Conference Wrapup

The official Conference wrapup is online, and the Dunker Journal has given it's review of the worship music along with some highlights. Now the Gospel Messenger will jump on the band wagon with our annual review. Readers of our print versions in past years are familiar with our tradition of providing a sermon analysis of the worships at Annual Conference. The attached chart shows the relatively accurate counts in the various sermons of the occurance of "Jesus", "Jesus Christ", "Christ", and "Christ Jesus". What better way to rate a Conference then hard, cold statistics.

Give Me a Child Until He Is 7, and I Will Show You The Man

Bob Gross, Co-Executive Director, MoR Coordinator will be leading a workshop at the 7th Annual Piecemakers Congress. He will be sharing his secrets ways of persuasion. We are sure that this will be an interesting talk, as Bob is known to be a straight shooter. We wonder if he will be participating in the traditional action/public witness where people attending the conference ask the local Toy R Us to stop selling violent toys.

WWMD?

What weapons of mass destruction? Click here for more details (the link's not broken; look closely).

Annunal Conference Buzzword Bingo

Just in time for Boise... Click here to get your Brethren buzzword bingo card.

Clock's Ticking on Takeover Bid

The Mennonite's hostile takeover bid for its rival Church of the Brethren denomination will expire July 7, but the Mennonite Church expects to extend the offer, according to the formal offer filed Monday with the NCC.

The Mennonite Church stunned the religious community on Friday when it launched a $5.1 billion hostile bid for the Church of the Brethren, only a few days before the Brethren's Annual Conference is to take place in Boise.

According to the new filing, on June 20, 2002, The Mennonite Church and the Church of the Brethren entered into negotiations at the Church of the Brethren's bequest "concerning the possibility of combining the congregations of the two denominations." The discussion was "general in nature" and no valuation was discussed. But a few days later the denominations concluded they couldn't come to a mutually agreeable decision, and the matter was dropped, the Mennonite Church filing states.

On Friday, the Mennonites sent a letter to the Church of the Brethren's General Board, telling them about the takeover bid. The Mennonite Church says the General Board has not yet approved the offer or otherwise commented on it as of the date of the offer to purchase.

But the Church of the Brethren's General Secretary characterized the offer as "a transparent attempt" to disrupt The Church of the Brethren.

The Mennonite Church said in its filing that it has $6 billion in cash on hand, more than enough to cover the terms of initial deal. But it has arranged for a $5 billion revolving credit facility with Credit Suisse First Boston, which it would also draw on to pay shareholders.

The Mennonite Church can back out of the offer if another bid is made for the Church of the Brethren, the filing states. There has been much speculation that another religious rival could make a bid for the company, with Quaker, Presbyterian and Methodist denominations all listed by industry observers as possible bidders.

If the merger is completed, the Mennonite Church will be "providing enhanced and extended support for (the Church of the Brethren's) congregations, incorporating advanced features from the denomination's programs," the Mennonite Church states.

The merger would definitely boost the Mennonite Church's share of the peace church market, leaving only the Quakers (Friends) as the sole other historic peace church. The Mennonite denomination said in the filing that it does not anticipate any problems with antitrust issues.

The acquisition would technically be conducted through a special purchasing firm, Pepper Acquisition, a subsidiary of Oracle.

Oil for Peace

The strapped for cash General Board has announced that is in the early stages of negotiations to sell the oil rights to it's New Windsor and Elgin properties. The income garnered from the deal could help restore much of the programs that have been reduced due to a lack of funds. Ironically, the Board will not be examining the environmental impact in any great detail because of its recent, drastic cut backs to the Brethren Witness Office.

Man Does Not Live On Bread Alone...

...he needs apple butter. In Boise this summer, conference goers can try an alternative. At the BRF display they'll be able to try some apple margarine with their bread.

