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

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      October 1, 1999
Contact:  Walt Wiltschek
V:  410/871-0516   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

NEWS
 1) A training experience in "Worshipful Work" energizes participants with a 
new way of carrying out the church's business. 
 2) The ClearViewNet Internet service Web site of Brethren Benefit Trust’s 
eMountain Communications earns an award for excellence in communication and 
graphic design.
 3) Mutual Aid Association celebrates an 8,200-square foot addition to its 
building.
 4) Emergency Response/Service Ministries helps victims of Hurricane Floyd.
 5) Two allocations of $10,000 each are made from the Emergency Disaster Fund.
 6) The Global Food Crisis Fund makes a $5,000 grant for projects in El 
Estribo, Honduras.
 7) The Brethren Disaster Relief Auction, Inc., in Lebanon, Pa., raises 
$440,000.
 8) On Earth Peace Assembly's Board of Directors is meeting today and 
Saturday.
 9) College news: An education grant for Bridgewater and rare Bibles for 
Juniata.
10) Bethany Theological Seminary and Earlham School of Religion receive a 
major grant to augment their joint program of Information Technology for 
Theological Teaching.
11) Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill., celebrates its 
100th anniversary.
12) Participants share some responses from the 1999 Urban Peace Tour.
13) Brethren bits: Some other brief notes from around the denomination.

COMING EVENTS
14) A series of information sessions regarding insurance and benefits for 
Church of the Brethren employees will be held in October and November in a 
handful of districts.
15) The dates, theme, and other details are set for National Older Adult 
Conference 2000.
16) Fred Bernhard speaks on hospitality at a seminar Oct. 16 in Kokomo, Ind.

PERSONNEL
17) Emma Jean Woodard is called as Virlina's interim associate district 
executive.
18) Bethany Theological Seminary seeks nominations of a qualified candidate 
for a half-time teaching faculty appointment in music and worship.
19) A full-time position for a warehouse worker/driver is available at the 
Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. 

FEATURE
20) The Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren remembers the impact of 
Wes Albin.

  1) Nearly 50 people gathered at the General Board offices in Elgin, Ill., 
Sept. 16-18 to learn about "Worshipful Work," a process to bring spiritual 
discernment into decision-making.
  Leaders Chuck Olsen, founder of Worshipful Work and author of "Transforming 
Church Boards," and Sister Ellen Morseth, a Worshipful Work staff member, 
instructed the group of pastors, district representatives, Bethany 
Theological Seminary students and General Board staff.
  Under their leadership, participants learned a new model for transacting 
church business. Rather than using Roberts Rules of Order to guide a meeting, 
participants learned to incorporate various elements of worship so that faith 
guides the process. Instead of debating and then choosing the most logical 
answer to an issue, Worshipful Work teaches how to seek "the yearning of God" 
and be faithful to God's calling.
  David Ort of Middle Pennsylvania District, said "The time we spent together 
at Elgin ... helped me to better understand some of the dynamics of looking 
at all the activities of the church as a gift from and an offering to God."
  The seminar aims to create a network of trained consultants in districts 
across the denomination who will be available to train church boards and 
other groups who are interested in exploring the method. Sixteen districts 
were represented at the event.
  The group will gather for another three-day training event Jan. 21-23 at 
Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind. Bethany is a co-sponsor of the 
events along with the General Board's Congregational Life Ministries office.

  2) Brethren Benefit Trust’s eMountain Communications and Chicago-based 
PiperStudiosInc received an award for excellence in communication and graphic 
design on Sept. 16 for the design of eMountain’s ClearViewNet Internet 
service Web site. Now in its 23rd year, the American Graphics Awards are 
presented by Graphic Design USA magazine, honoring “the most outstanding 
entries for graphic design communications.” 
  Nearly 10,000 entries were received in 27 categories; fewer than 700 were 
given awards by the panel of 10 judges who represented publishing, design, 
and advertising agencies nationwide.
  "We are very proud of the ClearViewNet web site and its graphical 
communication of a welcome place to begin a different sort of Internet 
experience," said Michael Addison, ClearViewNet project director. "To me, 
this award symbolizes what great things can happen when separate 
organizations work in concert with each other to achieve a common goal."
  In addition to the ClearViewNet award, PiperStudiosInc also won an award 
for seven case studies offered on its home page, including its work with 
ClearViewNet.
  ClearViewNet’s award-winning site is located at www.clearviewnet.net. 
ClearViewNet's winning design and its American Graphics Award can be seen at 
www.brethren.org/picthis.

