{"id":4027,"date":"2012-02-08T00:00:40","date_gmt":"2012-02-08T00:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.brethren.org\/news\/?p=4027"},"modified":"2018-11-03T20:18:24","modified_gmt":"2018-11-03T20:18:24","slug":"annual-conference-bits-and-pieces-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2012\/annual-conference-bits-and-pieces-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Conference Bits and Pieces"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Photo by Regina Holmes<\/small>
Kim Ebersole (second from left) was one of the Congregational Life Ministries staff facilitating round table discussions at the first Ministry Fair, held at the 2011 Annual Conference. The fair is being offered again for participants at the 2012 Conference.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

— A Congregational Life Ministry Fair\u00a0<\/strong>is offered for the second year in a row as a special opportunity for Conference-goers, 4:30-6:30 p.m. on July 10. A \u201cround robin\u201d format will offer roundtable discussions with staff on topics such as children\u2019s ministry, stewardship, deacons, and more. Also sponsored by Congregational Life Ministries are receptions for new fellowships and congregations (afternoon of July 8) and for intercultural networking and mentoring (afternoon of July 7), as well as numerous insight sessions, mutual help groups, and networking opportunities for church planters and emerging churches. The flier of Congregational Life Ministries events is at\u00a0www.cobannualconference.org\/StLouis\/
\nEventsCongregationalLife.pdf<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

— Conference-goers are invited to tour Bethany Theological Seminary<\/strong>\u00a0in Richmond, Ind., on their way to or from St. Louis. \u201cGoing I-70 west to St. Louis? We\u2019d be glad to have you stop for a visit at Bethany!\u201d said an invitation. Pre-Conference tours will be offered July 5-7. After Conference tours begin July 11 at 12 noon, and continue on July 12. Please call ahead to let the seminary know how many are in your group and an estimated time of arrival. Contact Monica Rice at 800-287-8822 or\u00a0ricemo@bethanyseminary.edu<\/a>\u00a0. For more information find a flier at\u00a0www.cobannualconference.org\/StLouis\/BethanyTour.pdf<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

— Heading up Bethany Seminary\u2019s list of insight sessions<\/strong>\u00a0and meal events is a midday session on July 8 billed as an \u201cintellectual travelogue.\u201d Faculty and students will share insights from a cross-cultural seminar to visit Christians in Germany, planned for this May. Also on the schedule with seminary sponsorship are the \u201cBrethren Life and Thought\u201d luncheon featuring Washington University professor Hillel Kieval speaking on \u201cThe Challenges and Risks of Integration\u201d from the experience of American Jews, and the Bethany Luncheon featuring a panel of seminary graduates discussing the role and responsibility of Bethany alumni. Luncheon tickets are $17. The flier of Bethany events is at\u00a0www.cobannualconference.org\/StLouis\/InsightSessionBethany.pdf<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

— Seminary president Ruthann Knechel Johansen<\/strong>\u00a0is the featured speaker for the Womaen\u2019s Caucus Luncheon on July 9. Her address, \u201cThe Love Poem,\u201d will respond to the question, \u201cHow do we shape the gift of our own lives as works of art that make it possible to live in solidarity with others and in reconciliation and forgiveness when faced with offenses?\u201d\u00a0 Luncheon tickets are $17. A flier for the Womaen\u2019s Caucus Luncheon is at\u00a0www.cobannualconference.org\/StLouis\/WomaensCaucusLuncheon.pdf<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

— \u201cNew Fire: Youth and Young Adults and the Ecumenical Movement\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0is the presentation by Jennifer Leath for the Ecumenical Luncheon on July 10. Leath is an ordained minister and itinerant elder in the First Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and a doctoral candidate at Yale University in African-American studies and religious studies with an emphasis in religious ethics. She serves as co-moderator of the Joint Consultative Group between the World Council of Churches and the Pentecostal churches, and is a member of the WCC youth commission. Tickets are $17. See\u00a0www.cobannualconference.org\/StLouis\/EcumenicalLuncheon.pdf<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

— \u201cLast year the Spiritual Directors Network hosted a\u00a0Labyrinth at Annual Conference\u00a0<\/strong>with some success,\u201d reports Joshua Brockway, director of Spiritual Life and Discipleship. \u201cSeveral persons asked over the course of the year if that labyrinth was available for use around the denomination. I am happy to share that Congregational Life has purchased that labyrinth! We will again bring it to Annual Conference along with a beautiful interpretive card.\u201d For more information about the spiritual practice of walking a labyrinth, or for more about the Spiritual Directors Network, contact Brockway at\u00a0jbrockway@brethren.org<\/a>\u00a0or 800-323-8039 ext. 227.<\/p>\n

— On Earth Peace is sponsoring a Peace Vigil and Drum Circle\u00a0<\/strong>to close out the young adult experience of the Conference. The event is to \u201cbring God\u2019s Shalom and Christ\u2019s peace in a quiet, peaceful, spiritual event in downtown St. Louis.\u201d Young adults are invited to bring their voices, prayers, stringed instruments, and drums when they gather at 10 p.m. on July 10.<\/p>\n

