO, following the death of president and chief executive officer Tim Hissong. Warner has held the position of Chief Financial Officer of the Brethren Retirement Community and will continue to carry those duties in the interim. The board will meet again in early May to consider next steps.
- The Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Church of the Brethren General Board has named a new National Youth Cabinet, to help plan youth events for the year 2007-08. The six youth who have been named to the cabinet are Seth Keller of Dover, Pa.; Heather Popielarz of Prescott, Mich.; Joel Rhodes of Huntingdon, Pa.; Turner Ritchie of Richmond, Ind.; Elizabeth Willis of Tryon, N.C.; and Tricia Ziegler of Sebring, Fla. Adult advisors are Dena Gilbert of La Verne, Calif., youth ministries coordinator for Pacific Southwest District; and Chris Douglas of Elgin, Ill., the General Board’s director of Youth and Young Adults Ministries.
- 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. Contact DeVore at Lynda@ncdb.org or 630-675-9740.
- Brethren Hillcrest Homes, a CCRC retirement community in La Verne, Calif., seeks a director of nursing to provide planning, direction, and coordination of nursing services. The position is competitively salaried. Resumes will be received through June 15. Requirements include an RN degree with a current California license, five years of nursing experience with at least two years of supervisory experience. An MSD or certification as a geriatric nurse is preferred. Candidates should be computer literate. This is a confidential search, all inquiries will be treated with sensitivity. Send an e-mail cover letter and resume to Ralph McFadden at Hikermac@sbcglobal.net, 847-622-1677.
- Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) seeks an Undoing Racism Coordinator to fill a two-thirds time opening giving leadership to internal efforts to undo systemic racism. CPT is engaged in a process of deepening organization-wide commitment and action to undo racism and is working towards becoming a more diverse community. Development of a system of accountability is part of the job description, as well as working closely with undoing racism consultants hired by CPT. Preferred location is at the CPT office in Chicago, Ill., or in Toronto, Canada, but other sites may be considered. Compensation is a subsistence stipend based on need. Members of aboriginal or racialized groups (a term suggested by the Ontario, Canada, Human Rights Commission Policy and Guidelines on Racism and Racial Discrimination) are encouraged to apply. Contact Carol Rose, CPT Co-Director, at guest.905387@MennoLink.org with expressions of interest and nominations by May 11.
- The Annual Conference Office reports that there are still plenty of hotel rooms in the Wyndham, Embassy Suites, Renaissance, and Holiday Inn Select hotels for the 2007 Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 30-July 4. Housing can be arranged at www.brethren.org/ac or by faxing or mailing a housing form from the Conference Information Packet. A free trolley system can be taken from most of the hotels to points close to the Cleveland Convention Center. For those flying to Cleveland, public transportation from Hopkins airport to downtown is very reasonable, the office reports: the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) has rail service from Hopkins to the Renaissance hotel close to the Convention Center for $1.75 one way.
- The Church of the Brethren “Messenger” magazine received three awards at this year's Associated Church Press (ACP) conference, held April 22-25 in Chicago: an Award of Merit (second place) for 1- or 2-color magazine design, and Honorable Mention (third place) for Bible resource and magazine editorial or opinion piece. The design award was for the Sept. 2006 issue. Judges praised the work of designer Paul Stocksdale, calling it, "Well organized, (with) good use of photos.... Good contrast in use of type and design elements.” It is the third straight year that “Messenger” placed in this category. The Bible resource award was given for the “Journey Through the Word” Bible study series; sample articles written by Robert Neff, Stephen Breck Reid, and Harold S. Martin were submitted for the competition. The magazine editorial writing award was presented for editor Walt Wiltschek’s Nov. 2006 editorial column, “Violent Tendencies.” Nearly 200 publications, websites, news services, and individuals in the US and Canada are ACP members, representing a combined circulation of several million.
- The Brethren Witness/Washington Office and the Global Food Crisis Fund ministries of the Church of the Brethren General Board are promoting a June 9-12 Bread for the World National Gathering in Washington, D.C. The gathering is intended “to sow the seeds of a movement to end hunger and poverty in our nation and around the world,” the Brethren Witness/Washington Office said. The event will be “full of opportunities to pray, speak, listen, debate, discuss, advocate, and lobby on issues of hunger and poverty.” The conference at American University will include training sessions and workshops, congressional visits, an interfaith convocation at the National Cathedral, and forums with presidential candidates. Several Brethren leaders are expected to attend including Annual Conference moderator Belita Mitchell, and Stan Noffsinger, general secretary of the General Board. Register at www.bread.org. For more information contact Howard Royer at the Global Food Crisis Fund, 800-323-8039 ext. 264, or Emily O’Donnell at the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, 800-785-3246.
- On Earth Peace has announced two conference calls in May for those working against military recruitment: on May 16, at 7-8:30 p.m. eastern time, and May 17, at 1-2:30 p.m. eastern. The phone calls are organized as part of the Encountering Recruitment Network. 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. To participate, send an e-mail to mattguynn@earthlink.net or call 765-962-6234. For more go to www.brethren.org/oepa/programs/peace-witness/counter-recruitment/index.html.
- The 2007 Illinois/Wisconsin District Workday will be at Douglas Park Church of the Brethren in Chicago on April 28. The district holds the event for work and fellowship while providing support to a congregation. Douglas Park Church has a rich history serving inner-city Brethren in Chicago, in a diverse and vital neighborhood. The day begins with a 7:30 a.m. breakfast, and includes a picnic lunch in the park across the street. A worship service will close the day at 3:30 p.m. Work will include plastering, carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, painting, planting, and cleaning up the church property, which includes the office of Christian Peacemaker Teams.
- Pamela Reist, a Church of the Brethren minister from Mount Joy, Pa., has been named to the Juniata College board of trustees as church trustee for a two-year term. The college is located in Huntingdon, Pa. Reist is associate pastor at Lititz (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, where she served as pastor of Christian nurture from 2001-04 and as director of Christian nurture from 2000-01. She also has served on the board for Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren since 2005. Her daughter, Dana, is a senior at Juniata.
- Early registration discounts are still available for "Deep and Wide: Expanding Hospitality in the Faithful Church," a New Life Ministries Leadership Training event on Tuesday, May 8, at Franconia Mennonite Church in Telford, Pa. Early registration deadline is April 30. Contact Kristen Leverton Helbert, director, 800-774-3360, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org, or NLMServiceCenter@aol.com.
- The transatlantic slave trade was an "African holocaust" that should never be forgotten, said a coalition of global ecumenical church bodies working to commemorate the 200th anniversary of its abolition this year. On March 25, 1807, the British House of Commons passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, although the trade continued for some time after. “Two hundred years after the abolition, the dungeons along the coast of Africa tell the story of human degradation and indignity," said delegates representing the World Council of Churches (WCC), the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Council for World Mission, who met March 15-17. The legacy of the slave trade remains today in the racism, economic exploitation, and psychological damage done to millions of Africans and their descendants, and millions of the world's poor, the church groups said. "The global slave trade removed some of the most productive peoples in Africa, resulting in the African holocaust. Global trade now continues the degradation in the form of child labor, sex workers, human trafficking, incarceration of young people and institutional racism. The ecumenical community calls upon people and governments to rise up to their historical duty to recover and reclaim the divinity in all humanity so that economic and racial justice prevails," the church groups stated.
Linda McCauliff resigns as associate for W. Pennsylvania District.
Linda McCauliff has resigned as associate executive minister for Western Pennsylvania District of the Church of the Brethren, effective May 25. She has served in the position for 15 years. Prior to that, she worked as a district volunteer for Christian education for nine years.
Her work for the Church of the Brethren denomination also has included service for two years as a member of the Congregational Life Teams, Area One, of the General Board. Among the accomplishments in her work for the church was development of a Stewardship Box for the district and denomination, and leadership in a district transition to a Gifts Discernment Team calling process.
McCauliff holds a bachelor of science degree in Human Resources from Geneva College, and is a graduate of the Training in Ministry program of the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership. She also has attended Shalem Institute for Spiritual Direction, and has led spiritual retreats. She begins a Clinical Pastoral Education position in chaplaincy at Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center on May 29.
Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline
Linda McCauliff has resigned as associate executive minister for Western Pennsylvania District of the Church of the Brethren, effective May 25. She has served in the position for 15 years. Prior to that, she worked as a district volunteer for Christian education for nine years.
Her work for the Church of the Brethren denomination also has included service for two years as a member of the Congregational Life Teams, Area One, of the General Board. Among the accomplishments in her work for the church was development of a Stewardship Box for the district and denomination, and leadership in a district transition to a Gifts Discernment Team calling process.
McCauliff holds a bachelor of science degree in Human Resources from Geneva College, and is a graduate of the Training in Ministry program of the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership. She also has attended Shalem Institute for Spiritual Direction, and has led spiritual retreats. She begins a Clinical Pastoral Education position in chaplaincy at Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center on May 29.
Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline
Brethren pastor and congregation respond to needs at Virginia Tech.
"I've had an opportunity since the tragedy here to do what I feel Brethren do very well, which is to try to respond to needs as they come up," said Marilyn Lerch, pastor of Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren in Blacksburg, Va.
Following the shootings in which 33 students and faculty died on the university campus on April 16, Lerch has worked behind the scenes to convene the pastors in town, and has taken part in campus ministry. She herself is a graduate of the university, having earned a bachelors degree in nutrition and a masters in education at Virginia Tech.
She credits her relative freedom as a part-time pastor--she also works as coordinator of the Training in Ministry program of the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership--with giving her flexibility in a time of crisis to seek out needs that are not being met by others. The Church of the Brethren "may not have the oomph that the Presbyterians have," she said, "or the numbers that the United Methodists have on a Sunday morning, but I've been amazed with all the ways that are there for us to minister."
Set in a very visible location, the Good Shepherd church has offered its sanctuary for those who need a place to pray. The sanctuary was open the evening after the shootings occurred. That evening a television crew from Roanoke, Va., came to the church to interview members who are Virginia Tech faculty, and to talk with Lerch. The pastor said she attempted to offer a balance to the reporting of the violent day.
Media contacts grew, as Lerch was then interviewed by National Public Radio, "The Washington Post," "The Roanoke Times," and others. A crew from NPR even attended and recorded the Sunday morning worship service at Good Shepherd on April 22. Lerch said she asked only that recorders be turned off for the time of sharing of joys and concerns.
"It is intimidating to me to be a spokesperson, but I also see it as an opportunity," she said. "At times like these, the church needs to speak out. Many large societal questions have been raised by the circumstances of the tragedy." While some have been criticized for politicizing the event, Lerch said she feels the "big" questions are being asked because they touch lives. "I believe the Church of the Brethren has something to add to the discussion, when the talk turns to issues like mental illness and gun control. It has been important to me, for instance, that 33 candles are lit as we remember those who have died, not 32," she said.
As one of the campus ministers, within a few hours of the shootings Lerch visited with the dean of students, out of whose office the campus ministry operates, and visited the local hospital where wounded had been taken, as well as The Inn at Virginia Tech where family members and friends of students gathered to await word."Then I called together the local pastors," she said, explaining that the Blacksburg ministers have not been meeting together regularly. When the pastors met on the morning following the shootings, "things just began to emerge that I could do," Lerch said.
