“Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving….” — Psalm 147:7a
NEWS
1) Association of Brethren Caregivers tours Advocate Bethany Hospital.
2) Disaster leadership training provides unique experience.
3) Counter-recruitment event challenges Anabaptists peace witness.
4) Mid-Atlantic District conference incorporates learning centers.
5) Brethren bits: Correction, remembrance, and much more.
PERSONNEL
6) Jim Kinsey retires from Congregational Life Teams staff.
7) Kevin Kessler called as executive of Illinois and Wisconsin District.
8) Tim Button-Harrison begins as interim executive for N. Plains District.
UPCOMING EVENTS
9) “Small Things, Great Love” is theme for 2007 workcamps.
FEATURE
10) Boca Chica, Dominican Republic: Building a church, block-by-block.
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1) Association of Brethren Caregivers tours Advocate Bethany Hospital.
The Association of Brethren Caregivers’ Executive Committee and Wellness Ministry cabinet toured Advocate Bethany Hospital in Chicago, prior to the ABC Board’s fall meetings Sept. 29-30 in Elgin, Ill.
The Association of Brethren Caregivers has some connections to the former Bethany Hospital, which began in conjunction with Bethany Theological Seminary when the school was located in Chicago. The tour allowed executive committee members to view the hospital’s transition to providing acute longterm care, from providing general health and emergency care.
The hospital received widespread publicity when it announced the move last January. At the ABC Board’s previous meeting in March, Church of the Brethren representatives who serve on the Governing Council of Advocate Bethany Hospital met with the board to report on the hospital’s reasons for moving to acute longterm care and how it might better serve its surrounding community.
In other business during its fall meetings, the ABC Board also approved holding National Older Adult Conferences (NOAC) in 2008 and 2009, ensuring that NOAC and National Youth Conference will no longer fall in the same year; received a written report titled “Stem Cell Research Report and Study Guide” from a task force created jointly by ABC and the Church of the Brethren General Board; heard reports about its ministries and events; and discussed the work of the denomination and ways agencies work together with Stan Noffsinger, general secretary of the General Board. Noffsinger was invited to the meetings as part of the ABC Board’s ongoing review of the Vision Statement it approved and released to the denomination last fall.
The board also took part in a board development session to evaluate its current make-up, vision, and focus. The session included a component that encourages the board to rethink its future goals and work.
These were the last board meetings for John Wenger of Anderson, Ind., who moves off the board Dec. 31. He will continue to serve on the Wellness Ministry. The board also accepted Gayle Hunter Sheller’s resignation and approved the appointment of Chris Whitacre of McPherson, Kan., to complete her term and represent the western districts.
For more about ABC go to www.brethren.org/abc.
2) Disaster leadership training provides unique experience.
October was a month of excitement, anticipation, and new beginnings, reported Jane Yount, coordinator of Brethren Disaster Response for the Church of the Brethren General Board. The month represented a new beginning for leadership in the program, as 26 people from 13 states participated in two disaster project leadership trainings in Pensacola, Fla., and Lucedale, Miss.
These were the first trainings of their kind to be offered by Brethren Disaster Response, featuring real-life experience at actual disaster response project sites. Each two-week training was filled with instruction and skill development sessions, as presenters from local disaster recovery groups, Disaster Response staff, and current project leadership provided special training in their field of expertise. The training focused on topics such as construction management, safety, volunteer management, meal planning, hospitality, and more.
In addition to staff, trainers included Bob and Marianne Pittman, Larry and Alice Petry, Brethren Volunteer Service workers Phil and Joan Taylor, and safety expert Steve Hollinger.
Participants found it beneficial to immediately put into practice what they were learning, Yount reported. “We aren’t here by accident, we’re here by blessing. We’ve learned from everybody here,” commented Eddie Motley, trainee from Southeastern District of the Church of the Brethren.
The trainings have come to a close, but the journey for these volunteers has just begun. They will continue their training by working with the leaders of current disaster response projects to hone skills and become comfortable in leadership roles.
