March 2013Vol No. 11 No. 8

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Security measures

A few dates to rememberWe hope to receive new mem-

bers by transfer of letter or bap-tism on Palm Sunday, March 24. Check with Pastor Tim if you are interested.

Please plan to participate in

Love Feast 7 p.m., March 28Please reserve May 16 & 17

from 2-9 p.m. and/or May 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to have a family photo taken for a new Bethany Church Directory!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Prov.3:5)

This is probably one of my fa-vorite verses from Vacation Bible School days; it's easy to remember and packs a powerful message, especially in these times of “wor-shiping” individual incentive and success. Now that I'm retired I spend more time checking on news stories around the globe. Maybe that's why it seems like the world is in so much more chaos than I re-membered; but then again, maybe it really is more chaotic than it used to be. Just in the last few months, we've been overwhelmed with sto-ries of super storms, vicious parti-

san politics, mass killings, faltering economy, extensive drought, home invasions, fallen heroes, and of course, the ongoing failure of the Cubs to get into the World Series.

With all that, it's a wonder we find any reason to get out of bed in the morning. (In my case, I have no problem with that because I have a cat that sits on me for as long as it takes me to get up.) What's happened to our sense of security through all of these di-sasters and tragedies? Like you, I feel horrible for all the people that are experiencing these events first hand. I pray for them, and am reas-sured when I hear testimonies of faith from many of them. I'm also

encouraged by the ways volunteers step forward to help in so many ways, just as the group of caring people from Bethany Church did this past week in Binghamton, NY.

But what about those who don't have faith to rely on? Where do they find any kind of comfort and security when they are hit by disas-ters? Some found security for their futures in retirement savings only to have it drastically devalued dur-ing the recession. And now some find they have no choice but to withdraw those savings early just to meet living expenses or replace lost income. Then there are those who found security in having their dream home on the ocean; a dream home that may now be a pile of rubble. Some people put their fam-ily's security in moving from far away places to a small, idyllic and serene town that was the best place they could find to raise their fami-lies, only to come face to face with the most horrible kind of violence

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Bethany Beacon is a monthly publication of:Bethany Church of the Brethren19003 US 6, P.O. Box 52,New Paris, IN 46553 574-831-4993

TimothySollenberger-Morphew

PastorAnnouncements 9:20 a.m.

Worship 9:30 a.m.Education Hour 10:30 a.m.

Bethany1@bnin.net

L KING AHEADLooking forward to the

Sundays of March!

March 104th Sunday in Lent

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32“The Prodigal & the

Pouter”Opportunity to be Anointed

March 175th Sunday in LentJohn 12: 1-8

“Extravagant Love”Choice Hymns

We want to include all 2nd graders and older interested in lighting candles for worship, ane extinguishing them at the end of worship,

please sign up on the bulletin board

Bethany COOKBOOKS available for $5 per cookbook now half price. ANNIVERSARY KEY CHAINS $1

Great gift ideas any time!

Good fellowship, beautiful music, glorious worship, awesome God, anticipating Jesus!The high point of a Christian’s week! Come to God’s house and bask in the Holy!

Announcements at 9:20 a.m. Worship 9:30 a.m. Sunday School 10:30 a.m.March 24Palm Sunday

Luke 19:28-40, Philippians 2:5-11“Who Comes in the

Lord’s Name”Children’s Palm ProcessionalBaptism & Reception of New

Members

Announcements to be run on the “screen-a-ma-jig” need to be sent to Joe Warstler (joew@bnin.net) by Saturday.

Announcements

March 31Easter Sunday

7 a.m. Easter Sunrise worship at Bethany

9:3 a.m. Easter Worship CelebrationJohn 20:1-18“Go and Tell”

Adult ChoirNo Sunday School

Bite at Bethany every Wednes-day, $5/person (maximum of $20/family) beginning at 5:15 p.m. K.O.P. (3 years - 6th grade) and Bible Study from 6:15 - 7:15 p.m.

