NEWSLINE - July 5, 1997 Special Annual Conference Report NEWSLINE is the weekly online newsletter of the Church of the Brethren posted each Thursday by the Communications Dept. through cobnews@aol.com. Interested persons can "hear" Newsline by calling 410 635-8738 or receive a "fax" of Newsline by calling 800 323-8039, ext. 257. Newsline by "e-mail" is available by sending an online request to cobnews@aol.com. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% NEWSLINE 07-05-97 1) 3,325 Brethren are registered at Annual Conference. 2) Today and Sunday in Long Beach. 3) Delegates conclude business agenda. a) Statement on Child Exploitation. b) Fetal Tissue Use and Human Genetic Engineering. c) Denominational Polity Statement: Polity and Stewardship Issues. d) Reports by Bethany Theological Seminary, Ministry Advisory Council, World and National councils of churches. 4) General Board names Executive Committee and Executive Director Search Committee. 5) Annual Conference moderator and secretary receive expressions of appreciation. 6) Outdoor Ministry Association presents awards. 7) Habitat for Humanity house is dedicated. 8) Applicants sought for William Hayes Memorial Scholarship. 1) Final Annual Conference registration numbers show 826 delegates and 2,499 non-delegates. 2) "Count well the cost of peace: what the stones know" is the title of tonight's sermon by Glenn Mitchell, pastor of University Baptist and Brethren Church, State College, Pa. Debbie Roberts, University of La Verne (Calif.) chaplain, is worship leader. In a final conference worship service tomorrow morning, Rich Hanley, Western Plains District executive from McPherson, Kan., concludes the week's "Count Well the Cost" conference theme with a sermon centered on discipleship, called "Launch out, into the deep." Donald Matthews, pastor of Oak Grove Church of the Brethren, Oakland, Calif., will provide worship leadership. Other Annual Conference activities taking place during this final full day of Annual Conference include: *Bible study electives -- "The brokenness about community," "Giving up competition and bickering; gaining joy and assurance," "Renouncing rights" and "Razgad vuestro corazon." *Children -- Mexican dancers. *Junior high -- beach olympics and campfire lunch. *Senior high -- service projects in Tijuana, Mexico. *Young adults -- beach party and volleyball tournament. *Black/Urban luncheon. *Association for the Arts in the Church of the Brethren quilt auction. *Nigeria missionaries reunion. *More than 250 retirees are expected to attend the Eighth Annual Brethren Benefit Trust Retiree Dinner, featuring ventriloquist Steve Engle. *In the final of three early evening concerts this week, La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren members Adam Kaplan and Michael Ryan perform classical and original music with flute and classical guitar. *Children's choral concert. *Concert pianist Huntley Brown performs gospel, classical, and Broadway selections for all ages following evening worship. 3a) In an item continued from Friday, delegates adopted the "Statement on Child Exploitation" with a few amendments. The paper seeks to educate the church on the plight of children around the world while calling on Brethren agencies, congregations and members to take specific actions. A recommendation that the church support the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (which some felt undermined parental rights) was eliminated and replaced with a more general amendment drafted by the committee that wrote the paper --"We call on the United States government to ratify and support international treaties that protect children from exploitation as this is understood by this paper, and discerned by the Church." 3b) The two related statements "Human Genetic Engineering" and "Fetal Tissue Use" were addressed separately by the delegates as recommended by the study committee. A brief statement on "Human Genetic Engineering" was accepted by the delegates without much discussion. By a vote of 358 to 232, delegates rejected the statement on "Fetal Tissue Use." Lengthy debate centered largely on whether the statement's approval of fetal tissue use could legitimize abortion, which at present is the sole source of fetal tissue. Some felt strongly that such a statement would promote abortion, while others believed that the issue was not abortion itself but that "fetal tissue therapy represents the last, best or only current medical hope for relief or avoidance of suffering," as written in the proposed statement. So much interest on the issue was raised that lines at the microphones stood six deep at times. Before taking the final vote on the statement, Moderator Wine asked delegates and attendees to join in a short time of silent prayer. After the vote, Wine spoke to the divergent opinions expressed by delegates. "God has not spoken to us in uniformity on this issue, but has spoken to us as a body," Wine said. The item will be returned to Standing Committee, which will formulate a recommendation to come before next year's Annual Conference. 3c) Delegates ultimately passed the Denominational Polity Statement on Property and Stewardship Issues regarding the authority of districts to preserve real congregational assets for the denomination when congregations neglect property or default on loans. A substitute motion to adopt the polity changes of the paper but to return it to Standing Committee to further clarify certain points failed to receive enough support from the delegate body. 3d) In other business, delegates approved reports from Bethany Theological Seminary, Ministry Advisory Council, and the World and National councils of churches. The Bethany Theological Seminary report included a musical tribute to retiring Brightbill professor of Ministry Studies Nancy Faus. Those from the Conference audience who had studied under Faus were invited to gather on stage for her direction of "Great is Thy Faithfulness." In the report, BTS president Eugene Roop