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

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      Oct. 31, 1997
Contact:  Nevin Dulabaum
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline                                    Oct. 31, 1997 
1) The Church of the Brethren to send 130 heifers to Poland in 
     response to flooding, and in  honor of a long-standing 
     partnership. 
2) Edie Sodowsky of Heifer Project International, based at the 
     Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., gets Hillary 
     Clinton's goat. 
3) National Donor Sabbath worship resources that deal with 
     donating organs and tissue are being rushed to congregations
     by Association of Brethren Caregivers. 
4) Cliff Kindy of North Manchester, Ind., joins Christian 
     Peacemaker Teams full-time. 
5) Don Fecher of Elgin, Ill., is named director of Brethren 
     Benefit Trusts's Pension Plan and Pastor's Financial 
     Services. 
6) The General Board and Southern Plains District announce a 
     newly created joint 3/4-time position. 
7) Financial contributions to the General Board or to Bethany
     Theological Seminary must be received by Jan. 8 in order to
     be counted in 1997. 
8) Teachers are being sought to serve as missionaries in Nigeria.
9) A tour to Nigeria to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the 
     Church of the Brethren in Nigeria has been planned. 
10) A Juniata College graduate is awarded this year's Nobel Prize
     in Physics. 
11) Twenty Biblical etchings will be on display at Elizabethtown
     College later this year. 
12) The Young Center for the Study of Anabaptist and Pietist 
     Groups is seeking fellows for upcoming semesters. 
13) An estate planning seminar for professionals will be held 
     Nov. 7 at Bridgewater College. 
14) Mid-Atlantic District holds its annual conference. 
15) Pacific Southwest District holds its annual conference. 
16) A Peace Toys Fair will be held Saturday at Reading (Pa.) 
     First Church of the Brethren. 
17) A workshop on mediating interpersonal conflict will be held 
     in North Manchester, Ind., over three weeks in February. 
18) Funeral services are held for Frank Chavez. 19) Hope Church 
     of the Brethren, Freeport, Mich., holds its Annual Fall 
     Festival. 
20) Kevin Uliassi hopes to fly around the glove in a hot air 
     balloon by February. 
21) The Ban Bus Tour spotlighting global land mine use is 
     underway. 
22) Corrections.    

1) In response to a need for dairy cattle, and in honor of a
longstanding partnership, the Church of the Brethren General Boad
has allocated $130,000 from its Emergency Disaster Fund to
purchase and ship 130 heifers to Poland. These cattle will
comprise part of a shipment of 1,000 heifers to Poland being
coordinated by Heifer Project International.  

Need for the cattle is great as the result of summer flooding in
southwestern Poland, which affected more than 50,000 farms, and
resulted in the drowning of 3,000 cattle, 3,000 pigs, and more
than 1,000,000 poultry. The Dolney Slask region of Poland, a
major milk-producing area of the country, is where the heifers
are scheduled to be sent.  

The heifers will be acquired in the United States and shipped to
Poland, where they will be distributed on the condition that
those receiving them repay either in kind or in cash.  

The $130,000 is symbolic in that it represents $100 for each of
the 1,300 Polish agriculturalists brought to the United States by
the Church of the Brethren through its official exchange program
with Poland.  

In 1947 10 Polish agricultural scientists came to the United
States at the invitation of the Church of the Brethren to learn
more about American farming. After a 10-year hiatus due to Cold
War tensions, a permanent exchange program between the Church of
the Brethren Service Commission and Poland's Ministry of
Agriculture was established, with agriculturalists coming here
and educators going there. The program, which was eliminated as
part of the General Board's redesign, will officially conclude
Feb. 15 when the last Polish exchangee returns home.   

A request of $41,500 from the Emergency Disaster Fund by Miller
Davis, manager of Emergency Response Service Ministries, to fund
Brethren Volunteer Service workers in the Balkans for one year
has also been approved.  

