wfn.org | Newsline for July 30, 1999

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Newsline                                          July 30, 1999
News
1) The General Board is developing "children and violence" resource
     materials.
2) The fifth annual "Dancing" conference is held in Milwaukee.
3) Two grants totalling $30,000 are allocated from the Global Food
     Crisis Fund.
4) A $5,000 EDF grant has been allocated for Lewiston, Minn.
5) Members of the Church of North India and Indian Brethren will
     meet in August.
6) The annual kickoff dinner of the denomination's largest disaster
     auction raises $11,207.
7) A peace pole honoring Dale Aukerman is planted and dedicated by
     Mid-Atlantic District.
8) The Brethren Encyclopedia adds a sixth participating
     denomination.
9) A "Journey Against Hate" campaign traces the steps of Benjamin
     Nathaniel Smith.
10) Elizabethtown (Pa.) College has exceeded its $25 million
     multiyear campaign goal.
11) Brethren who are trained in spiritual direction are being
     sought.
12) The Louisville Institute has study grants available for
     pastoral leaders.
13) Camp Ithiel is looking for memorabilia and former campers for
     its 50th anniversary.
14) The NCC is seeking 2,000 churches to become fully accessible in
     the year 2000.
15) "Team McPherson" completes a 14-day, 3,500-mile History Channel
     race.
16) Raymond Stayer, former missionary to Nigeria, is remembered.

Resources
17) Brethren Press' shipment of fourth quarter curriculum has been 
     delayed until Aug. 4.
18) The September Source resource packet is in the mail to all
     Brethren congregations.
19) "Servant Leadership for Church Renewal," a new book by David
     Young, is available.
20) "A Child's Glimpse of Cuba," a new NCC resource, is available
     for free off the Web.
21) The centennial story of the Ephrata Church of the Brethren is
     now available.
22) "Churches ad hoc" is an amusing-looking book available from
     PhotoZone Press.

Upcoming events
23) A session for those who work with young children will be held
     Aug. 14 in Littleton, Colo. 
24) Seminars on multicultural and urban issues will be held this
     fall by the Alban Institute. 

Personnel
25) Janet West Schrock joins the Heifer Project International
     staff.
26) Brethren/Mennonite Council for Lesbian and Gay Concerns is
     seeking an executive.

1) The General Board is developing resource materials to follow-up
on the "Children and Violence" resolution passed earlier this month
by the 1999 Annual Conference in Milwaukee. Included in the packet
will be a copy of the one-page resolution; recommended study
materials for congregations and local schools; a ready-to-use study
session for youth and adults; suggestions for legislative advocacy;
copies of "Take the Pledge" and the "Youth Pledge of Peace"; and an
eight-minute video featuring Dave Grossman, the former military
psychologist who recently supported two community programs
sponsored by Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren, Littleton,
Colo. He is a specialist in the linkage between media violence and
children and violence (June 9 and July 2 Newslines).

"This resolution obviously touched a nerve among Conference
delegates, who gave it broad support," said Brethren Witness
director David Radcliff, whose office is coordinating the
development of the materials. "We want to help Brethren find ways
to respond in their congregations and communities."

The materials are scheduled to be sent to congregations in time for
use during "Peace With Justice Week," Oct. 16-24 (see related item
#23).

2) The fifth annual "Dancing" conference sponsored by Brethren
Mennonite Council for Lesbian and Gay Concerns, Christian
Peacemaker Teams, Global Women's Project, Supportive Congregations
Network, and Womaen's Caucus was held June 25-27 in Milwaukee, Wis.
The event drew over 150 participants. 

"Leading the Dance: Living the Church Re-imagined," served as this
year's theme for the weekend of worship, fellowship, conversation,
and support.

"Worship centered around a rainbow staff of inclusion with litanies
proclaiming an extravagant and dancing God," said participant Barb
Sayler. "People were encouraged to re-imagine the church as a
graced, safe space and to respond to a call to search for truth, to
share stories and songs, and to prepare a place where justice and
peace can join hands and dance."

Worship also included time for people to share stories of their
celebrations and lamentations of the past year, their thoughts and
reflections on the present, and their hopes and aspirations for the
future, Sayler said.

