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

[COBNews@aol.com]

 From nobody@wfn.org  Fri Dec 15 00:00:00 2000
V: 847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
Date: Dec. 15, 2000
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

"...I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all
people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a
Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10b-11

NEWS
 1) National Youth Conference 2002 coordinators are announced.
 2) A logo is selected for the 2001 Annual Conference in Baltimore.
 3) Active stretch continues for Brethren involvement
internationally. 
 4) The Global Food Crisis Fund issues three grants.
 5) The church mourns the loss of Galen Ogden.
 6) General Board staff member joins in global warming summit.
 7) Two "retired" BVSers build itinerary for sharing their stories.
 8) "If a Tree Falls" contributions support environmental work in
Central America.
 9) Ecumenical event focuses on stewardship.
10) Brethren bits: Brethren Press catalog, Youth Peace Travel Team,
global mission, more.

PERSONNEL
11) Cinny Poppen resigns as BBT's assistant director of
communications.
12) Roy Winter is named coordinator of Disaster Child Care.
13) Kathryn E. Yelinek is appointed to 1-year internship at
Brethren archives.
14) Search for Northeast financial resource counselor is extended.

RESOURCES
15) "Nathan's Secret" is the latest release from Brethren Press.
16) A new "Source" packet carries an abundance of materials.
17) Evangelism resource list is available from Congregational Life
Teams.

FEATURES
18) An Indiana congregation shares God's love at Christmas.

***********MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE STAFF OF NEWSLINE!************

 1) The General Board's Youth/Young Adult Ministry office has
announced the coordinating team for the next National Youth
Conference, to be held in July 2002 in Fort Collins, Colo.

The trio of young adults will work with the recently announced
National Youth Cabinet to plan and prepare for the conference,
which will again be held on the campus of Colorado State
University. In addition, all three will also carry other
responsibilities in the Youth/Young Adult Ministry office.

Becky Ullom, finishing up studies at McPherson (Kan.) College this
year, will begin June 1 as NYC coordinator and coordinator of the
Church of the Brethren Collaboration on Admissions (COBCOA) for the
Brethren colleges. She is a member of the Wiley (Colo.) Church of
the Brethren and served on the General Board's Annual Conference
news coverage team this past summer in Kansas City.

Luke Croushorn is already working in the Youth/Young Adult office
this year through Brethren Volunteer Service, as the 2001
co-coordinator of National Youth/Young Adult Workcamps. When
workcamps are completed in August, he will continue his BVS service
as an assistant coordinator of NYC and coordinator of the 2002
workcamps. A 2000 Bridgewater (Va.) College graduate, Croushorn is
from the Nokesville (Va.) Church of the Brethren.

David Young will begin June 1 as an NYC assistant coordinator and
Youth/Young Adult Ministry assistant. He will graduate in May from
Bridgewater College, where he is currently president of the student
body. He is from Dunmore, W.Va., and comes from the Pocahontas
Church of the Brethren.

 2) For the second straight year, a design by Debbie Noffsinger of
Union Bridge, Md., has been chosen as the logo for Annual
Conference. 

Noffsinger has interpreted the 2001 theme, "Revive Us Again," using
a figure with outstretched arms who is standing in rippling water
as a dove soars upward. The words of the theme appear in a flowing
script beneath the figure, and the words of the Psalm 85:6 theme
text are printed below that. It will appear on the Conference
banner, booklet, and other materials for the event, scheduled for
June 30-July 4 in Baltimore.

A member of the Westminster (Md.) congregation, Noffsinger designed
a woven heart for the 2000 "Love as I Have Loved You" logo used in
Kansas City. This year's logo can be viewed at the denominational
website, www.brethren.org.

 3) Much international activity has occurred recently in areas
where the General Board's Global Mission Partnerships and Brethren
Witness offices are working. A brief roundup of some of those
events follows:

 *North Korea: The Associated Press and others are reporting that
the poverty-stricken nation is suffering its worst food shortages
since a severe famine in the mid-1990s. The United Nations has put
out a call for humanitarian aid, with a goal of more than 800,000
tons of food to be sent.

