WEST MARVA DISTRICT MEMO JANUARY 2016 384 Dennett Road Oakland, MD 21550 301-334-9270 Kendal Elmore, Executive Minister J. Rogers Fike, Executive Minister Emeritus Brenda Harvey, Administrative Assistant www.westmarvachurches.org During my recent hospitalization and subsequent recovery, I have been overwhelmed by the number of people who have shown support for me with prayers, cards, and notes of encouragement, phone calls, e-mails, and visits. The expressions from congregations and individuals have strengthened and comforted me during this time. Sincerely, Kendal As we enter the Decade of DISCIPLESHIP, opportunities abound for participation and Growth in Christian Discipleship.Spring of 2016 sessions are scheduled in two locations on each of two week-ends in April. You may choose the Saturday sessions or the Sunday afternoon sessions, depending on your location and schedule. The sessions are scheduled as follows: Saturday, April 2 nd at Moorefield Church of the Brethren 10 AM 3 PM. Sunday, April 3 rd at Oak Park Church of the Brethren, 2 PM 7 PM. Saturday, April 16 th at Moorefield Church of the Brethren 10 AM 3 PM. Sunday, April 17 th at Oak Park Church of the Brethren, 2 PM 7 PM. The format will be video presentation led by Quaker theologian Richard Foster, followed by discussion. Reading assignments in advance will greatly enhance the benefit for participants. Additional details concerning CEU s for ordained ministers, costs of materials, and meal details will be forthcoming in the next issue of the MEMO. Call Brenda or Kendal at 301.334.9270 for additional information and directions to these two churches. A Message from the Financial Resources Team Chair We re All In This Together! Every year, we ask each congregation to complete a form called a Congregational Outreach Form and send it to the District Office. This document is a very important part of our shared ministry. The Financial Leadership Team and our office staff need this information to guide us in our financial responsibilities. Our shared ministry involves all of us in all of our congregations. No one is more important than the other. The size of the congregation, the age of the members don t matter. What s important is that we work together toward the common goal of being obedient to the Great Commandment of Jesus (Matthew 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). We have NOT received Congregational Outreach Forms from those congregations and fellowships listed below. Asher Glade, Bean Settlement, Bowden, Brookside, Capon Chapel, Cherry Grove, Clifton Mills, Cumberland-Living Stone, Elkins, Frostburg, Glady, Gortner Union, Hanging Rock, Harmony, Harness Run, Hazelton, Knobley, Morgantown, Mt. Zion, Oak Grove, MD, Pleasant Hill, Salem, Shady Grove, Shiloh, South Mill Creek, Sugarland and Valley River. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. John Hetrick, Chair, Financial Resources Team
Kendal s Korner D uring the 2012 Church Planting Conference at Bethany Theological Seminary, Mike Chong Perkinson (left in photo) and Tom Johnston were our Keynote Speakers. They are founders of the Praxis Center for Church Development. Their work entails training and coaching church planters and they also serve as consultants for church revitalization. One of the more memorable take aways that I remember was their comment on the Great Commission in Matthew s Gospel: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20a). They offered us the following way to think about this text: Therefore (as you) go etc. I recently read some comments by author and speaker Diana Davis that reminded me of that insight. God has called every Christian to enthusiastically share His Good News. All of us can do that by using the opportunities that come our way. She suggests the following (with some adaptations): As I go walking my dog, I m a dog-walking evangelist to other dog walkers When I take a breaks at work, I m a water cooler evangelist to co-workers. When I am jogging, I m a jogger evangelist to other joggers. When I m on an airplane, I m an airplane evangelist to seatmates and flight attendants. When I m shopping, I m a mall evangelist sales people and other shoppers. When I m in a restaurant, I m a restaurant evangelist to teachers and fellow eaters. When I volunteer at my child s school, I m a PTA evangelist to teachers and other parents. As You Go Along Your Way... When I use Facebook and other social media, I m a social media evangelist to followers and friends. When I m at my kids ball games, I m a bleacher evangelist to fans and other parents. When I play golf, I m a golfing evangelist to others in my foursome. When I m pushing my baby in the stroller, I m a stroller evangelist to other parents and neighbors. When the postal carrier or UPS driver brings me things, I m a postal carrier evangelist. At the doctor s office, I m a medical staff or waiting room evangelist. On the subway, I m a mass transit evangelist to my fellow passengers. When I m having my hair done, I m a hair salon evangelist. Diana Davis When I m in the gym, I m a stairstepper evangelist to the nearby exerciser. Her point is that we should recognize the opportunities that God gives us in our daily going and coming to share even just a slight, brief comment that focuses attention on His Good News. She says, Imagine what would happen if you decide to speak brief sentence or two in everyday conversations with people around you. You might say something about God s greatness, the joy He gives, what he s doing in your life, or even the worship Sunday was awesome! or Without God, I couldn t have made it! People you see every day are waiting to hear how God impacts your life. Sharing brief snippets can enable you to discover how often your faith in God fits into ordinary (even casual) conversations. So. As You Go Speak up! You might be surprised
