Newsline for April 11, 2007

“We have seen the Lord.” — John 20:25b

NEWS

1) Annual Conference Council expresses concern over funding shortfall.
2) Bethany Seminary board honors president Eugene F. Roop.
3) Brethren deliver World Day of Prayer requests to House Speaker.
4) Brethren bits: Correction, personnel, RYC, and more.

PERSONNEL

5) Scheppard to be new vice president, dean at Bridgewater College.
6) Youth Peace Travel Team is selected for summer 2007.

UPCOMING EVENTS

7) Bethany Seminary holds reception to honor president Roop.
8) Brethren women create ‘Mother’s Day Gratitude Project.’
9) 300th anniversary update: District youth teams to receive training.
10) 300th anniversary bits and pieces.

Go to http://www.cobwebcast.bethanyseminary.edu/ for this week’s Church of the Brethren webcast from Bethany Theological Seminary: an interview with Nan Erbaugh about her recent trip to southern Sudan. Erbaugh is a Bethany student from West Alexandria, Ohio, and minister at Lower Miami Church of the Brethren in Dayton, and has participated in three learning tours to southern Sudan over the past five years. Listen as she shares what she has learned about the nation’s longterm civil conflict, economic and social conditions, and what she can do to stand in solidarity with Sudanese sisters and brothers. “If you return from an experience like that and don’t change,” she says, “you’ve missed the point.”

Para ver la traducción en español de este artículo, “La Junta Nacional considera la misión, el amor, y la unidad,” vaya a www.brethren.org/genbd/newsline/2007/mar1407.htm. (For a Spanish translation of the report from the Spring meetings of the Church of the Brethren General Board, “General Board considers mission, love, and unity,” go to www.brethren.org/genbd/newsline/2007/mar1407.htm.)

To subscribe or unsubscribe to Newsline by e-mail go to http://listserver.emountain.net/mailman/listinfo/newsline. For Church of the Brethren news online, go to http://www.brethren.org/, click on “News” to find a news feature, more “Brethren bits,” and links to Brethren in the news, photo albums, conference reporting, webcasts, and the Newsline archive.

1) Annual Conference Council expresses concern over funding shortfall.

The 2001 Annual Conference referred concerns for the funding of Conference to the Annual Conference Council. Taking that responsibility seriously, the council took an in-depth look at the financial situation of Annual Conference in its spring meeting March 12-13 at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill.

Of utmost concern to the council is a trend toward deficit funding, exacerbated by a shortfall of congregational delegates at the 2006 Annual Conference. The Annual Conference Fund ended 2006 with a $31,000 deficit. Income for the current year is projected to be nearly $70,000 less than the costs of having the Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, where labor and security required by the convention facilities are inflating the budget much higher than usual.

The council received the unsettling news via a portfolio of reports generated jointly by executive director Lerry Fogle and treasurer Judy Keyser. The reports also observed that one query and two reports coming to the 2007 Conference include questions about Annual Conference frequency and purpose.

The council also considered a number of suggestions, some of which have been implemented, from a Conference marketing task force it commissioned last year.

Arising out of the council’s discussion and prayer came several significant decisions: The council voted to delay booking a Conference site for the year 2012 until the 2007 Conference resolves its agenda. A concise but future-looking report of the Conference financial situation will be included in the report of the Program and Arrangements Committee to the 2007 Conference. Information about the Conference Fund will be shared with the Church of the Brethren Inter-Agency Forum. The Standing Committee of district representatives will be made aware of the financial situation and consulted regarding ways to increase the Annual Conference offerings. The council will add an extra day to its November meeting in order to devote major attention to evaluating the future of Annual Conference in light of the financial situation.

Other items on the agenda included follow-up with the Brethren Historical Library and Archives related to questions of transcription of past Conference business sessions; a progress report toward achieving a finished draft of the denominational organizational and polity manual, scheduled to be completed by this fall; agreement with the Program Feasibility Committee that the Unfunded Mandates paper needs revision and greater clarity, with the council deciding to take a revised draft to the 2007 Standing Committee for consideration; a review of the ratio of district Standing Committee delegates in light of the most recent membership statistics for the denomination; an updating of the Conference contingency and disaster plan; a review of the 300th Anniversary Committee’s activities and funding; and a recommendation to the Conference officers that Standing Committee be given copies of a 1981 study committee report on diminishing membership as background material for a 2007 query from Idaho and Western Montana District.