Eight projects will be supported by this grant, projects that
include human rights monitoring, refugee assistance and youth
work in divided cities. The overall goal of these projects is to
begin laying the groundwork for peace and reconciliation in the
Czech Republic, Serbia, Yugoslavia, Croatia and
Bosnia-Herzegovina. An additional six projects are seeking
volunteers.   

2) Edie Sodowsky, associate for Development and Education of
Heifer Project International (HPI) -- based at HPI's Atlantic
South region headquarters at the Brethren Service Center in New
Windsor, Md. -- got Hillary Clinton's goat on Sunday. Literally. 

As part of her private 50th birthday party, Clinton received an
HPI WiLD Caravan of animals from a group of friends, which was
presented to her by actress Mary Steenburgen and actor Ted
Danson. A WiLD Caravan consists of eight types of animals that go
toward helping 16 families become healthier and self-sufficient.

To enhance the presentation, HPI was asked to make arrangements
to have a representative animal at Clinton's party. Sodowsky
obtained a prized goat from Capricorn Farms in Washington County,
Maryland, and then drove by herself to the White House with the
goat loaded into a German Shepherd crate, which was covered with
a tarp and placed in the bed of her pickup truck. As if that
wasn't enough of a challenge, Sodowsky found herself navigating
through an intense traffic jam created by a nearby marathon race
and a championship soccer match.  

At the White House, she quickly became known as the "Goat Lady,"
as she had to pass through several security checkpoints to get
inside.  

According to Sodowsky, Clinton is familiar with HPI and its WiLD
(Women in Lifestyle Development) program, which is designed to
make sure women are fully involved in HPI's development program. 

HPI was founded following World War II by Dan West, a Church of
the Brethren member.   

3) The Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) this week is
rushing National Donor Sabbath worship resources to every Church
of the Brethren congregation. This focus is to be observed Nov.
14-16, as part of a national effort to increase organ and tissue
donations.  

"Given ABC's past work creating end-of-life decision-making
resources for the denomination, we felt it was important to
inform every congregation of this national initiative and to
provide some materials that could be easily assimilated into
worship services," said Steve Mason, ABC executive director
designate. National Donor Sabbath is sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.  

Although these materials were not available to release until this
time, Mason believes rushing the information to congregations
makes sense as this is an important issue for the denomination.
The 1993 Annual Conference approved "Resolution on Organ and
Tissue Donation," which encourages Church of the Brethren members
to inform, educate, support and encourage themselves and others
regarding organ and tissue donations.  

Additional resources for organ and tissue donations and other
end-of-life decision-making issues are available from ABC by
calling 800 323-8039.   

4) Cliff Kindy of North Manchester, Ind., has joined the
Christian Peacemaker Corps of Christian Peacemaker Teams as a
full-time employee. His first assignment is to return to Hebron
to work with CPT's Rebuilders against Bulldozers project, where a
three-way adoption program is being developed. Through this
program, Palestinian homes that are under threat of demolition
will be adopted by Israeli Jewish groups and by American
Christian congregations, which will covenant to respond in
specific ways is such action is taken.  

Kindy is expected to leave for Hebron in early November, and will
return mid-January.   

5) Don Fecher of Elgin, Ill., has been named director of Brethren
Benefit Trust's Pension Plan and Pastors' Financial Services. His
key functions will be to provide leadership and oversight of the
Pension Plan, and the development and administration of financial
services for pastors, including the Retired Church Workers Fund. 

Fecher will begin his new duties Jan. 5 on a part-time basis, as
he will continue serving as BBT's Accounting manager until a
successor is on the job.   

Fecher joined the BBT staff in October 1995. Previously he served
four years as Finance director for the town of Rocky Mount, Va.
He also has worked in financial planning services for
IDS/American Express in Roanoke, Va.   

6) Another joint Congregational Life Team member/District
Executive position has been newly created, and the General Board
and Southern Plains District have begun an open search to fill
this 3/4-time position (which has the potential of becoming
full-time).  

The General Board will serve as this person's primary employer,
and the location from which this person will work within Area 4
is negotiable.  

