wfn.org | Newsline - Church of the Brethren weekly news update

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      Oct. 18, 1997
Contact:  Nevin Dulabaum
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline                                  Oct. 18, 1997 
1) The Church of the Brethren General Board convenes today for
     its fall meetings. 
2) Next week's Newsline will be sent on Wednesday. 
3) The General Board announces four staff changes. 
4) On Earth Peace Assembly Board of Directors approves a new
     mission statement. 
5) Young adults are being invited to Bethany Seminary's Campus
Visit Weekend, Nov. 29-30. 
6) An older adult mission trip/workcamp to Puerto Rico is filled
     within five days. 
7) Sixty tons of wheat seed donated by the Church of the Brethren
     to North Korea has been planted. 
8) Heifer Project International sends 250 dairy goats to North
     Korea. 
9) Three Brethren familiar to members nationwide pass away. 
10) $15,000 is allocated from the Emergency Disaster Fund in
     response to flooding in Colorado. 
11) The International Campaign to Ban Landmines was awarded this
     year's Nobel Peace Prize. 
12) A trip to protest the United States' School of the Americas
     is being organized by the Church of the Brethren Washington
     Office. 
13) A groundbreaking ceremony for two new facilities at
     Bridgewater (Va.) Retirement Community is held. 
14) Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Church of the Brethren breaks ground on a
     $1.5 million addition. 
15) Peoria (Ill.) First Church of the Brethren is looking for a
     congregation in need of some furniture.   

1) The Church of the Brethren General Board will convene today,
but it won't find its four days of fall meetings to be business
as usual, at least not compared to the high octane meetings held
since March 1995, all of which focused on some aspect of the
Board redesigning itself. These upcoming meetings, lasting
through Tuesday noon at the Church of the Brethren General
Offices in Elgin, Ill., are the first for the Board since Annual
Conference delegates voted in July to accept the Board's proposed
new design.  

Since that time, some ministries and about 30 positions have been
eliminated, most on July 18. (Those employees whose positions
were eliminated all received three months severance, which
concluded after yesterday.)   

Over the past three months staff have moved past the redesign,
working on the ministries in which they are assigned -- in some
cases continuing what had been done in the old design. But, to
liken the General Board to a ship, the newly designed Board has
been undergoing three months of sea trials, identifying exactly
what the new structure is about and determining what works and
what needs to be modified.  

Thus, these meetings will be unique in several ways. Board
members and staff will find themselves in a sort of calm after
the redesign storm, discussing, assessing and evaluating. Unlike
recent meetings, there are no "barn burning" proposals to be
decided, no urgent actions that could shape Board ministries for
years to come. As a result, these more relaxed Board meetings
will deal with renewal of spirit and with assessing where the
General Board now stands and how it expects to proceed in
carrying out its mission of providing ministries to Church of the
Brethren members.  

Instead of starting at 8 a.m. each morning, meetings will begin
at 9 a.m. The traditional Saturday morning retreat will consist
of a session geared at moving away from adversarial thinking
toward working together more constructively, and then identifying
issues to work on. The early afternoon session will be held under
these subheadings -- "Talking about hope," "From hope to action,"
"Thinking and acting creatively," "Anticipating the future," and
"Plans for the future."  

Instead of spending Sunday morning in worship and then in
meetings at the General Offices, the Board will attend worship at
Highland Ave. Church of the Brethren and won't regroup until
lunch. Instead of meeting in commissions to discuss
ministry-specific items, Board members and staff on Sunday
afternoon will break into small groups to discuss the purpose and
function of the Board's yet-to-be-created Task Teams, which were
included in the Board's new design as replacements for the former
three commissions that worked at governing the Board.  

