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"For
I was hungry, and you gave me food. . ." Matt. 25:35a
NEWS
1) General Board funds make major grant to southern Africa crisis.
2) Church World Service, Brethren celebrate their partnership.
3) Disaster Child Care teams mount Gulf Coast response.
4) Cuban delegation thanks Brethren for support and solidarity.
5) Annual Conference announces worship, Bible study leaders.
6) General Board to wrestle with finances, comprehensive plan.
7) Congregation No. 100 commits to Decade to Overcome Violence
8) BVS Unit 250 volunteers head to placements in Maine, Dominican.
9) Grants support Dominican Republic work, clinic box project.
10) Brethren bits: CPT, college news, peace issues, and more.
PERSONNEL
11) Shepherd's Spring seeks administrator.
12) IMA seeks manager for international program compliance/support.
13) General secretary search committee chooses chair, begins
work.
COMING
EVENTS
14) Evangelism Connections plans 2003 event in Texas.
RESOURCES
15) Brethren Press continues its "Perspectives" series.
16) Nigeria missionaries to be available for congregational visits.
FEATURES
17) Pittsburgh church shares the cup of cold water--literally.
18) Florida singer embarks on a "farewell tour."
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1) A combined $100,000 has been allocated from the General Board's
Emergency Disaster Fund and Global Food Crisis Fund to address
food
shortages resulting from drought conditions in the southern African
nations of Zambia, Lesotho, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.
The World Food
Program called the southern Africa crisis the "most
severe and urgent dilemma facing the international community
at the
moment," according to a Church World Service (CWS) report.
About 13
million people are estimated to be at risk of starvation this
winter.
"You can
ride through miles and miles of countryside and see that
everything has died," CWS International Response Consultant
Ivan
DeKam said in a release.
The funds will
support relief efforts including providing seed corn
and drought-tolerant crop packs, meal and food-for-work programs,
small-scale irrigation, canal building, micro credit, and animal
projects. It will support a larger CWS appeal seeking an initial
$500,000 in relief. Local CWS partners are assisting with
distribution.
A symbolic check
representing the $100,000 gift was presented to
Church World Service executive director John McCullough during
his
visit to the Church of the Brethren General Offices this week
(see
story #2).
2) The Church
of the Brethren and Church World Service took time
to celebrate on Oct. 1, lifting up an important partnership that
has lasted for more than 50 years.
Church World
Service executive director John McCullough was the
guest of honor at the event, held at the Church of the Brethren
General Offices in Elgin, Ill., but he, in turn, used part of
his
address to honor the denomination for its work.
"I want
you to know that this evening I stand to honor you,"
McCullough said, "and to say thanks be to God for the workings
of
the Holy Spirit in your lives and in your church." He expressed
thanks for the "genius and compassion" of the Brethren
that was
instrumental in launching Church World Service in 1946.
McCullough, who
also visited and held discussions with General
Board staff during the day, shared from his own experiences in
the
former Zaire, Bosnia, and elsewhere to illustrate the ministry
and
purpose of Church World Service. The organization has grown to
become the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry
of
36 denominations, reaching more than 80 countries.
He noted "a
real imperative" for the church to bring people
together around "a common table" and talk about the
many issues
weighing on today's world, discussing those needs and "finding
the
way out."
"We need
to be present and do what we can, even with our meager
resources," McCullough told the audience of about 55 Brethren
and
CWS staff, area pastors, and other guests. "It's a real
privilege
to be united in this ministry together."
After his profuse
thanks, McCullough also left the audience with a
challenge. "The job isn't done yet," he noted. He urged
Brethren
and others to help the world "have the opportunity to truly
be the
kind of place God intends it to be."
Other highlights
of the event, sponsored by the General Board's
Global Mission Partnerships office, included greetings from general
secretary Judy Mills Reimer, dinner, music by New Gospel Sounds
of
the Chicago First Church of the Brethren, and recognition of
the
nation's top CROP Walk fund-raiser--Konrad Bald of Barrington,
Ill.
3) Two Disaster
Child Care teams have been called into action by
the Church of the Brethren General Board's Emergency Response/
Service Ministries (ER/SM) office to respond to a pair of tropical
storms that struck the US central Gulf Coast.
Hurricane Lili
hit central Louisiana on Oct. 3, less than a week
after Tropical Storm Isidore pounded areas just east of there
with
torrential rains, causing more than $100 million in flood damage.
More flooding and some tornadoes in Louisiana and Mississippi
resulted from Lili.