MARK YOUR CALENDAR Have you ever had to deal with someone who frustrates you, causes you to feel tense, or who just can t seem to get along with others? It might be someone in your family, a friend, a co-worker or even someone in your church. If so, this class is for you. The class will be presented in two parts and is based on Ken Sande s book called Peacemaker In the introduction to his book, Sande writes When people lock horns in a courtroom, a congregational meeting, the bedroom, or the workplace, relationships are often severely damaged. Conflict robs us of immeasurable time, energy, money, and opportunities in ministry or business. Worst of all it can destroy our Christian Witness..But the opposite is also true. When Christians learn to be peacemakers, they can turn conflict into an opportunity to strengthen relationships, preserve valuable resources, and make their lives a testimony to the love and power of Christ. Sande s entire book gives a comprehensive approach to resolving conflict, based solidly on God s Word, that is effective in every type of conflict. It is based on four basic principals called the 4G s : Glorify God, Get the Log Out of Your Eye; Gently Restore; and Go and Be Reconciled. PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR AND PLAN TO JOIN US: Session 1 April 9th 9am-4pm at Westernport Church of the Brethren. This session includes: The Slippery Slope of Conflict Conflict Provides Opportunities Conflict Starts in the Heart Confession Brings Freedom Just Between the Two of You Forgive As God Forgave You Session 2- April 23 rd 9am-4pm at Westernport Church of the Brethren. This session includes: Speak the Truth in Love Take One or Two Others Along Overcoming Unforgiveness Look Also to the Interest of Others Overcome Evil with Good Cultivating a Culture of Peace in Your Church The classes will consist of Bible Study, Group Activities and Lots of great discussion. It is open to everyone. Pastors who attend the classes will be given 0.6 CEU s for each day. We are asking you to pre-register for this class by March 10, 2016. If you fail to pre-register we cannot guarantee the valuable workbook for the class. The cost of the workbook is $10.00. To pre-register please send the name of individuals planning to attend along with a check for $10.00 per person to West Marva District Office, 384 Dennett Road, Oakland, MD 21550. Ministers may contact the District Office for financial assistance from the Ministerial Scholarship Fund if the $10.00 workbook charge creates a hardship.
BRETHREN BITS...The PATH of Women s Ordination & our First Ordained Woman in West Marva - WILMA WAYBRIGHT 1952 at the Church of the Brethren ANNUAL MEETING according to a March 2014 MESSENGER article, Dana Cassell of the Manassas Virginia Church of the Brethren shared some insight about the Path to Women s Ordination which may seem terribly old fashioned to some of my readers. Comments such as these I don t want to demean the splendid work of our sisters, or We certainly appreciate the extraordinary work done in that peculiar place of women There were several speakers at that Conference in 1952 concerned with placing the burden of ministry on the women that by ordaining only men, they were protecting women from undue hardship. The article goes on to mention there was only one female voice, a Sister Cora Fisher who went to the microphone. She admitted that it was not the women of the church who were, by and large, the ones pushing for change. She said that she had heard from many women, women who thought both ways. But she insisted that women ought to be respected for all the work that they were doing. Long known for the work of their hands in service, mission and teaching, women found themselves expected to minister in only these ways. Sister Fisher disagreed: Perhaps this matter of the work with our hands has loomed so big in the eyes of the church that they ve almost forgotten that women do have minds and hearts that at least we be given credit for some spiritual and mental ministry in the church as well as the physical. If you were to look at a Time Line for Key Dates of Women in Ministry in the Church of the Brethren this is what you would find: 1834 Annual Meeting forbids preaching by a sister. 1859 Annual Meeting makes distinction between teaching, preaching, and prophesying women are allowed to prophesy but not teach or preach 1881 Annual Meeting denies women right to vote 1882 Annual Meeting grants women right to vote (in their meetings) 1883 Annual Meeting restricts voting rights to Delegates who must be male 1885 Sisters Aid Societies formed (the origins of our modern day Women s Fellowships); 1889 Request for women to serve as delegates denied by the Annual Meeting (men voters) 1891 Annual Meeting affirms position of ministers wives 1892 General Conference (annual meeting) grants to sisters all privileges which the Brethren claim for themselves 1894 Women began serving as foreign missionaries 1895 Annual Meeting officially approves Sisters Aid Societies 1898 Annual Meeting approves women delegates at District meetings (not Annual conferences!) 1899 Women appear on lists of Annual Meeting delegates. Women gain right to represent congregations at District Conferences. 1922 Annual Meeting grants women license to preach 1952 Annual Conference grants women ordination rights in local church and it was not until 1958 Annual Conference granted women full and unrestricted ordination rights.... Do any or many of you recall Sister Wilma Bittinger Waybright? If you read the Women in Ministry Time Line in the above paragraph you may wonder about our own West Marva Sister who was called to the ministry in September 1930. Less than ten years before our denomination did not allow women to be called to the ministry. Another striking fact about Sister Waybright s ministry should catch the attention of those in our West Marva Ministry Training classes who can hardly wait until they can get ordained and feel they have to wait so long until they have carried out those stipulations required. Sister Wilma served as licensed minister from 1930 until she was ordained in 1966. Wilma was born June 21, 1911 to John and Cora Bittinger. She married Noah W. Waybright on December 24, 1931. As we read about her devotion to church work, we learn from Allegheny Passage that she lived most of her life in the Eglon community where she often took her turn preaching in the various points of the Eglon Congregation which included Brookside, Mountain Grove, Glade View, Gortner, but also Sugarland, Mackeysville and Hambleton. She and her husband were parents to Glenn, Janet, Wendell, Stanley and Delbert. Both Glenn and Stanley were elected to the ministry. Stanley began in 1972 and has served many years at the Terra Alta White Dale church here in our district.
