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

[COBNews@aol.com]

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

NEWS
 1) Brethren Academy receives major Lilly grant to build "pastoral
excellence." 
 2) Ministry of Reconciliation workshop explores controversy in the
church.
 3) Outdoor Ministries Association holds workshop, annual retreat.
 4) Emergency Disaster Fund sends aid to Texas and Mexico.
 5) A large group again protests the "School of the Americas."
 6) Brethren bits: Workcamps, Korea, college news, and more.

PERSONNEL
 7) Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford is called as director of news
services.
 8) General Board seeks director of financial operations/assistant
treasurer.

COMING EVENTS
 9) Church planting training event to be offered at Bethany in May.

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 1) The Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, a ministry
training partnership of the Church of the Brethren General Board
and Bethany Theological Seminary, has been selected to receive a
grant of $2 million from the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment
Inc. to participate in a national program called "Sustaining
Pastoral Excellence." 

The program is an effort of the Lilly Endowment to focus attention
and energy on maintaining the high caliber of many of the country's
pastoral leaders. Begun last year, the Sustaining Pastoral
Excellence program has established projects to enable ministers of
many Christian traditions to create environments for ongoing
biblical study, theological reflection, and spiritual renewal, as
well as for developing sustained friendships and mutual support
opportunities.

The grant will fund two long-term professional growth experiences
for pastors, designed to enrich their spiritual, emotional,
intellectual, relational, and physical health: The Vital Pastor
program will invite small cohorts of "excellent pastors" to design
and implement their own learning plans to enhance and sustain
self-identified competency areas such as biblical study, preaching,
and pastoral care. The Advanced Foundations of Church Leadership
program will engage cohorts of 10 to 12 pastors in learning
experiences to improve leadership capacities.

Jonathan Shively, director of the Brethren Academy, says he is
enthusiastic about the possibility of energizing the ministry of a
significant number of the denomination's pastors and, in turn,
their congregations. "Over the five-year life of the grant, we have
the potential to recognize and enrich the ministerial vitality of
nearly one-third of the pastors and congregations in the Church of
the Brethren," Shively says.

The Academy's grant is one of 16 projects just awarded, added to
the first group of 47 grants given last year. More than 700
institutions submitted grant proposals.

"Judging from the response, we seem to have tapped into a
wellspring of interest," says Craig Dykstra, Lilly Endowment vice
president for religion. "These projects offer the promise of
meaningful renewal for many pastors in this country. These newest
grants add even more depth and richness to the program."

Lilly grants have benefited other Church of the Brethren-related
ministries in recent years, including the Theological Exploration
of Vocation program through the Brethren colleges and Bethany and
the Plowshares program being administered by Manchester College and
two other Indiana colleges.

For a complete list of 2003 award recipients and a brief summary of
their projects, or to view Sustaining Pastoral Excellence grants
awarded last year, visit the program's web site at
www.pastoralexcellence.org.

 2) A unique workshop held at Camp Mack in Milford, Ind., Nov.
20-22 was described by participants as "amazing," "encouraging,"
"life-changing," and "a time of gathered wisdom." The event, called
"Through the Storm -- Leadership in Times of Controversy," was
sponsored and led by the Ministry of Reconciliation, a program of
On Earth Peace.

The heart of the training event was a day in which key leaders from
Michigan and South/Central Indiana districts sat together to
reflect on the recent conflicts their districts have experienced.
District executive ministers, district moderators and board chairs,
pastor representatives, and other key leaders from the two
districts shared from their experience of the storms of controversy
in their districts and the lessons they have learned as they sought
to provide leadership in difficult times. The issues behind the
conflicts were not discussed, so that the focus could be on
learning from the experience.

The invited leaders were asked to reflect on questions like, "How
has this time of conflict affected your own spiritual life?," "What
have you learned from the experience?," and "What went well in
dealing with the controversy you faced, and what would you do
differently?"  They responded to the questions individually and
also engaged in conversation about them with each other. Workshop
organizer Bob Gross, co-executive director of On Earth Peace, told
workshop participants, "These invited leaders are taking a risk by
coming here to speak of the difficult times they've experienced,
and we need to recognize their courage and faithfulness in doing
so."

The primary purpose of the workshop was for pastors, deacons,
reconcilers, and other leaders in the church to learn from the
experience of these district leaders and strengthen their own
leadership abilities. Another important benefit of the event that
emerged, according to organizers, was providing a safe and
prayerful space in which those invited could share with each other
and with other workshop participants about the experience of facing
stormy times in the church.

