Ecumenical conversation works at new definition of ‘security’

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

The ecumenical conversation on “human security” at the World Council of Churches (WCC) 10th Assembly was an exercise in changing the concept of what security means, as well as opening minds and hearts to the suffering of those who live in insecurity around the world.

Engaging the issues

The ecumenical conversations at the WCC Assembly were opportunities for participants to delve deeply into one particular current issue facing the worldwide church. They also were designed to give guidance for the work of the WCC staff in coming years. The way the official description put it, ecumenical conversations were for “harvesting affirmations and challenges to the WCC and the wider ecumenical movement.”

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

Participants were encouraged to commit to one ecumenical conversation for the four days they were offered, an hour and a half each afternoon. Topics for the 21 ecumenical conversations ranged from new ecumenical landscapes to moral discernment to developing effective leadership to mission in changing contexts. Groups discussed the Korean peninsula and the Middle East, children’s rights and healing ministries, among other topics of interest.

At the end of the process, each ecumenical conversation turned in a one-page document outlining the important points that surfaced over the four sessions. The 21 documents were printed up and shared with the Assembly’s delegate body.

Redefining security

There is a changing definition of the concept of security, participants learned in the ecumenical conversation titled “Human security: Towards sustaining peace with justice and human rights.”
A leadership team from the Philippines, United States, Germany, and Ghana, and a member of the WCC staff, kicked off the conversation by inviting several presenters to share biblical and theological reflections, analysis of human rights issues, and stories and case studies of important areas of insecurity in the world today. Presentations were followed up with some time for small group discussion.

A linkage with human rights emerged strongly. So did evidence that a lack of security leads to human suffering, evidenced in tragic stories from the lives of migrant workers in the Arabian Gulf who live in virtual slavery, victims of human trafficking--mostly women and children, internally displaced people and refugees, and stateless people such as those of Haitian descent living in the Dominican Republic and the Rohyingas in Burma.

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

One recurrent thread in the conversation was suicide, violence against the self, as the only way some victims have to get out of horrific situations. Another thread was the suffering that ensues when violence and weapons are turned against others. And another was economic deprivation and the desperation caused by poverty.

Access to weapons, the continual development of more highly sophisticated weapons, and the amount of resources poured into them emerged as important aspects of human insecurity. Stories from places like Nigeria where the spread of small arms into the civilian population is wreaking havoc. Presenters spoke of the threats to humanity posed by highly sophisticated weapons such as robotic drones, and the threat of nuclear weapons as well as the threat posed to humanity and the environment by nuclear energy and its waste products.

A brief time spent on the idea of “just policing” and related concept of government “responsibility to prevent” violence led one small group to state clearly that the concept requires critical analysis. They expressed the fear that it would be used by some national powers to justify war and military intervention.

Another small group pointed out that the corporate world also holds responsibility for much suffering and human insecurity.

It became clear that in order to work toward peace in our world, the definition of what security means must shift from national security, or military security, to focus instead on what is required for human life. For at least one small group, this boiled down to the basics: food, water, shelter, the foundational requirements for living.

‘Don’t just pray, take action’

The leadership team encouraged participants to consider the question of what role churches play in all this.

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

One person’s response was blunt and to the point: “Don’t just pray, take action,” she said. “Awareness, advocacy, and action, this is what churches can do.”

She spoke out of the experience of working to prevent human trafficking in India, which she took up after finding out that some women she knew had fallen into the hands of traffickers. The traffickers lured the women away from their hometowns with promises of good jobs in far away cities. But when the women went to start what they thought was a new better paying job, they ended up being trapped and enslaved.

“In our spirituality, there needs to be constructive anger,” she said, expressing her own anger at the greed that is fueling this worldwide problem. She cited the statistic that human trafficking has become the second most lucrative industry in the world after the drug trade. “Without anger we cannot seek justice and peace,” she said. “Jesus was angry.”

As well as hearing the stories of suffering, said another woman, it is crucial for the church to listen to stories of courage and resilience. If people do not see glimpses of hope, they become overwhelmed and then are tempted to distance themselves from the problems of the world around them. “We talk about women of courage” in her work with survivors of domestic violence, she said, instead of talking about “victims.”

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

A priest from Russia pointed out the need to share frankly this kind of information with one’s congregation, in order to prevent church members from falling into situations of abuse themselves.

Once that kind of education begins to happen, things will start to change, another church leader pointed out.
Others highlighted a need for churches to be “bridges” to society and government in order to defend and enhance human security. “We need to tell governments that action is required,” one participant said. “This is a matter of political will.”

An Orthodox leader spoke out of the Syrian context, where his church is caught in the midst of a violent civil conflict. Out of his church’s experience, “War is sin,” he said. “War begets war. War will never make peace.”
In this context, he added, the Christian church must seek “peace with justice, or justice with peace. This is what is wanted.”

-- Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford is director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren

Source: 11/11/2013 Newsline

Leading EYN through its most difficult time: An interview with Samuel Dante Dali

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

Samuel Dante Dali, president of Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) at the World Council of Churches 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea

Samuel Dante Dali, president of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), attended the World Council of Churches 10th Assembly as delegate for the Nigerian Brethren. Here he talks about the increase of terrorist violence in northeast Nigeria where members of EYN have been among the many killed in attacks by extremist Islamists.

What is going on with EYN in Nigeria?

“We thought that the situation was getting better, when the government placed a state of emergency in three states. But recently terrorists mobilized especially in Yobe State, attacked churches, military offices, and police, and they also went to other parts of the country where most of our churches are. They attacked Christians from house to house and burned almost every church in the Gwoze and Gavva areas. Most of the EYN church is in these areas close to Cameroun. About 2,000 of our church members have fled to Cameroun as refugees.

“It makes us very worried that some government officials are part of this. The state government could have acted to provide security for the common citizen, especially when [the violence] becomes so intense. But it appears the government is not doing much about it.

“Since the government is not doing anything, people try to mobilize themselves to provide their own local security. Of course they are armless. [Terrorists] come with AK 47s and especially with machine guns. The people cannot face them, but what can they do? They can’t all run to Cameroun.
 
“We as a church are just praying, and praying. And sometimes we are very confused and depressed because there’s not much you can do. The church cannot mobilize and provide security. The resources aren’t there. And sometimes you can’t have a church service at all. Worship is out of the question in some places.”

How many EYN churches are affected?

“About 30 percent of the whole of EYN. Churches in Maiduguri for example, have a heavy military presence [for protection from terrorists]. The church pays for feeding the soldiers and pays their allowance. That’s how the churches can survive within this kind of situation and have their services on Sunday.”

We have seen news reports of local civilian forces for protection. How is that working?

“I went to Maiduguri, and I heard about the civilian Joint Task Force. I met some of them. They are very young people, some even five years old. With sticks and swords. They were checking every car that goes into Maiduguri. The idea was that some of those Joint Task Force were members of the terrorists before, so they know who the terrorists are. Whenever they find a terrorist, sometimes they beat them, sometimes they take them to security.

“It made me even more angry with our government. How can untrained civilians without arms become a security for the society? And after a few months the terrorists came and ambushed this civilian Joint Task Force and killed about 50 of them at once. So you see the danger.

“In the recent attack that happened, the armed men came from Cameroun, Niger, and Chad, and joined together with Nigerian terrorists to attack Maiduguri. The terrorists are not only Nigerians. They are from the neighboring countries. And of course from Mali. Most of them are trained in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. So it is a global problem.”

Where are they getting their guns and ammunition?

“That is another a big question because the arms are very sophisticated, even anti-aircraft guns. So how are they getting in? Some Nigerian politicians are part of the problem. They import guns for the terrorists and supply them. Recently there was one immigration control officer that was arrested, he was responsible for the terrorists in the Yobe area. If you can find an immigration officer who is part of the group, he is at the border controlling importation of weapons.

“Generally our problem is government politicians who are not interested in the life of the citizens. They are busy fighting one another, so they sponsor this kind of terrorist activities. They themselves do not understand it will get out of control and they will also be affected eventually.”

Is there a strong movement to have two separate states, northern Nigerian and southern Nigeria?

“Because of the tension that has been happening Nigerians have been calling for a national conference to discuss whether Nigeria should live together or separate. This is not going to be good for the country. If Nigeria splits, I think that’s the end of Nigerian society. Nigeria will get into a crisis that will affect the whole of Africa.

“The struggle of Nigeria is not against a foreign-dominated government like in South Sudan. It’s within, against each other. So if it splits, it will not split in two. You will have warlords in different sections of the country fighting one another. By the time the United Nations comes to pacify the situation, they will have killed themselves.”

