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Tis the season! (for nominating leaders in the Church of the Brethren

Whether you’ve been elected to a denominational leadership position, or have no idea how to even nominate someone, join us on zoom for an informative, active session: Tuesday, November 12 at 8pm Eastern. 

Nominations are made 

online, with or without consulting your nominee first. But, the nomination can only move forward if the person you nominated fills out the nominee information form – and over half of the nominees never do! 

At AC 2025 we’ll be electing:

  • Moderator-elect
  • Program and Arrangements Committee
  • Mission and Ministry Board
    • from Area 1: Atlantic Northeast, Mid-Atlantic*, Middle PA, Southern PA, Western PA
    • from Area 4: Missouri-Arkansas, Northern Plains, Southern Plains*, Western Plains (*no representation for the past 10 years)
  • Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee (Laity)
  • Review and Evaluation Committee
    • Five persons, 2-4 year term

Check out the nominations process video and FAQs at 

https://www.brethren.org/ac/nominations/ and/or come to our Nominations Party on Tuesday, Nov at 8pm Eastern. Just think – instead of putting “nominate people” on your to-do list and never getting around to it, come to a zoom party with friendly folks and you’ll have time to make those nominations! 

Join on zoom.

Hope to see you there, 
Anna Lisa, M & Sandi (WC Steering Committee)
p.s. 

share the event on facebook

 

Fall book study: Surviving God

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Let’s talk!

How do theology and church culture perpetuate or prevent sexual abuse?

womaenscaucuscob@gmail.comEmail us for the zoom link

PREVIEW:

The God of our childhoods was terrifying. Sure, He (and it was always “He”) loved us, but we also knew He could destroy us in a moment if we displeased Him. Poof! Like Lot’s wife, we’d become a pillar of salt. God knew us intimately and had complete control over us. Like an abuser, He asked us to love Him even as he threatened us with the torments of hell if we didn’t.

We were told not to question Him; we were to submit and obey. Our metaphors—Father, Master, Lord and King—reinforced this, and we were to submit and obey in the same way to the men who stood in God’s place for us—fathers, pastors, husbands, teachers, leaders. The very words we used to describe God—almighty, powerful, all-knowing, majestic, righteous—instilled fear in us as they underlined the sense that God could do to us whatever He wanted at any time, for any reason. And we were to thank Him for it.

 

Like an abuser, He asked us to love Him even as he threatened us with the torments of hell if we didn’t.

 

Week after week we heard the stories—Miriam stricken with leprosy, Sapphira falling down dead at Peter’s feet.

We memorized the Bible verses:

“Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse. A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day. And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God.”

“Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as unto the Lord.”

“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves.”

We even sang it: “Perfect submission, perfect delight”; “I surrender all”; “Trust and obey”; “Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way. Hold o’er my being absolute sway.”

Everywhere we turned we were told to submit and obey—God, fathers, pastors. The message became part of us. Good girls and good women did as they were told and kept quiet about it.

What a setup for abuse.

In the Southern Baptist Convention

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by Sandi Evans Rogers

The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination, has received criticism for its less-than-healthy attention to and support for people who have been sexually abused. For decades, cases have been ignored, passed on, and covered up.

Paul Pressler, an architect of a conservative movement designed to rid SBC churches of “creeping liberalism,” and often lifted up as a hero, was a sexual predator of young men. “What makes Pressler’s case so enraging to many Southern Baptists, however, is that his abuse has been detailed for years,” reported Religion News Service in January. 

“A lawsuit, filed by a former Pressler assistant named Gareld Duane Rollins Jr. claiming the older man abused him for decades, has been making its way through the courts since 2017,” RNS reported. “In 2017, Rollins sued Pressler, claiming that he had assaulted him in a hotel room.  Pressler then agreed to pay the sum of $450,000, but when the payment stopped, once again, Rollins sued alleging the sexual abuse.” 

According to The Texas Tribune, it was this lawsuit against Pressler that was the catalyst for a major investigation into sexual abuse in the SBC by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, which led to many suppressed accusations coming to light.

While the SBC was originally unwilling to create a list of key officials, pastors, and volunteers convicted of sexual abuse crimes, the investigation uncovered more than 263 offenders over a 20-year period in 30 states and Washington, D.C.

In response to these articles, the SBC contracted with Guidepost Solutions to investigate the alleged misconduct.  The 228-page report details sexual abuse that was even more widespread and found the SBC had stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades, while seeking to protect their own reputations. Guidepost Solutions discovered an internal list of over 700 alleged perpetrators and found that the SBC leadership was more interested in shaming survivors and avoiding legal liability than in stopping the abuse.  

