BMH Editor's Blog

Jim Snavely, Northeast Regional Career Missionary with Grace Brethren North American Missions, sends along the following report on the launch of the new Elk Creek church this past Sunday.

Here is an encouraging and exciting overview from church planter Mike Silliman. Pastor Mike and the Elk Creek Church launch team began public services on Sunday, September 23. This new ministry is located at West Grove, Chester County, PA. Gateway Grace Community Church (Pastor Dan O’Deens) is the sponsoring church.

“Whew...we did it! NO...actually God did it!!!

Here are the quick stats...121 people! 72 adults and 47 kids. There were many first time guests that said they would be back next week!

The best part of it all...four decisions for Christ!!!

Now the work begins with contacting each first-time guest, nailing down our small groups including a new believer class, and preparing for next week! Thanks for all of your prayer and support!”

Running fast, Mike Silliman-Pastor/Church Developer

Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis spoke last night to a full crowd at the Rodeheaver Auditorium in Winona Lake, Indiana. Ham has been on the campus of Grace College & Seminary the last few days speaking and interacting with students. Here is a comment from his blog on the event--to access his blog click on http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/aroundtheworld/2007/09/27/aig-helps-with-courage/

I received many great comments yesterday after speaking at Grace College in Indiana—at chapel in the morning and then a public meeting in a different auditorium at night.

One of the comments that stood out was from a pastor who said something like this, “I praise the Lord for you ministry—it has helped pastors like myself to have more courage in being bold in regards to how we preach.”

Actually, I have heard this comment many times before from Christian leaders who have told me they so appreciate our boldness and the authority with which we teach—and the information given through the ministry; observing how we teach at AiG has stimulated them to be more bold in standing on the authority of the Lord.

As the pastor yesterday said, “It makes us realize we are not a lone voice, and there are others standing solidly on God’s Word,” etc.

I have included four photographs of the meetings: two were taken in the auditorium at Grace College for the morning chapel. The other two were taken in the Rodeheaver Auditorium—one shows Grace professor Dr. Don DeYoung introducing me, the other is of me as I began speaking. Dr. DeYoung is a long time friend (going back 20 years) and a good friend of AiG.

Angelica Alvarez was sentenced to life without parole for killing her four children. Gonzalo Lopez (right), the father of the eldest two children, walks outside the courthouse with his pastor, Brian Baughman (center). Baughman is pastor of Hispanic ministries at the Osceola (IN) Grace Brethren Church (Greg Serafino, pastor). (WSBT photo)

Story from WSBT-TV site: Angelica Alvarez pleaded guilty to killing her four children. Now, she's been sentenced for the unthinkable crime.

A judge sentenced Alvarez to life without parole.

Alvarez admits she strangled her children, ranging in age from two to eight, last November in the basement of their Elkhart home.

Both fathers say they forgive Alvarez and agree with the sentence, but it doesn't make the loss of their children any easier.

Angelica Alvarez cried as she told Judge Terry Schumacher she takes full responsibility for what she did.

“She's a rather religious person, which again may seem quite contrary to what she did in this case, but she is,” said Juan Garcia, Alvarez’s defense attorney. “She's made peace with God, and she's quite repentant.”

The fathers of her children believe those feelings of remorse make it much easier for them to forgive her.

The father of the eldest children — Gonzalo Lopez — spoke in court.

He spoke to us through a translator — his pastor, Brian Baughman.

“We're moving forward little by little and it's a very hard road because it's not easy,” Lopez told WSBT News. “It's not easy for someone as a father to lose two children.”

Alvarez previously said she killed the two children by drugging them and strangling them. But Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill introduced evidence that may contradict that.

Toxicology reports showed the children didn't have any drugs in their system at all.

Hill showed pictures of a ladder and utility cord tied like a noose. Both were found at the crime scene.

He also showed a picture of one of the children with cord marks around the neck.

“Given the circumstances that we found in this particular scene, given the injuries that we located, certainly that cord and that ladder played a part in what occurred with those children,” explained Hill.

That evidence made this already emotional day even more so.

“That certainly made us rewind the tape in our minds and just remember seeing their faces, and their smiles, their hugs, and the joy and the fullness of life that was really inside all four of those precious little kids,” Baughman said.

“I'm always going to have the children in my heart, and there's no way to take that out of my heart or out of my mind,” Lopez said.

The fathers say faith has helped them get through this painful time in their lives, and it is that faith that also helps them to forgive, and hope Alvarez will find peace.

Alvarez will spend the rest of her life in state prison, without the possibility of parole.

She does have the right to appeal, but that is unlikely.

David K. Floyd (pictured), a 1983 graduate of Grace College with a B.S. degree in communication, has been named the new president of Warsaw, Indiana-based DePuy Orthopaedics, one of the area's earliest and leading orthopaedics firms. Floyd is also the son-in-law of Prof. Wayne Snider, who for many years was chair of the history department at Grace College.

A release from Inside Indiana Business says: WARSAW, IN - (SEPTEMBER 27, 2007) - DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., a global leader in devices for joint replacement, has named David Floyd its new U.S. president, the company announced today.

Floyd will lead the company’s growing orthopaedic business. He will also serve on the DePuy Franchise Global Management Board.

“DePuy is a leader in orthopaedics, and I’m very pleased to join such a great company full of talented people,” said David Floyd. “I’m also excited to be coming home: both to the reconstructive business as well as Indiana.”

Floyd has more than 20 years of experience in orthopaedics, particularly in the reconstructive joint market. Prior to joining Abbott Spine, he was president and CEO of AxioMed Spine Corporation and U.S. president of Centerpulse Orthopedics. Before assuming his executive positions, Floyd held leadership positions in the reconstructive joint market and held several positions in sales and marketing.

“DePuy Orthopaedics is poised for growth in this dynamic marketplace and David has a tremendous track record of success,” said Mike Mahoney, Company Group Chairman, DePuy, Inc. “We’re confident he will lead the company to new heights and help surgeons continue to raise the standard of orthopaedic care for patients through a commitment to innovation, quality and service excellence.”

Floyd is a graduate of Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana.

About DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc.

DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, is advancing the standard of orthopaedic patient care, with a focused commitment to help surgeons achieve excellence in surgical practice. The company designs, manufactures and distributes orthopaedic devices and supplies including hip, knee, extremity, trauma, cement, orthobiologics, and operating room products. As a global leader in joint replacement products, DePuy Orthopaedics is committed to Restoring the Joy of Motion™ for patients whose mobility is restricted by severe osteoarthritis or other debilitating injury. For more information about DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., visit the company’s Web site www.depuyorthopaedics.com.

On Sunday, September 30, Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Ind., will dedicate the land on which their new building addition will be constructed. (See the architectural rendering at right.) The new facility will be a 28,000 square foot addition and will include an alternative live satellite venue for worship, a new children's wing and theatre, and a tech-savvy teen center with an urban décor. In addition, a large new foyer with a bookstore and coffee shop will be added on the west side of the building.

The land dedication is part of a campaign to reach everyone, everyday, everywhere. The land dedication and festival will begin at 1 p.m. with a meal, kids' games and music by 40 Miles North to follow the dedication.

Grace Community Church is located at 20076 CR 36 in Goshen.

The Grace Brethren Investment Foundation (GBIF) has recently approved new financing of $2.4 million towards the construction of a $5.1 million Early Childhood Center for the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, Ohio, where Dave Plaster is the pastor. The new center (see photo at right) will consist of 23 classrooms, an indoor playroom space, administrative offices, a dining area, and relocation of an existing bookstore.