  3) The Mutual Aid Association of the Church of the Brethren, in Abilene, 
Kans., is celebrating some room to spread its wings.
  After looking at some relocation options, the board decided to stay in 
Abilene and instead work on expansion. That project has reached completion, 
and the agency, which specializes in property insurance, will dedicate the 
8,200-square foot addition on Oct. 7.
  The addition/renovation project nearly triples the size of the building and 
will allow better accommodations for current work as well as future growth. 
It also includes a multipurpose room that will be available for local church 
meetings or district and community functions.
  The Oct. 7 dedication will occur as part of an open house celebration from 
4:30-7:30 p.m., complete with entertainment, refreshments, and tours of the 
building.

  4) Hurricane Floyd left a trail of misery along the Atlantic coastline from 
South Carolina to New York, and the  Emergency Response/Service Ministries 
unit of the Church of the Brethren is responding to the aftermath in several 
ways.
  Harold Hubbell, disaster project director from Southeastern District, was 
sent to the scene in Tarboro, N.C., and received requests from the American 
Red Cross for disaster child care services in several of its service centers. 
In response to that request, the ERSM office placed disaster project manager 
Jean Myers in Tarboro on Sept. 22, then activated two teams of disaster child 
care volunteers who had been on alert.
  Child care centers were set up in Tarboro and Greenville, and 99 children 
were cared for in the first five days. Requests for disaster child care in 
other areas are being evaluated.
  ERSM will soon determine where it will focus its clean-up efforts. Flood 
water must recede before volunteers are allowed to help with cleanup and 
debris removal. Some areas may need to wait until early or mid-October before 
cleanup can start as some rivers are still cresting.
  In Maryland, meanwhile, Mid-Atlantic District disaster coordinator Wilkie 
Nunn has received a request for clean-up assistance in Cecil, Kent, and 
Howard counties and is following up on that request.
  Potential volunteers are urged to inform their district disaster 
coordinator directly of their interest and availability for participation in 
Hurricane Floyd response.
  Church World Service is also responding to Floyd, with $100,000 in aid 
sought for clean-up work and material resources, and is talking with Habitat 
for Humanity about a joint project for housing reconstruction.

  5) The denomination made two recent allocations from the Emergency Disaster 
Fund in response to needs presented by Stanley Noffsinger, director of the 
General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries.
  The first allocation of $10,000 went to support the efforts of Family Farm 
Drought Response, an ecumenical effort to deliver hay to drought-stricken 
farmers in the eastern United States. A second allocation of $10,000 will go 
to support ERSM disaster relief work in response to Hurricane Floyd and any 
other hurricanes that strike the East Coast this year.

  6) The Global Food Crisis Fund also made a grant in mid-September, sending 
$5,000 to the Honduran community of El Estribo, where Brethren teams in 
August worked with residents to reconstruct homes damaged in last fall's 
Hurricane Mitch. The grant will provide pigs and chickens for members of 
women's circles in the southern Honduras village. 
  In an area where annual per-capita income hovered around $250 before Mitch, 
the situation has worsened since the devastating storm. Many of the women and 
their families now have even fewer avenues for earning money and struggle to 
have adequate food and health care.
  "This grant will enable the women, and their families, to raise animals 
that will create food and profit," said Brethren Witness Director David 
Radcliff, manager of the Global Food Criss Fund. "Just as important, the 
livestock will bring meaningful and productive work, and the sense of 
self-affirmation that comes from this."
  Following assessment of this project, consideration will be given to 
providing additional grants to other communities in this part of Honduras. 
Contributions to the Global Food Crisis Fund can be sent to the Church of the 
Brethren General Board at 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. 
  Global Food Crisis Fund 2000 projects include El Estribo; Grand Junction, 
Colo.'s Hand-in-Hand Ministries; southern Sudan; and Ixtahuacan, Guatemala.

  7) The annual Brethren Disaster Relief Auction, Inc., coordinated by the 
Atlantic Northeast and Southern Pennsylvania districts, took place Sept. 
24-25 at the Lebanon (Pa.) Expo Center and had another successful weekend.
  Chairpersons Marlin and Jane Snavely said that an estimated 7,500 people 
attended the sale, which produced $440,000 in total proceeds. The money will 
go to help people affected by natural disasters, both locally and worldwide.
   Among some of the specifics, about 70 heifers were sold to raise $82,600; 
a livestock sale produced $11,000; general food sales netted $35,500, and 
baked goods made $12,000; and more than 140 quilts and wallhangings brought 
in $53,900.
  Sixteen area auctioneers volunteered their time to sell the quilts and a 
host of other items, from Longaberger baskets, to Beanie Babies, to a 
homemade fishing rod, furniture, and toys.

