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 From nobody@wfn.org  Wed Oct 25 00:00:00 2000
V: 847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
Date: Oct. 25, 2000
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
work." Eph. 2:10

SPECIAL BOARD MEETINGS REPORT
 1) The Church of the Brethren General Board holds fall meetings
using its vision statement "Of God, for God, with God" as the
theme.
     a) Much ground is covered, but few major votes.
     b) Worship and celebration form an important part of the
agenda.
     c) Visitors bring added joy and energy to meetings.
     d) Three General Board staff members among those running
Chicago Marathon.
 2) Funding and finances dominate ABC's fall meetings.
 3) OEPA board meetings include transition, good news, and planning
for the future.

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

 1) Devotions throughout the fall meetings of the Church of the
Brethren General Board, held Oct. 19-24 in Elgin, Ill., built on
the board's vision statement "Of God, for God, with God" and
focused on aspects of God's presence.

Board chair Mary Jo Flory-Steury, in opening the meetings of the
full board on Saturday, read from Ephesians 2 as written in "The
Message": "Now God has us where God wants us. ... All we do is
trust God enough to let God do it."

With hymns and prayers built on the Worshipful-Work model of
conducting church business, the board moved forward with that trust
to tackle its agenda over the next three and a half days. New board
members held orientation the Thursday before the meetings, and the
board's executive committee met on Friday.

   a) Though the agenda held a long list of reports and other
items, much of the work of this meeting focused on celebrating new
and ongoing ministries and planning for possible future endeavors.

The board did adopt the 2001 budget, which totals nearly $9.3
million--about $5.7 million of that for General Programs. That
adoption followed a detailed report by finance and funding staff
that showed a healthy financial picture for the year, with giving
to most funds up from a year earlier. The lone exception is the
Emergency Disaster Fund, which has had fewer critical projects to
fund this year than in 1999. 

Board members also voted to enter into a formal affiliation
agreement with Companeros en Ministerio/Mision, which "seeks to
foster cross-cultural relationships and understanding between
differing ethnic congregations" and primarily works in the Tijuana,
Mexico, area. The request came through the board's Mission and
Ministries Planning Council, and a committee worked at exploring
the possibilities over the past year. Ongoing conversation and
collaboration will occur via a "consulting committee" that will
meet at least annually.

Another piece adopted by the board was a "Process for making the
General Board more ethnically diverse," following discussions on
the topic at the March meetings. The process recommends four
points: suggesting ethnically diverse candidates for the board to
the Annual Conference nominating process, inviting the
Cross-Cultural Ministries Team to send a representative to General
Board meetings as a consultant, keeping an awareness of the need
for ethnically diverse leadership before the entire denomination,
and holding educational and training workshops on the subject for
General Board members and staff.

Items handled with an eye to the future included a preliminary
proposal for a new church start in Brazil, a New Church Development
Advisory Committee proposal for aiding new church planting, a new
document on General Board financial policies and procedures, and
new bylaws for the board. Presenters gathered input and suggestions
from board members and staff on all four items and will bring them
back for action at the March 2001 meetings in New Windsor, Md.

These meetings marked an end to the former structure of
subcommittees that had met for reporting and sharing and replaced
it with a pair of Sunday forums, this time looking at
stewardship/funding and evangelism. The forums seek to provide new
information and ideas and promote focused discussion and
brainstorming.

    b) Amid all the business of the meetings, participants also
spent significant time in worship and celebration.

Julie Garber, editor for Brethren Press, led an opening worship
experience on "Thirsting for God's Presence," using water as a
central image. "If we thirst, we've never really searched for the
Living Water," Garber said, urging the group to have a true longing
for God and not accept easy substitutes. Everyone came forward for
a symbolic cup of water.

Annual Conference moderator-elect Paul Grout provided leadership
for Tuesday's closing worship, speaking passionately about his love
for the Church of the Brethren and equally passionately about the
lack of hope for the future unless people put aside "empty" living
and embrace Jesus Christ. Grout shared his "Seven Symptoms of
Wellness" and used a long scroll he had painted to illustrate the
tiny place humanity holds in God's universe.

In addition, General Board members and staff visited many area
churches for worship on Sunday morning, stretching from Chicago to
Rockford.

Celebration of General Board ministries came in a Saturday evening
banquet around the theme "You Might Be a Brethren If...," with
sharing of stories, songs, humor, and prayer. Eleven employees were
recognized at an appreciation event on Monday for marking 5-year
milestones with the General Board, topped by interpretation
coordinator Howard Royer's 45 (and counting) years of service.

In addition, Stewart Kauffman was honored during the meetings for
his recently completed work with the Gahagen Trust, which has
provided more than $5.6 million to the General Board since it
began.

    c) A contingent of visitors to the meetings, led by Ekklesiyar
Yan'uwa a Nigeria (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) president
Rev. Toma Raganjiya and his wife, Kwanye, brought an extra burst of
energy and inspiration.

Rev. Toma expressed deep thanks for all the work and support of the
US church. He also talked about the challenges to the church in
Nigeria, where Christians and Muslims live in constant tension that
has escalated recently, but also shared about the blessings and
growth God has brought from those challenges. He emphasized the
importance of prayer and evangelism in the life of the church.

Other visitors to the meetings included district visitors from
Mid-Atlantic, Northern Plains, and Southeastern and a group of
students from Bethany Theological Seminary. Many of them shared
thoughts and reflections during the meetings.