Does the church have a role to play in the middle of all this?

“Before my recent trip to Indonesia, I thought the church could do nothing other than to develop itself. My thinking has been that we should forget that we have a government. Let us as the church do what we can do for our members within the capacity and the opportunity we have.

“So we are trying in EYN to develop our own schools, to develop our own health service, to promote our own agricultural activities. Even actually try to create a bank for ourselves.

“If the schools are getting bad, we can create a standard and our children will not lose their education. And then if we focus on agriculture, we can show our people how to develop whatever they can develop within their local community. And then with the health service, we may not need a government hospital. And the bank--most of our members send their money in a government bank which is mostly controlled by these politicians. So if we have our own bank, the church will save our own income within this bank so we can give it to our members to do their business, to improve themselves, and to empower themselves economically.

“But when I went to Indonesia, my mind began to change from a narrow focus to a wider focus for Nigeria.”

Say more about this conference in Indonesia.

“Myself and a pastor who is teaching about Islam at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria, a Muslim lady who is participating in an interfaith group with EYN, and the coordinator of the Peace Program of TEKAN [Christian council in northern Nigeria] went with the purpose of sharing our experience as Christians under Muslim persecution in Nigeria and also to hear from them as Christians in a Muslim predominant community.

“The first thing I discovered was that most of the interfaith and peace movement in Indonesia was supported and sponsored by Muslims. And most of the Muslims in Indonesia thought that a true Muslim would never force anyone to be converted to Islam. And that a true Muslim would never kill anybody. They also stress and emphasize diversity and pluralism as phenomena that must be recognized and respected.

“We visited Islamic schools, and in each of these they tried to organize a peaceful and interfaith dialogue with other communities. We went into the third biggest mosque in the world, built with contribution of Christians. And then there is a cathedral, also built with the contribution of Muslims. That gave me the impression that actually not all Muslims are fanatic mad people, the way we have them in Nigeria.”

There is hope that Muslims and Christians can live together in peace?

“Exactly. I am trying to talk about what Indonesia is doing, and trying it in Nigeria.

“For example, during elections we should only vote for people who are interested in peace and bringing the community together. And we should influence the media. We need to write, and speak ourselves, and talk to people, and give them an alternative view of what is happening.

“Even though the church is under persecution we can still focus on addressing some social problems regardless of tribe or religion, that can help the community. In the Christian hospital we visited in Indonesia, five percent of workers are Muslim. In Nigeria we can do something like that, recruit Muslims to work in some of our institutions. If we can get faithful, trained ones. But it will be an enormous challenge.

“That’s my new understanding: I think it’s possible that Christians and Muslims as a community can live together and address the common problems affecting all of us.”

What is one thing you want the church in the US to know about the church in Nigeria?

“That EYN is going through the most difficult time of its existence, and we don’t have a solution. For me, it almost made me resign from the work. People are being killed and I cannot do anything. I say, what is the point of my leadership? It is very difficult. Very, very difficult.

“Church members are taking refuge at Kulp Bible College. Sometimes providing food for them is difficult. EYN depends on offerings from members so when the members are terribly affected, the whole church is affected. Sources of income for the headquarters are gone. It is very painful to see members who have been sources of support to the church, and now they are homeless.

“I’m asking, what is the global church going to do about this global problem? The terrorists have a network. But does the church have a network to handle the problems of the world?

“I think we need to do something more than just a prayer. Of course, prayer is number one. But there’s something else needed to encourage one another. You cannot stop the situation completely but I think it’s important we come close to one another.

“I have received letters from the US, from church members. We compiled them and sent them to all the district church councils in the form of a big book so that the members can read it. The members feel that someone cares about them and someone is worried about their situation. You give them some comfort that they are not alone.”

In a follow up conversation, Dali shared at length and more personally about how the situation has affected him and his church. How can church leadership tell members not to try to defend their homes and families, he asked, expressing the struggle to face a virtually impossible situation and yet maintain a voice for peace.

He characterized the violent extremist Islamist movement as a demonic possession of the spirit of Islam. His greatest fear is that he and others in EYN may let the horrors of the situation push them into enmity, and that demon might possess them as well. There are times he has to stop listening to stories of suffering and death, to protect himself from being overtaken by hatred.

How can Brethren in the US help? No one from outside Nigeria can solve this problem for the Nigerians, Dali said, but US Brethren can help provide disaster relief for refugees and can visit and encourage the Nigerian Brethren with their presence. He requested the sending of volunteer medical personnel, doctors and midwives to work in the hospital EYN plans to develop.

He then asked something more difficult from the American church: in the midst of killing and death, he wants the Church of the Brethren to remind EYN of the need to focus on peace.

-- Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford is director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren.

Source: 11/11/2013 Newsline

Newsline: November 1, 2013

WCC NEWS

• On the way to Busan: The Brethren delegation share their hopes and dreams for the WCC Assembly
• First impressions: Words and images from the opening days of the WCC 10th Assembly

On the way to Busan: The Brethren delegation share their hopes and dreams for the WCC Assembly

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

The Brethren delegation to the WCC Assembly in Busan, South Korea, includes (from left) Nathan Hosler of the Office of Public Witness, elected delegate Michael Hostetter who pastors Salem Church of the Brethren in Southern Ohio District, Church of the Brethren general secretary Stanley J. Noffsinger, and Samuel Dali, president of Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria).

It is not unusual that this size of a delegation from the Church of the Brethren would be present at a World Council of Churches (WCC) Assembly, says general secretary Stan Noffsinger. What has changed is the number of delegates “and our involvement in the deliberations,” he adds.

The Church of the Brethren typically sends one delegate elected by the Standing Committee of Annual Conference to the assemblies of the WCC, which are held only every seven years. The Brethren delegation arrived today in Busan, a city on the south coast of the Republic of Korea, to prepare for the assembly that begins tomorrow, Oct. 30, through Nov. 8.

This year the elected delegate from the Church of the Brethren is Michael Hostetter, pastor of Salem Church of the Brethren in Southern Ohio District. An alternate delegate is named as well, and this year alternate R. Jan Thompson is attending the assembly as an observer. He is a retired denominational staff member who lives in Bridgewater, Va.

Representing Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigerian (EYN–the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) is president Samuel Dali, who will serve as the EYN delegate.

Both Noffsinger and Nathan Hosler, of the Office of Public Witness, have been selected by the WCC Central Committee to serve as special delegates. Hosler was selected as a young adult actively involved in advocacy work in Washington, D.C. Noffsinger was asked by Central Committee to serve as a leader of a Historic Peace Church.

“We just have not had that type of special recognition in many, many years,” Noffsinger emphasizes. It marks a new opportunity for the Brethren voice to be heard in ecumenical circles, he says, and for the denomination to learn from the worldwide Christian fellowship.

Today, over lunch, the Brethren delegation shared some of their hopes and dreams for the assembly:

Stan Noffsinger: “This is really a remarkable experience, where the work of the Decade to Overcome Violence, and the statement Ecumenical Call to a Just Peace, have been accepted as a guiding ethos for the WCC. The ethos of the ecumenical call is going to be woven throughout the fiber of this event. We’ll see how it takes. There is a sense among church leaders that this is a unique time where there is virtually a unanimous voice that there must be a different way of approaching violence and conflict in the world. The stance of the Historic Peace Churches has really risen to the top, nonviolence, nonparticipation in war, reconciliation, restorative justice. We’re going to try to live into that as an assembly this week. My hope is we really see the manifestation of the Ecumenical Call to Just Peace.

“There are other issues as well, one is the issue of statelessness.... There will be conversation about the internal civil unrest in the Middle East in places like Syria.... The third one is the noticeable shift in the center of the global church--where it has been historically a northern hemisphere, Euro-centric institution and Orthodox, we’re seeing the increase of the church in the southern hemisphere and that center is moving.... There is a paper on the church facing into the experience of people living with disabilities. And there is a major paper coming from the Korean context for a nuclear-free world, that I think will be fairly significant. They’re not just talking about nuclear weapons, they’re talking about nuclear power plants, the use of nuclear energy, period.”

Nate Hosler: “It will be interesting to be on the Public Issues Committee, to see what that process looks like and to get in on those discussions. It’s also exciting to see what relationships come out of that, to continue working with some of the people I know at the WCC already, but much more broadly. I guess on the practical end it will be a good opportunity to get to know people and to find ways to work together globally as a church. The workshop I’ve organized and that Stan will be part of, will be the US churches’ response to just peace. The second portion of the workshop will be discussion about how that relates to the global church. How do other churches feel about any number of things, kind of seeking their wisdom and guidance. It will be an intentional process of learning. And it will give a lot more weight in working forward, to have a strong response from the global church.”