In other disaster response news, three grants have been made from the Emergency Disaster Fund of the Church of the Brethren General Board: an additional allocation of $25,000 continues support of the Brethren Disaster Response rebuilding site in Lucedale; an additional allocation of $3,000 completes funding for Disaster Child Care and other volunteers in Florida after Hurricane Wilma; an additional allocation of $1,500 completes funding for a Brethren Disaster Response clean-up project in Alabama following Hurricane Katrina.
A new Hurricane Katrina clean up and rebuilding project opened in Tammany Parish, La., on Oct. 15. Katrina caused devastation for the parish on the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Brethren Disaster Response opened the project in Pearl River, a small town outside of Slidell.
3) Counter-recruitment event challenges Anabaptist peace witness.
On the weekend eve of national elections, Brethren, Mennonites, and others gathered in San Antonio, Texas, to explore national issues of conscience on Nov. 3-5. Meeting on the weekend eve of national elections, the group realized that the time is now for peacemakers of conscience to speak with a clear voice in regards to war and its costly impact to society, said Phil Jones, director of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office.
Organized by Mennonite Central Committee, under direction of MCC staff Titus Peachey, the event focused on the impact of military recruitment in communities of color and communities impacted by poverty, and was initiated by the people of color caucus from the Anabaptist Consultation on Alternative Service in March 2005. Participants were hosted by San Antonio Mennonite Church, and were given opportunities for networking and relationship building around the issue of countering military recruitment.
The conference drew more than 70 participants from across the US. Brethren in attendance included San Antonio residents, Brethren volunteers, denominational staff Jones and Matt Guynn of On Earth Peace, Brethren members from Ohio and Pennsylvania, and a large youth delegation from Haitian First Church of the Brethren in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Ertell Whigham, associate pastor of Norristown New Life Church, spoke for the opening session. He shared from his broad military experiences and involvements, including six years in the Marine Corps with a combat unit in Vietnam 1968-69, and as a recruiting sergeant 1973-74. He challenged the conference to seek the truth that lies beneath many military promises and expectations.
Other presenters included J.E. McNeil of the Center on Conscience and War in Washington, D.C.; Dick Davis, pastor of Peace Mennonite Church in Dallas, Texas, who had served as an army chaplain and resigned his commission in 1992 as a conscientious objector; and a three-member panel of former military personnel who were able to leave the military as an act of conscience. They recounted stories of heavy military recruitment, unfulfilled promises from the military, and the growing understanding that their initial choice of the military was one that they could no longer honor.
Workshops were offered on topics such as counter recruitment in schools, racism in the military, peace as worship, alternatives to the military, and seeing counter recruitment as a social movement. Guynn presented a workshop on the theological basis of counter recruitment.
In Sunday morning worship with the San Antonio Mennonites, the Brooklyn Brethren group offered leadership through drama and music. Peachey gave the closing sermon, “Countering Recruitment with Gospel Nonviolence” from Luke 9:51-56, reminding the group that many influences affect the choices we make. Peachey encouraged all to understand that “our own internal work can transform things around us, a greater, more powerful step than dismissing things in anger.”
(Reflections on the conference from the Haitian Brethren youth will follow in the Dec. 6 issue of Newsline.)
4) Mid-Atlantic District conference incorporates learning centers.
The 40th Mid-Atlantic District Conference was held in Manassas, Va., on Oct. 6-7, incorporating a new approach to business as well as new “learning centers.”
The event began with a Pre-Conference Clergy Workshop with Mennonite comedians Ted and Lee, who brought their “theater works” to help clergy explore biblical stories from a unique perspective and to open eyes to the humor in the stories. Ted and Lee also added an unusual experience to worship Friday evening, with theater and humor transmitting a message on stewardship, “It’s Going to Cost How Much?”
Saturday’s session began with Bible study with Ted and Lee continuing the theme of stewardship. Manassas pastor and conference moderator Jeff Carter led the 281 conference-goers–representing 52 congregations–through the business. A new approach to business was used, as delegates were provided detailed information on each item of business in the morning, with a question and answer period following each explanation, and final decisions made in the afternoon.
