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

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Date: July 20, 2001
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

NEWS
 1) Large group gathers for Brethren Volunteer Service Unit 244.
 2) "Weaving Peace" event features discussion, worship.
 3) Ministers Association meets in Baltimore.
 4) Disaster Child Care project concludes after massive response.
 5) Washington Office urges support of bill in Congress.
 6) Mennonite Church USA is officially born.
 7) Brethren Benefit Trust names golf outing winners.
 8) Brethren bits

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

 1) Brethren Volunteer Service Unit 244 begins this weekend,
running July 22-Aug. 10 at the New Windsor (Md.) Conference Center.
Twenty-three volunteers are participating in the orientation--the
highest number in a unit since fall 1998.

Volunteers from Church of the Brethren congregations are: Tina
Alwine, Black Rock Church of the Brethren, Glenville, Pa.; Elias
Bainbridge, Peace, Council Bluffs, Iowa; Stephen Dodge, Harrisburg
(Pa.) First; Rachel Flores, Highland Avenue, Elgin, Ill.; Meagan
Harlow, Salem, Englewood, Ohio; Laura Kreider, Annville (Pa.);
Lewis Longenecker, Bridgewater (Va.); Jeff McAvoy, Live Oak
(Calif.); Scott McDearmon, Milledgeville (Ill.); Nicole Oetama,
Lancaster (Pa.); Becky Ullom, Wiley (Colo.); Genelle Wine, Enders
(Neb.); and David Young, Pocahontas-New Hope, Green Bank, W.Va.

Seven volunteers from Germany will also join the unit, including
four who will be doing alternative service through the German peace
organization Eirene.

Leadership for the orientation will be provided by Greg Laszakovits
of the Church of the Brethren Washington Office on "Current
Issues"; Miller Davis on "Who Are The Brethren?"; Carol Richardson
of Witness for Peace on "Latin American Issues"; Grace Lefever on
"Healthy Living"; Curtis Bryant of Trees for Life; Matt Guynn on
"Nonviolence and Nonviolent Action"; Cliff Kindy on "Simple
Living"; the Rev. Lonnie Davis Sr. of I Can, Inc. on "Issues of
Homelessness"; and David Radcliff of the General Board's Brethren
Witness office on "Globalization and Our Response."

Volunteers will also participate in several work projects,
devotions and worship, faith sharing, community building, project
selection, and other activities. Brethren Volunteer Service is a
program of the Church of the Brethren General Board.

 2) Immediately following this year's Annual Conference, more than
80 people from 5 months to nearly 80 years of age gathered at the
Aukerman homestead in Union Bridge, Md., for an event titled
"Weaving Peace."

The gathering focused on discussion and worship, and incorporated
the practical steps of sustainable and peaceable living into
everyday life. The program, coordinated by Tammy Krause, provided
the opportunity for active participation.

A variety of activities took place over the three days. Children's
activities included stories, games, and crafts. The members of this
summer's Youth Peace Travel Team--Katie Best, Rachel Long, and
Susan Chapman--assisted in caring for the young ones who attended
with their parents. There was time for several people to tell the
group their "Peace Story": moving testimonials that gave
participants insight into how these individuals have been shaped by
their life experiences.

Each day began and ended with worship services coordinated by
Cynthia Mason and Hannah Wilson. Creative meditations and worship
included a labyrinth as well as time for quiet reflection and a
closing time of sharing. Discussion topics included practical steps
for sustainable living, the Decade to Overcome Violence,
consumerism, and others. One evening involved a coffeehouse
atmosphere that included the sharing of talents in music and
storytelling under a moonlit sky.

On Earth Peace sponsored the event with assistance from the Church
of the Brethren Washington Office, Christian  Peacemaker Teams, and
others. The Glade Valley, Meadow Branch, Pipe Creek, Union Bridge,
University Park, and Westminster churches provided meals and lent
supplies and equipment.
 

 3) More than 100 Church of the Brethren ministers spent an extra
day in Baltimore following Annual Conference for this year's
Minister Association meetings. Led by faculty members of Bethany
Theological Seminary, sessions focused on the theme " 'Who Do You
Say?': Confessing Jesus as Christ in Our Time."

Jeff Bach, Nadine Pence Frantz, Scott Holland, Tara Lea Hornbacker,
Daniel Ulrich, and Dawn Ottoni Wilhelm each took turns providing
exploration of aspects of Jesus' life and ministry, with frequent
questions from and interaction with the audience. 