"We are privileged at GBIF to be part of helping to win the "little ones" to Christ," says Ken Seyfert, executive director of operations at GBIF.

To see photos of the construction at Columbus, click here.

Pastor Christian Becker (pictured) of the Grace Brethren church in Buena Vista, Virginia, says, "Beginning this Sunday, our church will be hosting a prophecy conference on 'Understanding the Times' with Rev. Mike Wingfield from Roanoke VA.

"I wrote this article to raise the issue and get people thinking about the times we live in.

"Please pray with us that God will use these meetings to help the church understand that time is short and the urgency that is needed to reach our world for Christ.

"If you live close enough to attend, I invite you to drop by and hear Mike."

Understanding Our Times

It’s the best of times. It’s the worst of times.

Two terrible wars are going on in Afghanistan and Iraq. Terrorism is spreading around the globe. But, in spite of worldwide market fluctuations and the mortgage mess, people are still buying flat-screen televisions, new cars, iPods and iPhones like there’s no tomorrow.

Well, what if there was no tomorrow?

Frankly, I think there will be a tomorrow. But what if tomorrow brings a very different world than today? That’s a more likely scenario.

Now hold that thought for just a minute. Could the world be all that different tomorrow?

Absolutely.

We know from recent history that the world can change overnight. It happened several times in my lifetime. It’s just a matter of time before it happens again.

The day after President Kennedy was assassinated, our world was a different place. It changed forever the day after the Columbine School shootings. After 9-11-2001 people talked about a “New Normal.” And six years later we’re still learning to cope.

It seems like every day the newspaper or television reports a catastrophe somewhere: Earthquakes and hurricanes; terrorist attacks planned, thwarted or perpetrated. Every night the news from the Middle East is more disturbing than the day before.

Does anyone really understand the times we live in?

Someone does. More than 2,000 years ago, God told the prophets of Israel about what would happen in our times. They recorded this “future news” in the Bible for our benefit. Author Joel C. Rosenberg calls prophecy “Intelligence intercepts from the mind of God.”

God revealed to the Old Testament Prophet Ezekiel that in the last days Russia would enter an agreement with Iran. For more than 2,000 years there has not been a Russian-Iranian treaty--until now. God says that Babylon (in Iraq) will one day rise again to be a world power.

Jesus Christ spoke to His disciples about the end times. He described worldwide wars and earthquakes. He talked about the rise of false religions and cults. He said evil would increase and then there would come a time of great distress, unmatched in human history.

The Prophet Joel talked about all the nations turning against Israel and seeking to divide it. In the New Testament book of Revelation, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse brings a devastating worldwide food shortage, which leads to massive inflation.

These events sound as if they could be ripped from today and tomorrow’s headlines!

One of the purposes for the Bible is to help us understand the times in which we live and to enable us to see history from God’s perspective. It tells us that part of God’s plan is for Jesus Christ to return one day and fix the mess we’ve made of planet earth.

Students of Bible prophecy and signs of the times tell us that recent history and current events seem to line up with many of the Bible’s predictions. Our world could change overnight.

What should we do? How should we live in such a time as this?

The Bible gives us the answer. Peter, the disciple of Jesus, wrote that since “the day of the Lord will come like a thief,” that is unexpectedly, “you ought to live holy and godly lives.”

I don’t know where you are in your relationship with God. Maybe it’s been a while since you were in church. But consider this: Now just may be the right time for you to seek the Lord.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

The Grace Brethren Church of Calvert County, Maryland (Robert Wagner, pastor), this past Sunday presented the "Children of the World" choir.

This choir is comprised of orphaned and disadvantaged children from several different countries. Their high-energy and inspiring program featured several songs, in both English and native dialects, as well as stirring personal testimonies.

The children have performed in such venues as Focus on the Family, Brooklyn Tabernacle, Crystal Cathedral and Disney World.

Visit www.worldhelp.net for more information on the choir.

The Department of Religious Studies of Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana, announces a Symposium on Tuesday, October 9, on the topic, “Exploring the Mystery: The Divine and Human Authorship of the Bible.”

Dr. David Dockery (pictured), Grace Theological Seminary graduate and president of Union University (Jackson, TN), will speak at 4:00 pm. Dr. Gregory Sterling, pastor of Warsaw Church of Christ and professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at the University of Notre Dame will speak at 4:45 pm. Both speakers have published numerous books and articles and are internationally recognized scholars.

Following dinner a panel discussion at 7:00 pm will interact with their remarks. Joining Dr. Dockery and Dr. Sterling on the panel will be Dr. Matt Harmon of Grace Seminary and Dr. Larry McCall of Christ’s Covenant Church, Winona Lake.

The Symposium will be held on the Grace campus in McClain Hall Auditorium, Tuesday, October 9, beginning at 4:00 pm. Dr. Dockery will also be speaking at 10:00 am on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 9 and 10, in the Orthopaedic Capital Center on the Grace campus. His topic will be, "The Gospel and Globalization." The public is invited to all these events.

Representatives of various groups that trace their heritage to 1708 and Alexander Mack met on Monday, September 24 to discuss the digitalization of Brethren publications.

Meeting at the Brethren Heritage Center in Brookville, Ohio, the group discussed the options for preserving the content of the various publications and talked with several venders who could assist with the project. There are more than 30 periodicals on the list, including the Brethren Missionary Herald magazine, FGBC World, Grace Magazine, and Grace Theological Journal.

Representing the Grace Brethren at Monday’s meeting were Eric Bradley, archivist at Grace College’s Morgan Library; Todd Scoles, president of the Brethren Missionary Herald board; and Liz Cutler Gates, editorial director at the Brethren Missionary Herald. In addition, participants included representatives from the Church of the Brethren, The Brethren Church, Dunkard Brethren, Old German Baptist Brethren, and Old Brethren, as well as archivists and librarians from Manchester College, Bethany Seminary/Earlham Libraries, United Theological Seminary, Ashland University, and the Brethren Historical Library and Archives.

The group is continuing to assess the scope of the project and will be be meeting in early 2008 to determine costs and involvement by the various groups.

Dr. Todd Scoles (right), associate pastor at Marysville, Ohio, Grace Brethren Church (Clancy Cruise, pastor), this morning recorded the latest in a series of "Fireside Dialogues" being created for distribution by CE National.

CE National is bringing to the Russell Center on its Winona Lake, Indiana, campus experts in areas of doctrine and important issues that affect believers. Six Fireside Dialogues are currently available on audio CD.

The cost is $5.99 for 1 CD. $4.99 for two or more (plus shipping). Order by contacting Peggy at resources@cenational.org or 574.267.6622.

Dialogues are also available in digital format at www.cenational.org/cedigital.

In addition to Scoles' teaching on the theological and historical roots that led to the founding of the Brethren movement in 1708, other presenters and topics available include Dr. Mark Soto discussing Pre-trib Rapture and Issues With the Emergent Church; Dr. Ken Bickel discussing Divorce and Remarriage; Pastor Scott Distler speaking on "Are Tongues for Today? and Biblical Love"; and Dr. Matt Harmon on Interpreting the Scriptures.

Scoles, who is developing his doctoral dissertation on Brethren history and ordinances into a book to be published by BMH books, is also chairman of the board of the Brethren Missionary Herald Co.

