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 From nobody@wfn.org  Fri Dec 29 00:00:00 2000
V: 847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
Date: Dec. 29, 2000
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

"...a word in season, how good it is!" Prov. 15:23b

NEWS
 1) Church of the Brethren 2000: Some highlights in review.
 2) Bethany launches first online course via the Brethren Academy.
 3) The denomination's disaster directors are going to camp.
 4) Emergency Disaster Fund grants support appeals on three
continents.
 5) General Board's J2K emphasis draws to a close; 2001 prayer
calendar is planned.
 6) Brethren Colleges Abroad adopts a strategic plan.
 7) Congregational nominees are sought for 2001 Ecumenical Award.
 8) Brethren bits: Song & Story Fest, NCC, Internet use, and more.

COMING EVENTS
 9) Bethany will introduce new exploration program for youth in
July.
10) Two retreats in Maryland will focus on Christian spirituality.

FEATURES
11) A European BVSer reflects on the completion of his experience.

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

 1) As the year 2000 rolls to a close, it provides a chance to look
back and celebrate highlights of a busy 12 months of ministry by
Church of the Brethren agencies. While no list can capture
everything, the following are some items to remember and to rejoice
about:

 *The continued growth of General Board mission in the Dominican
Republic, including the first ordinations of ministers in the
Church of the Brethren there, the sending of Earl and Barbara Eby
to the new Brethren Mission House project in Azua, and the visit of
mission coordinators Jerry and Becky Crouse and moderator David
Reyes to Annual Conference.

 *The launching of a new e-commerce site by Brethren Press at
BrethrenPress.com, developed through a partnership with Brethren
Benefit Trust's eMountain Communications.

 *Bethany Theological Seminary's startup of the Institute for
Ministry with Youth and Young Adults and the hiring of Tim Van
Meter to direct the new program.

 *On Earth Peace Assembly's welcoming of Barb Sayler and Bob Gross
as new co-executive directors in September and a healthy financial
report for the agency by year's end.

 *A joint effort by the General Board's Ministry and Congregational
Life offices to hold visits with pastors in all the denomination's
districts, with 13 districts visited in 2000.

 *Participation by over 1,000 Brethren in the National Older Adult
Conference sponsored by the Association of Brethren Caregivers,
showing that older generations are "Still Fresh and Green."

 *The reinvigoration of the Church of the Brethren Washington
Office, with the hiring of Greg Laszakovits as the new full-time
coordinator plus several new volunteers.

 *Passage of an Annual Conference document on Congregational
Structure, providing new and flexible models for church leadership.

 *Strong interest in Faith Expeditions offered through the General
Board's Brethren Witness office, with new trips emphasizing the
environment and women's issues.

 *The largest fall enrollment in five years at Bethany, with 26 new
graduate students.

 *The Association of Brethren Caregivers becoming co-owner of the
High Performance Board Series, a board development tool, along with
Mennonite Health Services.

 *More than 3,000 people attending a vibrant Annual Conference in
Kansas City, featuring the first joint Brethren Ministries Live
report by all Conference agencies.

 *Participation of more than 400 youth and young adults in national
summer workcamps offered through the General Board's Youth/Young
Adult Office, and service throughout the year by nearly 100
Brethren Volunteer Service workers around the world.

 *Publishing and distribution of a new Ministerial Leadership
Manual via the Ministry office and Brethren Press, incorporating
the 1999 Annual Conference paper on Ministerial Leadership and
other materials.

 *Approval of a new strategic plan by the On Earth Peace board of
directors, calling for a growing emphasis on peace education and
witness and conflict transformation.

 *The visit by Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (Church of the Brethren
in Nigeria) president Toma Ragnjiya to the fall General Board
meeting in Elgin, Ill., and continuing mission in Nigeria under the
direction of John and Janet Tubbs through Global Mission
Partnerships.

 *The delivery of complete Bibles in the Nuer language to Sudan,
where the Church of the Brethren's Lester and Esther Boleyn had
worked for 10 years with the translation effort.

