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

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      June 12, 1998
Contact:  Nevin Dulabaum
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline text                                             June 12, 1998

1) One hundred fifty four youth, young adults and advisers will
participate in seven workcamps offered this year by the Church of
the Brethren General Board's Youth/Young Adult Ministries.

The first workcamp, a young adult trip to El Salvador, begins
today and concludes June 21. Beverly Eikenberry is serving as
leader. This group will help build a playground and Children's
Ministry Center in Los Talpetates. 

Brethren Revival Fellowship is co-sponsoring a senior high
workcamp to the Dominican Republic, Sunday through June 23. Jim
and Faye Myer and David and Laura Rittenhouse will facilitate the
painting of two churches, one in San Salvador and one in Arroyo
Saludo. The second senior high workcamp is scheduled for June
22-28 in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and will be directed by
John Harvey. There the youth will assist elderly residents, paint
a home for mentally and/or physically challenged adults, and
perform routine maintenance jobs and work with children at a
residence for abused or neglected children.

The first junior high workcamp will be held June 17-21 in
Harrisburg, Pa. Sandy Garmon will lead the youth in work for the
Brethren Housing Association at the Harrisburg First Church of
the Brethren. From July 5 to 9, Steve Brady will direct the
second junior high workcamp, to be held at Camp Ithiel in Gotha,
Fla. Work projects will focus on conservation efforts a state
park and wilderness preserve. Greg and Liz Bidgood Enders will
lead the Indianapolis, Ind., workcamp at Northview Church of the
Brethren, July 8-12. This group will help refurbish homes in
Indianapolis' inner city. The final junior high workcamp will be
held Aug. 12-16 in Washington, D.C. Participants will volunteer
in soup kitchens and food banks.

This year's workcamp coordinator is Emily Shonk, a Brethren
Volunteer Service worker. Jonathan Brush is serving as summer
workcamp assistant.

"Workcamps provide a unique opportunity for youth to follow in
Jesus' footsteps as they learn what serving others is all about,"
said Shonk. "A lifetime dedicated to helping others is not at the
top of most 'when I grow up I want to ...' lists -- it's a
perspective that has to be learned. This summer we'll be modeling
and teaching service at each of our workcamps." 

2) Todd Reish of Elgin, Ill., has resigned as coordinator of
Brethren Volunteer Service Orientation, effective Nov. 6. At that
time he will move to Richmond, Ind., to join his wife, Brenda,
who in August will begin employment at Bethany Theological
Seminary in Richmond. She currently serves as controller for the
General Board in Elgin.

Reish has served the General Board since July 1994, coordinating
16 BVS orientation units.

3) Ned Stowe of Lombard, Ill., has agreed to serve as the General
Board's volunteer controller while a search for Brenda Reish's
successor continues. Ned is a retired administrator from George
Williams College.

4) Ronald Frederick has accepted the manager of Administration
position for SERRV International. He has served as vice president
of Finance and chief financial officer of SAAB Aircraft of America 
and of Greenbelt Cooperative. He will join SERRV later this month.

5) Sani Abacha, 54, the ruthless dictator who has governed
Nigeria for the past five years, silencing or jailing many who have 
opposed his rule, died Monday, reportedly of a heart attack. Within 
a day, General Abdulsalam Abubakar was named Abacha's successor.

"We are thankful that the transition in national leadership has
been peaceful," said Merv Keeney, director of the Church of the
Brethren General Board's Global Mission Partnerships. "We are
reassured by reports indicating that the situation in northeast
Nigeria has remained calm. And we remember that our sister church
in Nigeria has weathered the Biafran civil war in the late 1960s
as well as numerous changes in government over the past few
decades. We hope that new leadership will take advantage of this
opportunity to move the country toward a more democratic system
that is responsive to the needs of its people."

6) The biennial consultation among the Church of the Brethren,
the Basel (Switzerland) Mission and Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria
(Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) will take place in the United
States later this month as planned, but with half of the EYN
representation than had been hoped for. Travel visas were issued
by the United States to Bitrus Tizhe, EYN president, and Bitrus
Bdlia, general secretary. However, they were denied for Rebecca
Kwabe of EYN's Women's Fellowship and for Kevin Peter, EYN treasurer.

