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.

Source: 4/25/2006 Newsline