She has spent hours at the campus chapel since the shootings, for example. "Constant streams of people come in needing quiet time," she said. One day she was able to provide a listening ear for the family of one of the professors who was killed. The chapel also has helped receive the flowers that have been poured out in gifts to the university. This week Lerch and the Good Shepherd pianist, who is a member of the university staff, are leading chapel services following requests for more worship experiences from some who attended the memorial events on the drill field. Because the school is a state institution and does not offer regular chapel services, Lerch coordinated the holding of special chapel services with the university staff.
Along with the overwhelming media coverage, other unexpected problems have faced the university and its campus ministers. "We've also been inundated with religious groups, some of which have been very aggressive," Lerch said. "That makes it more difficult to encourage students and even faculty to consider the resources of faith. You just look with sadness at what's going on in some cases in the name of faith, turning some people away from even thinking that God is a resource in this situation.
"The local ministers "realize that we're looking at longterm needs," she said. They also have been working in concert with the university, which she said "has been very thoughtful in its handling of the situation." Many clergy are contemplating what it means to have so much of the healing process being done online by students, she added. "Certainly the age of technology has deeply affected both the circumstances around this tragedy as well as the aftermath."Lerch expressed thanks to the denomination for its support. After experiencing "that kind of affirmation of prayer," she hopes that she will do better for others in such situations.
"There are a variety of groups that need prayer right now," she reported, "one of them being the Good Shepherd congregation. We at Good Shepherd are a small congregation, but it is staggering how this tragedy has affected our little group personally." She also asked for prayer specifically for faculty of the university, who this week are returning to teaching. "We've lived through a time here that none of us would ever hope to encounter," she said.
Source: 4/26/2006 Newsline Extra
"I've had an opportunity since the tragedy here to do what I feel Brethren do very well, which is to try to respond to needs as they come up," said Marilyn Lerch, pastor of Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren in Blacksburg, Va.
Following the shootings in which 33 students and faculty died on the university campus on April 16, Lerch has worked behind the scenes to convene the pastors in town, and has taken part in campus ministry. She herself is a graduate of the university, having earned a bachelors degree in nutrition and a masters in education at Virginia Tech.
She credits her relative freedom as a part-time pastor--she also works as coordinator of the Training in Ministry program of the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership--with giving her flexibility in a time of crisis to seek out needs that are not being met by others. The Church of the Brethren "may not have the oomph that the Presbyterians have," she said, "or the numbers that the United Methodists have on a Sunday morning, but I've been amazed with all the ways that are there for us to minister."
Set in a very visible location, the Good Shepherd church has offered its sanctuary for those who need a place to pray. The sanctuary was open the evening after the shootings occurred. That evening a television crew from Roanoke, Va., came to the church to interview members who are Virginia Tech faculty, and to talk with Lerch. The pastor said she attempted to offer a balance to the reporting of the violent day.
Media contacts grew, as Lerch was then interviewed by National Public Radio, "The Washington Post," "The Roanoke Times," and others. A crew from NPR even attended and recorded the Sunday morning worship service at Good Shepherd on April 22. Lerch said she asked only that recorders be turned off for the time of sharing of joys and concerns.
"It is intimidating to me to be a spokesperson, but I also see it as an opportunity," she said. "At times like these, the church needs to speak out. Many large societal questions have been raised by the circumstances of the tragedy." While some have been criticized for politicizing the event, Lerch said she feels the "big" questions are being asked because they touch lives. "I believe the Church of the Brethren has something to add to the discussion, when the talk turns to issues like mental illness and gun control. It has been important to me, for instance, that 33 candles are lit as we remember those who have died, not 32," she said.
As one of the campus ministers, within a few hours of the shootings Lerch visited with the dean of students, out of whose office the campus ministry operates, and visited the local hospital where wounded had been taken, as well as The Inn at Virginia Tech where family members and friends of students gathered to await word."Then I called together the local pastors," she said, explaining that the Blacksburg ministers have not been meeting together regularly. When the pastors met on the morning following the shootings, "things just began to emerge that I could do," Lerch said.
She has spent hours at the campus chapel since the shootings, for example. "Constant streams of people come in needing quiet time," she said. One day she was able to provide a listening ear for the family of one of the professors who was killed. The chapel also has helped receive the flowers that have been poured out in gifts to the university. This week Lerch and the Good Shepherd pianist, who is a member of the university staff, are leading chapel services following requests for more worship experiences from some who attended the memorial events on the drill field. Because the school is a state institution and does not offer regular chapel services, Lerch coordinated the holding of special chapel services with the university staff.
Along with the overwhelming media coverage, other unexpected problems have faced the university and its campus ministers. "We've also been inundated with religious groups, some of which have been very aggressive," Lerch said. "That makes it more difficult to encourage students and even faculty to consider the resources of faith. You just look with sadness at what's going on in some cases in the name of faith, turning some people away from even thinking that God is a resource in this situation.
"The local ministers "realize that we're looking at longterm needs," she said. They also have been working in concert with the university, which she said "has been very thoughtful in its handling of the situation." Many clergy are contemplating what it means to have so much of the healing process being done online by students, she added. "Certainly the age of technology has deeply affected both the circumstances around this tragedy as well as the aftermath."Lerch expressed thanks to the denomination for its support. After experiencing "that kind of affirmation of prayer," she hopes that she will do better for others in such situations.
"There are a variety of groups that need prayer right now," she reported, "one of them being the Good Shepherd congregation. We at Good Shepherd are a small congregation, but it is staggering how this tragedy has affected our little group personally." She also asked for prayer specifically for faculty of the university, who this week are returning to teaching. "We've lived through a time here that none of us would ever hope to encounter," she said.
Source: 4/26/2006 Newsline Extra
Brethren organizations offer resources following Virginia shootings.
Church of the Brethren groups are providing resources reflecting on the Virginia Tech tragedy, at www.brethren.org as well as other websites. The online resources include links provided by the Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC), Disaster Child Care, and Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren in Blacksburg, Va.
The website of Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren is offering reflections on the tragedy at Virginia Tech, go to www.goodshepherdblacksburg.org. These resources have been created and used by those connected with the Good Shepherd congregation, including pastor Marilyn Lerch.
ABC through its Voices: Ministry on Mental Illness, will host a series of webcasts reflecting on mental illness and the tragedy. The webcasts will be posted on the denomination's new webcast site the week of April 30, go to www.cobwebcast.bethanyseminary.edu.
ABC also is offering a collection of links to resources about mental illness and ways that congregations can respond with hope and love to those experiencing mental illness. Also offered are links to resources for coping with trauma, and resources for family life. Go to www.brethren.org/abc/advocacy/vt_response.html.
Disaster Child Care is offering a brochure called "Trauma, Helping Your Child Cope," that gives advice to parents, teachers, and others who care for children during times of trauma and disaster. The brochure is available at www.brethren.org/genbd/ersm/Trauma.htm or a supply can be ordered from the Disaster Child Care office, call 800-451-4407. A supply of the brochures has been sent to the district offices of Virlina District and Shenandoah District.
Source: 4/26/2006 Newsline Extra
Church of the Brethren groups are providing resources reflecting on the Virginia Tech tragedy, at www.brethren.org as well as other websites. The online resources include links provided by the Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC), Disaster Child Care, and Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren in Blacksburg, Va.
The website of Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren is offering reflections on the tragedy at Virginia Tech, go to www.goodshepherdblacksburg.org. These resources have been created and used by those connected with the Good Shepherd congregation, including pastor Marilyn Lerch.
ABC through its Voices: Ministry on Mental Illness, will host a series of webcasts reflecting on mental illness and the tragedy. The webcasts will be posted on the denomination's new webcast site the week of April 30, go to www.cobwebcast.bethanyseminary.edu.
ABC also is offering a collection of links to resources about mental illness and ways that congregations can respond with hope and love to those experiencing mental illness. Also offered are links to resources for coping with trauma, and resources for family life. Go to www.brethren.org/abc/advocacy/vt_response.html.
Disaster Child Care is offering a brochure called "Trauma, Helping Your Child Cope," that gives advice to parents, teachers, and others who care for children during times of trauma and disaster. The brochure is available at www.brethren.org/genbd/ersm/Trauma.htm or a supply can be ordered from the Disaster Child Care office, call 800-451-4407. A supply of the brochures has been sent to the district offices of Virlina District and Shenandoah District.
Source: 4/26/2006 Newsline Extra
Brethren bits.
- Among those who have been in prayer following the shootings at Virginia Tech are congregations in Virlina District, which includes in its borders the area of Blacksburg, Va. Congregations holding special services or opening their sanctuaries for prayer have included Christiansburg (Va.) Church of the Brethren, Vinton (Va.) Church of the Brethren, and several congregations in Roanoke, Va., including First Church of the Brethren, Williamson Road Church of the Brethren, Oak Grove Church of the Brethren, and Central Church of the Brethren, which planned to conclude its service outside around a peace pole.
- At Juniata College, a Church of the Brethren school in Huntingdon, Pa., students and staff responded by holding a candlelight prayer vigil on campus in solidarity with their peers who were grieving at Virginia Tech. "We had over 100 people show up and had some very touching and personal sharing from two students, one from Blacksburg and another from northern Virginia who had several high school friends attending Virginia Tech," reported campus chaplain David Witkovsky. "I pray that it helped our students and that our prayers will touch those who are struggling to make sense of this tragedy."
Credits
Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board. Contact the editor at cobnews@brethren.org or 800-323-8039 ext. 260. Mary Dulabaum, Lerry Fogle, Nancy F. Knepper, Jon Kobel, Howard Royer, Helen Stonesifer, John Wall, Walt Wiltschek, and David Witkovsky contributed to this report.
Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board. Contact the editor at cobnews@brethren.org or 800-323-8039 ext. 260. Mary Dulabaum, Lerry Fogle, Nancy F. Knepper, Jon Kobel, Howard Royer, Helen Stonesifer, John Wall, Walt Wiltschek, and David Witkovsky contributed to this report.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Newsline Special: Request for Prayer
PRAYER IS REQUESTED FOR VIRGINIA TECH UNIVERSITY AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES
Prayer is requested for the community of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va., and surrounding communities, following a shooting in which as many as 33 people have been killed and many more wounded.
Prayer has been requested by Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren in Blacksburg, where Marilyn Lerch serves as pastor; by Virlina District and by Shenandoah District; and by the Church of the Brethren General Board. The districts of Virlina, Shenandoah, and perhaps other districts, include several congregations with Brethren students at Virginia Tech.
News reports say this is the deadliest mass shooting in US history. As of late afternoon, the "Roanoke Times" of Roanoke, Va., at www.roanoke.com reported that at least 33 people had been killed. According to news reports, shootings began around 7 a.m. and took place at two sites on campus, in a dormitory and a classroom. The unidentified shooter is reported to be among the dead.
"Pour prayers in this direction," requested pastor Lerch. "Surround us with prayer."
"The prayers of the Virlina District are with the students, parents, faculty, staff, and all concerned," said an e-mail from district executive minister David Shumate.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with those of the Virginia Tech campus community in the aftermath of today's shootings," said an e-mail from Shenandoah District. "We know that many of our churches have students on the campus and pray for their safety and comfort in light of this tragedy."
