Brethren bits: Corrections, remembrance, job openings, and more.

• Corrections: In the July 16 Newsline, the name of Ramona Pence was inadvertently omitted from the General Board executive committee for the period through Aug. 31. Also, the first names of two Bethany Seminary Board members, Frances S. Beam and Phillip C. Stone, Jr., were misspelled. In another omission from a July 2 report on Churches Supporting Churches, the program offering congregations partnership opportunities with churches in New Orleans, the contribution of First Central Church of the Brethren in Kansas City was not mentioned: First Central has been holding regular collections for Churches Supporting Churches.
  
  
• Andrew Herbert Holderreed, 93, of Castleford, Idaho, passed away at his home on July 15. He was a longterm Church of the Brethren mission worker in China and India. He was born in Cushing, Okla., to Louis and Margret (Maggie) Holderreed on Dec. 21, 1914. He graduated from high school in 1932 in Oakville, Wash., and in 1939 graduated from Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., with two majors. That same year he entered Bethany Theological Seminary in Chicago, where he met and married Louise Virginia Garber in 1941. In 1945, the family studied Chinese at the University of California, Berkeley, and pastored Oakland Church of the Brethren. In Seattle, Wash., Holderreed was a wartime visitation worker in urban housing projects for the Seattle Council of Churches. The family arrived in China in March 1947, with two children and a third expected. The Church of the Brethren mission in northern China was closed in 1947 due to the Civil War, so the Holderreeds were assigned to a Methodist hospital where he served as assistant pastor and construction manager for staff housing. In April 1949, the US Consul ordered the family and others to leave as the Red Army was approaching. They arrived home in San Francisco by air evacuation. The Holderreeds were reassigned to India from 1951-67. Holderreed held a variety of positions in India including assignment to the Palghar Mission Station where he led a Boarding School for students and several village schools; to United Theological Seminary in Poona where he taught English as a second language and Indian church history while also serving as treasurer; to Intermission Business Office in Bombay as Brethren Mission Trustee and Treasurer; and to the mission property in Bulsar and the mission at Ahwa, Dangs. In 1967, the Holderreeds returned to the US and he became pastor of Larchmont Church of the Brethren in Tacoma, Wash., for 15 years, and also spent 12 years as a volunteer police chaplain for the city of Tacoma. He retired to Castleford in 1982 but continued to fill interim pastorates, became active with the Castleford Men's Club, and propagated fruit trees and taught grafting. He was a member of Community Church of the Brethren in Twin Falls, Idaho. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Louise; son Bruce (Rena) Holderreed, a member of the Church of the Brethren General Board; daughters Mary (Francis) Early and Margie (Ken) Ullom; 11 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held at Community Church of the Brethren in Twin Falls on July 24. Memorial contributions may be given to the Church of the Brethren General Board Missions or to Community Church of the Brethren.
  
  
• The Church of the Brethren seeks a director of Deacon Ministry to serve in a half-time position reportable to the executive director of Caring Ministries at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill. The person will serve as primary staff for the Denominational Deacon Ministry; coordinate, plan, and implement deacon training in congregations, districts, and at conferences; and provide general support for the Caring Ministries of the Church of the Brethren. Required skills and knowledge include commitment to the Church of the Brethren vision, mission, and core values, and dedication to denominational and ecumenical objectives; understanding and appreciation for Brethren heritage, theology, and polity; communication skills; professional quality public speaking and comfort in leading small groups; dynamic writing style; ability to communicate a caring attitude; ability to keep confidentiality; people skills including ability to work well in a team; administrative and management skills and a spirit of flexibility and adaptability; a positive approach to life with particular enthusiasm for deacon ministry; and willingness to travel frequently, often on weekends. A minimum of three to five years of experience teaching, leadership training, problem solving, and/or resource development or marketing is required. Specific work with deacon issues or experience as a local deacon is preferred. Education requirement is a bachelor’s degree. Apply by requesting an application packet and then completing the application form, submitting a resume and letter of application, and requesting three references to send letters of recommendation to the Office of Human Resources, Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120-1694; 800-323-8039 ext. 258; kkrog_gb@brethren.org.
  
