Wednesday, June 01, 2011
From the Moderator, Lisa Fike
For Brethren our Holy reenactment of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, or Love Feast, has been a wonderful tradition. It provides a reminder of the relationship that we have with each other and with Christ. Historically Brethren from neighboring congregations would gather to prepare and celebrate the Love Feast. I live in the Northwestern section of our district and at least a couple of our churches have the sleeping rooms above their sanctuary. These rooms were constructed so they could host the several day love feast celebrations. It is with that tradition along with a contemporary desire to be “joined with me and I with you” that our Friday evening worship at district conference 2011 will be Love feast. We will include the agape meal, feet washing and communion. We hope that you will make plans to be a part of this very special evening as we celebrate our unity as Brethren and members of the Body of Christ.
Lisa J. Fike, Pastor and Moderator
Freeport Church of the Brethren
Brethren Disaster Team Reports To Joplin, Missouri
Children’s Disaster Services responds in Joplin, Brethren Disaster Ministries reports on preliminary activities, requests EDF grant
At the request of the American Red Cross, a team of Children’s Disaster Service (CDS) volunteers were to arrive by this morning in Joplin, Mo., to set up a Children’s Disaster Services Center at the Missouri Southern State University shelter.
The volunteers will care for children in the aftermath of the tornado that caused significant destruction on May 22. The twister rated a strong EF 5, packing winds up to 198 m.p.h., and cut a path a mile wide and six miles long through the most densely populated area of the city of 49,000.
Following a conference call with the Missouri VOAD
(Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), Patricia Dennison reported that the area is "being overwhelmed with truckloads of clothes," and officials are hard pressed to find more places to store them. She says they’re asking people instead to "donate them to a local charity or have a large garage sale and send the money" to be used where most needed.
Responding with much-needed monetary donations is the best way to help disaster relief organizations which already have been stretched by the severe weather this spring
To support the 2011 US spring storms appeal, send your gift to Emergency Disaster Fund, Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. Give online at www.brethren.org/disaster.
Jane Yount is coordinator for Brethren Disaster Ministries in New Windsor, Md.
At the request of the American Red Cross, a team of Children’s Disaster Service (CDS) volunteers were to arrive by this morning in Joplin, Mo., to set up a Children’s Disaster Services Center at the Missouri Southern State University shelter.
The volunteers will care for children in the aftermath of the tornado that caused significant destruction on May 22. The twister rated a strong EF 5, packing winds up to 198 m.p.h., and cut a path a mile wide and six miles long through the most densely populated area of the city of 49,000.
Following a conference call with the Missouri VOAD
(Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), Patricia Dennison reported that the area is "being overwhelmed with truckloads of clothes," and officials are hard pressed to find more places to store them. She says they’re asking people instead to "donate them to a local charity or have a large garage sale and send the money" to be used where most needed.
Responding with much-needed monetary donations is the best way to help disaster relief organizations which already have been stretched by the severe weather this spring
To support the 2011 US spring storms appeal, send your gift to Emergency Disaster Fund, Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. Give online at www.brethren.org/disaster.
Jane Yount is coordinator for Brethren Disaster Ministries in New Windsor, Md.
Disaster Ministries needs School Kits and Clean-up Buckets
The current inventory of School Kits and Emergency Clean-up Buckets is too low to meet the expected demand for the upcoming springtime flood season reports Chris Herlinger of Church World Service. They are appealing to all members including the Church of the Brethren to promote these needs to each congregation within the denomination. The efforts of Church members are critical to help meet the requests and replenish the supply.
For information on assembling the kits and buckets go to: www.churchworldservice.org/kits
For information on assembling the kits and buckets go to: www.churchworldservice.org/kits
Lake Williamson Lodge
District conference packets have been mailed to the Churches by the District Office. They include the registration forms and maps to the Lake Williamson site.
Emergency Disaster Fund makes grants for tornado response
Two grants have been given from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) for disaster response work following recent tornadoes in the United States. A grant of $15,000 responds to an expanded appeal from Church World Service (CWS) following a weekend of tornadoes that affected seven states from Oklahoma to Minnesota, and $5,000 supports the work of Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) volunteers in Joplin, Mo.
The grant to CWS will help pay for shipments of material aid and provide resources and training in the development of long-term recovery groups in affected communities. A prior grant of $7,500 from the EDF responded to the initial appeal from CWS for this project, made on May 13.
