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

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Date: Nov. 21, 2003
Contact: Walt Wiltschek
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

NEWS
 1) NCC General Assembly installs new president, passes
resolutions.
 2) Bethany's Susquehanna Valley Satellite marks 10th anniversary.
 3) Emergency Disaster Fund grant to support school rebuilding in
Iraq.
 4) New Sudan Council of Churches leader receives award for work.
 5) Annual Conference seeks nominations for offices open in 2004.
 6) BVS Unit 257 uses rural, urban sites for fall orientation.
 7) Brethren bits: Disaster Child Care, DOV, more.

PERSONNEL
 8) Dennis Kingery will become Credit Union Operations director for
BBT.
 9) Walt Wiltschek is called as the new editor of Messenger.

COMING EVENTS
10) Youth/young adult peacemaking stories sought for Ecumenical
Citation.

RESOURCES
11) Brethren Press releases new children's book, other pieces.

****************************************************************
 
 1) Delegates to this year's National Council of Churches General
Assembly witnessed the installation of a new NCC president,
endorsed consumer boycotts of two companies' products, and approved
several resolutions as they met Nov. 4-6 in Jackson, Miss.

Thomas L. Hoyt Jr. became the first member of the Christian
Methodist Episcopal church to serve as NCC president. "We have
great opportunities to do wonderful things for the people of God,"
Hoyt said at his Nov. 6 installation service.

Numerous other NCC officers were also installed, including Robert
Edgar, who was re-elected to a second four-year term as general
secretary of the organization. Former United Church of Christ
president Paul Sherry was appointed to a one-year post leading the
NCC's Mobilization to Overcome Poverty in cooperation with the
Center for Community Change.

The delegate body, which included four members representing Church
of the Brethren, gave its support to boycotts of Taco Bell and Mt.
Olive Pickle products effective immediately to put pressure on
those companies for improvement of wages and working conditions of
their suppliers' farm workers. It is the first time since 1988 the
NCC assembly endorsed a boycott.

A "Resolution on Conflict in the Middle East" adopted by delegates
notes the continuing violence between Israel and Palestine and
expresses concern over the violence being carried out again both
Israelis and Palestinians, and the Separation Wall being built by
Israel. It calls for tearing down the wall and offers prayers for
all the people of the region. All NCC member churches are urged to
make their voices heard on the issue.

In other action, the assembly approved establishment of an
ecumenical Human Genetics Policy Development Committee to educate
church members about related issues and develop a policy to address
those issues; adopted a "Resolution on the Churches and Public
School" that urges member communions and congregations to support
public education; adopted a "Resolution on Preserving US
Pharmaceutical Sales to Canada"; and reissued a 2002 resolution
calling on Israel to recognize the canonical election of His
Beatitude Irenaios as Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Delegates attending for the Church of the Brethren were Stan
Noffsinger, general secretary of the General Board; Frances
Townsend, David W. Miller, and L. Gene Bucher. Two other delegates,
Merv Keeney and Valentina Satvedi, were unable to attend. Further
details on the assembly can be found at www.ncccusa.org/news/. 

 2) The Susquehanna Valley Satellite of Bethany Theological
Seminary observed its 10th anniversary with a celebration at
Carlisle (Pa.) Church of the Brethren on Nov. 2.

A planning committee chaired by Allen Hansell coordinated the
event, which included a time of celebrating what has been,
envisioning for the future, dinner, and worship. Past and present
staff members, instructors, students, and supporters plus
representatives from the seminary were on hand.

Bethany faculty member Dan Ulrich was the speaker for dinner, and
Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership director Jonathan
Shively provided music for the worship service. Students from each
of the five participating districts (Atlantic Northeast,
Mid-Atlantic, Middle Pennsylvania, Southern Pennsylvania, and
Western Pennsylvania) shared how the Susquehanna Valley Satellite
has helped to prepare them for ministry.

The satellite began in 1993 in an effort to "equip leaders for
ministry in a regionally based, Christ-centered, culturally
relevant context in ways that bear witness to the beliefs, heritage
and practices of the Church of the Brethren." Its office is located
on the campus of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, with classes taught
there and at numerous other locations.

