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

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      June 2, 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) Camp Mack celebrates its first 75 years.
 2) The national Young Adult Conference addresses "Common Ground."
 3) Walden/BBT Social Index Funds are now available for a minimum
investment of $2,500.
 4) SERRV International reports strong sales in 1999.
 5) Fifteen students take part in Bethany Theological Seminary's
95th commencement.
 6) Church of the Brethren summer workcamps kick off another season
of service.
 7) An Emergency Disaster Fund grant will aid US storm cleanup.
 8) Brethren bits: Day of prayer, Disaster Child Care, conflict
resolution, and more.

PERSONNEL
 9) Jonathan A. Shively will be the new coordinator of the Brethren
Academy.

COMING EVENTS
10) Outdoor Ministries Association will hold its national
conference in November.
11) ABC and Bethany will co-sponsor an intensive course on
"Biomedical Ethics."
12) Brethren can join a delegation to Nicaragua Oct. 17-30.
13) The Fellowship of Brethren Homes will hold a Forum later this
month.

RESOURCES
14) The June "Source" packet brings a variety of materials.
15) The Brethren Witness office launches the "If a Tree Falls..."
campaign.

FEATURES
16) A new church start in Maryland plans big ways to reach out.

*****************************************************************
 
 1) Among the wood rafters and stone walls of venerable Miller
Auditorium, hundreds of Brethren and others gathered May 20 for a
celebration of Camp Alexander Mack's first 75 years. The camp,
located in Milford, Ind., is one of the largest outdoor ministry
facilities in the denomination.

Two special features highlighted the event: a keynote address from
former United Nations ambassador, US congressman, and Atlanta mayor
Andrew Young, who spent a week at Camp Mack as a young adult; and
the unveiling of a new Brethren history mural by artist Margie
Petry.

The afternoon began with a hymn sing and reflections on the camp's
history, including a recognition of all former camp directors and
present director Becky Ball-Miller, then moved into Young's
address. Young gave a personal history of his journey to the
present, including that formative week at Camp Mack while
volunteering for a nationwide youth program.

"I don't think I can say thank you enough for how much my life was
influenced and shaped by that one week here," Young said.
"Something happened that moved me in the right direction. ... That
week, while I did not know it at the time, helped to shape my
ministry."

Young said it particularly influenced his perspectives on
nonviolence, and he later worked with Martin Luther King Jr. en
route to his storied political career. Young urged the camp to
continue offering such life-changing experiences.

Petry then presided over the unveiling of the mural, which attempts
to capture the past 50 years of Brethren history as it joins a
series of murals, dedicated in 1949, already displayed in the
auditorium. The mural shows more than 40 faces of people along with
logos, buildings, sketches, and other pictures. "Catching up with
50 years of church history is not an easy thing," Petry said. "I
think I got most of it on this. It's busy, but that's what we
were."

 2) "The search for common ground is not a new thing in the
church," Ben Barlow, of the Montezuma (Va.) Church of the Brethren,
said in an opening-night session of this year's Young Adult
Conference. "We all have different things we go to in order to find
our answers. ... And in a search for answers you'll find more
questions that you'll ever find answers."

Seventy young adults and leaders from around the denomination spent
Memorial Day weekend at Camp Harmony (Hooversville, Pa.) sharing
their own questions and stories as they looked at the stereotypes,
differences, and commonalities within the church and between each
other. Matt Guynn, a Bethany Theological Seminary student, provided
keynote leadership for the event with the theme "Finding Common
Ground."

Aided by a team of three Brethren "elders" present to counsel,
advise, and share their perspectives and by two Ministry of
Reconciliation facilitators, young adults worked at giving voices
to their feelings and pursuing open dialogue. Regular "weather
reports" on participants' moods helped to gauge progress, and small
groups permitted deeper exploration. 

Ten workshops were also offered along with several worship times --
one a Taize-style service coordinated by music leader Ruth Fitz.
Lighter moments included a Sunday night variety show with music,
skits, poetry, and laughter, plus "Wacky Olympics," high ropes
course options, volleyball, music, and informal conversation. The
Bittersweet Gospel Band provided an evening concert.