The first team
of five Disaster Child Care volunteers traveled to
Jackson, Miss., on Oct. 1, where they planned to meet with the
American Red Cross before continuing to Bay St. Louis to set
up a
child-care center. A second team left on Oct. 2 to care for
children in Biloxi, Miss. With Lili's advance, however, all team
members returned to or stayed in Jackson until the storm cleared.
Disaster Child
Care coordinator Roy Winter said that more
child-care centers might be needed in Louisiana after Lili, pending
requests from the Red Cross.
Elsewhere, ER/SM
announced that its flood relief project in
Buchanan County, Va., would close by the end of October. A project
in Siren, Wis., closed at the end of August. Several other areas
are being monitored for possible response needs.
4) The Rev. Dr.
Reinerio Arce, president of the Cuban Council of
Churches (CIC), and his wife, Dr. Patricia Ares Muzio, visited
the
Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., on Sept.
26,
expressing thanks and emphasizing unity in Christ.
"It has
been very significant, the help the Brethren have given to
the Cuban church," Arce said. "I want to reaffirm we
are very happy
that God has given us the opportunity for sharing this relationship
with the Church of the Brethren, and solidarity between our people.
For many years, the bridge between our peoples has been the
churches."
The couple was
traveling to several US denominations during the
trip, coordinated by Church World Service. The General Board's
Global Mission Partnerships office hosted them while in Elgin,
with
a lunch, visits and discussion, and afternoon reception. Arce
had
also visited the offices along with other CIC officials in October
2000.
Their 2002 tour
included a stop in Washington, D.C., where they
joined with government representatives, business leaders,
Cuban-Americans, and others to dialog about Cuba and the effects
that the ongoing US embargo has there.
"The ones
who suffer are the people, not the government," Arce said
while in Elgin. "The Cuban people are the ones who are suffering."
He called the Washington summit "an important step."
Brethren involvement
in Cuba began 100 years ago and has continued
to varying degrees over the years with visits in both directions,
shipments from meat canning projects, and sister-church
relationships.
5) The Annual
Conference Worship Committee met in Elgin, Ill., in
late September and selected preachers, worship leaders, Bible
study
leaders, and musicians for next summer's Annual Conference in
Boise, Idaho.
Moderator Harriet
Finney will give the message at Saturday's
opening worship service, with moderator-elect Chris Bowman serving
as worship leader. Sunday morning, Steve Reid of Austin
Presbyterian Theological Seminary will speak, with Jan Fairchild
of
Eugene, Ore., as worship leader.
Dan Ulrich of
Bethany Theological Seminary will preach on Monday;
Bonnie Kline Smeltzer, pastor of the University Baptist-Brethren
Church in State College, Pa., on Tuesday; and Larry Dentler,
pastor
of the Bermudian Church of the Brethren, East Berlin, Pa., on
Wednesday. Worship leaders will be Ruth Yoder of Nappanee, Ind.;
Jim Hardenbrook of Nampa, Idaho; and Matthew Fike of Weyers Cave,
Va., respectively.
Shawn Kirchner
of La Verne, Calif., will serve as music
coordinator, and Pat Koehler of Nyssa, Ore., as choir director.
Annual Conference Program & Arrangements Committee member
Andrew
Wright is worship coordinator this year.
Sam Detwiler
of Wenatchee, Wash., and Ruben Deoleo of Lancaster,
Pa., will lead evening Bible study sessions, with Deoleo's in
Spanish. Morning Bible study leaders will be Wendell Bohrer of
Sebring, Fla.; Ray Hileman of Ligonier, Pa.; and Bethany
Theological Seminary professor Dena Pence Frantz of Richmond,
Ind.
Annual Conference
meets at Boise State University July 5-9, 2003.
6) The Church
of the Brethren General Board will hold its fall
meetings Oct. 12-15 in Elgin, Ill., with issues of finances and
the
agency's future dominating the agenda.
The board's executive
committee will meet on Oct. 11, working with
personnel issues and hearing about items scheduled to come before
the full board. Much of that will focus on finance issues and
the
2003 budget, as the agency wrestles with the cash crunch affecting
many non-profits and other businesses in the slow economy.
That reality
will also impact the creation of the General Board's
new comprehensive plan, which the full board will continue to
work
on over the weekend. Final approval of the plan is expected at
the
March 2003 meeting.
Other agenda
items include a proposal to put a new roof on the
General Offices, reaffirmation of the General Board's 1998
statement on Iraq, an update on the general secretary search
process, a host of other reports and updates, times of worship,
recognition of employee milestones, and a dinner celebrating
General Board ministries.
7) The number
of Church of the Brethren congregations committing
to the worldwide Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) reached 100
in
September.