Acting on a recommendation from the district’s Leadership Team, the conference decided to provide for an annual district audit in the form of a review by an outside CPA. Financial records of the Outdoor Ministry Facilities will be performed in accordance to its financial guidelines.
In other business, delegates approved accepting Community of Joy as a member congregation, along with a constitution change that affirms District Conference as the final authority to charter member congregations. The 2007 district budget was passed with an appeal for congregations to increase their stewardship and contribution to district ministries. The 2007 leadership slate was affirmed and three members for the Leadership Calling Team were selected. Dale Posthumus was called as moderator-elect for 2007.
The new format also included learning centers on the topics of worship, evangelism, and vital congregations, led by a combination of lay leadership and congregational and denominational staff. Ideas presented in the learning centers were steeped in personal experience and in research gleaned from a variety of resources, and provided attendees with at least one or more ideas to try in their respective congregations.
During lunch, Jim Benedict, author of the six-week curriculum “Together: Conversations on Being the Church,” answered questions and provided information to a small group of delegates. At least one small group from each congregation is encouraged to utilize the Together materials and report back to the denomination by April 2007.
5) Brethren bits: Correction, remembrance, and much more.
- Correction: In the Newsline of Nov. 8, a “Brethren Bit” giving information about a new option for tax-free giving for retirees omitted the names of all the agencies of the Church of the Brethren that may receive donations. Those agencies are the Association of Brethren Caregivers, the General Board, Bethany Theological Seminary, and On Earth Peace.
- Atlantic Southeast District is requesting prayer for the family of Bryan Pata, a University of Miami football star who was shot outside his apartment on Nov. 8. Pata was a member of Eglise des Freres Haitiens (Haitian Church of the Brethren) in Miami, Fla. His death has been ruled a homicide. Pastor Ludovic St. Fleur conducted the memorial service.
- Marin O’Brien has begun work in Guatemala as a Brethren Volunteer Service and Global Mission worker for the Church of the Brethren General Board. She will work with Red Ecumenica of Totonicapan. O’Brien is from Newton, Mass.
- The Brethren Witness/Washington Office seeks Brethren members interested in serving as representative to the board of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). Cliff Kindy of Liberty, Ind., and Orlando Redekopp of Chicago, Ill., are concluding their terms of service as Church of the Brethren representatives on the CPT board of directors. Phil Miller continues to serve as a board member appointed by On Earth Peace. “A sincere thank you to Cliff and Orlando for their service to the church through their work with Christian Peacemaker Teams,” said the office in an Action Alert. Contact Phil Jones, director of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, at pjones_gb@brethren.org or 800-785-3246.
- “Life to the World: Devotions for Advent Through the Baptism of Our Lord,” by Christopher D. Bowman, is available from Brethren Press. The small booklet of daily devotions, scripture, and prayer for the 2006 Advent and Christmas season may be ordered for $2 plus shipping and handling from 800-441-3712.
- *Materials for an annual Christmas Offering for the work of the Church of the Brethren General Board are available for the suggested date of Dec. 3. Free materials on the theme “Come Walk with Us in the Ways of Peace,” include a bulletin insert, offering envelope, sheet of stewardship practices, sermon thoughts, music suggestions, and worship resources. Some are available in Spanish and English. Order from Brethren Press at 800-441-3712.
- The website of the Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) is offering a new link for congregations wanting emergency disaster preparedness information for members with disabilities. The link sends congregations to a resource from the National Organization on Disabilities titled “Prepare Yourself: Disaster Readiness Tips for People with Disabilities.” This and other resources can be accessed by going to the link at www.brethren.org/abc or by going directly to www.nod.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=1549&.
- The Association for the Arts in the Church of the Brethren has announced the disbursement of funds from the quilt auction at the 2006 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. The group has disbursed a total of $11,500 as follows: $5,700 to the Global Food Crisis Fund, a ministry of the Church of the Brethren General Board, to help fund a bakery in Sudan and micro-loans in Latin America; $4,000 to the Washington (D.C.) City Food Pantry; $1,000 to the Pump House Ministry; and $800 to the New Community Project to help fund development for women in Nepal.
