wfn.org | Newsline - Church of the Brethren weekly news update

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      Nov. 7, 1997
Contact:  Nevin Dulabaum
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline                                   Nov. 7, 1997  

News 
1) The General Board releases information detailing the extent 
     of its staff reductions and savings as a result of its 
     recent redesign. 
2) McPherson (Kan.) College kicks off a $12.5 million 
     fund-raising campaign. 
3) Christian Peacemaker Teams to open an Ontario office; it also
     seeks congregational support for its "Campaign for Secure 
     Dwellings." 
4) Goshen (Ind.) College is seeking a vice president of Student 
     Life. 
5) "Count Well the Cost" sheet music is available for $4 per 10 
     copies. 
6) Nineteen percent of all Church of the Brethren congregations 
     participated in Habitat for Humanity projects in 1996. 
7) Manchester College students and staff are taking the "Pledge 
     of Social and Environmental Responsibility." 
8) Modesto (Calif.) Church of the Brethren celebrates its 75th 
     anniversary this weekend. 
9) Two high-profile construction projects by the Church of the 
     Brethren near completion. 
10) John Dieterly, Heifer Project International's Atlantic South
     Regional director, resigns.  

Reader response 
11) Survey question.    

1) Now that the General Board is on to its new design, what was
the extent of and savings from personnel cuts made through its
redesign? That question, which was asked during the Board's
October meetings, could not be answered by staff without
research. After some number crunching, the figures were released
last Friday in a statement by Karen Miller, interim executive
director; Elsie Holderread, Human Resources coordinator; and
Brenda Reish, Board controller.  

In 1996 the Board's gross expense budget was $19,475,260. With a
salary freeze that year, salaries and benefits for the 204
employees cost $7,170,130.  

In 1997 the gross expense budget is expected to be $18,307,980.
With the two percent salary increase given to the 192 Board
employees, salaries and benefits are estimated to cost
$6,746,220.  

In 1998 it is projected that the Board's gross expense budget
will be $16,432,280. The 144 employees will receive a three
percent raise, and the cost of salaries and benefits will be
$5,747,930.  

^From 1996 to 1998, the reduction in budget will have been 15.6
percent; the reduction in salaries and benefits 20 percent, and
the reduction of staff 29.4 percent.    

2) "Enhancing the Legacy: In Partnership for the Future," a $12.5
million fund-raising campaign by McPherson (Kan.) College, was
announced Saturday during a dinner and kick-off party.   

The campaign will finance the construction of a residence hall, a
science building, a fine arts building, a maintenance facility
and a multi-purpose performance hall. It is also expected to add
at least $1.4 million to the college's endowment. Harry Stine of
Stine Seed Company, Adel, Iowa, will match all contributions of
up to $10 million. The campaign is scheduled to conclude in June
2002.  

Rich Hanley, executive for the denomination's Western Plains
District, gave the invocation. Other speakers included Stine;
LaVon Rupel of Stockton, Calif., board chair; Paul Hoffman,
president emeritus; and Gary Dill, president.   

3) Conflicts over native fishing rights in Ontario have led
Christian Peacemaker Teams to approve a plan for opening an
office there with one part-time staff. Doug Pritchard of Toronto,
a CPT Steering Committee member, has been called to that
position. He will help coordinate a training unit next spring
designed to provide support for natives.  

In September 1995, Ontario natives, who have united and have
formed a group called First Nation, occupied Ipperwash Provincial
Park, saying the park contained one of their ancestral burial
grounds. Ontario Provincial Police reportedly attacked the native
encampment, killing one man. Thus, CPT's training next spring
will be aimed at trying to reduce the likelihood of further
violence between the natives and Ontario police.  

In other news, CPT is inviting Brethren and Mennonite
congregations to join its "Campaign for Secure Dwellings." This
initiative, established to demonstrate against the razing of
Palestinian homes in Israel, currently is working at documenting
family case histories of some of the 500 homes CPT claims are
targeted for destruction in Hebron. By September, more than 200
Palestinian homes had been destroyed since the May 1996 election
of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  

At least some members of congregations that want to join the
campaign will be expected to do one or more of the following --
write letters to Israeli officials and send carbon copies to U.S.
officials, or go to Hebron to help rebuild houses or to pray at
the houses targeted for demolition. According to CPT, Israeli
peace groups are making similar commitments.    

4) Goshen (Ind) College, which is affiliated with the Mennonite
Church, is seeking a vice president of Student Life. Application
deadline is Dec. 15. For more information, write
provost@goshen.edu or call 219 535-7501.   

5) Sheet music for "Count Well the Cost," an original song
written by Mike Stern for this year's Annual Conference, is
available. Cost is $4 per 10 copies. For more information,
contact Stern at mstern@u.washington.edu.   

6) Nineteen percent of all Church of the Brethren congregations
participated in Habitat for Humanity projects in 1996. That
translates into 216 congregations out of 1,135. Out of 49
denominations polled, the Church of the Brethren's percentage of
congregations that participate with Habitat puts it in fourth
place. The top three denominations are the International Council
of Community Churches (141 supportive congregations; 33 percent
of all congregations), the Quakers (125; 24 percent) and the
American Baptists (1,358; 23 percent).  

