Brethren bits corrections, job openings, upcoming events and more.

• Correction - An incomplete telephone number was included in last Newsline for Church World Service staff member Lesley Crosson. The correct number is 212-870-2676
  
  
• Jan Fischer Bachman, website producer for the Church of the Brethren, reports that a technical issue has been resolved that affected some individuals who tried to sign up for e-mail publications. "Our apologies if you wanted to receive messages and have not gotten them until now!" Please contact cobweb@brethren.org with questions or for more information.
  
  
• The Youth and Young Adult Office is delighted to announce the assistant coordinators for the 2012 workcamp ministry, Catherine Gong and Rachel Witkovsky. Assistant coordinators serve through BVS in the Elgin office from September-May, planning for summer workcamps. During the summer, they are on the road, leading workcamps for junior highs through young adults. Catherine is graduating from Pennsylvania State University this spring. Rachel is a graduate of Elizabethtown College. Both bring a passion for service and a desire to share this with the youth of our denomination.
  
  
• Lina Dagnew, editorial assistant for the Gather 'Round curriculum, has resigned her position effective May 20. She will return to her home in Ethiopia for the summer and come back to the United States in the fall to attend Harvard Law School. We will miss Lina very much but are proud of her accomplishments and wish her the very best in her future endeavors.
  
  
• The Gather 'Round is seeking an individual to fill a 40-hour-per-week position at their offices in Elgin, IL. Position is available May 16, 2011.
  
  The editorial assistant supports the editorial and marketing arms of the curriculum project, working closely with the managing editor and project director. He or she proofreads; coordinates contracts and payments for illustrators, designers, writers, and photographers; researches and requests permissions for use of copyrighted material; serves as a liaison to denominational customer service staff and the public; produces spreadsheets and other reports; assembles a monthly e-newsletter; coordinates logistics for writers conferences and other meetings; and performs general office duties. The editorial assistant also maintains and updates the Gather Round website and troubleshoots web download orders.
  
  For a full position description candidates are invited to request the application packet from:
  Office of Human Resources
  Church of the Brethren
  1451 Dundee Avenue
  Elgin, IL 60120-1694
  Phone: 1-800-323-8039, ext 258
  E-mail: kkrog@brethren.org
  
  
• The Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center (www.vbmhc.org) invites applications for the position of full-time Executive Director. The successful candidate should have expertise in fundraising, marketing, administration, public relations, volunteer coordination, and interpreting the vision of the Center to the church and community. The Director should be committed to the heritage which Brethren and Mennonites share, especially in the Shenandoah Valley. Salary and benefits as determined by the Board of Directors. Send letter of application, resume, and three recommendations to Beryl H. Brubaker, Chair, Search Committee, 965 Broadview Drive, Harrisonburg, VA, 22802 (brubakeb@emu.edu). Position open until filled.
  
  
• Church World Service (CWS) is seeking applications for the position of Associate Director Pre-Arrival. This position, located in New York, NY, manages the pre-arrival component of refugee placement and resettlement for CWS. Required qualifications include a college degree in a related field and extensive experience in refugee processing and staff supervision.
  
  Submit resumes by May 13, 2011, to Church World Service, Attn: Karen de Lopez, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515; or e-mail to cwshr@churchworldservice.org; or fax to (574) 266-0087.
  
  For details on this and other employment opportunities with Church World Service, log on to www.churchworldservice.org/site/PageServer?pagename=employment_main#134.
  
  
• A statement by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) called "Protecting Everybody From Torture: Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) " has been endorsed by Stan Noffsinger, general secretary of the Church of the Brethren. The Statement includes a list of the 51 senior religious leaders who have endorsed the statement. OPCAT is a U.N. Treaty that would help prevent torture around the world. Information on the work of NRCAT is available at www.tortureisamoralissue.org.
  
  
• Two grants were approved from the Emergency Disaster Fund. An additional allocation of $30,000 for continued work at the Ashland City, Tennessee, work project, established following devastating floods of May 2010. This EDF grant will support BDM's continuing work in Cheatham County and surrounding areas by providing the opportunity to assist in the repair and rebuilding of homes for qualified individuals and families. Funds will be used to underwrite operational expenses related to volunteer support, including housing, food, travel expenses incurred on site, as well as volunteer training, tools and equipment needed for rebuilding and repair. Previous allocations to this project total $25,000.
  
  Additional funds were provided in the amount of $65,000 for the BDM program at Hurricane Katrina rebuilding site #4 in Chalmette, Louisiana. Since doubling volunteer capacity in the summer of 2008, BDM's monthly expenses have nearly doubled as well. This allocation will help carry the project from January 2011 through its projected closing in June 2011. The funds will continue to assist in the repair and rebuilding of homes, as well as provide volunteer support including travel expenses, leadership training, tools and equipment, and food and housing. Previous allocations to this project total $400,000.
  
