wfn.org | CoB Newsline- Chinese immigrants freed, North Korea, Earth Day

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      February 27, 1997
Contact:  Paula Wilding
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline            Feb. 27, 1997  

This is Newsline for the week of February 27. In the news today: 

1) Golden Venture immigrants are released from York County (Pa.)  
      Prison. 
2) Two Brethren Christian Peacemaker Teams members join in a 
      700-hour fast in Hebron. 
3) The Emergency Disaster Fund allocates $25,000 to help feed 
      people in North Korea. 
4) Interchurch Medical Assistance sends much-needed medical 
      supplies to Azerbaijan. 
5) Elizabethtown (Pa.) College hosts Black Panther co-founder at  
      Black History Month event. 
6) The 1997 Earth Day packet on climate change will arrive in 
      homes next week. 
7) Overweight people are more prone to fight for their country, 
      is an off-beat conclusion by a Brethren professor. 
8) Brethren Volunteer Service publishes its 1997 Project Booklet.
9) Two Lafiya Retreats are scheduled for April. 
10) A storyteller and music family camp is scheduled for June in
      California. 
11) Jim Miner resigns from his position as a General Board 
      computer programmer/analyst. 
12) The Partners in Accompaniment Program is searching for 
      accompaniers for Guatemala. 
13) Newsline correction.   

1)After nearly four years of captivity, the 39 Chinese refugees
that had been held in York County (Pa.) Prison since arriving in
the United States as illegal immigrants aboard the freighter,
Golden Venture, on Wednesday tasted freedom on American soil for
the first time.  

The refugees were released by the Immigration and Naturalization
Service at noon, and then boarded buses to be transported to what
was to be an undisclosed site. However, when the buses arrived at
Codorus Church of the Brethren in Loganville after their 12-mile
journey, they were met by a drove of reporters, photographers and
videographers.  

Most of the immigrants entered the church without comment to the
press, for a reason. Many are fearful that the smugglers who
helped get them to the United States will see their faces and
seek them out as the smugglers have received little if any of the
up to $30,000 they were promised for each person they smuggled
out of China. However, several of the immigrants did return
outdoors to field questions.   

Inside, the mood was festive. York County residents had
contributed clothes and suitcases to the immigrants, which were
located in three Sunday school classrooms where the men could
pick and choose what they wanted. Toiletry kits were provided
from money donated by many different people and from the money
earned by the immigrants from their paper art. Blankets given to
the immigrants were purchased from the $25,000 donated from the
Church of the Brethren disaster relief auction held each
September in Lancaster, Pa. Each immigrant also will receive $500
- $600 to help them start their new lives -- money that also came
through donations and by selling their paper art.  

Joining the immigrants at the church were members of The People
of the Golden Vision, the group that formed with the intent of
helping the immigrants obtain their freedom Also joining them
were members of families that had been chosen to house the
immigrants until they leave for other parts of the country to
join friends or relatives, or until they receive asylum or are
ultimately deported. Many countries, including Canada, have
stated willingness to take in the refugees who are refused U.S.
asylum.  

The celebration also included the singing of songs by The People
of the Golden Vision, songs they had sung for 183 consecutive
Sunday nights as they held vigil across the street from the York
Prison. Although the immigrants never before heard the music,
each week they could see the vigil from behind bars, which buoyed
their spirits, said Joe Detrick, Codorus pastor and Golden Vision
member. And, at 5 p.m., those in the church gathered for a meal
of order-in Chinese food.  

The festivities concluded by 8:30 p.m., with the immigrants going
with their host families. Detrick believes about half of the
immigrants will leave the area. And, for those who stay, Detrick
added, there should be jobs available, as The People of the
Golden Vision have received numerous job offers for the
immigrants.  

While some Golden Vision members are likely to quit participating
in the group, having achieved the group's original objective,
Detrick believes others will continue working together to assist
other refugees who are housed in and then released from the York
County Prison.  

For Detrick, the call to assist refugees comes naturally. "The
bottom line for me is it is part of our faith response," he said.
He referred to Matthew 25:40: "'Truly I tell you, just as you did
it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you
did it to me.'" "The least of these is anyone in need," Detrick
added, "so when you turn away people in need, you're in a sense,
turning away Jesus."  

