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Date: May 21, 2004
Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline       May 21, 2004

"May Reuben live, and not die out, even though his numbers are
few." Deuteronomy 33:6

NEWS
1) Church membership shows largest decline in three years.
2) Brethren leaders support ecumenical statements on Iraq, Middle
East, Sudan.
3) Bethany Seminary celebrates ninety-ninth commencement.
4) Visit to Nigeria a profound experience for US delegation.
5) Older adult unit begins term of service with BVS.
6) Brethren bits.

RESOURCES
7) New gardening book published by Brethren Press.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE PREVIEW
8) Conference-goers are invited to bring Gifts of the Heart.

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1) Church membership shows largest decline in three years.

Church of the Brethren membership showed its largest decline in
three years in 2003, according to year-end figures in the Church of
the Brethren Yearbook published by Brethren Press. The denomination
had a net loss of 1,363 members last year, a decline of just over
1 percent.

Official Church of the Brethren membership in the US and Puerto
Rico now stands at 132,481. The 2003 decline follows losses of 984
members in 2002, 1,051 in 2001, and 2,425 in 2000. The Church of
the Brethren last showed an annual net gain in membership in 1974
(a small figure that some attribute to a statistical fluke), but
the overall decline dates to the early 1960s.

Fifteen of the denomination's 23 districts reported net losses in
membership, while eight were higher. Declines were more intense
than increases, however, with six districts reporting triple-figure
losses. West Marva District had the largest numerical and
percentage net gain, up 154 members (2.66 percent). Shenandoah
District had the second-largest numerical gain, adding 65 members,
while Atlantic Southeast District--which had the largest decline a
year earlier--recorded the second-largest percentage gain, up 1.7
percent (net gain of 33).

Atlantic Northeast District, the denomination's largest, had the
greatest numerical net loss in 2003. The district reported a
decrease of 442 members, a drop of about 2.85 percent. Idaho
District, the smallest in the denomination, grew smaller with the
biggest percentage decline at 11.8 percent (a net loss of 83
members). Shenandoah District remains the second largest in the
Church of the Brethren, now with about 700 fewer members than
Atlantic Northeast. Virlina, Western Pennsylvania, and Mid-Atlantic
round out the top five, all with at least 10,000 members. By
contrast, Idaho, Missouri/Arkansas, and Southern Plains each have
fewer than 850 members.

The total number of Church of the Brethren congregations in the US
and Puerto Rico also continued a downward trend, dropping from
1,032 to 1,025. A number of new churches were planted, but not
enough to offset the number closing. The number of fellowships and
projects remained steady, at 32 and 5, respectively. Total reported
average worship attendance was down about 5,000 members from a year
earlier, at 67,767 per week.

In some good news, total per-capita giving rose from $41 to $44 per
person. Giving was up to all special-purpose funds and to all
agencies except for gifts to the General Ministries Fund of the
General Board, which fell about 4 percent.

Yearbook figures are based on data provided by congregations that
turn in updated statistical reports; about 70 percent did so for
2002. The totals do not count overseas membership in the Dominican
Republic, Brazil, and the large Ekklesiyar Yanuwa a Nigeria (Church
of the Brethren in Nigeria)--which is now larger than the US church
at about 150,000 members and growing.

The Church of the Brethren Yearbook will be sent before Annual
Conference to all who have placed a standing order. To order, call
800-441-3712. It also will be sold at the Brethren Press bookstore
at Annual Conference.

2) Brethren leaders support ecumenical statements on Iraq, Middle
East, Sudan.

Three ecumenical statements made in May have received support from
Brethren leaders. The statements call attention to situations in
Iraq, the Middle East, and Sudan.

A Pastoral Letter on Iraq from the National Council of Churches
(NCC) was shared in a May 17 mailing from the General Board's
Brethren Witness/Washington Office, which encouraged congregations
to read or share it during morning worship on Sunday May 23. The
letter has received endorsement from Stan Noffsinger, general
secretary, Church of the Brethren General Board.