US Congressman Tony Hall made a visit to North Korea last week and
said daily food rations there were down to just seven ounces per
person, according to Agence France Presse. 

The General Board's Global Food Crisis Fund has designated $75,000
in assistance to be sent to North Korea (see separate article in
this edition). A major shipment of dairy goats is planned for this
spring, with the possibility of a portion of the funds being used
for food shipments as soon as possible.

 *Sudan: The civil war in the African nation has raged on. News
reports say the National Democratic Alliance, which includes the
southern Sudan People’s Liberation Army, briefly captured the
strategic city of Kassala. The force destroyed military
installations and collected hardware before government troops
retook the city a day later. Meanwhile, the government has
continued vigorous assaults elsewhere.

"Bombing continues to occur in random places in southern Sudan,"
says Mark Sloan, working with the New Sudan Council of Churches
through the General Board's Global Mission Partnerships. "The
bombings have become fairly constant."

US Assistant Secretary of State Susan Rice visited groups of
escaped black slaves in Sudan in November, prompting the Sudanese
government to cancel all US diplomatic visas. 

 *Nicaragua: The Maria Luisa Ortiz Women's Cooperative and Health
Clinic in Mulukuku, which has been the site of significant Brethren
involvement, faces uncertainty due to a crackdown by the Nicaraguan
government. President Arnoldo Aleman has alleged the clinic treats
only Sandinistas--an opposition group--and is running an illegal
cooperative. He has sought to have clinic director and nurse
Dorothy Granada, who is from California, deported.

Several US government representatives, including the consul general
of the embassy in Nicaragua, have supported her work. Dr. Vilma
Nunez de Escorcia, director of the Nicaraguan Center for Human
Rights, said "This is an arbitrary expulsion of someone who is only
helping those who have never been attended to by the government,
and it is caused by the simple action of vengeance by President
Aleman."

Granada, 70, who recently won the International Pfeffer Peace
Prize, is presently in hiding in Nicaragua. Supporters say the
clinic would likely be unable to continue without her, and they are
urging others to contact Congressional representatives and the US
embassy in Nicaragua (fax 011-505-266-3856 or e-mail garzaop@
amemb.org.ni) on her behalf. 

Brethren involvement has included a medical practicum trip through
Manchester College (North Manchester, Ind.) each January, funding
via the Global Women's Project, Faith Expeditions to the clinic
through the Brethren Witness office, sister-community relationships
with several congregations in the Atlantic Northeast District, and
other support by individuals and churches. Additional details are
available from Nadine Monn in the General Board's Latin
America/Caribbean office at 800-323-8039 or from Sue Wagner Fields
at 610-488-6604.

 *India: On Dec. 14, Global Mission Partnerships hosted several
former India missionaries for a day-long meeting in Elgin, Ill. The
meeting, described as a "listening session," focused on
conversation with a General Board committee that is exploring the
question of recognition of Brethren groups in India. The committee
is planning another trip to India in late January. 

In India, meanwhile, a large funeral service was held for the Most
Rev. Vinod Peter Dec. 8 at the All Saints Cathedral in Nagpur
following his death in a car accident Dec. 6. He was serving as
moderator of the Church of North India and president of the
National Council of Churches of India. A speaker at the service
called him "a wonderful leader always committed to values of
justice." Bishop Peter was a key member of a CNI delegation that
met with Brethren leaders in Elgin, Ill., in October.

 *Iraq: The General Board continues to monitor the situation in
Iraq, where a decade of sanctions have had a devastating effect on
much of the populace. A 1998 General Board Statement on the
Conflict with Iraq states "these sanctions are unjust, and
furthermore now have little effective impact on the government of
Iraq." Aid agencies blame the sanctions for 5,000 child deaths each
month.

