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"Be joyful
in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Rom.
12:12
NEWS
1) Washington Office asks Brethren to oppose war on Iraq.
2) BVS orientation unit in New Windsor is largest in 11 years.
3) Hispanic Brethren begin ambitious new venture.
4) MMPC meets, listens in New Windsor.
5) Cuban delegation will visit General Offices next week.
6) Northern Ireland event celebrates 30 years of BVS work.
7) Reports from two recent district conferences.
8) Bethany holds latest in series of discernment events.
9) Orthodox Participation, budget dominate WCC meetings.
10) Brethren bits: Racing, New Life Ministries, and more.
PERSONNEL
11) General Board seeks a full-time general secretary.
12) Lester Boleyn announces retirement from Congregational Life
Team.
13) Pacific Southwest District calls interim leadership.
COMING
EVENTS
14) Elgin event will celebrate Church World Service partnership.
15) On Earth Peace plans "Preachin' & Prayin' for Peace"
event.
16) Youth/Young Adult office offers Sabbath Retreat for youth
pastors.
RESOURCES
17) "Source" bears bevy of resources for 2003, Advent
season.
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1) The Church
of the Brethren Washington Office this week again
encouraged Brethren to voice opposition to a war with Iraq, issuing
a "prayer and faxing" action checklist.
The checklist
suggests contacting senators by fax or phone (Capitol
Switchboard at 202-546-3202), visiting the senator's district
office or Washington, D.C., office, joining in increased actions
of
prayer and congressional visits planned in Washington during
the
week of Sept. 23, and praying for peace at 8:30 a.m. each morning.
The office also
issued several "talking points" regarding the
current impoverished situation in Iraq, the intense focus on
US
military action, the lack of convincing evidence regarding the
Iraq
threat, the effect on the international community, some other
possible diplomatic routes, and the denomination's historic peace
stance. More information is available at
www.brethren.org/genbd/washofc or by calling 202-546-3202.
A concerned group
at National Older Adult Conference earlier this
month drafted a petition against military action in Iraq and
gathered more than 850 signatures at the event.
2) Brethren Volunteer
Service Unit 251 is holding orientation
Sept. 15-Oct. 5 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor,
Md.,
with the largest group in 11 years.
Thirty-one volunteers
are in the unit, making it the biggest since
fall 1991. The participants include three young men from Germany
who are completing their alternative service and one young woman
from Switzerland.
Thirteen of the
volunteers come from Church of the Brethren
congregations: Stephanie Bostwick from Little Swatara Church
of the
Brethren, Richland, Pa.; Sam Bowman of the Antioch congregation,
Rocky Mount, Va.; Jamie Eller of New Covenant, Gotha, Fla.; Janelle
Flory of McPherson (Kan.); Jodi Good of Annville (Pa.); Heidi
Gross
of Manchester in North Manchester, Ind.; Brian Haag of Oakland,
Gettysburg, Ohio; Kevin and Tina Horst of Ephrata (Pa.); Claire
Micklin of Richmond (Ind.); Dot Ramser of Brook Park Community
(Brookpark, Ohio); Marilyn Reish of Dayton (Va.); and Elizabeth
Stover of Quinter (Kan.).
Guest speakers
for the orientation include Greg Davidson
Laszakovits, Grace Lefever, Todd Reish, Noelle Dulabaum Bohrer,
David Radcliff, Matt Guynn, Barb Sayler, SueZann Bosler, and
Cliff
Kindy. The group will also spend two nights at I Can, Inc.--a
shelter for homeless men in Baltimore--and attend Middle
Pennsylvania District's Heritage Fair at Camp Blue Diamond.
It marks Sue
Grubb's final orientation as coordinator. She is being
assisted by Karen Roberts, who will take over the position on
a
one-year, temporary basis.
3) The Hispanic
pastoral leadership of Atlantic Northeast District
has begun a new venture, forming an organization called Brethren
Hispanic Fellowship. The group met on Aug. 24 and accepted a
challenge, put forth by a planning committee, to plant 30 churches
in a 10-year period.
