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 From nobody@wfn.org  Fri Sep  1 00:00:00 2000
V: 847/742-5100   F:  847/742-6103
Date: Sept. 1, 2000
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of
silver." Prov. 25:11

NEWS
 1) The Dominican Republic's Brethren Mission House gets its first
BVS group.
 2) Clinton visit helps raise visibility of Nigeria, where Brethren
work continues.
 3) Virlina District takes a close look at the death penalty.
 4) An Emergency Disaster Fund grant goes to Eritrea.
 5) Camp Colorado marks 50 years of outdoor ministry.
 6) The church mourns the loss of former General Board member
Dottie Murray.
 7) An event in Indiana highlights the denomination's peace
witness.
 8) Brethren bits: BVS retreat, India, college news, and more.

PERSONNEL
 9) General Board director of ministry Allen Hansell announces his
retirement.

COMING EVENTS
10) Brethren Witness office gives Faith Expedition details for the
coming year.
11) BMC announces details for its biennial convention in October.

RESOURCES
12) Living Word Bulletins for 2001 feature Brethren artist, new
size option.
13) This year's Bethany Emphasis Sunday centers on "Blessing."
14) The 2000 World Mission Offering will focus on Honduras.

FEATURES
15) Mount Morris volunteers are a "Source" of inspiration.
16) An Iowa Brethren becomes a state fair queen.

******************************************************************
 
 1) The Brethren Mission House in Azua, Dominican Republic, is
ready to take flight as the first group of Brethren Volunteer
Service workers has arrived.

The new project is a joint effort of the General Board's Global
Mission Partnerships Office, BVS, the Dominican Brethren, and
Brethren Revival Fellowship, with a main focus of teaching English
as a second language. Earl and Barbara Eby headed there from
Pennsylvania earlier this summer to serve a three-year term as
"house parents," reporting to mission coordinators Jerry and Becky
Crouse. Now, five volunteers from the recent BVS/BRF unit will join
them.

Sally Jo Caracheo of Elgin, Ill., who has worked in the Dominican
Republic previously, will serve as teacher trainer/coordinator.
Daniel Greenawalt of Harrisonburg, Va.; Denise Negley of
Greencastle, Pa.; Kenda Negley of Mercersburg, Pa.; and Jewel
Sheeler of Newville, Va., will be English teachers.

The BVS/BRF unit, #240, held orientation in Roxbury, Pa., Aug.
14-23 with a theme of "Share God's Love through Acts of Service."
Preparation included two work days: at the Water Street Rescue
Mission in Lancaster, Pa., and the Washington (D.C.) City Church of
the Brethren soup kitchen.

Others in the unit were Gregory and Jill Keeney of Manheim, Pa.,
and Sherwin Shank of Hagerstown, Md., who will serve at the Good
Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn, Maine, and Becky Cater, who will
serve at the Lewiston (Maine) Area Mission School.

 2) US President Bill Clinton paid a visit to the west African
nation of Nigeria this past weekend, seeking to encourage the new
democratic government there as it has wrestled against economic
woes, violence, and other difficulties.

News reports said Clinton received a warm and enthusiastic
reception as he visited the capital of Abuja and a small village,
with Nigerians calling it a "historic" event. John and Janet Tubbs,
the General Board's mission coordinators in Nigeria through Global
Mission Partnerships, expressed a similarly positive view.

"Everybody in Nigeria, except for a few critics perhaps, is very
happy with Clinton's visit," John Tubbs said. "They are saying that
he has made the world aware of Nigeria. Now the world has a better
idea of Nigeria."

The Tubbs also recently sent a letter detailing some of their work
and travels in the country, including sharing the love feast,
learning about natural medicine in the region, John's preaching at
the Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (Church of the Brethren in
Nigeria) Annual Conference, and visits to EYN churches damaged
during Christian-Muslim violence in parts of Nigeria where Islamic
sharia law is being implemented. Grants from the General Board's
Emergency Disaster Fund are aiding rebuilding of those churches.