General secretary Stan Noffsinger and staff of the Congregational Life Teams, Area 3, requested prayer for all affected by the shootings. Noffsinger called for prayer for families and friends of victims, the university and its staff and student body, for Brethren congregations that include university students or staff, for first responders among police and medical staff, for the faith community in Blacksburg, and for the family of the perpetrator. "They all need our prayers," he said. "There are the innocent and their families, there's also the family of the perpetrator with so much hostility focused toward them, and the law enforcement officers and others who are called. They all need to be embraced by an understanding that they do not walk alone."
Good Shepherd pastor Lerch, who also serves as one of the campus ministers, was on her way to the university when she was reached by telephone in mid-afternoon. She requested prayers for the university community, and prayers for the town of Blacksburg because of its close relationship with the university. "The town is stunned," she said. This is the second time that the campus has suffered from shootings this school year, she added. The fact that on the first day of classes a gunman was loose on campus, she said makes the situation today "especially difficult."
At this time, Lerch said that very few details are known. She reported that the Good Shepherd congregation includes employees and faculty of the university, and so far no one in the congregation has been directly affected by the shootings at this time. She said she has been able to be in touch with most of the university employees in the congregation.
Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren will hold a silent prayer vigil this evening from 5-7 p.m., when the church will be open as a sanctuary, Lerch said. The congregation will be waiting to see what is needed, beyond this time of prayer, she said.
Virlina District shared the address for a website created by the Virginia Interfaith Center for those wishing to share comments, prayers, and condolences: www.compassion24x7.org. The center will be sending a copy of all appropriate messages to the president of Virginia Tech.
Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board. Contact the editor at cobnews@brethren.org or 800-323-8039 ext. 260.
PRAYER IS REQUESTED FOR VIRGINIA TECH UNIVERSITY AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES
Prayer is requested for the community of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va., and surrounding communities, following a shooting in which as many as 33 people have been killed and many more wounded.
Prayer has been requested by Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren in Blacksburg, where Marilyn Lerch serves as pastor; by Virlina District and by Shenandoah District; and by the Church of the Brethren General Board. The districts of Virlina, Shenandoah, and perhaps other districts, include several congregations with Brethren students at Virginia Tech.
News reports say this is the deadliest mass shooting in US history. As of late afternoon, the "Roanoke Times" of Roanoke, Va., at www.roanoke.com reported that at least 33 people had been killed. According to news reports, shootings began around 7 a.m. and took place at two sites on campus, in a dormitory and a classroom. The unidentified shooter is reported to be among the dead.
"Pour prayers in this direction," requested pastor Lerch. "Surround us with prayer."
"The prayers of the Virlina District are with the students, parents, faculty, staff, and all concerned," said an e-mail from district executive minister David Shumate.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with those of the Virginia Tech campus community in the aftermath of today's shootings," said an e-mail from Shenandoah District. "We know that many of our churches have students on the campus and pray for their safety and comfort in light of this tragedy."
General secretary Stan Noffsinger and staff of the Congregational Life Teams, Area 3, requested prayer for all affected by the shootings. Noffsinger called for prayer for families and friends of victims, the university and its staff and student body, for Brethren congregations that include university students or staff, for first responders among police and medical staff, for the faith community in Blacksburg, and for the family of the perpetrator. "They all need our prayers," he said. "There are the innocent and their families, there's also the family of the perpetrator with so much hostility focused toward them, and the law enforcement officers and others who are called. They all need to be embraced by an understanding that they do not walk alone."
Good Shepherd pastor Lerch, who also serves as one of the campus ministers, was on her way to the university when she was reached by telephone in mid-afternoon. She requested prayers for the university community, and prayers for the town of Blacksburg because of its close relationship with the university. "The town is stunned," she said. This is the second time that the campus has suffered from shootings this school year, she added. The fact that on the first day of classes a gunman was loose on campus, she said makes the situation today "especially difficult."
At this time, Lerch said that very few details are known. She reported that the Good Shepherd congregation includes employees and faculty of the university, and so far no one in the congregation has been directly affected by the shootings at this time. She said she has been able to be in touch with most of the university employees in the congregation.
Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren will hold a silent prayer vigil this evening from 5-7 p.m., when the church will be open as a sanctuary, Lerch said. The congregation will be waiting to see what is needed, beyond this time of prayer, she said.
Virlina District shared the address for a website created by the Virginia Interfaith Center for those wishing to share comments, prayers, and condolences: www.compassion24x7.org. The center will be sending a copy of all appropriate messages to the president of Virginia Tech.
Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board. Contact the editor at cobnews@brethren.org or 800-323-8039 ext. 260.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
NEWS
- Annual Conference Council expresses concern over funding shortfall.
- Bethany Seminary board honors president Eugene F. Roop.
- Brethren deliver World Day of Prayer requests to House Speaker.
- Brethren bits: Correction, personnel, RYC, and more.
- Scheppard to be new vice president, dean at Bridgewater College.
- Youth Peace Travel Team is selected for summer 2007.
- Bethany Seminary holds reception to honor president Roop.
- Brethren women create 'Mother's Day Gratitude Project.'
- 300th anniversary update: District youth teams to receive training.
- 300th anniversary bits and pieces.
Annual Conference Council expresses concern over funding shortfall.
The 2001 Annual Conference referred concerns for the funding of Conference to the Annual Conference Council. Taking that responsibility seriously, the council took an in-depth look at the financial situation of Annual Conference in its spring meeting March 12-13 at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill.
Of utmost concern to the council is a trend toward deficit funding, exacerbated by a shortfall of congregational delegates at the 2006 Annual Conference. The Annual Conference Fund ended 2006 with a $31,000 deficit. Income for the current year is projected to be nearly $70,000 less than the costs of having the Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, where labor and security required by the convention facilities are inflating the budget much higher than usual.
The council received the unsettling news via a portfolio of reports generated jointly by executive director Lerry Fogle and treasurer Judy Keyser. The reports also observed that one query and two reports coming to the 2007 Conference include questions about Annual Conference frequency and purpose.
The council also considered a number of suggestions, some of which have been implemented, from a Conference marketing task force it commissioned last year.
Arising out of the council's discussion and prayer came several significant decisions: The council voted to delay booking a Conference site for the year 2012 until the 2007 Conference resolves its agenda. A concise but future-looking report of the Conference financial situation will be included in the report of the Program and Arrangements Committee to the 2007 Conference. Information about the Conference Fund will be shared with the Church of the Brethren Inter-Agency Forum. The Standing Committee of district representatives will be made aware of the financial situation and consulted regarding ways to increase the Annual Conference offerings. The council will add an extra day to its November meeting in order to devote major attention to evaluating the future of Annual Conference in light of the financial situation.
Other items on the agenda included follow-up with the Brethren Historical Library and Archives related to questions of transcription of past Conference business sessions; a progress report toward achieving a finished draft of the denominational organizational and polity manual, scheduled to be completed by this fall; agreement with the Program Feasibility Committee that the Unfunded Mandates paper needs revision and greater clarity, with the council deciding to take a revised draft to the 2007 Standing Committee for consideration; a review of the ratio of district Standing Committee delegates in light of the most recent membership statistics for the denomination; an updating of the Conference contingency and disaster plan; a review of the 300th Anniversary Committee's activities and funding; and a recommendation to the Conference officers that Standing Committee be given copies of a 1981 study committee report on diminishing membership as background material for a 2007 query from Idaho and Western Montana District.
The council expressed its appreciation for the leadership of past Annual Conference moderator Ron Beachley, who chaired the council during the past year.
--Fred Swartz is the secretary of Annual Conference.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
The 2001 Annual Conference referred concerns for the funding of Conference to the Annual Conference Council. Taking that responsibility seriously, the council took an in-depth look at the financial situation of Annual Conference in its spring meeting March 12-13 at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill.
Of utmost concern to the council is a trend toward deficit funding, exacerbated by a shortfall of congregational delegates at the 2006 Annual Conference. The Annual Conference Fund ended 2006 with a $31,000 deficit. Income for the current year is projected to be nearly $70,000 less than the costs of having the Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, where labor and security required by the convention facilities are inflating the budget much higher than usual.
The council received the unsettling news via a portfolio of reports generated jointly by executive director Lerry Fogle and treasurer Judy Keyser. The reports also observed that one query and two reports coming to the 2007 Conference include questions about Annual Conference frequency and purpose.
The council also considered a number of suggestions, some of which have been implemented, from a Conference marketing task force it commissioned last year.
Arising out of the council's discussion and prayer came several significant decisions: The council voted to delay booking a Conference site for the year 2012 until the 2007 Conference resolves its agenda. A concise but future-looking report of the Conference financial situation will be included in the report of the Program and Arrangements Committee to the 2007 Conference. Information about the Conference Fund will be shared with the Church of the Brethren Inter-Agency Forum. The Standing Committee of district representatives will be made aware of the financial situation and consulted regarding ways to increase the Annual Conference offerings. The council will add an extra day to its November meeting in order to devote major attention to evaluating the future of Annual Conference in light of the financial situation.
Other items on the agenda included follow-up with the Brethren Historical Library and Archives related to questions of transcription of past Conference business sessions; a progress report toward achieving a finished draft of the denominational organizational and polity manual, scheduled to be completed by this fall; agreement with the Program Feasibility Committee that the Unfunded Mandates paper needs revision and greater clarity, with the council deciding to take a revised draft to the 2007 Standing Committee for consideration; a review of the ratio of district Standing Committee delegates in light of the most recent membership statistics for the denomination; an updating of the Conference contingency and disaster plan; a review of the 300th Anniversary Committee's activities and funding; and a recommendation to the Conference officers that Standing Committee be given copies of a 1981 study committee report on diminishing membership as background material for a 2007 query from Idaho and Western Montana District.
The council expressed its appreciation for the leadership of past Annual Conference moderator Ron Beachley, who chaired the council during the past year.
--Fred Swartz is the secretary of Annual Conference.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
Bethany Seminary board honors president Eugene F. Roop.
The semi-annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind., on March 23-25 included significant moments of celebration and recognition. Eugene F. Roop, who is retiring on June 30 after 15 years of service as president of the seminary, was honored at a dinner for board members and guests on March 24. The dinner included a time of recognition, with faculty and representatives of educational, civic, and church organizations participating.
The board also expressed appreciation to Jeff Bach, associate professor of Brethren and Historical Studies, for his 13 years of service. Bach has accepted an appointment as director of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, effective this summer.
In other business, the board approved 19 candidates for graduation pending successful completion of course work, the largest number since 1998. This includes Bethany's first graduate of Connections, the school's distributed education Master of Divinity program: Christopher Zepp of Bridgewater, Va. The board noted that the undergraduate grade point average of Bethany graduate students continues to rise, with 43 percent at a 3.5 undergraduate GPA or above.
A budget of slightly more than $2.2 million was approved for the 2007-08 fiscal year, approximately 2.5 percent increase from the current year. The board approved searches for administrative staff and teaching faculty positions: a half-time coordinator for Ministry Formation, and two faculty positions in historical and theological studies.
The Student and Business Affairs Committee reported that web enhancements focused on student recruitment are under development. This will include a virtual open house, providing the opportunity for online, real-time conversation with Bethany admissions staff.
