wfn.org | AMERICAN BAPTIST NEWS FOR MAY 15, 1998

[LEAH_MCCARTER.parti@ecunet.org (LEAH MCCARTER)]

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American Baptist News Service________________
Office of Communication / American Baptist Churches USA
P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851
Phone: (610)768-2077 / Fax: (610)768-2320 
Richard W. Schramm, Director (E-mail: RICH_SCHRAMM@ECUNET.ORG)

______________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE: MAY 15, 1998
____________________________________________________________________________

JUDSON PUBLISHING NAMES NEW MARKETING DIRECTOR
     Linda M. Peavy, of Richmond Heights, Ohio, has been named
director of marketing for Judson Publishing, effective May 18. 
Peavy's appointment was announced by Kristy Arnesen Pullen, publisher
for American Baptist Educational Ministries.
     Peavy, marketing director for Pilgrim Press/United Church Press
in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1997, has managed and expanded trade and
consumer book and curriculum markets for the United Church of Christ. 
Previously Peavy served as Pilgrim Press's associate director of
marketing for two years.  During her tenure at Pilgrim Press she
significantly increased sales to the African American market,
expanded sales to national chain bookstore accounts, and was involved
in research and marketing for a new, ecumenically-produced curriculum
series. 
     "Linda brings a much sought-after level of understanding and
expertise in religious publishing and marketing to church audiences,"
said Pullen.  "Her combination of skills and experience is just what
Judson has been hoping for, and we're thrilled that she has decided
to join our team."
     Peavy, a graduate of the University of Akron, Ohio, holds the
B.S. degree in business administration/marketing and the master's
degree in business administration from that school. 
     At Educational Ministries Peavy will lead a marketing
department that implements marketing strategies for Judson Press
books, periodicals, curriculum and church products.  She will
relocate to the Valley Forge area as she assumes her new position.  

RODIN NAMED PRESIDENT OF EASTERN BAPTIST
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
     Dr. R. Scott Rodin, acting president of Eastern Baptist
Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., has been named president of
that school, effective May 4.  The appointment was announced May 4
following a unanimous vote of the seminary's Board of Directors.
     Rodin had served as acting president since July 1997, when Dr.
Manfred Brauch resigned to return to teaching.  He came to Eastern
Seminary in 1993 as vice president for Advancement and as adjunct
professor of theology and ethics.  Rodin has directed the school's
"Forward in Faithfulness" capital campaign, which has sought to reach
a goal of $6.3 million for renovations and endowment.  He also was
instrumental in establishing Eastern Seminary's distance learning
program, designed to provide continuing education opportunities for
clergy and laity across the U.S.
     Last year he initiated several new emphases at the school,
including an outreach to urban churches and a Monday morning
community prayer time.
     A Presbyterian, Rodin is the first non-Baptist to lead the
school in its 73-year history.  He holds the B.A. degree in economics
and speech communication from the University of Washington/Seattle
and the Master of Theology and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in
systematic theology from King's College/University of Aberdeen in
Scotland. 
     In announcing the Board of Directors' endorsement of the
presidential search committee's recommendation, Board Chair Stanley
Nodder praised Rodin's "credentials, personal qualities and
leadership potential."
     "He gives highest priority to the spiritual formation of our
students so that they will be deeply committed to the Lordship of
Jesus Christ and to the way that is lived out in our daily lives,"
Nodder noted.
     Rodin said: "I understand and I am committed to the future for
this institution which not only preserves our historic Baptist
founding, but which strengthens our place as a premier Baptist
seminary."  He also emphasized the need to understand "just how
ecumenical our world is and how important it will be for the seminary
to build bridges both within and across denominational lines."
     Rodin and his wife, Linda, live with their three children in
West Chester, Pa.
     Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, one of nine seminaries
related to American Baptist Churches USA through Educational
Ministries, has a student enrollment of about 450.