Patty and John Crumley, also serving through Global Mission
Partnerships by teaching at the Hillcrest School in Jos, shared
their young daughter JoAnne's quick adjustment to Nigerian culture,
their work teaching music at the school, and visits to EYN
congregations. 

 3) On Nov. 11, district conference delegates in Virlina District
will vote on a statement titled "A Call to Action on the Death
Penalty." The Virlina District Board adopted the resolution on
April 15. It opposes the use of the death penalty in Virginia and
North Carolina and the reintroduction of the death penalty in West
Virginia. Virginia currently has one of the highest capital
punishment rates in the nation, according to the paper. 

The resolution, while acknowledging the need for consequences for
those who commit violent crimes, calls on members to petition their
government representatives to re-evaluate the use of capital
punishment, consider a moratorium, and look at court reforms in
considering evidence.

Preparations on the issue are already occurring. In August, a copy
of this statement and a 1987 Annual Conference statement on the
subject were mailed to each congregation in the district. The
Virlina Peace Affairs Committee has encouraged each congregation to
pray about, study, and discuss this statement before November.

Bible studies on the death penalty have also been planned for four
locations, at Cloverdale Sept. 9, Christiansburg Sept. 30, Antioch
Oct. 15, and Mt. Hermon Oct. 28. Additional studies are being
organized for the Tidewater area of southeastern Virginia and for
North Carolina.

 4) A new grant from the General Board's Emergency Disaster Fund,
the 19th of 2000, is headed to the horn of Africa. The allocation
of $5,000 was approved this week for the Eritrean Development
Association following a request from Emergency Response/Service
Ministries.

The funds will be used to ship medicines and medical supplies to
Eritrea to aid persons who have been displaced due to the ongoing
war with neighboring Ethiopia.

 5) Camp Colorado, in Western Plains District, marks its 50th
anniversary this year. The then-Colorado District purchased the
land near Sedalia for $2,367 in 1950, and fund-raising for cabin
sites began the following spring.

The camp is observing the milestone in several ways in the coming
year. A 50th anniversary cookbook will feature recipes for large
groups and church groups and will be illustrated with pictures
through the years and today, and a 50th anniversary T-shirt will be
distributed next summer to staff and campers.

A 50th anniversary booklet will also be created and will be given
to all campers and renters, reviewing the history of the camp with
highlights of work of the trustees, volunteers, and donors over the
years, and some of the unusual history of the camp. One story is an
example of beating swords into plowshares--the construction of the
Bearclaw men's dormitory from 50-caliber shell ammunition boxes
from the Korean war.

A special-event highlight will be the rededication of the camp to
Christian service in a ceremony scheduled for a workcamp next May.
It will be directed by pastor Sarah Young of the Prince of Peace
Church of the Brethren in Littleton, Colo.

Historical photos and information can be viewed at the camp's
website, http://www.cob-net.org/camp/colorado_fiftyears.htm.

 6) Dottie Murray, a former General Board member and Virlina
District moderator, died on Aug. 24. She was a member of the
Williamson Road Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, Va.

The mother of Brethren songwriter and Juniata College professor
Andrew Murray, she was also an author and worked actively for the
rights of developmentally disabled people.

 7) About 50 Brethren came together at the Bethany Theological
Seminary campus in Richmond, Ind., Aug. 19 for a day of looking at
the denomination's peace witness. The event, called "Making Peace
My Business," assembled alumni from five decades of Civilian Public
Service and Brethren Volunteer Service. Several youth from the area
also attended.

Dr. C.T. Vivian of Atlanta, who was active in the civil rights
movement and worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered a
keynote address on "Nonviolence in Our Past, Present, and Future."
He called on participants to reflect on the denomination's rich
heritage as a historic peace church and to do more to share those
values today, particularly related to racism.

