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222nd Annual Conference Richmond, Virginia July 12 - 16, 2008 |
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Tuesday, July 15
Feature
[Highlights | Business | Photo | Worship]
JAMES MYER SPEAKS AT BRETHREN REVIVAL FELLOWSHIP DINNER ON ‘CONNECTING THE DOTS OF THE MACKATHITES’
BRF (Brethren Revival Fellowship) held its annual dinner meeting with a gathering of 350 people. After the meal, the Heidelberg Trio from Heidelberg Church of the Brethren in Schaefferstown, Pa., sang three songs.
Moderator Walter Heisey introduced Jim Myer as having “served the Church of the Brethren for one-sixth of the 300 years.” Myer began his remarks by stating that he had found the “Mackathites” in the scripture. He pointed to Joshua 13:13, “Nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.
If God took care of the Maachathites, He will take care of the Church of the Brethren if we look to God’s word for guidance, and connect the dots, Myer said.
He then discussed five “dots” the Church of the Brethren needs to connect as it moves forward in the next years. All of the “dots” he referenced are found in Deuteronomy 8:
First dot--remember God’s leading (Deut. 8:2). For Jim Myer, this requires constantly checking the past, like a driver checks the rear view mirror to see what is behind. The farthest back view would be the beginning of Christianity, with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. God then protected and blessed our ancestors as they sought to remain faithful through the Protestant Reformation, then the Anabaptist and Pietist movement, then the Church of the Brethren. Myer also pointed to the Brethren Revival Fellowship as a group committed to pointing the church to remember God’s leading by seeking to be faithful.
Second dot--remember God’s commandments (Deut. 8:11). God is a God of detail, who is interested in a people who keep the commandments. Myer pointed to trine immersion baptism, three part love feast, anointing, loving our enemies, not going to law, and the practice of the headveiling as ways the Brethren have remembered God’s commandments.
Third dot--remember God’s deliverance (Deut 8:14). Even though the people of Israel complained, God delivered them. God has delivered the Brethren, as Alexander Mack and the other early Brethren left the oppression of Europe. Then, the Brethren in America reached out to evangelize, even though faced with conflicts and difficulties. God delivered them and here we are today, Myer commented.
Fourth dot--remember God’s provision (Deut. 8:18). As a denomination we have been blessed by God and we have prosperity. Myer posed the question, what if Mack had settled in a poorer continent like India or Africa? Where would the Brethren be today, he asked. We have experienced God’s provision, he asserted.
Fifth dot--remember God’s warning (Deut. 8:19). God is a God of blessing, but He also keeps tabs on how we are doing and what we neglect to do.
All the dots are part of the Brethren Revival Fellowship’s commitment to live out the words of Jude 3, “Ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto you.” This is God’s message to the “Mackathites” as Jim Myer sees it.
-- Karen Garrett is a student at Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind.
BETHANY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY HOLDS ITS ANNUAL LUNCHEON
Today Bethany Theological Seminary president Ruthann Knechel Johansen, and the Alumni/ae Coordinating Council, hosted a luncheon for over 300 people. A special group of attenders, four Education for Shared Ministry (EFSM) students and 17 Training in Ministry (TRIM) students, were recognized for the completion of their studies.
Johansen and the gathered body also expressed thanks to outgoing dean Stephen Breck Reid, Jonathan Shively who has resigned as director of the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, and Delora Roop, who has worked as receptionist and in a variety of other capacities, all of whom are transitioning to other places and or responsibilities.
The Conference booklet listed Johansen as speaker, but she “turned the tables” and made the attenders the presenters. She led the gathered body through an interactive discussion by providing a variety of discussion questions, dispersed throughout the tables. Each table group reflected on individual faith stories, memories of scriptures, or events with the church or seminary, and the challenges and opportunities the seminary faces.
Following the meal microphones were available for sharing insights that came out of the discussions. During this time, Christian musician Ken Medema listened in, preparing to offer a song that would tell us what we had discovered.
Johansen did offer some reflections of her own. “If the Church of the Brethren does not fulfill its distinctive Christian witness, we need not fear its decline for there is little reason to survive,” she said. To offer some hope she continued with a challenge. She sees “Bethany Seminary as yeast in the theological loaf.” The seminary “has a particular calling no other church in the world has in exactly the same way.” Her challenge to the seminary, and perhaps the denomination, is to consider the following:
“Continuing the work of Jesus calls us to provide solid theological scholarship, that is not a defense of ourselves against the Bible, but helps us face the hard realities and tough questions we face; to study and promote Jesus’ teachings on peace and justice; and to pursue mission and reconciliation work within our own denomination and cross-culturally.”
Concluding, she reminded the group that “Jesus’ call is particular and timeless.” Medema summed all of it up with a song that spoke of the calling and uniqueness of Brethren. He sang, we are to be Jesus to others, by brothering and sistering one another, which replaces the brokenness and pain, the hard realities in the world today.
-- Karen Garrett is a student at Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind.
 A peace rally voicing opposition to the war in Iraq and calling for conversation rather than military action against Iran was sponsored by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, and took place on the steps of Richmond City Hall. Photo by Glenn Riegel |
 Brethren expressed their commitment to peace at a rally and march held this afternoon. Photo by Glenn Riegel |
 The Brethren band Mutual Kumquat played for the peace witness and rally at the Richmond City Hall. Photo by Glenn Riegel |
 Music and speeches marked the peace rally. Shown here is Brethren folk singer Mike Stern. Photo by Glenn Riegel |