wfn.org | First Church of the Brethren junior high conference is a success

[COBNews@aol.com]

Date: Oct. 27,	2005
Contact: Cheryl  Brumbaugh-Cayford
V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103
E-MAIL: _CoBNews@AOL.Com_ (mailto:CoBNews@AOL.Com) 
 
FIRST CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN JUNIOR HIGH CONFERENCE IS A SUCCESS
 
Oct. 27, 2005 (Elgin, IL) --  Tony Bruner stood before a group of 250  junior

high youth and advisors and told them they were part of a special moment.  
Never before had a conference for their age group been held on a regional or 

national scale in the Church of the Brethren. Yet here they were, meeting
Sept.  
30-Oct. 2 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. Eight church  
districts from Pennsylvania to North Carolina took part.
 
Bruner co-chaired the planning committee with the Church of the Brethren  
Youth/Young Adult Ministry director Chris Douglas. More than a year of
planning  
went into the weekend, which carried the theme "Be Strong and Courageous."
 
They had no trouble finding junior highers willing to come. Douglas said  
registration was capped at 250 due to the facility limits of the Brethren  
Service Center, and a waiting list quickly grew. While most events were held
at  the 
center, the group slept at a nearby middle school.
 
The conference packed the allotted time with worship, meals, small groups,  
workshops, optional service projects, games, and tours of the center. Worship
 
messages came from Mennonite drama team Ted & Lee, New Creation Project  
pastor David Weiss, and Church of the Brethren Annual Conference
moderator-elect  
Belita Mitchell, who pastors Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren.  
Brethren folksinger Joseph Helfrich led music.
 
"It's really putting God in perspective," said Laura Kownacki of  
Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, who said she particularly enjoyed
a  workshop 
with Ted & Lee. "They should make it a week long." She also liked  the "hot 
hats" that participants received: red caps printed with "Jr. Hi."
 
Organizers said the response indicated a need for more such events. In the  
meantime, Weiss urged the junior high youth to continue offering their gifts
to 
 the church and the world. "Young people, we need you now!" Weiss said. 
"(Others)  need to see you making a difference, and they can. There are so
many 
many ways  you can make a difference. Will you put your life in the hands of
an  
extraordinary God?"
 
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to  
continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its
faith  in 
community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith  
traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its
 300th 
anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United	
States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil, the  
Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.
 
# # #
 
For more information contact:
 
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
Director of News Services
Church of the  Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, IL 60120
847-742-5100  ext. 260
_cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org_ 
(mailto:cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org) 
 
*****************************************************************
The  Church of the Brethren Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford,

 director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board. 
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