A Comfortable Way of Caring

A Comfortable Way of Caring

Not just another way of living.

Last Supper General Board Bingo [Oct-2007]

Last Supper General Board Bingo

Afraid that the "walk with us" is going to be long and tedious? For your entertainment during your idle time, don't forget to take along Buzzword Bingo.

If you're not happy with the sheet that you're initially presented, click Reload until you get a card that looks like a winner.

MR ZIGLER

History of On Earth Peace

In 1974, M. R. Zigler brought together a group of people who wanted to strengthen the peace witness of the Church of the Brethren. Held in New Windsor, Maryland, this meeting gave birth to the On Earth Peace Assembly. On Earth Peace has always been a Church of the Brethren program, although the nature of the relationship to the denominational organization has changed through the years. Since 1998, On Earth Peace has been directly accountable to Annual Conference, as one of the three program agencies of the church (with the General Board and the Association of Brethren Caregivers).

LOL Bible

I IZ IN UR RELIGION EATING UR CHEEZBURGER

Brethren Press has added an additional bible translation to it's catalog. Initially, Teh Holiez Bibul will only be available online, but watch for it at the Brethren Press exhibit at next summer's Annual Conference.


Because LOLcats plus Religion Equals High-larity!

World Communion Sunday 2007

World Communion Sunday, October 7, 2007

World Communion Sunday – celebrated the first Sunday in October – is one of the most venerable of “special Sundays.” The day has taken on new relevancy and depth of meaning in a world where globalization often has undermined peace and justice – and in a time when fear divides the peoples of God's earth. On this day we celebrate our oneness in Christ, the Prince of Peace, in the midst of the world we are called to serve – a world ever more in need of peacemaking.

AS THE CROWE FLIES

Russell Crowe Filming Near New Windsor

Russell Crowe is spending much of September near the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Maryland, filming scenes for a a new thriller, "Body of Lies."

The movie is Crowe's first collaboration with director David Sollenberger. They could have teamed up for the Oscar-winning "Gladiator," 2006's "A Good Year" and "American Gangster," costarring Denzel Washington, which is scheduled for release this fall. Instead Crowe teamed with Ridley Scott for those films.

On Friday, Crowe was in Annapolis, shooting two scenes at St. Andrew's United Methodist Day School, and the head of the school, Leslie A. Redwine, said she met Crowe and shook his hand.

"He was courtly, cordial and charming," she told The (Baltimore) Sun.

Scott is using locations in Baltimore to stand in for North Manchester, Indiana, and Munich, Germany. The production will later move to Morocco.

"Body of Lies," based on a novel by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio, who has not yet arrived in the area.

Bible Stories

Bible Stories

The multiplicity of all the new modern versions of the Bible can be confusing but another big problem is the fact that many of the worldly publishing companies are publishing Bibles and calling them King James Bibles when in actuality they are not. They are counterfeits.

Meanwhile, have you ever been on a tree stand, or a mountain top or stream and wished you had your Bible along for meditation? While we can't guarantee that they're not counterfeit, they are available in a variety of hard to see designs.

A haiku:

When I'm out hunting
I need Jesus on my side.
Jesus hates wildlife.

Spoiler Alert

Bingo 2007 July

Buzzword Bingo

What is the fate of the One Board? Its destiny awaits in Cleveland at Annual Conference. Don't forget to take along Buzzword Bingo.

If you're not happy with the sheet that you're initially presented, click Reload until you get a card that looks like a winner.

Brethren Death Spiral Plan

From its beginning, the Church of the Brethren has modeled the concept of mutuality, emulating the teachings of the Apostle Paul. In I Corinthians 12:24-27 (NIV), Paul states, “But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is part of it.”

Whereas:

• Insurance consultants have warned that the Brethren Medical Plan needs to be stabilized or terminated as it is in the early stages of a “death spiral,” a downward cyclical phenomenon resulting from increased medical costs, increased risk, and declining membership,
  
  
• The Brethren Benefit Trust Board, in an attempt to stabilize the Brethren Medical Plan, announced in August 2004 that each district would need to have 75 percent of its eligible congregations in the Brethren Medical Plan by Jan. 1, 2007; as of this date, districts will not be able to participate in the Plan until this requirement is met,
  
  
• The Brethren Benefit Trust Board will delay implementing its 75 percent participation requirement, subject to the creation of an Annual Conference Study Committee as called for below, through Dec. 31, 2008, or until the completion of the study, whichever is latest.

Resolution:
Assess the continuing need for a denominational medical insurance plan for employees of congregations, districts, and church-related agencies. Be it further resolved that the 2005 Annual Conference delegates call on every eligible congregation, district, and church-related agency to participate in the Brethren Medical Plan from 2006 through at least the conclusion of the study. The delegates also call on district and Brethren Benefit Trust staff and other stakeholders in the Plan to work together to promote the Plan to all eligible employers, including colleges, retirement home communities, and other agencies that relate to districts.

One Board to Bind Them

The Review and Evaluation Committee is recommending the merger of the General Board and the Association of Brethren Caregivers into one incorporated legal entity entitled “The
Church of the Brethren, U.S.A.” The board of directors (trustees) of the corporation would have responsibility to oversee the domestic and international ministries as the administrative and programmatic agency for the denomination. We also strongly encourage On Earth Peace to consider joining together with these two agencies through prayerful discussions with their board, executives, and the wider church as the agencies work toward unity.

