Brethren bits

Photo courtesy of Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren

Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill., 

has been sending groups of volunteers to help out at 

Northern Illinois Food Bank. Said a Facebook post 

from this week's volunteer effort, "3,144 pounds of 

pepperoni and salami feeding our hungry neighbors. 

Thanks to all of our volunteers."

• A former staff member of the Church of the Brethren Northern Ohio District has admitted to embezzling about $400,000 from the district. The embezzlement took place over a period of five years, according to a report in the Ashland (Ohio) Times-Gazette newspaper, published Feb. 26. Kristen M. Bair, who has been administrative staff for the district, entered a guilty plea in Common Pleas Court. She was charged with aggravated theft, which is a third-degree felony.

• The Church of the Brethren is seeking a director for Brethren Disaster Ministries. The full-time salaried position is part of the Global Mission and Service team and reports directly to the associate executive director of Global Mission and Service. Major responsibilities include informing and engaging Church of the Brethren constituents in Brethren Disaster Ministries activities, maintaining ecumenical and interagency relationships to facilitate response to human need in the United States, coordinating with staff to employ strategy and operations to facilitate the church’s mission, providing sound financial budget management, and initiating grants from the Emergency Disaster Fund for domestic response activities. Required skills and knowledge include strong interpersonal skills; ability to articulate, support, and operate out of the vision, mission, and core values of the Church of the Brethren; ability to uphold and support the basic beliefs and practices of the Church of the Brethren as determined by Annual Conference; knowledge of International Building Code and ability to act within a multicultural and multigenerational team environment. Training or experience with making effective presentations and providing adult education, especially in conducting skill training workshops; managing staff and volunteers; and in-house construction and repair is required. A bachelor’s degree is required with a preference for an advanced degree. An associate degree or experience in relevant fields will be considered. This position is based at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. Applications are being received and will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Request the application packet by contacting the Office of Human Resources, Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120; 800-323-8039 ext. 367; humanresources@brethren.org . The Church of the Brethren is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

• The Church of the Brethren seeks a temporary part-time warehouse assistant to work directly with the director of Material Resources at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. Applications will be received and reviewed beginning immediately until the position is filled. Request the application packet and complete job description from the Office of Human Resources, Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120; 800-323-8039 ext. 367; humanresources@brethren.org .

• The Church of the Brethren Global Mission and Service is publicizing a service opportunity in North Korea. The Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) seeks MS-plus teachers for the more than 500 undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of plant/animal biological sciences, agronomic sciences, and biotechnology/genetic engineering for the School of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The university also has schools of Public Health, Electrical Engineering and Computer, and Management and Finance. Spousal appointments are supported. Appointments could be short-term or for multiple semesters, which run from September to December, March to June, and July. Classes are all held in English. Furnished on-campus apartments and cafeteria meals are provided. Global Mission and Service will cover visas, transportation costs, health insurance, and some personal costs. Downtown grocery shopping and some touring services are provided. For more information, contact Dr. Robert Shank, Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences, at drarroz903@gmail.com . The program is now screening for the fall semester.

• Camp Galilee in Terra Alta, W.Va., operated by West Marva District, seeks a camp manager. The camp would consider someone as an interim manager for this year's season. The camp provides opportunities in an outdoor setting for persons of all ages to grow in discipleship and relationship with Jesus Christ. In addition to week long camps for various age groups, the camp is also used by groups outside of the Church of the Brethren. The property is completely drug, alcohol, and tobacco free. Christian ethical standards are expected from all who utilize the camp property. The manager must be a Christian who has a good testimony of active relationship with Jesus Christ and is living a life that reflects Christian values and the values and beliefs of the West Marva District Church of the Brethren. Additional requirement include a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent. The manager should be proficient in basic computer skills, including office software, and the Internet, and is required to have knowledge of some maintenance, office, and kitchen equipment, should have a valid driving license, and reliable transportation. Duties and responsibilities include to direct operation of camp activities of staff including caretaker, inspect camp facilities prior to campers’ arrival and departure, coordinate maintenance duties, register as well as inform campers about camp accommodations regulations, employ and supervise staff to operate dining facilities, maintain required records and make reports, and is responsible for collecting camp fees, among other duties. The manager works independently within established policies and procedures under the general direction of camp trustees.  The camp is unable to provide the manager with a competitive compensation package, but a stipend will be offered as an expression of gratitude for the person who responds to God’s call for this opportunity. An apartment accessible from the Dining Hall is available for the manager. For more information and an application packet, contact West Marva District Church of the Brethren, 384 Dennett Rd., Oakland MD 21550; wmarva@verizon.net ; 301-334-9270.

• The Palms Estate of Lorida, Fla., has a position open for a manager or managers for the 55-plus Christian community. Computer skills are needed and knowledge of Quick Book is useful. Send resumes to Palms Estates, P.O. Box 603, Lorida, FL 33857.

• Early registration for the church planting conference, "Plant Generously, Reap Bountifully--Toward an Intercultural Future," ends in mid-March. Register early for savings of $80 for first time attendees ($149) and $50 for others ($179). On March 18 all fees go up to $229. The conference is May 15-18 in Richmond, Ind. For more information and to register, go to www.brethren.org/churchplanting/events.html.

• Shine, the new curriculum from Brethren Press and MennoMedia that starts this fall, is offering two training opportunities in upcoming months. The first, held jointly with MennoMedia, is a full-day event on Saturday, March 29, at the Westin Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. Cost is $10 per congregation. To attend, contact Dorothy Hartman at DorothyH@MennoMedia.org or 540-908-2438. The second is an insight session on Thursday evening, July 3, at the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio. For those who find online training to be more convenient, short videos will be posted on the Shine website within several months. “We’re pretty excited about Shine, and we hope you are too,” said an announcement from Jeff Lennard of the Brethren Press staff. “Teaching children is a ministry of the whole church, and it’s a privilege to be part of that effort. In a time when many church publishing houses have had to abandon Sunday school curriculum, it’s gratifying that our congregations are still supporting the creation of well-thought-out resources from a Brethren and Mennonite perspective.” Lennard reports that advance copies of fall materials will be available by the end of March so that congregations have plenty of time to review them, starter kits will be available soon, and free sample sessions already can be found at www.shinecurriculum.com.

• The Church of the Brethren Office of Public Witness reminds congregations via a Facebook post that "participating in the March 13-16 National Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath Weekend is as easy as incorporating a prayer or a hymn into your service." Join more than 1,000 participating congregations by pledging your participation at http://marchsabbath.org . Heeding God’s Call also is offering resources for the Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath. “As winter snows begin to melt, Christians and Jews head into the holy seasons of Lent and Passover--an especially important time to reflect on violence and to renew our commitments to ending so much preventable death caused by guns,” said an announcement from Heeding God’s Call. “For Christians this falls on the second week of Lent.” Professor Karyn Wiseman, who is on the faculty of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia where she teaches homiletics, has shared a sample sermon at http://gallery.mailchimp.com/78ec0d0fe719817883b01c35b/files/Wiseman_preaching_resource.pdf . Rabbi Linda Holtzman who teaches at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and is rabbi of Tikkun Olam Chavurah in Philadelphia, has provided preaching ideas at http://gallery.mailchimp.com/78ec0d0fe719817883b01c35b/files/Holzman_Purim_gun_control_preaching_ideas.pdf . Heeding God’s Call chair Katie Day also requests copies of sermons preached on gun violence prevention, contact her at info@heedinggodscall.org .

• The denomination’s Office of Public Witness also has joined with 39 other national organizations to support peace and diplomacy with Iran, including the National Council of Churches, J Street, Jewish Voice For Peace, Presbyterian Church (USA), and others. A letter from the group of organizations reads, in part: “The negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 are an essential opportunity for the United States and its negotiating partners to secure an agreement that prevents an Iranian nuclear weapon and averts a war.” Find the letter at www.niacouncil.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=10527&security=1&news_iv_ctrl=-1.

• Monitor Church of the Brethren near McPherson, Kan., is holding a Bethany Weekend on March 8-9. This event is part of the Education for a Shared Ministry (EFSM) training program offered through the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership. The Brethren Academy is a partnership of the Church of the Brethren and Bethany Seminary. Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, professor of Preaching and Worship at Bethany Theological Seminary, will teach two sessions on scripture interpretation on the morning of March 8, with afternoon sessions devoted to the role of scripture and prayer in worship. Lunch will be provided. Ottoni-Wilhelm will preaching on Sunday morning for services starting at 10 a.m., followed by a potluck meal. To attend, contact joshualeck@hotmail.com or 620-755-5096. An RSVP would be helpful for food preparations.

