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Date: May 13, 2005
Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
V: 847/742-5100 F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN	NEWSLINE
May 13, 2005

On Earth Peace checks out `multicultural pulse'  of the church.

May 13, 2005 (Elgin, IL) -- The On Earth Peace Board of  Directors
and staff met April 15-16 at New Windsor, Md., on the theme  "Signs
of the Present; Hope for the Future." The board's  Advancement,
Personnel, Finance, and Executive Committees met April 14.  Chair
Bev Weaver led in continued use of a formal consensus process  for
discussion and decision-making.

Board members brought reports and  reflections from 18 districts.
Prior to the meeting, they had been given the  assignment to contact
districts to check out the "multicultural pulse" of the  church at
district and local levels. Staff brought the idea of working  with
a consultant in the ongoing work of being and becoming an
anti-racist  organization. Amid discernment regarding cost, an
outside versus	inside-the-church consultant, and who would be most
helpful to an all-white  staff yet more diverse board, there was
growing commitment from the board to  support the staff in this
decision.

Board members Dena Lee and Debbie  Roberts, and staff Kim Stuckey
Hissong, reported on the Anabaptist  Consultation on Alternative
Service held in March in Elgin, Ill. The board	discussed creating
a contingency plan in case of the resumption of a military  draft.
Roberts, Lee, and board member Phil Miller will join staff  in
developing the plan. Hissong also reported on a conference call
hosted	by On Earth Peace for those interested in countering
military recruitment  efforts in communities and high schools.
Sixteen people participated in the  call.

Treasurer Phil Miller shared a positive year-to-date  financial
report and an increase in both congregational and  individual
giving. The Finance Committee proposed a revision in the  endowment
policy, which was adopted by the board. The revision  allows
undesignated planned gifts to be placed in the endowment, used	for
current needs, or used for the Program Reserve Fund--a new fund
that  will hold moneys for specific extra-budgetary projects. The
Advancement  Committee shared new development ideas, many of which
came out of Bob Gross'	time of sabbatical. A new video created by
Wilbur Mullen about Brethren  Service during World War II was
reviewed as a potential fundraiser.

In  other business, the Personnel Committee shared plans to
distribute a survey  at Annual Conference during the On Earth Peace
report, asking about the  importance and priority of peacemaking in
the life of the church. The  Nominating Committee is exploring using
a discernment process to determine a  slate rather than a ballot for
board members in the future, followed by  testing consensus among On
Earth Peace constituents rather than holding an  election. The
Executive Committee will coordinate a review of the  organization's
experience of having an increase in dispersed staff, and  will
report at the September board meeting.

Plans for upcoming events  were reviewed including the Heartland
Song and Story Fest July 6-12; a  workshop on "Dealing with
Difficult Behaviors," developed and led by Paul  Roth; "Seeking
Peace: The Courage to Be Nonviolent," a gathering hosted by  the
historic peace churches in partnership with the Plowshares  Peace
Studies Collaborative, Sept. 8-11; and a Regional Junior  High
Conference Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in New Windsor, Md., sponsored by On
Earth  Peace with eight districts and the General Board's Youth and
Young Adult  Ministry Office. On Earth Peace will co-sponsor a
Christian Peacemaker Teams  delegation again in 2006, probably in
January.

The board also welcomed  new members Robbie Miller of Bridgewater,
Va., and Joe Detrick, executive of  Southern Pennsylvania District,
who serves as liaison with the Council of  District Executives. For
more information about On Earth Peace, see  www.brethren.org/oepa/.

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.

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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
cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org

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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.  Newsline stories may be reprinted provided
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