Using the model
of calling forth leadership from existing
congregations, and providing training through Bethany Theological
Seminary's Susquehanna Valley Satellite, the group has already
begun working toward their goal. A new project is starting in
Allentown, Pa., another one will be housed at the York (Pa.)
Second
Church of the Brethren, and a third invitation has come from
the
Philadelphia area.
"I thought
this was a crazy idea," said Hispanic pastor Ruben
Deoleo, "until I realized that we already have three possibilities
for the first year. Three a year would make the dream become
a
reality."
The group has
expressed a passion to see their Hispanic brothers
and sisters "joined to Christ's church." Initially
each pastoral
team in the district, which already has several Hispanic
congregations, would be bivocational and work at the church
planting process with minimal budget requirements. The local
Hispanic congregation that calls out the leadership for these
new
plants will be encouraged to "walk alongside" the project
as a
parent/sibling church.
4) The General
Board-sponsored Mission and Ministries Planning
Council (MMPC) convened again Sept. 8-10 in New Windsor, Md.,
discussing proposals before it and holding another round of mission
conversations.
The council began
with an orientation for new members and a review
of its work, then dedicated much of the next day to conversations
with area Brethren who have an interest in the denomination's
mission. Nearly 30 people attended.
General secretary
Judy Mills Reimer called it "a wonderful time of
sharing, of listening, of hearing dreams and visions of what
people
wish we were able to do in the Church of the Brethren."
Although
limited funds and human resources limit the extent of
denominational activity, Reimer says, "Many times people
are
surprised by how much, as a small denomination, we're able to
do"
by "stretching dollars."
It was the sixth
conversation time held since 1998, and the third
under MMPC.
During the rest
of the meeting, the council considered several
proposals that have already come and heard updates on other issues.
It set a November date for an "exploration visit" to
Haiti; an
exploration visit to Companeros en Ministerio projects in Tijuana,
Mexico, is being negotiated.
MMPC also decided
to cancel its planned West Coast meeting and
conversations scheduled for January due to the present tight
budget
situation, and instead to meet in conjuction with the InterAgency
Forum and the Council of District Executives in late January
in
Daytona Beach, Fla., where many MMPC members will already be
present. The fall 2003 meeting will be Sept. 7-8, again in New
Windsor.
In addition to
Reimer, MMPC members for 2002-2003 are Annual
Conference moderator Harriet Finney and moderator-elect Chris
Bowman, General Board chair Warren Eshbach and board member Doug
Diamond, Global Mission Partnerships director Mervin Keeney,
and
district executive representatives Don Booz and Linda McCauliff.
5) A delegation
from Cuba will visit the Church of the Brethren
General Board offices in Elgin, Ill., for a time of discussion
and
relationship-building on Sept. 26.
The Rev. Dr.
Reinerio Arce, president of the Cuban Council of
Churches (CIC), and his wife, Dr. Patricia Ares Muzio, will meet
with general secretary Judy Mills Reimer, have lunch and
conversation with Global Mission Partnerships staff, and greet
others during a building-wide welcome reception in the afternoon.
Two other members of the CIC board--a long-time Brethren
partner--had planned to attend but were unable to obtain visas
to
travel.
Church World
Service is coordinating the CIC visit among several US
denominations. General Board Latin America/Caribbean specialist
Nadine Monn is facilitating their Church of the Brethren stop.
It
is a return visit for Arce, who came to the offices along with
other CIC representatives in October 2000.
6) The Forthspring
Community Center/Springfield Road Methodist
Church in west Belfast was a fitting venue on Sept. 6 for the
30th
anniversary "thank you" celebration of Brethren Volunteer
Service
presence in Northern Ireland.
One of the "peace
lines" separating Catholic and Protestant areas
of the city lies directly adjacent to this church where a current
BVSer works with youth, and another BVS worker lives in an
ecumenical community on the other side of the wall. BVS was also
first invited to come to Northern Ireland 30 years ago by a
Methodist pastor working in a similar community center/church
just
a few streets away.
That pastor,
the Rev. Harold Good, was one of the speakers at the
event, attended by about 50 people. Good shared his memories
of
then-BVS Europe director Dale Ott's visit in late 1971 and
subsequent arrival of the first BVS volunteer, Ken Smith, in
the
spring of 1972.