Tizhe and Bdlia are scheduled to arrive in Chicago with two Basel
Mission representatives on June 22 for the consultation,
scheduled for June 23-25 at the Church of the Brethren General
Offices, Elgin, Ill. Following these meetings, the EYN
representatives will head to Florida to attend the Church of the
Brethren Annual Conference, June 30 - July 5. 

Five Nigeria-related events are scheduled for Annual Conference:
     * an introduction of Tizhe and Bdlia Thursday.
     * a segment of the General Board's Live Report Thursday.
     * a "Brethren in Nigeria" insight session Thursday evening.
     * an order of the day Saturday morning honoring Nigeria missionaries.
     * a 75th anniversary reception from 5-6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Just prior to and following Annual Conference, Tizhe and Bdlia
will be the guests of Atlantic Southeast District. They will preach 
at the Lorida and New Covenant (Gotha) congregations June 28, 
and will visit some southern Florida sights prior to returning to Nigeria July
8.

7) "Church of the Brethren Statements on Mission," a 16-page
booklet that combines the 1981 and 1989 Annual Conference
statements on world mission philosophy, is expected to be
available at Annual Conference. Produced by Shantilal Bhagat of
the General Board's Global Mission Partnerships office, Bhagat
will hand out free copies of this new publication from the Global
Mission Partnerships booth. Following Annual Conference, the
booklet will be available from Brethren Press; expected cost is
$1. For more information, contact Brethren Press at
Brethren_Press_GB@Brethren.Org or 800 441-3712.

8) A resource packet for Brethren Volunteer Service's 50th
anniversary is being sent this month to each of the 1,100 Church
of the Brethren congregations.

The celebration's theme, "Living the Story: 50 years of Brethren
Volunteer Service," will be the focus of a handful of events
throughout the denomination scheduled over several months. At
Annual Conference, four BVS-related activities have been
scheduled -- a segment of the General Board's Live Report and an
insight session on July 2, and an Order of the Day during
business July 3 and a dinner that evening.

Other events include BVS Sunday (Sept. 20), for which the packet
has worship resources, and an anniversary celebration Oct. 2-4 at
the Brethren Service Center, New Windsor, Md.

Districts that are planning special events include Atlantic
Southeast (a reunion at Sebring [Fla.] Church of the Brethren,
Oct. 31 - Nov. 1), Northern Ohio (a reunion at Camp Inspiration
Hills, Burbank, Ohio, Aug. 28-30), and a Shenandoah and Virlina
combined reunion (Camp Bethel, Fincastle, Va., Nov. 20-22).
Special events planned by districts during their respective
conferences include Northern Ohio (Ashland, Ohio, Aug. 7-9),
Northern Indiana (reunion banquet on Sept. 19), and Atlantic
Southeast (lunch program Oct. 9 at Camp Ithiel, Gotha, Fla.).

Several commemorative printed items will be available at various
denominational events -- a history of BVS written by Jim Lehman;
a collection of art and writings by Tom Benevento, a BVSer
serving in Guatemala; a BVS story collection edited by Debbie
Eisenbise and Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford; and a 50th anniversary
poster. Items for sale include mugs and t-shirts.

For more information, contact the BVS office at
BVS_GB@Brethren.Org or 800 323-8039.

9) A brochure detailing the 1999 Church of the Brethren Living
Word Bulletin Series is now available from Brethren Press. These
bulletins include scripture texts and images chosen by Brethren,
optional back-page devotional material by Brethren authors and
special bulletins for Love Feast and Christmas Eve. Cost is $4.35
per 100 bulletins. Contact Brethren Press at
Brethren_Press_GB@Brethren.Org or 441-3712.

