\u201cFor we are God\u2019s servants, working together….\u201d — <\/em>1 Corinthians 3:9<\/p>\n NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n 1) Annual Conference to address a full business agenda. FEATURE<\/strong><\/p>\n 4) Will there be a Church of the Brethren in Sudan?<\/p>\n For more Church of the Brethren news, go to\u00a0www.brethren.org<\/a>, click on \u201cNews\u201d to find a news feature, more \u201cBrethren bits,\u201d links to Brethren in the news, and links to the General Board\u2019s photo albums and the Newsline archive. From July 1-5, daily news and photographs will be posted from the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in Des Moines, Iowa; go to\u00a0www.brethren.org\/ac<\/a>.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n The 220th recorded Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren will be held July 1-5 in Des Moines, Iowa. Delegates will be kept busy by a full business agenda. Moderator Ronald D. Beachley, executive minister for Western Pennsylvania District, will preside over the business sessions.<\/p>\n The Conference theme, \u201cTogether: Exercise Daily in God,\u201d from 1 Timothy 4:6-8, will be complemented by half-hour sessions during business on July 3 and 4 to engage in the denomination-wide study emphasis, \u201cTogether: Conversations on Being the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n Other major items of business are:<\/p>\n \u201cCall to Stewardship Education,\u201d from Mid-Atlantic District, requesting \u201cadditional guidance, resources, and instruction for deepening our understanding of the stewardship of time, talent, and financial resources.\u201d<\/p>\n Revisions to the Articles of Organization of Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT).<\/p>\n \u201cResolution: Divestment from Companies Selling Products Used as Weapons in Israel and Palestine,\u201d from Fremont (Calif.) Fellowship in Christ and Pacific Southwest District, asking BBT to \u201cdivest itself from ownership of Caterpillar Corporation and any other company that sells products that are used routinely as weapons of destruction or death in Israel and Palestine.\u201d The query cites scripture and Brethren tradition in asking for exploration of reinvesting funds in companies \u201cdoing business that enhances the quality of life for both Israelis and Palestinians,\u201d and consideration of divestment because, \u201cCaterpillar Corporation…sells to Israel bulldozers that are used to destroy Palestinian homes, farms, ancient olive groves, roads, and water and sewer pipes and that have killed several persons…. These Caterpillar D9 bulldozers are made according to military specifications and are sold to Israel under the US Foreign Military Sales Program.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA Call to Reduce Global Poverty and Hunger,\u201d from the Church of the Brethren General Board, calling the denomination to help reduce global poverty and hunger by recommitting to the teachings of Jesus, revisiting the 2000 Annual Conference statement on \u201cCaring for the Poor,\u201d and pursuing the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations.<\/p>\n \u201cCommitment of Accessibility and Inclusion Resolution,\u201d from the Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) and its Disabilities Ministries, urging \u201ceach congregation, agency, institution, facility, and gathering of the Church of the Brethren to make a new commitment to enable all people to participate fully in all ministries….\u201d The query asks the church to examine barriers that prevent people with disabilities from full participation and to commit that \u201call existing and future denominational office sites be modified or designed to follow the guidelines\u201d of the Americans with Disabilities Act.<\/p>\n \u201cDoing Church Business,\u201d a report of a study committee elected in 2004, including numerous recommendations focused on preparation and training for Conference leaders and delegates and format of the Conference. \u201cThere is a clear need for significant change in order to enhance and model a discerning Christian community and the reign of God,\u201d it says. Specific recommendations include training for delegates and moderators; congregational discernment about Conference business; \u201cprocess counselors\u201d and a Process Committee; small-group discernment during Conference; consideration of summaries of major dissenting opinions; holding Love Feast at Conference; and expanding the length of Conference. Committee members are Dave Shetler, Joe Detrick, Matt Guynn, Verdena Lee, and Dale Posthumus.<\/p>\n Also on the agenda: interim reports from the Brethren Medical Plan Study Committee, Intercultural Study Committee, 300th Anniversary Committee, and Review and Evaluation Study Committee; elections; and reports from denominational agencies and committees. (For full business documents go to\u00a0www.brethren.org\/ac\/desmoines\/2006business.html<\/a>.)<\/p>\n At its pre-Conference meeting on July 1, the General Board has a full agenda as well, including a first report from a Brethren Service Center Ministry Options Exploration Committee regarding the center in New Windsor, Md.; a \u201cContingency Plan for a Military Draft\u201d; revisions to its vision, mission, and core values statements; long-range planning; and finances.