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

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      May 19, 2000
Contact:  Walt Wiltschek
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

"Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul." Prov.
16:24a

NEWS
 1) The peace process moves forward in southern Sudan.
 2) The denomination loses 1.2 percent of its membership in 1999.
 3) Brethren Benefit Trust's board covers a variety of business
items.
 4) A committee continues conversations toward a ministry
partnership in Tijuana.
 5) Two Brethren are among a group arrested on Vieques.
 6) The Missouri and Arkansas District focuses on evangelism in a
spring celebration.
 7) Brethren bits: Meat canning, survey, Dominican Republic,
college news, and more.

COMING EVENTS
 8) This year's Ministers' Association meeting will look at
"Interactive Preaching."
 9) Sherman Hicks is announced as keynote speaker for an Area 1
conference.

RESOURCES
10) The Association of Brethren Caregivers provides two new
listservs.
11) An upcoming PBS presentation features the plight of refugees.

FEATURES
12) Mid-Atlantic District seeks to lift up deacon ministry.
13) Small Oregon-Washington District sends a big group to Nigeria.

****************************************************************

 1) The momentum behind the southern Sudanese grass-roots peace
process continues to quietly, but firmly, progress, according to a
report from Africa. Another dramatic breakthrough was achieved May
9-15 in a small village called Liliir, in the Bor area of Upper
Nile, at the East Bank Nilotic People-to-People Peace and
Reconciliation Conference.

Under the auspices of the New Sudan Council of Churches, more than
250 traditional and civil leaders representing members of the
Anyuak, Dinka, Jie, Kachipo, Murle, and Nuer ethnic groups from the
region came together along with other observers. They sought to
address the deep division and conflict that has arisen between
them, especially as a result of the country's civil war that has
gone on for 17 years. Mark Sloan, working with the New Sudan
Council of Churches on behalf of the General Board, was among those
attending.

The Liliir assembly was inspired by the success of the earlier West
Bank Conference between the Dinkas and Nuer (in Wunlit in March
1999) and numerous mini "people-to-people" agreements since then.
The Wunlit achievement was unanimously endorsed by the delegates,
church leaders, and other observers present, and that peace has
held.

This month's Upper Nile conference was both complex and
challenging, given the many ethnic groups that make up the region.
While traditional hostilities have prevailed for generations among
some groups, they have been aggravated by the warring parties in
recent years.

The conference functioned as a forum for people to face each other,
discuss their differences and agree to reconcile and make peace.
Helped by the high attendance, the outcome at Liliir was
successful, and practical agreements over issues such as access to
animal grazing areas and water points and the return of abducted
children and women were sealed. Participants also agreed on an
amnesty for all prior offenses against people and their property.
The conference concluded with the making of a public covenant
between the ethnic groups, when 129 representatives signed a
comprehensive document pledging peace and reconciliation.

One note of regret expressed by the conference was that the wishes
of the Gawaar-Nuer tribe to participate in the reconciliation
process was denied by an Upper Nile faction. The delegates
requested that these, and other groups who did not have opportunity
to participate in the conference, be given a chance to meet and
reconcile as soon as possible.

 2) The Church of the Brethren lost more than 1.2 percent of its
membership in 1999, according to statistics to be printed in the
2000 Yearbook from Brethren Press.

Membership in the US and Puerto Rico at the end of 1999 was
138,304, a drop of 1,707 from the previous year. That follows a net
loss of 1,389 members (about 1 percent) the year before.

It marks the largest decrease, in both number and percentage, since
1994, when membership showed a net loss of 2,431. Membership has
decreased at least slightly each year, however, down about 8,400
(5.7 percent) since 1993. Numbers are approximate, and based on
information provided by churches that return annual statistical
reports.

Numbers of the Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (the Church of the
Brethren in Nigeria), meanwhile, now stand nearly equal to those of
its US sister denomination. Estimates put EYN membership at 130,000
to 140,000. The Church of the Brethren also has approximately 600
international members in the Dominican Republic.

 3) The Brethren Benefit Trust board addressed issues from
insurance to charitable gifts at its recent meetings in Elgin, Ill.
Business items included:
 *Shifting all employees, programs, and assets currently under BBT
to BBT Inc. or the Brethren Foundation Inc. to provide legal
protection. BBT will continue to report activities of its
incorporated entities to Annual Conference.
 *An update on group life insurance, with exploration of a new
carrier due to an impending large rate increase from Aetna US
Healthcare.
 *Approval of a policy stating that those Brethren Pension Plan
members who retire before age 59 1/2 and choose to annuitize the
employer portion of their account while withdrawing the employee
portion, and subsequently paying the income tax due on that
account, will have a six-month waiting period before they are
eligible to resume contributing into a new Pension Plan account.
 *Giving updates on FlexCare participation (781 people as of May
1), Clergy Consultation Service, charitable gift annuity
registration (which the Brethren Foundation can now receive in 31
states), the Church Workers Assistance Plan, and three-year
priorities, and hearing other reports.
 *Approval of a change that allows charitable gift funds under
$50,000 to accumulate investment earnings, and approval of a new
minimum investment of $10,000 (up from $2,000).
 *Approval of allowing up to 100 percent of the taxable portion of
a minister's long-term disability income to be eligible for a
housing allowance exclusion, beginning in 2000.
 *Nominating candidates for three BBT Board of Trustees positions
up for election this year, one to be elected by Annual Conference
and two by BBT Pension Plan members (one of those to represent
churches and districts and one to represent retirement home
communities).

