- Correction: Beth Gunzel is not a volunteer with Brethren Volunteer Service, as was incorrectly reported in Newsline on June 7. She is staff for Economic Development in the Dominican Republic for the Global Mission Partnerships of the Church of the Brethren General Board.
- June Swann Hoal, aged 79, of Roanoke, Va., died on Saturday, June 10. She served Virlina District as a former co-manager of Camp Bethel in Fincastle, Va. Hoal was a lifetime member of First Church of the Brethren in Roanoke where she was a deacon and served in many other leadership capacities including as a member of the Outdoor Ministries Committee and a volunteer at the Virlina District Resource Center. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Laura Hoal Heptinstall and Kevin L. Heptinstall, her son and daughter-in-law Alan Eugene Hoal and Carol B. Hoal, and four grandchildren, among other family members. Services were held at First Church of the Brethren in Roanoke on June 13. Memorials are made to First Church of the Brethren or to Virlina District's Church of the Brethren Pilgrimage Scholarship Fund.
- On June 8, Jake Blouch joined the General Board's communications area working with "Messenger" magazine. Blouch, who is from Hershey, Pa., will work with the magazine for the summer through the Ministry Summer Service program. He is a member of Spring Creek Church of the Brethren in Hershey and a student at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he is majoring in acting.
- Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) seeks a director of Employee Benefit Plans. The position is fulltime and salaried, based in Elgin, Ill. Functions include administration of the insurance and retirement benefit plans, flexible spending and health savings accounts, clergy consultation services contract, Church Workers Assistance Plan, and wellness ministry partnership with the Association of Brethren Caregivers. Responsibilities include strategic planning and services development, Pension Plan Trust and legal plan description, employer agreements, members' handbook, actuarial support services, insurance contracts and third party administrator arrangements, plans and systems operations and member services management. Qualifications include membership in the Church of the Brethren and active participation in a Church of the Brethren congregation, at least an undergraduate degree and/or certification as an Employee Benefits Specialist, and at least five years of experience in employee benefits plan management, legal and medical practice, human resources administration, or related management experience. Send a letter of interest and a resume with salary range expectation to Susan Brandenbusch at 1505 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120; sbrandenbusch_bbt@brethren.org.
- BBT seeks a director of the Brethren Foundation Inc. The position is fulltime and salaried, based in Elgin, Ill. Functions include administration of four basic services of the foundation: aset management, deferred gifts management, deferred gifts technical assistance and client services, and enlarging of the base of the participation in foundation services. Responsibilities include strategic planning and services development, client development and service, systems knowledge and operations oversight, investment and social responsibility staff team, and financial, estate, and gift planning. Qualifications include membership in the Church of the Brethren and active participation in a Church of the Brethren congregation; at least an undergraduate degree; one or more professional credentials related to foundation management, financial planning, planned giving, or investment management (may be attained on the job); and at least five years of experience in a related management position. Send a letter of interest and a resume with salary range expectation to Susan Brandenbusch at 1505 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120; sbrandenbusch_bbt@brethren.org.
- BBT seeks a manager of Publications. The position is fulltime and salaried, based in Elgin, Ill. Functions include daily editorial oversight of BBT publications--newsletters, press releases, annual report, website, and other special projects--and serving as senior writer. Responsibilities include managing a publication schedule, content for publications and website, creation of writing assignments and photo assignments, working with a production coordinator and contracted designers, assisting with marketing and promotional efforts. Qualifications include membership in the Church of the Brethren and active participation in a Church of the Brethren congregation; at least an undergraduate degree preferably in communications, English, or related field; and experience or expertise in writing, copyediting, project management, and corporate communications. Send a letter of interest and a resume with salary range expectation to Susan Brandenbusch at 1505 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120; sbrandenbusch_bbt@brethren.org.
- The Church of the Brethren General Board seeks a fulltime director of Marketing and Sales for Brethren Press in Elgin, Ill. Responsibilities include setting, monitoring, and meeting annual sales goals; developing and implementing a marketing plan; supervising customer service and shipping and warehouse functions; overseeing creation and release of promotional materials; managing marketing aspects of the Brethren Press Bookstore at Annual Conference and other events; networking and working collegially with General Board staff in developing new products and marketing. Qualifications include proven skills in marketing or sales, ability to represent Brethren Press favorably in denominational and ecumenical settings, oral and written communication and interpersonal skills, creativity and organizational skills, ability to balance independence with collaboration, grounding in or an interest in learning Brethren heritage, theology, and polity. Required education and experience include a bachelor's degree in a related field and experience working in a religious setting. Candidates with prior successful marketing experience are given priority. A position description and application form are available on request. Application deadline is July 14. Complete the General Board application form, submit a resume and a letter of application, and request three references to send letters of recommendation to the Office of Human Resources, Church of the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120-1694; 800-323-8039 ext. 258; mgarrison_gb@brethren.org.
