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

[COBNews@aol.com]

Date: Feb. 16, 2005
Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
V: 847/742-5100 F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:  CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline       Feb. 16,  2005

"My help comes from the Lord...." Psalm 121:2 

NEWS
1)  General Board gives a positive financial report for 2004.
2) Emergency  Disaster Fund sends $100,000 for tsunami work.
3) Committee plans training,  communications for TOGETHER.
4) Mutual Aid Association celebrates 120 years	of service.
5) Stewardship of Property Committee holds first meeting.
6)  First Vital Pastor cohort group receives grant approval.
7) Brethren bits:  Remembrance, personnel, and more.

PERSONNEL
8) Kim Stuckey Hissong	resigns from On Earth Peace.

UPCOMING EVENTS
9) Youth and young adults  sought for mission conference.
10) Heartland Song and Story Fest to take  place in Indiana.

FEATURE
11) The story of a week at a disaster  rebuilding  project.

***********************************************************
1)  General Board gives a positive financial report for 2004.

The past year  was a very positive one for the Core Ministries Fund
of the General Board,  reported treasurer Judy Keyser. The fund
provides for most ministries of the  board and depends heavily on
congregational and individual giving. "This type  of outcome
certainly relieves a bit of pressure and gives us some	reprieve,"
said Keyser.

A welcome turnaround was an increase in  congregational giving over
budget and over 2003. Congregational giving had  shown a downward
trend in recent years. In 2004, gifts from congregations to  the
fund increased to $3,324,300, and gifts from individuals rose
slightly  to $654,200. "The General Board appreciates this strong
support and trust in  its ministries," Keyser said. "The board is
also grateful for those  individuals who provide generously through
their estates. For the first time  in several years, bequest income
met and exceeded the budgeted amount."	Investment returns were also
remarkably higher than expected, she said.  

"These factors, plus careful management of expenses by	staff,
resulted in income over expense totaling $414,200. This enabled  the
board to strengthen the financial foundation for ongoing  ministries
and to expand selected one-time ministries for 2005, resulting	in
a final net income of $192,200."

Because of the positive year-end  report, the board did not need to
use $215,000 set aside to cover projected  shortfalls in 2004. The
money had been redirected from funds the board	designated in past
years for other projects.

"The economic realities  of the last several years prompted the
board to take steps to provide better  long-term stability in the
Core Ministries Fund," Keyser said. All estate	gifts will now go
directly into the board's Bequest Quasi-endowment, and	income
budgeted from bequests will be a percentage of a five-year  average
of the Bequest Quasi-endowment, she said. "This will even  out
income from year to year without depleting the	Bequest
Quasi-endowment. Because investment income has also been  volatile
over the last several years, similar actions were taken with  the
Endowment Fund and the Gahagen Fund. During the transition year  of
2005, a higher percentage of the Bequest Quasi-endowment will be
used  in order to have fewer budget reductions."

The board also operates  several self-funding ministries that
receive income through the sale of goods  and services. While
"Messenger" magazine finished the year with income over  expense of
$2,800, the other three self-funding units experienced	losses:
$47,200 for Brethren Press, $67,500 for the New Windsor  (Md.)
Conference Center, and $68,900 for Service Ministries. Lower  net
assets in some self-funding ministries is a longterm concern,
Keyser	said. "Each is developing plans to work at sustaining
income," she  said.

The board manages three special-purpose funds made possible  by
gifts from donors. Emergency Disaster Fund grants totaled $474,200
in  2004, Global Food Crisis Fund grants totaled $326,000, and the
Emerging  Global Mission Fund spent $121,400. Complete audited
financial information on  these funds will be available in June when
the General Board audit report is  published.

Despite positive results for 2004 and actions to stabilize  income,
expenses continue to outpace anticipated income, Keyser  said.
General Board budgets for 2005 were reduced by $248,210.

2)  Emergency Disaster Fund sends $100,000 for tsunami work.