 4) The committee developing a working agreement between the Church
of the Brethren General Board and the Companeros en Ministerio
program concerning mission in Tijuana, Mexico, and cross-cultural
ministries met May 8-9 in Elgin, Ill.

Companeros reported that it is no longer working with Professor
Fernando Martinez nor Shalom Ministries, which for several years
had been a central focus of Companeros' work in Tijuana, due to a
difference of mission philosophy. It continues to work in the
Tijuana community, however, and many new ministry areas in
partnership with the community have emerged.

The committee discussed issues of organizational connection,
program oversight, and funding; efforts toward drafting this
working agreement continue. The General Board approved exploring
collaborative work with Companeros at its June 1999 meeting.

 5) At least two Church of the Brethren members were among 56
protesters arrested on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, this
past week as they sought to re-enter a US Navy bombing range. US
law enforcement officials earlier this month had removed 15 camps
of protesters who were seeking to stop bombing tests and training
maneuvers there.

Cliff Kindy and Ambrosia Brown, both of the Manchester Church of
the Brethren, North Manchester, Ind., were among four Christian
Peacemaker Teams activists who were arrested after crawling under
a fence at the Navy range last Saturday. 

The Navy had resumed bombing practice shortly after May 4, when it
removed the nonviolent encampments of protesters who had stopped
tests for about a year. Christian Peacemaker Teams members, other
US Brethren, and individuals from the Church of the Brethren
congregations in Puerto Rico have been participating in the
protests, both on Vieques and elsewhere.

Religion News Service has reported that church leaders in Puerto
Rico have vowed to continue fighting for the US military's
withdrawal from Vieques, and a protest has been scheduled in the
Puerto Rican capital of San Juan for May 28.

"The people of Puerto Rico will continue to go to Vieques," said
Wilfredo Velez, a Disciples of Christ pastor, "and the US
government will have to arrest more of us, many more of us, until
it learns it has to let Vieques live in peace."

 6) Springtime meant celebration in the denomination's Missouri and
Arkansas District, when Brethren from Kansas City to the Ozarks
held a "Spring District Rally" focusing on small churches and
evangelism April 28-May 3.

The event wound its way from the New Beginnings congregation in
Warrensburg, Mo., to Cabool and Deepwater and on to Olathe, Kan.
The District Commission on Witness, led by Lorene Moore, organized
the tour with the assistance of Area 4 (Plains) Congregational Life
Team Coordinator David Smalley. Keynote leadership came from Jim
Kinsey, General Board Congregational Life Consultant. 

The celebration featured several facets: The rally in Warrensburg
focused on recapturing the dream of being Christ's risen body,
making disciples, and being the light to the world as a "living
billboard"; district pastors worked on the "Twelve Characteristics
of a Small Membership Church"; and the regional groupings in
Cabool, Deepwater, and Olathe focused on scriptures central to a
soon-to-be-released kit from New Life Ministries on small church
evangelism.
 

 7) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *Much was "at steak" as volunteers from the Southern Pennsylvania
and Mid-Atlantic districts came together for their annual meat
canning project at the end of April in Ephrata, Pa. 
The plentiful volunteers packed more than 21,600 cans of beef:
one-fourth of that will stay at Christian Aid Ministries, where the
canning took place; one-fourth will go to each of the participating
districts to distribute to local needs; and one-fourth will go to
a project to be decided. Donations allowed for the purchase of
nearly 40,500 pounds of beef at a cost of $44,000. The districts
are also doing a chicken canning project in August this year.

 *Brethren Press is exploring new product lines to support the
ministries of the Church of the Brethren. If you would like to
participate in the first survey, please e-mail
brethrenpress_gb@brethren.org, and the survey will be sent to you.
You may also fax your request to 800 667-8188.

 *The Rev. John L. McCullough, who has been serving as associate
general secretary of the United Methodist Church General Board of
Global Ministries, will serve the National Council of Churches
beginning June 1 as Interim Director for Church World Service and
Witness.

 *Northern Indiana District is planning to bury a time capsule at
its district conference this fall, with each of the district's 49
congregations asked to contribute an item that speaks to the future
of the Church of the Brethren. The capsule is scheduled to be
opened in 2030.