Please sign up for Bite @ Beth-

Bite at Bethany, K.O.P., & Bible Studyany on the bulletin board (or by email, or call the church office) by Monday. We will need a few volun-teers to take turns with a little clean up afterwards. Put it on your calen-dars. SEE YOU WEDNESDAY!

Women (& men?) of Bethany Church are working on the Quilt for 2013. Lavonne Warstler would be glad for help and/or to teach new quilters.

Quilting times: 8-10:30 a.m.

Quilting opportunitiesMon., 5 p.m.-? Tue, 8-11:30 a.m. Wed.

March 28Love Feast and Communion

7 p.m.

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Got E-Mail?? If you have an e-mail address but haven’t yet given it to the church office, we’d be glad to have it. It is another way in which your church can get important information to you between Sundays. Just leave a note with your e-mail address in the church office OR send it to us at bethany1@bnin.net. Thanks!

INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS

can be emailed to bethany1@bnin.net, or placed in the box

marked: “Information and Announcements.”

Bethany news and happenings

Our ADULT CHOIR practices at 8 A.M., Sunday mornings. Come and sing, or contact director Andy Gall with any questions about choir. Breakfast afterwards.

Sunday mornings

There is a LOST AND FOUND BOX in the church office where you can check for things you may have left at church.

If Bethany is cancelling services or activities, we’ll say so in the 16WNDU, 22WSBT and WFRN closing announcements.

Lost andfound

Cancellations

Men’s Fellowship is sponsoring a “Tool & Equipment lending system” if you have tools or equipment that you would be willing to loan to other Bethany members, please let Joe Warstler know. Thanks!

Tool and Equipment

lending system

To the family & loved ones of Ruth Beachy (Stutzman fam-ily friend), who died January 28, leaving husband Todd Beachy & 4 children.

To the family & loved ones of Doris Kasey (friend of Keith & Thelma Burger), who died January 30.

To the family & loved ones of Sharon Gilbert, who died early January 31.

To the family & loved ones of Doreen Snavely Nichols (Gall cousin), who died the morning of February

To the family & loved ones of Ray Sollenberger (Beth Sollen-berger Morphew’s father) who died February 21.

To the family & loved ones Bob Blosser (Vickie Wedel’s father) died March 5

SympathiesGOD MAKES ALL THINGS

NEW (Isaiah 43:19) Camp Mack’s guide to events, retreats and Sum-mer Camps is available on line at www.campmack.org or from Pat

Register for Camp MackReuter. Scholarships to a week of camp are available to children of Bethany members. Registrations due to Mary Louis Fox by March 17.

We need to produce a new PHOTO DIRECTORY to help us to connect faces and names. All members and friends of Bethany are urged to please reserve times from 2 – 9 p.m., May 16 & 17 and/or from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., May 18. You can get your picture (and extended family pictures) taken at no cost. A directory for every family group that gets their picture taken. Photo packages will be available for purchase, but NO PURCHASE IS REQUIRED TO HAVE YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AND TO GET A DIRECTORY.

New photo directory

Jill Goshert is collect-ing Friends of Tim-

bercrest membership dues. $3 per year; $40

lifetime.

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District News Notes

imaginable that absolutely no one could have foreseen.

These are depressing and upset-ting stories raising issues that need to be dealt with in the future. But no matter what solutions are found, there will never be any true secu-rity there. As Christians we know where the only true kind of security is found and that is in Christ, as members of God's family. I am finding that I can be saddened and angered by the things that are hap-pening to good people, and at the same time be uplifted and encour-aged to know that no devastating power of nature, and no amount of mass killings can take that security found in Christ away from us. You and I “serve a risen Savior” which makes all the difference in the world. We may lose our retirement accounts, our houses and posses-sions, our families, even our lives, but that will never change. Know-ing that should bring rejoicing even when we feel like Job did when he said, “He breaks me down on every side...and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.” (Job 19:10)

Nelda Risden

Security

Our Northern Indiana District is creating a 7-9 person team to survey the district & make sugges-tions for short & long-term goals to guide the search for district leadership. The team will meet for the next 12 months or so. More in-formation from our District Office www.nidcob.org, 574-773-3149. Nominations due 3/15/13.

