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

[COBNews@aol.com]

Date: March 8, 2002
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

Newsline       March 8, 2002

"You are the light of the world." Matthew 5:14a

NEWS
 1) Brethren in Brazil welcome four to licensed ministry.
 2) National Youth Cabinet picks speech, theme song winners.
 3) South/Central Indiana wrestles with congregation's decision.
 4) ABC prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
 5) Brethren in Dominican Republic hold Annual Assembly.
 6) Church partners reunite in Nicaragua.
 7) Brethren bits: BrethrenPress.com, environment, and more.

RESOURCES
 8) Brethren Business Directory goes online.

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

 1) The new Igreja da Irmandade (Church of the Brethren) in Brazil
celebrated its first licensing service this past week, welcoming
four local leaders to licensed ministry in the denomination.

General Board Ministry director Mary Jo Flory-Steury and Global
Mission Partnerships director Merv Keeney traveled to Brazil to
conduct the licensing interviews along with Brazil coordinator
Marcos Inhauser, who is already ordained in the Church of the
Brethren. They held three-hour sessions with each of the
candidates--Edison de Carvalho, Eziel da Silva, Lucas Durigon, and
Nelson Gervoni--who have all had theological training and have been
active leaders in the four existing meeting points.

All four were approved for licensing, and a worship celebration/
licensing service was held this past Sunday, March 3, at the church
in Jundiai, which da Silva pastors.

The service opened with da Silva leading worship and the Jundiai
praise team leading in singing. Keeney then brought greetings and
shared some of the life and witness of Church of the Brethren
partners around the world. Flory-Steury gave the evening message,
preaching on Eph. 4:1-16, "Ministry in the Body of Christ," and
sharing the vision of calling out of ministerial leadership. 

At the conclusion of the message and prior to the licensing, the
congregation participated in a time of affirming the call to
ministry. Representatives from all four of the Brazilian
fellowships were present and gave unanimous support to the
candidates. Flory-Steury then conducted the licensing service,
which she says was "truly an inspiring moment for us all."

 2) The National Youth Cabinet has selected theme song and speech
contest winners for this summer's National Youth Conference (NYC),
sponsored by the General Board's Youth/Young Adult Ministry office.

Submissions by senior high youth Hannah Serfling of Preston, Minn.,
and Amy Rhodes of Roanoke, Va., were selected from among 16 entries
in the speech contest. The two will speak at the Thursday morning
worship service during NYC.

For the theme song, the cabinet weighed 28 entries before finally
choosing a youth entry from the Bremen (Ind.) Church of the
Brethren. The song, "For Such a Time as This," will debut at the
NYC opening worship celebration.

Registrations for the conference stood at 3,655 through March 7.
Registration, at www.nyc2002.com/register.html, closes April 1.

 3) The months since this past fall have been difficult ones in
South/Central Indiana District. At the center of the storm lies the
Manchester Church of the Brethren in North Manchester, Ind., which
voted in October to permit same-sex covenant services as part of
the congregation's overall stance of treating same-sex couples the
same way it treats others.

Manchester, which officially declared itself "Open and Affirming"
in 1996, is one of 11 congregations in the denomination listed as
part of the Supportive Congregations Network. Churches in the
network "welcome gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual members."

Manchester board chair Dave McFadden says the October council vote
simply continued a discussion begun in 1995, a process stalled
after a 1998 fire destroyed the church's building. He says the
church understands Brethren tradition and polity as allowing room
for acts of conscience, even when that disagrees with Annual
Conference positions.

Three-quarters of those at the council meeting voted in favor of
the decision, exceeding the two-thirds threshhold set by church
leaders.

"Some persons within the congregation were unhappy with what we
did, and a few have decided to leave. Others heard about our
decision and decided to join the church," McFadden says. "We don't
have complete agreement, but for the most part we're able to work
together as an accepting community and live with those
differences."

Within the district, however, the congregation's formal vote on a
policy that goes against the 1983 Annual Conference paper on human
sexuality has generated considerable dissension. District
executives Ron and Harriet Finney say a handful of congregations
even discussed leaving the denomination in the weeks after the
vote. They say almost every district congregation has expressed
disagreement with the decision.