The grant for the work of CDS in Joplin responds to the EF 5 tornado that hit the city May 22. FEMA requested CDS volunteers to care for children in Disaster Recovery Centers there. The grant pays for travel, lodging, and food for the volunteer CDS teams.
Children’s Disaster Services has 20 volunteers working in Joplin, caring for children at a Multi Agency Resource Site, two FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers, and in a Red Cross shelter. In addition, a specially trained critical response team is accompanying the Red Cross’s Integrated Care team on home visits to families who have experienced a death when there are children in the home.
To contribute to the work of Brethren Disaster Ministries and Children’s Disaster Services, or to learn more about the Emergency Disaster Fund, go to www.brethren.org/edf.
(Article from Church of the Brethren Newsline.)
The grant to CWS will help pay for shipments of material aid and provide resources and training in the development of long-term recovery groups in affected communities. A prior grant of $7,500 from the EDF responded to the initial appeal from CWS for this project, made on May 13.
The grant for the work of CDS in Joplin responds to the EF 5 tornado that hit the city May 22. FEMA requested CDS volunteers to care for children in Disaster Recovery Centers there. The grant pays for travel, lodging, and food for the volunteer CDS teams.
Children’s Disaster Services has 20 volunteers working in Joplin, caring for children at a Multi Agency Resource Site, two FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers, and in a Red Cross shelter. In addition, a specially trained critical response team is accompanying the Red Cross’s Integrated Care team on home visits to families who have experienced a death when there are children in the home.
To contribute to the work of Brethren Disaster Ministries and Children’s Disaster Services, or to learn more about the Emergency Disaster Fund, go to www.brethren.org/edf.
(Article from Church of the Brethren Newsline.)
Brethren Benefit Trust Notice
What do you know about long-term care insurance?
Do you know that 75 percent of people age 65 and older will eventually need long-term care?
Do you know that about 75 percent of all single people and 50 percent of all couples spend their entire savings within one year of entering a nursing home?
Do you know that, for every one person receiving long-term care in a nursing home, there are four people receiving home health care?
Here’s another thing you should know — Brethren Insurance Services, a ministry of Brethren Benefit Trust, offers LTCi for all Church of the Brethren members, as well as their families and friends.
Long-term care insurance is the only insurance that pays for the kind of custodial care that becomes necessary with the loss of two or more activities of daily living — bathing, eating, dressing, toileting, continence, and transferring — or cognitive impairment.
The provider companies with which Brethren Insurance Services works include John Hancock, Genworth, Mutual of Omaha, Prudential, Transamerica, and Lincoln. These companies provide comprehensive insurance plans that include home care, skilled care, assisted living, respite care, and hospice care. All of these companies are A-rated or better by A.M. Best, a source that evaluates the financial stability of insurance companies.
A recent feature available with these policies is a qualification for a state partnership, which provides the capacity to protect some of the insured’s financial assets if the policy runs out while care is still needed. Currently, 40 states participate in this partnership.
Want to know more? Please contact Randy Yoder, Client Development Representative for Brethren Insurance Services, at 847-622-3362 or ryoder_bbt@brethren.org.
Do you know that 75 percent of people age 65 and older will eventually need long-term care?
Do you know that about 75 percent of all single people and 50 percent of all couples spend their entire savings within one year of entering a nursing home?
Do you know that, for every one person receiving long-term care in a nursing home, there are four people receiving home health care?
Here’s another thing you should know — Brethren Insurance Services, a ministry of Brethren Benefit Trust, offers LTCi for all Church of the Brethren members, as well as their families and friends.
Long-term care insurance is the only insurance that pays for the kind of custodial care that becomes necessary with the loss of two or more activities of daily living — bathing, eating, dressing, toileting, continence, and transferring — or cognitive impairment.
The provider companies with which Brethren Insurance Services works include John Hancock, Genworth, Mutual of Omaha, Prudential, Transamerica, and Lincoln. These companies provide comprehensive insurance plans that include home care, skilled care, assisted living, respite care, and hospice care. All of these companies are A-rated or better by A.M. Best, a source that evaluates the financial stability of insurance companies.
A recent feature available with these policies is a qualification for a state partnership, which provides the capacity to protect some of the insured’s financial assets if the policy runs out while care is still needed. Currently, 40 states participate in this partnership.
Want to know more? Please contact Randy Yoder, Client Development Representative for Brethren Insurance Services, at 847-622-3362 or ryoder_bbt@brethren.org.
