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[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      Jan. 8, 1999 (PART ONE OF TWO)
Contact:  Nevin Dulabaum
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline                                     Jan. 8, 1999

(Due to the high volume of timely stories, this is an exceptionally
long Newsline. As a result, the electronic version may have been
divided into two files. Although some may find this inconvenient,
Newsline is a news service for all denominational members,
agencies, and organizations, and thus it was important to publish
these stories today.)

News
1) The site for Annual Conference 2003 is announced.
2) The Annual Conference Nominating Committee convenes this week to
     select nominees for positions that will be voted on this
     summer.
3) A task force to help interpret Annual Conference's new format,
     which debuts in 2000, will meet on Jan. 16.
4) Faith Church of the Brethren, Batavia, Ill., regains occupancy
     of its entire building and schedules a rededication weekend.
5) Two Brethren-related signings pertaining to President Clinton
     were sent this week.
6) A new logo is unveiled by Association of Brethren Caregivers.
7) Manchester College unveils its new logo.
8) The separation of SERRV International from the General Board
     should take place on Feb. 1 or soon thereafter.
9) A recovery project in the Dominican Republic is being
     established this month by the General Board's Emergency
     Response/Service Ministries.
10) Stanley Noffsinger has accepted the call to serve as manager of
     the General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries.
11) Sue Snyder's last day of employment with the General Board is
     today.
12) Sidney King retires as executive of Idaho District.
13) Fifty members and supporters of Christian Peacemaker Teams
     protest against violent toys and video games.
14) Church of the Brethren retirees get an additional one-time
     payment in 1998 plus a one percent increase for 1999 from the
     Brethren Benefit Trust board.
15) "Transforming Violence: Linking Local and Global Peacemaking,"
     a book that addresses peacemaking, is now available from
     Brethren Press. 
16) Southeastern District holds a spiritual nourishment, learning,
     and enrichment event.
17) The National Council of Churches has released several
     publications on teen pregnancy.

In search of ....
18) Association of Brethren Caregivers seeks a full-time program
     field staff.
19) Four to six young adults are being sought for the 1999 Journey
     of Young Adults team.
20) The Clinical Pastoral Education Program of the Brethren Home
     Community, New Oxford, Pa., is being offered to seminary
     students and to area pastors.
21) Outdoor Ministry Association is seeking a coordinator of
     displays and activities at this year's Annual Conference.

Upcoming events
22) Audrey Osborne of On Earth Peace Assembly will represent the
     denomination at a peace and justice resources conference, and
     will lead two upcoming district events.
23) Two training events for disaster project directors and district
     disaster coordinators have been scheduled by the General
     Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries.
24) A Women in Ministry retreat, "Spirit Bound ... Spirit Free!" is
     scheduled for April 12-15.
25) The 1999 Young Adult Conference, "One Creation Under God...,"
     will be held May 29-31.
26) The second biennial Caring Ministries 2000 conference will be
     held June 1-4 at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College.
27) An Alexander Mack Festival is scheduled for Oct. 2 at Camp Mack
     near Milford, Ind.
28) More than 1,500 religious communicators are expected to attend
     the Religious Communications Congress (RCC 2000), March 29 -
     April 1, 2000, in Chicago.
29) Church Women United announce its first global ecumenical
     assembly since 1991, scheduled for July 26-29, 2001, in
     Milwaukee.

Features
30) What happened within the Church of the Brethren in 1998?
31) Five anniversaries of note within the Church of the Brethren
     will be celebrated this year.
32) After nearly 50 years, it's the end of an era for Peters Creek
     Church of the Brethren.
33) A week-long, front-page series in December by the Carroll
     County (Md.) Times called "Living with Dying," featured Dale
     Aukerman, Church of the Brethren minister, author,          
     and activist. The series is still posted on the paper's web
     site.
34) A follow-up to an Aug. 7 Newsline story about the Jonesboro,
     Ark., school shooting.

1) The 2003 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference will be held
July 5-9 at Boise State University in Idaho. That decision, made
late last year by the Annual Conference Program and Arrangements
Committee, reflects the long-standing rotation schedule that calls
for Conference to be held in the far northwest in 2003. It also is
a response to an increasing call from Annual Conference attendees
for the yearly meeting to be held again on a university campus.
Annual Conferences through 2002 will each be held at convention
centers.

Business and worship will be held at The Pavilion, a 9,000-seat
arena, while exhibits and smaller meetings will be held nearby.
Meals will be served in the Student Union. Housing will be
available in dorms and in nearby inns and hotels.

Other Annual Conferences previously announced include --
     * Milwaukee, June 29 - July 4, 1999. 
     * Kansas City, July 15-19, 2000.
     * Baltimore, June 30 - July 4, 2001.
     * Louisville, June 29 - July 3, 2002.