The council expressed its appreciation for the leadership of past Annual Conference moderator Ron Beachley, who chaired the council during the past year.

–Fred Swartz is the secretary of Annual Conference.

2) Bethany Seminary board honors president Eugene F. Roop.

The semi-annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind., on March 23-25 included significant moments of celebration and recognition. Eugene F. Roop, who is retiring on June 30 after 15 years of service as president of the seminary, was honored at a dinner for board members and guests on March 24. The dinner included a time of recognition, with faculty and representatives of educational, civic, and church organizations participating.

The board also expressed appreciation to Jeff Bach, associate professor of Brethren and Historical Studies, for his 13 years of service. Bach has accepted an appointment as director of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, effective this summer.

In other business, the board approved 19 candidates for graduation pending successful completion of course work, the largest number since 1998. This includes Bethany’s first graduate of Connections, the school’s distributed education Master of Divinity program: Christopher Zepp of Bridgewater, Va. The board noted that the undergraduate grade point average of Bethany graduate students continues to rise, with 43 percent at a 3.5 undergraduate GPA or above.A budget of slightly more than $2.2 million was approved for the 2007-08 fiscal year, approximately 2.5 percent increase from the current year. The board approved searches for administrative staff and teaching faculty positions: a half-time coordinator for Ministry Formation, and two faculty positions in historical and theological studies.The Student and Business Affairs Committee reported that web enhancements focused on student recruitment are under development. This will include a virtual open house, providing the opportunity for online, real-time conversation with Bethany admissions staff.

The Institutional Advancement Committee shared fundraising and constituency relations strategies that will be implemented now that the seminary’s financial campaign has been completed.

Ted Flory of Bridgewater, Va., was named as the new chair, beginning July 1. Other officers called are vice chair Ray Donadio of Greenville, Ohio; and secretary Frances Beam of Concord, N.C. Carol Scheppard of Mount Crawford, Va., was called as chair of the Academic Affairs Committee; Elaine Gibbel of Lititz, Pa., as chair of the Institutional Advancement Committee; and Jim Dodson of Lexington, Ky., as chair of the Student and Business Affairs Committee.The board thanked Marie Willoughby, ex-officio member representing the Council of District Executives, and Anne Murray Reid, current chair, for their service to the board as they complete their terms.

For more about Bethany go to http://www.bethanyseminary.edu/.

–Marcia Shetler is director of Public Relations for Bethany Theological Seminary.

3) Brethren deliver World Day of Prayer requests to House Speaker.

On World Day of Prayer, March 2, the Church of the Brethren delivered 300 requests of prayer for an end to the Iraq war to the first woman Speaker of the House. Brethren from across the nation requested of Speaker Nancy Pelosi the following: “Please pray that God will grant peace to all races, creeds, and nationalities worldwide. Please also honor your commitment to help end the conflict in Iraq and bring peace to this world we share, through your actions as one of America’s political leaders,” reported the Brethren Witness/Washington Office.

In delivering the prayer requests, Phil Jones, director of the office, shared these thoughts: “The Church of the Brethren has a long and rich heritage of living out the Christian teachings of nonviolence. We share in the pain and anguish that the violence of war is bringing on our nation’s families as well as on the families of those of Iraq and Afghanistan. On this day of prayer we ask for committed prayers of peace and well being for all people. Speaker Pelosi, we hope you will be diligent in searching for ways to guide our congress into an understanding of peace and nonviolence, dialogue and mediation, along with compromise and compassion as tools of foreign policy. Seek the way of unity, not division.”

Since 1812 women have encouraged one another to engage in personal prayer and take leadership in communal prayer within their mission auxiliaries and associations, according to a brief history of the World Day of Prayer from the Brethren Witness/Washington Office. This emphasis led to annual days and weeks of prayer. In 1941 the coordination of World Day of Prayer in the US became the responsibility of an interdenominational movement now known as Church Women United. World Day of Prayer is recognized around the world on the first Friday of March.

For more information contact the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, 337 N. Carolina Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20003; 800-785-3246; washington_office_gb@brethren.org.

4) Brethren bits: Correction, personnel, RYC, and more.