- Barry and Carol Haller of East Cocalico Church of the Brethren in Reamstown, Pa., are again organizing annual Thanksgiving dinners for their community, this year expecting close to 1,000 guests at two locations. The dinners are served with the help of many other community volunteers. An article in the “Intelligencer Journal” of Lancaster, Pa., tells the story. Find the piece titled “Feeding bodies and spirits,” at http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/27985.
- A new resource from the National Council of Churches (NCC) Eco-Justice Program titled, “At the Lord’s Table: Everyday Thanksgiving,” gives churches tools to talk about how faith may influence food choices, to engage in progressive food buying practices, and to advocate for a better farm bill in 2007. The NCC hopes people of faith this holiday season will remember the chain of God’s creatures and creation that brings food to their family’s table, said a release. “From farmers, farmworkers, rural communities, land, water, air, and soil that was necessary to produce their meal, all deserve to be lifted up as families say their prayers of thanks this holiday season,” the NCC said. The resource addresses justice, economic, and environmental issues related to food production and distribution. It can be downloaded for free from the Eco-Justice Program’s Network at www.nccecojustice.org/network (sign in to access the resource downloads).
- Virlina District reports that a “Brethren Christian Peacemaker Team” is sending four representatives to eastern Tennessee from Nov. 24-28, to the area of the Aerojet plant in Telford to hold meetings and discussions about the production of weapons using depleted uranium. The Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) group is working to educate about the effects of depleted uranium weaponry on the local community, the military, and people around the world. The schedule for the visit includes a potluck supper at Jackson Park Church of the Brethren in Jonesborough, Tenn., followed by a discussion about “Agent Orange and Depleted Uranium–How Do Good Citizens Respond to These Tragedies for Our Soldiers?” with representatives of the VFW’s local “Rolling Thunder” chapter, on Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m.; a discussion at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City on Nov. 25 at 2 p.m.; worship at Jackson Park Church of the Brethren on Nov. 26, at 11 a.m.; a discussion with Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, at Aerojet in Telford, on Nov. 27 at 1 p.m., pizza and discussion with First Tennessee Progressives at Rivers Edge Restaurant in Erwin on Nov. 27 at 6 p.m.; and a meeting with Congressman-elect David Davis in Johnson City on Nov. 28 at 8:45 a.m.
- In other news from Christian Peacemaker Teams, a team returned to Iraq in early November after taking a short break out of the country. CPT requested prayer for the team, as it reported that the security situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate.
- A Greater Gift/SERRV is holding a Holiday Overstock sale through Nov. 26 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., in the Blue Ridge Building 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. through Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. The sale will be closed on Thanksgiving. Discounts include 60 percent off all first-quality crafts, some with greater discounts. For more go to http://www.greatergift.org/.
- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has expressed “deep and abiding sorrow and regret for the persecution and suffering visited upon the Anabaptists during the religious disputes of the past.” The council is the ELCA’s board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council acted because past statements have become problematic for the ELCA’s present-day relationships with the Mennonite Church USA and others who trace their heritage to 16th century Anabaptist reformers, which group includes the Church of the Brethren. The council declared that the ELCA “repudiates the use of governmental authorities to punish individuals or groups with whom it disagrees theologically”; rejected arguments of Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon, two 16th century church reformers, “in which they hold that governmental authorities should punish Anabaptists for their teaching”; and repudiated similar statements in the Formula of Concord and Augsburg Confession.
- The Fund for Theological Education (FTE) seeks nominations for 2007 fellowships, including Undergraduate Fellowships for rising juniors and seniors, Ministry Fellowships for divinity students, matching grants for Congregational Fellowships for students entering the first year of a divinity program, and Doctoral and Dissertation Fellowships for African-American doctoral students. University and seminary faculty and administrators, campus pastors, and clergy are invited to nominate candidates. For details go to www.thefund.org/programs.
