Brethren bits: Moderator visits EYN, Jr. High Conference, more.

• Annual Conference moderator Jim Beckwith left April 30 for a 12-day visit to Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). The trip includes an opportunity for Beckwith to preach in Garkida, where his family lived when he was in high school. His parents were missionaries in Nigeria with the Church of the Brethren.
  
  
• Next year's National Junior High Conference will be held June 19-21, 2009, at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. The event is for junior high youth grades 6-8 and their advisors. Rebekah Houff will serve as coordinator, and the event is sponsored by the denomination's Youth and Young Adult Ministries. Congregations are invited to begin planning now for their junior high youth to participate.
  
  
• A month remains to register for National Young Adult Conference. Registration ends June 1. The conference will be Aug. 11-15 at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colo. Go to www.nyac08.org to register. After June 1, those who want to attend must call the Youth and Young Adult Ministries Office at 800-323-8039 ext. 281 to be waitlisted.
  
  
• The final event in a series of Deacon Ministry Training Events will be May 31 at Frederick (Md.) Church of the Brethren, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The registration deadline is May 16. The speaker is Jay Gibble, former executive director of the Association of Brethren Caregivers. Visit www.brethren.org/abc/deacons or call 800-323-8039.
  
  
• First Church of the Brethren in Chicago, Ill., is holding an event at 4 p.m. on May 18 recognizing the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., during the 300th Anniversary year of the Church of the Brethren. Stephen Breck Reid, academic dean at Bethany Theological Seminary, will speak on the topic, "300 Years and 40 Years: Church of the Brethren and Martin Luther King, Jr., Two Anniversaries in Dialogue." He also will preach for the 11 a.m. worship service. Contact First Church of the Brethren at 773-533-4273 or see www.firstcob.org.
  
  
• Creekside Church of the Brethren in Elkhart, Ind., is planning a Blessing of the Bikes (motorcycles) and an escorted ride through Elkhart County on May 17. "This will be our second year and we are looking to see about 100 bikes," reported Jim Vance. The event raises money for the Church Community Services and helps the youth group raise money for National Youth Conference. Participants receive commemorative kickstand plates and decals. Go to http://bikes.creeksideconnected.com for more information.
  
  
• The 16th Annual Shenandoah District Disaster Ministries auction will be held May 16-17 at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds south of Harrisonburg, Va. The auction features livestock, one-of-a-kind art and craft items, handmade furniture, quilts, and a week at an Outer Banks vacation house. Meals include an oyster and ham dinner on Friday, pancake breakfast with sausage gravy or choice of omelets on Saturday, and a chicken barbecue lunch on Saturday. Visit www.shencob.org or call 888-308-8555 for more information.
  
  
• The Church of the Brethren colleges hold their commencement ceremonies in May:
  
  
  • Bridgewater (Va.) College commencement will be at 2 p.m. on May 11, with Frank J. Williams, chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and noted Abraham Lincoln scholar, delivering the address. Judy Mills Reimer, of the college board of trustees and former general secretary of the Church of the Brethren General Board, will deliver the baccalaureate message.
    
    
  • Elizabethtown (Pa.) College holds commencement at 11 a.m. on May 17 with Art Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, giving the address.
    
    
  • Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., holds commencement at 10 a.m. on May 10, with speaker Michael Klag, a Juniata graduate and dean of Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
    
    
  • Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind., holds commencement activities on May 18 beginning with a baccalaureate service at 11 a.m. with college president Jo Young Switzer speaking, and commencement at 2:30 p.m.
    
    
  • McPherson (Kan.) College holds its commencement ceremony in conjunction with an Alumni Weekend May 23-25. The commencement ceremony is at 2 p.m. on May 25.
    
    
  • University of La Verne (Calif.) holds a commencement ceremony for each college. The College of Law commencement is May 18 at 4 p.m. The College of Arts and Sciences commencement is May 23 at 6 p.m. in Ortmayer Stadium, with keynote speaker Robert Neher, division chair for the Natural Science Division, who in his 50th year as a faculty member. The College of Business and Public Management commencement is May 24 at 9:30 a.m. at Ortmayer Stadium. The Doctoral Program in Organizational Leadership commencement is May 24 at 11:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Fairplex in Pomona. The College of Education and Organizational Leadership ceremony is May 24 at 4 p.m. at Ortmayer Stadium.

Source: 5/07/2008 Newsline