  8) The On Earth Peace Assembly Board of Directors is meeting today and 
Saturday at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.
  Among the agenda items, the board will respond to similar recommendations 
by the OEPA staff, a board-appointed Site Committee, and OEPA's Executive 
Committee that call for putting the issue of organizational location on hold 
until a program-envisioning process for OEPA has been completed.
  Phyllis Senesi of Kalamazoo, Mich., will lead OEPA's board and staff 
through a one-day process- and procedure-building set of activities. This 
will initiate a year-long process that is expected to culminate, in late 
2000, in acceptance and then development and implementation of a broad-based 
peace education program for the Church of the Brethren in the first decade of 
the 21st century, according to OEPA Executive Director Tom Hurst.
  OEPA is also marking its 25th anniversary this month and will celebrate 
with a series of events Oct. 27-31 at Shepherd's Spring Outdoor Ministries 
Center in Sharpsburg, Md.

  9) Two Church of the Brethren colleges received some good news recently, 
and much more.
  At Bridgewater (Va.) College, the education department received a $50,000 
grant for 1999-2000 from The Jessie Ball duPont Fund of Jacksonville, Fla. 
The money will be used to create two state-of-the-art model classrooms, one 
of them containing a model educational media center for teacher training.
  Bridgewater will also name the education department's area the Jessie Ball 
duPont Center for Teacher Education. The September grant is the latest of 
numerous grants to Bridgewater from the fund, named for the late Jessie Dew 
Ball duPont of Virginia.
  At Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., meanwhile, the gift took the form of 
books. Mutual Benefit Group, a Huntingdon-based insurance group and parent 
company of Swigart Associates, contributed more than 1,000 rare books from 
the collection of company founder W. Emmert Swigart to the college.
  Three members of the Mutual Benefit Group Investment Committee are 
graduates of Juniata and recommended the gift. Other portions of Swigart's 
book collection had previously been presented to the college.
  The collection includes 15 Sauer Bibles, among the first Bibles printed in 
North America, with 1743, 1763, and 1776 editions.
  "All three editions of the Sauer Bible are rare," said Dr. Donald F. 
Durnbaugh, Juniata archivist. "It's startling that Mr. Swigart was able to 
collect so many."
  The gift will become part of Juniata's Special Collections, most of which 
is housed in the Treasure Room of the college's Beeghly Library. Appointments 
to view the collection can be made by calling the library at (814) 641-3450.

  10) Bethany Theological Seminary and Earlham School of Religion in 
Richmond, Ind., have received a $100,000 grant from the Indianapolis-based 
Lilly Endowment Inc. to augment their joint program of Information Technology 
for Theological Teaching.
  The schools received a $200,000 grant in 1998 to initiate the project, 
which seeks to make appropriate and effective use of information technology 
in teaching and learning and to prepare students to make similar use of new 
technologies in their work and ministry. Since then, new computer hardware 
and software have been purchased, training has been provided for both 
students and faculty, and a full-time Information Technology Coordinator, 
Steve Spyker, was employed to implement the program. 
  The new supplemental grant will enable Bethany and ESR to further enhance 
their technological capabilities and the educational use of those 
capabilities. Among the new projects, the schools will establish a lab for 
training faculty and students. The grant will also support continuation of 
the teaching consultant program, which provides faculty released time from 
regular teaching responsibilities to gain expertise in a chosen technology 
and become a resource in that area to other faculty.
  Yet another new project will be developing and offering a 
technology-focused graduate seminar. Rick Gardner, academic dean at Bethany, 
says that this course "will prepare church leaders to use 21st-century 
technology in congregations and other ministry settings."  Possible topics 
include the ethical use of technology, communication dynamics within a 
congregation, creating sophisticated publications using desktop software, web 
pages as a form of ministry, and how technological advances have shaped 
theological thought.
  The new grant will be disbursed over a period of five years, beginning this 
month.