Recognizing "the broad perspectives of many in the faith community
in regards to war" and the stronger stance taken by the Church of
the Brethren, the office called "the unified voice represented here
as one vital, and needed, in such days as these." The Pastoral
Letter is written "out of a deep love for this country, but also
out of a profound concern at the direction this cycle of violence
is taking us" and calls for a change of course in Iraq. The letter
can be found at www.ncccusa.org/news/04iraqpastoralletter.html.

Jones added his signature to a letter from ecumenical leaders to US
President Bush sent on May 7 and coordinated by Churches for Middle
East Peace. The letter asked for understanding of "the crisis in
the Holy Land confronting Christian Palestinians, Christian
institutions, and those who wish to visit the birthplace of
Christianity." Concerns regarded the effects of the separation
barrier being constructed by Israel, taxation issues that may force
some church institutions to close due to the removal of their
longstanding tax-exempt status, and "the denial and delay of visas,
by Israel, for clergy and church personnel result[ing] in
understaffed seminaries, churches, hospitals, education and other
institutions." Fifty Christian leaders signed the letter.

In another statement on an apparent attempt at ethnic cleansing in
Sudan, the Executive Board of the NCC called attention to a
genocide going on in Darfur that already has claimed tens of
thousands of lives, a May 19 release said. The statement called on
the government of Sudan to stop attacks against civilians and
called on the US "to continue to press the Sudanese government to
bring to a halt this unfolding horror and to support appropriate
diplomatic, humanitarian, conflict resolution and peace enforcement
efforts by the United Nations to these ends." The statement came
after an April 23 observance of the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan
Genocide, sponsored by the NCC, at which speakers noted that the
world is not stepping up effectively to stop the killing in Sudan.

"The Church of the Brethren would certainly echo this call of
concern guided by the 1996 Annual Conference Statement on
'Nonviolence and Humanitarian Intervention,' " said Noffsinger. 

3) Bethany Seminary celebrates ninety-ninth commencement.

On Saturday May 8 Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond, Ind.,
celebrated her ninety-ninth commencement. Two observances marked
the occasion: a ceremony for conferring degrees in Bethany's
Nicarry Chapel, and a public worship celebration held in Stout
Meetinghouse on the adjacent Earlham College campus.

John H. Gingrich, professor of Religion and Philosophy and dean
emeritus at the University of La Verne, Calif., and chair of the
Bethany Board of Trustees, gave an address at the conferring of
degrees ceremony on the topic "High Hopes," based on a biblical
text of Isaiah 65:17-25. Russell Haitch, Bethany's assistant
professor of Christian Education and director of the Institute for
Ministry with Youth and Young Adults, was the speaker for the
afternoon worship service. His message, "You are the Light of the
World," was based on Matthew 5:11-16.

Eleven students received Master of Divinity degrees, one with an
Emphasis in Ministry with Youth and Young Adults. Six students
received Master of Arts in Theology degrees, four with an emphasis
in Peace Studies.Those who received degrees are:

Master of Divinity, with an emphasis in Ministry With Youth and
Young Adults: Noel S. Naff, of Tryon, North Carolina. 

Master of Divinity: Jeremy Ashworth, of Fort Wayne, Ind., with
Distinction in Ministry Studies; B. Elizabeth Cox, of Waynesboro,
Pa.; William House, of New Castle, Ind.; Paul Liepelt, of Madison,
Conn.; Patricia L. Meeks, of Greenville, Ohio; Brian P. Messler, of
Baltimore, Md.; Ever Mudambanuki, of Zimbabwe; Mbode Ndirmbita, of
Nigeria; Andrew Sampson, of Forest, Ohio; and Richard
Yeager-Stiver, of Marion, Ohio.