As Good addressed
the group, he said, "When the full story of all
these years in Northern Ireland is written, you Brethren probably
won't be recorded; sorry about that. But more importantly, in
many
ways that can never be measured, is that you've made a huge
contribution to the lives of so many people here and to our overall
situation. By your coming here you've encouraged us, by helping
us
to realize we are a part of a great world family who are concerned
about justice, peace, and people. Thank you. And we want to
encourage you in return."
Ott and Dr. David
Stevens, general secretary of the Irish Council
of Churches, also spoke, as did current project director Tanya
Gallagher and former BVS Northern Ireland worker Elaine Campbell.
Current BVS worker April Angel sang two songs, and another current
BVSer, Sara Cook, used input from other volunteers to thank the
organizations for allowing BVS workers to join them in their
journeys.
7) Reports from
two recent district conferences:
*Missouri/Arkansas: Annual Conference moderator Harriet
Finney and
General Board Brethren Witness director David Radcliff were
featured presenters at the conference, held Sept. 6-8 at Windermere
Conference Center on the Lake of the Ozarks with the theme
"Embracing God's Word." Rolan Norsworthy of the Peace
Valley
congregation served as moderator, and 148 delegates and guests
attended. Finney led a ministers'/moderators' workshop, addressed
the conference one evening, and met with youth, while Radcliff
preached three times. A group of youth and advisors presented
an
energetic NYC report. Business included recognizing closure of
the
Columbia Fellowship, adopting a plan for the use of monies received
from the sale of the Mt. Grove church property after its withdrawal
from the denomination in 2000-2001, and a session of input and
discussion regarding the 2002 Annual Conference's answer to the
query brought by the district on the role of moderators.
Broadwater/Farrenburg pastor Cindy Sanders was called as
moderator-elect; Roger Schrock of Cabool is moderator for the
coming year. The Carthage (Mo.) congregation shared two concerns:
the first asks the district to affirm the 2002 Annual Conference
decision against the ordination and licensing of homosexual persons
and further state that any congregation who takes an Open and
Affirming stance be "subject to the discipline of the district."
The second asks for affirmation of the name "Church of the
Brethren." Both concerns were referred to the district board
for
discussion and further processing.
*South/Central
Indiana (A partial report on two special business
items at the conference, which met Sept. 13-14 in Anderson, Ind.):
The delegate body agreed to forward to Standing Committee a query
that petitions the Annual Conference to "appoint a committee
to
study and offer guidance on how congregations can disagree with
Annual Conference decisions yet remain, as much as possible,
in
unbroken fellowship with their sister congregations, including
how
district boards should respond in these situations." The
query was
co-authored by the district board and the Manchester congregation
(North Manchester, Ind.), after Manchester's controversial decision
last fall to allow same-sex covenant services. The delegate body
considered proposed polity dealing directly with that decision,
debating a district board recommendation to establish
intra-district consequences for any congregation performing
same-sex covenant ceremonies. Consequences would have included
a
three-year loss of rights to vote at district conference and
a
three-year ban on members serving in district leadership positions.
The item narrowly failed to receive the two-thirds majority needed
to pass.
8) Bethany Theological
Seminary sponsored its third in a series of
discernment events Sept. 6-8 in Richmond, Ind.--this one especially
for persons considering ministry as a second career.
People from Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, and Virginia participated in
the "Open Mind, Open Heart" weekend. Participants attended
sessions
led by Dan Ulrich, associate dean and director of distributed
education; participated in times of worship; and joined the Bethany
community in its "Folk on the Green" activities.
"I was impressed
with how thoughtful all the participants were
toward one another," Ulrich says. "Some very important
gifts for
ministry were evident already in the caring way they listened
to
one another. That caring also helped the group to gel as a
community even for the brief time that they were together."
Earlier, "Exploring
Your Call" (EYC), a 10-day experience for high
school juniors and seniors, took place in July 2001, and "Living
in
the Midst of Questions," a weekend event for young adults,
was held
March 1-3. The success of EYC prompted Bethany's admissions
department to consider similar opportunities for other groups.