District DOV
representatives and DOV program assistant Laura
Kreider have made congregational committments to the Decade an
ongoing priority. Congregations that join receive an introductory
packet, invitations to training events, and continuing resources.
The movement
was initiated by the World Council of Churches (WCC)
and endorsed by delegates at the Church of the Brethren Annual
Conference in 2000. Activities during the past year have included
a training weekend at New Windsor, Md., in November 2001 and
events
at the 2002 Annual Conference, including a visit by German
Mennonite Fernando Enns, who initially proposed the idea for
the
Decade to the WCC.
The General Board's
Brethren Witness office and On Earth Peace have
been collaborating to oversee DOV involvement within the
denomination. Staff from the two offices met in New Windsor on
Sept. 23 for a planning meeting between the denomination's peace
programs.
"It's important
to keep each other informed about what we're doing,
to maintain clarity about our respective foci, and to plan joint
projects, such as coordinating the Decade, planning peace events,
and sponsoring the Youth Peace Travel Team," Brethren Witness
director David Radcliff said.
More information
on the Decade and congregational involvement is
available from Laura Kreider at 202-546-3202 or cobdov@aol.com.
8) The 250th
orientation unit in the history of Brethren Volunteer
Service finished up its training at Roxbury, Pa., on Aug. 28.
Unit
250--held in partnership with Brethren Revival Fellowship--had
eight volunteers, with all but one coming from Pennsylvania
congregations.
John and Ruby
Shenk of Newport, Pa., provided coordination and main
leadership for the orientation, assisted by a variety of guest
speakers. Placements of volunteers are as follows:
Lois and Fred
Meyers, Upton (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, will be
house parents in Lewiston, Maine, with Fred also serving at the
Good Shepherd Food Bank in Lewiston; Kerry Brubaker, Cocalico
congregation, Denver, Pa.; Laurie Byers and Louann Wenger, both
of
Upton; and Caleb Long of Welsh Run, Mercersburg, Pa. will all
serve
at Good Shepherd Food Bank, Lewiston, Maine. Crystal Miller of
Upton and Karen Miller of White Branch, Hagerstown, Ind., will
serve with Brethren in the Domincan Republic as English teachers
based at the Brethren Mission House in Azua.
9) In addition
to the major donation toward the southern Africa
drought and famine crisis (see story #1), General Board funds
have
also made several other sizeable grants in recent weeks.
The Global Food
Crisis Fund has allocated $55,000 to support the
work of Jeff and Peggy Boshart as community development consultants
in the Dominican Republic. The grant will fund their project
through Feb. 1, 2003. Their work includes helping villages organize
to be more effective in pursuing economic development projects
and
enhancing food security.
Another Global
Food Crisis grant, for $18,000, will aid the work of
Christian Commission for Development in rural and chronically
poor
communities in Honduras. The funds will help provide flocks of
hens
for food security and income, and will support a first-ever fruit
tree project.
Finally, an allocation
of $57,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund
will provide for the completion of the National Youth Conference
Clinic Box Project. Youth at NYC collected supplies to assemble
378
of the clinic boxes. These funds will be used to cover processing,
warehousing, and shipping, and to add time-dated medical supplies.
The grant includes more than $35,000 in designated giving to
this
project.
A total of 18
grants have been made from the Emergency Disaster
Fund this year, and 10 from the Global Food Crisis Fund.
10) Brethren
bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere:
*Christian Peacemaker Teams on Oct. 1 officially opened its new
offices adjacent to the Douglas Park Church of the Brethren in
Chicago. More than 200 volunteers helped to rehabilitate a
dilapidated building in a project that began in September 2001.
Five staff members will work in the building. . . . Chicago First
Church of the Brethren pastor Orlando Redekopp was among those
on
a CPT delegation to Israel and the West Bank in September.
*McPherson (Kan.)
College has completed its "Enhancing the Legacy"
capital campaign, just topping its goal of $23.5 million. A special
recognition banquet for donors and volunteers is planned for
Oct.
11 at the college. The campus has added six new buildings and
remodeled another over the past five years.
*A major wildfire
burned in the hills near the Brethren center of
La Verne, Calif., last week, but favorable winds and lowering
temperatures kept the fires contained to the mountains.
*The General
Board's World Mission Offering Sunday is scheduled
for observance Oct. 13.
*The Northern
Ohio District Women's Fellowship recently
contributed $1,440.55 to the General Board's Disaster Child Care
program. The group raised the money by having people from the
district's congregations fill film canisters and bank coin-saver
cards with quarters from April to August, bringing the completed
collections to district conference.
