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

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      May 4, 2000
Contact:  Walt Wiltschek
V:  847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL:   CoBNews@AOL.Com

"Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul." Prov.
16:24a

NEWS
 1) US agents take action against Vieques protesters.
 2) ABC announces its 2000 caregiving award recipients
 3) The Global Food Crisis Fund continues a busy spring.
 4) The On Earth Peace board deals with transitional issues while
looking forward.
 5) Bethany Theological Seminary will hold its 95th commencement on
Saturday.
 6) The Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria holds its annual council.
 7) The Emergency Disaster Fund sends aid to Nigeria.
 8) Music, workshops, and speakers highlight Manchester’s Regional
Youth Conference.
 9) Brethren bits: National Youth Sunday, camp anniversary,
Bridgewater essay, and more.

PERSONNEL
10) On Earth Peace Assembly is seeking an executive director.

COMING EVENTS
11) Two Disaster Child Care training workshops are being offered.
12) An ABC-sponsored older adult workcamp to Puerto Rico is planned
for February 2001.
13) Young Adult Conference comes to Camp Harmony late this month.

FEATURES
14) Some Hispanic Brethren are able to come together for joint
professional growth.

******************************************************************

 1) CNN reported Thursday morning that federal agents had
confronted protesters on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques and
removed most of them from the US Navy bombing range where they had
set up camps, some for more than a year. Several Church of the
Brethren members were among those participating in the peaceful
protests.

The encampments had been set up to stop bombing and other military
maneuvers by the Navy, which occupies much of the small island,
about 10 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico. Approximately 9,000
people live between Navy sites on the east and west ends of the
island, however, and protests escalated sharply after a civilian
guard was killed by a stray bomb in April 1999. The June "Agenda,"
scheduled for mailing May 5, carries background on the issue.

US Navy warships left Virginia earlier this week, and three --
reportedly carrying up to 1,000 US Marines along with the law
enforcement officials -- arrived offshore of Vieques. Those in the
protest encampments prepared for forceful removal by US forces but
promised not to fight back or otherwise resist arrest. CNN reports
indicated that all of Thursday's removals did proceed peacefully,
and the FBI said protesters were not being arrested but "held in
custody" in detention centers on Vieques. US Marines were then sent
in to secure the bombing range, according to reports.

Christian Peacemaker Teams had sent a nine-member emergency
delegation to Vieques this week, with Cliff Kindy of the Manchester
Church of the Brethren (North Manchester, Ind.) serving as
co-leader. Some Puerto Rican Brethren were also participating in
the protests. A referendum on the US Navy presence is expected in
Puerto Rico next year, but protesters have sought an immediate and
final end to the bombing, saying "not one more bomb."

Many groups in the US and Puerto Rico had called on the Clinton
administration to cancel any plans for removing the protesters.
Greg Laszakovits, coordinator of the Church of the Brethren
Washington Office, recently visited Vieques and met with Viequenses
(Vieques residents) and those encamped on the island. "The people
of this island suffer directly from the bombing and have for the
past 60 years when the Navy commenced exercises," Laszakovits said.

"Given the Church of the Brethren's sentiment towards the
preservation of peace and the things that make for peace, we must
support the Viequenses and their struggle to live their lives in
peace."

The National Council of Churches had also sent an appeal asking the
White House to back down, with NCC General Secretary Bob Edgar
saying, "This would not be the appropriate time or place for the
use of force."

The Washington Office says opinions on the issue can be given by
calling US Attorney General Janet Reno (202 456-6594), whose
Justice Department joined the Department of Defense in heading the
operation, or President Clinton's deputy chief of staff, Maria
Echaveste (202 456-6703). Prayer for the issue was also urged, as
activists in Puerto Rico have vowed further civil disobedience.

 2) The Association of Brethren Caregivers has announced its 2000
caregiving award recipients, following the ABC board's approval of
the nominations at its spring meeting.

Award recipients for 2000 will be Laura Abernathy of Lacey, Wash.;
Ernest Barr of Carmel, Ind.; Shawn Decker of Waynesboro, Va.; and
Tana Durnbaugh of Elgin, Ill. Abernathy will be honored for her
years of service advocating for people with disabilities; Barr, for
his long-time service as a volunteer chaplain and as a deacon in
the Northview Church of the Brethren (Indianapolis); Decker, for
his work in the areas of HIV/AIDS  education, advocacy and support;
and Durnbaugh, for her career as a nurse and educator and her
service to ABC -- as board chair and on ABC's Health Education and
Research Advisory Committee, which coordinates a loans and
scholarship program for people pursuing careers in health
professions.

 3) Grants for famine prevention, famine recovery, and assistance
for low-paid service workers have been approved by the Global Food
Crisis Fund.

An appropriation of $50,000 was approved in response to the
unfolding crisis in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Ethiopia.
The funds will be a part of a $1 million Church World Service
appeal. According to reports from Ethiopia, drought conditions
threaten the lives of up to 8 million people. Determined not to
repeat what happened in the mid-1980s, when millions perished, aid
groups are hoping to stave off mass starvation by early
intervention. The Brethren grant will provide 310 metric tons of
grain for more than 25,000 daily rations.

The fund also is making a $15,000 grant to the Western Service
Workers Association of Orange County, Calif. The WSWA provides
emergency food relief, legal advice, dental care, and a variety of
other services to its mostly Hispanic constituency. The
organization also assists in political organization of these
low-paid workers, 75 percent of whom are women.

These grants join one reported in the April 21 Newsline, giving
$21,000 to deliver seed corn to North Korea, and a current effort
to send a shipment of dairy goats to that country late this summer.
A grant of $50,000 for the goat shipment was approved last year,
and additional donations for that effort are being sought. For more
information on the Global Food Crisis Fund, contact the Brethren
Witness Office at 800 323-8039. Contributions can be sent to Church
of the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120.

 4) The On Earth Peace Assembly board of directors and staff met at
the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., April 14-16.
Following worship led by Paul Roth that invited reflection on the
past year while looking toward visions of the future, the board
dealt with a full agenda. Actions included:

*Naming Bob Gross, Ministry of Reconciliation coordinator, to be
staff coordinator for OEPA in the absence of an interim executive
director. Gross will serve as OEPA spokesperson to the wider church
and give guidance to other staff members as they work
collaboratively in carrying out the remaining duties required.

*Presentation of results from the work of the Board Advancement
Committee. On the committee's recommendation, the OEPA board is
challenging itself to contribute $50,000 to the general fund. To
date, more than three-fifths of the goal has been reached by board
and staff.

*Receiving reports from staff on recent events and upcoming planned
activities at Annual Conference and elsewhere, and from the
Strategic Planning Committee, which will meet again this summer to
continue the process of articulating long-term vision for the
agency. 

*Discussion of the search process for a new executive director,
naming of a search committee, and creation of a draft position
announcement. (See the "Personnel" section of this Newsline).

 5) Bethany Theological Seminary, the Church of the Brethren
seminary in Richmond, Ind.,  will celebrate its 95th commencement
on May 6. The occasion will be marked with two observances: A
ceremony for conferring degrees in Bethany's Nicarry Chapel
(limited to graduates and guests by invitation), and a public
worship celebration in Goddard Auditorium, Carpenter Hall on the
adjacent Earlham College campus.

Fifteen students will be recognized. Nine will receive Master of
Divinity degrees; four, Master of Arts in Theology degrees; and
two, Certificates of Achievement in Theological Studies. Two
individuals have completed a degree with a peace studies emphasis.
Following graduation, the students will pursue pastoral ministry,
children's and youth ministry, website marketing and development,
and further graduate study.

Kenneth B. Smith of Chicago, senior fellow of the Chicago Community
Trust and former president of Chicago Theological Seminary, will
speak at the conferring of degrees ceremony. Dr. Smith received his
Bachelor of Divinity degree from Bethany in 1960.  

Judy Mills Reimer of Elgin, Ill., executive director of the Church
of the Brethren General Board, will speak at the afternoon worship
service. She received her Master of Divinity degree from Bethany in
1994.

 6) The 53rd General Church Council, or "Majalisa," of the
Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (a Church of the Brethren sister
denomination) was well-attended, according to John Tubbs, a General
Board staff member working in Nigeria. The event was held April
12-15 at Kulp Bible College Chapel and drew regional
representatives, directors, heads of programs and institutions,
pastors, delegates, and fraternal workers from the Church of the
Brethren and elsewhere.

President Toma Ragnjiya opened the meeting with a welcome speech
and his vision for EYN. This speech set the stage for the
deliberation and began the most spiritual Majalisa in the history
of EYN, according to the pastor of the EYN church in Jos.

"Throughout the meeting the mood was extremely high," Tubbs wrote.
"Hope for the future of EYN was said to be much like the feeling in
all of Nigeria after the inauguration of Oluesugun Obasanjo, the
first democratically elected head of state in 15 years."

All churches were encouraged to support all church programs,
including having every church plan for an annual 17th of March
celebration with an offering going to EYN headquarters. Also, on
Oct. 1, Nigeria's independence day, all workers are to send
one-tenth of their income to their region, with 50 percent staying
in the region and 50 percent going to EYN headquarters.

Beginning in 2001 the entire church will share the financial
responsibility of training its leaders. Basic and advanced classes
will be financed by the regions and districts, while diploma and
degree levels will be financed by EYN headquarters.

The present leaders of EYN expressed their appreciation for the
continued support of their mission partners and at the same time
encouraged their members not to continue to rely so heavily on them
but to work at supporting all church programs on their own. The
council also praised the present leaders for their effort and their
vision for the future.

 7) An Emergency Disaster Fund grant of $20,500 has been approved
for work in Nigeria. This grant will be used in two areas: $10,250
to help rebuild the Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria's Badarwa church
in Kaduna that was burned during riots there, and $10,250 for
medical expenses, family relocation, rebuilding homes, and
re-establishing businesses for EYN members affected by the riots.

Another recently approved allocation, for $1,230.18, will be used
to reimburse Quaker Workcamps International for the purchase of
volunteer safety harnesses and equipment used in conjunction with
church roof replacement projects for burned churches in Washington,
D.C. A dozen grants have now been made from the Emergency Disaster
Fund this year.

 8) Small groups, music, workshops, and inspirational speakers
ranked as favorites for more than 170 youth and advisors who
gathered at Manchester College (North Manchester, Ind.), for the
Midwest's Regional Youth Conference April 14-16.

Already beneficiaries of beautiful weather, participants said
highlights included small-group sessions led by Manchester
students, workshops on subjects from dating to athletics to prayer,
and campus Peace Week activities that were available to RYC
participants during free time, such as ultimate frisbee, tie-dying,
and a variety of musical performances.

They also applauded the musical leadership of Joseph Helfrich, Ron
Bohannon, and Brett Clark and the creative keynote addresses from
Frank Ramirez and Chris Douglas. Ramirez put on a large cardboard
box with holes for head and arms to introduce his session, and
Douglas used a clip on "kids doing things to make a difference"
from the Oprah Winfrey show.

An RYC choir also sang during the weekend, and performances by
Manchester's "Controlled Catastrophe" improv group and the band
"The Normals" were among entertainment offerings. Michael Good, a
youth at the Manchester Church of the Brethren, wrote a theme song
for the weekend. This year's theme was "Things Not Yet Seen."

Next year's RYC at Manchester, in April 2001, will feature
performer Ken Medema.

 9) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *The New Sudan Council of Churches' People to People Peace East
Bank Nilotics Reconciliation Conference, an effort to work toward
peace in southern Sudan, will be launched on Monday. Six ethnic
groups will be involved. Details will follow as they become
available.

 *This Sunday is the denomination's National Youth Sunday, and
senior high youth in many congregations will be leading worship.
This year's theme is "Things Not Yet Seen," based on Hebrews 11:1
and chosen by members of the National Youth Cabinet. The General
Board's Youth/Young Adult Office has sent out a packet of
resources.

 *Suzanne Moore, a member of the Roanoke (Va.) First Church of the
Brethren and of the Association of Brethren Caregivers board, was
selected "Woman of the Year" by Valley Network Business and
Professional Women's Organization, according to the Roanoke Times.
Moore serves as executive director of Good Samaritan Hospice Inc.

 *Camp Eder (Fairfield, Pa.) is celebrating its 40th anniversary
this year, beginning with an open house birthday party kickoff on
May 21 and culminating with a Ken Medema benefit concert at
Gettysburg (Pa.) High School on Nov. 3.

 *The Church of the Brethren Womaen's Caucus is holding a theology
conference in Dayton, Ohio, this weekend. The theme is "The
Politics of Sin: Who Decides What's Right or Wrong?"

 *The Virlina District Board at its recent meeting recommended to
the 2000 Virlina District Conference the adoption of a resolution
titled "A Call to Action Against the Death Penalty."

 *The Manchester Church of the Brethren (North Manchester, Ind.)
dedicated its new facility this past weekend with a music fest,
open house, worship, and a special service featuring Chuck Boyer of
the La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren as guest speaker. The
congregation's previous building was destroyed in a January 1998
fire.

 *An essay by Bridgewater (Va.) College president Phil Stone has
been included in a new national publication called "Presidential
Essays: Success Stories -- Strategies that Make a Difference at
Thirteen Independent College and Universities." Stone's essay
highlights Bridgewater's Personal Development Portfolio program as
part of student development.

 *Juniata College (Huntingdon, Pa.) recently kicked off a
five-year, $70 million campaign to create scholarships, faculty
endowments, and new facilities. Titled "Uncommon Outcomes, The
Campaign for Juniata College," it will provide for the new $20
million William J. von Liebig Center for Science, a large addition
to Oller Hall, and extensive renovations to the college's historic
Founders Hall and Brumbaugh Science Center among its projects.
Groundbreaking for the new science building took place April 15.

 *The Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian and Gay Concerns will
hold its biennial convention Oct. 6-9 in St. Paul, Minn., with the
theme "Weaving the Circle Strong."

 *Thousands of people are expected to join in the Million Mom March
on Mother's Day in Washington, D.C., calling for stricter gun
control laws.

 *The 20th annual Mid-Atlantic District Disaster Response Auction
takes place this Saturday in Westminster, Md. Proceeds benefit the
Church of the Brethren Emergency Disaster Response Fund.

 *The Goshen City (Ind.) Church of the Brethren recently did a
six-week series in worship called "Dismantling Racism." Speakers,
including Hispanic and African-American leaders from the area,
approached the theme from a different perspective each week. An
optional talk-back session followed each service.

 *The Palms of Sebring (Fla.) Retirement Community was awarded a
2000 Readers' Choice award for the area's "Best Nursing Home" in a
recent newspaper poll.

 *The Lebanon Valley Brethren Home (Palmyra, Pa.) recently became
a training site for the Lebanon County Career and Technology
Center's nurses' aide program. Seventeen students spent four weeks
working in the continuing care facility at the home.

 10) On Earth Peace Assembly, Inc., with offices at the Brethren
Service Center in New Windsor, Md., is seeking an executive
director. Primary responsibilities include envisioning and
designing "a relevant and prophetic peace education strategy and
program for the Church of the Brethren and the wider community," in
collaboration with the OEPA board; implementing program objectives,
with appropriate delegation to and supervision of paid and
volunteer staff; and designing and implementing effective
fund-raising strategies and program.

Qualifications include commitment to the Christian faith and core
values of the Church of the Brethren, including peacemaking and
nonviolence as a way of life; an understanding of and commitment to
the agency's mission; advanced degree or course work in a relevant
field; and management and fund-raising skills and/or experience.

To apply, send a cover letter, resume/vitae, and four references
(two personal and two professional) to: On Earth Peace, Brethren
Service Center, PO Box 188, New Windsor, MD 21776, or e-mail
oepa@oepa.org. Salary is negotiable and generally based on Church
of the Brethren pastors' salary scale; start date is also
negotiable. Review of materials will begin July 1.

For more information, visit www.brethren.org/oepa, write to the
above address, or phone 410 635-8704.

 11) Two Disaster Child Care training workshops are available in
the coming months. The first one is scheduled at the Bermudian
Church of the Brethren, 279 Bermudian Church Road, East Berlin,
Pa., May 19-20. This child-care training workshop is being
sponsored by the Southern Pennsylvania District and the Bermudian
church. For additional information, call local coordinator Kathy
Morrison at 717 624-9056.

The second is scheduled at the Oak Grove Church of the Brethren,
2138 McVitty Road SW, Roanoke, Va., Sept. 29-30. This training
workshop is being sponsored by the Virlina District and the Oak
Grove church. For additional information, call local coordinator
Carolyn Broyles at 540 774-2759.