"We all came here seeking common ground," Guynn said at the end of
the weekend. "Yet we can be diverse among that. That excites me and
gives me hope."

 3) Church of the Brethren members and agencies wishing to invest
in domestic and international mutual funds while adhering to
Brethren values can now do so for a minimum investment of $2,500,
in both the Walden/BBT Domestic Social Index Fund and the
Walden/BBT International Social Index Fund.

The origin of the funds dates back several years, when Brethren
Benefit Trust began looking for a way to provide all Brethren the
opportunity for the kind of equity market participation that long
had been available to its pension plan and Brethren Foundation
clients. More than two years of work by BBT and Walden Asset
Management, the socially responsive investment division of United
States Trust Company of Boston, along with BISYS Fund Services of
Columbus, Ohio, resulted in the development of the funds.

The domestic fund was launched in August 1999, the international
fund in September. United States Trust Company of Boston is the
investment advisor for the funds and has designated its Walden
division to fulfill its obligations with respect to the funds. BBT
serves as a paid consultant to the funds' advisor on issues
concerning peace and justice. BISYS serves as the funds'
distributor and administrator.

Darryl Deardorff, BBT's chief financial officer, called investing
in the funds a way for Brethren to "witness their beliefs."

 4) SERRV International, which sells crafts from developing nations
to aid social and economic development, reported strong sales in
1999.

According to the full audited financial statement, SERRV
International Inc. - based at the Brethren Service Center in New
Windsor, Md. -- reported a net income of $125,221 on $4.6 million
in sales during the year. That brings SERRV's net assets in
operating to $1,407,213. The report also lists $42,000 in
contributions received.

SERRV, which separated from the Church of the Brethren General
Board effective Feb. 1, 1999, by mutual agreement, was given
$1,325,000 of net assets as well as depreciated equipment and
furnishings with an estimated value of $50,000. 

This past November SERRV also paid the first installment of a loan
made by the General Board at the time of transfer. This leaves an
outstanding debt amount of $433,333 to be paid in two installments
ending in November 2001.

 5) On May 9 Bethany Theological Seminary celebrated its 95th
commencement with a ceremony for conferring degrees and a public
worship celebration.

Bethany alumni spoke at both ceremonies: Kenneth B. Smith of
Chicago, senior fellow of the Chicago Community Trust and former
president of Chicago Theological Seminary, was the speaker at the
conferring of degrees ceremony. Dr. Smith received his Bachelor of
Divinity degree from Bethany in 1960. Judy Mills Reimer, executive
director of the Church of the Brethren General Board, brought the
address at the afternoon worship service. She received her Master
of Divinity degree from Bethany in 1994. 

This year, nine students received Master of Divinity degrees, four
received Master of Arts in Theology degrees, and two received
Certificates in Theological Studies.

Receiving M.Div. degrees (home church in parentheses) were:
Elizabeth Lynn Bidgood Enders (Green Tree Church of the Brethren,
Oaks, Pa.); Gregory S. Bidgood Enders (Lancaster, Pa., Church of
the Brethren); Karen Ann Chestnut Cox (Charlottesville, Va., Church
of the Brethren); Brent K. Driver (Trinity Church of the Brethren,
Sidney, Ohio); Janice Miller Fairchild (Lincolnshire Church of the
Brethren, Fort Wayne, Ind.); Ken Miller-Reiman, Huntington, Ind.,
Church of the Brethren; J. Michael Schaadt-Patterson
(Whitestone-Ellisforde Church of the Brethren, Tonasket, Wash.); E.
Patrick Starkey (Summerdean Church of the Brethren, Roanoke, Va.);
and Norman Alden Wilson (Vermilion, Ill., United Methodist Church).