A Klickitat County (Washington) sheriff's sergeant who was killed in an off-duty traffic crash in July, and was from the Goldendale, Washington, Grace Brethren Church (Dr. Greg Howell, pastor), will be remembered and his family helped in an event this Saturday. Here is an excerpt -- to read the entire article click on http://www.thedalleschronicle.com:80/news/2007/09/news09-24-07-01.shtml
See the entry on this blog of July 20, 2007, for details of the accident.

A new gridiron rivalry takes shape at Pig Bowl 2007, as Oregon and Washington law enforcement go head to head to help the family of a fallen brother.

Law officers will be battling across the line of scrimmage to benefit the family of the late Patrol Sergeant Peter Garland.

The event takes place Saturday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. at Wahtonka Football Field. Admission is $10 per family, $3 per individual. . .

. . . All event proceeds benefit Garland’s family. He was killed July 18 in a head-on traffic crash with an out-of-control 20-year-old, who typified the youth that Garland had tried to get back on track in his three years the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Department DARE officer, Holloran said.

His death leaves behind his wife of 17 years, Rocky, and two foster sons, Chris, 18, and Seth, 16. The Garlands had taken in many troubled youth over the years. The Garlands worked to change their lives from anger, turmoil, drugs and alcohol, to a life of faith and lawfulness.

Garland also worked as a camp counselor with the Grace Brethren Church’s Camp Clear Lake for the last three years. Shortly prior to his death, he had been appointed as the church’s youngest overseer.

From the Milton, Ontario, Champion regarding a creative outreach by the new Grace Brethren church there:

Red onion is here.

For people who have been wondering what the heck red onion is as flyers have been delivered and signs posted around town, the mystery has been revealed.

Red Onion: Peeling Back Layers of Doubt is the title of a sermon series that'll start Sunday at the Village Community Church, which meets at Galaxy Cinemas, at 10 a.m.

"As I looked around, I saw doubt everywhere -- in the Bible, in God, in people's abilities," said lead pastor Rob Stanley, explaining how he decided on the topic.

The series, which will be spread out over four Sundays, is designed to be an honest exploration of doubt. It'll feature movie clips, contemporary music and a separate program for children.

"Part of our dream is to be a down-to-earth and relevant church," Stanley said, adding the theatre atmosphere creates a "neutral environment" that appeals to people who ordinarily wouldn't be comfortable in a traditional church building.

For the past month, members of the church have been working on creating a buzz and piquing Miltonians' curiosity by using some promotional methods that are rather unorthodox for a church.

But then, The Village has never been particularly traditional.

A few weeks ago, Stanley and his team sent out flyers to homes stating 'Red Onion is Coming!' They gave no more information than that and the address of a website that simply pictured an onion and gave a countdown to Sunday.

In efforts to create further interest, Stanley and his team then delivered red pearl onions to about 12,000 homes. Attached to the onions were cards with the same teasing message as the flyers.

The response was what they'd hoped, Stanley said, with more than 500 hits on the website. This week, 20,000 flyers were once again delivered to homes, this time fully explaining the series and its purpose.

"In the last flyer, we say 'Please consider yourself invited, doubts and all.' And we mean it," Stanley said.

For more information, visit www.red-onion.ca.

Wheelin’ and dealin’ or How Not to Buy a Car is the topic Grace College's Jim Shipley (pictured) will address Monday, October 1,from 4-5 p.m. in Westminster Hall’s Conference Room A on the Grace campus in Winona Lake, Indiana.

Shipley, who has had many years of experience in car sales, will draw from his experience and share the ins and outs of finding a good deal on a good car, what to look for, what to avoid, how much to pay, and more. There will also be a Q&A time.

No fee--all are welcome.

Posted by Chuck Thornton on the Arctic District Ministerium's blog. To read more, click on http://arcticdistrictministerium.blogspot.com/

The Alaska Christian Ministries Convention is being by Peninsula Grace on Monday and Tuesday (September 24-25). Featured tracks and leaders are: Worship (Richard Allen Farmer (pictured at right) - gifted musician, worship leader and preacher), Youth Issues (Tom Hansen - State Director of Young Life), Kid's Ministries (Art Braendel - Royal Rangers State Director, and Chuck Thornton - Associate Pastor at PGBC), Church Governance (Kent Redfearn - Pastor of Community Assembly in Anchorage), and Adult Challenges (Keith Hamilton - President of Alaska Christian College, and Allen Humphries - Pastor of Soldotne Church of God).

Richard Allen Farmer presented a piano and vocal concert at the Soldotna Bible Chapel on Sunday night, as a "prelude" to the Convention.

Moishe Rosen (right), founder of Jews for Jesus, will speak in the 10:30 a.m. service next Sunday, September 30, at the La Loma Grace Brethren Church, 1315 La Loma Ave., Modesto, California (Joel Richards, pastor).

In the late 1960s a moving of the Holy Spirit brought thousands of cause-oriented young people to faith in Jesus, many of whom were Jewish. Moishe Rosen officially founded Jews for Jesus in September of 1973.

Rosen, a veteran missionary to the Jewish people, was the executive director of the mission for 23 years. He revolutionized evangelistic methods and materials with his creative approach to communicating the gospel, and still is considered one of the foremost strategists and tacticians in the field of Jewish evangelism.

Rosen still works with Jews for Jesus full-time and serves on the organization's board of directors.

Steve McDonald (shown at right, with his family), who attends the Grace Brethren church in Lititz, PA (Scott Distler, pastor), has announced a run for the state Senate. Here is a short excerpt from an article in today's Lancaster Online. To read the enitre article, click on http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/209873

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa - Steve McDonald bought the grand champion market hog at the Solanco Fair Friday night.

"I figured we'd better keep the pork down on the farm and not let it go to Harrisburg," he told more than 80 supporters Saturday.

But McDonald himself wants to go to Harrisburg.

He's aiming to replace veteran state Sen. Gib E. Armstrong there.

McDonald, the county recorder of deeds, got a head start on 2008 by announcing Saturday that he's seeking the Republican nomination for the 13th Senatorial District next year. . .

. . . With cows lowing a few feet from the white tent set up in a farm field, McDonald said he's running "to inspire my Republican colleagues to a greater cause — the cause not of self-interest but of public service." . . .

. . . McDonald ran for the 96th state House seat in 1994 and for county commissioner in 2003. He is serving his third term in the recorder's office, and McDonald pointed out that he is not taking a county pension either. . .

. . . He and his wife Lisa and their children, Donovan and Mackenzie, live in Neffsville and attend Grace Brethren Church in Lititz.

Television preacher Rex Humbard died Friday at age 88.

His Sunday services were televised by 1953. He began with a renovated theater and eventually built the $4 million domed, 5,000-seat nondenominational Cathedral of Tomorrow in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The cathedral included velvet drapes, a hydraulic stage and a cross covered with thousands of red, white and blue light bulbs.

His ministry eventually expanded to include a Mackinac Island, Michigan, campus used for religious education and a 23-story Akron office tower.

The broadcast, also called "Cathedral of Tomorrow," developed into a mixture of preaching and music, with Humbard's wife, Maude Aimee, an accomplished gospel singer, and the Cathedral Quartet as regular performers.

To read entire story, click on http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/22/humbard.ap/index.html

Community of Hope, the new Grace Brethren church in Vancouver, British Columbia, launched last week with 220 present. Here is an excerpt from church-planting pastor Philip Bryant. Access the church's website at www.gethope.ca.