Correction: Newsline gave incorrect e-mail addresses for the Annual Conference moderator-elect and secretary, in the March 28 issue. The correct e-mail address for moderator-elect Jim Beckwith is moderatorelect_ac@brethren.org; the correct address for secretary Fred Swartz is acsecretary@brethren.org. The editor apologizes for this error.
Jacqueline Azimi has resigned as network operations specialist for the Church of the Brethren General Board, located in Elgin, Ill., effective April 11. Her last day of work was April 10. She has worked for the General Board for almost 18 years, beginning on Sept. 18, 1989. While with the board she served as systems coordinator/secretary, and in 1997 was promoted to personal computer specialist. During her time with the board she participated in certification training for the GWAVA e-mail spam filter software, enabling her to finetune the filter and help control the amount of spam the staff receives. When the General Board relocated the IBM I5 mainframe from the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., to the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, she became the networking specialist.
Marin (Marni) O’Brien of Newton, Mass., a Global Mission Partnerships worker serving through Brethren Volunteer Service, returned home from her placement site in Totonicapon, Guatemala, on Feb. 16 for family reasons.
The theme for the Regional Youth Conference (RYC) on April 28-29 at Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind., is “‘Now Follow Me’–Jesus” (Luke 9:23). Three worship celebrations will be held, along with workshops, and opportunities for service projects. Seth Hendricks will lead music. Keynote speaker is Walt Wiltschek, editor of the “Messenger,”and a district youth advisor for Illinois and Wisconsin. District youth cabinets are invited to arrive early for a leadership development workshop on Friday evening, April 27. Registration is due April 12. For more go to www.manchester.edu/OCA/Church/RegionalYouthConference.htm.
Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) is announcing the start of an older adult orientation April 23-May 4 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. This will be the 274th unit for BVS and will consist of 11 individuals and couples. The volunteers will spend two weeks exploring project possibilities and topics of community building, faith sharing, diversity training, and more. They will have the opportunity for two work days at SERRV International and the Washington (D.C.) Soup Kitchen. Guest staff and speakers will include Larry and Alice Petry, Susanna Farrahat, Joyce Nolen, Phil Jones, Grace LaFever, and Rebekah Carswell. For more information contact the BVS office at 800-323-8039.
Registration cost for the National Junior High Conference will go up after April 15. The National Junior High Conference will be held June 15-17 at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, for junior high youth in the Church of the Brethren and their adult advisors. Registration cost is currently $99 per person (for youth or adult). After April 15, the cost increases to $125 per person. Register at www.brethren.org/genbd/yya/NatJrHighConf.htm.
The Church of the Brethren’s annual Cross-Cultural Consultation and Celebration will be held April 19-22 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., on the scriptural theme John 14:27. Along with the signature worship services filled with music and prayer in many different languages, led by Brethren from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, participants will discuss questions related to peacemaking, and enjoy free time for informal fellowship. An overnight youth event at Union Bridge Church of the Brethren will be led by On Earth Peace. Youth also will lead worship and sharing on Saturday morning, April 21. The Intercultural Study Committee will report. For more information go to www.brethren.org/genbd/clm/clt/CrossCultural.html.
“Creating Peacemaking Congregations” is the theme of a New Church Development Retreat on May 18-19 at Natural Bridge, Va. Leadership will be provided by Jack L. Eades, director of the Outreach Commission of the West Virginia Baptist Convention (ABC-USA). The purpose of the retreat is to inspire, motivate, and encourage church planters and those interested in developing congregations for the Church of the Brethren from Maine to Florida. Time will be given for each new church project or fellowship to share about its experiences and vision for church planting. Although it began as an annual gathering for fellowship and sharing among new church core groups in Virginia and North Carolina, the retreat is currently sponsored by the Church Extension Committee of Virlina District. Contact nuchurch@aol.com.
Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne, Ind., put together an event on March 24 to raise awareness of the situation in Afghanistan. Some members have had longstanding connections with that part of the world, according to a release from On Earth Peace. The event centered around a presentation by Nelofer Pazira at the Andorfer Commons at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne, on March 24. Pazira, an author and filmmaker, fled Afghanistan when she was a teenager and immigrated to Canada. She wrote the book, “Bed of Red Flowers,” starred in the movie, “Kandahar,” and co-produced and co-directed the documentary, “Return to Kandahar.” The event included a showing of the two films, a reception and book signing, Afghan food, and an evening event with Pazira at which she spoke about her stories of Afghanistan. The program was coordinated by the church, and sponsors contributed to cover expenses.
The Way of the Cross on Good Friday in Hagerstown, Md., visited seven different locations to connect the passion of Christ to the ongoing suffering in the world. The “Herald-Mail” reported that stops included, for example, the “Public Square … for religious tolerance; a slave auction site … for racial harmony; Hagerstown Refugee Resettlement Center … for hope, care and justice for immigrants.” The walk began and ended at Hagerstown Church of the Brethren, which also provided its sanctuary as a place for prayer and meditation for those who were not able to walk.
