Newsline, May 17, 2013

Newsline The Church of the Brethren e-mail news service

Quote of the week: “Your prayers and your kind words aremuch appreciated!”-- A note received from a volunteer in Newtown, Conn., thanking general secretary Stan Noffsinger and “our friends at Church of the Brethren” for a letter of condolence church leaders sent after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. “The Brethren voice--it’s relevant to a hurting world thanks to the love of our risen Savior, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and taking time to tell neighbors ‘we love you,’” said Noffsinger after receiving the card, which included a hand-written note of gratitude (see photo above). Read the Church of the Brethren letter that was sent to Newtown atwww.brethren.org/news/2012/brethren-leaders-send-letter-to-newtown.html . May 17, 2013 "I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the spirit of truth” (John14:16-17a). NEWS 1) Bethany Seminary trustees hold spring meeting. 2) Seventy-year-old Brethren Pension Plan transforms in 2013. 3) BDM directs grants to support rebuilding in New York, send canned chicken to the Caribbean. 4) Dinner celebrates completion of Prattsville, N.Y., rebuilding project. 5) Material Resources ships 27,000 pounds of clean-up supplies to Illinois, CWS appeals for help to restock. 6) Delegation visits emerging church in Spain. 7) Campaign brings healing and engagement to Paul Ziegler’s home congregation. 8) Fort Wayne mayor speaks out on guns at Beacon Heights Church. RESOURCES 9) Tools for Vital Ministry Journey include new Bible study resources. FEATURES 10) Hearing reveals human and moral costs of drone warfare. 11) EYN’s ‘New Light’ interviews mission worker Carol Smith. 12) Brethren bits: Correction, remembering Marion Showalter, job openings for Shine project editor and mission office manager, Fahrney-Keedy seeks administrator, Open Roof Award nominations, commencement ceremonies, more. Read the full text of this Newsline in one document at www.brethren.org/news/2013/newsline-for-may-17-2013.html ******************************************** 1) Bethany Seminary trustees hold spring meeting. The Bethany Theological Seminary Board of Trustees held its spring meeting on the Bethany campus in Richmond, Ind., on March 21-23. In addition to hearing reports on department activities and new initiatives, the trustees addressed a number of action items. A highlight of the weekend was a retirement dinner for Ruthann Knechel Johansen, whose presidency of Bethany concludes on June 30. Read the full release from Bethany Seminary at www.bethanyseminary.edu/news/trustees0313 2) Seventy-year-old Brethren Pension Plan transforms in 2013. An enhanced web portal, daily valuation of investments, and a variety of retirement calculators are just a few elements of the Church of the Brethren Pension Plan’s dramatic upgrade, scheduled to be available to members in mid-2013. “We think it is critical to provide our members with additional retirement planning tools, which will augment our strong lineup of investment funds, so that each member can establish informed retirement goals and easily chart their progress toward those goals,” said Nevin Dulabaum, Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) president. Read these two articles, originally published in BBT’s “Benefit News,” at www.brethrenbenefittrust.org/news/payment-life-or-until-money-runs-out and www.brethrenbenefittrust.org/news/seventy-year-old-brethren-pension-plan-transforms-2013 3) BDM directs grants to support rebuilding in New York, send canned chicken to the Caribbean. Brethren Disaster Ministries staff are directing grant money to support a continuing home rebuilding effort in New York State following flooding caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011, and a church effort to distribute canned chicken in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/bdm-directs-grants-to-ny-project-site-caribbean.html 4) Dinner celebrates completion of Prattsville, N.Y., rebuilding project. On May 1, more than 75 people gathered at Prattsville Community Church in the New York Catskills to celebrate all the work Brethren Disaster Ministries volunteers have done. Delicious dinner and desserts were provided by the church and community for volunteers and homeowners. Homeowners told their stories as they looked at pictures and remembered the destruction caused by Hurricane Irene in August 2011. “This seemed hopeless,” one homeowner said. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/dinner-celebrates-completion-of-prattsville-project.html 5) Material Resources ships 27,000 pounds of clean-up supplies to Illinois, CWS appeals for help to restock. In response to storms and the flooding that has plagued the state of Illinois this spring, the Church of the Brethren’s Material Resources program has begun shipping clean-up supplies on behalf of Church World Service. Material Resources, based at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., works on behalf of ecumenical partners and other humanitarian organizations to process, warehouse, and ship disaster relief materials Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/material-resources-ships-supplies-to-illinois.html 6) Delegation visits emerging church in Spain. A delegation of six traveled to Spain April 1-10, representing groups who are providing financial and logistical support to the emerging church in Spain. Members of the delegation were: Marla Bieber Abe, co-pastor of Carlisle (Pa.) Church of the Brethren representing Brethren World Mission; Norm Yeater and Carolyn Fitzkee of Chiques Church of the Brethren in Manheim, Pa.; Daniel and Oris D’Oleo of Renacer, a Hispanic church plant in Roanoke, Va.; and Fausto Carrasco of Nuevo Amanacer Church of the Brethren in Bethlehem, Pa. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/delegation-visits-church-in-spain.html 7) Campaign brings healing and engagement to Paul Ziegler’s home congregation. On Saturday, May 4, nearly 150 people gathered at Colebrook, Pa., along the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail to bike, walk, and ride horseback as a part of the 3,000 Miles for Peace campaign of On Earth Peace. A report from the agency noted that the trail ride kicked off a long weekend of events in and around Elizabethtown, Pa., in honor of the late Paul Ziegler who would have celebrated his 20th birthday on Sunday, May 5. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/campaign-brings-healing-to-elizabethtown.html 8) Fort Wayne mayor speaks out on guns at Beacon Heights Church. Fort Wayne mayor Tom Henry recently spoke to an adult education class at Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne, Ind. The class, led by Nancy Eikenberry and Kyla Zehr, has been studying the book “America and Its Guns, a Theological Exposé” by James E. Atwood. Henry was there as a representative of "Mayors Against Illegal Guns.” Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/ft-wayne-mayor-speaks-out-on-guns-at-local-church.html RESOURCES 9) Tools for Vital Ministry Journey include new Bible study resources. Congregational Life Ministries is making available a set of three Bible study tools for congregations and districts embarking on the Vital Ministry Journey: “Study, Sharing, and Prayer: A Bible Study for Congregations on a Vital Ministry Journey,” “Worship: Responding to God’s Love,” and “Vital Passions, Holy Practices: Exploring Spiritual Gifts.” Although these Bible studies are designed as part of the Vital Ministry Journey, they can be used as stand-alone resources. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/bible-studies-for-vital-ministry.html FEATURES 10) Hearing reveals human and moral costs of drone warfare. On April 23, the US Senate held its first official hearing on drone warfare entitled “Drone Wars: The Constitutional and Counterterrorism Implications of Targeted Killing.” The United States has been using drones to conduct missile strikes in various places since 2002, but recently, more scrutiny has been given to the targeted killing program as President Obama has expanded its scope and has even used drones to target and kill three American citizens. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/hearing-highlights-human-costs-of-drone-warfare.html 11) EYN’s ‘New Light’ interviews mission worker Carol Smith. An interview with Church of the Brethren mission worker Carol Smith by Zakariya Musa, secretary of the "New Light" publication of Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). Smith has been teaching at the EYN Comprehensive Secondary School since 2011. Read the full interview at www.brethren.org/news/2013/eyns-new-light-interviews-carol-smith.html 12) Brethren bits. Topping the “bits” of Newsline news: A correction, remembering Nigeria mission mechanic Marion Showalter, job openings for Shine project editor and mission office manager, Fahrney-Keedy seeks an administrator, Open Roof Award nominations, commencement ceremonies, and much more. Read the Brethren bits section at www.brethren.org/news/2013/brethren-bits-for-may-17.html Contributors to this issue of Newsline include Lesley Crosson, Stan Dueck, Matt Hackworth, Mary Kay Heatwole, Jess Hoffert, Donna Kline, Jeri S. Kornegay, Greg Davidson Laszakovits, Jeff Lennard, Nancy Miner, Belita D. Mitchell, Becky Ullom Naugle, Lizz Schallert, Jonathan Shively, Brian Solem, John Wall, Roy Winter, Loretta Wolf, and editor Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren. Look for the next regularly scheduled issue on May 29.

Newsline is produced by the news services of the Church of the Brethren. Contact the editor at cobnews@brethren.org. Newsline appears every other week, with special issues as needed. Stories may be reprinted if Newsline is cited as the source. Forward Newsline to a friend    Subscribe to Newsline  Unsubscribe   Change your e-mail address Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120