1) Shine On storybook Bible will offer new way to teach children the faith; 2) Zach Wolgemuth resigns as associate director of Brethren Disaster Ministries; 3) Kathy Fry-Miller to lead Children’s Disaster Services; 4) Lent devotional ‘Real Rest’ to focus on themes of grace, light living; 5) Bethany Seminary invites junior high youth to ‘Immerse!’; 6) Covenant Bible Study will take a look ‘Behind the Drama’; 7) Manchester $1 million grant brings new degree in sales, internships, collaborations to bolster employment opportunities for graduates; 8) Juniata College faith-based service program among those honored by White House; 9) Virlina District produces new stewardship curriculum; 10) ‘Summertime Children’ re-released to mark 40th anniversary of first NYC theme song; 11) Brethren bits
Year: 2013
Lent Devotional ‘Real Rest’ to Focus on Themes of Grace, Light Living
The Brethren Press 2014 devotional booklet for Lent, offering devotions for Ash Wednesday through Easter, is written by Duane Grady. Each day will feature a scripture, meditation, and prayer in a pocket-sized booklet suitable for individual use or for congregations to offer to members. Pre-order now for $2.25 per copy, plus shipping and handling.
Brethren Bits for Dec. 16, 2013
In this issue: CPT director Carol Rose announces her retirement, celebration for Georgia Markey’s 25 years in ministry, Brethren Service Center seeks maintenance mechanic, Shine curriculum seeks writers, help spread word about New Inglenook Cookbook, Lititz Church’s 100th anniversary, dates to save in April, and much much more.
Bethany Seminary Invites Junior High Youth to ‘Immerse!’
Next summer Bethany Seminary’s Institute for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults holds an event for junior high students: Immerse! will bring youth who have completed seventh, eighth, and ninth grades together to share questions, experiences, and ideas about faith. Although Immerse! happens to have the same location and similar date range to the Church of the Brethren National Junior High Conferences, it is a separate, grant-funded program of the seminary. The next National Junior High Conference is being planned for June of 2015.
Virlina District Produces New Stewardship Curriculum
“Give of the First Fruits: A Study of Stewardship for the 21st Century” has just been published by the Church of the Brethren’s Virlina District. This fresh, practical approach to the Christian concept of “stewardship” is a 13-lesson quarterly with each lesson written by a different church leader or couple from the Virlina and Shenandoah Districts.
Covenant Bible Study Will Take a Look ‘Behind the Drama’
“Behind the Drama: The Old Testament You Missed” is an upcoming Covenant Bible Study by Eugene F. Roop, Old Testament scholar and former Bethany Seminary president, available from Brethren Press this spring for $7.95 plus shipping and handling. Call 800-441-3712 or order online at www.brethrenpress.com .
Kathy Fry-Miller to lead Children’s Disaster Services
Kathy Fry-Miller has been named associate director of Children’s Disaster Services, a Church of the Brethren program that is part of Brethren Disaster Ministries. Since 1980, Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) has been meeting the needs of children by setting up child care centers in shelters and disaster assistance centers across the nation.
‘Summertime Children’ Re-Released to Mark 40th Anniversary of First NYC Theme Song
Church of the Brethren musicians Andy and Terry Murray have announced the release of a CD version of their first recording featuring the first theme song for a National Youth Conference, “Summertime Children.” The song was introduced at NYC in Glorieta, N.M., in 1974. The 40th anniversary of that conference, along with continuing requests for some of the songs, prompted the Murrays to undertake the project, said a release.
Royer Family Charitable Foundation Offers Major Support to Haiti Medical Project
The Haiti Medical Project is receiving a major multi-year grant from the Royer Family Charitable Foundation that will enable a doubling of the number of communities in Haiti that are served by mobile clinics. The grant in addition will help the project purchase a truck and will contribute to an endowment fund.
Brethren Disaster Ministries Opens Rebuilding Site in New Jersey, Illinois Tornado Clean Up
At the same time that Brethren Disaster Ministries is closing out project sites following Hurricane Irene in Schoharie and Binghamton, N.Y., the program is opening a new project site in Spotswood, N.J. In other disaster relief news, Illinois and Wisconsin District disaster coordinator Rick Koch has called for volunteers to help in the clean up of tornado destruction in Illinois.