 *A commissioning service for Earl and Barbara Eby, heading for a
three-year assignment as "house parents" of the new Brethren
Mission House in Azua, Dominican Republic, will be held this Sunday
at the Upton (Pa.) Church of the Brethren. A teacher
trainer/coordinator for the house is also being sought; the
candidate would apply through Brethren Volunteer Service for a
two-year term, training volunteers in teaching English as a Second
Language and doing other work with teachers there. Contact BVS at
800 323-8039 for more details.

 *Two young adults from the Dominican Republic who were expected to
attend the denomination's Young Adult Conference over Memorial Day
weekend were denied visas by the US government and will be unable
to come.

 *Marjorie Dilling, a member of the Northview Church of the
Brethren, Indianapolis, was installed as state president of Church
Women United at the close of the organization’s state assembly May
12. Her pastor, Beverly Weaver, participated in the installation
service.

 *About 750,000 people participated in the "Million Mom March" in
Washington, D.C., on Mother's Day according to news reports. The
event was organized to call for stricter gun control laws, an issue
which the Church of the Brethren Washington Office has been
actively addressing. Several Brethren from the area participated in
the march, and some came from as far away as Michigan. The rally
opened with an interfaith prayer service, during which
marchers linked hands to sing "He's Got the Whole World In His
Hands." Smaller regional versions of the rally were also held. 

 *Bridgewater (Va.) College junior David Young, a member of the
Church of the Brethren Interdistrict Youth Cabinet, was recently
re-elected president of the Bridgewater student body for the
2000-01 academic year. Young is from Dunmore, W.Va.

 *Andrew Young, human rights activist, politician, and ambassador,
will deliver the commencement address at Manchester College (North
Manchester, Ind.) on Sunday, a day after he speaks at Camp
Alexander Mack's 75th anniversary celebration.

 *Correction: Due to incorrect information supplied to Newsline,
the wrong phone number was given for Bruce Rosenberger in the May
5 edition. It should be 937 547-0384.

 8) Preachers are urged to stay an extra day in Kansas City, Mo.,
after Annual Conference for the Church of the Brethren Ministers'
Association meeting - a change from previous year’s pre-Conference
format. 

This year's meeting will help pastors to develop sermons that
communicate with the web-savvy generation many churches are
struggling to reach. Thomas Troeger, professor of
preaching at Iliff School of Theology (and preaching at an Annual
Conference worship service) will lead the workshop.

Details are available in the Annual Conference packet, on the
"Interactive Preaching" registration sheet, or by e-mailing Frances
Townsend at ftownsnd@rconnect.com. Sessions will be held Wednesday
afternoon and evening and Thursday morning, July 19-20. Annual
Conference runs July 15-19 this year.  

 9) The Rev. Dr. Sherman Hicks, senior pastor at First Trinity
Lutheran Church in Washington, D.C., will be the keynote speaker
for the Area 1 (Northeast) Urban Celebration and Conference.

The event, being sponsored by the Area 1 Congregational Life Team,
will be held from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Aug. 26 at the Harrisburg
(Pa.) First Church of the Brethren. It is designed to lift up
pastors and members of urban and ethnic congregations and is open
to anyone interested.

Hicks has served urban congregations in East Orange, N.J., and
Buffalo, N.Y., and served as bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago
Synod with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. He will give
a main address and participate in one of three scheduled afternoon
insight sessions. Topics of those sessions will be: "Calling and
Developing Leaders in the Church"; "What Can I Do? Identify My
Gifts and Passion for Ministry"; and "Catch the Wave, Discovering
Needs in the Community and Meeting Them."

For more information on the event, call Stan Dueck at 717 335-3226
or e-mail to sdueck_gb@brethren.org.

 10) The Association of Brethren Caregivers this week launched two
new listservs to facilitate communication, one for deacons and
another for administrators of Church of the Brethren retirement
facilities.

The deacon listserv aims to enable participants an opportunity to
learn from one another and will work much like existing listservs
of the Church of the Brethren, such as COB-L and the Youth and
Young Adult Listserv. To be a part of the service, deacons must
have the ability to send and receive electronic mail.

"Deacons and others interested in deacon ministry are always
looking for ways to learn about new ideas and services that other
congregations are instituting," said Robert Blake, staff
representative for the Denominational Deacon Ministry. "Now,
through this electronic service, deacons can go one step further by
sharing program ideas, asking questions from those who subscribe to
the service, and discussing issues associated with deacon
ministry."

To subscribe to the ABC Deacon Listserv, send an e-mail message to
deacons@listserv.emountain.net. In the body of the message type,
SET DEACONS SUBSCRIBE. After sending this message, participants
will be required to respond to a confirmation e-mail they will
receive. For more information about how to join the ABC Deacon
Listserv, contact ABC at 800 323-8039.