Several countries--including France, Russia, and Jordan--have
broken the sanctions to give assistance in recent months A US
group called Campaign of Conscience for the Iraqi People recently
sent a shipment of water purifiers without US permission, and the
general synod of the Church of England recently called on the
United Nations to reconsider the sanctions.

The Church of the Brethren Washington Office has been working
closely with the issue. Stephanie Schaudel of the Lancaster (Pa.)
Church of the Brethren assisted the office in participating in the
National Mobilization to End Sanctions Against Iraq this past
summer and continues to serve as a consultant. The Brethren Witness
office is exploring the possibility of sending a delegation to Iraq
in 2001.

 4) Three recent grants from the General Board's Global Food Crisis
Fund are sending aid to projects in three different parts of the
world: one for $10,000 to Honduras, one for $12,000 to India, and
one for $25,000 to North Korea. It increases to 10 the number of
grants made this year from the fund.

The Honduras grant will support the work of ANDAR, a Hounduran
agency promoting sustainable development and food production among
urban poor. The funds will support a prison gardening project to
provide food and meaningful work for female prison inmates and
their children. ANDAR received a Global Food Crisis grant of $7,000
in 1999.

In India, the money will aid the Rural Service Center, which was
begun by Church of the Brethren mission. The center works among
poor, rural farmers with projects including land-leveling,
providing methane digesters for cooking gas, and small-income
development. A $27,000 Global Food Crisis grant last year supported
basic operations and the purchase of a new tractor.

And in North Korea, the $25,000 sum builds on a Global Food Crisis
commitment of $50,000 already approved earlier in the year for a
total of $75,000. Together, the funds will provide high-quality
milk goats, emergency food supplies, and fruit trees to an ongoing
recovery process. The United Nations says North Korea is facing
serious food shortages in the coming year due to severe weather,
insufficient farming supplies, and economic problems. The goat
delivery, slowed by several logistical hurdles, is expected to move
forward this spring.

 5) Galen Ogden, who served as a General Board executive for 18
years, died Nov. 3 in La Verne, Calif.

Ogden was executive of the Ministry and Home Missions Commission
from 1959 to 1968. From 1968 to 1977 he was an associate general
secretary and executive of the General Services Commission, also
serving as executive of the Pension Board. Services were planned
for Dec. 16 in La Verne.

 6) Global Mission Partnerships consultant Shantilal Bhagat
represented the Church of the Brethren at a major world conference
on climate change issues, held in late November in The Netherlands.

Bhagat, who presented a paper on "Why Climate Change is a Religious
Issue" at a conference in Florida this fall, was among nearly 7,000
participants at the conference in The Hague. The November meeting
sought to begin implementation of points agreed upon in the 1997
Kyoto Protocol to reduce global warming. Several gas emissions were
to be cut by 2012.

Emissions have instead climbed since 1990, however, and only about
30 countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol. At least 55
countries must ratify it to formally take effect. The US--the
world's biggest polluter--has been a major stumbling block in the
negotiations. It has declined to ratify the protocol thus far and
hit major disagreements with European nations at last month's
conference by seeking loopholes and the "least painful way" to
participate, according to Bhagat. US President Bill Clinton has
promised further negotiations.

"Our emissions are increasing because gas is so cheap here," Bhagat
says. "In the final analysis, it's going to boil down to what we as
individuals and society are willing to do to cut down CO2 (carbon
dioxide) emissions, particularly as Christians."

Bhagat says it becomes a religious issue both because of a call to
care for God's creation and also as a matter of social justice and
equity, since the poor often suffer the most despite creating the
fewest emissions. He says religious organizations are being called
upon to take a leadership role.

The World Council of Churches, which calls the atmosphere a "global
commons," had a significant presence at the conference. The US
National Council of Churches also sent representatives, and Bhagat
shared some NCC Eco-Justice Working Group initiatives at a press
conference. NCC members issued an open letter to President Clinton
expressing concerns. 

 7) A pair of "retired" Brethren Volunteer Service workers are
donating more time by traveling to Church of the Brethren
congregations, telling their stories and sharing about BVS.