NITA MYERS, FORMER PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN
BAPTIST WOMEN'S MINISTRIES, DIES
     Nita W. Myers, former national president of American Baptist
Women's Ministries, died May 1 in 
Denver, Colo.  Myers, who had been hospitalized since April 13, died
from complications that developed following severe hemorrhaging and
lung damage.
     She was president of American Baptist Women from 1989-1991, and
presided over the transition to American Baptist Women's Ministries. 
She also served several terms on the American Baptist Churches'
General Board and on the Board of National Ministries and the Board
of Educational Ministries.
     Condolences may be sent to her husband, James, and family at
11067 North Rd. 4 East, Center, CO 81125.   Memorial gifts may be
made to First Baptist Church, 3rd and Warden, Center, CO 81125 or to
Ottawa University, 1001 S. Cedar St., Ottawa, KS 66067-3399.

JASON CEDARHOLM, FORMER MISSIONARY
IN EL SALVADOR, DIES
     The Rev. Jason E. Cedarholm, a retired American Baptist
missionary who served more than 30 years in El Salvador, died April
30 at age 81.
     Cedarholm and his wife, Helen, were appointed for missionary
service in El Salvador in 1949 by The American Baptist Home Mission
Societies.  They were involved in pastoral, evangelistic and
educational ministry in Santa Ana and San Salvador.  Jason Cedarholm
was co-principal of the Baptist School in Santa Ana, an institution
serving 1,700 students.
     The Cedarholms continued their missionary service in El
Salvador when American Baptist mission work there was transferred to
International Ministries in 1973.  They retired in 1981.
     Helen Cedarholm died in March 1997.  Condolences may be sent to
the Cedarholms' sons, William and Jack, at 1855 Russell Pl., Pomona,
CA 91767.

MIRIAM CORBETT DIES; SERVED 25 YEARS 
ON STAFF OF M&M BOARD 
     Miriam R. Corbett, who served 25 years on the staff of The
Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board, died May 12 following a
long bout with cancer.  She was 73.
     Corbett joined the staff of the Council for Missionary
Cooperation in 1945 and became associate secretary of the Council on
Christian Social Progress in 1950.  She accepted a managerial
position at The Interchurch Center in New York City in 1960 and
joined the M&M staff in 1964.  
     Among her responsibilities were emergency assistance, the
development of retirement planning seminars and administration of the
program of visiting retired members.  Corbett left M&M to join the
staff of ABC of Metropolitan New York in 1979 and returned in 1982. 
She retired in 1992.  
     She was a graduate of Bay Path Junior College in Springfield,
Mass., and a member of Judson Memorial Church in New York City.
     A memorial service has been scheduled for 3 p.m. June 14, 1998
at Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South, New York City. 
M&M has established the Miriam R. Corbett Memorial Fund in her honor.
     Corbett is survived by her mother, Edith Corbett, and sister,
Carmen Hutchins.  Condolences may be sent to her sister and family at
10034 Tannery Creek Rd., Corning, NY 14830-9583.  

GENE WRIGHT RECUPERATING FROM SURGERY
     Dr. J. Eugene Wright, well-known educator, pastor and former
interim executive director of the American Baptist Churches'
Ministers Council, is recuperating at home following surgery to treat
a malignant tumor on his salivary gland performed May 1. 
     The surgery, which lasted seven and one-half hours, is reported
to have gone well.  An anticipated six-week period of radiation
treatment will begin June 1.
     Cards and messages for Gene Wright and his wife, Jeannette, may
be sent to them at 27871 Calle Neruda, Mission Viejo, CA 92692.

AMERICAN BAPTIST-RELATED SCHOOLS 
NOTE CAPITAL INITIATIVES, ENDOWMENTS
     Several American Baptist-related schools have announced major
financial initiatives and endowments that will impact their physical
facilities and academic programs.
     o   Colgate Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, N.Y., has
kicked off its "Building the Dream" capital campaign.  The
$11.7-million endeavor is supporting renovations to the Ambrose 
Swasey Library, the endowment of a biblical chair in Old Testament
and a biblical chair in New Testament, and endowed scholarships.
     o   President Harold D. Germer of Ottawa University in Ottawa,
Kans., last week announced a $5-million plan for upgrading campus
facilities at that school during the next two years.  Martin Hall, the
women's dormitory, will be renovated, as will key campus recreational
facilities.
     o    A $3.2-million grant from The Herbert H. And Grace A. Dow
Foundation will endow two faculty positions in the natural science
division of Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Mich.  In a 1996 study
the school ranked 19th among all U.S. baccalaureate colleges in the
number of graduates going on to earn science and engineering
doctorates. 
     o   Linfield College in McMinnville, Oreg., will utilize the
largest endowed scholarship fund in its history to offer financial
assistance to needy students.  The $897,000 Leroy R. and Edith Stone
Boling Scholarship was established with a gift from the estates of
the Bolings, both of whom graduated from Linfield in 1928.
     o  A $1-million gift from Franklin College Trustee Clifford H.
Dietz and his wife, Paula, will be used in part to finance the new
Dietz Center for Professional Development at the American 
Baptist-related school in Franklin, Ind.  The Dietzes have contributed
more than $5 million to Franklin, and have established a number of 
awards, endowments and scholarships.  Among those is the 
Engineered Models Corporation Endowed Scholarship Fund, the 
largest such fund in the school's 164-year history. 