"In our
ongoing contact with prospective students and throughout
the denomination at-large, we are finding more and more people
with
questions about their call and how to discern it," says
David
Shetler, director of admissions and student development. "With
the
appreciation EYC participants expressed for the discernment
component, we wanted to offer this type of experience for others
with discernment questions."
Bethany received
funding for the additional discernment events from
the Barnabas and Alina Foundations. The admissions staff hopes
to
offer such events on an ongoing basis. Plans for EYC were revised
due to this summer's National Youth Conference, and two EYC weekend
events are now scheduled for Nov. 22-24 at Juniata College,
Huntingdon, Pa., and Feb. 7-9 at Bethany. A summer 2003 event
at
Bethany is also planned, for July 24-Aug. 4.
"Living
in the Midst of Questions" for young adults will be held
at
Bethany Feb. 28-March 2, and the next "Open Mind, Open Heart"
event
is planned for Sept. 5-7, 2003, also at Bethany. For more
information, contact the Bethany admissions office at 800-287-8822
or enroll@bethanyseminary.edu.
9) Questions
on the future shape of the ecumenical movement in
general and the World Council of Churches (WCC) in particular
dominated this year's WCC Central Committee meeting in Geneva,
Switzerland.
During the meeting,
which adjourned Sept. 3, the Central Committee
received and endorsed with some procedural changes the Final
Report
of the Special Commission of Orthodox Participation in the WCC.
Debate on the report, which came at the end of a three-year process
to build understanding about Orthodox worship sensitivites and
traditions, was described as "passionate." A section
on "common
prayer" was received and referred "for further consideration"
to
the Permanent Committee on Consensus and Collaboration.
The 158-member
Central Committee adopted a statement on South Asia
that addresses religion, politics, and intolerance in the region,
particularly in Bangladesh. Other statements addressed the threat
of military action against Iraq, violence in Colombia, and the
ecumenical response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A review of the
WCC's program plans for 2003-2005 focused on
strengthening the organization and charting a course for the
future. The Central Committee responded to the Finance Committee's
call for a reduction in spending by accepting proposals for a
plan
that will considerably reduce budgeted expenditures for 2003.
The
reductions will require "significant adjustments to program
and
infrastructure costs." A plan is to come before WCC officers
and
Programme and Finance Committee representatives by December.
Finally, the
Committee appointed an 18-person search committee to
seek a successor for WCC general secretary Konrad Raiser. Raiser
has served as general secretary since January 1993 and plans
to
retire at the end of 2003. The Committee also chose Porto Alegre,
Brazil, as the site of the WCC's next General Assembly, in 2006.
10) Brethren
bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
*After winning the final two races of the Indy Racing League
(IRL)
by the slimmest of margins, Sam Hornish Jr. claimed the circuit's
2002 season points title. Hornish, who grew up in the Poplar
Ridge
Church of the Brethren, Defiance, Ohio, won a record total of
five
races this season--the last two each by less than .01 seconds.
*Diane Stroyeck
has been hired as part-time subscription
specialist for "Messenger" magazine. Stroyeck had filled
a variety
of temporary roles at the General Offices in Elgin, Ill., over
the
past few years before accepting this position.
*A newly reorganized
New Life Ministries board met Sept. 5 in
Lititz, Pa., and committed itself to increased work with mainline
Protestant denominations and congregations while reaffirming
its
commitment to provide resources and services to congregations
in
the Anabaptist tradition. Frederick (Md.) Church of the Brethren
pastor Paul Mundey was elected chair of the board, which also
finalized plans for the Feb. 14-16 Anabaptist Evangelism Council
meeting in Chicago and made plans for new projects to be developed
cooperatively with Anabaptist and mainline Protestant partners.
*Two dates listed
in the Sept. 6 issue of Newsline were incorrect.
The dates of the Northern Ireland young adult workcamp sponsored
by
the General Board's Youth/Young Adult Ministry office have been
changed to May 31-June 9. (A second young adult workcamp, to
Ecuador, remains scheduled for May 30-June 8). Also, dates given
for the 2004 National Older Adult Conference were the 2002 dates.
