wfn.org | Church of the Brethren Newsline for March 16

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"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only." James 1:22a

NEWS
1) General Board approves Brazil mission, other actions at spring
meeting.
2) Disaster project directors' training results in "triple
blessing."
3) Global Food Crisis Fund makes five grants across the world.
4) Brethren in Ohio, Indiana attend seminar on worship.
5) The church mourns the loss of Jesse H. Ziegler.
6) Delegation to observe in Colombia includes BVS worker.
7) The Brethren Encyclopedia moves forward on its fourth volume.
8) Vieques protesters receive good news in US announcement. 
9) Brethren bits: Spanish translators, hymnal supplement, more.

PERSONNEL
10) Pete and Martha Roudebush are called as Southeastern District
executives.

 1) With tears in his eyes and a mix of excitement and trepidation
in his heart, Brazilian pastor/teacher Marcos Inhauser savored a
moment he had dreamed of for years. The Church of the Brethren
General Board, during its spring meeting, had just affirmed a major
new church planting mission effort in his home country.

Inhauser, who graduated from Bethany Theological Seminary after
coming into contact with the denomination in the mid-1980s, said he
expected a 30-minute debate before a "yea" or "nay" vote on the
proposal. Instead, board chair Mary Jo Flory-Steury led the board
through a lengthy, intentional discernment process of prayer and
reflection that eventually led to enthusiastic and unanimous
approval. "It convinces me of the seriousness of this church in
doing the work of God," Inhauser said following the vote.

The plan calls for "pairing a few key leaders and volunteers from
the United States with indigenous church leadership already in
Brazil." That indigenous leadership includes Inhauser, who said he
sees himself in a teacher/mentor role, and several people he has
trained during his work as a seminary director in Brazil. The
General Board's Global Mission Partnerships office will coordinate
the venture.

Global Mission Partnerships director Merv Keeney called the
proposal "a great joy" while cautioning the board of two
assumptions in bringing it: a long-term commitment, anticipating a
scope of at least 25 years; and the need for new money to fund the
project, "enlarging the pie" of donors willing to provide support.
Some growing cities near Sao Paulo have been identified as possible
starting points. The initial site is expected to become quickly
self-supporting, allowing for a goal of a second plant within five
years.

Appropriate to the meetings' theme of "The Tree of Life" from
Genesis and Revelation, the seed planted in Brazil was just one of
numerous actions of the General Board and its Executive Committee
during the March 8-13 meetings, held at the New Windsor (Md.)
Conference Center of the Brethren Service Center.

The board also: 
*Unanimously approved a proposal by the New Church Development
Advisory Committee to establish an ongoing New Church Development
Committee, to be named by the director of Congregational Life
Ministries. The committee will work at a training/assessment
program for church planters, mentoring models, establishing
guidelines for grants, and other tasks. Its work will be funded by
the Emerging Global Mission Fund.

*Approved with modifications a Committee on Interchurch Relations
request to answer a plea for forgiveness by Brethren Church
(Ashland) executive director Emanuel "Buzz" Sandberg made at the
2000 Annual Conference ecumenical luncheon, reflecting on the
divisions in the "Brethren family." The resolution, which says the
Church of the Brethren "also repents of the stubbornness that has
caused brokenness" between the denominations, was accepted as a
General Board resolution. General Board executive director Judy
Mills Reimer was empowered to take that response to Sandberg; the
resolution will be presented to the 2001 Annual Conference as a
study document, for at least one year of discussion and
conversation.

*Unanimously approved a resolution on global warming, calling on
individuals, congregations, camps, and other church facilities to
reduce reliance on fossil fuels and take other steps to live
harmoniously with God's creation. It also calls on General Board
staff to make the issue a priority, and to provide models and
educational resources for the denomination.

*Unanimously approved a revised set of financial policies and new
bylaws for the General Board.

*Unanimously approved about $220,000 in capital improvements for
the Brethren Service Center, mainly to replace deteriorating
windows in most of the campus' buildings with maintenance-free
fiberglass windows.

*Heard an update from the committee studying a request for
recognition by a Brethren group in India that separated from the
Church of North India citing theological differences. The committee
has decided to put any decisions on hold until new talks between
the groups, with Ministry of Reconciliation's Bob Gross as
facilitator, can take place. "There are passionate, committed
Christians on both sides of this issue," committee member Christy
Waltersdorff said, expressing hopes that the groups can work out
their differences.