R. Jan Thompson: “My hope for this is to better understand the ecumenical partnership around the world. It’s my understanding that the Church of the Brethren has been instrumental since 1948 when the first assembly met in Amsterdam. Some of the Brethren in attendance began to talk in terms of peace church and the whole concept of peace, particularly following so close to World War II. And now we’re coming to a point where the WCC has a paper called the Ecumenical Call to Just Peace. I’m excited and I want to hear the discussion on that. I’m also hopeful that I’ll be able to go with the Peace Train to Seoul to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to pray for peace. I think that will make a witness to both South Korea and North Korea that there are persons around the world who are praying for a peaceful solution.”

Mike Hostetter: “Two things that I’ve been thinking about recently. One is having been to Indonesia for the Global Christian Forum, I’m really eager to compare and contrast these two experiences. That was a much smaller group than this will be. It was not at all centered on doing business, it was more centered on building relationships. And over 50 percent of the participants were evangelicals and Pentecostals from around the world, which also gives a different flavor but a very interesting one.

“The second thing, since I have a background in world religions, is inter-religious dialogue and conversation. Even to talk about inter-religious conversation, I’m not sure what it sounds like to other people in other places. I know what it sounds like in the United States, I know what it sounds like to me, but that is really a very open question. I want to listen and see what the challenges are. Because I do believe that for Church of the Brethren leaders in the United States, some broader understanding of other religious traditions should be required of everyone who is a pastor. Chances are they’re going to run into that and it would be useful for them to be able to help their congregations in that regard.”

Samuel Dali: “The Standing Committee of the church [Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria], when they heard about the WCC Assembly decided that I must come here because the church wants to be part of what is happening in the world.

“And I have my two personal interests also. The first one is about the peace issue. I am interested to hear what the global church is planning to do about peace, especially in the context of the global problem that is terrorism. But I don’t know how the church as Christ’s global body is actually trying to face this problem in terms of peace. What has been happening is at the local level, the denominational level, but I am interested in seeing what is the world church saying.

“And then when I heard about the Historic Peace Church meeting [which is happening as part of the assembly] I was also interested. Maybe this is an opportunity for the Historic Peace Churches to unite most strongly in order to face some of the problems that are happening in the world, and to propose a more peaceful way through so that we can work together instead of working country by country or local church by local church. I’m eager to learn more about peace, so I can add to what I have learned, and propose some way forward for my church.”

Find a photo album and more about the assembly including links to WCC publicity and live webcasts that start Oct. 30, at www.brethren.org/news/2013/wcc-assembly.

Source: 11/1/2013 Newsline

First impressions: Words and images from the opening days of the WCC 10th Assembly

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

At the WCC 10th Assembly, general secretary Stan Noffsinger (left) greets Armenian Orthodox archbishop Vicken Aykazian

The assembly in Busan, South Korea, from Oct. 30-Nov. 8 is the 10th for the World Council of Churches (WCC). Held only every 7 or 8 years, each WCC assembly represents the largest and diverse gathering of Christian denominations from around the world. The Church of the Brethren is a founding member and has had a significant presence at each assembly since the first in 1948. Then the world's Christians met in the aftermath of World War II to renew their commitments to each other as the body of Christ, despite political and national divides. Peace is on the agenda again now, which makes the 2013 gathering of particular interest to Brethren as both a Historic Peace Church and as a living peace church.

Here are sound bites from the assembly’s opening days:

“We pray for this assembly and for ourselves that in the coming weeks we may hear your word, and respond in faith; we may hear your voice, and be renewed; we may hear you calling us, and follow where you lead; we may hear the cries of your people, and respond in humble service. We have resigned ourselves too long to the division of the churches and the divisions within the human family. Let us pray that we may not passively sit and wait, as if visible unity would be bestowed on us from outside. Inspire us to become friends who trust each other, so that in unity we may grow and mature.”
-- A prayer from the opening worship service.

“The great problems of the world today are above all problems of human distance from God; often a wilful distance--a prideful resistance to the very idea of a loving and righteous Supreme Being. That resistance, that distance from God, is nothing less than a license to ignore the rights of one’s fellow man, and to consider any means of reaching a goal as intolerable. Christianity teaches us another way--leads us along a different road: the road to Emmaus. That miracle reminds us that even in our moments of apparent defeat, Christ is with us.”
-- His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, preaching on Luke 24:25-26.

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

BEXCO, a large convention center in the city of Busan, Republic of South Korea, is the venue for the WCC's 10th Assembly

“We are living in the midst of a world that is without hope for the future. The crisis which we are facing [military, economic, and cultural conflicts...wsidespread poverty...oppression] cannot be resolved through human efforts. We are not able to offer any paths that can lead us out of this crisis. The theme for the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches is, I believe, a response to the needs of our world today: ‘God of life, lead us to justice and peace.’ God can and will provide. The crisis we face today is because we have forgotten that we live and have our being in God.”
-- Rev. Dr. KIM Sam Whan, chairperson of the Korean Host Committee.

“I would like to extend my warm welcome to the distinguished leaders who traveled all the way here to participate and I would also like to give them credit for their commitment.”
-- Korean Prime Minister Jung Hong-won, giving greetings to the assembly. His brief visit opened the assembly’s plenary session on the second day of the gathering.

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

The worship hall at the WCC Assembly. The congregation numbers some 5,000 people.

“We must respect our environment...because our life is in it.”
-- A participant from Fiji, one of more than 100 young adult volunteers or “stewards” who are helping make the assembly happen. He was one of the young adults invited to address the opening plenary session.

“There is no comfortable way of sitting on the cross. We cannot stand by as idle spectators. The truth is that we are on a journey to justice and peace.”
-- An Orthodox leader bringing ecumenical greetings to the opening plenary.
      
“We don’t feel that concrete actions have been taken to preserve our status and our presence.”
-- A Syrian Orthodox leader voicing a concern in the opening business session about the erosion of the Christian community in the Middle East, a concern that has been repeated several times in different venues at the assembly. He reported that the percentage of Christians is now down to 2 percent in some Middle Eastern nations. Another Orthodox speaker later in the assembly noted that “every five minutes a Christian dies for his faith.... Our brothers and sisters are being killed, driven from their homes, and persecuted.”

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

A gathering of peace church participants includes German Mennonite Fernando Enns (right), shown here exchanging greetings with a Quaker delegate from Japan.

“I’m happy to be very free!”
-- German Mennonite delegate Fernando Enns at the microphone during the opening business session, questioning the WCC’s categorization of the peace churches--Brethren, Quaker, and Mennonite--as “free church.”

“Japan has suffered a great tragedy.”
-- A delegate from Japan speaking from the business floor to ask that the issue of nuclear energy be put on the agenda. His was voicing a concern about the safety of nuclear energy that is shared by many Koreans and others following the failure of safety measures at the Fukushima plant damaged by an earthquake and tsunami.

“Maybe in seven years the window will have closed to work on this problem.”
-- A delegate from Denmark at the microphone to share a sense of urgency about climate change, and noting that if it is not addressed at this meeting it will be another seven years until the next WCC assembly.

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

A Korean choir sings for the opening worship service of the WCC Assembly

“The Bible summons us to be peacemakers among peoples and nations and never to withdraw from this task.”
-- Archbishop Vicken Aykazian of the Armenian Orthodox Church, in his remarks to the theme plenary, which he served as moderator

“By the end of 2015 we will be able to say to the world that the world is free of babies born with HIV.”
-- Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, and under secretary-general of the United Nations, in his reflection on the assembly theme.

“One of the biggest challenges in this period was to find a solution to the growing deficit in the Pension Fund of the WCC.”
-- The Central Committee moderator Walter Altmann, in his report to the business session of the assembly. Serving since the previous assembly, he reviewed the seven years and highlighted several financial challenges among other types of challenges that have faced the council, sparked by the international financial crisis among other factors including a decline in membership fees received. The transition to a private pension plan, and a project that aims to develop real estate available at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva, Switzerland, where the WCC is headquartered, offers the belief that a solution to th e problem can be reached, he told the delegates.

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

Dancers weave the image of three crosses into a narrative of the history of Korea, given in motion and music for the opening plenary of the assembly of the WCC

“Any theologies disconnected from victims and supportive of war in a violent world...are a repudiation of the mind of Jesus.”
-- Bishop Duleep Kamil de Chikera, an Asian theologian who served as Anglican Bishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 2001-2010, in a theological reflection on the theme of the assembly.

