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Date: April 18, 2003
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline       April 18, 2003

"He has risen! He is not here." Mark 16:6b

NEWS
 1) Bethany board reorganizes, looks at finances at spring meeting.
 2) National Youth Cabinet sets day of prayer, 2004 theme.
 3) On Earth Peace board examines Iraq responses, future direction.
 4) Ecumenical community focuses attention on North Korea crisis.
 5) Church of the Brethren continues to aid Iraq response efforts.
 6) Don Vermilyea's Walk Across America nears 5,000-mile mark.
 7) Global Food Crisis Fund makes grant to El Salvador.
 8) Brethren bits: Easter, Brethren World Assembly, and more.

PERSONNEL
 9) Greg Laszakovits resigns as Washington Office coordinator.
10) General Board announces several new position openings.

FEATURES
11) A simple act of love spans an ocean and more than five decades.

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

 1) The Bethany Theological Seminary Board of Trustees gathered for
its semi-annual meeting March 28-30 in Richmond, Ind., discussing
finances, reorganizing its leadership, hearing updates, and
affirming the appointment of Steve Reid as academic dean beginning
July 1.

The board called John Gingrich of Claremont, Calif., as chair for
the coming year; Anne Reid of Roanoke, Va., as vice chair; and Ed
Poling of Hagerstown, Md., as secretary. Committee chairs for
2003-2004 will be as follows: Academic and Student Affairs, Susan
Boyer, Claremont, Calif.; Finance and Business Affairs, Jim Dodson,
Sadieville, Ky.; Institutional Advancement, Ron Wyrick, Huntingdon,
Pa.; Investment, Jonathan Wieand, Goshen, Ind.; and Recruitment and
Student Development, Ed Poling, Hagerstown, Md.

The Investment Committee reported that new deposits as a result of
the Fountain Square development on the former seminary property in
Oak Brook, Ill., and the current capital campaign have offset the
losses experienced in the current economic climate. The Finance and
Business Affairs Committee brought a balanced 2003-2004 budget of
just over $2 million that was approved by the board.

The Academic and Student Affairs Committee reported the results of
a survey that invited 1996-1999 Master of Divinity graduates to
assess the effectiveness of the program in developing basic
competencies for ministry as outlined in program objectives. The
participants gave the highest ratings to the objectives of
"grounding in Brethren heritage" and "development of a vision for
ministry." Currently 87 percent of the graduate school student body
are members of the Church of the Brethren.

The committee also shared numbers for the Brethren Academy for
Ministerial Leadership, which had 26 people participate in the
spring orientation for academy programs of ministry training, and
16 in the fall orientation. 

The Institutional Advancement Committee noted that a committee of
volunteers is planning activities relating to Bethany's centennial
in 2004-2005, and that Bethany's capital campaign "Inspired by the
Spirit -- Educating for Ministry" continues with good response. The
congregational phase of the campaign will begin at the 2003 Annual
Conference.

The Recruitment and Student Development Committee said that it had
held its initial meeting, and discussed possible new recruitment
initiatives. It also reviewed a report outlining reasons why
Bethany students choose the seminary, with comparisons and
contrasts to other Association of Theological Schools members.

Bethany faculty member Dan Ulrich gave a presentation titled "The
Apostle Paul as a Distance Educator," and discussed aspects of
Paul's ministry that may be relevant for Bethany as the seminary
continues to develop its distributed education program. 

 2) The Church of the Brethren National Youth Cabinet met April 4-6
in Elgin, Ill., setting a theme for 2004 and developing some new
initiatives.

The cabinet chose "Seeking, Thirsting, Longing," based on Psalm
63:1, as the senior high youth theme for 2004. A theme packet with
worship resources, Bible studies, and other materials will be
prepared this fall.

As a response to the Annual Conference "Call to Prayer," the group
decided to designate a National Youth Day of Prayer for Sept. 28.
Brethren youth groups will be encouraged to find intentional ways
of being in prayer for the church and the world on that day. The
cabinet plans to provide a list of suggestions and prayer resources
for the observance.

In other business, the cabinet decided not to produce a youth
devotional booklet in 2004 due to the time and expense involved.
The need for such a resource will be re-evaluated for 2005. The
cabinet also began discussing ideas for the 2004 Christian
Citizenship Seminar theme.

