Grants have gone out from two Church of the Brethren funds–the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) and the Global Food Crisis Fund (GFCF)–to support responses to disaster situations domestically within the US as well as in Kenya, Liberia, and the Darfur region of Sudan.
A grant of $40,000 from the EDF supports a Church World Service (CWS) appeal for continuing humanitarian needs in the Darfur region of Sudan. The grant will support a collaborative network of Christian organizations in providing water and sanitation, health and nutrition, emergency response, protection, psychosocial and peace-building, agriculture, and school support.
An EDF grant of $30,000 supports a CWS appeal following a declaration of famine and food requests from the government of Kenya. An estimated 10 million people are affected by famine in that country. The money will support relief programs aimed at providing food for children, the elderly, and those with medical conditions and nutritional deficiencies.
An additional EDF allocation of $10,000 has been made for the Brethren Disaster Ministries program in Rushford, Minn., repairing and rebuilding homes of flood survivors. The funds will support the work of additional volunteers and help provide their travel, food, and housing expenses, as well as fund tools and equipment. Previous allocations to this project total $10,000.
An additional EDF allocation of $5,000 supports a CWS appeal after a destructive spring storm season across the US in 2008. The funds will help CWS continue to provide material aid, staff deployment, training, and financial support in areas that are still recovering from the storms. Previous grants to this project total $16,000.
A grant of $5,000 from the EDF is assisting people who are ineligible for federal funding following major flooding in Hawaii. The grant will help the Hawaii State VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) implement a longterm recovery system and do case management and construction oversight.
The GFCF has given a grant of $5,000 to assist Church Aid Inc., in a program of seed distribution and skill training in Liberia. The money will bolster food sufficiency in rural communities, targeting mothers, infants, and the elderly.
The Church of the Brethren Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren. Newsline stories may be reprinted if Newsline is cited as the source. Contact cobnews@brethren.org to receive Newsline by e-mail or to 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.
BRETHREN IN THE NEWS
Obituary: “Wife of Slim Whitman dies at 84,” Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Fla. (Feb. 18, 2009). Alma “Jerry” Crist Whitman, wife of the man once known as “America’s Favorite Folksinger,” Slim Whitman, died on Feb. 16 at the age of 84. She is survived by her husband, to whom she had been married for 67 years. Her father, the late Rev. A.D. Crist, helped found Clay County Church of the Brethren in Middleburg, Fla., where the memorial service will be held on Feb. 21. For the full announcement go to http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-02-18/
story/wife_of_slim_whitman_dies_at_84
“Protestants awarded Lilly grants,” South Bend (Ind.) Tribune (Feb. 11, 2009). Northern Indiana District Church of the Brethren received $335,000 as one of 16 Protestant regional denominational bodies in Indiana awarded more than $11 million in Lilly Endowment’s new “Initiative to Address Economic Challenges Facing Indiana Pastors.” Read more at http://www.southbendtribune.com/
apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090211/Lives/902110058/1047/Lives
“Grof and Baer represent Meyersdale Area High School,” Daily American, Somerset County, Pa. (Feb. 10, 2009). Shawn Baer, a member of Beachdale Church of the Brethren, and Hannah Grof have been chosen to represent Meyersdale (Pa.) Area High School at the February Meyersdale Lions Club meetings. Baer is enrolled in the college preparatory course at the school. He is the son of Douglas and Jacalyn Baer of Meyersdale. Go to http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/
2009/02/10/news/news/news855.txt
“A bell, a baby and a baptism–Polar Sea revives a nautical tradition,” Seattle (Wash.) Post Intelligencer (Feb. 7, 2009). Dressed in white and with a bow wrapped around her head, 3-month-old Genevieve Carr and her parents have followed a US naval tradition dating back hundreds of years in which consecrations or baptisms are conducted with a ship’s bell. Rev. Jeffrey Barker from Columbia Lakewood Community Church in Seward Park conducted the blessing on the Coast Guard cutter Polar Sea. The family attends Columbia Lakewood Community Church, which is part of the Church of the Brethren. For the full story see http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/
399244_baby08.html
Obituary: Orphea Pearl Mummert, Fort Collins (Colo.) Coloradoan (Feb. 8, 2009). Orphea Pearl Mummert, 95, of Fort Collins, Colo., passed away on Feb. 4. She was involved with Northern Colorado Church of the Brethren in Windsor, Colo., and also for many years was an active member of Peak Community Church in Fort Collins, where she taught Sunday school. She was a teacher for 41 years, teaching in Idaho, Indiana, and Colorado, and retiring in 1987. She married Harold Mummert in 1946. For the full obituary go to http://www.coloradoan.com/article/
20090208/OBITUARIES/902080335
“Yeager elected senior pastor,” Chambersburg (Pa.) Public Opinion (Feb. 7, 2009). Harold E. Yeager has been unanimously elected to serve as senior pastor of Chambersburg (Pa.) Church of the Brethren. An ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren, Yeager was installed as senior pastor during a service on Feb. 1. He has been a moderator of the Southern Pennsylvania District of the Church of the Brethren, served on the Standing Committee of the Church of the Brethren, and serves as trustee emeritus of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College. For the story, go to http://www.publicopiniononline.com/ci_11649901
Obituary: Larry L. Mundt, Post Bulletin, Rochester, Minn. (Feb. 6, 2009). Larry L. Mundt, 60, died on Feb. 5 at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, Wis. In 1971, he married Lynn Ellinghuysen. The couple made their home south of Utica, where they farmed their entire marriage. He was a member of Lewiston (Minn.) Church of the Brethren. For the full obituary go to http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/
templates/localnews_story.asp?z=5&a=384004
Obituary: Ethel L. Frazier, News Leader, Staunton, Va. (Feb. 6, 2009). Ethel Louise Frazier, 91, died on Feb. 5 at Augusta Medical Center. She was a member of Pleasant Hill Church of the Brethren in Crimora, Va. She had worked with DuPont during the 1940s. In 1941, she married Clifton Edward Frazier, who preceded her in death in 2000. For the full obituary go to http://www.newsleader.com/article/
20090206/OBITUARIES/902060339
“Lilly Endowment Awards Grants to Help Pastors Address Financial Challenges,” Lilly Endowment, Indianapolis, Ind. In a press release from the Lilly Endowment, the Church of the Brethren’s Northern Indiana District is named as one of 16 regional church bodies in Indiana to receive grants to help support pastors. The district received a grant of $335,000. Read the release at http://www.lillyendowment.org/
pdf/Economic%20Challenges.pdf