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Date: March 1, 2002
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

NEWS
 1) Standing Commitee releases 2002 Annual Conference ballot.
 2) Leonard Sweet addresses Anabaptist Evangelism Council.
 3) General Board to tackle heavy agenda next weekend.
 4) Brethren participants return from Nigeria workcamp.
 5) Emergency Disaster Fund, Global Food Crisis Fund make grants.
 6) Camp Ithiel prepares, at last, to dedicate its new dining hall.
 7) Brethren bits: Walk Across America and more.

NOTE: Due to heavy news volume, a "bonus" edition of Newsline will
be sent March 8.

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

 1) Annual Conference delegates will choose from a pair of ordained
Eastern US Brethren when they vote for a moderator-elect this
summer in Louisville.

Christopher Bowman of Curryville, Pa., pastor of the Martinsburg
Memorial congregation, and retired pastor Howard Miller of
Westminster, Md., are the two candidates on this year's ballot,
prepared by Standing Committee. Both have served in local,
district, and denominational leadership. Bowman is a former chair
of the General Board and the redesign steering committee. Miller
served as interim associate district executive in Mid-Atlantic.

Candidates for other positions are as follows:
*Conference secretary: Peggy Reiff Miller of Sharpsburg, Md., and
Fred Swartz of Manassas, Va.

*Annual Conference Program and Arrangements Committee: Judy Epps of
Runnells, Iowa, and Sherry Reese Vaught of Mansfield, Ohio.

*General Board, at-large representative: Frank Ramirez of Elkhart,
Ind., and Vickie Whitacre Samland of Edgewater, Colo.

*General Board, representing Northern Plains District: Jeff
Neuman-Lee of Adel, Iowa, and Frances R. Townsend of Preston, Minn.

*General Board, representing Oregon/Washington District: Barbara
Date' of Eugene, Ore., and Janet Stutzman of Wenatchee, Wash.

*General Board, representing Pacific Southwest District: Janet L.
Ober of Upland, Calif., and Angela Lahman Yoder of Peoria, Ariz.

*On Earth Peace Assembly Inc. board: Connie R. Burkholder of
Ankeny, Iowa, and Phillip L. Jones of Durham, N.C.

*Association of Brethren Caregivers board (2 positions): Brian S.
Black of Ephrata, Pa.; Heather L. Neff of Roaring Spring, Pa.;
Katherine J. Ramsey Melhorn of Wichita, Kan.; and Gene Yeazell of
Orlando, Fla.

*Brethren Benefit Trust board: Dale Minnich of Moundridge, Kan.,
and Harry S. Rhodes of Roanoke, Va.

*Bethany Theological Seminary board, representing the ministry:
Marla Bieber Abe of Akron, Ohio, and Alice Martin-Adkins of
Washington, D.C.

*Bethany Theological Seminary board, representing the colleges:
David Eller of Elizabethtown, Pa., and Carol A. Scheppard of Mt.
Crawford, Va.

*Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee,
representing pastors: Manuel (Manny) Diaz of McPherson, Kan., and
John Huffaker of North Liberty, Iowa.

*Committee on Interchurch Relations: Doug Archer of New Paris,
Ind., and Michael L. Hostetter of Roanoke, Va.

The ballot process this year represents a partial implementation of
the Process for Calling Denominational Leadership statement adopted
at the 2001 Annual Conference.

The Nominating Committee of Standing Committee creates a list of
four names for each open position. In past years, Standing
Committee didn't narrow down the final ballot to two names per
position until just before Conference. This year, Standing
Committee members received the initial ballots by mail and returned
their voted ballots in February to create the final list.

Annual Conference will be held June 29-July 3 in Louisville, Ky.
Full implementation of the provisions in the Process for Calling
Denominational Leadership statement, including district election of
most General Board representatives, will take effect in the 2003
balloting process. 

 2) If churches are to thrive in the 21st century, they need to be
relevant and open to a changing culture--one driven by images,
experiences, and participation. That message came through
repeatedly from theologian/author Leonard Sweet, keynote speaker
for six sessions at this year's Anabaptist Evangelism Council.

The event, held Feb. 15-17 near Chicago's ObHare International
Airport, drew a record 175 participants. Nearly half of those came
from the Church of the Brethren, according to New Life
Ministries--the inter-Anabaptist resourcing organization that
sponsored the fifth annual meeting. More than a half dozen other
denominations were also represented.