Specific business items will be dealt with Monday and Tuesday.
Items on the agenda include a report from the Executive Director
Search Committee, which met Friday at the General Offices. Also
on the agenda is an item called "Interim Executive Director
1998," as interim executive director Karen Peterson Miller's
contract expires Dec. 31 and a permanent executive director is
not expected to be named by that time. Other agenda items include
discussing ministries that were eliminated this year and how
aspects of those ministries are being cared for in the new
organization, an update on The Andrew Center's successor, a
report on Korea Mission, and a report from the site committee
that is charged with determining the best location for the
General Board's centralized office.  

One key agenda item, possibly the key agenda item of the Board
meetings in terms of assessing the impact thus far of the new
design, will be a series of 10-minute reports by the nine
directors of the General Board's Leadership Team. These reports,
scheduled from 3:30 to 5 p.m., today, will serve as informal
"State of the Ministry" reports, updating Board members as to the
status of each area just three months into the new design.  

Two other unusual factors about these meetings will be the
absence of two key people. Board chair Chris Bowman, who is
battling a multiple sclerosis flare-up, will not be attending the
meetings. Lori Sollenberger Knepp, vice chair, will assume
Bowman's responsibilities. Also not attending will be Karen
Peterson Miller. A statement released today from her office
reads: "Due to ongoing health-related issues, which are being
aggressively pursued by her doctor, Karen Peterson Miller (will
not be) present for the General Board meetings."  

The newly created Mission and Ministry Planning Council, which is
to have Annual Conference, District and General Board
representation, and which was scheduled to convene for its
inaugural meeting Tuesday following the General Board's
adjournment, has been cancelled because of scheduling conflicts
by participants.   

2) Next week's Newsline will be produced on Wednesday to provide
timely board coverage.   

3) The hiring of an editor of Publications, two directors of
Congregational Life Teams, and a Public Information coordinator
for the Brethren Service Center have been announced by the
General Board.   

Fletcher (Bud) Farrar of Springfield, Ill., has been appointed
editor of Publications for Brethren Press. His primary
responsibility in this new position will be serving as editor of
Messenger, the General Board's monthly magazine for
denominational members. His responsibilities will include the
circulation, advertising and promotion of Messenger, and he will
take on other Brethren Press projects as well. He begins Nov. 10
and will be based in Springfield.   

Until it was sold earlier this summer, Farrar served for 20 years
as owner and publisher of The Illinois Times, a weekly
Springfield newspaper. He is board chair at First Church of the
Brethren, Springfield; has served on the Illinois/Wisconsin
District Board; is a board member of Association of Brethren
Caregivers and of Pleasant Hill Village, a nursing home in
Girard, Ill., which is affiliated with the Church of the
Brethren. He served on a recent Annual Conference study committee
on simple life. He also is involved with providing low-cost
housing in Springfield. Farrar received his Bachelor's and
Master's degrees in Journalism from Northwestern University,
Evanston, Ill.  

Kermon Thomasson, who concludes his 20-year tenure as Messenger
editor on Nov. 6, is retiring.  

Janice Glass Kensinger of Hummelstown, Pa., has been appointed
coordinator of Area 1 Congregational Life Team, beginning Dec. 1.
This is a new position created as part of the General Board's new
design. Area 1 covers Atlantic Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Middle
Pennsylvania, Southern Pennsylvania and Western Pennsylvania
districts.   

Kensinger currently serves as pastor and chaplain at The Brethren
Home, New Oxford, Pa. She also serves as a member and treasurer
of the Association of Brethren Caregivers board. Prior to her
current assignment, Jan served as associate for Youth Ministry
and then as associate executive for Atlantic Northeast District,
from 1983 until 1996. Her district experience also includes
working with Christian nurture, Christian education, youth
ministry, congregational consulting and resourcing, the
Leadership Development Committee of Council of District
Executives, and in cross-cultural situations. She also
established two Family Life Centers, helped plan People of the
Covenant resources for the General Board and served as an adult
adviser for the National Youth Cabinet.   

Kensinger received her Bachelor's degree from Juniata College,
and is currently a student at Bethany Theological Seminary's
Susquehanna Valley Satellite and at Lancaster Theological
Seminary.  

