Annual Conference 2005 - Tuesday Daily Snapshot Page

The children's choir sang several songs for worship.
Photo by Regina Roberts

QUOTES OF THE DAY
“Outside of Christ there is no joy. Outside of God there is no union.” – Anastacia Bueno Beltre, pastor and past moderator of the Church of the Brethren in the Dominican Republic, preaching for worship

“Delay of discussion penalty, back up from the microphone five yards... Eventually you’d be out of the auditorium altogether. Some of these are judgment calls and you have no appeal.” – Moderator Jim Hardenbrook joking about using football rules to run Annual Conference business sessions; he and moderator-elect Ronald Beachley both volunteer as referees for student football games in their communities

“God smiles on us when we smile.” – Moderator-elect Ronald Beachley

“I encourage you to allow your pastor time to sit at the feet of Jesus.” – Sally Brubaker, chair of the Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee, during the committee’s report

“That’s wholeness, being satisfied with whatever God has for our life.” – Diane Harden Jones, a member of the Association of Brethren Caregivers board, in a video by ABC, “God’s Spirit Among Us: Wellness in the Midst of Crisis”

People connected to the church in the Dominican Republic led worship.
Photo by Regina Roberts

OVERVIEW OF THE DAY
Several breakfast-time sessions opened the day: the On Earth Peace Breakfast, the Brethren World Mission Breakfast, the Church and Persons with Disabilities Network Breakfast, two Bible studies, a theological study, a Spiritual Formation group, and insight sessions on topics including “Building Youth Leadership and Ministry in Your District.”

In business sessions, delegates received interim reports from the Doing Church Business Study Committee and the Intercultural Study Committee, and addressed a new business item, “Updates to Annual Conference Polity.” They also received reports from Brethren Benefit Trust, the Association of Brethren Caregivers, the 300th Anniversary Committee, the Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee, Standing Committee, and the Program and Arrangements Committee. Ecumenical guests were introduced with reports from the Committee on Interchurch Relations, National Council of Churches delegates, and World Council of Churches delegates. A Memorial Observance gave tribute to church workers who died in the last year.

Lunch-time activities included the Ecumenical Luncheon, the Bethany Theological Seminary Luncheon, the Outdoor Ministries Association Recognition Luncheon, and the Un-Luncheon sponsored by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office and Brethren Volunteer Service, at which participants were invited to give what they would have spent on food to the Center on Conscience and War (formerly NISBCO). Insight sessions featured a session for congregational leaders on the Brethren Medical Plan, among others.

Dinners were offered by the Congregational Life Ministries of the General Board and the Brethren Revival Fellowship.

Evening worship was led by Anastacia Bueno Beltre, a pastor and past moderator of the Church of the Brethren in the Dominican Republic, who spoke in Spanish with English translation. Gerald and Rebecca Baile Crouse served as worship leaders. The service also featured a children’s choir.

Other highlights were the annual Quilt Auction for hunger sponsored by the Association for the Arts in the Church of the Brethren. Evening insight sessions continued a focus on conscientious objection with “Conscientous Objection to War–A Brethren Lifestyle?” and offered a chance to “talk on” with the evening’s preacher, among many other offerings. Conference-goers were invited to an ice cream social at the end of the day.

Children’s and youth activities included fields trips and service projects. The junior highs rounded out the day with a talent show. Young adults held a game night.

Small-group meetings included mutual help and networking groups and evening Bible studies.

An acoustical guitar provided a soothing offeratory.
Photo by Regina Roberts

DOMINICAN LEADER GIVES THE WORSHIP MESSAGE
It took a lot of prayer and effort to find out if Anastacia Bueno Beltre would play in Peoria. As Irv Heishman pointed out in an article that appeared in the February “Messenger,” for reasons unknown she was denied a visa to the United States last year. But the prayers at last were answered, the visa was issued, and Beltre not only plays in Peoria, she prays in Peoria–and we are all the better for it.

Beltre is the past moderator of the Churches of the Brethren in the Dominican Republic. She is currently serving as pastor of La Iglesia de Los do Paz (Prince of Peace Church) in the Dominican Republic. Peggy Boshart translated her sermon. Beltre said that she loves the Brethren and the Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren, who are running the race with her. “I’m really happy when I see so many women pastors,” she smiled, and said, “God calls women, children, and men to run this race before them. God calls everyone to this race.”

Her childhood and adulthood have been filled with poverty and hardship, but her heart was full of joy as she encouraged everyone to continue in God’s race as outlined in Hebrews 12:1-4. Certainly as a person of Haitian ancestry, she encountered prejudice in the Dominican Republic.