This person will serve on the General Board's Area 4
Congregational Life Teamwork and will help provide resourcing
assistance to the churches in that region (which includes
Missouri/Arkansas, Northern Plains, Southern Plains and Western
Plains districts.  

As executive this person will facilitate pastoral placement, give
oversight to planning, implementing and evaluating district
ministries, cultivate relationships between congregations and the
district board, assist in providing pastoral support, give
leadership that empowers other district staff, and work with camp
leadership.  

Qualifications include being committed to Brethren values,
understanding small membership churches, strong interpersonal and
communication skills, management and administrative experience, a
willingness to travel, congregational or district ministries
experience, and education appropriate for the position.  

Application deadline is Dec. 24. For more information, call Elsie
Holderread at 800 323-8039.   

7) The General Board's Finance office reports that 1997 donations
to the General Board and Bethany Theological Seminary must be
postmarked by Dec. 31 and received by Jan. 8. Brenda Reish,
controller, also reports that additions to the Pastor's Housing
Fund should be included on pastor's W-2 forms.   

8) Teachers of elementary school vocal music and high school
business education are being sought by the Church of the Brethren
General Board to serve as missionaries in Nigeria. These
positions, located at Hillcrest School in Jos, capital of the
Plateau State, require a two-year minimum commitment and include
a support package consisting of housing, transportation, a
medical plan and a living allowance. They are reportable to the
Board's Global Mission Partnerships office.  

It is hoped these teachers will be placed by mid-1998. For more
information contact Elsie Holderread at 800 323-8039.    

9) The 75th anniversary of Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (Church
of the Brethren in Nigeria) will be celebrated in March by U.S.
Brethren participating in a Nigeria tour being organized by
Monroe Good and Charles Bieber.  

The group will leave March 4 and will return March 20. While
there it will tour Abuja; EYN Headquarters and Kulp Bible
College, near Mubi; several congregations and local markets.  

The date of EYN's Diamond Jubilee is March 17.   Estimated cost
will be $2,100. 

Call Good at 717 786-3052 or Bieber at 717 733-0115 for more
information.   

10) William Phillips, a 1970 Juniata College graduate, was
awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics on Oct. 15, along with
American Steven Chu and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji of France. The
three were awarded the prize for their work in developing methods
to cool and trap atoms using lasers. They reportedly cooled atoms
to within a millionth of a degree of absolute zero, a feat that
has led to the construction of more accurate atomic clocks. It
also led to the formation of new matter, whose possible existence
was postulated in 1925 by Albert Einstein.  

Phillips, a Wilkes-Barre, Pa., native, graduated from Juniata,
located in Huntingdon, Pa., summa cum laude with a Bachelor of
Science degree in physics. In 1976 he earned his doctorate from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  

"He was one of my very best students," said Wilfred Norris, chair
of Juniata's Physics department and an instructor at Juniata
since 1958, in an Huntingdon Daily News article. "He always asked
a lot of questions as a way of pushing for more information."  

Norris, a member of Stone Church of the Brethren, Huntingdon,
added, "He conducted a research project with me as an
undergraduate student, and he had a gift for picking up
information and building on it. He could work independently even
as an undergraduate. I always knew he had great skills and had
potential for success, but you can never predict something like
winning a Nobel Prize. I am just filled with great elation by the
news."  

Phillips, who works at the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, Gaithersburg, Md., will split the $1 million prize
with Chu and Cohen-Tannoudji.   

11) A suite of 20 prints made from etchings based on the theme of
Biblical sacrifice will be displayed at Elizabethtown (Pa.)
College from Nov. 3 through Dec. 17. According to Gale Martin of
Elizabethtown College, the etchings, which are known as "The
Florence Portfolio," were created "in the spirit of shared
fellowship by six Christian artists living in community in
Florence, Italy, in July 1993."  