“I am enjoying a sense of wonder at my small, my tiny place in God’s great church.”
-- The Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the worldwide Anglican church, bringing greetings to the assembly. He added, toward the conclusion of his remarks, “We need a fresh confidence in the Good News as the best way for all the people on the planet.”

“The 21st century is widely considered to be the Asian century.”
 -- The general secretary of the Christian Council of Asia remarking on the location chosen for the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, in a plenary session focused on Asian churches and their concerns.

“Eight hundred billion dollars a year for weapons of mass destruction.”
-- A note about the imbalance of spending by the United States, in a theological reflection given by Connie Semy Mella. She is an ordained elder from the Philippines Central Conference of the United Methodist Church, and also noted that when thousands of children die every day from starvation worldwide, Americans spend millions on things like ice cream and dog food.

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

In the WCC's consensus model, an orange card signifies agreement while a blue card shows a delegate's disagreement. Shown here, the moderator uses a call for a show of cards to gain a sense of how the delegate body is feeling.

“This [human sexuality] is a tremendously important issue that we cannot afford to ignore.... There are deep disagreements both within the church and within the ecumenical movement on this issue.... We must be open to the spirit of dialogue.”
-- One of the comments at the microphones after the floor was opened for responses to controversial comments on sexuality from one speaker. The moderator agreed to give time at the microphones after a point of order was raised. The comments on sexuality were given during a time that was intended to be devoted to reflections on Christian unity. Several people came to the microphones to speak, while others raised orange cards to signal agreement or blue to signal disagreement using the WCC’s consensus model to express their feelings. Bursts of applause also occurred, despite the moderator’s plea for no applause.

“Where there is no freedom, where there is fear, there is no worship.”
-- A Reformed delegate from Nigeria, responding to a draft statement on “Politicization of Religion and Rights of Religious Minorities,” out of the experience of Nigerian Christians who are suffering from their nation’s crisis of terrorist violence. Several other statements are being prepared for the assembly’s consideration including one on Christian unity, “Human Rights of Stateless People,” “Peace and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula,” “The Way of Just Peace,” “Christian Presence and Witness in the Middle East,” as well as statements on a critical situation in South Sudan and nuclear energy and maritime militarization in Asia and the Pacific. A resolution asking the US to dialogue with Cuba and three “minutes” on the Democratic Republic of Congo, the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and the rights of indigenous people are also in the works. A request for a new paper on climate change is under discussion.

Source: 11/1/2013 Newsline

Newsline: October 25, 2013

NEWS

• Mission and Ministry Board adopts 2014 budget, revision of Ministerial Leadership Polity, recommendation on equitable representation.
• Getting the best value for your Medicare Part D dollars.
• Webinar on short-term mission trips takes place Nov. 5.
• Booz, Cassell, and Hosler named as consultants for the next year.

PREVIEW OF THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES 10th ASSEMBLY

• WCC general secretary speaks about hopes for the council’s 10th assembly.
• Divided Korean peninsula is steeped in decades of pain and sadness.
• Christian activists pray and fast to protest nuclear dangers in Busan and beyond.
• Peace Train takes a journey towards reunification of the Koreas.
• ‘Thursdays in Black’ shows zero tolerance for violence against women.
• The WCC Assembly by the numbers.

BRETHREN BITS

• Brethren bits: Remembering Ruth Baugher, Clergy Women’s Retreat, Shane Claiborne at Bridgewater, Herb Smith study trip to China, district workshops and conferences, more.

Mission and Ministry Board adopts 2014 budget, revision of Ministerial Leadership Polity, recommendation on equitable representation.

A budget for denominational ministries in 2014 and responses to items of business sent back by Annual Conference--the Ministerial Leadership document and a query on equitable representation--were high on the agenda of the Mission and Ministry Board at its fall meeting Oct. 18-21. The meeting was chaired by Becky Ball Miller. (Find a photo album from the Mission and Ministry Board’s fall meeting at www.brethren.org/album.)

Also on the agenda were a review of the organization’s strategic plan, changes to financial policies, capital proposals, discussion of the future of the Brethren Service Center, a celebration of the Gather ’Round curriculum, discussion of expanding the Annual Conference delegate travel stipend, resolution of issues related to terms of board members, and reports--among others a report from National Older Adult Conference and plans for the 2014 National Youth Conference.

A class from Bethany Theological Seminary attended and led the Sunday morning worship service. At the close of the meeting, an afternoon workshop sponsored by Congregational Life Ministries was led by David Fitch, B.R. Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary in Chicago.

Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

“By and large there’s hope on every one of these doors for us to be ‘strangers no more.’” -- Janet Elsea, a Mission and Ministry Board member, commenting on how intercultural ministry is increasingly part of various ministries of the denomination. Her comment came during an exercise to assess the Strategic Plan and its six goal areas--Brethren voice, vitality, service, mission, planting, and sustainability. Each goal was represented by a door, and participants wrote sticky notes to place on the doors showing how the goals are being carried out in the church.

The Mission and Ministry Board adopted a revision to the Ministerial Leadership Polity document, after the 2013 Annual Conference returned it with instruction for certain changes. Once adopted the document will represent a major revision to Church of the Brethren polity for ministers. It was presented to the Conference in early July.

The new revision was presented to the board by Mary Jo Flory-Steury, associate general secretary and executive of the Ministry Office. The revision was prepared by the Ministry Advisory Council after conversations with key groups in the denomination including representatives of the plural non-salaried ministry (free ministry) and the Intercultural Advisory Committee. In all, the Ministry Advisory Council has been working on the revision of the document for about seven years.

Numerous revisions respond to Annual Conference concerns in several areas: integration of plural non-salaried ministry (free ministry) into the document, guidelines for the make-up of “calling cohorts” for ministry candidates, a process for commissioned ministers to be ordained and a process for change of call for commissioned ministers, and intentional conversation with ethnic congregations about how the document will affect ministers in their contexts.

The board received the report of the revisions with appreciation, focusing particularly on the guidelines for makeup of calling cohorts. The board made one significant change, to state that calling cohorts “will include” an ordained mentor appointed by the District Ministry Commission. With that change the document received approval from the board, and will be brought back to the 2014 Annual Conference.

Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

“We live so intimately with our culture that we grow comfortable, not recognizing the consequences.... Baptism is a radical act of civil disobedience. It marks the clear shift of allegiance from a nation state to our God.” -- General secretary Stan Noffsinger in his closing remarks to the Mission and Ministry Board.

The board approved a total budget of $8,033,860 income, $8,037,110 expense, for all Church of the Brethren ministries in 2014. Those figures include a Core Ministries balanced budget of $4,915,000 for next year, as well as separate budgets for the “self funding” units of Brethren Disaster Ministries, Brethren Press, Conference Office, Global Food Crisis, Material Resources, and Messenger.

The 2014 budget reflects one-time use of funds from the Gahagan Trust for youth and children’s ministries to support the planning for National Youth Conference and curriculum development by Brethren Press, among other youth and children’s ministries. The budget includes a cost of living increase for employee salaries of 2 percent, and continuing employer contributions to employees’ Health Savings Accounts.

Changes to financial policies

The board approved a new Gift Acceptance Policy to help staff evaluate proposed gifts to the church’s ministries, and to set up a committee that reviews proposals for large gifts.

The board also followed up on previous board critique of the practice of charging interest on interfund borrowing within departments of the denomination, and acted to end the practice and delete the section on interfund borrowing from the financial policies.

Capital proposals

Two capital proposals were approved by the board. A proposal for use of up to $125,000 was approved for renovation to the General Offices in Elgin, Ill., to create a handicapped accessible entrance to the building and to renovate two bathrooms to make them handicapped accessible. Funds for the project were raised in a campaign that was carried out some years ago.

A capital proposal for a new database including software, technical support, and design consultation, was approved to the amount of up to $329,000. A “phase two” of the project may require a small amount of additional funding in future years. The money for the project will come from funds set aside in the Building and Equipment Fund for the General Offices.

Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

“What will the neighborhood look like if all the violence and the crime we read about ceases to exist? ...That’s what it means when Jesus moves into the neighborhood, lives are transformed.” -- Samuel Sarpiya, Rockford, Ill., pastor who attended the Mission and Ministry Board meeting with a class of Bethany Seminary students. He was one of two students who gave homilies for Sunday morning worship, along with Tara Shepherd. The seminarians planned and led worship centered on the meeting theme “Jesus Moved into the Neighborhood” (John 1:14, The Message).