Not everything is rose colored, she said. “Today is rose colored for me, but many times I’ve had thorns in my race. Many times there has been darkness in my race.” Reminding the congregation of the people of Israel who ran their race in the desert, she said, “It’s not important if Pharaoh is right behind you, because Jesus is with you in this race.”

She called upon all Brethren to join in the race, saying, “The Spirit of God enters into the people who can run the race,” as the congregation spontaneously rose to their collective feet for a standing ovation. There was laughter and applause throughout the message as Beltre used concrete examples from day-to-day life to celebrate her appreciation for Brethren heritage and the call of Jesus and other heroes of the Bible.

Reminding the congregation of the imperatives of Matthew 25, she stated that God calls us to ministry to each other. “We must obey the voice of God when God calls us.” She told the Brethren that there is a lot still to do. “In the name of Jesus, let’s do it!”

FACTS AND FIGURES
Registration totaled 3,341, including 858 delegates. Attendance is down from last year’s Conference in Charleston, W.Va., where 4,038 attended, but up from Boise in 2003 where registration was 2,844. The high mark for recent years was set Baltimore in 2001, with 5,029.

The quilt auction raised $21,450 for hunger relief through the sale of quilts and hangings. The auction is sponsored by the Association for the Arts in the Church of the Brethren.

The Annual Conference Blood Drive received donations of 237 units. The organizers had set a goal of 200.

Members of the Youth Peace Travel Team hosted the Outdoor Ministry Association luncheon.
Photo by Hannah Edwards

OUTDOOR MINISTRY ASSOCIATION RECOGNITIONS
At its luncheon today the Outdoor Ministries Association recognized Volunteer of the Year Shari Hoopingarner, and gave its Camp Staff Award to Dean and Jerriann Heiser Wenger, of Camp Blue Diamond, Petersburg, Pa.

ECUMENICAL CITATIONS
The 2005 Ecumenical Citations were given by the Committee on Interchurch Relations at today’s Ecumenical Luncheon. Colleen Hamilton of Hope Church of the Brethren in Freeport, Mich., and Marisa de Oliveira of Campo Limpo Preaching Point in Campo Limpo, Brazil, received the citations.

The two were among four youth and young adults recognized for peacemaking efforts. “Each in their own way have demonstrated a dedication to work at overcoming violence, and can serve as a model for others in creative challenges to the many forms of violence in our world,” the committee said.

Hamilton received the citation for multiple efforts for the environment and global concerns, including helping to begin a recycling program at her high school, bringing focus to the use and waste of styrofoam in the school cafeteria, working and worshiping ecumenically with another congregation in the area, and participating in a high school arts troupe “HEARTS: Helping Educate Abstinence, Responsible Teens.” She also was nominated for a citation from the Isaac Walton League for her efforts.

De Oliveira received the citation for her deep sense of justice and her call to share God’s love with others through her work for hunger and women’s and children’s issues. She volunteers at a local soup kitchen, has begun a children’s church and after-school tutoring program, and has developed and runs children’s and women’s programs in a poor and dangerous neighborhood of her city. The committee reported that de Oliveira moved to the neighborhood in order to establish rapport with the inhabitants. She teaches jewelry and craft-making skills to help generate income and self-esteem for the neighborhood women, and is planning a micro-finance project to help women buy materials and market these goods.

Also recognized were Matt Boyer of La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren, and Anna Christine Simons of Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren in South Bend, Ind. Boyer was recognized for his passion for social justice issues and Fair Trade–he refused to participate in a school fundraiser of chocolate that had been produced unjustly, did extensive research and advocacy of the Fair Trade movement, and led his church youth group in becoming a retailer of Fair Trade chocolates and coffee. Simons was recognized for community involvements including working at a school for disadvantaged children, volunteering with the Youth Services Bureau of South Bend, participating yearly in her community’s youth conference on diversity, taking part in anti-racism efforts through community programs, and volunteering at a local food bank, soup kitchen, and rescue mission. She received the 2004 Peacemaker Award from the Clay City High School.

Members of the 2005 Annual Conference news team, a ministry of the General Board, contributed to this report: Regina Roberts, Jesse Reid, Hannah Edwards, and Sarah Kovacs, photographers; Kathleen Campanella, Karen Garrett, Jill Kline, Frank Ramirez, Frances Townsend, Sarah Leatherman Young, and Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, writers; Amy Heckert, technical support; Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford and Becky Ullom, editors.

219th Annual Conference Peoria, Illinois July 2-6, 2005