• Goshen (Ind.) City Church of the Brethren has helped the Interfaith Hospitality Network host two families, each with four children, for a stay from Jan. 26 to Feb. 2. “The children wanted to say ‘thank you’ to our church,” reports the church newsletter. “Thus, the children initiated and created the long banner that they hung in our Fellowship Hall.” The banner included a pocket with individually made bookmarks designed for church members to take as a reminder of their thanks.

• Sugar Grove Church of the Brethren is ready to put its addition under roof, says the Shenandoah District newsletter. The church will be having volunteer days March 27, 28, and 29, starting at 9 a.m.  Lunch will be provided. “We hope you can come and help us add bathrooms to our facility so we can serve God better,” said the district newsletter. Let the organizers know if you are coming so that they can plan for food, contact 540-459-2493 or danorjan@shentel.net .

• Gettysburg (Pa.) Church of the Brethren is hosting a choir from McPherson (Kan.) College in concert on Monday night March 17, at 7 p.m. The McPherson College Singers are a mixed group of 20 young men and women who will be touring the Mid-Atlantic region, said an announcement. “This is a free evening of music. There will be a donation basket but no free-will offering will be lifted.”

• The Virlina District Peace Affairs Committee will hold a "Prayers for Nigeria" service at Daleville (Va.) Church of the Brethren on Sunday, March 9, from 3-4 p.m. “Our Christian sisters and brothers in Nigeria are being threatened by Muslim extremists,” said the announcement of the event. “Many have been killed and much property has been destroyed. We are joining to pray for peace in Nigeria, for the safety for Christians there, and to mourn the loss of life and property. If you can't come to Daleville, we invite you to set aside this hour on March 9 and pray for the country of Nigeria and our Christian sisters and brothers there.”

• Shenandoah District is once again hosting a Kit Depot at the office in Weyers Cave, Va., to receive Church World Service (CWS) kits, including school kits, hygiene kits, baby care kits, and emergency clean-up buckets. The depot will be open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Thursday from April 7 through May 15.

• The Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center (CrossRoads) on Saturday, March 22, holds its annual benefit auction at 9 a.m. at Bowman Auctions in Harrisonburg, Va. In addition to bidding on the varied auction items, attendees will enjoy baked goods, breakfast, and lunch. To donate items for the auction, contact CrossRoads at 540-438-1275. Items should be delivered to the center by March 19.

• Dates have been set for the annual meat canning in Mid-Atlantic District. Meat canning will be held for one week, from April 21-24, with labeling scheduled for April 25. All of the canned chicken is sent to local or international food banks, to help neighbors in need.

• “Did you miss our conversation with Paul Young, author of The Shack, last year?” asks an e-mail from the Children’s Aid Society, a ministry of the Southern Pennsylvania District of the Church of the Brethren. “Did you miss Michael Pritchard's hilarious routine at our annual dinner in October? Now you have the chance to see them both! Videos of both these events are on our website and will be available for you to watch until the end of March.” Visit the video page at www.cassd.org (click on “Resources”). The Children's Aid Society is committed to helping at-risk children and their families build stronger, healthier lives through compassionate and professional services.

• A group of Bridgewater (Va.) College students and two staff will travel to Florida over spring break to volunteer as construction workers with Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge Spring Break 2014, said a release from the college. The students, accompanied by Stacie Horrell, assistant director of student activities, and David Nicholas, student accounts coordinator, leave for Delray Beach, Fla., on March 8. For the Spring Break Challenge, the group will work in partnership with the South Palm Beach County Habitat for Humanity. To raise money for the trip, the group held a chili cook-off and a Spirit Night fundraiser at New York Flying Pizza in Bridgewater. The campus chapter, established in 1995, is one of nearly 700 campus chapters worldwide, and is affiliated with Central Valley Habitat for Humanity in Bridgewater. This is the 22nd year that Bridgewater students have used spring break to work on various Habitat projects.

• “Grace Abounds” is the title of the Lenten/Easter disciplines folder from Springs of Living Water, an initiative for church renewal in which several Church of the Brethren districts and congregations are participating. Following the Brethren bulletin series, a Sunday text is included along with texts for daily reading and meditation, an interpretation of the theme, prayer guide, and insert for discerning next steps in spiritual growth. Vince Cable, pastor of Uniontown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, writes Bible study questions for individual and group use. Recently leaders of the initiative learned that the Springs Disciplines folder will be used in the Fayette County Prison south of Pittsburgh, Pa., coordinated through the Uniontown Church. Find the folder and Bible study questions on the Springs website at www.churchrenewalservant.org or contact David Young at 717-615-4515.

• The Death Row Support Project, a ministry connected with the Church of the Brethren and led by Rachel Gross of North Manchester, Ind., is sharing some good news. The project reached a goal of writing letters to 1,600 prisoners. The number of prisoners on death row currently stands at close to 3,100. Find out more at www.brethren.org/drsp and at the projects’ Facebook page www.facebook.com/pages/Death-Row-Support-Project/416742298367457 .

• In response to a request from its partners, over the past six months New Community Project has raised $33,500 to construct a girls' boarding school in Nimule, South Sudan. “Surpassing the initial goal of $10,000, the additional funds will come in handy: demand has exceeded expectation and the school has been expanded to house 400 girls,” said a release from director David Radcliff. “According to NCP colleague Agnes Amileto of the Girlchild Education and Development Association, the school is needed to allow girls to focus on their studies (they are worked so hard at home that there is little time for homework), to keep girls from unplanned pregnancies (a frequent occurrence in mixed-gender schools), and to allow better access for disabled girls and girls coming from a distance.” In spite of the current insecurity in South Sudan, the foundation of the school has been poured and the school is planning to open in late spring. A New Community Project Learning Tour originally set for February, has been postponed until later this year or early 2015. For more information go to www.newcommunityproject.org .

• The Open Table Cooperative of progressive Brethren, and Living Stream Church of the Brethren, an online fellowship based in Portland, Ore., are inviting church members to a “Living, Open Lent Journey.” Participants will share daily photos of nature and receive devotional reflections each Sunday by e-mail, during the six weeks leading up to Easter on April 20. The group will collect and share pictures and reflections from people across the country, as a way of finding signs of resurrection in daily life. During this time, Living Stream will hold “eco-spiritual worship” on Sunday evenings, said the announcement. See www.opentablecoop.org/living-open-lenten-journey .

• “The World Council of Churches is deeply concerned by the current dangerous developments in Ukraine,” said Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, in a release on Monday, March 3. “The situation puts many innocent lives in grave jeopardy. And like a bitter wind from the Cold War, it risks further undermining the international community’s capacity to act now or in the future on the many urgent issues that will require a collective and principled response,” he said, in part. “Out of concern for the lives and security of all people who are or might in the future be affected by the continuing failure to resolve this situation peacefully, I call urgently on all parties to refrain from violence, to commit to dialogue and diplomacy, and to avoid escalation by rash words or actions.”

• Starting on Monday, March 3, the Ecumenical Water Network of the World Council of Churches (WCC) is inviting Christians to join in Seven Weeks for Water, a “pilgrimage towards water justice.” An online compilation of reflections shared every week during Lent raises awareness about universal access to water and sanitation. Since 2008, the campaign has attempted to create awareness on water issues around World Water Day on 22 March, which falls during the season of Lent on many churches’ calendars, according to a release. The theme for this year’s campaign is inspired by a call from the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, “to join us in pilgrimage. May the churches be communities of healing and compassion, and may we seed the Good News so that justice will grow and God’s deep peace rest on the world.” Biblical reflections are posted every week on www.oikoumene.org/7-weeks-for-water along with complementary links and ideas for activities.

Source: 3/4/2014 Newsline

Credits

Newsline is produced by the news services of the Church of the Brethren. Contact the editor at cobnews@brethren.org. Contributors to this issue of Newsline include Jan Fischer Bachman, Marie Benner-Rhoades, Deborah Brehm, Katie Day, Kendal W. Elmore, Rachel Gross, Mary Kay Heatwole, Julie Hostetter, Jeff Lennard, Becky Motley, David Radcliff, Robert Shank, Jonathan Shively, Nguyen Vu Cat Tien, Jenny Williams, David Young, and editor Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren.