A long-time "visitor," American Baptist Churches USA observer Sara
Osgood, finished a four-year term of service and received thanks
for her presence over that time and a parting gift. Osgood said
that she had "been strengthened and stretched and grown stronger in
my relationship with Jesus Christ" through the experience.

    d) Not all the weekend's action happened around the General
Board table. Three General Board members ran in Sunday's Chicago
Marathon after they were lifted up at the Saturday evening banquet
with the singing of the hymn "Guide my feet, while I run this
race."

Youth/Young Adult Ministries coordinator Chris Douglas and workcamp
co-director Luke Croushorn were running their first marathon, while
it was the second for controller Dennis Kingery of the finance
department.

None of them grabbed the headlines as top finishers in the
26.2-mile race of more than 30,000 runners, but all did finish and
arrived in the middle of the pack.

"I was not so sure I was glad to be doing it at mile 18," Kingery
said, "but when I crossed the finish line I was glad again. I felt
a lot of support from the full board and the staff around here,
especially people inquiring how it went."

Nancy Garber, whose husband, Jeff, is insurance plans director for
Brethren Benefit Trust, also joined the group to run in the event.

 2) The Association of Brethren Caregivers board voted unanimously
during its fall meetings to become involved with fund-raising for
the current year in an effort to balance ABC's 2000 budget, which
is expected to experience a $41,000 deficit. During the meetings,
held Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at the General Offices in Elgin, Ill., the
14-member board learned that its original financial transition plan
of three years will likely take five years.

The ABC board created a three-year financial plan when the agency
was separated from the Church of the Brethren General Board in
January 1998. The plan allowed the agency to serve its program
areas by using reserves to support its ministries for three years.
During that time, the board believed that funding from
congregations would grow to support its budget needs.

While individual and congregational gifts to ABC have increased
during this time, gifts from congregations have not increased at
the expected rate. ABC executive director Steve Mason said that
while he has found widespread support for ABC and its programs from
pastors and others, many hadn't realized that congregational
budgets needed to include ABC separately to help support those
programs.

"ABC cannot continue to rely on its reserves," Mason said. "The
impetus to balance this year's budget is that we have an
opportunity to extend our transition plan for one or two more
years."

Each board member committed to contacting individuals and
congregations to request immediate and continued support for ABC's
programs. The board also affirmed the executive committee's
commitment to establish a planning process for the board that will
address the long-term viability of ABC. The board received a budget
proposal for 2001 and authorized the finance and executive
committees to act on revisions to be submitted by Mason before the
end of the year.

The meetings were extended by a day to include a board development
session led by John Cassel of Lombard, Ill. Cassel, a member of
Chicago First Church of the Brethren, provides board development
through the Illinois Association of School Boards. The session
focused on distinguishing board and staff roles in serving
constituents. Cassel also discussed the importance of an
overarching vision for an organization's continued health and
growth. After working with Cassel, the ABC board affirmed spending
additional time on board development and asked the executive
committee to plan future educational opportunities for board
members.

Several new faces will appear at the next board meetings, scheduled
for March 16-17, 2001. The board approved John Wenger, a member of
Anderson (Ind.) Church of the Brethren, to fill an unexpired term
on the board as a representative elected by the ministry areas.
Wenger, a psychologist in private practice, just completed two
terms of service with ABC's Voice Ministry. The board also
appointed retired physician Joseph Schechter, a member of the La
Verne (Calif.) church, to a second term. Other new members are
Eddie Edmonds of Martinsburg, Va., and Jim Tomlonson of
Warrensburg, Mo., who were elected to the board by Annual
Conference. 

 3) The On Earth Peace board of directors and staff met at the
Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., Oct. 6-7. Following a
time of singing hymns and sharing, the meeting included the
following:

 *Welcoming Barb Sayler and Bob Gross as co-executive directors of
the agency and introducing new board members Ken Frantz (Fleming,
Colo.), Ken Edwards (Jonesborough, Tenn.), and Debbie Roberts (La
Verne, Calif.).

 *Hearing the results of the "visioning" work of the strategic
planning committee, which presented a document that the board
accepted. The four focus areas include Peacemaker Formation, Peace
Witness, Conflict Transformation, and Organizational Health. Two-,
five- and 10-year goals were identified. This document will be
reviewed on an ongoing basis to determine its effectiveness. 

 *Sharing good news from the board's advancement committee, which
met its challenge to contribute $50,000 to the general fund. The
accomplishment was celebrated at the conclusion of Friday's
schedule with an ice cream party. It was also announced that a
matching gift will made available this year to On Earth Peace when
churches or individuals make new or increased gifts over the past
year. In addition, an anonymous donor will give $100,000 to be
added to the endowment to help secure and enhance the future of On
Earth Peace.

 *Approving the 2000-2001 budget, a balanced one that shows
$375,000 in income and expenses for the coming year.  

 *Hearing reports from staff about their work, including the
division of tasks in the new co-executive director structure and a
progress report on the closing of The Peace Place and the
start up of the Peace Basket program, which includes peace
resources to be loaned out to congregations. The Peace Retreat
theme for this year is "A Peace Tapestry," using Romans 12 as the
text. The Ministry of Reconciliation will continue to offer Matthew
18 workshops for congregations and training for practitioners.

 *Accepting several challenges for the coming year, including
lifting up the mission and work of On Earth Peace by visiting
congregations in their districts, challenging individuals to
support the agency, and continuing personal financial support.

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.

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