  
• The World Council of Churches (WCC) United Nations Liaison Office seeks a candidate to fill an administrative position in its office in New York, N.Y. The position joins a team in support of ongoing global collaboration to express concerns and address questions of power and structural injustice through ecumenical international advocacy. The position will require attendance, monitoring, and reporting on meetings at the UN; assisting with organizing ecumenical meetings, including the WCC’s annual United Nations Advocacy Week; organizing delegations of church leaders and representatives to attend meetings at the UN. The office seeks a candidate with intellectual curiosity, communication skills, interpersonal effectiveness, relevant experience, and a commitment to the ecumenical movement, to work in a small office of two people with additional interns and seconded staff. Key qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and a minimum two years of experience or the equivalent, ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities and deliver high quality work within established timelines, ability to work with a team with a professional and service-oriented approach and demeanor, knowledge of computer applications including MS Office, and good judgment, discretion, and confidentiality with regard to ongoing work. The ability to work in more than one of the WCC’s working languages is a strong asset, as is knowledge of the UN, the ecumenical movement, and website content management systems. The search process closes Aug. 10. The office seeks a candidate to begin work on Sept. 2, however this date can be flexible. The WCC is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status. Apply by sending a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and at least three recommendations to cab@wcc-coe.org.
  
  
• The WCC also has announced its Internship Program for 2009. The WCC will welcome five young people (aged 18-30 years) to serve as interns in its offices in Geneva, Switzerland, from February 2009 to January 2010. Interns will be assigned to one of the WCC working areas, will carry out tasks in cooperation with program staff and under individualized supervision, and will plan an ecumenical project to implement in their home context when they return in February 2010. Applicants must send, along with their application, background information about their church or Christian youth network that will help them in implementing their proposed ecumenical project. The deadline for applications is Sept. 15. Go to www.oikoumene.org/?id=3187 for more information. Go to www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/2008pdfs/WCC_Internship_Programme_application_2009.pdf to download the application form. Go to www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/2008pdfs/Sending_Group_application_form_WCC_internships_2009.pdf to download the form to be filled in by the local church group supporting the application.
  
  
• Brethren Disaster Ministries has issued an urgent appeal for volunteers to work at the rebuilding site in Rushford, Minn., from Aug. 10-16; and at the Chalmette, La., rebuilding site from Sept. 7-13. At the Rushford flood recovery project, the ministry has committed to doing six complete house rebuilds, with the goal of working on three or four houses at once. Full work crews of 15 people are needed to reach this goal. In Chalmette, volunteers are doing major repair work including insulation, drywall, laminate flooring, roofing, painting, and trim work, with the goal of effecting basic repairs to allow people to get back into their homes. To volunteer, contact a district disaster coordinator or Brethren Disaster Ministries at 800-451-4407.
  
  
• July 31 is the deadline for the collection of Emergency Clean-up Buckets in Indiana. Until that date the collection point is Church World Service, 28606 Phillips St., Elkhart, IN 46515; 800-297-1516; open from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. After July 31, clean-up buckets may be shipped to the Brethren Service Center Annex, 601 Main St., New Windsor, MD 21776. Church World Service (CWS) is calling for Emergency Clean-up Buckets to respond to the flooding in the Midwest. The buckets are kits that may be assembled by congregations, other groups, and individuals, and donated to the disaster effort. Go to www.churchworldservice.org/kits/cleanup-kits.html for information about how to assemble kits.
  
  
• Virginia Public Radio aired a report about the Church of the Brethren’s peace witness during the Annual Conference in Richmond, Va., when a reporter accompanied Enten Eller and other Brethren members to the peace rally sponsored by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office. Eller was originally contacted by reporter Joe Staniunas for an interview following up on his draft resistance of the 1980s. He was the first person to be convicted of failing to register and began a two-year sentence of unpaid work 25 years ago in Roanoke, Va., in June 1983. However, the reporter ended up accompanying Eller to the peace rally and interviewing others who offered comments on the church’s peace witness, including Bob Gross and Matt Guynn from On Earth Peace, and Cliff Kindy, a longterm volunteer with Christian Peacemaker Teams. Go to www.wvtf.org/news_and_notes/ and click on the report of July 17 to hear the radio clip.
  