Newsline: February 25, 2014

NEWS

• Brethren Disaster Ministries makes assessment visit to the Philippines
• On Earth Peace celebrates 40 years with conversations between ‘spirited peacemakers’
• Bethany Seminary hosts speakers on peace and justice
• Building peace in Washington at the Ecumenical Advocacy Days
• National Council of Churches plans Christian Unity Gathering

RESOURCES

• ‘Guide for Biblical Studies’ studies Jesus' fulfillment of scripture

FEATURES

• Tita Grace’s tiled floor: One family’s story of Typhoon Haiyan
• 'I trust there will be cactus blooms': Indiana leader reflects on court decision affecting church property

BRETHREN BITS

• Manchester announces next College of Pharmacy dean, Camp Bethel and CPT seek staff, call for CWS School Kits, WCC general secretary visits Iran, churches involved in anti-torture event, congregations host Bethany professors, and much more.

Brethren Disaster Ministries makes assessment visit to the Philippines

Photo by Peter Barlow

Brethren Disaster Ministries 

leader Roy Winter visits with 

Philippines villagers at a Heifer 

International project site

A visit to the Philippines from Jan. 18-28 to evaluate the current state of the response to Typhoon Haiyan was made by Roy Winter, associate executive director of Global Mission and Service and Brethren Disaster Ministries--part of the Church of the Brethren response following the destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan last November. Brethren Disaster Ministries is using the information gained to identify local partners and how the Brethren may best contribute to ecumenical relief and recovery efforts.

Accompanied by Church of the Brethren member Peter Barlow, who has volunteered for the Peace Corps in one of the hardest-hit areas, Winter visited with partners of Church World Service (CWS) and ACT International, communities where Heifer International is at work, and local Filipino organizations.

The two visited the island of Leyte and the city of Tacloban, which has received much of the world’s attention following the typhoon, met with government officials, and visited communities where Heifer is doing longterm sustainability work around Ormoc city. They also met with several village community groups, who received them warmly. At some places the two Brethren spoke with meetings of hundreds of people. “They mostly seemed really glad to see people who were there to help,” Winter said.

The storm made landfall on Nov. 8, 2013, and affected some 12 million people, displaced nearly a million more, and killed more than 6,200. “For many coastal fishermen, coconut farmers and rice farmers, the wind and storm surge not only took their home, it stole their livelihood possibly for years to come,” Winter reported.

He said that some areas they visited were hit by 40- to 50-foot tidal surges. In Tacloban, some two months later, the city was still struggling to regain basic infrastructure such as electricity, buildings were destroyed and roofs blown off. “It was a shock to see so many palm trees down,” Winter said, noting that is unusual given the resilient nature of the tropical trees that survive many storms. However, so many palms were blown down by this storm, the strongest typhoon in recorded history, that people are using their wood for rebuilding.

The hardest part of the trip was listening to the stories of death and loss, Winter said. They met parents who lost children, families in which many loved ones died, and communities that have been decimated. One man who survived by clinging to a tree, told how his wife was swept out of his grasp and lost to the storm.

Winter views the typhoon recovery in the Philippines as an opportunity for Brethren Disaster Ministries to help a country work at sustaining itself. He plans to focus the Brethren resources on rebuilding livelihoods for at least the next couple of years, with some support given to permanent construction work by partner organizations in the Philippines. So far at least $200,000 in donations have been received for Typhoon Haiyan recovery, with some significant responses from congregations and districts.

Read Winter’s personal report from the trip is at www.brethren.org/bdm/updates/tindog-tacloban-stand-up.html . A story from Peter Barlow’s experience of returning to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan is at www.brethren.org/news/2014/tita-graces-tiled-floor.html . Give to the Typhoon Haiyan appeal online at www.brethren.org/typhoonaid . Donations may be mailed to Emergency Disaster Fund, Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120.

Source: 2/25/2014 Newsline

On Earth Peace celebrates 40 years with conversations between ‘spirited peacemakers’

mage courtesy of On Earth Peace

On Earth Peace celebrates 40 years
with an emphasis on conversation
among peacemakers

By Marie Benner-Rhoades

"Your young people will see visions and your elders will dream dreams" (Acts 2:17).

Visions and Dreams of Building Peace: On Earth Peace Celebrates 40 Years. Through the 40-year history of On Earth Peace, its ministry of peacemaking has been the result of the dreams and visions of faithful Christians of all ages. In this anniversary year we are drawing on the Acts 2:17 passage above and building on those years of practical dreaming with the theme, “Visions and Dreams of Building Peace.”

One of the highlights of this 40th year will be a number of planned conversations between spirited peacemakers of all generations: elders, youth, and all ages between.  

Please join us! Arrange to sit down with someone who shares your commitment to nonviolent living and who differs from you in age, ethnicity, gender, theology, or some other significant way. We can provide further guidelines and a list of questions you could ask each other as you talk. Record your conversation in video, audio, photo, or text, and send it to us. We look forward to sharing brief segments of these conversations through our website and social media.

-- Marie Benner-Rhoades first published this announcement in the On Earth Peace e-newsletter “Peacebuilder.” Contact her at mrhoades@onearthpeace.org.

Source: 2/25/2014 Newsline

Bethany Seminary hosts speakers on peace and justice

By Jenny Williams

Two women known for their work toward peace, justice, and human rights spoke during the month of February at Bethany Seminary's Peace Forum, a weekly lunch gathering that highlights issues of peace and social justice through a variety of speakers and program formats.

Photo by CPT

Peggy Gish serving with Christian 

Peacemaker Teams

Peggy Gish has been involved with peace and justice work for 45 years, including work in Iraq with Christian Peacemaker Teams since October 2002. Her recently released second book, “Walking Through Fire,” documents the Iraqi people's efforts toward justice and reconciliation while caught in political and religious hostilities. Having asked the group, "What if we put the same efforts into peacemaking as we do toward war?" Peggy shared stories of daily life for Iraqis, of her relationships with the people, and of her own kidnapping ordeal. She also spoke about the role of peacemakers as they interact with and listen to those considered "the enemy" and witness the truth behind stories presented in the news. Gish, who gave her presentation on Feb. 6, is a member of the Church of the Brethren and lives near Athens, Ohio.

Beena Sebastion, founder and chairperson of Cultural Academy for Peace in Kochi, India, spoke Feb. 20 on how peace is linked to equality between men and women. In addition to providing shelter and programs for women experiencing gender violence, the Cultural Academy offers a multitude of educational resources, including health classes, environmental awareness, an interfaith study center, and training on issues of masculinity for men--who also experience gender violence. Sebastion noted that the need for this work in India is heightened by tensions from religious, political, and social class differences. The Cultural Academy has collaborated with the International Fellowship of Reconciliation and the Women's Peacemakers Program organized by women from Asian countries.

Peace Forum is webcast every Thursday at 12 noon (eastern time). Go to www.bethanyseminary.edu/webcasts to see the presentations live or to view recordings.

-- Jenny Williams is director of Communications and Alumni/ae Relations for Bethany Theological Seminary.

Source: 2/25/2014 Newsline

Building peace in Washington at the Ecumenical Advocacy Days

From March 21-24 hundreds of Christians will gather in Washington, D.C., to build peace together. The 12th annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days conference entitled "Jesus Weeps: Resisting Violence, Building Peace" will explore the violence that saturates our world and seek to find ways to build peace in all areas of society.

Ecumenical gatherings like EAD help us to unite with other Christians and give us an opportunity to meet with and encourage one another to work for good, as we are called to do in Hebrews 10:24-25. EAD is a great opportunity to use our unique Brethren voice to share visions of peace and reconciliation with Christians from different denominations, and also to learn from the experiences of Christians from around the world.

Through prayer, worship, workshops, and advocacy, participants will seek a vision for how our beliefs can take root in the social and political realities of our world. Participants will take these messages of peace and hope to Capitol Hill to call for change in public policy and together lift up a vision of a more just and peaceful world.

EAD brings speakers from around the world to address issues such as gun violence, domestic violence, worker justice, global hunger, climate change, and foreign policy issues such as Israel/Palestine, Syria, and Iran. But this is only a glimpse of the many issues that will be covered at the plenaries, worship services and workshops. For a full list of topics and workshops, and to register, go to http://advocacydays.org/2014-resisting-violence-building-peace.

If you have any questions about Ecumenical Advocacy Days, please contact Nathan Hosler, coordinator of the Church of the Brethren Office of Public Witness, at nhosler@brethren.org or 717-333-1649. Sign up for Action Alerts from the Office of Public Witness at www.brethren.org/advocacy/actionalerts.html.

Source: 2/25/2014 Newsline

National Council of Churches plans Christian Unity Gathering

The National Council of Churches (NCC) is planning a Christian Unity Gathering for May 18-20, at the Hilton hotel at Washington Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C.