LINFIELD COLLEGE AFFIRMS ACQUISITION 
OF NEW LAND AND FACILITIES
     Linfield College has announced that the Executive Committee of
its Board of Trustees has approved the purchase of a neighboring 
17-acre parcel of land from the Hewlett-Packard Company.  The
acquisition includes four buildings at the former Hewlett-Packard
site.     
     Once the sale goes through, Hewlett-Packard intends to donate
to Linfield another 70 acres of undeveloped land at the location. 
The new property would more than double the school's present acreage
and increase by 13 percent its building space.
     Linfield has announced that a major effort now is underway to
raise funds, from private sources, for the purchase of the property. 
According to Linfield President Vivian A. Bull, "This is not just an
opportunity for the 1990s, but for the next hundred years. [It] will
meet a number of the college's long-
standing needs."  

MUSICIANS SOUGHT FOR 1999 BIENNIAL MEETING
     Choral and handbell choirs, soloists, instrumentalists and
dancers are needed for the 1999 Biennial Meeting, to be held June
22-25, 1999 in Des Moines, Iowa.   Audition tapes (DAT, CD, audio or
video cassette) may be sent to Paul Baker, Biennial Music Consultant,
3244 Weldon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065.  The deadline for audition
tapes is Sept. 15, 1998.  Participants will be notified after Nov.
10, 1998 and tapes will not be returned.

SURVEYS REVEAL FAITH PRACTICE TRENDS
     Recent national surveys by the Oxnard, Calif.-based Barna
Research Group, Ltd., reveal a continuing trend of widespread
interest in spiritual matters but no appreciable increase in church
attendance or participation, as well as an expanding use of the
Internet as the prime venue for religious discussion.
     A Barna survey of 1,006 adults taken in January noted that 83
percent of those questioned said their religious faith is very
important to them, but that only 43 percent acknowledged attending
church services in a typical week.  Both responses reflect figures
that have remained relatively consistent since the mid-1990s.
     Other responses also reveal a consistent--but not increasing
--level of church participation and spiritual practice among adults:
those meeting weekly in Bible studies or other small groups--18
percent; those attending a church school class--23 percent; those
praying to God at least one a week--80 percent; those reading the
Bible, other than at church--38 percent.  
     Another recent Barna survey, of 601 Protestant senior pastors,
asked the church leaders to identify their primary spiritual gifts. 
"Preaching/teaching" by far--69 percent--headed the list.  Following
distantly were: "pastoring"--15 percent; "administration"--15
percent; "exhortation/encouragement"--11 percent; "evangelism"--6
percent; and "leadership"--5 percent.
     A Barna survey of 620 U.S. teens aged 13-18 revealed an
increasing use of the Internet for religious or spiritual purposes. 
According to Barna researchers, "One of six teens (16 percent) said
that within the next five years they expect to use the Internet as a
substitute for their current church-based religious experience."  Of
1,006 adults surveyed, 12 percent admitted using the Internet for
religious purposes, mostly to interact with others through chat rooms
or e-mail regarding religious beliefs, ideas or experiences.
     The research company's president, George Barna, anticipated
"that by the year 2010 we will probably have 10 percent to 20 percent
of the population relying primarily or exclusively upon the Internet
for its religious input."  He noted: "Those people will never set
foot on a church campus because their religious and spiritual needs
will be met through other means--including the Internet.  Whether or
not the cyberchurch is a  true' church may not be [as] pressing an
issue as what current church leaders will do about the inevitable
gravitation of tens of millions of people away from the existing
church and how they can help to shape this emerging church form." 

98U515.WFN

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