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[cobnews <cobnews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl Brumbau gh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

BETHANY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY HOLDS SECOND ANNUAL PRESIDENTIAL FORUM

(April 9, 2009) Elgin, IL -- Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind. , hosted its second annual Presidential Forum on March 29-30 with the theme  "Weaving Wisdom's Tent: The Arts of Peace." Focusing on scripture from the  Wisdom of Solomon 7:23-81, wisdom was invoked and examined throughout the  forum. Gathered together to weave poetry, painting, song, and spirit, parti cipants experienced varied forms of art over the two full days of the event .

Highlights of the forum included three plenary sessions lead by artists who  embody peacemaking through their work. Marge Piercy, poet and novelist, sh ared reflections on art affecting consciousness a little bit at a time. She  read several of her own poems including "The Art of Blessing the Day" and  "To Be of Use," reflecting the reality of a world without peace, and hope f or peaceful transformation.

John Paul Lederach, professor of International Peacebuilding with the Joan  B. Kroc Institute for Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, highli ghted the "craft of noticing" and how careful noticing and listening are ex pressed through thoughtful words of poetry and artistic expression.

Painter Douglas Kinsey displayed several paintings portraying places where  justice is absent. He shared his creative work as a way to bring about just ice by exposing injustice. All three plenary speakers stimulated thoughtful  questions and fruitful conversations.

Outside of the plenary sessions were imaginative worship services, creative  workshops, and reflective conversation groups that engaged a variety of ar ts striving for peace. The Manchester College A Cappella Choir, with specia l guest James Hersch, offered music, and several seminary and college stude nts had the opportunity to share their own creative works in a panel discus sion.

"There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subt le, mobile, clear..." (Wisdom of Solomon 7:23). Wisdom certainly was presen t and enveloped the Presidential Forum as Bethany Theological Seminary invi ted space for the arts to speak of the things that make for peace.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continu ing 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 t raditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrated it s 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts more than 125,000 members across the  United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nig eria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.

(This release was written by Monica Rice, a student at Bethany Theological  Seminary.)

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
>Director of News Services
>Church of the Brethren
>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120
>800-323-8039 ext. 260
>cobnews@brethren.org