The NCC has gone through sweeping changes over the last two years. After a time of reflection and reorganization, the NCC is poised to convene people of faith in exploring the widening revelation of God's love and challenge to deepen Christian commitment to work with people who are marginalized and disenfranchised from opportunities God desires everyone to enjoy.

The first major event of this new era in the NCC is an inaugural Christian Unity Gathering. At this gathering the primary focus will be on the scourge of mass incarceration and what the ecumenical community is already doing and can do together to combat a justice system that warehouses and disposes disproportionate numbers of people of color.

A roster of presenters and resource people will lead the conversations and time together. In addition, new NCC general secretary/president Jim Winkler will offer his vision for NCC during a service of celebration.

Presenters and resource people include

• Iva Carruthers, general secretary of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference

• Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund

• A. Roy Medley, general secretary of the American Baptist Churches-USA and chair of the NCC Governing Board

• Harold Dean Trulear, national director of Healing Communities and associate professor at Howard University School of Divinity

• Jim Wallis, president and editor in chief of Sojourners

Visit www.nationalcouncilofchurches.us/events/CUG2014.php for the full roster of speakers and presenters in addition to those listed above, and for information on the schedule and registration.

(This article is from a National Council of Churches release.)

Source: 2/25/2014 Newsline

‘Guide for Biblical Studies’ studies Jesus' fulfillment of scripture

Author Estella Horning has written the Spring quarter of “A Guide for Biblical Studies,” the Brethren Press curriculum for adults. The theme for the quarter is “Jesus’ Fulfillment of Scripture.”

Lessons for the spring explore connections between Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures: the reign of David and the lordship of Christ, the prophetic use of scriptures related to Jesus' crucifixion, and the ways Jesus used the Hebrew Scriptures in his own ministry and teachings.

Written from a Church of the Brethren perspective, “A Guide for Biblical Studies” is issued quarterly and contains daily NRSV scriptures, lessons, and questions for both individual preparation and classroom use. The curriculum follows the International Sunday School Lessons/Uniform Series.

Price is $4.25 or $7.35 large print, plus shipping and handling. Purchase one copy per student, per quarter either online at www.brethrenpress.com or by calling the Brethren Press order line 800-441-3712.

Source: 2/25/2014 Newsline

Tita Grace’s tiled floor: One family’s story of Typhoon Haiyan

Photo by Roy Winter

Peter Barlow visited the Philippines 

with Brethren Disaster Ministries 

leader Roy Winter. A former 

Peace Corps volunteer, he revisited 

areas of the country where he had 

worked before Typhoon Haiyan 

devastated the land and the lives of 

families he had known and loved.

By Peter Barlow

Grace Anne stood on a colorful tiled foundation, the only indication that a house once stood where a few broken cinderblocks with jagged rebar were emanating. My memories of standing within these walls, sleeping, eating with this wonderful family, came from a time when they hosted me just a few years ago.

"Ha! We are rico na!" Grace Anne's mother, Tita Grace, had said to me one day, as she proudly showed me her newly tiled floor, designed off of pictures she had seen in a re-gifted “Good Housekeeping” magazine. She stood with a large smile, pointing at the fragments of tile and drying grout in between. Without funds to buy proper tile, she had found a pallet of broken shards in town, so the floor was a colorful mix of blues, reds, greens, and all mixes in between.  In many ways, it looked better than if she had just gotten a standard set of tile, all alike, with similar patterns and shapes.

When we first drove through the little village of Cabuynan, Tanauan, Leyte on Jan. 22, I recognized only the big Copra Mill where sweating bodies had milled coconut oil, all of the huge containers overturned and leaking sludge. Everything else was a burned, spoiled palette of the town and houses that had once been.

We drove by the house the first time, since I was looking for the sturdy little home that I had known. But then we lurched the creaking jeepney to a stop and turned around, slowly creeping along the National Highway. Finally, we saw a bright tiled floor out in the open, and chain-link remnants of the fence that once guarded the hacienda. Roy and I exited the jeep and walked across the road carrying a few new folding chairs and provisional clothes as Grace Anne stood in a light drizzle in front of her makeshift home of donated plywood, paper-thin roofing, and a soiled UNICEF tent.

Her smile was huge, and as she talked, Grace Anne's pride shone through a strong composure. Only when asked of her experience during Typhoon Haiyan's fierce winds and surge did the corners of her beautiful big eyes puddle with anguish.

Grace Anne, her cousin Roussini, her mother and father, and her grandmother were all at her house when they began to hear the first rains hit the metal roof of their home during the evening of Nov. 8, 2013. Within an hour, winds were deafening, and their coastal community knew that this storm was unlike the others they had known.

The first salty Pacific wave shattered a thin wall of cinderblocks and mortar, and tore away the thin metal roof. At about five o'clock, Grace Anne held onto Roussini as they were carried on a wave, white and ferocious, some 50 feet high over to the steep mountain that flanks their little town. The other family members were unable to stay with them, and were forced in other directions. Grace Anne pointed to the places where she and Roussini clung for about three hours as wave after wave of storm surge wiped away homes and lives and the futures of so many. A boulder outcrop jutting out from the mountain where they found shelter at last stands as memorial to their horrible experience.

As they told their story, we stood under a tarp in the small cooking area listening intently, incredulously, to their memories of that night. Finally I asked about her mother, the woman I had known as Tita Grace. Before Grace Anne could answer, we heard a motor slow outside, and Terry, Grace Anne’s father came around the corner, much leaner than I remembered, with a large smile on his face, and outstretched arms.

Rain subsided and we walked on the colorful tile floor in the hot Philippine sun as Terry recounted his experience during the storm. Despite some new scars on his upper arms and a tighter gait to protect some broken ribs, he was the same Terry as always. His voice was tired though, and one could only imagine the pain that he had experienced in the couple of months since the storm.

That night, as waves had swept them toward the same steep slope where Grace Anne and Roussini were clinging for their lives, Terry and Grace held onto each other, grasping for tree tops as the torrent tossed them around. Finally, Terry said they lost their grasp on each other and he clung to a tall coconut tree as floating debris battered his arms and back. A giant white swell carried Tita Grace away into the darkness.

The day after the typhoon, light drizzle fell as Grace Anne, Roussini, and Terry were reunited. Their home was gone, and all that remained were some pieces of rubble and bright tile, washed by ferocious winds and rain. They would find Tita Grace’s torn body a half mile away amongst fallen mahogany branches and a bramble of balukawi vines, and eventually discover Tita Grace’s mother, a cousin, Terry’s mother and father, and many friends who had been lost to the typhoon as well.

For one family to feel this kind of pain is devastating, but unfortunately, it is similar to tens of thousands of stories of families in this jovial, welcoming corner of the world.

Grace Anne told me of her struggle to stay afloat, and her reliance on leaves and wood in those three hours. Neither she nor Roussini could swim, adding to their panic. She stretched her arms wide to show me the size of the snakes and lizards that floated in the white froth with her, and, when I asked her how, despite the waters and odds against them, she had managed to remain alive, Roussini and she clutched one another again, as I imagine they had that evening. Grace Anne shook her head, motioning to the sky.

-- Peter Barlow is a member of Montezuma Church of the Brethren and a former Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines. He accompanied Brethren Disaster Ministries leader Roy Winter on a trip to the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan, to help evaluate how best the Church of the Brethren can support the relief and recovery effort.

Source: 2/25/2014 Newsline

'I trust there will be cactus blooms': Indiana leader reflects on court decision affecting church property

A court has ruled against South Central Indiana District in a property suit concerning Roann Church of the Brethren. The ruling on property and assets was in favor of a group wishing to leave the Church of the Brethren. Here is a prayerful reflection on this moment in the life of the district, from district executive minister Beth Sollenberger:

When Tim and I moved to Ohio I left a fun position as the associate pastor of the Sebring congregation behind. Tim was called to serve the West Charleston church and I was trying to find some joy being a lousy homemaker while I looked for a pastorate within driving distance. Things did not happen on my time. I was bored and desperate and sad and discouraged.

On a winter day, surrounded by cold snow and a living room taken over by dusty clutter, I happened to glance at an abandoned cactus plant relegated to the lamp stand in the corner. We had originally been faithful keepers of the plant--watering sparingly but on schedule, turning occasionally so a new side would receive the sunlight, storing in the dark as suggested...and always we had waxy green stems to enjoy, never a bloom.

On a dark December day, after being told NO one more time, I huddled into the couch corner and discovered one bright pink bloom brightly attached to the cactus stem.

