wfn.org | Church of the Brethren Youth Peace Travel Team

[COBNews@aol.com]

Date: Sept. 15, 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
Sept. 15, 2005

CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN YOUTH PEACE TRAVEL TEAM COMPLETES TOUR

Sept. 15, 2005 (Elgin, IL) -- The 2005 Youth Peace Travel Team of the  Church
of the Brethren has completed its summer tour of eight camps in the east  and
midwest, and a visit to the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference.

The program was first formed in 1991 as a cooperative effort of a number
of 
Brethren programs, with a new team fielded each year. Sponsors now include On
Earth Peace, the Outdoor Ministries Association, the Brethren
Witness/Washington  Office, Brethren Volunteer Service, and Youth and
Young Adult Ministry.

Team members for 2005 were Nicole Fowler of First Church of the Brethren,
Roanoke, Va.; Rachel McFadden of Manchester Church of the Brethren, North
Manchester, Ind.; Ben Bear of Nokesville (Va.) Church of the Brethren; and Ben
Ritchey Martin of Grossnickle Church of the Brethren, Myersville, Md. They began
the summer with a Ministry Summer Service orientation at Bethany Theological
Seminary and a team orientation at Inspiration Hills in Burbank, Ohio.

The team led peace education for youth at camps including Brethren
Heights, 
Camp Ithiel, Camp Mack, Woodland Altars, Camp Emmaus, Camp Blue Diamond, and
Shepherd's Spring, and during Annual Conference. At the camps, the four young
adults led workshops, discussions, and activities such as morning watch. They
 also had the opportunity to get to know campers and the surrounding natural
landscape. "They learned about themselves and how they work in groups," said
Susanna Farahat of On Earth Peace.

Farahat worked with the team during its debriefing at the Brethren Service
Center in New Windsor, Md., Aug. 12-14. "They learned a lot about community,"
she said. Each week, the team held a "family meeting" to discuss situations
that  occurred during the week. Those meetings, as well as speaking in front of
larger	gatherings, helped develop interpersonal communication and leadership
skills.  "They all got more comfortable in front of groups," Farahat said.

At Annual Conference, the team spoke at an insight session on "Teaching
Peace to Youth." They also led workshops for senior high youth, supported  various
agencies' booths, and talked with Conference guests. The Youth Peace  Travel
Team spent much of its time on issues of social justice and also learning
about the range of beliefs in the Church of the Brethren. "We're all Brethren,
and although we all read the Bible, we're all reading it in different ways,"
noted Farahat. "I think that was new for them."

Young adults age 18-22 who are Church of the Brethren members can obtain
an 
application for next summerâs Youth Peace Travel Team at
_www.brethren.org/genbd/WitnessWashOffice.html_
(http://www.brethren.org/genbd/WitnessWashOffice.html)	 or call 800-785-3246.

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
_cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org_
(mailto: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.
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