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Date: April 19, 2002
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

NEWS
 1) Bob Gross joins emergency delegation to the West Bank.
 2) Evangelism Connections event kicks off in Louisville.
 3) Bethany board considers diversity issues, elects new officers.
 4) ABC board adopts new mission statement.
 5) Christian Citizenship Seminar for adults explores peacemaking.
 6) Global Food Crisis, Emergency Disaster funds make new grants.
 7) Small Membership/Rural Church advisory group has first meeting.
 8) Midwestern youth gather for Regional Youth Conference.

****************************************************************
 
 1) Fourteen people left on Monday as a part of an emergency
delegation to Hebron, West Bank, sponsored by Christian Peacemaker
Teams (CPT) as unrest in the region continues. Bob Gross,
co-director of On Earth Peace, is among the delegation. The group
joins eight CPT workers already in Hebron, including Church of the
Brethren members Rick Polhamus and Peggy Gish.  

"Delegates will document the human rights situation, maintain a
nonviolent presence on the streets of Hebron's Old City, and stay
with families in vulnerable neighborhoods," according to CPT staff
member Claire Evans. "They may be deployed to outlying areas in the
Hebron district, or to other crisis zones such as Bethlehem and
Ramallah."

Gross was scheduled to leave this week for India to continue work
on behalf of the Church of the Brethren General Board, leading
reconciliation meetings between the Church of North India and
"separated" Brethren in Gujarat State. This trip was postponed at
the request of the Church of North India, however, due to political
unrest in Gujarat. Difficulties in obtaining a visa had delayed
earlier trips to India, but those were solved this spring.

The emergency delegation will remain in the Middle East for two
weeks. They arrived safely in Jerusalem Tuesday evening after
proceeding through Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. They began
training on Wednesday and were to be divided into three groups to
go into the various high-conflict areas.

On Earth Peace is encouraging Church of the Brethren congregations
to hold both Israeli and Palestinian communities in prayer this
week during congregational worship. For information on holding a
community prayer walk, visit
www.brethren.org/oepa/seekingpeace/witness. An update from Church
of the Brethren member Nathan Musselman, currently living in the
West Bank, is also available, at www.brethren.org/genbd/witness.

A delegation of prominent US Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican
church leaders will also visit the Middle East April 16-27 through
the National Council of Churches. Planned for several months, the
trip is "all the more urgent" given the deepening crisis, said NCC
general secretary Bob Edgar, who is leading the delegation.

That group will meet with clergy in each country and expects to
meet with several high-level political officials, including Syrian
President Bashar Al Assad and Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafiq
Hariri. The delegation also intends to meet with Israeli and
Palestinian government officials and with the US Consul General in
Jerusalem. They plan stops in Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and
Israel/Palestine.

 2) The first of two Evangelism Connections conferences scheduled
for this year took place April 12-13 in Louisville, Ky. It was the
first of the conferences to be held since the Church of the
Brethren became a partner in the ecumenical effort, spearheaded by
Net Results Inc. Six other denominations joined in the planning.

Congregational Life Team member Jeff Glass led a workshop titled
"Characteristics of Vital Congregations," emphasizing the Natural
Church Development process. That workshop and nine others were each
offered five times over the two-day event, held just blocks from
the site of this summer's Church of the Brethren Annual Conference.

"How can we release the potential that God has placed within every
church?" Glass asked his audience. He said the point of Natural
Church Development is to have congregations become so healthy that
"growth begins to occur naturally." He noted eight "quality
characteristics" that congregations should possess. 

Glenn Timmons, director of the General Board's Congregational Life
Ministries office, was among those providing leadership for the
Friday evening worship service, one of four main worship times.
Timmons gave the welcome and announcements for the evening and
later introduced keynote speaker Roberta Hestenes, who emphasized
the importance of relationships, community, and love in evangelism.

Other keynoters during the weekend were Michael Curry, bishop of
the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, and Tom Benjamin Jr.,
senior pastor of Light of the World Christian Church in
Indianapolis, with passionate presentations focusing on other
facets of evangelism. "Evangelism is an invitation to follow Jesus
of Nazareth into God's dream for us all!" said Curry, who received
a prolonged standing ovation after his message.
 
Each worship also featured upbeat praise music from the Middletown
Christian Church Praise Team of Louisville, and the closing worship
included a time of communion.

About 500 people attended the event, a number that provided a
strong audience but fell below organizers' hopes. Only 16 Church of
the Brethren members attended, including several staff and Steve
Hankins, pastor of the Constance Church of the Brethren in Hebron,
Ky., who served on the local arrangements team. The Brethren group
gathered for a reception after worship Friday evening, when staff
shared some of the evangelism-related programs and initiatives
occurring in the denomination. 

Evangelism Connections will hold a second, nearly identical,
conference Nov. 15-16 in Philadelphia. To register, call the EC2002
office at 806-762-8094, ext. 102. Details are also available from
the Congregational Life Ministries office, at 800-323-8039.