2) Sixteen elected denominational positions will be filled at
Annual Conference this summer in Milwaukee; the candidates who will
vie for these positions will be determined this weekend. The
Nominating Committee of Annual Conference's Standing Committee has
convened at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin,
Ill., to select the nominees for the 13 positions that will be
voted on by Conference delegates -- 
     * moderator-elect (two-year term)
     * General Board, Michigan District (five-year term)
     * General Board, Northern Indiana District (five-year term)
     * General Board, West Marva District (five-year term)
     * General Board, at-large (five-year term)
     * Annual Conference Program and Arrangements Committee
          (three-year term)
     * Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee,
          representing district executives (five-year term)
     * Committee on Interchurch Relations (three-year term)
     * Brethren Benefit Trust (four-year term)
     * Bethany Theological Seminary, representing the colleges
          (five-year term)
     * On Earth Peace Assembly (five-year term)
     * Association of Brethren Caregivers (three-year term), two
          representatives

Three representatives to the National Council of Churches will be
elected by Standing Committee delegates. 

Nominating Committee members include Sandra Bosserman, chair, of
Peace Valley, Mo; Marlene Neher, Grundy Center, Iowa; Pat Royer,
Stockton, Calif.; Fred Swartz, Manassas, Va; Ruth Dilling, Warsaw,
Ind.; R. Douglas Jones, Salem, Va.; J. Michael Fike, Morgantown,
W.Va.; and Gene Knicely, Edinburgh, Va. Conference secretary Cathy
Huffman is overseeing the process.

The completed Annual Conference ballot will be included in the Feb.
4 Newsline.

3) A new format is on tap for Annual Conference, beginning in 2000.
Instead of the traditional Tuesday-Sunday format, conferences of
the future will begin Saturday evening and will conclude at noon
Wednesday. 

An inspirational celebration of the life of the church is scheduled
for Sunday afternoon and evening, which will incorporate agency
reports, said Duane Steiner, Annual Conference executive director.
Business sessions will be held each morning Monday through
Wednesday and Monday and Tuesday afternoons. Worship services will
be held Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday evenings, and Sunday and
Wednesday mornings.

A task force has been established to help publicize and interpret
the new format. This group is scheduled to meet Jan. 16 at the
Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., to develop
a comprehensive, 18-month plan. Task force members include Lowell
Flory, Emily Mumma, Howard Royer, David Wine, Christy Waltersdorff,
and Steiner.

4) Nine months after its sanctuary was heavily damaged by fire and
smoke, and other portions of its building were damaged by the water
used to douse the fire, the Faith Church of the Brethren of
Batavia, Ill., on Christmas Eve regained occupancy of its entire
facility for the first time since March 2. 

"It was truly a special evening and we thank all of the sister
churches in our denomination, our neighboring churches of Batavia,
Habitat for Humanity, as well as the community at-large for support
and help along the way," said Erin Matteson, pastor.

Next up for the congregation is its dedication weekend, scheduled
for Jan. 22-24. 

A hymn sing will be held at 7:30 p.m. Jan 22. From 11 a.m.-2:30
p.m. on Jan. 23, the church will host tours and a luncheon for
those who volunteered in the reconstruction effort. Workers who
want to attend the luncheon should call 630 879-9414. A special
sanctuary rededication service will be held Jan. 24 at 2 p.m. and
is open to all.

5) Two Brethren-related signings that pertain to President Clinton
were sent this week. The first, a letter by the U.S. Campaign to
Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, was signed on to by Judy Mills
Reimer, executive director of the Church of the Brethren General
Board. Reimer was one of more than 40 ecumenical and social service
representatives who called on Clinton to support international
prohibition of soldiers who are younger than 18, and to ensure that
the United States military conforms to the prohibition.

A second signing by Christian and Jewish leaders called for the
U.S. Senate to censure Clinton but to not embark on a trial that
could lead to his removal from office. This statement, signed by
Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of
Churches, and seven others, said, "Our shared religious traditions
require us all to be mindful of punishment with penitence and
healing with compassion. In this spirit, we ask that the Senate not
thwart the indicated will of a great majority of American citizens
who understand the wrongs of the President's actions but do not
believe there has been a subversion of government."

The Church of the Brethren is a founding member of the National
Council of Churches.

6) Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) has unveiled its new
logo, a block print impression of a figure expressing care and
nurture, according to Mary Dulabaum, ABC communications director. 

"This figure represents the common element of ABC's nine ministry
areas – caring," Dulabaum said. "The figure also embodies ABC's
mission of providing programs to undergird people and communities
in their lifelong journeys toward healing and wholeness. The use of
a block print impression evokes the Nigerian roots of one ABC
ministry area, Lafiya: A Whole Person Health Ministry, which is
modeled after the Nigerian system for supporting one another to
ensure that all members of the community are well in body, mind,
and spirit."