McFadden acknowledges those feelings. "There's been a very strong
reaction to our decision," he says. "There seems to be very little
middle ground in regards to people's feelings about the issue and
the decision we made. . . . It's been a very emotional response
that we've heard from people."

The district has responded in several ways. District moderator Paul
Schrock, a member of the Northview congregation, wrote a letter in
the district's February newsletter asking those with concerns to
take them directly to the Manchester congregation in the spirit of
Matthew 18, rather than demanding, "What is the district going to
do about this?"

At the same time, the district board has been working at some of
the administrative questions in its purview, holding special
meetings on Jan. 19 and Feb. 23 to address the situation and two
major questions: the issue of same-sex covenant services and the
larger issue of how Brethren "work together as the body of Christ."

Out of those meetings came a March 1 letter from the district
board, asking the Manchester church board to meet with the district
board--before the district board's April 13 meeting, if possible.
It aims to address concerns about the way Manchester arrived at its
decision, the formal conflict with the 1983 Annual Conference
paper, and issues of conscience and responsibility. Future steps
will be determined by the outcome of the meeting.

"If a congregation has the right to overturn a decision of Annual
Conference by vote, then what's the validity of Annual Conference?"
says Ron Finney, who has found no precedent for this type of
action. "We know probably every congregation dances around Annual
Conference decisions at times, but with a vote there's something
that's different about this."

They say the meeting is designed to continue working in the Matthew
18 spirit of conversation and reconciliation. Already, they say the
initial tones of anger and resentment within the district have
shifted.

"More recently, the letters and opinions have taken a different
turn, as congregations have taken votes to affirm the 1983 paper
and are saying, 'This is where we are' without casting a lot of
stones," Ron Finney says. "People are talking more about queries to
district conference than leaving the denomination."

Still, the controversy has greatly added to the workload of both
the staff and board members at Manchester and of the district
leadership. Harriet Finney, the Annual Conference moderator-elect,
says the situation has required "a lot of listening and
conversation with a lot of people." Manchester, meanwhile, has held
special meetings and tried to respond to the deluge of letters,
calls, and invitations to meet it has received. 

"We feel this decision reflects only a small part of who we are as
a congregation," McFadden says. "It's such a small part of our
ministry; it's a shame it has come to define who we are for some." 

Parties in both groups saying the prayer and support they have
received has been crucial.

 4) The Association of Brethren Caregivers (ABC) will celebrate its
50th anniversary during its Annual Recognition Dinner at the 2002
Annual Conference in Louisville, Ky. What began at the 1952
Richmond, Va., Annual Conference with the formation of the Brethren
Medical Workers' Conference has evolved into a multi-faceted agency
charged by Annual Conference to undergird the caring ministries of
the Church of the Brethren.

In the 50 years since Brethren Medical Workers' Conference was
formed, five organizations were created to serve the denomination
in health and caring ministries. Though each organization
represented a specific area of the health and caring ministries of
the church, they shared a common bond of ministering to people's
health and spiritual well-being. Over the years, these
organizations merged and consolidated under what is now ABC.

ABC continues to promote the original biblical motto from 1952,
"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me," through its nine ministry
areas, including programs for deacons, family life, and health
professionals.

As the keynote presenter at ABC's Annual Recognition Dinner, Tom
Mullens will honor the anniversary in a presentation titled "Keep
On Keeping On." Mullens is a retired professor of creative writing
and preaching at Earlham School of Religion, Richmond, Ind. He also
has been a keynote speaker at National Older Adult Conference and
Caring Ministries Assembly.

Also during the dinner, which will be held June 29, ABC will
present its annual caregiving awards to individuals and/or
organizations who have demonstrated a long-term commitment and
service to the caring ministries of the Church of the Brethren.