Julie Hostetter of Richmond, Va., has been appointed Coordinator
of Area 3 Congregational Life Team, beginning Dec. 1. This is a
new position created as part of the General Board's new design.
Area 3 covers Atlantic Southeast, Shenandoah, Virlina,
Southeastern and West Marva districts.   

Hostetter has served as a minister of Music and Education; as
co-pastor with her husband, Michael; as an adjunct faculty member
and administrator at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio;
and as an interim director of Metropolitan Churches United (an
ecumenical agency), also in Dayton. She also has served as
interim pastor of the former Chesterfield Fellowship Church of
the Brethren in Virlina District; and as minister of music at the
West Richmond Church of the Brethren, Richmond, Va. She has
served on the Virlina District Ethics Committee of the Commission
on Ministry, and is chair of the Church Extension Committee.  

Hostetter received her Bachelor's degree from Lebanon Valley
College, Annville, Pa., and her Master's of Divinity degree from
United Theological Seminary.    

Kathleen Campanella of Sykesville, Md., has rejoined the General
Board as the full-time coordinator of Public Information for the
Brethren Service Center, New Windsor, Md. She had served in a
similar capacity under the same title from 1993 until August. Her
new assignment is a salaried staff position.   

Campanella has been affiliated with the Carroll County Public
Library, Board of Trustees; and Carroll County Chamber of
Commerce, Public Relations Committee. She is a graduate of the
University of Alabama, and in 1992 she earned her certification
in Public Relations Management at Goucher College, Towson, Md.  

4) The On Earth Peace Assembly Board of Directors on Oct. 4
unanimously approved a new mission statement -- "On Earth Peace
is a movement grounded in the Church of the Brethren, dedicated
to following the teaching of Jesus Christ in renewing and living
out our biblical and denominational heritage of peace.  

"Our purpose, through religious and educational activities, is to
empower people to discern the things that make for peace -- in
ourselves, within families, in our global environment, between
nations -- and to advocate peace and justice, seeking the
realization of God's will on earth as in heaven."  

The OEPA board also approved a 1998 budget of about $340,000, a
13 percent increase over this year's budget. According to Tom
Hurst, OEPA director, the increase will fund a new eight week
Peace Camp program that OEPA will initiate next summer at the
Brethren Service Center, New Windsor, Md. "Each week of the Peace
Camp program will be for different age groups, will include daily
Bible study, will include daily conflict resolution training and
will have intensive time each day to focus on a weekly
peacemaking theme," Hurst said. He added, "Leadership for the
Peace Camp will be drawn primarily from within the Church of the
Brethren."  

New policies and procedures were also approved for when OEPA
becomes independent of the General Board Jan. 1. It also adopted
a new staffing pattern, which is to begin no later than Jan. 1.
This pattern calls for obtaining professional finance and
accounting assistance from the New Windsor/Westminster, Md.,
area. A part-time store manager for The Peace Place will be
sought. And the office coordinator's position will be
reconfigured as a part-time job.  

About 60 people attended OEPA's recognition event, held in
conjunction with the Board of Director's meeting, during which
Dale Aukerman and Parenting for Peace & Justice Network received
the M.R. Zigler Peacemaking Recognition, and Marie Hamilton
received the Barbara Date Recognition.  

The M.R. Zigler Peacemaking Recognition was given in
acknowledgement of the life of Christian peacemaking lived by
M.R. Zigler, OEPA's founder. People or organizations selected to
receive this recognition "have demonstrated a consistent
Christian peacemaking lifestyle which OEPA feels can be held up,
looked at and emulated." Aukerman is a minister, author and
leader of the Mid-Atlantic Peace Fellowship. According to OEPA,
Aukerman is also a former director of Brethren Action Movement
and an adherent to the simple life. The Parenting for Peace &
Justice Network is an interfaith, interracial, transnational
association of families of all descriptions who seek "shalom" in
their living situations and in their broader community.  