Participants also viewed a 30-minute video on the Brethren
alternative-service experience prepared by Anna Peoples as a high
school project, learned about other resources, and heard from a
panel on Church of the Brethren peace programs. Panelists shared
information about the General Board's Brethren Witness office,
Brethren Volunteer Service, youth in Southern Ohio District, On
Earth Peace Assembly, and Christian Peacemaker Teams.

David Jehnsen of Southern Ohio District served as moderator for
this year's event, which organizers hope to continue as an annual
gathering.

 8) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *Nine current Brethren Volunteer Service workers and four staff
gathered Aug. 21-25 at Camp Emmaus (Mount Morris, Ill.) for a time
of relaxation, recreation, and reflection. The retreat is a time
midway through volunteers' year of service (another is held in late
winter) when they can share joys, frustrations, and stories about
their BVS time. Sessions on life after BVS, evaluations of the BVS
program and individual projects, and a slide show were included in
the programming of the week. There was also time for hiking around
the camp, volleyball, napping, swimming, and other activities.

 *Upcoming district conferences include South/Central Indiana at
Camp Mack in Milford Sept. 8-9, and Missouri/Arkansas at Windemere
Conference Center in Roach, Mo., Sept. 8-10. 

 *Disaster News Network is now reporting that at least two million
people are homeless in India following severe flooding, citing
information from Catholic Relief Services. Another group, Action by
Churches Together International, has estimated that at least four
million people have been affected in three Indian states and
several surrounding countries, including damage to crops,
livestock, and infrastructure. The Church of the Brethren General
Board's Emergency Disaster Fund has contributed $8,000 through
Church World Service.

 *The Church of the Brethren National Older Adult Conference,
sponsored by the Association of Brethren Caregivers, begins in less
than two weeks. More than 1,100 Brethren ages 50 and over are
expected to gather in Lake Junaluska, N.C., for the event.

 *Bridgewater (Va.) College will dedicate its new Carter Center for
Worship and Music on Sept. 24. The building, formerly the
Bridgewater Church of the Brethren before the congregation moved to
a new building nearby, will house the music department and the
offices for media/church relations and the college chaplain.
Bridgewater is also introducing two new majors--communication
studies and sports medicine--this fall.

 *Archbishop Desmond Tutu has returned to South Africa to fight his
battle with prostate cancer and resume private life after a
two-year teaching stint in the United States, according to Religion
News Service. The 68-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was the
public voice of opposition to apartheid during the 1980s, returned
to Cape Town Aug. 17 "to sleep" and recover from his November
cancer surgery. Tutu traveled extensively for speaking engagements
while in the US; he spoke at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College in March.

 *A survey of more than 40 participating religious groups called
Faith Communities Today, or FACT, is nearing completion after five
years of work. Data gathering from an extensive questionnaire has
concluded, and analysis now begins. A General Conference Mennonite
news release called it "the most extensive study of religious life
in the United States ever conducted." Preliminary responses
indicate increased overall adult participation and high youth
participation.

 9) Allen Hansell has announced his retirement as director of
ministry for the Church of the Brethren General Board effective
Dec. 31, 2000.

He will actually continue serving full-time in the position through
Dec. 31, 2001, but will donate most of his salary for the year to
special ministerial leadership development projects. Hansell said
he wanted to give back to the church for all it had given him and
encourage other retirees to think about ways they can continue to
serve. He will continue to maintain an office in Elizabethtown, Pa.

Hansell began as director of ministry in October 1997, following
eight years as district executive minister in Atlantic Northeast
and 23 years in pastoral ministry. His work with the General Board
included a challenge for 500 new pastors, numerous resources
related to the 1999 Annual Conference paper on Ministerial
Leadership, visits with district ministry commissions, and an
expanded partnership with Bethany Theological Seminary for the
Brethren Academy.

 10) Dates for Central America/Caribbean Faith Expeditions for the
coming year have been announced by the General Board's Brethren
Witness office. The trips invite Brethren to grow in their faith
while learning about peace, justice, and environmental realities
around the world.

