Pastors Memo August 2012

Transcription

1 Pastors Memo August 2012 Shenandoah District Office, Church of the Brethren P.O. Box 67 Weyers Cave VA Fax: Tel: or In Our Pastoral Family The Shenandoah District will welcome Dr. John N. Jantzi as District Executive Minister, beginning Wednesday, Aug. 1. Brother John has been pastor at Mt. Bethel Church of the Brethren since 2003 and preached his farewell sermon in a special service there on July 15. He has served the district in numerous capacities and was elected to serve as moderator-elect of the District Conference for He has relinquished that role, but will continue to serve as dean of the Christian Growth Institute for the immediate future. Ronald E. Wyrick, who has served the Shenandoah District as Interim District Executive since Nov. 1, 2011, will be completing his term of service on July 31. He will be out of the office July 23-31, but expects to be working with Brother John in early August as John starts his tenure as DEM. Thanks to Ron for stepping in to provide leadership for the district during this time of transition! Glenn Bollinger, pastor at Beaver Creek Church of the Brethren, has accepted the call from the Shenandoah District Leadership Team to serve as moderator-elect of the Shenandoah District to succeed John Jantzi. Brother Glenn will serve as moderator of the 2013 District Conference. He formerly has served the district as a member of the Annual Conference Standing Committee. Two of our congregations have called full-time pastors: Darren Howdyshell, assistant pastor at Briery Branch Church of the Brethren, has been called by the Moscow Church of the Brethren as its full-time pastor beginning Aug. 1. Brother Darren was licensed and ordained through the Briery Branch congregation and is a graduate of the Christian Growth Institute. Jimmy Ross has been serving Moscow as interim pastor. Rebecca McKeel Harding has been called by the Luray Church of the Brethren as its full-time pastor beginning Sept. 1. Sister Rebecca earned a B.A. degree in philosophy and religion in 1979 at Bridgewater College, a master s degree in mental health counseling from St. Francis University in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1989 and a Master of Divinity degree from Bethany Theological Seminary in She has been doing pulpit supply in the Northern Indiana District since completing her seminary degree. Her career has been split between social work and counseling, focusing primarily on children and their needs. She and her husband, Leland D. H. Harding, have three sons, John, 20; Reggie, 18; and Alex, 1

2 14. The family belongs to the Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne. Mary Cline Detrick has been serving the Luray congregation as interim pastor. Brother Thomas Hanks was installed Sunday, July 1, as pastor at Friends Run and Smith Creek, the same date he started in that pastorate. Brother John W. Glick, a member of the district s Pastoral Placement Team, participated in the service. We welcome Tom, his wife Adele and their daughter Hope to the Shenandoah District and pray rich blessings on them and the congregations they serve. J. Rick Looman will be installed as pulpit supply at Salem Church of the Brethren on Sunday, Aug. 5. Brother Rick is a commissioned lay speaker; John W. Glick of the Shenandoah District Pastoral Placement Team will officiate at the installation service. Rick and his wife Cathy will continue to live in Edinburg. He is a life insurance agent with Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance and holds the designations LUTCF (Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow) and AFIS (Agribusiness and Farm Insurance Specialist). Rick has been a speaker for revivals, has served as moderator for Community Mission and Pleasant View and has been very active in his home congregation, Wakeman's Grove. Elaine Hartman McGann, an ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren and a licensed clinical psychologist, has accepted the call to provide pulpit supply at Mt. Bethel Church of the Brethren. Gail Oleyar was licensed to the ministry on June 3 at Mountain View Fellowship Church of the Brethren. Interim District Executive Ron Wyrick led the licensing service. Gail is a 2011 graduate of the Christian Growth Institute and is available for pulpit supply for local congregations. Gregory L. Cummings was licensed to the Christian ministry on Sunday, June 24, at Briery Branch Church of the Brethren. Interim District Executive Ron Wyrick officiated at the service. Gregory has studied through the Christian Growth Institute. Cole Scrogham resigned, effective July 1, as pastor of Summit Church of the Brethren. For the immediate future, the congregation will be served by a rotating schedule of pulpit supply. Our best wishes are extended to Allen Bowers and his bride, Ashley Zanko, who were married June 9 in Dublin, Ohio. Allen is a licensed minister from the Antioch Church of the Brethren. Allen and Ashley will be making their home near Virginia Tech while he completes his graduate degree. Pulpit Vacancies Full-Time: Harrisonburg First, Mt. Bethel, Summit, Valley Pike and Wakeman s Grove Associate. Part-Time: Cedar Grove (Ruckersville), Grottoes and Sunrise (possibly full-time). 2

