wfn.org | Church of the Brethren Newsline for Oct. 4, 2002

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Newsline	  Oct. 4, 2002

"For I was hungry, and you gave me food. . ." Matt. 25:35a

NEWS
 1) General Board funds make major grant to southern Africa crisis.
 2) Church World Service, Brethren celebrate their partnership.
 3) Disaster Child Care teams mount Gulf Coast response.
 4) Cuban delegation thanks Brethren for support and solidarity.
 5) Annual Conference announces worship, Bible study leaders.
 6) General Board to wrestle with finances, comprehensive plan. 
 7) Congregation No. 100 commits to Decade to Overcome Violence 
 8) Grants support Dominican Republic work, clinic box project.
 9) Brethren bits: CPT, college news, peace issues, and more.

****************************************************************
 
 1) A combined $100,000 has been allocated from the General Board's
Emergency Disaster Fund and Global Food Crisis Fund to address food
shortages resulting from drought conditions in the southern African
nations of Zambia, Lesotho, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.

The World Food Program called the southern Africa crisis the "most
severe and urgent dilemma facing the international community at the
moment," according to a Church World Service (CWS) report. About 13
million people are estimated to be at risk of starvation this
winter.

"You can ride through miles and miles of countryside and see that
everything has died," CWS International Response Consultant Ivan
DeKam said in a release. 

The funds will support relief efforts including providing seed corn
and drought-tolerant crop packs, meal and food-for-work programs,
small-scale irrigation, canal building, micro credit, and animal
projects. It will support a larger CWS appeal seeking an initial
$500,000 in relief. Local CWS partners are assisting with
distribution.

A symbolic check representing the $100,000 gift was presented to
Church World Service executive director John McCullough during his
visit to the Church of the Brethren General Offices this week (see
story #2).

 2) The Church of the Brethren and Church World Service took time
to celebrate on Oct. 1, lifting up an important partnership that
has lasted for more than 50 years.

Church World Service executive director John McCullough was the
guest of honor at the event, held at the Church of the Brethren
General Offices in Elgin, Ill., but he, in turn, used part of his
address to honor the denomination for its work.

"I want you to know that this evening I stand to honor you,"
McCullough said, "and to say thanks be to God for the workings of
the Holy Spirit in your lives and in your church." He expressed
thanks for the "genius and compassion" of the Brethren that was
instrumental in launching Church World Service in 1946.

McCullough, who also visited and held discussions with General
Board staff during the day, shared from his own experiences in the
former Zaire, Bosnia, and elsewhere to illustrate the ministry and
purpose of Church World Service. The organization has grown to
become the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry of
36 denominations, reaching more than 80 countries. 

He noted "a real imperative" for the church to bring people
together around "a common table" and talk about the many issues
weighing on today's world, discussing those needs and "finding the
way out."

"We need to be present and do what we can, even with our meager
resources," McCullough told the audience of about 55 Brethren and
CWS staff, area pastors, and other guests. "It's a real privilege
to be united in this ministry together."

After his profuse thanks, McCullough also left the audience with a
challenge. "The job isn't done yet," he noted. He urged Brethren
and others to help the world "have the opportunity to truly be the
kind of place God intends it to be."

Other highlights of the event, sponsored by the General Board's
Global Mission Partnerships office, included greetings from general
secretary Judy Mills Reimer, dinner, music by New Gospel Sounds of
the Chicago First Church of the Brethren, and recognition of the
nation's top CROP Walk fund-raiser--Konrad Bald of Barrington, Ill.

 3) Two Disaster Child Care teams have been called into action by
the Church of the Brethren General Board's Emergency Response/
Service Ministries (ER/SM) office to respond to a pair of tropical
storms that struck the US central Gulf Coast.

Hurricane Lili hit central Louisiana on Oct. 3, less than a week
after Tropical Storm Isidore pounded areas just east of there with
torrential rains, causing more than $100 million in flood damage.
More flooding and some tornadoes in Louisiana and Mississippi
resulted from Lili.