General Board Youth/Young Adult Ministry director Chris Douglas
convenes and staffs the cabinet, and Jon Keller of Gettysburg,
Ohio, serves as adult advisor. Youth members are Caitlin Haynes,
Adam Messner, Jennifer Quijano, Hannah Serfling, and Matt
Witkovsky. The cabinet is next scheduled to meet Sept. 26-28 in
Elgin.

 3) The On Earth Peace board of directors and staff met April 4-5
in New Windsor, Md. Using the theme "For the Healing of the
Nations," the group took time for silence and prayer in the midst
of worship and business. The board, led by chair Bev Weaver,
continued its use of the Formal Consensus process for discussion
and decision-making.

In a time of open worship and silence, the board considered On
Earth Peace's responses to the war in Iraq and the continued "War
on Terrorism." As concerns were raised about the prospect of the US
military controlling all rebuilding and humanitarian aid to Iraq,
an action item was affirmed to provide support to Church of the
Brethren Emergency Response/Service Ministries as it struggles with
this issue. The board and staff agreed to join in prayer at noon
local time on Wednesdays, and those who choose will also fast from
their noon meal on Wednesday. Others in the church were invited to
join On Earth Peace in this prayer and fasting, which will continue
until the board reconvenes in September.  

The Personnel Committee presented a proposal, approved by the
board, allowing staff members to reduce their salary level
voluntarily and designate the amount deducted for specific types of
expenses. It is designed as a method of "lowering the amount of
taxes paid for war." This option will be available to all On Earth
Peace staff beginning with the 2004 budget, pending legal review by
tax consultants.

The financial report showed expense projections "right on target."
On the income side, congregational giving and program income were
above budget, while individual giving was below budget.

The "Call for a Living Peace Church" resolution, co-sponsored by On
Earth Peace and the General Board and being sent to this summer's
Annual Conference, was reviewed and discussed. Staff are also
working on a simple statement that would reaffirm the Church of the
Brethren commitment to conscientious objection.

The Advancement Committee presented a working document titled
"Roots and Branches -- the next stage in developing On Earth
Peace." The document focuses on the need to develop both present
program areas and new programs, and provides ideas for staffing and
finances that will allow these goals to be met. After active
discussion and prayer there was consensus to move ahead with the
proposal in its basic shape, scope, and direction.

In other business:
*Much discussion was given to the possibility that On Earth Peace
might move a portion of its endowment funds into the Community
Investment Fund now offered by the Brethren Foundation. The board
did not reach consensus within the time available and will take up
the question again at its September meeting.  

*In small groups, participants brainstormed ideas about the
upcoming 30th anniversary of On Earth Peace in 2004.  

*Staff member Matt Guynn led board and staff in a learning exercise
on "the mainstream and the margins" of On Earth Peace's identity
and organizational life. Participants recognized many groups/
characteristics currently marginalized in On Earth Peace's work
(such as people of color and those with urban experiences) and
explored first steps to bring those groups into the organization's
life.

*The board affirmed the staff's proposal to work with
Philadelphia-based anti-racism consultant Antje Mattheus to examine
institutional racism within On Earth Peace and identify potential
changes in program offerings and organizational culture.

 4) General Board Global Mission Partnerships executive director
Merv Keeney chaired a National Council of Churches/Church World
Service consultation held last week in Chicago to address the
current Korea crisis.

The group began plans for a mid-June consultation in Washington,
D.C., that will bring together church leaders of North Korea and
South Korea, and for a visit to the two nations by a US ecumenical
delegation later this year. The 17 participants also resolved to
continue humanitarian assistance to famine-stricken North Korea
despite growing tensions with the United States.

"They are in need of all sorts of aid, whether it's medicine or
food," according to Church World Service senior adviser Victor Hsu.
"The need is massive."

Amid escalating rhetoric over North Korea's nuclear program, the
group "agreed on the need to address the United States'
confrontational policy," according to an NCC release. "My fear is
that we're going to find ourselves in a very violent century if we
don't find a way to live as brothers and sisters with one another,"
NCC general secretary Bob Edgar said.

Church World Service recently sent a shipment of nearly 1.5 million
pounds of flour to North Korea, the latest in more than $4 million
in aid sent since 1996. The flour shipment came in the wake of an
urgent United Nations appeal to meet the humanitarian crisis. The
Church of the Brethren has been a long-time supporter of projects
in North Korea through the General Board's Global Food Crisis Fund,
including a grant sent last month.