Master of Arts in Theology, with a Peace Studies Emphasis: Thomas
Coursen, of Richmond, Ind.; Leslie Ann Billhimer Frye, of
McPherson, Kan., with Distinction in Theological and Historical
Studies and her thesis work; Mark Godfrey, of McPherson, Kan.; and
Holly White, of North Hampton, Ohio, with Distinction in
Theological and Historical Studies.

Master of Arts in Theology: Joshua Brockway, of North Canton, Ohio;
Kathryn S. Eisenbise, of Elizabethtown, Pa., with Distinction in
Biblical Languages.

Graduates' future endeavors include careers in pastoral and
congregational ministry, teaching, and additional graduate study.
Bethany Theological Seminary was founded in 1905 and is the
graduate school and academy for theological education for the
Church of the Brethren.

4) Visit to Nigeria a profound experience for US delegation.

A small delegation of Church of the Brethren leaders visited
Nigeria April 28-May 8. The group included Stan Noffsinger and was
the first visit of a Church of the Brethren general secretary to
Nigeria in a decade. "It was profound," Noffsinger said of the
trip. Merv Keeney, General Board executive for Global Mission
Partnerships, emphasized the importance Ekklesiyar Yanuwa a Nigeria
(EYN--Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) placed on the visit.

The delegation also included Robert Krouse, who will begin this
summer as Nigeria mission coordinator, and board member David
Sollenberger, who filmed the trip for this fall's mission offering
emphasis. The group met with mission workers, held a consultation
with EYN leaders and visited key EYN institutions, visited
Hillcrest School, and worshiped with students at the Theological
College of Northern Nigeria.

Noffsinger felt a special connection with EYN's new general
secretary, Yohana Y. Balami, who like him is the first lay leader
to serve as general secretary of the denomination. "We represent a
different generation and a different genre of leadership," said
Noffsinger.

The US and Nigerian church leaders discussed developing a new level
of relationship between the two general secretaries, both to
facilitate discussion about how major issues facing the church
affect both bodies and to develop respect for the experiences of
each nationality. "It's not just about being the church in the US,"
Noffsinger said. "We're in a church that spans the globe." Keeney
reported that, unfortunately, visa requests for EYN leaders to be
at this year's Annual Conference were denied by the US government.

Some questions asked of him during the trip came as surprises and
highlighted the Nigerian awareness that Christianity is growing
much faster in non-western areas of the world--an awareness that
Noffsinger shares. When asked, "Why is the world headquarters of
the Church of the Brethren in North America?" he was quick to
respond that the Church of the Brethren doesn't have a world
headquarters. But he took the point of the questions, that the
Nigerian church is larger than the US church. Noffsinger said that
he had "a great conversation" with those posing the questions.

Noffsinger also preached for two Sunday services--one in English
and one in the language of Hausa--at the Yola Jimeta EYN
congregation, which has an attendance of 1,000 to 1,800 at each
service. The event was filmed by Nigerian television, and
Noffsinger was interviewed for a nationwide news broadcast.

Unhappy news greeted the delegation on their return to the US, with
the unexpected death of one of their hosts in Nigeria. Gunnar
Berndsen, a worker with European-based Mission 21, a longtime
partner in Nigeria with the Church of the Brethren, died May 11.
Berndsen was working in EYN's Theological Education by Extension
(TEE) program, and one of his passions was to develop museums and
heritage centers for the Nigerian church, Keeney said. Noffsinger
mourned the loss personally, as well as the loss to the church.
"What I saw in Gunnar was a man deeply committed to his life and
mission as a servant of Jesus," Noffsinger said, "and that
commitment was lived out as he shared his gifts and talents through
TEE and his interest in bringing improved building structures to
the lives of those he served. His death gives a new sense of
urgency to the church's mission, to share our talents each and
every day with those we serve."

5) Older adult unit begins term of service with BVS.

The Brethren Volunteer Service Older Adult Unit 259 held its
training in New Windsor, Md., April 25-May 7. The seven
participants all decided to take an assignment in the near future.