A grant of  $100,000 from the General Board's Emergency Disaster
Fund (EDF) continues  Brethren support for Church World Service
(CWS) work following the tsunami in  south Asia. Other EDF grants
have been made for disaster relief in the  Caribbean, Sudan, and
Nebraska.

Donations to the EDF in 2005 are  approaching three-quarters of a
million dollars, totaling $678,393. "The  response of our members to
the efforts of EDF and the needs in southeast Asia  has been
remarkable," commented Stan Noffsinger, the board's  general
secretary. "We thank both the many donors who have given  so
generously, and our staff and the staff of Church World Service  for
their tireless efforts to care for the needs of people, all of	whom
are our sisters and brothers in Christ."

A record number of Gift  of the Heart kits for disaster relief have
been received at the Brethren  Service Center warehouses in New
Windsor, Md. As of Feb. 7, 81,986 pounds of  the kits had been
received, sent from every US state but Hawaii, Utah, and  Wyoming,
reported Jane Bankert of the board's Service Ministries.  The
program warehouses and ships the kits for CWS.

The $100,000 will  start rebuilding efforts following the tsunami,
reported Roy Winter, director  of Emergency Response. It follows
three previous grants, making a total of  $180,000 in Brethren
funding related to the tsunami. A grant of $19,500 will  continue
support of a Brethren Disaster Response rebuilding project  in
Hallam, Neb., a small town devastated by a tornado. EDF also  gave
$17,500 for shipping canned meat and Gift of the Heart Health  Kits
and Layette Kits to southern Sudan. The donations to the New  Sudan
Council of Churches include over 22,000 pounds of chicken canned  by
Mid-Atlantic and Southern Pennsylvania Districts. An allocation  of
$10,000 supports CWS work in the Caribbean following the hurricanes
of  2004. The funds will be used in Haiti for food assistance,
medicine, water  and sanitation, and agriculture and livestock
recovery. Additional work will	include clearing debris, recovery of
schools, and income-generating	activities.

For more information about Emergency Response/Service  Ministries
see www.brethren.org. A round-up of Brethren tsunami relief  efforts
by individuals, congregations, districts, and other  organizations
is planned for the next Newsline. Send information to  News
Services, Church of the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee  Ave.,
Elgin, IL 60120; or e-mail cobnews@aol.com.

3) Committee  plans training, communications for TOGETHER.

The steering committee of  the new Church of the Brethren
denominational initiative titled TOGETHER:  Conversations on Being
the Church, met at Bethany Theological Seminary in  Richmond, Ind.,
Jan. 20-21. Content for the various elements of the process  was
further defined in this sixth meeting of the steering committee,
which  was chaired by Mark Flory-Steury, district executive of
Southern  Ohio.

The goal of TOGETHER is a denomination-wide conversation on  the
state of the church. In addition to representatives of the Council
of  District Executives, where it originated, representatives from
denominational	agencies and Annual Conference attended along with
Ron and Harriet Finney,  who will coordinate regional conversations
in 2006.

Resource leaders  for a training to be held Feb. 2006 in New
Windsor, Md., were nominated, with  priority given to a well-known
authority in the field of church analysis who  also is familiar with
the Church of the Brethren. The training will bring  together some
140 people, primarily named by the districts, who will be  prepared
to lead conversations in their geographic areas.

Following  the training, TOGETHER will be launched at Annual
Conference 2006,  principally through the use of a study guide at
each business session.	Delegates and others in attendance will be
encouraged to join in 30 minutes  of conversation about the church
at each session. This plan, along with some  other references to the
program at the Conference, has been approved by the  Conference
Program and Arrangements Committee.

The steering committee	also dealt with funding for the program.
"One note of rejoicing was the	announcement that the General Board
will donate one of its special offerings  to TOGETHER," Swartz
reported. "The amount of these offerings usually ranges  from
$15,000-$30,000, according to general secretary Stan Noffsinger."
The  committee also developed a case statement to pursue foundation
grants for the	program.