Holly White and Matt St. Clair each recently returned from a
two-year BVS assignment in Europe. White worked with a peace and
reconciliation group in Northern Ireland, while St. Clair served
with an environmental program in the Czech Republic.

They are available for engagements from now through the spring as
schedules permit. White is from southern Ohio and St. Clair from
southern California. Churches interested in having one of them
speak should call Torin Eikenberry in the BVS office at
800-323-8039, ext. 418. 

 8) In a year-end mailing, the General Board's Brethren Witness
office sent certificates of appreciation to 36 individuals and
congregations that contributed to the "If a Tree Falls.." campaign
in 2000. The environmental effort seeks to assist in the purchase
of rainforest in Belize's Eden Conservancy, a crucial wildlife
corridor between two existing national parks; and to support the
planting of trees in severely deforested Guatemala. 

The certificates note that gifts this year allowed Brethren to
support the planting of 20,000 trees in Guatemala and the purchase
of 40 acres of threatened rainforest in Belize. In both instances,
the denomination is working through Christian groups in the
respective country. For additional interpretation materials,
contact Brethren Witness at 800-323-8039.

 9) A winter event held Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., by
the Ecumenical Stewarship Center focused on stewardship as "a
celebration of grace."

Beth Sollenberger Morphew, the coordinator of the General Board's
Area 2 Congregational Life Team, serves on the center's board as
vice-chair. More than half a dozen others also represented the
Church of the Brethren at the event.

Highlights included presentations by professors Tony Campolo,
Stephen Reid, and Sondra Wheeler, each looking at a different angle
of the issue--social, theological, and ethical. All examined
stewardship as "investing in something larger than ourselves." A
stewardship fair presented an assortment of resources, and
denominations presented programs they are using. Worship and "table
talk" discussions for ecumenical interaction were also included.

Virginia Esch, part of Ecumenical Stewardship Center for the past
20 years--most recently as events coordinator, was recognized upon
her retirement. ESC director Phil Williams also will be retiring
effective Feb. 1. Sollenberger Morphew is serving on a transition
team, as well as on a search committee for a new executive.

 10) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *The annual Christmas catalog of Brethren Press has been sent to
pastors, customers, and others around the country. Titled "Gifts
That Matter," it lists titles, descriptions, prices, and ordering
information for an assortment of books and resources. Call
800-441-3712 for more information. Many products can also now be
ordered online at www.brethrenpress.com.

 *Maryse Manelli begins as full-time switchboard/receptionist for
Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., on Dec. 18.
She has been working in the position on a temporary basis since
early October.

 *The deadline to apply for the 2001 Youth Peace Travel Team is
Jan. 2. It is open to high school- and college-aged youth, who
spend the summer traveling to Brethren youth camps to talk about
peace issues. Call David Radcliff at 800-323-8039 for applications,
or e-mail dradcliff_gb@brethren.org.

 *Patty Crumley, music teacher through Global Mission Partnerships
at Hillcrest School in Jos, Nigeria, is requesting donations of
good-condition instruments for the school band. Especially needed
are slide trombones, alto saxes, a baritone, a french horn, B-flat
clarinets, and flutes. Sunday school classes are urged to make a
project of finding, purchasing, or repairing instruments. If
instruments are available by early January, they could travel with
a Nigeria workcamp leaving Jan. 12. Call Mary Munson at
800-323-8039 for details.

 *The EduCare 2001 "Training for Congregational Leadership"
conference will be Feb. 16-17 in Indianapolis, marking the 25th
year of EduCare. The event is sponsored by groups from several
denominations, including four Church of the Brethren districts in
the Midwest. It includes workshops, "discovery groups" on special
topics, worship, and other events. Call Sylvia Mill at 317-926-6051
for more details.

