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

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Date: Jan. 30, 2004
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

NEWS
 1) Annual Conference leaders make pastoral visit to Michigan.
 2) Church of the Brethren mourns the death of Hazel Peters.
 3) Brethren hold biennial training event for Decade to Overcome
Violence.
 4) Planning for ecclesiology conversations continues.
 5) Six US Brethren participate in Nigeria workcamp.
 6) Emergency Disaster Fund supports recovery work in US, Iraq.
 7) Global Food Crisis Fund allocates more than $33,000 in grants.
 8) Musical compositions sought for Brethren tricentennial.
 9) Brethren bits: New Windsor recognition, Florida, and, more.

PERSONNEL
10) Lowell Flory will serve as executive director, Advancement and
Gift Planning, for Bethany.
11) LeAnn Wine called as General Board director of Financial
Operations; Duane Steiner is interim.
12) Jeffrey Shireman named president of Lebanon Valley Brethren
Home.
13) Philip Hollinger appointed vice president of Brethren Village.
14) Youth and young adult workcamp coordinators named for 2005.
15) South/Central Indiana seeks district executive minister.

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

1) Annual Conference leaders make pastoral visit to Michigan.

Annual Conference moderator Christopher Bowman and moderator-elect
Jim Hardenbrook made a pastoral visit to Michigan District in early
January, after receiving several contacts from district leaders and
with the affirmation of the Annual Conference Council. The district
leadership is dealing with the 2002 and 2003 actions of Annual
Conference surrounding the issue of ordaining non-celibate
homosexual persons.

Bowman and Hardenbrook visited five churches over a four-day visit
Jan. 5-8, which was intended to be pastoral in nature rather than
bringing, arguing, or enforcing any Annual Conference legislation
or interpretation. Marie Willoughby, Michigan District executive,
scheduled the conversations.

At each location, Bowman and Hardenbrook felt they were received
warmly and that feelings were shared passionately. "I am impressed
by the commitment of the brothers and sisters in Michigan to their
faith and to each other," Bowman said. "Our visit allowed us to
share in some small way the pain of division felt by the faithful
Brethren on both sides of the current crisis and to offer the
encouragement of the wider church."

"The divisions within the Michigan District are real and deep,"
Hardenbrook said, "but so is their commitment to Jesus and the
church. The desire to restore unity, while not universal, is
evident. I encourage the whole denomination to make a concerted
effort to pray for the people and leaders of the Michigan
District."

Meetings were held at Skyridge Church of the Brethren in Kalamazoo,
with about 25 people from four congregations; at Onekama, with 22
people from three congregations; at Beaverton, with 30 people from
three congregations; at New Life Fellowship in Mount Pleasant, with
20 people from six congregations; and at Trinity Church of the
Brethren in Detroit, with 28 people from four congregations. Some
people attended more than one of the meetings. As a follow-up to
the visit, district leaders held a telephone conference call with
Bowman and Hardenbrook to talk about the visit and their vision,
mission, and hope for the district.

2) Church of the Brethren mourns the death of Hazel Peters.

The church is mourning the death of Hazel Peters, a longtime
employee and volunteer of the Church of the Brethren whose stature
and impact far exceeded her small physical size. Peters, 84, died
Jan. 14 in Roanoke, Va. She was a member of the Central
congregation in Roanoke.

Peters began her church career in 1949, when she was among the
early groups to enter Brethren Volunteer Service. She went to
Europe, working first with Brethren Service Commission tasks in
Germany and with refugees in Austria, and later as M.R. Zigler's
secretary in Geneva, Switzerland.

In 1953 she became administrative assistant for the Brethren
Service Commission's main office in Elgin, Ill., and "was at the
heart of all Brethren Service activities" for the next 16 years,
according to a staff citation, providing a vital link between the
denomination's international ministries and the US church. She
followed her Brethren Service tenure by serving as administrative
assistant to general secretary Loren Bowman, and later as
coordinator for the Personnel Office.

The citation read at her retirement from the General Board in 1981
said, "Hazel has style! . . . and that style always centers on
people."

Peters "retired" by becoming an active volunteer with On Earth
Peace in New Windsor, Md., for the next 14 years before finally
returning to her home in Roanoke, where she continued to help On
Earth Peace and also assisted in the Virlina District office.

"If the Brethren had saints," former On Earth Peace director Tom
Hurst said, "Hazel would either top my list or come very, very
close to the top."

A memorial service for Peters is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Feb. 1 at
the Central congregation in Roanoke. It was originally scheduled
for Jan. 25 but was postponed by ice and snow in the region.

3) Brethren hold biennial training event for Decade to Overcome
Violence.