It is difficult to know what to say when, during this winter that will not quit, the judge has ruled against the district and for those who have chosen to leave the Church of the Brethren. And yet, I trust that there will be cactus blooms, reminders that God is over all and in control and guiding our lives. God knows us from before we came into being and ever after. God loves us through despair and gives us purpose and peace.

Thank you Almighty God for all those who have gone before us, planting the Church of the Brethren congregations that make up our district. Thank you God for all those who worship and serve you. Thank you God for the churches of our denomination with whom we share the joys of faith and the disappointments of living. Thank you for cactus blooms and signs of your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

-- Beth Sollenberger is executive minister of South Central Indiana District of the Church of the Brethren.

Source: 2/25/2014 Newsline

Brethren bits

Manchester University

Raylene Rospond will
serve as dean of
Manchester University's
College of Pharmacy

• Raylene Rospond will become the next vice president and dean of the College of Pharmacy for Manchester University, according to a university release. Currently deputy provost of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, she will assume the Manchester post on June 30. Rospond succeeds Dave McFadden as dean, who assumes the presidency of the university on July 1. At Drake, Rospond served as associate professor, associate dean, and chair of pharmacy practice before becoming dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Services in 2003. She became deputy provost in June 2013. She led strategic plans that gained re-accreditation of the pharmacy program, new laboratories, and enhanced physical facilities. During her leadership, Drake doubled the endowment and scholarships and transformed the curriculum for the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The four-year, professional Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program at Manchester University is in the process of enrolling its third class on its new campus in north Fort Wayne, Ind.

• Camp Bethel near Fincastle, Va., seeks a facilities manager to fill a fulltime salaried position beginning immediately. The camp seeks a motivated, dependable, caring worker with good interpersonal, organizational, and leadership skills. The facilities manager ensures that facilities and site enhance the experience of guests and campers by overseeing all housekeeping and maintenance. The preferred candidate will have experience or proven ability in repair and renewal of facilities including construction, carpentry, electrical wiring and control, plumbing of water and sewage, vehicle and camp/farm equipment maintenance. Starting benefits package includes salary of $29,000, optional family medical insurance plan, a pension plan, professional growth funds, and optional on-site family/individual housing. Camp Bethel is a tobacco-free workplace. An application, a detailed position description, and more information will be made available at www.CampBethelVirginia.org or send a letter of interest and an updated résumé to Barry LeNoir at CampBethelOffice@gmail.com .

• Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is looking to fill two new positions: communications and engagement director and program director. CPT is seeking a communications and engagement director to coordinate, develop, and implement a new overall CPT communications strategy to share CPT’s story in a way that honors the voices of CPT’s partners, undoes oppression, and furthers CPT’s mission, vision, and values. Find the full job description and requirements at www.cpt.org/openings/ced . CPT is seeking a program director to oversee current projects and support the organization’s Peacemaker and Reserve Corps with attention to team and partner needs, direction, budget, sustainability, personnel processes, and health. Find the full job description and requirements at www.cpt.org/openings/pd . For all openings at CPT go to http://cpt.org/openings . Christian Peacemaker Teams, which was founded with support from the peace churches including the Church of the Brethren, has the mission of building partnerships to transform violence and oppression, with the vision of a world of communities that together embrace the diversity of the human family and live justly and peaceably with all creation. CPT is committed to work and relationships that honor and reflect the presence of faith and spirituality; strengthen grassroots initiatives; transform structures of domination and oppression; embody creative nonviolence and liberating love.

• Brethren Disaster Ministries is asking Brethren to help Church World Service replenish its supply of CWS School Kits. “Church World Service is down to its last few cartons of CWS School Kits, and those have all been spoken for,” said an announcement. “Our warehouses need replenishing so that we can meet pending requests and future needs.” CWS School Kits give basic tools for learning to children in impoverished schools, refugee camps, and other difficult settings including the aftermath of floods, tornados, and other disasters. Last year, 57,730 CWS School Kits were provided for children in need in the US and around the world. International recipients included Syrian school children forced to flee their homes by the civil war. Many of the kits are warehoused and shipped from the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. For information to assemble kits go to www.cwsglobal.org/get-involved/kits/school-kits.html .

• World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit has visited Iran, underlining “the important role of faith leaders, religious communities, and governments to work together for the cause of justice and peace,” according to a WCC release. Tveit was in Iran from Feb. 15-20 where he met with representatives of WCC member churches and participated in the seventh round of dialogue between the WCC and the Centre for Inter-religious Dialogue, held in Tehran. He also met with Ali Jannati, minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the Islamic Republic of Iran, where Abouzar Ebrahimi, president of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, was also present. In his discussion with the minister, the WCC general secretary stressed the significant role Iran could play for peace and stability in the Middle East region, including Syria. “The cultural history of Iran as well as its strategic location in the Middle East makes it one of the important actors in ensuring a peaceful coexistence between the different religions, denominations, ethnic groups, and countries,” said Tveit. The WCC delegation in addition met with the leading religious figure Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli. In meeting with him, Tveit stressed the responsibility of leaders of faith in promoting justice and peace to build a world free of nuclear weapons. Find the full WCC release at www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/wcc-general-secretary-conveys-message-of-201cjustice-and-peace201d-in-iran .

• Today an event in Washington, D.C., organized by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and the ACLU preceded a Congressional hearing on solitary confinement, “Reassessing Solitary Confinement II: The Human Rights, Fiscal and Public Safety Consequences.” National faith leaders, survivors of solitary confinement and their families, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and human rights activists joined together to spotlight the continuing national human rights crisis faced by tens of thousands of adults and children held in conditions of long-term isolation in prisons, jails, and detention centers at the federal, state and local level, said a release. “The United States now holds far more prisoners in solitary confinement than any other democratic nation,” said Ron Stief, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture’s executive director. “An estimated 80,000 incarcerated adults and youth are held in solitary confinement in US prisons, jails, and detention centers. They are held in isolation for 23 to 24 hours a day in small cells with no natural light and no meaningful contact with staff or other prisoners for weeks, years, even decades. This violates basic religious values of community, restorative justice, compassion, and healing. The faith-based members of NRCAT are united in opposing treatment that violates our values as people of faith.” For more go to www.nrcat.org .

• Newville Church of the Brethren is hosting Southern Pennsylvania District’s Truck Stop Ministry Spring Banquet on April 5. For ticket information call 717-385-7932.

• Monitor Church of the Brethren near McPherson, Kan., is holding a Bethany Weekend on March 8-9. Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, professor of Preaching and Worship at Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind., will teach two sessions on scripture interpretation on the morning of March 8, with afternoon sessions devoted to the role of scripture and prayer in worship. Lunch will be provided. Ottoni-Wilhelm will preaching on Sunday morning for services starting at 10 a.m., followed by a potluck meal. To attend, contact joshualeck@hotmail.com or 620-755-5096. An RSVP would be helpful for food preparations.

• Staunton (Va.) Church of the Brethren is hosting a Spiritual Renewal Weekend March 7-9, featuring Tara Hornbacker, professor of Ministry Formation at Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind. The focus will be an exploration of evangelism in the Sermon on the Mount. The weekend opens Friday evening with worship including special music and drama, and on Saturday a dessert social begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by worship at 7:30 p.m. with special music by Mill Creek Church of the Brethren’s Praise Team. Sunday worship begins at 11 a.m., preceded during the 10 a.m. Sunday school hour by a drama workshop for youth and young adults led by Hornbacker. For more go to http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1110837621104-240/StauntonHornbacker.pdf .

• The 2014 Shenandoah District Disaster Ministries Auction will be held May 16-17 at the Rockingham County (Va.) Fairgrounds.

• David Radcliff of the New Community Project will be giving presentations at churches and retirement communities in Western Plains District: Feb. 28, 6:30 p.m. Mont Ida Church of the Brethren; March 1, 10 a.m. Wichita (Kan.) First Church of the Brethren; March 1, 3 p.m. The Cedars in McPherson, Kan.; March 2, 10 a.m. leading worship at McPherson (Kan.) Church of the Brethren; March 5, evening presentation at Rochester Church of the Brethren, Topeka, Kan. He also plans several other presentations at McPherson College, Tabor College, Washburn University, and Barstow School, said a district announcement. For more information contact 785-448-4436 or cafemojo@hotmail.com .

• Virlina District’s Pilgrimage XVIII will be held March 14-16 at Camp Bethel near Fincastle, Va. The pilgrimage retreat is a spirit-filled experience for adults of all ages who, no matter where they are in their spiritual walk, want to take another step to draw closer to God, said the district newsletter. For information or brochures contact 336-765-5263 or haynesmk1986@yahoo.com.