  11) Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill., will celebrate 
its 100th anniversary Oct. 2 with a free Community Festival and 
Convocation.The festivities will be held at Elgin Community College.
  The Elgin Children's Chorus will headline the Community Festival, scheduled 
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for people of all ages. The entertainment will feature 
a number of Brethren and others, including Patti Ecker and Peg Lehman, folk 
singers; the Kindling folk quartet; ventriloquist Steve Engle; the Gordon 
James Jazz Quartet; the Flory handbell duo; and Evan Ryan, a marimbist. About 
20 booths and exhibits from the Church of the Brethren and the Elgin 
community will be displayed, including presentations on the congregation's 
history and its connections within the Elgin community.
  The evening convocation, scheduled for 7:30 p.m., will celebrate Highland 
Ave.'s witness in the Elgin community; its relationships with the city's 
social and community agencies and other churches; and its participation and 
leadership in community service, racial and ethnic concerns, social justice 
issues, and ecumenical ministries. It will feature the Community Renewal 
Chorus from Chicago with a large ecumenical choir from Elgin-area churches. 
Dr. Calvin Morris, executive director of Community Renewal Society, will 
deliver the keynote address.  
  Highland Ave. Church of the Brethren was founded on Oct. 2, 1899. Its 
centennial celebration is being underwritten primarily by donations in excess 
of $22,000 from more than 145 Centennial Partners and by more than 65 people 
who have made memorial contributions.

  12) Some additional news from the 1999 Urban Peace Tour, which traveled to 
five congregations in the Southern Ohio District Sept. 8-12 provided by tour 
coordinator Greg Laszakovits:
  Worship at the events was musical in flavor, with powerful testimonials and 
preaching throughout. Each night gave congregation members a chance to taste 
the way God and the Spirit move in different churches and individuals.
  One person responded: "I loved it. We've never moved and had that much fun 
in worship before. I really felt God tonight." 
  The tour was enlightening not only for the congregations, but for the 
participants as well.
  "It was so much fun," exclaimed tour member Holly Flumerfelt, from the 
Altoona (Pa.) 28th St. congregation. "I've never been part of a group like 
this before. I discovered my ethnicity: Pennsylvania Dutch!"
  In addition to Flumerfelt, other members of the 1999 tour included Lindsay 
Dubose and Brenda Wilkinson (Germantown, Pa.), Laszakovits (Phoenix (Ariz.) 
First), Ya-Landa Harris and Don Mitchell (Imperial Heights, Los Angeles), 
Lysa and Marilyn Montauban (1st Haitian, Brooklyn, N.Y.), and Gilbert Romero 
(Bella Vista, Los Angeles).
  "We were blessed to have so many parts of the country, different cities and 
ethnic backgrounds represented on the tour," Laszakovits said.
  The tour was sponsored by each congregation visited, the Office of Brethren 
Witness and the Southern Ohio District. Another tour is tentatively planned 
for early 2000 in Southern California.

  13) Brethren bits: Some other brief news notes from around the denomination 
and elsewhere:
  *The Womaen's Caucus Steering Committee met Sept. 24-26 at the La Verne 
(Calif.) Church of the Brethren to discuss activities and programming, as 
well as taking a look at the issue of a name change for the denomination. For 
more information on the Womaen's Caucus, call (909) 399-9552.
  *James Reston Jr., author of "The Last Apocalypse: Europe in the Year 1000 
A.D.," is the keynote speaker at Bridgewater (Va.) College's "Brethren and 
the End Times" conference Sept. 30-Oct. 2, sponsored by the college's Forum 
for Religious Studies.
  *The second annual National Weekend of Faith in Action on the Death Penalty 
is Oct. 8-10. Call the Church of the Brethren Washington Office at (202) 
546-3202 or Amnesty International at 1-800-AMNESTY, ext. 508, for more 
information.
  *The Annual Conference Office is seeking theme logo design submissions for 
the 2000 Annual Conference to be held in Kansas City, Mo., July 15-19, with 
the theme "Love As I Have Loved You." Submissions are due by Nov. 5 and 
should include the theme reference, John 15:12, in the design. The Church of 
the Brethren logo should not be used. Call the Annual Conference Office at 
(847) 742-5100 or 1-800-323-8039 for more details.
  *The South/Central Indiana District of the Church of the Brethren has 
initiated a Yellow Ribbon program and invites other districts, other 
denominations and individuals to join in "Tying a Yellow Ribbon" in memory of 
victims of shootings and violence. The program was
initiated Sept. 16. Contact  Ron Finney, district minister, at (219) 982-8805 
or by e-mail at SCIndianaCob@ctlnet.com
  *Camp Eder, in Fairfield, Pa., Southern Pennsylvania District, will hold 
its 21st annual Fall Festival on Oct. 16, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
  *A "Jubilee: God's Good News" workshop will take place Oct. 23, 8 a.m.-12 
p.m. at the Goshen (Ind.) City Church of the Brethren, led by Jubilee trainer 
Rosella Weins Regier. Call the Northern Indiana District Office at (219) 
773-3149 for more information.
  *A new SERRV International gift shop called Global Village Market will open 
Oct. 11 at the new Lutheran World Relief building in Baltimore. The store 
will replace a seasonal store at the Harborplace shopping complex.

