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

[COBNews@aol.com]

Date: June 29, 2001
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

"And let us not grow weary while doing good ..." Gal. 6:9a

NEWS
 1) It's that time again: Annual Conference comes to Baltimore.
 2) Ministry Summer Service begins its sixth year of internships.
 3) Denomination continues new church development training efforts.
 4) Grant, large child-care response aid tropical storm victims.
 5) New Brethren group in Brazil takes its first steps.
 6) Youth Peace Travel Team has orientation, begins work.
 7) On Earth Peace receives $2,000 grant.
 8) The church mourns the death of Glen E. Norris.
 9) eMountain Communications introduces a new fee structure.
10) Brethren bits.

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

 1) The big week has arrived. The wheels of Annual Conference 2001
are already turning in Baltimore with meetings of Standing
Committee, Annual Conference Program & Arrangements Committee, the
Council of District Executives, the General Board Executive
Committee, and Conference officers occurring in the past few days. 

Conference itself officially begins Saturday evening, when
moderator Phill Carlos Archbold will deliver the message at an
opening worship service that will feature a procession of banners
from each district. Conference concludes on Wednesday, July 4.

A few of the other highlights and things to look for in the week
ahead include the following:
 *Delegates will deal with an agenda that contains elections, 11
reports, four unfinished business items (one of which is already
slated to carry over to 2002), and three new business items. Key
among them are the report of the Annual Conference Review and
Evaluation Committee, queries on ethnic representation in
leadership and on evangelism and church planting, and a resolution
on relations with the Brethren Church of Ashland, Ohio.

 *Several nearby Brethren facilities are offering open houses
before Conference begins. The Brethren Service Center in New
Windsor, Md., will offer refreshments, ice cream, and tours in the
Blue Ridge Building multipurpose room from 12-3 p.m. on Saturday,
June 30. The Church of the Brethren Washington (D.C.) Office will
have an open house from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. the same day, and the
Brethren House for Brethren Volunteer Service workers in Washington
will also have an open house, with tours from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

 *Brethren Press is featuring several new items at the Conference,
among them the books "A Cup of Cold Water: A History of Brethren
Service" and "Stepping Stones for Stumbling Saints." Other new
items include a series of pamphlets on Brethren beliefs, the 2001
Yearbook, this year's Brethren Press resource catalog, and jewelry
and other merchandise highlighting Brethren identity. "Two Preludes
on Brethren Hymns"--a piece commissioned by the Palmyra (Pa.)
Church of the Brethren and published by Shawnee Press--will also be
offered. It contains a new arrangement for "Move in Our Midst."

 *The General Board's Congregational Life Teams will again offer
children's worship resources at Conference, available in baskets on
the ushers' tables prior to each service. Resources will include a
Brethren heritage coloring book, a copy of "Peace Papers," a puzzle
of the Annual Conference logo, and an activity book on Christian
stewardship.

 *Numerous notable guest speakers will be sharing with Conference
participants this year. They include the Rev. Harold Carter of New
Shiloh Baptist Church of Baltimore speaking at the Monday evening
worship service; Walter Wink at the Messenger 150th anniversary
dinner; John Bell of the Iona Community at an insight session, an
early evening concert, and a spiritual formation session; the Rev.
C.T. Vivian of Atlanta at an insight session and the On Earth Peace
breakfast; Tony Campolo at the Congregational Life Ministries
Dinner; the Rev. Alvin B. Herring at the Ecumenical Luncheon and an
insight session; and Mrs. Awut Deng Acuil of the New Sudan Council
of Churches at the Outreach Dinner.

 *Several exhibits plan special features, including: Internet-ready
computers to check e-mail at the Brethren Benefit Trust/eMountain
Communications booth; numerous displays to mark Messenger's 150th
anniversary; a giant dome containing live animals, a slide show,
and other surprises for the General Board exhibit; and the premiere
of the National Youth Conference video and theme materials at the
Youth/Young Adult Ministries booth.

 *Daily coverage of the Conference, including texts of sermons from
each worship service, will be available on the denominational
website, www.brethren.org. A printed wrap-up, a video, and other
materials will also be available following Conference, and the July
5 Newsline will carry highlights of the week.