- In a follow up to the report about Brethren trees (see “Brethren bits” in the Aug. 30 Newsline), the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., has two “Big Tree Champions” on its grounds with awards from the State of Maryland, reports Linda Hollinger, a former Brethren Volunteer Service worker at the center. “The Big Tree champion of species is the biggest documented occurrence of that species in the state,” she said. “The purple beech near the entrance to the Zigler Building (dining hall) measures over 14 feet in circumference. It, and the hinoki cypress on the grounds listed as the biggest in the state can be found by searching the following website http://dnrweb.dnr.state.md.us/download/forests/bigtreelist.pdf.” (The Brethren Service Center trees are listed on pages 4 and 5.) Ed Palsgrove, director of Buildings and Grounds at the center provided more information. “We have been aware that the purple beach is a unique specimen for quite awhile and have made it a priority to keep it in good shape over the last 25-plus years,” he said. “We have had it trimmed, cabled, fertilized, and applied other longevity efforts. The hanoki cypress was nominated by a local arborist about five years ago and we have taken a few similar measures since then to maintain its health.”
6) Jim Kinsey retires from Congregational Life Teams staff.
Jim Kinsey, a member of the Congregational Life Team for Areas 2 and 4, has announced his retirement from fulltime ministry through the Church of the Brethren General Board, effective Jan. 2, 2007.
Kinsey began work for the General Board in 1994, beginning fulltime work for the board in 2000. He has done a wide variety of work for Congregational Life Ministries, with a particular passion for small church and rural ministries and for building healthy congregational systems.
He also has served in several other roles denominationally. Prior to his current position, he shared the role of interim co-director of Ministry for the board, and for a time, both those positions coincided with the 17 years of service he provided as executive minister of Michigan District. In earlier years, he served as a pastor in Church of the Brethren congregations in Michigan and Ohio.
7) Kevin Kessler called as executive of Illinois and Wisconsin District.
Kevin L. Kessler has been called to serve in a half-time position as executive minister of Illinois and Wisconsin District, effective Jan. 1, 2007. Since 1993, he has served as pastor of Canton (Ill.) Church of the Brethren, where he will continue to pastor on a half-time basis.
Kessler completed the Education for a Shared Ministry (EFSM) program at Canton and was ordained in 1997. He is working towards an associate degree in Science at Spoon River College. He also has 17 years of experience in the banking and finance industry, prior to his calling to ministry. In volunteer work for the church, he has served as a District Board member, including a term as chair, and has chaired the District Transition Team.
The Illinois and Wisconsin District Office will continue to be located at York Center Church of the Brethren in Lombard, Ill.
8) Tim Button-Harrison begins as interim executive for N. Plains District.
Tim Button-Harrison has been named interim executive minister in Northern Plains District, effective Nov. 13 through at least Dec. 31, 2007.
Button-Harrison has served as pastor of Church of the Brethren congregations in the Northern Plains District, most recently Ivester Church of the Brethren in Grundy Center, Iowa. He also brings broad district experience to the position, including service as a District Board member, district moderator, district coordinator for Training in Ministry, and Standing Committee member.
He attended Manchester College, majoring in peace studies and religion, and also holds a degree in religion from the University of Iowa. He graduated from Bethany Seminary in 1990.
9) “Small Things, Great Love” is theme for 2007 workcamps.
By Amy Rhodes
Mother Teresa’s words, “We can do no great things; only small things with great love,” echoed at National Youth Conference and have been chosen to provide the inspiration for next summer’s Church of the Brethren workcamps.
Workcamps offer week-long service opportunities across the US and Central America for junior high youth, senior high youth, and young adults. Held in June, July, and August, the workcamp program of the General Board provides experiences that unite service, spiritual growth, and Brethren heritage.
The theme for 2007 draws on 2 Corinthians 9:10, “For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you.”
Workcamps will be offered in 35 new and revisited locations including such as Kansas City, Kan.; Camp Wilbur Stover in New Meadows, Idaho; Reynosa, Mexico; St. Croix, Virgin Islands; Los Angeles; and Phoenix. Six junior high workcamps, 20 senior high workcamps, one combined junior and senior high workcamp, three intergenerational workcamps, two young adult workcamps, and two combined senior high and adult workcamps will be offered.