• The Church of the Brethren Regional Youth Conference hosted by McPherson (Kan.) College is March 28-30 on the theme “Called by God: Preparing for the Journey Together.” Guest speakers and musicians will be Jacob and Jerry Crouse. Online registration and schedule can be found at www.mcpherson.edu/ryc . Registration deadline is March 24.

• Youth Roundtable, a regional youth conference hosted by Bridgewater (Va.) College, will be March 21-23. The event includes workshops, small groups, songs, open mic night, and worship. The speaker will be Eric Landram, a Bridgewater College alumnus and member of Staunton (Va.) Church of the Brethren who is now attending Bethany Theological Seminary. Go to http://iycroundtable.wix.com/iycbc for updates and to register online. Cost is approximately $50.

• South Central Indiana District Conference will be held Saturday, Sept. 13, at Pleasant Dale Church of the Brethren on the theme, "Released by Grace" (Isaiah 55:1-3). The district moderator is Kay Gaier.

• “Donations + Reimer Memorial = New Tractor!” said an announcement from Camp Bethel, a Church of the Brethren outdoor ministry center near Fincastle, Va. The camp reports that 64 supporters enjoyed a meal and holiday program by the Jones Family at Camp Bethel's Christmas TOGETHER Banquet on Dec. 6, raising $5,760. “When our dear friend, mentor and supporter Judy Mills Reimer passed way on November 13, we were honored for Camp Bethel to be included in her memorial,” said the announcement. George Reimer, Judy Mills Reimer’s husband, and son Troy (son) Reimer requested that any memorial gifts go toward a new tractor, and donated the remaining $8,600 balance for the tractor. More about the camp is at www.CampBethelVirginia.org .

• Spring Candlelight Dinners at the John Kline Homestead in Broadway, Va., will be held at 6 p.m. March 14 and 15 and April 25 and 26. The site is the historic home of Civil War era Brethren elder and peace martyr John Kline. The dinner guests will experience a family’s struggle as the Civil War impacted Shenandoah Valley homes and farms in the early months of 1864, around a family-style meal in the John Kline house. For reservations, call 540-896-5001 or e-mail proth@eagles.bridgewater.edu . Cost is $40 per plate; groups are welcome. Seating is limited to 32.

Fahrney-Keedy

Employee recognition at Fahrney-Keedy, 
a Church of the Brethren retirement 

community in Maryland

• Twenty associates were honored for service excellence and for years worked during the annual Employee Recognition Dinner of Fahrney-Keedy Home and Village, a Church of the Brethren retirement community near Boonsboro, Md. Associates nominated their co-workers for the service excellence awards, which went to six individuals: in nursing, Lisa Younker, LPN, Raykia Harvey-Thorne and Tamara Bowie, GNAs; in assisted living, Amanda Myers and Katie Lee; in accounting, Debbie Slifer. Length-of-service awards were given to associates having worked for multiples of five years. At five years: Janet Cole, RN, assisted living; Evan Bowers, LPN, and Kathy Kennedy, nursing; Ginny Lapole and Nancy Hoch, environmental services; and Tina Morgan, human resources. At 10 years: Pam Burger and Carla Spataro, LPN, nursing; and Kelly Keyfauver, RN, director of Nursing. At 15 years: Debbie Martz, environmental services, and Mary Moore, nursing. At 20 years, Kathy Cosens, CMA, nursing. At 25 years, Martha Wolfe, human resources. At 40 years, Ginger Lowery, environmental services.

• The Global Women’s Project is providing some special resources to help Brethren begin the season of Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday, March 5, and celebrate International Women's Day on March 8. “This year, think about using the excellent International Women's Day resources from the GWP website to create a women-centered worship on Sunday, March 2, and pass out the new GWP Lenten Calendar,” said an invitation. “Lift up women around the world, celebrate the season of Lent, and share stories and prayers with your faith community.” To receive free copies of the Global Women’s Project Lenten Calendar, send an e-mail to info@globalwomensproject.org with the number of copies requested. Or ask to receive a page of the calendar by e-mail each day. Find the International Women’s Day resources online at http://globalwomensproject.wordpress.com/worship-resources .

• The Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center (CrossRoads) in Harrisonburg, Va., is inviting entries to a highlight of its Open House on Saturday, March 8, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Gingerbread Village, composed of entries in the gingerbread house contest. “You are encouraged to enter your creation and be eligible for prizes, including gift certificates from local businesses,” said the announcement. The contest entry fee is $5; admission to the open house is $3 per person. Go to www.vbmhc.org or phone 540-438-1275 for contest information.

• Juniata College students, sponsored by the Juniata College Campus Ministry, held an annual "Meal for CROP" on Feb. 18 in the Baker Refectory. Each year, Juniata's Christian Ministry Board asks students to sacrifice their evening meal so those meals can be sold to the general public and the money raised is donated to CROP, a hunger relief program of Church World Service. The Huntingdon Forum of Churches also sponsors the meal, noted a release from the college. Each year, 75 percent of the funds go to CROP and the remaining 25 percent is donated to the Huntingdon Area Food Bank to fight hunger at the local level. “Over the past 20 years, members of the Huntingdon community have helped to raise more than $50,000 for hunger relief,” the release said.

• Elizabethtown (Pa.) College was recognized for creativity in marketing and communications at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District II Conference held Feb. 9-11 in Baltimore, Md. Representatives from the college's Office of Marketing and Communications accepted awards in creativity, multimedia communications, web, and illustration, said a release from the college. Mid-Atlantic District II, which includes Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and West Virginia, is the largest of eight CASE districts. Awards earned by the college in the four-year colleges and universities category included Gold for Creativity on a Shoe String for the "Tag You're It" Campaign, a grassroots social media promotion to engage Homecoming attendees; Bronze in Best Practices in Communications for the "Share Your Moment" Campaign--an integrated communications effort for accepted students; Bronze in Web Site: Student Recruitment for redevelopment of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies website, etowndegrees.com.

Source: 2/25/2014 Newsline

Credits

Newsline is produced by the news services of the Church of the Brethren. Contact the editor at cobnews@brethren.org. Contributors to this issue of Newsline include Peter Barlow, Marie Benner-Rhoades, Jonathan Brenneman, Joanna Davidson-Smith, Kendra Flory, Elizabeth Harvey, Nathan Hosler, Jeri S. Kornegay, Paul Roth, Glen Sargent, Beth Sollenberger, John Wall, Jenny Williams, Roy Winter, Jane Yount, and editor Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren.

Newsline: February 15, 2014

ANNUAL CONFERENCE PREVIEW

• Annual Conference 2014 will celebrate courageous discipleship
• Pre-Conference events include Ministers’ Association, Congregational Vitality Workshops
• Bidding process brings Annual Conference back to Ohio and California
• On Earth Peace seeks volunteers for Ministers of Reconciliation team at Annual Conference

NEWS

• Court decision on properties is celebrated by First District Church of the Brethren in India
• WCC shares hopes for peace in Syria with members of Syrian opposition
• National Christian leaders oppose mass incarceration
• EYN ministers hold annual conference

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Young adults to study Jeremiah 29:11 at YAC
• Webinars on ‘Generative Leadership’ offered by Congregational Life Ministries with partners in the UK

BRETHREN BITS

• New hire at Brethren Service Center, youth ministry director completes certificate, #NYC, last chance for youth speech and music contest entries, registration deadlines for events at Bethany, WCC condemns military use of drones, notes from congregations and districts, and more.

Annual Conference 2014 will celebrate courageous discipleship

General registration opens Feb. 26 at 12 noon (central time) for the 2014 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren in Columbus, Ohio, on July 2-6. The theme, “Live as Courageous Disciples,” is from the New Testament letter to the Philippians. Events take place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

The Conference will be led by moderator Nancy Sollenberger Heishman assisted by moderator-elect David Steele and secretary James Beckwith. Also on the Program and Arrangements Committee are Cindy Laprade Lattimer, Shawn Flory Replogle, and Christy Waltersdorff. Conference office staff are director Chris Douglas and assistant Jon Kobel. Site coordinators are Burt and Helen Wolf. Find a list of preachers, worship leaders, musicians, choir directors, age group activity leaders, and more of the volunteers who make Annual Conference possible at www.brethren.org/ac/2014/annual-conference-leadership.html.

A preview of the 2014 Conference follows below. Find more detailed information and the registration link that will go live Feb. 26, at www.brethren.org/ac.