Partners in the satellite's ministry are Bethany Theological
Seminary, the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, and the
five area districts.

 3) A major new grant from the General Board's Emergency Disaster
Fund will begin a response to rebuild a school in war-torn Iraq.

The $50,000 grant, approved by the General Board Executive
Committee, supports a Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) appeal. MCC
is working at several rebuilding projects in Iraq, including the Al
Khuraish School.

Al Khuraish, located in Baghdad, will serve about 370 children who
will be taught during the day and another approximately 80 older
children and youth who will have lessons and vocational training in
the afternoon and evening. Construction will be completed through
a German organization called Architects for People in Need that
hires local workers.

Total cost for the project is $86,000. Another $10,000 remains
available from an earlier Emergency Disaster Fund grant to the MCC.
The General Board's Global Food Crisis Fund is expected to cover
the remaining $26,000. Additional details on this developing
project will be reported as they become available.

 4) Dr. Haruun Ruun, a longtime worker for peace in his native land
of Sudan, was honored with the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Award
in a ceremony in Philadelphia on Nov. 8.

Haruun, who is supported in his work as executive secretary of the
New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) by the General Board's Global
Mission Partnerships office, received the award from Crown Princess
Victoria of Sweden. The ceremony was held at the American Swedish
Historic Museum and attended by more than 300 people, including
Brethren Witness/Washington Office director Phil Jones.

Now a US citizen, Haruun resides in Nairobi, Kenya, where the
NSCC's main offices are located due to the ongoing civil war in
Sudan. NSCC is an ecumenical organization of Catholic and
Protestant churches that provides education and civil training to
the people of southern Sudan. NSCC staff are located throughout the
region and have been key in promoting peace and understanding
between native tribes and regional leadership.	  
 
Haruun, in his remarks after receiving the award and again in his
lecture given the following day, noted that he received the award
on behalf of the entire council, not only himself. He acknowledged
that the work of advocacy for human rights, self-determination, and
justice and peace for the Sudanese people is not easy work, but one
that brings hope to a nation of people long-oppressed.

"As Wallenberg did, we as people of conscience and good will must
feel a sense of anger at the continuation and widespread incidences
of conflicts, injustices, inequities, and systematic inhumanity
taking place throughout the world today," Haruun said, challenging
the audience.

The Wallenberg Humanitarian Award is awarded "every few years" to
one who is recognized as being active in the search for peace and
justice and the cause of humanity even at the risk of life and
liberty. Wallenberg, a tireless worker for peace, justice, and
humanity, was a Swedish businessman-turned-diplomat who saved
thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust during 1944. In
January 1945 Wallenberg was arrested by Soviet forces, taken to
Moscow, and never seen again. 

The Church of the Brethren has been in partnership with the NSCC
since its inception in 1989-90. Brethren mission workers Roger and
Carolyn Schrock had earlier served as NSCC leadership.

 5) Annual Conference secretary Fred Swartz has issued an urgent
appeal to the denomination, asking for nominations for the offices
open in 2004. Nominations are due by Dec. 1, and Swartz says they
have been very slow in coming. 

Nomination forms are available from the Annual Conference office or
online at www/brethren.org/ac. Copies also were mailed to every
congregation in October.

Denominational offices open in 2004 include moderator-elect, two
persons for the Committee on Interchurch Relations, and one person
each for the Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee, 
the General Board, the Brethren Benefit Trust, Bethany Theological
Seminary Trustees (representing colleges), On Earth Peace Assembly
board, and the Association of Brethren Caregivers board.	  
	 
		       
 6) Brethren Volunteer Service Unit 257 traveled to the unique
location of Joyfield Farm near North Manchester, Ind., for the
first two weeks of its orientation, held Sept. 28-Oct. 17. The
third week was spent at Douglas Park Church of the Brethren in
Chicago.

The group camped in tents at the farm, which is home to the Kindy
and Gross families from the Manchester Church of the Brethren. BVS
orientation coordinator Karen Roberts said that in spite of rain
and freezing temperatures, the experience was a success.

