Annual Conference 2005 - Saturday Daily Snapshot Page

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I’ve spent the past 12 months with the gospels and let me tell you, it has not been comfortable. You see, Jesus doesn’t always agree with me.... (Jesus) will challenge us to look beyond ourselves." -- Jim Hardenbrook, Annual Conference moderator, in the sermon for the opening worship service

Church of the Brethren members gather for the 219th recorded Annual Conference.
Photo by Regina Roberts

OVERVIEW OF THE DAY
Today several Church of the Brethren groups held or continued their pre-Annual Conference meetings, including the Standing Committee of district delegates, the Council of District Executives, the General Board, the Ministers’ Association, and the Fellowship of Brethren Genealogists.

The Exhibit Hall opened at 3 p.m. featuring booths and exhibits from the Annual Conference agencies, the Brethren colleges, and many other Brethren-related organizations, as well as a Brethren Press bookstore, and a Greater Gift/SERRV store.

Meal events included the Association of Brethren Caregivers’ Recognition Dinner, an International Welcome Dinner, and the first Church of the Brethren Credit Union Annual Dinner and Meeting.

An Early Evening Concert featured alumni musicians and an alumni choir celebrating the centennial of Bethany Theological Seminary.

The opening worship service was led by moderator Jim Hardenbrook, who gave the message on “I Love to Tell the Story,” with moderator-elect Ronald D. Beachley as worship leader.

Following worship, listening sessions were held by the Doing Church Business Study Committee, the Intercultural Study Committee, and by Brethren Benefit Trust on the Brethren Medical Plan; the junior and senior highs and single adults held welcome sessions; the young adults met for a “camp fire”; Bible studies were offered in English and Spanish on the Annual Conference theme scripture; and other Conference-goers enjoyed an ice cream social.

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED FOR THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE BLOOD DRIVE
Volunteers are needed for all shifts at the blood drive on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, July 3-5. Volunteers are needed for all shifts (at least two hours each) in both registration and hospitality. A few extra volunteers to unload equipment are needed for set-up on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Sign up for the blood drive at the information booth on Saturday afternoon and evening.

“Our goal is to exceed 200 units of giving and an urgent appeal is being made for O negative donors, though of course, all are welcome,” said Ken Gresh, one of the organizers. “Giving in the Peoria area has been quite a bit down in the past weeks and the local chapter is extremely excited about our giving potential. Remember, our donations are doing so much more by saving one life at a time. ”

Blood drive hours are 4-8 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday. Free t-shirts and more are to be given to donors this year. For any questions please contact Ken Gresh at the Blood Drive Table or at his cell phone, call 410-714-2266.

Jim Hardenbrook delivers the message during opening worship.
Photo by Regina Roberts

A REPORT FROM THE OPENING WORSHIP SERVICE
For the past 12 months moderator Jim Hardenbrook has been telling us to fix our eyes on Jesus. Could there be any doubt with a sermon titled, “I Love to Tell the Story,” that the story would be about anyone but Jesus?

On more than one occasion during the sermon, Hardenbrook flashed that smile that Brethren have come to know so well and chuckled, “Yes, I love to tell the story.” But he hastened to remind the congregation that it has to be God’s story, and not our own. He admitted that, like all of us, he often spent time with comforting Bible passages. Reading the gospels from beginning to end “revealed my stubborn and arrogant ignorance of him,” Hardenbrook said.

The moderator drew laughs with his description of his first encounters with Jesus as a child in Sunday school. “Remember,” said Hardenbrook, who hails from Idaho, “I was raised in cowboy country, so I envisioned the Sermon on the Mount as the sermon on the ‘mount.’” As a child he imagined the mount as a horse that Jesus rode, accompanied by the apostles in chaps. He went on to describe a war of words he had with a Sunday school teacher who insisted the sermon took place on a small mountain. Despite his youthful insistence that he was right, Hardenbrook lost the debate and was excused from class.

Returning to his theme, Hardenbrook reminded the congregation, “The first word of his (Jesus’) first sermon was ‘Repent!’” Noting that Christians like to create Jesus in their own image, he passionately reset Matthew 25 with contemporary examples and added, “We must take all of him and not just what we like.”

By the time Hardenbrook was through retelling the gospels it is likely that those who listened will want to share their favorite stories of Jesus as well. He challenged Brethren to listen to the question Jesus asked Peter after the resurrection, “Do you love me?” “Our faith is not based on Jesus,” he concluded. “It is Jesus.”

The service included a praise band led by Keith and Beth Hollenberg, an achingly beautiful offertory by Rich Brode, and the debut of an anthem, “Pilgrimage of Faith,” by the Bethany Alumnae Choir. The anthem was written for the seminary’s centennial celebration this year.

Carl and Doreen Myers receive a caregiving award at the ABC Recognition Dinner.
Photo by Jesse Reid

ASSOCIATION OF BRETHREN CAREGIVERS RECOGNITIONS
The Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) honored four caregivers at its annual Recognition Dinner today.

Phyllis Harvey of Modesto (Calif.) Church of the Brethren was recognized for her lifetime of caregiving. She is a retired nurse and supervisor of nurses who has founded a Senior Ministries Program at Modesto and encourages older adults in the church to stay connected and involved in the church's ministry. She also created a Health and Healing Ministry in the congregation that promotes good health, offers screenings, and sponsors a yearly Health Fair.

Carl and Doreen Myers of Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill., received a caregiving award for their lifetime of giving care to others. Carl is a retired district minister for Illinois and Wisconsin District, and Doreen is a homemaker. Both have been instrumental in developing a caring community at Highland Avenue. On the denominational level, they have served on the Denominational Deacon Cabinet and the planning committee for National Older Adult Conference.

Seventeen-year-old Micah Stapleton of Woodbury (Pa.) Church of the Brethren was recognized for raising funds for drilling wells in Africa. For years, Stapleton's family had cleaned up litter along a few miles of Route 869. For his senior project, he expanded that service and began recycling aluminum soda cans. To raise enough funds by the deadline for the project, he developed a presentation asking other congregations in his community and district to donate. With the help of the Woodbury congregation and others, he sent a check of $11,666.44 to Life Outreach International.

ABC's second "Open Roof" Award recognized Black Rock Church of the Brethren in Glenville, Pa., which has focused on accessibility and inclusion of people with disabilities. The church formed a Special Needs Ministry Exploration Committee to look at the disabilities issues. Among other education efforts, the congregation installed a ramp, posted a handicapped entrance sign, made pew cuts for wheelchair use at various points in the sanctuary, and has handicapped accessible bathrooms on both floors.

Members of the 2005 Annual Conference news team, a ministry of the General Board, contributed to this report: Regina Roberts, Jesse Reid, Hannah Edwards, and Sarah Kovacs, photographers; Kathleen Campanella, Karen Garrett, Jill Kline, Frank Ramirez, Frances Townsend, Sarah Leatherman Young, and Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, writers; Amy Heckert, technical support; Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford and Becky Ullom, editors.