What a Sunday! Praise the Lord for all that He does! It was amazing to see how God worked out all those details. We had a few bumps along the way, but I am so delighted in how each of the team refused to let Satan have a foothold and they didn't get rattled.

In the midst of the children's computer not working right and the sound system in the main theatre acting up and the lights being difficult to set up and then the circuit breaker going in the middle of the first song - Wow! Great perseverance and God so protected us as by the time the first service was over we were totally ready for the 10:00 and our guests to be welcomed.

It was amazing to see people coming in at 9:30 to see what was going on and there was the entrance area looking very inviting and hot coffee and special baked goods welcoming our guests.

We had the iWorship DVD playing in all the lobby TVs and the music filling the hallways. Lots of people helped to welcome our new guests and the children's area was ready to help people register their children.

People were filling up the theatre and the band was creating a great environment for worship. We interviewed pastor Jason during the announcements and by this time we had over 100 adult guest in the theatre and some 40 guest kids. In all we had over 220 people there on our first Sunday.

How many will come back? That is a great question, and how many new people will we continue to see? We are praying for more people who don't know Jesus to come discover Hope - hope in Him.

In all, we think there were about 30 pre-Christians who came and we are praying that they will stay and that God would use us to bring them to become fully committed followers of Jesus.

FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE (ANS) -- Ernest Bai Koroma, elected President of trouble-torn Sierra Leone, West Africa, on September 17, 2007, is a third generation member of The Wesleyan Church, an evangelical, Protestant denomination.

A former insurance executive and minority leader in parliament, he has been called the “Hope of the Future” by his countrymen. A graduate of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, he taught in a secondary school in Makeni before entering the insurance business.

President Koroma and his wife, Sia, are parents of two children, Alice and Dankay.

The Wesleyan Church, whose world headquarters is in Fishers, Indiana, has its roots in John Wesley’s Methodism. The denomination has nearly 400,000 constituents in 5,000 churches and missions in 80 countries.

From today's Winchester (Virginia) Star:

Winchester Grace Brethren Church, 143 Greenwood Road, is sponsoring a Blasphemy Response Challenge. Participants will make a video to post on YouTube.

For more information, contact Pastor Matt Lohr at 662-6360 or Susan Watson at 540-267-2647.

BMH Books author Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D. (right), who has written Spiritual Friends and Soul Physicians, is also the author of a recent book entitled Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. Kellemen, who is head of the counseling program at Capital Bible Seminary, wrote the following reflections on the current Jena Six issue:

Jena, Louisiana, has become a national hotspot after over a year’s worth of racial tension. In September 2006, latent animosity boiled over when a black high school freshman asked if he could sit under what had become known as the “White Tree.”

The next day, three white students hung nooses from the tree. When the principal's attempt to expel the students was shot down by the board, more racial friction erupted.

A little more than three months after the unconscionable noose incident, six black students beat up a white student until he was knocked unconscious. After a three-hour hospital visit, he was released. When the town prosecutor initially charged the “Jena Six” with attempted murder, charges of racism rose again.

It would take the proverbial wisdom of Solomon to dissect the truth in this difficult situation. Clearly, a more strident response against the initial hate crime of hanging the nooses should have occurred. Shame on the school board for backing down.

And while charges of attempted murder never were judicially appropriate in this case, those who minimized the attack also have some explaining to do. What would people call it if six white students punched, stomped, and beat one black student until he was unconscious?

But I don’t have the wisdom of Solomon to sort through all the claims and counterclaims to uncover the facts. What is needed is a modern-day Solomon, and not even the Solomon of the Bible, but a black man named Solomon Northrup who spent twelve years enslaved in Louisiana.

This Solomon had the ability to look at life without having the color of one’s skin color his perspective. He could objectively evaluate situations based upon foundational principles of justice.

Born a free black man in 1808 in Maine, at age 33 Northrup was kidnapped and spent twelve years enslaved near the Red River in Louisiana. A learned man and a successful businessman, he penned his own story in 1853. In his narrative, Northrup had no problem condemning cruel slave owners such as John M. Tibeats, describing his repeated brutality and malice.

However, Northrup could see beyond the color of one’s skin and even beyond religious hypocrisy and social injustice. Though recognizing the inconsistency of his white master, William Ford, a slave-owning Baptist preacher, Northrup still could note, “It is but simple justice to him when I say, in my opinion, there never was a more kind, noble, candid, Christian man than William Ford.”

Northrup detailed page after page of Ford’s encouraging preaching and caring personal ministry to him and to other black men and women.

Solomon Northrup displayed the wisdom of Solomon that the people of Jena, Louisiana, and of all America, could use today. He had the discernment to recognize evil and call it such unashamedly. But he also demonstrated the ability to recognize good in others—even in others who were imperfect, even in others who were of a different hue, even in others who were treating him unjustly.

Nationally, pundits, people, pastors, and politicians are taking sides, pitting themselves against each another, claiming to have cornered the market on the truth of the “Jena Six” case.

Yet, everyone seems to see the truth through colored lenses filled with preconceived notions, personal ideologies, and cultural baggage. Can’t someone step back and see the big picture with the eyes of Solomon—of Solomon Northrup?

Under the direction of church planter Mike Silliman and his wife, Naomi (pictured), the Elk Creek Church will officially launch its church plant this Sunday, September 23. The service will be held in a public school near West Grove (Chester County), Pennsylvania.

The Sillimans and the launch team have a goal of 100-plus people on this launch Sunday. The sponsoring church is Gateway Grace Community Church in Parkesburg, where Dan O'Deens is pastor.

Kenn Cosgrove (right), pastor of the Grace Brethren church in Royersford, Pennsylvania, and a member of the Germantown Trust, gave a tour of the cemetery that lies behind the Germantown, PA, church as part of the opening ceremonies of the 300th anniversary of the Brethren movement. (Glenn Riegel photo)

This past weekend, September 15-16, Germantown Church of the Brethren in Philadelphia hosted the opening event of a year-long celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Brethren movement, which began in Germany in 1708.

Events took place at the "mother church," the first congregation of Brethren in the Americas, and featured worship, workshops, tours, exhibits, and music. About 150 people registered Saturday, and close to 220 attended worship on Sunday, filling the Germantown sanctuary to capacity.

The congregation was founded on Christmas Day 1723 by German immigrants to the Americas, and its meetinghouse built in 1770 was the first Brethren meetinghouse in the US. Today the predominantly African-American congregation includes several members from African countries, with the pastor coming originally from Ghana.

Festivities kicked off with a lunch served by the Germantown Women's Fellowship under a tent on the church's front lawn. Following lunch, participants chose from a variety of workshops on subjects such as the Sauer Bible, outreach ministries at Germantown, the history of the congregation, a Bible study on the anniversary theme, and several others.

A Germantown Cemetery Tour was led by Kenn Cosgrove, a Grace Brethren member and treasurer of the Germantown Trust, featuring the gravestones of Alexander Mack Sr., the founder of the Brethren movement, and several other important Brethren figures. A Wissahickon Creek Tour took participants to the site of the first Brethren baptisms in the Americas in 1723. A worship concert by musicians and ministers at Germantown closed out the first afternoon of the celebration.

That evening, Coventry Church of the Brethren hosted a hymn sing and pastor Sandy Christophel gave a presentation on the history of the congregation and its links to the Germantown church.

