251 Stars!

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Smoke 'em If You Got 'em

Once again the Southeastern District Board is calling on their district youth to boycott a Brethren event. This time around, they've asked the district's youth to boycott District Conference at "inclusive" Mars Hill College because Conference planners moved the location away from the conservative Johnson Bible College.

George Carlin Quote:

“What’s all the fuss about same-sex marriages? I’ve been the same sex all my life, and I was married for years. No problem. What’s the big deal?”

Who Says Opposites Attract?

The issue of homosexuality is not the only issue of disagreement in the Church of the Brethren. While the national General Board staff invoke Luke 10:25-37, and wail for an end of sanctions against the people of Iraq, the Brethren Revival Fellowship appear to be saying that our government should continue to cause suffering for the Iraqi people until such a time as Saddam Hussein's compassion for his people should become more apparent than our own.

(And when's the last time that the national staff had a biblical reasoning behind their actions and the BRF didn't? - the Editors)

Manifest Destiny?

Jim Yaussy Albright, District Executive of the Illinois/Wisconsin District announced today that congregations that forfeit leadership within the district of South/Central Indiana District would be invited to join the Illinois/Wisconsin District. "Due to the closing of several congregations over the past few years we could use some additional leadership here." When concerns were raised about the ability of these new leaders to attend meetings, Jim pointed out that most people don't go to most of the meetings anyway.

Those who think that the Illinois/Wisconsin District should stay within it's geographical boundaries are reminded that the district is following the lead of the Atlantic Northeast District which includes a congregation in Maine, and the Pennsylvania Southern District which includes a congregation in Vermont.

The Illinois/Wisconsin District is also claiming Kentucky, which will be an issue at the Ohio Southern District Conference, October 11 and 12th.

YAC

The Gospel Messenger would like to remind you to sign up for next spring's Young Adult Conference.

May 23-25, 2003
Camp Eder, Fairfield, Pennsylvania
"Being Brethren in Today's Culture"
Leader: Shawn Replogle
Cost: $80

Register early, as only the first 2,000 registration will be accepted. Shawn Replogle indicated that the sudden popularity of YAC is not due to his leadership, and that he doesn't expect many of the conference attenders to join BVS unit #255 which has been renamed the "Replogle Unit" after the amazing demand for units with ties to famous Brethren leaders. Shawn insists that his fifteen minutes of fame are long over, and that today's young adults are the real hero's within the church.

What's Going On Here?

Tired of having to check our site every hour to see whether we've posted something new? If you'd like to get an email message notifying you when something's been posted, enter your email address in the box on the right and click the OK button. We're using a service provided by ChangeDetection, and initial tests have shown it to be useful. And once you've started monitoring this web page, you can add other pages to your watch list too.

BVS Loses All Credibility at NOAC

Former BVSer Chris Brown demonstrates his
talent for blowing up a rubber glove while it's
on his head.



(We love you Chris - the Editors)

Apologies to Brian Murphy at the San Franciso Chronicle

The following is the Gospel Messenger's paraphrase of a column in the San Franciso Chronicle:

Now, we can't avoid it any longer. It appears the elephant in the living room isn't going away; he's ordering pizza and settling in.

Should [we] have a [questionable] member? In an egalitarian world, yes. It is the 21st century, in case [anyone] has failed to check [their] Farmer's Almanac. And the spread of diversity, in a newsroom, classroom or boardroom, has never hurt life experience. Usually, it enriches. Moreover, as a fellow journalist pointed out, in the ledgers of social history, intolerance has never fared too well. Some have said that including an inevitably rich and well-connected [questionable person] to an already rich and well-connected membership is not worth debating, pointing out this is not about Rosa Parks trying to sit in the front of a bus. True enough. But symbols are important. [The larger group] invites the world to its [calling] and its [big event] every year. The idea that a [child] of mine [might] never have the chance to join the [larger group] that hosts it is, frankly, a tad irksome.

All that said, consider the issue. Voting rights and domestic partners' health benefits are issues of considerable weight. But is this? There exists underneath [this liberal] battle cry a hint of forced morality that feels dangerous.

America has taken on a homogenous tone of late, the undercurrent being: If you don't think the way I think, I will browbeat you until you do. Force-feeding social ethics is a risky business. The great writer Bob Verdi wrote that if a [group] can't choose its own members -- old, young, male, female, [straight, alternative] -- then where can you go to get away from everybody? Precisely.

What was it a great American once said? I may not agree with the prevalence of men's rest rooms at your golf club, but I will defend to my death your right to have them.

Brian Murphy, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer

Rock'em Sock'em Acronyms
VOS vs. BRF

In the far left corner we have "Voices for an Open Spirit", represented by James H. Lehman.

And in the far right corner we have the "Brethren Revival Fellowship", represented by Craig Alan Myers.

Both views are online, but are the sides talking to each other or just reacting to each other? In either case, it's entertaining.

NOAC Letter

Boy, all I can say is I'm sure glad I'm not from the Southeastern District! This will be my first NOAC (at age 50 years and 2 weeks), and I certainly don't plan to go to all the sessions. I mean, after all, I have to take naps sometime, since I'm old now.

Speaking of boycotts, we just learned this evening where the usage of that word comes from. You can find it at http://www.web.net/~procott/page5.html.

Leadership Recruitment Event

The South/Central Indiana District will have a recruiting booth at the upcoming Juniata College Job Fair.

Nothing at Juniata is Homo Anything

I am writing to protest the Gospel Messenger's reporting of the flawed Princeton Review. We are not homogeneous. Only 91% of us are Caucasian. Juniata is also host to many foreign exchange students who are fun to hang out with and make daily life interesting. We are a diverse group and I defy you to find anybody at Juniata who would say any differently.

- Dolly