After lengthy discussion, and review of suggestions and responses from the table talk at Annual Cnference 2013, the board decided to recommend to the 2014 Annual Conference that no change be made in the process for selecting members of the Mission and Ministry Board.

Several board members and staff expressed trust that the current system works effectively to ensure equitable representation from the various areas of the denomination.

The query that originated in Southern Pennsylvania District was directed to the Mission and Ministry Board by Annual Conference in 2012. However the board’s proposed amendments to the bylaws to respond to the concerns of the query did not receive enough votes from the 2013 Conference, so the business was returned to the board for further work.

Board member terms

The board acted on a by law change that clarified the intention to fill the unexpired term of a board member named chair elect, which requires a separate term of service.

The moving of a board member into the chair elect position has in recent years caused a complex and unequal staggering of terms on the board. The board approved a leadership team proposal that will bring about consistent number of new members on the board each year.

Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

“When we come together as the body of Christ our hearts begin to beat as one.... So it is that in these gatherings the space becomes holy ground.” -- Board member Trent Smith, preaching for the closing service of the Mission and Ministry Board’s fall 2013 meeting.

The fall meeting included a discussion of the Brethren Service Center, located in New Windsor, Md. The conversation followed up on a decision made by the Mission and Ministry Board at the summer meeting on June 29, authorizing staff to pursue all options for the property, up to and including receiving letters of intent.

In June the board received a brief update on the situation of the Brethren Service Center following the closing of the New Windsor Conference Center, and heard that staff have been working hard to seek options for the use of two of the main buildings on the campus that are not being fully utilized, including meeting with county officials and real estate consultants.

At this meeting, general secretary Stan Noffsinger gave more background information and reviewed the studies of the denominational properties that began in 2005 and included an intensive study of the Brethren Service Center by the board-appointed Stewardship of Property Committee, which was followed by another committee that looked at ministry options for the property in New Windsor. After the economic downturn that started in 2008 adversely affected the New Windsor Conference Center, the board subsequently decided to close the conference center. Since then staff have continued the search for options for use of the property while monitoring the costs of having some large buildings mostly vacant, and having conversation with other agencies that use center facilities.

“There has been exhaustive work by your staff and people who love the center to find ways to utilize the center,” Noffsinger told the board. He asked the board’s help to discern “how to approach the heart side of this conversation with the church,” noting that the property is not on the market but staff need to be prepared “if and when a bona fide offer comes.” He emphasized that if concerned church members came up with a solution it would be considered, although he warned that upgrade and renovation costs might come to around $10 million.

Several rounds of small group “table talk” followed. Board members, staff, and guests including the class of Bethany Seminary students who were at the meeting, responded to questions including “Identify what has been the essence of the legacy of the Brethren Service Center?” and “Who do we need to engage in similar conversations to identify the holy memories to carry forward?”

The staff hope for a time for similar small group conversations during “table talk” time at the 2014 Annual Conference, Noffsinger said. In the next few months, the Inter Agency Forum and the Council of District Executives’ annual retreat are also possible venues for conversation about the Brethren Service Center.

Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

“To give up on publishing our own material for our church members is to give up on the Church of the Brethren.” -- Brethren Press publisher Wendy McFadden, reviewing the history of the Gather ’Round Sunday school curriculum, which is in its concluding eighth year of publication and was celebrated at the Mission and Ministry Board’s fall meeting. She is at the podium with Gather 'Round project director and senior editor Anna Speicher. Shine, the follow up curriculum to Gather ’Round, will be available beginning next fall. Find out more at www.shinecurriculum.org .

A review of the organization’s Strategic Plan and the six goal areas for the work of the board and staff was led by the executive staff. Stories were told about successes in each area, and continuing work. Then the group was led in an exercise to affirm what people were seeing happening in each area of emphasis.

In a celebration of the Gather ’Round curriculum jointly produced by Brethren Press and MennoMedia, the board saw a presentation highlighting the accumulation of Christian education resources produced by the curriculum staff over the eight years of Gather ’Round. The board expressed appreciation for the work of project director and senior editor Anna Speicher, managing editor Cyndi Fecher, and editorial assistant Roseanne Segovia, who are completing the work and concluding their employment this year.

The board’s Audit and Investment Committee report included the information that the investments managed for the denomination by the Brethren Foundation have increased in value by more than $1.5 million since the end of 2012. The value of the investments now totals more than $26 million.

The Executive Committee of the board approved a proposal for a grant of $47,500 from the David J. And Mary Elizabeth Wieand Trust to fund a new web platform for the sharing of worship resources.

Board member Jonathan Prater was named to the Board Development Committee.

Find a photo album from the Mission and Ministry Board’s fall meeting at www.brethren.org/album.

Source: 10/25/2013 Newsline

Getting the best value for your Medicare Part D dollars.

By Kim Ebersole, director of Older Adult Ministry

Did you know that you might be paying more for your medications than you need to if you have Medicare Part D coverage for your prescription drugs? The Medicare website offers tools to help you choose the best plan for your medication needs during open enrollment, now through Dec. 7. By entering your medications, you can see the annual cost for all the plans in your area. You may be surprised by what you find.

There are more things to consider when choosing a Part D plan than just the monthly premium. The price you will pay for your medications can vary significantly from plan to plan, so you need to consider the total cost--premiums plus the price of prescriptions--when making your decision. It is especially important to make sure all your medications are on the formulary (list of drugs covered) for the plan you choose. If they are not, you may pay full price for those drugs, which can make your cost go up significantly.

A test comparison between Part D plans for three medications that treat health conditions older adults often experience--high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and acid reflux--found the annual cost for those medications and the plan premiums ranged from $443 to $1,905 at a retail pharmacy, and from $151 to $2,066 for mail order. That is a significant price difference for the same three medications. It pays to do some checking before signing up to ensure you are getting the best value for your money.

Whether you are signing up for Part D coverage for the first time or deciding whether to stay with your current plan or switch to another during the open enrollment period, the Medicare website makes it easy to check to see what your total annual costs through Part D insurers will be based on your current medications. Not computer savvy? Call Medicare at 800-633-MEDICARE (800-633-4227) for assistance and to sign up.

• Go to www.medicare.gov and click on “Find health and drug plans.”

• Enter your ZIP code and click on “Find plans.”

• Answer the questions about your current Medicare coverage and click on “Continue to plan results.”

• Follow the directions to enter your drugs. When you have entered all of them, click on “My drug list is complete.”

• Select your pharmacies and click “Continue to plan results.”

• Select “Prescription drug plans (with Original Medicare)” and click on “Continue to plan results.”

• Check to make sure you are viewing 2014 plan data. Scroll down to see Prescription Drug Plans. Click on “View 50” to see more plans on your screen.

• Choose “Lowest estimated annual retail drug cost” to sort results, then click “Sort” button.

• Scroll down the list. The annual prices of both retail pharmacy and mail order are in the left-hand column.

• You can click on individual plans to see more information about coverage and costs with that plan. You also can select up to three plans at a time to compare pricing by checking the box next to the plans and clicking on “Compare plans.”

• If you decide to remain with your current 2013 plan for 2014, you do not need to do anything. If you wish to switch plans during the open enrollment period (Oct. 15-Dec. 7), you can enroll online by selecting the plan and clicking on “Enroll” or you can enroll by phone with the number provided by the plan.

• The tools can also be used when you sign up for Part D for the first time.

It pays to make sure you are spending your healthcare dollars wisely. Choosing the plan that covers your medication needs at a lower annual expense will help you be a good steward of your resources.

--Kim Ebersole is director of Older Adult Ministry for the Church of the Brethren.

Source: 10/25/2013 Newsline

Webinar on short-term mission trips takes place Nov. 5.

A webinar on short-term mission trips will help address the question, what are the advantages and struggles? The online event on  Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. central time (8 p.m. eastern) will be led by Emily Tyler, the Church of the Brethren’s coordinator of Workcamps and Volunteer Recruitment, and is one of a series of webinars focused on youth ministry

Additionally, participants will talk through what to expect of youth, and what might be expected of adult advisors of youth, when participating in such trips.

A .1 continuing education credit is available for ministers who participate in the real-time event. Credit cannot be obtained for watching the recording after the webinar takes place. To request credit contact Rebekah Houff at houffre@bethanyseminary.edu prior to the webinar.

To join the webinar on Nov. 5, dial 877-204-3718 (toll free) and enter access code 8946766. After joining the audio portion, join the video portion by logging in to https://cc.callinfo.com/r/1acshb9zwae8s&eom.

A third webinar in this series focused on youth ministry is planned for Jan. 21, 2014, when Rebekah Houff will lead a discussion on call and gifts discernment. For more information contact Youth and Young Adult Ministry director Becky Ullom Naugle at 847-429-4385.