 *Commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Disaster Child Care,
with work by that program and Crisis in Aviation Response (CAIR) at
several sites.

 *The sending of 27 grants from the General Board's Emergency
Disaster Fund and more than a dozen from the Global Food Crisis
Fund, spreading assistance throughout the world.

 *Growth of the denominational website, www.brethren.org, with a
new home page, search functions, information in Spanish, and other
features--all via a partnership of seven agencies.

 *Working intentionally with partners in India to resolve
disagreements related to Brethren groups in the country and to seek
reconciliation.

 *The beginning of several new listservs to connect people in the
denomination through the work of Brethren Benefit Trust's eMountain
Communications.

 *Well-attended seminars on church planting and Worshipful-Work
offered through Congregational Life Ministries.

 *The gathering of more than 50 people for the Brethren Homes'
Forum 2000.

 *Welcoming the Carroll County (Md.) chapter office of the American
Red Cross to the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor.

 *The holding of a third Consultation of Ethnic and Urban Churches
in Ohio to look at leadership training models for ethnic churches,
and an Urban Peace Tour in southern California.

 *Long-term relief work in hurricane-stricken eastern North
Carolina.

 *A new membership curriculum, "Heart, Soul, and Mind," from
Brethren Press.

 *Annual Conference delegates approving a request for the
denomination to join the World Council of Churches' Decade to
Overcome Violence.

 *Launching of the "God-Centered Life" program to emphasize
spiritual growth for youth, and continuation of the Ministry Summer
Service program for young adults exploring ministry.

 *A year-long "J2K' emphasis to celebrate the 2,000th anniversary
of Jesus' birth.

 Continuing the work of Jesus. Amen!

 2) Cyberspace is providing classroom space with a new effort by
Bethany Theological Seminary (Richmond, Ind.). An online course
entitled "JESUS," sponsored by the Brethren Academy for Ministerial
Leadership, will be held during Bethany's spring semester Jan.
22-May 4. It is the first online class offering for the seminary.

The course will look at different biblical, theological, and
cultural portrayals of Jesus. Nadine Pence Frantz, associate
professor of theological studies at Bethany, will be the
instructor. 

"I'm looking forward to experimenting with the technology that
enables us to teach nonresidential students, and learning myself
what particular challenges that way of teaching
brings," Pence Frantz says.

The course generated a rapid response, filling the initial limit of
six participants in a matter of hours. That number quickly doubled,
with participants from across the nation, and only a few of the 15
current slots remained open as of Christmas. As an offering of the
academy, jointly sponsored by Bethany and the Church of the
Brethren General Board, it does not provide graduate credit.

Jonathan Shively, coordinator of the Brethren Academy, expresses
excitement about the opportunities this and future online courses
will provide, saying it should open up opportunities for a broader
spectrum of students. The development of such "distributed
education" options was part of a list of goals recently approved by
the seminary's board.

 3) Every year, the General Board's Emergency Response/Service
Ministries office brings together disaster project directors for
evaluation and leadership training. This year, however, the
training will be more hands-on than usual.

Stan Noffsinger, manager of the ER/SM program, says that a request
for hands-on skill development had been made during the last few
evaluations of training events. An opportunity to do just that came
along in the past few months via Camp Ithiel, a small Church of the
Brethren camp in Gotha, Fla., near Orlando.

Ithiel needed help to finish the languishing construction of a new
dining hall. Camp director Mike Neff says the building was started
in 1994, and the exterior completed in March 1995, but a lack of
funds has sidelined its completion since then. General Board member
Merle Crouse, from the Atlantic Southeast District--where the camp
is located, raised the possibility of ER/SM involvement to
Noffsinger at the denomination's Annual Conference in July. 

Now, Ithiel will provide a working laboratory for the disaster
project directors when they gather Feb. 26-March 3. Bob Pittman, a
former high school industrial arts teacher and longtime disaster
volunteer, will coordinate the project and teach skills from the
building trade. His wife, Marianne, will coordinate meals, serving
up typical disaster-site fare and teaching how to put together
menus for large groups.