The District Personnel Commit-

tee encourages people to send in names for the various district posi-tions (moderator-elect, board, pro-gram and arrangements, standing committee, clerk, ministry com-mittee, Shalom Team). Talk with Lavonne Warstler, send an email to the district office (rachel.nidcob@gmail.com) or to Personnel Chair Mary Helfrich (conqur1066@gmail.com).

Union Center church will host their annual chicken & noodle supper on Saturday, March 23 from 4:30-7 pm. Cost is adults $7, ages 5-12 $3, preschoolers -free. All proceeds go to mission work. Union Center is located at the cor-ner of CR 11 & 50, in Nappanee.

District Youth Overnighter (Grades 9-12) -- March 22nd - 23rd at the Maple Grove Church of the Brethren (20430 CR 46, New Paris). 7 p.m. - 9 a.m. To register, contact Val Kline at v3kline@hotmail.com or call or text: (765) 606-8541. All participants, please bring $5 and a snack or drink to share. More info coming soon.

Maple Grove Church of the Brethren will hold Revival Services on March 24-26. Sunday evening service begins at 6 pm, Monday & Tuesday's services begin at 7 pm. Woody Harrison will be the key speaker, "Finding Hope in Jesus".

Northern District women are invited to the South Central Women’s Fall Camp. Women's Camp (Sponsored by South/Central Indiana District for S/C and North-ern District women) to be held June 6-8, 2013 at Camp Alexander Mack. Watch for more information. Registration forms and information

will be mailed in early-Spring.New Ground Community Church

is a new church start under the leadership of Church of the Breth-ren pastor Sid Gauby, in Fort Wayne, IN. The church operates New Ground Coffee Company as a 6 1/2 day a week business connect-ing with people and providing great coffee at good prices. The church meets in the coffee shop on Sunday mornings at 10:30. It is located in the Washington Square Shopping Center in north Fort Wayne near Bishop Dwenger High School. The church and coffee company focus upon Christian hospitality and community building with the desire to invite people to see the work of God all around them.

If you would like more infor-mation please contact Sid Gauby (260.385.3502 or sidgauby@gmail.com). Sid can be available to share with churches ways they might incorporate a coffee ministry into their existing locations or how existing churches might support and encourage this new venture. There is also a power point presen-tation that Sid can make available for churches to use who might like to feature this ministry as a part of their missions response.

“Growing from the Ashes” is the name of the Camp Mack campaign to raise funds to build Becker Retreat Center on the site of the former Becker Lodge. The lodge was lost to a fire in July 2010. After the June 2011 comple-tion of the John Kline Welcome Center to replace the food service and office functions formerly

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District News Notes

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Continued from Page 4housed in the lodge, Camp Mack now needs to replace lodging and meeting areas. The campaign goal is $2,466,000 toward the project goal of $3,766,000. As a part of the campaign, Camp Mack has been holding fundraising dinners throughout Indiana on Saturday and Sunday evenings. The first dinners were held Sept. 22 at Camp Mack, in Kokomo on Sept. 30, and in N. Manchester on Oct. Upcom-ing dinners are scheduled for Fort Wayne on Oct. 20, Indianapolis on Nov. 4, Mishawaka on Nov. 17,

Richmond on Dec. 1, and a final dinner at Camp Mack on Dec. 9. Information about the campaign, the dinners, and an opportunity to donate, are at http://www.camp-mack.org/ . Reservations for a din-ner may be made by calling Camp Mack at 574-658-4831.

