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

[COBNews@aol.com]

Date: Sept. 20, 2002
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

NEWS
 1) Washington Office asks Brethren to oppose war on Iraq.
 2) BVS orientation unit in New Windsor is largest in 11 years.
 3) Hispanic Brethren begin ambitious new venture.
 4) MMPC meets, listens in New Windsor.
 5) Cuban delegation will visit General Offices next week.
 6) Northern Ireland event celebrates 30 years of BVS work.
 7) Reports from two recent district conferences.
 8) Brethren bits: Racing, New Life Ministries, and more.

PERSONNEL
 9) General Board seeks a full-time general secretary.

COMING EVENTS
10) Elgin event will celebrate Church World Service partnership.

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

 1) The Church of the Brethren Washington Office this week again
encouraged Brethren to voice opposition to a war with Iraq, issuing
a "prayer and faxing" action checklist. 

The checklist suggests contacting senators by fax or phone (Capitol
Switchboard at 202-546-3202), visiting the senator's district
office or Washington, D.C., office, joining in increased actions of
prayer and congressional visits planned in Washington during the
week of Sept. 23, and praying for peace at 8:30 a.m. each morning.

The office also issued several "talking points" regarding the
current impoverished situation in Iraq, the intense focus on US
military action, the lack of convincing evidence regarding the Iraq
threat, the effect on the international community, some other
possible diplomatic routes, and the denomination's historic peace
stance. More information is available at
www.brethren.org/genbd/washofc or by calling 202-546-3202.

A concerned group at National Older Adult Conference earlier this
month drafted a petition against military action in Iraq and
gathered more than 850 signatures at the event.

 2) Brethren Volunteer Service Unit 251 is holding orientation
Sept. 15-Oct. 5 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.,
with the largest group in 11 years.

Thirty-one volunteers are in the unit, making it the biggest since
fall 1991. The participants include three young men from Germany
who are completing their alternative service and one young woman
from Switzerland.

Thirteen of the volunteers come from Church of the Brethren
congregations: Stephanie Bostwick from Little Swatara Church of the
Brethren, Richland, Pa.; Sam Bowman of the Antioch congregation,
Rocky Mount, Va.; Jamie Eller of New Covenant, Gotha, Fla.; Janelle
Flory of McPherson (Kan.); Jodi Good of Annville (Pa.); Heidi Gross
of Manchester in North Manchester, Ind.; Brian Haag of Oakland,
Gettysburg, Ohio; Kevin and Tina Horst of Ephrata (Pa.); Claire
Micklin of Richmond (Ind.); Dot Ramser of Brook Park Community
(Brookpark, Ohio); Marilyn Reish of Dayton (Va.); and Elizabeth
Stover of Quinter (Kan.).

Guest speakers for the orientation include Greg Davidson
Laszakovits, Grace Lefever, Todd Reish, Noelle Dulabaum Bohrer,
David Radcliff, Matt Guynn, Barb Sayler, SueZann Bosler, and Cliff
Kindy. The group will also spend two nights at I Can, Inc.--a
shelter for homeless men in Baltimore--and attend Middle
Pennsylvania District's Heritage Fair at Camp Blue Diamond.  

It marks Sue Grubb's final orientation as coordinator. She is being
assisted by Karen Roberts, who will take over the position on a
one-year, temporary basis.

 3) The Hispanic pastoral leadership of Atlantic Northeast District
has begun a new venture, forming an organization called Brethren
Hispanic Fellowship. The group met on Aug. 24 and accepted a
challenge, put forth by a planning committee, to plant 30 churches
in a 10-year period.

Using the model of calling forth leadership from existing
congregations, and providing training through Bethany Theological
Seminary's Susquehanna Valley Satellite, the group has already
begun working toward their goal. A new project is starting in
Allentown, Pa., another one will be housed at the York (Pa.) Second
Church of the Brethren, and a third invitation has come from the
Philadelphia area.

"I thought this was a crazy idea," said Hispanic pastor Ruben
Deoleo, "until I realized that we already have three possibilities
for the first year. Three a year would make the dream become a
reality."

The group has expressed a passion to see their Hispanic brothers
and sisters "joined to Christ's church." Initially each pastoral
team in the district, which already has several Hispanic
congregations, would be bivocational and work at the church
planting process with minimal budget requirements. The local
Hispanic congregation that calls out the leadership for these new
plants will be encouraged to "walk alongside" the project as a
parent/sibling church.

 4) The General Board-sponsored Mission and Ministries Planning
Council (MMPC) convened again Sept. 8-10 in New Windsor, Md.,
discussing proposals before it and holding another round of mission
conversations.

The council began with an orientation for new members and a review
of its work, then dedicated much of the next day to conversations
with area Brethren who have an interest in the denomination's
mission. Nearly 30 people attended.

General secretary Judy Mills Reimer called it "a wonderful time of
sharing, of listening, of hearing dreams and visions of what people
wish we were able to do in the Church of the Brethren." Although
limited funds and human resources limit the extent of
denominational activity, Reimer says, "Many times people are
surprised by how much, as a small denomination, we're able to do"
by "stretching dollars."