Sweet described today's population in terms of "immigrants," those
born before 1962, and "natives," those born after that date, as the
key distinction in today's culture. "Words are an immigrant's basic
cultural currency," Sweet said. "For natives, it's the image. . .
. The screen is their stain-glassed window."

Rather than develop strategic plans and mission statements, Sweet
suggested churches should create "image statements" and help people
find the right images--biblical images. Sweet used the image of a
swing, needing to first "lean back" and recover the stories and
richness of a church's tradition before "kicking forward" to carry
God's kingdom to the future.

The message of Jesus doesn't change, Sweet emphasized, just the
container it is poured in. The Bible needs to continually become
fresh and new. At the same time, churches need to learn about and
become more active in shaping the popular culture around them,
rather than shying away from it or giving in to it. "The issue is
to be in touch with the culture," according to Sweet, "but in tune
with the Spirit."

He says the culture is hungering for authenticity and relationship,
something the church can offer if it doesn't "sell out to
normalcy." The Anabaptist tradition has a certain "tribal identity"
that can foster such connectedness and belonging if it doesn't
become too insular, he added.

Sweet, vice president of academic affairs and dean of the Drew
Univeristy theological school in Madison, N.J., and visiting
distinguished professor at George Fox University in Oregon,
practiced what he preached, employing a variety of stories,
illustrations, and video clips to help make his points. 

The event also included a pair of worship services: a Taize'-style
service led by General Board Youth/Young Adult Ministry coordinator
Chris Douglas and this year's National Youth Conference
coordinators, and a rhythm-filled Sunday morning service led by
Manchester College campus ministry director Jim Chinworth and
Manchester students and staff.

The group spent Saturday evening at the Willow Creek Community
Church in nearby Barrington, Ill., attending the "AXIS" worship
service geared toward young adults and later discussing the
ministry and its dynamics with Willow Creek leaders.

The 2003 Anabaptist Evangelism Council has been set for Feb. 14-16,
again at the Sheraton Gateway Suites near O'Hare. Northern Baptist
Theological Seminary professor Robert Webber will be the speaker,
focusing on worship.
 

 3) The Church of the Brethren General Board will meet March 9-12
in Elgin, Ill., with the theme "Servants of Jesus Christ," based on
Romans 1:1. The General Board Executive Committee meets March 8.

A heavy agenda includes several key items: continuation of the
agency's comprehensive planning process with discernment of vision
and mission statements; the General Board's response to the 2001
Annual Conference Evangelism & Church Planting query; and a
recommendation from the General Board study committee looking at
relations with church groups in India.

The India report proposes gradually "rebuilding" a relationship
with Brethren in India while still remaining a partner of the
Church of North India, and helping the parties resolve their
differences if so requested.

The agenda also includes numerous updates and ministry area
reports, a report from the General Board's December 2001 Iraq
delegation, a dinner celebration and love feast, and several other
times of worship.

 4) Six members of the Church of the Brethren returned in
mid-February after spending a month in Nigeria for the General
Board's annual workcamp in the African nation. They were joined
there by four members of Mission-21 (formerly Basel Mission)--a
mission partner based in Switzerland--and by 13 members of the
Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria).

During the workcamp, participants continued construction of a girls
dormitory at the EYN Comprehensive Secondary School located near
Mubi. Jeff Mummau of Elizabethtown, Pa., the Church of the Brethren
coordinator for the workcamp, said tasks included mixing cement;
making, carrying, and laying block; breaking rocks; and pouring
concrete.

"It was a lot of work, but somehow it seemed fun," Mummau said. "We
had a great time working, eating, traveling, playing games, and
just being with the Nigerian workcampers. For those of us from
North America, it is easy to get wrapped up in work and doing
something 'for others.' But this workcamp was more than that; it
was a 'do with' workcamp."

Participants also visited traditional mission sites such as
Gakirda, saw EYN programs firsthand, hiked up two mountains, joined
in Nigerian cultural events, spent a few nights in Nigerian homes,
and visited with Church of the Brethren and Mission-21 fraternal
workers. 

The workcamp also sought to build relationships between Christians
from the Church of the Brethren, Mission-21, and EYN by visiting
and interacting in EYN churches, homes, markets, and schools.

