wfn.org | Newsline: Eyes Wide Open boots exhibit at 300th Anniversary Conference of the Brethren

["COBNews Newsline" <cobnews@brethren.org>]

Church of the Brethren Newsline

Director of News Services Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
cobnews@brethren.org
	
EYES WIDE OPEN BOOTS EXHIBIT DISPLAYED OUTSIDE RICHMOND COLISEUM FOR 300th  ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE OF THE BRETHREN

	

July 15, 2008 (Richmond, VA) -- The Eyes Wide Open exhibit is in Richmond,  Va., on July 15 for the 300th Anniversary Conference of the Church of the  Brethren and the Brethren Church, being held at the Richmond Coliseum and  the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

The "Eyes Wide Open" display is part of the peace witness at this  Conference. The symbolic display of boots and shoes of soldiers and  civilians killed in the Iraq War is organized by the American Friends  Service Committee. Originally, the exhibit some years ago represented all  the American soldiers who had been killed in Iraq. Since then, the number  of casualties in Iraq has grown to over 4,000, and the display can no  longer be shown in its entirety. Individual states have developed their  own displays.

Today the Virginia display is placed outside the Richmond Coliseum, at the  5th Street entrance, as a visual memorial to the more than 100 Virginian  men and women who have been killed in Iraq,  as well as the millions of  Iraqi and ally casualties.

In another peace witness today, a public rally for nonviolence will be  held today beginning at about 4:45 p.m. outside the Greater Richmond  Convention Center. Participants will begin with prayer, and then walk to  the Richmond City Plaza where they will be greeted by speakers, music,  prayer, and drama. The event is expected to close around 6 p.m. at the  plaza.

The peace witness is sponsored by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office  in partnership with the Richmond Peace Education Center and other peace  groups in the area. Organizers are Phil Jones, director of the Brethren  Witness/Washington Office, and Adria Scharf, director of the Richmond  Peace Center. The event will call for an end to the violence of current  wars and focus on the need for direct conversation and mediation with  Iran.

Conference participants are being encouraged to join in support of the  Church of the Brethren's 2004 and 2006 resolutions against the Iraq war,  and to witness to 300 years of Brethren heritage as peacemakers. Organizers  hope that Brethren can once again give faithful witness to being a peace  church, and work in faithful partnership with area peacemakers toward a  common goal.

Go to www.brethren.org/ac for more information about the Annual Conference  and the 300th Anniversary of the Brethren movement.

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. It 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. The Church of the Brethren counts about  125,000 members across the US and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister  churches in Nigeria, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Haiti, and India.

># # #

>CONTACTS:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford		Lerry Fogle
>Director of News Services		Executive Director
>Church of the Brethren General Board	Church of the Brethren Annual  Conference
>224-735-9692 (cell)			804-343-6641 or -6642 (onsite  office in Richmond)
>cobnews@brethren.org		lfogle_ac@brethren.org