The Institutional Advancement Committee shared fundraising and constituency relations strategies that will be implemented now that the seminary's financial campaign has been completed.
Ted Flory of Bridgewater, Va., was named as the new chair, beginning July 1. Other officers called are vice chair Ray Donadio of Greenville, Ohio; and secretary Frances Beam of Concord, N.C. Carol Scheppard of Mount Crawford, Va., was called as chair of the Academic Affairs Committee; Elaine Gibbel of Lititz, Pa., as chair of the Institutional Advancement Committee; and Jim Dodson of Lexington, Ky., as chair of the Student and Business Affairs Committee.
The board thanked Marie Willoughby, ex-officio member representing the Council of District Executives, and Anne Murray Reid, current chair, for their service to the board as they complete their terms.
For more about Bethany go to www.bethanyseminary.edu.
--Marcia Shetler is director of Public Relations for Bethany Theological Seminary.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
The semi-annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind., on March 23-25 included significant moments of celebration and recognition. Eugene F. Roop, who is retiring on June 30 after 15 years of service as president of the seminary, was honored at a dinner for board members and guests on March 24. The dinner included a time of recognition, with faculty and representatives of educational, civic, and church organizations participating.
The board also expressed appreciation to Jeff Bach, associate professor of Brethren and Historical Studies, for his 13 years of service. Bach has accepted an appointment as director of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, effective this summer.
In other business, the board approved 19 candidates for graduation pending successful completion of course work, the largest number since 1998. This includes Bethany's first graduate of Connections, the school's distributed education Master of Divinity program: Christopher Zepp of Bridgewater, Va. The board noted that the undergraduate grade point average of Bethany graduate students continues to rise, with 43 percent at a 3.5 undergraduate GPA or above.
A budget of slightly more than $2.2 million was approved for the 2007-08 fiscal year, approximately 2.5 percent increase from the current year. The board approved searches for administrative staff and teaching faculty positions: a half-time coordinator for Ministry Formation, and two faculty positions in historical and theological studies.
The Student and Business Affairs Committee reported that web enhancements focused on student recruitment are under development. This will include a virtual open house, providing the opportunity for online, real-time conversation with Bethany admissions staff.
The Institutional Advancement Committee shared fundraising and constituency relations strategies that will be implemented now that the seminary's financial campaign has been completed.
Ted Flory of Bridgewater, Va., was named as the new chair, beginning July 1. Other officers called are vice chair Ray Donadio of Greenville, Ohio; and secretary Frances Beam of Concord, N.C. Carol Scheppard of Mount Crawford, Va., was called as chair of the Academic Affairs Committee; Elaine Gibbel of Lititz, Pa., as chair of the Institutional Advancement Committee; and Jim Dodson of Lexington, Ky., as chair of the Student and Business Affairs Committee.
The board thanked Marie Willoughby, ex-officio member representing the Council of District Executives, and Anne Murray Reid, current chair, for their service to the board as they complete their terms.
For more about Bethany go to www.bethanyseminary.edu.
--Marcia Shetler is director of Public Relations for Bethany Theological Seminary.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
Brethren deliver World Day of Prayer requests to House Speaker.
On World Day of Prayer, March 2, the Church of the Brethren delivered 300 requests of prayer for an end to the Iraq war to the first woman Speaker of the House. Brethren from across the nation requested of Speaker Nancy Pelosi the following: "Please pray that God will grant peace to all races, creeds, and nationalities worldwide. Please also honor your commitment to help end the conflict in Iraq and bring peace to this world we share, through your actions as one of America's political leaders," reported the Brethren Witness/Washington Office.
In delivering the prayer requests, Phil Jones, director of the office, shared these thoughts: "The Church of the Brethren has a long and rich heritage of living out the Christian teachings of nonviolence. We share in the pain and anguish that the violence of war is bringing on our nation's families as well as on the families of those of Iraq and Afghanistan. On this day of prayer we ask for committed prayers of peace and well being for all people. Speaker Pelosi, we hope you will be diligent in searching for ways to guide our congress into an understanding of peace and nonviolence, dialog and mediation, along with compromise and compassion as tools of foreign policy. Seek the way of unity, not division."
Since 1812 women have encouraged one another to engage in personal prayer and take leadership in communal prayer within their mission auxiliaries and associations, according to a brief history of the World Day of Prayer from the Brethren Witness/Washington Office. This emphasis led to annual days and weeks of prayer. In 1941 the coordination of World Day of Prayer in the US became the responsibility of an interdenominational movement now known as Church Women United. World Day of Prayer is recognized around the world on the first Friday of March.
For more information contact the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, 337 N. Carolina Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20003; 800-785-3246; washington_office_gb@brethren.org.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
On World Day of Prayer, March 2, the Church of the Brethren delivered 300 requests of prayer for an end to the Iraq war to the first woman Speaker of the House. Brethren from across the nation requested of Speaker Nancy Pelosi the following: "Please pray that God will grant peace to all races, creeds, and nationalities worldwide. Please also honor your commitment to help end the conflict in Iraq and bring peace to this world we share, through your actions as one of America's political leaders," reported the Brethren Witness/Washington Office.
In delivering the prayer requests, Phil Jones, director of the office, shared these thoughts: "The Church of the Brethren has a long and rich heritage of living out the Christian teachings of nonviolence. We share in the pain and anguish that the violence of war is bringing on our nation's families as well as on the families of those of Iraq and Afghanistan. On this day of prayer we ask for committed prayers of peace and well being for all people. Speaker Pelosi, we hope you will be diligent in searching for ways to guide our congress into an understanding of peace and nonviolence, dialog and mediation, along with compromise and compassion as tools of foreign policy. Seek the way of unity, not division."
Since 1812 women have encouraged one another to engage in personal prayer and take leadership in communal prayer within their mission auxiliaries and associations, according to a brief history of the World Day of Prayer from the Brethren Witness/Washington Office. This emphasis led to annual days and weeks of prayer. In 1941 the coordination of World Day of Prayer in the US became the responsibility of an interdenominational movement now known as Church Women United. World Day of Prayer is recognized around the world on the first Friday of March.
For more information contact the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, 337 N. Carolina Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20003; 800-785-3246; washington_office_gb@brethren.org.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
Brethren bits: Correction, personnel, RYC, and more.
- Correction: Newsline gave incorrect e-mail addresses for the Annual Conference moderator-elect and secretary, in the March 28 issue. The correct e-mail address for moderator-elect Jim Beckwith is moderatorelect_ac@brethren.org; the correct address for secretary Fred Swartz is acsecretary@brethren.org. The editor apologizes for this error.
- Jacqueline Azimi has resigned as network operations specialist for the Church of the Brethren General Board, located in Elgin, Ill., effective April 11. Her last day of work was April 10. She has worked for the General Board for almost 18 years, beginning on Sept. 18, 1989. While with the board she served as systems coordinator/secretary, and in 1997 was promoted to personal computer specialist. During her time with the board she participated in certification training for the GWAVA e-mail spam filter software, enabling her to fine tune the filter and help control the amount of spam the staff receives. When the General Board relocated the IBM I5 mainframe from the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., to the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, she became the networking specialist.
- Marin (Marni) O'Brien of Newton, Mass., a Global Mission Partnerships worker serving through Brethren Volunteer Service, returned home from her placement site in Totonicapon, Guatemala, on Feb. 16 for family reasons.
- The theme for the Regional Youth Conference (RYC) on April 28-29 at Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind., is "'Now Follow Me'--Jesus" (Luke 9:23). Three worship celebrations will be held, along with workshops, and opportunities for service projects. Seth Hendricks will lead music. Keynote speaker is Walt Wiltschek, editor of the "Messenger,"and a district youth advisor for Illinois and Wisconsin. District youth cabinets are invited to arrive early for a leadership development workshop on Friday evening, April 27. Registration is due April 12. For more go to www.manchester.edu/OCA/Church/RegionalYouthConference.htm.
- Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) is announcing the start of an older adult orientation April 23-May 4 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. This will be the 274th unit for BVS and will consist of 11 individuals and couples. The volunteers will spend two weeks exploring project possibilities and topics of community building, faith sharing, diversity training, and more. They will have the opportunity for two work days at SERRV International and the Washington (D.C.) Soup Kitchen. Guest staff and speakers will include Larry and Alice Petry, Susanna Farrahat, Joyce Nolen, Phil Jones, Grace LaFever, and Rebekah Carswell. For more information contact the BVS office at 800-323-8039.
- Registration cost for the National Junior High Conference will go up after April 15. The National Junior High Conference will be held June 15-17 at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, for junior high youth in the Church of the Brethren and their adult advisors. Registration cost is currently $99 per person (for youth or adult). After April 15, the cost increases to $125 per person. Register at www.brethren.org/genbd/yya/NatJrHighConf.htm.
- The Church of the Brethren's annual Cross-Cultural Consultation and Celebration will be held April 19-22 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., on the scriptural theme John 14:27. Along with the signature worship services filled with music and prayer in many different languages, led by Brethren from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, participants will discuss questions related to peacemaking, and enjoy free time for informal fellowship. An overnight youth event at Union Bridge Church of the Brethren will be led by On Earth Peace. Youth also will lead worship and sharing on Saturday morning, April 21. The Intercultural Study Committee will report. For more information go to www.brethren.org/genbd/clm/clt/CrossCultural.html.
- "Creating Peacemaking Congregations" is the theme of a New Church Development Retreat on May 18-19 at Natural Bridge, Va. Leadership will be provided by Jack L. Eades, director of the Outreach Commission of the West Virginia Baptist Convention (ABC-USA). The purpose of the retreat is to inspire, motivate, and encourage church planters and those interested in developing congregations for the Church of the Brethren from Maine to Florida. Time will be given for each new church project or fellowship to share about its experiences and vision for church planting. Although it began as an annual gathering for fellowship and sharing among new church core groups in Virginia and North Carolina, the retreat is currently sponsored by the Church Extension Committee of Virlina District. Contact nuchurch@aol.com.
- Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne, Ind., put together an event on March 24 to raise awareness of the situation in Afghanistan. Some members have had longstanding connections with that part of the world, according to a release from On Earth Peace. The event centered around a presentation by Nelofer Pazira at the Andorfer Commons at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne, on March 24. Pazira, an author and filmmaker, fled Afghanistan when she was a teenager and immigrated to Canada. She wrote the book, "Bed of Red Flowers," starred in the movie, "Kandahar," and co-produced and co-directed the documentary, "Return to Kandahar." The event included a showing of the two films, a reception and book signing, Afghan food, and an evening event with Pazira at which she spoke about her stories of Afghanistan. The program was coordinated by the church, and sponsors contributed to cover expenses.
- The Way of the Cross on Good Friday in Hagerstown, Md., visited seven different locations to connect the passion of Christ to the ongoing suffering in the world. The "Herald-Mail" reported that stops included, for example, the "Public Square ... for religious tolerance; a slave auction site ... for racial harmony; Hagerstown Refugee Resettlement Center ... for hope, care and justice for immigrants." The walk began and ended at Hagerstown Church of the Brethren, which also provided its sanctuary as a place for prayer and meditation for those who were not able to walk.