A communications plan, submitted by Brethren Press publisher  Wendy
McFadden, was adopted with immediate priority given to developing
a  brochure for distribution at the 2005 Conference. Also in the
works are  advertisements to appear in "Messenger" magazine, a
calling card or badge  sticker with a "catchy" phrase related to the
program, and a website. A logo	is being designed by Debbie
Noffsinger. Jonathan Shively, director of the  Brethren Academy for
Ministerial Leadership, and Matt Guynn, On Earth Peace	program
coordinator for Peace Witness, are working on a theme  song.

4) Mutual Aid Association celebrates 120 years of  service.

The Mutual Aid Association (MAA) is celebrating 120 years  of
service to the Church of the Brethren in 2005. "The  organization
founded by Brethren for Brethren now reaches this  historic
milestone," MAA said in a release about plans for a celebration  at
Annual Conference. The organization invites Brethren to join MAA
"for  its 120th birthday party! We celebrate the spirit of brothers
and sisters  working together, the idea of the strong protecting the
weak, and the  commitment that we stand together, so that all may
benefit."

MAA was  begun in 1885 as the Mutual Aid Society of Northeastern
Kansas by church  members who "sought an alternative to worldly
insurance and wanted to  continue the tradition of sharing one
another's burdens, typified by the  practice known as barn-raising,"
the release said. "For nearly the first  century of its work, MAA
operated from the kitchen table of its	then-president. The Annual
Meeting set simple rates and assessed members  accordingly. In the
1970s a functional building was constructed near Abilene,  Kan., was
eventually remodeled and enlarged, and today serves as	the
association's home office."

Over the decades, changes at MAA have  included opening coverage to
small businesses and rental properties as well	as to suburban
housing, and securing personal liability insurance. As	risk
coverage amounts increased, MAA cooperated with other small  mutuals
and purchased insurance for safeguarding its own policies in  the
event of a catastrophe. MAA also created its own  benevolence
organization, pledging a company tithe to sustain the MAA  Share
Fund. The fund is a nonprofit entity making matching grants  to
insured churches for their ministries with people in  unexpected
financial need.

"Our service has always been the prevention  and sharing of
misfortune," according to MAA's Centennial History. Today  MAA
emphasizes property insurance for homes, farms, and small
businesses,  and covers seasonal dwellings, personal property for
renters, and special  collections. It serves individuals in the
Church of the Brethren and its	historically-related denominations
and employees of church colleges,  retirement homes, and agencies.
Through a specialty company MAA secures  coverage for congregations,
camps, colleges, districts, and other ministries.  For more
information see www.maabrethren.com.

5) Stewardship of  Property Committee holds first meeting.

The Stewardship of Property  Committee formed by the General Board
gathered at the Church of the Brethren	General Offices in Elgin,
Ill., Jan. 28-29 for its first meeting. Members are  D. Miller Davis
of Westminster, Md.; Fletcher Farrar, Springfield, Ill.;  Dale
Grosbach, Gladstone, Mo.; Wanda Haynes, Seattle, Wash.;  Ivan
Patterson, Greenville, Ohio; Marianne Pittman, Blacksburg, Va.;
Dale  Roth, State College, Pa.; and David Sollenberger, Annville,
Pa. Staff  liaisons are Dave Ingold, director of Buildings and
Grounds at the General	Offices; Ed Palsgrove, director of Buildings
and Grounds at the Brethren  Service Center in New Windsor, Md.; and
Stan Noffsinger, general  secretary.

The committee discussed the task assigned by the board	of
"reviewing, evaluating, and offering recommendations to the  General
Board regarding utilization of the two properties from which  the
General Board's ministries operate in Elgin, Ill., and New  Windsor,
Md." An extensive list of questions pertinent to the task  was
created. Ingold led a tour of the Elgin facility. Roth was called
to  chair the committee.

