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

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      March 6, 1998
Contact:  Nevin Dulabaum
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline          March 6, 1998
1) The sanctuary of Faith Church of the Brethren in Batavia,
     Ill., is damaged by fire.
2) A new executive director and the future location of its
     centralized offices are agenda items the General Board will
     consider this weekend when it convenes for its annual
     March meetings.
3) Association of Brethren Caregivers announces it will soon
     provide activities and resources for families.
4) Dawn Ottoni Wilhelm has accepted the call to join the Bethany
     Theological Seminary staff by the start of the 1998-1999
     school year.
5) A search for a full-time ministry studies faculty member is
     now underway by Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond, Ind.
6) Carol Bowers of Snohomish, Wash., is the new Oregon/Washington
     District executive.
7) Emergency Response/Service Ministries prepares to send
     emergency response containers to Iraq, India and Cameroon.
8) Two General Board representatives return from a fact-finding
     tour of North Korea.
9) McPherson (Kan.) College breaks ground on $10.7 million in
     improvements.
10) Forty-nine Bridgewater (Va.) College students spend their
     interterm in Miami working for a Habitat for Humanity
     project.

1) Faith Church of the Brethren, Batavia, Ill., on Monday became
the third Brethren congregation this year to be seriously damaged
or destroyed by fire. As pastor Erin Matteson and other church
members continue to clean and dig through the rubble for
inventory purposes, they are thankful that the damage wasn’t
worse.

Two other Brethren churches -- Manchester Church of the Brethren,
North Manchester, Ind., and Pike Run Church of the Brethren, near
Somerset, Pa., were destroyed in January by fire, Manchester by a
faulty water heater and Pike Run by arson.

Damage to the Batavia church was limited to the sanctuary,
although the intense heat destroyed some property in the narthex
and in Matteson’s study, and water used to douse the blaze
slightly damaged a basement classroom. 

Investigators have not determined the cause of the blaze, though
there is no evidence of foul play. The fire was reported at 9:30
a.m. by a local resident who saw flames shooting out of a stained
glass window. It was reportedly extinguished by the Batavia Fire
Department in about 30 minutes.

The fire started around the baptistry and shot upward, engulfing
the front of the sanctuary and burning through the roof. Flames
and the accompanying intense heat crept along the sanctuary
ceiling to the back where a big stained glass window separated
the sanctuary from Matteson’s second-floor study. The force of
the heat blew through the window and into the office. There it
melted all things plastic -- a desktop computer, a laptop
computer, a boom box, a copy machine, a portable air conditioner
and plastic-covered binders. And it discolored, but did not burn,
paper, including the single tissue sticking out of the tissue box
on Matteson’s desk.

The heat discolored the candle holders in the windows of the
sanctuary, but did not melt the candles. The heat caused the
vinyl padding of the pews to bead up and discolor, but it did not
ignite the Hymnal Companion nor the pad of paper sitting on two
pews. And flames torched the baptistry, but the resulting heat
did not melt boxes of candles located nearby.

The fire was contained to the sanctuary primarily because all of
the church’s metal fire doors were closed. Thus, although there
is the smell of smoke throughout the building, most of its rooms
appear unscathed.

The charred sanctuary is located in a newer section of the
church, which includes basement classrooms. The original, older
section of the church now serves as a social hall and kitchen. It
is in this section where the congregation will worship for the
foreseeable future, Matteson said.

Matteson, who reportedly learned of the fire around noon, quickly
drove to the building, which is in a residential area two blocks
from a main thoroughfare. As she went outside around to the back
of the sanctuary, she said she was awestruck by two images that
were taped to a lower level Sunday school class window, images of
rainbows made by children of the church, poignant reminders of
God’s love for and his promise to his people. “God is present,”
she told a local paper, “and we will endure this fire.”