Total financial support from Church of the Brethren congregations
was $59,825, which does not include the estimated $50,000 the
General Board spent to finance the construction of a Habitat
house at Annual Conference in Cincinnati.  

Habitat's financial support from all participating congregations
of the 49 denominations was $19,075,540, up 17 percent from
1995's total of $16,343,664.   

7) In 1987, Humboldt (Calif.) State University initiated the
"Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibility." A person
taking the pledge promises "to investigate and take into account
the social and environmental consequences of any job opportunity"
they consider.  

In 1996 people within the Manchester College community in North
Manchester, Ind., began taking the pledge, which was evident last
spring during commencement as faculty and graduate pledgees wore
green ribbons. The pledge was also printed in the commencement
program.  

About half of the student body at this Brethren-affiliated
college has taken the pledge, said Neil Wollman, Psychology
professor. In addition to wearing the ribbons, participants also
sign and carry wallet-sized copies of the pledge. According to
Wollman, the pledge "helps educate and motivate students to
contribute to a better world, and can be a focal point for other
types of consciousness raising, both on and off campus."  

For more information, contact Wollman at njw@manchester.edu or at
219 982-5000.

   

8) The Modesto (Calif.) Church of the Brethren will celebrate its
75th anniversary Saturday and Sunday with a variety of events --
a historical slide presentation, a talent show and dinner, memory
sharing, and an anniversary anthem. "Continuing the work of
Jesus. Peacefully. Simply. Together." is the theme. Gene
Hipskind, executive of Pacific Southwest District, will deliver
the Sunday sermon, focusing on "The Risk of Continuing the Work
of Jesus."   

9) Two high-profile construction projects undertaken this year by
the Church of the Brethren are nearing completion.   

Within the next two weeks the Habitat for Humanity house built by
Brethren this summer at Annual Conference in Long Beach, Calif.,
is expected to be completed. Actually, though Brethren were
expected to build only one house, they actually financed one but
worked on two, as two houses were built simultaneously on the
same parcel of land about 10 blocks from the Convention Center.  

Since Conference's conclusion, construction on the houses has
continued, thanks, in part, to the donated labor of two trade
schools. Approximately eight to 10 apprentice carpenters have
been working on the houses Mondays through Fridays. Work has
continued on weekends thanks to schools and civic and church
groups. This work soon will end as both houses are expected to be
occupied by their new owners by Thanksgiving.  

"The story of your week here, your dedication, patience,
generosity and production live on, strongly, on 7th Street,"
wrote John McKenna, executive director of the Long Beach Habitat
affiliate, recently to several Church of the Brethren
representatives.   

"Seventh Street still doesn't feel the same without your
presence, but please know your spirit is alive and well, every
day," he wrote. "We miss you and thank you ... for your
unforgettable contributions to this young, learning affiliate of
Habitat for Humanity. We will continue to work hard to live up to
the beautiful and shining example you have set."  

The other building project is the Butler Chapel African Methodist
Episcopal Church in Orangeburg, S.C., a black congregation that
was one of many that lost its building in an epidemic of black
church burnings. Butler Chapel's facility was destroyed in March
1995.  

The construction on the congregation's new, brick structure
should be nearing completion. A dedication weekend has been
scheduled for Jan. 9-11. Many Brethren from a handful of
districts traveled to Orangeburg to work on the project, which
was coordinated by the General Board's Emergency Response/Service
Ministries.   

10) John Dieterly, Atlantic South Regional director for Heifer
Project International, based at the Brethren Service Center, New
Windsor, Md., has resigned, effective in January. He has been
called to serve as pastor of St. Paul's United Church of Christ,
Mannheim, Pa. Dieterly has worked for HPI for 23 years, serving
in his current position for the past 18. Prior to that he was a
country representative in Belize.   

11) Recent issues of Newsline have been lengthier than in the
past, incorporating more denominational news and stories of
people and organizations affiliated with the Church of the
Brethren. Several features have been included, and at least one
more is on its way. Is this approach giving readers a balance of
timely news and information, or is it overkill? The answer, it
seems, depends on who is asked. 

"The best part of Halloween wasn't the great costumes, precious
kids, jack-o-lanterns...no the best part was receiving Newsline"
wrote one reader this week. She continued, "I really enjoy the
articles in each Newsline. It is really my main lifeline to the
CoB."

Another reader, though he affirmed the content and the quickness
at which stories are reported, said Newsline has gotten too long.
 "Newsline is becoming too wordy," he wrote. "Just because we can
send out that much info doesn't mean we should. Be judicious as
editor. Cut and slash to give us the meat. The wisdom church
newsletter gurus have been sharing is that if it's too wordy,
people won't read it. I know that's true with me."  

Is it true with you? Is Newsline too long or just right. Does it
present the kinds of stories you're interested in or not? Let me
know. One more thing -- If you believe it is too long, I'd like
suggestions as to how it could be cut, be it specific stories or
tighter writing.  

Answers I receive from this survey will be included in my report
of this summer's survey, which will be reported during the slow
Christmas season. Thanks for your involvement in helping to make
Newsline the best denominational news service possible. -- nld.   

Newsline is produced by Nevin Dulabaum, manager of the General
Board's News and Information Services. This message can be heard
by calling 410 635-8738. To receive Newsline by e-mail or fax,
call 800 323-8039, ext. 263, or write CoBNews@AOL.Com.  

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