wfn.org | CoB Newsline- Brethren homes, redesign, Annual Conference

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      June 6, 1997
Contact:  Paula Wilding
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline           June 6, 1997  

Newsline for the week of June 6. In the news today:  

1) About 75 representatives from Brethren retirement centers and  
     nursing homes gather for a first-ever conference of the
     Fellowship of Brethren Homes. 
2) The "whys" and "whats" regarding the General Board's new 
     design are addressed in a letter to denominational leaders.
3) Annual Conference moderator-elect Jimmy Ross, who on Saturday  
     returned home three days after prostate cancer surgery, does
     not expect to attend Annual Conference. 
4) The National Council of Churches to sponsor a national meeting 
     pertaining to burnt churches, beginning Sunday. 
5) Sixteen Cooperative Disaster Child Care volunteers work on 
     projects in Minnesota and North Dakota. 
6) On Earth Peace Assembly receives a large gift that will assist 
     with the organization's operating budget for the next
     decade. 
7) A Brethren graduate of McPherson (Kan.) College is featured in 
     "People" magazine. 
8) Dates for the General Board's Nigerian workcamp are changed.
9) A search for a district executive for Southern Pennsylvania 
      District is announced. 
10) Newsline will provide extensive coverage of Annual 
      Conference, July 1-6, from Long Beach, Calif.   

1) The gathering of representatives from Brethren retirement
homes and nursing centers may not seem unusual, but a three-day
forum for members of the Fellowship of Brethren Homes
Sunday-Tuesday was, indeed, notable. For when 75 representatives
from 17 of the fellowship's 20 members convened at the Brethren
Conference Center, New Windsor, Md., it marked the first-ever
meeting of this group.     

The Brethren Homes Forum on Collaboration, organized by the
Association of Brethren Caregivers, however, was designed to go
beyond merely bringing fellowship members together. Its goal was
to provide opportunities for members to discern how they can work
collaboratively with each other, and as a group with other
organizations -- Brethren, ecumenical and nondenominational.     

Michael Winer, consultant for the American Association of Homes
and Services to the Aging, provided leadership.     

The conference began with representatives from each participating
home introducing staff members and then describing their
organization's successes and challenges.     

The second session was devoted to presentations from eight
panelists who reviewed or previewed past and possible
collaborative efforts between the homes and other organizations
(See May 30 Newsline).     

Participants then used the remaining 1 1/2 days -- primarily in
small groups -- discussing how to meet the needs of their
organizations, while identifying the perceived needs of other
organizations with whom collaborative efforts could be mutually
beneficial. Ten potential areas of collaboration identified by
homes representatives included ministry/services;
media/marketing; insurance/risk management; managed care/HMO;
staffing/training/education; resource development;
management/purchasing; leadership development; technology; and
regional governance.   

2) "Twenty Questions about the new design of the General Board,"
a new interpretation piece that explains the General Board's new
design in a question and answer format, was released last week. 

The piece was written to "inform church leaders of the why and
what of the restructure," said Howard Royer, director of
Interpretation. Royer developed the 20 questions and several
General Board members and staff and district representatives
helped formulate the answers. The piece was mailed to General
Board members and staff, Annual Conference delegates, Standing
Committee members and pastors.  

The piece is necessary at this time "to fill the information gap
as to reasons for structural change, and to articulate the vision
for what is ahead," Royer said. Annual Conference delegates will
vote on polity changes involved with the General Board
restructure during Thursday's business sessions at Annual
Conference, July 3, in Long Beach, Calif.  

Topics addressed by the questions include staff and budget
reductions, overseas missions, involvement of congregations and
denominational agencies, district responsibilities, Annual
Conference action on polity changes, Mission Planning Council,
Congregational Life Ministry teams and the composition of the
General Board itself.  

For more information concerning the General Board's new design or
to request a copy of "Twenty Questions about the new design of
the General Board," contact Howard Royer or Wendy McFadden at the
General Offices, 800 323-8039 or CoBNews@AOL.Com.   

3) Jimmy Ross, senior pastor of Lititz (Pa.) Church of the
Brethren and moderator-elect of Annual Conference, successfully
underwent prostate cancer surgery on May 28. He returned home on
Saturday with the expectation that he would not return to a
routine work schedule for up to eight weeks.      

Although his recovery is going as expected, Ross said he does not
expect to attend this year's Annual Conference, July 1-6, in Long
Beach, Calif. He does, however, intend to succeed David Wine as
the denomination's highest elected officer. "I plan on serving as
moderator," he said. Discussions are underway as to how the
moderator's duties will be transferred from Wine to Ross if Ross
is, indeed, unable to attend the denomination's annual meeting.  

Following his surgery, Ross and his wife, Betty, have been
overwhelmed by the number of letters, cards, and calls received
from throughout the denomination. "Betty and I have appreciated
so much the tremendous support we've received," said Ross, who
added, "Continued prayers are appreciated."  