Sometimes Lebanon Baloney is Just Baloney

The General Board, after much analysis, has announced that Walt Wiltcheck has been appointed to the new position of Brethren Id-Entity. It will be Wiltscheck's job to report on what the Brethren are doing. At the same time, Jim Myer was appointed to the new position of Brethren Super-Ego-Entity. It will be Myer's job to inform the Brethren what they should be doing. The existing position of Brethren Ego-Entity will continue unchanged.

BVS Reloaded

It seems that Paul "Neo" Grout is preaching not only from the Gospel, but also from "Simulacra and Simulation". Grout's fascination with The Matrix is evident in the fact that BVS Unit 254 was scheduled to begin shortly after the release of The Matrix Reloaded, the second of the movie trilogy. Grout has embraced the movies' Christian touches as much more than pseudophilosophical pastiche. Somebody be sure to check the back of the heads of those new volunteers for cable connections.

Can You Handle The Truth?
Can you handle the truth? If not, then try the Gospel Messenger's version. And please take some time to check out the new store link at the top of this page. Thanks for reading.

McPherson's Football in Jeopardy

A gambling scandal has rocked McPherson, news sources reported this week. While the scandal may have repercussions for the McPherson College's recruiting, they can always fall back on the PR they garner from their ties to the Tonight Show's Jay Leno.

Free Bats

The Outdoor Ministries Association has free baseball bats available to any church camp that would like to receive a supply. An anonymous donor from the Illinois-Wisconsin district has donated a large supply of bats. These bats are amazingly light and it should be easy to have your campers hitting home runs in no time. They will even float in the pool.

Staffing Changes

The Gospel Messenger would like to welcome Howell Raines and Gerald Boyd to our staff. Their committment to accurate reporting fits in perfectly with our standards of journalism.

Reminder

You can use the "Change Detection" option found off to the right to get notifications of updates to our site.

Register While Supplies Last

Conference-goers who register early for Annual Conference will be able to walk with Christ in Boise. Brethren Press is offering a free pair of sandals to those who register before June 15th and, for those registering after the give-away deadline, you won't have to go to Denmark to get your footware; the Brethren Press store in the exhibit hall will be selling more than books.

Future Conference Site Announced

The Annual Conference Office has announced the site of the 222nd Church of the Brethren Annual Conference to be held in 2008. Realizing that delegates are becoming more and more concerned about the expense of attending conference, the Program and Arrangements committee put their heads together and came up with the place that should please most Brethren. Always known for its cheap but bountiful buffets, Las Vegas will be brimming with Brethren in July, 2008. Since the Church of the Brethren does not yet have any congregations in Nevada, arrangements have been made with the Covenant Casino Church which will act as the hosts for the conference that year. For those concerned about gambling, the Annual Conference office would like to remind everyone that, as is pointed out in the 1986 statement on gambling, there is no specific command stating, "Thou shall not gamble." For those who are concerned with horse race result, please consult the Dunker Journal.

Go Where I Send Thee

This year has seen a serious drop off on volunteerism by Brethren senior high youth. While junior high and young adult workcamps are filled to capacity, nearly twenty percent of the senior high openings remain vacant. It seems that last summer's National Youth Conference had an unintended side effect. Exploiting a grant from the Lilly Endowment, NYC set our youth focus on vocation and now it looks like they've lost interest in volunteerism. There's still hope to be found in the current junior high generation who have not been exposed to this vocation frenzy, but Brethren Volunteer Service could be suffering in a few years when the job focused youth of today turn towards the workplace rather than joining BVS.

mandatum novum do vobis

Contrary to an other reports, we would like to reassure our readers that Raymond C. Dublin was not involved in any kind of Maundy Thursday feet washing shenanigans.

Boulders, Kings, and Peasants

If you haven't yet checked out the Bread Basket column on the BRF website, you will likely find it to be the least objectionable reading posted there no matter which side of the liberal/evangelical fence your sensitivities fall. In the March/April 2003 submission, Paul Brubaker relates a charming parable about obstacles.