*Applauded a strong financial report that showed the General
Programs budget and every self-funding unit "in the black" for 2000
and positive numbers in giving to the General Board.

*Held a 150th birthday party banquet for Messenger with reflections
from the past century and half, and shared ideas for the magazine's
future.

*Participated in numerous worship and devotional times, including
two main services led by Russ Matteson and David R. Miller,
examining the hope of the future and the joy of the present amid
anointing and communion.

*Heard ministry reports from nearly 20 General Board programs and
updates from numerous partner agencies and the American Baptist
Churches USA.

*Engaged in two educational forums, one on socially responsible
investing led by Tim Smith of Walden Asset Management, and one on
race awareness led by members of Mennonite Central Committee's
Damascus Road team.

In addition, the board's Executive Committee:
*Appointed V. Jane Davis of Missouri to the Brethren Historical
Committee, for a four-year term beginning July 1, 2001.

*Completed the three-year review and evaluation of General Board
executive director Judy Mills Reimer, giving many words of
appreciation for her strengths and setting some focus areas for the
coming year.

The General Board next meets June 29-30 in Baltimore, prior to
Annual Conference.

2) The General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries
office wanted a place to do hands-on training for its disaster
project directors. Atlantic Southeast District's Camp Ithiel needed
help with some construction projects. They came together in what
ER/SM staff member Glenn Kinsel called a "triple blessing" for the
ER/SM workers, the camp, and the district.

About 50 participants from literally every corner of the country
gathered at the camp near Orlando, Fla., Feb. 26-March 3. They
worked on the camp's new dining hall, a project long stalled by a
lack of finances, as well as other projects around the camp and a
Habitat for Humanity house in downtown Orlando. Educational
sessions on disaster-related topics were held each evening, while
mealtimes featured menus that would be served at disaster sites.

Participant Ed Bryan of Decatur, Ind., said the chance to remain
active and to fellowship with other disaster project directors were
both drawing cards, "but I really think it's the service part
especially. As Brethren, that's what we are."

Stalled permits prevented work on some parts of the dining hall,
but significant progress occurred during the week under the
guidance of former industrial arts teacher Bob Pittman. When
members from the district gathered at the camp for a celebration
day that weekend, Camp Ithiel board chair John Polson said the
excitement was tangible.

"They came at the right time with the right people, and they gave
us a major push," Polson says of the ER/SM group. "People from all
over the district saw the results of their work, and it gave a real
impetus to our fund-raising. It was another of God's miracles at
work."

ER/SM manager Stan Noffsinger says feedback from participants has
been equally good. The group didn't want to leave after a closing
worship service, spontaneously starting hymns as they sat together.
Several said they'd come back to help finish the dining hall once
all the permits were in place.

"They found a new depth in being a core of people that leads
others," Noffsinger says. "There was a real sense of caring for
what happens to our church family across the denomination. ... In
connecting with those we were serving, we ourselves were served by
the fruits of God's Spirit. That was awesome for us."

Noffsinger says the group is likely to try such a format again if
the opportunity presents itself.

3) It has been a busy stretch for the General Board's Global Food
Crisis Fund, with five grants going out in the span of a few weeks.

First, an allocation of $50,000 was approved for a micro-credit
project in the Dominican Republic. The funds will be used for small
loans to assist people in starting small businesses, as a means of
improving their standard of living. The project will be supervised
by General Board mission coordinators in the Caribbean nation.

Next, a grant of $12,500 was made to LaCasa, Inc. of Goshen, Ind.
Those funds will be used to provide financial management, home
ownership, and leadership development training to poor families in
the Goshen area.

Then the attention turned to Asia, with an allocation of $10,000 to
Mercy Corps International for food and material relief to Inner
Mongolia. Funds will be used to provide food supplies, clothing,
blankets, health kits, and medicine.

The fourth grant went to Africa, with $5,250 going to the Sudan
Council of Churches. The funds will make possible an assessment
visit to western Sudan where drought has left thousands at risk of
starvation.

Finally, the General Board Executive Committee, during its spring
meeting at the New Windsor (Md.) Conference Center, approved a
$60,000 allocation for Honduras. The grant will help the Christian
Commission for Development, a Brethren partner in the Central
American nation, in a project for women's groups there to purchase
pigs and chickens to raise for food and profit. 

4) Church members from Southern Ohio and South/Central Indiana
districts filled the Bethany Theological Seminary chapel in
Richmond, Ind., March 3 for a worship seminar led by Dick
Shreckhise, minister of worship at Lancaster (Pa.) Church of the
Brethren.

