wfn.org | CoB Newsline- BVS anniversary, district auctions, staff changes

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      May 16, 1997
Contact:  Paula Wilding
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline           May 16, 1997  

Newsline for the week of May 16. In the news today:  

1) Brethren members, congregations and districts are invited to 
      participate in Brethren Volunteer Service's 50th
      anniversary. 
2) More than 3,000 Brethren sign a petition urging the United 
      States to ban land mines. 
3) Three new resources, a Bethany intensive course and four staff 
      openings are announced by Association of Brethren
      Caregivers. 
4) Mid-Atlantic District reports its 1997 disaster auction is its 
      most successful to date. 
5) Middle Pennsylvania District held its first disaster auction 
      last weekend. 
6) Shenandoah District prepares for its fifth disaster auction 
      this weekend. 
7) Kent Shisler resigns as controller of the Brethren Service 
      Center. 
8) Southern Pennsylvania District names an interim executive. 
9) The 1998 workcamp to Nigeria is announced. 
10) A national youth workshop will be held in Maryland in 
      November. 
11) Mennonite Your Way directory is available.   

1) "Living the Story . . . 50 Years of Brethren Volunteer
Service" will be the theme when BVS celebrates its 50th
anniversary in 1998. BVS' 50th Anniversary Committee is
encouraging congregations and districts to host their own BVS
anniversary activities throughout the year, such as awareness
events, service projects, a panel discussion, a celebration
dinner and information sharing. However, the committee is
planning an anniversary celebration scheduled for Oct. 2-4, in
New Windsor, Md.  

BVS also will be the focus of two Living Word bulletins in 1998
-- July 5, which is Annual Conference Sunday, and Sept. 20, which
has been designated as BVS Sunday.  

In preparation, the BVS office is collecting addresses of former
and current BVS workers.  

The anniversary committee includes Chuck Boyer, chairman, pastor
of La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren and former BVS
director; Angie Breidenstine, member of Spring Creek Church of
the Brethren, Hayward, Calif., and former BVS worker in the BVS
office; Debbie Eisenbise, team pastor of Skyridge Church of the
Brethren, Kalamazoo, Mich., and former BVS coordinator of
orientation; Don Snider, Manchester Church of the Brethren, North
Manchester, Ind., and former BVS coordinator of orientation; and
current BVS staff -- Dan McFadden, Todd Reish and Kim Bickler. To
submit an address, for information on the national event or for
more celebration ideas, contact BVS at 800 323-8039 or at
CoB.BVS.parti@Ecunet.Org.   

2) One out of every 236 Cambodians is an amputee, because of land
mines. Worldwide, land mines kill or main 26,000 people yearly --
one person every 22 minutes. One such person is Tun Channareth, a
Cambodian who lost both legs in a land mine explosion in 1982.
Channareth visited two Church of the Brethren congregations in
the Chicago area last weekend to raise awareness of land mines
among U.S. citizens so that they will become a positive voice in
the struggle against land mines. Channareth, who is on a two-week
tour of three U.S. cities with Church World Service, met with
Brethren at Chicago First Church of the Brethren and York Center
Church of the Brethren, Lombard, Ill.  

"My hope is for my children to grow up without fear of land mines
in their daily lives," Channareth said. "I don't mind begging if
it will help to make this possible." He believes that if everyone
shares information on land mines with the person they are sitting
next to, and then they do the same, soon the whole world will
begin to understand the injustice of land mines.  

Today marks the conclusion of President Clinton's announced
one-year moratorium on the production, transfer, stockpiling and
use of anti-personal land mines. To date, the U.S. has not signed
a permanent ban on land mines. Church World Service is urging the
Clinton Administration to support the "Ottawa Process" -- a
Canadian initiative -- that is supported by over 60 nations,
which will complete and sign a comprehensive ban treaty at a
ceremony in December.  

As a reminder of today's anniversary, a peaceful rally will be
held at Lafayette Park, across from the White House. According to
John Harvey, interim director of the Washington Office, over 300
pairs of shoes and artificial limbs will be piled together to
represent the destruction caused by land mines. Channareth will
present a collection of petitions that call for a ban on land
mines, which include over 70,000 signatures, to the Clinton
administration. More than 60 Church of the Brethren congregations
have responded by sending petitions bearing more than 3,000
signatures. -- Sue Grubb   

3) Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) is looking to
permanently fill its four staff positions by the end of the year
-- executive director designate, administrative assistant,
associate director for communications and associate director for
resourcing. Applications should be received by ABC by July 1.  