The Barbara Date recognition is given in honor of Date's work as
a reconciler. She was the first staff member of the Church of the
Brethren Ministry of Reconciliation. Marie Hamilton is a
reconciler known for her prison ministry work and for advocating
reform within the criminal justice system.   

5) Young adults are being invited to visit Bethany Theological
Seminary Nov. 29-30, immediately following the annual Young Adult
Conference, which this year is being held at Camp Mack near
Milford, Ind. The Campus Visit Weekend will begin with supper,
Nov. 29, followed by informal fellowship time with students and
faculty. Godspell, presented by Bethany students, will be
presented at 8 p.m. A morning worship service on Nov. 30 will
conclude the weekend.  

Prospective students, however, are invited to stay through the
following Monday or Tuesday to receive an official campus visit
(including an interview with the dean), to meet with faculty, and
to attend a class.  

Cost is free and housing will be provided, but reservations are
required. Call 800 284-8822 or write to BethanySem@AOL.Com for
more information.   

6) The first-ever Older Adult Ministries mission trip/workcamp,
scheduled for Jan. 8-19 in Puerto Rico, sold out five days after
the letters announcing the workcamp were sent in the mail.  

Notices announcing the workcamp were sent to the post office Oct.
9, and by Tuesday all 14 spaces had been reserved.   

"The quick response of so many older adults to this opportunity
has been unbelievable," said Jay Gibble, Association of Brethren
Caregivers executive director. Unfortunately, Gibble said that
organizers are unable to extend the number of reservations or
offer a second trip this January.  

Sponsored by the Older Adult Ministries Cabinet (OAMC) of ABC,
this is the first in a series of older adult mission
trips/workcamps that OAMC plans to sponsor.  

The work project will be with the Yahuecas Church of the Brethren
located near Castaner. Plans for the work project, church visits,
sight seeing, learning opportunities, meals and accommodations
are all geared for the interests of older adults.  

This workcamp promises to be a meaningful journey," Gibble said.
"It will be a cultural exchange where those who go will learn
about the life and mission of the church in Puerto Rico while
sharing their time, energy and resources as a witness of God's
love."  

Mary Sue and Bruce Rosenberger will serve as leaders. Mary Sue
served as a volunteer nurse in Castaner in 1965 and is now
chaplain at The Brethrens Home, Greenville, Ohio. She also wrote
"Light of the Spirit: The Brethren in Puerto Rico 1942-1992."
Bruce, pastor of Greenville Church of the Brethren since 1981,
has led two previous workcamp groups in Puerto Rico.  

A waiting list of names is being compiled should space on the
trip become available. Call 937 547-0384 or write to
rosenberger@wesnet.com.   

7) A Church of the Brethren shipment of 60 metric tons of winter
wheat has been planted in fields in famine-wracked North Korea,
according an on-site report filed yesterday. Kim Joo, the
Minneapolis-based adviser for the denomination's food relief
efforts, was in North Korea to oversee the unloading and planting
of the grain. "People here are very grateful for your generous
contribution," wrote Joo Friday as he communicated to David
Radcliff, the General Board's director of Brethren Witness, by
fax from Pyongyang, North Korea.  

When harvested in June, the seed should bear 1,300 metric tons of
severely needed wheat. This year's harvest is expected to provide
only half of the grain needed in the coming year, according to a
recent assessment by the U.N.'s World Food Program. Reports state
that 17 percent of the nations children are severely
undernourished, with even healthy adults being at risk due to
shortages in grain reserves.  

A severe drought and catastrophic tidal wave in 1997, following
two summers of severe flooding in North Korea, has left
significant portions of the population of 23 million at risk of
starvation, Radcliff said.  

This shipment of wheat seed was part of this spring's $75,000
appeal through the General Board's Global Food Crisis Fund to
raise funds for North Korea. To date about $125,000 has been
raised.   