David Ort, from Altoona, Pa., will begin serving a one-year
commitment at the Brother David Darst Center in Chicago, Ill., on
June 1. Carolyn and Edgar Graham, members of Fellowship Church of
the Brethren in Martinsburg, W.Va., will be going to CooperRiis in
Mill Spring, N.C., in mid-October for a six-month term of service.
Roger and Phyllis Ingold, from Spring Creek Church of the Brethren
near Hershey, Pa., will be starting a six-month term of service at
Meeting Ground in Elkton, Md., on the first of the new year. Frank
Kane and Marilyn Schirk, of Ontario, Calif., will be starting a
six-month term of service at the Center for Conscience and War in
Washington, D.C. in late October.

6) Brethren bits.

*The appearance by Scott Holland and Ann Riggs at the National
Press Club in Washington, D.C., has been moved to June, with no
firm date yet set. Holland, assistant professor of Peace Studies
and Cross Cultural Studies at Bethany Theological Seminary, and
Riggs, National Council of Churches associate general secretary for
Faith and Order, are members of an organizing committee for the
"Watu Kwa Amani" conference in August in Kenya, the next in a
series of Historic Peace Church conferences engaging with the World
Council of Churches' Decade to Overcome Violence.

*Don Vermilyea has taken his 20 millionth step in his Walk Across
America. The Brethren Volunteer Service worker is walking across
the nation, with the goal of visiting every Church of the Brethren
congregation. He took the historic step in Minnesota on May 12, and
has now walked 9,689 miles. For more information on Vermilyea's
quest, which began in Feb. 2002 in Arizona, go to www.brethren.org
and click on keyword box to find the Walk Across America.

*Wanted: experienced writers for Sunday school curriculum. The
Church of the Brethren, Mennonite Church Canada, and Mennonite
Church USA are producing a new Sunday school curriculum with units
for children ages 2-4, kindergarten to grade 2, grades 3-5, and
grades 6-8. Two additional units will be a multi-age unit for
children of a variety of ages or for intergenerational use, and a
unit for parents and other adult caregivers. First use of the
curriculum will be Fall 2006. For information on how to apply,
please contact Anna Speicher, Project Director, 1451 Dundee Ave.,
Elgin, IL 60120; 847-742-5100 ext. 209; e-mail
aspeicher_gb@brethren.org. The application deadline is June 15.

*A Faith Expedition to Guatemala is planned for Oct. 23-Nov. 2,
jointly sponsored by the General Board's Brethren
Witness/Washington Office and Global Mission Partnerships Office.
Participants will see Brethren workers in action and participate in
colorful cultural events surrounding the Day of the Dead. The
expedition will be led by longtime Guatemala worker, Tom Benevento,
General Board Latin America specialist. Projected cost is $850.
Contact the Brethren Witness/Washington Office at 800-785-3246 or
email washington_office_gb@brethren.org.

*Nigeria workcamp coordinator Jeff Mummau has announced dates for
the next annual workcamp to Nigeria, Jan. 16-Feb. 12, 2005.
Projected cost will be $2,100. For more information, see the
workcamp section of the Global Mission Partnerships page on
www.brethren.org, or call Mary Munson, at 800-323-8039.

*The General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office has a new
resource packet on conscientious objection that includes education
resources along with a tool to help youth groups, congregations, or
individuals record their personal beliefs and convictions. Among
many other resources available from the office are information and
updates on pending draft legislation, background information on
conscientious objection, and workshops on what it is to be a
conscientious objector and how to claim conscientious objector
status. The office also extends an invitation to anyone wanting to
explore the issue more to call or arrange for a visit. Call
800-785-3246 or e-mail washington_office_gb@brethren.org.