3 2 In Our Prayers Continue in prayer for Larry Wittig, a member of the Disaster Ministries Auction Coordinating Committee, as he recovers from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident June 28. After first being released from the University of Virginia Medical Center, he re-entered the hospital for treatment of a blood clot in his lung. He returned to his Bridgewater home again on July 15 and is on the mend, but still weak. Offer him your encouragement with a note to PO Box 1066, Dayton, Va Annual Conference Update Included with this issue of Pastors Memo is the wrap-up report from Annual Conference 2012 in St. Louis. 4 Get Ready For District Conference The 2012 District Conference Delegate Authorization Form is included with this Pastors Memo. This is the first step in the registration process for district conference. EVERY congregation is entitled to four delegates pastor, board chair and two elected delegates. Using your 2011 statistical report, check your membership number; this will determine any additional delegates you re entitled to have (see the back of the form to determine the number of delegates). If you have questions about who may serve as a delegate in place of another delegate, please refer to the Constitution of the Shenandoah District; Article III, B. Conference Delegate Body (on the back of the form). Please include the name of your church on the Authorization Form. All forms need to be returned to the district office by September 1, If you have questions about the form or your membership number, please contact the district office. Thank you for your prompt response in getting this form to the district office. 5 Disaster Ministries Update The Shenandoah District Disaster Ministries Team needs help. Groups of six to eight people are needed for Aug and Aug to work in Pulaski at the tornado recovery site. Call any member of the team (Jerry Ruff at , Warren Rodeffer at or Galen Halterman at ) to sign up for one week or more or even if you can only go for a day or two. Then, beginning Aug. 20, the Shenandoah and Virlina districts are teaming up to complete the ninth new house build in Pulaski. Work will be scheduled a day at a time until the house is finished probably in about six weeks. Again, call one of the Disaster Ministries Team members, leaving your name and phone number and when you will be available to help. 3

4 6 Mark Your Calendar The Central Valley Habitat for Humanity is building a house in Elkton with music. Two special events are planned to complete the fund-raising. Habitat Fest Singing to Raise the Roof! is an ecumenical choral festival to be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, at Bridgewater Church of the Brethren. A commissioned anthem by John Barr, organist at Bridgewater Church of the Brethren, Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation, will feature the massed chorus, organ, brass quartet, two harps and tympani. Curtis Nolley, choral music director at Bridgewater Church of the Brethren, will direct. The music will continue on Sunday, Oct. 14, at 3 p.m. at the Bridgewater church when a new compact disk, Songs of Comfort, Songs of Joy, will be released and performed. The recording features flutist Andrea Nolley, soloist Curtis Nolley and harpist Virginia Bethune. To date, $34,000 has been raised for the Elkton house, for which groundbreaking was held June 16. The 42 nd annual commemorative service at the Dunker Church adjacent to the Antietam National Battlefield Park in Sharpsburg, Md., will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16. Phil Stone of Harrisonburg, noted Lincoln scholar and president emeritus of Bridgewater College, will preach, using the topic: Lincoln and Antietam: Peacemaker or Warrior. Shenandoah District Pastors for Peace will host Russell Haitch, associate professor of Christian education and director of the Institute for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults at Bethany Theological Seminary, on Saturday, Nov. 17, at Bridgewater Church of the Brethren. Alert your youth leaders to mark their calendars for this special program which promises to be not only informative, but also a fun event with a focus on being living peacemakers. Details will be forthcoming. A Biblical Imagination Conference with Michael Card, focusing on the Gospel of Mark, will be held Nov at Bonsack Baptist Church in Roanoke. A pastors appreciation luncheon is scheduled on Friday; intensive study of Mark is scheduled 6:30-9 p.m. on Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The closing concert by Michael Card will be held at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18. Cost for the conference and concert is $76 (plus $10 for those seeking continuing education units) and $20 for the concert only. A discount of $5 for the conference-concert combination and $3 for the concert is available for orders received with payment by Oct. 1. Seating will be limited. Contact John Neff at jneff@nielsen-inc.com or or send reservations and payment to J&L Consulting, LLC, 1146 La Casa Court, Moneta, Va., CrossRoads Vespers Schedule Sunday evening vespers continue at CrossRoads, the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center, through August. Held in the wooded amphitheater at the top of the hill, the 7 p.m. service includes a meditation and music. An offering is received to support the ministry of the VBMHC. The remaining schedule includes: July 22 Millard Showalter, meditation; Cathy Cupp and flutist Denise Oberholtzer, music. July 29 Timothy Showalter, meditation; Mt. Pleasant Singers, music. 4

5 Aug. 5 Aug. 12 Aug. 19 Aug. 26 S.L. Simmons, meditation; Union Sound Male Quartet, music. April Gunderson, meditation; Stan and Joan Shifflett and Ethel Boyers, music. Fred Swartz, meditation; One Accord Male Quartet, music. Wayne Pence, meditation; Sacred Sounds Women s Quartet, music. Bring a lawn chair. In case of rain, the service moves to the one-room schoolhouse on the CrossRoads campus. CrossRoads is located off Garbers Church Road at 1921 Heritage Center Way, on the hill above Harrisonburg High School. 8 Brethren Woods News Attached is a schedule of special events at Brethren Woods in the coming month. Be sure to share it with your congregation. 9 August Prayer Calendar The Prayer Calendar is attached for use in your congregation. Can you post it or include it in your newsletter? 10 July/August Calendars & Reminders Staff Calendar and Reminders July Interim District Executive Ron Wyrick out of the office July 24 Pastoral Support Committee, 3 p.m., District Office July 31 Pastors for Peace, 1:30 p.m., Montezuma CoB Aug. 1 John Jantzi s first day as Shenandoah District Executive Minister Aug. 1 Bridgewater Home Auxiliary Luncheon, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Bridgewater CoB Aug. 1 Refugee Resettlement Task Team, 6:30 p.m., Bridgewater CoB Aug. 2 Church Planting Team, 7 p.m., District Office Aug. 4 CGI Orientation Day, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Troutville CoB (Virlina District) Aug. 5 Installation of Rick Looman, 11 a.m., Salem CoB Aug. 16 Program & Arrangements Committee, 7 p.m., Mill Creek CoB Aug. 19 Bridgewater College Alumni Choir concert, 3 p.m., Bridgewater CoB Aug. 20 Leadership Team, 6 p.m., District Office 5