“All who believed were together and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44).
NEWS
1) Ecumenical Blitz Build takes off in New Orleans.
2) Fuller Seminary to establish a chair in Anabaptist studies.
3) Brethren bits: Job opening, Spanish translators, legislation, more.
PERSONNEL
4) Stephen Abe to conclude his service as West Marva District executive.
5) Joan Lowry retires as district executive for Southern Plains.
6) Sonja Griffith named as district executive for Western Plains.
7) Gene Hagenberger to serve as executive for Mid-Atlantic District.
FEATURES
8) United against racism: Dignity and justice for all.
9) ‘We thank you for the check….’
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Online registration ends May 8 for the 2009 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in San Diego, Calif., on June 26-30. Go to www.cobannualconference.org to register. Also available online are the Conference schedule, information packet, and major items of business.
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1) Ecumenical Blitz Build takes off in New Orleans.
Volunteers from Maine to Washington, representing 10 denominations, have descended on New Orleans to assist in the reconstruction of 12 homes in the community of Littlewoods. During week two of the Church World Service (CWS) Blitz Build, volunteers continued to work in ecumenical fashion side-by-side, fellowshiping and eating with one another.
At a Tuesday evening gathering, volunteers participating in the build had the opportunity to gather for a meal, fellowship, games, and interaction with homeowners. Following brief introductions and a New Orleans-style meal of jambalaya, rice, and red beans, volunteers participated in a game in which they tried to pronounce words unique to the New Orleans area. Brethren Disaster Ministries volunteer and district coordinator “Frosty” Wilkinson won the game, earning him the sweet reward of a New Orleans king cake.
Homeowners were given the opportunity to address the group. Most took time to express their thanks for the work being done, nearly four years after Hurricane Katrina. Some broke into tears, unable to find the words to express their thanks, spurring others to tears as emotion filled the room.
Positive reports from numerous volunteers across denominational lines demonstrated the uniqueness and beneficial aspects of this ecumenical effort. Brethren Disaster Ministries continues to provide volunteers, leadership, and tools in support of the Blitz Build.
— Zach Wolgemuth is associate director of Brethren Disaster Ministries.
2) Fuller Seminary to establish a chair in Anabaptist studies.
Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., is seeking to establish an endowed chair devoted to Radical Reformation thought, named in honor of John Howard Yoder and James William McClendon Jr. The chair will promote the scholarly investigation of Radical Reformation history, theology, and ethics, and will provide leadership for the growing community of Fuller students and faculty from the Anabaptist tradition.
Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder He is best known for his book, “Politics of Jesus,” originally published in 1972, and translated into many languages. After completing doctoral studies in Basel, writing his dissertation in German on the disputes between Anabaptists and Reformers, he joined the faculty at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind., in 1965, as well as that of Notre Dame University in 1977, where he taught in the peace studies program and the Department of Theology. While he was clearly the most influential Mennonite theologian of the 20th century, he was committed to persistent and patient dialogue with the wider body of Christ.
James McClendon found his first church home among Southern Baptists. However, he was deeply affected by Yoder’s argument for the centrality of nonviolence in the way of Jesus, and for the role of the church as modeling an alternative form of social existence. He wrote a systematic theology appropriate to the broad Christian movement that he came to call “small-b baptist,” a translation of the German term “taufer.” He moved to southern California in 1990 to accompany his wife, Nancey Murphy, who began teaching at Fuller in 1989. McClendon taught doctoral seminars on radical-reformation theology at Fuller Seminary, where he was Distinguished Scholar in Residence, and at the Graduate Theological Union. In his teaching and scholarship he was significantly influenced by Church of the Brethren scholars such as Dale Brown and Donald Durnbaugh.
In Pasadena, McClendon and Murphy were delighted to find a church self-consciously in the radical reformation tradition. McClendon was a member of Pasadena Church of the Brethren until his death in 2000, and served for a year there as interim pastor.
Fuller Seminary was founded as a nondenominational institution, and has maintained an evangelical identity inclusive of all varieties of Christians, from Anglican to Pentecostal. There is now a significant Anabaptist presence on campus. Seven faculty members identify with the tradition. For the academic years 2006-07 and 2007-08, 56 students who self-identified as Mennonite, Brethren in Christ, and Church of the Brethren enrolled in various degree programs.