10) Three grants totaling $18,750 have been allocated this week
from the Church of the Brethren Emergency Disaster Fund —-
     * $11,250 for support of Church World Service's $225,000
          response to storms and floods that have struck across
          the country this spring. These funds will support 
          inter-religious recovery efforts in South Dakota,
          Pennsylvania and New York.
     * $5,000 in response to a May 30 earthquake in Afghanistan
          that measured 7.1 on the Richter scale, killing over
          3,500 people and leaving more than 60,000 homeless.
          This grant will help Church World Service purchase
          1,500 tents, 3,000 blankets and 1,500 food baskets that
          will be distributed to 1,500 households in 15 villages.
     * $2,500 to support Western Pennsylvania District's response
          to the tornadoes and high winds that blew through the
          Salisbury, Pa., area May 31 - June 1. Forty-three homes were 
          reportedly destroyed; 37 homes suffered major damage.

11) Two 20-foot containers of medical supplies were shipped by
the General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries earlier
this month from the Brethren Service Center, New Windsor, Md., to
the Republic of Congo on behalf of the Medical Benevolence
Foundation. Twenty-five 3,000-gallon canvas water containers have
also been shipped to Ecuador, along with 5,000 five-gallon water jugs.

For more ER/SM news and information, check out their new web page
at www.brethren.org.

12) Nearly $600,000 was allocated in 1997 from the Church of the
Brethren Emergency Disaster Fund and nearly 750 people served as
volunteer disaster response workers, according to figures
recently released by the General Board's Emergency
Response/Service Ministries.

The largest EDF grant of 1997, $130,000, was used to purchase
1,000 cows for Polish flood survivors. Sixteen other grants
exceeded $10,000; 18 grants were for less than $10,000. In all,
$586,322 was allocated to disaster projects worldwide.

Seven hundred forty volunteers worked 4,197 days for 33,576 hours
in 13 projects. Seven of the projects included providing child
care services, which cared for 1,502 children.

Five hundred ninety two shipments were made on behalf of the
Church of the Brethren and a host of other ecumenical
organizations from the Brethren Service Center, New Windsor, Md..
These shipments weighed 1,770 tons and were valued at
$17,773,073.

ER/SM also reported that it helped resettle 210 refugee families
and 545 individuals from Bosnia, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Iraq,
Somalia, the former Soviet Union and Zaire.

Finally, ER/SM trained 80 people to serve as disaster response
leaders and 79 people to serve as certified child care volunteers.

13) How does an expert weaver living in the Guatemala highlands
begin to understand the needs of a young woman from Manhattan and
incorporate this knowledge into her weaving? This seemingly
insurmountable gap was bridged recently by SERRV International,
the Church of the Brethren self-help handcrafts organization,
when it brought 44 representatives of 21 community-based artisan
organizations from Guatemala and El Salvador together with a
group of highly skilled people of different perspectives. The
seminar was held May 15-17 in Guatemala.

Robert Chase, SERRV director, initiated the seminar to help
artisans regain some of the Guatemalan gift, housewares and
textile markets that have been lost in recent years to producers
from other developing nations. Experts from the United States,
Holland, the United Kingdom and Guatemala led workshops and panel
discussions for the artisan representatives.

"They thirst to understand the North American and European
consumer and to be informed of the trends as they develop," said
Chase of the artisans and their representatives. Chase challenged
crafts and clothing producers to integrate the information
gleaned from the conference with the rich cultures of their
countries and their unique skills to develop new products for
domestic and international markets.

14) "Faith and Family — Challenges and Commitments" will be the
theme of the second Brethren World Assembly, July 15-18 at
Bridgewater (Va.) College. This conference is intended for
members of the five Brethren communions that trace their roots
back to 1708 Germany — the Church of the Brethren, the Brethren
Church, the Dunkard Brethren, the Fellowship of Grace Brethren
Churches and the Old German Baptist Brethren. It is sponsored by
the Brethren Encyclopedia Inc. 

The first Brethren World Assembly was held in 1992 to commemorate
the 250th anniversary of the first known Brethren Annual Meeting,
held in 1742 in Lancaster County, Pa.