Worship continued on Sunday with a morning service led by the Germantown congregation, and an afternoon service sponsored by the Church of the Brethren denomination, with a catered lunch between.

A comment from Renee Ibo of the Germantown church summed up the celebratory atmosphere of the day's worship services: "It gives me such a blessing to be part of a church that has such a rich heritage."

As part of the 300th anniversary celebration, a Brethren Heritage tour is planned for next August to Schwarzenau, Germany, the birthplace of the Brethren movement. Ted Rondeau of Grace Brethren International Missions is organizing the trip.

Dr. Robert Kellemen (seated) was one of three BMH authors who made presentations and autographed copies of their BMH books at the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) convention last week at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville.

Kellemen, a Grace Seminary alumnus who is chair of the counseling education department at Capital Bible Seminary, is the author of Spiritual Friends and Soul Physicians. He autographed Spiritual Friends, a psychology workbook, at the convention. Soul Physicians, a 590-page hardback textbook combining theology and psychology, is currently at press and will be available about mid-October.

Also presenting and signing autographs were Grace College & Seminary faculty members Roger Peugh and Tammy Schultz, authors of Transformed in His Presence: The Need for Prayer in Counseling.

BMH Books exhibited its entire line of products at the convention, which was attended by about 7,000 Christian psychologists, counselors, and psychology educators. (Ann Myers photo)

Pastor Roy Halberg (center of photo) of the Grace Brethren church in Alta Loma, California, recently took a group from his church down to San Diego to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the photo, from left, are Roger and Jayne Baer, Halberg, Halberg's mother, Louise Halberg, and Carlos Lascaibar. Here are some of his reflections:

It was pretty impressive.

It included a "virtual tour" of Qumran . . . a video presentation depicting what archaeologists believe Qumran looked like 2,000 years ago . . . ceremonial baths, the scriptorium where scrolls were written and/or copied, a community dining room, etc.

There was also an archaeological exhibit showing what it was like to find and excavate Qumran. This exhibit also included photos describing the process of piecing together the scroll fragments, preserving, and translating them. What a task!

The scrolls themselves were difficult to see and read in the dark lighting conditions they presented. Still, looking at copies of scripture from 2,000+ years ago is pretty awesome. I remember one sign posted over a scroll that contained 51 of the psalms. It stated that this scroll of the psalms demonstrated that the psalms we have in our Bibles are unchanged from those written on these scrolls 2,000 years ago.

I'd been to the Shrine of the Book in Israel and I figured this would not measure up. It wasn't quite the same . . . but it was well worth the time and the $28 to see it.

Halberg concluded, "Sorry that you'll miss it. I don't think they are planning to bring the exhibit to Winona."

For more information and background, see BMH's recent publication Dead Sea Scrolls by archaeologist Dr. John Davis at www.bmhbooks.com or call 1-800-348-2756.

Pastor Bartley Sawatsky (right) finished the 10K run yesterday as part of the "No Worship Worship Service" by the Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Mississauga, Ontario. Here is an excerpt from the blog of Grace's worship pastor, Bart Blair -- read more at http://bartblair.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/09/the-no-worship-.html In what many might consider a controversial move, we, the leaders at Grace Community Church, canceled our regular Sunday worship services yesterday and planned an all-church participation in our community's Terry Fox Run.

A current article on the website of Journal Chretien gives a short summary of a health outreach in which a Grace Brethren church is involved. Read the entire article at http://www.spcm.org:80/Journal/spip.php?breve1483 . The complete article may also be read at http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07090111.htm

Grace Community Health Center

In the midst of the war in Iraq in 2003 a member of HOME and Grace Brethren Church in Columbus, Ohio, visited Iraq. They were overjoyed to see the spiritual growth of the people and invited four pastors to visit a newly-founded church which had opened only two months after the war began.

Once there they saw the great need for medical care and contacted HOME members. Shortly afterwards, Grace Community Health Center was established.

Recently, a two-story building in Baghdad was leased. Eventually, the clinic will be housed on the ground floor and a Community Center on the top floor.

Two Iraqi physicians, an internist and a dentist came to know the Lord through one of the outreaches held by the church, after which they indicated their desire to become a part of this newly unfolding ministry.

As this ministry is still in its initial stages much help is needed including additional staff, equipment and finances.

Karl Moraski (pictured at right), the worship leader at Hope Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Raleigh, N.C., has written a song for the Stand in the Gap 2007 event, which is planned for October 6 in Washington D.C. Stand in the Gap is a once-a-decade gathering of Christian men from across the country that will be held on the grounds of the Washington Monument. To listen to the song, click here.

By Bill Ellis
Special to ASSIST News Service

SCOTT DEPOT, WV (ANS) -- Pastors are among the most significant and respected men and women in the nation. They are the country’s spiritual leaders. It is a divine calling. Speaking of Christ and His mission on this earth, St. Paul said, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry . . . ” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

Pastors are called by God and placed in the church to help lead, teach, train, nourish and assist others to mature in their spiritual lives. Pastors advise, instruct, comfort and stand by us in the most important and difficult times of life.

Years ago someone came up with the idea that pastors should be honored and blessed by their congregations each year during October. Include special recognition for each member of the ministerial staff. Here are some suggestions to which you may add hundreds more as to what you and others may do.

1. Provide for the pastor and family a special dinner, at your expense, either at your house or some restaurant of choice.

2. If the pastor is a golfer, bowler, sports fan, fisher, hunter or involved in any unusual activity, the church or individuals might assume the expense for such an occasion 3-6 times each year.

3. Keep a scrapbook each year of all that happens in the life of the pastor and the church. Mrs. Charles (Nona) Cissna kept such books for more than 20 years for her pastor at Peoples Church of God, Decatur, Illinois. He calls them, “one of the finest and most enjoyable gifts I ever received -- a treasure for the rest of life.”

4. Write news releases for the church and pastor if you have journalistic and computer skills. It can be learned. I have taught hundreds of people how to do it.

5. Provide the pastor and spouse with a trip to the Holy Land. It will enrich their preaching and teaching ministry. Buy them a ticket to the Holy Land -- and the return ticket.

6. Be sure your pastor is enrolled in the church’s pension plan or some other that might be even better. Dr. E. E. Wolfram used to say, “The church calls a pastor for 40 years, but God calls them for life.”

7. Help your pastor purchase his own house in which to live. If they live in a church owned parsonage, be sure to provide a housing equity plan so when the time comes to purchase their own house they will have enough money to do so.

8. Provide academic educational opportunities for the pastor that will carry through the masters and doctoral levels. These study opportunities will serve to bless the church.

9. The congregation can provide vacation time and expenses for the pastor and family. Too often they do not earn enough for family vacations.

10. Provide expense allowances for all ministry-related events such as, conventions, ministers meetings, camp meetings, mission trips and a service club.

11. A generous book allowance and a new book or two each month are a genuine blessing.

12. The church should always make certain that the pastor has a new or newer car that is safe, dependable, comfortable and with good tires.

13. Being a “Baker’s dozen” this last suggestion is that you simply tell your pastor how much he is appreciated by cards, letters, simple gifts and other gestures.

Let your pastor know how much they are appreciated by you and your family. As I was growing up, the pastor was an increasingly significant person in my life and for each member of the family. They were my mentors and my examples on how to live.

Leesburg, Indiana, Grace Brethren Church (Tim Sprankle, pastor) will host a Bluegrass Festival Saturday, October 13 from 3 to 7 p.m. at 101 E. School St. in Leesburg.