A family friendly focus

Conference planners have focused on family friendly activities, in particular events on Saturday evening--the last night of the Conference--that are for all ages. A concert will bring to the Conference stage three groups who will be enjoyed by adults and children: Blue Bird Revival Band, Community of Song, and Mutual Kumquat. In addition, intergenerational activities are being planned with help from the Outdoor Ministries Association.

Photo by Glenn Riegel

“We are hoping that families within driving distance who can’t come for the whole Conference will at least join us for the weekend,” said Conference director Chris Douglas. “Saturday night is planned to give exciting options for them, along with Exhibit Hall. And then at the closing worship on Sunday morning we hope to draw a lot more Conference-goers.”

Saturday evening’s intergenerational activities include “Get Real: Living as Courageous Disciples!” an event featuring biblical and modern-day stories of courageous disciples, as a way to explore the Annual Conference theme with camp-type activities. Participants will choose from games, arts and crafts, a sing-a-long, a book nook, nature exploration, personal challenges, dramatic storytelling, word puzzles, movies, and more.

The three music groups that headline Saturday evening’s concert will provide something for everyone. Performing from 7-7:30 p.m. is Blue Bird Revival, a high-energy gospel band featuring new versions of traditional hymns, as well as their own down-home combination of country, bluegrass, ragtime, and gospel. Community of Song will perform from 7:45-8:15 p.m., a 10-member Church of the Brethren male ensemble from Southern Ohio and South-Central Indiana Districts that for eight years has been singing a variety of religious music including early American, contemporary, spirituals, and gospel. Mutual Kumquat closes out the concert from 8:30-9 p.m., a popular Brethren band that has performed at Annual Conference, National Youth Conference, National Older Adult Conference, Song and Story Fest, and many regional youth conferences and district conferences and Brethren related colleges. The group formed in 2000 as students at Manchester College and since then has travelled across the country with an eclectic sound and a positive message and unique combination of danceable rhythms, stick-in-your-head melodies, rich harmonies, and poignant, uplifting, and humorous lyrics.

Registration fees

To register for the full Conference, adult nondelegates will pay $105 using the online registration process (open from Feb. 26 through June 3). The daily rate for adults is $35. Young adults post-high school to age 21 will pay only $30 to attend the full Conference, or a daily rate of $10. Children age high school and younger do not pay a fee to register, but fees for age group activities still apply. Children and youth must register in order to attend. All registration fees increase significantly after June 3, at which time online registration closes and participants must register on-site in Columbus.

Courtesy of Experience Columbus

Hotels and lodging

The conference hotels are the Hyatt Regency Columbus, the Crowne Plaza Columbus Downtown, Drury Inn and Suites Columbus Downtown, Red Roof Inn Columbus Downtown--all of which are either part of the convention center or connected by a covered walkway or within a block distant. Hotel reservations open at the same time as online registration, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 12 noon (central). Find more information about the Conference hotels at www.brethren.org/ac/2014/ac-hotels.html. Information about camping and RV park options also is posted at www.brethren.org/ac/2014/camping-info.html.

Schedule

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

Members of Mutual Kumquat at the Manchester University luncheon, with campus minister Walt Wiltschek

The Conference opens on Wednesday, July 2, with evening worship starting at 6:50 p.m. Hearings on Conference business will be held Wednesday after worship.

On Thursday, July 3, and Friday, July 4, worship services take place in the evening. On Saturday, July 5, worship is in the morning at 8:30 a.m.

Business sessions are Thursday through Saturday in the morning and afternoon. On Thursday and Friday business begins with Bible study, and is scheduled from 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 2-4:30 p.m. On Saturday, business is scheduled from 10:15-11:30 a.m. and 2-4:30 p.m.

Saturday evening will offer a variety of activities for the whole family, including music concerts and intergenerational activities from 7-9 p.m.

Sunday morning worship on July 6 at 8:30-10:30 a.m. will close the Conference.

On each day, Conference-goers may participate in a wide range of additional activities such as insight sessions on topics of interest; catered meal events (tickets may be purchased along with Conference registration); age group activities for early childhood through elementary grades, junior and senior high youth, and young adults; activities for singles; support groups; the Conference exhibit hall; and more.

In addition to Bible study, singing, games, and other daily activities, special age group activities include:

• For the elementary ages: presentations by Yurtfolk and the New Community Project, mobile interactive science booths provided by Columbus’ Center of Science and Industry, and trips to the Columbus Zoo.

• For the junior high: presentations by Yurtfolk and New Community Project as well as local fair trade and international crafts store Global Gallery, a puppet workshop, mobile interactive science booths provided by Columbus’ Center of Science and Industry, a trip to the Columbus Zoo, and a chance to hang out with Mutual Kumquat after the Saturday evening concert.

• For the senior high: presentations by the National Youth Conference coordinators, workcamp coordinators, On Earth Peace, the New Community Project, and the Brethren colleges; a chance to attend the Brethren Volunteer Service luncheon and one of the Brethren college luncheons; a local service project; trips to the Columbus Zoo, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, and the Center of Science and Industry; and hanging out with Mutual Kumquat.

• For the young adults: outings to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, game and movie nights, a special chance to get to know the music and ministry of BlueBird Revival and founder Josh Copp, and a service project to “Pack a Sack” for the homeless for distribution by the Columbus Community Shelter Board/YMCA/YWCA in cooperation with the Sawmill Interfaith Community Care Group, which includes Living Peace Church of the Brethren.

Age group activity fees range from a small daily fee for early childhood, to $65 (going up to $90 onsite) for the full Conference for elementary ages, to $85 ($100 onsite) for junior and senior high. For activity fees for young adults and singles see the activity listings at www.brethren.org/ac/2014/age-group-activities.html .

Tour historic German Village

A tour of the Germany Village, a historic district in Columbus just 10 minutes from the downtown, is offered on Saturday, July 5, from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Because the tour conflicts with a business session, it is offered to nondelegates only. The guided tour will start at the visitor center at the German Village Meeting Haus, with an award-winning video offering an excellent historical overview of the area. Each visitor receives a map and guide highlighting area shops and restaurants, and will be guided through the brick streets lined with quaint homes, gardens, shops, galleries, and restaurants. Afterward, the group will spend time shopping and have a chance to eat in one of the authentic German restaurants. Ken Kreider, retired professor and Brethren historian, will accompany the tour, give introductory comments and information about the background of the Brethren movement into Ohio and the major Brethren bodies in the area. Cost is $10 and includes bus transportation, guided tour, and visitor guide/map.

Photo by Glenn Riegel

Conference choir

"O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!" (Psalm 95:1) is the theme scripture for the 2014 Conference Choir. “I extend the invitation to sing uplifting songs of praise and worship,” said Joy Brubaker, choir director, in an invitation to singers. The choir will sing five numbers during Conference worship services. Rehearsals are held daily after the afternoon business session until 5:45 p.m.

Quilting bee

Congregations are invited to send finished quilt blocks for the Annual Conference Quilting Bee sponsored by the Associate for the Arts in the Church of the Brethren. Finished 8 and 1/2 by 8 1/2 inch blocks must be constructed according to the instructions. All quilt blocks should be postmarked by May 15, and mailed with a dollar donation (make checks payable to AACB) to offset the cost of quilting materials. Quilt tops are assembled prior to the Conference and quilted onsite in the Exhibit Hall. The completed quilts and wall hangings are auctioned with proceeds benefiting hunger relief. See www.brethren.org/ac/2014/documents/2014-aacb-quilting-info.pdf.

5K Fitness Challenge sponsored by BBT

Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) is sponsoring the 5K Fitness Challenge, a walk/run held early morning of July 5, and open to all ages. Start time is 6:30 a.m. The event will be held approximately three miles from the convention center at Franklin Park Conservatory. Participants provide their own transportation to the park. Completed registration forms with check payable to Brethren Benefit Trust must be received by May 23 for the early-bird fee of $20 ($25 after that date). Families of four or more may register for $60. Go to http://brethrenbenefittrust.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/2014%20Pre-Registration%20Form.pdf.

Tour Bethany Seminary on the way to Conference

Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind., right off I-70 west of the Indiana-Ohio state line, is offering tours for Conference-goers to stop on their to or from the Annual Conference. “As you take a break from the road, we’ll give you a tour of the Bethany Center and introduce you to the Bethany community of today,” said an announcement. Tours will be offered July 1 and 2 and 7, Sunday, July 6, after 1 p.m. Contact Monica Rice at 800-287-8822 or ricemo@bethanyseminary.edu. For directions, go to www.bethanyseminary.edu/about/directions. For information on lodging, restaurants, and local places of interest, go to waynet.com.