<\/p>\n For more go to\u00a0www.brethren.org\/ac<\/a>. Daily news reports and photographs will be posted from the Conference in Des Moines from July 1-5, on the news pages at\u00a0www.brethren.org\/ac<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n La 220th Conferencia Anual de la Iglesia de los Hermanos tendr\u00e1 lugar del 1 al 5 de Julio en Des Moines, Iowa. Los delegados estar\u00e1n ocupados con una agenda de negocios bastante llena. El Moderador, Ronald D. Beachley, ministro executivo del Distrito del Oeste de Pennsylvania, presidir\u00e1 las sesiones de negocios.<\/p>\n El 3 y 4 de Julio, el tema de la Conferencia, \u201cJuntos: Ejercit\u00e1ndonos Diariamente con Dios.\u201d de Timoteo 4:6-8, ser\u00e1 complementado por sesiones de media hora durante las sesiones de negocios para envolver a toda la denominaci\u00f3n en el \u00e9nfasis de estudio titulado \u201cJuntos, Conversaciones de como ser la Iglesia.\u201d<\/p>\n Otros temas importantes de negocios:<\/p>\n \u201cLlamados a hacer Buen Uso de la Educaci\u00f3n\u201d del Distrito de Medio-Atl\u00e1ntico, pidiendo \u201cGu\u00eda adicional, recursos e instrucciones para mejor entender el buen uso de tiempo, talento, y recursos financieros.\u201d<\/p>\n Revisi\u00f3n de los Articulos de Organizaci\u00f3n del Grupo Fideicomiso de Beneficios de los Hermanos (GFBH).<\/p>\n \u201cResoluci\u00f3n: Sacar Inversiones Existentes en Compa\u00f1ias que Vendan Productos que Sean Usados como Armas en Israel y Palestina,\u201d de los Fremont (Calif) Hermandad en Cristo, y Distrito Suroeste del Pac\u00edfico, quienes han pedido al GFBH que saque todas sus inversions en la Corporaci\u00f3n Caterpillar, y cualquier otra compa\u00f1ia que venda productos usados rutinariamente como armas de destrucci\u00f3n y muerte en Israel y Palestina.\u201d Esta resoluci\u00f3n cita las escrituras y la tradici\u00f3n de los Hermanos al pedir se explore reinvert\u00edr esas inversions en compa\u00f1ias \u201cque hagan negocios que ayuden a mejorar la calidad de vida tanto de los Israelitas como los Palestinos,\u201d y que consideren sacar su inversi\u00f3n de la \u201cCorporaci\u00f3n Caterpillar\u201d ya que \u00e9sta vende \u201cbulldozers\u201d a Israel, los cuales son usados para destru\u00edr casas, granjas, plant\u00edos antiguos de olivos, carreteras, y pipas que acarrean agua y drenaje Palestinos, y que han matado a varias personas. Estas maquinas \u201cCaterpillars D9 bulldozers\u201d est\u00e1n hechas de acuerdo a especificaciones militares y son vendidas a Israel bajo el Programa Militar de Venta Foranea de los Estados Unidos.<\/p>\n \u201cUn llamado a Reducir la Pobreza y el Hambre Global,\u201d de la Junta General de la Iglesia de los Hermanos, est\u00e1 llamando a la denominaci\u00f3n a que ayude a reducir la pobreza y el hambre global, haciendo un nuevo cometido a las ense\u00f1anzas de Jes\u00fas, al considerar nuevamente la declaraci\u00f3n de la Conferencia Anual de 2000 que habla de \u201cCuidar de los Pobres\u201d, e insistir en las metas de Desarrollo del Milenio de las Naciones Unidas.<\/p>\n \u201cResoluci\u00f3n al Cometido de Accesibilidad e Inclusi\u00f3n,\u201d de los Hermanos Proveedores de Cuidado, y sus Ministerios de Desabilidades, urge a \u201ccada congregaci\u00f3n, agencia, instituci\u00f3n, oficina, y grupos de reuni\u00f3n de la Iglesia de los Hermanos a hacer un nuevo compromiso para ayudar que toda la gente participe plenamente en todos los ministerios. Esta resoluci\u00f3n pide a la iglesia que examine las barreras que previene que la gente con desabilidades participe plenamente, y que se comprometan a que \u201ctodas oficinas y sitios de la denominaci\u00f3n, existentes y del futuro, sean modificadas o designadas a seguir las pautas del Acto sobre Americanos con Desabilidades.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTratando los Negocios de la Iglesia,\u201d es el reporte de un estudio del comit\u00e9 elegido en 2004 el cual incluy\u00f3 muchas recomendaciones enfocadas en la preparaci\u00f3n y entrenamiento de l\u00edderes y delegados de la Conferencia, y en el formato de la Conferencia. Este reporte dice que \u201chay una necesidad clara de un cambio significante para poder mejorar y modelar una comunidad cristiana con discernimiento y el reino de Dios.\u201d Las recomendaciones espec\u00edficas incluyen entrenamiento de delegados y moderadores; discernimiento congregacional de los asuntos de la Conferencia; \u201cConsejeros procesadores\u201d y un Comit\u00e9 Procesador; un grupo peque\u00f1o de discernimiento durante la Conferencia; consideraci\u00f3n de sumarios de opinions desidentes importantes; tener Fiestas de Partici\u00f3n del Pan durante la Conferencia; y alargar la Conferencia. Los miembros del comit\u00e9 son Dave Shetler, Joe Detrick, Matt Guynn, Verdena Lee, y Dale Posthumus.<\/p>\n Tambi\u00e9n en la agenda: reportes interinos del Estudio del Comit\u00e9 del Plan M\u00e9dico de los Hermanos, del Comit\u00e9 de Estudio Intercultural, del Comit\u00e9 del 300th Aniversario, y del Comit\u00e9 de Revisi\u00f3n y Evaluaci\u00f3n de Estudio; elecciones; y reportes de agencies y comit\u00e9s de la denominaci\u00f3n. (Para ver los documentos completos de estos asuntos vaya a\u00a0www.brethren.org\/ac\/desmoines\/2006business.html<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Durante la Junta de pre-Conferencia de Julio 1, la Junta General tambi\u00e9n tiene una agenda bastante grande, incluyendo un primer reporte del Comit\u00e9 del Centro de Servicio de los Hermanos en New Windsor que Explora Opciones para el Centro de New Windsor, Md.; un \u201cPlan de Contingencia en caso de un Reclutamiento Militar\u201d; revisions de las declaraciones de su visi\u00f3n, misi\u00f3n y valores centrales; planes a largo plazo; y finanzas.