He added, "So, when we have a stranger on our doorstep, the
response of the faith community is to be welcoming and engaging
and supportive. At least for a group in southern York County,
that has been a helpful vision."   

2) Two Brethren Christian Peacemaker Teams members will join
three others in Hebron in a 700 hour fast for 700 Palestinian
families, which will begin on March 1. Art Gish of Athens, Ohio,
and Cliff Kindy, North Manchester, Ind., will join three other
CPT workers in the "Fast for Rebuilding." The 29-day fast will be
held on behalf of the 700 Palestinian families "who are scheduled
to lose their homes because their land is adjacent to Israeli
settlements or bypass roads," reported Janice Kulp Long of CPT.
The demolition of the homes by the Israeli government is in
violation of the Oslo II Peace Accords, Long added.  

"Fasting is a spiritual response that embodies solidarity with
Palestinian families and allows an influx of God's spirit to
provide a clarity of vision and direction," said the team. "We
have witnessed the people's frustration about to erupt . . . this
fast may provide a transforming channel for that power," Kindy
said. For information on how to support CPT in its fast, contact
CPT at 312 455-1199 or at CPT@Igc.Org.   

3) A grant of $25,000 was allocated last week by the Emergency
Disaster Fund to help people in North Korea. The funds will help
Church World Service purchase and send barley to those in need
due to flooding that has caused food shortages in that country.  

4) On Saturday, Interchurch Medical Assistance participated in
the third of six airlifts of critically needed medicines and
medical relief supplies to Azerbaijan. The shipment, which was
packed at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., (also
the location of IMA's headquarters) contained $800,000 of donated
medicines and medical supplies and included 40 IMA Medicine Boxes
donated by United Methodist congregations throughout the United
States. These IMA Medicine Boxes are valued at more than $2,200
each, and contain 17 essential medicines and supplies. This
shipment will be used by the United Methodist Committee on Relief
(UMCOR) to provide emergency relief and primary health care to
over 200,000 Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced people
living on the Absheron Peninsula and in the southern refugee
camps. IMA is comprised of 12 ecumenical partners, including the
Church of the Brethren.   

5) Elizabethtown (Pa.) College hosted various events over the
past few weeks as part of Black History Month. Along with the
lectures, concerts and films organized by the college during
February, the college concluded its month-long focus by hosting
Bobby Seale, an activist and co-founder of the Black Panthers.
Seale, who spoke on Wednesday, founded the Black Panthers for
Self Defense with Huey Newton in 1966 to stand against
"institutionalized racism, discrimination and police brutality,"
reads the release.   

6) The 1997 Earth Day packet will be sent to all Church of the
Brethren congregations this week. Resources included in the
packet may be used on Earth Day Sunday, scheduled for April 20,
or on other days as selected by congregations. The packet, which
centers on climate change, was prepared by the Resource
Department of the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice
Working Group, a committee chaired by Shantilal Bhagat, Church of
the Brethren director of Eco-Justice Concerns. The packet
includes a study booklet, a bulletin insert, worship materials
and an action alert. A total of 51,000 packets will be mailed
throughout denominations of the NCC, including the Church of the
Brethren.  

"The church, as the people of God, is called to live in harmony
with all creation and to be environmentally responsible in caring
for creation as God's gift," writes Bhagat in the cover letter.
"Informed church members who respect and care deeply about God's
creation, and who can rise above narrower interests, have a role
to play in shaping our government's policies."  For more
information, contact Bhagat at 800 323-8039 or at
SBhagat.parti@Ecunet.Org.   

7) A finding linking poundage with patriotism and the willingness
of people to serve their country militarily by Carl Bowman,
member of Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren,
moderator-elect of Shenandoah District and sociology professor at
Bridgewater College, and James Davison Hunter of the University
of Virginia, was reported in the Feb. 23 edition of The
Washington Post. Of more than 2,000 randomly selected Americans
surveyed last spring, Bowman and Hunter found that 38 percent of
obese women said they would participate in a hypothetical war
"'under any conditions,'" compared with women of normal weight
(28 percent) and women who are thin (22 percent). The report
added that 59 percent of obese men would fight for their country,
but only 39 percent of men of normal weight and 13 percent of
thin men would do the same.  