The etchings, which have been accepted by the Vatican Museum of
Contemporary Religious Art, depictChrist's crucifixion, the
stoning of Stephen, the sacrifice of Isaac and other Biblical
stories. They were inspired by Florentine art treasures such as
Michelangelo's David and the Medici Chapel.  

While at Elizabethtown, the traveling exhibit will reside in
Leffler Chapel's Lyet Gallery. Admission is free. For more
information, call 717 361-1410.   

12) The Young Center for the Study of Anabaptist and Pietist
Groups at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College is seeking applications and
nominations for Center Fellow, fall 1998, spring 1999 and summer
1999. Application deadline is Dec. 15. For more information,
write to youngctr@acad.etown.edu or call 717 361-1443.   

13) Bridgewater College's 20th Annual Estate Planning Seminar for
Professionals is scheduled for Nov. 7 The seminar is designed for
attorneys, accountants, financial counselors and insurance
representatives. Leading the five-hour program will be Howard
Zaritsky, a partner in the Fairfax, Va., law firm, Zaritsky &
Zaritsky, who will present "The Year in Review: An Estate
Planner's Perspective on Recent Tax Developments. Cost is $40.
For more information call 540 828-5455.   

14) "Called to Community ... Joined Together by God's Spirit" was
theme of Mid-Atlantic District's yearly conference, Oct. 10-11,
at Frederick (Md.) Church of the Brethren. Fifty-nine
congregations were represented by 208 delegates; top attendance
was 350 for Friday evening.  

John Hutchison of Fairview Church of the Brethren, Cordova, Md.
was elected district moderator-elect. He will serve this year
with moderator Ann Eberly of Beaver Creek Church of the Brethren,
Hagerstown, Md. Pam Leinauer, district executive, was formally
installed into her position by Larry Glick, associate executive
of Shenandoah District.  

Guest speaker for Friday and Saturday nights was Kurt Borgmann,
pastor of Oakton Church of the Brethren, Vienna, Va. Paul Mundey,
pastor of the Frederick congregation, served as Friday evening's
worship leader; Roseanne Cooke, pastor of Arlington (Va.) Church
of the Brethren, led worship Saturday night.   

15) Pacific Southwest District's 34th annual conference was held
Oct. 10-12 at Pomona (Calif) Fellowship Church of the Brethren.
"On the playground with Jesus" served as theme. Jerry Davis of
Church of the Living Savior congregation, McFarland, Calif., was
installed as moderator. Installed as moderator-elect was Karen
Walters of Phoenix (Ariz.) First Church of the Brethren.  

The district recognized two congregational name changes. Church
of the Living Savior is the new name of the McFarland Church of
the Brethren, and Community Brethren Church is the new name of
the Fresno (Calif.) Church of the Brethren. The district also
approved the creation of a full-time youth coordinator, and
designated funds for the creation of a new Center for Brethren
Studies, a lay and ministry training program.   

16) "A Fair of the Heart," the third annual Peace Toys Fair at
Reading (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren, is scheduled for 11
a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Vendors will present peacemaking toys,
games, books and musical instruments for children of all ages.
Caregivers of all ages are also invited. Face painting, juggling,
puppeteering, ventriloquism and story telling will also be
included. Admission is free.   

17) A workshop on mediating interpersonal conflict will be held
in North Manchester, Ind., over three weeks in February. Six
three-hour weeknight sessions and two seven-hour Saturday
sessions will comprise the training.   

Led by Bob Gross, Kay Gaier and Beth Cramer, this course will
cover the basics of conflict theory and communication skills for
conflict resolution, win-win negotiation and community mediation.
Role playing, practice and skill development will be emphasized. 

This training is free for volunteer mediators. who live within
Kosciusko, Huntington and Wabash counties, as it is being
underwritten by the Indiana Children's Trust Fund in order to
promote mediation services. Cost for participants outside these
counties is $300.  

This workshop is presented by Education for Conflict Resolution,
a nonprofit mediation and training center that promotes conflict
resolution in Midwest schools and communities. Gross, who serves
as ECR's director of Training, also serves as director of the
Church of the Brethren's Ministry of Reconciliation. For more
information call 219 982-4621.   

