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Date: March 30, 2005
Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
V: 847/742-5100 F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL: _CoBNews@AOL.Com_ (mailto:CoBNews@AOL.Com)

CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN NEWSLINE
March 30, 2005

ASSOCIATION OF BRETHREN CAREGIVERS BOARD FOCUSES ON WELLNESS, PLANS  `LIGHTEN
UP, BRETHREN!â€

March 30, 2005 (Elgin, IL) -- The Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC)
board learned of a newly revamped Wellness Ministry during meetings March 18-19
 in Elgin, Ill. ABC is a Church of the Brethren agency that provides
publications, education, and faith opportunities that encourage the church to do
caring ministries as the work of Jesus Christ.

The Wellness Ministry's seven-person committee met a day prior to the
board 
to develop a new mission statement and activities for the coming year. The
ministry hopes to challenge Brethren to adopt healthy living behaviors by
focusing on "metabolic syndrome"--obesity, hypertension, glucose intolerance,  and
high cholesterol. These medical conditions, while affected by genetics,
can 
be reduced by lifestyle changes. To raise awareness about the consequences of
the syndrome, ABC will provide information under a campaign titled "Lighten
Up,  Brethren!"

Other goals for the ministry include engaging the church in the current
public debate about health care delivery, access, finance reform, and  stewardship
of healthcare resources. The ministry also will promote simple	living,
"which is healthy and spiritually centered living," said Kathy Reid, ABC  's
executive director and staff liaison for the ministry. The ministry's mission  "is
an enduring sign of our belief that every person is a treasure, every life a
sacred gift, every human being a unity of body, mind, and spirit," she	added.

Vernne Greiner, ABC board and Wellness Ministry member, committed to
losing 
ten pounds before the board's next meeting in September, and challenged
the 
board to embrace the campaign by doing the same. Seven other board members
accepted the challenge.

In other business, the ABC board approved a new structure for peace church
work in health and senior care, as an outgrowth of collaboration between ABC,
Friends Services for the Aging, and Mennonite Health Services Alliance. The
new  structure will allow joint projects to be housed under Peace Church
Management,  a nonprofit corporation already created by the three groups.

The board heard reports on the Annual Forum, a conference for executives  and
staff of Brethren retirement centers April 21-23 in North Manchester,
Ind.; 
and Caring Ministries Assembly, a conference for deacons, pastors, chaplains,
and caregivers Aug. 11-13 in Bridgewater, Va. The board also participated in
a  development program on Pietism in the Church of the Brethren.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to
continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith  in
community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith
traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its  300th
anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United
States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil,
the 
Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.

# # #

For more information contact:

Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
Director of News Services
Church of the  Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, IL 60120
847-742-5100  ext. 260

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The Church of the Brethren Newsline is produced by Cheryl  Brumbaugh-Cayford,
director of news services for the Church of the Brethren  General Board.
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