It was the sixth conversation time held since 1998, and the third
under MMPC.

During the rest of the meeting, the council considered several
proposals that have already come and heard updates on other issues.
It set a November date for an "exploration visit" to Haiti; an
exploration visit to Companeros en Ministerio projects in Tijuana,
Mexico, is being negotiated.

MMPC also decided to cancel its planned West Coast meeting and
conversations scheduled for January due to the present tight budget
situation, and instead to meet in conjuction with the InterAgency
Forum and the Council of District Executives in late January in
Daytona Beach, Fla., where many MMPC members will already be
present. The fall 2003 meeting will be Sept. 7-8, again in New
Windsor.

In addition to Reimer, MMPC members for 2002-2003 are Annual
Conference moderator Harriet Finney and moderator-elect Chris
Bowman, General Board chair Warren Eshbach and board member Doug
Diamond, Global Mission Partnerships director Mervin Keeney, and
district executive representatives Don Booz and Linda McCauliff.

 5) A delegation from Cuba will visit the Church of the Brethren
General Board offices in Elgin, Ill., for a time of discussion and
relationship-building on Sept. 26.

The Rev. Dr. Reinerio Arce, president of the Cuban Council of
Churches (CIC), and his wife, Dr. Patricia Ares Muzio, will meet
with general secretary Judy Mills Reimer, have lunch and
conversation with Global Mission Partnerships staff, and greet
others during a building-wide welcome reception in the afternoon.
Two other members of the CIC board--a long-time Brethren
partner--had planned to attend but were unable to obtain visas to
travel.

Church World Service is coordinating the CIC visit among several US
denominations. General Board Latin America/Caribbean specialist
Nadine Monn is facilitating their Church of the Brethren stop. It
is a return visit for Arce, who came to the offices along with
other CIC representatives in October 2000.

 6) The Forthspring Community Center/Springfield Road Methodist
Church in west Belfast was a fitting venue on Sept. 6 for the 30th
anniversary "thank you" celebration of Brethren Volunteer Service
presence in Northern Ireland.

One of the "peace lines" separating Catholic and Protestant areas
of the city lies directly adjacent to this church where a current
BVSer works with youth, and another BVS worker lives in an
ecumenical community on the other side of the wall. BVS was also
first invited to come to Northern Ireland 30 years ago by a
Methodist pastor working in a similar community center/church just
a few streets away.

That pastor, the Rev. Harold Good, was one of the speakers at the
event, attended by about 50 people. Good shared his memories of
then-BVS Europe director Dale Ott's visit in late 1971 and
subsequent arrival of the first BVS volunteer, Ken Smith, in the
spring of 1972.

As Good addressed the group, he said, "When the full story of all
these years in Northern Ireland is written, you Brethren probably
won't be recorded; sorry about that. But more importantly, in many
ways that can never be measured, is that you've made a huge
contribution to the lives of so many people here and to our overall
situation. By your coming here you've encouraged us, by helping us
to realize we are a part of a great world family who are concerned
about justice, peace, and people. Thank you. And we want to
encourage you in return."

Ott and Dr. David Stevens, general secretary of the Irish Council
of Churches, also spoke, as did current project director Tanya
Gallagher and former BVS Northern Ireland worker Elaine Campbell.
Current BVS worker April Angel sang two songs, and another current
BVSer, Sara Cook, used input from other volunteers to thank the
organizations for allowing BVS workers to join them in their
journeys.

 7) Reports from two recent district conferences:
 *Missouri/Arkansas: Annual Conference moderator Harriet Finney and
General Board Brethren Witness director David Radcliff were
featured presenters at the conference, held Sept. 6-8 at Windermere
Conference Center on the Lake of the Ozarks with the theme
"Embracing God's Word." Rolan Norsworthy of the Peace Valley
congregation served as moderator, and 148 delegates and guests
attended. Finney led a ministers'/moderators' workshop, addressed
the conference one evening, and met with youth, while Radcliff
preached three times. A group of youth and advisors presented an
energetic NYC report. Business included recognizing closure of the
Columbia Fellowship, adopting a plan for the use of monies received
from the sale of the Mt. Grove church property after its withdrawal
from the denomination in 2000-2001, and a session of input and
discussion regarding the 2002 Annual Conference's answer to the
query brought by the district on the role of moderators.
Broadwater/Farrenburg pastor Cindy Sanders was called as
moderator-elect; Roger Schrock of Cabool is moderator for the
coming year. The Carthage (Mo.) congregation shared two concerns:
the first asks the district to affirm the 2002 Annual Conference
decision against the ordination and licensing of homosexual persons
and further state that any congregation who takes an Open and
Affirming stance be "subject to the discipline of the district."
The second asks for affirmation of the name "Church of the
Brethren." Both concerns were referred to the district board for
discussion and further processing.