*An Oct. 17-30 trip will take participants to Nicaragua, with a
focus on building relationships and learning about globalization.
Sue Wagner Fields, globalization specialist for the Brethren
Witness office, will be the leader.

*A first-ever women's delegation will visit Honduras from Oct.
26-Nov. 3. Participants will live in rural communities, learn about
challenges facing Honduran women, and visit Global Food Crisis Fund
projects. Leader: Wendy Metzger of Silver Lake, Ind.

*Jan. 8-18 will find 15 Brethren travelling to Belize and Guatemala
for an environmentally-related trip. Leadership will be provided by
former Brethren Volunteer Service workers Samantha Morris and
Robert Stiles.

*Jerry and Becky Crouse of the General Board's Global Mission
Partnerships staff will host a learning tour to the Dominican
Republic and Haiti May 7-17. Focus will be on social justice issues
facing Christians and others in these Caribbean nations.

*A Guatemala delegation will be led by Tom Benevento of the Global
Mission Partnerships office June 13-22. This experience will have
an environmental education focus, but will also deal with social
justice concerns and visit Brethren-supported development projects.

*Brethren will return to the southern coast of Honduras for the
third year in a row to live and work in a poor rural community.
Participants in the June 18-27 group will visit villages where
Global Food Crisis Fund grants have supported small livestock
projects for women's groups. Leader: Brethren Witness director
David Radcliff.

Requirements for all Faith Expeditions include a willingness to
grow in faith, respect for other cultures, openness for adventure,
and willingness to endure very basic living conditions. Approximate
cost is $200-$400 plus airfare. Special scholarships are available
for youth and young adults. Contact the Brethren Witness office for
more details, 800 323-8039, ext. 228.

 11) Ralph McFadden of Elgin, Ill., and Helen Wells Quintela of St.
Paul, Minn., will serve as keynote speakers at the Brethren/
Mennonite Council for Lesbian and Gay Concerns biennial convention,
Oct. 6-9 at the Radisson Inn in St. Paul.

McFadden, a past BMC president, and Quintela, pastor of St. Paul
Mennonite Fellowship, will help interpret the theme, "Weaving the
Circle Strong," with addresses at a Saturday general session and
Sunday worship, respectively. Other events during the convention
include workshops, a dinner, a dance, and a coffeehouse produced by
Jane Ramseyer Miller. 

Registration fees are based on each participant's income level. 
For more information, write BMC, Box 6300, Minneapolis, MN
55406-0300; or email BMCouncil@aol.com; or call 612 722-6906.

 
 12) The 2001 edition of the Living Word Bulletin Series will
feature the art of Brethren artist, minister, and Annual Conference
moderator-elect Paul Grout. The bulletin covers for Lent through
Easter feature eight images from Grout's "Stations of the
Resurrection" series. The images will walk congregations through
the final days of Jesus' earthly life, concluding with the risen
Jesus in the garden for Easter morning. Grout is also writing the
messages for the back cover of those bulletins.

New in 2001 will be the option to purchase bulletins in the larger
8.5x14-inch format, in addition to the standard 8.5x11-inch size.
The larger size will allow congregations to use a bigger typeface
in bulletins, making it easier for members to read and follow
along. The larger bulletins will feature the same cover images, and
will include a complementary color bar to the left of the image.

A brochure showing the images for 2001 is included in the October
"Source" mailing and has been shipped with the fall supply of
bulletins to participating churches. Living Word Bulletins are
available for order through Brethren Press, 800 441-3712 or
brethrenpress_gb@brethren.org.

 13) Churches across the denomination will celebrate Bethany
Theological Seminary Emphasis Sunday on Sept. 10. This year's theme
is "Blessing," with a scripture reference of Genesis 12:1-3.

"At Bethany, we are both the blessed and a community of blessing,"
says Marcia Shetler, Bethany's coordinator of church relations.
"The women and men sent by congregations to Bethany bless us with
their presence. When they go out from the seminary they bless the
church with their ministry."

