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

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      Dec. 9, 1998
Contact:  Nevin Dulabaum
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

News
1) The Church of the Brethren continues its relief work following
     hurricanes Georges and Mitch.
2) The Eighth Assembly of the World Council of Churches is underway
     in Zimbabwe.
3) More than 100 attend this year's Young Adult Conference at Camp
     Swatara.
4) Merv Keeney and family depart for an extended visit with
     Nigerian Brethren.
5) A peace summit between the Nuer and Dinka tribes in Sudan will
     begin in January.
6) John Thomas has been called to join the General Board's Funding
     staff.
7) Bob Pittman and Marianne Pittman have been called as interim
     co-managers of the General Board's Emergency Response/Service
     Ministries.
8) Roger Golden has been called as coordinator of centralized
     services for Association of Brethren Caregivers.
9) Two district executive position openings are announced.
10) Bethany Seminary announces three part-time position openings.
11) Three new albums are released by Brethren musicians.
12) A "how-to" booklet on demonstrating against violent toys has
     been produced by Christian Peacemaker Teams.
13) Free worship resources for Ecumenical Welcoming Sunday are
     available from Supportive Congregations Network.
14) The 1999 Church World Service Calendar is available.

Features
15) Dr. Don Parker, just back from Hurricane Mitch response work in
     Honduras, files a report.
16) Over 2,370 trespass onto Fort Benning in protest of its School
     of the Americas. Two who crossed the line were Brethren Greg
     Laszakovits and Sarah Stafford.

1) The Church of the Brethren continues to respond to the many
needs created by hurricanes Georges and Mitch, which struck the
Caribbean and Central America, respectively, in late fall.

Yvonne Dilling, the Church of the Brethren General Board's
coordinator of its Hurricane Mitch response in Central America on
Monday returned to that region to assist Brethren partner
organizations and to assess and plan long-term Brethren response.
Several obstacles that must be dealt with by the governments of
affected countries before long-term projects can be established,
including infrastructure repairs, such as bridges, and the
redesignation of property, as entire sections of land were washed
away.

Although first-hand assistance is not currently needed, Dilling
added, "I cannot emphasize enough the value of the sacrifices we
can make in order to contribute money through the General Board's
Emergency Response/Service Ministries (ER/SM)."

In the meantime, a grant of $50,000 from ER/SM's Emergency Disaster
Fund was approved this week to support rebuilding projects in the
Dominican Republic, following Hurricane Georges. In January, 14
people from McPherson College, led by Brethren Dale Minnich, are
scheduled to spend 17 days there cleaning and making home repairs.

Glenn Kinsel of ER/SM has traveled to Puerto Rico twice recently to
assess possible recovery efforts in response to Georges. One such
project, in Caimito, is already underway under the supervision of
Jorge Rivera, associate executive of Atlantic Southeast District.
A project in Castaner was approved Tuesday and will begin sometime
in January. A third project, in Calebra, is being explored.

In related news, ER/SM now has a 14-minute video about its projects
and services, which is free for churches and districts to borrow.
Call 800 451-4407 and then press 3.

2) The World Council of Churches' Eighth Assembly, which began on
Thursday, is being held in Harare, Zimbabwe. The theme, "Turn to
God--Rejoice in Hope," incorporates the biblical idea of jubilee
into an appeal to churches and the world at the dawn of a new
millennium. Participants are examining the council's effectiveness
in reaching its goals in areas such as Christian unity, mission,
evangelism, renewal, justice, and peace. 

The Church of the Brethren was a founding member of the WCC and has
continued to provide leadership, especially in the area of peace.
One of the new efforts of the council, the Programme to Overcome
Violence, was launched with encouragement from the Church of the
Brethren, particularly former General Board general secretary
Donald Miller. Today Church of the Brethren member Sara Speicher
helps staff that ministry.

Official denominational representatives to the assembly are Judy
Mills Reimer, General Board executive director, and Julie Liggett.
Among other Brethren attending are Ken Rieman, E. Paul Weaver, John
Weaver, Pam Brubaker, and Wendy McFadden, publisher/director of the
General Board's Brethren Press.