— Also sponsored by On Earth Peace are a number of insight sessions\u00a0<\/strong>including \u201cThe Vision of On Earth Peace: A Conversation with the New Executive Director\u201d (to be named prior to Conference); \u201cThe Science of Sexuality\u201d led by McPherson (Kan.) College natural science professor and church deacon Jonathan Frye; \u201cWelcome Matters: Understanding and Managing Social Change\u201d led by Carol Wise of the Brethren and Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interests; and \u201cFrom Marine Sergeant to Conscientious Objector\u201d featuring CO and former Marine Corey Gray, among others. The Step Up! program for youth and young adults is the focus of the On Earth Peace Breakfast on July 10. Breakfast tickets cost $16. Find the On Earth Peace event flier at\u00a0www.cobannualconference.org\/StLouis\/EventsOnEarthPeace.pdf<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

\"\"— Join Brethren Press for a 20th anniversary hymn sing<\/strong>\u00a0celebrating 20 years of \u201cHymnal: A Worship Book.\u201d Nancy Faus-Mullen, who was a leader in the Hymnal Project and one of the creative musicians who helped put the Hymnal together, will be a special guest at the hymn sing scheduled to start at 9 p.m. on July 10.<\/p>\n

— The Brethren Press Messenger Dinner<\/strong>\u00a0on July 8 will feature Guy E. Wampler speaking on \u201cWhat Holds Brethren Together?\u201d A former Annual Conference moderator, he also chaired the Annual Conference study committee on human sexuality in 1983. Dinner tickets cost $25. Other Brethren Press insight sessions address \u201cFresh Talk for Sunday Morning\u201d led by Gather \u2019Round project director and editor Anna Speicher; \u201cFacebook Horror Stories: Do\u2019s and Don\u2019ts of Social Media\u201d led by Brethren Press publisher Wendy McFadden and news director Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford; and \u201cCalling All Children\u2019s Sunday School Teachers\u201d offering success stories, tips, questions, and concerns about Sunday school. More information is at\u00a0www.cobannualconference.org\/StLouis\/InsightSessionBrethrenPress.pdf<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

— The Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) Fitness Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0begins at 7 a.m. on July 8. The 3.5 mile walk\/run will be held at Forest Park, six miles from the America\u2019s Center convention center (participants arrange their own transportation to the park). Cost is $20 per person (going up to $25 after May 25), or $60 for a family of four or more. Registration will be available with general Conference registration at\u00a0www.brethren.org\/ac<\/a>\u00a0beginning Feb. 22. For details see\u00a0www.cobannualconference.org\/StLouis\/BBTfitnessChallenge.pdf<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

— Also sponsored by BBT are a number of insight sessions<\/strong>\u00a0including \u201cLong-Term Care Insurance: It\u2019s Not Just for Your Parents,\u201d \u201cLiving and Leaving Your Legacy,\u201d and \u201cStocks and Bonds and Money Markets, Oh My!\u201d The full listing is at\u00a0www.cobannualconference.org\/StLouis\/InsightSessionBBT.pdf<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

— A new meal event<\/strong>\u00a0on the Conference schedule is the CODE Celebrating Excellence Dinner on July 9. The event is sponsored by the Council of District Executives. Tickets are $25.<\/p>\n

— Each Church of the Brethren congregation is invited to create a quilt block<\/strong>\u00a0for the Conference. The blocks should be postmarked by May 15 and will be assembled into quilt tops in advance of the Conference and quilted onsite in St. Louis. The quilt auction begins after the close of business on July 10, with proceeds benefiting projects to alleviate hunger. Detailed instructions for making quilt blocks are at\u00a0www.cobannualconference.org\/StLouis\/AACBQuilting.pdf<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

— The young adults and singles\/night owls join together for a night-time, by\u00a0flashlight experience of the City Museum of St. Louis\u00a0<\/strong>on July 7. This \u201cNight at the Museum\u201d is offered at a greatly reduced entrance fee of only $6 per person. \u201cHoused in the 600,000 square foot former Shoe Company, the museum is an eclectic mixture of playground, funhouse, surrealistic pavilion, and architectural marvel,\u201d says the flier. See the Information Packet at\u00a0www.brethren.org\/ac<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

— The junior high youth<\/strong>\u00a0will have a unique opportunity to spend the morning of July 10 at St. Louis\u2019 Old Courthouse learning about the Dred Scott case and 19th century slavery, and considering the issues of modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Daily rate for July 10 is $35. Cost to attend junior high activities for the entire Conference is $85, which includes a visit to the Gateway Arch, a Mississippi River cruise, and the St. Louis Zoo, among other events. Other groups planning to visit St. Louis\u2019 Gateway Arch include the middlers (grades 3-5) and senior high. See the Information Packet at\u00a0www.brethren.org\/ac<\/a>\u00a0for more age group activities and fees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These highlights of special events and opportunities at the 2012 Annual Conference include a second annual Congregational Life Ministry Fair, pre- and post-Conference tours of Bethany Theological Seminary, \u201cNew Fire: Youth and Young Adults and the Ecumenical Movement\u201d presentation at the Ecumenical Luncheon, a \u201cNight at the Museum\u201d for young adults and singles\/night owls, and much, much more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1258],"wf_post_folders":[],"class_list":["post-4027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-annual-conference"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4027"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4032,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4027\/revisions\/4032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4027"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=4027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}