<\/p>\n Para ver m\u00e1s, vaya a\u00a0www.brethren.org\/ac<\/a>. Reportes de noticias diarias y fotograf\u00edas de la Conferencia en Des Moines de Julio 1-5 podr\u00e1n verse en las p\u00e1ginas de\u00a0www.brethren.org\/ac<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annual Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, July 1-5 will include an opportunity for a historic group photo.<\/p>\n Participants at this year\u2019s Conference who also were at the Church of the Brethren\u2019s 250th anniversary celebration in Des Moines in 1958 are asked to gather for a photograph. The photo session is planned for Sunday, July 2, at 11:45 a.m. following the Annual Conference worship service.<\/p>\n Please gather at the message boards in the Third Street Lobby of Hy Vee Hall to be part of the photograph.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The following reflection is by Jim Hardenbrook, interim director of the Sudan initiative of the Church of the Brethren General Board. He is speaking at the International Welcome Dinner at Annual Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, July 1, at 5 p.m.. He also will be available at Conference to schedule times for speaking to congregations or districts; find him at the Global Mission Partnerships booth in the Exhibit Hall.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring a conversation in Khartoum last June, Sudan’s Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, told me of a saying used in his village: `Don’t let this harvest pass.\u2019 He was raised in the Darfur region of Sudan. His village subsisted through farming small plots of land. When it was time to harvest they could not allow disagreement to delay bringing in the crops. The harvest was too important. Lives depended on cooperation and hard work.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the past 25 years the Church of the Brethren has, through thoughtful and ethical ecumenical work, planted `good seed\u2019 in war-ravaged south Sudan. Those seeds took root. Now that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of Sudan in the north, and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement in the south, has been signed and is now being implemented there is a harvest ripening.<\/p>\n \u201cThe churches of south Sudan and the government are interested in designing a way for the Church of the Brethren to begin a holistic outreach there. The Church of the Brethren General Board voted in Oct. 2005 to move in this direction, calling for what has been named a Sudan initiative. Faltering steps have been taken but they do not match the magnitude of the harvest. Philosophical and personal differences have slowed us down.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the initiative continues to generate enthusiastic interest throughout the denomination. It seems as though this truly is a call from God.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Jesus saw a crowd of people that could only be described as `harassed and helpless, as sheep without a shepherd,\u2019 he said to his disciples, `The harvest is plentiful…\u2019 (Matthew 9:36-37). The people of south Sudan are harassed but certainly not helpless. They have withstood war and deprivation for years. Now they are willing to partner with us to plant churches, revive educational and medical services, extend commercial opportunities, rebuild systems of law and security, and work together at person-to-person peacemaking.<\/p>\n \u201cThe present needs are to design a strategy to meet the opportunities, recruit and equip workers, identify partners from other Christian agencies who will work with us, raise money, and–as Jesus said`Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cSome say we have forgotten what it means to be mission minded but I don’t think so. The evidence shows otherwise. The Church of the Brethren is facing an unparalleled opportunity in south Sudan. An amazing harvest is lying before us. We must respond.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you need more information, would like to visit about the Sudan initiative, or would like to schedule a presentation at your church, please contact me at\u00a0pastor.jim@nampacob.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAs my friend in Khartoum said, `Don’t let this harvest pass.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n
\n2) La Conferencia Anual tendr\u00e1 una agenda llena.
\n3) Historic photo opportunity for attendees of the church\u2019s 250th anniversary.<\/p>\n
\n
\n1) Annual Conference to address a full business agenda.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
2) La Conferencia Anual tendr\u00e1 una agenda llena.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
3) Historic photo opportunity for attendees of the church\u2019s 250th anniversary.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
4) Will there be a Church of the Brethren in Sudan?<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\n