The event will feature live music, kids' games, a chili contest and other events.

Artists scheduled to appear are JD Woods, Don Taylor, John Miller and a Crying Shame.

Robert Soto, a professional Native American dancer who also pastors the McAllen Grace Brethren Church in McAllen, Texas, has been involved in a protracted legal situation.

Soto had some of his feathers seized by the Department of Interior. A hearing, originally scheduled for September 7, has been postponed. Here are excerpts from his most recent update—more details are available on his website at www.sontree.org (photo from “Feather Surrender Ceremony”)


I find it hard to believe that on August 11, we celebrated 1 1/2 years since the Department of Interior came to our pow wow and took 42 of our eagle feathers. I have gotten well over 5,000 e-mails from people all over the world concerning this event.

Instead of granting the motion to dismiss our case, the judge set a court date for September 7, 2007, for a status hearing where the judge will ask both parties to produce a settlement outside of court. The problem is that the lawyers for the Department of Interior have already said they will not yield to our demand.

We are asking them for three things:

1. Give us our feathers back.

2. Give the rights for all American Indians to use the feathers regardless of status, without fear of the government.

3. Give the Lipan Apache the right to be American Indians and recognize us as American Indians.

We want to thank you for your prayers and for all the letters of support. I just wanted to let you know that our trial scheduled for September 7, 2007, at 2:20 PM has been postponed and moved to another undetermined date.

So we have more time to write or call the people and departments that were mentioned in the letter earlier. I will write again when a new hearing date is scheduled.

The Department of History and Social Studies at Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana, is co-sponsoring an event that will highlight the testimonies of two Holocaust survivors, Bill and Josephine Meyers. Bill lived next door to Corrie Ten Boom (pictured) and ran errands for her family.

He was captured at the age of 11 and sent to a death camp, where he escaped. If her health permits, Josephine will share her story of being raised by Gypsies in a Nazi-controlled village that was freed by American troops.

Bill has been interviewed by director/producer Steven Spielberg and Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Bell Memorial Public Library in Mentone, Indiana, is the main sponsor and the event is funded by the Indiana Humanities Council.

The program, which is open to the public, will take place on Saturday, September 15, at 4 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Mentone, Indiana, 116 E. Main St. For more information contact Dr. Mark Norris in the history department of Grace College.

Bethel Brethren Church in Berne, Indiana (Joe Nass, pastor) will celebrate its 116th Homecoming on Sunday, September 30, 2007, with former pastor Larry Edwards (pictured at right) as speaker.

Edwards, who is currently pastor of the Southview Grace Brethren Church in Ashland, Ohio, will speak during the Sunday School hour and the morning worship.

Edwards has been a pastor for 27 years. He is beginning his 14th year at Southview GBC. A native of the Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, he was a pastor 10 yrs in Berne, Ind. and three years for a church plant at Penn State University. Prior to being a pastor, he taught and coached baseball on the senior high level.

A graduate of Grace College (B.S.- Physical Education, 1968) and Grace Theological Seminary (M. Div. –Christian Education, 1977), Edwards is currently finishing up his doctoral work in Pastoral Ministries.

Pastor Larry and Darlene have been married for 32 years and are the parents of Amber Suzanne and Robert Hanshaw (Los Angles, Ca), Lindsay Johanne (Ashland), Benjamin Joseph III (Ashland) and Kelsey Joy-Marie (Ashland). They have one granddaughter (Amelia Grace).

Former pastor Tim Placeway, now on the staff of the Grace Brethren Church in Elizabethtown, PA, will provide music for the morning and evening, with a special Placeway family concert at 7 p.m. that day.

Placeway has been the Associate Pastor at the Elizabethtown church for 16 years. During that time he has served in the areas of youth ministry and music, growing to love and appreciate the people.

He has a bachelor of Music Education from Grace College and a Masters of Science in Secondary Education from Indiana University. He has been married to Jill for 26 years and they have 3 grown children.

A carry-in fellowship meal will follow the 11 a.m. morning service in the newly-completed addition to the church. A dedication service for the new facility will be held at 1 p.m.

Bethel Brethren Church is located at 718 E. Main Street in Berne, Indiana, 46711.

From the South Bend (IN) Tribune "Book Briefs":

Author will sign books in Winona Lake

The Rev. Gilbert Hawkins will hold a lecture and signing of his book "Marriage Lasts a Lifetime" at the Billy Sunday Visitors Center, 1101 Park Ave. in Winona Lake.

The event will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Hawkins has been a pastor in communities across the country for more than 50 years, and currently serves as volunteer chaplain at Kosciusko Community Hospital.

An article in today's Altoona (PA) Mirror celebrates the life of Fred C. Ebersole, Jr. (pictured), of the Vicksburg Grace Brethren Church in Hollidaysburg, PA (Roger K. Myers, pastor) who died this past week in an ultralight aircraft crash. To read the entire article, click on
http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/15045.html?nav=742


BROOKES MILLS — Fred C. Ebersole Jr. and his wife, Joan, went to Sam’s Club to buy supplies Aug. 31 for The Door youth ministry in Bellwood.The couple put things in the cart without thinking about the cost of the items.

Fred planned to use the money he received at his 70th birthday party weeks earlier at Vicksburg Grace Brethren Church.

“He said that there wasn’t anything he wanted or needed,” Joan said Friday.Joan went to get the van while Fred checked out. When he came out of the store, he was shaking his head, laughing and smiling. He asked Joan if she had any idea how much the supplies cost.

“I thought it had something to do with the money he got at the party,” she said. “So I said $385.”

“$380.29,” he said.

Fred was given $380.

“It was another providence of God,” Joan said.

The supply run for The Door was one of the last good deeds Fred Ebersole would perform. He died the next day in an ultralight crash at the Blue Knob Airport.

Family and friends remembered Fred’s life and his personal relationship with Jesus Christ during a funeral service Friday at the Vicksburg church. The personal relationship with Jesus Christ is what motivated Fred’s life of good deeds toward family and neighbors, Joan said.

Today's Akron (OH) Beacon-Journal features a Grace Brethren church plant just off the campus of Kent State University in Ohio. Here is a short excerpt. To read the entire article, click on
http://www.ohio.com/news/9657532.html

The Rev. Jonathan Herron brought together 10 people last year to begin a start-from-scratch church that could mesh orthodox theology and unorthodox methods.

So far, they have been successful at Catalyst.

It's the only church in the city with a bar, where coffee and bottled water are served on Sundays.

Its congregation worships in a 1920s theater, with a live band and digital video.

It doesn't take up an offering. Instead, there is a joy box in the theater for donations.
The sermons are based on biblical scripture with the goal of developing historically informed Christians.

And everything that is done is geared toward pointing people to Christ. . .

. . . The nondenominational movement is affiliated with the Acts 29 Network and the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. The Brethren fellowship, based in Winona Lake, Ind., is a voluntary association of more than 260 churches in the United States and Canada. Acts 29, based in Seattle, Wash., helps start Gospel-centered, missional churches that then ''plant'' other churches.

Peggy Free (right), from the Grace Brethren church in Seal Beach, California (Don Shoemaker, pastor), wrote an article for the church's newsletter entitled "Laughing Through Cancer." Here is a short excerpt. For the entire story of how this courageous woman's wacky sense of humor helped her through a crisis, click on http://mysite.verizon.net/resw2g2p/stagegirlpeg/id1.html

If you happened by the Relay for Life table last month in between services, you may have noticed some odd pictures of a woman with a blue head.