Equally significant is the fact that Fuller’s population is increasingly made up of students and faculty from McClendon’s more broadly baptist designation: Baptists who trace their roots as much to the radical reformation as to the mainline reformers; new free churches that developed in the American frontier; many Pentecostals, charismatics, and nondenominational Christians. Students from Africa, Asia, and Latin America discover the Anabaptist tradition to be relevant to contexts where Christians remain a minority. Anabaptism gives resources for thinking theologically and strategically about faith in a context where Christianity enjoys no privileged status.
–Nancey Murphy is professor of Christian Philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary, and a member of Pasadena Church of the Brethren.
3) Brethren bits: Job opening, Spanish translators, legislation, more.
— IMA World Health (founded and incorporated as Interchurch Medical Assistance, Inc.) based at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., is seeking a president/CEO. IMA World Health is an international faith-based member organization advancing health and healing to vulnerable and marginalized people in developing countries. It is a membership association of 12 US Protestant relief and development agencies including the Church of the Brethren, with field offices in Tanzania, Haiti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Kenya. Responsibilities of the position include among others: providing visionary and strategic leadership; overseeing day-to-day operations; maintaining understanding of financial position and outlook; ensuring fiscal responsibility and security; providing resource development leadership for expansion of the donor base and fostering relations with donors; providing management and direction to staff; communicating the mission of IMA to various audiences and developing and maintain sound relationships with those who share the vision. Ideal candidates will share passion and commitment to advancing health and healing to vulnerable and marginalized people and strengthening health systems in developing countries, and will bring a variety of experiences and attributes including significant senior leadership experience in the nonprofit sector, specifically in a large organization operating in several diverse geographic and cultural locations; a high degree of financial literacy; experience or working knowledge of international public health, including hands-on overseas experience; familiarity with large contract and government organizations; knowledge of and experience in member-based organizations, preferably faith-based; a successful record of fundraising; understanding of the servant leadership model; interpersonal and communications skills and ability as a speaker; a deep Christian faith commitment to Gospel values; integrity and a positive reputation; sensitivity to cultural differences; willingness to travel; and a master’s degree or equivalent. IMA offers a competitive salary and benefits package. IMA has retained TransitionGuides to assist in identifying and recruiting candidates. To apply, e-mail a cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to IMA@transitionguides.com. Send other inquiries to IMA Search c/o TransitionGuides, 1751 Elton Rd., Suite 204, Silver Spring, MD 20903; 301-439-6635. Contact: Ginna Goodenow. Resume reviews will begin in June. Interviews will take place July through September. The board will approve and welcome the new president/CEO in October. Go to www.imaworldhealth.org for more information.
— Spanish translators are needed for the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in San Diego, Calif., on June 26-30. “Looking for a unique volunteer opportunity at Annual Conference? Serve as a Spanish translator during the business sessions and worship services,” said an invitation from Spanish translation coordinator Nadine Monn. Those who may be able to help provide this service for Hispanic church members from Puerto Rico and the US are invited to contact Monn at nadine.monn@verizon.net.
— Church of the Brethren General secretary Stanley J. Noffsinger has signed a national faith letter in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. A total of 39 faith-based organizations and denominations signed the letter coordinated by Interfaith Worker Justice and the Poverty Initiative of the National Council of Churches. “As leading religious organizations and denominations representing people of faith throughout the country, we are committed to promoting and uplifting the dignity of working people and particularly low-wage workers,” the letter said in part. “We therefore urge you to support the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation that will help to ensure the right of all workers to form unions if they so choose, in order to negotiate decent wages, provide for their families, secure fair benefits and decent working conditions, and have a voice in the workplace.” Noffsinger reported that he signed the letter on the basis of the Church of the Brethren General Board’s 1988 “Resolution for a Just Minimum Wage.” Go to www.iwj.org/template/page.cfm?id=208 for the full text of the letter.
— Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) has welcomed the news that President Obama has signed the “Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act” reauthorizing and expanding national volunteer service programs. “BVS is excited that President Obama has so strongly embraced volunteer service,” said director Dan McFadden. “The Brethren have a long history of service being an active part of one’s faith life. The support the administration has for public service can only strengthen BVS.” The legislation will increase the number of AmeriCorps volunteers from 75,000 to 250,000, increase education rewards to $5,350, provide incentives for middle and high school students to engage in service, recognize and support universities engaged in service, create new service corps to meet needs in low-income communities, expand service opportunities for older Americans and public-private partnerships, and build a nationwide service infrastructure through community-building investments and social entrepreneurship. “The increase in the education award will be a help to those BVS volunteers who qualify for AmeriCorp through direct service sites,” McFadden said. “Many young people come out of college with significant debt and this will be an encouragment for service.”
— The New Windsor Conference Center at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., has begun a major kitchen renovation. The four-week construction project will replace equipment to meet fire and safety regulations, and also will expand the facility and allow for safer and more user friendly work stations, better customer flow, and upgrades to operating systems. During the renovation, a self-service area and a temporary kitchen will operate out of the rear dining room. Dining services will be continue to be open daily for lunch.
— SERRV has received the inaugural award for “Outstanding Service to the Fair Trade Community” from the Fair Trade Federation (FTF). SERRV was begun as a Church of the Brethren program. Carmen Iezzi, executive director of FTF, applauded SERRV saying, “The Fair Trade Federation could think of no better organization to honor with its first Award for Service to the Fair Trade Community than SERRV. Their tireless commitment to artisans and farmers over the last 60 years, as well as their numerous contributions to the broader Fair Trade movement, are a great example to new and established Fair Trade Organizations alike.”
— An orientation for the Training in Ministry and Education for Shared Ministry programs of the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership took place at Bethany Seminary in Richmond, Ind., on March 26-29. Participants included Amy Bell of Union Bridge, Md.; Sharon Heien of Centerville, Iowa; Becky Henry of Frederick, Md.; Marilyn Koehler of Udell, Iowa; Diane Mason of Moulton, Iowa; Janice Shull of Venice, Fla.; Diana Smith of Warsaw, Mo.; and Jeremy Westlake of Browning, Ill.
— Prayer requests from RECONCILE, a partner organization in southern Sudan where the Church of the Brethren mission has placed staff, include prayer for a trauma healing program with 51 children who were affected by recent Lord’s Resistance Army attacks on the city of Yei. The Lord’s Resistance Army is a rebel group from Uganda. “Pray especially for the children who have had family members killed or abducted,” RECONCILE staff asked. RECONCILE also received news of a serious raid in Akobo, a major center of the Presbyterian Church of Sudan, leaving 177 people dead. In addition, the staff requested people of faith to join in praising God “for how well the three-month courses here at RECONCILE Peace Institute are going and pray that the Lord would use the students as instruments of peace and healing.”
— Onekama (Mich.) Church of the Brethren is celebrating its 100th anniversary on June 13-14. Pastor Frances Townsend reports that a book about the history of the church and its founding pastor, J. Edson Ulery, is now online. “We in the congregation have always enjoyed the book, ‘A Heap of Living,’ by Cora Helman,” Townsend wrote. “Recently her great nephew Jeff Clemans finally read the book he had heard of in family circles. He was so excited by it that he created a website and put the entire contents on it. The website also includes a picture biography of Cora Helman.” Go to www.aheapofliving.org to find the book online.
— Three Church of the Brethren congregations in the Harrisonburg and Dayton areas of Virginia–Fairview, Greenmount, and Mount Bethel–are among 10 churches, Ruritan clubs, and a Boy Scout troop who are sponsoring a new food pantry.
— Olympia, Lacey (Wash.) Community Church of the Brethren has offered to host Camp Quixote during July and August. Camp Quixote is a camp for people who live “without traditional housing,” according to a report by Howard Ullery in the church newsletter. Ullery wrote that “hosting this camp…has felt like a calling for our congregation for some time.”
— The Illinois and Wisconsin District Leadership Team has begun an effort to visit as many churches as possible in the district, in order to meet personally with pastors and members. The team held its most recent meeting at Woodland Church of the Brethren in Astoria, Ill., in April. The Leadership Team has met in 12 different congregations since District Conference in 2007.
