wfn.org | CoB Newsline- ABC new director, Newsline AC coverage

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      July 11, 1997
Contact:  Paula Wilding
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline           June 11, 1997  

Newsline for the week of July 11. In the news today:  

1) Stephen Mason of McPherson, Kan., is called to serve as 
     executive director designate of Association of Brethren for
     Caring Ministries. 
2) CDCC caregivers tend to 888 children while in Grand Forks, 
     N.D. 
3) A fourth volume of the Brethren Encyclopedia is announced. 
4) A tri-district peace retreat scheduled for September. 
5) A director of Agricultural Missions is being sought by the 
     NCC. 
6) A question in Wednesday's Newsline survey is being
     misunderstood by respondents. The question is clarified and
     new responses are being sought.   

1) The Association of Brethren for Caring Ministries board has
called Stephen Mason of McPherson, Kan., as executive director
designate, beginning Aug. 1. It is expected that Mason will
become executive director upon the retirement of Jay Gibble, the
current executive director, by the end of 1998.  

"We are pleased that Steve Mason has accepted the call to this
position," said Mary Sue Rosenberger, ABC chair. "He was the
unanimous choice of the Search Committee and the ABC board."  

ABC, formerly known as Association of Brethren Caregivers, is an
independent, non-profit organization within the Church of the
Brethren that initiates many caring ministries for members in
colloboration with other organizations.   

For the past three years Mason has served on the ABC board. From
July 1994 until June 30, Mason served as vice president for
Financial Services at McPherson College. Prior to that he served
as McPherson's director of Development, beginning in 1990. Mason
has held positions relating to student services at several
colleges, including a four-year stint as associate dean for
Student Development at Bridgewater College, Bridgewater, Va.  

"Steve brings to ABC, from these college-related work
experiences, knowledge, experience, skills in fund development,
financial planning, marketing, organizational management,
interchurch connections and interpersonal relationships," said
Bob Cain, Search Committee chair and ABC chair-elect.  

Mason is a life-long Church of the Brethren member. His mother,
Mary, currently serves as a volunteer at Caimito Christian
Community in Puerto Rico. His late father, Olin, served in many
denominational leadership positions. And his younger brother,
Rodney, serves as chief executive officer at Peter Becker
Community, Harleysville, Pa.  

"I am humbled by the call to serve in this capacity," said Mason.
"There are exciting and challenging times for the Church of the
Brethren and the Association of Brethren for Caring Ministries.
ABC must intentionally seek its proper place in the fabric of the
denomination. I welcome this opportunity to work with and learn
from Jay Gibble; to nurture the mission of ABC in cooperation
with the board, staff and membership of the association; and to
serve the broader church."   

2) Church of the Brethren disaster child care response in Grand
Forks, N.D., closed on June 27, having cared for 888 children.
Twenty-nine volunteers served in the Cooperative Disaster Child
Care effort, representing nine communions from seven states.
Twelve Church of the Brethren members served on the project.   

3) A fourth volume of The Brethren Encyclopedia is being planned.
This new volume will consist of three components -- additions and
corrections to the first three volumes, new articles on topics
emerging after 1980 (the original editorial deadline), and a
comprehensive index of all four volumes.  

Serving as co-editors of the new volume will be Carl Bowman and
Don Durnbaugh. Other members of the editorial board include Don
Miller and Ken Shaffer (representing the Church of the Brethren);
Dale Stoffer and Bradley Weidenheamer (representing the Brethren
Church); Robert Lehigh and Jacob Ness (representing the Dunkard
Brethren); Jerry Young and Ron Clutter (representing the Grace
Brethren); and Fred Benedict and Glen Landes (representing the
German Baptist Brethren). The function of this group will be to
suggest topics and authors, establish policies and check
contributed articles for accuracy.  

With regard to accuracy, people who know of mistakes in the first
three volumes should notify the committee so that corrections can
be made, Durnbaugh said. Notification of mistakes should be sent
to Durnbaugh at Box 948, Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA 16652.  

The manuscript for volume four is scheduled to be completed by
mid-1999, with publication set for 2000.   

4) The Tri-District Brethren Peace Fellowship Peace Retreat is
scheduled for Sept. 5-7, at the home of Jake and Arlene Miller,
near Spring Grove, Pa. Serving as resource person will be Matt
Guynn, coordinator for Training for Change, a Quaker-related
social change training center in Philadelphia. For more
information call David Braune at 410 857-4842.  

5) A director of Agricultural Missions with Church World Service
and the Witness Unit of the National Council of Churches is being
sought. Applications are due Aug. 1. For more information, call
Laura Williams at 212 870-2088.   

6) A yearly survey sent on Wednesday by Newsline staff contains a
question that is being misunderstood, based on early returns of
the survey. Question 9 asks if Newsline readers who attended
Annual Conference were satisfied with the information they
received daily from the Conference Journal, or if they would have
found it helpful if Newsline had been available at Conference,
too.  

To clarify the question: After comparing the daily Conference
Journal with the daily Newslines, would it have been
helpful/desireable for Newsline to be printed and distributed to
all Conferencegoers or posted publicly other than in the
Messenger booth, or does the Journal cover the news you are
seeking while at Conference, making the availability of Newsline
at Conference redundant?  

Please submit your responses to this question back to the News
and Information Services office. These answers will help us
determine the shape of Newsline at future Annual Conferences, so
your input is sought. - the editor   

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

This message can be heard by calling 410 635-8738. To receive
Newsline by e-mail or fax, call 800 323-8039, ext. 257, or write
CoBNews@AOL.Com.