This year's conference will convene July 15 with study papers on
"The place of the family in Brethren Heritage" and "Pressures on
the Family in Contemporary Culture." Dale Stoffer, associate
professor of Historical Theology at Ashland (Ohio) Theological
Seminary, will serve as program director. Carl Bowman, professor
of Sociology at Bridgewater College, will deliver that  evening's
keynote address on "The impact of modern culture on the Brethren family."

Evening worship on July 16 is scheduled to be held at the new
Bridgewater Church of the Brethren. Activities July 17 will
include traveling to the Broadway, Va., area, to visit historic
sites related to Elder John Kline and M.R. Zigler.

The conference will conclude July 18 with workshops on plain
dress, home schooling, Brethren way of Christ and "The Quiet
Place." Registration is required by June 20. For more information, 
contact Dale Ulrich at Bridgewater College at 540 828-2501.

15) The Brethren Encyclopedia's 1998 catalog has been released.
New additions to this year's edition include a Brethren video
series, consisting of 30 video sessions on seven videocassettes
containing over 13 hours of teaching. William Eberly of North
Manchester, Ind., serves as instructor. A study guide is
included. Cost is $95. Another new offering, "God's Means of
Grace," written in 1908 by C.F. Yoder, studies the church's
important practices. Ten additional Brethren-related items are
included in the catalog. To receive one, call 215 646-1190.

16) Four months after being dedicated during a celebrative
weekend, the Butler Chapel A.M.E. church near Orangeburg, S.C.,
on May 31 laid its cornerstone. This structure, constructed by
hundreds of volunteers, was coordinated and funded largely by the
Church of the Brethren. Glenn Kinsel, who served as the Church of
the Brethren building coordinator, attended the cornerstone
laying ceremony and subsequently filed this report --

"It was more than a cornerstone laid by the "masons" at the
Butler Chapel A.M.E. church. The May 31 ceremony was in keeping
with the tradition of laying the cornerstone after all other
aspects of the building process are completed. The event clearly
marked the transition in the life of that faith community from
building a building to building something much greater.

"The granite slab, with a host of inscriptions, is a memorial to
the previous building burned by arsonists two years ago. It is a
tribute to the many, many groups and individual volunteers who
participated in the construction of the new building. It is also
a symbol of the "chief cornerstone" rejected by some but precious
to all who believe (1 Peter 2:6).

"Most of all this cornerstone sends a message to all who read it
that the witness of this historic congregation has taken on a new
mission. That mission is two-fold. It is a clear call to be more
intentional about sharing the good news of the Christian faith to
that growing community. It is also a message of high resolve to
stay in constant fellowship and communication with the Church of
the Brethren (and other groups that worked in the building process).

"The more we share our faith journeys with each other, the more
we are convinced that Butler Chapel's cornerstone is more like an
open door to a future enriched by our blended expressions of our
united Christian experience."

17) The Williamson Road Church of the Brethren, Roanoke, Va., is
celebrating its 50th anniversary this year by having former
pastors and church leaders who were licensed and ordained in the
congregation serve as guest preachers. Additional highlights of
the year-long celebration have included a spring choral concert.
Also scheduled is a homecoming; a cornerstone service with Harold
Moyer preaching; and a special performance by the Bridgewater
College Chorale. For more information, contact Duward Starkey,
50th anniversary chair, at 540 366-7328.

18) More than 200 people from Virlina District gathered Sunday
evening at Williamson Road Church of the Brethren, Roanoke, Va.,
to offer encouragement and prayer support to Judy Mills Reimer as
she and her husband, George, prepared to move to Elgin, Illinois.
On July 5 Reimer will be installed as the General Board's
executive director. Until she was called by the General Board,
Reimer was serving as pastor of Smith Mountain Lake Church of the
Brethren Fellowship, southeast of Roanoke. That fellowship, along
with Williamson Road -- where Reimer once served as moderator --
jointly sponsored the farewell reception.

The Reimers offered their thanks and appreciation for the
outpouring of love and support.

