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

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      October 29, 1999
Contact:  Walt Wiltschek
V:  410/871-0516   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

SPECIAL EDITION: FALL GENERAL BOARD MEETINGS
 1) The Church of the Brethren General Board tackles a variety of
issues at its October meetings in Elgin, Ill., set amidst an
atmosphere of storytelling, worship, and even rejoicing.
     a) Reports on various ministries and initiatives bring a
litany of good news and optimism.
     b) A Saturday evening celebration highlights ministry in
various areas of the church.
     c) The General Board passes a resolution on women in ministry.
     d) A discussion on the role and work of the Washington Office
brings memories and affirmation.
     e) The Board votes to establish an Emerging Mission Fund.
     f) A new committee will look at the issue of recognition for
Brethren in India.
     g) A committee receives the task of drafting a General Board
vision statement.
     h) Other items from the meetings, including budget, issues
related to "fraternal visitors" at Annual Conference, and Pillars
of Peace.
 
 2) Brethren bits: Other timely notes from around the denomination.

     a) The deadline for Annual Conference logo submissions is
coming quickly.
     b) On Earth Peace Assembly begins its 25th anniversary
celebration.
     c) Brethren Volunteer Service welcomes orientation unit 236.

 1) The Church of the Brethren General Board came together for its
fall meetings Oct. 15-19 with leaders proclaiming a "new day" for
the group and the denomination it serves. That spirit showed itself
throughout the proceedings, as an atmosphere of optimism,
excitement and joyful celebration surrounded the business sessions
and other events.
  Again using the "Worshipful Work" model for conducting business,
the Board employed hymns, stories, prayers, and other sharing to
surround the tasks at hand. A vibrant worship center designed by
General Board staff members Howard Royer, Beth Sollenberger Morphew
and others provided a centerpiece for the theme, "The Gifts of God
for the People of God."
  Following are some of the highlights of the meetings:

  a) Seldom does a series of reports and updates generate much
enthusiasm, but it happened at the General Board table in Elgin.
  One by one, a stream of speakers shared good news and optimism
from their respective ministries.
  Executive Director Judy Mills Reimer uplifted the need for the
Board and its staff to be engaged in storytelling, "keeping images
of God's ministry before us." Through stories, she said, the
passion and excitement of ministry comes alive, and sharing them
helps to reveal God to us.
  As part of this goal, she shared that each leadership team area
of the General Board staff would be conducting "benchmark retreats"
to set measureable objectives for the next three years, to be
reported in March 2000. She concluded her opening remarks by
proclaiming several times, "Our future is bright."
  A special citation went to Nevin Dulabaum, who resigned from the
General Board in August after nearly five years of service as
manager of news services to take a position with Brethren Benefit
Trust. The commendation particularly praised his effort in bringing
the church into the electronic age with the creation of the
www.brethren.org web site and other initiatives.
  Merv Keeney, director of Global Missions Partnerships, reported
progress on a possible partnership in ministry in Tijuana, Mexico.
Keeney also shared about the denomination's energetic mission in
the Dominican Republic, saying "the church has become engaged in
this mission like none in recent history." He said the mission
brought particular excitement at a Mission Roundtable meeting in
New Windsor in August.
  The New Church Development Advisory Committee brought a sense of
great potential and energy in a different mission field, saying the
church's No. 1 priority needs to be in major metropolitan areas,
where Brethren often aren't found. The committee will meet again
Feb. 1-2.
  A follow-up report on the recent redesign of the General Board
brought generally high ratings from those who responded, although
only about a quarter of survey forms were returned.
  David Radcliff, director of Brethren Witness, said that a new
series of resources coming from the office will help congregations
put the Children and Violence resolution passed by the 1999 Annual
Conference into action in local settings. Another resource,
designed to celebrate the new millenium, is also coming in the form
of "J2K: New Hope, New Day." It emphasizes regular reading of
Scripture, has a "House of Refuge" effort to raise funds for new
church development, and has other ideas for congregations. Radcliff
said the package should be headed to congregations in November.
  Perhaps the greatest excitement of all came via the Brethren
Service Center report brought by Reimer and Emergency Response
Service Ministries manager Stan Noffsinger, who also is
coordinating the work of the center.
  Noffsinger called the center's ministries "a story worth telling"
and highlighted efforts to promote the center and to work
ecumenically in disaster relief and elsewhere. With the General
Board's assertion in August that the Brethren Service Center would
remain a key part of its future, Noffsinger said he wants it to be
a "mission point" for the church, a place known for service and
continuing the work of Jesus.