*Jane Yount, the General Board's disaster response coordinator, was
a presenter at the annual Voluntary Organizations Active in
Disaster (VOAD) conference in Louisville, Ken., on May 19. Yount
joined other representatives of faith-based disaster response
groups speaking on rebuilding homes with volunteer labor after a
disaster. She was quoted extensively in an article on the
presentation, "Disaster Rebuild: What's It Take?" by Susan Kim,
which can be found on the Disaster News Network website,
www.disasternews.net.

*Barb Sayler, co-executive director of On Earth Peace, and Kathleen
Campanella, manager of communications at the Brethren Service
Center in New Windsor, Md., attended a Heifer International (HI)
event on Capitol Hill, May 12. Campanella is the Church of the
Brethren representative on the HI board. A briefing on the role of
livestock in community development, economic growth, and childhood
nutrition was followed by a reception honoring HI's global partners
at the Russell Senate office building. Guests included Senator Mark
Pryor of Arkansas, and Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. One of
the highlights of the day was Beatrice, the young girl from Uganda
featured in the children's book "Beatrice's Goat," sharing her
story of how an animal from Heifer International transformed her
life.

*Church World Service (CWS) staff including executive director John
McCullough, Disaster Response director Rick Augsburger, and Ann
Walle, director of Marketing and Communications, were at the
Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., May 8 to work with
youth volunteers from the Park United Methodist Church in
Bloomfield, N.J., filming footage for a new CWS video. The
volunteers, working with General Board Service Ministries staff,
unloaded a large trailer, packed 600 health kits brought from their
church, and assembled a new type of Gift of the Heart kit that will
be introduced in the Fall by CWS. This new children's kit has
school supplies, health care items, and culturally neutral toys. A
tour of the center and a visit to the SERRV International Gift shop
were part of the weekend activities.

*The Ministers of Music, a male quartet from the Lancaster, Pa.,
area, presented a concert celebrating their 25th year on May 2 at
Florin Church of the Brethren in Mount Joy, Pa. The group sang
together for the first time at Florin in 1979, and over the years
since have sung at Lititz (Pa.) Church of the Brethren and provided
concerts throughout central Pennsylvania and in Florida, New
England, and Indiana, according to the Lititz newsletter. The
quartet includes Lititz pastor Bob Kettering, Lamar Dourte, Dale
Engle, and Ron Ludwick.

*The Southern Ohio District Disaster Response Auction is scheduled
for May 22 beginning at 8 a.m. at the Preble County Fairgrounds.
Furniture and items for the home, as well as artwork and other
pieces will be auctioned. Also for sale will be food and theme
baskets.

*This fall Middle Pennsylvania District will present "Angels
Everywhere," a new musical by Frank Ramirez and Steve Engle, as
part of a fundraiser to benefit the district's ministry education
fund. The musical is about "one of the most intriguing incidents in
colonial Brethren history," said Ramirez, the story of Catharine
Hummer of the White Oak congregation in Manheim, Pa., who in 1762
claimed to see angels. She also was the first woman to preach among
the Brethren. The play will be presented as a dinner theater on
Oct. 9 at First Church of the Brethren in Roaring Spring, Nov. 20
at Everett Church of the Brethren, and Dec. 4 at Hollidaysburg
Church of the Brethren. Ramirez is author of "The Love Feast" and
the Out of Context feature in "Guide to Biblical Studies"; Engle is
composer of "The Saint Judas Passion" and "A Rumor of Angels." For
more information call Ramirez at 814-652-2634.

*The Brethren Revival Fellowship presents a Brethren Bible
Institute on the campus of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College July 26-30.
Courses will be offered on church history, contemporary issues,
church leadership and administration, missions and outreach,
pastoral care and counseling, and "A Gallery of Heroes." Other
courses will study the books of Revelation, Mark, and Acts. Cost is
$150. For an application form, which must be completed by June 25,
write to the Brethren Bible Institute, 155 Denver Rd., Denver, PA
17517. Continuing education units are available for pastors who
attend.