 2)  Ministry Summer Service began its sixth summer with a week of
orientation and training June 8-15 on the Earlham College campus in
Richmond, Ind. 

The week included a variety of sessions led by Bethany Theological
Seminary faculty, Ministry Summer Service coordinators Chris
Douglas and Allen Hansell of the General Board, and others. Interns
took turns leading worship each morning and evening and traveled to
the Oakland Church of the Brethren in Gettysburg, Ohio, for Sunday
morning services.

Young adult participants spend nine weeks serving in a ministry
setting with a mentor. Nine mentor-intern teams are in the program
this summer--seven are serving in congregations, and two at the
Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill.

Hansell expressed his pleasure with the pairings for the summer,
saying "I don't know that I'd change a single one after being here
this week. I think it's a pretty good matchup."

Douglas says she envisions mentors as people who will "walk with"
the interns for a summer. She says it also a unique chance to "see
the church through the eyes of young adults" as the interns ask
questions and voice thoughts and opinions.

Interns expected it would be a time of growth for them, as well.
"It's outside anything I've ever experienced," says intern Cindy
Laprade of Rocky Mount, Va. "It pushes the envelope of my comfort
zone, and so it provides some fertile ground for learning."

 3) In response to requests for new church development training,
the General Board's New Church Development Advisory Committee
offered a second training event at Ashland (Ohio) Seminary in May.
Forty-nine Church of the Brethren participants attended, bringing
the total number who have been through the training to 100.

Worship was a strong component of the week, and the first session
began with an invocation asking for new visions and a recent
arrangement of "Move In Our Midst."

Ashland trainers emphasized spiritual formation, with a reminder
that spiritual disciplines do not change, but rather place people
so God can change them. They called effective leaders "streams of
living water," and characterized ministry as a by-product of an
intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. They also underscored the
need for churches to change in a changing world or become relegated
to archives and museums.

Lectures and interactive experiences led the group to explore
church planting strategies with gifts, resources, and context in
mind. Church of the Brethren participants met daily to identify new
learnings and consider the implications for church planting in the
denomination.

Those gathered included pastors in new church starts, those
interested in being church planters, district church extension
committee members, and district executives. Each was encouraged to
be in touch with others in his or her district who have attended
one of the two new church development seminars to explore how the
learning may best be implemented.

Plans are under way for additional training to be held at Bethany
Theological Seminary at Richmond, Ind.

 4) Another grant, the 11th of the year, has been made from the
General Board's Emergency Disaster Fund. A allocation of $10,000
will be given in response to the devastation caused by Tropical
Storm Allison in the South earlier this month. The funds will
support efforts by Church World Service, Church of the Brethren
Disaster Child Care through Emergency Response/Service Ministries,
and other long-term developments.

Disaster Child Care opened a project in Houston just a week after
the storm moved through. Nearly 400 child-care contacts were made
in the project's first week of operation, with several centers and
a shelter open. A request for additional assistance was made by
area disaster personnel, and the presence has grown to 30
child-care workers in six centers with nearly 2,000 contacts made.

Disaster Child Care coordinator Roy Winter called it "one of the
largest responses in the history of DCC program." Lorna Grow and
Gloria Cooper are serving as project coordinators. 

 5) The new Church of the Brethren mission effort in Brazil is
taking its first steps. Under the guidance of Marcos Inhauser, who
attended the General Board's meetings this past spring when the new
Brazil endeavor was approved, the first worship service was held
May 20. Thirty-four people attended.

The service, held at a home in the city of Campinas, followed
nearly three months of intensive planning and theological training
for the core group. It also came a few days after the legal
incorporation of the Igreja da Irmandade (Church of the Brethren in
Portuguese) and approval of by-laws.

The worship included several testimonies centering on dreams for
the new church, a recounting by Inhauser of the road that led to
the initial service, hymns, and communion. 

The core group hopes to begin small worship clusters in two other
nearby cities, possibly as soon as this summer. It is also working
on a conflict resolution program for a local school.

 6) The four-member Youth Peace Travel Team had its orientation at
Shepherd's Spring Outdoor Ministry Center, Sharpsburg, Md., June
12-16. Included in the training were background on local and
international peace and justice concerns, the biblical basis of
peacemaking, Brethren heritage, presentation styles, and sessions
on interpersonal relationships.