The committee's next meeting will be at the Brethren  Service Center
Feb. 25-26. Additional meetings have been scheduled for June  3-4
and Sept. 8-9.

6) First Vital Pastor cohort group receives  grant approval.

The first Vital Pastor cohort group of the Sustaining  Pastoral
Excellence program of the Brethren Academy for	Ministerial
Leadership received approval for its grant proposal this week.	The
group comprises five pastors from South/Central Indiana District:
Gale  Burkholder, Pleasant View Church of the Brethren, South
Whitley, Ind.; Bruce  Hostetler, Roann (Ind.) Church of the
Brethren; Val Kline, Upper Fall Creek  Church of the Brethren,
Middletown, Ind.; Dan Riccius, Eel River Community  Church of the
Brethren, Silver Lake, Ind.; and Bev Weaver, Anderson (Ind.)  Church
of the Brethren.

The group is exploring the question, "How do  we create and sustain
a mission heart locally and globally?" For an initial  Immersion
Retreat, the pastors will meet with Church of the  Brethren
congregations and pastors in Brazil Feb. 21-March 2. The group	will
then meet monthly over the next two years.

Sustaining Pastoral  Excellence is underwritten by a $2 million
grant from Lilly Foundation Inc.  The program is for "quality
pastors to engage in ongoing learning, maintain  healthy boundaries,
and develop support systems" and is designed to encourage  and
promote excellence in ministry. The academy is a program of  Bethany
Theological Seminary and the General Board. To learn more  contact
Linda or Glenn Timmons at 800-287-8822 ext. 1810.

7)  Brethren bits: Remembrance, personnel, and more.

*Don Snider, 89, died  Feb. 1 at his home at Timbercrest Church of
the Brethren Home in North  Manchester, Ind. Interspersed with
several pastoral placements in Illinois  and Pennsylvania, Snider
served as National Youth Director for the Church of  the Brethren
1944-51; directed Brethren Service post-World War II relief  and
rehabilitation work in Kassel, Germany, 1951-54; and directed
Brethren  Volunteer Service 1961-69. He was a regional secretary in
Middle Pennsylvania  District 1942-44, interpreting the then-new
Brethren Service and serving as  recruitment staff for Juniata
College in Huntingdon, Pa., his alma mater. At	one time, Snider
held the quarter-mile track record at Juniata, time 50	seconds
flat. He also held a degree from Bethany Theological  Seminary.
Snider was a leader in the peace witness of the denomination,  was
a draft counselor for youth, and was vocal in opposition to the  law
instituted in 1980 requiring young men to register for	Selective
Service. He also worked to resettle Vietnamese refugees in the	US,
and led numerous youth camps. A memorial service was held  at
Manchester Church of the Brethren on Feb. 12.

*Brenda Hayward has  begun as receptionist at the Church of the
Brethren General Offices in Elgin,  Ill. Her work experience
includes 18 years in a variety of capacities at Bank  One, as well
as other customer service settings. She has an early  connection
with the General Offices through her father, Henry Barton,  who
worked in the building as a printing press operator for many  years.

*The Brethren Retirement Community in Greenville, Ohio, seeks  a
president/CEO. The community serves 450 residents in independent
living,  at a satellite campus, and in residential, assisted living,
skilled nursing,  and dementia care units. The CEO will play a
pivotal role in guiding the  Brethren Retirement Community through
its current five-year strategic  planning process. Expectations for
candidates include financial and  operational management experience,
a team style of leadership, community  public relations, and
effective communication skills. NHA required. Contact  Ralph
McFadden at 352 Shiloh Ct., Elgin, IL 60120; 847-622-1677;  e-mail
hikermac@sbcglobal.net; fax 847-742-6103. Resumes and  salary
histories will be accepted until March 18.