*The Manchester
Church of the Brethren, North Manchester, Ind., on
Sept. 29 held a panel discussion on Brethren peace witness.
Brethren Witness director David Radcliff, On Earth Peace
co-director Barb Sayler, Christian Peacemaker Teams director
Gene
Stoltzfus, and Bethany Theological Seminary professor Scott Holland
participated. About 200 people attended, from 31 congregations.
*A sermon by
York Center Church of the Brethren (Lombard, Ill.)
pastor Christy Waltersdorff was quoted in the Sept. 11-24 edition
of "Christian Century." The sermon was cited in a review
of the
book "Where Was God on September 11?," a collection
of numerous
sermons and essays. . . . The Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the
Brethren recently ran a full-page ad in the Lancaster (Pa.)
Intelligencer-Journal newspaper, containing "A Statement
of
Conscience: A Plea for Peace" related to Iraq. It bore numerous
signatures of people supporting the ad.
11) Shepherd's
Spring Outdoor Ministries Center, located near
Sharpsburg, Md., is seeking a full-time, year-round administrator.
Qualifications
include being a Christian with a growing faith and
acceptance of Church of the Brethren values, a passion for outdoor
ministry, ability to implement the master site plan and strategic
plan, capability and enthusiasm for interpreting the retreat
center's mission and vision, and 10 years of administration
experience with strong fiscal skills. A bachelor's degree is
preferred.
Interested and
qualified applicants should send letter of interest
and resume' to: Nancy F. Knepper, Office of District Ministries,
1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. Applicants should also provide
three to four professional references. Upon receipt of resume',
the
candidate will be sent an application which must be completed
and
returned before the application is considered complete. Application
deadline is Dec. 1.
12) Interchurch
Medical Assistance Inc., based at the Brethren
Service Center in New Windsor, Md., is seeking a manager for
international program compliance and support. The position will
involve monitoring and strengthening financial and administrative
activities being implemented by IMA staff and program partners.
The manager will
report to and assist the vice president for
finance & administration. Requirements include a bachelor
of
science degree in finance or accounting, minimum five years of
experience in a related field and three years international
experience, knowledge of appropriate accounting requirements
and
regulations, and willingness to travel internationally. An ability
to communicate in French is preferred.
Interested applicants
should send resume' and cover letter to
Interchurch Medical Assistance Inc., PO Box 429, New Windsor,
MD
21776, Attn: Carol Hulver. For additional details or a full
position description call IMA at 410-635-8720 or e-mail
imainfo@interchurch.org.
13) The General
Board's general secretary search committee met
Sept. 28 in New Windsor, Md., to formally begin its work of seeking
a new general secretary to succeed Judy Mills Reimer, who is
retiring in July. Kirk Stiffney of Mennonite Health Services
in
Goshen, Ind., facilitated the meeting.
Stafford Frederick,
pastor of the Summerdean Church of the Brethren
in Roanoke, Va., was selected as committee chair, and General
Board
vice chair Donna Shumate as recording secretary. The committee
will
meet again Oct. 13 during General Board meetings in Elgin, Ill.,
and at that time provide a status report to the board.
The committee
is requesting that interested candidates, and
individuals wanting to recommend candidates, contact Stiffney
no
later than Dec. 15 at Mennonite Health Services, 234 S. Main
St.
Suite A, Goshen, IN 46526. Phone 574-202-1878; fax 574-534-3254;
or
e-mail kirkstiffney@aol.com (Due to incorrect information
provided
to Newsline, the phone/fax number given for Stiffney in the Sept.
20 issue was not up to date with Indiana's new area codes.)
The committee
hopes its process will allow a general secretary to
be called at the March 2003 General Board meeting in New Windsor,
with an official employment start date of July 1.
14) The 2003
event of Evangelism Connections--made up of seven
planning partners including the Church of the Brethren--will
be a
gathering designed for "middle judicatory" (district)
staff and
other key church leaders.
Titled "Reclaiming
the Great Commission . . . Together," the event
will take place Jan. 12-14 in Navasota, Texas, near Houston.
Keynote speaker will be Bishop Claude E. Payne of the Episcopal
Diocese of Texas, author of "Reclaiming the Great Commission:
A
Practical Model for Transforming Denominations and Congregations."
Registration
is $225 per person with single accommodation and
meals, $195 per person for double accommodation. Registration
deadline is Dec. 15 or until filled. For more details or to
register, go to www.netresults.org/ec2003.htm or call 806-762-8094
ext. 102.
15) Brethren
Press has continued its "Perspectives" series of
essays in booklet form with "Enemylove," by On Earth
Peace staff
member Matt Guynn.