Two days later the Reimers experienced the opposite emotions, as
they were formally received by the Church of the Brethren General
Offices community in Elgin, Ill. A reception, attended by
Elgin-based denominational employees, was held in honor of
Reimer's pending arrival and the pending departure of Joseph
Mason, who has served the General Board as interim executive
director since January. He concludes his service on July 5.

19) In a move "to give extraordinary coverage to its Brethren
membership," Mutual Aid Association recently added water damage
and flood coverage. This optional endorsement gives Brethren the
opportunity to cover all forms of water damage for $10 per $1,000
of coverage with no deductible. This endorsement is available for
all of MAA's policies.

For more information, contact MAA at MAA@MAABrethren.Com or at
800 255-1243. MAA, an independent organization, has served
Brethren individuals and organizations for 115 years.

20) The annual Brethren Bible Institute, sponsored by Brethren
Revival Fellowship, is scheduled for July 27-31 at Elizabethtown
(Pa.) College. BBI focuses on a structured study of God's Word.
Several of the classes will be designed to meet the needs of
recently licensed ministers. For more information, write to Ken
Leininger, 159 Denver Road, Denver PA 17517.

21) The Amy Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes
Bible education, has announced its 14th annual writing awards
competition, which invites writers to communicate biblical truth
to a secular audience. According to the release, the awards
program "is designed to recognize creative, skillful writing that
presents in a sensitive, thought-provoking manner the biblical
position on issues affecting the world today." To be eligible, submitted 
articles must be published in a secular nonreligious publication.

Fifteen prizes will be awarded, include a $10,000 first prize.
Entries must be received by Jan. 31. Winners will be announced
May 3. For more information, call 517 323-6233.

22) "A Cup of Cold Water: Church Service for the World," an
interdisciplinary conference sponsored by the Young Center for
the Study of Anabaptist and Pietist Groups, is scheduled for June
18-20 at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College. This conference "will focus
on church-related expressions of service in the 20th century." It
is for research scholars, college faculty and teachers, graduate
students and high school seniors, service agency workers and church 
leaders. Registration forms were due Wednesday. Call 717 361-1470.

23) Addition. Although last week's Newsline announced the
training of this year's 11 Ministry Summer Service volunteers,
only 10 were listed. Missing was Joshua Brockway, a Manchester
College student from Louisville, Ohio. He is now on assignment
with pastor Larry Fourman at Crest Manor Church of the Brethren,
South Bend, Ind.

24) The Church of the Brethren, a historic peace church, has
approved many statements pertaining to war and the role tax
dollars play in supporting the United States military. The Annual
Conference and General Board, in fact, have approved five related
statements since 1977.

Brethren have long supported a proposed Peace Tax bill, which
would allow conscientious objectors to pay federal income taxes
with the assurance that those dollars would not be used for
military purposes. Heather Nolen of the Church of the Brethren
Washington Office has been working on this issue and files this report --

Now is the time to support the Peace Tax Fund bill (H.R.2660) in
light of verbal support from Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX), House
Majority Whip. Although he is not an official sponsor of the
proposed bill, the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund
reported that he spoke in favor of it recently while in Texas.
Now he needs to hear from Brethren and others who oppose taxes
for military purposes. His support could help bring on other
legislators as co-sponsors. 

Since its inception in 1708, the Church of the Brethren has
openly expressed its opposition to war. During the Revolutionary
War, recorded minutes indicate that Brethren were struggling to
define what action to take with regard to government conscription
and the payment of "war taxes." The recommendation by the
conference body was to examine one's conscience and to act as a
result of Christ's leading, with support being given to all those
who chose to pay or not to pay taxes. Some Brethren who paid
their taxes would designate the money "for the needy," but would
allow the government to decide ultimately how to use those funds.
During the Civil War, the peace churches were successful in
convincing the Union to modify its approach to the use of tax
revenues. The government agreed to use monies collected as bounty
from conscientious objectors for "the benefit of sick and wounded
soldiers" rather than for hiring substitutes.