 3) The Bethany Theological Seminary board of trustees gathered for
their semi-annual meeting April 5-7 in Richmond, Ind., and spent
significant time discussing the opportunities and challenges of the
increasingly diverse nature of Bethany's student body.

That diversity includes students who are residential, commuters,
and those who take the majority of their classes at the seminary's
Susquehanna Valley Satellite. The board also discussed how
"Connections," the seminary's emerging distributed education
program, will add further to the diversity. After presentations
describing student demographics in the seminary's graduate and
academy level programs, eight people from the Bethany community
participated in a "fishbowl" discussion with the board.

The board's Institutional Advancement Committee reported that the
theme "Bethany's Centennial: A Pilgrimage of Faith, A Future with
Hope" has been chosen for the seminary's centennial, which will be
celebrated October 2004 through October 2005; that three
discernment events for people at various stages of life are slated
for the 2002 calendar year; and that as of April 6, total gifts and
commitments to Bethany's capital campaign are $9,391,924.

The Finance and Business Affairs Committee presented a 2002-2003
fiscal year budget with a net income of $3,830, with $1,908,560 in
expected revenue and $1,904,730 in expenses.

The Academic and Student Affairs Committee reported on
"Connections," noting that Dan Ulrich has been appointed associate
dean and director of distributed education for a three-year term
beginning July 1. It also reported that discussions on expanded
cross-cultural options for students are taking place with several
agencies, including a stronger relationship with Brethren Colleges
Abroad.

In other action, the board:
   *Approved 11 students for graduation upon successful completion
of their graduation requirements as determined by faculty;

   *Approved Dan Ulrich for advancement to Associate Professor of
New Testament Studies with tenure and Scott Holland for advancement
to Associate Professor of Peace Studies and Cross-Cultural Studies;
   
   *Elected Anne Reid and Connie Rutt to the board pending Annual
Conference confirmation; 

   *Chose the following officers: John Gingrich, chair; Anne Reid,
vice chair; Ed Poling, secretary; Susan Boyer, chair of Academic
and Student Affairs Committee; Mark Baeverstad, chair of Finance
and Business Affairs Committee; Janice Ruhl, chair of Institutional
Advancement Committee.

 4) The Association of Brethren Caregivers board approved a new
mission statement for the denominational agency last week. The new
mission statement is: "The Association of Brethren Caregivers
fosters the ministry of giving and receiving care, as modeled by
Jesus and embraced by the Church of the Brethren, through the
development of resources, programs, events, and leadership that
connect and undergird persons and communities in their lifelong
journeys toward wholeness."

"I'm excited by the direction this new mission statement takes the
Association of Brethren Caregivers as it seeks to serve the caring
ministries of the denomination," says board chair Bentley Peters.
"As this mission statement was developed, the board and staff
discussed how important it is for our ministry to follow Jesus'
model of both giving and receiving care.

"We looked at Annual Conference's 1998 mandate for the Association
of Brethren Caregivers to serve the caring ministries of the
church, the agency's past activities, and how we can build on that
for the future. This mission statement incorporates all of these
elements."

The new mission statement emerged from a vision and planning
process the board began last March that also yielded a new vision
statement and four areas of strategic focus: advocacy, empowerment,
relationship and stewardship. With vision, mission, and areas of
strategic focus in place, the board directed the staff to interpret
the areas of strategic focus while preparing a strategic plan for
the board's next meeting in September. 

 5) Two dozen Brethren from various corners of the country met in
New York and Washington, D.C., April 6-11 for a Christian
Citizenship Seminar looking at "Peacemaking for Such a Time as
This."

Highlights of the week included addresses from an assortment of
Brethren leaders and other experts, a visit to the "Ground Zero"
area of the former World Trade Center in New York, a tour of the
United Nations, visits with congressional representatives in
Washington, a tour of Washington memorials, small-group
discussions, and numerous times of worship.

David Radcliff, director of the General Board's Brethren Witness
office, gave the opening address, urging participants to build on
"the stone that the builders rejected" as he discussed Iraq,
terrorism, and other justice issues. Elizabethtown (Pa.) College
professor David Eller spoke on Brethren history, and staff from the
Church of the Brethren Washington Office outlined Capitol Hill
activities. Other speakers addressed topics including Muslim/
Christian relations, UN peacekeeping efforts, media, economic
violence, and advocacy initiatives.

Half a dozen members of the group had the opportunity to meet with
Dr. Ahmed Botan Dhakkar, Iraq's deputy ambassador to the United
Nations. Dhakkar discussed his country's suffering through a decade
of UN sanctions, which he called "a method of war without the use
of military equipment." He thanked the Church of the Brethren for
its advocacy on the issue, saying, "Really, in your efforts, you
serve peace and you serve the American people well. I believe your
efforts are . . . for the good of humanity." 