 5) Under the leadership of moderator Eduardo Montero, 64 delegates
and 240 non-delegates representing 18 congregations and fellowships
gathered Feb. 21-24 at Campamento Betel (Camp Bethel) near San Juan
de la Maguana for the 11th Annual Assembly of the Church of the
Brethren in the Dominican Republic. The Assembly theme: "...it is
time to seek the Lord . . .," taken from Hosea 10:12, offered a
spiritual focus to the worship, business, and fellowship.

The US Church of the Brethren was represented at the Annual
Assembly by Annual Conference moderator Paul Grout and by all 16
members of the General Board Global Mission Partnerships mission
team serving in the Dominican Republic. Atlantic Southeast District
associate executive for Puerto Rico, Jorge Rivera, attended as a
fraternal delegate. Additional US Brethren participating in the
Assembly were Sally Jo Caracheo of the Highland Avenue
congregation, Elgin, Ill., and Maria Perez of Alpha & Omega,
Lancaster, Pa.  

Highlights of the Assembly included:
*Receiving into the Conference the Mendoza congregation and Boca
Chica meeting point, a thriving Dominico-Haitian community of faith
meeting in northeast Santo Domingo. The Mendoza Brethren chartered
a bus and sent more than 60 members to the Assembly.

*Worship, prayer, singing, and preaching, including a call by
Mennonite pastor Rosario Garcia to repentance, humility, and
devotion to the way of the Lord. Grout reminded the Assembly that,
in Christ, God has reached out to embrace all of creation in an
intimate relationship. As he did with Peter, Jesus calls each
person to fully participate in this life-giving relationship with
him and with one another.

*Election of new conference officers and National Board members
including: moderator-elect, Wilson Nova (Bonao Fellowship);
secretary, Mardoche Catalice (Mendoza congregation, Boca Chica);
treasurer, Henry Perez (Peniel-Santo Domingo Fellowship); National
Youth Association president, Ariel Rosario (Tabara Abajo
congregation); National Board president, Eduardo Montero
(Peniel-Santo Domingo Fellowship).

*Approval of a 2002 budget that includes a request for
congregations to negotiate and/or implement an economic support
agreement with their pastors. The conference will offer a monthly
financial subsidy as an incentive to congregations that comply with
this and other steps toward greater financial accountability.

*Received a report from the moderator summarizing visits made to
each congregation or project in 2001. He said spiritual health and
vitality is strong in some and in crisis in others. Upon receiving
the Mendoza congregation, the conference-wide membership stands at
824 baptized members and 310 "prospective" members.

*Heard reports from conference leaders, Theological Education
Program coordinator Guillermo Encarnacion, and mission coordinators
Gerald and Rebecca Baile Crouse. Brethren Mission House teaching
staff Denise Negley, Daniel Greenawalt, Jewell Sheeler, and Kenda
Negley--serving through Brethren Volunteer Service--presented a
drama with the help of some of their students, celebrating the
first year of the partnership between US and Dominican Brethren in
this English language teaching ministry.

*Received greetings from Peggy and Jeff Boshart, who arrived on
Feb. 21 to begin a two-year term of service with the conference
focusing specifically on community development ministries, and said
"farewell" to the Crouse family, who will complete their term of
service and leave the Dominican Republic on June 13.

*Commissioned the group of 10 youth who will represent the
Dominican church on a month-long traveling worship tour in the US
this summer, including stops at Annual Conference, visits in
congregations and camps, and attendance at National Youth
Conference.

*Ministry Commission president Angel Danilo Mendez led a licensing
service for two women and four men into ministry leadership. 

A time of visioning and goal-setting by the delegate body concluded
the business agenda. Encarnacion led a dedication of all newly
elected leaders in the Conference and then a celebration of
communion to conclude the three-day meeting. Felix Antonio Arias
(Luz y Verdad congregation, San Juan) will serve the Conference as
moderator for the coming year.

 6) General Board Latin America/Caribbean Office specialist Nadine
L. Monn visited with denominational partner churches Mision
Cristiana of Nicaragua and Iglesia Cristiana Pentecostal of Cuba,
as well as the Christian Church (Disciples in Christ)/United Church
of Christ in Nicaragua from Jan. 18 to 31. The occasion marked the
first time since 1995 that all four churches in the "Towards an
Abundant Life in Christ" partnership were able to gather to meet,
worship, and re-establish ties.