The first team of five Disaster Child Care volunteers traveled to
Jackson, Miss., on Oct. 1, where they planned to meet with the
American Red Cross before continuing to Bay St. Louis to set up a
child-care center. A second team left on Oct. 2 to care for
children in Biloxi, Miss. With Lili's advance, however, all team
members returned to or stayed in Jackson until the storm cleared.

Disaster Child Care coordinator Roy Winter said that more
child-care centers might be needed in Louisiana after Lili, pending
requests from the Red Cross. 

Elsewhere, ER/SM announced that its flood relief project in
Buchanan County, Va., would close by the end of October. A project
in Siren, Wis., closed at the end of August. Several other areas
are being monitored for possible response needs.

 4) The Rev. Dr. Reinerio Arce, president of the Cuban Council of
Churches (CIC), and his wife, Dr. Patricia Ares Muzio, visited the
Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., on Sept. 26,
expressing thanks and emphasizing unity in Christ.

"It has been very significant, the help the Brethren have given to
the Cuban church," Arce said. "I want to reaffirm we are very happy
that God has given us the opportunity for sharing this relationship
with the Church of the Brethren, and solidarity between our people.
For many years, the bridge between our peoples has been the
churches."

The couple was traveling to several US denominations during the
trip, coordinated by Church World Service. The General Board's
Global Mission Partnerships office hosted them while in Elgin, with
a lunch, visits and discussion, and afternoon reception. Arce had
also visited the offices along with other CIC officials in October
2000.

Their 2002 tour included a stop in Washington, D.C., where they
joined with government representatives, business leaders,
Cuban-Americans, and others to dialog about Cuba and the effects
that the ongoing US embargo has there.

"The ones who suffer are the people, not the government," Arce said
while in Elgin. "The Cuban people are the ones who are suffering."
He called the Washington summit "an important step."

Brethren involvement in Cuba began 100 years ago and has continued
to varying degrees over the years with visits in both directions,
shipments from meat canning projects, and sister-church
relationships. 

 5) The Annual Conference Worship Committee met in Elgin, Ill., in
late September and selected preachers, worship leaders, Bible study
leaders, and musicians for next summer's Annual Conference in
Boise, Idaho.

Moderator Harriet Finney will give the message at Saturday's
opening worship service, with moderator-elect Chris Bowman serving
as worship leader. Sunday morning, Steve Reid of Austin
Presbyterian Theological Seminary will speak, with Jan Fairchild of
Eugene, Ore., as worship leader.

Dan Ulrich of Bethany Theological Seminary will preach on Monday;
Bonnie Kline Smeltzer, pastor of the University Baptist-Brethren
Church in State College, Pa., on Tuesday; and Larry Dentler, pastor
of the Bermudian Church of the Brethren, East Berlin, Pa., on
Wednesday. Worship leaders will be Ruth Yoder of Nappanee, Ind.;
Jim Hardenbrook of Nampa, Idaho; and Matthew Fike of Weyers Cave,
Va., respectively.

Shawn Kirchner of La Verne, Calif., will serve as music
coordinator, and Pat Koehler of Nyssa, Ore., as choir director.
Annual Conference Program & Arrangements Committee member Andrew
Wright is worship coordinator this year.

Sam Detwiler of Wenatchee, Wash., and Ruben Deoleo of Lancaster,
Pa., will lead evening Bible study sessions, with Deoleo's in
Spanish. Morning Bible study leaders will be Wendell Bohrer of
Sebring, Fla.; Ray Hileman of Ligonier, Pa.; and Bethany
Theological Seminary professor Dena Pence Frantz of Richmond, Ind.

Annual Conference meets at Boise State University July 5-9, 2003. 

 6) The Church of the Brethren General Board will hold its fall
meetings Oct. 12-15 in Elgin, Ill., with issues of finances and the
agency's future dominating the agenda.

The board's executive committee will meet on Oct. 11, working with
personnel issues and hearing about items scheduled to come before
the full board. Much of that will focus on finance issues and the
2003 budget, as the agency wrestles with the cash crunch affecting
many non-profits and other businesses in the slow economy.

That reality will also impact the creation of the General Board's
new comprehensive plan, which the full board will continue to work
on over the weekend. Final approval of the plan is expected at the
March 2003 meeting.