The figures were the result of Bowman and Hunter's study, called
"The State of Disunion," which they wrote in an attempt to look
at political culture, views and commitments in light of broader
cultural trends. In an interview Wednesday with Newsline, Bowman
said Richard Morin, a Washington Post staff member who writes a
column called Unconventional Wisdom," had become familiar with
Bowman and Hunter's work when the two appeared at a think-tank
conference at the University of Virginia to discuss the study.
Since then a couple of stories regarding the study have appeared
in the Post.   

Most recently Morin contacted Bowman asking if he could come up
with some offbeat results from that study relating to body mass
for Unconventional Wisdom. So Bowman ran some tables and produced
some data and sent Morin an e-mail on his findings.  

"These were not strong differences," Bowman said, "but they were
enough to make it interesting and include it in a light-hearted
piece in the Post."   

8) Brethren Volunteer Service released its 1997 Project Booklet
last month. Included in the booklet are project listings with
descriptions of the project, location and dates available.
Project categories include hunger and homelessness, peace and
justice, environment, congregations, education and teaching,
health care and community services. Also included in the booklet
are orientation dates and descriptions, as well as placement and
basic information about BVS. For more information or to request a
Project Booklet, contact BVS at 800 323-8039 or at
CoB.BVS.parti@Ecunet.Org. BVS may be found on the World Wide Web
at http://www.tgx.com/cob/bvs/htm.   

9) Two Lafiya Retreats are scheduled to be held this April --
April 4-5 at Camp Eder, Fairfield, Pa.; and April 11-12 at Camp
Mack, Milford, Ind. The Lafiya Retreats are available to
congregations involved with Lafiya, as well as congregations
interested in learning about Lafiya. Pastors, health promoters,
deacons and other individuals also are invited to attend. For
more information, contact the Association of Brethren Caregivers
at 800 323-8039 or at CoB.ABC.parti@Ecunet.Org.   

10) "Sierra Song and Story Fest," a family camp featuring
Brethren musicians and storytellers, is scheduled for June 21-27
at Camp Peaceful Pines, Dardanelle, Calif. The event, which is
scheduled for the week prior to Annual Conference in Long Beach,
Calif., will feature intergenerational gatherings, as well as
events for specific age groups. Several Brethren will serve as
leaders for the camp: Lee Krahenbuhl, songwriter and folksinger;
Peg Lehman, folksinger and children's songs; Jim Lehman, author
and storyteller; Debbie Eisenbise, storyteller and monologist;
Shawn Kirchner, musician; and Jonathan Hunter, storyteller. For
more information, contact Ken Kline Smeltzer at 209 523-1438.   

11) James Miner, programmer/analyst with the Computer Operations
for the General Board, Elgin, Ill., has resigned effective March
6. Miner has served the General Board since 1981. While Miner has
accepted a computer programming position with another company, he
will continue to maintain the Brethren e-mail directory
(http://members.aol.com/jeminer/internet.txt) and may be reached
at Jim.Miner.parti@Ecunet.Org.   

12) The Partners in Accompaniment Program is seeking people to
serve in three- to 12-month terms as accompaniers in Guatemalan
communities where there are returned refugees. Accompaniers serve
as support for the former refugees, as well as provide a link
between the communities and Brethren congregations. "Even though
peace accords have recently been signed, bringing an official end
to decades of civil war, groups of resettled refugees continue to
fear persecution as they attempt to re-establish themselves in
their homeland," said David Radcliff, director of Denominational
Peace Witness. Radcliff's office co-sponsors the program with the
Latin American and Caribbean Office, directed by Mariana Barriga.

Training sessions have been scheduled for April 5-12 and will be
led by the Guatemalan Accompaniment Project, an ecumenical agency
that coordinates the placement of accompaniers in Guatemala. For
more information, contact Radcliff or Barriga at 800 323-8039.   

13) In last week's Newsline, Bethany Theological Seminary's phone
number was listed incorrectly. To reach Bethany, call
765-983-1800.   

      
Newsline is archived with an index at
http://www.tgx.com/cob/news.htm.  

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