The 2004 NOAC will be Sept. 6-10, back in Lake Junaluska, N.C.
*Edna Switzer
Soler, who served with the Church of the Brethren
Mission Board in Quito, Ecuador, in the 1950s and 1960s, died
on
Sept. 1 in Puerto Rico. She was 77. Her main responsibilities
in
Ecuador included religious education in a Brethren-run primary
school and adult literacy projects.
*The Elizabethtown
(Pa.) Church of the Brethren is wrapping up its
centennial celebrations by inviting the community to come to
a free
address by well-known speaker Tony Campolo at 7 p.m. this Saturday
(Sept. 21) at Elizabethtown College's Leffler Chapel. Campolo,
who
spoke at this year's National Youth Conference and National Older
Adult Conference, will also preach Sunday morning at the
congregation's 10:30 a.m. worship service. He will preach on
the
centennial theme, "Learning to Live the Love of God."
*The Pipe Creek
Church of the Brethren, Peru, Ind., celebrated its
150th anniversary homecoming Sept. 8 with a guest message by
Bethany Theological Seminary professor Jeff Bach; the Markle
(Ind.)
congregation will hold its 150th anniversary homecoming Sept.
22
with worship, a carry-in dinner, and a time of sharing and music.
*Southeastern
District is holding its first young adult retreat
Nov. 29-Dec. 1 at Camp Carmel in Linville, N.C. The theme is
"And
the Walls Came a-Tumbling Down," with keynote speakers Kim
Stuckey
and David Radcliff. . . . Southeastern also recently announced
that
its 2003 district conference would move to Mars Hill (N.C.) College
after being "disinvited" from its former site, Johnson
Bible
College in Tennessee, for repeatedly violating the campus'
no-smoking policy.
*The Brethren
Service Center in New Windsor, Md., will be a rest
stop for the Maryland Lung Association Bike Tour on Sept. 21.
More
than 300 cyclists are expected to participate.
*A special piece
on the work of Heifer Project International was
broadcast as part of Oprah Winfrey's show on Sept. 18. Long-time
Heifer supporter Susan Sarandon was the guest for the show.
11) The General
Board's search committee for a new general
secretary--following the announcement of Judy Mills Reimer's
intent
to retire in July 2003--has secured Kirk Stiffney of Mennonite
Health Services as a consultant in the search process.
The committee,
which will hold its first formal meeting Sept. 28 at
the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., has released
an
announcement for the full-time position based in Elgin, Ill.
The
general secretary guides numerous key denominational ministries
and
represents the denomination ecumenically. The March 2003 General
Board meeting is the target date for presenting a candidate.
According to
the position description, the committee seeks a
candidate who will: model spiritual depth and maturity, communicate
and implement a vision, structure and lead a complex organization,
integrate fiscal responsibility with an organization's mission,
listen to and speak with diverse constituencies, seek wholeness
and
restoration in all relationships, and develop collegial
relationships with other denominational/district agencies.
Minimum requirements
are: a Christian committed to the Church of
the Brethren faith, a bachelor's degree (with advanced degree
or
equivalent experience preferred), and significant experience
working with a board of directors. Inquiries should be sent to
Kirk
Stiffney, General Board Search Consultant, c/o Mennonite Health
Services, 234 S. Main St., Suite A, Goshen, IN 46526; fax
574-534-3254 or e-mail kirkstiffney@aol.com.
12) Lester Boleyn,
a General Board Congregational Life Team Member
for Area 3 (Southeast) based in Cumberland, Md., has announced
his
retirement effective Dec. 31.
Boleyn has served
the General Board through a variety of positions
for more than 16 years. He began as a missionary in Nigeria in
1968
before serving as a pastor in West Virginia from 1977 to 1988.
Boleyn and his wife, Esther, then spent 1988 to 1998 in the Sudan
through the denomination's mission office to facilitate the
Sudanese teams translating the Bible into the Nuer language.
He returned to
the pastorate in Alabama from 1998 to 2000 and has
been a Congregational Life Team member since April 2000.
13) Pacific Southwest
District has called an interim district
executive and a team of others to assist following the retirement
of executive Gene Hipskind.
