Brethren bits: Correction, personnel, jobs, anniversaries, more.

• Correction: The name of the author of a feature in the Oct. 24 Special Report on Disaster Response was spelled incorrectly. The correct spelling is Valentina Satvedi.
  
  
• Carol Gardner is retiring as managing editor of "Brethren Life and Thought," an academic quarterly publication of the Brethren Journal Association and Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind. Among her accomplishments during the five years in the part-time position, from 2002-07, Gardner worked on a project completed in 2005 in which all issues of "Brethren Life and Thought" were being digitized by the American Theological Library Association, making the whole collection available online to the journal's subscribers. In addition to the digitization project, she organized and computerized subscriptions and helped the journal maintain a regular publishing schedule. Gardner also oversaw mailings, convened the Brethren Journal Association meetings, corresponded with patrons, and coordinated the journal exhibits at Annual Conferences.
  
  
• Terry Stutzman Mast has resigned from her position as associate editor of the Gather 'Round curriculum project. She has served in the position for two-and-a-half years, since February of 2005. Her last day of employment will be Oct. 26. Mast and her family live in Colorado. She is a graduate of Bluffton College in Ohio, and has a degree in writing from Illinois State University, and background in writing, design, and editing for a variety of magazines and projects. Gather 'Round is jointly sponsored by Brethren Press and the Mennonite Publishing Network.
  
  
• Two Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) workers--Kathryn Stutzman of Goshen, Ind., and Ryan Richards of Coupeville, Wash.--began two-year assignments in Central America this month, working on behalf of the Global Mission Partnerships of the Church of the Brethren General Board. Stutzman left Oct. 22 to serve as a wildlife biologist at the Iguanario in Samana, the Dominican Republic. The center is reintroducing the Rhino Iguana back into the wild. Her bachelor of arts degree is in biology from Goshen College. Richards left Oct. 13 to serve as office and volunteer coordinator at Miguel Angel Asturias Academy, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. He will also promote the school, which gives high quality experiential learning opportunities to indigenous students. His bachelor of arts degree is in international development from Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pa.
  
  
• The Office of Ministry of the General Board has welcomed Dana Cassell as its first ever Brethren Volunteer Service program volunteer. Cassell is from Roanoke, Va., is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, and recently completed a master of divinity degree at Emory University's Candler School of Theology. She is an alumna of Ministry Summer Service, having served as an intern at Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren. She will coordinate the next clergywomen's retreat scheduled for early 2009, work on revising and updating the Office of Ministry portion of the General Board's website, and assist the executive director in various other projects including planning a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Annual Conference action granting ordination to women.
  
  
• The New Windsor (Md.) Conference Center at the Brethren Service Center has welcomed two new temporary part-time staff, who are refugees from Myanmar. Eddie and Peter (their chosen American names) recently arrived in Westminster, Md., through a refugee resettlement program. Eddie has begun work in housekeeping and Peter in dining services on the Brethren Service Center campus.
  
  
• The Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., has welcomed three students from Jacobs High School who are taking part in a work education program for students with developmental disabilities. Josh, Alex, and Zach will shred documents and do other small jobs throughout the offices. Laura Woolf and Laura Janus are serving as their job coaches.
  
  
• The Mutual Aid Association for the Church of the Brethren (MAA) seeks new leadership to fill the position of president/general manager. Location is Abilene, Kan., some two-and-a-half hours west of Kansas City. The president/general manager serves as the principle administrator of the organization. Responsibilities include to plan, direct, and coordinate programs and staff to assure that board objectives are attained, policyholder needs are met, and effective internal and external relationships are maintained; demonstrate leadership skills and office management; and direct the organization's vision, cooperatively with the Board of Directors. Qualifications include holding Brethren values, being trustworthy and reliable, having a positive attitude to change, communication skills, people skills, insurance and marketing experience, managerial or supervisory experience, and a minimum education of a bachelor's degree. Salary is commensurate with experience. Benefits include pension and medical benefits, vacation and other leave. Start date is March 1, 2008, or negotiable. Send a letter of interest, a one-page resume, and minimum salary requirement to the Chair, MAA Board of Directors, c/o 3094 Jeep Rd., Abilene, KS 67410; fax 785-598-2214; 785-598-2212; maa@maabrethren.com.
  
  
• On Earth Peace has announced the next round of Encountering (Military) Recruitment Networking Calls. The calls are an opportunity for networking and mutual support among those working on military recruitment in their communities, and related issues of poverty, racism, and lack of opportunity. "Six by Six Thinking: Strategic Outreach and Organizing" is the theme for the next calls on Nov. 5 at 12 p.m. Pacific/3 p.m. eastern time, or Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. eastern. Calls last 90 minutes. Contact mattguynn@earthlink.net to reserve a place in a call. For more go to www.brethren.org/oepa/programs/peace-witness/counter-recruitment/NetworkingCalls.html.
  
  
• The Brethren Witness/Washington Office will have a presence at a vigil and nonviolent direct action to close the School of the Americas/WHINSEC on Nov. 16-18 at the gates of Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga., and invites Brethren to attend. The weekend will include a rally, nonviolent direct action training, workshops, benefit concerts, puppet shows, teach-ins, and more. The Brethren Witness/Washington Office plans to have an exhibit table, and on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. will host a Brethren gathering at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Columbus. In 1997, the Church of the Brethren General Board issued a resolution calling for the closing of the school. According to the School of Americas Watch, WHINSEC has trained more than 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence, and interrogation tactics that consistently have been used against their own citizens including religious workers, educators, and those who work for the poor. For more go to www.soaw.org. Contact the Brethren Witness/Washington Office at 800-785-3246 or washington_office_gb@brethren.org.
  
  
• Congregations celebrating significant anniversaries include Garbers Church of the Brethren in Harrisonburg, Va., celebrates its 185th anniversary on Oct. 28; Downsville Church of the Brethren in Williamsport, Md., which has celebrated its 150th anniversary; Elm Street Church of the Brethren in Lima, Ohio, which celebrated 105 years on Sept. 15; and Green Hill Church of the Brethren in Salem, Va., which celebrated 90 years on Oct. 21.
  
  
• The Illinois and Wisconsin District Conference on Nov. 2-4 is being hosted by Freeport (Ill.) Church of the Brethren and will be held at the Freeport Masonic Temple.
  
  
• Elizabethtown (Pa.) College has named six new members to its board of trustees: Nevin Cooley of Manheim, Pa.; Warren Eshbach of Dover, Del.; Janice Longenecker Holsinger of Palmyra, Pa.; Robert O. Kerr of Austin, Texas; Wallace Landes Jr. of Palmyra, Pa.; and Michael Mason of Hagerstown Md. The new members include at least two ordained in the Church of the Brethren: Eshbach is an ordained minister and adjunct faculty for Congregational Ministries at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, and recently retired as the dean of Graduate Studies at the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center connected with Bethany Theological Seminary; Landes is senior pastor of Palmyra (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, and has been an adjunct faculty member in the religious studies department at Elizabethtown.
  
  
• Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is returning a team to northern Iraq after an absence of seven months. The region is relatively calm but tensions are rising internally and on the borders and local peacemakers are seeking allies, said a prayer request from CPT. Church of the Brethren members Cliff Kindy and Peggy Gish have been planning to take part in the Iraq team.

Source: 10/24/2007 Newsline