More events: Good Friday Witness, Kline Homestead benefit, more.

• A Good Friday Witness on April 10 is continuing the faith-based initiative against gun violence that was launched at the Heeding God’s Call gathering in Philadelphia in January. The gathering was sponsored by the Church of the Brethren, the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, and Mennonite Church USA. A letter from four Christian leaders in the Philadelphia area announced the Good Friday Witness: Bishop Kermit Newkirk of Harold O Davis Memorial Baptist Church in Logan, Rev. Mary Laney of St Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Gladwyne, Rev. David Tatgenhorst of St. Luke United Methodist Church in Bryn Mawr, and Rev. Isaac Miller of the Church of the Advocate in North Philadelphia. "This event bears witness not only to the horror of 2,000 years ago, but to the continuing outrage of violence that took 400 lives in Philadelphia in 2007, and, though there were fewer killings by gunfire last year, the number remains appalling," the letter said. The witness will be held at Colosimo’s Gun Center, which the invitation said has been identified by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence "as among the top 10 sellers of weapons involved in crimes in the country," The witness begins at 4 p.m. on April 10, at 9th and Spring Garden in Philadelphia.
  
  
• Copper Hill (Va.) Church of the Brethren is hosting a performance on April 4 to raise funds for preservation of the John Kline Homestead. The performance by Phyllis Stump will tell about the life of southwest Virginia midwife Orlene Puckett, a local legend of the Blue Ridge Parkway. For more information contact inkymartin@msn.com or 540-772-7736.
  
  
• The Brethren Retirement Community Auxiliary in Greenville, Ohio, is holding a 50th Anniversary Open House on April 2, from 1-3 p.m. The event includes a time of reminiscing at 3 p.m. Contact Janet Ashworth at janet.ashworth@bhrc.org or 937-547-7682.
  
  
• Bridgewater (Va.) College will celebrate the 129th anniversary of its founding on April 7, presenting several awards during the 11 a.m. convocation in the Carter Center for Worship and Music. Two faculty members will be recognized for excellence in teaching: Verne E. Leininger, associate professor of mathematics and a member of Linville Creek Church of the Brethren in Broadway, Va., will receive the Ben and Janice Wade Outstanding Teaching Award; and Philip T. Spickler, associate professor of physics and a member of Harrisonburg (Va.) First Church of the Brethren, will receive the Martha B. Thornton Faculty Recognition Award. Two seniors, Nicole M. Engel of Manassas, Va., and Rea T. Williams III of Bumpass, Va., will receive Outstanding Leadership Awards.
  
  
• Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., is hosting the Pennsylvania National Association for Multicultural Education conference on April 3-4. "This is a unique opportunity to have some of the most prominent experts in multicultural education right here in our own backyard," said Rosalie Rodriguez, special assistant to the president for diversity and inclusion, in a press release. The theme is "Sustaining Justice," with the goal of creating a learning environment of acceptance, understanding, and community building. The conference will feature lectures, workshops, and discussion panels led by diversity experts from across the US. Teachers can earn Act 48 credits for attending. For more information, go to http://www.juniata.edu/services/diversity/MainEvents.html or contact Rodriguez at 814-641-3125.
  
  
• The University of La Verne (Calif.) Coalition for Diversity and the African American Student Alliance are sponsoring a weekly colloquium series on Thursdays from 12-1:30 p.m., with four sessions focusing on different topics and themes. Upcoming sessions are held on March 26, on "White Privilege," facilitated by Matt Witt, associate professor of Public Administration; April 2, on "Redefining Diversity," facilitated by Cleveland Hayes, assistant professor of Education; and May 7, on "Cultural Identity Development: Melting Pot vs. Salad Bowl," facilitated by Chris Liang, assistant professor of Psychology, and Leticia Arellano, associate professor of Psychology.
  
  
• A panel presentation on the "Global Movement Against Racism" is co-sponsored by the Sub-Committee for the Elimination of Racism of the NGO Committee on Human Rights. Doris Abdullah represents the Church of the Brethren on the subcommittee. The event takes place March 26 at 2-5 p.m. at the ECOSOC Chamber at United Nations Headquarters in New York. Panelists are Ambassador Morten Wetland of Norway; Jessica Neuwirth, director of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in New York; Ejim Dike of the Human Rights Project, Urban Justice Center; Angela C. Wu, International Law Director at the Becket Fund; Roberto Mucaro Borrero of the Museum of Natural History and the NGO Committee on the UN International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The event is in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racism.
  
  
• Joseph Kip Kosek, assistant professor at George Washington University and a member of Oakton Church of the Brethren, will present a lecture on the impact of radical Christian pacifists on American democratic theory and practice at the Library of Congress on March 25 at 4 p.m. He is the author of "Acts of Conscience: Christian Nonviolence and Modern American Democracy" and a former fellow of the Library’s John W. Kluge Center. Go to http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2009/09-047.html for more information.
  
  
• Ray Warner's 100th birthday celebration will be held on April 5 at First Church of the Brethren in Eden, N.C., from 2-4 p.m. He served for many years as deacon chair at the church.

Source: 3/25/2009 Newsline Extra