Brethren bits: Corrections, jobs, seeking anointing services, more.

• Corrections: In a correction to the Mission Update in the Newsline Extra of Oct. 1, pastors Isaias Tena and Anastasia Buena are serving the Church of the Brethren in San Luis, the Dominican Republic (located in Santo Domingo). In a correction to the remembrance for June Adams Gibble in the Newsline of Sept. 26, the dates of her service with the Church of the Brethren General Board were given incorrectly. She was employed by the General Board from 1977-84, and then again worked for the board from 1988-97.
  
  
• Ric and Jan Martinez have completed their tenure as volunteer hosts for the Old Main building at the New Windsor Conference Center, on the campus of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. The center is welcoming Ed and Betty Runion of Markle, Ind., as the new hosts for Old Main.
  
  
• On Earth Peace seeks a program coordinator to oversee its peace education program. Responsibilities include planning and coordinating educational events for all ages, particularly youth and young adults; developing peace education resources; coordinating the youth peace travel team; participating in district and denominational conferences; and other responsibilities. Requirements include commitment to Christian peacemaking, experience with educational programing, strong communication skills and organizational ability, self-motivation. Call 410-635-8704 or e-mail oepa_oepa@brethren.org for more information, including a complete position description and announcement. To apply, send a letter and resume with three to four references to Bob Gross, Executive Director of On Earth Peace, at bgross@igc.org. Applications will be reviewed beginning Nov. 15, continuing until the position is filled. The position begins Jan. 28, 2008.
  
  
• Camp Blue Diamond, a summer camp and retreat center for the Middle Pennsylvania District of the Church of the Brethren, seeks a fulltime program director. Responsibilities include summer and year-round programming, group hosting, camp promotion, off-season housekeeping, and some kitchen work during outdoor school season. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, considerable summer camp leadership experience, and excellent writing, communication, and organizational skills. Compensation includes salary, housing, medical insurance, pension, and other benefits. For an application write or contact Camp Blue Diamond, P.O. Box 240, Petersburg, PA 16669; 814-667-2355; bludia@penn.com. Applications will be accepted until Oct. 30. Position begins in January. For more information concerning Camp Blue Diamond, visit www.campbluediamond.org.
  
  
• Oaklawn, a mental health provider that often offers services to the Anabaptist church community including Church of the Brethren members and congregations, seeks a child and adolescent psychiatrist to join a team of 10 psychiatrists, five of whom are certified in child and adolescent psychiatry. Located in Goshen, Ind., a mid-sized rural community two hours from Chicago and three hours from Indianapolis, offering a cost of living 17.6 percent below the national average. Oaklawn is faith-based, sponsored by Mennonite Health Services Alliance. A competitive salary is offered along with RVU-based incentive, signing bonus, relocation expense, and student loan forgiveness. For more information about this position, contact Human Resources at 800-282-0809 ext. 675. All inquiries are kept confidential. For more about Oaklawn, visit www.oaklawn.org.
  
  
• The Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) is seeking information about upcoming anointing services that individuals and congregations plan to hold. ABC is creating a video about the power and comfort of the anointing service for congregational and individual use. Planners hope to illustrate the recording with actual anointing events. If you have a planned event or are calling for a more private service of anointing, please e-mail this news to abc@brethren.org. If time and production details allow for the event to be recorded, ABC will send videographer David Sollenberger to the event. Recordings will take place over the next six months, so notication of events is not limited to a certain time.
  
  
• "Making Poverty History: Hunger Education Activities that Work," a new Church World Service (CWS) resource on the Millennium Development Goals, has been distributed to Church of the Brethren congregations by the Global Food Crisis Fund in the October "Source" packet. The 26-page guide offers drama, simulations, and worship helps for congregational and special group use. "It will be great for Global Food Crisis Fund appeals, CROP hunger walks, growing project celebrations, and youth and mission observances," said fund manager Howard Royer. Activities are organized around the major themes of the Millennium Development Goals. Each section contains a few facts on the theme, a related story from the work of CWS, and interactive ways to engage people. The back cover features a litany by Jeff Carter, pastor of Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren and used at this summer’s "Sowing Seeds" conference on hunger in Washington, D.C. The resource also is available at www.churchworldservice.org/hungerbooklet.
  
  
• Senior high youth are invited to Waynesboro (Va.) Church of the Brethren on Nov. 16-18 for a peace retreat on the theme, "A Kingdom that Cannot Be Shaken." Susan Chapman (program director at Camp Bethel) and Susanna Farahat (coordinator for peace education at On Earth Peace) will lead youth in a weekend of energizing sessions based on Hebrews 12:18: "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe." Youth will have an opportunity to discuss the questions brought up by this scripture: How do we worship acceptably? What does it mean to be part of "a kingdom that cannot be shaken"? How can we accept the challenge that Jesus’ call to discipleship presents, in a world of diversity? In addition to times for study and worship, participants will also enjoy food, fellowship, and recreation time with youth from across the Virlina and Shenandoah Districts. Registration forms are available online at www.onearthpeace.org. For more information contact Susanna Farahat at 410-635-8706 or sfarahat_oepa@brethren.org, or Terrie Glass (host) at 804-439-0478 or t.glass@comcast.net.
  
  
• The 2008 Song and Story Fest, an annual family camp with sponsorship from On Earth Peace, will be held prior to Annual Conference next year on July 6-12, 2008. The location will be Camp Brethren Woods, Keezletown, Va. Ken Kline Smeltzer coordinates the Song and Story Fest.
  
  
• The Church of the Brethren congregation in Vega Baja, P.R., will celebrate its 25th anniversary on Oct. 24-27. The urban congregation of about 90 members was formed in 1982 and has served the community with witness and outreach ministries, evangelism, Christian education, music concerts, children’s fairs, and food and clothing for the homeless. An evening of Sacred and Folkoric Music Concert will be held in Vega Baja’s Arts Theater on Friday, Oct. 26.
  
  
• Upcoming district conferences are held by Atlantic Northeast District at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College on Oct. 12-13, Atlantic Southeast District at Saint Petersburg (Fla.) Church of the Brethren on Oct. 12-13, Southern Ohio District at Eaton (Ohio) Church of the Brethren on Oct. 12-13, Pacific Southwest District at La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren on Oct. 12-14, and Middle Pennsylvania District at Everett (Pa.) Church of the Brethren on Oct. 19-20.
  
  
• The 11th Annual Fall Dinner and Auction to support Pleasant Hill Village, a Church of the Brethren retirement center in Girard, Ill., will take place Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. in Virden at the Knights of Columbus Hall. Cost is $25. The event is a benefit for residents with a fundraising goal of $20,000 for health care projects including new furniture for the residents’ living room, updating a courtyard fence, maintaining bird aviaries, redecorating a bath and shower room, a sound system for the dining room, and establishing a residents’ assistance fund. Contact Paulette Miller at 217-627- 2181 or phvil@royell.net.
  
  
• Voices for an Open Spirit is holdings its fall gathering on the theme "What’s in Your God-Box? Discerning Faith for Ourselves and Others," on Nov. 9-11 at Ridgeway Community Church of the Brethren in Harrisburg, Pa. The keynote speaker and Sunday preacher is Anne Robertson, an ordained United Methodist minister and executive director of the Massachusetts Bible Society, and author of "Blowing the Lid Off the God-Box," and "God’s Top 10: Blowing the Lid Off the Commandments." Registration is $60 and covers meals and all activities. Participants reserve their own accommodations. For more information go to www.voicesforanopenspirit.org. Online registration is available.

Source: 10/10/2007 Newsline