wfn.org | CoB Newsline- General Board coverage

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      March 12, 1997
Contact:  Paula Wilding
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline         March 12, 1997  

This is Newsline for March 12. In the news today:  

1) The General Board approves a plan for sending polity changes 
     to this year's Annual Conference. 
2) An appeal of $75,000 to help combat hunger in North Korea as 
     the result of flooding is approved. 
3) The Annual Conference Review and Evaluation Committee's report 
     regarding the state of the General Board is released to 
     Board members. 
4) Activities surrounding Brethren Press' centennial celebration  
     are lifted up. 
5) Parish Ministries Commission news. 
6) General Services Commission news. 
7) The list of employees to be let go due to redesign is expected 
     to be released on Thursday. 
8) The 1997 Annual Conference packet is released.   

1) The Church of the Brethren General Board, convening Tuesday
for its final day of spring meetings, voted to recommend that
Annual Conference approve polity changes needed to implement its
new design.  

Specifically, Annual Conference delegates will be asked to
consider four items. These changes are included in Chapter Two of
the Annual Conference polity manual, which the General Board has
rewritten and will ask Conference delegates to accept in its
entirety.  

The four items are:           
*reducing the General Board from 25 to 20 members (15 district
and 5 at-large representatives).           

*removing the General Board's three commission structure (General
Services, Parish Ministries and World Ministries) in favor of
creating and utilizing ad hoc committees and task teams when
needed.           

*transforming the current Administrative Council leadership
structure, which consists of a general secretary, a treasurer,
and executives of General Services, Parish Ministries and World
Ministries commissions, to a leadership team design.           

*creating a Mission and Ministries Planning Council and
eliminating two other Annual Conference-created committees. The
Mission and Ministries Planning Council would replace the current
Planning and Coordinating and Goals and Budget committees. The
General Board's Executive Committee would absorb Goals and
Budget's budget parameter development and planning
responsibilities.  

Board members struggled at length during meetings Sunday and
Tuesday on whether to include proposed polity changes at this
year's Annual Conference, July 1-6 in Long Beach, Calif., or to
wait until 1998's Conference in Orlando, Fla.   

While the complete General Board design will be more developed
for the 1998 Annual Conference, the Board thought it is more
important that delegates act on polity changes early on in the
process so final details in the plan are reached with integrity. 

Board members ultimately approved sending all polity changes to
Annual Conference delegates this year, with the provision that a
committee be established to review the status of the General
Board and its ministries each year henceforth.  

A two-page introductory statement is included with the document
that will be considered by Annual Conference delegates. The
preamble of the document consists of the General Board's vision
statement and its list of core functions, two documents that
guided the Board as it developed its new design.  

In addition to the key components addressed through the proposed
polity changes, a key aspect of the General Board's new design
will be the development of three to five area teams that will
consist of several "generalists" who will work with congregations
and districts in the areas of worship planning, spiritual
formation, stewardship education and evangelism. Each team also
is expected to possess skills in urban and ethnic ministries and
small church development. While a listing of most salaried staff
positions in the new organization was printed in the March 10
Newsline, these team positions have yet to be identified because
they still are under development.    

2) The Executive Committee approved a proposal to raise $75,000
for the Global Food Crisis Fund to provide fertilizer, seed and
planting materials for North Korea. North Koreans have suffered
from food shortages for over two years due to damaging floods.
Congregations will be asked to participate in the project in
April. Funds raised over $75,000 will be used by the Global Food
Crisis Fund for future projects.   

3) The Annual Conference Review and Evaluation Committee, a
committee that is formed in the middle of each decade to perform
a review of the General Board, released its 1990s report to
General Board members. Though the report was not discussed
publicly, it will be available from the Annual Conference office
by April. Call the Annual Conference office at 800 323-8039 for
more information or write to AnnualConf@AOL.Com.   

4) Brethren Press announced its plan to develop a new adult
curriculum that will be available in the fall of 1998. Although
the publishing house already publishes "Guide for Biblical
Studies" for adults, the new curriculum will serve as an
alternate study, focusing on life issues and "approaching the
Bible as a curriculum itself," said Julie Garber, manager of 
Brethren Press Editorial Services. Brethren Press is working on
the curriculum, which has yet to be named, with Faith & Life
Press, the publishing arm of the General Conference Mennonites. 