The new ABC Homes Listserv, meanwhile, will provide a method for
senior management of Brethren-affiliated homes to connect with one
another, share ideas, ask questions, and discuss common concerns.
Given the nature of the type of discussion, the listserv is closed
to the public. 

Roger Golden, coordinator of shared services for the Association of
Brethren Caregivers, said the listserv will primarily be used by
administrators of facilities that are partners in the Fellowship of
Brethren Homes' Shared Service Program, but organizations that are
not partners can subscribe. For more information, send an e-mail to
rgolden_abc@brethren.org or call 800 323-8039. Golden will manage
the use of this new service for the Brethren homes.

 11) Staff of the Church of the Brethren Emergency Response/Service
Ministries Refugee Program are recommending an upcoming public
television film called "Well-Founded Fear," by Shari Robertson and
Michael Camerini. National broadcast is scheduled for June 5 at 9
p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

The documentary explores the daily triumph and tragedy of the
United States Immigration and Naturalization Service's asylum
offices. Robertson and Camerini document the confidential
interviews of those individuals seeking asylum in an attempt to
understand the process, where asylum-seekers must establish a
well-founded fear of persecution upon being returned to their
homeland, and INS officials must determine the claim's validity.

Stan Noffsinger, director of the Brethren Service Center and ER/SM,
called the documentary a "most insightful and dramatic portrayal of
all issues surrounding immigration." 

More information is available at www.pbs.org/pov/WELLFOUNDEDFEAR.
Church of the Brethren congregations can also help by sponsoring 
a family granted refugee status: Contact Sarah Krause, sponsorship
developer of the ER/SM Refugee Program, at the Brethren Service
Center in New Windsor, Md., at 800 451-4407, ext. 8.

Another PBS offering that may be of interest to Brethren is
"Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace," scheduled for 9:30 p.m. Eastern time
on June 14. The film is a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who
aided Jews and others in Nazi Germany.

 12) Deacons help to take care of the needs of people in their
congregations, but who takes care of the caretakers? A special
event in the Mid-Atlantic District this month is seeking to be
certain the needs of deacons are met, too.

"That ministry is such a blessing in so many congregations," said
Laurene Holsinger, chair of the District Nurture Commission. "It
needs to be honored."

Holsinger said the commission received an overwhelming response to
the introduction of a new deacon handbook by the Association of
Brethren Caregivers last year, and a series of workshops sponsored
by ABC also proved to be a hit. Holsinger said that people enjoyed
the workshops so much that they didn't want to go home.

"We wanted to continue that connection for deacons in different
churches, make them feel valued, and let them know that we knew
they existed," she said.

To do that, the commission put together a series of three
Celebration of Deacon Ministry events, held in three regions of the
district. One has already been held at Manassas, Va., with others
coming up in Ridgely and Frederick, Md. Fred Swartz, pastor of the
Manassas congregation, is providing leadership at all three sites.
The three-hour events include singing, sharing of stories and
experiences, worship, presentations from the deacon handbook, and,
of course, refreshments. Wide participation from the district's 64
churches is expected.

"We're indicating in our minutes that this is something we'd like
to see happen yearly," Holsinger said. "We're just hoping we can
build on what's already happened."

 13) The Oregon and Washington District is proving to be small but
mighty, sending 14 people to a summer workcamp in Nigeria despite
having only 16 congregations in the district.

Working through the Global Mission Partnerships office, the
district’s volunteers will help with building projects at
Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria headquarters in Kwarhi (near Mubi).
The group leaves Seattle on June 11 and returns on July 2, putting
them in Nigeria during the rainy season.

Several members of the group are making return trips to Nigeria.
Carol Mason Page, co-founder of the Mason Technical School in
Garkida along with her late husband, Ralph, is making the trip,
accompanied by her family. And Carol Bowman, a General Board
Congregational Life Team staffperson in Wenatchee, Wash., is also
returning with her daughter, Miriam, after growing up in Nigeria
and then teaching there in the '70s.

Other participants are: Jim and Goldie Barnes, Jerry Bowers, and
John Braun from the Seattle Olympic View church; Bill Kaysen from
Wenatchee (Wash.) Brethren Baptist Church United; and Joe Beck and
Hal Leiper from Centrailia, Wash. Braun is serving as
administrative director for the camp.

It's one of several new initiatives in the district, which is also
sending a group of youth to work in Tijuana, Mexico, this summer
and has begun an "Answer the Call" endowment fund campaign.

 

Newsline is produced by Walt Wiltschek, manager of news services
for the Church of the Brethren General Board, 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. Religion News Service contributed to this report.

To receive Newsline by e-mail or fax, call 1-800-323-8039, ext.
263, or write CoBNews@AOL.Com. Newsline is available at
www.brethren.org and is archived with an index at
http://www.wfn.org.