In related news, ABC's Older Adult Ministries Cabinet has just
produced its first issue of a new resource newsletter, "Older
Adult Ministries." The newsletter, which will be produced
quarterly and edited by Evelyn Frantz, Harrisburg, Pa., will
focus on events and issues of interest to older adults. It is
mailed free to National Older Adult Conference participants and
other interested people.   

The Annual Conference statements on End of Life Decision-Making
and Organ and Tissue Donation, and an accompanying study guide,
are now available through ABC. According to Cheryl Cayford,
interim associate director of ABC, this is the first in a series
of end-of-life materials ABC will produce. Sample copies were
mailed to every Church of the Brethren congregation and single
packets may be requested by contacting ABC.  

Bethany Theological Seminary and ABC are working together on
"Caring Ministries," a Bethany intensive course centered on the
Caring Ministries 2000 conference. Class members will attend the
conference -- to be held at Manchester College, North Manchester,
Ind., Aug. 11-15  -- and then meet with instructor Nancy Faus at
Bethany Seminary, Richmond, Ind., for three days following the
assembly. For information on the course, contact Bethany
Seminary's Admissions Office, 800 287-8822.  

For more information on any of ABC's offerings, contact ABC at
800 323-8039 or CoB.ABC.parti@Ecunet.Org.   

4) Mid-Atlantic District held its most financially successful
yearly disaster auction to date on May 3, earning over $45,000
for disaster relief. The auction was held at the Agricultural
Center in Westminster, Md. Donations to the Emergency Disaster
Fund and advertising revenues in the auction booklet also were
strong, with the booklet earning over $7,000. The quilt auction
brought in nearly $18,000, with one quilt selling for over
$3,000.   

5) Middle Pennsylvania held its first auction last weekend at
Morrisons Cove Memorial Park, Martinsburg, Pa. While final
figures have not been released, Earl Stovall, district auction
executive committee chairman and pastor of New Enterprise (Pa.)
Church of the Brethren, reported that the livestock auction
brought in $20,000, and the quilt auction $26,000. Proceeds from
the auction will go to the district and national disaster relief
funds.   

6) Shenandoah District's fifth annual auction is scheduled for
today and Saturday at Rockingham County Fairgrounds, near
Harrisonburg, Va. According to E.B. Craun, district auction
chairman, about $460,000 was raised in the first four years, and
the committee hopes to raise $125,000 this year. The auction is
expected to draw 1,000 people today for a buffet dinner and
livestock sale and over 700 for Saturday's breakfast, worship and
auction.   

7) Kent Shisler, controller of the Brethren Service Center, New
Windsor, Md., has announced his resignation, effective June 25.
Shisler, who has served the General Board since 1991, has taken
the position of financial analyst for the Brethren Home, New
Oxford, Pa.   

8) Donald E. Myers has been named interim district executive for
Southern Pennsylvania District. Myers, a member of New Fairview
Church of the Brethren, York, Pa., began serving in that position
on May 1 and will continue through 1997. Myers will retire as
principal of Dallastown Area Middle School on June 30.   

9) Assisting in the construction of a secondary school near the
headquarters of Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria -- the Church of the
Brethren in Nigeria -- is what participants of the 13th annual
workcamp to Nigeria will do Jan. 10 - Feb. 9, 1998. The project
was started during last year's workcamp. Additional activities
will include visiting churches and participating in cultural
events. This event is sponsored by the Church of the Brethren
General Board, EYN, and the Basel Mission of Switzerland. Jeff
Mummau will serve as coordinator. Estimated cost is $1,995. For
more information, contact Mummau at 717 367-2269.    

10) The church's ministry to youth and their families is the
focus of a workshop scheduled for Nov. 8, Frederick (Md.) Church
of the Brethren. Youth and Young Adult Ministry is sponsoring
this workshop featuring Mark DeVries, a youth minister and author
of a book on and curriculum for youth. For more information or
registration, contact Youth and Young Adult Ministry, 800
323-8039 or CoB.Youth.parti@Ecunet.Org.   

11) "Mennonite Your Way Directory 8," 1997-2000, is now
available. This resource, which "promotes travel and Christian
fellowship across community and denominational lines," according
to "The Mennonite Weekly Review," lists over 2,000 North American
hosts from 48 states, nine provinces, 30 denominational groups
and 280 hosts in 65 countries. Also included is an article on
what brings members of diversely different denominations together
by Donald Kraybill, provost of Messiah College, Grantham, Pa., a
member of Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren and former
director of Elizabethtown College's Young Center for the Study of
Anabaptist and Pietist Groups. To order a directory for $21
(handling included), write to Mennonite Your Way, Box 1525,
Salunga, PA 17538 or call 717 653-9288.   

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