While in Nicaragua, Monn also visited with each Mision Cristiana
congregation that is partnered with one from the Church of the
Brethren. These include Primera (First), partnered with Westminster
(Md.); Segunda (Second), partnered with Beacon Heights (Fort Wayne,
Ind.); and Sexta (Sixth), partnered with Huntington (Ind.). Monn
spoke at the Segunda church during her visit, and Huntington pastor
Ken Miller-Rieman also visited the Sexta congregation.

Mision Cristiana celebrated their National Assembly in Ticuantepe
from Jan. 24 to 27, opening with a "spiritual retreat" attended by
about 500 Mision Cristiana church members representing each of the
30 congregations throughout the country. The retreat featured times
of worship with singing, preaching by guest speakers from Nicaragua
and other countries, the baptism of 74 new members, and communion,
closing with a worship period for children led by youth.
International and ecumenical visitors to the assembly were also
introduced.

Business items during the assembly included board elections,
pastoral changes, congregational reports of the year's activities,
approval of a new three-year work plan for 2002-2005, a panel
discussion on past successes and future challenges for the Abundant
Life partners, and presentation of partner church banners to the
Mision Cristiana assembly delegates.

On Jan. 28, Monn and three representatives of El Senorial
congregation (Disciples in Christ Church) in Puerto Rico attended
a celebration at Rev. Marcelino Davila Castillo Educational
Center--a school run by Segunda congregation in Managua that has
received support from the Beacon Heights church.

Representatives from partner churches came from Puerto Rico, Cuba,
Texas, Idaho, Indiana, and Illinois. Twelve international guests
from within the "Towards an Abundant Life in Christ" partnership
were present for Mision Cristiana's National Assembly. Monn reports
that the Church of the Brethren was "happily received back into the
circle."

 7) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *The e-commerce site www.BrethrenPress.com did about $11,000 worth
of business during its first full year of operation, not including
customers who used the site to survey prodcuts before placing
orders by phone. About 600 orders were placed online. Brethren
Press marketing and sales manager Russ Matteson said he was pleased
with the first-year figures. BrethrenPress.com, the denomination's
first e-commerce site, began in December 2000. It includes most of
the products in the annual Brethren Press catalog and also partners
with the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership to supply
textbooks for Academy students. 

 *"Between the Flood and the Rainbow," a former General Board
environment and ecology newsletter that ceased publication in 1997,
has resumed this year under the non-profit Ecumenical Eco-Justice
Network. Former General Board staff member Shantilal Bhagat serves
as editor and wrote the cover article, "Climate Change: Breaking
the Cycle of Denial," for the new issue. It can be found online at
www.ecojusticenetwork.org. The new network plans to publish the
newsletter four times a year as it focuses on educational
resources. For print copies, call the General Board's Brethren
Witness office at 800-323-8039.

 8) The new Brethren Business Directory is now available on the
Internet at www.brethrenbusinessdirectory.org. Eleven businesses
are currently listed, with more planned. 

Businesses/professionals can add their listing by joining the
Brethren Business Network (BBN). Cost to join through the end of
April is $79 for a one-year membership. Membership includes a
listing in the directory, a subscription to "Marketplace" magazine,
a quarterly BBN e-newsletter, access to the BBN list server, an
invitation to the BBN breakfast at Annual Conference, and an
invitation to the Mennonite Economic Development Associates annual
convention in November. 

The directory is being sponsored jointly by eMountain
Communications and the Brethren Business Network. For more
information or to sign up, contact Loyce Swartz Borgmann, interim
marketing coordinator for Brethren Benefit Trust, at 703-938-0023
or lborgmann_bbt@brethren.org; or Wendi Hutchinson of the Brethren
Business Network at 260-982-5232 or
info@brethrenbusinessnetwork.net.

 

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. Jerry Crouse and Mary Dulabaum contributed to this
report.

To receive Newsline by e-mail or fax, call 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. Also see Photo
Journal at www.brethren.org/pjournal/index.htm for photo coverage
of recent events.