In related news, Congregational Life Ministries has rescheduled the webinar "Pioneers--Embracing the Unknown," which was to take place Oct. 24. The webinar led by Juliet Kilpin is rescheduled for Thursday, Nov. 7, at 2:30 p.m. (eastern time). Registration for the free webinar remains open at www.brethren.org/webcasts.

Source: 10/25/2013 Newsline

Booz, Cassell, and Hosler named as consultants for the next year.

Three people have been named as consultants for various ministry areas of the Church of the Brethren, in an announcement from the human resources department. Donald R. Booz will serve as a consultant to the Office of Ministry; Dana Cassell will continue as contract staff for Ministry Formation; and Jennifer Hosler has been contracted to work on a writing project for Congregational Life Ministries.

Booz, who is retiring as district executive minister of Pacific Southwest District, will begin Jan. 1 as a consultant to the Office of Ministry for district ministry support for the year 2014. He will conduct a review, evaluation, and update for the Readiness for Ministry Program. The review will be conducted in partnership with the Council of District Executives through its Ministry Issues Committee, Bethany Theological Seminary, and the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership. He also will assist with orientation and coaching of new district executive staff, and assist with revising and finalizing credentialing interview guides.

Cassell, who is minister of Youth Formation at Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren, continues her work as contract staff for Ministry Formation through 2014. On behalf of the Office of Ministry, her work includes coordination of the 2014 Clergy Women’s Retreat and a newly formed Minister’s Manual development task team, interpretation and resource development for the Ministerial Leadership Polity paper, coordination planning for Ministry Summer Service, and resource development for sustaining ministerial leadership.

Hosler is one of the ministers and an outreach coordinator at Washington (D.C.) City Church of the Brethren. She has been contracted to work on a Stories from the Cities project of Congregational Life Ministries, beginning this month through Jan. 2015. The goal of the project is to help urban congregations share their unique stories with the denomination, in order to increase awareness of Church of the Brethren urban churches, foster increased interest in urban ministries, and help others learn from the unique contexts that city churches face. She has a background in community research and biblical and theological studies, and previously was a peace and reconciliation worker with Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) working through Global Mission and Service.

Source: 10/25/2013 Newsline

WCC general secretary speaks about hopes for the council’s 10th assembly.

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

World Council of Churches general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit

By the WCC news service

The 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) begins at the end of October and promises to be one of the most diverse gathering of Christians in the world. The assembly will be an opportunity for renewing the worldwide ecumenical movement--infusing it with honesty, humility, and hope, according to the WCC general secretary.

As to why this is the case, Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary and a Lutheran pastor from the Church of Norway, says it is “through humility, honesty, and hope that we can live together as humanity and a church in a world, where justice and peace are fundamental initiatives and not merely words.”

The theme of the WCC assembly is a prayer: “God of Life, Lead Us to Justice and Peace.” The assembly will take place from Oct. 30 to Nov. 8 in Busan, Republic of Korea (South Korea). It will bring around 3,000 participants from Asia, Pacific, Africa, Europe, Middle East, North America, and Latin America, including a large number of young people and several thousand Korean Christians.

In the assembly, Tveit finds the foundation of his hopes in the legacy of the WCC, which began in 1948 and has continued during the past 65 years. The member churches, Tveit says, will be harvesting fruits of the work of the WCC since the last WCC assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2006, while setting directions for a new ecumenical vision for the future. There are 345 member churches in the WCC and all but a few will be represented at the assembly.

Tveit expects the WCC assembly to be an opportunity of learning. “Churches will engage in open and accountable conversations,” he said, about issues important to the church today such as mission and evangelism, faith and order, justice, peace, and unity. This dialogue is significant for the WCC assembly as “justice and peace imply effectively addressing core values of the kingdom of God, the will of God, the creator,” he says.

The proposal made by the outgoing WCC Central Committee that the assembly initiates a pilgrimage of justice and peace can unite Christians in a unique way, according to Tveit. This aspect, he says, also is echoed in the call from Pope Francis in which he has proclaimed that the church is here to serve, for justice and peace.

“This call makes us look beyond our boundaries and limitations journeying towards being a church together. The assembly will bring a realization of what we have received. But, we are not finished with our tasks and we have to continue our work and prayers for Christian unity.”

The WCC assembly will feature varied spiritual expressions from churches around the world. The participants will share these reflections of Christian unity through worship, Bible study, and prayer.

Having the assembly in South Korea is significant, Tveit says. “The assembly will be a place for the global fellowship of the churches to express solidarity with the Korean churches, which have suffered separations and had been calling for the reunification of the divided Korean peninsula,” he said.

Simultaneously, Asia being one of the areas of rising economies in the world, Tveit sees a great potential for the assembly to provide a critical and hopeful voice in the reality of globalization and a development paradigm that needs to change to be just and sustainable. “The WCC assembly for the churches is a place to strengthen a deeper understanding of the Asian contexts through sharing, caring, and dialogue,” he said.

“Praying that this is an assembly where we all meet the God of life, we also look forward to move forward together in a pilgrimage for justice and peace,” he concluded.

The first WCC Assembly took place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1948. Since then assemblies have been in held in Evanston, in the United States, in 1954; New Delhi, India, in 1961; Uppsala, Sweden, in 1968; Nairobi, Kenya, in 1975; Vancouver, Canada, in 1983; Canberra, Australia, in 1991; Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1998; and Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2006.

Find out more at the website of the WCC 10th Assembly: http://wcc2013.info/en.

Source: 10/25/2013 Newsline

Divided Korean peninsula is steeped in decades of pain and sadness.

By the communications staff of the World Council of Churches
 
The distance between the North Korean and South Korean sides of the demarcation line (DMZ) near Panmunjom can be measured in a few meters.

Yet for Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, this short distance fails to mask a deeper and wider divide steeped in decades of pain and sadness experienced by the Korean people.

While visiting the North Korean side of the DMZ recently, Tveit said, "The pain of separation felt by Koreans on both sides of the border is hard to ignore and escape. They are a divided people, divided families, longing for peace and justice and to be reunited."

"Our objectives (in the WCC) are to work toward this peace and reunification," Tveit said following a visit to the North during which he met with newly appointed church leaders of the Korean Christian Federation (KFC) and leaders of the North Korean government.

Tveit was accompanied on the five-day trip, Sept. 21-25, by Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima, from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and Mathews George Chunakara, director of the WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs.

The group visited the KCF’s Theological Seminary and construction site of the Chigol Church, a church in North Korea’s capital city, Pyongyang. They participated in the Sunday worship service at the Bongsang Church in Pyongyang, and a house church meeting.

The visit came one month before the WCC holds its 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea (South Korea), from Oct. 30-Nov. 8.

During meetings with the KCF chairman, Kang Myung Chul, and Ri Jong Ro, the KCF’s vice chairman and director of International Relations, discussions included the potential of holding talks in Geneva early in 2014 between church leaders from North and South Korea.

The idea of the Geneva talks was well received during an hour-long meeting in Pyongyang with Kim Yong-nam, president, Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea.

Tveit reiterated to Kim Yong-nam the WCC’s commitment to work for a peaceful reunification of divided Korea, saying the upcoming WCC assembly will be “an opportunity to pray and encourage the attention of the international community, to work for renewed support and understanding of the WCC role for creating dialogue for reunification in the Korean peninsula.”

This is not the first time the WCC has convened talks between church leaders of North and South Korea. The WCC has been engaged in facilitating talks between churches in North and South Korea since its Tozanso process was initiated in 1984. But with new leadership in the KCF and the North Korean government, and a new president in South Korea, there is hope the churches in North and South Korea, as well as others within the WCC membership, will have a more pronounced impact on moving reunification forward.

The issue of the divided Korea and reunification will be on the agenda at the WCC Assembly with plans for a statement on peace and reunification of the Korean peninsula to be adopted by the assembly.

Source: 10/25/2013 Newsline

Christian activists pray and fast to protest nuclear dangers in Busan and beyond.

By the WCC news service

In preparation for the World Council of Churches (WCC) 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea (South Korea), pastors and peace activists are holding a 40-day “fasting prayer” in front of the Busan City Hall. They are protesting the dangers of nuclear radiation and asking to shut down South Korea’s oldest and incident-prone Kori Nuclear Power Plant, some 20 kilometres from the venue of the WCC Assembly.