Receiving M.A.Th. degrees were: John Andrew Barr (Bridgewater, Va.
Church of the Brethren); Karla B. Hignite (Arlington, Va., Church
of the Brethren); Dean J. Johnson (Manchester Church of the
Brethren, North Manchester, Ind.); Alan Brendan Tripp (Lincolnshire
Church of the Brethren, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Madison, Wis.,
Mennonite Church). Certificates in Theological Studies were awarded
to: Karin Renee Davidson (Annville, Pa., Church of the Brethren)
and Horace Derr (Indiana, Pa., Church of the Brethren).

Graduates' future endeavors include careers in pastoral ministry,
children's and youth ministry, website marketing and development,
and further graduate study.

 6) Another summer of Church of the Brethren workcamps begins today
as a young adult group heads to the Dominican Republic. It kicks
off more than two months that will see nearly 500 junior and senior
high youth, young adults, and advisors participate in 22 workcamps
in more than a dozen states, Washington, D.C., Mexico, Puerto Rico,
the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and the Virgin Islands.

"Just seeing what helping a person can do in person is really
awesome," Laura Trausch of Walbridge, Ohio, said of her past youth
workcamp experience in Virginia. "What I learned that week was if
you show the love of God through faith and actions you can really
see the difference in those people you help, and there will be a
change in you, too."

Chris Douglas, coordinator of the General Board's Youth/Young Adult
Ministry Office, which offers the workcamps, said it is the 13th
summer for this program, calling the season "an exciting time."
Brethren Volunteer Service workers Jacki Hartley and Alan Edwards
are serving as coordinators of the workcamps this year, assisted by
summer volunteers Jaime Eller and Sam Bowman.

 7) A new grant from the Emergency Disaster Fund, the 13th of this
year, will send $5,000 to a Church World Service appeal for work in
the Midwest and Plains.

Numerous communities in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Oklahoma,
and Nebraska have been affected by spring flooding and tornadoes.
The funds will be used to assist with grassroots interfaith work
and long-term recovery needs in these areas.

 8) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *Standing Committee has designated June 28 as a day for prayer and
fasting in preparation for this year's Annual Conference in Kansas
City, Mo. Others are invited to join Standing Committee as they
participate in "listening for God's yearning as we seek to carry
out God's intention for us." Suggested scriptures include Acts
14:23 and Philippians 4:4-8, 19-20.

 *The Association of Brethren Caregivers has issued a correction to
the e-mail address for subscribing to the new ABC Deacon Listserv.
An e-mail message with nothing in the body of the message or the
subject line should be sent to
deacons-subscribe-request@listserv.emountain.net. Participants will
then be required to respond to a confirmation e-mail.

 *Sixteen people were trained at a recent Disaster Child Care
training event at Bermudian Church of the Brethren (East Berlin,
Pa.). Four of those were youth aged 16-17 who will be certified on
their 18th birthday.

 *The National Council of Churches Executive Board recently
approved the separation of financial and administrative functions
of Church World Service and Witness, its humanitarian response
ministry, from the rest of the NCC, with full autonomy expected by
fall. Communication and public policy work will remain joint
functions, and CWSW reaffirmed a common accountability to the NCC
General Assembly.

 *The Brethren Housing Association, a cooperative effort of eight
Church of the Brethren congregations in Harrisburg, Pa., and the
surrounding area, has named Mennonite pastor Roger L. Steffy of
Mechanicsburg, Pa., as its new executive director. 

 *A committee has begun pulling together materials for a new
congregational peace program called "Second Mile." Five
organizations, including the Church of the Brethren (via On Earth
Peace Assembly), are involved in the effort. It is expected to be
completed by summer 2002.

 *The Summerdean Church of the Brethren, Roanoke, Va., is offering
a workshop called "Hospitality and the Vital Church," co-sponsored
by New Life Ministries, on June 17. Contact is Wilton Coleman at
540 343-4022.

 *The "Families Building Peace in the New Millenium" event, with
sponsors including On Earth Peace Assembly, will take place July
30, 2-8 p.m., on the US Capitol lawn in Washington, D.C. Cost is
$10 per family. Call Linda Heacock at 804 752-6752 for more
details.