4) The National Convocation of Religious Leaders addressing
Racial Justice and Domestic Tranquility will convene in
Washington, D.C. beginning Sunday. This gathering of
representatives from the National Council of Churches' 33 member
organizations marks the one-year anniversary of the program in
response to the recent rash of church burnings. Emphasis will be
placed on highlighting the reconciliation efforts that many
communities have begun in response to this form of hatred and
racial violence. Glenn Kinsel will represent the Church of the
Brethren on behalf of the Disaster Services team, which is
currently rebuilding the Butler Chapel African Methodist
Episcopal Church in Orangeburg, South Carolina.  

More than 100 pastors of burned churches, including Patrick
Mellerson of Butler Chapel, will attend the event. Others invited
to attend include President Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development Andrew Cuomo and Rep. Maxine
Waters. In a Monday evening address, Clinton is expected to
celebrate the ways that the ecumenical and interfaith community
has come together in response to the church burnings. Prior to
the conference, a memorial service will be held for Mac Charles
Jones, former NCC Deputy General Secretary and director of the
NCC's Burned Churches Program. Jones died of a stroke in early
March. -- John Harvey, interim director of the Church of the
Brethren Washington Office.   

5) Cooperative Disaster Child Care workers have been involved
with two projects during the past month. Five CDCC workers
assisted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in East
Grand Forks, Minn., May 8-23, caring for 286 children. Millie
Smith, member of Mount Morris (Ill.) Church of the Brethren, was
one of the five workers.  

Eleven more CDCC workers are caring for children in Grand Forks,
N.D., this month. As of Monday, 96 children already had been
cared for. Among the workers are four Brethren -- Karen Walters,
who is serving as the CDCC Disaster Project Manager, of Phoenix
(Ariz.) Church of the Brethren; Frances Sproat of Messiah Church
of the Brethren, Kansas City, Mo.; Sally Caracheo of Highland
Avenue Church of the Brethren, Elgin, Ill.; and Julie Sword of
Lanark (Ill.) Church of the Brethren.   

6) A donation of land to On Earth Peace Assembly and its
subsequent sale this week will assist OEPA's operating budget
until 2007. According to Tom Hurst, OEPA director, the parcel of
land had been donated to the organization by Earl Weygandt,
member of Washington City (D.C.) Church of the Brethren and
former OEPA board treasurer, and the Weygandt family trust.
Weygandt then helped locate a buyer, and the sale of the property
was finalized this week for $290,000. OEPA will receive these
funds over the next 10 years, at about $2,500 per month.  

"Everything that we have is the Lord's," said Weygandt. "My
interest has always been in making a major gift to OEPA's Zigler
Endowment that will help ensure continuation of the Church of the
Brethren peace witness through OEPA."  

"This should greatly assist OEPA in overcoming its financial
difficulties," said Hurst. "This (grant) almost makes us even as
we start any given year. The financial problems go from being a
great concern to a modest concern, and that's wonderful."  

7) A member of Wiley (Colo.) Church of the Brethren and a 1997
graduate of McPherson (Kan.) College was featured in the June 9
issue of "People" magazine. Cyndi Jones was one of the college
graduates featured in an eight-page spread about college
graduates the magazine deemed "Class Acts." Jones founded
McPherson's rodeo team, serving as its only member. During her
years at McPherson, the college's one-person "team" was
nationally-ranked in rodeo competitions. Jones has numerous
trophies for barrel racing and calf roping, and a title of
National Queen in the Little Britches Rodeo Association.  

Jones graduated from McPherson summa cum laude with a degree in
elementary education and Spanish, and plans to teach early
primary education in Deerfield, Kan., in the fall.   

8) Dates for the General Board's 1998 workcamp in Nigeria have
been changed. The trip is now scheduled for Jan. 17-Feb. 17.
Workcampers will assist in the construction of a secondary school
near the headquarters of Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria -- the
Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. For more information, contact
workcamp coordinator Jeff Mummau at 717 367-2269.   

9) A search for an executive for Southern Pennsylvania District
has been announced by the General Board's Office of District
Ministry. The position includes placing pastors, overseeing
program and developing leaders for church growth. Applications
are due by Sept. 1 to Office of District Ministry, 1451 Dundee
Avenue, Elgin IL 60120. For more information, contact Ron Finney,
interim director of District Ministry, at 219 982-8805 or at
Wanda.Miller.parti@Ecunet.Org.   

10) Newsline will provide extensive coverage of Annual
Conference, July 1-6, in Long Beach. Coverage will include a
daily edition of Newsline beginning Monday, June 30, and
concluding Saturday, July 5. Also sent to Newsline recipients
will be the text of each worship service's sermon. If you already
receive Newsline online, you will not need to request Newsline
during Annual Conference -- you will automatically receive it.
People not currently receiving Newsline who want to sign up for
the e-mail or fax versions should write to CoBNews@AOL.Com or by
calling 800 323-8039, ext. 257, by June 27. Requests following
that date are not guaranteed of being honored.    

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