The 35-year-old Kori Nuclear Power Plant has broken down 120 times. There are 3.4 million people living within 30 kilometres of the Kori Power Plant. Local residents fear a meltdown, mindful of the disasters at Fukushima in Japan and Chernobyl in Ukraine.

South Korea has the highest geographic density of nuclear power plants in the world. Korean Christians participating in the fasting prayer want to remind the world’s Christians that the WCC Assembly is taking place in the most dangerous part of the world in terms of threats from nuclear power plants and from the nuclear stand-off involving four countries with nuclear weapons--United Sates, Russia, China, and North Korea.

The protesters are asking the WCC Assembly to tackle the issue of nuclear weapons and power generation as central to the proposed “ecumenical pilgrimage of justice and peace.”

One of the Busan prayers repents for having “stopped our ears to the dangers of nuclear power generation despite the warning from Fukushima.” Another asks that all Christians “abandon the great catastrophe of nuclear weapons and power plants” and “walk together toward the path of peace” instead.

The 40 day fasting prayer began on Sept. 30 and will end on Nov. 8, the last day of the WCC Assembly.

Busan lies just across a strait from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Massive quantities of radioactive water are still seeping into the ocean from the stricken Fukushima plant each day.

Prayers of the Korean ministers and peace activists:

We repent that our lives that have caused catastrophic problems for the ecology and have threatened the survival of all humankind by indiscreet use of nuclear energy;

We repent that we have turned blind eyes and stopped our ears to the dangers of nuclear power generation despite the warning from Fukushima;

We pray that we can turn from the road to nuclear power generation which can be disastrous to ecology and humanity;

We pray that a world of peace is realized and the dignity of life is protected as we convert nuclear energy into renewable natural energy;

We pray that the world's Christians may abandon the great catastrophe of nuclear weapons and power plants and instead walk together toward the path of peace for all.

Source: 10/25/2013 Newsline

Peace Train takes a journey towards reunification of the Koreas.

By the WCC news service

A Peace Train recently started its journey from Berlin, Germany, through Russia and China, to northeast Asia and the World Council of Churches (WCC) 10th assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea (South Korea).

The train, which aims to raise awareness about the 60-year division of the Korean Peninsula, will travel through Moscow, Irkutsk, Beijing, Pyongyang and Seoul, and will finally arrive in Busan around the beginning of the assembly. The Peace Train is a project of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) and the Korean Host Committee for the WCC assembly.

Some 130 people from around the world are travelling on the Peace Train and include church and civil society representatives. They will arrive in Busan on Oct. 28 and share their experiences at the WCC assembly. The train will highlight the importance of achieving peace on the Korean peninsula, cooperating with the churches of those countries which participated in the division of the Korean peninsula in 1953.

As part of this project, a seminar on “Religious Communities for Justice and Peace” has been organized in Moscow, the second stop of the Peace Train. The event was held in collaboration with the Russian Orthodox Church on Oct. 11.

WCC staff including Guillermo Kerber, program executive for Care for Creation and Climate Justice, and Mathews George Chunakara, director of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, addressed the seminar. Kerber expressed “heartfelt appreciation” on behalf of the WCC for the efforts of the NCCK and the Korean Host Committee in coordinating the Peace Train project. He said, “Being confronted by overwhelming crises, churches and religious communities must overcome their divisions, speak out, and react as an expression of their commitment to life, peace, justice, and love.”

“A pilgrimage is always a transformative experience. May the Peace Train transform your lives, our lives, the lives of all of those going to the assembly,” Kerber added.

Catherine Christie from the NCCK and the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, herself a traveller on the Peace Train, shared how Bible studies and discussions during the journey are a transformative experience. She said that many people in our world “suffer because of the corporate sin in our world--suffer from militarism, national hostilities.

“This group, made up of people from some African nations, India, Korea, European nations, Australia, New Zealand, North America, and Brazil,” creates “a variety of perspectives and wisdom,” added Christie.

In Berlin, where the Peace Train commenced its journey, several programs were organized by the German churches. One of these was a Peace Candlelight Prayer Vigil which took place in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Oct. 7. Among the speakers were Konrad Raiser and Kim Young Ju. Around 120 people from 15 countries participated in the event.

Find out more at the Peace Train website www.peacetrain2013.org. The website of the WCC 10th Assembly is http://wcc2013.info/en.

Source: 10/25/2013 Newsline

‘Thursdays in Black’ shows zero tolerance for violence against women.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is working to revive “Thursdays in Black,” a campaign against sexual and gender-based violence. The emphasis is pertinent to the theme of the WCC’s upcoming assembly: “God of Life, Lead Us to Justice and Peace.”

On Oct. 31, during the assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea (South Korea), participants will be encouraged to wear black and through this simple gesture, to be part of a global movement urging an end to violence against women.

Thursdays in Black was started by the WCC in the 1980s as a form of peaceful protest against rape and violence--especially taking place during wars and conflicts. The campaign focuses on ways through which individuals may challenge attitudes that cause rape and violence.

“Thursdays in Black,” according to Fulata Mbano-Moyo, WCC program executive for Women in Church and Society, is a “united global expression of the desire for safe communities where we can all walk safely without fear of being raped, shot at, beaten up, verbally abused, and discriminated against due to one’s gender or sexual orientation.

“Through this campaign we want to accompany our sisters, who bear the scars of violence, invisible and visible, in Syria, Palestine and Israel, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, and the whole world, where women’s bodies remain a battlefield, whether in armed conflict or so-called ‘peaceful’ situations,” adds Mbano-Moyo.

“Through this campaign we are demanding a world free of rape and violence!”

The Thursdays in Black campaign is significant for the women and men’s pre-assembly events in Busan, where issues related to violence against women will be in focus, instigating varied reflections from theological, ethical, legal, spiritual, social, and political perspectives. The pre-assembly programs take place on Oct. 28-29.

Thursdays in Black has influenced several church and ecumenical initiatives in the 1970s and 1980s, including the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women. The campaign was further strengthened by the “Women in Black” campaign born out of women-to-women solidarity visits to Serbia and Croatia during the Balkan war in the 1990s. Through this initiative, Serbian women called people to join them in speaking against the use of rape as a weapon of war.

Thursday in Black also has a link with Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a movement of mothers who protested against the policy of having dissidents "disappeared"--a term used to describe people killed during the political violence in Argentina between the 1970s and 1980s. These mothers walked around Plazo de Mayo in Buenos Aires every Thursday to register their protest.

The Thursdays in Black campaign is currently observed in South Africa by the Diakonia Council of Churches and the Christian AIDS Bureau of Southern Africa, ecumenical partners of the WCC’s project Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa and the International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV or AIDS.

The WCC will continue to work with its partner organizations to revive the Thursdays in Black campaign. Partners include CABSA, We Will Speak Out Coalition, Lutheran World Federation, Fellowship of the Least Coin, United Methodist Women, and the World YWCA, among others.

Find out more about the WCC program on Women in Church and Society at www.oikoumene.org/en/what-we-do/women-in-church-and-society.

Source: 10/25/2013 Newsline

The WCC Assembly by the numbers.

By Ka Hyun MacKenzie Shin and Roddy MacKenzie

The WCC Assembly in South Korea will be the largest and most diverse gathering of Christians ever. What will happen in Korea will be a unique moment in the worldwide Christian ecumenical movement. Those coming to Korea for this extraordinary gathering include:

1,000 official delegates from 90 percent of the WCC's

345 Christian denominations in 110 countries

575 representatives of non-WCC member Christian churches and other guests

1,000 Korean host volunteers

1,000 international assembly participants including hundreds of young people

150 stewards recruited from worldwide, young people between the ages of 18 and 30 who will give their time and energy to assist the assembly in its work

300 WCC staff and "co-opted staff" invited to assist with various tasks at the assembly

130 international accredited media including several hundred Korean media

180 students and faculty from the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute plus students and faculty of the Korean Ecumenical Theological Institute

30 minutes of Daily Morning Prayers commencing each day at 8:30 a.m. followed by 30 minutes of Bible study

30 minutes of Daily Evening Prayers to conclude each 12-hour fully packed day from 8 to 8:30 p.m., followed by Confessional Evening Prayers and Vesper Services of the various member denominations

-- From a release by Ka Hyun MacKenzie Shin of St. Stephen the Martyr Anglican Church in Vancouver, Canada, and Roddy MacKenzie, communications volunteer at the WCC Assembly.

Source: 10/25/2013 Newsline

Brethren bits.