- Youth who participated in the Agape-Satyagraha training offered by Brethren Community Ministries in Harrisburg, Pa., will be recognized at a banquet at 6 p.m. April 13 at First Church of the Brethren in Harrisburg. Agape-Satyagraha is a year-round weekly conflict resolution training designed to help youths resolve family, neighborhood, and peer conflicts without violence, according to a report in the "Patriot-News." Tickets are $6 for one, or $10 for two people. Proceeds will be used by Brethren Community Ministries to serve residents of the South Allison Hill neighborhoods. For more visit www.bcmcob.org.
- New Beginnings Fellowship Church of the Brethren (formerly Faith Church of the Brethren) in Batavia, Ill., is holding an event titled "Sudan--Trail of Tears" on April 14 at 7 p.m. Area churches have been invited. "We're praying for a good turnout," said an invitation in the Illinois and Wisconsin District newsletter.
- On April 21 Green Hill Church of the Brethren in Salem, Va., will hold a "Jesus Jam" from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Ten bands will play a variety of music including bluegrass, gospel, contemporary, and heavy metal. Ten speakers will bring messages. The event also includes workshops and a tent for prayer and meditation. All youth in the Roanoke Valley are invited to attend. For information call the Green Hill church at 540-389-5109.
- Sponsored by the Atlantic Northeast District Spiritual Renewal Team, the annual Ministry Conference for Church Leadership is designed to be a day apart for ministers, church leaders, and other interested people. It will be held April 25, 8:15 a.m.-4 p.m., at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College. Guest speaker is Lou George, executive minister of the American Baptist Churches, USA. Assisting with leadership is David Young. The registration fee of $30 includes a "heart-healthy" lunch. Participants may receive .6 continuing education units for an extra fee of $10. Scholarship assistance is available, contact David Young at 717-738-1887 or davidyoung@churchrenewalservant.org. Registration deadline is April 16, contact the Atlantic Northeast District office for more information, 717-367-4730.
- The 6th Annual Sounds of the Mountains Festival at Camp Bethel near Fincastle, Va., is scheduled for April 20-21. The event will feature Donald Davis, Sheila Kay Adams, Andy Offutt Irwin, Joseph Helfrich, and the Celtibillies. The festival "for families, hipsters, and everyone in between" according to the camp e-mail newsletter, is a fundraiser for the ministries of the camp. For schedule and ticket information go to www.soundsofthemountains.org.
- The McPherson (Kan.) College Choir presents its Spring Concert on Sunday, April 15, at McPherson Church of the Brethren. The program centers on the theme "The Greatest of These Is Love," and begins at 7:30 p.m. The choir and the McPherson College Singers, the college's select vocal ensemble, will perform a program of religious and secular music. A free will offering will help support the expenses of the vocal music program.
- A Great Strides 10K walk to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will be held on Sunday, April 15, at Bridgewater (Va.) College, beginning at 2 p.m. in front of Nininger Hall. Great Strides walks are held across the country to raise money for research, the cost of which continues to escalate because of the expense of new technology. Sara Wagner, a senior biology and allied health science double major from Powhatan, Va., is coordinating the event in honor of her cousin, who has the disease. For more information contact smw004@bridgewater.edu or 804-366-5341.
- Muma Mambula, the 2007 Fellow at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, will discuss relations between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria at 7:30 p.m. on April 19, in the Susquehanna Room of Myer Hall. His talk is open to the public free of charge and will be presented following the Young Center's annual banquet. A reception for Mambula begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the banquet at 6 p.m. (reservations for the banquet were required by April 6). Provost of the Theological College of Northern Nigeria, Mambula earned a doctorate in education from the University of Maiduguri and a master's degree in theology from Bethany Theological Seminary.
- The Lilly Endowment has announced the eighth year of its National Clergy Renewal Program, in which congregations have the opportunity to design and carry out periods of renewal for their pastors. In 2007 up to 120 congregations will be selected to participate. Each grant proposal may request up to $45,000, up to $15,000 of that may be used for congregational activities during a pastor's absence. Ministers must be ordained and have earned a master of divinity degree from an accredited theological seminary or divinity school. A brochure and application form are available at www.lillyendowment.org or contact 317-916-7350 or clergyrenewal@yahoo.com. Creating a proposal requires a joint effort of pastor and congregation; applicants are encouraged not to put off applying until the last minute. The deadline for proposals is May 15.
- Women Touched by Grace grants are available, through a program recommended by pastor Erin Matteson of Modesto (Calif.) Church of the Brethren, a recent participant. This Sustaining Pastoral Excellence program funded by the Lily Endowment, Inc., is a spiritual renewal program for women clergy in congregations. It includes five ten-day sessions over three years, beginning April 2008. It takes place at the Benedict Inn Retreat and Conference Center, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Benedict in Beech Grove, Ind. The group of 20 chosen to participate is intentionally diverse denominationally and geographically. Requirements, details, and an application form can be found at www.benedictinn.org. Or contact Matteson at erin@modcob.org or 209-523-1438. Application deadline is June 1.
- Three people were arrested during an event protesting the war in Iraq at the federal building in Fort Wayne, Ind., including two members of the Church of the Brethren--Cliff Kindy, who has worked with Christian Peacemaker Teams, and Nicolas Kauffman, a student at Manchester College. On March 30 the Fort Wayne "Journal-Gazette" reported that the men were arrested after a demonstration that called for Senators Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar to stop supporting funding for the war. Previously, a group of about 30 people had gathered outside the building in a peaceful protest, and some had met with Lugar's staff. Another Church of the Brethren member, Rachel Gross, and another Manchester College student, Joshua Archer, were also at the event and were interviewed by the paper.
Scheppard to be new vice president, dean at Bridgewater College.
Carol Scheppard, associate professor of philosophy and religion, has been appointed vice president and dean for academic affairs at Bridgewater (Va.) College, effective July 1. She is a member of Lebanon Church of the Brethren in Mount Sidney, Va., and an ordained Church of the Brethren minister.
She succeeds Arthur C. Hessler, who earlier this year announced his retirement on June 30. The college conducted a national search to fill the position.
Scheppard holds degrees from Wesleyan University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the University of Pennsylvania. She spent 10 years as a teacher and administrator at Landmark School in Massachusetts, and Landmark College in Vermont, schools with curricula designed specifically for students with dyslexia. She joined the Bridgewater faculty in 1998.
Her denominational service includes membership of the board of trustees of Bethany Theological Seminary, where she is the chair of the presidential search committee.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
Carol Scheppard, associate professor of philosophy and religion, has been appointed vice president and dean for academic affairs at Bridgewater (Va.) College, effective July 1. She is a member of Lebanon Church of the Brethren in Mount Sidney, Va., and an ordained Church of the Brethren minister.
She succeeds Arthur C. Hessler, who earlier this year announced his retirement on June 30. The college conducted a national search to fill the position.
Scheppard holds degrees from Wesleyan University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the University of Pennsylvania. She spent 10 years as a teacher and administrator at Landmark School in Massachusetts, and Landmark College in Vermont, schools with curricula designed specifically for students with dyslexia. She joined the Bridgewater faculty in 1998.
Her denominational service includes membership of the board of trustees of Bethany Theological Seminary, where she is the chair of the presidential search committee.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
Youth Peace Travel Team is selected for summer 2007.
The three members of the 2007 Youth Peace Travel Team has been selected: Amanda Glover of Mountain View Fellowship Church of the Brethren in McGaheysville, Va.; Audrey Hollenberg of Westminster (Md.) Church of the Brethren; and Emily LaPrade of Antioch Church of the Brethren in Rocky Mount, Va.
The team is jointly sponsored by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, Brethren Volunteer Service, and the Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Church of the Brethren General Board, and by the Outdoor Ministries Association and On Earth Peace.
Team members will share Christ's message of peace with youth across the denomination this summer. They will join fellow Ministry Summer Service workers in Elgin, Ill., for orientation at the Church of the Brethren General Offices, and then will travel to Woodland Altars, a Church of the Brethren camp in Peebles, Ohio, to continue their orientation and provide leadership for a senior high youth camp. Other stops later in the summer include Camp Eder in Fairfield, Pa.; Camp Harmony in Hooversville, Pa.; Shepherd's Spring in Sharpsburg, Md.; Camp Mardela in Denton, Md.; Camp Swatara in Bethel, Pa.; Camp Blue Diamond in Petersburg, Pa.; and Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.
For more information contact Susanna Farahat of On Earth Peace at sfarahat_oepa@brethren.org or 410-635-8706.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
The three members of the 2007 Youth Peace Travel Team has been selected: Amanda Glover of Mountain View Fellowship Church of the Brethren in McGaheysville, Va.; Audrey Hollenberg of Westminster (Md.) Church of the Brethren; and Emily LaPrade of Antioch Church of the Brethren in Rocky Mount, Va.
The team is jointly sponsored by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, Brethren Volunteer Service, and the Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Church of the Brethren General Board, and by the Outdoor Ministries Association and On Earth Peace.
Team members will share Christ's message of peace with youth across the denomination this summer. They will join fellow Ministry Summer Service workers in Elgin, Ill., for orientation at the Church of the Brethren General Offices, and then will travel to Woodland Altars, a Church of the Brethren camp in Peebles, Ohio, to continue their orientation and provide leadership for a senior high youth camp. Other stops later in the summer include Camp Eder in Fairfield, Pa.; Camp Harmony in Hooversville, Pa.; Shepherd's Spring in Sharpsburg, Md.; Camp Mardela in Denton, Md.; Camp Swatara in Bethel, Pa.; Camp Blue Diamond in Petersburg, Pa.; and Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.
For more information contact Susanna Farahat of On Earth Peace at sfarahat_oepa@brethren.org or 410-635-8706.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
Bethany Seminary holds reception to honor president Roop.
A reception for Bethany Theological Seminary president Eugene F. Roop is scheduled for Sunday, April 29, from 2-4 p.m. at the seminary in Richmond, Ind. The reception will feature a program at 3 p.m.
Roop will retire June 30, after having served as Bethany's president since 1992. He led the seminary through several major transitions and accomplishments, including a move from Oak Brook, Ill., to Richmond in 1994, and an affiliation with Earlham School of Religion in Richmond.
With the sale of Bethany's Illinois property and the establishment of prudent financial practices, the seminary retired all debt and built a significant endowment. All of the school's current fulltime teaching and administrative faculty joined Bethany's staff during Roop's tenure. Among the programs developed during his years as president are Connections, a distributed education program; the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, a certificate program for ministry training sponsored jointly with the General Board; the Institute for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults; and offsite graduate courses hosted at the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center in Pennsylvania.
For more information go to www.bethanyseminary.edu/?page=news_roopreception.php or call the seminary at 765-983-1823.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
A reception for Bethany Theological Seminary president Eugene F. Roop is scheduled for Sunday, April 29, from 2-4 p.m. at the seminary in Richmond, Ind. The reception will feature a program at 3 p.m.
Roop will retire June 30, after having served as Bethany's president since 1992. He led the seminary through several major transitions and accomplishments, including a move from Oak Brook, Ill., to Richmond in 1994, and an affiliation with Earlham School of Religion in Richmond.
