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Messengerseptember 2018 CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN MessengerSEPTEMBER 2018 WWW.BRETHREN.ORG ANNUAL CONFERENCE 6 LIGHT OVER THE RIVER 14 BRETHREN WOODS 18 BURUNDI 20 So that the world f lourishes IS GOD NUDGING YOU TOWARD A NEW STEP OF FAITH? WHY BETHANY? Seminary education stirs your imagination, launches you on a journey of transformation, and guides you to discover and live out your unique calling. 2 GRADUATE DEGREES 5 GRADUATE CERTIFICATES For 113 years Bethany has brought academic rigor together with practical experience and spiritual exploration, reflecting its Anabaptist-Pietist heritage. Today, this learning experience is accessible through traditional COURSES OFFERED IN degrees, adaptable certificate programs, and individual courses— options MULTIPLE FORMATS AND LOCATIONS that make theological study relevant to the life you lead. Bring your passion for a meaning-filled life, and we’ll provide support for every step of your journey. So that the world flourishes. ALUMNI SERVING THE CHURCH AND WORLD Let’s talk. bethanyseminary.edu 765-983-1800 [email protected] CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN MessengerSEPTEMBER 2018 Vol.167 No. 7 www.brethren.org/messenger Glenn Riegel Publisher: Wendy McFadden Associate editor: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford Web editor: Jan Fischer Bachman At-large editor: Walt Wiltschek Design: The Concept Mill Annual Conference 2018 departments Seeking a compelling vision 6 2 FROM THE PUBLISHER 3 IN TOUCH Light over the river 5 THE EXCHANGE by Jan Fischer Bachman 22 BIBLE STUDY 14 24 MEDIA REVIEW 25 NEWSLINE DIGEST Brethren Woods works toward 28 LETTERS 30 TURNING POINTS 18 an intercultural future 32 POTLUCK A different way of living by Briel Slocum Why would a camp care? by Tim and Katie Heishman Sharing work and soda in Burundi On the cover 20 by Victoria Bateman Who is this not-so-big church Can we live together? with the big ideas? Watch the 27 Reflection by Calvin Park video that inspired the crowd at Annual Conference. Use it in your congregation by downloading it from the homepage of www.brethren.org Correction:Carolyn Seilhamer was mistakenly identified (July/August, p. 23) with the or at www.brethren.org/annualreport. wrong congregation. She is a member of Harrisonburg (Va.) First Church of the Brethren. Illustration by Craighton Berman. FromthePublisher Christ on the run How to reach us MESSENGER xcept for the child’s own safety, the forced separation of 1451 Dundee Avenue Elgin, IL 60120 children from their parents is never acceptable. I can scarcely believe this needs to be said. Subscriptions: E Diane Stroyeck Great damage has been done, and the urgent next step must be to reunite [email protected] the devastated families. I say this as a person of faith, a citizen of this country, Phone: 800-323-8039 ext. 327 a mother, and one who was brought to the US at the age of the children now Fax: 847-742-1407 being housed in “tender age” shelters. Why are we not Advertising: treating tenderly those who are of tender age? Karen Stocking [email protected] Adding to this national pain is the government’s Phone: 800-323-8039 ext. 308 use of scripture to justify such cruelty. Surely there is Fax: 847-742-1407 weeping from the God whom many call Father, the one Editorial: who calls us children. When Jesus healed on the sab- [email protected] bath, he made it clear that people are more important Phone: 800-323-8039 ext. 326 than the law (Matthew 12:9-13). Another day, Jesus Fax: 847-742-1407 brought over a child and said, “Whoever welcomes one Subscription rates: such child in my name welcomes me” (Matthew 18:5). $17.50 individual rate - $32 for 2 years WENDY MCFADDEN Care for the stranger and sojourner is deeply and $14.50 gift rate PUBLISHER undeniably woven into the biblical text. That is evi- $14.50 church club rate dence that the Scriptures are best used to defend rath- - $27 for 2 years er than abuse those who flee violence and hardship. $ 1.25 student (per month) But at this moment, I am drawn even more to texts that speak of God’s spe- If you move, clip address label and send with new address to MESSENGER cial care for children and families. During Pharaoh’s regime, God acted Subscriptions, at the above address. through a sister, two midwives, and Pharaoh’s own daughter to save the infant Allow at least five weeks for Moses and allow him to be nursed by his mother (Exodus 2). Job laments that address change. “the wicked snatch a widow’s child from her breast” (Job 24:9 NLT). When For digital MESSENGER go to Herod wanted to destroy young Jesus, God led Joseph to escape with his fami- www.brethren.org/accessmessenger. ly across the border to Egypt (Matthew 2). Visit MESSENGER online at The Church of the Brethren has long spoken and acted on matters of