wfn.org | Care Journal for Caring Ministries 2000

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      June 3, 1999
Contact:  Nevin Dulabaum
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

Care Journal
Excerpts from the daily news sheet of Caring Ministries 2000
Thursday, June 3

1) Tonight's Messenger Speaks From Scholarship and Heritage

Dr. Melva Wilson Costen, in the foreword to her book, African
American Christian Worship, expresses appreciation to her parents,
as well as to "the community of faith across denominational lines,"
for helping her achieve the contents of the book. She also writes,
"One cannot teach worship solely from liturgical documents that
exclude the history and culture of those whose understanding of God
in Jesus the Christ is uniquely  contextualized in suffering and
struggle.  Probing personal and corporate memories as an African
American is an adventuresome journey, with documentation and
testing along the way."
     
Dr. Costen is music director and teacher at the Interdenominational
Theological Center, Atlanta, Ga., where she also heads the program,
"African American Worship Traditions."  She has served on hymnbook
and worship committees for the Presbyterian Church.  She and her
husband, James Hutten Costen, have three children and several
grandchildren.

2) Grace Is Subject Of Tomorrow Morning's Plenary Session

The man who has written the most recent best-seller on grace will
share his insights and hope with the Caring Ministries Conference
tomorrow morning, 10 a.m., in the auditorium of Leffler.  Philip
Yancey is editor-at-large for Christianity Today, and the author of
the book, What's So Amazing About Grace?  Yancey also will conduct
a workshop at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow on the topic, "Where is God When
It Hurts?"  The workshop will be in the Leffler auditorium.

3) Evening Attendances
     
Attendance at Tuesday evening's worship service was 214; Wednesday
evening, 185.

4) Experience Taize Worship At Prayer/Praise Meeting Tonight
     
Following the Evening Service tonight, at 9 p.m., there will be an
opportunity to learn about Taize worship and experience its value. 
The Prayer and Praise meeting will take place in the Bucher Meeting
House, Young Center, and is planned by Nancy Faus and Sue Moore. 
Instrumentalists include Joe and Matt Detrick, Connie Miller Davis,
Nancy Heishman, Bill Hershey, and Warren Eshbach.
     
This meditative style of worship, including the singing of prayers,
scripture reading, and silence, originated in the Taize community
in southeastern France, where approximately 100 men, both
Protestant and Roman Catholic, live communally and worship together
three times a day.  Young people and adults make a pilgrimage to
Taize to discern their life’s call, to worship God, and to study
the scriptures.  Bethany Theological Seminary students, faculty,
and staff have twice spent a week in the Taize community.  The next
such trip is scheduled for May 2000.  Anyone outside of the Bethany
community who may be interested in the trip can contact Nancy Faus.

There are several Taize hymns in Hymnal: A Worship Book, including
"Eat This Bread," "Stay With Me," "Jubilate Deo," "From the
Depths," and "Jesus Remember Me."

5) College Just Beginning Fourteen Month Centennial Celebration
     
Elizabethtown College, hosts for the Caring Ministries Conference
this week, observed Centennial Kick-Off Day, April 17, with a
parade, an old fashioned picnic luncheon, displays of arts and
entertainment, and a centennial ball.  On April 25, alumni of the
college's vocal groups and choirs returned to the campus to
participate in a 100th anniversary concert.

Baccalaureate and Commencement programs on May 14 and 15 focused on
the Centennial theme:  "Making Our Mark on the World."  A
Centennial Convocation will greet returning students August 29, and
a Lecture Series will be held throughout next school term with
Archbishop Desmond Tutu as one of the speakers.

Any conferencegoers interested in Centennial souvenirs, college
mementoes, post cards, or gifts and sundries are invited to visit
the Elizabethtown College Bookstore, in the Baugher Student Center. 
The store will be open tomorrow 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

6) Two Books By Keynote Speakers Added To Bookstore Today
     
Books authored by Staccato Powell and Robert Raines were added to
the conference bookstore today.  Powell’s book, written in
conjunction with  a fellow A.M.E. pastor, Dennis Proctor, is
entitled Christians Under Construction: A Guide to Spiritual
Growth.  Of particular interest to persons of Anabaptist heritage
is Chapter 2, "Calculate the Cost."

Robert Raines' latest book is "A Time to Live: Seven Tasks of 
Creative Aging."  Raines will be available for book signings
following his session.

7) VOICE Added To Networking Groups
     
All involved with the Voice Ministry of ABC are invited to a
networking meeting tomorrow night at 9 p.m. in Nicarry 106. 
Tonight's networking schedule has the HIV/AIDS Support Group
meeting in Nicarry 106.

8) Free Information Awaits You In The Exhibit Room
     
Three exhibitors, The Association of Brethren Caregivers, COBYS,
and the Susquehanna Valley Satellite of Bethany Theological
Seminary, have displays of their ministries and available
literature on the second floor of Leffler in the Performance Room
(just to the right of the elevator).
     
Also on the second floor of Leffler Chapel, in an alcove at the
men's restroom, is a striking sculpture of "The Rising Lazarus" by
Christopher Cairns, donated to Elizabethtown College by Georgiana
E. Leffler in memory of Carlos R. Leffler.