At the close of District Confer-ence Moderator, Doug Archer, made the following offer to District congregations. During his year as District Moderator, he will be happy to come to any congregation (or local group of congregations) and lead a hymn sing and continue

to celebrate its 20th anniversary. If you don’t use it, he’ll be happy to lead a hymn sing using whatever hymnal you do use. Think of this as an “old fashioned hymn sing” with the congregation picking about half of the hymns and Doug picking the rest. You’re welcome to play “stump the song leader.” One to two hours will be a good length depending on whether you invite him for a Sunday morning, afternoon or evening. Doug Archer, Northern Indiana District Confer-ence Moderator, archer.1@nd.edu, 574-271-9573

News for the Church of the Brethren Around the WorldBeam and Steele head up Annual

Conference ballot for 2013The Standing Committee of district delegates

has released a ballot for the 2013 Annual Confer-ence of the Church of the Brethren. The Confer-ence takes place June 29-July 3 in Charlotte, N.C. Nominees are listed below, by position:Moderator-elect: Frances S. Beam of Concord,

N.C.; David Steele of Martinsburg, Pa.Annual Conference Program and Arrangements

Committee: Evelyn Brubaker of Ephrata, Pa.; Shawn Flory Replogle of McPherson, Kan.Bethany Theological Seminary trustee, repre-

senting clergy: Dava Cruise Hensley of Roanoke, Va.; Frank Ramirez of Everett, Pa.Bethany Theological Seminary trustee, repre-

senting laity: Donna Shumate of Sparta, N.C.; David Minnich of Hillsborough, N.C.On Earth Peace Board: David William Fouts

of Maysville, W.Va.; Chris Riley of Luray, Va.Brethren Benefit Trust Board: Cynthia Elaine

Allen of Olmsted Falls, Ohio; Sara Huston Brenneman of Hershey, Pa.Mission and Ministry Board, from Area 2:

Sarah Elizabeth Friedrich of Columbus, Ohio; Dennis John Richard Webb of Aurora, Ill.Mission and Ministry Board, from Area 3: Torin

Eikler of Morgantown, W.Va.; Jonathan Andrew Prater of Harrisonburg, Va.Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory

Committee: Nancy L. Bowman of Fishersville, Va.; Deborah Oskin of Columbus, Ohio.In other news from the Conference office-- Annual Conference registration for nondel-

egates and hotel reservations is now open online for the 2013 Conference in Charlotte. Go to www.brethren.org/ac for registration links and

more about the Conference schedule and events, as well as a detailed Conference Information Packet.-- Conference leaders are highlighting special

Sunday events on June 30 as an opportunity for all Church of the Brethren members to focus on spiritual renewal. The day will begin with wor-ship, led by popular author and speaker Philip Yancey, who will preach on grace. Equipping workshops will be offered in the morning and the afternoon on a wide variety of topics, for all Conference-goers. After a lunch break, Mark Yaconelli will preach on prayer for an afternoon worship service. The evening will be spent in a Concert of Prayer including personal and corporate guided prayer leading participants through “seven Rs”: Rejoice, Repent, Resist, Restore, Release, Receive, and Recommit. A full schedule for the Day of Spiritual Renewal is at www.brethren.org/ac/documents/2013-day-of-spiritual-renewal.pdf .-- This year a $150 travel scholarship is offered

to congregations west of the Mississippi River to help them send delegates to the Conference. The scholarship program was put in place by a deci-sion of last year’s Conference, and will be carried out through refund payments to congregations after their delegates attend the 2013 Conference in Charlotte. For more information about this scholarship opportunity, contact the Conference office at annualconference@brethren.org . -- A change in dates has been announced for the