At their annual gathering in 2022, the SBC voted overwhelmingly to create a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse and launched a new task force to oversee further reforms.

Many of the survivors felt that the vote on sex-abuse reforms fell short of what some SBC churches sought, such as a compensation fund for victims and a more robust and independent commission to monitor congregational responses to abuse. Critics, on the other hand, complained the report over-hyped the crisis and interfered with the independence of Baptist congregations.

“Many of the victims are not people who have been knocking at the SBC door because they want money from it or want to make their stories famous,” said Isaac Chotiner of The New Yorker. “They really don’t want the men who abused them to be in positions to continue to abuse children and other women. So, they’re doing it out of this obligation and responsibility to protect against further harm. And, even with that approach, they’re being accused of trying to take down the SBC.”

The SBC continues to struggle to support victims, discern tangible ways to address their concerns, and help them heal from their trauma. 

Sandi Evans Rogers is interim pastor at Woodbridge (Va.) Church of the Brethren and a member of the steering committee of Womaen’s Caucus. She was first ordained in the Southern Baptist Convention.

Read Anna Lisa Gross’ article about Mennonite response to decades of abuse.

Denominational response to abuse: A piece of one long story

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By Anna Lisa Gross

Clergy abuse, whether by Roman Catholic priests, Southern Baptist pastors, or Anabaptist seminary professors, is a betrayal–of the community of faith, the calling of ministry, and the culture of servant-leadership. While Brethren pastors haven’t made headlines for sexually abusing members of their congregations, we know clergy abuse is a reality even in our own denomination. What can we learn from other denominations whose stories have gone public? Rather than delve into details of any specific acts of abuse, two successive Messenger articles will explore the secondary violation of institutional cover-up.

We turn this month to the Mennonites, our closest faith cousins. Next month we’ll learn from the Southern Baptist Convention. You may find similarities here to what you’ve lived first-hand or heard about from others within the Church of the Brethren. We share these stories to increase awareness and invite reflection on how our own congregations and denomination should seek accountability, healing and redemption.

The most prominent Mennonite theologian is also the most infamous Mennonite perpetrator of abuse. John Howard Yoder’s book The Politics of Jesus is one of the most influential Christian texts of the 20th century, and one of about 30 books Yoder published during his lifetime (1927-1997). Is it merely ironic, or profoundly relevant, that Yoder taught and wrote on Christian ethics while abusing more than 100 women? (This article focuses on institutional responses, but you can find many reflections on Yoder’s actions – start at anabaptistworld.com and https://intoaccount.org/2016/08/08/mennonite-bodies-sexual-ethics-women-challenge-john-howard-yoder/.)

While women persistently raised concerns about Yoder’s abuse, both at Goshen Biblical Seminary and the University of Notre Dame – and Yoder himself described some of his own behavior to his seminary president in 1979 – no institutional leader took action to protect or support survivors and future victims. No one filed a criminal complaint or issued an advisory to current or potential students or colleagues. We can be certain that people were talking! But these conversations stayed private: between formal leaders seeking to minimize scandal or drama, and between women warning one another.

Eventually some church and seminary leaders quietly forced Yoder to resign from Goshen Biblical Seminary (G.B.S.  Later merged with Mennonite Biblical Seminary to become Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, now called Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, in Elkhart, Ind.) in 1984, more than a decade into his acknowledged abuses, and after four years of actively trying to convince Yoder to change his behavior in a Matthew 18 process. Even after leaving G.B.S., Yoder continued to lead, teach, write and speak, even becoming president of the Society of Christian Ethics.

In 2014 Mennonite historian Rachel Waltner Goossen was asked by the Mennonite Church USA to research Yoder’s abuse and responses to it. Her work, “‘Defanging the Beast’: Mennonite Responses to John Howard Yoder’s Sexual Abuse,” was published in 2015; the full text is available online.

In a summary published the following year, Goossen writes, “Newly accessible archival sources have shed light on the ineffective institutional processes devised in response to reports of misconduct. For two decades, Mennonite administrators, committees, and task forces responded—mostly informally—to women who sent letters of complaint, phoned, or appeared in person. No one called in law enforcement, no legal charges were brought, and although several parties consulted attorneys, no lawsuits were filed.” [Goossen, Rachel Waltner, “Mennonite bodies, sexual ethics: Women challenge John Howard Yoder” originally published in the Journal of Mennonite Studies (vol. 34, 2016, pp. 247-259) and on the Our Stories Untold blog and Anabaptist World.]

What happened between 1984’s private golden parachute and 2014’s call to pull history into the light?