There were two opportunities for gathering in conversation circles.
Topics discussed included a possible Church of the Brethren name
change, the in-process merger of the two Mennonite churches, how to
include the excluders, talking to children and youth about
diversity, and the issues facing open and affirming congregations.
Also there was a time for groups to gather in to support and
visioning groups. These groups included parents, families, and
friends of lesbians and gays, pastors, grief and healing, and
religion without boundaries.

The conference concluded with time for strategizing in a plenary
session. Participants were encouraged to share ideas and visions of
how to be pro-active in bringing this re-imagined church to life.

"Participants left the weekend feeling inspired and refreshed as
they reimagined a church of unconditional love, inclusiveness, and
integrity," Sayler said.

3) Two Global Food Crisis grants totaling $30,000 have been
allocated by the General Board for work in the Caribbean and the
United States --
     
* $20,000 for emergency food aid for families in the Dominican
     Republic. The monies will help purchase two months' worth of
     food supplies for 275 families. The aid will be distributed by
     COTEDO, the Church of the Brethren's ecumenical partner in the
     Dominican Republic.
* $10,000 for Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren to
     assist in the development of a thrift shop to serve the poor.
     Profits from the shop will support First Church's other
     community ministries.

4) A $5,000 grant from the Emergency Disaster Fund has been
allocated in response to a tornado that struck Lewiston, Minn., on
July 13. (See July 16 Newsline). Because the disaster was
relatively small-scale -- $1.8 million in damage including 15 homes
beyond repair -- the town does not qualify for federal assistance.
Nevertheless, only about 60 percent of the damage is covered by
insurance. The EDF funds, which were requested by Stan Noffsinger
of the General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries, will
be sent to Lewiston's Economic Development Authority for long-term
recovery projects. A local bank has promised a matching grant of up
to $25,000, thus doubling the $5,000.

5) After nearly two decades of division, there is a movement under
way to help bring reconciliation between representatives of the
Church of North India and a group of Indian Brethren who broke away
from CNI in the late 1970s.

In March a team of U.S. Church of the Brethren representatives
visited India to lay the foundation for a hoped-for joint meeting
between the two groups (April 23 Newsline). The U.S. delegation
included Mervin Keeney, the General Board's director of Global
Mission Partnerships; Shantilal Bhagat, GMP staff consultant; and
Bob Gross, coordinator of On Earth Peace Assembly's Ministry of
Reconciliation. 

That hoped-for meeting has now been scheduled for late August, and
Keeney and Gross will be in India Aug. 22-27 to provide leadership.

"As a church with more than one hundred years of mission history in
India and with ties to both groups, the Church of the Brethren
seeks to foster a new relationship between them rooted in our unity
through Christ," Gross said. "Through Bible study, prayer, and
reflection, the gathering will seek to lay a foundation for a new
relationship between the two bodies as branches of God's church in
India." 

Keeney and Gross invite Brethren to pray for this gathering, for
God's spirit to guide, and for hearts to be open. 

Congregations started by the Church of the Brethren, beginning in
1884, united with CNI in 1970. However, some members began
withdrawing from the union as early as 1978. The 1988 Annual
Conference encouraged General Board staff to facilitate cooperative
ministry and reconciliation between the groups.

6) The kickoff dinner of Atlantic Northeast and Southern
Pennsylvania districts' Annual Disaster Auction was held June 12,
raising $11,207. This event precedes the denomination's largest
disaster auction, which is held each fall at the Lebanon (Pa.) Area
Fairgrounds. 

Despite its name, this wasn't the first auction event of the year.
Ground was broken April 18 on the fourth annual disaster relief
house, which should be completed in October. It will then be sold,
with proceeds going to emergency disaster response.

This year's auction, scheduled for Sept. 24-25, will feature the
auctioning of 25 8-inch Longaberger baskets. Each basket will have
a special lid painted commemorating the event. New this year will
be theme baskets, to be donated by individuals, church groups, or
others that will hold contents pertaining to a specific theme. 

For more information, contact Jane Snavely at 717 665-4671.

7) Dale Aukerman was honored May 8 by Mid-Atlantic District when a
peace pole was planted and dedicated in his name. Aukerman was
recognized for his long-time service to peace causes and his deep
devotion to Jesus Christ. 