The event was the second in a series sponsored by the General
Board's Area 2 (Midwest) Congregational Life Team and coordinated
by Duane Grady. A previous seminar was held in Northern Ohio
District.

The seminar explored a variety of worship topics from music styles
to contemporary services. Participants asked many questions
specific to their congregation's experience or regarding interest
in experimenting with worship styles. About 90 people attended.

5) Former Bethany Theological Seminary professor Jesse H. Ziegler
died March 7 in Dayton, Ohio, at the age of 88. Ziegler received
his B.D. degree from Bethany in 1944 and served as a member of the
seminary faculty from 1941-1958, teaching psychology and Christian
education.

Following his tenure at Bethany, Ziegler joined the Association of
Theological Schools as associate director and became its first
full-time executive director in 1966. An ordained minister of the
Church of the Brethren, he also had served churches in Hyattsville
and Gaithersburg, Md.

6) On March 13, a delegation of 100 US citizens, including
Brethren Volunteer Service worker Tracy Stoddart, departed for
Colombia to witness effects of US policy in the South American
country. The group planned to travel to the capital of Bogota and
into the heart of the conflict zone in the southern part of the
country. 

The delegation was organized by the human rights organization
Witness for Peace, which resolved to send the observers after the
US Congress voted to provide $1.3 billion for "Plan Colombia," a
large-scale U.S. military intervention in the country. Witness for
Peace has joined with other human rights groups in expressing
concern that most of the aid will go to the Colombian army, which
has been repeatedly linked to brutal paramilitary groups and
accused of serious human rights violations.

The National Council of Churches Executive Board recently went on
record against Plan Colombia, issuing a statement questioning its
effectiveness in the "war on drugs" and asserting that it is
fueling violence and human rights abuses in Colombia. It suggests
instead that the US should allocate the money for development
assistance to Colombia and support for a negotiated peace process,
and for drug treatment and prevention programs in the US.

The delegation will observe the effects of the policy and bring
those observations back to the United States. The group represents
a broad spectrum of U.S. society, including college students and
retirees, pastors, lawyers, journalists, and other people from over
30 states. Stoddart is serving in the Brethren Volunteer Service
office in Elgin, Ill.

7) Brethren Encyclopedia Inc. has employed Kate Mertes of
Alexandria, Va., to produce the index for volumes 1-4 of The
Brethren Encyclopedia. The index will be published in the new
Volume 4.

Carl Bowman, professor of sociology at Bridgewater (Va.) College,
and Donald Durnbaugh, archivist at Juniata College (Huntingdon,
Pa.) are serving as co-editors for Volume 4. Durnbaugh served as
editor of the first three volumes, published in 1983-84.

The new volume will include one section updating Brethren
information since 1980, and another providing corrections and
additions to volumes 1-3. The Brethren Encyclopedia board of
directors is conducting a financial campaign to support the Volume
4 project and has raised $62,000 of the goal of $100,000 to date.

8) Groups protesting the US Navy's bombing exercises on the Puerto
Rican island of Vieques received some good news earlier this month
as the US government announced it was suspending the exercises
indefinitely.

The National Council of Churches, which sent a delegation to
Vieques last summer, called the announcement by US Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "an important step." Bob Edgar, general
secretary of the NCC, says "We fervently hope this will be more
than a temporary reprieve." Thousands of Puerto Ricans live in an
area between testing grounds.

New bombing tests had been scheduled to start this month. Christian
Peacemaker Teams, which has been actively involved in Vieques, had
planned an emergency delegation to the island until the new
announcement was made. 

9) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
*Interpreters to translate from English to Spanish are needed for
business sessions, insight sessions, and worship events at the
Annual Conference in Baltimore. Anyone planning to attend and
willing to assist for one or more events should contact Carol L.
Yeazell at 407-523-0045, or e-mail cyeazell_gb@brethren.org; or,
contact Nadine Monn in the Global Mission Partnerships office at
800-323-8039, ext. 466, or nmonn_gb@brethren.org. A schedule will
be arranged, and notifications of the time slots assigned will be
given prior to Conference.

*Brethren Press so far has sold 2,800 copies of the new Hymnal
supplement, containing pieces for Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
Titles include "I come to the garden alone," "He is Lord," and
"Shadows from the cross." Cost is $1.50 for a single copy; $1 for
anyone who subscribes to the full supplement series. The second
installment, on "Praising and Adoring," is scheduled for a May
release. An insight session on the supplements will be offered at
this year's Annual Conference in Baltimore.

