Keith Graber Miller Lecture at Elizabethtown College - October 23, 2012

Keith Graber Miller presents “Transformations in 20th-Century Mennonite Peacemaking,” a talk about J.R. Burkholder’s influence as an ethicist, church leader, and social change agent, on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m., at Elizabethtown College’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. Burkholder will attend and offer comments after the lecture. Copies of Prophetic Peacemaking: Selected Writings of J. R. Burkholder, the 2012 Brown Book Award winner edited by Graber Miller, will be available for sale and signing following the program. For more information, contact the Young Center at 717-361-1470 or visit www.etown.edu/youngctr.

Thank you.

Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies

Elizabethtown College

Going to the Garden

Fall is here and many of us are reaping the rewards of a Summer of hard work in the garden.

For myself, the primary reward is in the work and planning of gardening.  Spending a hot and sunny afternoon in the garden is one of my favorite hobbies and there are few places where I'd rather be. However as I plan and prepare meals for my family, I find new appreciation for my garden.  Our harvest has provided homemade spaghetti sauce and salsa, vegetable soup, wonderful salads and pumpkin pie...all made from vegetables grown just 35 feet from my back door.  I know these home grown vegetables are free from pesticides and man-made fertilizers and they help to reduce our weekly grocery bill.

In the latest publication (Sept. 19, 2012) of "Called to Witness", a Brethren Peace Witness Ministries Newsletter published by Nate Hosler, Advocacy Officer and Ecumenical Peace Coordinator for the Church of the Brethren, you will find some good information on the subject of Peace and Justice.  Included in this issue is an article entitled "Going to the Garden" which encourages congregations to think about ways in which they may help to provide food to the hungry through nutrition education, environmental stewardship or possibly by organizing a community garden. 
I encourage you to read this newsletter and act to help the hungry in this world.  The following is an excerpt from the original article by Nate Hosler.

WAYS THAT YOU CAN ACT:
Contact Advocacy and Peace Witness Ministries to make a suggestion on potential projects or to express interest in beginning or expanding a community garden project at your church.

Suggest people who have skills that would support this work.  Write to suggest online or published resources that you have gained in similar work.

Write to let us know about an existing project.  We are interested in learning from stories and insights you have gained in similar work.

Contact information for Nathan Hosler
E-mail:  nhosler@brethren.org
Phone:  (202) 481-6943

Postal Mail:
110 Maryland Ave.  NE, Suite 108
Washington, DC 20002

History of “My 2¢ Worth”

History of “My 2¢ Worth”

In 1983, Church of the Brethren General Board staff challenged the denomination to raise $1,000,000 for hunger relief in the Horn of Africa through “2¢ a meal clubs.” Labels for soup cans were designed to encourage people to collect 2¢ per meal per person per day. The denomination met and superseded this challenge. This effort gave rise to a “My 2¢ Worth” concept, which has become a main source of funding for the Global Food Crisis Fund. Since 1983, the Global Food Crisis Fund has dispersed more than $5,000,000 in grants for food-related relief and development projects all over the globe.

To request “My 2¢ Worth” labels or envelopes, contact

Global Food Crisis Fund Manager, Jeff Boshart:

jboshart@brethren.org (847) - 429 - 4332

Resources for Conflict Resolution

Is your congregation a family? 

Sisters and Brothers, supporting and loving each other? 

Brothers and Sisters, disagreeing and occasionally in conflict with each other?

Do you need resources which will assist with the resolution of those conflicts?  To locate them you need look no further than our own Bethany Seminary website.  There you will find three webinars prepared by Stan Dueck and Celia Cook Huffman. 

Part One “Understanding Patterns of Congregational Conflict.”  

Part Two “Strategies for Responding to Congregational Conflict.”

Part Three “Take Charge. Resolve the Conflict.”

Why not access this site and their expertise as you seek to minister to those congregations or individuals desiring the peace of God in their corporate or personal lives?

To do so:

Go to www.bethanyseminary.edu 

Go to Resources.  

Go to Webcast Vault.

Scroll down to Developing Conflict Healthy Congregations.

Click on Read More and View the Recordings.

Questions?  Please contact a member of the District Peace and Justice Committee.

Seeking Social Justice?

Problems like poverty, addiction, and homelessness are serious and complex.  Passion alone won’t solve them.  

Seek Social Justice is a six-lesson DVD small group study guide that provides a framework for understanding and engaging human need.

Rethinking Social Justice

What’s the best way to seek social justice?  It’s a popular idea, but often little understood.  That can lead to efforts that fail to help – and can even hurt – those in need.  What’s really going on here?  That’s the first question to ask when we meet people in need.  Understanding and identifying the real roots of poverty and social breakdown.

Cultivating Justice from the Ground Up
How can broken relationships be restored?  Better yet, how can we prevent brokenness in the first place?  To cultivate social justice, we must begin at the ground level.  Effective strategies must target brokenness in the foundational relationships that are essential for individuals and communities to succeed, especially marriage and family.

Serving the Whole Person
What happens when a need simply overwhelms a family?  Or when someone in need has no family to lean on?  Churches and ministries can offer a comprehensive set of resources to help cultivate and restore all the foundational relationships of human life.  They are well-equipped both to prevent and overcome human need.

Restoring Dignity and Purpose
What creates economic opportunity for those in need?  A key dimension of human well-being is the freedom and ability to work, earn, and give, and a just society encourages hard work and economic growth for job opportunities.  Treating people with justice means relating to them as beings created to work, with something to contribute to society.

Maintaining the Social Conditions for Justice

Government plays an important role in a just society, but it doesn’t bear sole – or even primary – responsibility for justice.  Relationships need secure conditions to flourish.  Government has a responsibility to sustain an environment of safety, freedom, order and peace.  By doing so, it ensures that healthy relationships can grow and thrive in the context of family, church, and community.

Breaking Ground
After exploring the roles of family, church, government and work, how do all these fit together?  And what’s our place in seeking social justice?  It begins with knowing the circumstances and opportunities around us and applying the right solutions to particular needs.

If you are interested in knowing more about Seek Social Justice please visit http://www.seeksocialjustice.com/ or contact the ANE Peace and Justice Team and one of our team members will be happy to discuss this program with you.

Choosing Love in Difficult Times

The choices we make in our lives provide direction and define who we are as unique individuals. We often make our decisions spontaneously, perhaps instinctively, without considering the far reaching implications into our lives and those who we know.

I have read a small portion of the life of Ted Studebaker in the February 29, 2012 eBrethren online publication. It is clearly evident that in his life, Ted Studebaker chose to love and allow this "fruit of the Spirit" to be shared. A simple and ordinary thing to do in extraordinary and difficult circumstances. I encourage you to take the time to know Ted's story and many others by visiting http://www.brethren.org/bhla/hiddengems.html.

God's Blessings and may the Spirit work through you!