Volunteering

Much of what takes place at Annual Conference is supported by the many volunteers who give their time. Volunteers are sought for the following areas: registration, ticket sales, information, packet stuffing, ushering, tellers, hospitality/greeters, early childhood care and assistance with other age group activities, and first aid. Sign up at www.brethren.org/ac/registration/volunteer.html.

Source: 2/15/2014 Newsline

Pre-Conference events include Ministers’ Association, Congregational Vitality Workshops

Two ministry training events head the meetings that precede the 2014 Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio: the Ministers’ Association, and Congregational Vitality Workshops. Other regular annual meetings held prior to the Conference include the Standing Committee of district delegates, the Mission and Ministry Board, and the Council of District Executives, among others.

Ministers theme is ‘Preaching the Lively Word’

The Ministers’ Association pre-Conference event is Tuesday, July 1, through Wednesday, July 2, at the Columbus convention center. “Preaching the Lively Word: Text and Context in Today's Pulpit” is the theme, with leadership by Thomas G. Long.

Long is the Bandy Professor of Preaching at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. He has previously taught preaching at Princeton, Columbia, and Erskine seminaries. He is the author of numerous books and articles on preaching and worship as well as biblical commentaries on Matthew, Hebrews, and the Pastoral Epistles. He served as senior homiletics editor of “The New Interpreter's Bible,” and is an editor-at-large for “The Christian Century.” His latest books are “Accompany Them with Singing: The Christian Funeral” (2009), “Preaching from Memory to Hope” (2009), “What Shall We Say? Evil, Suffering, and the Crisis of Faith” (2011), and “The Good Funeral: Death, Grief, and the Community of Care” (2013, with Thomas Lynch). Emory University awarded him the Emory Williams Award for teaching excellence in 2011.

Session one on July 1 from 6-9 p.m. is titled “Disruption, Enchantment, and Wisdom: The Emerging Languages of Preaching.” Session two on July 2 from 9-11:45 a.m. is titled “The Churches at the Four Corners: Insights on Preaching from the New Testament Churches.” Session three on July 2 from 1-3:45 p.m. is titled “Puzzles, Riddles, and Paradoxes: Preaching and the Parables of Jesus.”

This event includes continuing education units for ordained ministers. The deadline to register is June 15. Find more information and register at www.brethren.org/livelyword.

Congregational Vitality Workshops

The Church of the Brethren Congregational Life Ministries is offering two Congregational Vitality Workshops prior to Annual Conference. On Wednesday, July 2, at 9 a.m.-12 noon will be a workshop on the topic “Restoring Hope: Transforming Lives and Congregations”; at 1:30-4:30 p.m. a workshop will be held on the topic “The Role of Congregations in Mental Health.”

“Restoring Hope: Transforming Lives and Congregations” will address the question, What does the future look like to you, family members, friends, and the congregation you attend? Hope is the ability to see a future that is life-giving. Unfortunately, many people feel weighed down by scarcity and grief. Practical resources will be shared for helping people rediscover hope. Christian people with hope transform congregations creating vital communities of faith.

“The Role of Congregations in Mental Health” will take a look at the number of people, one in four adults or nearly 30,000 members of our faith tradition, who will experience some type of mental illness during their lifetimes. This workshop will present ways that faith communities and people engaged in mental health recovery can work together to educate communities about mental illness, and equip them to develop supporting, caring responses through relationships and practices that facilitate recovery. The Church of the Brethren’s new partnership with ADNet, the Anabaptist Disabilities Network, will be introduced and information shared about how church members and congregations can participate.

Registration deadline is June 23. Cost is $15 per person for one workshop, $25 per person to attend both workshops. Lunch is on your own. For a registration form and more information go to www.brethren.org/ac/2014/documents/congregational-vitality-workshops.pdf.

Source: 2/15/2014 Newsline

Bidding process brings Annual Conference back to Ohio and California

The Conference office has announced the locations for upcoming Annual Conferences. In 2018 the annual meeting of the Church of the Brethren will return to Cincinnati, Ohio, where it has been held in previous decades; and in 2019 the event returns to the Town and Country Resort in San Diego, Calif., where it was held in 2009.

Other upcoming locations already have been announced: Tampa, Fla., in 2015; Greensboro, N.C., in 2016; and Grand Rapids, Mich., in 2017.

Joel Brumbaugh-Cayford

The Town and Country Resort in San Diego, Calif., will again be a site for Annual Conference in 2019

Conference director Chris Douglas explained that the bidding process for Conference locations has allowed for a choice of best prices for convention centers and hotels, among other expenses. The 2012 Annual Conference made a decision to no longer require a mandated geographical rotation to certain areas of the country, as part of a number of actions intended to help revitalize the annual meeting.

The Conference decision in 2012 releases planners from polity approved in 2007 that required a strict geographical rotation covering the entire US. Instead, under the new recommendation, the Annual Conference may be rotated among a handful of locations that “maximize sound fiscal stewardship for Annual Conference and attendees.”

The previous way of settling on locations by geographical rotation was thought to ensure good participation by Brethren from across the country. However, Douglas explained, in practice it meant only a few cities in some regions could bid for the event. “You take away the competition factor,” she said. The end result, ironically, was higher costs and less incentive for families to attend.

Distance is another factor that used to play in to costs but is not nearly so important anymore, because the cost of airfares no longer relate to actual miles traveled, but rather to factors such as the size of the airport or whether it is a carrier’s hub.

In addition to costs and expenses, the Program and Arrangements Committee takes many other things into account when deciding on locations for Annual Conference, Douglas said. These include the type of meeting facilities in the city, how easy it is to travel to the location, and the number of Brethren living in the area, among others.

The bidding process encourages every city to do its best job in terms of prices, and as more cities are invited to bid, the Conference office is discovering that locations where the meeting has been held in recent years are very competitive. Hence the return to Town and Country in San Diego, and to the convention center in Grand Rapids, which hosted the 2011 Conference.

Douglas shared that after Town and Country was defeated by Cincinnati’s bid for the 2018 Annual Conference, it came back with a more competitive bid for the 2019 meeting that will provide significant savings for Conference-goers, especially larger families: free breakfast, free parking, free wifi, a significantly lower room rate than was charged in 2009, and more.

“We would have never gotten that kind of bid if we had been limited in our geographical area,” said Douglas. “And we want to encourage Brethren from the east to travel out west and experience it. People really loved the setting in San Diego in 2009, there were so many positive comments about Town and Country. So begin your planning now to go to San Diego in 2019!

“I will still try to find some geographic rotation, and I am committed to looking for locations west and east of the Mississippi that offer an opportunity to the whole church for a meaningful Conference,” Douglas assured. “However, we receive lower prices when we are not mandated to only receive bids from one area of the country each year.”

Source: 2/15/2014 Newsline

On Earth Peace seeks volunteers for Ministers of Reconciliation team at Annual Conference

Photo by Regina Holmes

One of the MoR observers on duty at the 2011 Annual Conference. For some years, the Ministry of Reconciliation (MoR) has provided observers as a resource for participants in the Conference business sessions. This year, the ministry also is helping to provide teams of trained volunteers who will be available to be called on as needed throughout the Annual Conference venue.

“Already planning to attend the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference? Are you hearing a call to a ministry of presence and reconciliation?” asks an invitation from On Earth Peace. The Ministry of Reconciliation (MoR) is seeking members for a team to serve at the Conference. “Please prayerfully consider whether you or someone you know might be gifted to this ministry.”

Annual Conference Ministers of Reconciliation team

Annual Conference was and will be a unique challenge for peacemakers, notes the announcement from On Earth Peace. Building healthy relationships at Annual Conference requires managing social change, resolving conflicts, navigating family system dynamics, learning about cultural differences, respecting different understandings of scripture, all at the same time. These complexities create a powerful opportunity for God to work through us in ways we can’t always anticipate or see.

The work of the Annual Conference MoR team is varied and diverse. Last year, members talked with people who were concerned about queries, the voting process, decisions of Annual Conference, table facilitation, decisions of staff, security, decisions of Annual Conference officers, unauthorized placement of materials, difficult questions at booths, and rude comments that had been overheard.

The team talked with people having interpersonal conflicts magnified by the pressures of Annual Conference, personal conflicts at home, and congregational conflicts. The team also helped people find rooms and lost objects, played with children, and served the youth.

Contact MoR director Leslie Frye at Lfrye@OnEarthPeace.org or 620-755-3940 by March 15 to express interest in this opportunity. For more details go to www.onearthpeace.org/sites/default/files//2014%20AC%20MoR%20details.pdf.

Source: 2/15/2014 Newsline