Leaders for the training included staff of On Earth Peace, the
Brethren Witness office, and a representative from the Outdoor
Ministries Association. These groups, along with the General
Board's Youth/Young Adult Ministries office, sponsor the team. This
is the 11th year a team has been fielded. The team's first
assignment was senior high camp at Shepherd's Spring.

Serving on this year's team are Katie Best, Rachel Long, Amanda
Bunting, and Susan Chapman. Their itinerary this summer stretches
from Pennsylvania to West Virginia to Illinois, and includes a week
at Annual Conference.

 7) On Earth Peace has received a grant of $2,000 from the H.C.
Gemmer Family Christian Foundation of Indianapolis.

The grant was given in support of bringing the Rev. C.T. Vivian to
the On Earth Peace Tuesday morning breakfast at Annual Conference
in Baltimore, and for the Weaving Peace conference immediately
following Annual Conference at the Aukerman homestead in Union
Bridge, Md.

 8) The church is mourning the loss of Glen E. Norris, who served
as a pastor and an editor for the denomination. Norris, who died
June 1 at Morrisons Cove Home in Pennsylvania, was 101.

 From 1960 to 1966 Norris was editor of adult publications for the
as a missionary in Malmo, Sweden.
pastor of several congregations in Pennsylvania, and from 1929-1934
Church of the Brethren General Board. He had earlier served as

 9) Brethren Benefit Trust's eMountain Communications division has
announced that it plans to soon implement a new fee structure "that
better matches price with the value of services provided,"
according to a BBT Benefit News report.

eMountain director Nevin Dulabaum says the new fee structure "is
priced for sustainability rather than survivability." The new
structure comes after eMountain staff compared their fees with
similar providers. The new prices are available online at
www.emountain.net.
 
eMountain's services include web design and development, web
hosting, website maintenance, and e-commerce.

 11) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *Church of the Brethren Emergency Response/Service Ministries is
seeking volunteers to assist with a new effort of the Church World
Service Immigration and Refugee Program. Needed are spiritual care
coordinators to serve as full-time volunteer chaplains inside
detention sites; and volunteer clergy and laypeople to serve as
spiritual caregivers, who will be professionally trained and
certified to provide spiritual care to detainees. For more
information, call 202-544-2350, ext. 22; send e-mail to
jmaruskin@ncccusa.org, or mail to Joan M. Maruskin, CWS/IRP, 110
Maryland Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002.

 *The denomination's Pastoral Compensations and Benefits Advisory
Committee is conducting a study of compensation packages and the
morale of pastors in the Church of the Brethren. A survey was
prepared to send to each pastor and to a sampling of church
committees that determine pastoral compensation.

 *The Southern Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic districts' annual meat
canning project this year produced a total of 39,545 cans of
chicken--about 70,000 pounds' worth. They sent 600 cases (24 cans
per case) to the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., to be
shipped to Cuba; the two districts received 250 cases each for
distribution to food pantries, soup kitchens, and other needs
within the districts; and 13,145 cans remained at Christian Aid
Ministries in Ephrata, Pa., where the canning took place, to be
used in family food boxes.

 *Will Thomas, who has been serving as controller for Brethren
Benefit Trust, has been named director of Foundation Operations.
His responsibilities will include increased attention to socially
responsible investing efforts for the Brethren Foundation.

 *Brethren Colleges Abroad has announced the recipients of the
2001-02 Allen C. Deeter scholarships, honoring the longtime service
of the former BCA executive director. The five students receiving
the $250 scholarships are: Wade Jagger (Manchester College,
studying in Barcelona, Spain), Emily Tulli (Bridgewater College,
studying in Athens, Greece), Angela Perry (University of La Verne,
studying in Cheltenham, England), Courtney Irwin (McPherson
College, studying in Strasbourg, France), and Kristin Wilson
(Juniata College, studying in Cochin, India). The scholarship is
offered on an annual basis to students at each of the six colleges
historically affiliated with the Church of the Brethren. 

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. Marianne Pittman
contributed to this report.

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