— The McPherson (Kan.) College Board of Trustees in March approved a “Plan for Sustainability” to address financial concerns related to a declining endowment, a need to balance the budget, and to create a plan for future growth. According to a release from the college, in December the board invited faculty to develop proposals and adopted a revised plan this spring. “In light of these significant economic issues, some more difficult financial decisions were necessary,” the release said. Reductions in staffing include adjunct staffing in academic areas including business and behavioral science; elimination of a half-time position in physical education and two staff in the library and academic dean’s office. Tuition and fees will be increased by about 6 percent. Advancement, athletic, and administrative budgets will be decreased collectively by about $100,000. The Spanish major will become dormant, but the college will continue to offer up to 12 hours of Spanish language courses each year. Theater and music departments will combine to form a new performing arts major with three fulltime faculty. The instrumental music program will be discontinued. The history department will continue to offer a major with a more compact set of course offerings while providing an opportunity for teacher licensure with two fulltime faculty. “Due to the continuing declines in the financial markets since the original announcement of this plan, the college has regretfully decided to suspend the college’s contribution to its employee retirement plans,” the release said. “The board will revisit this decision at its future meetings.” The plan also features a combination of donor-designated endowed funds to allow the college to continue and enhance a variety of programing related to philosophy and religion, peace and Christian service, including the campus ministry position. Go to www.mcpherson.edu/plan for the full plan.
— Bridgewater (Va.) College has announced a Presidential Search Committee. The committee will conduct the search for a replacement for retiring president Phillip C. Stone. The committee will be chaired by G. Steven Agee, a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The committee also includes Judy Mills Reimer, former general secretary of the Church of the Brethren, along with William S. Earhart, Michael K. Kyles, Robert I. Stolzman, James H. Walsh, W. Steve Watson Jr., James L. Wilkerson, and Kathy G. Wright.
— Colleen Hamilton, a Church of the Brethren student at Manchester College, is one of two students to win top honors at the school’s 11th annual Student Research Symposium. Hamilton, a senior from Rockford, Mich., was honored for her paper, “A Springtime for Our Language: The Protection and Promotion of Regional and Minority Languages in Europe.” Also honored was Utsav Hanspal of New Delhi, India, for his paper, “Temperature Analysis of Galactic Bubbles.”
— Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) co-director Carol Rose has announced that programs are at risk because of financial concerns. “CPT has always lived with the tenuous balance of having the work to do, the people to do it, and finding enough money to fund it,” Rose wrote in a release. “Now, for the first time, the balance has tipped to the degree that we may need to suspend and scale back compelling peacemaking work because funds are low.” CPT has “made the difficult decision to freeze the stipended Peacemaker Corps at its current size,” Rose reported. “On every team, CPTers are drastically reducing expenses. Some have offered to work fulltime without pay or with deep cuts to very modest subsistence stipends.” The release also listed opportunities for continued and expanded CPT work including renewed work in Palestine in the old city of Al Khalil (Hebron) and communities around the village of at-Tuwani; training opportunities in Colombia and the UK; opportunities in the DR Congo; and to accompany Kurdish Iraqi villagers displaced by Turkish bombing. Go to www.cpt.org for more about CPT.
— Mark Kuntz of Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill., and a cello player in the Elgin Symphony Orchestra (ESO), has been honored by the Illinois Council of Orchestras for 50 years with the ESO.
— Chuck Riedesel of Holmesville (Neb.) Church of the Brethren, who teaches computer science and engineering at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, has won the James A. Griesen 2009 Chancellor’s Award for Exemplary Service to Students.
— Mary Goetzke, a resident of Fahrney-Keedy Home and Village, celebrated her 102nd birthday on April 7 at the Church of the Brethren retirement community in Boonsboro, Md. Asked how she feels to be 102, Goetzke said, “That’s what they say, but I don’t feel any different,” according to a release from Fahrney-Keedy. As for advice on living as long as she has, she says people should, “Just live a good, common, clean life.”
4) Stephen Abe to conclude his service as West Marva District executive.
Stephen E. Abe will conclude his service as district executive minister of the Church of the Brethren’s West Marva District effective Sept. 30. He has served in the position for nine years, since Jan. 1, 2000, working out of the district office in Oakland, Md.
Previously, Abe served as pastor of Elkins (W.Va.) Church of the Brethren from 1992-2000. He recently has been the Council of District Executives’ representative to the Church of the Brethren’s Mission and Ministry Board, as an ex-officio member. He is a graduate of Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio, an institution affiliated with the Brethren Church.
5) Joan Lowry retires as district executive for Southern Plains.