Brethren Press also reported its centennial celebration plans for
throughout this year. Three publications are being published in
honor of its 100th anniversary -- "For This Day," a historical
overview of the publishing house; "The Story Behind the Touch of
the Master's Hand," the story of Myra Brooks Welch, author of
"The Touch of the Master's Hand;" and "Preaching in a Tavern and
129 Other Surprising Stories from Brethren Life," a collection of
stories gathered by author Ken Morse. Brethren Press will also
celebrate at Annual Conference with its annual breakfast that
will feature an audio-visual presentation of the history and
people behind Brethren Press over the past 100 years, as well as
a display chronicalling Brethren Press' history. The publishing
house currently has an exhibit of artifacts from the former
printing operation displayed at the Elgin Historical Museum, in
Elgin, Ill.   

5) The General Board addressed two pieces of business that
originated in Parish Ministries Commission. It approved the
seventh draft of the "Deacon Ministry in the Church of the
Brethren," to be sent for adoption by this year's Annual
Conference delegates. The paper, which was commissioned by
Conference delegates in 1995, is a revision of the 1983 paper and
"written to revitalize the deacon ministry in the church," said
Jay Gibble, staff liaison to the study committee.  

The General Board heard a report on "Statement on Child
Exploitation," which will return to Annual Conference this year
for approval following a year as a study document. David
Radcliff, General Board staff liaison to the statement's
committee, and Elizabeth Farmer, one of the five youth who
drafted the statement, reported that the committee took several
actions throughout the year of study to familiarize church
members with the paper. The committee wrote youth and adult study
guides, held workshops at regional youth conferences, submitted
articles to Messenger, and plans to participate in this year's
Annual Conference.   

6) General Board employees may now receive their retirement
annuity through Brethren Benefit Trust beginning at age 55. The
General Board's General Services Commission on Sunday approved a
recommendation that the age be lowered from 60, per the request
of some employees. The move is expected to have minimal, if any,
affect on the General Board's finances. The commission also voted
to permit retirees who are 55 and who have at least 10 years of
service to participate in the General Board's group insurance
plan.  

The General Services Commission heard an update on
WWW.Brethren.Org, the official denominational World Wide Web site
that is being developed by Bethany Theological Seminary, Brethren
Benefit Trust, Brethren Employees Credit Union and the General
Board. The site is scheduled to go online this summer and is
expected to include additional partners in the future.  

The commission also elected Jeff Bach to serve on the Brethren
Historical Committee. Bach, assistant professor of Brethren
Studies and director of Peace Studies at Bethany Theological
Seminary, will begin his four-year term on July 1.   

7) General Board employees located at the General Offices in
Elgin, Ill., this morning met to discuss this week's announcement
of many job eliminations. Brethren Service Center employees in
New Windsor, Md., are scheduled to have a similar meeting on
Monday with Karen Miller, interim general secretary.  

Though many jobs from the current organization were eliminated,
many of the responsibilities of the old position descriptions can
be found in newly created jobs. Some current employees have been
asked to fill new job positions; others have been told their
employment will conclude later this year. And, as of yet, no
official hiring or termination list has been released, as this is
work in progess, Miller told Elgin-based employees However, a
list of General Board staff whose jobs will be terminated
sometime this year is expected to be released on Thursday.
Newsline will be produced once those names are released.  

One change in personnel reportability was reported this morning,
however. Miller announced that Bob Chase, director of SERRV
International, would begin reporting to her, effective
immediately. Up until now SERRV has been a program of the World
Ministries Commission, with Chase reportable to Joan Deeter, WMC
executive.   

8) The Annual Conference information packet is arriving in homes
this week. The multi-paged packet includes information on
conference registration, age-group activities and special
programming, as well as general information such as hotel,
restaurant and travel information. To receive a packet, contact
the Annual Conference Office at 800 323-8039 or at
AnnualConf@AOL.Com.   

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