Newsline for August 8, 2013

Newsline The Church of the Brethren e-mail news service

Quote of the week: “We live in a culture that can be harsh and cruel with little room for expressions of genuine blessing. Our children are caught in a swirl of myriad activities and demands which make it difficult to understand that we serve a God who wishes to pour His approval upon our lives. Without an understanding of God’s regard for us, we become caught in an increasingly anxious lifestyle which sees blessing as an elusive condition beyond our grasp rather than a gift from God that centers our lives and activities.” -- John Jantzi, Shenandoah District executive minister, reflecting on serving as dean for a week at Camp Brethren Woods. The week closed with a blessing of the campers. Read more at http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/ 1110837621104-139/JantziAug2013.pdf . Aug. 8, 2013 "...Receive blessing from the Lord" (Psalm 24:5a). NEWS 1) WCC leader to preach at Illinois congregation, visit Church of the Brethren General Offices. 2) Harold Giggler: CDS volunteers care for children following Asiana crash. 3) Brethren Disaster Ministries directs $75,000 grant to Sandy relief in Haiti. PERSONNEL 4) Donald Booz retires from leadership of Pacific Southwest District. UPCOMING EVENTS 5) NOAC to feature a great line up of speakers, events for older adults. 6) Annual Conference moderator announces theme for 2014. 7) John Kline Homestead to dedicate replica of 19th century kitchen garden. RESOURCES 8) BBT launches news and information site on health care reform. 9) Theme for WCC Assembly invites churches to study justice and peace. FEATURE 10) Lessons and legacies of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki anniversary. 11) Brethren bits: Plea for CWS kits, dates for Clergy Women’s Retreat and church planting conference, ambitious goals for COBYS Bike and Hike, CPT petition, and much much more. Read the full text of this Newsline in one document atwww.brethren.org/news/2013/newsline-for-august-8-2013.html ******************************************** 1) WCC leader to preach at Illinois congregation, visit Church of the Brethren General Offices. World Council of Churches general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit will bring the Sunday morning message at Neighborhood Church of the Brethren in Montgomery, Ill., this Sunday, Aug. 11, at 10:30 a.m. Tveit will be on a trip to visit various Christian groups in the United States, traveling from the World Council of Churches headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. On Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 12-13, Tveit will be in Elgin, Ill., visiting the Church of the Brethren General Offices. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/wcc-leader-to-be-hosted-by-church-of-the-brethren.html 2) Harold Giggler: CDS volunteers care for children following Asiana crash. Following the July 6 crash landing of an Asiana Airline plane at the San Francisco airport, five volunteers from the Critical Response Childcare Team of Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) worked with children for three full days from July 10-12. This story from the CDS response was shared by team member Mary Kay Ogden. For more information about Children’s Disaster Services go to www.brethren.org/cds . Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/harold-giggler-cds-cares-for-children.html 3) Brethren Disaster Ministries directs $75,000 grant to Sandy relief in Haiti. Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed a grant of $75,000 from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to assist L’Eglise des Freres Haitiens (the Church of the Brethren in Haiti) to rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The damaged homes are in Marin, Haiti. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/brethren-disaster-ministries-directs-relief-to-haiti.html   PERSONNEL 4) Donald Booz retires from leadership of Pacific Southwest District. Donald R. Booz has announced his retirement as district executive minister of the Church of the Brethren’s Pacific Southwest District effective Nov. 30. He has served in the position since Dec. 1, 2008. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/booz-retires-from-leading-pacific-southwest-district.html UPCOMING EVENTS 5) NOAC to feature a great line up of speakers, events for older adults. There is still time to register for National Older Adult Conference (NOAC). If you are age 50 or older, plan on joining others from across the Church of the Brethren denomination at beautiful Lake Junaluska, N.C., onSept. 2-6. Organized by Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren, NOAC offers inspiration, renewal, and community. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/noac-to-feature-great-speakers.html 6) Annual Conference moderator announces theme for 2014. "Live as Courageous Disciples" is the theme that moderator Nancy Sollenberger Heishman has announced for the 2014 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren, on July 2-6 in Columbus, Ohio. The New Testament letter of Philippians is the theme scripture. The Conference Office notes that the 2014 annual meeting is scheduled forWednesday through Sunday. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/annual-conference-theme-announced.html 7) John Kline Homestead to dedicate replica of 19th century kitchen garden. The John Kline Homestead in Broadway, Va., will host a “Garden Party” to dedicate its new kitchen garden onSunday, Sept. 15. The site is the historic home of Elder John Kline, a Brethren leader and martyr for peace during the Civil War. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/john-kline-homestead-dedicates-kitchen-garden.html RESOURCES 8) BBT launches news and information site on health care reform. Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) has launched a news and information website titled “ReformWatch,” offering information about health care reform and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/bbt-launches-news-site-on-health-care-reform.html 9) Theme for WCC Assembly invites churches to study justice and peace. “God of Life, Lead Us to Justice and Peace” is the theme for the World Council of Churches 10th Assembly on Oct. 30-Nov. 8 in Busan, South Korea. Congregations may walk alongside the church delegates preparing to travel to South Korea this fall through use of special study and worship resources titled “Pilgrimage to Busan: An Ecumenical Journey into World Christianity.” Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2013/wcc-assembly-resources.html   FEATURE 10) Lessons and legacies of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki anniversary. Events in northeast Asia this year “dramatize how much the region and the world still live in the shadow of mass destruction,” the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary said in a comment on the 68th anniversary this week of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. “The God of life calls all of us to take up [the survivors’] tireless cry and make certain that a Hiroshima or Nagasaki bombing can never happen again.” Read the full WCC release at www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/events-today-dramatize-lessons-and-legacies-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-anniversary 11) Brethren bits. A plea for more CWS disaster relief kits, dates for the Clergy Women’s Retreat and the church planting conference in 2014, ambitious goals for the COBYS Bike and Hike in Pennsylvania, a new petition from Christian Peacemaker Teams, and much more news from and for Brethren. Read the full Brethren bits at  www.brethren.org/news/2013/brethren-bits-for-august-8.html Contributors to this issue of Newsline include Mary Jo Flory-Steury, Ed Groff, Mary Kay Heatwole, Jeri S. Kornegay, Frank Ramirez, Roy Winter, Loretta Wolf, David Young, Jane Yount, and editor Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren. The next regularly scheduled issue of Newsline is planned for Aug. 15.