updated delegates on an agreement to sell the Oak Brook, Ill., property for business and residential purposes. Once finalized, the sale would eliminate the seminary's debt. New initiatives taking place include the formation this past spring of a separate board for Bethany's Susquehanna Valley Satellite program, Elizabethtown, Pa., and a partnership between BTS and the General Board for a cooperative academy project that is an outgrowth of an Annual Conference action on leadership development. In a related matter, delegates heard a report by the Ministry Advisory Council that was named to facilitate ministry training efforts. The council spoke of the cooperative efforts it is forming with Bethany and other partner agencies and recognized the 20th anniversary of the denomination's TRaining In Ministry and Education For a Shared Ministry programs. Former general secretary Donald Miller reported on World Council of Churches, saying that Brethren have made a significant contribution with their involvement in the program to Overcome Violence, for which Sara Speicher, former General Board staff with Association of Brethren Caregivers, serves as program volunteer for the next two years. Richard Speicher, North Lima, Ohio, noted that the National Council of Churches will celebrate its 50th anniversary at its 1999 meeting in Cleveland. A major activity of the NCC has been dealing with the plight of pastors from congregations whose church buildings have been burned in recent years. The NCC has been instrumental in offering some $9 million in financial support for rebuilding efforts as well as working at ways to reduce racial hatred in the U.S. 4) In a Friday late night session, the General Board elected its new executive committee. Joining chair Chris Bowman and vice chair Lori Sollenberger Knepp, announced in Newsline yesterday, are Beth Middleton, Boones Mill, Va.; Phyllis Davis, North Liberty, Ind.; Terry Shumaker, Buena Vista, Va.; and William Eberly, North Manchester, Ind. Three members from the wider denomination will be chosen to join four General Board members on a new search committee for the executive director. General Board members elected to the committee are Mary Jo Flory-Steury, Kettering, Ohio; Wayne Judd, Elizabethtown, Pa.; Gilbert Romero, Jr., Montebello, Calif.; and Christy Waltersdorff, Lombard, Ill. 5) Presentations of appreciation were made to Moderator David Wine for his year of service to the denomination in presiding over the 1997 Annual Conference. The Association for the Arts in the Church of the Brethren (AACB) presented him with a quilt; the Mutual Aid Association, of which Wine is president, bestowed a sculpture of praying hands; Buckeye Church of the Brethren, Abilene, Kan., Wine's home congregation, gave him a collage drawing representing important elements and events in his life; and the Hutchinson (Kan.) church, which is in Wine's home district of Western Plains, presented the moderator with a stained glass window made by members of the congregation. After a decade of service, retiring Annual Conference secretary Anne Myers, North Manchester, Ind., received a standing ovation from Conference attendees in recognition of her leadership. In appreciation, Myers received a quilt made by AACB that included logos of each of the 10 Annual Conferences during which she has served. Her husband, children and grandchildren joined Myers on stage to show their support. 6) Walter Bowman received Outdoor Ministry Association's Four Horsemen Leadership Development award Wednesday at OMA's luncheon. According to a release, Bowman received this award because of his vision for and commitment to OMA's formation during his 13-year tenure as a General Board staff employee. Paul Bowman of Camp Brethren Woods (Shenandoah District) received the Camp Volunteer Award. He also has served at Camp Shiloh and Shepherd's Spring in Mid-Atlantic District. The Camp Staff Award was presented to Doug Phillips, who has been director of Outdoor Ministries of Camp Brethren Woods for the past 14 years. 7) Although neither of two four-bedroom Habitat for Humanity houses blitz built by Brethren and others during the week were close to being completed, the 100 or so people attending a Saturday afternoon dedication service for one of the homes didn't seem to care. "It's a celebration of what can be done and what was done," noted local Habitat coordinator John McKenna, who emceed the event. "The process was beautiful and we will finish this, so we're celebrating that." Habitat founder Millard Fuller headlined the service, which also featured brief comments from several representatives of Habitat and the Church of the Brethren, the presentation of a Bible to the family who will live in the house, and an emotional time for attendees to wish the family well as they dropped seeds symbolizing a promising future into a flower pot held by the family. Despite a slow start due to lack of proper permits, 64 Brethren still donated a total of 146 workdays during the week, and with help of local volunteers framed and sheeted both houses and got one under roof. Long Beach Habitat program coordinator Dolly Uzueta estimates that local volunteers will complete both houses by mid-September. 8) Applications are being sought for the William A. Hayes Memorial Scholarship, in memory of the past moderator. The scholarships provide up to $500 per year for African American Church of the Brethren members in ministry training, including pastoral, youth, music, and teaching ministry and administration. Contact the Director of Ministry, Church of the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120-1694, or call 800 323-8039. Newsline writers during Annual Conference -- Karla Boyers, Nevin Dulabaum, Don Fitzkee and Paula Wilding. Newsline is archived with an index at http://www.tgx.com/cob/news.htm and at www.wfn.org. This message can be heard by calling 410 635-8738. To receive Newsline by e-mail or fax, call 800 323-8039, ext. 257, or write CoBNews@AOL.Com.