 *The conflict resolution training for camp staff being
co-sponsored by On Earth Peace Assembly and Outdoor Ministries
Association is taking place this week at Camp Alexander Mack,
Milford, Ind. Scheduled program included a 25-hour mediation
training led by Jessica Eller of the Lafayette Community Dispute
Resolution Center and sessions by Matt Guynn and OEPA program
coordinator Barb Leininger Dickason on the Biblical basis of
peacemaking and creative responses to conflict.

 *Brethren en route to Annual Conference in Kansas City, Mo., next
month may want to swing through Iowa on the way. The Ice Cream
Capital of the World Visitor Center in Le Mars, Iowa, held its
grand opening on May 26. The center, at the intersection of US
route 75 and Iowa route 3, features interactive and historical
exhibits and a working soda fountain. It's open 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
Monday to Saturday and 1-8 p.m. Sunday.

 9) Jonathan A. Shively has been named the new coordinator of the
Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership by Bethany Theological
Seminary and the Church of the Brethren General Board, effective
Sept. 1. He will succeed current co-coordinators Harriet and Ron
Finney, who will continue to serve until Sept. 30.

Shively is currently pastor of the Pomona (Calif.) Fellowship
Church of the Brethren, where he has served since 1993. He has
chaired the district board and previously chaired the board's
ministry commission. He is coordinator of the Training in Ministry
(TRiM) program for the district and helped to develop and has
taught in the district's Center for Brethren Studies. He also
served as music coordinator for the 1997 Annual Conference.

Shively holds an undergraduate degree in music from Elizabethtown
(Pa.) College and received his Master of Divinity degree from
Bethany Theological Seminary. He is currently a candidate for the
Doctor of Ministry degree at Fuller Theological Seminary in
Pasadena, Calif., where his final project will focus on leadership
development in church life with an emphasis on urban,
cross-cultural ministry from an Anabaptist perspective.

He and his wife, Kim, are the parents of two children and are
anticipating the arrival of a third child in August. The Shivelys
will be relocating to Richmond, Ind., in late summer.

 10) The Outdoor Ministries Association of the Church of the
Brethren will hold its national conference Nov. 17-19 at Camp Mack
in Milford, Ind. Dr. Elizabeth Murphy, developer of the
Murphy-Misguyer Style Inventory and author of "The Developing
Child," will serve as keynote speaker on personality styles of
children and ways to apply those concepts to education.

Cost is $100 per person for the full weekend and $50 per person for
Saturday only, when the workshop will be offered. It is open to
anyone who wishes to attend. For more details or to register, call
Becky Ball-Miller at 219 658-4831 or Dean or Jerri Heiser Wenger at
814 667-2355.

 11) The Association of Brethren Caregivers and Bethany Theological
Seminary will co-sponsor a two-week intensive class on "Biomedical
Ethics"  for seminary students, health care professionals, pastors,
and laypersons Aug. 7-18 at Bethany's Richmond, Ind., campus.

The course will explore the relationship of health, wholeness,
illness, birth, and death to medical practices and the Christian
faith. Don Miller, Bethany professor and former general secretary
of the Church of the Brethren General Board, and Robert Blake,
program staff for ABC, will lead the class.

Participants will meet four hours each day to explore topics such
as autonomy and community, informed consent, justice and love,
human experimentation, optional and obligatory treatment, refusal
of treatment, organ transplants, birth defects, genetic
engineering, mental illness, allocation of resources, health
insurance, and proxy decision-makers. 

For cost and registration information, contact Bethany at 800
287-8822. Students wishing to take the course for credit must meet
eligibility requirements and should contact David Shetler,
admissions staff at Bethany. Students wishing to take the course
without receiving credit should contact Harriet Finney of the
Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, located at Bethany.

 12) A Church of the Brethren delegation will travel to the Central
American nation of Nicaragua Oct. 17-30. The group will spend three
days in the capital of Managua, but will focus on an extended stay
in the community of Mulukuku, where participants will live and work
alongside residents. Goals are to build relationships, strengthen
faith, and gain a better understanding of the impact of
globalization on those at the margins of global society. 

