A review of 2003: Celebrating a year of Brethren activity and ministry.

While stories of war and violence filled many of the national and international headlines in 2003, stories of Brethren continuing the work of Jesus Christ in various ways and places also permeated the year. In an annual Newsline tradition, following are highlights of some of those stories from the past 12 months:

• New leaders were called for several of the denomination's major agencies. Stanley J. Noffsinger succeeded Judy Mills Reimer in July as general secretary for the Church of the Brethren General Board, promising to “roll up his sleeves’ for the difficult work ahead; Kathy G. Reid was called as executive director of the Association of Brethren Caregivers near year's end, succeeding Steve Mason; and Stephen Breck Reid became academic dean for Bethany Theological Seminary in July, following Rick Gardner.
  
  
• The Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, a ministry training partnership of the Church of the Brethren General Board and Bethany Theological Seminary, was selected in November to receive a grant of $2 million from the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. to participate in a national program called “Sustaining Pastoral Excellence.”
  
  
• Brethren were closely engaged with developments in Iraq--issuing statements, joining in ecumenical conversations, and participating in protests and educational events in the days leading up to the war, and later sending aid to the devastated nation.
  
  
• The Susquehanna Valley Satellite of Bethany Theological Seminary observed its 10th anniversary with a celebration at Carlisle (Pa.) Church of the Brethren on Nov. 2. The Elizabethtown, Pa.-based satellite now partners with five area districts in its ministry.
  
  
• Dr. Haruun Ruun, who is supported in his work as executive secretary of the New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) by the General Board's Global Mission Partnerships office, was honored with the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Award in a ceremony in Philadelphia on Nov. 8. Haruun received the award from Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
  
  
• Brethren Benefit Trust agreed to serve as third-party administrator for the Brethren Employees' Credit Union beginning in spring 2004, with the aim of providing a new array of services to a wider Brethren audience.
  
  
• An Annual Conference that 2003 moderator Harriet Finney of North Manchester, Ind., characterized as “bathed in prayer” took place July 5-9 at Boise State University in Idaho. About 2,900 people registered for the event, making it one of the largest conferences Boise had ever hosted.
  
  
• Brethren responded to a host of natural disasters with financial and material aid as well as volunteer hours. Major responses included cleanup and recovery efforts following Hurricane Isabel in September and a wave of severe tornadoes in the spring, plus rebuilding projects in Wisconsin, Mississippi, Illinois, and elsewhere. A Church of the Brethren Disaster Child Care project responded to rampant wildfires in southern California in the fall, with 26 volunteers making contact with nearly 500 children during the 19-day response.
  
  
• General Board Global Mission Partnerships executive director Merv Keeney joined National Council of Churches (NCC) general secretary Bob Edgar, Church World Service (CWS) executive director John L. McCullough, and four others in a delegation to North Korea and South Korea in mid-November, capping a year-long effort by the NCC and CWS to address political tensions and severe humanitarian needs on the Korean Peninsula.
  
  
• Sixteen interns, matching the record high set in 2002, were present for the 2003 Ministry Summer Service orientation in Richmond, Ind. The annual program, sponsored by the General Board's Youth/Young Adult and Ministry offices, allows young adults to consider ministry options by placing them in ministry settings with a mentor for the summer.
  
  
• More than 250 Brethren gathered at Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren Aug. 14-16 for the biennial Caring Ministries Assembly sponsored by the Association of Brethren Caregivers. This year's theme, “Healing Out of Silence,” focused on spiritual growth and practical help with caregiving issues.
  
  
• A celebration of the Brethren family's historical roots and present-day worldwide ministry marked the Brethren World Assembly, held July 23-26 in Winona Lake, Ind. About 100 people registered for the event, which wa sponsored by Brethren Encyclopedia Inc. and held on the Grace College campus. It was the third time such an assembly has been held, and the first since 1998. All six major denominations tracing their roots to Alexander Mack's 1708 movement were represented.
  
  
• The Council of District Executives initiated a process to discuss and study the ecclesiology of the church, with a series of meetings and events planned for the next few years. All of the Annual Conference agencies have joined in the effort, which will examine what it means to be the church and how the church goes about its ministry.
  
  
• Delegates at Annual Conference gave a strong endorsement to a Call for a Living Peace Church, looking for practical ways to live out the denomination's peace position. On Earth Peace and the General Board, which co-sponsored the resolution, are moving forward with ideas, plans, and resources.
  
  
• The National Youth Cabinet declared a denomination-wide Youth Day of Prayer for Sept. 28, asking youth across the Church of the Brethren to join together in prayer in creative ways. Earlier, on March 7, Brethren gathered at three denominational sites for special prayer services held in conjunction with the World Day of Prayer. Both initiatives, along with some activities at Annual Conference, came in response to the “Call to Prayer” query passed by the 2002 Conference.
  