 *Brethren Employees Credit Union is celebrating a 28-percent
growth in loans over the past year. The credit union, located at
the General Offices in Elgin, Ill., serves pastors, district and
denominational employees, Brethren college and seminary employees,
Brethren retirement home workers, and Illinois/Wisconsin District
members, as well as relatives of people in those groups. Current
loan rates ($1,000 deposit minimum) are: 9-month (6.92 percent
annual yield), 15-month (6.67), 18-month (6.42), and 36-month
(5.87). Call 888-832-1383.

 *Several groups, led by Moratorium 2000, on Dec. 18 plan to
present United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan with a petition
bearing more than 2.7 million signatures against the death penalty.
A rally outside the UN is also scheduled. Numerous Brethren and the
Washington Office have been involved in the effort to end capital
punishment. 

 *McPherson (Kan.) College is establishing a Raymond and Rowena
Flory Lectureship in Public Policy, beginning with an initial gift
of $50,000. The lectureship honors Dr. Raymond Flory's 51-year
teaching/administrative career at the college. A McPherson alumnus,
he also served as pastor of the Ottawa (Kan.) Church of the
Brethren and five other congregations. The first lecture in the new
program is planned for spring 2001.

 *A network called "Every Church a Peace Church" is preparing to
launch, beginning in the United States. The historic peace
churches, including the Church of the Brethren, are considered one
of the "six communities of potential interest." Several Brethren
have been involved in the planning coalition. John Stoner,
coordinator of New Call to Peacemaking, says "A fresh encounter
with Jesus and (Martin Luther) King could generate a new stream of
nonviolent energy in the land." The network hopes to nurture links
between those who work toward nonviolent solutions.

 *A US National Council of Churches delegation to Jerusalem this
past week delivered a "pastoral letter" to the city, saying "the
General Assembly of the National Council of the Churches of Christ
in the USA offers its prayerful support to the Christian churches
in Jerusalem and the Holy Land," in the wake of recent
Israeli-Palestinian violence. It calls for Jerusalem to be an
"open, shared city."

 *A survey commissioned by Zondervan Publishing House found that 86
percent of Americans believe the Bible is relevant today, and 80
percent of respondents believe the Bible can address most or all of
today's problems. More than half of adults surveyed said the Bible
is likely to be more accurate than a history book or local
newspaper.

 11) Cinny Poppen has resigned from her position as assistant
director of communications for Brethren Benefit Trust effective by
Feb. 1.

Poppen began working part-time with BBT in 1994 and moved into a
full-time position in 1996. Her responsibilities included creating
and updating forms, booklets, and the BBT Annual Report financial
pages. For several years she also coordinated BBT's wellness
program. 

Prior to joining BBT, Poppen served as a volunteer with the Church
of the Brethren Washington Office and the General Board's Peace
Team in 1993-94. She plans to move to Tennessee to begin a retreat
and sanctuary, particulary for social justice workers who need
"space to regroup."

 12) Roy Winter has been named coordinator of Disaster Child Care
for the General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries
program and will begin employment in June 2001.

Winter holds a graduate degree in educational psychology from the
University of Kansas, and a bachelor of science in psychology from
McPherson (Kan.) College. Currently a school psychologist for a
school district in Goddard, Kan., he has extensive experience in
diagnosis and evaluation of children, child development,
consultation, and conflict resolution.   

Winter and his wife, Karen, have two children. They served in
Brethren Volunteer Service in New Windsor, Md., in 1988 before
departing to serve at Queen Louise Home for Children in the U.S.
Virgin Islands. They will be moving back to New Windsor for this
position.

 13) The Brethren Historical Library and Archives, located in
Elgin, Ill., has announced the appointment of Kathryn E. Yelinek to
a one-year internship position. Yelinek, from the Waynesboro (Pa.)
Church of the Brethren, will graduate from Bryn Mawr College near
Philadelphia in May 2001 and begin her archival internship in June.

During the summers of 1999 and 2000, Yelinek served as historian
for the South Mountain Restoration Center in Pennsylvania. As
historian, she researched and wrote a history of the center that
will be presented in video and booklet form at the center's
centennial in May. At Bryn Mawr, Yelinek worked in the library and
served as a contributing editor for the college literary magazine. 