"All the pieces of the puzzle were just laying out there in various
stages," Noffsinger says. "It's all coming together in a beautiful
way. It fulfills what we need to do, and at the same time Camp
Ithiel gets the benefit of 50 to 75 volunteers. Everybody wins."

Neff is now working to secure the necessary permits and take care
of other logistics in preparation for February. He says the camp
has been using the Old Testament story of Nehemiah as a model for
this effort.

"Nehemiah went back to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls after Israel
was in captivity," Neff says. "The time was right, and he was the
right person to do it. We've been captive to not being able to fund
this building and complete it. ... This is going to kick off our
effort to finish the building." 

Seminars will also be given on policy and procedures, legal issues,
and other topics pertinent to the disaster project personnel. 

 4) A blitz of year-end grants from the General Board's Emergency
Disaster Fund is sending aid across the world. The five new
grants--totaling nearly $84,000--bring to 27 the number of
allocations made from the fund this year.

The first of this latest batch will give $25,000 in support of a
Church World Service appeal for assistance in the Balkan nations of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro. The funds will assist
with income-generating programs; will supply direct aid of food,
seeds, blankets and livestock; and will provide small loans to
low-income people to help them become self-employed.

Additional money will head to the Balkans via an allocation of
$18,700 that will support Brethren Volunteer Service work in the
former Yugoslavia. That work covers human rights monitoring,
conflict resolution, youth programs, advocacy for women, and
assistance to peace groups. The funds will cover the BVS expenses
for the calendar year of 2000.

Another grant from the fund will send $10,000 toward a Church World
Service appeal for assistance in the Central American nation of
Belize. Heavy rains and flooding from Hurricane Keith have
contaminated water and increased the risk of malaria, hepatitis A,
cholera, and dengue fever. The funds will assist the purchase and
distribution of medicines for as many as 72,000 people.

The final two grants will send aid to Africa. One will donate
$20,000 to another Church World Service appeal, this one in Kenya.
Serious drought conditions have left millions of Kenyans facing
severe malnutrition. The funds will assist a program to provide
beans as a supplement to 65,680 people, helping to reduce
malnutrition and related diseases.

The other will give $10,000 to help Interchurch Medical Assistance
establish an HIV/AIDS Facilitation Unit in Sub-Saharan Africa. The
funds will help in the hiring of a qualified, public health
official and in implementing a plan for a multi-faceted, pilot
HIV/AIDS response for selected African countries.

 5) The General Board's "J2K: New Hope, New Day" emphasis, designed
to celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ,
is drawing to a close.

Brethren Witness director David Radcliff, whose office coordinated
the effort, says the daily prayer calendar produced for J2K seemed
to draw the most widespread use. In addition, he says that about
$20,000 from the J2K "We're Building a House" offerings will have
been received. The funds went to support a community development in
the poor African-American community of Bayview, Va., and a
wood-conserving stoves project in Guatemala.

Other congregational activities in connection with J2K included
participation in the daily scripture-reading program, doing a time
capsule, and planting trees.

The positive reception to the prayer calendar has led to the
creation of another one for 2001, this time by the Congregational
Life Ministries office. Plans called for the calendars, coordinated
by Area 5 (West) Congregational Life Team member Steve Gregory, to
be in the mail by Christmas. 

The 2001 calendar will use the lectionary list of scripture
reading, enabling members of congregations who use the Living Word
bulletin series to read the scriptures for any Sunday during the
prior week. Questions for discussion or personal reflection on
scripture are also included in the calendar, along with prayer
requests.

The calendar is formatted so that it can be easily copied for
newsletters; it will also be posted on the Congregational Life
Ministries area of the General Board website, at
www.brethren.org/genbd.

 6) After a long process of discernment, Brethren Colleges Abroad
has completed a strategic plan to guide its ongoing work of
international education.

Dudley Hamilton Associates of New York served as consultants in
developing the plan, working with a BCA Strategic Planning
Committee that included BCA president Karen Jenkins, site
directors, professors, administrators, and other college and BCA
staff members. Elizabethtown (Pa.) College president Theodore Long
served as chair. 