 *South/Central Indiana (A partial report on two special business
items at the conference, which met Sept. 13-14 in Anderson, Ind.):
The delegate body agreed to forward to Standing Committee a query
that petitions the Annual Conference to "appoint a committee to
study and offer guidance on how congregations can disagree with
Annual Conference decisions yet remain, as much as possible, in
unbroken fellowship with their sister congregations, including how
district boards should respond in these situations." The query was
co-authored by the district board and the Manchester congregation
(North Manchester, Ind.), after Manchester's controversial decision
last fall to allow same-sex covenant services. The delegate body
considered proposed polity dealing directly with that decision,
debating a district board recommendation to establish
intra-district consequences for any congregation performing
same-sex covenant ceremonies. Consequences would have included a
three-year loss of rights to vote at district conference and a
three-year ban on members serving in district leadership positions.
The item narrowly failed to receive the two-thirds majority needed
to pass.

 8) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *After winning the final two races of the Indy Racing League (IRL)
by the slimmest of margins, Sam Hornish Jr. claimed the circuit's
2002 season points title. Hornish, who grew up in the Poplar Ridge
Church of the Brethren, Defiance, Ohio, won a record total of five
races this season--the last two each by less than .01 seconds.

 *A newly reorganized New Life Ministries board met Sept. 5 in
Lititz, Pa., and committed itself to increased work with mainline
Protestant denominations and congregations while reaffirming its
commitment to provide resources and services to congregations in
the Anabaptist tradition. Frederick (Md.) Church of the Brethren
pastor Paul Mundey was elected chair of the board, which also
finalized plans for the Feb. 14-16 Anabaptist Evangelism Council
meeting in Chicago and made plans for new projects to be developed
cooperatively with Anabaptist and mainline Protestant partners. 

 *Two dates listed in the Sept. 6 issue of Newsline were incorrect.
The dates of the Northern Ireland young adult workcamp sponsored by
the General Board's Youth/Young Adult Ministry office have been
changed to May 31-June 9. (A second young adult workcamp, to
Ecuador, remains scheduled for May 30-June 8). Also, dates given
for the 2004 National Older Adult Conference were the 2002 dates.
The 2004 NOAC will be Sept. 6-10, back in Lake Junaluska, N.C.

 *Edna Switzer Soler, who served with the Church of the Brethren
Mission Board in Quito, Ecuador, in the 1950s and 1960s, died on
Sept. 1 in Puerto Rico. She was 77. Her main responsibilities in
Ecuador included religious education in a Brethren-run primary
school and adult literacy projects.

 *The Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren is wrapping up its
centennial celebrations by inviting the community to come to a free
address by well-known speaker Tony Campolo at 7 p.m. this Saturday
(Sept. 21) at Elizabethtown College's Leffler Chapel. Campolo, who
spoke at this year's National Youth Conference and National Older
Adult Conference, will also preach Sunday morning at the
congregation's 10:30 a.m. worship service. He will preach on the
centennial theme, "Learning to Live the Love of God."

 9) The General Board's search committee for a new general
secretary--following the announcement of Judy Mills Reimer's intent
to retire in July 2003--has secured Kirk Stiffney of Mennonite
Health Services as a consultant in the search process.

The committee, which will hold its first formal meeting Sept. 28 at
the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., has released an
announcement for the full-time position based in Elgin, Ill. The
general secretary guides numerous key denominational ministries and
represents the denomination ecumenically. The March 2003 General
Board meeting is the target date for presenting a candidate.

According to the position description, the committee seeks a
candidate who will: model spiritual depth and maturity, communicate
and implement a vision, structure and lead a complex organization,
integrate fiscal responsibility with an organization's mission,
listen to and speak with diverse constituencies, seek wholeness and
restoration in all relationships, and develop collegial
relationships with other denominational/district agencies.

Minimum requirements are: a Christian committed to the Church of
the Brethren faith, a bachelor's degree (with advanced degree or
equivalent experience preferred), and significant experience
working with a board of directors. Inquiries should be sent to Kirk
Stiffney, General Board Search Consultant, c/o Mennonite Health
Services, 234 S. Main St., Suite A, Goshen, IN 46526; fax
219-534-3254 or e-mail kirkstiffney@aol.com.

 10) On Oct. 1, the Church of the Brethren will celebrate more than
50 years of partnership with Church World Service (CWS). John
McCullough, executive director of CWS, will spend the day at the
Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., culminating
in an evening reception and dinner.

McCullough will speak on "Church World Service Today" to about 100
invited community and denominational leaders, including Elgin city
officials, local clergy, Church World Service staff, and area
Church of the Brethren pastors.

The Church of the Brethren was instrumental in launching Church
World Service in 1946, as well as the Christian Rural Overseas
Program (CROP), later integrated into CWS. Today, CWS is a relief,
development, and refugee assistance ministry of 36 Protestant,
Anglican, and Orthodox denominations reaching more than 80
countries. It is well known for its annual CROP Walks and works
closely with the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.

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. Janis Pyle, Paul Schrock, and Carol
Yeazell contributed to this report.

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