*Some preliminary speakers and performers for National Youth
Conference 2002 have already been announced by the General Board's
Youth/Young Adult Ministries office. They include Tony Campolo,
Mennonite duo Ted & Lee, and musician Ken Medema.

*Nominees for this year's Committee on Interchurch Relations
ecumenical award, to be given to a congregation reaching out to
others from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, are as
follows: Hatfield (Pa.), Roanoke (Va.) First, Elkhart (Ind.)
Valley, Bella Vista (Los Angeles); Imperial Heights (Los Angeles),
Beacon Heights (Fort Wayne, Ind.), and Mount Pleasant (North
Canton, Ohio). The winner will be announced at Annual Conference.

*Gene Wile is serving as disaster project director for Emergency
Response/Service Ministries' Hurricane Floyd relief project in
North Carolina in March. J. Marlin Kreider and Elvin Wagner are
assisting as directors-in-training.

*Seventeen Bridgewater (Va.) College students spent their spring
break volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity housing project in
Flint River, Ga.

*Brethren Benefit Trust pension plan and employee financial
services director Don Fecher recently presented a workshop on
clergy tax preparation for Bethany Theological Seminary students
and area pastors in Richmond, Ind.

*People from most US states and nearly 100 countries were expected
in Washington, D.C., March 5-11 for a major event seeking to ban
landmines. The US and International campaigns to ban landmines were
both planning conferences during the event. An interfaith prayer
service, a news conference, and a public witness were also planned.

*The Washington (D.C.) City Church of the Brethren received
$12,922 toward its soup kitchen project for participating in the
2000 Fannie Mae 5K Walkathon, with many Brethren joining the effort
as walkers or sponsors. The check was presented on Feb. 21.

*Two people with Brethren connections recently appeared on ABC's
"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Former Bethany Theological
Seminary adjunct faculty member Mitch Brown won $125,000. Dave
Schmidt, husband of Northern Plains District treasurer Karen
Schmidt, was also a contestant in February.

*D. Duane Oswald of Fresno, Calif., has been nominated
moderator-elect of Mennonite Church USA.

10) Pete and Martha Roudebush have been called as district
executives for the Southeastern District effective April 1.

The Roudebushes will each serve one-fourth time as district
executives; in addition, Martha will serve as the district
administrative assistant. Pete is currently serving as pastor of
Trinity Church of the Brethren in Kingsport, Tenn., where he will
continue on a three-fourths time basis. The new district office
will be located in their home in Kingsport.