The committee held its third and final meeting in Chicago this past
fall, after which the BCA board met in November to review, revise,
and unanimously approve the strategic plan. It was then presented
to BCA directors at their annual meeting in December and was
formally adopted.

Guiding the overall plan is a new BCA mission statement: "Rooted in
the values of peace and justice, Brethren Colleges Abroad promotes
international understanding, awareness of global citizenship, and
academic scholarship through educational exchanges."

The full plan can be viewed online at
www.bcanet.org/strategicplan_2000.html.

 7) The Church of the Brethren Committee on Interchurch Relations
is seeking nominations for its 2001 Ecumenical Award, to be
presented at Annual Conference in Baltimore in July.

This year's award will go to a Church of the Brethren congregation
or fellowship that has worked in ecumenical cross-cultural or
interracial "bridge-building" efforts. Nominations should include
the name and address of the congregation, a contact name at that
congregation, the reason for nomination, and a summary of the
cross-cultural or interracial ecumenical activities.

Nominations must be received by Feb. 1 and should be sent to
Committee on Interchurch Relations, Church of the Brethren General
Offices, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. Call 800-323-8039 or
e-mail jkobel_gb@brethren.org for more information.

 8) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *The Potomac Highlands Song & Story Fest, the latest installment
in the annual Song & Story Fest series, will have the theme "A
Gathering at the River." It will be held along the shores of the
Potomac River, at Shepherd's Spring Outdoor Ministries Center in
Sharpsburg, Md., June 24-30. Leaders will include storytellers
Debbie Eisenbise, Rocci Hildum, Alan Hoal, Jonathan Hunter, and Jim
Lehman; and musicians/songwriters Joseph Helfrich, Steve Kinzie,
Lee Krahenbuhl, Bill and Jacob Jolliff, Peg Lehman, and Mike Stern.
Cost is $170 for adults and teens, less for children. Call
209-523-1438 or e-mail bksmeltz@juno.com for details.

 *The Church of the Brethren General Board's Emergency
Response/Service Ministries is monitoring the situation in Alabama
and Mississippi after a series of tornadoes struck the area and
damaged homes earlier this month. Disaster Child Care was not
immediately requested. ER/SM cautions against the sending of
unsolicited donations of goods to the site, suggesting those who
wish to help instead contact ER/SM or other relief agencies.

 *Juniata College (Huntingdon, Pa.) junior Ryan Miller, studying
political science with an emphasis on Europe, has been awarded an
internship with the Swedish delegation of the European Parliament.
Miller attends plenary sessions of the Parliament, is researching
the implications of European security and defense policies in the
context of European Union/United States relations, and will visit
the full Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. 

 *In his Christmas message, National Council of Churches president
Bob Edgar expressed sorrow over the current violence in the Holy
Land and said, "As we celebrate Christmas in a world divided, may
every creche, every carol, every candle, every sacred symbol, renew
in us an awareness of God's reconciling love, of the transforming
power of the Spirit, and of our oneness in Christ. Receiving these
gifts, we can be the peacemakers and the standard-bearers of
justice that we are called to be."

 *Manchester College (North Manchester, Ind.) has won a Brethren
Colleges Abroad contest celebrating the first International
Education Week. BCA representatives submitted evidence of creative
activities on their campuses to celebrate and highlight the
importance of international education. BCA president Karen Jenkins
says Manchester's activities were "broad in scope and involved many
people across the campus and from the community." Manchester
received $500 in scholarship funds to be awarded to students
attending a BCA study center or to faculty/administrators attending
a BCA international seminar in 2001. Three runners-up, including
Juniata College (Huntingdon, Pa.), received $250 for scholarships. 

 *The Smith Mountain Lake Community Church, a new church start near
Roanoke, Va., in the Virlina District, planned to hold the first
service in its new, permanent building with a candlelight service
on Christmas Eve. The church expects to vacate its rented quarters
by the end of January.