The pole, obtained from the World Peace Prayer Society, is now
located in the district office's Peace Garden. In addition to
flowers and a dedication plaque, the pole is surrounded by stones
from all but one past and present Mid-Atlantic District camps --
Shepherd's Spring, Camp Mardella, Camp Woodbrook, and Camp Shiloh.

The service was led by Gladys Weaver and Darlene Meyers of the
District's Witness commission. Other participants and attendees
included Ruth Aukerman, Dale's wife; Pam Leinauer, district
executive; Mary Cline Detrick, associate executive; Pat Hopkin,
assistant, and members of the district's board and peace and
justice committee.

"My hope for the Church of the Brethren is for renewal -- renewal
in looking to Jesus as Lord and Savior and renewal in living out
the peacemaking love of God...," Aukerman said.

Aukerman, who in November 1996 was diagnosed with cancer, is
featured in the July Messenger magazine.

8) Membership of the Brethren Encyclopedia in April was expanded to
include a sixth denomination -- the Conservative Grace Brethren
Churches.

Established in 1979, the Brethren Encyclopedia was incorporated to
"compile, publish, and distribute an encyclopedia covering all
aspects of Brethren life, belief, practice, and history and other
works of interest...."

Other partner denominations include the Church of the Brethren, Old
German Baptist Brethren, Dunkard Brethren, the Brethren Church, and
Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. 

Work on a fourth encyclopedia volume is currently under way. Set to
be released in 2000, this resource will include additions and
corrections to the first three volumes (published in 1983-1984),
new articles on topics that have emerged since 1980, and a
comprehensive index.

9) A comprehensive campaign to combat hate groups in America, a
"Journey against Hate," sponsored by the National Council of
Churches, trekked through Illinois and Indiana July 22-24. This
campaign retraced the steps that Benjamin Nathaniel Smith took over
the July 4th holiday weekend as he went on a racially and
ethnically motivated spree of violence. After killing two people
and wounding nine others, Smith turned his gun on himself as police
were closing in.

The campaign began in Evanston, Ill., where Ricky Byrdsong, former
Northwestern University basketball coach, was gunned down in front
of his children. It concluded in Bloomington, Ind., where Won Joon
Yoon, a Korean graduate student at the University of Indiana, was
also killed by Smith.

According to the Illinois-based Center for New Community, 51 hate
groups operate in 35 Illinois communities and 34 groups operate in
30 Indiana communities. 

"The time has come to get down to the business of educating,
agitating, and organizing hate groups out of existence," said Ron
Daniels of the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York. "We
can no longer dismiss their activities as fringe and out of the
mainstream. That does little for the victims of the violence their
rhetoric inspires."

10) Elizabethtown (Pa.) College has exceeded its $25 million goal
in a multiyear campaign to double the size of its endowment. 

"By far, this is the biggest campaign in the college's 100-year
history," said President Theodore Long. "Our goal was to raise $25
million by the start of our centennial celebration this spring, and
we surpassed that by $1 million."

Most of the money raised will be used to provide financial aid and
scholarships. Other uses will include faculty recruitment, library
acquisitions, academic programming, cultural and performing arts,
and student life programs.

11) Brethren who are trained in spiritual direction or who are in
the process of being trained are being sought by Glenn Timmons,
director of Congregational Life Ministries for the General Board. 

At the denomination's recent Annual Conference in Milwaukee,
Timmons met informally with individuals who give spiritual
direction to explore the development of a network of spiritual
directors, to establish a link between Congregational Life
Ministries and the network for receiving input from practitioners
of spiritual formation and development, and to explore mutual
interests and ideas.

Contact Timmons at gtimmons_gb@brethren.org or at 800 323-8039.

12) The Louisville Institute has announced its annual Study Grants
for Pastoral Leaders Program, which enables pastors and other
religious leaders who are "engaged in the practice of ministry" to
have the opportunity for a sustained period of reflection and study
apart from the regular tasks of their work. Grants of $4,000 (four
weeks), $8,000 (eight weeks) and $12,000 (12 weeks) are available.

For more information, look at the institute's Web site at
www.louisville-institute.org or call David Wood at 502 895-3411
ext. 543.