Held every seven years, assemblies are a focal point of the WCC's
life. The Eighth Assembly includes worship and Bible study, plenary
meetings, hearings, and elections. While the business is important,
participants will likely best remember worship in an African
context, experiences shared with brothers and sisters in Christ,
and renewed inspiration to work together at the tasks today's
churches face.

A four-day festival to celebrate the culmination of the Ecumenical
Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women preceded the
assembly.

Wendy McFadden, reporting from Harare, told how one Brethren is
making his mark -- 

"When we arrived at the university, we noticed that many of the
employees here were wearing buttons that read 'Do something for
peace.' We saw them on the guards, the cleaning women, and other
people who didn't seem to be directly connected to the assembly. I
figured they had something to do with our presence, but I wondered
why a peace button. 

"The next morning I ran into E. Paul Weaver, who had already been
in town for a week, attending the celebration for the Ecumenical
Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women. He told me he had
brought 4,000 peace buttons to Harare and had been handing them out
all week. He'd already run out, and wished he had brought 10,000.
He has saved 1,000 more to take with him to Nigeria following the
assembly."

Assembly updates are available at www.wcc-coe.org.

3) More than 100 people gathered at Camp Swatara in Bethel, Pa.,
over Thanksgiving weekend for the denomination's annual Young Adult
Conference. 

Keynote speaker Glenn Mitchell, pastor of the University
Baptist-Brethren Church in State College, Pa., led conferencegoers
in three main sessions focusing on the theme, "Looking In, Reaching
Out." Mitchell lit a "dancing lamp" as a focus during each session
and explored the topic with resources including poems and
literature, contemporary music, personal stories, videos, and
slides.

The issue of trusting God wove a common theme throughout his
presentations, from "groping" for God as presented in Acts and
embodied in the U2 song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking
For" to seeking ways that we discern God's voice to praising God
through our actions.

"We need to let God lead rather than fit ourselves into a
decision," Mitchell said. Even in his own life, Mitchell said
decisions often "emerge in a way that surprises me," as he uses
tools such as Scripture and finding space in the outdoors to seek
God's voice.

Worship provided a central part of the conference, as well,
beginning with a Taize-style service on the first night.
Accompanied by piano, violin, and flute, the simple melodies and
brief readings of the quiet service helped conferencegoers center
on God.

The second evening's worship had young adults sitting in six large
circles, in which they took part in singing, a footwashing service,
communion, and candlelighting, concluding in a large circle of
joyous song. A closing worship featured a conference choir and
culminated with a water blessing as a "sign of commitment to use
our hands to follow the call of God in our lives," Mitchell said,
following the playing of Jewel's song "Hands."

The weekend also included choices from among 10 workshops, from
"How Does the Bible Affect Your Life?" with Jim Myer to "Clowning:
Fools for Christ" with Kimber Mitchell. There was also time for
free time, sports, the annual talent show, and a campfire.

The 1998 YAC will be the last one held on Thanksgiving weekend, as
the Young Adult Steering Committee decided earlier this year to
move the event to Memorial Day weekend, beginning with the 1999 YAC
May 29-31 at Camp Woodland Altars in Southern Ohio. The committee
said it hopes to include those who can't attend over the November
holiday, putting into practice the "Reaching Out" theme it chose
for the 1998 conference.

4) Merv and Gwen Brumbaugh Keeney and their sons, Jonathan and
Daniel, traveled last week to Nigeria for an extended visit with
the Nigerian church, Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (Church of the
Brethren in Nigeria). This visit, continuing through February,
includes sabbatical time for Merv as well as his usual
responsibilities as the General Board's director of Global Mission
Partnerships to meet in regular consultation with the Nigerian
church.  

Keeney's use of his sabbatical for wider involvement in the life of
the church results from a longstanding invitation from the Nigerian
church to be available among its membership for broader visibility
of the partnership with the U.S. church and for conversation among
its members. ''We look forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus
with Nigerian Brethren and the spiritual renewal that extended time
together can offer," said Keeney.

Gwen also has a special relationship with the Nigerian women
through her recently completed doctoral research with the EYN
Women's Fellowship (ZME). This research elicited women's
perceptions about the influence of ZME participation in their
lives.