  
• An online course titled "From Jesus to Reformation" taught by Josh Brockway from Sept. 2-Oct. 28 is being offered by the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership. Training in Ministry (TRIM) students will receive one academy level/CEQ unit of Bible-Theology Credit for the course. Pastors and other ordained ministers receive two continuing education units. For more information contact Marilyn Lerch at lerchma@bethanyseminary.edu or 814-623-6095.
  
  
• Northern Plains District has announced that on July 15, Panora (Iowa) Church of the Brethren with support from the district, reached a settlement with former church leaders and members who voted last fall to leave the Church of the Brethren. The district announced in its e-mail newsletter that according to the settlement, the departing leaders and their group will return church property, accounts, and records to the Brethren. "Since December, the Brethren have met for worship at the Panora Christian Church on Sunday evenings with neighboring Brethren from Panther Creek, Dallas Center, Beaver, Peace (Council Bluffs), Stover (Des Moines), and Ankeny helping them with preaching, accompaniment, presence, and prayers," the newsletter reported. "This Sunday, July 27 at 5 p.m., the Brethren will resume worship services in their own church facility." Sunday morning services will resume on Aug. 3.
  
  
• The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy--which includes among its 21 faith group members the Church of the Brethren’ s Virlina District--is celebrating the opening of its new "green" facility in Richmond, Va. Virlina District supported the new headquarters building with a grant of $1,000. The Virginia Interfaith Center hopes the 3,600-square-foot brick building located in the Shockoe Bottom area will become the first in Richmond to achieve commercial interior certification under the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
  
  
• Bridgewater (Va.) College presented three Merlin E. and Dorothy Faw Garber Awards for Christian Service during Annual Conference in Richmond, Va. Receiving the awards at the alumni luncheon on July 13 were Daniel Rudy, a 2008 graduate from Mount Airy, Md.; and Claire Gilbert Ulrich, a 1978 alumna, and Dale V. Ulrich, provost and professor of physics, emeritus, both from Bridgewater, Va.
  
  
• A nation-wide day of action took place in Canada related to deportation proceedings for Robin Long, the first American war resister to be deported by the Canadian government, according to a release from Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). CPT members led 150 participants in a July 10 vigil in Winnipeg, at the People's Summit of the Mennonite Churches of Canada and the US, and in Toronto members of CPT participated in a human chain of solidarity between the Federal Court building and the US Consulate. CPT originated as an initiative of the historic peace churches--the Church of the Brethren, Mennonites, and Quakers. Long had been in the US Army for two years before fleeing to Canada in 2005, when his unit was ordered to Iraq. CPT reported that Long explained his unwillingness to go to Iraq in part by saying, "I would be wrong to be a tool of destruction." However, he was deported to the US on July 15. As of July 22, the Mennonite Church USA reported that he is being held in a county jail in Colorado Springs, Colo. In response to the event, the Peace Advocate of the Mennonite Church is creating a list of people willing to pray for or write to soldiers who are examining the conflict between their conscience and commitment to the military. Contact Susan Mark Landis, Peace Advocate, Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership, at SusanML@MennoniteUSA.org or 330-683-6844.
  
  
• The Louisville Institute has announced its 15th annual competition for sabbatical grants for pastoral leaders. Applicants must be regularly employed in a recognized religious leadership position, may be ordained or lay, and may or may not have a formal theological degree. Eligible positions include pastors and other parish ministers, chaplains, faith-based community agency leaders, and church judicatory officials. Awardees will ordinarily have been in their current place of ministry at least five years, plan on staying in their current place for at least a year beyond their sabbatical, and are at least five years away from retirement. Awards are made for either eight- or 12-week sabbaticals. Applications are due by Sept. 15. Award announcements will be made by Dec. 15, and sabbaticals must be taken between March 1, 2009, and Aug. 31, 2010. Go to www.louisville-institute.org for details.

Source: 7/30/2008 Newsline