*Southern Ohio	District is searching for a part-time director of
Outdoor Ministries. The  district seeks applicants committed to
leading and implementing Christian  ministry in a variety of outdoor
settings. Applicants may respond by post,  e-mail, or fax by March
15 to Southern Ohio District Church of the Brethren,  1001 Mill
Ridge Circle, Union, OH 45322; e-mail mfsteury_ds@brethren.org;  fax
937-832-6396. In case of questions, please call  937-832-6399.

*Volunteers are needed for Annual Conference in Peoria,  July 2-6,
especially to work with registration. If you plan to attend and  can
help, please call the Annual Conference office at 800-323-8039	or
e-mail annualconference@brethren.org.

*Information Services staff  for the General Board have installed a
spam filter on the board's e-mail  server. This filter has been
effective in reducing spam e-mail arriving in  staff e-mail boxes.
However, some good e-mail has been blocked. If you have  sent an
e-mail to General Board staff and have not gotten a  timely
response, please follow up with a phone call to that staff  person.
It is possible the e-mail was not received. Information  Services
continues to work at fine tuning the spam filter for  maximum
effectiveness.

*"Messenger" magazine editor Walt Wiltschek is	serving as the
English-language reporter for the World Council of Churches  (WCC)
Central Committee meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 15-22.	The
General Board is offering his time and talents as a service to	the
international ecumenical organization, which is covering his
expenses,  said Wendy McFadden, Brethren Press publisher. Jeff
Carter, pastor of  Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren, is the
Church of the Brethren observer  at the meetings. On the agenda:
making consensus the established method of  decision-making;
planning for the WCC Ninth Assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil,  in
Feb. 2006; the peoples and churches of the Pacific region;  ethical
challenges including human sexuality; and a new configuration  of
the ecumenical movement.

*The General Board's Brethren  Witness/Washington Office invites
Brethren to the 2005 Ecumenical Advocacy  Days March 11-14 in
Arlington, Va. "Making All Things New" is the theme.  Participants
will examine US policy regarding the Middle East, Africa,  Asia,
Latin America, global economic justice, global security,  ecological
justice, and US domestic issues. An additional "track" will  be
offered on "Global Security and Nuclear Weapons Danger" focusing  on
terrorism, militarism, and nuclear weapons. Registration is $135,
not  including hotel stay. See www.advocacydays.org or call the
Brethren  Witness/Washington Office at 800-785-3246.

*The Brethren  Witness/Washington Office will host a drop-in Feb. 22
for the School of  Americas (SOA) Watch Legislative Action Days. The
event supports legislation  to close the US Army's Western
Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation  (formerly the SOA).
See http://home.maryknoll.org or call the office at  800-785-3246.

*Mary Blocher Smeltzer of La Verne (Calif.) Church of the  Brethren,
was one of more than 200 teachers honored by the Japanese  American
National Museum in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, Feb. 5. The  group
taught Japanese American students in internment camps during  World
War II, and were honored for "extraordinary actions (that)  touched
and transformed a generation of Japanese Americans," reported  the
"Los Angeles Times." Smeltzer was invited to a dinner at the
Century  Plaza Hotel in company with many of the teachers, now in
their 80s and 90s,  who voluntarily joined Japanese Americans in the
internment camps. "We  thought they needed help, so we helped," she
told the Times. She taught at  the Manzanar camp in California with
her husband Ralph, now deceased. "Inside  the camp, when every
public indication was that we had no future, you had  these teachers
saying, `Yes, you do matter,'" said Glenn Kumekawa, a retired  Rhode
Island professor who was sent to Topaz camp in Utah at age 14.	Some
110,000 Japanese Americans were held at 10 camps and an  estimated
30,000 children attended school there. Smeltzer and her  husband
also helped resettle 1,000 Japanese Americans in Chicago and  New
York through the Church of the Brethren.