A workshop for district and congregational representatives for the
Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) drew 48 participants to New
Windsor, Md., Dec. 5-7. DOV is a program begun by the World Council
of Churches. This second DOV training event for Brethren was
sponsored by the General Board's Witness/Washington Office, On
Earth Peace (OEP), Bethany Theological Seminary, and the H.C.
Gemmer Christian Foundation. 

The workshop, titled "Overcome Evil with Good," is viewed as
formative for Brethren DOV representatives. Presentations by peace
workers Bernard Lafayette Jr. and David Jehnsen were central to the
event. Lafayette was an instrumental member of the nonviolent
organizing efforts of Martin Luther King Jr., co-founder of the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1960, and leader of
the Nashville Movement the same year. David Jehnsen is a social
change activist and educator who was involved with King, Lafayette,
and others in the Albany Movement of 1962, served as deputy
director of the US Congressional Commission charged with design of
the United States Institute of Peace from 1980-82, and is a member
of the OEP board of directors. Jehnsen and Lafayette challenged
participants, through historical analysis and strategic theory, to
embrace principles for nonviolence and the philosophy of King.
Their presentation offered hope and a structured methodology for
moving forward.

In addition to staff leadership from OEP and Brethren Witness,
Brethren Volunteer Service worker Rachel Peterson coordinated the
event. Worship resources were provided by Jeff Carter, pastor at
Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren, and David Radcliff of the
New Community Project. The event also included shared meals, shared
stories, and a shared dialog about how the DOV program could best
be structured in the Church of the Brethren. Participants had the
opportunity to role play and develop strategies that may lead to a
new nonviolence movement within the church.

4) Planning for ecclesiology conversations continues.

The cross-denominational group working on a series of "ecclesiology
conversations," exploring what it means to be the church, met again
Jan. 15-16 at Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind.
Representatives of Annual Conference and all five of its agencies
were present, along with several members of the Council of District
Executives--the body that initiated the effort. 

Agenda items at the January meeting included sharing input obtained
from various groups within the denomination, discussing ways to
secure grants to fund the events being planned, and working on
plans for a launching event in 2005 or early 2006.

Brethren Press is developing a guide for a study process that will
enable groups to wrestle with questions and share stories. The
committee expects to test the process in small groups at the
launching event, which will be national in scope and will include
worship times with some major keynote speakers. A subcommittee is
working on details for the event.

After a period of regional events and opportunities for
congregational groups and others to give input through the study
process, a large-scale culminating event is envisioned for 2007.
Organizers hope it will bring together a vision that can bring
renewal for the church at all levels.

The committee is scheduled to meet again in late spring to continue
planning.

5) Six US Brethren participate in Nigeria workcamp.

 From Jan. 18 to Feb. 14, six US Brethren are joining others from
Europe, and about two dozen Nigerians, to continue construction on
Brethren in Nigeria) headquarters near Mubi.
the Comprehensive Secondary School at the EYN (Church of the

"The annual Nigeria workcamp helps participants connect with the
past and plant seeds for the future," said Jeff Mummau, coordinator
for the annual project. Now in his 11th year in the role, he said,
"I enjoy giving people the opportunity to leave their comfort zone
and stretch themselves. For four weeks, workcampers work alongside
the Nigerians, sleep in their homes, and eat their food." 

The school "is a big dream of the Nigerian church," said Merv
Keeney, executive director of the Global Missions Partnerships
office of the General Board. "It's amazing how it is going forward.
The school is gaining a good reputation. It's exciting." For the
past several years, workcamps from the US and Europe have
contributed to building the school. A Brethren Volunteer Service
worker, Callie Surber of Champaign (Ill.) Church of the Brethren,
also is teaching at the school.

The workcamp is sponsored by the Global Mission Partnerships
office. The US participants are Lester Boleyn of the Hagerstown
(Md.) Church of the Brethren; Amy Luckenbill and Jeff Mummau,
Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren; Ralph Miner, Highland
Avenue Church of the Brethren, Elgin, Ill.; Anne Sales, First
Peoria (Ill.) Church of the Brethren; and Lorraine Walker, Ephrata
(Pa.) Church of the Brethren.

6) Emergency Disaster Fund supports recovery work in US, Iraq.

A total of $51,000 is being allocated from the Church of the
Brethren General Board's Emergency Disaster Fund for the work of
the Church of the Brethren Emergency Response program and Mennonite
Central Committee.

Three grants totaling $25,000 will support current Emergency
Response projects in the US. A grant of $5,000 will go to
fire-damaged southern California, continuing support for Disaster
Child Care while parents work to clean debris and rebuild their
homes. A $10,000 grant has been allocated for a project in
Metropolis, Ill., covering remaining expenses of work resulting
from tornado and storm damage in the spring of 2003. Another
$10,000 will help begin a long-term recovery project in Poquoson,
Va., the result of damage done by Hurricane Isabel on the East
Coast in the fall of 2003.