"One unique aspect to our new logo is that each viewer seems to
have a different and personal interpretation of what they see,"
Dulabaum added. "When the new logo was first presented, board
members said they saw a parental figure, a caress, a helping hand,
a growing flower. All of these images represent ABC and its mission
to help others heal, grow, and nurture one another." 

7) A new logo has been introduced by Manchester College. The symbol
of a flame surrounded by a cup, basin, or hands "suggests global
perspective, community, and wholeness, and it carries a familiar
symbol from the college's seal, the lamp of learning," states a
release.

The flame symbolizes the spirit of God, justice, and equality. The
cup, basin, or hands represent service and social action. The logo
also depicts a flowing motion like the uplifting power of a bird's
wing, suggesting peace.

The logo was designed by Gib Foster, Manchester's graphic designer,
and the South Bend-based Richard Harrison Bailey agency. 

8) The separation date between the Church of the Brethren General
Board and SERRV International will be Feb. 1 or soon thereafter.

In October the General Board voted to allow SERRV, a self-help
handcrafts ministry, to become a new, nonprofit corporation. At
that time, Jan. 1 was cited as the tentative separation date.
However, the many steps needed for this move to happen have taken
longer than anticipated, although two of the major hurdles have now
been cleared.

"A condition of the actions was for SERRV International, Inc. the
new corporation in the state of Maryland, to receive its 501(c)(3)
nonprofit status and applicable state tax exempt status, if
required," said Judy Keyser, General Board treasurer. "We are
pleased to report that SERRV International, Inc., has received its
501(c)(3) status from the Internal Revenue Service and confirmation
of its Maryland tax exempt status."

9) The Church of the Brethren General Board's Emergency
Response/Service Ministries this month is establishing a recovery
project in the Dominican Republic. Guillermo Encarnacion, a Church
of the Brethren member from the Dominican Republic, will spend
about five weeks establishing the project. Jan and Roma Jo Thompson
of Glendale (Ariz.) Church of the Brethren will serve as the
project's initial directors. People interested in volunteering for
the project should contact Jane Yount at jyount_gb@brethren.org or
at 800 451-4407.

In related news, ER/SM this month will begin constructing a home
near Birmingham, Ala., for a single mother who is on disability.
This work is in response to a 1998 tornado.

10) Stanley Noffsinger has accepted the call to the position of
manager of Emergency Response/Service Ministries, effective June
15.

Noffsinger has a bachelor's degree from Manchester College, North
Manchester, Ind., a certificate in Total Quality Management from
Wichita State University, and training and experience in
international living. He is currently managing two medical clinics
and is the physician placement coordinator for 11 locations in
South Central Kansas.

Noffsinger is moderator of Western Plains District. In 1994 he and
his wife, Deb, served as on-site coordinators for the Wichita
Annual Conference. 

11) Sue Snyder's last day of employment with the Church of the
Brethren General Board as assistant to the executive director is
today. 

Snyder joined the General Board staff in June 1988 as coordinator
of the General Secretary's office, working with Don Miller.
Following Miller's retirement in December 1996, Snyder subsequently
worked with two interim executive directors -- Karen Peterson
Miller and Joe Mason. Since July Snyder has worked with Judy Mills
Reimer.

12) Sidney King, part-time executive of Idaho District, retired
from her position on Dec. 31. She had held this position since
1989. During her tenure she also served as treasurer of the Council
of District Executives.

13) Fifty members and supporters of Christian Peacemaker Teams
endured the blustery Chicago weather on New Year's Day to
participate in CPT's sixth annual protest against the sale of
violent toys and video games at a local Toys "R" Us.

Nine participants conducted a mock funeral procession through the
aisles of action figures and video games to highlight the growing
evidence that violent toys contribute to real violence such as the
handful of school shootings that occurred throughout the United
States in 1998. After about 10 minutes, security personnel ushered
the bell-ringing cortege, which carried a body draped in a white
sheet, out of the store.

Outside in the parking lot, peacemakers rang bells and sang adapted
holiday carols. A memorial service for victims of child violence
was held, with white crosses placed at the store's entrance as the
name of each person killed in recent school shootings was called
out. 

Inspired by the United Nations' recent resolution declaring the
years 2001-2010 the "Decade of Nonviolence and Peace for the
Children of the World," the group urged the world's leading toy
retailer to become a violence-free zone by 2000. Local store
managers declined, but suggested that the demonstrators contact the
Toys "R" Us headquarters.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an independent initiative among
Church of the Brethren and Mennonite congregations and Friends
Meetings.