Well, that would be me. If you’re curious as to why someone would paint their head blue, I’ll try to explain.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer on January 12, 2007 at the age of 41. I found the lump myself on Christmas day. God was already preparing me the previous November when I chose a new health insurance plan that didn’t require referrals to specialists or approvals for tests. This allowed me to get into the best doctors right away.

When I met my surgeon January 19th, she told me “We’re going to cure you” and I believed her. I knew the road would be rough. Chemotherapy is no picnic. But I knew I would be ok in the end. Who I would be in the end, I didn’t know. Life’s events had already made me a strong woman, like steel. Apparently, God had titanium in mind.

I’ve always liked to entertain and make people laugh. I do community theatre in my spare time when I’m not working as an Avionics engineer at Boeing. As I progressed through my chemo treatments, many tests and surgeries, I needed to find humor and fun wherever I could.

God blessed me with a sense of humor and my doctor told me that is how I deal with things. I needed to make myself laugh to relieve the “little bit of stress” I was under.

This Sunday, September 9, the New Beginnings Grace Brethren Church of Myerstown, Pennsylvania, will observe its 40th anniversary. Special speaker in the 6 p.m. service will be Pastor Jim Custer (pictured at right), who recently retired from a long-term pastorate of the Grace Brethren Church in Worthington (Columbus), Ohio.

The Myerstown church was organized with 12 members in 1967. Among early participants were persons from the Bashore, Bowman, Brightbill, Crouse, Farmer, Hauer, Leonard, Miller, and Ziegler families.

Worship service were held in the Myerstown Fire Hall, then in a Mennonite school building until the first unit of the church building was completed in 1970.

Keith Shearer has been pastor of the Myerstown church since 1995. He was the 2005/2006 moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches and is the author of the BMH book Childlike Faith: Hearing God in Your Bible.

Keith and his wife, Laura, have three children.

Author Madeleine L’Engle died last night in Connecticut, at the age of 88.

Best known for her 1963 Newbery Award winner A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels, L’Engle was the author of more than 60 books for adults and young readers, most of which were published by FSG. By 2004, A Wrinkle in Time had sold more than 6 million copies, was in its 67th printing and was still selling 15,000 copies a year.

This spring, the Square Fish imprint of Holtzbrinck reissued L'Engle's Time Quintet in new editions.

Since 1976, Wheaton College in Illinois has maintained a special collection of Madeleine L'Engle's papers. Wheaton also conferred on her an honorary doctorate. An interview with her appears at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week412/profile.html

"Honoring a Legacy, Embracing a Future: Three Hundred Years of Brethren Heritage" is an academic conference sponsored by the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College.

The conference, which will be October 11-13, 2007, is designed for scholars, pastors, leaders, and others in various forms of ministry. It will feature plenary speakers and more than two dozen papers related to Brethren history and contemporary issues.

This national conference on the 300th anniversary of the Brethren movement (1708–2008) will focus on the historical development and cultural life of the related Brethren groups. It will feature six plenary speakers and more than twenty additional presentations on the Brethren experience since 1708.

Saturday evening, Oct. 13, following the conference, Young Center director Jeff Bach will lead and interpret a special love feast celebration.

Reservations are required and can be made by calling the Young Center at 717-361-1470. Registration for the conference is open at www.etown.edu/YoungCenter.aspx?topic=Brethren+Conference.

The Northern Atlantic Fellowship of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches is holding a Women's Ministries Symposium on Saturday, September 29, 2007, featuring as speakers two of the top leadership women in the Women of Grace USA organization.

Women of Grace president Janet Minnix and Women's Spectrum magazine editor Linda Michael will be the featured speakers for the event, which will be held in the Palmyra, Pennsylvania, Grace Brethren Church at 799 Airport Road in Palmyra. The day begins with registration and refreshments at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at 2 p.m.

Entitled "Women Making a Difference," the day will include such themes as "Understanding the Times," "Women's Needs: What Are They?", "Making a Difference," and "Women of Grace USA for the 21st Century."

Open to any women who are involved in women's ministry or who would like to begin a women's ministry, the day will include refreshments, lunch, and the sessions. Cost is $11 for the day.

To register (by Monday, September 24, please) contact Mary Ellen Leckrone at giraffers2@juno.com.

Grace College men's basketball coach Jim Kessler (center, red shirt in photo) is featured in in this week's edition of The Paper, a weekly newspaper in Kosciusko County, Indiana. The article, titled "Kessler Uses Basketball as Ministry Tool," emphasizes Coach K's goal of leading his players to make a difference for Christ in the world. To read the article, which is on page 2 of the publication, go to http://www.the-papers.com/OnlinePubs/default.aspx?pub=TP&subpub=KOA&pubdate=09-05-07-09-11-07 (or paste this address into your browser).

This morning's Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette contains an article which references a "moving adjustment program" at the Grace Brethren Church of Lititz, PA (Scott Distler, pastor). Here is a short excerpt--to read the entire article click on
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07249/814759-55.stm

When Amy Holmes moved from her hometown of Alexandria, Va., to Peters two years ago with her husband and 6-month-old daughter, she initially felt isolated and overwhelmed.

"You don't have a support system. You don't know how to get around, then there's finding a doctor and other moms," Mrs. Holmes said.

Now, she's hoping to make that transition easier for other transplants to the area by facilitating a "Moving On After Moving In" group that will meet on Thursdays at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair. The first meeting of the group will be held at 9:30 a.m. next Thursday. Child care will be provided.

The program, which is being sponsored by Westminster's recreational outreach center, is based on the work of Susan Miller, author of "After the Boxes Are Unpacked: Moving On After Moving In."

The goal of the group is to help women to create friendships and find encouragement as they establish their households in a new area.

According to Ms. Miller's Web site, http://www.justmoved.org/, the Westminster group will be the first in the area and the second in Pennsylvania. The other is at the Grace Brethren Church in Lititz, Lancaster County.

A review of Kary Oberbrunner's recent BMH Book Called is currently posted on "Christian Book Previews."

The reviewer says, "This is a challenging book—one that probably needs to be read more than once in order to fully absorb all of its’ teachings."

To read the entire review, click on http://www.christianbookpreviews.com/christian-book-detail.php?isbn=0884690873

Gilbert Hawkins, retired Grace Brethren pastor who has written and self-published a book on marriage and divorce, is featured in the Elkhart/Kosciusko edition of "Senior Life" publications this issue. To read the publication online, click through to page 9 on http://www.the-papers.com/OnlinePubs/default.aspx?pub=SL&subpub=SLA&pubdate=09-05-07-09-30-07

Influential conservative leader Dr. D. James Kennedy died Wednesday morning, church officials reported.

Kennedy, whose retirement as senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Florida was recently announced, died "peacefully, in his sleep, at home" around 3 a.m., said the Rev. Ronald Siegenthaler of the megachurch, according to Sun-Sentinel.com. Kennedy was 76.

Also founder of a conservative multi-media ministry – Coral Ridge Ministries – that reaches 3 million listeners and viewers worldwide, Kennedy had been dubbed by evangelicals as one of the Church's "truly significant figures," as Dr. James C. Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, said.