The Keeneys carried EYN 75th anniversary greetings produced by
children across the denomination. Thirty-two churches created
hundreds of colorful "birthday greetings." Jonathan and Daniel will
hand these to EYN children in celebration of this anniversary year. 

5) A peace summit of unprecedented proportions between the Nuer and
Dinka tribes in southern Sudan is scheduled to be held in January
and February, and will be attended by Phil and Louie (Louise)
Baldwin Rieman, pastors of Wabash (Ind.) Church of the Brethren. 

The purpose of this conference, which grows out of accords reached
in June, is to bring peace and unity between these tribal groups
and to foster a climate where peace is possible on a wider basis.
The gathering will be the largest of its kind; the expected
attendance of 2,000-6,000 will include 500-600 delegates. A cross
section of the local population will be at the event -- people
representing the church and military communities as well as many
others. The intent is to air grievances, tell stories, and reach a
point of reconciliation where they can "kill the bull" for
celebration. 

"We hope many bulls die," said one Sudanese leader.

The Riemans, who served as missionaries in Sudan for 3 1/2 years
(plus six months of stateside mission interpretation), have been
granted a two-month leave from their pastorate. Their expenses are
being covered by the General Board's Global Mission Partnerships.

Many European and U.S. church groups and individuals are expected
to assist in supportive roles, like the Riemans, who will provide
background coordinating assistance primarily from the New Sudan
Council of Churches' offices in Nairobi. 

"The NSCC, with Haruun Ruun and Merlyn Kettering, both who are
supported by the Church of the Brethren, are working to make this
important event happen, in response to the call from the people for
peace and reconciliation," Louie Rieman said.

6) John Thomas been called to serve as financial resource counselor
for the Church of the Brethren General Board's Funding Office,
effective Dec. 21. He will cover the Plains states.

He has a B.A. degree from McPherson College and master's degrees
from Bethany Theological Seminary and the University of Central
Oklahoma. He was a regional director for CROP for 15 years, and was
a teacher for six years and administrator for 16 years in the
public schools of Missouri, Iowa, and Oklahoma. He has served as a
McPherson College trustee.

Thomas has served a number of Church of the Brethren congregations.
He served as executive of the Church of the Brethren's Southern
Plains District from 1981 to 1987 and again recently as interim
executive. He also has served on Annual Conference's Standing and
Nominating committees.

7) Bob Pittman and Marianne Rhoades Pittman have accepted the call
to serve as interim co-managers of the Church of the Brethren
General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries (ER/SM), from
Jan. 4 through mid-June. They succeed Miller Davis, who is retiring
this month after serving the General Board for 27 years.

Marianne has a B.S. degree from Manchester College. She taught
school in Illinois for 6 1/2 years and also worked for 20 years in
campus ministry at the University of Illinois for the Church of the
Brethren's Illinois/Wisconsin District. She also served an interim
pastorate at the Springfield (Ill.) Church of the Brethren. After
"retiring" at age 55, she served as pastor for the new church start
of the Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren in Blacksburg, Va. She
has served the Illinois/Wisconsin and Virlina districts in several
leadership capacities.

Bob has a B.S. degree from McPherson College and a master's degree
from the University of Illinois. He taught school in Illinois for
27 years, 22 of those in vocational building trades. After retiring
at age 55, he ran his own construction business. He supervised the
construction of Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren. He has worked
at numerous disaster sites and has served as a project director. He
also directed the construction of Habitat for Humanity houses at
three major Brethren conferences.

The Pittmans have been traveling and volunteering since their
second "retirement." Both are certified project directors for
ER/SM.  

8) Roger Golden has been called by Association of Brethren
Caregivers to serve as its coordinator of centralized services,
effective Jan. 4. Golden comes to this new position from Pleasant
Hill Village of Girard, Ill., where he served as chaplain and
director of development. In this new position, Golden will provide
leadership for programming, services, and resources to the
Fellowship of Brethren Homes. 

Golden is an ordained Church of the Brethren minister. In 1996, he
received certification in the study of aging, religion, and
spirituality at the Geriatric Pastoral Care Institute of St. Paul,
Minn. He earned his bachelor's degree from Goshen College and his
master's in theological studies from the Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminary.