2016 Annual Conference to take place in Greens-boro, N.C. The dates are now June 29-July 3, replacing the previously announced dates of July 2-6. This change will start the new Wednesday through Sunday schedule for upcoming Confer-

ences that was approved last year.Go to www.brethren.org/ac for more informa-

tion. A full preview of Annual Conference 2013 and related events will appear in a future issue of Newsline.Ten nursing students are recipients of Church of

the Brethren Nursing Scholarships for 2012. This scholarship, made possible by the Health Educa-tion and Research Endowment, is available to members of the Church of the Brethren enrolled in LPN, RN, or nursing graduate programs.This year’s recipients and their congregations:

Rachel Alderman (Mount Hermon), Genelle Bunte (Common Spirit), Rebecca Clapper (Bed-ford), Kirsten Eller (Ephrata), Heather Galang (Bridgewater), Lesli Gilbert (McPherson), Marcia McCartney (Plymouth), Rhian Pulliam (Mountain Grove), Kirstie Studebaker (New Carlisle), and Emily Wenger (Lancaster).Scholarships of up to $2,000 for RN and gradu-

ate nurse candidates and up to $1,000 for LPN candidates are awarded to a limited number of applicants each year.Information on the scholarships, including an

application form and instructions, is available at www.brethren.org/nursingscholarships . Ap-plications and supporting documentation are due by April 1 of each year. - Randi Rowan is an administrative assistant for Congregational Life Ministries.

Mission & Ministry Board metThe Executive Committee of the Church of

the Brethren Mission & Ministry Board met in Cocoa Beach, FL, Jan. 25-26, following meetings of other denominational leaders. Participating in the meeting were elected members Ben Barlow,

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chair; Becky Ball-Miller, chair-elect; Andy Ham-ilton; and Brian Messler; and ex officio members Bob Krouse, Annual Conference moderator; Don Fitzkee; Pam Reist; and Stan Noffsinger, general secretary.A central focus of the meeting was formulating

an initial response to the Annual Conference query from Southern Pennsylvania District on “More Equitable Representation on the Mission and Ministry Board.” The Executive Committee is recommending to the full board consideration of continuing to choose board members based on five geographical areas, but allocating more representatives to more populous areas and fewer to less populous areas. The proposal may be ready for action at the 2013 Annual Conference.The Executive Committee agreed to recommend

to the full board six Brethren to serve on the Ecumenism in the 21st Century Study Committee called for by the 2012 Annual Conference. They are: Tim Speicher of Atlantic Northeast District, David Shumate of Virlina District, Wanda Haynes of Pacific Northwest District, Liz Bidgood Enders of Atlantic Northeast District, Jenn Hosler of Mid-Atlantic District, and Larry Ulrich of Illinois and Wisconsin District. The 2012 Conference ap-proved disbanding the Committee on Interchurch Relations (CIR) and authorized the appointment of a study committee to “write a ‘Vision of Ecu-menism for the 21st Century’ that builds on our history and calls us into the future of the church of Christ as part of a community of communions.”In addition to these two items, the Executive

Committee:-- Heard a report from the general secretary and

board officers on the Interagency Forum held earlier in the week.-- Learned of discussions between Mission and

Ministry Board officers and officers of the Breth-ren Benefit Trust Board to clarify issues arising from sharing a common building in Elgin, IL-- Prepared for a Feb. 4 meeting between the

Executive Committees of the Mission and Min-istry Board and the Brethren Mennonite Council to clarify misunderstandings that arose from a Brethren Volunteer Service project that was ap-proved and then withdrawn.-- Addressed confidential human resources and

risk management issues.-- Provided input for the agenda for the March

8-11 Mission and Ministry Board meeting. - Don Fitzkee is a member of the Executive Committee of the Mission and Ministry Board.

