wfn.org | CoB Newsline- North Korea relief, job openings

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:    July 17, 1997
Contact:  Paula Wilding
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline                                    July 17, 1997 
Newsline for the week of July 17. In the news today:  

1) Over 840 cases of beef arrive in North Korea courtesy of two   
        Church of the Brethren districts. 
2) Nearly $100,000 is raised for the Global Food Crisis fund      
        drive to provide seeds to North Korea. 
3) The General Board seeks a coordinator of Congregational Life   
         Teams for Areas 1 and 3, and a coordinator of District   
         Ministry. 
4) Brethren Volunteer Service Unit 226 begins orientation on      
         Sunday. 
5) Brethren Revival Fellowship held its Annual Meeting in June.
6) Scholarships are available for Brethren students interested in
         pursuing mental health-related studies. 
7) Elizabethtown College to host a conference that will "bridge   
         the chasm between science and religion." 
8) General Board staff terminations that were decided in March    
         will begin on Friday. 
9) Editor's note.   

1) More than 840 cases of beef arrived in North Korea on June 7,
courtesy of the annual beef canning project of Mid-Atlantic and
Southern Pennsylvania districts. "The beef was eagerly
anticipated by the Korean Christian Federation -- the council of
churches in North Korea -- which will be responsible for
overseeing its distribution," said David Radcliff, director of
the General Board's Brethren Witness ministry. "The beef arrives
amidst warnings from the United Nations of some five million of
North Korea's 23 million people being at risk of starvation this
summer."   

2) David Radcliff reported Wednesday that donations to the Global
Food Crisis Fund for the Korea Seed Appeal have exceeded $95,000.
The goal, set during the General Board's March meetings, was
$75,000. Radcliff estimated that the funds will provide two
months worth of grain rations for 300,000 families. Funds above
the goal will be used for other GFCF grants to North Korea.  

"This is a tremendous outpouring of concern and compassion for
the people of North Korea," Radcliff said. "Brethren have
responded whole-heartedly to the biblical admonition 'when your
enemy is hungry, feed him.' And it couldn't have come at a more
crucial moment, as the food crisis is threatening several million
North Korean lives this summer."   

3) Two position openings in the newly restructured General Board
have been announced. Applications are being accepted for the
General Board's coordinator of Congregational Life Teams for
Areas 1 and 3. Area 1 includes Atlantic Northeast, Mid-Atlantic,
Middle Pennsylvania, Southern Pennsylvania and Western
Pennsylvania districts. Area 3 includes Atlantic Southeast,
Shenandoah, Southeastern, Virlina and West Marva districts. The
coordinator will work on projects with district executives,
providing leadership and assistance to districts and
congregations.  

Applicants are being sought for the coordinator of District
Ministry position. The coordinator will work with district and
camp boards. This person will also work with the General Board's
director of Ministry and the Ministry Team.  

Base of operation for either position is negotiable. Resumes and
letters of recommendation are due by Sept. 11 to Elsie
Holderread, Office of Human Resources, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin,
IL 60120.   

4) Brethren Volunteer Service Unit 226 will begin orientation on
Sunday at the Brethren Service Center, New Windsor, Md. Fifteen
volunteers, including three from Germany, are entering BVS
through this unit. Orientation will conclude on Aug. 9.   

5) Over 50 Church of the Brethren members attended Brethren
Revival Fellowship's Annual Meeting -- the first held west of the
Mississippi River -- June 29 at Lindsay (Calif.) Church of the
Brethren.   

"BRF Goals for Renewal in the Church of the Brethren" was the
meeting's theme, which featured two keynote addresses. Harold
Martin, "BRF Witness" editor, spoke on "BRF: Past and Present,"
focusing on the issues that led to the start of BRF in 1959, as
well as current concerns the group has with the denomination. Jim
Myer spoke on "BRF and Revival in the Church of the Brethren,"
stating that "conservative and evangelical Brethren should trust
God for revival in the church and not lose hope," said Craig Alan
Myers of the BRF.  