"(It) provided a wonderful atmosphere for the volunteers to explore
very intentionally what it means to 'live justly and simply',"
Roberts said.

A highlight of the orientation was a potluck where about 100 past
BVS workers and Civilian Public Service workers joined the unit for
food and fellowship at the Manchester congregation. BVS staff hope
to continue the potluck at future orientations.

The 22 volunteers, with their hometowns (or home country) and
placements, are as follows: Jamee Eriksen, Linville, Va., to San
Antonio Catholic Worker House; Josef Harle, Germany, to Camp
Ithiel, Gotha, Fla.; Dana Johnson, Chicago, to Women in Black,
Serbia; Florian Sieglitz, Germany, to Gould Farm, Monterey, Mass.;
Maja Nowak, Auburn, N.Y., to Germanwatch, Germany; Kayla Kauffman,
Middlebury, Ind., to Dove Inc., Decatur, Ill.; Paige Briggs, Miles
City, Mont., to Community Family Life Services, Washington, D.C.;
Bryan Lucore, Springfield, Mo., to Decade to Overcome Violence,
Church of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, Washington, D.C.;

Kristine Werthwein, Alta Loma, Calif., to School of the Americas
Watch, Washington, D.C.; Jon Wyrick, McGaheysville, Va., to San
Antonio Catholic Worker House; Jana Schwering, Germany, to Bering
Omega, Houston; Timo Koenigsmarck, Germany, to San Antonio Catholic
Worker House; Natalie Schmidt, Pleasant Hill, Iowa, to Oakland
(Calif.) Catholic Worker House; Margo Miller, Milford, Ind., to
Bridgeway, Lakewood, Colo.; Beth Rhodes, Roanoke, Va., to General
Board Youth/Young Adult Ministries, Elgin, Ill.;

Thomas Burnell, Clarksville, Mich., to Brethren Woods, Keezletown,
Va.; Michael Collins, Palmyra, Pa., to Witness for Peace,
Washington, D.C.; Will Hawk, Harrisonburg, Va., to San Antonio
Catholic Worker House; Sarah Alex, Germany, to Hopewell Inn,
Mesopotamia, Ohio; Abbie Miller, Milford, Ind., to Kilcranny House,
Northern Ireland; Sarah Farahat, Lombard, Ill., to National
Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Washington, D.C.; and Rich
Sharkey of Homestead, Pa., to CooperRiis, Mill Spring, N.C.

 7) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *Brethren Benefit Trust holds its fall board meetings this weekend
in McPherson, Kan. . . . Also this weekend, a Ministry of
Reconciliation conflict resolution workshop takes place at Camp
Mack in Milford, Ind.

 *Church of the Brethren Disaster Child Care volunteers continue to
serve in southern California in the wake of wildfires in that
region. A child-care center in Ramona was scheduled to close Nov.
14, with those volunteers transferred to another Valley Center,
where other volunteers were already serving. Julie Sword of Lanark,
Ill., is disaster project manager for that location. Volunteers
also continued to serve into this week at an American Red Cross
Service Center in San Bernardino. As of Nov. 14, 26 child-care
volunteers had made contact with approximately 400 children from
the time the project opened Nov. 3. The fires burned more than
700,000 acres, with more than 4,000 structures destroyed.

 *Bryan Lucore, who joined Brethren Volunteer Service in the fall
unit, will serve as coordinator for the Church of the Brethren's
involvement in the Decade to Overcome Violence. A recent graduate
of McPherson (Kan.) College, Lucore comes from the Good Shepherd
congregation, Springfield, Mo. He will work with current
coordinator Rachel Peterson and On Earth Peace staffer Matt Guynn
until February, when he steps into the coordinating position.
He will be based in the General Board's Witness/Washington (D.C.)
Office, fielding inquiries, locating resources, sending out
study/action guides, and supporting congregations in their DOV
involvement. The DOV was initiated by the World Council of Churches
and is jointly sponsored within the Church of the Brethren by On
Earth Peace and the General Board.

 *The 2003 Shenandoah District Disaster Response Auction raised
nearly $189,000 for Disaster Response ministries in the
denomination and the district. The event included a visit by
General Board general secretary Stan Noffsinger, a silent auction,
and children assembling School Kits for distribution.