• Remembrance: Ruth Christ Baugher, 95, the widow of former Church of the Brethren general secretary Norman Baugher, died on Oct. 15 at Hillcrest Homes in La Verne, Calif. She had lived at Hillcrest Homes since 1985. Her husband became general secretary of the former General Board in 1952, and died in 1968. During that time she lived in Elgin, Ill., and after her husband’s death she held secretarial positions in several places including the denomination’s General Offices. She was a member of Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill., for some 33 years prior to moving to southern California. Two sons, four grandsons, and several great grandchildren survive her. A memorial service will be held on Nov. 22 at Hillcrest Homes.

• The cost to attend the 2014 Church of the Brethren Clergy Women’s Retreat go up on Nov. 1. The retreat takes place Jan. 13-16 at the Serra Retreat Center in Malibu, Calif. “Hand in Hand, Heart to Heart: On the Journey Together” is the theme. Leading the retreat will be Melissa Wiginton, vice president for Education Beyond the Walls at Austin Seminary. The scriptural focus is Philippians 1:3-11 (CEB), “I keep you in my heart. You are all my partners in God’s grace.” For online registration and more information go to www.brethren.org/ministryoffice .

• Mt. Zion Church of the Brethren in Luray, Va., is hosting Steve Mason, director of the Brethren Foundation Inc., for a discussion of investment opportunities for churches and individuals on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 3 p.m.

• Happy Corner Church of the Brethren in Clayton, Ohio, is hosting a Ted and Company performance of “Peace, Pies, and Prophets” with a pie auction benefiting Christian Peacemaker Teams. The Nov. 23 event centers around a performance of “I’d Like to Buy an Enemy” starring Ted Swartz and Tim Ruebke, and starts at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $10.

• The Gathering 2013, a headline event in Western Plains District, takes place Nov. 1-3 in Salina, Kan. “What Now?! Where Next?!” is the theme, inspired by Luke 24:13-35, in which disciples encounter the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus. “The prayer is that our Gathering will inspire us in a new way, also, as we continue to journey with Jesus,” said an announcement from the district. Speakers include Annual Conference moderator Nancy Sollenberger Heishman, and Jeff Carter, president of Bethany Theological Seminary. More information is at wpcob.org .

• The Congregational Care Advisory Team in Shenandoah District is sponsoring a seminar titled "Worship God's Way: Biblical Models of Worship," on Nov. 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Mt. Pleasant Church of the Brethren in Harrisonburg, Va. Leah J. Hileman, pianist for the 2008 Annual Conference and music coordinator for the 2010 Annual Conference, will be the seminar leader. She is the author of more than 250 songs and has written, recorded, and produced four Christian pop albums. Cost is $15 and 0.5 continuing education units are available to minister for an additional $10. Registration is due by Nov. 6. Go to http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1110837621104-191/Worship+God%27s+Way+Registration+2013.pdf .

• Also in Shenandoah District, a Brethren Heritage Tour is being organized for the weekend of Jan. 17-19, 2014. The tour will take a bus to Pennsylvania to visit the Ephrata Cloisters, the Moravian settlement, and the Germantown area, among other places with special significance to Brethren, said the district newsletter. The event is being planned by the Pastoral Support Committee of the Shenandoah District Ministerial Leadership Team. Tour leaders will be Jeff Bach, director of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, and Jim Miller, retired district executive of Shenandoah District. Cost is $140 per person for double occupancy and includes two nights' lodging, admission to tour sites, and chartered bus transportation from Bridgewater, Va. Participants will be responsible for meals and tips or gratuities. Contact the district office at jnjantzi@shencob.org or 540-234-8555.

• Illinois and Wisconsin District Conference will be Nov. 1-2 at Mt Morris (Ill.) Church of the Brethren, assisted by Pinecrest Community, a Church of the Brethren retirement community in Mt. Morris. Mark Flory Steury will serve as moderator, leading the conference on the theme, “Renew” (Romans 12:2). The Friday evening speaker will be Jonathan Shively, executive director of Congregational Life Ministries.

• Shenandoah District Conference will be Nov. 1-2 on the theme, “Living the Gospel,” at Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren led by moderator Glenn Bollinger. Former Annual Conference moderator Tim Harvey will bring the opening message on Friday evening, with music by a choir singing under the direction of Jesse E. Hopkins, professor emeritus of music at Bridgewater College. The evening includes a district-wide Love Feast as spiritual preparation for business sessions. In advance of the conference, the district newsletter invited congregations to share Love Feast traditions such as who makes the communion bread, a treasured recipe, how children participate, the menu for the meal, and more. “Based on some recent informal conversations, it seems we have a wide range of traditions just here in our district,” said the newsletter. “Let us hear your voice.”

• Pacific Southwest District is holding its 50th District Conference on Nov. 8-10 in Scottsdale, Ariz., at the Franciscan Renewal Center. “Our meeting comes at a time of challenge to the Brethren and indeed to almost all Christian denominations,” said an invitation from moderator Jim LeFever, “but also at a time when a variety of bright sparks show hope in many directions. Let us join in thinking, discussion and prayer as we take up the work of our faith in the West and beyond.” Prior to the conference, an all-ministers education event will be held Nov. 7-8 with leadership by James Benedict on the topic “Community Centered Authority: Biblical, Theological, and Historical Foundations.” Find out more at www.pswdcob.org/events/ministers.

• Virlina District Conference is Nov. 8-9 at Greene Memorial United Methodist Church in Roanoke, Va., on the theme, “Come Near to God and He Will Come Near to You” (James 4:7-8a). Moderator Frances S. Beam is encouraging each individual and congregation, and every camper who participates at Camp Bethel, to write a letter about their experiences of the nearness of God. The letters will be displayed at the district conference and incorporated into the worship and business sessions. Nancy Sollenberger Heishman, moderator of the 2014 Annual Conference, will preach for Friday and Saturday worship.

• The Camp Harmony Pig Roast is Sunday, Oct. 27, from 12 noon-2 p.m. Ticket prices are adults $10, children age 6-12 $5, under age 6 is free. The camp is located near Hooversville, Pa. For more information go to www.campharmony.org .

• The Fall Lecture at CrossRoads, the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center in Virginia, will feature Bob Gross, director of development at On Earth Peace, sharing experiences from the 3,000 Miles for Peace campaign. The lecture takes place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, at Montezuma Church of the Brethren in Dayton, Va.

• Peacemaker Shane Claiborne will speak at Bridgewater (Va.) College’s Fall Spiritual Focus. “Shane Claiborne’s adventures have taken him from the streets of Calcutta, where he worked with Mother Teresa, to an internship at Willow Creek, a mega-church in the suburbs of Chicago,” said a release. Claiborne also has worked with Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq, and is a founder and leader of the Simple Way faith community in inner-city Philadelphia. His books include “Jesus for President,” “Red Letter Revolution,” “Common Prayer,” “Follow Me to Freedom,” “Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers,” and “The Irresistible Revolution.” He will be speaking at Bridgewater on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m., in the Carter Center for Worship and Music. A reception will follow. The program is free and open to the public.

• Herb Smith, McPherson (Kan.) College professor of Philosophy and Religion, is organizing a study trip to China on Jan. 14-24, 2014. “As the Pacific Century is now upon us, we will venture forth to explore the Dragon Kingdom, ancient and contemporary China,” said an announcement. “Besides the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Ming Dynasty Tombs, Terra Cotta Soldiers Tomb, other cultural treats await us.” The trip will include riding on a bullet train, dinner cruise in Shanghai, as well as study of the religions of the Middle Kingdom. For brochures and more information contact smithh@mcpherson.edu or 620-242-0533.

• “Learn Martin Luther King Jr.’s principles of nonviolence from a Palestinian Christian!” says an invitation to a workshop in Akron, Pa., sponsored by 1040forPeace.org and featuring Tarek Abuata, Christian Peacemaker Teams coordinator for Palestine and a nonviolence trainer. The “intensive experiential workshop” is to give participants a comprehensive introduction to King’s philosophy and strategy of nonviolence. It will be held at Akron Mennonite Church on Nov. 16-17. Participation is limited. Partial scholarships to offset the $100 fee are available. Contact registrar H.A. Penner at penner@dejazzd.com or 717-859-3529 prior to Nov. 4.

Source: 10/25/2013 Newsline

Credits

Newsline is produced by the news services of the Church of the Brethren. Contact the editor at cobnews@brethren.org. Contributors to this issue of Newsline include Deborah Brehm, Stan Dueck, Kim Ebersole, Mary Jo Flory-Steury, Mary Kay Heatwole , Ka Hyun MacKenzie Shin and Roddy MacKenzie, Becky Ullom Naugle, Stan Noffsinger, Harold Penner, Howard Royer, LeAnn Wine, and editor Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren.