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

[Church of the Brethren News Services]

Date:      June 16, 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) Colorado wildfires have impact on Brethren.
 2) OEPA's "Peace Place" bookstore will close Sept. 30.
 3) North and South Korea make a historic move toward peace.
 4) Twelve intern-mentor teams begin Ministry Summer Service.
 5) Most Brethren Benefit Trust funds show strong gains in 1999.
 6) This year’s Youth Peace Travel Team holds orientation.
 7) The Global Food Crisis Fund sends aid to Guatemala.
 8) Emergency Disaster Fund grant will aid drought victims in Asia.
 9) BVS Unit 239 gathers in New Windsor, Md., with 12 volunteers.
10) Brethren bits: Disaster auction, overseas workers, colleges,
camps, and more.

PERSONNEL
11) Nancy Klemm becomes associate editor for Brethren Press.

RESOURCES
12) A denominational brochure will highlight Annual Conference
agencies.
13) Two new resources address the calling of ministerial
leadership.
14) A new tool looks at youth and faith development.

COMING EVENTS
15) A June 21 interfaith worship service in Washington will lift up
nuclear disarmament.

FEATURES
16) Brethren volunteer Mark Sloan shares reflections from Sudan.

*Please note: An extra edition of Newsline will be sent June 23.

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

 1) The wildfires in Colorado have been much closer than news
reports for Brethren in the Rocky Mountain State. One of the fires
was burning only 10-12 miles west of Camp Colorado in Sedalia as of
Thursday, and another, near Loveland, was about 40 miles from the
Northern Colorado congregation in Windsor.

At Camp Colorado, staff and trustees have kept a close eye on the
situation all week, ready to evacuate a camp of junior high youth
if necessary. The Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren in
Littleton was prepared to provide shelter for the campers. In the
meantime, some activities were altered due to the smoke and
uncertainty from the fire.

One camp staff member said some ash fell at the camp Tuesday night,
but better weather conditions brought some respite Wednesday. Winds
and heat increased again Thursday, but rain was possible for the
weekend. More than 7,500 acres had been burnt in that southern fire
as of Thursday, with only about 10 percent contained, according to
Camp Colorado head trustee Lynn Clannin. 

To the north, meanwhile, there was no danger to the Northern
Colorado church or its members although flames and smoke from the
fires were visible in the distance from the town. Pastor Cheryl
Brumbaugh-Cayford serves as a volunteer chaplain for the local fire
department, which has helped in battling the wildfires, and said
the chaplains gathered on Wednesday to say prayers for all those
involved.

Church of the Brethren Emergency Response/Service Ministries said
it was ready to provide a Disaster Child Care team to support Camp
Colorado staff if evacuation became necessary. Meanwhile, the Mile
High Chapter of the American Red Cross in Denver requested
assistance with child care in the evacuation shelter at the high
school in Conifer, Colo.

Disaster Child Care regional volunteer coordinator Judy Gump, a
member of the Prince of Peace church, assessed the situation this
week and set up child care. Other volunteers, including several
Brethren, have come in to aid in managing and supporting the
project. Needs were expected to continue into next week.

 2) On Earth Peace Assembly has announced the closing of the Peace
Place Bookstore and Resource Center, its non-profit retail
operation at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., as of
Sept. 30. A release cited overall low sales volume and the highly
competitive religious book and resource market as reasons for the
decision.

The core mission of the Peace Place will be preserved, however,
through a new initiative called the "Peace Basket," offering peace
resources to congregations and other groups on a lending basis. It
will debut at Annual Conference. A "School Peace Basket" will offer
similar resources but emphasizing those appropriate for a school
setting.

OEPA staff also said that they will honor exisiting commitments to
take Peace Place books and resources on the road at Annual
Conference and the National Older Adult Conference.

OEPA board chair Dale Brown said the decision is part of a
continuing, major strategic planning process by the staff and board
members, seeking to clarify OEPA's unique contributions to and role
in the denomination. He also said that the OEPA offices will remain
in New Windsor, at least until the envisioning process is
completed.

 3) Moves toward peace on the Korean peninsula have brought new
hope for that part of the world. South Korean President Kim Dae
Jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il met this week in Pyongyang
and vowed an end to the long-running conflicts between the two
nations split by the 38th parallel, with promises to work toward
reunification.

The Church of the Brethren has had mission work in South Korea in
the past and has been active in famine relief in North Korea
through the Global Food Crisis Fund, with a shipment of dairy goats
slated for late this summer.

"This is a remarkable turn of events in one of the most tenacious
and explosive situations in the world," said Brethren Witness
director David Radcliff, who administers the fund. 

Radcliff said Church of the Brethren food relief to North Korea has
exceeded $500,000, and that -- along with delegations to the
country -- have been a way of showing the reclusive nation another
"face" of the outside world.

 4) Some people ask what people in ministry do all week. Twelve
Church of the Brethren college students are spending nine weeks
this summer experiencing it for themselves.

Through the Ministry Summer Service program, now in its fifth
summer, young adults who are considering careers in ministry are
paired with mentors for an internship experience. Eleven of this
year's group will be serving in congregations, from Delaware to
California, and one is serving in the communications office of
Brethren Press. They will be learning, asking questions, and trying
many of the activities themselves.

The program is a joint effort of the General Board's Youth/Young
Adult and Ministry offices and Bethany Theological Seminary in
Richmond, Ind., where the orientation week was held June 2-9.
There, interns learned about leadership, church polity, discerning
a call, and more, hearing from a variety of guest speakers. They
also took and looked at personality tests, had Bible study, toured
the Bethany campus, and took turns leading worship. Mentors joined
the interns for the final two and a half days.

Former ministry consultant Bob Faus served as volunteer coordinator
for the week, with Chris Douglas of the Youth/Young Adult Office,
Allen Hansell of the Ministry Office, and numerous Bethany staff
members providing additional leadership. Powerful moments included
having mentors and leaders sharing the stories of their own call to
ministry and a closing worship that included anointing and
commissioning.

"You had choices this summer," Hansell said to the interns. "You
could have done any number of things, but you chose to be here, and
the church thanks you for that. ... It gives me tremendous hope for
the future. The church is blessed by having you."

Former pastor and Bethany teacher Earle Fike, one of the guest
speakers, issued a challenge and encouragement as the group went
out to serve through mid-August: "Will you be a changed person by
the end of this summer? You bet you will be!" he said. "That's what
God expects when we answer a call." 

 5) Common stock investments managed by the Church of the Brethren
Benefit Trust concluded 1999 with a 19.1 percent gain, capping off
a strong decade.

During the 1990s, the continuous expansion of the US economy led to
unprecedented growth in US investments. This, combined with careful
management and planning, meant strong returns for members of the
Brethren Pension Plan and the Brethren Foundation, particularly for
those whose asset allocations have included common stocks. 

For the 1990s, the compounded growth of the Brethren Pension Plan's
Common Stock Fund was 344 percent. Its Balanced Fund, which
includes a mixture of stocks and bonds, yielded 219 percent. The
Short Term Fund, which includes fixed investments that mature in
two years or less, increased 48 percent.

For 1999, the Common Stock, Balanced, and Short Term funds
increased 19.1 percent, 11.3 percent, and 5.3 percent,
respectively. The Bond Fund, which became available to Pension Plan
members in mid-1999, posted a growth of .2 percent.

Returns for church agencies that have their assets managed by the
Brethren Foundation experienced similar returns. The Foundation's
long-time Domestic Stock Fund posted a compounded growth in the
1990s of 386 percent. Decade totals for the Balanced Fund, Short
Term Fund, and Bond Fund were 243 percent, 60 percent, and 84
percent, respectively. Two other funds launched for Foundation
clients in 1998, a Domestic Stock Index Fund and an International
Index Fund, have lifetime compounded growth of 32 percent and 35
percent.

 6) The 2000 Youth Peace Travel Team held orientation this week at
Camp Swatara in Bethel, Pa., and this weekend begins a summer of
service, peace education, and other activities. The team of five
will spend eight weeks at six Church of the Brethren camps plus
Annual Conference in Kansas City, Mo., where they will take part in
several programs.

Camps on this year's tour are: Swatara and Eder in Pennsylvania,
Shepherd's Spring in Maryland, Brethren Woods and Bethel in
Virginia, and Brethren Heights in Michigan. Team members are Myra
Martin-Adkins, Daniel Royer, Meghan Sheller, Peter Dobberstein, and
Marshall Camden.

Activities during the orientation week included worship, preparing
and videotaping workshops, discussion of peace resources,
leadership styles, and a commissioning service. The Outdoor
Ministries Association, On Earth Peace Assembly, and the General
Board's Youth/Young Adult and Brethren Witness offices co-sponsor
the program.

 
 7) Two new allocations from the Global Food Crisis Fund, the fifth
and sixth of the year, will send aid to the Central American nation
of Guatemala.

A grant of $10,000 will to go for the building of wood-conserving
stoves and water-storing cisterns in a project administered by the
Roman Catholic diocese of Huehuetanango. Brethren Volunteer Service
worker Robert Stiles works closely with the project. 

"It was clear that there are a lot of efforts by a lot of groups to
assist people, but not all the efforts were helpful in meeting
people's needs," said Mary Jane Button-Harrison of the Ivester
church (Grundy Center, Iowa), who recently returned from a Faith
Expedition to Guatemala. "It was evident, however, that the stove
project has made a big difference. Such a seemingly small
investment on our part has changed the lives of many people
dramatically."

A grant for $5,000 will support a private school in Parramos that
serves several hundred poor children. The school is currently
embarking on a project to begin a food forest -- a layered forest
that produces food for consumption and for the market -- as a way
of supporting itself. Children will tend the plot as part of the
curriculum, including handling the marketing of the crops. The
grant will help pay teachers' salaries until the forest becomes
productive in two to three years.

 8) An allocation of $25,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund, the
14th of this year, will go toward an appeal from Church World
Service to respond to the emergency situation in Afghanistan and
Pakistan due to the worst drought since 1971.

The funds will combine with a larger appeal to provide three months
of food packages, water, and livestock fodder to approximately
4,500 families in the two central Asian countries.

 9) Brethren Volunteer Service Unit 239 is meeting for orientation
this month at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. The
group of 12 volunteers gathered June 11 and will be together until
July 1, when they will head out to assignments.

Eight of the volunteers are from Church of the Brethren
congregations. They are Luke Croushorn, Nokesville (Va.); Sue
Markey, Codorus (Loganville, Pa.); Marc Rittle, Highland Avenue
(Elgin, Ill.); Andrew Sampson,  Eagle Creek (Forest, Ohio); Brett
and Mandy Shull, Manchester (North Manchester, Ind.); Carrie
Weller, Virden (Ill.); and Hope Woodard, Oak Grove (Roanoke, Va.).
Also in the group is a man from Berlin, Germany, and a 76-year-old
Japanese man who was living in Hiroshima during World War II and
the atomic bomb.

During orientation the group will learn about and discuss topics
including global economics, resolving conflict, restorative
justice, honoring diversity, Christian discipleship, and
nonviolence. They will participate in work projects in the local
community, at the Brethren Service Center, and in Baltimore -- both
at soup kitchens and a day with Habitat for Humanity.  

A trip will be taken to State College, Pa., to visit pastor Glenn
Mitchell of the Univerisity Baptist & Brethren congregation and to
spend time at CentrePeace, discussing issues of justice and freedom
with local prison inmates. A two-night visit will also be made to
I Can, Inc., a men's homeless shelter in Baltimore, where
volunteers will spend time visiting with and hearing stories from
the guests while gaining a broader picture of the issues of
homelessness.

 10) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *Nearly $30,000 from a livestock auction, about $57,000 from a
quilt auction, plus additional income from meals, a children’s
silent auction, and a Rubbermaid products sale gave the Shenandoah
District Disaster Response Auction another successful showing at
the annual spring event, helping it top $1 million in total
proceeds in its eight years of existence.

 *Gerald and Eleanor Roller of Roanoke, Va., began May 15 as Rural
Health Program consultants for the Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria,
working through the General Board's Global Mission Partnerships
office. Gerald is a medical doctor and Eleanor a nurse.

 *Margaret Mount of Alamo, Tex., departed in early June for
Guatemala, where she will soon begin a term as an accompanier in
the community of Nueva Union Maya. Her role there will be to
provide support for the community as they re-establish themselves
following the nation's 35-year civil war. As with previous
accompaniers, Margaret is supported by gifts from individuals and
congregations; contact the Brethren Witness office for more
information.

 *Deacons wishing to subscribe to the new ABC Deacon Listserv who
use American Online as their Internet service provider may
experience difficulties subscribing to the service. ABC has found
another method for AOL users to subscribe to the service: Send an
email to: LISTSERV@listserv.emountain.net with the body of the
message saying SUBSCRIBE deacons Firstname Lastname (i.e. SUBSCRIBE
deacons John Kline). Leave the subject line blank.

 *Manchester College (North Manchester, Ind.) hosted a Conflict
Transformation Institute June 3-7. The event was co-sponsored by
the six Church of the Brethren colleges and Bethany Theological
Seminary. Teams of teacher education faculty, security staff, chief
student affairs officers, and chief academic officers learned about
conflict resolution and mediation skills through a variety of
speakers, sessions, and workshops.

 *Five staff members from three Brethren camps received conflict
resolution training at a recent event co-sponsored by On Earth
Peace Assembly and Outdoor Ministries Association. Activites
included an intense 25-hour mediation course; games, crafts, and
stories that make conflict resolution "camper-friendly"; and
devotions and Bible study on peacemaking.

 *The Area 1 (Northeast) "Leadership 2000" event scheduled for June
8-10 was cancelled due to low registrations. Organizers say they
hope to instead sponsor a one-day event in 2001 dealing with
ministerial leadership issues.

 *The Brethren Historical Library and Archives in Elgin, Ill., is
seeking an intern for a one-year period beginning Jan. 1. The
position includes housing, a monthly stipend, and insurance.
Applications are due by Oct. 15. For more information, call 800
323-8039 x259 or e-mail eholderread_gb@brethren.org.

 *All six members of a National Council of Churches delegation that
visited Puerto Rico June 1-3 carried a request from Puerto Rico's
church leaders to the White House this week for a meeting with
President Clinton about Vieques. Ongoing protests have been held
over a US Navy base and testing on the island. The delegation met
with three White House staff members on Monday.

 *Recent Bridgewater (Va.) College graduates Luke Croushorn of
Nokesville, Va., and Christopher Zepp of Hagerstown, Md. -- both
members of the Church of the Brethren -- received this year's
Department of Philosophy and Religion awards. Croushorn earned the
Outstanding Senior Award in Philosophy, and Zepp received the
American Bible Society Scholarly Achievement Award.

 11) Nancy Klemm, who has been serving as copy editor for Brethren
Press, became associate editor, a salaried position, as of June 5.

Klemm began her employment with the Church of the Brethren General
Board in 1985. She began as secretary for the People of the
Covenant program and later worked with the Hymnal project and as an
editorial assistant.

 12) "Many Gifts, One Spirit" is the theme of new brochure
describing the five denominational agencies that report to Annual
Conference. This brochure, which will be introduced at Annual
Conference in July, describes the mission and activities of the
Annual Conference, Association of Brethren Caregivers, Bethany
Theological Seminary, Church of the Brethren Benefit Trust, Church
of the Brethren General Board, and On Earth Peace Assembly.

The brochure was created cooperatively by the five agencies in an
effort to clarify the organizational structure of the Church of the
Brethren. Copies of the brochure will also be sent to district
conferences as supplies allow. For information about this brochure,
contact Mary Dulabaum at mdulabaum_abc@brethren.org.

 13) Two new resources provide thoughts, tools, and information
related to the calling of ministerial leadership in the Church of
the Brethren.

One is the current installment of the "In Our Midst" series of
congregational resources from the Church of the Brethren General
Board, this one coordinated by the Ministry Office and including 10
writers. The packet, titled "Ministerial Leadership," includes
theological background, articles on ministry being open equally to
men and women and on calling leaders, a General Board resolution on
women in ministry, and the 1999 Annual Conference statement on
ministerial leadership, with Biblical texts to explore and study
questions throughout. It was mailed to congregations earlier this
month.

The other, produced last month, is a small folder called
"Considering Leadership," a cooperative publication of the General
Board's Ministry Office, Bethany Theological Seminary, and the
Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership. It gives a quick
synopsis of ministry in the Church of the Brethren and its Biblical
roots, details the role of congregations and districts in the
calling process, explains opportunities available through Bethany
and the Academy, and shares personal stories. Several flyers tucked
in the back provide possible action steps.

 14) A new tool from the Youth/Young Adult Ministry Office of the
General Board, via the Junior High Task Force, gives congregations
a method to gauge how junior high youth in their church are
learning and growing in their faith

Called "My Life of Faith," the tool is offered in a survey format
that breaks down church experience into several settings, such as
worship and family life. It is designed to identify areas churches
can celebrate for doing well and those they may want to address.
Resources for follow-up are also suggested.

Copies were sent out to the junior high advisor mailing list in the
past month. For additional information or copies, call the
Youth/Young Adult Office at 800 323-8039.

 15) Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders will join with retired
military officials in an interfaith worship service June 21 at the
National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., to pray for strength to
stand by their beliefs about the "unjustifiable presence" of
nuclear weapons in the world.

Church of the Brethren General Board executive director Judy Mills
Reimer is one of more than 20 religious leaders to endorse a joint
statement by religious leaders and military professionals calling
for steps toward nuclear disarmament. This document will be
presented to the media at a press conference prior to the service.

The final step of the initiative is an educational outreach program
to increase awareness in congregations nationwide. Materials,
provided free-of-charge, will be available in July. Call the
Washington Office at 202 546-3202 for more information.

 16) Mark Sloan, working with the New Sudan Council of Churches
(NSCC) through the General Board's Office of Global Mission
Partnerships, was among those attending a recent peace conference
in Sudan, called the Nilotic East Bank Peace and Reconciliation
Conference. Here, he shares some of his reflections:

"Southern Sudan has so many problems that it's sometimes hard to
know where to begin. It's difficult to imagine what shape a country
is in that has been in civil war for most of its independence since
1956. But once you talk with the people and see some of the country
for yourself, it's quite shocking. For instance, there is an entire
generation coming into adulthood now that does not know what it is
like to live in peace. The latest war has been going on since 1983.

During my time at the conference, I was able to meet many people,
some of whom were from areas near the conference site, others who
traveled great distances to be there. I was struck at the beauty of
the area and found it odd that it was so uninhabited. When I
commented on this to Bishop Nathaniel Garang, one of the Executive
Committee members of NSCC and Bishop of Bor Diocese, he told me
that at one time the area was fairly populated. When the war came
through that area in the early '90s, everything was destroyed.
People were displaced, their homes destroyed, and over a million
head of cattle killed.

One young man I met was around 24 years old. His name was Mike, and
he was extremely articulate and intelligent -- one of the young
people who have known nothing but war. As we talked I was once
again reminded that I couldn't ask the questions of him that I
would normally ask a person his age. Questions like Where did you
go to school? What did you study? What do you do for a living? It's
difficult to realize that someone with his potential has no means
to tap it and use it to better his life.

I learned that he would love to go to university, but if that's to
happen he would have to go to a neighboring country. With the
Sudanese economy basically destroyed, he has no means of earning
the money to afford such an education Indeed, there are no jobs,
no currency, no banks, no universities, and few teachers.

Being here in Kenya, I've met many people who ask me why I've
decided to work with NSCC. A few of them even engage me in great
discussions about what's happening in Sudan. One question I find
difficult to answer and one that I struggle with is what happens
when peace does come to Sudan. NSCC is currently putting huge
resources into easing tribal tensions. I think that this is an
important step that the churches in southern Sudan need to take.

But what happens, for instance, if the South should get a chance at
limited autonomy? Will the fighting end or will it become another
Somalia where ruthless war lords fight amongst each other? Can a
foundation be laid for sustainable development in southern Sudan or
will power and resources fall into the hands of a corrupt few as
has happened so often in other parts of Africa?

Fortunately, I continue to meet Sudanese who have the potential and
the desire to work for the good of all Sudanese, and that makes my
job much more rewarding. I came here because I felt called to use
my skills to assist NSCC with its mission. I admire the
organization for stressing peace and justice as a central role for
the church in this situation. And I'm happy that the Church of the
Brethren has made it a priority to stand and work with the people
of southern Sudan. If ever a country and a people were in need of
Christ's message of peace, it's here and now."

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.

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.