More upcoming events

• A deacon ministry workshop, "The Challenges of Change: Growing the Role of Deacons" will be held in Idaho District on Sept. 26 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at Nampa (Idaho) Church of the Brethren. The event will be led by Donna Kline, director of the Church of the Brethren’s Deacon Ministry and Disability Ministry, and editor of "Caregiving" magazine. Topics include "What are deacons supposed to do, anyways?" "The art of listening," "Offering support in times of grief and loss," and "Deacon spirituality." Cost is $10. Participants are invited to bring a dish to share for lunch. To register contact Howard Garwick at hgarwick@yahoo.com or 208-466-2896.
  
  
• The Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Crisis Fund is encouraging attention to the 35th anniversary of Bread for the World and a tour by its founder Art Simon. The Global Food Crisis ministry "has come to consider Bread for the World a full-fledged partner," said manager Howard Royer. The 18-city nationwide tour promotes a new book by Simon, "The Rising of Bread for the World: An Outcry of Citizens Against Hunger." The tour began Sept. 1 in Sunnyvale, Calif., and continues through the fall with stops in cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Long Island, Cincinnati, and Washington, D.C., among others. For details, go to www.bread.org/get-involved/community/events-simon.html.
  
  
• Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) has announced the start of its fall orientation, to be held Sept. 20-Oct. 9 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. This will be the 286th unit of BVS and will include 23 volunteers--nine from Germany, one from Canada, and the remaining 13 (nine of whom are Brethren) from around the US. The unit will spend three weeks exploring project possibilities and topics of community building, peace, social justice, faith sharing, sustainable agriculture, and more. They will have the opportunity for several work days in the New Windsor area and in Harrisburg, Pa. Contact the BVS office at 800-323-8039.
  
  
• Upcoming courses offered by the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership include "Passions of Youth, Practices of Christ" with instructor Russell Haitch, to be taught at Codorus (Pa.) Church of the Brethren on Sept. 24-27; "Judges," an online course with instructor Susan Jeffers, to be taught Sept. 28-Nov. 6 (register through the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center, go to www.read-the-bible.org/SVMC-Judges.htm); and "Brethren Polity and Practice" with instructor Warren Eshbach, to be taught at the Young Center on the campus of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College on Nov. 20-22 (contact the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center at SVMC@etown.edu or 717-361-1450). "Messages of Peace in the Old Testament" is a continuing education event led by David Leiter on Sept. 16 at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College (contact svmc@etown.edu or 717-361-1450). Registration brochures for these and other training opportunities are available through the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, contact academy@bethanyseminary.edu or 800-287-8822 ext 1824.
  
  
• The 39th Annual Dunker Church Service at the Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Md., will be held Sunday, Sept 13, at 3 p.m. Jeff Bach, a Church of the Brethren historian and director of the Young Center at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, will preach for this worship service, held in the restored Mumma Meeting House commonly referred to as the Dunker Church. The church was built in 1853 and heavily damaged by the Sept. 17, 1862, Battle of Antietam. After extensive repairs were made, services resumed in the summer of 1864. The service is sponsored by area Churches of the Brethren. Bach also will preach at Sharpsburg Church of the Brethren that Sunday morning at 9:30 am. For more information contact Eddie Edmonds at 304-267-4135 or Tom Fralin at 301-432-2653.
  
  
• Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren hosts a production of "The Final Journey of John Kline," about the Civil War-era Brethren elder and peace martyr, on Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. The performance benefits an effort to preserve the John Kline Homestead in Broadway, Va., which is threatened by proposed development. The John Kline Homestead Trust hopes to raise an initial $425,000 to purchase the property by the end of 2009. Kline was a legendary leader in Brethren history--a preacher and healer who practiced natural medicine and traveled more than 100,000 miles on horseback serving people on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line. During the Civil War, he helped keep the Brethren unified in an anti-slavery stance. In 1864, returning from one of his preaching missions, he was ambushed by Confederate irregulars and killed near his home. "The Final Journey of John Kline" by Lee Krähenbühl was commissioned as part of the 200th anniversary of Kline’s 1797 birth. The New Millennium Players of Everett (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, directed by pastor Frank Ramirez, will present the play. An offering will support the John Kline Homestead Preservation Trust. For more information contact Dale V. Ulrich at daulrich@comcast.net.
  
  
• Mutual Kumquat will give a concert at Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. Proceeds from this Annual Benefit Concert of the congregation will go to the Center for Nonviolence. Mutual Kumquat features Seth Hendricks, Chris Good, Drue Gray, Jacob Jolliff, and Ben Long--a Brethren group of singer/songwriters accompanied by a mandolin virtuoso and the rhythms of hand drums. A release describes the band as "Inspired by visions of radical, loving, creative communities living in mutual relationship and the sweet yet tart, tiny but powerpacked-with-flavor wonder fruit that is a kumquat."
  
  
• Midland (Va.) Church of the Brethren is offering sessions on the theme, "All We Are Saying...Is Give Peace a Chance" on the weekend of Sept. 19-20. A workshop will be offered that Saturday from 1-4 p.m. On Sunday, David Radcliff of the New Community Project--a Brethren-related nonprofit working at earth care and human justice--will teach peace to the children during Sunday school at 10 a.m. and lead worship at 11 a.m.
  
  
• Three districts will hold conferences on the weekend of Sept. 18-19: Northern Indiana District Conference in Milford, Ind.; West Marva District Conference in Moorefield, W.Va.; and Southern Pennsylvania District Conference at Bunkertown Church of the Brethren in McAlisterville, Pa.
  
  
• The 33rd annual Brethren Disaster Relief Auction will be held on Sept. 24-25 at the Lebanon (Pa.) County Expo Center and Fairgrounds. The event is a joint effort of the Church of the Brethren’s Atlantic Northeast and Southern Pennsylvania Districts. For more information go to www.brethrenauction.org.
  
  
• The annual Good Samaritan Banquet of the Village at Morrisons Cove, a Church of the Brethren retirement community in Martinsburg, Pa., is on Sept. 19. The banquet raises support for residents who have outlived their resources. The event begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. at the Casino in Altoona, Pa. The program of sacred music features members of University Baptist and Brethren Church in State College, Pa., directed by Chris Kiver, director of Penn State Glee Club and Chamber Singers and winner of two Grammy Awards in 2006 for best Choral Music Performance and best Classical Album. The event also celebrates the opening of a new Village Center. The price of a ticket is $100. Call 814-793-2249.
  
  
• "Steward Leaders in Changing Times" is offered by the Ecumenical Stewardship Center on Nov. 30-Dec. 3 at the Hilton Marco Island Resort in Florida. The Church of the Brethren is a member denomination of the Ecumenical Stewardship Center. The event is planned for congregational leaders to learn, network, share, and worship together. Featured speakers include Anthony B. Robinson, president of Congregational Leadership Northwest and author of "Transforming Congregational Culture"; Peter Steinke, author of "Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times" and founder of Healthy Congregations; and Mardi Tindal, executive director at Five Oaks Retreat Center, and participant in the Center for Courage and Renewal facilitator preparation program provided by Parker J. Palmer. To register and to receive group or first-time attendee discounts, contact Carol Bowman, coordinator of stewardship formation and education for the Church of the Brethren, at cbowman@brethren.org.

Source: 9/7/2009 Newsline Extra