With the sale of Bethany's Illinois property and the establishment of prudent financial practices, the seminary retired all debt and built a significant endowment. All of the school's current fulltime teaching and administrative faculty joined Bethany's staff during Roop's tenure. Among the programs developed during his years as president are Connections, a distributed education program; the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, a certificate program for ministry training sponsored jointly with the General Board; the Institute for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults; and offsite graduate courses hosted at the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center in Pennsylvania.
For more information go to www.bethanyseminary.edu/?page=news_roopreception.php or call the seminary at 765-983-1823.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
Brethren women create 'Mother's Day Gratitude Project.'
The Global Women's Project, a Church of the Brethren women's organization, has announced the launch of a Mother's Day Gratitude Project. "Rather than buying material gifts for your loved one (she probably has plenty), this year express your gratitude with a gift that helps other women around the world," said the announcement. "Your donation allows us to fund projects that focus on issues related to women's health, education, and employment. In return, your chosen recipient will receive a card of gratitude indicating that a gift has been made in her honor."
Gratitude cards will be mailed in time for Mother's Day on May 13. To participate, make donations out to Global Women's Project, and send the donation along with the sender's name and contact information, and the honoree's name and address, to Global Women's Project steering committee member Jacki Hartley at 213 Perry St., Elgin, IL 60123.
Global Women's Project seeks to raise awareness of the global poverty, oppression and injustice suffered by women around the world; to recognize how overconsumption and misuse of resources directly contribute to women's suffering; to examine and change ways of living; and to support self-help community projects that are led by, empower, and benefit women in the US and developing areas.
A bulletin insert and additional information can be found at the Global Women's Project website hosted by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office at www.brethren.org/genbd/witness/gwp.htm.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
The Global Women's Project, a Church of the Brethren women's organization, has announced the launch of a Mother's Day Gratitude Project. "Rather than buying material gifts for your loved one (she probably has plenty), this year express your gratitude with a gift that helps other women around the world," said the announcement. "Your donation allows us to fund projects that focus on issues related to women's health, education, and employment. In return, your chosen recipient will receive a card of gratitude indicating that a gift has been made in her honor."
Gratitude cards will be mailed in time for Mother's Day on May 13. To participate, make donations out to Global Women's Project, and send the donation along with the sender's name and contact information, and the honoree's name and address, to Global Women's Project steering committee member Jacki Hartley at 213 Perry St., Elgin, IL 60123.
Global Women's Project seeks to raise awareness of the global poverty, oppression and injustice suffered by women around the world; to recognize how overconsumption and misuse of resources directly contribute to women's suffering; to examine and change ways of living; and to support self-help community projects that are led by, empower, and benefit women in the US and developing areas.
A bulletin insert and additional information can be found at the Global Women's Project website hosted by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office at www.brethren.org/genbd/witness/gwp.htm.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
300th anniversary update: District youth teams to receive training.
The Church of the Brethren districts have been invited to name two youth from each to serve as Youth Heritage Travel Teams for the 300th anniversary of the Brethren movement in 2008. A training event for the teams is scheduled for April 13-15, at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill. The training group will include 42 youth and 12 adults.
The training is a cooperative venture of the 300th Anniversary Committee and the Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the General Board. The teams will provide leadership at district events and in congregations throughout the anniversary year. They will be trained in the areas of storytelling, public speaking, drama, music, heritage, and Brethren beliefs and practices, and will be equipped to visit congregations to lead worship services and Sunday school classes.
Leadership for the training will be provided by Rhonda Pittman Gingrich, Leslie Lake, Jeff Bach, Jim Lehman, Joseph Helfrich, Wendy McFadden, Nevin Dulabaum, Paula Langdon, and Chris Douglas.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
The Church of the Brethren districts have been invited to name two youth from each to serve as Youth Heritage Travel Teams for the 300th anniversary of the Brethren movement in 2008. A training event for the teams is scheduled for April 13-15, at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill. The training group will include 42 youth and 12 adults.
The training is a cooperative venture of the 300th Anniversary Committee and the Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the General Board. The teams will provide leadership at district events and in congregations throughout the anniversary year. They will be trained in the areas of storytelling, public speaking, drama, music, heritage, and Brethren beliefs and practices, and will be equipped to visit congregations to lead worship services and Sunday school classes.
Leadership for the training will be provided by Rhonda Pittman Gingrich, Leslie Lake, Jeff Bach, Jim Lehman, Joseph Helfrich, Wendy McFadden, Nevin Dulabaum, Paula Langdon, and Chris Douglas.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline
300th anniversary bits and pieces.
- The Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College is planning a national conference on Oct. 11-13 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Brethren. The theme will be "Honoring a Legacy, Embracing a Future: 300 Years of Brethren Heritage," with plenary speakers Carl D. Bowman, Chris Bucher, Richard Hughes, Marcus Meier, and Dale Stoffer. An Oct. 13 Love Feast Celebration will be led by Jeff Bach at the Bucher Meetinghouse, by reservation. For more information go to www.etown.edu/youngctr or call 717-361-1470.
- The Association for the Arts is beginning to work on two projects celebrating the 300th anniversary: Each congregation is requested to bring to this year's Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, one yard of 100 percent cotton print fabric, for a special quilt to be designed and constructed for display at the 2008 Annual Conference. Congregational representatives should drop off fabric pieces at the Association for the Arts booth. In a second anniversary project, artists are invited to create a three-dimensional art piece, painting, fiber art, or photograph that captures elements of the 300th anniversary logo (view at www.churchofthebrethrenanniversary.org). A selection committee will choose 12-15 pieces to show in the 2008 Anniversary Conference exhibit. Artists should send or bring a concept description, rough drawing, or completed art piece along with another sample of their art work to the Association for the Arts booth at the 2007 Annual Conference; or send by mail to Don and Joyce Parker, 1293 Laurel Dr., West Salem, OH 44287.
Annual Conference moderator will make history.
Belita D. Mitchell will make history when Annual Conference convenes in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 30-July 4. She is the first African-American woman, and the first female African-American ordained minister, to moderate the annual meeting of the Church of the Brethren. Mitchell serves as pastor of First Church of the Brethren in Harrisburg, Pa.
The Conference moderator serves in the highest elected position in the Church of the Brethren, which is a volunteer position. In Cleveland, Mitchell will lead a delegate body of hundreds of representatives of congregations from across the US and Puerto Rico, and a Standing Committee of representatives of the denomination's 23 districts.
"Looks like we're going to have an excellent Conference!" she said in an telephone interview as she prepared to start out on a "trek" to meet with district briefings for the 2007 Conference. In light of the full business schedule, she is encouraging delegates "to study all of the business items, so that you understand the business, and to pray, so that you come with an open mind and an open spirit, so that you come to the work of business as worship."
Mitchell said she hopes the Conference will come prepared by prayer. The preparation of prayer "helps us to embody more openly and visibly what it means to be the body of Christ," she said. "If we were to come 'prayed up,' then we'll be more open to see what God has for us to do."
Several unfinished business items are coming back to the Conference this year, and Mitchell has suggested to her own congregation to send the same delegate as last year, to make for a better informed delegate body. She also urges delegates to be in conversation with their congregations about the business, and while at the Conference to find ways to be in communication with other members of their congregation who also will be in attendance.
Belita Mitchell and her spouse of 35 years, Don Mitchell, live in Mechanicsburg, Pa. Don Mitchell is a retired business owner and serves as director of Church Development for Atlantic Northeast District. The Mitchells are the parents of four children and four grandchildren. They have three surviving children, Sanya Ward-Wallace of Fontana, Calif., Kym Mitchell-Moore of Seattle, Wash., and Don-Valliant Mitchell of Mechanicsburg. Grandchildren are Noelle, Shannon, Marcus, and Serenity.
Mitchell was born Belita D. Brewington in Colp, Ill. She received her elementary education in Detroit, Mich., and completed high school and college in southern Illinois. She received a bachelor of arts degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
She is a second career ministerial leader, following a 30-year career in professional sales with a Fortune 100 company. Her first pastorate was at Imperial Heights Church of the Brethren in Los Angeles. Her ministry training was completed through the Training in Ministry program of the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, and included coursework at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. While in California, she was active in Pacific Southwest District, and served on the Board of Directors of Brethren Hillcrest Homes in La Verne.
Her denominational service has included a term on the Committee on Interchurch Relations, and participation in the Cross Cultural Ministries Steering Committee. She was one of the Church of the Brethren representatives to the Anabaptist Consultation on Alternative Service in 2005.
Mitchell's request continues to be for prayer, as she leads the Church of the Brethren this year. "I'm asking everyone to pray for me, that I'll be able to keep it together," she said.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline Extra
Belita D. Mitchell will make history when Annual Conference convenes in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 30-July 4. She is the first African-American woman, and the first female African-American ordained minister, to moderate the annual meeting of the Church of the Brethren. Mitchell serves as pastor of First Church of the Brethren in Harrisburg, Pa.
The Conference moderator serves in the highest elected position in the Church of the Brethren, which is a volunteer position. In Cleveland, Mitchell will lead a delegate body of hundreds of representatives of congregations from across the US and Puerto Rico, and a Standing Committee of representatives of the denomination's 23 districts.
"Looks like we're going to have an excellent Conference!" she said in an telephone interview as she prepared to start out on a "trek" to meet with district briefings for the 2007 Conference. In light of the full business schedule, she is encouraging delegates "to study all of the business items, so that you understand the business, and to pray, so that you come with an open mind and an open spirit, so that you come to the work of business as worship."
Mitchell said she hopes the Conference will come prepared by prayer. The preparation of prayer "helps us to embody more openly and visibly what it means to be the body of Christ," she said. "If we were to come 'prayed up,' then we'll be more open to see what God has for us to do."
Several unfinished business items are coming back to the Conference this year, and Mitchell has suggested to her own congregation to send the same delegate as last year, to make for a better informed delegate body. She also urges delegates to be in conversation with their congregations about the business, and while at the Conference to find ways to be in communication with other members of their congregation who also will be in attendance.
Belita Mitchell and her spouse of 35 years, Don Mitchell, live in Mechanicsburg, Pa. Don Mitchell is a retired business owner and serves as director of Church Development for Atlantic Northeast District. The Mitchells are the parents of four children and four grandchildren. They have three surviving children, Sanya Ward-Wallace of Fontana, Calif., Kym Mitchell-Moore of Seattle, Wash., and Don-Valliant Mitchell of Mechanicsburg. Grandchildren are Noelle, Shannon, Marcus, and Serenity.
Mitchell was born Belita D. Brewington in Colp, Ill. She received her elementary education in Detroit, Mich., and completed high school and college in southern Illinois. She received a bachelor of arts degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
She is a second career ministerial leader, following a 30-year career in professional sales with a Fortune 100 company. Her first pastorate was at Imperial Heights Church of the Brethren in Los Angeles. Her ministry training was completed through the Training in Ministry program of the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, and included coursework at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. While in California, she was active in Pacific Southwest District, and served on the Board of Directors of Brethren Hillcrest Homes in La Verne.
Her denominational service has included a term on the Committee on Interchurch Relations, and participation in the Cross Cultural Ministries Steering Committee. She was one of the Church of the Brethren representatives to the Anabaptist Consultation on Alternative Service in 2005.