Dixie Chicks to Draw in New Members at Annual Conference

The Programming and Arrangements Committee, facing the displeasure of some members of the Church of the Brethren for not allowing BMC to have a dialogue session, announced today that the Dixie Chicks will be performing a concert at Annual Conference this year. Members of Kindling, who are getting their feet wet in the country western milieu with their latest song "Stand by Your Domestic Partner of Non-Specific Gender and Sexual Orientation," are said to have given them advice on what things are better off not being said if you want to be re-invited to Annual Conference. Considering their upcoming cover on Entertainment Weekly, we wonder if Programming and Arrangements Committee realize that the Dixie Chicks are not part of a fund raiser for Heifer Project from the south?

Meanwhile, a group of singers from a congregation in the Atlantic Northeast District is suffering from the patriotic backlash unleashed by the once popular country western group. The barbershop quartet "The Dixie Chiques" has inexplicably seen bookings cancelled over the past few months. "It all started after singer Natalie Maines spoke out at a London concert last month," said Don Fitzkee who is one quarter of the group. He did not go on to clarify whether or not the quartet supports President Bush's policies.

Best If Used By 04/30/03

As the Southern Pennsylvania/Mid-Atlantic Meat Canning Project winds to a close, the Gospel Messenger has discovered that those districts have begun secret negotiations with the animal rights group PETA. "It's not about that wacky veggie Jesus stuff," said an undisclosed source. The canning project organizers are hoping that they can double the output of their efforts by replacing the canned beef with vegetable patties. The vegetarian fare would be subsidized, if not outright funded, by PETA. It would not be the first time PETA has offered veggie burgers to feed the hungry.

In related news, rumors have also been cropping up that VOS will spin off a progressive vegetarian spiritual organization, calling itself BETA (Brethren for the Ethical Treatment of Anibaptists).

Happy Easter

If you're offended by toy guns in baskets, how's this strike your fancy?

Prince of Peas


What Would Jesus Eat? Since Jesus eschewed, not chewed, meat then what should we do?

P&A Committee Strikes Again

April 10, 2003
Mr. David E. Leckrone
Woodbridge, VA

Dear Brother Leckrone:

These are times in the life of the church when we do not find clear-cut directives and unfettered guidance, even if we try our best to be true to the spirit and teachings of Jesus. The church in general, and the Church of the Brethren in particular, are going through a time of change which is testing and refining our identity and our faith. Moderator Harriet Finney tells us that she is finding an uneasiness about the church everywhere she goes in these months leading up the 2003 Conference in Boise. There also seems to us to be a spirit of hostility and defiance at a number of fronts in our denominational family.

It deeply pained the members of the Program and Arrangements Committee to read your letter in the April 2003 Messenger, that contained unkind, unfair, and defiant criticism of our Denomination and its leadership. It was difficult for some members of the Committee to get beyond those biting words to enter into the sprit of open and unaffected consideration of your letter.

As a number of persons on the Program and Arrangement Committee are new, the committee examined carefully the Guidelines pertaining to Annual Conference. A copy of those guidelines, Exhibit E, is enclosed for your reference. We spent a considerable amount of time kneeling in prayer. A motion was made and approved, given the policy of the church in the guidelines of the P&A Committee, the tone of the letter, and the general uneasiness of the denomination at this time, that we decline of your issues. We were not all of one mind on the decision, but we honor the majority in the vote. As Moderator Finney commented, it was very painful for us.

We wish there could have been a more peaceful back drop for this consideration.

Sincerely,

Program & Arrangements Committee

c: Mr. Everett Fisher, BMC

Cache, Check or Charge

National Public Radio was apparently premature in its reports earlier this week. Chemical agents discovered Monday at a military compound on the Euphrates River were actually pesticides, not sarin gas, a U.S. military official told a foreign press service Tuesday. Regardless of what NPR is reporting, searches have also yielded no evidence of nuclear weapons at the General Offices in Elgin