8) A historic shipment of 250 dairy goats by Heifer Project
International was scheduled to arrive in North Korea either
Thursday, Friday or today, having been transported from Yaan,
Sichuan, China, via train.  

Once across the border at Dandong, the goats will be transported
to a quarantine site outside of Pyongyang, where they will remain
for a few weeks before being distributed to families.  

According to an HPI release, "dairy goats are an important source
of food and income. They provide milk and manure; they are
ruminants and can digest local plants converting them to protein;
they are small and manageable and can thrive on limited land.
Traditionally, women have a heavy work load and goats are easily
cared for by women and children."   

All of the goats are a gift from HPI. Some of them came from
"Project Partners" in China, farming families who previously
received goats and are "passing on the gift" or have purchased
additional goats as a gift to North Koreans. North Koreans have
prepared shelters for the goats and have made other arrangements
including feed and pasture development plans.  

This is HPI's first shipment of livestock to North Korea, which
it claims is also the first shipment allowed into the country
that goes beyond meeting families' everyday needs.. Families
receiving a goat will be trained in goat-related technical,
veterinary and ecological topics.   

HPI was founded in 1944 by Dan West, a Church of the Brethren
member. It works to alleviate hunger and poverty by providing
struggling families a way to become self-reliant. Through the
gift of livestock and training, a family can obtain milk, eggs,
wool and other benefits to feed, clothe and educate their
children.   

9) Three Brethren known denominationally passed away earlier this
month.  

Doris Lasley, 74, of Elgin, Ill., died on Oct. 7. She served two
Church of the Brethren organizations over 24 years. From 1969 to
1978 she served as assistant to Loren Bowman, general secretary
of the General Board. In 1978 she joined the Annual Conference
Office, and then assumed that office's top managerial position in
1983 until 1992.  

Chauncey Shamberger, 103, of Boise, Idaho, was a life-long member
of the Church of the Brethren. Most recently, Shamberger could be
spotted in person at Annual Conferences and occasionally by his
pen in the "Letters" section of Messenger magazine. He was a
Manchester College (North Manchester, Ind.) graduate. Upon
earning his degree, Shamberger began a decade of work with
Brethren youth. During this time he helped found several Brethren
camps. Shamberger went on to spend a decade in the insurance
business, a decade in industrial relations, and two decades
operating fruit orchards.   

Lee Whipple, 83, of Oregon, died Oct. 7. From 1963 to 1969 he
served as director of Race Relations and Social Welfare for the
Church of the Brethren General Board. From 1958 to 1963 he served
as pastor of York Center Church of the Brethren, Lombard, Ill.
Prior to that Whipple started two congregations in California --
Yuba City and Whittier. Whipple was a graduate of La Verne
(Calif.) College and Bethany Theological Seminary.   

10) Fourteen inches of rain fell in Logan County, Colo., on July
30, resulting in the flooding of the Pawnee Creek Watershed.
Twenty-three dwellings were destroyed, 72 received major damage,
and 170 received minor damage. On Oct. 9, $15,000 from the
General Board's Emergency Disaster Fund was allocated to assist
in repairing the flood damage. The funds will establish a repair
project, with an emphasis on replacing flooring and drywall
before cold winter temperatures set in.   

11) The committee that annually awards the Nobel Peace Prize
announced Oct. 9 that this year's recipient is the International
Campaign to Ban Landmines, an organization the Church of the
Brethren has worked in cooperation with for more than a decade. 

The campaign, which began in 1990 as a loose coalition of
organizations communicating via computers, will see one of its
mandates fulfilled in December when over 100 countries will be
represented in Ottawa for the signing of a treaty that bans
using, manufacturing, stockpiling and transferring land mines.  

According to the U.S. State Department, a person is killed or
maimed by land mines every 22 minutes. The fact that land mines
remain active in the ground long after a conflict ends was
underscored this summer when an Egyptian girl was killed by a
land mine that was apparently buried by Rommel's Afrika Korps
during World War II.   