To receive a workshop brochure, which includes a registration form,
or for additional information about either training workshop, call
Helen Stonesifer in the Emergency Response/ Service Ministries
office weekdays at 800 451-4407 (press option 3).

 12) Young adults from across the country are invited to the
denomination's Young Adult Conference, coming May 27-29 at Camp
Harmony near Hooversville, Pa. Matt Guynn, a Bethany Theological
Seminary student, will guide participants through the challenges
and visions young adults face in the Church of the Brethren. The
Bittersweet Gospel Band will also provide an evening concert.

Nearly 50 people have registered to date, but space remains
available. Registration fee is $80 (or bring a friend and take
advantage of the two-for-$160 special). For further details or a
registration flyer, call Kara Morris at 800 323-8039, ext. 286.

 13) Next February will bring another opportunity for older adults
to visit and serve Brethren in Puerto Rico. For the third time,
Bruce and Mary Sue Rosenberger will lead a group of older adults to
serve and sightsee on the Caribbean island, in a workcamp sponsored
by the Older Adult Ministry group of the Association of Brethren
Caregivers.

The Rosenbergers led 1998 and 1999 workcamps to Puerto Rico and are
planning to lead as many as 14 older adults in 2001. The workcamp
is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 1-12. Participants will work at
the Getsemane Church of the Brethren in San Juan, the first time a
workcamp has been conducted at this congregation. The group also
will include two to three days of sightseeing and visits to as many
of the Church of the Brethren congregations in Puerto Rico as
possible.

"Through workcamps such as this and our current intergenerational
workcamp scheduled for this June in Harrisburg, Pa., the Older
Adult Ministry is offering older adults opportunities to serve and
be in community with other denominational members," said Scott
Douglas, ABC staff representative for the Older Adult Ministry.

Bruce Rosenberger is pastor of the Greenville (Ohio) Church of the
Brethren. Mary Sue is a chaplain for The Brethren's Home Retirement
Community in Greenville and wrote a history of the Church of the
Brethren in Puerto Rico entitled "Light of the Spirit," which is
available from ABC. For further information about the workcamp,
contact Bruce Rosenberger at 937 947-0384 or e-mail at:
pastor@greenvillebrethren.org.

 14) In English, the term is "ministry." In Spanish, it's
"ministerio." The words aren't all that different, and neither are
the needs for leadership development and training opportunities in
the field. A recent cooperative effort helped to address this need
by making a professional growth session available to Hispanic
Brethren serving as or training to be church leaders.

It grew out of a desire by Elba Velez, director of the Instituto
Teologico de la Iglesia de los Hermanos (Theological Institute of
the Church of the Brethren) in Puerto Rico, to broaden the
orientation for new students there this year. Working with Harriet
Finney of the Brethren Academy and Carol Yeazell of the Area 3
(Southeast) Congregational Life Team, Velez grew the event to
include all interested pastoral leadership on the island.

Leaders from the Castaner, Yahuecas, Rio Prieto, and Vega Baja
congregations accepted the invitation and were joined in Castaner
by some Pennsylvania Brethren: Guillermo and Marisel Olivencio of
Iglesia de Discipulado in Harrisburg, Raul and Lidia Gonzalez of
the newly forming Nueva Amanecer church in Bethlehem, and Ruben
DeOleo of Alpha and Omega in Lancaster, plus three lay leaders.

DeOleo is serving as Atlantic Northeast District coordinator for
that group's entry into the Education For a Shared Ministry (EFSM)
program and worked with them on developing contracts for that
experience during their time in Castaner. Puerto Rican students
received an introduction to the Training in Ministry (TRiM) program
from Velez and Finney.

Other training sessions included a workshop on pastoral care led by
Irv Heishman of the Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren
and one on ethics in ministry relations led by Yeazell. Worship
played a key role as well, including a choir and accompanists from
Vega Baja. The pastors also preached in area churches on Sunday
morning during the April 14-17 event.

"This experience allowed persons who speak a common language to
come together to share their concerns, yes, even wounds," Yeazell
wrote, "even as they rejoiced in the movement of God's Spirit
bringing unity and a release from the isolation that they have so
often felt." She expressed a hope that similar experiences will be
available in the future.
 

Newsline is produced by Walt Wiltschek, manager of news services
for the Church of the Brethren General Board, 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.

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