"Matt Guynn
redirects our thinking," an introduction on the back of
the booklet says, "from responses to violent situations,
such as
war and assault, to responses to people, especially our enemies."
Study questions
and a list of further readings on the topic are
included. "Enemylove" is the seventh issue in the series;
previous
titles have included "Understanding Islam," "Evangelism
and
Service," and "Patriotism and Faith." Each is
available for $2.50
per copy from Brethren Press, at 800-441-3712.
Future issues
of "Perspectives" are planned, but titles are yet to
be determined.
16) Nigeria mission
workers Tom and Janet Crago will be available
to do mission interpretation in congregations on weekends from
Jan.
15 to March 30.
The Cragos, whose
home is in Colorado Springs, Colo., are serving
as administrative consultants with the Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria
(Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). Their overseas assignment
is
at EYN headquarters near Mubi. Last year they served on a
short-term basis at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria
in
development and fund-raising; they had previously served at Waka
Schools in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Congregations
wishing to invite the Cragos should contact Janis
Pyle, coordinator for mission connections in the General Board's
Global Mission Partnerships office, as soon as possible to
facilitate scheduling. Call 800-323-8039, ext. 227.
17) The warm-weather
season is nearly over now, but the dog days
of summer provided the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Church of the Brethren
a
golden opportunity for community outreach.
The city of Pittsburgh
endured nearly 20 consecutive sweltering
days over 90 degrees this summer, coupled with high humidity.
Combine that with near-gridlock traffic conditions as several
highway repair projects closed many arteries, and it quickly
led to
frayed nerves and short tempers.
That led to an
idea for the Pittsburgh congregation, located along
a busy road. On the first Saturday morning in August, 13
congregation members stepped out into the intersection by the
church each time the light changed and offered travelers a cold
half-liter bottle of drinking water. Along with the water, people
received a little card explaining that "it was merely a
gesture
intended to show Christ's love in a practical way," according
to
pastor Kendal Elmore. The back of the card gave a schedule of
events and contact information for the church.
The idea grew
out of presentations made at the "Church Planting:
The Next Step" event held at Bethany Theological Seminary
in May.
Steve Sjogren of Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Cincinnati
encouraged participants to present Christ to the general public
through simple acts of kindness. His best-known book, "Conspiracy
of Kindness," offers some basic do's and don'ts for dozens
of
outreach ideas, and Pittsburgh members felt the water giveaway
would be a good first event.
Sjogren suggests
that about 200 bottles of water or cans of cola
can be distributed in an hour, so the Pittsburgh crew hit the
streets stocked with 225 bottles. They began at 10 a.m., and
by
10:21 their full supply had been exhausted. Elmore said that
everyone who participated had fun, and found it to be "very
energizing and contagious."
"Among the
discoveries made was the magnificent way that differing
gifts enabled everyone to work wonderfully well as a team,"
Elmore
said. Some members brought fresh supplies from the church kitchen,
some held "Free Water" signs, and others made the contact
at the
car windows. Elmore said a handful of drivers declined the water
and two even screamed "unkind greetings," but many
more smiled and
said thanks or "Praise the Lord!"
The church made
plans for more free water giveaways and a free car
wash in the church parking lot and, Elmore hopes, many more people
will become excited about evangelism through acts of kindness.
18) Ottis "Slim"
Whitman has been singing country music and
yodeling for five decades, but this month he embarks on what
he is
billing a "farewell tour."
Whitman, a member
of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Church of the
Brethren, was scheduled to depart on Sept. 30 for London, beginning
a month-long, 19-performance tour of England, Scotland, and
Ireland. His music has been especially popular in the United
Kingdom, according to the BBC, and he has toured there regularly.
Whitman was unavailable
for comment, but Jacksonville member Ruby
Raymer and her husband, William, are traveling with the Whitmans
on
the tour. Ruby had high praise for Slim Whitman and his music
ministry.
"I wish
I could put into words all the things the Whitmans are,"
Ruby said. "They're just wonderful people, so patient."
The Whitmans
and Raymers have been friends since the early 1950s,
about the time Slim Whitman's musical career took off. Slim has
always remained "down to earth," though, according
to Ruby, working
on his lawn mower and remaining involved with the church. He
even
sang at an Annual Conference one year.
"He sings
the type of songs that any family would listen to," Ruby
said. "They're just good, Christian people."
Whitman, a member
of the Grand Old Opry, was the subject of the
Brethren Press book "Mr. Songman" in the 1980s and
recently had a
variety of daffodil named after him.
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