9) Two district executive openings have been announced following
Ken Holderread's retirement announcement from Illinois/Wisconsin
District, effective March 31, and Jim Tomlonson's announced
resignation from Southern Ohio District, effective July 31.

Application deadline for both positions is Jan. 30. For more
information, contact Nancy Knepper at nknepper_gb@brethren.org or
call 800 323-8039, ext. 279. 

10) Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond, Ind., has announced
openings for three half-time faculty appointments, effective Aug.
1 -- faculty for music and worship, director of peace studies and
cross-cultural studies, and campus pastor. Any two of these can be
combined to form one full-time position. Formation and/or current
membership in the Church of the Brethren is required of applicants.
For more information, call 800 287-8822 or read the position
descriptions at www.brethren.org/bethany/index.htm. Application
deadline is Jan. 29.

11) Three new albums by Brethren musicians have recently been
released -- by Kindling, Andy and Terry Murray, and Frank Keath.

Kindling, a Brethren folk band, has released its first album --
"Kindling Live!" This recording features 14 songs, many which have
been sung by the group during its concerts at Annual Conference,
National Youth Conference, the Sierra Song and Story Fest, "Dancing
at the Water's Edge," and other events.

Kindling was founded 2 1/2 years ago by Steve Kinzie of La Verne,
Calif.; Shawn Kirchner of Chicago;  Lee Krahenbuhl of Kalamazoo,
Mich.; and Peg Lehman of Elgin, Ill. A bomb scare at Annual
Conference led to an impromptu jam session; out of this the band
was formed. 

Copies of the album are available for purchase -- $15.00 per CD and
$10.00 per cassette (plus postage and handling). For more
information, write to kindling@compuserve.com. 

Andy and Terry Murray of Huntingdon, Pa., who for several decades
have been at the forefront of Brethren music for their singing and
original song-writing about Brethren people and values, have
released a newly recorded album of 10 of their greatest hits. The
album also reveals the inspiration behind each song, and includes
photos from four previous Andy and Terry Murray albums.

To order a CD ($14.95) or cassette ($9.95), contact Brethren Press
at 800 441-3712.

Frank Keith, member of Chambersburg (Pa.) Church of the Brethren,
who has performed in a variety of settings over the past 15 years,
including Annual Conference 1996, has released "As you Are," a
collection of 10 inspirational original songs, including seven of
his own.

"As You Are" can be purchased for $14 (CD) or $10 (cassette) from
SASA Productions at 529 Doubling Gap Road, Newville PA 17241,
dbline@epix.net, or at 717 776-4163.

12) "Sing Out Against Violent Toys: How to Organize a Public
Witness at Your Local Toy Store" is an organizing guide produced by
Christian Peacemaker Teams to help churches and groups engage both
toy distributors and buyers through public witness. 

Compiled by Kryss Chupp, a Brethren Volunteer Service worker
serving on the CPT staff in Chicago, the 12-page booklet includes
action scenarios that are adaptable to local settings, basic
information on violence in play and why it is harmful, song
adaptations, press releases, an outline for preparing participants
before an action, and leaflets for public education. 

"A section on legal considerations shares learnings from previous
toy witnesses that planners will appreciate," said Janice Kulp
Long, CPT staff. Cost of the resource is $4. For more information,
contact Long at cpt2@igc.apc.org or at 540 951-2788.

CPT is an independent ministry of Church of the Brethren and
Mennonite congregations and members. 

13) Free worship resources are available from the Supportive
Congregations Network (SCN) for use during the annual Ecumenical
Welcoming Sunday, Jan. 31. According to SCN's Jim Sauder, the last
Sunday of January is set aside by over 800 congregations to
acknowledge and celebrate their welcome of gay, lesbian, and
bisexual members. To order the resources, write to
scnetwork@aol.com or call 612 722-6906.

SCN is an independent network of Church of the Brethren and
Mennonite congregations that
welcomes gay, lesbian, and bisexual members.

14) The 1999 Church World Service calendar, which is illustrated by
Annie Griffiths Belt, a National Geographic photojournalist, is now
available for $10 plus $3 for shipping and handling. To order or
for more information, call 800 297-1516, ext. 222.