Mitchell's request continues to be for prayer, as she leads the Church of the Brethren this year. "I'm asking everyone to pray for me, that I'll be able to keep it together," she said.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline Extra
2007 Conference will 'Proclaim the Power of God.'
The 2007 Annual Conference--the 221st recorded annual meeting of the Church of the Brethren--will take place in Cleveland, Ohio, from June 30-July 4. This year's theme, "Proclaim the Power of God," is taken from Psalm 68:34-35. Online registration is now open at www.brethren.org/ac through May 21. After that time, Conference-goers must register onsite, with an additional fee.
The schedule includes daily worship services, business sessions, insight sessions, meal events, concerts, a blood drive, a 5K run/walk fitness challenge, mutual help groups, a quilt auction, activities for children and youth, and more.
Leadership will be provided by moderator Belita D. Mitchell, pastor of First Church of the Brethren in Harrisburg, Pa.; moderator-elect Jim Beckwith, pastor of Annville (Pa.) Church of the Brethren; and secretary Fred W. Swartz of Bridgewater, Va. Lerry Fogle serves as executive director of the Conference. The Program and Arrangements Committee for the Conference includes Kristi Kellerman, Scott L. Duffey, and Joanna Willoughby, along with the Conference officers and treasurer Judy E. Keyser.
Main events will be held at the Cleveland Convention Center, with worship and business in the center's Public Auditorium and exhibits and booths in the center's Exhibit Hall B. Meal events and insight sessions will take place at the Cleveland Convention Center and two hotels: the Crowne Plaza Cleveland-City Centre and the Cleveland Downtown Marriott at Key Center.
Speakers for worship will be Jeff Carter, pastor of Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren, on Saturday evening; moderator Mitchell, on Sunday morning; Duane Grady, of the General Board's Congregational Life Team, on Monday evening; Tim Harvey, pastor of Central Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, Va., on Tuesday evening; and Ataloa Woodin, pastor of Community Brethren Church in Fresno, Calif., on Wednesday morning. Tuesday evening worship will include a service of anointing, assisted by 50 pastors and 50 deacons from across the denomination. Wednesday morning will include installation of the 2008 moderator and moderator-elect.
Other major presenters include:
A "Worship Music Celebration" will be held in the Public Auditorium following the evening worship services on Sunday and Monday. The celebrations will feature a wide variety of music including Gospel, Spanish, contemporary Christian, African, African-American, Haitian, and more, hosted by Los Angeles pastors Gilbert Romero of Bella Vista Church of the Brethren on Sunday, and Thomas Dowdy of Imperial Heights Church of the Brethren on Monday.
Several Conference events offer continuing education units for ministers:
Activities for children will include field trips to Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo and Rainforest, the Great Lakes Science Center and Omnimax Theater, and the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Plans for youth include a Cleveland Indians Game, a visit to the Geauga Lake Amusement and Water Park, and a service project. Young adults will hold a field trip to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens along with a game night, ice cream social, and discussion and fellowship evenings.
For more about business items, see the story below. More information about schedule, fees, meal tickets, parking, transportation, aids for those with disabilities, housing, and registration may be found at www.brethren.org/ac.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline Extra
The 2007 Annual Conference--the 221st recorded annual meeting of the Church of the Brethren--will take place in Cleveland, Ohio, from June 30-July 4. This year's theme, "Proclaim the Power of God," is taken from Psalm 68:34-35. Online registration is now open at www.brethren.org/ac through May 21. After that time, Conference-goers must register onsite, with an additional fee.
The schedule includes daily worship services, business sessions, insight sessions, meal events, concerts, a blood drive, a 5K run/walk fitness challenge, mutual help groups, a quilt auction, activities for children and youth, and more.
Leadership will be provided by moderator Belita D. Mitchell, pastor of First Church of the Brethren in Harrisburg, Pa.; moderator-elect Jim Beckwith, pastor of Annville (Pa.) Church of the Brethren; and secretary Fred W. Swartz of Bridgewater, Va. Lerry Fogle serves as executive director of the Conference. The Program and Arrangements Committee for the Conference includes Kristi Kellerman, Scott L. Duffey, and Joanna Willoughby, along with the Conference officers and treasurer Judy E. Keyser.
Main events will be held at the Cleveland Convention Center, with worship and business in the center's Public Auditorium and exhibits and booths in the center's Exhibit Hall B. Meal events and insight sessions will take place at the Cleveland Convention Center and two hotels: the Crowne Plaza Cleveland-City Centre and the Cleveland Downtown Marriott at Key Center.
Speakers for worship will be Jeff Carter, pastor of Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren, on Saturday evening; moderator Mitchell, on Sunday morning; Duane Grady, of the General Board's Congregational Life Team, on Monday evening; Tim Harvey, pastor of Central Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, Va., on Tuesday evening; and Ataloa Woodin, pastor of Community Brethren Church in Fresno, Calif., on Wednesday morning. Tuesday evening worship will include a service of anointing, assisted by 50 pastors and 50 deacons from across the denomination. Wednesday morning will include installation of the 2008 moderator and moderator-elect.
Other major presenters include:
- Joan Brown Campbell, former general secretary of the National Council of Churches and currently director of the Chautauqua Institution Department of Religion, on "Christians and Citizens: The Church in the World Today" at the Messenger Dinner on Sunday, July 1.
- Deforia Lane, director of the Ireland Cancer Center and director of music therapy at University Hospitals of Cleveland, on "Music Therapy: Medicine for the Body, Healing for the Soul" at the Association of Brethren Caregivers Recognition Dinner on Saturday, June 30.
- Eugene F. Roop, retiring president of Bethany Theological Seminary, at the Bethany Luncheon on Tuesday, July 3. Bethany also invites Conference-goers to a reception honoring Roop's service as president of the seminary, on Monday, July 2, at 4:45-7 p.m.
- Stephen Breck Reid, Bethany's academic dean, on "Black Theology and the Hebrew Prophets" at the Brethren Life and Thought Luncheon on Monday, July 2.
- President Ted Long of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College on "Advancing Brethren Heritage Through Higher Education," at the Elizabethtown Alumni Luncheon on Sunday, July 1.
- Chris Raschka, illustrator of children's books including "The Hello, Goodbye Window" which earned him the Caldecott Award in 2006, at the Brethren Press Breakfast on Monday, July 2.
- Paul Numrich, Church of the Brethren minister and associate professor and chair of the Program in World Religions and Inter-Religious Dialogue at the Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus, Ohio, on "Living Among People of Other Faiths" at the Ecumenical Luncheon on Tuesday, July 3.
- Art Gish, Church of the Brethren member and organic farmer who has worked with Christian Peacemaker Teams in the Middle East, on "The Call for Christian Peacemaking in These Times" at the On Earth Peace Breakfast on Tuesday, July 3.
- Balbir Mathur, co-founder of Trees for Life, on "The Song of Service," at the Brethren Volunteer Service Luncheon on Monday, July 2.
- Irv and Nancy Heishman, Church of the Brethren mission coordinators in the Dominican Republic, on "Blessing, Bartering, and Being: Stories of Faith and Life Among the Dominican Brethren" at the International Welcome Dinner on Saturday, June 30.
A "Worship Music Celebration" will be held in the Public Auditorium following the evening worship services on Sunday and Monday. The celebrations will feature a wide variety of music including Gospel, Spanish, contemporary Christian, African, African-American, Haitian, and more, hosted by Los Angeles pastors Gilbert Romero of Bella Vista Church of the Brethren on Sunday, and Thomas Dowdy of Imperial Heights Church of the Brethren on Monday.
Several Conference events offer continuing education units for ministers:
- A series on "Evangelism and Church Renewal" sponsored by the Congregational Life Ministries of the General Board includes seven insight sessions and the Congregational Life/Global Ministries Dinner with speaker Craig Sider of the Brethren in Christ Church, on "Growing the Church The Anabaptist Way." The events offer .1 credit each, cost is $10 for each .1 credit.
- A series from the Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) offers .01 credit, at no charge, for each of 11 insight sessions on a range of health and welfare issues.
- On Earth Peace is offering five insight sessions for .1 credit each, on topics such as "Non-Anxious Pastoring in Difficult Times" and "Biblical Basics of Peacemaking."
- An insight session with Jim Eikenberry and Amir Assadi-Rad of San Joaquin Delta College in California, will address the topic, "Can We Talk? A Muslim and an Evangelical Christian Come Together" on Tuesday evening, July 3; the session offers .1 credit.
Activities for children will include field trips to Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo and Rainforest, the Great Lakes Science Center and Omnimax Theater, and the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Plans for youth include a Cleveland Indians Game, a visit to the Geauga Lake Amusement and Water Park, and a service project. Young adults will hold a field trip to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens along with a game night, ice cream social, and discussion and fellowship evenings.
For more about business items, see the story below. More information about schedule, fees, meal tickets, parking, transportation, aids for those with disabilities, housing, and registration may be found at www.brethren.org/ac.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline Extra
Becoming intercultural, medical plan, review of agencies top the business agenda.
Business for the 2007 Conference ranges from the future of the Brethren Medical Plan, to a final report from the Intercultural Study Committee, to recommendations to reorganize some church agencies, among nine items of unfinished and new business (full documents are at www.brethren.org/ac). The business agenda also includes reports from Conference-related agencies and committees, and an election of church leaders.
Unfinished business
Intercultural Study Committee report:
The Intercultural Study Committee states that its report "is a call for transformation." After three years of study, the committee reports that "God is calling us today, to be transformed into a whole body of Christ, so that we are SEPARATE NO MORE." Numerous recommendations are directed to the denomination as a whole, the Conference and its agencies, the districts, congregations, and Brethren individuals.
The recommendations section begins with two specific recommendations, to "bring us (the denomination) into conformity with the vision of Revelation 7:9," and to "formulate a mechanism to report intercultural ministry progress at Annual Conference through 2010."
In the several pages that follow, the committee calls for including the concept of intentional intercultural inclusion in the purpose and vision statement of Annual Conference and its reportable agencies, establishing a discernment process during hiring for the denominational agencies that considers candidates' intercultural competence and denominational needs, requiring annual intercultural orientation and education for staff and program volunteers of denominational agencies, and developing programs to include and formally mentor young adults of every ethnic and racial background into leadership positions, among others. The committee recommends a fulltime, funded specialist position in the Congregational Life Teams of the General Board to assist in facilitating intercultural activity in the denomination.
To districts, the committee recommends that all pastors have ongoing continuing education focused on intercultural activity, and that intercultural content continuing education units be required for re-ordination and re-licensing of ministers, as well as a formal mentoring program for new minority pastors, among other recommendations.
To congregations, the committee recommends the following "salient principles" of leadership, in order to become an intercultural family of God: intentionality, adaptability, and integrated worship. The committee calls on churches to reach out to neighbors from different backgrounds, and to become informed of conditions of life for ethnic and racial minorities.
To individuals, the committee recommends being intentional about forming authentic relationships with diverse neighbors, becoming better informed about racism and discrimination, and standing in solidarity with victims of hate crimes, among others.
The report includes steps to account for implementation. Appendices give a draft of the proposed new Congregational Life Teams position, signs of intercultural church development, principles of growing multicultural churches, and case studies from First Church of the Brethren in Harrisburg, Pa., and Peace Covenant Church in Durham, N.C. A resource list closes the report.