Mutual Aid Association, which insures about half of the 1,100
Church of the Brethren congregations, including Faith Church of
the Brethren, immediately dispatched two staff to the scene from
its Abilene, Kan., headquarters. MAA is still working to
determine the monetary loss sustained by the church. Although a
trust fund has not been established, Matteson said contributions
to assist the church in rebuilding its sanctuary can be sent
directly to the church at 613 N. Van Buren St., Batavia IL 60510.

Pictures of the damage sustained by Faith Church of the Brethren
can be seen beginning Sunday at http://www.brethren.org in the
News section.

2) A new executive director and the future location of its
centralized offices are two of the major issues the Church of the
Brethren General Board will face during the next few days as it
convenes for its March meetings.

The announcement of a new executive director is expected Monday
or Tuesday. The Board has scheduled closed sessions late Saturday
afternoon and evening and Sunday morning and early Sunday
afternoon to interview the one to three candidates the second
Executive Director Search Committee is expected to submit to the
Board. 

The executive director's position has not been occupied by a
permanent staff person since Donald Miller retired as general
secretary after a decade of service in December 1996. Karen
Peterson Miller served as interim general secretary until last
July, when the title was changed to executive director and when
the Board decided not to call the candidate submitted to it by
the first Executive Director Search Committee. She subsequently
served as interim executive director throughout the remainder of
the year. Joseph Mason assumed the interim executive director
position in January, with a commitment of serving for six months.

If the Board during these meetings selects a new executive
director, that person would likely be installed at this summer's
Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in Orlando.

Newsline will post an immediate announcement once a decision is
announced. Information will also be included shortly thereafter
in the News section at http://www.brethren.org.

The other key agenda item the Board is expected to discuss is a
report by the committee that is addressing the future location of
the General Board’s centralized offices. After three years of
studying and discussing where its offices should be located, this
meeting was expected to be the place when a final decision would
be announced -- at least that was the impression made last March
when the decision was postponed for one year. At that time the
committee then working on the location issue for the General
Board’s Redesign Steering Committee was excused and a new
committee was subsequently formed, a committee composed of
representatives of the General Board and, for the first time, two
tenants of the Board’s General Offices in Elgin, Ill. -- the
Church of the Brethren Annual Conference office and Brethren
Benefit Trust. 

The new committee, which convened five times over the past year,
has moved away from making an immediate decision. Instead, the
committee is offering three recommendations: That the location
question be expanded to address the advisability of a
“denominational center.” That the committee be expanded under the
auspices of Annual Conference to include additional
representation from denomination-wide agencies. And that the
General Board first evaluate its ministries at its east coast
facility in New Windsor, Md. -- its Conference Center; SERRV
International, its self-help trade organization; and its Material
Resources ministry that ships materials to people in need
throughout the world for the Church of the Brethren and many
ecumenical agencies. The exhibit concludes by stating the General
Board and other denominational agencies should consider options
for consolidating financial, computer and other services, even if
the General Board does not immediately consolidate its two main
sites.

Other business items the Board is expected to consider include:
     * a new emphasis on spiritual renewal and stewardship, which
will “increase the ministry and mission potential of local
congregations and, in turn, districts and the General Board.”
     * proposed changes to the Crisis in Transition Fund, which
since 1981 has helped provide emergency assistance to pastors and
families who were caught in extended transitions between
pastorates or between the pastoral ministry and other employment.
This short-term help was intended to augment other resources.
     * finances, including the 1997 pre-audit report, concerns
and changes for 1998 and parameters for 1999.
     * a report from the SERRV International Advisory Committee,
which is guiding the incorporating of SERRV as its own
organization.
     * a proposal for a task group to confer about new church
development.
     * Sudan: Partnership for Peace, a proposed action involving
the Board's Global Food Crisis Fund.

The Board will also hear reports from the InterAgency Forum, the
Annual Conference officers, Committee on Interchurch Relations,
Brethren Benefit Trust, Bethany Theological Seminary, and from
the Board's Audit/Investment Committee. Citations will also be
read for departing staff.