- "Ring in Remembrance" will mark the tragic milestone of 2,500 US soldiers killed in the Iraq War, on the weekend of June 24-25. The Brethren Witness/Washington Office issued an action alert publicizing the interfaith initiative for religious congregations to ring bells, especially the bells of their houses of worship, to remember all the casualties of the war and their hurting families. The effort is organized by FaithfulAmerica.org, an interfaith program of the National Council of Churches. "Bell ringing has historically been used to call communities together in times of joy, sadness, or crisis," said Vince Isner, director of FaithfulAmerica.org. "We believe this is not only a time of sadness, but an opportunity to ring in a new season of peace." Contact the Brethren Witness/Washington Office at 337 N. Carolina Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20003; 800-785-3246; washington_office_gb@brethren.org.
- On Earth Peace on June 16 called for remembrance of the 1976 Soweto student uprising in South Africa. "Thirty years ago today, Black South African students walked out of high school in Soweto to resist the enforced instruction of the Afrikaans language. By the end of the day, at least 95 students and as many as 500 students had been killed by police in Soweto and across South Africa," wrote Matt Guynn, coordinator of Peace Witness, in an e-mail to a Peace Witness Action List. Others remembering the event included World Council of Churches general secretary Samuel Kobia, who paid tribute to the Soweto uprising by saying it "triggered the final end to apartheid in South Africa." South Africa held a day of special events in Soweto and has named June 16 "Youth Day." The All-Africa Council of Churches has named June 16 the "International Day of the African Child," according to Ekklesia, an online religious news site.
- Pastor Doug Wantz of Chippewa Church of the Brethren in Creston, Ohio, is one of several pastors competing in the "Faster Pastor" race series at Wayne County Speedway in Ohio on June 24. Wantz was last year's Finale Winner, according to an article on www.whowon.com. For more information go to www.waynecountyspeedway.com.
- A new volume of lectionary resources on food and justice includes a reflection by Jean Lersch, of First Church of the Brethren in St. Petersburg, Fla. Lersch has been a Bread for the World member since the 1970s and is active in the Peace Team of Atlantic Southeast District. Her reflection appears in "Bread for the World, Hunger for the Word: Lectionary Reflections on Food and Justice, Year C" (order at www.breadstore.org). The volume provides weekly biblical reflections, children's sermons, and music for the lectionary readings for Year C, which begin this fall with Advent. Many authors from various denominations contributed to the volume.
- A conference on "Eco-Justice for All: God's People, God's Planet," featured Church of the Brethren member Shantilal Bhagat as a workshop leader. The event was sponsored by the National Council of Churches in New Orleans on June 1-4. Bhagat is retired from the staff of the Church of the Brethren General Board, and led workshops exploring the connections of ecological, economic, and social justice.
- More than 50 people from about 13 different congregations of Illinois and Wisconsin District gathered at Panther Creek Church of the Brethren near Roanoke, Ill., on April 29 to paint the church building, repair steps, work on insulation and plumbing, install a water heater and new sink in the kitchen, do electric work, trim weeds in the cemetery, and move a wall between the office and library. "It was suggested to make this an annual event, helping different churches throughout the district, both with work projects and cementing the bonds of friendship and fellowship between churches," wrote Linda Dooly in the district newsletter.
- The National Council of Churches (NCC) has participated in or made statements on several current political issues. General secretary Bob Edgar was one of 27 religious leaders who signed a statement calling for the elimination of torture as a part of US policy (to endorse the statement go to www.nrcat.org). The NCC renewed a call to close the US Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba following the suicides of three prisoners; as of June 15, more than 10,500 people had signed a petition at FaithfulAmerica.org calling for the facility to be closed (FaithfulAmerica.org is a program of the NCC; for more see www.ncccusa.org/news/060216gitmo.html). The NCC also urged Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour from $5.15 an hour, joining the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign. "A raise to $7.25 an hour is the least we can do now for minimum wage workers who have gone without a raise for nine long years," the NCC said (for more go to www.letjusticeroll.org).
- The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Samuel Kobia, has called for action to stop "terminator technology"-- plants that are genetically engineered to produce sterile seeds, preventing farmers from re-planting saved seed. This technology "turns life, which is a gift from God, into a commodity," Kobia said. "Preventing farmers from re-planting saved seed will increase economic injustice all over the world and add to the burdens of those already living in hardship." The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 1.4 billion people depend on farmer-saved seed as their primary seed source, the WCC said. For the full release go to http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/all-news-english/display-single-english-news/browse/1/article/1634/take-action-to-stop-termi.html.
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