The event drew 45 participants from nine districts, including
several current and future district moderators and board chairs, in
addition to those specifically invited to speak. Many workshop
participants expressed surprise that people involved in deep and
ongoing conflict could sit down and talk openly with each other.

One pastor in attendance said, "I'm just amazed that people who
disagree on such difficult issues could speak so openly and in such
a loving spirit." Another said, "I'm from a different 
faith tradition, and this could never happen in the church I came
from. I'm so glad to be part of the Church of the Brethren."

Other sessions in the two-day workshop included an introduction to
the dynamics of conflict in groups; half-day breakout sessions for
pastors, deacons, and reconcilers; and work on a hypothetical case
of district conflict. The leadership team for the event included
Jan Kulp Long, Don Parker, Carol Spicher Waggy, Mark Flory Steury,
and On Earth Peace staff Matt Guynn and Bob Gross. This workshop
was the sixth in an annual series of Ministry of Reconciliation
training events at Camp Mack.

 3) "Connections" formed the theme as about two dozen staff from
Church of the Brethren camps met Nov. 16-20 at Camp Blue Diamond
near Petersburg, Pa., for the annual Outdoor Ministries Association
(OMA) directors' and managers' retreat.

The event provides camp staff with an opportunity for professional
growth and networking as well as informal fellowship and
conversation about their shared work. This year's schedule included
keynote sessions, a tour of the host camp, a variety of workshops,
a visit to nearby State College and discussion with spiritual
director Glenn Mitchell, a tour of Juniata College and its
historical archives, a campfire, and a concert by folksinger Joseph
Helfrich.

In the OMA business meeting held during the retreat, Doug Phillips
of Brethren Woods in Virginia was called to the OMA steering
committee representing camp directors, and Michelle Gibbel of Camp
Swatara in Pennsylvania was called to a second term representing
other camp staff. Gibbel will chair the committee for the coming
year. A 2004 budget of $10,600 was approved. The 2004 retreat will
be Nov. 14-18 at Camp Bethel, Fincastle, Va.

The directors' and managers' retreat was preceded on Nov. 15 by an
OMA workshop/conference led by Yohann Anderson, founder of "Songs
and Creations." Anderson led sessions on the theme of "People-
Friendly Group Dynamics" as he helped the group to learn new songs
and to discover ways of engaging groups in music and singing. About
30 people attended the all-day workshop.

 4) Two new grants from the General Board's Emergency Disaster Fund
will aid a pair of projects near the Texas-Mexico border.

The first, for $10,000, will provide aid just south of the border
in Tijuana, Mexico. The grant will aid the work of partner
Companeros en Ministerio as it moves families out of sub-standard
housing. The funds will be used to help improve living conditions,
extend the structural life of cement houses, and construct a
kindergarten building with an adjacent park. 

The second grant is for $3,000 and will support a Church World
Service appeal for flood recovery work in southern Texas. Flooding
has left significant damage to hundreds of homes with no insurance.
The funds will help the formation of long-term recovery through
interfaith groups, helping those in greatest need. 

 5) More than 10,000 people, including a group from the Church of
the Brethren, participated in a demonstration outside the gates of
Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga., Nov. 21-23 to protest the actions of
the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation--better
known as the School of the Americas.

The annual protest is held to call attention to a series of crimes
and human rights abuses committed by graduates of the combat-
training school for Latin American soldiers, according to
organizers. The weekend included a rally and a "funeral procession"
to the gates of the base. At least 40 people were arrested after
entering the base in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience,
according to a release by SOA Watch. 

Brethren have been regular participants in the protests, and a 1997
General Board statement called on the government to close the
school. SOA Watch founder Father Roy Bourgeois spoke at a luncheon
event at the 2001 Annual Conference.

 6) Brethren bits: Other brief news notes from around the
denomination and elsewhere.
 *Online registration for the 2004 Church of the Brethren youth and
young adult workcamps opened on Dec. 1 to a torrent of activity.
Nearly 200 participants registered in the first 12 hours of the
site's operation, filling about 40 percent of the available spots.
Registration is available on www.brethren.org. 

 *A seven-member ecumenical delegation that included General Board
Global Mission Partnerships executive director Merv Keeney visited
North Korea and South Korea in November, delivering humanitarian
aid, visiting the Demilitarized Zone between the two nations, and
participating in a variety of meetings. The delegation, sponsored
by the National Council of Churches and Church World Service,
issued a joint statement calling for six responses by the US,
Korea, and the international community. A full report will appear
in the Dec. 19 issue of Newsline.