 *A non-scientific survey by the Pew Internet & American Life
Project reports the vast majority of churches and synagogues say
that the use of the Internet has improved congregational life.
Eighty-three percent of those responding to the survey said the
life of their congregations had been helped by the Internet, and 91
percent said e-mail had helped congregation and staff members keep
in better touch with each other. More than 1,300 congregations
responded, according to Religion News Service.

 *An international coalition led by Amnesty International and
Sister Helen Prejean on Dec. 18 presented United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan with 3.2 million signatures calling
for an end to the death penalty. Annan said the group has his
support, according to Religion News Service.

 9) Bethany Theological Seminary (Richmond, Ind.) this summer will
kick off a new program called "Exploring Your Call: A Seminar on
Faith and Vocation for Youth," for juniors and seniors in high
school. The 10-day event will run July 13-22.

The program is designed to provide youth with "tools to help youth
make clearer choices in their Christian journey," according to a
release from the seminary. 

It comes about as a result of a $2 million grant given to
Manchester College (North Manchester, Ind.) from the Lilly
Endowment on behalf of eight Church of the Brethren-related
institutions. The grant is part of Lilly's Theological Vocational
Exploration Programs Initiative, which permits recipients to start
or enhance programs that encourage young people to consider the
ministry as a career or consider their faith commitments in
whatever career they choose.

Each student will be asked to finance transportation expenses to
and from Bethany, but all other costs will be covered through the
grant.

"I am excited about this new initiative as another way to help
youth explore faith and vocation," Bethany president Eugene Roop
says. "I hope that through this program Bethany can support
congregations and districts as they nurture the next generation of
leaders in the Church of the Brethren."

The main focus of the seminar will be allowing youth to experience
a seminary atmosphere from a student's perspective through courses,
congregational involvement, community service projects, personal
and spiritual enrichment, and recreation. Tim Van Meter, director
of Bethany's Institute for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults,
describes the program as "not a way for youth to simply 'fit into
the church,' but forming youth to transform the church".

Applications for the program will be available in early February.
Registration is limited to the first 30 applicants. For more
information, contact Todd Reish at BethanySem@aol.com, or call
800-287-8822.

 10) Two retreats at Shepherd's Spring Outdoor Ministries Center
(Sharpsburg, Md.) in the early months of 2001 will focus on
spiritual growth. Both are co-sponsored by Shepherd's Spring and
the General Board's Youth/Young Adult Ministry office, and will be
led by Annual Conference moderator-elect Paul Grout of Putney, Vt.

The first is a retreat for young adults titled "Who Is Jesus?"
Scheduled for Feb. 16-18, it will focus on learning about Jesus
Christ and the influence a relationship with Jesus has on one's
life. Cost is $20.

The second is part of "The God-Centered Life" project and will be
held April 27-29. It is designed for parents, youth advisors,
mentors, teachers, and others who work with youth and will focus on
youth spirituality issues. Cost is $25.

For information on either retreat, call Shepherd's Spring at
301-223-8193. A national youth spiritual growth camp for senior
high youth is also planned for July, at Camp Mack in Milford, Ind.
Call 800-323-8039 for more details.

 11) Matt St. Clair recently completed a two-year assignment in
Brethren Volunteer Service, working with the Hnuti DUHA
environmental project in the Czech Republic. He will be traveling
to Church of the Brethren congregations in coming months to share
about his experience, but an excerpt from the current "Sharing BVS"
newsletter provides a glimpse of his reflections.

St. Clair, from southern California, wrote the following: "My
personal faith and faith in others has been indelibly strengthened,
not through the aid of any book or building, but by the incredible
heart and spirit of the people I work with and have met during
these last two years; by the people-experience of BVS; and by the
incredible accomplishments that, upon reflection, I can observe
myself to have made as a result of following my heart and throwing
myself out of any sort of comfort zone or well-trodden path to
conventional success.

"And it is this faith that I apply now in saying that I not only
hope, but know, that I will continue to be inspired, pushed, and
challenged by BVSers past and present in the years to come."
 

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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