14) Church of the Brethren retirees whose pensions are with
Brethren Benefit Trust received a one-time additional payment on
Dec. 15, which was equal to an extra month's benefit. This benefit
was sent to all plan members who retired on or before Sept. 1. In
addition, these members also received a one percent increase for
1999.

These two benefits were approved by the Brethren Benefit Trust
board, which met Nov. 20-21 in Lancaster, Pa. At that meeting the
board learned that the Brethren Medical Plan staff is working to
move all medical plan groups to fully-insured insurance
arrangements as quickly as possible. According to Jeff Garber,
director of insurance plans, most agencies that have completed the
transition have saved money. For groups in the self-funded plan
that are waiting for a fully insured arrangement, there will be no
premium increase in 1999 as Garber anticipates having all groups
converted to a fully insured arrangement by April. 

The move to a fully insured medical plan has generated good news in
the form of premium savings for active members. But there also has
been bad news. Most insurance companies do not want to cover the
retired members. Thus, about 300 retirees of the Brethren Ministers
Group received premium increases between 36 and 41 percent.

"This is a bitter pill to swallow for folks living on a fixed
income," Garber said. "What they may not have known is that, under
the self-insured arrangement, their premiums were being subsidized
by the contributions of the active pastors."

The board acknowledged that there is no long-term solution to the
higher premiums. As a stopgap measure, it authorized using up to
$550,000 from medical reserves to subsidize retiree premium costs
over a two-year period. The objective of the supplement is to give
this group a transition period with ample time to review their
insurance options.

In other business, the board approved a fourth pension fund choice,
a bond fund, to be available sometime before April. This bond fund
joins the common stock fund, the balanced fund (60 percent stocks,
40 percent bonds), and the short term fund (similar to a money
market fund but with higher returns).

15) "Transforming Violence: Linking Local and Global Peacemaking,"
a gift from the historic peace church movement to the world church,
is a book that addresses peacemaking in direct and tangible ways. 

The book is the work of 21 peace activists and theologians around
the globe. The editors are Robert Herr and Judy Zimmerman Herr,
directors in the peace office of the Mennonite Central Committee;
the publisher is Herald Press. 

The book is dedicated to Brethren peace activist M.R. Zigler; the
foreword is by Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World
Council of Churches. The final chapter, "Theology for a Just
Peace," is by Lauree Hersch Meyer, who represents the Church of the
Brethren on the Historic Peace Churches/Fellowship of
Reconciliation Consultative Committee, which commissioned the work.
Among other contributors are Jim Forest, Walter Wink, Elise
Boulding, Doug Hostetter, Dorothee Soelle, and John Paul Lederach. 

In December, the book made its debut at the World Council of
Churches Eighth Assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe, as a resource for the
WCC's Program to Overcome Violence. It may be obtained from
Brethren Press by writing brethren_press_gb@brethren.org or by
calling 800 441-3712.

16) "Continuing the work of Jesus," a one-day event sponsored by
the Church of the Brethren Southeastern District, was held Nov. 7
in Blountville, Tenn. This event was a day of spiritual
nourishment, learning, and enrichment. Keynote speaker was David
Radcliff, director of Brethren Witness for the Church of the
Brethren General Board. Special music was presented by The Brethren
Five of Mill Creek Church of the Brethren, Tryon, N.C. 

Each of the district's commissions were responsible for a special
workshop. Ministry presented David Shumate, executive of Virlina
District, who spoke on "Brethren Heritage - Why Important." Nurture
presented Eleanor and Gerald Roller, certified marriage enrichment
counselors, who spoke on "Family Life - Special Issues We Face."
Stewards presented Wil Nolen, president of Brethren Benefit Trust,
who spoke on "Financial Planning for the Family, for Young Couples,
for the Christian ...." Witness presented Radcliff, who spoke on
"Peace and Justice."

About 70 people attended the event.

17) The number of teen pregnancies nationwide in 1995 was 889,980,
the lowest number since 1973. However, that rate, according to the
National Council of Churches, is "extraordinarily high" when
compared to other industrialized countries.

Joan Brown Campbell, NCC general secretary and member of the
Religion and Public Values Task Force of the National Campaign to
Prevent Teen Pregnancy, has contributed to a publication that was
released in November titled "Ten Tips for Faith Communities:
Preventing Teen Pregnancy in the Context of Religious Traditions."
This free brochure can be ordered at www.teenpregnancy.org or by
calling 202 261-5655.

Two other free publications, which can be ordered using the above
Web site or phone number, are "Ten Tips for Parents to Help Their
Children Avoid Teen Pregnancy" and the report "While the Adults are
Arguing, the Teens are Getting Pregnant."