Background:
The One Board was created by the Dark Lord Sauron during the Second Age in order to gain dominion over the free peoples of Middle-earth. In disguise as Annatar, or "Lord of Gifts", he aided the Brethren smiths of Eregion and their leader Celebrimbor, in the making of the Boards of Power. He then forged the One Board himself in the fires of Mount Doom. He intended it to be the most powerful of all Boards, able to rule and control the others. Since the other Boards were extremely powerful, Sauron was obliged to place most of his native power, life force and will into it to effect his purpose. A side effect of his doing this was that as long as the Board existed, it was impossible to remove him from the mortal plane. The risk to Sauron was that if he were to lose the Board, he would also lose a great deal of his own power, and if the Board were to be destroyed, perhaps even his life.

One Board to rule them all,
One Board to find them,
One Board to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them.

Health Care Legacy

Health Care Legacy

Andrew Speaker, Director of Hygiene for the Association of Brethren Caregivers, reminds church members that the Church of the Brethren has a long history in the field of health care.

Jesus Is My Health Insurance

NCPNS - Vol 5

Back on Tract

Deep down, every true Christian wants to tell others about salvation found in Jesus Christ, but find it difficult to talk personally with someone, especially a stranger. Is there a way to get over those fears, and make it less difficult to spread the Gospel? Yes there is... GOSPEL TRACTS!

New College Peace Poles

Soon to be appearing on Brethren College Campuses, the Emergency Peace Poles combine the traditional peace pole with a modern campus neccessity.

NCP TV

YouTube Community Project








The New Community Project is a faith-based nonprofit organization with the modest goal of changing the world!

March 2007 Bingo

Buzzword Bingo

Will Travis "Bingo" Beam retain his title? This and other decisions will be decided at this weekend's General Bored Meetings. Don't forget to take along Buzzword Bingo.

If you're not happy with the sheet that you're initially presented, click Reload until you get a card that looks like a winner.

IYAC

IYAC

One of the mysteries of the Bible has always been where Jesus was while he was a young adult. There is a huge gap in the biography from puberty until about three years before the crucifixion. The simplest inference is that he was working as a carpenter with his father and that nothing remarkable happened to him during this period. This prosaic scenario, Jesus as a salt-of-the-earth working man, is in character with the rest of what we know about him, and there is no good reason to invalidate it.

However, there is also the idea that Jesus went to India during this time. There were well-established trade routes, so it would not be impossible. If Alexander the Great got there several centuries earlier, why not Jesus? With the expected positive results of next summer's National Young Adult Conference, plans are already underway for the first International Young Adult Conference.

Young adults should start saving now and plan to join other young adults in a pilgrimage to visit the same sites that Jesus visited when he was their age.

Jesus Cell

What's the Frequency?

The Church of the Brethren Webcast is a new audio news partnership of the Church of the Brethren agencies. Webcasts will feature conversations and interviews that highlight news, upcoming events, and items of interest. New webcasts are posted bi-weekly, and at times more frequently for breaking news. Broadcasts will be produced by Bethany Theological Seminary and broadcast from a giant Jesus cell tower in the Ugandan town of Gulu.

Evolution: Things Change

The Kansas State Board of Education has decided to replace science standards that questioned the theory of evolution and had the support of "intelligent design" advocates. The new standards are evolution-friendly.

Wonder what sort of thing they'll have to omit now?

It's a God Word



Be proud of the “Brethren” label. It is, after all, one of those God words. But keep in mind that it is not a necessity, 'cuz God understands lots of words.

CornBobber

Corn COB

Sometimes "COB" doesn't have anything to do with the Curch of the Brethren.

The Tie That Binds

Dress Up

What the well dressed Christian will be wearing on Evolution Sunday.

Evolution Sunday

Evolution Sunday

On February 11, hundreds of congregations from all portions of the country and a host of denominations will come together to discuss the compatibility of religion and science. For far too long, strident voices, in the name of Christianity, have been claiming that people must choose between religion and modern science. More than 10,000 Christian clergy have already signed The Clergy Letter demonstrating that this is a false dichotomy. Now, on the 198th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, many of these leaders will bring this message to their congregations through sermons and/or discussion groups. Together, participating religious leaders will be making the statement that religion and science are not adversaries. And, together, they will be elevating the quality of the national debate on this topic.

We Are Online Too

Welcome to the 90's

The discovery of the internets has been reported in the January issue of Messenger (the one without the Gospel). While they apparently overlooked this blog in favor of the Dunker Journal and the highly active Saur Grapes blog, we're still impressed with the effort.

We also applaud the courage of the editor to post a portion of the Dunker Journal's criticism of Elgin and providing a glimpse into the secretive, closed archives of the VOS listserv. We are sure that the proper permissions were obtained since both BRF and VOS do have a common ground, agreeing that proper permission is of the utmost importance.

And we hope that the multitudinous COB-L and COB-YYA listserv members, who are recognized as belonging to two of the largest Brethren listservs, are not clogging the internet with what must be a vast sharing of common interests and concerns.

Finally, take a look over in the right margin. We've had a link to the Ship of Fools all along. In another ten years, maybe we'll hear about RSS.

Leviticus

General Board Endorses Leviticus

In a setback to progressives, the General Board endorsed the book of Leviticus when it cited a passage (see page 22 of the January 2007 Messenger magazine) within its pastor letter on immigration. The controversial book had been previously endorsed in a 1982 statement on refugees.