"Might cannot last," he added. "Only peace can last."

The event is held for senior high youth in years when the
quadrennial National Youth Conference doesn't occur, but this year
it was held for adults and sponsored by the Brethren Witness office
and Washington Office. Another seminar for youth will take place in
May 2003.

 6) Two new grants have been made from the General Board's
special-purpose funds.

The larger of the two comes from the Global Food Crisis Fund, which
will send $30,000 for long-term work in North Korea being carried
out through Church World Service and other Christian development
organizations. The funds will support food production, health care,
and emergency relief as needed in the famine-stricken region.

An allocation of $10,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund will
support an emergency housing request from Companeros en Ministerio/
Partners in Ministry Inc., a General Board partner. The funds will
assist with expenses related to building new housing where a flash
fire destroyed 32 homes in the community of Colonia Nueva Aurora
near Tijuana, Mexico.

 7) The General Board's Small Membership/Rural Church Advisory
Committee met for the first time on April 13, at the General
Offices in Elgin, Ill. This initial group is made up of people
named by districts in the Midwest. In the future it may be
expanded, or subgroups may be formed to deal with concerns in other
regions.

Representatives at this first meeting were Ray Barkey, Northern
Indiana District; Mary Jane Button-Harrison, Northern Plains; Les
Cooper, South/Central Indiana; Chuck Cupp, Southern Ohio; Rick
Koch, Illinois/Wisconsin, and Roger Schrock, Missouri/Arkansas.
Congregational Life Team staff member Jim Kinsey served as
convener.

The purpose of this group is to focus on issues, resourcing, and
ministry in the many small membership and rural congregations of
the denomination. Various possibilities for communication and
sharing are being studied to enable more people to be part of the
"sharing loop" of resources and ideas.

The first meeting focused on the group's identity and function, the
pressing needs of small membership and rural churches, and the best
ways to process these needs. Ministry issues rose to the forefront,
and accountability issues and changing rural paradigms were also
discussed. The group expressed a desire to see both what ecumenical
groups here and around the world are doing on these issues.

The committee will gather again during Annual Conference in
Louisville, Ky., this summer. Its next full meeting will be Oct.
9-10, again in Elgin, Ill.

 8) Youth and advisors from six Midwestern districts converged on
Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind., April 12-14 for the
school's annual Church of the Brethren Regional Youth Conference.
About 165 people attended the weekend event, which used the
National Youth Conference theme "For Such a Time as This."

Keynote speakers for the weekend worship celebrations included
Trotwood (Ohio) Church of the Brethren pastor Amy Messler, Elkhart
(Ind.) Valley pastor Frank Ramirez, and Manchester campus pastor
Jim Chinworth. Messler spoke on "Rice & Beans, Cement & Paint"
Friday evening, and Ramirez spoke both Saturday morning and
evening. He "visited" with former Brethren Volunteer Service
workers via "The Wayback Machine" and later talked about Zephaniah
in "The Prophet Who Couldn't See Straight."

"God doesn't need your strength," Ramirez said during his evening
address. "God's pretty strong. God needs your weakness. . . . A lot
of people have had weaknesses, and God has used each and every one
of them."

Chinworth's closing message, titled "Going off the Deep End,"
involved youth working in small groups to identify safe harbors and
challenges in their lives, built around the story of Jesus urging
the disciples to push out into deep water to fish.

Methodist humorist Chris Danielson provided the Saturday evening
entertainment, with acts ranging from a contemporary spin on the
Jonah story, to having volunteers pronounce Old Testament city
names while holding a mouth full of marshmallows, to a touching
story about cerebral palsy delivered in a first-person style.

Other activities during the weekend included a variety of
workshops, volleyball and basketball, the opportunity to join in
the college's Peace Week activities, campus tours, and a
performance by Manchester's "Controlled Catastrophe" improv group.

 9) Richard B. Gardner has announced his plans to retire as
academic dean and professor of New Testament at Bethany Theological
Seminary. His announcement, which came at the April 6 meeting of
Bethany's board of trustees, will be effective at the conclusion of
the next academic year, June 2003.

Gardner began as dean in July 1992, two years before Bethany
relocated from Oak Brook, Ill., to Richmond, Ind. His work included
directing development of a graduate curriculum in conjunction with
the Earlham School of Religion through that transition, and more
recently extending the reach of Bethany's graduate program through
a distributed education program.

Gardner first joined Bethany's faculty in 1988, when he came from
the staff of the General Board. There he had developed and directed
the programs that were later merged into the Brethren Academy for
Ministerial Leadership. He maintained responsibility for those
certificate programs during his four years as a Bethany faculty
member, and the Academy office moved to Bethany soon after he
became academic dean.

Gardner plans to continue teaching at Bethany on a half-time basis
for two years and then in the future as needed.

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. Marcia Shetler, Erin Matteson, and Mary Dulabaum
contributed to this report.

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