Other agenda items include a proposal to put a new roof on the
General Offices, reaffirmation of the General Board's 1998
statement on Iraq, an update on the general secretary search
process, a host of other reports and updates, times of worship,
recognition of employee milestones, and a dinner celebrating
General Board ministries.

 7) The number of Church of the Brethren congregations committing
to the worldwide Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) reached 100 in
September.

District DOV representatives and DOV program assistant Laura
Kreider have made congregational committments to the Decade an
ongoing priority. Congregations that join receive an introductory
packet, invitations to training events, and continuing resources.

The movement was initiated by the World Council of Churches (WCC)
and endorsed by delegates at the Church of the Brethren Annual
Conference in 2000. Activities during the past year have included
a training weekend at New Windsor, Md., in November 2001 and events
at the 2002 Annual Conference, including a visit by German
Mennonite Fernando Enns, who initially proposed the idea for the
Decade to the WCC.

The General Board's Brethren Witness office and On Earth Peace have
been collaborating to oversee DOV involvement within the
denomination. Staff from the two offices met in New Windsor on
Sept. 23 for a planning meeting between the denomination's peace
programs. 

"It's important to keep each other informed about what we're doing,
to maintain clarity about our respective foci, and to plan joint
projects, such as coordinating the Decade, planning peace events,
and sponsoring the Youth Peace Travel Team," Brethren Witness
director David Radcliff said.

More information on the Decade and congregational involvement is
available from Laura Kreider at 202-546-3202 or cobdov@aol.com. 

 8) In addition to the major donation toward the southern Africa
drought and famine crisis (see story #1), General Board funds have
also made several other sizeable grants in recent weeks.

The Global Food Crisis Fund has allocated $55,000 to support the
work of Jeff and Peggy Boshart as community development consultants
in the Dominican Repubilc. The grant will fund their project
through Feb. 1, 2003. Their work includes helping villages organize
to be more effective in pursuing economic development projects and
enhancing food security. 

Another Global Food Crisis grant, for $18,000, will aid the work of
Christian Commission for Development in rural and chronically poor
communities in Honduras. The funds will help provide flocks of hens
for food security and income, and will support a first-ever fruit
tree project.

Finally, an allocation of $57,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund
will provide for the completion of the National Youth Conference
Clinic Box Project. Youth at NYC collected supplies to assemble 378
of the clinic boxes. These funds will be used to cover processing,
warehousing, and shipping, and to add time-dated medical supplies.
The grant includes more than $35,000 in designated giving to this
project.

A total of 18 grants have been made from the Emergency Disaster
Fund this year, and 10 from the Global Food Crisis Fund.

 9) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere:
 *Christian Peacemaker Teams on Oct. 1 officially opened its new
offices adjacent to the Douglas Park Church of the Brethren in
Chicago. More than 200 volunteers helped to rehabilitate a
dilapidated building in a project that began in September 2001.
Five staff members will work in the building. . . . Chicago First
Church of the Brethren pastor Orlando Redekopp was among those on
a CPT delegation to Israel and the West Bank in September.

 *The Manchester Church of the Brethren, North Manchester, Ind., on
Sept. 29 held a panel discussion on Brethren peace witness.
Brethren Witness director David Radcliff, On Earth Peace
co-director Barb Sayler, Christian Peacemaker Teams director Gene
Stoltzfus, and Bethany Theological Seminary professor Scott Holland
participated. About 200 people attended, from 31 congregations.

 *A sermon by York Center Church of the Brethren (Lombard, Ill.)
pastor Christy Waltersdorff was quoted in the Sept. 11-24 edition
of "Christian Century." The sermon was cited in a review of the
book "Where Was God on September 11?," a collection of	numerous
sermons and essays. . . . The Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the
Brethren recently ran a full-page ad in the Lancaster (Pa.)
Intelligencer-Journal newspaper, containing "A Statement of
Conscience: A Plea for Peace" related to Iraq. It bore numerous
signatures of people supporting the ad.

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. Dan McFadden and Howard Royer contributed to this
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