Going to the Garden grantsChurch of the Brethren congregations across

the country have begun applying for and receiv-ing “Going to the Garden” grants as part of a new initiative to support congregationally based community gardens. “Going to the Garden” is an initiative of the Peace Witness Ministry and aims to address food insecurity, environmental

degradation, and poverty. It is funded by $30,000 designated from the Global Food Crisis Fund.Most congregations that take part receive $1,000

for community gardening projects on their land or in their neighborhoods, however individual grant amounts may vary depending on each church’s situation.In addition to receiving a grant, congregations

that take part may receive advice and help from consultant Cliff Kindy, a long-time Church of the Brethren farmer and peace advocate from northern Indiana. Nate Hosler, director of the Peace Witness ministry based in Washington, D.C., is heavily involved in the project as well, along with GFCF manager Jeff Boshart.5 congregations have received grants: Annville

(Pa.) Church of the Brethren, Champaign (Ill.) Church of the Brethren, Cincinnati (Ohio) Church of the Brethren, La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren, and Living Faith Church of the Breth-ren in Concord, N.C. A grant application from a sixth congregation, Mount Morris (Ill.) Church of the Brethren, is in process.Here are the plans of a few of these churches:The Annville Church is starting a new commu-

nity garden as a project of its Service Ministries Team. Planners anticipate it will be much like the “Plant a Row” program in which participants designate one row of a garden to be donated to a food pantry or soup kitchen. The church is desig-nating some 10,000 square feet of farm land for the garden, owned by and adjacent to the church. If additional land becomes available, the church will add a low-maintenance wildflower garden with benches and meandering paths both for use in contemplation, and to surround the vegetable garden with healthy, local wild flowers and plants and introduce pollinators such as bees and bats to make the garden more successful.The La Verne Church has had a community

garden in place for three years, called the “Peace and Carrots Community Garden.” It is receiving a grant to fund improvements to raise the method of gardening from ground-level beds to permanent raised beds. Individual gardeners who participate will be asked to contribute $50 each toward the cost of the improvements. Every year the gar-den has helped feed neighbors in need through contributions to the local food bank. In 2010 the garden donated 945.5 pounds of food, in 2011 it donated 1,408 pounds, and in the summer season of 2012 it donated 1,268.5 pounds. La Verne also has sold its garden produce at a Farmer’s Market, held in the courtyard of the church.The Living Faith Church garden also already is

in place, providing “food, fresh vegetables, and the love of Jesus” to neighbors and those in need in the community. Winter cabbage and collard greens grown this past season were given out with Thanksgiving and Christmas boxes, and the church also has been distributing donated food such as turkeys from a local grocer. The group hopes to add a green house to its garden to extend

future growing seasons, and is looking at starting a weekly “take what you need” market for those who can come to the site to receive food.Boshart estimates that about 20 other Church

of the Brethren congregations have community gardens or similar projects already established, and hopes that many of them will take advantage of the grant program as well as churches who want to start new projects. The application form is online at www.brethren.org/bdm/files/going-to-the-garden.pdf . Questions about the applica-tion process should be directed to Nate Hosler at 202-481-6943 or 717-333-1649 or nhosler@brethren.org .

NYC Theme for 2014The NYC theme for 2014 will be “Called by

Christ, Blessed for the Journey Together,” in-spired by Ephesians 4:1-7. The conference will be held July 19-24, 2014, on the campus of Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. The Church of the Brethren’s National Youth

Cabinet met recently at Church of the Brethren Offices in Elgin, IL to begin planning the outlines of the conference including beginning ideas for an overall schedule, service projects, special offer-ings, leadership, and more. The meeting included times for prayer and meditation each day, and a time of worship on Sunday morning.The cabinet meeting included the three NYC

coordinators and staff member Becky Ullom Naugle, who directs Youth and Young Adult Min-istry, along with several high school-age youth and adult advisors from across the denomination:-- NYC coordinator Katie Cummings, of Sum-

mit Church of the Brethren in Bridgewater, Va., who is currently in Brethren Volunteer Service as an assistant workcamp coordinator.-- Emmett Eldred of Middle Pennsylvania

District.-- Brittany Fourman of Southern Ohio District.-- Adult advisor Rhonda Pittman Gingrich of