 8) Dennis Kingery has submitted his resignation as Director of
Financial Operations/ Assistant Treasurer for the General Board in
order to accept a newly formed position with the Brethren Benefit
Trust (BBT). Kingery will become Director of Credit Union/Support
of Brethren Foundation Operations for BBT as of Feb. 13.

Kingery has been with the General Board's finance office since
September 1998. BBT created the new position after it reached an
agreement to become the Third-Party Administrator for the Brethren
Employees' Credit Union effective April 2004. 

A Minnesota native, Kingery previously served the church at
Hillcrest School in Nigeria. He is a graduate of McPherson (Kan.)
College and a member of Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren,
Elgin, Ill.

 9) As part of the continuing transition in the Brethren
Press/Communications area of the General Board, Walt Wiltschek has
been called as editor of Messenger effective Jan. 1. 

Wiltschek has been doing the news section of Messenger and
occasional features for more than four years. He began with the
General Board as interim Newsline and Messenger news editor in
August 1999 and became full-time director of News Services in
January 2000. 

This past August he became director of Brethren Identity while
continuing to carry news service responsibilities during the search
for a replacement. He previously served as an associate pastor and
youth minister, and as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. 

Wiltschek is a member of York Center Church of the Brethren and
lives in St. Charles, Ill. He is a graduate of York College of
Pennsylvania, Eastern Mennonite University, and Lancaster
Theological Seminary.

 10) The Committee on Interchurch Relations, jointly sponsored by
Annual Conference and the Church of the Brethren General Board, is
seeking stories of peacemaking in ecumenical, interfaith, and
community contexts. 

As part of its 2004-2005 emphasis on youth and young adults and in
support of the Decade to Overcome Violence, the committee is
focusing this year's citations on youth and young adults who are
working at overcoming violence in creative ways.

Citations will be given in two categories: youth (ages 14 to 18)
and young adult (19 to 35). The recognitions will be presented at
the Ecumenical Dinner at the 2004 Annual Conference in Charleston,
W.Va. 

Stories will be accepted through March 15. They should be sent to:
General Secretary's Office, Church of the Brethren General Board,
1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. More details are available at
www.brethren.org/genbd/CIR/CIRFlyer.html.

 11) Brethren Press has rolled out several new items this month,
including a children's book, an Advent devotional, and another
edition in the Hymnal Supplement series.

The book -- titled "Sarah Beth's Problem" -- is an 88-page
paperback by N. Geraldine Plunkett, who also wrote the Brethren
Press children's title "Nathan's Secret." This new book follows the
tale of a young Brethren girl in rural Virginia in the mid-1930s,
depicting "family, community, and church life during the Great
Depression, when living simply was a matter of necessity." Cost is
$7.95.

The Advent booklet, titled "Attending to God's Advent," is written
by spiritual director Glenn Mitchell. Mitchell, who lives in
Boalsburg, Pa., is currently vice chair of the Church of the
Brethren General Board. He provides one devotional (with scripture,
meditation, and prayer) for each day of the Advent season and on
through Epiphany, Nov. 30 to Jan. 6. The daily readings focus on
Psalms and the Gospels. Copies are $1.75 each.

Peace and justice are the themes for the newest Hymnal Supplement,
under the topic heading of "Witnessing." The booklet, which can be
inserted in a binder with the previous six Supplement issues,
contains 11 songs, a "litany for community peace," and a prayer.

Songs include the African piece "Siyahamba," "What does the Lord
require" by Brethren songwriter Michael Stern, and the Zimbabwean
anthem "If you believe and I believe" used at Annual Conference a
few years ago. Cost of the Supplement is $1.50 per copy.

Postage and handling are additional for all the above titles. They
are available by calling Brethren Press at 800-441-3712, or visit
www.brethrenpress.com.

Newsline is produced by Walt Wiltschek, director 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. Donna Rhodes, Phil Jones, Brenda Harvey, Sonya
DeArmitt, Suzie Moss, and Jim Miller contributed to this report.

Newsline is a free service sent only to those requesting a
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