Stanley shares that his mother often had men walk out in protest of her preaching. She of course got discouraged but continued. Remember, Stanley adds She was the granddaughter of Moses Fike! For those of you generations later and don t know; Moses was the son of Peter & Magdalene Arnold Fike, founders of the Eglon Congregation. Wilma s Fike relatives were staunch supporters and encouragers. She was educated at Bridgewater College which Stanley mentions made her considerably more educated than many of the men serving as ordained ministers in the 1930 s and 40 s. Living on a farm, being a mother and serving as pastor meant in Stanley s words On Sunday we always did our work on the farm early (that meant getting all the Jersey cows milked) and then set out to church services. There was never any question we went to church, revival meetings and special services. Stanley recalls his father was in charge of watching over the children as mother Wilma preached. As soon as the children were two weeks old they were taken to church services. At one of the churches she would be given the Sunday offering as her pay generally two or three dollars. Along the route home, a Dairy Queen treat was a way of keeping the children happy when they were well behaved. Being invited into the homes of the church people after the preaching service was another memory Stanley shared. Many of those country ladies were excellent cooks. Sixty years ago, another experience sticks in their memories about an invitation from a woman at the Mackeysville church. The Waybright family and a neighbor who traveled with them one Sunday were invited for the noon meal. The woman s husband often drank too much and did not provide very well for his family. All she had were potatoes. She had a wood stove but no wood and invited the preacher and family to eat. Mr. Waybright split some wood and the fried potatoes were prepared and the meal was shared. Stanley adds We had a good meal and visit with this woman. Mrs. Waybright was instrumental in keeping the Mt. Grove Church alive. When it appeared too weak to function, the Eglon Congregational council voted to close it. Many women of the church did not wish to see the church go out of existence Mrs. Waybright preached there regularly until the church could recover and obtain a pastor. Reading on Likewise, she was a principal leader of the Sugarland Church where she labored many years. The continued existence of this church is largely due to her efforts, backed by the small group of faithful families. It should not be overlooked her service record of Free Ministry is exceptional for anyone during the Twentieth Century. She was blessed with a long life which came to an end at age 94 in 2005. A true dedicated servant of the Lord who had she lived in the 1800 s would not have been allowed the opportunity to follow the dictates of her heart and give unselfish service for the most part with no pay or very little. Betty Dzubba ATTENTION PASTORS: NEW IRS MILEAGE RATE ANNOUNCED FOR 2016 WASHINGTON The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2016 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2016, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be: 54 cents per mile for business miles driven, down from 57.5 cents for 2015 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down from 23 cents for 2015 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations The business mileage rate decreased 3.5 cents per mile and the medical, and moving expense rates decrease 4 cents per mile from the 2015 rates. The charitable rate is based on statute. The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs.
Subject: Income tax update for Church Finance: Beginning on January 1, churches having non-minister employees (or a minister who has elected voluntary withholding) should begin withholding federal income taxes according to the new tables and instructions contained in the 2016 edition of IRS Publication 15 ("Circular E"). Every church having non-minister employees should contact the IRS to obtain the 2016 edition of this important publication. You can order a copy by calling the IRS forms hotline at 1-800-829-3676. It also is available on the IRS website (irs.gov<http://irs.gov )
Church of the Brethren NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION West Marva District Office U. S. POSTAGE 384 Dennett Road PAID Oakland, MD 21550 OAKLAND, MD January 2016 Issue PERMIT NO. 68 Address Service Requested IN GOD WE TRUST UPCOMING EVENTS January 18 Office Closed Martin Luther King Day 23-28 Kendal out of office CODE meeting in Florida 30 District Mission and Ministry Board meeting Bethel COB March 19 District Mission and Ministry Board meeting Kelley Chapel COB 25 Office Closed Good Friday April 2 Decade of Discipleship Workshop, Moorefield (See article in MEMO) 3 Decade of Discipleship Workshop, Oak Park (See article in MEMO) 8-9 Youth Roundtable, Bridgewater College 9 Peacemaker Workshop, Westernport (See article in MEMO) 16 Decade of Discipleship Workshop, Moorefield (See article in MEMO) 17 Decade of Discipleship Workshop, Oak Park (See article in MEMO) 23 Peacemaker Workshop, Westernport (See article in MEMO) May 6 Pastor and Spouse Banquet, Oak Park COB June 4 District Mission and Ministry Board meeting Brick COB