The program hopes to draw on the excitement generated at NYC and is an opportunity for youth to find out what “Come and See” (the NYC theme) is all about. “Workcamps bring youth together to give a week of service, to go outside of their own hometown and into another community to follow Jesus’ teaching of ‘go and serve,’ ” said Travis Beam, an assistant workcamp coordinator through Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS).
The workcamp program organized by the board’s Youth and Young Adult Ministries began in 1988. The number of participants has grown from 46 in 1988 to 622 in 2005. Recognizing this growing interest, the board has responded with plans for expansion. Primary changes in the program are the addition of office positions including a fulltime staff member as coordinator and additional BVS positions. Steve Van Houten is serving as coordinator; Travis Beam, Rachel McFadden, and Amy Rhodes are assistant coordinators. The new positions support the growth of the program and the greater number of workcamps that are being offered.
The General Board also has outlined several ways of broadening the program in coming years, such as offering workcamps during spring break and January term for young adults, in conjunction with the Brethren colleges; providing workcamp opportunities for adults in Sunday school classes and other groups, especially during non-summer seasons; and creating intergenerational workcamps and family workcamps.
Van Houten emphasized that workcampers must anticipate learning as much as they commit to serving. “We learn as much from the people at these places as we share with them,” he said. “We’re joining together and walking alongside the people in the communities.”
Online registration for the workcamps begins Jan. 3, 2007, go to www.brethren.org/genbd/yya/workcamps/index.html. Promotional DVDs and a printed brochure are available on request–call 800-323-8039 or e-mail cobworkcamps_gb@brethren.org.
–Amy Rhodes is a Brethren Volunteer Service worker and assistant workcamp coordinator for the Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Church of the Brethren General Board.
10) Boca Chica, Dominican Republic: Building a church, block-by-block.
By Nancy and Irvin Heishman
The congregation of Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic is hard at work building a physical house of worship, and at the same time discovering that God is strengthening their spiritual house (1 Peter 1:4-5). The area in which the congregation ministers is east of the capital city of Santo Domingo. While the neighborhood is a very poor area, many tourist hotels and some of the most gorgeous beaches on the island can be found just on the opposite side of the road.
The Boca Chica congregation consists of approximately 120 members, mostly Haitian immigrants. Lively worship is conducted in both Spanish and Creole.
In 2003, the Brethren World Mission Committee, with members in Atlantic Northeast District and Southern Pennsylvania District, made it possible for this growing congregation to move into a rented facility for worship. Prior to this they were crowding into a fragile pavilion with pieces of tin, tarp, and palm branches overhead. When it rained, the people got drenched and they were impossibly crowded in the little space. This yearly support has been a wonderful blessing for this congregation.
Earlier this spring, the congregation felt a need to relocate when the landlord began to butcher pigs in the lot behind the worship space. The foul odor made it practically impossible at times to use the building for worship. God used this unpleasant experience for good, however, inspiring the congregation to begin raising funds to build a church building on property they had purchased themselves.
One factor in Boca Chica’s success in reaching its building goal is the motivational gifts of its pastor, Catalice Mardoche, who is constantly encouraging members and keeping a positive momentum alive. In a kick-off campaign for the building effort, members were invited to commit themselves to pledge money for concrete block and other building materials. When even children came forward to make commitments, at first the adults discouraged them thinking that they would not be able to follow through. But the children were insistent. They wanted to make their own pledges! Since then, they have been strong supporters of the project as well as the adults.
The steeply sloped and rocky building lot is a challenge. To create a level foundation, the church members first dug trenches through the rocks and soil for the footer, and then blocks were laid. The next difficult project will be to fill the interior with compacted soil to form a level surface on which to pour the floor. All the labor is done by hand and, of course, out in the blazing hot sun.
But the spirit of cooperation and determination is truly inspiring. Led by pastor Mardoche and an excellent board of leaders, the church truly has a “can do” spirit, with God’s help. They know the meaning of the truth, “With God all things are possible!”
–Nancy and Irvin Heishman are Dominican Republic mission coordinators for the Church of the Brethren General Board.