A grant of $26,000 has been made to Mennonite Central Committee to
help rebuild a school in Baghdad, Iraq. This grant is a
continuation of a previous allocation. The school serves 370
children who are day students, and 80 older children who receive
vocational training in the evenings.

7) Global Food Crisis Fund allocates more than $33,000 in grants.

Two grants made by the Church of the Brethren Global Food Crisis
Fund will support the Western Service Workers Association in Santa
Ana, Calif., and the Mustard Seed Neighborhood Center in Wenatchee,
Wash.

A grant of $20,000 will help retrofit the Western Service Workers
Association's 3,000-square-foot structure, providing space for
organizer training, clothing, and supplemental food distribution.
A grant of $11,045 will support Mustard Seed's direct feeding
program and nutrition education for low-income children ages 4
weeks to 12 years. The funds for Mustard Seed will be distributed
in two parts: $7,045 in 2004 for the purchase of kitchen equipment
and support of a half-time nutrition planner, and $4,000 in 2005
for the nutrition planner.

8) Musical compositions sought for Brethren tricentennial.

The Annual Conference 300th Anniversary Committee is inviting the
submission of compositions representing the 2008 tricentennial
theme: "Surrendered to God, Transformed in Christ, Empowered by the
Spirit." The selected piece or pieces will be used in a variety of
ways throughout 2008.

Compositions can be in the form of hymns, folk songs, praise songs,
anthems, or children's songs. A full score must be included for
each submission; an audio tape also is requested.

Deadline for all submissions is June 30, 2005. The name, address,
and phone number of the composer should not appear on the score but
should be included on a separate page. All compositions become
property of the Annual Conference Anniversary Committee and will
not be returned. Send submissions to: Annual Conference, Attention:
Anniversary Music, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120.

A statement on the theme, which is based on John 12:24-26a, can be
found on the Annual Conference website at
www.brethren.org/ac/Anniversary/theme interpretation.pdf.

9) Brethren bits: New Windsor recognition, Florida, and, more.

*Correction: The Jan. 16 Newsline story on the shipment of disaster
relief to Iran incorrectly stated the number of health kits sent.
A total of 160 cartons of the health kits were sent, containing a
total of 8,000 kits.

*The Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., has received an
abundance of publicity recently. Articles in the Carroll County
(Md.) Times and The Sun of Baltimore gave prominent coverage to the
recent earthquake relief shipment sent to Iran via the New Windsor
distribution center. Disaster News Network (www.disasternews.net)
also carried a feature this month on the center's relief work and
another feature highlighting Interchurch Medical Assistance, which
is based at the center.

*The Sunshine State becomes a hub of Brethren activity over the
course of the next month. The Council of District Executives, the
Inter-Agency Forum, and the Mission and Ministries Planning Council
all meet in Daytona Beach, Fla., in consecutive meetings during the
first week of February. Brethren Volunteer Service, which is in the
midst of a volunteer orientation unit at Camp Ithiel in Gotha,
Fla., will hold an in-service retreat there Feb. 9-13 for current
volunteers. And Feb. 20-21, Disaster Child Care offers a Level 1
training workshop in West Palm Beach.

*A maintenance manager is needed at Camp Bethel in Fincastle, Va.,
for a resident, full-time position. Duties include facilities and
equipment maintenance, grounds upkeep, and custodial needs. For
more information visit www.campbethelvirginia.org or call
540-992-2940. Send resume', salary history, and cover letter to:
Camp Bethel Manager, 328 Bethel Rd., Fincastle, VA 24090; fax
540-992-2940; or e-mail camp.bethel@juno.com.

*The Brethren Homes Forum 2004 will be hosted by the Brethren
Retirement Community in Greenville, Ohio, March 4-6. Highlights of
the event will include major business presentations, dialog about
homes and districts, an award and recognition dinner, entertainment
and games, and a time of planning for the future. For more
information contact Ralph McFadden at the Association of Brethren
Caregivers, 800-323-8039.
 

10) Lowell Flory will serve as executive director, Advancement and
Gift Planning, for Bethany.

Bethany Theological Seminary has announced the appointment of
Lowell Flory as executive director for Advancement and Gift
Planning, effective summer 2004. Flory will have administrative
responsibility for annual fund development, gift planning, alumni
and congregational relations, publications, and public relations.

Flory joined Bethany's Institutional Advancement staff in 2000 with
responsibility for gift planning, which has provided him the
opportunity to work with individuals as they develop their estate
plans. Such gift planning will remain his responsibility. He also
will teach an occasional course in organizational and leadership
development.

