|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
District News |
|||||||
|
District Board Notes The Executive Committee and the District Board were wonderfully hosted by the Wichita Church of the Brethren February 29-March 1. The Inspired Future (IF) Team presented a suggested vision statement/slogan for the district of “Rooted together in Love to be Christ’s transforming hope and power.” Following a time of discussion and suggestions the board voted to recommend this to District Conference for action. George Hinton, Dale Minnich, Paul Cesare, Jeff Neuman-Lee, Ken Holderread and possibly one or two others will be attending the church planting conference May 15-17 at Bethany Theological Seminary. A proposal from Jeff Neuman-Lee for a new church plant in the Denver was approved. The Ministry Commission and the District Board approved the licensing of Joshua Leck (Monitor) and the ordination pending placement of Vernon Yoder (Mont Ida) and Rick Schrag (McPherson). Ken Davidson and Jim Therrien were approved as directors for the Junior High Camp at Mount Hermon. A replacement is being sought for the Senior High Camp at Mount Hermon since Jen Jensen has a class which conflicts. Work began on the 2009 budget which will come to District Conference for approval. Encouragement was given to sign up for the e-mail version of the district newsletter to reduce the current $200 monthly postage costs. Progress is being made on the development of a mutual partnership with the Navajo people of the community in Lybrook. David and Maria Huber will begin as resident directors on June 1 and will be doing community organization/assessment. A recent work trip began renovating a place for them to live. Several more work trips are scheduled between now and May
|
|||||||
|
Opportunities for Sharing Resources Western Plains congregations have a treasure trove of media and print resources, many of them expensive and used only once as they now gather dust on church library shelves. The district nurture commission has started collecting resource information from all district congregations in order to form a Resource Lending Library. Our goal is to provide a list of all available Bible study materials, fiction and non-fiction books, videos, DVDs, music and other items that congregations are willing to lend for free to other churches in the district. The process for borrowing will be simple. After the list of resources is compiled, each congregation will receive the list, which will also be available at the district website. Churches will deal directly with one another in determining how the resources will be sent, how shipping will be paid, and how long the items may be kept. Western Plains congregations will soon be receiving information on how to compile a list of their available resources. Providing a varied and meaningful program in our congregations can be daunting as well as cost-prohibitive. We encourage all to participate in this effort to be good stewards of the many wonderful resources we have within our district. Another source for materials has been made available to the Western Plains District through the Conference Resource Library of the Mennonite Church USA, based in North Newton, Kansas. For a modest membership fee, district congregations or individuals can access the library’s 11, 000 books, curriculum, DVD, video and music resources. The collection includes 4.000 children’s books, as well as 550 videos and an extensive choir music collection. Over 6,000 volumes for adult study are available. An on-line catalog of the library’s holdings is available at www.mennowdc.org. Click on Resource Library tab to find out more about membership in the library. If your congregation is looking to clear your shelves of old bibles and Sunday school curriculum, Love Packages is an organization which sends materials to missions all over the world. Their website is www.lovepackages.org. From your District Nurture Commission |
|||||||
|
Witness Commission Update Greetings to all Brethren in the Western Plains District from the Witness Commission. One of our responsibilities is to look for people to take the lead in four important issues in our denomination. The people who have accepted these positions are the ones to contact in our district if any congregation or individual has a question or would like information concerning their specialty. George Eisele has a passion for the Brethren Peace witness. He has information on the Brethren stand for conscientious objector status concerning military service. There are many young adults in our district that are near or at the age when this information will be important to them. His e-mail address is geisele@kc.rr.com for further information. Joanna Smith from the Mont Ida Church of the Brethren has accepted the challenge of the Decade to Overcome Violence Coordinator. Her e-mail address is cafemojo@hotmail.com if you would like information concerning domestic violence in the home or community. Todd Flory is the Brethren Volunteer Service Representative for our district. He has just completed a tour of service in BVS so if someone in our district would to talk to him about BVS he can be contacted at floryt@gmail.com for more information. Larry and Sandee Kitzel are the Co-Disaster Coordinators for the Western Plains District. Their e-mail address is ktzl@rebeltec.net if you would like information about help needed in disaster areas. This is a new e-mail address for them so be sure to make note of it. They are always looking for volunteers with a willingness to help those in need. You do not need a great deal of construction experience, just a need to help others. These are people that have a desire to help you and your congregations reach out to help others. This is their outreach, helping others to achieve.
|
|||||||