In a 1968 revised Statement of the Church of the Brethren on War,
Annual Conference said --

     While the Church of the Brethren recognizes the
     responsibility of all citizens to pay taxes for the
     constructive purposes of government, we oppose the use of
     taxes by the government for war purposes and military
     expenditures. For those who are conscientiously opposed to
     paying taxes used for these purposes, the church seeks 
     government provision for an alternative use of such tax
     money for peaceful, nonmilitary purposes.
     
     The church recognizes that its members will believe and act
     differently in regard to their payment of taxes when a
     significant percentage goes for war purposes and military 
     expenditures. Some will pay the taxes willingly; some will
     pay the taxes but express a protest to the government; some
     will refuse to pay all or part of the taxes as a witness 
     and a protest; and some will voluntarily limit their incomes
     or use of taxable services to a low enough level that they
     are not subject to taxation.
     
     We call upon all of our members, congregations, institutions
     and boards to study seriously the problem of paying taxes
     for war purposes and investing in those government bonds
     which support war. We further call upon them to act in
     response to their study, to the leading of conscience and to
     their understanding of the Christian faith. To all we pledge
     to maintain our continuing ministry of fellowship and
     spiritual concern.

The Church of the Brethren has recently called for the
establishment of a World Peace Tax Fund through General Board and
Annual Conference statements: 

     * 1977 AC statement Justice and Nonviolence
     * 1978 GB statement World Peace Tax Fund
     * 1981 AC statement World Peace Tax Fund Legislation Support
     * 1983 AC statement War Tax Consultation
     * 1987 AC statement Taxation for War

The 1977 statement was the first time that the "Peace Tax Fund"
was mentioned by name. It stated, "We place a high priority on
changing political structures in order to reverse the present
spiral of violence, militarism and the armaments race. The Church
of the Brethren must be decisive in shaping its own programs and
calling all Christians and other people of good will to encourage
the United States to ...provide tax alternatives, such as the
World Peace Tax Fund, for those conscientiously opposed to the
current level of military spending." By supporting the
establishment of a Peace Tax Fund, we can lift up an integral
part of our Brethren heritage.

In April 1972 the World Peace Tax Fund bill was introduced by
Rep. Ron Dellums of California; the official national campaign
was launched in May. Thanks to legislation passed in 1940
establishing alternative service for drafted conscientious
objectors, CO's have not been required to participate in active
combat. Even so, more than one quarter of every tax dollar goes
to current military expenditures. Over 19 percent goes to pay for
past military debt. A Peace Tax Fund would allow conscientious
objectors and others acting out of conscience to designate that
total portion, 44 percent of every tax dollar, to life-giving
governmental programs. They include the Special Supplemental Food
Program for Women, Infants, and Children; Head Start; the U.S.
Institute of Peace and the Peace Corps.

The Peace Tax Fund bill received its first vote in the House Ways
and Means Committee in June 1997 when Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)
tried to attach it to a tax cut package. "Supporters can be
pleased that the increased validity of our cause produced this
first-ever vote," said Marian Franz, executive director of the
national campaign. "However, the outcome shows we still have much
work to do." 

The Washington Office urges Brethren to contact Tom Delay, urging
him to support the Peace Tax Fund bill. He needs to know that as
citizens, we support paying 100 percent of our taxes, but that
conscientious people who cannot pay taxes for the military are
suffering as a result of their religious/moral beliefs. Share
your moral and religious values with Rep. Delay and let him know
that this is a matter of conscience and religious freedom. Your
phone calls and letters play a very important role as we continue
to talk with him and his staff in Washington.

Letters should be addressed to:

Representative Tom DeLay
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5951.
Fax: (202) 225-5241.
e-mail: the whip@mail.house.gov (include your home mailing
address on any e-mail).

For tips on what to include in correspondence to DeLay and other
representatives, contact the Washington Office at WashOfc@AOL.Com
or 202 546-3202. 

Newsline is produced by Nevin Dulabaum, manager of the General
Board's News Services. Newsline stories may be reprinted provided
that Newsline is cited as the source and the publication date is
included.

To receive Newsline by e-mail or fax, call 800 323-8039, ext.
263, or write CoBNews@AOL.Com. Newsline is available at
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