During its business meeting, Myer and Samuel Cassel, members of
White Oak Church of the Brethren, near Penryn, Pa., were elected
to serve on the BRF steering committee.   

6) Brethren undergraduate and graduate students interested in
careers in mental health fields are eligible for the Elmer Ediger
Memorial Scholarship through Mennonite Health Service and the MCC
Canada Mental Health Disabilities Program. Four to six
scholarships, which will be awarded for the 1998-1999 academic
year, will range between $1,000 and $1,200. Applications are due
by Feb. 1; scholarship winners will be announced by May. For more
information, contact Amy Herr, Mennonite Health Services, at 717
293-7125.   

7) Elizabethtown (Pa.) College will host an international,
interdisciplinary conference on science versus religion this
weekend. "Reasons to Believe: Scientific and Religious
Perspectives," beginning today and running through Sunday, is the
first of its kind to be held at a private liberal arts college,
according to the college's news release. The conference will
feature philosophers, psychologists, theologians, biologists,
physicists and artificial intelligence researchers, addressing
cosmological and theological questions, as well as recent issues
in the news such as a computer defeating a human in a chess
match.  

Scholarly guests include Alvin Platinga, University of Notre
Dame; Owen Flanagan, Duke University; Susan Haack, University of
Miami; Willem Drees, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam; Michael Ruse,
University of Guelph, Ontario; Nancy Murphy, Fuller Theological
Seminary; Jonathan Shear, Virginia Commonwealth University; and
Paul Humphreys, University of Virginia.  

"Certainly, [the conference] will produce new research and
teaching material in an important area," said Michael
Silberstein, Elizabethtown assistant professor of philosophy and
conference organizer. "But more significantly, it will bring
together two sides of the debate about human existence. For many
scientists, the universe and human beings are a wonderful array
of matter and energy. For others, the order and complexity of the
universe suggest the grand design of a creator."  

For more information on the conference, contact Silberstein at
717 361-1253 or at SilberMD@Acad.ETown.Edu.   

8)  Friday marks the last day of employment for some General
Board staff members who received termination notices in March as
part of the Board's redesign. That original list included about
two dozen full and part-time personnel, including members of the
Communication Team staff. A handful of these people have received
employment extensions from one to three months, and several have
been extended indefinitely.  

Leaving July 18: Marianna Barriga, Martha Cupp, Joe Mason, Dale
Minnich, Jan Morse, Marge Moeller, Barbara Ober, Roberta Rosser,
Robert Smith, Linda Swanson and Paula Wilding.  

Leaving August 18: June Gibble and Jean Hendricks.  

Leaving October 15: Jan Eller and Jim Kinsey.  

Leaving November 6: Kermon Thomasson.  

Leaving December 31:  Barb Faga, Bob Kettering and Karen Miller. 

Extended indefinitely: Shantilal Bhagat, Ron Finney, John Harvey,
Cynthia Stocksdale and Sue Zelasko.   

9) Editor's note -- As was noted above, Paula Wilding, editorial
assistant to News and Information Services, leaves the General
Board on Friday, having served for four years. During that time
she has served as chief writer of the news stories printed in
Newsline, Messenger and Agenda. She also has been instrumental in
implementing many departmental changes and initiatives, such as
the move to total electronic publishing and faxing press releases
instead of using snail mail. She even undertook the tedious task
of taking a road atlas and color coding the location of each
Brethren congregation so we can quickly respond to inquiries
seeking the nearest Church of the Brethren congregation. 

Many know Paula for her work with Newsline. In addition to
writing most of the content, she has served as its voice to those
who listen to the weekly update and she has maintained its
address lists. And what a task that has become. Three years ago
Newsline was heard by phone by about 25 people each week and read
via e-mail by about 70. Today, Newsline is heard by about 10
people each week, but is sent to about 900 e-mail and fax
addresses worldwide.   

Throughout her tenure, Paula has helped make Newsline and other
Communication Team publications prosper. That is the legacy she
leaves behind. It is the task of those of us remaining to keep
that momentum rolling. She will be missed. -- Nevin Dulabaum   

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

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