"One outstanding concern expressed by a lot of people from Nigeria
was about what had happened in the US on Sept. 11, 2001," Mummau
said. "We visited two district heads, one chief, and one emir; all
are traditional rulers, and all are Muslims. Each has a high
percentage of EYN members living in their governing territories.
Each went out of their way to talk about the importance of peace
between Christians and Muslims in their area. They conveyed to us
that peace was their number one concern."

In addition to Mummau, participants included Callie Surber,
Champaign, Ill.; Ralph Miner, Elgin, Ill.; Lutricia Eberly,
Greenville, Ohio; Stanley Barkdoll, Kearneysville, W.Va., and Jim
Sheaffer, Chadron, Neb. Photos from the trip are at
www.brethren.org/genbd/global_mission/workcamp/index.html. A 2003
workcamp has tentatively been scheduled from mid-January to
mid-February next year. Details will be announced at a future date.

 5) The General Board made three grants from its designated funds
this week, two from the Emergency Disaster Fund and one from the
Global Food Crisis Fund.

The Emergency Disaster Fund grants came at the request of Emergency
Response/Service Ministries. One, for $20,000, will provide
continuing aid to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The money
will assist Interchurch Medical Assistance Inc. with the costs of
emergency airlifted shipments of medical supplies to Goma, where a
volcano erupted. The second grant is for $5,000 and will give
additional support to tornado recovery efforts in Cordell, Okla.

The Global Food Crisis Fund grant is for $25,000 and will aid
Bayview Citizens for Social Justice in Bayview, Va. The grant will
be used to help provide safe housing, clean drinking water, and
economic opportunites for African-American families in the
impoverished community.

 6) Eight years after the project began, Camp Ithiel will finally
dedicate its new dining hall this weekend.

The building's exterior was completed in March 1995, but a funding
crunch then stalled the construction and left it sitting incomplete
for years. Momentum picked up again last winter, when the
denomination's network of disaster project directors held their
training week at the Gotha, Fla., camp through the General Board's
Emergency Response/Service Ministries.

That group brought a core of experienced construction workers who
made significant headway on the dining hall, as well as other
smaller tasks. Their efforts also created some renewed energy in
Atlantic Southeast District to finish the project. 

Now, Camp Ithiel director Mike Neff says the dining hall is "98
percent done." His goal is for the camp to be able to use the
facility, known as the Kramer Dining Center, this summer.

"That's our hope, that we'll be in there," Neff says. "We're really
looking forward to that."

The dedication service is being held in conjunction with the
district's annual picnic at the camp. A Friday evening dinner for
donors and volunteers will be followed by a multicultural concert,
coordinated by a new Hispanic Church of the Brethren congregation
meeting in nearby Winter Park, Fla.

On Saturday, Outdoor Ministries Association chair Jerriann Heiser
Wenger will speak at the dedication, and Emergency Response/Service
Ministries manager Stan Noffsinger will represent the disaster
volunteers who worked on the project. Gospel duo Lee and Cindy
Condran will provide music.

 
 7) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *Don Vermilyea's "Walk Across America" took him into California
this week, after he traveled from Phoenix to Yuma, Ariz., en route
to San Diego. Vermilyea visited with all four Church of the
Brethren congregations in Arizona after his venture began in Tucson
on Feb. 2. He is hoping to visit every Church of the Brethren
congregation and institution in the country. He is also picking up
money along the highway to donate to the church, gathering $11.18
through last weekend. The trip is being sponsored by the General
Boardbs Brethren Witness and Brethren Volunteer Service offices.

 *A television and VCR stolen from Virlina District's Camp Bethel
on Feb. 13 were recovered at a pawn shop soon after the breaking
and entering occurred. Another episode of breaking and entering
occurred on Feb. 15, however, with another TV and VCR and several
tools taken. An arrest was made on Feb. 18.

 *A major project of the West Marva and Virlina districts
culminated in a celebration Feb. 17, with the dedication of a new
home for Crab Orchard Church of the Brethren members Avery and Mary
Johnson. The couple's home was destroyed in July 2001 flooding near
Beckley, W.Va. Nearly 70 congregations in both districts
contributed about $35,000 to the project and other West Virginia
flood relief efforts, and Brethren from Virlina volunteered their
labor to build the new house.

 

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, with other editions as needed.
Newsline stories may be reprinted provided that Newsline is cited
as the source. Dick Benner, Beth Burnette, and Marcia Shetler
contributed to this report.

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