 *The Carroll County (Md.) Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 25 honored
the Brethren Service Center, located in New Windsor, with a Hats
Off award for 60 years of service to the world. The chamber
celebrates special milestones of its members each year at an awards
ceremony. Kathleen Campanella accepted the award on behalf of the
employees and volunteers at the center.

 *Church of the Brethren General Board Youth/Young Adult Ministry
director Chris Douglas was among participants in a Denominational
Leadership Summit held recently at Group Publishing headquarters in
Loveland, Colo. George Gallup Jr. and D. Michael Lindsay led the
discussion with representatives of 45 Christian denominations.
Topics addressed included trends among Christian youth and
religion's influence in American life.

 *The General Board's Brethren Witness/Washington Office has a new,
toll-free telephone number. The office can now be reached at
800-785-3246.

 *The Bridgewater (Va.) College Eagles football team is back at it
again: highly ranked and advancing through the NCAA Division III
playoffs. The Eagles, who have lost only once this season, defeated
Christopher Newport 26-3 this past Saturday to advance to the
playoff quarterfinals. They play at Lycoming this weekend.

 *The Church of the Brethren Disaster Child Care project in
southern California that responded to rampant wildfires in the
region earlier this fall officially closed Nov. 21. During the
19-day response, 26 volunteers made contact with nearly 500
children.

 
 7) Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford has been called as director of news
services/associate editor of "Messenger" for the Church of the
Brethren General Board effective about March 1. She and her family
will move to Elgin, Ill., from Windsor, Colo., where she has been
pastor of the Northern Colorado congregation the past six years.

Brumbaugh-Cayford--who grew up on the mission field in Nigeria--has
previously served in the General Board's communications office as
an editorial assistant with Messenger, news services, and other
publications from 1988 to 1993. She has also had interim or
part-time work with Bethany Theological Seminary, the Association
of Brethren Caregivers, two Brethren homes, and a district, and
served in Brethren Volunteer Service.

A graduate of Bethany Theological Seminary and the University of La
Verne (Calif.), Brumbaugh-Cayford was elected this year to
represent the denomination to the National Council of Churches. She
has previously served as a member of the General Board, the
Committee on Interchurch Relations, and the Christian Peacemaker
Teams board. 

 8) The Church of the Brethren General Board is seeking a director
of financial operations/assistant treasurer to work at the agency's
headquarters in Elgin, Ill.

The position is responsible for developing and maintaining
accounting and financial systems, providing management of
day-to-day financial operations, maintaining records, coordinating
insurance coverage for the organization, monitoring the expenditure
of General Board funds, and providing financial information and
reports.

Candidates should have significant accounting experience, excellent
verbal and written communication skills, experience with computer
systems, management/supervisory skills, and knowledge and
experience in budget development and management. A bachelor's
degree in accounting, business administration, or a related field
is required.

Application deadline is Dec. 18. Those wishing to apply should
submit a resume' and letter of application, complete a General
Board application form, and request three references to send
letters of recommendation to: Office of Human Resources, Church of
the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120-1694.
Phone 800-323-8039 ext. 258 or e-mail mgarrison_gb@brethren.org for
application form or further details.

 9) A church planting training event titled "Deep Roots, Strong
Wings" will be held May 17-21 at Bethany Theological Seminary in
Richmond, Ind. It is the latest in a series of events sponsored by
the denomination's New Church Development Advisory Committee with
the support of the General Board, Bethany, and the Brethren Academy
for Ministerial Leadership.

Leadership for the conference will include Bob Logan of Coach Net
Inc., Jeff Wright of the Center for Anabaptist Leadership,
Indianapolis minister Nadine Burton, and Bethany academic dean
Stephen Breck Reid. The schedule will also include a wide range of
workshops, a variety of worship experiences, and available times
for spiritual direction.

The event is open to anyone with an interest in church planting who
wants to develop their skills and knowledge in that area. A $99
registration fee covers all conference events, lodging, and meals.
Registration brochures are available from the Brethren Academy at
800-287-8822, ext. 1824, or e-mail planting@bethanyseminary.edu.
Registrations are due April 1.

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. Newsline stories may be reprinted
provided that Newsline is cited as the source. Marcia Shetler, Barb
Sayler, and Bob Gross 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.