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Date: July 22, 2005
Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
V: 847/742-5100 F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL: _CoBNews@AOL.Com_ (mailto:CoBNews@AOL.Com) 
 

CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN NEWSLINE
July 22, 2005
 
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN GENERAL BOARD SETS 2006 BUDGET PARAMETER, ISSUES  
RESOLUTIONS ON SUDAN AND WORLD FRIENDSHIP CENTER IN HIROSHIMA
 
July 22, 2005 (Elgin, IL) -- Finances were at the top of the agenda for the  
Church of the Brethren General Board in its meeting in Peoria, Ill., on July 
2.  The meeting preceded the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. A 2006

budget	parameter of $5,618,000 was set. The board also passed a resolution
on 
the 40th  anniversary of the World Friendship Center in Hiroshima, Japan. In
a 
 reorganization meeting on July 4, the bard passed a resolution on Sudan and 

named a new chair and executive committee members.
 
The financial report included information on long-range financial planning.  
Projections for 2006 are for a balanced budget of $5,618,000. In later years,
 
however, projections are for expense over income based on a variety of 
factors  including uncertainties in market fluctuations and medical
insurance.
 
The 40th anniversary of the World Friendship Center was celebrated with a  
resolution commending the center "for its tireless efforts to work for peace,
 
share stories about the personal suffering caused by nuclear weapons, and
build 
 friendships across borders." The resolution recalled the Center's 
partnership  with Brethren Volunteer Service through volunteers who have
served as 
hosts. "We  honor the past and express hope for the future by reaffirming,
with 
you, our  commitment to creating a world free from both nuclear weapons and
war," 
the  resolution said.
 
The report of general secretary Stan Noffsinger highlighted ecumenical	
documents he has signed recently on behalf of the board and the Church of the
 
Brethren, especially an open letter on Iraq addressed to the American people 
from 
the National Council of Churches (NCC) governing board. Noffsinger was part  
of a "committee of reference" that worked on "A Call to Speak Out." The 
letter's  release was timed to coincide with the fourth of July weekend, and
was to 
be  published in several major newspapers across the country. The NCC invited

all  concerned Christians and citizens to sign the letter via a website.
 
Noffsinger called the letter "a pretty strong statement" against the war in  
Iraq. The document reads in part: "...We believe in the transcendent 
sovereignty  and love of God for creation, and that the responsibility of
human beings 
is  thus to pursue justice and peace for all. We also believe that, as the 
biblical  prophets of old, who in faithfulness to God spoke out to a people
and a 
nation	they loved, in humility before God we too are to speak to a land and 
people we  love.... On the day we celebrate our freedom, we acknowledge that 
the freedom  promised in the toppling of a dictator has been replaced by the 
humiliation of	occupation and the violence of a civil war. The sacrifice of 
brave men and women  has been used to serve policies that have diminished our

nation's prestige and  our capacity to be agents of justice in the world."
See 
_http://ga3.org/campaign/endorsement_ (http://ga3.org/campaign/endorsement)  

for more information. 
 
In discussion of the letter, board members affirmed Brethren participation  
but expressed concern about its lack of scripture references for the
Christian  
peace witness, and suggested that an accompanying cover page list biblical  
background and Brethren background when this and other such documents are 
shared	with Church of the Brethren staff and congregations.
 
Noffsinger also reported that he and Kathy Reid, executive director of the  
Association of Brethren Caregivers, plan to work together on the idea of  
creating a study committee on the issue of stem cell research.
 
The report on a recent trip to Sudan by Annual Conference moderator Jim  
Hardenbrook and Brethren Witness/Washington Office director Phil Jones
prompted  
the board to write a resolution reaffirming the Church of the Brethren	
commitment to work in Sudan. On July 4, the board passed a resolution on
Sudan  to 
the Annual Conference officers for consideration by the 2005 Annual 
Conference. 
The short document "recognizes that God calls the Church of the  Brethren to 
continue to minister to the people of Sudan," and recommits the  church to 
peace-building efforts and continuation of Brethren work in southern  Sudan.
 
Among other reports received by the board, a report on staff work related  to

conscientious objection and preparations for the eventuality of a military  
draft was given by Jones and Brethren Volunteer Service director Dan
McFadden,  
who are working with staff of On Earth Peace and ecumenical partners to 
create	resources for conscientious objection and to plan for alternative
service  
opportunities.
 
Staff citations were given for Julie Hostetter and Jeff and Peggy Boshart.  
Citations also recognized outgoing General Board members Carol Kussart, J.D. 

Glick, Doug Price, and Donna Shumate, who has served as chair. Outgoing
members 
 were given plaques representing a donation of over $1,000 to the Emerging 
Global	Mission Fund in their honor by continuing board members. The gift is 
seen as a  model for others to recognize service with donations to the fund's
New 
Birth New  Life campaign.
 
In the board's reorganization, Glenn Mitchell was selected as chair. Others  
named to the Executive Committee are Jeff Neuman-Lee, vice chair, along with 

Jaime Diaz, Vickie Samland, David Sollenberger, and Angie Lehman Yoder.
 
Greetings were brought by Anastacia Bueno Beltre from the Church of the  
Brethren in the Dominican Republic, and by Toma Ragnjiya of the Ekklesiyar  
Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), who is
studying  in 
the US. He affirmed the board's concern for Sudan and for peace in Iraq,  
expressing EYN's concern for peace in the north of Nigeria.
 
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to  
continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its
faith  in 
community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith  
traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its
 300th 
anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United	
States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil, the  
Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.
 
# # #
 
For more information contact:
 
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
Director of News Services
Church of the  Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, IL 60120
847-742-5100  ext. 260
_cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org_ 
(mailto:cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org) 
 
*****************************************************************
The  Church of the Brethren Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford,

director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board. 
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