NOAC Bus to Lake Junaluska
A bus to National Older Adult Conference in Junaluska, North Carolina has been reserved for transport from Mt. Morris on Sunday, September 4, 2011. The bus will return on September 10, 2011. The group will make an overnight stay going and returning. The cost is $260.00 for the bus fare including double motel occupancy. For information and registration, please contact: Marvin Thill, 521 Eugene St., Stockton, IL 61085; 815-947-3197; bettyandmarvin@gmail.com
Persons associated with churches in the southern part of the district are welcome to ride on the Western Plains bus boarding at Carbondale. Call David Fruth for details: 620-245-0674.
For information about NOAC go to www.brethren.org/NOAC or call Kim Ebersole at (800) 323-8039, ext. 30
Persons associated with churches in the southern part of the district are welcome to ride on the Western Plains bus boarding at Carbondale. Call David Fruth for details: 620-245-0674.
For information about NOAC go to www.brethren.org/NOAC or call Kim Ebersole at (800) 323-8039, ext. 30
38th Annual Brethren Bible Institute
Summer Term July 25-29, 2011
(on the campus of Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA
Sponsored by: Brethren Revival Fellowship
Applications available at:
Brethren Bible Institute
155 Denver Road, Denver, PA 17517
Application process completed by: June 24, 2011
(on the campus of Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA
Sponsored by: Brethren Revival Fellowship
Applications available at:
Brethren Bible Institute
155 Denver Road, Denver, PA 17517
Application process completed by: June 24, 2011
Banners For District Conference
Our Moderator Lisa Fike and the Program and Arrangements Team asks each fellowship/Church to make a small banner using the conference theme “Joined with me and I with you” from John 15:5 You may also use your Church theme or logo. Banners should be finished size 12” X 15” and include a means of hanging. They can be made of any material and can be any color. Please include your Church name in some manner. The banners will be the back drop for worship and business services. At conference end the banners will be re-distributed. Each church will receive the banner of a sister church and are encouraged to hold this sister congregation in your prayers throughout the next year.
We please ask that you send the banners to the District Office or give to one of the members of the Program and Arrangements Committee by September 15, 2011. Members are: Roger Ruth – Springfield, Joyce Person – Dixon, Twila Habegger – York Center, Lisa Fike, Fletcher Farrar, Bill Williams and Kevin Kessler are members Ex-officio.
We please ask that you send the banners to the District Office or give to one of the members of the Program and Arrangements Committee by September 15, 2011. Members are: Roger Ruth – Springfield, Joyce Person – Dixon, Twila Habegger – York Center, Lisa Fike, Fletcher Farrar, Bill Williams and Kevin Kessler are members Ex-officio.
Brethren and the Civil War
In a recent newsletter, Shenandoah District included the following reflection on the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, and how Brethren at the time responded:
On May 19-22, 1861, the Brethren held their Yearly Meeting at Beaver Creek (now a congregation near Bridgewater, Va.). This is a particularly historic and meaningful gathering that deserves commemoration because it occurred in their district during the turbulent, opening days of the Civil War.
Through the winter and spring, 1861, as the nation spiraled toward disunion, the Dunkers debated whether to change the location of their meeting. As nonresistants and opponents of slavery, Brethren were a conspicuous minority in a slave-holding region preparing for war. Northern Dunkers feared that travel south was too risky, but Virginia Brethren countered that it was just as dangerous for them to journey north and the meeting proceeded as planned.
The turnout was large, but only four northern congregations sent representatives. The editor of the local newspaper, the "Rockingham Register," visited and wrote a lengthy and very interesting report.
Consider sharing this information with your church as a Brethren-style remembrance of the Civil War sesquicentennial, a basis for preaching, a Minute for Mission, a Sunday school topic, or some other form of commemoration. Interested persons can consult the Annual Conference minutes and Roger Sappington’s book "The Brethren in the New Nation." For further information, including early 19th-century hymns that are still familiar and in the blue hymnal, contact Steve Longenecker, Professor of History, Bridgewater College, slongene@bridgewater.edu.
(taken from the Church of the Brethren Newsline.)
On May 19-22, 1861, the Brethren held their Yearly Meeting at Beaver Creek (now a congregation near Bridgewater, Va.). This is a particularly historic and meaningful gathering that deserves commemoration because it occurred in their district during the turbulent, opening days of the Civil War.
Through the winter and spring, 1861, as the nation spiraled toward disunion, the Dunkers debated whether to change the location of their meeting. As nonresistants and opponents of slavery, Brethren were a conspicuous minority in a slave-holding region preparing for war. Northern Dunkers feared that travel south was too risky, but Virginia Brethren countered that it was just as dangerous for them to journey north and the meeting proceeded as planned.