Nevertheless, President Clinton has said that he will not sign
the treaty because certain exemptions allowing the continued use
of land mines were not included.  

However, pressure is mounting on Clinton to sign the ban treaty,
said Nathan Davis of the Church of the Brethren Washington
Office. Just hours after the Nobel committee announced its
choice, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, formerly an opponent of
the ban, announced that Russia will do everything in its power to
sign the land mine treaty. Clinton is also being pressured
domestically, Davis added. The Landmine Elimination Act,
introduced by Sen. Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. Hagel (R-NE) into the
Senate and by Rep. Evans (D-IL) and Rep. Quinn (R-NY) in the
House, would ensure that the United States adhere to the global
land mine ban through legislation. In addition, the International
Campaign to Ban Landmines is sponsoring the "Ban Bus," which will
raise public awareness of the ban as the bus winds its way from
California to New York and then to Ottawa for the treaty signing. 

There is still time for Clinton to sign the land mine treaty. To
find out how to send a letter urging Clinton to sign the global
land mine ban, contact the Washington Office at 202 546-3202 or
by writing to WashOfc@AOL.Com.   

12) In July the Church of the Brethren General Board approved a
resolution calling for the closing of the School of the Americas
in Fort Benning, Columbus, Ga. This so-called "School of the
Assassins" is a key training facility for Latin American military
personnel. It has been linked to human rights violations. And,
according to a 1996 White House Intelligence Oversight Committee
report, the curriculum used at the school condones "or appeared
to condone executions of guerrillas, physical abuse, coercion,
torture and false imprisonment."  

Nov. 16 will mark the eighth anniversary of the assassination of
six Jesuit priests and their two women co-workers in El Salvador.
According to Nathan Davis of the Church of the Brethren
Washington Office, SOA graduates are deemed responsible for the
murders.  

Thus, ecumenical groups from around the United States are
planning a vigil scheduled for Nov. 13-16 at Fort Benning.
Heather Nolen, coordinator of the Washington Office, and two van
loads of people from Manchester, Ind., will be among the many in
attendance. People interested in joining this group should
contact Nolen at 202 546-3202 or by writing to WashOfc@AOL.Com.  

13) A groundbreaking ceremony for two new facilities at the
Bridgewater (Va.) Retirement Community was held Oct. 5. The
facilities will include Maple Terrace, a congregate living
facility, and the Houff Community Center, which will house
retirement community events and will offer a wellness center and
dining services. "Maple Terrace and the Houff Community Center
represent a new dimension in living at Bridgewater Retirement
Community, and we are thrilled and excited to see this begin,"
said John Garber, retirement community president.   

The Center is named for the Houff family of Weyers Cave, Va.,
long-time donors. A luncheon for over 300 donors and future
residents, who already have raised $1 million for the community
center, kicked off the celebration. Both facilities are scheduled
to open by spring 1999.    

14) A groundbreaking ceremony for a $1.5 million project that
will double the size of the facilities of Mechanicsburg (Pa.)
Church of the Brethren was held Oct. 5. The ceremony was followed
by a worship service. According to Jerry Greiner, pastor, the
current facility has a worship capacity of about 200. The new
facility will comfortably hold 400, as well as provide
opportunities for recreation and fellowship. Other amenities will
include a library, choir room and classrooms.   

15) Peoria First Church of the Brethren has furniture it is
trying to give away, preferably to another congregation. Items
included are 15 12-foot light wooden pews, a lectern, a worship
center, a pulpit, and two 12-foot dividing rails. The
congregation has moved into a new facility, and does not have
space for these items. If interested, contact Karen Vickerman at
309 682-3980.   

Newsline is produced by Nevin Dulabaum, manager of the General
Board's News and Information Services. 

This message can be heard by calling 410 635-8738. To receive
Newsline by e-mail or fax, call 800 323-8039, ext. 263, or write
CoBNews@AOL.Com.  

Newsline is archived with an index at www.cob-net.org/news.htm 
and at www.wfn.org.