18) Funeral services were held Oct. 25 for Frank Chavez, who died
Oct. 20 after a three-year bout with cancer. Chavez, in his late
80s, was one of the first Navajos baptized at Lybrook Mission in
New Mexico in the late 1950s. He was pictured on the cover of the
May/June 1994 Messenger for a feature on the Annual Conference
statement, "Tribe of Many Feathers."  

Chavez was buried in the Lybrook Mission cemetery, where his
wife, Doris, is also buried.   

19) Hope Church of the Brethren, Freeport, Mich., raised $4,258
for Habitat for Humanity Oct. 11 at its Annual Fall Festival,
which included the selling of many foods and crafts. Hope members
have helped construct or repair 17 Habitat houses in their local
area.   

20) Kevin Uliassi, a Chicagoan with Church of the Brethren
connections, will try to become the first person to fly around
the globe non-stop in a hot air balloon sometime between
mid-November and February, depending on the weather.  

Uliassi's balloon reportedly is named J. Renee, J. in honor of
his late father-in-law, Joel Thompson, a former Brethren
missionary and employee of the General Board and Brethren Benefit
Trust, and Renee in honor of Uliassi's wife. 

A balloon pilot for 16 years, Uliassi estimates his journey will
take one to two weeks. According to the Associated Press, the
6-foot-3 pilot will ride in a 6-foot-8-inch long, 4-foot wide and
5-foot high unpressurized gondola, which will hang beneath an
envelope of two nylon compartments containing helium and air.   

21) The Ban Bus Tour, sponsored by the United States Campaign to
Ban Landmines, has begun winding its way across the United States
from the West Coast to Boston, and then on to Ottawa, its final
destination. It will complete its journey just in time for the
signing of an historic, comprehensive land mine ban treaty, Dec.
3-4, that will be signed by more than 100 nations in Ottawa. The
United States has thus far refused to accept the terms of the
treaty.

The bus' occupants include six activists who have worked and
lived in countries sowed with land mines. The purpose of the tour
is to raise awareness of the destructfulness of land mines and to
urge the United States to join in signing the Ottawa treaty.  

The United States Campaign to Ban Landmines, formed in the early
1990s, is a nationwide coalition of over 235 non-governmental
organizations, of which the Church of the Brethren is a member.  

The remainder of the tour's schedule, which began Oct. 23 in San
Francisco, is:      Ogallala, Neb, Saturday.           
     Omaha, Neb, Sunday.      
     Minneapolis, Monday-Wednesday.     
     Iowa City, Iowa, Thursday.    
     Davenport, Iowa, Friday.      
     Janesville, Wis., Nov. 8-9.   
     Chicago, Nov. 10-11.     
     South Bend, Ind., Nov. 12.    
     Ann Arbor, Mich., Nov. 13.    
     Cleveland, Nov. 14.      
     Youngstown, Ohio, Nov. 15.    
     Morgantown, W.Va., Nov. 16.   
     Pittsburgh, Nov. 17.     
     Washington, D.C., Nov. 18-19.      
     Philadelphia, Nov. 20.   
     New York, Nov. 21-23.    
     New Haven, Conn., Nov. 24     
     Boston, Nov. 25.    
     Concord/Nashua, N.H., Nov. 26.     
     Burlington, Vt., Nov. 27-28.  
     Montreal, Nov. 29-30.    
     Ottawa, Dec. 1.   

22) Corrections. The Oct. 18 Newsline stated that young adults
are being invited to Bethany Theological Seminary for its Campus
Visit Weekend, Nov. 29-30. However, the number was printed
incorrectly. The correct number is 800 287-8822.  

That Newsline edition also stated that the Church of the Brethren
has worked with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines for
more than a decade. That is incorrect, as the organization was
founded in the early 1990s. That information was added during
Newsline's editing, and did not come from the story's source, the
Washington Office. Newsline regrets both errors.    

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.