Northern Plains District.-- NYC coordinator Tim Heishman, currently

attending North Baltimore Mennonite Church during a year of voluntary service there.-- Adult advisor Dennis Lohr of Atlantic North-

east District.-- NYC coordinator Sarah Neher, a senior at

McPherson (Kan.) College who plans to gradu-ate in May with a degree in biology education.-- Sarandon Smith of Atlantic Northeast District.-- Sarah Ullom-Minnich of Western Plains

District.-- Kerrick van Asselt of Western Plains District.-- Zander Willoughby of Michigan District.NYC is for youth who have completed ninth

grade through one year of college (at the time of the conference) along with their adult advi-sors who must be at least 22 years old or older. Church youth groups are required to send at least one advisor for every seven youth, and to send a

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female advisor to accompany female youth and a male advisor to accompany male youth. More about NYC 2014 will be posted at www.brethren.org/yya/nyc as information becomes available. For questions, contact the Youth and Young Adult Ministry office at 800-323-8039 ext. 385 or cobyouth@brethren.org .

Church representatives attend hearingProposals to reduce gun violence: Church repre-

sentative attends Senate Subcommittee hearing.Last week, I [Bryan Hanger] represented the

Church of the Brethren by attending a hearing held by the US Senate’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) presided and the hearing provided an array of incredibly infor-mative testimony regarding the effectiveness of certain gun laws, the human cost of gun violence, and what lessons from the past we can apply to our present problems.The Church of the Brethren submitted written

testimony to the subcommittee to be part of the formal record (read it at www.brethren.org/news/2013/church-of-the-brethren-testimony-on-gun-control.html ).The hearing came to order in a unique manner

as chairman Durbin asked for everyone in the audience who had been personally affected by gun violence to stand, and it was revealed that survivors of gun violence and relatives of victims had shown up in great number as over half of the room stood up. Many were parents and relatives of gun violence victims from the President’s hometown of Chicago. Others were survivors and relatives of victims of such infamous episodes of gun violence as Newtown, Virginia Tech, and Luby’s massacre.The first testimony came from Timothy Heaphy,

US Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. Using his unique perspective as a United States attorney, he talked at length about the complex-ity of understanding the gun violence issue. He stated that he and his employer, the Department of Justice, do support an assault weapons ban, but he repeatedly emphasized the need for an all-encompassing “360 degree approach,” with specific emphasis on a universal and more com-prehensive background check.He stressed how one of the most deficient

aspects of the current background check system is the lack of detailed mental health records available for review. He cited the Virginia Tech massacre as an example of how deficient mental health records can allow someone to pass the background check who should not be able to. Heaphy mentioned that the tragedy at Virginia Tech spurred bipartisan efforts to enact more comprehensive background checks, but lamented the reality that this legislation has not been ad-equate and the background check process still needs to be drastically improved ( http://bjs.ojp.

usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=49#NICS ).Building on this, Senator Al Franken empha-

sized how Americans must not stigmatize mental illness, but instead should support legislation such as his proposed Mental Health in Schools Act which would work to diagnose and address signs of mental illness at an early age (find it at www.franken.senate.gov/?p=hot_topic&id=2284 ). Expansion of access to mental health care was universally supported by all of the members of the subcommittee, but the gun control measures were not.Senators, such as Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and

Ted Cruz (R-TX), expressed their concern that the measures being put forth would do nothing but infringe on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens, while doing nothing to stop violent criminals who would acquire illegal weapons anyway. Senator Cruz argued against the efficacy of gun restrictions by pointing out the low rates of violent crime of many cities in his native Texas, where gun restrictions are few, to the skyrocketing crime rates in cities like De-troit, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., where gun laws are extremely strict. Others, such as Senator Hirono (D-HI), offered rebuttals to these critiques by citing examples where gun restrictions led to a drop in violent crime, such as in her home state of Hawaii.After Heaphy’s testimony and Senate question-