A. Joan Lowry has retired as district executive minister of Southern Plains District, effective March 31. She began her service to the district on Aug. 1, 2003, when she originally was called to serve as district administrative secretary in a one-year interim position.
She previously had served team pastorates in Thomas, Okla., and Waka, Texas. She and her husband, Jim, also have managed the district’s Spring Lake Retreat and Camp Center in Ripley, Okla. In volunteer service to the district, Lowry has been a district moderator and has served on the district board.
Until May 15, contact information for Southern Plains District is care of Arnold Cowen, District Board Chair, 1405 Par Rd., Perry, OK 73077; arnold35@hotmail.com or 580-336-5645.
6) Sonja Griffith named as district executive for Western Plains.
Sonja Sherfy Griffith will serve as district executive of Western Plains District in a half-time position beginning Jan. 1, 2010. She also will continue as part-time pastor of First Central Church of the Brethren in Kansas City, Kan., where she has served for the past 12 years. Ken and Elsie Holderread retire as co-district executives on Dec. 31.
Griffith’s leadership in the district has included service as district moderator, as a member of the District Board, as chair of the Witness Commission, as a member of the Transformation Steering Team, and as an Area Minister. She has been active denominationally as a founding member and a continuing presence on the Cross Cultural Ministries Team.
She attended McPherson (Kan.) College and is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Nursing and holds a degree in Public Health Nursing from the University of Minnesota. During her nursing career, she served as a public health nurse and as a college nursing faculty member for more than 30 years. She has completed the Training in Ministry program of the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership and has earned a master of theology degree from St. Paul School of Theology.
The Western Plains District Office will continue to be located in McPherson, Kan.
7) Gene Hagenberger to serve as executive for Mid-Atlantic District.
Gene Hagenberger begins as district executive minister of Mid-Atlantic District on Aug.1. He brings more than 27 years of pastoral experience to the position. Since June 1998 he has served as pastor of Easton (Md.) Church of the Brethren, and previously served churches in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland.
His district leadership has included service as chair and vice-chair of the Mid-Atlantic District Leadership Team, and on the Visioning Committee and Constitution and Bylaws Review and Revision Committee. He has represented the district on Standing Committee.
Hagenberger is a graduate of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, attended Drew Theological Seminary, and earned a degree from Western Maryland College with a concentration in Counseling. He holds a certificate in Clinical Pastoral Education from the Shore Health System in Easton, and has completed the Advanced Foundations of Church Leadership program of the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership.
8) United against racism: Dignity and justice for all.
Doris Abdullah, the Church of the Brethren’s representative to the United Nations and a member of the NGO Sub-Committee for the Elimination of Racism, attended the UN Durban Review Conference in Switzerland on April 20-24. She has provided the following report:
I am using “successful” to describe the outcome of the conference because it accomplished its goal of having a world follow-up meeting to assess the 2001 Durban Declaration, which provided an important new framework for guiding governments, NGOs, and other individuals and institutions in their efforts to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and similar forms of intolerance.
The final outcome document was not what I would have wanted, but the fact remains that the document was reached by consensus of the world body, including the nine nations that either walked out or otherwise protested the conference on the opening day. The final document did not offend any nation and that in itself gives an opening to civil society organizations, such as ourselves, to continue our fight for human rights for the people racially discriminated against such as the following long list:
One of the largest racially discriminated groups are the Dalits, victims of racial discrimination based in the caste system. Dalit is a caste group born with the identity of “untouchable” and “lower caste.” Dalits number between 250 million to 300 million persons found mostly in India, 5.4 million persons in Nepal, and millions in other parts of Southeast Asia and Africa.
Racial discrimination against indigenous peoples, who number 370 million in 70 countries. Indigenous peoples have in common a historical continuity with a given region prior to colonization, and a strong link to their lands. They maintain distinct social, economic, and political systems with distinct languages, cultures, beliefs, and knowledge systems. Two of the many racially discriminated issues raised by indigenous people are climate change and access to safe drinking water.
Persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities. The Roma people, found throughout Europe, are the persons most identified as racially discriminated against. Article 27 of the “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” states that “persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right in community with the other members of their group to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language.”