Richard Hart
began his term of service as interim executive Aug. 1,
bringing more than 30 years of experience in educational
administration. He is a member of the Pomona (Calif.) Fellowship
Church of the Brethren.
A team of individuals
is handling pastoral placement issues and
working with congregations who are seeking pastors. Ataloa Woodin
is working in northern California, Willard Ressler in southern
California, and Jim Merrifield in Arizona.
14) On Oct. 1,
the Church of the Brethren will celebrate more than
50 years of partnership with Church World Service (CWS). John
McCullough, executive director of CWS, will spend the day at
the
Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., culminating
in an evening reception and dinner.
McCullough will
speak on "Church World Service Today" to about 100
invited community and denominational leaders, including Elgin
city
officials, local clergy, Church World Service staff, and area
Church of the Brethren pastors.
The Church of
the Brethren was instrumental in launching Church
World Service in 1946, as well as the Christian Rural Overseas
Program (CROP), later integrated into CWS. Today, CWS is a relief,
development, and refugee assistance ministry of 36 Protestant,
Anglican, and Orthodox denominations reaching more than 80
countries. It is well known for its annual CROP Walks and works
closely with the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.
15) On Earth
Peace will sponsor an event titled "Preachin' and
Prayin' for Peace: A Revival of the Spirit" Oct. 24-27 at
Camp
Swatara in Bethel, Pa.
It is being designed
as a "family-friendly" gathering that will
include intergenerational activities and some planned especially
for children and youth. The program, emphasizing "God's
call to be
peacemakers in a hurting and violent world," will include
Bible
study, worship, hymn sings, campfires, a Saturday evening coffee
house, and an assortment of morning and afternoon options such
as
hiking, storytelling, and silent prayer.
Keynote speakers
include Belita Mitchell, Linetta Alley, Art Gish,
Nathan Musselman, Peggy Gish, David Radcliff, Galen Hackman,
and
Joyce Stoltzfus. In addition, Peggy Gish, Paul Roth, and Pru
Yelinek will be available throughout the event as spiritual
directors.
Registration
cost for the long weekend is $25 for adult/youth and
$12 for children ages 3-12, with a per-family maximum of $60.
Per-day fees are also available. Housing and meal costs are
additional. More information is available at
www.brethren.org/oepa/preach-prayer.html, or call 410-635-8704
or
e-mail oepa_oepa@brethren.org.
16) The General
Board's Youth/Young Adult Ministry office is
offering a Sabbath Retreat for Church of the Brethren youth pastors
Nov. 18-20 at Shepherd's Spring Outdoor Ministries Center near
Sharpsburg, Md.
The retreat is
being planned as a time when youth pastors can
"engage in spiritual renewal, prayer, and silence."
Glenn Mitchell,
a trained Church of the Brethren spiritual director from Boalsburg,
Pa., will serve as leader for the event.
The Youth/Young
Adult office is underwriting all costs for the
retreat except transportation to Shepherd's Spring. Some
scholarships are available for those traveling a long distance;
contact Chris Douglas at 800-323-8039 or cdouglas_gb@brethren.org.
17) The October
"Source" packet from the General Board's
Interpretation office brings several pieces to aid preparations
for
2003. One colorful brochure shows the covers for next year's
Living
Word Bulletins series available from Brethren Press, and another
bright flier lists lectionary readings for the year.
Other 2003 materials
include a flier on the January Week of Prayer
for Christian Unity and brochures on Ministry Summer Service
and
the youth Christian Citizenship Seminar.
For dates yet
this year, the packet includes a flier to order
Advent/Christmas/Epiphany devotional booklets from Brethren Press,
a catalog of "Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?" alternative
celebration ideas for Christmas, and a brochure for the Ecumenical
Stewardship Center's winter conference. Another sheet provides
information on the Nov. 10 National Donor Sabbath, with a form
to
submit worship resource ideas.
Other materials
in "Source" are a mini-poster highlighting the
Brethren Marketplace section of the denominational website,
www.brethren.org, and a list of current rate offerings from
Brethren Employees' Credit Union.
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