  b) Celebration took center stage at a Saturday evening banquet,
as dinner just set the table for a time of singing and
storytelling. Warren and Theresa Eshbach of Thomasville, Pa., led
an upbeat hymn sing surrounding eight tales of real ministry
happening in the church.
  General Board member Christy Waltersdorff shared about a
denominational junior high workcamp in Lake Geneva, Wisc., this
past summer where youth worked among the physically and mentally
disabled. Fourteen-year-old workcamp participant Parker Swanson of
Elgin, Ill., said the experience helped him decide to take a
membership class at his church.
  Sue Grubb told of a Brethren Volunteer Service orientation trip
to a homeless shelter in Baltimore. Congregational Life Team member
Duane Grady brought stories of congregational renewal in Indiana.
  Other stories touched on a Spanish-language service at the
Harrisburg (Pa.) First church and a consultation on Cross-Cultural
Ministries, the Family Farm Drought Response organized by Emergency
Response Service Ministries in cooperation with numerous other
ecumenical agencies, mission in the Dominican Republic through a
10-year-old's eyes, Rachel Gross' work with the Death Row Support
Project, and an emerging peace process in Sudan. 
  Howard Royer, General Board staff for interpretation, concluded
the litany of ministry with a story of his own, saying, "You're not
a wave, you're part of an ocean. ... We're part of something so
much bigger than us or any congregation."

  c) One major business item had the Board wrestling with the best
way to put forth an emphasis on women in ministry, wanting to call
attention to the issue and seeking to open more doors to women
ministers in the Church of the Brethren.
  After much discussion, the Board settled on bringing a resolution
developed by Allen Hansell, General Board Director of Ministry, and
passed it unanimously.
  The resolution uplifts a 1958 Annual Conference decision to grant
women "full and unrestricted rights in the ministry" and other
polity papers, including the 1999 Ministerial Leadership paper. It
points out the disparity between men and women in ministry in the
denomination, with women making up only 13 percent of those serving
as pastors and many more being trained than being placed.
  It presents four points calling for equal treatment of men and
women in ministry and requests a study guide from the Office of
Ministry to look at "biblical, historical, and contemporary"
materials that bear on the issue.
  The full text of the resolution will be available on the Church
of the Brethren web site, at www.brethren.org, under Ministry.

  d) Another General Board discussion looked at the role and work
of the Church of the Brethren Washington Office, which lost its
full-time coordinator and other staff in the redesign process.
  Presented with the feeling that it is unsatisfactory to continue
to operate the Washington Office with only a volunteer working 15
hours a week, plus a Brethren Volunteer Service volunteer, the
General Board was asked to reflect on what the Washington Office
has meant to the Church of the Brethren over the years.
  Several board members spoke about their remembrances of the
leadership of the Washington Office during the wars in Korea and
Viet Nam. Some said the Washington Office had been influential in
their own faith formation.
  After the discussion, the board approved a motion saying that it
"strongly affirms" the presence of the Washington Office, and
asking the staff to proceed with ideas for future staffing and
funding and bring a report to the March meeting.

  e) Acting on a proposal by Merv Keeney, director of Global
Mission Partnerships, the Board voted to establish an Emerging
Mission Fund.
  Money raised for this fund would be used to plant new churches
both in the United States and internationally, with the intention
of helping new missions to become established during their first 10
years of existence. It will help to facilitate the work of the
Mission and Ministries Planning Council, created during the
redesign to facilitate new mission ideas and efforts.
  This new General Board fund grew out of recommendations affirmed
by the Board in 1996 and 1997 and discussions with the ad hoc
Brethren World Mission group, which had asked for more balance
between humanitarian mission efforts and evangelistic outreach. 

