More upcoming events: Mission Alive, intercultural course, CCS.

• Bishop Mano Rumalshah of the Church of Pakistan, who will be the keynote speaker for "Mission Alive 2008" in April, has written to Global Mission Partnerships executive director Merv Keeney about concerns for his country. As he left Pakistan recently, he wrote, "We are still going through the turmoil of restlessness especially as the lead up to the general elections. Please continue to pray for us." Keeney invited Brethren to hold the country in prayer. "We are honored to have the Bishop on our conference program, and we invite members both to hold him in prayer, and also to come to the conference to hear him tell about the internal challenges facing the church in Pakistan, as well as the effect of the war in neighboring Afghanistan on the Christian population there." The deadline for online registration for Mission Alive 2008 is March 24. After that date, registration will be available by phone or onsite, and the cost will be $89 rather than $79. To register go to the Mission Alive page of www.brethren.org, using the keyword box to access the page, or call 800-323-8039 ext. 230.
  
  
• The Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership is offering a course on "Intercultural Competence: Key Skills in a Multicultural World" with Darla Kay Bowman Deardorff as instructor. She is executive director of the Association of Intercultural Education Administrators, a cross cultural trainer, and an instructor at Duke University. She also was a member of the Annual Conference Intercultural Study Committee. The course will be held April 27-29 at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., following the annual Cross-Cultural Consultation and Celebration. The course begins on Sunday at 3 p.m. and ends on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Tuition is $200. Participants are encouraged, but not required, to attend all or part of the consultation. Information about the Cross-Cultural Consultation and Celebration is at www.brethren.org/genbd/clm/clt/CrossCultural.html. Training in Ministry (TRIM) students will receive one Academy Level/CEQ unit of Ministry Skills Credit for completion of the course; pastors and other ordained ministers will receive two continuing education units and will be required to do the pre-course reading in addition to participating in the course. For more information, including a brochure which lists the texts, contact Debbie Mullins, Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, at 765-983-1824 or mullide@bethanyseminary.edu.
  
  
• Dates and location for the 2009 Church of the Brethren Clergywomen's Retreat have been announced. The Clergywomen’s Retreat will be held Jan. 12-15, 2009, at the Mary and Joseph Retreat Center in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. The retreat is sponsored by the Ministry Office of the Church of the Brethren General Board. The event will feature daily sessions with a speaker, nightly worship, a celebration of the 50 years of women in ministry in the denomination, and generous blocks of unscheduled "sabbath time" for participants. For more information contact Dana Cassell, Brethren Volunteer Service worker in the Office of Ministry, at dcassell_gb@brethren.org.
  
  
• Feb. 28 is the last day for senior high youth (grades 9-12) and advisors to register for the Christian Citizenship Seminar to be held March 29-April 3 in New York City and Washington, D.C. Register online at www.brethren.org/genbd/yya/ccs_reg.htm and note that the $350 registration fee is due by Feb. 28 for all participants. For more information visit the Youth and Young Adult Ministries webpage at www.brethren.org/genbd/yya.
  
  
• The Brethren Witness/Washington Office is encouraging participation in the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq on Friday, March 7. Events will take place in Washington, D.C., and around the country. Washington City Church of the Brethren will host one of several ecumenical worship services planned for 12 noon on March 7, with preacher J. Daryl Byler, regional representative for Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, and Iran for Mennonite Central Committee. Marches from around the city will then make their way to the Capitol for an Interfaith Witness on the Mall at 2:30 p.m. A public nonviolent action will follow. The Brethren Witness/Washington office is planning a Brethren gathering following worship at Washington City Church. Nonviolence trainings and workshops will take place before the event on Thursday, March 6. For those able to stay in Washington for the whole weekend, Ecumenical Advocacy Days will begin the evening of March 7, and March 10 has been designated as a lobby day. For more about Ecumenical Advocacy Days, go to www.advocacydays.org. For more about the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq go to www.christianpeacewitness.org. To take part in Brethren events, contact the Brethren Witness/Washington Office at 800-785-3246 or washington_office_gb@brethren.org.
  
  
• A "Progressive Brethren Summit" has been announced for Nov. 7-9 in Indianapolis, on the theme, "Faithful and Just: Progressive Brethren Speak." The event is sponsored jointly by Voices for an Open Spirit (VOS); the Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interests (BMC); Womaen’s Caucus; Christian Community; and a number of congregations and individuals; and will be hosted by Northview Church of the Brethren. It is planned as "a first general gathering of those who see themselves as ‘progressive’ and currently, or formerly, participate in the Church of the Brethren," according to an announcement. It begins Friday evening with worship and speakers addressing the difficulties facing progressive Christians in "A Challenged Church"; Saturday includes a plenary session on being "A Jesus Church," break-out groups with presenters on a variety of topics, afternoon workshops, evening worship and speakers focusing on "A Welcoming Church," and a concert by Mutual Kumquat and others; Sunday will present several models of progressive Bible studies, with worship and celebration of "A Courageous Church." Cost is estimated at around $80, plus housing. Details and registration will be available around March 1 at www.voicesforanopenspirit.org and www.bmclgbt.org. For more information contact Ken Kline Smeltzer at bksmeltz@comcast.net or Carol Wise at cwise@bmclgbt.org.

Source: 2/15/2008 Newslines Extra