Youth who participated in the Agape-Satyagraha training offered by Brethren Community Ministries in Harrisburg, Pa., will be recognized at a banquet at 6 p.m. April 13 at First Church of the Brethren in Harrisburg. Agape-Satyagraha is a year-round weekly conflict resolution training designed to help youths resolve family, neighborhood, and peer conflicts without violence, according to a report in the “Patriot-News.” Tickets are $6 for one, or $10 for two people. Proceeds will be used by Brethren Community Ministries to serve residents of the South Allison Hill neighborhoods. For more visit http://www.bcmcob.org/.
New Beginnings Fellowship Church of the Brethren (formerly Faith Church of the Brethren) in Batavia, Ill., is holding an event titled “Sudan–Trail of Tears” on April 14 at 7 p.m. Area churches have been invited. “We’re praying for a good turnout,” said an invitation in the Illinois and Wisconsin District newsletter.
On April 21 Green Hill Church of the Brethren in Salem, Va., will hold a “Jesus Jam” from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Ten bands will play a variety of music including bluegrass, gospel, contemporary, and heavy metal. Ten speakers will bring messages. The event also includes workshops and a tent for prayer and meditation. All youth in the Roanoke Valley are invited to attend. For information call the Green Hill church at 540-389-5109.
Sponsored by the Atlantic Northeast District Spiritual Renewal Team, the annual Ministry Conference for Church Leadership is designed to be a day apart for ministers, church leaders, and other interested people. It will be held April 25, 8:15 a.m.-4 p.m., at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College. Guest speaker is Lou George, executive minister of the American Baptist Churches, USA. Assisting with leadership is David Young. The registration fee of $30 includes a “heart-healthy” lunch. Participants may receive .6 continuing education units for an extra fee of $10. Scholarship assistance is available, contact David Young at 717-738-1887 or davidyoung@churchrenewalservant.org. Registration deadline is April 16, contact the Atlantic Northeast District office for more information, 717-367-4730.
The 6th Annual Sounds of the Mountains Festival at Camp Bethel near Fincastle, Va., is scheduled for April 20-21. The event will feature Donald Davis, Sheila Kay Adams, Andy Offutt Irwin, Joseph Helfrich, and the Celtibillies. The festival “for families, hipsters, and everyone in between” according to the camp e-mail newsletter, is a fundraiser for the ministries of the camp. For schedule and ticket information go to http://www.soundsofthemountains.org/.
The McPherson (Kan.) College Choir presents its Spring Concert on Sunday, April 15, at McPherson Church of the Brethren. The program centers on the theme “The Greatest of These Is Love,” and begins at 7:30 p.m. The choir and the McPherson College Singers, the college’s select vocal ensemble, will perform a program of religious and secular music. A free will offering will help support the expenses of the vocal music program.
A Great Strides 10K walk to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will be held on Sunday, April 15, at Bridgewater (Va.) College, beginning at 2 p.m. in front of Nininger Hall. Great Strides walks are held across the country to raise money for research, the cost of which continues to escalate because of the expense of new technology. Sara Wagner, a senior biology and allied health science double major from Powhatan, Va., is coordinating the event in honor of her cousin, who has the disease. For more information contact smw004@bridgewater.edu or 804-366-5341.
Muma Mambula, the 2007 Fellow at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, will discuss relations between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria at 7:30 p.m. on April 19, in the Susquehanna Room of Myer Hall. His talk is open to the public free of charge and will be presented following the Young Center’s annual banquet. A reception for Mambula begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the banquet at 6 p.m. (reservations for the banquet were required by April 6). Provost of the Theological College of Northern Nigeria, Mambula earned a doctorate in education from the University of Maiduguri and a master’s degree in theology from Bethany Theological Seminary.
The Lilly Endowment has announced the eighth year of its National Clergy Renewal Program, in which congregations have the opportunity to design and carry out periods of renewal for their pastors. In 2007 up to 120 congregations will be selected to participate. Each grant proposal may request up to $45,000, up to $15,000 of that may be used for congregational activities during a pastor’s absence. Ministers must be ordained and have earned a master of divinity degree from an accredited theological seminary or divinity school. A brochure and application form are available at http://www.lillyendowment.org/ or contact 317-916-7350 or clergyrenewal@yahoo.com. Creating a proposal requires a joint effort of pastor and congregation; applicants are encouraged not to put off applying until the last minute. The deadline for proposals is May 15.
Women Touched by Grace grants are available, through a program recommended by pastor Erin Matteson of Modesto (Calif.) Church of the Brethren, a recent participant. This Sustaining Pastoral Excellence program funded by the Lily Endowment, Inc., is a spiritual renewal program for women clergy in congregations. It includes five ten-day sessions over three years, beginning April 2008. It takes place at the Benedict Inn Retreat and Conference Center, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Benedict in Beech Grove, Ind. The group of 20 chosen to participate is intentionally diverse denominationally and geographically. Requirements, details, and an application form can be found at http://www.benedictinn.org/. Or contact Matteson at erin@modcob.org or 209-523-1438. Application deadline is June 1.
Three people were arrested during an event protesting the war in Iraq at the federal building in Fort Wayne, Ind., including two members of the Church of the Brethren–Cliff Kindy, who has worked with Christian Peacemaker Teams, and Nicolas Kauffman, a student at Manchester College. On March 30 the Fort Wayne “Journal-Gazette” reported that the men were arrested after a demonstration that called for Senators Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar to stop supporting funding for the war. Previously, a group of about 30 people had gathered outside the building in a peaceful protest, and some had met with Lugar’s staff. Another Church of the Brethren member, Rachel Gross, and another Manchester College student, Joshua Archer, were also at the event and were interviewed by the paper.