 5) Two more shipments of relief aid have arrived in Iraq through
Church World Service's "All Our Children" campaign. More than 11
million metric tons of soap and laundry detergent were delivered in
Baghdad on March 31, and a three-ton shipment of blankets,
wheelchairs, and other medical supplies entered Iraq on April 11.

The campaign is a $1 million, multi-agency effort to meet severe
needs in Iraq. Three shipments representing nearly $200,000 in aid
have now been sent. The Church of the Brethren's involvement is
through the General Board's Emergency Disaster Fund, which has sent
$25,000 towards the effort to date. Another $22,000 was given to a
CARE International project to provide clean drinking water in the
country.

The "All Our Children" supplies are being distributed throughout
central and southern Iraq. A recent Church World Service report
noted the humanitarian situation there "remains critical."

"The need is great," Church World Service Emergency Response
Program director Rick Augsburger said. "When we visited Iraq in
1999, the lack of medical equipment and supplies in hospitals then
was appalling. Conditions certainly haven't improved during this
conflict."

Brethren Witness director David Radcliff will be representing the
General Board at an April 29 National Interfaith Summit on Iraq
being held near Chicago. The National Council of Churches-sponsored
event will pray for peace and look at humanitarian relief issues,
the rebuilding of Iraq, and wider American foreign policy.

 6) Don Vermilyea is nearing the 5,000-mile mark in his "Walk
Across America: Peacefully, Simply, Together" marathon. A Brethren
Volunteer Service (BVS) worker jointly sponsored by BVS and the
Brethren Witness office, Vermilyea is on a mission to visit every
Church of the Brethren congregation that will host him. At each
stop, he has been sharing a vision of Christians living peacefully
with God's Earth and working for peace locally and globally.

Currently nearing the New Mexico border on his way to the
Toka'hookaadi congregation, Vermilyea has traveled through Arizona,
California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado since
beginning his journey in February 2002. His travels through
districts are often arranged by the respective district Decade to
Overcome Violence district coordinators. So far, he has been hosted
by more than 50 congregations. 

"This has been well worth it. The people I have met have been just
incredible, and the scenery out here is amazing," he recently
reported from a pay phone in southern Colorado. 

Vermilyea will be the featured speaker at the annual Un-Luncheon at
this summer's Annual Conference in Boise, Idaho. His journey can be
followed at www.brethren.org/genbd/witness/Walk.html.

 7) The General Board's Global Food Crisis Fund has made its second
grant of 2003. An allocation of $33,000 from the fund will assist
the ministry of Emmanuel Baptist Church in San Salvador, El
Salvador.

Emmanuel Baptist is a long-time Church of the Brethren partner that
carries out development work among the poorest members of rural
communities in the Central American nation. The funds will help
facilitate work in agricultural development and community
organization.

 8) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *Churches throughout the denomination and around the world will be
celebrating Easter this Sunday. Churches for Middle East Peace
shared Easter greetings from Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of
Jerusalem that said, in part, "Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.
Let's rejoice and renew our hope. Yes, brothers and sisters, we
invite you to rejoice in spite of the hardships we are suffering.
We invite you to live in spite of the death that surrounds us. We
invite you to love in spite of the hatred that demolishes the
hearts in these days. Christ is risen."

 *The Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center, in development
near Harrisonburg, Va., will present the play "Jordan's Stormy
Banks" June 6-8 and 13-15 at Bridgewater (Va.) College's Cole Hall;
June 19-22 and 26-29 at Lancaster (Pa.) Mennonite School; and July
4-7 at the Mennonite USA Assembly in Atlanta. The drama tells the
story "of one Shenandoah Valley family's struggles during the Civil
War and how they reconciled loyalty to family, to country, and to
their Lord." Ticket information is available at 540-438-1275 or
www.vbmhc.org. 

 *The Church of the Brethren Emergency Response/Service Ministries
disaster relief project in Pineville, W.Va., has completed its work
on behalf of the area's Long-Term Flood Recovery Committee. Work
will continue in partnership with Habitat for Humanity through the
end of May, when the project will close. Marvin and Regina
Zimmerman will serve as project directors in May.

 *Information on this summer's Brethren World Assembly, to be held
at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind., went online earlier this
month, at www.brethren.org/BWA. In addition to leadership announced
earlier, Marcos and Suely Inhauser of the Church of the Brethren in
Brazil will bring international greetings for the denomination and
share in leading worship.

 *Due to incorrect information given to Newsline, the wrong home
congregation was listed for Paul Minnich, who had signed up to join
Brethren Volunteer Service Unit 253. Minnich is a member of
Shrewsbury (Pa.) Church of the Brethren.