 14) The Church of the Brethren General Board's Funding office has
extended the search for a financial resource counselor for the
northeastern United States. The position includes visiting with
members and friends of the church and with congregations, providing
counsel and advice on stewardship issues and ways to support
General Board ministries.

For a job description and/or application, call Elsie Holderred at
800-323-8039.

 15) "Nathan's Secret," a new book release from Brethren Press,
tells the story of a young Brethren boy in Virginia whose father
must leave home and hide in the woods to escape being forced to
fight for the Confederate army.

Based on a true story and written for 8-to-12-year-old readers,
this 87-page work of historical fiction is written by educator and
storyteller N. Geraldine Plunkett. It shows what life was like
during the Civil War for a family in Roanoke County, Va., who loved
peace.

When Plunkett was a young girl, she enjoyed exploring an old,
vacant house where her grandparents had lived. There she found two
letters that her great-grandfather had written to his family during
the Civil War. Those letters and stories her grandmother told
filled Plunkett's imagination with questions about what might have
happened to Nathan Garst and his family during the war Years later
those questions led to the writing of the book.

The book (ISBN 0-87178-029-1, #8291) retails for $7.95 and can be
ordered by calling Brethren Press at 800-441-3712, by fax at
800-667-8188, or via e-mail at brethrenpress_gb@brethren.org.

 16) A thick January/February "Source" packet is now heading to
congregations, bearing an assortment of information from several
agencies.

Among the contents are a copy of the 2000 Congregational Structure
Paper approved this past summer, an update on the General Board's
visits to pastors, and a schedule of 2001 Faith Expeditions being
offered through the Brethren Witness office.

Also included are details on nominations for the 2001 Ecumenical
Award, an update on new Brethren Press resources, a brochure for
the 2001 Song & Story Fest, a registration form for the
"God-Centered Life" retreat for youth advisors and other adults who
work with youth, CD rates at the Brethren Employee Credit Union,
copies of Bethany Theological Seminary's fall/winter "Seminarian"
magazine and the flyer "Shine" from New Life Ministries, and an
Association of Brethren Caregivers position description for a
coordinator of shared services. 

 17) A resource list has been developed to help those requesting
assistance on evangelism topics, one of the six main ministry areas
of the General Board's Congregational Life Teams.

The list was developed with input from Brethren pastors who
attended an evangelism focus group gathering in October.
Congregations desiring to explore or to emphasize evangelism "will
find this list helpful in discovering what resources fit well with
who the Brethren are," according to Congregational Life Team Area
5 coordinator Jeff Glass.

The resource list will be sent soon as a direct-mail piece to all
congregations. Congregational Life Team members are available to
consult with congregations for further discussion or planning.
Additional information is available from Congregational Life Team
members in each area of the country, or call Vicki Hoechler in
Congregational Life Ministries at 800-323-8039.

 18) The Anderson (Ind.) Church of the Brethren has begun doing a
monthly service evangelism project to show God's love in the
community with no strings attached.  

For the Christmas season, the project took 25 members of the
congregation to serve the mentally and physically disabled and the
elderly at a local Target department store. Target provides a time
each year for persons needing special assistance to do their
Christmas shopping, and the Anderson group lent a hand.

In an arrangement with the store, church members sang Christmas
carols, wrapped and handed out gifts, pushed and loaded carts, and
performed other tasks "to show God's love in a practical way."
After their time of service, church members handed out bags of
candy to all store employees to thank them for their work and as a
sign of God's love for them.

Participants from the church report having their own lives blessed
and touched. One church member watched her husband of 20 years
spend time with an elderly woman who was blind and enable her to
find Christmas gifts. The church member commented with tearful joy,
"I saw a side of my husband I have never seen before. What a
blessing."

 

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. Duane Grady and
Religion News Service contributed to this report.

To receive Newsline by e-mail or fax, call 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. Also see Photo
Journal at www.brethren.org/pjournal/index.htm for photo coverage
of recent events.