5) Scheppard to be new vice president, dean at Bridgewater College.

Carol Scheppard, associate professor of philosophy and religion, has been appointed vice president and dean for academic affairs at Bridgewater (Va.) College, effective July 1. She is a member of Lebanon Church of the Brethren in Mount Sidney, Va., and an ordained Church of the Brethren minister.

She succeeds Arthur C. Hessler, who earlier this year announced his retirement on June 30. The college conducted a national search to fill the position.

Scheppard holds degrees from Wesleyan University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the University of Pennsylvania. She spent 10 years as a teacher and administrator at Landmark School in Massachusetts, and Landmark College in Vermont, schools with curricula designed specifically for students with dyslexia. She joined the Bridgewater faculty in 1998.

Her denominational service includes membership of the board of trustees of Bethany Theological Seminary, where she is the chair of the presidential search committee.

6) Youth Peace Travel Team is selected for summer 2007.

The three members of the 2007 Youth Peace Travel Team has been selected: Amanda Glover of Mountain View Fellowship Church of the Brethren in McGaheysville, Va.; Audrey Hollenberg of Westminster (Md.) Church of the Brethren; and Emily LaPrade of Antioch Church of the Brethren in Rocky Mount, Va.

The team is jointly sponsored by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, Brethren Volunteer Service, and the Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Church of the Brethren General Board, and by the Outdoor Ministries Association and On Earth Peace.

Team members will share Christ’s message of peace with youth across the denomination this summer. They will join fellow Ministry Summer Service workers in Elgin, Ill., for orientation at the Church of the Brethren General Offices, and then will travel to Woodland Altars, a Church of the Brethren camp in Peebles, Ohio, to continue their orientation and provide leadership for a senior high youth camp. Other stops later in the summer include Camp Eder in Fairfield, Pa.; Camp Harmony in Hooversville, Pa.; Shepherd’s Spring in Sharpsburg, Md.; Camp Mardela in Denton, Md.; Camp Swatara in Bethel, Pa.; Camp Blue Diamond in Petersburg, Pa.; and Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.

For more information contact Susanna Farahat of On Earth Peace at sfarahat_oepa@brethren.org or 410-635-8706.

7) Bethany Seminary holds reception to honor president Roop.

A reception for Bethany Theological Seminary president Eugene F. Roop is scheduled for Sunday, April 29, from 2-4 p.m. at the seminary in Richmond, Ind. The reception will feature a program at 3 p.m.