*Bill Puffenberger, a  retired Elizabethtown (Pa.) College professor
of Religious Studies, is making  a collection of Brethren Service
Commission Cups in their various shapes,  sizes, and wood types for
permanent display at the Young Center for  Anabaptist and Pietist
Studies. For a brief history of the cups, or to donate	a cup to the
collection, contact Puffenberger at 28 Shybrook Ct.,  Elizabethtown,
PA 17022-9200; 717-367-7021; e-mail puffenwv@etown.edu.  Include a
brief descriptive note with cup donations. "We want to document  the
age, locality, wood type, and craftsperson of each donated cup if
at  all possible," Puffenberger said.

*"Lenten Fast from Violence" weekly  resource guides are available
from the US Committee for the Decade to  Overcome Violence (DOV), a
program of the World Council of Churches. The  guides for the six
weeks of Lent highlight responses of people of faith to  overcoming
violence with nonviolent means. Weekly themes include violent  media
and video games, violence in creation, violence against  women,
militarism, Iraq, and the violence of poverty. Included  are
biblical reflections, prayers, educational resources, advocacy
tools,	and samples of nonviolent responses. See the DOV  website
www.overcomingviolence.org.

*The National Campaign for a Peace  Tax Fund is offering a sample
letter to the IRS that taxpayers concerned for	peace may enclose
with 2004 returns. The nonprofit campaign advocates for a  law
allowing conscientious objectors to pay full federal income  taxes
without funding the military. The letter explains that the sender
is  not opposed to paying taxes, expresses opposition to war, and
supports the  Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Bill. It quotes the
Ten Commandments, "Thou  shalt not kill," and Matthew 5:44, Jesus'
command to "Love your enemies." See  www.peacetaxfund.org.

8) Kim Stuckey Hissong resigns from On Earth  Peace.

Kim Stuckey Hissong, program coordinator for Peacemaker  Formation
at On Earth Peace, has announced her resignation effective Aug.  24.
She has worked with On Earth Peace since Oct. 2001. Hissong plans
to  pursue a master's degree in social work.

In her three and a half years at  On Earth Peace, Hissong
coordinated and led educational retreats, training  events, and
volunteer opportunities for youth and young adults seeking  to
develop faith-based beliefs and skills as peacemakers. She
introduced  innovative programs and ideas to Peacemaker Formation
and demonstrated  commitment to the youth of the denomination. 

An announcement regarding  the position opening will be released in
early March. For more information  contact On Earth Peace, P.O. Box
188, New Windsor, MD 21776; 410-635-8704;  e-mail
oepa_oepa@brethren.org; or see www.brethren.org/oepa.

9)  Youth and young adults sought for mission conference.

A special effort is  being made to include youth and young adults in
the Mission Alive 2005 event  on April 1-3 in Goshen, Ind. Evening
reflection times for youth and young  adults will be led by Chris
Douglas, the General Board's director of Youth	and Young Adult
Ministries. The reflection time on Saturday evening during  the
conference also will feature time with general secretary  Stan
Noffsinger and Merv Keeney, executive director of Global  Mission
Partnerships.

Mission Alive 2005 is planned as a missions  challenge for the
Church of the Brethren, sponsored by the General Board.  Keynote
topics include biblical guidance for mission, learnings  from
mission experience, emerging models of mission, and accepting  the
call to mission. Other features of the conference include  global
worship services, workshops, missionary reunions, and ice  cream
socials.

Planners also hope to draw pastors, board members,  Sunday school
teachers, prospective missionaries, and mission supporters.  This
week, all pastors and Witness chairs of Church of the  Brethren
congregations will receive brochures for the gathering.  Each
congregation is invited to send a representative and a	special
offering for new mission, to be received at the Sunday	morning
service.

Continuing education units are available to attendees  (.75 for the
entire conference) and can be arranged through the  registration
process. Registration is $50 before March 15, $60 after.  To
register online see www.brethren.org. For questions or brochures
call  Global Mission Partnerships at 800-323-8039 ext. 227.

10) Heartland  Song and Story Fest to take place in Indiana.