immi- www.brethren.org/messenger. gration and the plight of refugees. In this time of crisis, let us recall words from an Annual Conference statement in 1982: “Christ has made another appearance among us, as himself an immigrant and refugee, in the person of political dissidents, the economically deprived, and foreigners on the run.” MESSENGER is the official publication of the Church of the Brethren. Member of the Associated Church Press. Biblical quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version. Copyright © September 2018, Church of the Brethren. MESSENGER (ISSN 0026-0355) is published 10 times a year by Brethren Press, Church of the Brethren. Periodicals postage paid at Elgin, Ill., and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MESSENGER, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120-1694. Printed on recycled paper (20% post consumer) 2 Messenger September 2018 InTouch Henry Gong Remembering Manzanar ll they could take was one suitcase and Taniwaki can share first-hand what trauma can do to a what they could wear. That is what small child. President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 told She entered the camp when she was just 7 months old. JAapanese and Japanese-Americans who were living on the The negative health effects to her bones trouble her to this West Coast after the attack on Pearl Harbor, in 1942. They day. Her memories never go away of waking up to wind reported to relocation camps with only one week’s notice. blowing through the barracks and sand getting into her Marge Taniwaki was one of those interned at Manzanar teeth at night. The hardships also wore heavily on the adults, Camp in California. She shared her experience in a who lost everything when evacuation orders came through. presentation at Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren in The US government has since apologized and paid Littleton, Colo. The July 24 event was co-sponsored by reparations to victims of the internment camps who were Littleton neighborhood citizens and brought 45 people still alive in 1988. But for listeners at Prince of Peace, now is together despite hail storms. the moment for a living peace church to call for dignity for For those at the event, the recent separation of families immigrants and refugees. (Find a video of Marge Taniwaki’s at the US-Mexico border feels disturbingly similar to the presentation at https://youtu.be/ZNy75HSH2FM) Japanese-American internment. Indeed, 76 years later —Gail Erisman Valeta Water for Haiti In response to a presentation by Brad Yoder on the Haiti Medical Project’s pure water initiative, an anonymous Timbercrest resident pledged to match donations to the water project up to $1,000. The presentation was to Timbercrest Seniors for Peace, a group at Timbercrest Senior Living Community in North Manchester, Ind. In a few weeks, the challenge was met and exceeded. A total of $3,325 was raised and sent to Global Mission and Service to be used for the Haiti Pure Water Initiative. —Marie Willoughby Do you have district or congregational stories that might be of interest to MESSENGER? Short items with a photo are best. Send them to MESSENGER, c/o In Touch, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120 or [email protected]. Messenger September 2018 3 InTouch Leading the church’s song astoral musicians have the terrify- ing priestly task of placing words of sung prayer on people’s lips. [They] have Pthe holy task of being stewards of God’s Word,” writes John D. Witvliet. This quote from “Capable Leadership for the Church’s Music Ministry,” by Jeffrey Clouser, represents Clouser’s thoughtful and spiritual per- spective on the ministry of music. He is director of music ministries at Palmyra (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, and the article appears in the UCC Musicians Association journal Worship, Music, and Ministry. The article looks at what it means to “lead a church’s song” in a congregational setting in any denomination and examines how the music ministry at Palmyra embraces the task of being musician- stewards of God’s word. Pastor Dennis Lohr is quot- ed from a 2017 sermon on intergenerational worship and the positive impact it has had for the congrega- tion to finds its own voice for singing together. Clouser shares his personal guidelines for music planning: 1) choose songs that support the theology of the church, 2) choose songs that affirm the mis- sion of the church and how the church lives out its faith in community, and 3) choose music that sup- Running with ports the liturgy and scripture of the day, is partici- patory, and honors God. Whenever Palmyra gathers perseverance for worship, the congregation benefits from this methodology that grows from the heart of the music He’s 98 and managed to shave a minute off his time from a director’s spirituality.
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