  f) Keeney also brought an update on reconciliation efforts
between the Church of North India and the "separated Brethren"
there.
  He and Shantilal Bhagat, staff consultant for Global Mission
Partnerships, provided background on the situation, including an
August visit to India that sought, unsuccessfully, to bring the two
parties together for joint meetings and conversation. 
  Both groups are rooted in Church of the Brethren mission that
began in India in 1895. After a 1970 decision to unite with other
mission churches to form the Church of North India, a segment of
the Brethren broke away from CNI again in1978 and has existed
separately ever since, resulting in ongoing tensions and
litigation.
  Several Indian Brethren from Chicago-area churches also shared
from their perspective.
  After the report and some discussion, the Board approved a
proposal to appoint a committee that would "continue the
conversation about recognition" with the Brethren in India, visit
churches there, and look at reporting back to the Board with a
"possible proposal for recognition of the Indian church" at the
2001 Annual Conference.

  g) The Board looked at its own work as it took up consideration
of a General Board vision statement, a piece that hasn't existed
previously. Executive Director Judy Mills Reimer said it should be
a "shared statement of ... what the General Board is about."
  Board members pondered a collection of phrases gathered by the
Executive Committee and assembled by General Board Leadership Team
members, naming the images those phrases brought to mind and images
of the church that weren't represented in the phrases.
  After discussion, the Board decided to appoint a committee of
five people, representing both Board members and staff, to prepare
a vision statement through discernment. The committee will report
back at the March 2000 meeting.

  h) Other items from the October meeting:
      *Communications consultant Patti Crane led a morning workshop
on "The Role and Responsibility of Effective Board Members,"
helping the Board to think about its vision.
      *The Board appointed a committee to name ways that the Global
Mission Partnerships office can work with Annual Conference
officers to provide enhanced hospitality and visibility for
"fraternal visitors" to Conference. The committee will consist of
Don Booz, Ruth Clark, Merle Crouse, Jill Best, General Board staff
Merv Keeney, and Annual Conference moderator Emily Mumma, and will
report back to the General Board meeting in March.
      *The Ecumenical Decade to Overcome Violence, developed by the
World Council of Churches Central Committee for the period of
2001-2010, was uplifted with urgings that Church of the Brethren
members and congregations respond with their own thoughts, ideas,
and resources.
      *General Board staff members David Radcliff and Howard Royer
presented a National Council of Churches document called "Pillars
of Peace for the 21st Century," which calls for full U.S.
participation in the United Nations and other peacemaking steps.
The Board voted to affirm the piece.
      *About two dozen Brethren are expected to participate in the
NCC's 50th anniversary celebration in Cleveland, Ohio, in November.
Six of them are attending as official delegates.
      *Amid reports of increased giving to the denomination and
projections of another year finishing in the black, the Board
approved its 2000 budget.
      *Subcommittees met to examine issues in faith formation,
leadership, outreach, and stewardship.

  2) Brethren bits: Some other timely notes from around the
denomination.
     a) Church of the Brethren artists are reminded to submit their
logo for the 2000 Annual Conference in Kansas City, based on the
theme "Love as I Have Loved You." (from John 15:12). Entries should
be sent to the Annual Conference office by Nov. 5. Call the
Conference office at 1-800-323-8039 if you have questions.
     b) On Earth Peace Assembly is celebrating its 25th anniversary
with an array of festivities this weekend at Shepherd's Spring
Outdoor Ministries Center in Sharpsburg, Md. A full report on the
event will be included in the Nov. 5 Newsline.
     c) Brethren Volunteer Service unit 236 began its three-week
orientation at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., on
Oct. 24. Nearly 20 volunteers are participating.

Newsline is produced by Walt Wiltschek, interim Newsline editor for
the Church of the Brethren General Board's News Services, on the
first, third and fifth Friday of each month. Newsline stories may
be reprinted provided that Newsline is cited as the source and the
publication date is included. Fletcher Farrar contributed to this
report.

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