15) The special Nov. 13 Newsline detailing the Church of the
Brethren's response to Hurricane Mitch stated that a team of
Brethren medical personnel was leaving for Honduras. Don Parker, a
physician and General Board member from Salem, Ohio, participated
on that trip. Upon his return, he filed this report -- 

We who live in the community of Cinnamon Lake in northern Ohio
enjoy the beauty and pleasure our lake gives us. Water has an
allure that is almost universal. But water also has a downside --
especially when it is associated with a storm as violent and
long-lasting as Hurricane Mitch, which lashed Honduras and
Nicaragua for a full week in October. Rainfall of up to two feet in
six hours pummeled the land for days.

In Honduras the storm was called "Meech," "el hurucan," or "la
llena" ("the filling"). The latter describes appropriately the flat
plain where we worked the last five days. On Oct. 29, the "night of
the terror," the whole plain of many miles across literally filled
up with water from four or five feet in the higher areas to
housetop deep in the lower -- all within about four hours of
warning. 

Since people had no high ground to go to, they spent the next three
days on their roofs (if their house continued to stand) or in the
water. Families told me of being in the water for three days. An
older man and four children clinging to a roof watched as a large
tree, propelled by the current, crashed into the house and
collapsed all of it except the wall directly below them. They were
rescued two days later.

Houses not knocked down by the current were damaged beyond repair
as the waterlogged adobe mud blocks they were made of softened and
sagged. When the water finally retreated, everything was buried in
three to four feet of mud. People had to shovel mud out of what
houses remained standing. The roads in the little villages were
lined with "mud drifts," much as our roads in winter have snow
piles from plowing. One town we worked in had the added horror of
having to rebury corpses that washed out of their graves from the
town cemetery. 

Our emergency medical team of eight sent by the Church of the
Brethren General Board was assigned by our host coordinating
agency, Churches Commission for Development (CCD), to provide
medical care in badly damaged areas in the southern part of the
country. We saw 200-300 people a day in four communities. The
stories we heard from people who came for treatment of skin and
respiratory diseases caused by prolonged exposure and immersion in
the water were heart-rending. The rivers that rampaged through the
mountain valleys, tearing up trees, houses, bridges, roads, and
fields, overflowed their banks and spread out over the broad
flatlands of the southern plains. Whole towns were flooded and
sugar cane fields disappeared under water and mud.

The eight of us on the team had no illness at all in the time we
were in Honduras—a new record for groups that I go with! And I give
thanks for that. We were surrounded by people with upper
respiratory illnesses who were dealing with polluted water and less
than desirable sleeping and eating conditions. I attribute our
escaping unscathed to everyone's being familiar with travel in
developing countries, our having an assigned cook (provided by
CCD), using bottled water or our own filtered and UV radiated
water, sleeping under mosquito nets, and carrying with us and using
an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. And, I reassure our church people
here, their prayers for our safety were just as important as any of
the above.

One morning in the little church clinic where we were attending
some of the poorest of the population, I had to take a personal
break, not because I was tired, but just to process my feelings for
a while. We can read about the statistics of the death and damage
caused by the storm, but the less visible effects of the disaster
are contained in the stories people tell and remember, and we heard
a lot.

We felt our purpose in going was accomplished, although the short
time and the great need always weighed on us. But we were told
repeatedly that we had no idea how much this meant to the people we
treated and those we worked along side of. A little note of thanks
we each received from the CCD staff as we left said, "Thank you for
accompanying us when we needed it the most."

In a land where so many people live on the edge of having adequate
food and shelter, a disaster of the proportion of Mitch can hardly
be measured. Emergency relief is pouring into the country almost
faster than the government and charitable organizations can handle
it. Houses, cars and trucks, and city parks are being dug out of
the mud and rock slides by heavy equipment. Roads are being
repaired and buses and trucks are running again in much of the
country. But there are still over 300 small villages that are
totally isolated and have not been communicated with. Others are
being supplied with food and emergency needs by helicopter.