13) Memorabilia such as pictures, movies, stories, t-shirts, name
tags, or other items are being sought to help play part in Camp
Ithiel's 50th anniversary. The celebration for the Gotha, Fla.,
camp is scheduled for Nov. 6. The anniversary committee is also
trying to locate names and addresses of people who have
participated in the life of the camp. Call 407 293-3481.

14) The National Council of Churches Committee on Disabilities is
supporting the national interfaith Accessible Congregations
Campaign. ACC is seeking the commitment of 2,000 congregations by
the year 2000 to include people with all types of disabilities as
full and active participants in worship, service, study, and
leadership. Contact religion@nod.org or call 202 293-5960.

15) Team McPherson from McPherson (Kan.) College recently completed
a 14-day, 3,500-mile History Channel Great Race, which means racing
pre-1951 vintage vehicles from Georgia to California.

Former Indy car drive John Hollansworth drove his 1917 Peerless
"Green Dragon," accompanied by McPherson professor Gary Martin and
sophomore auto restoration student Jeff Schroeder. Along the way,
Martin and Schroeder provided public demonstrations of various
restoration techniques and spoke to observers about McPherson's
unique two-year auto restoration program. McPherson is the only
accredited four-year college in the country to confer a degree in
automobile restoration technology.

16) Raymond Stayer, 94, a dentist and former missionary in Nigeria
for the Church of the Brethren, died July 18. A member of the
United Methodist Church, Stayer worked every January and February
from 1964 to 1983 at a Church of the Brethren mission hospital in
northern Nigeria. He also spent time in Israel as a member of the
American Dental Volunteers to Israel.

Stayer was a 1922 graduate of Brethren-affiliated Juniata College,
Huntingdon, Pa.

According to his obituary, memorials can be made to the General
Board, designated for Brethren ministry in Nigeria.

17) Fall Brethren Press curriculum will be shipped beginning Aug.
4. This two-week delay was needed to wait for the delivery of all
fall curriculum pieces. According to Russ Matteson, Brethren Press
marketing manager, all orders that have been received thus far
should ship no later than August 13.

Affected curriculum includes "Jubilee: God's Good News" and "Bible
Discovery" for children; "Fastlane Bible Studies" for Junior Highs;
"Generation Why" for Senior Highs; and "Good Ground" and "A Guide
for Biblical Studies" for adults. 

Curriculum may still be ordered from Brethren Press via fax (800
667-8188) or mail (1451 Dundee Ave, Elgin IL 60120). For order
forms write brethren_press_gb@brethren.org or call 800-441-3712.

18) The September Source resource packet has been mailed to all
Church of the Brethren congregations. This edition includes --

* a detailed brochure on the public 25th birthday celebration of On
     Earth Peace Assembly, which is scheduled for Oct. 27-31 at
     Shepherd's Spring, a Church of the Brethren outdoor ministry
     center in Sharpsburg, Md.
* a new brochure on Brethren Volunteer Service.
* a new brochure detailing the amenities of the New Windsor
     Conference Center, a General Board ministry located at the
     Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.
* a flier on two books related to children and violence, which tie
     into the children and violence statement approved earlier this
     month by Annual Conference delegates. "On Killing" is by Dave
     Grossman and "A Peaceable School" by Vicky Schreiber Dill.
     These books are available from Brethren Press.
* a flier on this year's youth ministry workshop, scheduled for
     Nov. 20 at Hagerstown (Md.) Church of the Brethren. Mark
     Yaconelli will serve as leader.
* a brochure from the General Board's Funding office on "Fourth
     Century" endowments.
* a brochure on the 24th North American Conference on Christian
     Philanthropy, scheduled for April 26-28 in Louisville, Ky.
* Association of Brethren Caregivers' 1998 Annual Report.
* "Shine," a quarterly congregational resource of "Together."

19) "Servant Leadership for Church Renewal: Shepherds by the Living
Springs" is a new book written by David Young, a Church of the
Brethren minister from Stevens, Pa., and a consultant for
congregational renewal.

In this book, Young "shows a biblical style of servant leadership
and how it can be applied in concrete situations. He sees the
spiritual dimension as key to renewal in the church."

Cost is $12.99. To order from Brethren Press (#0013), write to
brethren_press_gb@brethren.org or call 800 441-3712.