  
• Several Church of the Brethren District Disaster Auctions will be held in May to benefit Brethren Disaster Ministries. 31st Annual Mid-Atlantic District Disaster Response Auction will be held on May 7, 2011 at the Carroll County Agricultural Center, Shipley Arena in Westminster, Maryland. 19th Annual Disaster Ministries Auction is scheduled for May 20 & 21 at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
  
  
• Fahrney-Keedy Home & Village, a five-star-rated Continuing Care Retirement Community on a 90-acre campus near Boonsboro, Md., will host a Spring Open House on Saturday, May 14, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Guests will receive tours of the village, meet the staff and have the opportunity to take a horse-drawn carriage ride through the community. Gourmet refreshments will be provided.
  
  "We are very excited for our guests to see firsthand the lifestyle at Fahrney-Keedy," said Keith R. Bryan, President/CEO. "They will be very impressed at the full range of retirement opportunities, including single-family homes and apartments, assisted living studios and our highly acclaimed skilled nursing center."
  
  To RSVP or to obtain additional information, call 301-671-5015 or 301-671-5016 or visit www.fkhv.org.
  
  Located on Maryland Route 66, Fahrney-Keedy has nearly 180 full- and part-time employees. It serves a resident population of almost 200 women and men in independent living, assisted living and long- and short-term nursing care. Fahrney-Keedy is committed to enhancing the lives of seniors through caring quality service.
  
  
• Jeff Carter, pastor of the Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren gave the opening invocation for the US Senate on Thursday, April 7, 2011. He was nominated by Senator Webb of Virginia and accepted as a guest chaplain by Rev. Dr. Black, Chaplain of the US Senate.
  
  
• McPherson College has announced a $1.2 million anonymous gift for their visionary new Transformative Entrepreneurship Minor, available for the first time this fall as an essential part of every field of study.
  
  A top priority of the process will be to fund a new Director of Entrepreneurship, who will provide direction and guidance for liberal arts and entrepreneurship programming, creating new programs as well as leading those already in existence. Current programs include the Horizon Fund, providing micro-grants of up to $500 to any McPherson College student with an entrepreneurial idea, and the Global Enterprise Challenge, in which students develop sustainable ventures to help in Haiti. The grant also will support faculty training and curriculum development in entrepreneurship.
  
  The purpose of this program is to allow all students the opportunity to study entrepreneurship within any major. Faculty of all academic areas has ownership in this cross-disciplinary minor. Students' required hours will be divided between core courses on entrepreneurship essentials and selected liberal arts courses.
  
  McPherson College is a four-year private liberal arts college in central Kansas, associated with the Church of the Brethren, committed to the ideals of scholarship, participation, and service. -- Adam Pracht, Coordinator of development Communications, McPherson College prachta@mcpherson.edu, www.mcpherson.edu
  
  
  
• 2011 Pennsylvania Science Olympiad Finals to be held on the campus of Juniata College, Friday, April 29, 2011, "The 20th anniversary of bringing Science Olympiad to Juniata has meant that we have been able to get the cream of the crop of talented science students from across Pennsylvania," says Ron Pauline, professor emeritus of education and Science Olympiad state tournament site director. "The visiting students can see our campus and consider going here to use our excellent science facilities. Juniata is honored to have hosted the state finals for such a long time and also serve as the site for the national finals in 2004." The students from 70 high schools and middle schools across Pennsylvania will compete across campus at sites such as the von Liebig Center for Science, Knox Stadium, the Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center, and the lawn behind Ellis Hall. The 2011 Science Olympiad begins at 8:30 a.m. and continues throughout the day, ending with an awards ceremony at approximately 4:15 p.m. in the sports center's main gym. More than 1,000 students will compete.
  
  Science Olympiad is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science and recognizing outstanding achievements in science education. Contact: John Wall office: (814) 641-3132 e-mail: wallj@juniata.edu
  
  
• Elizabethtown College Theatre presents staged readings of fresh, new, short plays at 8 p.m., Friday, April 29, and Saturday, April 30, in the College's Tempest Theatre. Tickets for the productions, which are open to the public, can be purchased for $4 through the Theatre Box Office by calling 717-361-1170 or sending a request via e-mail to boxoffice@etown.edu. The two nights include a total of 13 readings of plays written or directed by students in the College's Playwriting class. The plays also are directed by students from the College. Contact: Michael Swanson, coordinator of Theatre and Dance, at swansonm@etown.edu.
  
  
• An Easter Season Spiritual Disciplines folder which coordinates with Sunday worship scriptures of the Brethren bulletin series is being posted on the Springs of Living Water web site at www.churchrenewalservant.org under the Springs button. Entitled "Born Anew to a Living Hope" from I Peter 1:3, the folder has topics for Sunday morning worship and daily scripture readings that build to the next Sunday.
  
  The insert is an invitation to go deeper in spiritual disciplines according to God's leading. Vince Cable, pastor of the Uniontown Church of the Brethren south of Pittsburgh, has written Bible study questions for individuals or small groups Bible study and they are also on the Springs website.
  
  The Springs of Living Water Initiative in Church Renewal is in the midst of a study entitled "The Intentional Renewal Pastor." This is an endeavor to explore the challenges, needs and joys of pastors intentionally working on renewal in their congregations. In this study done as a project in the Greenleaf Academy of Servant Leadership, twenty-five pastors working in renewal are being interviewed using a questionnaire on these topics. For more information email David Young at davidyoung@churchrenewalservant.org.

Source: 4/20/2011 Newsline