Though these business items will be addressed Monday and Tuesday,
some Board-related meetings began today. The Board's Executive
Committee met today, in closed session this morning and in open
session this afternoon. 

Saturday morning and early Saturday afternoon will be used by the
Board for discussion on short- and long-range planning and
current financial philosophies, and for evaluating its new
design. The Board will begin its executive director search agenda
at 2 p.m. and will continue into the evening. It will resume in
closed session Sunday morning (with a break for worship) and into
early afternoon. At 3 p.m. the nine-person Leadership Team of
General Board staff directors is expected to lead a two-hour
information session.

3) Association of Brethren Caregivers announced last week that it
is creating a family ministry group to provide denominational
activities and resources for families.

Formed in consultation with the General Board, this new ministry
group will focus on attitudes, actions and activities to help
families become stronger, according to an ABC release. Initial
plans call for educational resources and opportunities for
spouses, parents and grandparents to help strengthen
relationships among themselves and with their children and
grandchildren. Other key issues the group will address include
the prevention of domestic abuse and advocacy for children.

"Creating this ministry group enables ABC to better serve the
denomination by providing a more comprehensive response to
concerns already within ABC's ministry portfolio," said Steve
Mason, ABC executive director. 

ABC, which became independent of the General Board on Jan. 1, has
addressed issues surrounding the conditions of children since
1985. It also agreed to work with domestic violence issues when
it accepted a request made by 1997 Annual Conference delegates to
suggest resources that encourage districts and congregations to
address the concerns, including the prevention, of domestic
abuse.

"As ABC continues to work on family issues within the
denomination, we welcome opportunities to work cooperatively with
the General Board and with other church agencies," said Mason. "I
believe the denomination will be better served if the various
agencies of the Church of the Brethren actively seek
opportunities to collaborate. I hope this can become the model
for ABC's relationships with other denominational agencies.

ABC is headquartered at the Church of the Brethren General
Offices in Elgin, Ill.

4) Dawn Ottoni Wilhelm, pastor of Stone Church of the Brethren,
Huntingdon, Pa., has accepted the call to join the Bethany
Theological Seminary staff by the start of the 1998-1999 school
year as associate professor of Ministry Studies. In this
position, to be located at Bethany's Richmond, Ind., campus,
Wilhelm will focus primarily on preaching, teaching graduate
courses in ministry studies and contributing to the Bethany
Academy program.

Wilhelm, an ordained Church of the Brethren minister, has also
served as volunteer ministry associate at University Baptist and
Brethren Church, State College, Pa.; as pastor for Nurture at
Mechanic Grove Church of the Brethren, Quarryville, Pa.; and as
resident chaplain at Lehigh Valley Hospital Center, Allentown,
Pa.

She received her bachelor's degree in Hebrew and Old Testament
Studies at the University of Michigan, and her Master's of
Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.

5) A search for full-time tenure-track ministry studies faculty
member, with a focus on field education and ministry formation,
is underway by Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond, Ind. 

This faculty member will give overall direction to the seminary's
field education program, including the ministry placement
process, training of supervisors and ongoing consultation with
students and congregations. In addition to teaching courses in
ministry formation and overseeing the fulfillment of learning
objectives in field education, this person will teach one
congregational studies course each year and will be active with
the Bethany Academy for Ministerial Leadership.

Qualifications include a doctoral degree (or candidacy)
appropriate to the position, and training in CPE is preferred;
formation and/or current Church of the Brethren membership;
experience with congregational ministry; skills in mentoring and
supervising ministers-in-training; commitment to the seminary's
mission and values; and ability to work collaboratively in a
diverse learning environment.

Application deadline is April 27. For more information contact
Rick Gardner, academic dean, at 800 287-8822 or at
gardnri@earlham.edu.