20) "A Child's Glimpse of Cuba," a resource for teachers of
elementary school children, is Friendship Press' first book on the
World Wide Web. This resource is one of several pieces in
Friendship Press' 1999-2000 ecumenical mission study of Cuba.

This resource from the National Council of Churches publishing
house can be downloaded for free or printed as a church resource.
It includes detailed plans for leaders along with resource pages
that include art, map activities, stories, and music. The study
aims to help children understand what life is like for Christians
in Cuba.

Go to http://www.ncccusa.org and follow the link to Friendship
Press or to "On-Line Book." Other pieces of the series, including
a video and adult study book, are available by calling 800
889-5733.

21) The centennial story of the Ephrata (Pa.) Church of the
Brethren, "Keeping the Embers Aglow," is now in print. Copies can
be ordered from the church for $15. Call 717 733-1229.

22)"Churches ad hoc: a devine comedy" is an amusing-looking book by
photographer Herman Krieger. Is it a book of photography? Art?
Puns? Of comic, and at times, tragic religious architecture?
According to the release the answer to all of these questions is
"yes." The New York Times calls the book one in which "Christians
see devotion, atheists see satire, and photographers see artistry."

Soft cover is $14.95. Contact PhotoZone Press at fotozone@efn.org
or at 541 485-2053.

23) "Back to School: Helping Young Children Cope" is a workshop
scheduled for Aug. 14 in Littleton, Colo., in response to this
year's deadly shooting at Columbine High School.

This workshop is for parents, teachers, child care providers, and
"all people concerned about young children and their emotional
well-being as they return to school."

Sponsored by the General Board's Disaster Child Care; Prince of
Peace Church of the Brethren, Littleton; and The Conflict Center of
Denver, this session will use two focus groups  to "learn about the
normal stresses experienced by children, practice appropriate
responses to children feeling stress, learn ways to create
supportive environments for young children, and learn techniques
for anger management and conflict management at home and at
school."

Leadership will include Judy Gump, a Prince of Peace member and
volunteer trainer for Disaster Child Care.

"We've been thinking ever since the shooting how to best address
these issues," said Sarah Leatherman Young, Prince of Peace pastor.
"We thought this might be helpful as people prepare to head back to
school.

Cost is free, including child care, in part from a $1,600 grant
that has been allocated from the General Board's Emergency Disaster
Fund. The grant will assist with various leadership fees, travel
expenses, facilities and equipment rental, publicity, training
materials, refreshments, and child care. 

This workshop will be held at the Littleton Public Schools
Administration Building. Contact Prince of Peace Church at
popcob@juno.com or at 303 797-1536.

24) "Leadership in an Urban Setting" and "Honoring Culture in
Christian Congregations" are the titles of two new education
seminars by the Alban Institute that address multicultural and
urban issues. The urban seminar will be held Sept. 28-30 in Newark,
N.J.; the multicultural seminar Oct. 6-8 in Chicago.

For more information, write registrar@alban.org or call 800
486-1318 ext. 230.

25) Janet West Schrock has been called as church and community
relations director for Heifer Project International. HPI, a
nonprofit development organization that works worldwide to
alleviate hunger and poverty through the gift of livestock and
training in its care, was founded by Schrock's father, Dan West.
West envisioned the organization while serving as a Church of the
Brethren relief worker during the Spanish Civil War.

Previously Schrock had served as director of special projects for
the National Council of Churches Ecumenical Program for Urban
Service/Americorps in New York City. Prior to that she served as
director of Brethren Volunteer Service. Her background also
includes 28 years in the field of education, including service as
a classroom teacher, special needs teacher, and administrator in
the United States and abroad.

"I am so pleased to become a part of this organization that was
founded by my father over 50 years ago," said Schrock. "I firmly
believe, as he did, that peace will come and hunger will go when
we, as people of faith, live as one global family." 

HPI currently supports over 300 projects in 40 countries, including
the United States

26) Brethren/Mennonite Council for Lesbian and Gay Concerns is
seeking an executive director. Applications are due immediately.
Start date is Oct. 1. Contact Anne Breckbill at
abreckbill@chrysaliswomen.org or at 651 290-9879.

Newsline is produced by Nevin Dulabaum, manager of the Church of
the Brethren General Board's News Services. To receive Newsline by
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