A Church of the Brethren member and former Annual Conference
moderator, Flory holds degrees from McPherson (Kan.) College and
the University of Kansas. He is a licensed member of the Kansas
Bar. Flory came to Bethany from McPherson, where he had served on
the faculty since 1983, chairing the department of business and
economics. He also has served on the General Board, the Brethren
Benefit Trust board, and the Bethany board.

11) LeAnn Wine called as General Board director of Financial
Operations; Duane Steiner is interim.

LeAnn Wine, C.P.A., has accepted the General Board position of
director of Financial Operations and assistant treasurer, which she
will begin around March 8. She is currently a staff accountant with
the firm of Trout, Ebersole and Groff, LLP in Lancaster, Pa.

For Wine, who grew up in Enders (Neb.) Church of the Brethren, this
new role will fulfill a long-range goal to work within a
not-for-profit organization. She is a graduate of McPherson (Kan.)
College, where she was a tutor and volunteered accounting services
to a variety of charities.  

Until Wine can begin, Duane Steiner has contracted with the General
Board to be part-time interim director of Financial Operations. He
began working with outgoing director Dennis Kingery, who has
accepted a position with Brethren Benefit Trust, on Jan. 27.

Steiner previously served as executive director of Annual
Conference before retiring in December 2002, and before that as
director of development and treasurer/business manager for Bethany
Theological Seminary. He is a member of York Center Church of the
Brethren, Lombard, Ill.

Steiner will serve until the end of March or until the transition
to Wine has been completed.

12) Jeffrey Shireman named president of Lebanon Valley Brethren
Home.

Lebanon Valley Brethren Home, Palmyra, Pa., has announced the
selection of Jeffrey L. Shireman as president. Shireman will begin
his duties Feb. 9.

Shireman served most recently as executive director of Crane's Mill
Retirement Community in West Caldwell, N.J., and has 20 years of
experience in senior care. He serves as an evaluator for the
Continuing Care Accreditation Commission and has been active in
senior care provider associations such as the Pennsylvania
Association of Non-Profit Homes for the Aging, the New Jersey
Association of Non-Profit Homes for the Aging, and the American
Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

13) Philip Hollinger appointed vice president of The Brethren
Village.

The Brethren Village, Lancaster, Pa., recently announced the
appointment of Philip S. Hollinger to the position of Vice
President--Support Services.

Hollinger brings 24 years of business and engineering experience to
the Brethren Village executive leadership team. A native of Mount
Joy, he holds a Master's of Administration in Business from Penn
State University. At The Brethren Village, he will have
administrative responsibility for facilities management, pastoral
services, materials management, and the food/dining services
departments. 

Hollinger is a member and moderator of West Green Tree Church of
the Brethren, Elizabethtown, Pa.

14) Youth and young adult workcamp coordinators named for 2005.

A team of three young adults--two of them familiar faces--will
serve as coordinators for the 2005 youth and young adult workcamps
offered by the General Board's Youth/Young Adult Ministry Office.

The 2004 coordinators, Beth Rhodes and Cindy Laprade, have agreed
to continue as part of the team for another year. Rhodes and
Laprade are both from the Virlina District. Rhodes is from the
Central congregation in Roanoke, Va., and Laprade is a member of
the Antioch congregation in Rocky Mount.

They will be joined for the 2005 planning by Ben Kreider, who
served as an assistant coordinator last summer. Kreider is a member
of Annville (Pa.) Church of the Brethren and plans to graduate from
Indiana University of Pennsylvania this May.

Details on the nearly two dozen 2004 workcamps being offered can be
found at www.brethren.org/genbd/yya/workcamps/.

15) South/Central Indiana District seeks district executive
minister.

The Church of the Brethren South/Central Indiana District seeks a
full-time district executive minister. The district is looking for
a visionary leader with experience and training in congregational
and faith-based organizational management.

Responsibilities include oversight, implementation, and evaluation
of district programs; pastoral placement and support; leadership
development; communication; and consultation services to
congregations. Qualifications include the ability to initiate,
implement, and manage creative ministries and relevant programs;
knowledge and support of denominational polity, and skill at
adapting procedures to meet the unique needs of the district; an
ability to work with diverse biblical and theological perspectives;
a passion for evangelism and leadership development; a clear
commitment to Jesus Christ, New Testament values, and Church of the
Brethren faith and heritage; and ordination and pastoral
experience.

The position may be shared. It is available April 1. Apply by
sending letter of interest and resume' via e-mail to
DistrictMinistries_gb@Brethren.org. Applicants are requested to
contact three or four people to provide a letter of reference.
Application deadline is March 16.

Newsline is written and compiled by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford and
produced by the General Board news services office. Newsline
stories may be reprinted provided that Newsline is cited as the
source. Walt Wiltschek, Chris Bowman, Mary Dulabaum, Phil Jones,
Janis Pyle, and Marcia Shetler contributed to this report.

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