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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT  SIZE=2>"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only." James 1:22a
<BR>
<BR>NEWS
<BR>1) General Board approves Brazil mission, other actions at spring
<BR>meeting.
<BR>2) Disaster project directors' training results in "triple
<BR>blessing."
<BR>3) Global Food Crisis Fund makes five grants across the world.
<BR>4) Brethren in Ohio, Indiana attend seminar on worship.
<BR>5) The church mourns the loss of Jesse H. Ziegler.
<BR>6) Delegation to observe in Colombia includes BVS worker.
<BR>7) The Brethren Encyclopedia moves forward on its fourth volume.
<BR>8) Vieques protesters receive good news in US announcement. 
<BR>9) Brethren bits: Spanish translators, hymnal supplement, more.
<BR>
<BR>PERSONNEL
<BR>10) Pete and Martha Roudebush are called as Southeastern District
<BR>executives.
<BR>
<BR> 1) With tears in his eyes and a mix of excitement and trepidation
<BR>in his heart, Brazilian pastor/teacher Marcos Inhauser savored a
<BR>moment he had dreamed of for years. The Church of the Brethren
<BR>General Board, during its spring meeting, had just affirmed a major
<BR>new church planting mission effort in his home country.
<BR>
<BR>Inhauser, who graduated from Bethany Theological Seminary after
<BR>coming into contact with the denomination in the mid-1980s, said he
<BR>expected a 30-minute debate before a "yea" or "nay" vote on the
<BR>proposal. Instead, board chair Mary Jo Flory-Steury led the board
<BR>through a lengthy, intentional discernment process of prayer and
<BR>reflection that eventually led to enthusiastic and unanimous
<BR>approval. "It convinces me of the seriousness of this church in
<BR>doing the work of God," Inhauser said following the vote.
<BR>
<BR>The plan calls for "pairing a few key leaders and volunteers from
<BR>the United States with indigenous church leadership already in
<BR>Brazil." That indigenous leadership includes Inhauser, who said he
<BR>sees himself in a teacher/mentor role, and several people he has
<BR>trained during his work as a seminary director in Brazil. The
<BR>General Board's Global Mission Partnerships office will coordinate
<BR>the venture.
<BR>
<BR>Global Mission Partnerships director Merv Keeney called the
<BR>proposal "a great joy" while cautioning the board of two
<BR>assumptions in bringing it: a long-term commitment, anticipating a
<BR>scope of at least 25 years; and the need for new money to fund the
<BR>project, "enlarging the pie" of donors willing to provide support.
<BR>Some growing cities near Sao Paulo have been identified as possible
<BR>starting points. The initial site is expected to become quickly
<BR>self-supporting, allowing for a goal of a second plant within five
<BR>years.
<BR>
<BR>Appropriate to the meetings' theme of "The Tree of Life" from
<BR>Genesis and Revelation, the seed planted in Brazil was just one of
<BR>numerous actions of the General Board and its Executive Committee
<BR>during the March 8-13 meetings, held at the New Windsor (Md.)
<BR>Conference Center of the Brethren Service Center.
<BR>
<BR>The board also: 
<BR>*Unanimously approved a proposal by the New Church Development
<BR>Advisory Committee to establish an ongoing New Church Development
<BR>Committee, to be named by the director of Congregational Life
<BR>Ministries. The committee will work at a training/assessment
<BR>program for church planters, mentoring models, establishing
<BR>guidelines for grants, and other tasks. Its work will be funded by
<BR>the Emerging Global Mission Fund.
<BR>
<BR>*Approved with modifications a Committee on Interchurch Relations
<BR>request to answer a plea for forgiveness by Brethren Church
<BR>(Ashland) executive director Emanuel "Buzz" Sandberg made at the
<BR>2000 Annual Conference ecumenical luncheon, reflecting on the
<BR>divisions in the "Brethren family." The resolution, which says the
<BR>Church of the Brethren "also repents of the stubbornness that has
<BR>caused brokenness" between the denominations, was accepted as a
<BR>General Board resolution. General Board executive director Judy
<BR>Mills Reimer was empowered to take that response to Sandberg; the
<BR>resolution will be presented to the 2001 Annual Conference as a
<BR>study document, for at least one year of discussion and
<BR>conversation.
<BR>
<BR>*Unanimously approved a resolution on global warming, calling on
<BR>individuals, congregations, camps, and other church facilities to
<BR>reduce reliance on fossil fuels and take other steps to live
<BR>harmoniously with God's creation. It also calls on General Board
<BR>staff to make the issue a priority, and to provide models and
<BR>educational resources for the denomination.
<BR>
<BR>*Unanimously approved a revised set of financial policies and new
<BR>bylaws for the General Board.
<BR>
<BR>*Unanimously approved about $220,000 in capital improvements for
<BR>the Brethren Service Center, mainly to replace deteriorating
<BR>windows in most of the campus' buildings with maintenance-free
<BR>fiberglass windows.
<BR>
<BR>*Heard an update from the committee studying a request for
<BR>recognition by a Brethren group in India that separated from the