The turnout was large, but only four northern congregations sent representatives. The editor of the local newspaper, the "Rockingham Register," visited and wrote a lengthy and very interesting report.
Consider sharing this information with your church as a Brethren-style remembrance of the Civil War sesquicentennial, a basis for preaching, a Minute for Mission, a Sunday school topic, or some other form of commemoration. Interested persons can consult the Annual Conference minutes and Roger Sappington’s book "The Brethren in the New Nation." For further information, including early 19th-century hymns that are still familiar and in the blue hymnal, contact Steve Longenecker, Professor of History, Bridgewater College, slongene@bridgewater.edu.
(taken from the Church of the Brethren Newsline.)
Layman’s 10 Commandments
- Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble, but it is a “steering wheel” that directs the right path throughout.
- Why is a car's WINDSHIELD so large & the Rearview Mirror so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, Look Ahead and Move on.
- Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes a few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.
- All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong, don't worry, they can't last long either.
- Old Friends are Gold! New Friends are Diamond! If you get a Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a Base of Gold!
- Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!
- When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.
- A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision!"
- When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them, and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.
- WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES, it takes away today's PEACE.
No July Newsletter
There will be no newsletter in July because of Annual Conference and many people will be on vacation. Please send articles for the August Newsletter, however.
Regional Youth Conference
The 2011 Powerhouse Regional Youth Conference will take place at Manchester College (North Manchester, Ind.) Nov. 12-13. Jeff Carter, pastor of Manassas (Va.) Church of the Brethren, will be our keynote speaker for the weekend. Other details will be developed in the months ahead, but for now please mark your calendars and plan to join us! For questions, contact the Manchester College Campus Ministry office at wjwiltschek@manchester.edu. Walt Wiltschek; MC Campus Ministry, 260-982-5243
Mother-in-Law of Pastor Succumbs in Pennsylvania
Our deepest sympathy goes to the Freda Gordon family. Freda went to be with the Lord on May 22, 2011. She is the mother of Vonna Beach whose husband, Greg, pastors the Woodland Church of the Brethren in Astoria, Mrs. Gordon was 91. Her husband Raymond Gordon had ministered in several Churches of the Brethren in Pennsylvania. Pastor Gordon went to be with the Lord in 1985. Our condolences to Vonna and Greg Beach.
Calendar of Upcoming Events
JUNE
3-5 - Camp Emmanuel Women's CampJULY
5-11 - Camp Emmanuel Sr Hi Youth Camp
12-18 - Camp Emmanuel Jr Hi Camp
17 - National Jr High Conference @ Elizabethtown College
19 - Father’s Day
21 - First Day of Summer
24-26 - Camp Emmaus CIT Training
25-26 - Camp Emmaus Elementary I Camp
2–6 - Annual Conference @ Grand Rapids, MIAUGUST
8-9 - Camp Emmanuel Pre-Junior Camp
10-16 - Camp Emmanuel Junior Camp
10-16 - Camp Emmaus Sr Hi Youth Camp
17-23 - Camp Emmaus Jr Hi Youth Camp
23 - Leadership Team @ Peoria
24-29 - Camp Emmaus Elementary III Camp
2-5 - Camp Emmaus Elementary II CampSEPTEMBER
5-7 - Camp Emmaus Women's Camp
12-14 - Camp Emmanuel Men's Camp
14 - Camp Emmanuel Board Meeting
20 - Program & Arrangements
2–5 - Camp Emmanuel Family CampOCTOBER
2-5 - Camp Emmaus Family Camp
5 - Labor Day
5 - NOAC, Lake Junaluska
11 - Grandparent’s Day
17 - Leadership Team @ Dixon
21 - International Day of Peace
29 - Rosh Hashanah
2 - World Communion SundayNOVEMBER
8 - Yom Kippur
8 - Program & Arrangements
10 - Columbus Day
15 - Leadership Team @ Peoria
22 - Camp Emmanuel Fall Work Day
4–6 - District Conference, Lake WilliamsonDECEMBER
6 - Daylight Savings Time Ends
12 - Camp Emmanuel Board Meeting
12-13 - Regional Youth Conference @ Manchester College
18-19 - Leadership Team Retreat @ Camp Emmaus
24 - Thanksgiving
27 - First Sunday of Advent
21 - Hanukkah
25 - Christmas
26 - Kwanzaa