Congregations, which provide more than 65 percent of Bethany's
Annual Fund contributions, received a variety of resource materials
to choose from, including Sunday School lesson plans, a children's
story, worship resources, and bulletin inserts. Seminary teaching
and administrative faculty created the resources.

For more information on Bethany Emphasis Sunday or resource
materials, call Shetler at 800 287-8822.

 14) Materials are now being sent to congregations for this year's
World Mission Offering, set for Oct. 8. The offering highlights a
different denominational mission effort each year, and this year
the focus is on Honduras.

A cover letter from General Board Global Mission Partnerships
director Merv Keeney accompanies an envelope flyer/insert called
"Walk With Me, Sister...Walk With Me, Brother," a reprint of a
special July Messenger section on Honduras, and a resource guide of
background information and ideas for worship, including stories and
a litany.

For more information, call the General Board Office of
Interpretation at 800 323-8039.

 15) Many people benefit from "Source" mailings, a packet of
resources and information that goes out from the General Board's
Office of Interpretation to Church of the Brethren congregations 10
times a year. Few, however, may know how much work goes into it.

After staff have assembled all the information to go into each
mailing, a group of volunteers from the Mount Morris (Ill.) Church
of the Brethren makes the hour-and-a-half trip to Elgin to collate
and stuff more than 1,400 envelopes for distribution. The Mount
Morris group has been supplying the labor for nearly 11 years
according to member Dwight Butterbaugh, who coordinates the effort.

Butterbaugh says he has a list he calls to gather the necessary
help, with five or six people usually coming each time. On one
recent trip, volunteer Velma Rowland even brought her daughter, who
was visiting from North Carolina, to help with the stuffing. The
daughter, Marlys Todd, said she had always heard her mother talk
about "stuffing the `Source' packets" and wanted to see what it was
like.

The commitment began when a member of the congregation heard about
some of the tasks that needed to be done at the General Offices and
said, "We could get some volunteers to do that," according to
Butterbaugh. The Mount Morris crew started doing a number of jobs
but eventually narrowed it down to the "Source" packets, which
takes four to five hours.

In the decade-plus of their involvement, Butterbaugh said the group
has only once had to cancel for bad weather, and even then they
rescheduled. They also typically bring along a trunkload of clothes
to donate to disaster relief. And after all this time, do they
still enjoy volunteering?

"I guess," Butterbaugh said with a chuckle, "or we wouldn't do it."

 16) As a little girl, Katie Greiman--a member of the South
Waterloo (Iowa) Church of the Brethren--enjoyed watching pageants
like Miss America and seeing the dazzling crowns awarded, wondering
what it would be like to wear one. She found out in August, when
she was crowned this year's Iowa State Fair Queen.

Greiman, who has an 80 percent hearing loss that requires hearing
aids in both ears, began the journey at the county level. She
received the Black Hawk County Fair Queen title in July, qualifying
her for the state event. A record 92 others were vying for the
state crown, so she didn't expect to have a good chance of
winning--though she hoped her participation would inspire others
with disabilities. When her name was called, it came as a shock to
her and her family.

"My mom was recording the pageant on video camera, and when I was
announced as the winner, my mom almost dropped the camera," Greiman
recalled. "When we watch the video of it, we get really dizzy,
because my mom was wiggling the camera so much in excitement at the
time I was being crowned!"

She said the support from her family and her church have been
tremendous, with a long line of people at South Waterloo waiting to
congratulate her the Sunday after the pageant. Despite all the
attention, though, the Iowa State University sophomore has kept
things in perspective. Before the pageants, Greiman's mother gave
her a wall hanging with the words of I Corinthians 9: "Everyone who
competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get
a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will
last forever."

"I have learned from (my church family) that it is not whether I
win or lose something," Greiman said. "The most important thing I
have learned is that God loves us and His Son, Jesus Christ, who
gives us eternal life. Nothing on earth can be greater than that."

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. Julie Hostetter, David Jehnsen, and Jean Clements
contributed to this report.

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.