  14) A series of informational sessions regarding insurance and benefits for 
Church of the Brethren employees of churches, districts, and camps will be 
held in October and November in a handful of districts by Jeff Garber, 
director of insurance plans for Brethren Benefit Trust.
  Specifically, Garber will explain new FlexCare benefits available to 
Brethren Ministers' Group members, including new options for dental and 
vision and flexible spending accounts for medical and dependent-care 
expenses, which will allow members to pay for premiums and applicable 
expenses using pre-tax dollars. Applicable medical expenses, up to $2,500 for 
family coverage, would include deductibles and other medical expenses that 
fall outside of medical coverage, such as more than one pair of glasses per 
person. Applicable dependent care expenses, up to $5,000, would include 
childcare costs.
  "This will save members money in the long run, alleviating the need to pay 
taxes on income used to pay for these specific expenses," Garber said.
  On Oct. 5 Garber will address plan members in Northern Indiana. In late 
October, Garber is scheduled to hold sessions in a number of East Coast 
districts, including Atlantic Northeast, Middle Pennsylvania, Southern 
Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania, and West Marva. In November, Garber is 
scheduled in Shenandoah District. 
  For more information on the medical plan, for the times and dates of the 
sessions, or to arrange for Garber to conduct a similar session, contact 
Garber at jgarber_bbt@brethren.org or at 1-800-746-1505.

  15) More than 1,100 older adults are expected to make the biennial trek to 
Lake Junaluska (N.C.) Assembly for the fifth National Older Adult Conference, 
 set for Sept. 11-15, 2000. Sponsored by the Older Adult Ministry of the 
Association of Brethren Caregivers, this week-long conference will be a time 
of renewal, fellowship and worship for older adults. 
  The theme for NOAC 2000 will be "Still Bearing Fruit, Still Fresh and 
Green" based on Psalms 92:14. With this theme, conference planners say, the 
conference will remind the denomination that older adults are vital and 
productive members of the church and larger community. Conference speakers 
and worship celebrations will focus on encouraging older adults to continue 
to grow, learn, give and receive. Conference planners include members of the 
Older Adult Ministry Steering Committee and volunteer conference coordinators.
  Conference coordinators for NOAC 2000 are Carl and Doreen Myers of Elgin, 
Ill. Carl and Doreen served as on-site coordinators for the 1999 Annual 
Conference in Milwaukee. Carl is a retired district executive of the 
Illinois/Wisconsin District. Doreen works in the home. Both Carl and Doreen 
are active in the Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, where they 
provide Wednesday evening meals and have served in various leadership 
positions.
  ABC is encouraging districts, Brethren retirement facilities and 
congregations to consider coordinating bus transportation to Lake Junaluska, 
N.C., as a way to provide safe and economical travel options for older adults 
in their areas.
  At the end of the year pastors and district offices will receive multiple 
copies of the NOAC 2000 promotional brochure for distribution to interested 
church members.

  16) New Life Ministries will sponsor a hospitality workshop led by Fred 
Bernhard, pastor of the Oakland Church of the Brethren in Ohio, on Oct. 16 at 
the Kokomo (Ind.) Church of the Brethren.
  Titled "Hospitality and the Vital Church," Bernhard's seminar will make a 
connection between the church’s health and its willingness to "entertain the 
stranger in its midst," providing a Biblical model for hospitality. Bernhard 
draws heavily on a book he has co-authored with Steve Clapp entitled 
"Widening the Welcome of Your Church." 
  There is a small registration fee for the event, which runs from 9:30 a.m. 
to 4 p.m. Lunch at the seminars is normally provided by the host church. More 
information is available by calling New Life Ministries at 1-800-774-3360.