These are temporary measures. The threat of widespread disease and
famine will become a reality unless fields can be restored and
crops replanted. Stagnant, polluted water must be drained, and safe
drinking water systems repaired. This is the big picture.

But much of the less seen effects of the disaster can be discovered
in the stories of the average people. Theirs are the scars that
will last a lifetime and have moved us to do all we can to help
heal the pain and grief that have become their legacy.

16) On Nov. 22, more than 2,370 people -- including actor Martin
Sheen -- crossed onto the property of Fort Benning near Columbus,
Ga., to peacefully demonstrate the United States' School of the
Americas (SOA), which is located at that base and is dubbed the
"School of the Assassins." Over 3,500 other demonstrators choose
not to cross the line.

About 30 or so Church of the Brethren participated in the
demonstration, with groups on hand from Manchester College and
Bethany Theological Seminary. Others present included Pam Genise of
the General Board's Washington Office and Yvonne Dilling, who
currently serves as the General Board's Hurricane Mitch response
coordinator in Central America. 

Although trespassers were arrested during previous demonstrations,
with jail terms handed out to repeat offenders, this year's
trespassers were loaded onto buses and dropped about a mile away
from the base with letters barring them from the base. Many of the
Brethren crossed the line, including Greg Laszakovits and Sarah
Stafford, who filed these reports:

Greg Laszakovits --  I "crossed the line" onto Fort Benning with
over 2,300, but extremely
important in my walk were the 10 people I traveled with from
Richmond, Ind. -- 10 Bethany Theological Seminary students and a
friend from Ohio. When we left Richmond, six of us knew we would
cross the line. Sunday at 9 a.m., all 11 of us held a cross with
the name of a victim on it -- a person who died at the hands of a
School of the Americas' graduate. We walked onto Fort Benning
together -- all of us. 

In the days before, we shared prayer, worship, song, discussions of
discernment, and fun as a community of faith. We had come together
as community in support and love for one another with all of our
hopes, dreams, fears, and hesitations. Each person was crucial to
the body.

I walked with Steve Brady and Dave Kerkove to my left and Sarah
Stafford restricting the blood flow in my right arm with a nervous,
but somehow reassuring grip. As we passed through that crowd
together toward the line -- with arms linked and crosses of
remembrance in our hands -- my eyes welled with tears that could
not be held.

I realize now that those tears were not only tears of loss and
grief for those whose lives have been ended and fractured, but also
tears of joy for what might be in the future. Joy in the fact that
five years ago the movement to shut down the SOA was a fraction of
what it is now. Joy in the hope that one day the SOA will be shut
down and the paradigms of physical threat and violence will not
dictate the lives of millions of our brothers and sisters. Joy in
the knowledge that God is with us and that our lives of prayer and
action will make a difference with the Grace of God. Yes, we
crossed in pain and remembrance, but also in joy.    

We were met on the base by Department of Defense officers who
politely rounded us on to buses and took us to a city park to give
us "ban and bar" letters. We were not arrested, but ordered to
never return. 

Don't count on it, Uncle Sam. If the SOA is not closed this year,
we will be back, and back in greater numbers, demanding justice for
those abused under the guise of "protecting democracy."  These
abuses are not what God wishes for God's children.

Sarah Stafford -- I was impressed not by the numbers of people, but
by the diversity of people. Many veterans, students, young people,
old people, Catholics, and Protestants participated, most out of a
faith conviction. 

Everyone who was planning to participate in civil disobedience by
crossing onto the base went through one of the several nonviolence
trainings offered Friday and Saturday. Because of these organized
trainings, there were no problems during the Sunday demonstration.
This was my first experience with a large nonviolent protest and I
was deeply moved by the unity and peacefulness of the group.

Why did I attend and decide to cross the line? My decision was a
year in coming after being at the vigil last year. My life
experiences include participating in three Church of the Brethren
workcamp delegations to Central America. I am also committed to
peace and justice issues, especially those pertaining to our
neighbors in Latin America. After studying U.S. policy towards
Latin America and reading statements about the SOA, and having been
able to meet and share with people of Guatemala and Honduras, I
felt my actions at the SOA vigil were the least I could do in order
to speak for those that either no longer have a voice or do not
have the freedom to speak.