"The text does not emphasize sinfulness on her part," Ulrich said
as he broke down Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well. "It
emphasizes that Jesus knows everything about her. ... To be known
by Jesus can be a threat, or it can be a blessing."

He urged those attending to consider the well to which they go to
encounter Jesus and to renew that relationship.

A closing worship led by Hornbacker and Brethren Academy
coordinator Jonathan Shively featured music and a service of
communion, with participants finishing by gathering in a circle
around the room.   
 

 4) One of the biggest responses in the history of Disaster Child
Care, a program administered by the Church of the Brethren General
Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries office, has wrapped
up in south Texas.

Three dozen volunteers cared for more than 2,000 children in the
wake of severe flooding in the Houston area. They worked at six
centers around the city, working over a two and a half week period.
Lorna Grow and Gloria Cooper served as coordinators for the
project.

The floods came as a result of Tropical Storm Allison, which
brought heavy rains in early June. The storm caused 22 deaths and
nearly $5 billion in property damage. 

 5) The Church of the Brethren Washington Office last week put out
an "action alert" regarding the training of foreign militaries by
the United States.

It focuses on the Foregin Military Training and Responsibility Act
(HR 1594), which would requires reports on all US training of
foreign military personnel or police forces, as well as charting
the future career paths of all who have received such training. The
alert urges calls and letters in support of the bill to
congressional representatives.

More details are available on the Washington Office's section of
www.brethren.org.

 6) The official merger of the Mennonite Church and the General
Conference Mennonite Church was finalized July 5 at a joint
assembly in Nashville, Tenn. The plan received support from 96
percent of the General Conference delegates and 95 percent of
Mennonite Church delegates.

Many of the structural changes to accommodate the move had been in
the works over the past year. The vote creates a new Mennonite
Church USA with a potential membership of about 116,000.
Mennonite-related denominations outside the new body include
Mennonite Church Canada, with 36,400 members; the US Conference of
Mennonite Brethren Churches, 21,400 members; and the Canadian
Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, 32,100 members.

 7) Brethren Benefit Trust sponsored its annual golf outing July 5
at the Woodland Golf Course near Baltimore. Brian Messler and Bill
Pennel took first-place team honors at the event. The team of Wanda
Flora, Kres Lipscomb, David Pinkham, and George Shaffer placed
second; and Don Fecher, Earle Fike, Wil Nolen, and Royal Snavely
were third.

Closest to the pin winners were Grant Simmons for the men and Donna
March for women. Winning for longest drive were Messler for men's
under 55, Byron Grossnickle for men's over 55, Ann Quay Davis for
women's under 55, and Joyce Nolen for women's over 55.

Larry Davis took first place in the putting contest, and Wendell
Bohrer was second.

 8) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *Two Brethren are entering the Guinness Book of World Records.
Harley and Sylvia Utz, residents of the The Brethren's Home in
Greenville, Ohio, and members in Southern Ohio District, are being
recognized for having the longest marriage of any living couple.
The Utzes, both 102, celebrated their 83rd wedding anniversary June
15 with family members and some cake. In an Associated Press
article, Sylvia Utz said, "We still live a day at a time and take
whatever comes."

 *Nancy Faus of Richmond, Ind., will be installed next summer as
president of the Hymn Society of the US and Canada. 

 *Four members of a Christian Peacemaker Teams delegation to
Vieques, Puerto Rico, were found guilty of trespassing in a
seven-hour trial June 28, for entering a restricted area during
protests again US Navy bombing tests on the island. Richard
Williams received 30 days in prison, and Harold Penner received 20
days in prison, both in Puerto Rico. Mark Byler and Brian Ladd each
were sentenced to 20 nights in a half-way house and community
service in their home communities. They were among 180 people
arrested for actions in early May. 

 *A nine-member World Council of Churches delegation is among those
attending a climate conference taking place in Bonn, Germany, July
16-27. In the delegation's view, the US government's withdrawal
from the Kyoto Protocol will seriously compromise the outcome of
the conference, according to a release. Elias Abramides of
Argentina described the attitude of the United States as "obstinate
and unyielding."  

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. Roy Johnson, Mike
Leiter, Sue Grubb, and Angie Mountain contributed to this report.

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