  17) The Virlina District Board at its Sept. 18 meeting called Emma Jean 
Woodard as interim associate district executive on a full-time basis for 15 
months beginning Jan. 1.
  Woodward is a graduate of Bluefield College, Bowie State University and the 
Training in Ministry (TRIM) program. She has served as administrative 
secretary for the Westminister (Md.) Church of the Brethren and as interim 
pastor for Roanoke First, Troutville and Cloverdale congregations in Virlina 
District. With her husband, Ed Woodard (pastor of Roanoke Oak Grove), she is 
parent of one daughter and one son.
 
  18) Bethany Theological Seminary is seeking a qualified candidate for a 
half-time teaching faculty appointment in music and worship. The timetable 
for this appointment is open-ended, so as to enable prospective candidates 
who do not yet have all the credentials important for the appointment the 
time needed to acquire these credentials.
  The seminary will launch a more formal search process later this year. In 
preparation for that, Bethany invites nominations of persons who should be 
seriously considered as candidates for an appointment. Nominees should 
possess demonstrated gifts in music leadership, a commitment to the life and 
ministry of congregations, an ability to reflect theologically on the 
significance and use of music in the faith community, and the potential for 
becoming an effective teacher. Nominees may or may not yet have acquired an 
advanced degree in a discipline related to the appointment.
  Nominations will be reviewed by a faculty discernment committee chaired by 
the academic dean of the seminary. As a part of the review process, the 
committee will hold informal conversations with promising nominees. The 
outcome of these conversations will determine the nature and timetable of the 
more formal search to follow.
  Those desiring to submit a nomination should prepare a letter to that end, 
commenting on the qualities and qualifications of the nominee. Nominations 
may be submitted by mail to Academic Dean, Bethany Theological Seminary, 615 
National Road West, Richmond, IN 47374, or by e-mail to gardnri@earlham.edu. 
Deadline for receiving nominations is Dec. 1.

  19) A full-time position for a warehouse worker/driver is available at the 
Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. 
  Warehouse work will include assisting the Hi-Lift operator to load/unload 
trucks, moving materials to designated areas, providing assistance to baling 
operations, and driving a truck for local and long-distance deliveries and 
pick-ups. Truck driving is minimal, approximately 10 percent of the job 
requirement.
  The position offers excellent retirement/medical benefits, 10 paid 
holidays, vacation and sick leave. Applicants must be at least 21 years of 
age, have a CDL and a good driving record. A pre-employment drug test is 
required. Contact Ellen Hall for an interview at (410) 635-8780. 

  20) When Wes Albin died on Aug. 25 after a battle with clinical depression, 
he left a lifetime of changed lives in his wake.
  The Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren member served for 37 
years with Church World Service's CROP program, believed to be the longest 
tenure anyone has ever had with the organization. He had taken on a servant 
role even before that, too, working with Brethren Volunteer Service in Korea 
in the early '60s.
  "He often joked that he never got out of BVS, because he gave his whole 
life to serving CROP," said Nancy Heishman, co-pastor at Harrisburg First 
with her husband, Irv.
  Albin, who was 59, was originally from Iowa but came to the Harrisburg 
church in 1975 while working as regional CROP director for Pennsylvania. He 
served the congregation as a youth Sunday school teacher, youth advisor, 
committee member, deacon, and moderator.
  His service for both CROP and the church came through in his memorial 
service, which Heishman said included people from all over the country, 
including the deputy secretary of the National Council of Churches. 
  Many of those in attendance shared stories and memories of the impact Albin 
had.
  "We think so much of all the lives he touched in his work, including 
countless people who had a little more to eat," Heishman said. "He had a real 
dedication to fighting world hunger in a positive way. His heart and soul and 
whole life were in that kind of work. I don't know how many millions he 
raised for CROP."
  She does know, however, that the congregation won't be the same without him.
  "It's a terrible loss for the church," Heishman said. "I keep telling 
people he was one of the finest human beings we've ever known. He was caring, 
compassionate, dedicated -- just a wonderful person."

Newsline is produced by Walt Wiltschek, interim Newsline editor for the 
Church of the Brethren General Board's News Services, on the first, third and 
fifth Friday of each month. Newsline stories may be reprinted provided that 
Newsline is cited as the source and the publication date is included.

To receive Newsline by e-mail or fax, call 1-800-323-8039, ext. 263, or write 
CoBNews@AOL.Com. Newsline is available at www.brethren.org and is archived 
with an index at http://www.wfn.org.