Leadership for the experience will be provided by Sue Wagner
Fields, serving as globalization specialist through the General
Board's Brethren Witness office. Cost for the trip, including
airfare, will be $1,300. Registration deadline is July 15. 

Contact the Brethren Witness office (800 323-8039) or Sue Wagner
Fields (610 488-6604 or dswfiel@clearviewnet.net) for more
information. The delegation is co-sponsored by the Little Swatara
Church of the Brethren (Bethel, Pa.).

 13) More than 50 people have registered for Forum 2000, which will
be held June 16-18 and hosted by The Brethren Home Community, New
Oxford, Pa. The Forum is an annual gathering of leaders and board
members of Brethren retirement facilities and is sponsored by the
Fellowship of Brethren Homes, a ministry of the Association of
Brethren Caregivers.

Participants of the three-day event will tour The Brethren Home
Community, Messiah Village, and Menno Haven -- three facilities
that have formed a Senior Life Alliance. During the meetings, Lee
Smucker will lead a board training session. Smucker is one of the
writers and developers of the High Performance Board Series, which
is co-owned by the Association of Brethren Caregivers of Elgin,
Ill., and Mennonite Health Services of Goshen, Ind.. For more
information about the Forum, contact Roger Golden at ABC, 800
323-8039.

 14) International initiatives and order forms highlight materials
in the June "Source" packet from the Office of Interpretation.

On the international front, a poster details a project to send
dairy goats to North Korea, a prayer card lifts up the ministry of
the Crouse family in the Dominican Republic, and another poster
gives information on "Christians Call for a Shared Jerusalem."
Order forms are included for Brethren Press curriculum, peace and
justice resources from the Office of Brethren Witness, and Annual
Conference wrap-up coverage.  

Other contents cover upcoming events at this fall's National Older
Adult Conference, the 1999 Stewardship Report from Bethany
Theological Seminary, samples of "Shine" and "Together"
publications from the Shalom Foundation Inc., and a catalog for
free-loan videos from Church World Service.

 15) The "If a Tree Falls..." campaign has officially been launched
by the Church of the Brethren General Board's Brethren Witness
office with the printing of a colorful promotional poster. The
poster highlights the diversity of the rainforest's ecosystem and
invites contributions to a special fund to preserve and restore
Central American forests.  

The initiative gives Brethren an opportunity to help preserve
rainforests in Belize and support reforestation efforts in
Guatemala. Background materials and a project guide are available
on request. Brethren Witness director David Radcliff recommended it
as a project for Vacation Bible School groups or Sunday school
classes, or as a whole-church emphasis on caring for God's
creation.

Contact the Brethren Witness office for more information at 800
323-8039 or e-mail witness_gb@brethren.org.

 16) Community of Joy, a Mid-Atlantic District new church start in
Salisbury, Md., is trying some creative ways to reach out and grow.
It has already doubled its average worship attendance in the past
year, to about 60 people per week, and 12 new members will be
joining the church this Sunday.

"We're doing a variety of different things to reach out to those
who aren't connected," said Martin Hutchison, who co-pastors the
congregation with his wife, Sharon. They've adopted a casual
worship style with contemporary music and put an emphasis on small
groups and relationships.

The congregation's efforts to reach the unchurched will come
together in a major event next weekend, with "JoyFest 2000"
scheduled for the parking lot of Old Salisbury Mall on June 10. The
program includes two concerts by singer/children's entertainer
Steven Courtney of Lancaster, Pa., two by acoustic rock band
ForeverMoon of Baltimore, and one by gospel group Sons of Thunder
from the Salisbury area.

Abundant food will also be available under a large tent, along with
face painting, a clown, and a "Big Bounce" entertainment area for
children, plus a TV/VCR door prize for the adults. The church has
been advertising on radio, in newspapers, and even via a sign on
the back of the Hutchisons' truck.

Follow-up advertising will occur with packets of information that
each family at the festival will receive. Hutchison said God's
presence in the planning of the event has been "incredible," and
they're hoping for a large group in church the following day.

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.

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