Church of the Brethren Newsline
October 29, 2007
Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) recently has placed two units of volunteers into service. Unit 276 jointly sponsored with the Brethren Revival Fellowship (BRF) held orientation at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., on Aug. 19-29 with six volunteers (the two organizations jointly sponsor a BVS-BRF unit each year). Unit 277 trained 31 volunteers from Sept. 23-Oct. 12. at the Bosserman Community Center in Peace Valley, Mo., and at Messiah Church of the Brethren in Kansas City, Mo.
Members of Unit 276, their home congregations, and placements are:
Keri Copenhaver of White Oak Church of the Brethren in Lititz, Pa., volunteering at Maine Area Home School Project; Vera and Roy Martin of Trinity Church of the Brethren in Chambersburg, Pa., volunteering at Good Shepherd Food Bank; Sheila Shirk of the White Oak church, volunteering at Good Shepherd Food Bank; Kurt Hershey of the White Oak church, volunteering at Good Shepherd Food Bank; Nathan Zerkle of Greenville (Ohio) Church of the Brethren, volunteering as director of Children and Youth Ministries.
Members of Unit 277, their home congregations or hometowns, and placements are:
Ben Bear of Nokesville (Va.) Church of the Brethren, to La Puenta, Alamosa, Colo; Dana Cassell of First Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, Va., to the Ministry Office of the Church of the Brethren General Board, Elgin, Ill.; Bonnie Chase of Bethleham, Pa., placement pending; Karen Duhai of Bedford (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, to the Junction, Derry, N. Ireland; Amy Fishburn of Lawrence, Kan., to Brethren Disaster Ministries, New Windsor, Md.; Sharon Flaten of Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren, to the Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Church of the Brethren General Board, Elgin Ill.; Johnannes Frey of Esslingen, Germany, to San Antonio (Texas) Catholic Worker House; Christoph Gutzmann of Bad Oldesloe, Germany, to the Edge, Atlanta, Ga.; Leslie Hammer of Livermore, Calif., to Gould Farm, Medford, Mass.; Katie Hampton of Pendleton, Ore., to OKC Abrasevic in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Bob Hayes of Memphis, Tenn., to Trees for Life, Wichita, Kan.; Melani Hom of Manhattan Beach, Calif., to the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund, Washington, D.C.; Beth Krehbiel of McPherson (Kan.) Church of the Brethren, to Kilcranny House, N. Ireland; Heather Lantz of Linville Creek Church of the Brethren in Harrisonburg, Va., to Quaker Cottage, Belfast, N. Ireland; Ulrich Lyding of Taunusstein, Germany, to the Brethren Nutrition Program, Washington, D.C.; Katie Mahuron of Cambridge City, Ind., to Women in Black, Belgrade, Serbia; Haley McCoy of Fredericktown, Ohio, to Hopewell Inn, Mesopotamia, Ohio; Cassidy McFadden of Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill., to CooperRiis, Mill Springs, N.C.; Stefan Meister of Ketten, Germany, to Lancaster (Pa.) Area Habitat for Humanity; Jerry O’Donnell of Green Tree Church of the Brethren in Royersford, Pa., to the Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the General Board; William Olivencia of First Church of the Brethren in Harrisburg, Pa., to Camp Myrtlewood, Myrtle Point, Ore.; Alex Otake of York Center Church of the Brethren in Lombard, Ill., to SERRV International in New Windsor, Md.; Christina Pandya of Naperville (Ill.) Church of the Brethren; Ashley Ream of Palmyra, Pa., to L’Arche, Kilkenny, Ireland; Ryan Richards of Coupeville, Wash., to Colegio Miguel Angel Asturias, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala; Amanda Smith of Brummetts Church of the Brethren in Bakersville, N.C., to Alderson Hospitality House, Alderson, W.V.; Dora Smith of Brummetts Creek church, to Fingerlakes Restorative Justice Center, Rochester, N.Y.; Kat Stutzman of Goshen, Ind., to Igunario, Santa Barbara de Samana, Dominican Republic; Tory Tevis of Westminster (Md.) Church of the Brethren, to Musicians without Borders, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Christine Wilkinson of Olympic View Community Church of the Brethren in Mount Vernon, Wash., to Tri-City Homeless Coalition, Fremont, Calif.; Jon Zunkel of Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, to Holywell Consultancy, Derry, N. Ireland.
Both training groups explored issues of faith, community, peace, and social justice throughout their orientations. While in Missouri the volunteers from Unit 277 had several days to serve the community including workdays with West Plains Habitat for Humanity and many local residents. Additionally, they attended Missouri/Arkansas District Conference and celebrated love feast with Church of the Brethren congregations in Kansas City.
For more information about BVS contact the office at 800-323-8039 or visit http://www.brethrenvolunteerservice.org/.
–Beth Merrill is a Brethren Volunteer Service worker at the BVS office in Elgin, Ill.
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The Church of the Brethren Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board. Newsline stories may be reprinted if Newsline is cited as the source. To receive Newsline by e-mail go to http://listserver.emountain.net/mailman/listinfo/newsline. Submit news to the editor at cobnews@brethren.org. For more Church of the Brethren news and features, subscribe to “Messenger” magazine; call 800-323-8039 ext. 247.