'Martyr's Mirror' provides agenda for Brethren Historical Committee.

The Brethren Historical Committee met at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., on Nov. 6-7. The committee advises the Brethren Historical Library and Archives (BHLA), promotes the preservation of Brethren historical records, and encourages Brethren historical research.

On the agenda was a "Martyrs Mirror" Conference to be held at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College on June 8-10, 2010. "The Martyrs Mirror" is a historic book recounting the stories of Anabaptist and Mennonite martyrs to religious persecution in Europe in previous centuries. Note was taken of the copies of the book that are in the BHLA collection, including a copy of the 1748-49 edition printed by the Ephrata Press.

In action items, the committee reviewed the fee schedule for BHLA and recommended that the fee for copies of obituaries be increased to $4, if staff need to search indexes to locate an obituary. The committee also decided to sponsor an insight session at the 2010 Annual Conference and appointed Denise Kettering to serve as presenter. Reports were received from Brethren Press, the Germantown Trust, the Brethren Digital Archives, and several individuals.

The committee is chaired by Ken Kreider and includes Marlin Heckman, secretary, Denise Kettering, and Steve Longenecker. Also meeting with the committee were Church of the Brethren treasurer Judy Keyser and Ken Shaffer, director of BHLA.

Kreider was thanked for his eight years of service on the committee. Since he is not eligible to serve another term, nominations were made to fill the position. The Executive Committee of the Church of the Brethren's Mission and Ministry Board will receive and act on the nomination.

-- Ken Shaffer is director of the Brethren Historical Library and Archives.

Source: 11/18/2009 Newsline