<BR>Church of North India citing theological differences. The committee
<BR>has decided to put any decisions on hold until new talks between
<BR>the groups, with Ministry of Reconciliation's Bob Gross as
<BR>facilitator, can take place. "There are passionate, committed
<BR>Christians on both sides of this issue," committee member Christy
<BR>Waltersdorff said, expressing hopes that the groups can work out
<BR>their differences.
<BR>
<BR>*Applauded a strong financial report that showed the General
<BR>Programs budget and every self-funding unit "in the black" for 2000
<BR>and positive numbers in giving to the General Board.
<BR>
<BR>*Held a 150th birthday party banquet for Messenger with reflections
<BR>from the past century and half, and shared ideas for the magazine's
<BR>future.
<BR>
<BR>*Participated in numerous worship and devotional times, including
<BR>two main services led by Russ Matteson and David R. Miller,
<BR>examining the hope of the future and the joy of the present amid
<BR>anointing and communion.
<BR>
<BR>*Heard ministry reports from nearly 20 General Board programs and
<BR>updates from numerous partner agencies and the American Baptist
<BR>Churches USA.
<BR>
<BR>*Engaged in two educational forums, one on socially responsible
<BR>investing led by Tim Smith of Walden Asset Management, and one on
<BR>race awareness led by members of Mennonite Central Committee's
<BR>Damascus Road team.
<BR>
<BR>In addition, the board's Executive Committee:
<BR>*Appointed V. Jane Davis of Missouri to the Brethren Historical
<BR>Committee, for a four-year term beginning July 1, 2001.
<BR>
<BR>*Completed the three-year review and evaluation of General Board
<BR>executive director Judy Mills Reimer, giving many words of
<BR>appreciation for her strengths and setting some focus areas for the
<BR>coming year.
<BR>
<BR>The General Board next meets June 29-30 in Baltimore, prior to
<BR>Annual Conference.
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>2) The General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries
<BR>office wanted a place to do hands-on training for its disaster
<BR>project directors. Atlantic Southeast District's Camp Ithiel needed
<BR>help with some construction projects. They came together in what
<BR>ER/SM staff member Glenn Kinsel called a "triple blessing" for the
<BR>ER/SM workers, the camp, and the district.
<BR>
<BR>About 50 participants from literally every corner of the country
<BR>gathered at the camp near Orlando, Fla., Feb. 26-March 3. They
<BR>worked on the camp's new dining hall, a project long stalled by a
<BR>lack of finances, as well as other projects around the camp and a
<BR>Habitat for Humanity house in downtown Orlando. Educational
<BR>sessions on disaster-related topics were held each evening, while
<BR>mealtimes featured menus that would be served at disaster sites.
<BR>
<BR>Participant Ed Bryan of Decatur, Ind., said the chance to remain
<BR>active and to fellowship with other disaster project directors were
<BR>both drawing cards, "but I really think it's the service part
<BR>especially. As Brethren, that's what we are."
<BR>
<BR>Stalled permits prevented work on some parts of the dining hall,
<BR>but significant progress occurred during the week under the
<BR>guidance of former industrial arts teacher Bob Pittman. When
<BR>members from the district gathered at the camp for a celebration
<BR>day that weekend, Camp Ithiel board chair John Polson said the
<BR>excitement was tangible.
<BR>
<BR>"They came at the right time with the right people, and they gave
<BR>us a major push," Polson says of the ER/SM group. "People from all
<BR>over the district saw the results of their work, and it gave a real
<BR>impetus to our fund-raising. It was another of God's miracles at
<BR>work."
<BR>
<BR>ER/SM manager Stan Noffsinger says feedback from participants has
<BR>been equally good. The group didn't want to leave after a closing
<BR>worship service, spontaneously starting hymns as they sat together.
<BR>Several said they'd come back to help finish the dining hall once
<BR>all the permits were in place.
<BR>
<BR>"They found a new depth in being a core of people that leads
<BR>others," Noffsinger says. "There was a real sense of caring for
<BR>what happens to our church family across the denomination. ... In
<BR>connecting with those we were serving, we ourselves were served by
<BR>the fruits of God's Spirit. That was awesome for us."
<BR>
<BR>Noffsinger says the group is likely to try such a format again if
<BR>the opportunity presents itself.
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>3) It has been a busy stretch for the General Board's Global Food
<BR>Crisis Fund, with five grants going out in the span of a few weeks.
<BR>
<BR>First, an allocation of $50,000 was approved for a micro-credit
<BR>project in the Dominican Republic. The funds will be used for small
<BR>loans to assist people in starting small businesses, as a means of
<BR>improving their standard of living. The project will be supervised
<BR>by General Board mission coordinators in the Caribbean nation.
<BR>
<BR>Next, a grant of $12,500 was made to LaCasa, Inc. of Goshen, Ind.
<BR>Those funds will be used to provide financial management, home