Roop will retire June 30, after having served as Bethany’s president since 1992. He led the seminary through several major transitions and accomplishments, including a move from Oak Brook, Ill., to Richmond in 1994, and an affiliation with Earlham School of Religion in Richmond.

With the sale of Bethany’s Illinois property and the establishment of prudent financial practices, the seminary retired all debt and built a significant endowment. All of the school’s current fulltime teaching and administrative faculty joined Bethany’s staff during Roop’s tenure. Among the programs developed during his years as president are Connections, a distributed education program; the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, a certificate program for ministry training sponsored jointly with the General Board; the Institute for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults; and offsite graduate courses hosted at the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center in Pennsylvania.

For more information go to www.bethanyseminary.edu/?page=news_roopreception.php or call the seminary at 765-983-1823.

8) Brethren women create ‘Mother’s Day Gratitude Project.’

The Global Women’s Project, a Church of the Brethren women’s organization, has announced the launch of a Mother’s Day Gratitude Project. “Rather than buying material gifts for your loved one (she probably has plenty), this year express your gratitude with a gift that helps other women around the world,” said the announcement. “Your donation allows us to fund projects that focus on issues related to women’s health, education, and employment. In return, your chosen recipient will receive a card of gratitude indicating that a gift has been made in her honor.”

Gratitude cards will be mailed in time for Mother’s Day on May 13. To participate, make donations out to Global Women’s Project, and send the donation along with the sender’s name and contact information, and the honoree’s name and address, to Global Women’s Project steering committee member Jacki Hartley at 213 Perry St., Elgin, IL 60123.

Global Women’s Project seeks to raise awareness of the global poverty, oppression and injustice suffered by women around the world; to recognize how overconsumption and misuse of resources directly contribute to women’s suffering; to examine and change ways of living; and to support self-help community projects that are led by, empower, and benefit women in the US and developing areas.

A bulletin insert and additional information can be found at the Global Women’s Project website hosted by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office at www.brethren.org/genbd/witness/gwp.htm.

9) 300th anniversary update: District youth teams to receive training.

The Church of the Brethren districts have been invited to name two youth from each to serve as Youth Heritage Travel Teams for the 300th anniversary of the Brethren movement in 2008. A training event for the teams is scheduled for April 13-15, at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill. The training group will include 42 youth and 12 adults.

The training is a cooperative venture of the 300th Anniversary Committee and the Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the General Board. The teams will provide leadership at district events and in congregations throughout the anniversary year. They will be trained in the areas of storytelling, public speaking, drama, music, heritage, and Brethren beliefs and practices, and will be equipped to visit congregations to lead worship services and Sunday school classes.

Leadership for the training will be provided by Rhonda Pittman Gingrich, Leslie Lake, Jeff Bach, Jim Lehman, Joseph Helfrich, Wendy McFadden, Nevin Dulabaum, Paula Langdon, and Chris Douglas.

10) 300th anniversary bits and pieces.

The Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College is planning a national conference on Oct. 11-13 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Brethren. The theme will be “Honoring a Legacy, Embracing a Future: 300 Years of Brethren Heritage,” with plenary speakers Carl D. Bowman, Chris Bucher, Richard Hughes, Marcus Meier, and Dale Stoffer. An Oct. 13 Love Feast Celebration will be led by Jeff Bach at the Bucher Meetinghouse, by reservation. For more information go to www.etown.edu/youngctr or call 717-361-1470.
The Association for the Arts is beginning to work on two projects celebrating the 300th anniversary: Each congregation is requested to bring to this year’s Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, one yard of 100 percent cotton print fabric, for a special quilt to be designed and constructed for display at the 2008 Annual Conference. Congregational representatives should drop off fabric pieces at the Association for the Arts booth. In a second anniversary project, artists are invited to create a three-dimensional art piece, painting, fiber art, or photograph that captures elements of the 300th anniversary logo (view at http://www.churchofthebrethrenanniversary.org/). A selection committee will choose 12-15 pieces to show in the 2008 Anniversary Conference exhibit. Artists should send or bring a concept description, rough drawing, or completed art piece along with another sample of their art work to the Association for the Arts booth at the 2007 Annual Conference; or send by mail to Don and Joyce Parker, 1293 Laurel Dr., West Salem, OH 44287.