ing, other speakers offered their perspectives. The two panelists who spoke most powerfully were Suzanna Hupp and Sandra Wortham. Hupp recounted her heart-wrenching story of surviving Luby’s Massacre in 1991. During the telling of the story, she lamented how gun control laws had failed her that day. She spoke of how she had quit carrying a gun in her purse because of new laws prohibiting this, and as a result she was left defenseless against a killer who murdered her mother and father directly in front of her.Wortham followed Hupp’s testimony by telling

of the day her older brother, a Chicago police offi-cer named Thomas E. Wortham IV, was murdered right in front of her parents’ house. Her account was just as devastating as Hupp’s, but illustrated a much different story. The tragedy of Wortham’s brother showed that even a professionally trained and armed man can fall victim to the horrors of gun violence.The overarching feeling I left with is that the

issue of gun violence is much more complicated than we may like to believe. But that must not discourage us from working to make the world a more peaceful place. Laurence H. Tribe, a Harvard Law professor who also spoke at the hearing, expressed our call to action in this way: “If we do nothing until we can do everything, we will all have the blood of innocent human beings on our hands and will besmirch the Constitution in the process.”Thus, the Church of the Brethren must remem-

ber our tradition and act!

“We believe that the Christian church should be a powerful witness against the use of vio-lence to settle disputes. Faithful disciples of the non-violent ways of Jesus have acted as leaven in the society against the violent trends of every age. Out of devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ we cry out against the violence of our times. We encourage our congregations and agencies to work with other Christians to find dramatic and effective ways to witness to the peace and reconciliation offered through Jesus Christ.” -- 1994 Annual Conference Statement on Violence in North AmericaIt was in this spirit of action that the Church

of the Brethren submitted a formal testimony to the subcommittee calling for a comprehen-sive approach to address our nation’s culture of violence. The full statement can be read at www.brethren.org/news/2013/church-of-the-brethren-testimony-on-gun-control.html . Video of the Senate Subcommittee hearing can be seen at www.c-spanvideo.org/program/310946-1 . -- Bryan Hanger is an advocacy assistant for the Church of the Brethren Peace Witness Ministry.

Brethren bits.-- A powerful testimony about Brethren-related

efforts at peacebuilding in the Democratic Repub-lic of the Congo is now online at www.brethren.org/partners/drc-trip-imaja-itulelo.pdf . "We have to serve God and work in His service as we are human beings created in the image of God,” writes Imaja Itulelo. “Christ died because of our sins. We have to show our love and fellowship and consider the most hopeless people, serving them so that they may praise the Lord and reach their needs. God is our gear; He is protecting and conducting us in what we are doing." The denomination’s Global Mission and Service of-fice is supporting a peace church community in the Congo, and this testimony comes from a small group from this community that recently traveled to Pygmy camps in Northern Kivu Province.-- Howard Royer, retired from longterm service

on the Church of the Brethren staff, and his wife Gene made the news in Elgin, Ill., when they aided a postal carrier in distress. The “Courier News” covered the story under the title, “Police, post office praise elderly couple for helping hurt mail carrier.” The Royers stopped their car to help a woman lying on the sidewalk in severe pain, after she had slipped and fallen on ice. Find the story online at http://couriernews.suntimes.com/news/18361406-418/police-post-office-praise-elderly-couple-for-helping-hurt-mail-carrier.html

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News for the Church of the Brethren Around the WorldContinued from Page 5

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Bethany Church of the Brethren19003 US 6P.O. Box 52New Paris, IN 46553(574) 831-4993

Sunday Statistics

*The offering figure is the TOTAL of general offering plus outreachAverage needed per week: $2,796

Meat Ministry $825; Mission Trip $303; Youth $30

Worship Sunday School Offering Building Jan. 27 107 68 $2,539.50 $0Feb. 3 no figures availableFeb. 10 no figures availableFeb. 17 129 64 $2,418.90 $0Feb. 24 134 79 $2,611.10 $0March 3 154 88 $3,700 $0