The annual Church of the  Brethren family camp Song and Story Fest
will take place near North  Manchester, Ind., July 6-12, following
Annual Conference. The theme is  "Heartland Song and Story
Fest--Rooted and Grounded in Love."

On Earth  Peace is sponsoring the event and its staff will help
provide leadership.  Other leaders include Jim Lehman, Jonathan
Hunter, Kathy Guisewite, Sue  Overman, Barb Sayler, Bob Gross, Cliff
Kindy, Bill and Jacob Jolliff, Peg  Lehman, Lee Krahenbuhl, Joseph
Helfrich, Brian Krushwitz, and LuAnne Harley.  The camp will be held
at Joyfield Farm at the invitation of Cliff and Arlene	Kindy and
Rachel and Bob Gross. "We'll cook and eat some of their  organic
produce, camp in their fields, enjoy concerts and gatherings in  a
large rented tent and their barn, canoe on the Kenapocomoco River,
and  generally have a great time being together," said Ken Kline
Smeltzer,  volunteer director.

Registration includes meals and is $90 for adults,  with graduated
fees for children to a family maximum of $300. Registration  will be
available in a few weeks at www.brethren.org/oepa.

11) The  story of a week at a disaster rebuilding project.

By Dwight  Butterbaugh

This fall, I received a letter asking for help at the  Disaster
Response project at Hallam, Neb., which a tornado hit in May  2004.
Disaster Response is a program of the General Board's  Emergency
Response/Service Ministries. The town of Hallam had 170 homes,	and
only seven were repairable. 

The Nov. 14-20 dates fit my schedule  and my next thought was of my
two brothers, Dean and Duane Butterbaugh,  members of Dixon (Ill.)
Church of the Brethren. Their answers were "yes," so  I knew I had
the start of a crew.

We three brothers had never worked  on a Disaster Response project
together, but all had experience in building  and each had served
before in disaster work. I next recruited three people	from my
church: Earl Miller, a retired plumber, and Harold and	Carla
Goeking, who were interested because Hallam was the area  where
Harold was raised and his aunt lived near there. There were now  six
people lined up ready to go, and we received our  instructions.

Lincoln, Neb., was our destination as we left on Sunday  morning
Nov. 14. We were to be housed and fed at Lincoln Church of  the
Brethren. Six of us used the church annex for sleeping, and it
worked	out very well with its one bathroom and a 12-gallon hot
water heater. Our  very good meals were in the church basement. Ken
and Lou Ella Imhoff were  project coordinators for the week, and Lou
Ella was responsible for the good  meals. The Mount Morris church
had collected $90 for us to take the project  coordinators out to
eat. We decided Lou Ella's meals were so good, we would  donate that
money to the Emergency Disaster Fund.

There were two crews  working that week, and crews had been at the
site since September. We were  the second crew from
Illinois/Wisconsin District. The house the five of us  worked on was
for a family of five. We hung sheet rock and taped, and did  other
small jobs. When I used to build houses as my profession, I  hired
that work done for me! The family was trying for their third  house
after being burned out once, then having their house leveled by  the
tornado.

The Goekings said it was the best "vacation" they ever	had. Earl
Miller has since become interested in working further in  disaster
relief. I will remember this experience because we  brothers--Dean,
Duane, and I--shared a week of fellowship and getting to know  the
family we were building for. We refused mileage money, and our pay
was  a feeling of a job well done, memories, and safe travel.

--Dwight  Butterbaugh is the Disaster Response contact person at Mt.
Morris (Ill.)  Church of the  Brethren.

*****************************************************************
Newsline  is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news
services for the  Church of the Brethren General Board, on every
other Wednesday with other  editions as needed. Newsline stories may
be reprinted provided that Newsline  is cited as the source. Judy
Keyser, Janis Pyle, Barb Sayler, Ken Kline  Smeltzer, Fred Swartz,
and Glenn and Linda Timmons contributed to this  report. Newsline is
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