  
• Thirty-five grants were made from the General Board's Emergency Disaster Fund, totaling nearly half a million dollars. The aid supported relief work through Church World Service and other organizations across the United States and in all corners of the world.
  
  
• Brethren Volunteer Service worker Don Vermilyea continued his “Walk Across America,” trekking across the Rockies and the Plains in his quest to visit every Church of the Brethren congregation that will host him. By year's end he had crossed the 8,000-mile point in his journey as he reached Nebraska.
  
  
• Brethren traveled to Sudan as part of a Faith & Advocacy delegation led by Phil and Louie Baldwin Rieman in late summer and to Nigeria on an annual workcamp sponsored by the Global Mission Partnerships office. Workcampers on the latter trip continued construction of a classroom at the Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN) Comprehensive Secondary School.
  
  
• New leadership was called for major Brethren mission areas, with Irv and Nancy Heishman beginning as coordinators in the Dominican Republic, and Greg and Karin Davidson Laszakovits called as representatives for Brazil. A search is under way for a successor to John and Janet Tubbs in Nigeria.
  
  
• The 2003 youth/young adult workcamp season ended in mid-August after more than 500 youth, youth advisors, and young adults participated in 26 workcamps across the US, in the Caribbean, and in Northern Ireland and Ecuador.
  
  
• A November Ministry of Reconciliation workshop at Camp Mack in Milford, Ind., titled “Leadership in Times of Controversy,” provided space for people involved in deep and ongoing conflict to sit down and talk openly with one another.
  
  
• The Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) board this fall completed the first cycle of its Vision and Planning Process by adopting a document entitled “Strategic Goals, Objectives, and Action Steps.” The document sets in place an action plan for the next three years.
  
  
• Brethren Colleges Abroad officially launched its new Peace and Justice programs, enabling students to study in these fields by examining current world issues at universities and colleges in Cuba, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, Belgium, and Wales.
  
  
• The Iglesia de los Hermanos (Church of the Brethren) in the Dominican Republic continues to grow, with two preaching points--Boca Chica and Sabana Torsa--given congregational status at the church's annual “conferencia,” and two other worshipping communities in Peniel and La Caya formally recognized as preaching points.
  
  
• The 2003 Youth Peace Travel Team of Laura Sweitzer, Erica Schatz, and Mandy Wampler traveled to Church of the Brethren camps in the Midwest and to Annual Conference, the 13th year a team has been sent out to do peace education.
  
  
• More than 70 people gathered in Gotha, Fla., to attend the denomination's annual Cross-Cultural Consultation, making it the largest gathering in the five-year history of the energetic and multilingual event.
  
  
• A “Toward a Brethren Philosophy of Higher Education” conference coordinated by Elizabethtown (Pa.) College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies presented viewpoints on varied aspects of higher education, representing both the college and church perspectives. Topics included biblical and theological foundations, the importance of having Brethren personnel at the denomination's colleges, the church-college relationship, and models of maintaining Brethren identity on campus.
  
  
• Brethren Volunteer Service began the year with one of the largest winter units in recent history, and continued with strong enrollment throughout the year. Several orientations were held in unique locations and formats, including emphases on spiritual growth and simple living.
  
  
• The Brethren Press children's book “Faith the Cow,” originally published in 1995 to tell the story of the origins of Heifer Project, passed the 15,000-copy level in sales this summer. The book recently went to press for its sixth printing.
  
  
• Two dozen Church of the Brethren pastors, district executives, and new church development committee members gathered in Phoenix in January for a seminar on coaching church planters, part of an ongoing drive to provide training and resources in church planting.
  
  
• A dedication service for the 10-acre campus of the new Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center was held Sept. 7 in Harrisonburg, Va... Southern Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic districts again joined for an annual meat canning project, processing 80,000 pounds of chicken... About 160 people gathered at Idaho's Camp Wilbur Stover June 29 to July 5 for the seventh annual Song & Story Fest... Other groups met for a youth ministry workshop in New Windsor, Md., led by Mark DeVries; a Fellowship of Brethren Homes Forum; an annual Young Adult Conference held at Camp Eder in Fairfield, Pa.; a youth Christian Citizenship Seminar in New York and Washington, D.C., focusing on globalization issues; an “Organizing for Peace” event in Richmond, Ind.; and an Anabaptist Evangelism Council conference in Chicago examining worship.

And in 2004, the work of Jesus continues!

Source: Newsline 1/02/2004
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