On Aug. 26, Kennedy's daughter, Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy, had announced her father's retirement at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Kennedy has suffered cardiac arrest last December and had been unable to return to the pulpit. He preached his last sermon on Christmas Eve.

A tribute website to the life and ministry of Kennedy can be found at http://www.djameskennedy.org/. A Memorial Service open to the public will be held at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. The date is yet to be announced.

A shout-out to Chuck Winter for helping us spot this article in the Yakima (Washington) Herald-Republic:

by Brandon Riel

Imagine a summer of riding on a non-air-conditioned blue bus through the hot and humid climate characteristic to the East Coast, stopping to put on park programs for local children, helping with church maintenance, encouraging existing Christians, and seeking out the lost to witness your faith.

Would you do it?

That's how 90 teenagers -- including 17-year-old Toppenish resident Hannah Balash, Jenny Jones of Sunnyside and Lindsey Johnson of Harrah, both 21, and I -- spent the summer of 2007.
What kind of program would provoke us to do such a thing with our precious few months of freedom?

Operation Barnabas derived its name from the Bible verses of Acts 11:23-24. The name "Barnabas" literally means "Son of Encouragement."

This connotation ties directly into the four major goals of the program: to have a heart for God, to encourage believers, to seek out and bring God's lost children to a point of genuine faith, and to consider whether it is God's will that student participants pursue full-time vocational ministry.

These were the goals and standards that 90 teens from across the United States lived and breathed for two months of our lives.

Operation Barnabas is a seven-week ministry trip provided for born-again, teenage believers in Jesus Christ who want to experience God and learn how to share their faith. The coordinators of the trip, Timothy Kurtaneck and Ed Lewis, put teens through an intensive orientation in which they are not only given the tools and knowledge to effectively minister, but are taught programs including puppetry, skits, clowning, choir and pantomimes. These activities serve as windows to opening up the issue of the gospel.

But it doesn't stop there. Teens also are taught how to minister through smaller ways, such as manual labor projects or initiating a conversation with a complete stranger.

The driving force behind this program is an organization known as CE National. Based in Winona Lake, Ind., CE stands for "church effectiveness," and is a partner organization with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

CE National, according to its Web site, www.cenational.org, is "about training, ministry experiences, and resources for individuals and local churches." Operation Barnabas, or OB as it is often abbreviated, is one such ministry experience. It not only provides young people with the desire to serve others, but, as stated on the Web site, "these experiences help people spend time with God, reach out to others, move out of their comfort zones, and develop a heart for full-time ministry."

Departing from our comfort zones was definitely part of this ministry experience. To begin with, all of the teens, ranging from 15 to 18, had to say goodbye to our families and friends for two months. For many of us, including Balash and me, this was the first time we had been away from home for such an extended period of time.

We were split into three teams of 30 students and six adult mentors we had previously never met. Then, just when we all began feeling a little more at home, we were moved from our 10-day orientation and sent out into our various mission fields, as far away as Pennsylvania and Mississippi.

But the discomfort didn't end there. In fact, some of us never became completely comfortable running around clowning for children, or walking up to some stranger on the street and carrying a conversation with him or her about something so intimate and personal as spirituality.

"It was scary at first," Balash says. "But after a while it becomes routine."

I began the journey for this trip almost one year ago. I was asked to fill out an eight-page application that included teacher, pastor and family-friend recommendation forms, and submitted it to the CE National offices by last November. I was informed of my acceptance in December, and began raising the $2,800 necessary for participation.

Balash, however, had a different story: "I had been encouraged to think and pray about it, but decided not to go at first," she says.

She later reconsidered, e-mailed CE National an application after the deadline, and was still accepted. But the issue of money remained. Both Balash and I found tremendous support in our home churches, Harrah Grace Brethren and Toppenish Grace Brethren, which paid nearly the entire tuition on our behalf.

Looking back on it, I'm sure this has been one of the best experiences of my life. I set out hoping to reach a closeness and dedication to God that I had previously never felt before. What I returned with was so much more. Not only did I become closer with God, I developed a passion for reading his word, reaching out to the lost, and enacting the Lord's will in my life.

Balash came away with a similar experience.

"I think the biggest thing I gained was probably growing closer to God and developing a passion for continual growth through the Word and prayer," she says.

Like her, I have considered enrolling in OB next summer. But it not a normal occurrence for a student to participate in this program more than once. As stated in the handbook, "Barnabas is all about a training experience to prepare you for a ministry back home."

Really, Operation Barnabas is a "step in the process." The program itself shouldn't be our goal.
The true goal for all of us should be taking what we learned this summer and bringing it home so we can continue to be in God's will and bless those who so generously supported us back home.

* Brandon Riel is a senior at Riverside Christian School in Yakima. He is a writer for Unleashed, the weekly teen section of the Yakima Herald-Republic that appears each Tuesday.

From today's Columbus (OH) Dispatch:

Even at 86, she keeps working for God
by Mike Harden

JOHNSTOWN, Ohio -- If Betty Massimer closes her eyes, she can yet see perfectly the drowned Navajo boy lying on the table at the mission in New Mexico as his elders built his casket.

"I took the shoe off the little boy," Massimer said Thursday, "and the pond water ran out onto the table."

The word table caught in her throat and, for a moment, she said nothing.

When she resumed, she explained that the 4-year-old had been playing with older boys when they decided to see whether an old, upturned automobile hood they had scavenged could float.
The little boy sat down in it and was pushed from the bank. He was in the middle of the pond when it began sinking.

Some memories defy scouring.

Massimer was a widowed mother of two working on an assembly line in Pennsylvania in 1963 when God whispered that he had something more important for her to do than bag candy bars for the Hershey Co.

"I talk to him like I'm talking to you," she said. "I tell him, 'If there is something that you want me to do today, please tell me clearly enough that I won't make a mistake.' He was leading me toward something he had prepared for me."

She might not have been sure what the deity had in mind when she piled her two sons into a station wagon and set out from Hershey for the Four Corners region of northern New Mexico. All she knew for certain was that the Grace Brethren mission there needed a cook for the young Navajos attending the mission school.

She arrived three seasons before the elders among the Navajos' wisest men predicted that the winter of 1967 would be "a winter of the left-handed wind" -- brutal and deadly.

Both cook and undertaker, Massimer remembered, "We often had to go out into the back country and bring back the dead."

The winter of the left-handed wind dumped 4 feet of snow on the ground and made drifts twice as deep.

Navajos stranded in far-flung hogans died.

In her four decades on the reservation, Massimer said, she never tried to force-feed her faith to the Navajos.

"Some were very strong in their old beliefs," she said. "They would go out in the morning and pray to the sun.

"They were a people who had been treated terribly by the white man. They had no trust in him."

Often, that mistrust included the white man's God.

Undaunted, she relied on kindnesses, on tender mercies, on the example she tried to live to win them over.

"Mom, when are you coming back?" she is asked in the phone calls from Navajo women who are now approaching age 50 and were children when she served them meals.

She weeps. They weep. She aches for the sight of the mesas amid the cacti and yucca, the blue-flowered lupine and the ubiquitous tumbleweed.

In Johnstown now, not far from her son Pat, Massimer, who will be 86 next month, volunteers 20 hours a week at Goodwill.

"She mops. She scrubs," the store's manager, Cathy Mann, said. "She has more energy than workers half her age."

"Don't glorify me," Massimer cautioned. "It's about the Lord." The Lord and the Navajos.
"Lord, anytime you want me," she prays, "I'm ready to go."