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Date: April 6, 2001
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

"He is not here, but has risen." Luke 24:5b

NEWS
 1) Youth meet for 2001 Christian Citizenship Seminar.
 2) Bethany celebrates completion of project, church support.
 3) Sixty people receive Disaster Child Care training in one
weekend.
 4) On Earth Peace unveils new logo.
 5) Four Brethren attend conference on overcoming poverty.
 6) Ministry office continues Spanish translation work.
 7) Brethren bits: Camps, colleges, church dedication, more.

PERSONNEL
 8) General Board seeks director of Ministry.

*****************************************************************
=20
 1) More than 100 youth and advisors from coast to coast gathered
March 31-April 5 for this year's Christian Citizenship Seminar,
looking at the theme of violence in our communities and world.

The group began with three days in New York, then spent the
remainder of the week in Washington, D.C. At both locations, youth
attended sessions on the theme, participated in small groups, and
had time to explore these major urban centers.

Keynote speakers included two familiar faces: David Radcliff of the
General Board's Brethren Witness office and Tim Van Meter of
Bethany Theological Seminary's Institute for Ministry with Youth
and Young Adults.

Radcliff hit on the broad scope of violence in the world, both
locally and internationally, saying "Violence is anything that
demeans the image of God in another person." He gave particular
attention to the current war in Sudan. Van Meter shared statistics
and misconceptions about youth and violence, especially those
generated by media stereotypes. "There's much more going on in your
lives than can ever be put in a sound bite or video clip," he said.

Others who addressed the seminar were Lt. Col. (Ret.) David
Grossman, who focused on media violence; peace activist Nadine
Block, who discussed nonviolence and invited youth to participate
in a peace witness in front of the White House; and an improv drama
group called "Performance of a Lifetime," who invited youth to
portray issues of violence that were on their minds, exploring
those concerns through a creative environment.

In Washington, youth took one afternoon to visit their
congressional representatives on Capitol Hill and present positions
on current violence-related legislation based on topics studied
during the week. Church of the Brethren Washington Office
coordinator Greg Laszakovits called it "probably the most powerful
lobbying that the Church of the Brethren does all year," with so
many people from so many areas of the country present.

Other activities included Sunday morning services at a choice of
unique churches in New York; a tour of the United Nations; and
times of singing and worship as a group each day. The seminar is
held annually except National Youth Conference years and is
sponsored by the General Board's Youth/Young Adult and Washington
offices.
=20

 2) Bright blue skies and springlike temperatures provided the
perfect backdrop for a time of celebration at Bethany Theological
Seminary (Richmond, Ind.) March 31. The Bethany community and
friends paused to give thanks and rejoice in the completion of the
remodeling of the lower level of the Bethany Center building, as
well as for the expansion of programs made possible by financial
gifts of Church of the Brethren congregations and individuals.

Members of the seminary's administrative team each highlighted a
different ministry area and noted special contributions for its
support.

"Bethany has been blessed by many persons who are committed to
preparing future ministry leadership for the church," said Theresa
Eshbach, Bethany's executive director of institutional advancement.
"This service of celebration and thanksgiving provided an important
opportunity to thank those who give so generously of their time and
resources to educate those called as witnesses to the gospel of
Jesus Christ."

The new lower-level space includes a conference room, three
offices, and an information technology area. It houses the
Institute for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults, one of the new
program areas begun in the past year.

 3) Three Disaster Child Care workshops were sponsored by three
Church of the Brethren congregations over the weekend of March
30-31: Northern Colorado (Windsor, Colo.), Dallas Center (Iowa),
and Maple Grove (Ashland, Ohio). A total of 60 people were trained
or recertified as Disaster Child Care caregivers during the events.

Though the majority of the participants were members of the Church
of the Brethren, the groups also included members of the Christian
Reformed Church; Evangelical Lutheran Church of America;
Presbyterian Church (USA); Seventh Day Adventist Church; United
Church of Christ; and the United Methodist Church. In a cooperative
effort, the United Methodist Church across the street from Northern
Colorado Church of the Brethren shared its facilities during the
weekend.

Trainers for the three workshops were Judy Gump and Anne Price in
Colorado, Cheryl Dekker and Disaster Child Care coordinator Lydia
Walker in Iowa; and Jean Myers, Sheryl Faus, and Helen Stonesifer
in Ohio. Local coordinators Byron Frantz (Colorado), Lorna Baldner
Grow (Iowa), and Marlene Shoup (Ohio) worked with planning,
organizing, promoting, recruiting, and support for each event.

Another 30 people are registered for a Disaster Child Care training
this weekend in Wenatchee, Wash., sponsored by the Wenatchee
Brethren-Baptist Church. Trainers will be Jean Myers, Gloria
Cooper, Freda Holmes, and Sally Smith.

 4) On Earth Peace has unveiled a new logo to exemplify the theme
of "building upon the last 25 years and renewing itself for the
next 25 years of service and witness." It is being used in all new
promotional materials.

Staff and board members worked together to develop the logo, which
includes a circle and stylized dove, along with the words "On Earth
Peace." It was designed by Debbie Noffsinger of Union Bridge, Md.,
a member of the Westminster (Md.) Church of the Brethren who also
designed the 2000 and 2001 Annual Conference logos. The original
idea for the new look was derived from the former Peace Place
bookstore logo by Kathy Kline Miller.