<BR>ownership, and leadership development training to poor families in
<BR>the Goshen area.
<BR>
<BR>Then the attention turned to Asia, with an allocation of $10,000 to
<BR>Mercy Corps International for food and material relief to Inner
<BR>Mongolia. Funds will be used to provide food supplies, clothing,
<BR>blankets, health kits, and medicine.
<BR>
<BR>The fourth grant went to Africa, with $5,250 going to the Sudan
<BR>Council of Churches. The funds will make possible an assessment
<BR>visit to western Sudan where drought has left thousands at risk of
<BR>starvation.
<BR>
<BR>Finally, the General Board Executive Committee, during its spring
<BR>meeting at the New Windsor (Md.) Conference Center, approved a
<BR>$60,000 allocation for Honduras. The grant will help the Christian
<BR>Commission for Development, a Brethren partner in the Central
<BR>American nation, in a project for women's groups there to purchase
<BR>pigs and chickens to raise for food and profit. 
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>4) Church members from Southern Ohio and South/Central Indiana
<BR>districts filled the Bethany Theological Seminary chapel in
<BR>Richmond, Ind., March 3 for a worship seminar led by Dick
<BR>Shreckhise, minister of worship at Lancaster (Pa.) Church of the
<BR>Brethren.
<BR>
<BR>The event was the second in a series sponsored by the General
<BR>Board's Area 2 (Midwest) Congregational Life Team and coordinated
<BR>by Duane Grady. A previous seminar was held in Northern Ohio
<BR>District.
<BR>
<BR>The seminar explored a variety of worship topics from music styles
<BR>to contemporary services. Participants asked many questions
<BR>specific to their congregation's experience or regarding interest
<BR>in experimenting with worship styles. About 90 people attended.
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>5) Former Bethany Theological Seminary professor Jesse H. Ziegler
<BR>died March 7 in Dayton, Ohio, at the age of 88. Ziegler received
<BR>his B.D. degree from Bethany in 1944 and served as a member of the
<BR>seminary faculty from 1941-1958, teaching psychology and Christian
<BR>education.
<BR>
<BR>Following his tenure at Bethany, Ziegler joined the Association of
<BR>Theological Schools as associate director and became its first
<BR>full-time executive director in 1966. An ordained minister of the
<BR>Church of the Brethren, he also had served churches in Hyattsville
<BR>and Gaithersburg, Md.
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>6) On March 13, a delegation of 100 US citizens, including
<BR>Brethren Volunteer Service worker Tracy Stoddart, departed for
<BR>Colombia to witness effects of US policy in the South American
<BR>country. The group planned to travel to the capital of Bogota and
<BR>into the heart of the conflict zone in the southern part of the
<BR>country. 
<BR>
<BR>The delegation was organized by the human rights organization
<BR>Witness for Peace, which resolved to send the observers after the
<BR>US Congress voted to provide $1.3 billion for "Plan Colombia," a
<BR>large-scale U.S. military intervention in the country. Witness for
<BR>Peace has joined with other human rights groups in expressing
<BR>concern that most of the aid will go to the Colombian army, which
<BR>has been repeatedly linked to brutal paramilitary groups and
<BR>accused of serious human rights violations.
<BR>
<BR>The National Council of Churches Executive Board recently went on
<BR>record against Plan Colombia, issuing a statement questioning its
<BR>effectiveness in the "war on drugs" and asserting that it is
<BR>fueling violence and human rights abuses in Colombia. It suggests
<BR>instead that the US should allocate the money for development
<BR>assistance to Colombia and support for a negotiated peace process,
<BR>and for drug treatment and prevention programs in the US.
<BR>
<BR>The delegation will observe the effects of the policy and bring
<BR>those observations back to the United States. The group represents
<BR>a broad spectrum of U.S. society, including college students and
<BR>retirees, pastors, lawyers, journalists, and other people from over
<BR>30 states. Stoddart is serving in the Brethren Volunteer Service
<BR>office in Elgin, Ill.
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>7) Brethren Encyclopedia Inc. has employed Kate Mertes of
<BR>Alexandria, Va., to produce the index for volumes 1-4 of The
<BR>Brethren Encyclopedia. The index will be published in the new
<BR>Volume 4.
<BR>
<BR>Carl Bowman, professor of sociology at Bridgewater (Va.) College,
<BR>and Donald Durnbaugh, archivist at Juniata College (Huntingdon,
<BR>Pa.) are serving as co-editors for Volume 4. Durnbaugh served as
<BR>editor of the first three volumes, published in 1983-84.
<BR>
<BR>The new volume will include one section updating Brethren
<BR>information since 1980, and another providing corrections and
<BR>additions to volumes 1-3. The Brethren Encyclopedia board of
<BR>directors is conducting a financial campaign to support the Volume
<BR>4 project and has raised $62,000 of the goal of $100,000 to date.
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>8) Groups protesting the US Navy's bombing exercises on the Puerto