6) Carol Bowers of Snohomish, Wash., on Feb. 15 began serving as
executive for Oregon/Washington District. This is a 1/3-time
position. She has been an active member of Olympic View Church of
the Brethren, Seattle, and has served on the district and Camp
Koinonia boards. She recently retired after 32 years of serving
in management and human resources positions in the banking
industry.

Bower's office will be at the Olympic View church. Her phone
number is 206 528-4972. Her fax number is 206 525-1574.

7) A shipment of five 40-foot containers will soon leave the
Church of the Brethren General Board’s Emergency Response/Service
Ministries warehouse in New Windsor, Md., for Iraq, under the
auspices of Church World Service. This shipment will consist of
quilts, school kits, health kits and layettes. Lutheran World
Relief has just shipped two 40-foot containers to India, one to
Bombay and the other to Madras, which contain medical supplies
and quilts.

A shipment of two 40-foot containers of miscellaneous medical
supplies will soon be shipped to Cameroon under the auspices of
the Medical Benevolence Foundation.

8) A four-day fact-finding mission to North Korea was concluded
this week by two Church of the Brethren General Board
representatives. While there, vice Board chair Lori Sollenberger
Knepp of Everett, Pa., and John Ward, an agricultural specialist
from McPherson, Kan., assessed the status of the country’s food
shortage, showed solidarity with Christians and others who are
suffering, and explored ways for the Church of the Brethren to
respond to three years of famine, said David Radcliff, director
of the General Board's Brethren Witness office.

According to Radcliff, reports out of North Korea indicate that
between 2.5 and 7.5 million people have perished over the last
three years because of starvation, in part because of two major
floods and a summertime drought, and because the country
continues to run a centrally planned economy instead of a market
economy. 

"The Church of the Brethren has responded to the crisis with over
$430,000 in relief aid, counting the value of donated beef and
medical supplies," Radcliff said. "We are able to certify that
the aid we have sent is going to the people who need it most --
children, the elderly and farm workers."

An additional $45,000 Global Food Crisis Grant to a Church World
Service North Korea appeal will ship food and medicine in the
next few weeks, along with a container of Brethren-donated canned
beef.

"This continues to be a time when we can show the people and
government of North Korea that we are not bound by a history of
animosity between our countries, that we can respond with
compassion, even to our enemies," Radcliff added.

9) A groundbreaking ceremony, commemorating the start of $10.7
million in capital improvements, is being held this afternoon at
McPherson (Kan.) College. These improvements -- a new residence
hall, a science building, a fine arts building, a maintenance
facility and a multi-purpose performance hall -- were approved by
the college's board in November. 

10) Forty-nine Bridgewater (Va.) College students went to Miami
during the college's traditional week-long break between
interterm and spring term in late February, but they didn't go to
lay on the sand and soak up some rays. These students,
accompanied by chaplain Robbie Miller, went to serve as volunteer
construction workers on a Habitat for Humanity project. 

Two years ago, 27 Bridgewater students went to Miami as part of
the Collegiate Challenge: Spring Break '96, a six-week event
sponsored by Habitat's Campus Chapters and Youth Programs
departments. This trip prompted students to establish a Habitat
campus chapter, one of more than 430 such chapters in the United
States. 

To raise money for this year's trip and awareness about
homelessness, the students slept outside on the campus mall Feb.
13.

Seven of the 49 students are Church of the Brethren members --
Shalom Black of Windsor, N.Y.; Paul Chapman of Roanoke, Va.;
Heather Horner of Windber, Pa.; Michelle Jarrett of Loysburg,
Pa.; Beth Layton of Greenwood, Del.; Dot Ramser of Brunswick,
Ohio; and Lee Ann Zirkle of Mt. Jackson, Va.

Newsline is produced by Nevin Dulabaum, manager of the General
Board's News and Information Services. Newsline stories may be
reprinted in newsletters and other publications, including web
sites, provided that Newsline is cited as the source and the
publication date is included.

To receive Newsline by e-mail or fax, call 800 323-8039, ext.
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