Brethren Medical Plan Resolution:
The Brethren Medical Plan Study Committee appointed in 2005 is making its report to the 2007 Conference. The Brethren Medical Plan is a program of Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) offering a health insurance plan for pastors and church employees, district employees, employees of Annual Conference agencies and affiliated agencies and institutions, and their families. A resolution from BBT to the 2005 Conference called for this study. BBT had announced that the plan was in a "death spiral" caused by decreased membership, the erosion of a good spread of risk, increased health care costs, and increased premiums.
After two years of study the committee recommends that BBT phase out the medical insurance component of the Brethren Medical Plan for ministers and retirees, while continuing to explore viability of the plan for agency employees, and continuing to offer its longterm disability, life, vision, and dental insurance plans.
If the recommendations are adopted, BBT will be directed "to attempt to find alternative medical coverage for those current participants who would not otherwise be able to obtain or afford medical insurance."
Review and Evaluation Committee:
A regularly scheduled review of the program work of the denomination is carried out every decade by a Review and Evaluation Committee, with a new committee elected in the fifth year of each decade. This year the Conference will receive the report of the Review and Evaluation Committee elected in 2005.
In previous decades, the review was limited to the work of the General Board. With the reorganization of the board in 1997 and the expansion of agencies reportable to Conference, this review evaluates total denominational organization, structure, and program, including the Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) and On Earth Peace along with the General Board.
Among 10 detailed points of recommendation, the committee recommends the merger of the General Board and ABC into an entity called "The Church of the Brethren, USA," and encourages On Earth Peace to consider joining (the other two agencies--Bethany Theological Seminary and Brethren Benefit Trust--would continue in their present capacities). In addition, the recommendation is for the new board to replace the roles and functions of both the current General Board and the Annual Conference Council, uniting them into a single body.
"The duplication of resources expended for separate boards, separate finance and fundraising needs of each of these agencies has meant the draining of both financial and people resources within the denomination," the report says. "The hope is that a simpler structure can... minimize the footprint that the agencies within the church impose on the local church's mission and ministry."
The report includes other recommendations such as enhancing orientation for and care for church leaders, and promoting the core values and heritage of the Church of the Brethren, among others.
Doing Church Business:
The Annual Conference Program Feasibility Study Committee will report, as the group to which the Doing Church Business report was referred by the 2006 Conference. Delegates will address the Doing Church Business report in light of the feasibility study, resuming discussion at the point at which the business item was referred--when an amendment to delete a section on "Length of Conference" was on the floor. The Doing Church Business report has the potential to make significant changes in the format of the Conference and the way delegates address business. (For more about how the 2006 Conference dealt with this item, go to www.brethren.org/genbd/newsline/2006/AC2006/TuesdayBusiness.html.)
New business
Query: Child Abuse Prevention: Referring to church statements that include recommendations for the prevention of child abuse, the query from Michigan District, originating at Skyridge Church of the Brethren in Kalamazoo, asks Conference to examine how the recommendations are used and implemented by congregations, agencies, and organizations, and to bring a recommendation for implementation at all levels of denominational programming.
Query: Annual Conference Schedule: The query from Pacific Southwest District, originating with Papago Buttes Church of the Brethren in Scottsdale, Ariz., asks, "What is the best way for the denomination to schedule Annual Conferences, taking into consideration frequency, length, technology-based, and other options?"
Query: Reverse Membership Trend: The query from Idaho and Western Montana District, originating in Nampa (Idaho) Church of the Brethren, "confesses our sinful complicity with the declining membership of our denomination and asks when and how the Church of the Brethren can halt and reverse this trend toward extinction?"
Update to Annual Conference Polity: The Annual Conference Council recommends a change in polity for rotation of Conference locations, in order to hold the event more often in population concentrations of Brethren. The recommendation is to hold Conference in the East and Midwest four times respectively over a 12-year period, with other years of the cycle seeing Conference held in the Southeast once, the Northwest once, the Plains states once, and the Southwest once. Currently locations are rotated over the course of six years, to the East, the Midwest east of the Mississippi, the Midwest west of the Mississippi, the Southeast, the Midwest east of the Mississippi, and the far West, alternating every six years between the Northwest and Southwest.
Recommendation Regarding Christian Churches Together: The Committee on Interchurch Relations and the General Board jointly recommend that the Church of the Brethren fully participate in Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT), a new ecumenical organization that includes a broad representation of Christian denominations and Christian organizations including the National Council of Churches and the National Association of Evangelicals.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline Extra
Business for the 2007 Conference ranges from the future of the Brethren Medical Plan, to a final report from the Intercultural Study Committee, to recommendations to reorganize some church agencies, among nine items of unfinished and new business (full documents are at www.brethren.org/ac). The business agenda also includes reports from Conference-related agencies and committees, and an election of church leaders.
Unfinished business
Intercultural Study Committee report:
The Intercultural Study Committee states that its report "is a call for transformation." After three years of study, the committee reports that "God is calling us today, to be transformed into a whole body of Christ, so that we are SEPARATE NO MORE." Numerous recommendations are directed to the denomination as a whole, the Conference and its agencies, the districts, congregations, and Brethren individuals.
The recommendations section begins with two specific recommendations, to "bring us (the denomination) into conformity with the vision of Revelation 7:9," and to "formulate a mechanism to report intercultural ministry progress at Annual Conference through 2010."
In the several pages that follow, the committee calls for including the concept of intentional intercultural inclusion in the purpose and vision statement of Annual Conference and its reportable agencies, establishing a discernment process during hiring for the denominational agencies that considers candidates' intercultural competence and denominational needs, requiring annual intercultural orientation and education for staff and program volunteers of denominational agencies, and developing programs to include and formally mentor young adults of every ethnic and racial background into leadership positions, among others. The committee recommends a fulltime, funded specialist position in the Congregational Life Teams of the General Board to assist in facilitating intercultural activity in the denomination.
To districts, the committee recommends that all pastors have ongoing continuing education focused on intercultural activity, and that intercultural content continuing education units be required for re-ordination and re-licensing of ministers, as well as a formal mentoring program for new minority pastors, among other recommendations.
To congregations, the committee recommends the following "salient principles" of leadership, in order to become an intercultural family of God: intentionality, adaptability, and integrated worship. The committee calls on churches to reach out to neighbors from different backgrounds, and to become informed of conditions of life for ethnic and racial minorities.
To individuals, the committee recommends being intentional about forming authentic relationships with diverse neighbors, becoming better informed about racism and discrimination, and standing in solidarity with victims of hate crimes, among others.
The report includes steps to account for implementation. Appendices give a draft of the proposed new Congregational Life Teams position, signs of intercultural church development, principles of growing multicultural churches, and case studies from First Church of the Brethren in Harrisburg, Pa., and Peace Covenant Church in Durham, N.C. A resource list closes the report.
Brethren Medical Plan Resolution:
The Brethren Medical Plan Study Committee appointed in 2005 is making its report to the 2007 Conference. The Brethren Medical Plan is a program of Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) offering a health insurance plan for pastors and church employees, district employees, employees of Annual Conference agencies and affiliated agencies and institutions, and their families. A resolution from BBT to the 2005 Conference called for this study. BBT had announced that the plan was in a "death spiral" caused by decreased membership, the erosion of a good spread of risk, increased health care costs, and increased premiums.
After two years of study the committee recommends that BBT phase out the medical insurance component of the Brethren Medical Plan for ministers and retirees, while continuing to explore viability of the plan for agency employees, and continuing to offer its longterm disability, life, vision, and dental insurance plans.
If the recommendations are adopted, BBT will be directed "to attempt to find alternative medical coverage for those current participants who would not otherwise be able to obtain or afford medical insurance."
Review and Evaluation Committee:
A regularly scheduled review of the program work of the denomination is carried out every decade by a Review and Evaluation Committee, with a new committee elected in the fifth year of each decade. This year the Conference will receive the report of the Review and Evaluation Committee elected in 2005.
In previous decades, the review was limited to the work of the General Board. With the reorganization of the board in 1997 and the expansion of agencies reportable to Conference, this review evaluates total denominational organization, structure, and program, including the Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) and On Earth Peace along with the General Board.
Among 10 detailed points of recommendation, the committee recommends the merger of the General Board and ABC into an entity called "The Church of the Brethren, USA," and encourages On Earth Peace to consider joining (the other two agencies--Bethany Theological Seminary and Brethren Benefit Trust--would continue in their present capacities). In addition, the recommendation is for the new board to replace the roles and functions of both the current General Board and the Annual Conference Council, uniting them into a single body.
"The duplication of resources expended for separate boards, separate finance and fundraising needs of each of these agencies has meant the draining of both financial and people resources within the denomination," the report says. "The hope is that a simpler structure can... minimize the footprint that the agencies within the church impose on the local church's mission and ministry."
The report includes other recommendations such as enhancing orientation for and care for church leaders, and promoting the core values and heritage of the Church of the Brethren, among others.
Doing Church Business:
The Annual Conference Program Feasibility Study Committee will report, as the group to which the Doing Church Business report was referred by the 2006 Conference. Delegates will address the Doing Church Business report in light of the feasibility study, resuming discussion at the point at which the business item was referred--when an amendment to delete a section on "Length of Conference" was on the floor. The Doing Church Business report has the potential to make significant changes in the format of the Conference and the way delegates address business. (For more about how the 2006 Conference dealt with this item, go to www.brethren.org/genbd/newsline/2006/AC2006/TuesdayBusiness.html.)
New business
Query: Child Abuse Prevention: Referring to church statements that include recommendations for the prevention of child abuse, the query from Michigan District, originating at Skyridge Church of the Brethren in Kalamazoo, asks Conference to examine how the recommendations are used and implemented by congregations, agencies, and organizations, and to bring a recommendation for implementation at all levels of denominational programming.
Query: Annual Conference Schedule: The query from Pacific Southwest District, originating with Papago Buttes Church of the Brethren in Scottsdale, Ariz., asks, "What is the best way for the denomination to schedule Annual Conferences, taking into consideration frequency, length, technology-based, and other options?"
Query: Reverse Membership Trend: The query from Idaho and Western Montana District, originating in Nampa (Idaho) Church of the Brethren, "confesses our sinful complicity with the declining membership of our denomination and asks when and how the Church of the Brethren can halt and reverse this trend toward extinction?"
Update to Annual Conference Polity: The Annual Conference Council recommends a change in polity for rotation of Conference locations, in order to hold the event more often in population concentrations of Brethren. The recommendation is to hold Conference in the East and Midwest four times respectively over a 12-year period, with other years of the cycle seeing Conference held in the Southeast once, the Northwest once, the Plains states once, and the Southwest once. Currently locations are rotated over the course of six years, to the East, the Midwest east of the Mississippi, the Midwest west of the Mississippi, the Southeast, the Midwest east of the Mississippi, and the far West, alternating every six years between the Northwest and Southwest.
Recommendation Regarding Christian Churches Together: The Committee on Interchurch Relations and the General Board jointly recommend that the Church of the Brethren fully participate in Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT), a new ecumenical organization that includes a broad representation of Christian denominations and Christian organizations including the National Council of Churches and the National Association of Evangelicals.
Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline Extra
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