<BR>Rican island of Vieques received some good news earlier this month
<BR>as the US government announced it was suspending the exercises
<BR>indefinitely.
<BR>
<BR>The National Council of Churches, which sent a delegation to
<BR>Vieques last summer, called the announcement by US Defense
<BR>Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "an important step." Bob Edgar, general
<BR>secretary of the NCC, says "We fervently hope this will be more
<BR>than a temporary reprieve." Thousands of Puerto Ricans live in an
<BR>area between testing grounds.
<BR>
<BR>New bombing tests had been scheduled to start this month. Christian
<BR>Peacemaker Teams, which has been actively involved in Vieques, had
<BR>planned an emergency delegation to the island until the new
<BR>announcement was made. 
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>9) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
<BR>denomination and elsewhere.
<BR>*Interpreters to translate from English to Spanish are needed for
<BR>business sessions, insight sessions, and worship events at the
<BR>Annual Conference in Baltimore. Anyone planning to attend and
<BR>willing to assist for one or more events should contact Carol L.
<BR>Yeazell at 407-523-0045, or e-mail cyeazell_gb@brethren.org; or,
<BR>contact Nadine Monn in the Global Mission Partnerships office at
<BR>800-323-8039, ext. 466, or nmonn_gb@brethren.org. A schedule will
<BR>be arranged, and notifications of the time slots assigned will be
<BR>given prior to Conference.
<BR>
<BR>*Brethren Press so far has sold 2,800 copies of the new Hymnal
<BR>supplement, containing pieces for Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
<BR>Titles include "I come to the garden alone," "He is Lord," and
<BR>"Shadows from the cross." Cost is $1.50 for a single copy; $1 for
<BR>anyone who subscribes to the full supplement series. The second
<BR>installment, on "Praising and Adoring," is scheduled for a May
<BR>release. An insight session on the supplements will be offered at
<BR>this year's Annual Conference in Baltimore.
<BR>
<BR>*Some preliminary speakers and performers for National Youth
<BR>Conference 2002 have already been announced by the General Board's
<BR>Youth/Young Adult Ministries office. They include Tony Campolo,
<BR>Mennonite duo Ted &amp; Lee, and musician Ken Medema.
<BR>
<BR>*Nominees for this year's Committee on Interchurch Relations
<BR>ecumenical award, to be given to a congregation reaching out to
<BR>others from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, are as
<BR>follows: Hatfield (Pa.), Roanoke (Va.) First, Elkhart (Ind.)
<BR>Valley, Bella Vista (Los Angeles); Imperial Heights (Los Angeles),
<BR>Beacon Heights (Fort Wayne, Ind.), and Mount Pleasant (North
<BR>Canton, Ohio). The winner will be announced at Annual Conference.
<BR>
<BR>*Gene Wile is serving as disaster project director for Emergency
<BR>Response/Service Ministries' Hurricane Floyd relief project in
<BR>North Carolina in March. J. Marlin Kreider and Elvin Wagner are
<BR>assisting as directors-in-training.
<BR>
<BR>*Seventeen Bridgewater (Va.) College students spent their spring
<BR>break volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity housing project in
<BR>Flint River, Ga.
<BR>
<BR>*Brethren Benefit Trust pension plan and employee financial
<BR>services director Don Fecher recently presented a workshop on
<BR>clergy tax preparation for Bethany Theological Seminary students
<BR>and area pastors in Richmond, Ind.
<BR>
<BR>*People from most US states and nearly 100 countries were expected
<BR>in Washington, D.C., March 5-11 for a major event seeking to ban
<BR>landmines. The US and International campaigns to ban landmines were
<BR>both planning conferences during the event. An interfaith prayer
<BR>service, a news conference, and a public witness were also planned.
<BR>
<BR>*The Washington (D.C.) City Church of the Brethren received
<BR>$12,922 toward its soup kitchen project for participating in the
<BR>2000 Fannie Mae 5K Walkathon, with many Brethren joining the effort
<BR>as walkers or sponsors. The check was presented on Feb. 21.
<BR>
<BR>*Two people with Brethren connections recently appeared on ABC's
<BR>"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Former Bethany Theological
<BR>Seminary adjunct faculty member Mitch Brown won $125,000. Dave
<BR>Schmidt, husband of Northern Plains District treasurer Karen
<BR>Schmidt, was also a contestant in February.
<BR>
<BR>*D. Duane Oswald of Fresno, Calif., has been nominated
<BR>moderator-elect of Mennonite Church USA.
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>10) Pete and Martha Roudebush have been called as district
<BR>executives for the Southeastern District effective April 1.
<BR>
<BR>The Roudebushes will each serve one-fourth time as district
<BR>executives; in addition, Martha will serve as the district
<BR>administrative assistant. Pete is currently serving as pastor of
<BR>Trinity Church of the Brethren in Kingsport, Tenn., where he will
<BR>continue on a three-fourths time basis. The new district office
<BR>will be located in their home in Kingsport.
<BR>
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