The logo is intended to depict On Earth Peace's mission: "to
empower people to discern the things that make for peace in
ourselves, within families, in our global environment, and between
nations, and to advocate for peace and justice." The new logo can
be obtained from the downloadable logo page of www.brethren.org.

 5) Four Church of the Brethren members attended a recent Call to
Renewal conference on "Facing the Divide: Mobilizing Networks to
Overcome Poverty."

The conference featured John Dilulio, who has been appointed by
President George W. Bush as director of the new White House Office
of Faith-Based Initiatives. Jim Wallis, convener of Call to
Renewal, has given his support to the White House initiative,
saying he chooses to focus on issues of poverty above the debate
over church-state issues.

Other conference speakers included National Council of Churches
general secretary Bob Edgar, who talked about the NCC's decade-long
Mobilization to Overcome Poverty.

Brethren attending the conference were Lester Boleyn of the General
Board's Area 3 Congregational Life Team, Washington (D.C.) City
Church of the Brethren pastor Alice Martin-Adkins; Sarah Stover of
the Washington City Soup Kitchen; and Marc Rittle of the Church of
the Brethren Washington Office.

Additional information is available at www.calltorenewal.com.

 6) The General Board's Ministry office is continuing its work of
translating key denominational resources into Spanish for use in
congregations in the United States, Puerto Rico, the Dominican
Republic, and elsewhere.

The ministerial handbook, "For All Who Minister" and the
Ministerial Leadership Manual are currently being prepared in
Spanish, with hopes of completing printing by the end of May. They
are being printed in the Dominican Republic; distribution in the US
and Puerto Rico will follow.

The book "To Follow in Jesus' Steps" by Wayne Zunkel has also been
translated with 8,000 copies printed (5,000 in Spanish and 3,000 in
Creole). Earlier projects include translation of the video "Journey
in Jesus' Way" and the Ministerial Leadership Manual by Guillermo
and Gladys Encarnacion.

The Ministry office has contributed nearly $16,000 toward the
effort so far, with additional support from Atlantic Northeast
District and the Brethren World Missions group.

 7) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *The itinerary for this summer's Youth Peace Travel Team, a team
of young adults that does peace education at Church of the Brethren
youth camps each year, is as follows: June 17-30 at Shepherd's
Spring Outdoor Ministries Center, Sharpsburg, Md., for senior high
camp and Song & Story Fest; June 30-July 4 at Annual Conference in
Baltimore; July 8-14 at Camp Blue Diamond, Petersburg, Pa.; July
15-21 at Camp Galilee, Terra Alta, W.Va.; July 22-27 at Camp Eder,
Fairfield, Pa.; July 29-Aug. 4 at Camp Emmaus, Mt. Morris, Ill.;
and Aug. 5-10 at Camp Mack, Milford, Ind.

 *Camp Pine Lake (Eldora, Iowa) has hired Tara Beck Brunk as its
new program coordinator. Brunk is a member of the Ivester church in
Grundy Center, Iowa.

 *A group of 26 students from Juniata College (Huntingdon, Pa.)
traveled to Beattyville, Ky., over spring break to work with the
Lee County Habitat for Humanity chapter in doing renovation and
rehabilitation work on houses. More than 10 percent of the Juniata
student body is involved with the college's Habitat for Humanity
club.=20

 *The Brethren Village retirement community in Neffsville, Pa., is
one of 12 companies, and the only retirement community in
Pennsylvania, to receive the 2001 Governor's Award for Safety
Excellence. The awards are presented annually to workers and
companies "who incorporate outstanding safety practices and
procedures into their workplaces."

 *Virlina District's Living Faith Fellowship, a new church
development project in Concord, N.C., will dedicate its new
facility on May 6. It is the only Chuch of the Brethren
congregation in the greater Charlotte, N.C., area.

 *Six denominations plan to join in a movement called Churches
United in Christ in January 2002. They are the United Methodist
Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church
USA, African Methodist Episcopal Church, International Council of
Community Churches, and the Episcopal Church. The African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ),
and the United Church of Christ also plan to join in the
inauguration in Memphis. All have been communions in the
=E2=80=9CConsultation on Church Union,=E2=80=9D working at greater ecumenism=
 and
relationship, particularly to combat racism.

 8) The Church of the Brethren General Board is seeking a director
of Ministry to begin Dec. 1. Applications will be received
beginning May 1, continuing until the position is filled.

Qualifications include 15 years of pastoral ministry, including
administration; a Master of Divinity degree; expertise and skills
in group dynamics and process; active membership in the Church of
the Brethren; strong communication skills; strong grounding in
Church of the Brethren heritage, theology, and polity; and ability
to articulate a personal faith.

Responsibilities include directing implementation of the 1999
Annual Conference paper on Ministerial Leadership; networking with
other denominational and district staff related to ministry,
including the Council of District Executives and Brethren Academy
for Ministerial Leadership; and developing new programs to meet
denominational needs.

Qualified candiates should complete a General Board application
form, submit a resume and letter of application, and ask three
references to send a letter of recommendation. All materials should
be sent to Office of Human Resources, Church of the Brethren
General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120-1694.=20

For more details or to obtain an application form or full position
description, call 800-323-8039, ext. 259 or e-mail
eholderread_gb@brethren.org.