2007 Conference will 'Proclaim the Power of God.'

The 2007 Annual Conference--the 221st recorded annual meeting of the Church of the Brethren--will take place in Cleveland, Ohio, from June 30-July 4. This year's theme, "Proclaim the Power of God," is taken from Psalm 68:34-35. Online registration is now open at www.brethren.org/ac through May 21. After that time, Conference-goers must register onsite, with an additional fee.

The schedule includes daily worship services, business sessions, insight sessions, meal events, concerts, a blood drive, a 5K run/walk fitness challenge, mutual help groups, a quilt auction, activities for children and youth, and more.

Leadership will be provided by moderator Belita D. Mitchell, pastor of First Church of the Brethren in Harrisburg, Pa.; moderator-elect Jim Beckwith, pastor of Annville (Pa.) Church of the Brethren; and secretary Fred W. Swartz of Bridgewater, Va. Lerry Fogle serves as executive director of the Conference. The Program and Arrangements Committee for the Conference includes Kristi Kellerman, Scott L. Duffey, and Joanna Willoughby, along with the Conference officers and treasurer Judy E. Keyser.

Main events will be held at the Cleveland Convention Center, with worship and business in the center's Public Auditorium and exhibits and booths in the center's Exhibit Hall B. Meal events and insight sessions will take place at the Cleveland Convention Center and two hotels: the Crowne Plaza Cleveland-City Centre and the Cleveland Downtown Marriott at Key Center.

Speakers for worship will be Jeff Carter, pastor of Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren, on Saturday evening; moderator Mitchell, on Sunday morning; Duane Grady, of the General Board's Congregational Life Team, on Monday evening; Tim Harvey, pastor of Central Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, Va., on Tuesday evening; and Ataloa Woodin, pastor of Community Brethren Church in Fresno, Calif., on Wednesday morning. Tuesday evening worship will include a service of anointing, assisted by 50 pastors and 50 deacons from across the denomination. Wednesday morning will include installation of the 2008 moderator and moderator-elect.

Other major presenters include:

• Joan Brown Campbell, former general secretary of the National Council of Churches and currently director of the Chautauqua Institution Department of Religion, on "Christians and Citizens: The Church in the World Today" at the Messenger Dinner on Sunday, July 1.
  
  
• Deforia Lane, director of the Ireland Cancer Center and director of music therapy at University Hospitals of Cleveland, on "Music Therapy: Medicine for the Body, Healing for the Soul" at the Association of Brethren Caregivers Recognition Dinner on Saturday, June 30.
  
  
• Eugene F. Roop, retiring president of Bethany Theological Seminary, at the Bethany Luncheon on Tuesday, July 3. Bethany also invites Conference-goers to a reception honoring Roop's service as president of the seminary, on Monday, July 2, at 4:45-7 p.m.
  
  
• Stephen Breck Reid, Bethany's academic dean, on "Black Theology and the Hebrew Prophets" at the Brethren Life and Thought Luncheon on Monday, July 2.
  
  
• President Ted Long of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College on "Advancing Brethren Heritage Through Higher Education," at the Elizabethtown Alumni Luncheon on Sunday, July 1.
  
  
• Chris Raschka, illustrator of children's books including "The Hello, Goodbye Window" which earned him the Caldecott Award in 2006, at the Brethren Press Breakfast on Monday, July 2.
  
  
• Paul Numrich, Church of the Brethren minister and associate professor and chair of the Program in World Religions and Inter-Religious Dialogue at the Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus, Ohio, on "Living Among People of Other Faiths" at the Ecumenical Luncheon on Tuesday, July 3.
  
  
• Art Gish, Church of the Brethren member and organic farmer who has worked with Christian Peacemaker Teams in the Middle East, on "The Call for Christian Peacemaking in These Times" at the On Earth Peace Breakfast on Tuesday, July 3.
  
  
• Balbir Mathur, co-founder of Trees for Life, on "The Song of Service," at the Brethren Volunteer Service Luncheon on Monday, July 2.
  
  
• Irv and Nancy Heishman, Church of the Brethren mission coordinators in the Dominican Republic, on "Blessing, Bartering, and Being: Stories of Faith and Life Among the Dominican Brethren" at the International Welcome Dinner on Saturday, June 30.

This year the line up for the "Early Evening with the Arts" (formerly Early Evening Concerts) includes a musical by the Junior Arts Camp at Inspiration Hills Camp and Retreat Center in Burbank, Ohio, on Saturday; the East Chippewa Vocal Band, a men's southern gospel group from East Chippewa Church of the Brethren in Orrville, Ohio, on Sunday; the new African-American music ministry "Friends Ministry of Good News" on Monday; and a concert led by pastor Thomas Dowdy of Imperial Heights Church of the Brethren in Los Angeles, on Tuesday.

A "Worship Music Celebration" will be held in the Public Auditorium following the evening worship services on Sunday and Monday. The celebrations will feature a wide variety of music including Gospel, Spanish, contemporary Christian, African, African-American, Haitian, and more, hosted by Los Angeles pastors Gilbert Romero of Bella Vista Church of the Brethren on Sunday, and Thomas Dowdy of Imperial Heights Church of the Brethren on Monday.

Several Conference events offer continuing education units for ministers:

• A series on "Evangelism and Church Renewal" sponsored by the Congregational Life Ministries of the General Board includes seven insight sessions and the Congregational Life/Global Ministries Dinner with speaker Craig Sider of the Brethren in Christ Church, on "Growing the Church The Anabaptist Way." The events offer .1 credit each, cost is $10 for each .1 credit.
  
  
• A series from the Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) offers .01 credit, at no charge, for each of 11 insight sessions on a range of health and welfare issues.
  
  
• On Earth Peace is offering five insight sessions for .1 credit each, on topics such as "Non-Anxious Pastoring in Difficult Times" and "Biblical Basics of Peacemaking."
  
  
• An insight session with Jim Eikenberry and Amir Assadi-Rad of San Joaquin Delta College in California, will address the topic, "Can We Talk? A Muslim and an Evangelical Christian Come Together" on Tuesday evening, July 3; the session offers .1 credit.

This year blood donors may pre-register for the blood drive at Annual Conference, through online programs of the American Red Cross. The blood drive is co-sponsored by the Emergency Response/Service Ministries of the General Board. To make an appointment to give blood at the Cleveland Convention Center on July 1-3, log on to www.givelife.org and enter sponsor code "brethren," then click on the time and site desired to reach a login screen. New registrants will create a profile, following the directions given. E-mail reminders will be sent to registrants. Appointment times may be changed online. Walk-ins will still be able to donate at Conference.

Activities for children will include field trips to Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo and Rainforest, the Great Lakes Science Center and Omnimax Theater, and the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Plans for youth include a Cleveland Indians Game, a visit to the Geauga Lake Amusement and Water Park, and a service project. Young adults will hold a field trip to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens along with a game night, ice cream social, and discussion and fellowship evenings.

For more about business items, see the story below. More information about schedule, fees, meal tickets, parking, transportation, aids for those with disabilities, housing, and registration may be found at www.brethren.org/ac.

Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline Extra