*Manchester College, in North Manchester, Ind., will honor Robert
C. Johansen, at commencement May 23. Johansen, a member of Crest
Manor Church of the Brethren in South Bend, Ind., and a Manchester
graduate who played an important part in developing the college's
pioneering program in Peace Studies, will receive an honorary
Doctor of Humane Letters. He is conducting research on enhancing UN
peacekeeping and enforcement as senior fellow in the Joan B. Kroc
Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of
Notre Dame. The college will deliver 223 bachelor's degrees, 16
master's degrees, and 7 associate's degrees at the ceremony. The
college's first three graduates of its Master of Arts in
Contemporary Leadership program will collect their diplomas, and 37
seniors will graduate with honor. For more information about the
college, visit www.manchester.edu.

*Doug Archer, ordained in the Church of the Brethren and peace
studies librarian at the Hesburgh Library at the University of
Notre Dame, has received the 2004 Intellectual Freedom Award from
the Indiana Library Foundation. The award recognizes his longtime
advocacy for intellectual freedom and support for local control of
library policies, in opposition to last year's Supreme Court ruling
that public libraries must have filters on their computers to block
out potentially offensive websites. Archer is a member of Mount
Pleasant Church of the Brethren in Bourbon, Ind. An article about
the award can be found at www.SouthBendTribune.com.

*Midwest Peacemakers announces its 2004 conference, 11 a.m. to 4
p.m. Aug. 14 at the Church of the Brethren Mill Ridge Village
Community Center in Union, Ohio, on the theme, "Love or Die." The
meeting will focus on the high costs of war, which a statement from
the group says cannot be maintained. Speakers will include Wilson
"Woody" Powell, executive director of Veterans for Peace; Michael
Elzinga, Navy submarine veteran and research physicist; and Sam
Hine, of the Bruderhof communities. Nine of the ten members of the
Midwest Peacemakers' 2004 committee are members of the Church of
the Brethren. For more information contact Charles Cooley at
614-794-2745 or e-mail cfcooley@wmconnect.com.

7) New gardening book published by Brethren Press.

A new book on gardening, "Gardening for the Earth and Soul" by
Heather Dean and Tom Benevento, has been published by Brethren
Press.

More than a sustainable gardening book, it's also a book of social
commentary, global peace, and children's activities, all pulled
together by Benevento's line drawings. Drawing on their education
and personal experiences, the authors address both the practical
and spiritual benefits of gardening. Benevento, the General Board's
Latin America specialist, and Dean both have worked alongside the
indigenous people of Central America and used their experiences to
create community gardens that thrive in the urban landscape in
North America. The book is a practical and inspirational "how to"
manual.

Cost is $18.99 plus shipping and handling. To order, call
800-441-3712, go online to www.BrethrenPress.com, or buy it at the
Brethren Press bookstore at Annual Conference this summer in
Charleston, W.Va. Refer to item number 8534.

8) Conference-goers are invited to bring Gifts of the Heart.

In May and June, Newsline will offer short previews of special
events or features of the 2004 Annual Conference of the Church of
the Brethren, to be held July 3-7 in Charleston, W.Va.

Gifts of the Heart school and health kits and Church of the
Brethren Clinic Boxes will be collected at Conference this year, in
a project of the General Board's Emergency Response/Service
Ministries program. The kits and boxes will be handed on to people
in need around the world, with the help of Church World Service.

The kits include useful items such as pencils and paper in the
school kits, and band-aids and soap in the health kits. Clinic
boxes include supplies such as gauze pads and adhesive tape.
Donations for shipping and handling, and for purchasing medicines
and supplies appropriate for clinic use at wholesale prices, are
being collected by mail, as donations cannot be accepted at
Conference. For more information see page 66 of the Conference
information packet, which can be downloaded from
www.brethren.org/ac, or call 800-451-4407 ext. 3.

*****************************************************************
Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, 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. Walt Wiltschek, Kathleen Campanella, Amy
Adkins, Jeri S. Kornegay, Karen Roberts, and Marcia Shetler
contributed to this report.

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