 9) Greg Davidson Laszakovits last week announced his resignation
as coordinator of the Church of the Brethren Washington Office. He
plans to conclude his service in Washington, D.C., by July 26.

Laszakovits has been serving in the role since April 2000. The
General Board last month announced plans to merge the Washington
Office and the Brethren Witness office this summer, and Laszakovits
was to have taken on the combined director's position. His future
plans are undecided as he explores both international and pastoral
ministry opportunities.  

 10) The Church of the Brethren General Board has announced several
new position openings created by staff restructuring and
retirements:

 *The General Board is seeking a director of Brethren Identity to
begin in July. Responsibilities include connecting Brethren to the
ministries of the General Board, engaging and challenging members,
and collaborating with other staff in communications, public
relations, and mission interpretation. Location is negotiable.
Applicants should be an active member of the Church of the
Brethren, have familiarity with General Board ministry areas, and
possess strong interpersonal and communication skills. A bachelor's
degree in a related field is required, master's preferred.

 *The General Board is seeking a director of Brethren
Witness/Washington Office to begin in July, based in Washington,
D.C. Responsibilities include providing Brethren with resources and
opportunities for action on peace and justice and environmental
issues, and providing oversight for the ongoing program of the
Washington Office. Applicants should be well-grounded in Church of
the Brethren heritage, theology, and polity; have expertise in
various forms of communication and strong computer skills; and have
a working knowledge of the legislative process and experience in
the areas of environmental stewardship, global and national peace
and justice issues. A bachelor's degree is required, master's
preferred.

 *The General Board is seeking a mission coordinator for Nigeria
through the Global Mission Partnerships office. The position will
be open in summer 2003. Responsibilities include serving as the
Church of the Brethren Nigeria mission team leader and as the
primary link with leadership of the Nigerian church. Preferred
qualities and skills include seminary training and pastoral
experience, an ability to articulate the identity of the Church of
the Brethren, strong administrative and communication skills, and
the ability to learn some Hausa language.

Applications for each of the above three positions are due by May
10. A more detailed position description and application form are
available from the General Board's Office of Human Resources, 1451
Dundee Ave., Elgin IL 60120-1694; or call 800-323-8039, ext. 258,
or e-mail mgarrison_gb@brethren.org.

In addition, the General Board will be calling a current employee
to assume the one-quarter time position of executive director of
the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., when current
director Stan Noffsinger becomes general secretary in July. The
remaining three-quarters time will be given to reduced
responsibilities in that employee's current ministry area. 

 11) One Brethren family's post-World War II act of love is still
bearing fruit.

Abraham Hess, then a free minister at Conestoga Church of the
Brethren in Leola, Pa., and his wife, Ruth, became involved with
the denomination's Food for Peace program that was sending care
packages to Germany and Poland after the war. The packages came
from across the US and were sent through the Brethren Service
Center in New Windsor, Md.

Their son, Claude, now 78, remembers the package sent by his family
-- and the thank-you letter they received in return from the
Zehender family of Germany. That began a relationship that has
spanned the decades, with members of each family making trips
across the Atlantic to visit the other.

With the patriarch of the German family, Carl Zehender, celebrating
his 100th birthday last month, Claude thought of the perfect way to
mark the milestone.

"We were brainstorming, and I said, 'I have an idea,' " Claude Hess
said, recalling a family discussion. " 'Let's contact New Windsor
and see if they would package a replica care package in honor of
him being 100 years old.' " His daughter, Linda, told him, "You
know, that's the best thing we could do."
 
So while some of the contents were a bit different (though still
containing many favorites from Lancaster County, Pa.), the Hess
family again packed a cardboard box to send to Germany. Claude
personally brought it to the Brethren Service Center for shipping,
and the box went out in mid-March.

"None of us know when we get involved in a small project what the
links will be for years to come," Brethren Service Center executive
director Stan Noffsinger said. "It's neat what happens when we
respond to 'the enemy.' Everything we do in Jesus Christ can build
bridges of peace."

Newsline is produced by Walt Wiltschek, director of news services
for the Church of the Brethren General Board, on the first, third
and fifth Friday of each month, with other editions as needed.
Newsline stories may be reprinted provided that Newsline is cited
as the source. Marcia Shetler, Marie Rhoades, Barb Sayler, and
David Radcliff contributed to this report.

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