Women face multiple forms of discrimination. The majority of the world’s poorest people are women, who are further affected by discrimination if they belong to minority groups. Women who are discriminated against on the basis of both gender and race are frequently subject to violence. The UN “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women” (CEDAW) has been ratified by 185 states.
Migrants experience racial discrimination. It is estimated that more than 200 million people live outside their countries of origin. Irrespective of immigration status, migrants are entitled to human rights including economic, social, and cultural rights. There are state-criminalized migration offences throughout the globe. International treaties explicitly recognize that factors such as race, color, and national origin contribute to discrimination, exclusion, and disadvantages for migrants.
People of African descent. The UN Commission on Human Rights has created the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, a Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, an Independent Expert on minority issues, and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which have consistently taken up Afro-descendant issues. For 400 years, people of African descent were marginalized as part of the legacy of slavery and colonialism. Racism and racial discrimination have caused people of African descent to suffer exclusion and poverty. African descendants are disadvantaged in access to education, health care, markets, loans, and technology.
Others mentioned at the conference as victims of racism include the Buraku people of Japan, and the Palestinian people.
In 2001 the Durban Conference was attended by 18,000 people with 2,500 delegates from 170 countries including 16 heads of state. Only one head of state attended this year’s Review Conference–the President of Iran–but all 192 heads of member states were invited.
Not one of the nations that walked out because of Iran’s remarks called what was said incorrect, but instead poured out their rage on the President of Iran personally and the conference as a whole. I believe that they merely did not want to confront the racism in their own countries.
Canada does not want to engage its indigenous population in dialogue about disputed lands, Israel does not want to talk about the segregation wall on Palestinian lands, the US does not want conversation about reparations for slavery, and Europe does not want to speak about the millions of people of color who have come to European countries since globalization and are denied equal access and basic human rights.
— Doris Abdullah is the Church of the Brethren’s representative to the United Nations and a member of the NGO Sub-Committee for the Elimination of Racism.
9) ‘We thank you for the check….’
Following are just a few of the many responses from food banks to the Church of the Brethren matching grants for domestic hunger relief. The program helped congregations around the country raise money over the winter for local food needs, matched by grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Crisis Fund and Emergency Disaster Fund. The responses have been compiled by Howard Royer, manager of the Global Food Crisis Fund:
“Our kitchen serves three meals a day, every day of the year, to the homeless under our roof. On their behalf, God bless!” — Chris Smith, Lebanon (Pa.) Rescue Mission, and minister at Midway Church of the Brethren
“I am thanking you on behalf of our church, the Big Sky Church (American Baptist/Church of the Brethren) of Froid, Mont., of which I am a member, and our Culbertson Food Bank for which I serve as coordinator under the auspices of the Ministerial Association. As in many areas, we are seeing more and more families turning to local food banks for assistance. So we really appreciate the financial help we received from you. May God richly bless each one of you as you serve in this ministry.” — Eva May Knudson, Culbertson Food Bank, Froid, Mon.
“We thank you for the check for $500 for our pantry. The money will help us out a great deal to buy groceries for our increasing number of clients. We were happy to see that the Polo Church of the Brethren was able to raise such a large amount also. Thank you for your kindness and generosity!” — Avis Ehmen and Anne Vock, Polo (Ill.) Lifeline Food Pantry
“Without the loving kindness and support of people like the Mountville Church of the Brethren, our ministry plainly speaking would go ‘belly up.’ These disciples of Christ are awesome in our eyes.” — Columbia Food Bank, Mountville, Pa.
“Thank you for your donation of $500 given to our Second Harvest Food Bank campaign, ‘A Region Responds to Ending Hunger,’ matching the $500 gift of the Anderson Church of the Brethren. Your gift qualifies for the Kresge Challenge and will generate $250 more when our $4 million goal is met.” — Lois Rockhill, executive director, Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, Muncie, Ind.
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Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren, cobnews@brethren.org or 800-323-8039 ext. 260. Mary Eller, Mary Jo Flory-Steury, Mary K. Heatwole, Jeri S. Kornegay, Glen Sargent, and Shelly Wagner contributed to this report. Newsline appears every other Wednesday, with other special issues sent as needed. The next regularly scheduled issue is set for May 20. Newsline stories may be reprinted if Newsline is cited as the source. For more Brethren news and features, subscribe to “Messenger” magazine, call 800-323-8039 ext. 247.