Women kept talking with one another. It took a long time, because most women abused by Yoder were silenced by both church and secular cultural teachings that men are inherently lustful, and women are responsible for keeping men from giving them too much sexual attention.

Speaking up risked each woman’s relationships with family members and church community. As Yoder abused women in church, academic and church/academic settings, speaking up risked each woman’s academic success or ministerial call. 

But women persisted in talking with one another. 

Church and church-academic communities continued to seek Yoder’s redemption. Goossen names seven groups and periods of formal discipline:

  1. Covenant Group, Goshen Biblical Seminary, 1980-1984 
  2. Confidential Task Force, Goshen Biblical Seminary, 1982 
  3. Board of Elders, Prairie Street Mennonite Church, 1986 
  4. Prairie Street Mennonite Church/JHY Task Force, 1991-1992 
  5. Church Life Commission, Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference, 1992-1996 
  6. Accountability and Support Group, Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference, 1992-1996 
  7. Executive Board, Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference, 1992-1997  [Goossen “Defanging the Beast” see article for citations for each of these groups/processes. p.14]

What do you notice about this list? Perhaps you notice the word confidential.

Perhaps you notice that these groups come in clusters: two from G.B.S. Then two from Prairie Street Mennonite Church, Yoder’s congregation. Then three from the Indiana-Michigan Conference (Mennonites have Conferences as Brethren have Districts.) That might mean that no community or institution could find a way to be effective in discipline or reconciliation with Yoder. Perhaps we can also surmise that none of these communities or institutions gave up after their first try. Yoder’s behavior did not change, and presumably his belief that his behavior was acceptable also did not waver.

You may also notice the intensifying timeline pivoting on the year 1992. In June, Yoder’s credentials were suspended. One can imagine the despair that church and academic leaders felt as Yoder continually justified his behavior. Perhaps suspending his credentials was the “treat him as a Gentile or tax collector” step of Matthew 18 (second part of verse 17). 

Goossen summarizes, “In all cases, people grew weary after a few months or years of engagement. Like [G.B.S. President] Miller in the beginning, each group sought to ‘counsel‛ their Christian brother rather than to have him arrested or expelled. Persons who through employment or credentials entered the fray from outside the denomination felt stonewalled, not only by Yoder himself but also by the secrecy surrounding his behavior, which served to protect Mennonite institutional interests.” [Ibid. p 14-15]

Understandings of sexual harassment evolved. More precisely, enough men in power realized that sexual harassment was not “simply flirting,” but a barrier to women working, studying and participating in society. (This is an oversimplification, as sexual harassment does not only happen to women, and men are not the only ones who have minimized sexual harassment – but these are the most common realities.)

During the period that Yoder was actively crossing relational and ethical boundaries, church and academic institutions were developing policies about sexual harassment. These new words required looking at Yoder’s ongoing behavior anew.

Are the seven groups/processes listed above “take one or two with you” (Matthew 18:16) or “take the concern to the church” (Matthew 18:17a)? The Greek ekklésia is translated “church” in this passage and Strong’s Concordance defines it as “an assembly, a (religious) congregation.”

Eight women gathered in Elkhart in 1992 to inform the Prairie Street Mennonite Church Task Force. Their testimonies were essential in the Indiana-Michigan Conference processes and actions. These eight women were the crucial ekklésia of Matthew 18:17a.

Secular press printed the story. Just like with Roman Catholic, Southern Baptist, and many other religious institutions’ cover-up of abuse, a secular newspaper told – and therefore changed – the story. The Elkhart Truth printed five stories about Yoder’s abuse and the cover-ups in 1992. You can find all online. The same year, The New York Times and Chicago Tribune also shared the story, along with various Mennonite publications.

Congregations, seminaries and denominations consistently prefer to keep conflict and concern private. In the Church of the Brethren we often have a family culture in our local, district and even denominational bodies. Just as most families and households prefer to work out problems privately, our church bodies instinctively want the same. This is not inherently right or wrong, but it makes us vulnerable to many sins and pitfalls:

  • Ignoring or even avoiding those who have been abused
  • Treating those who have been abused as a “problem”
  • Managing the story rather than changing behaviors

This list could go on and on. In the case of Mennonites and Yoder, keeping concerns about his behavior quiet allowed his behavior to continue far longer than it would have.

Once secular newspapers break these kinds of stories, the abuser’s accountability – and accountability for the whole process – are suddenly higher priorities. Even though this is largely motivated by public image, many important steps toward change and healing are finally taken.

We encourage you to read stories like:

and consider the many dimensions of Mennonite response to Yoder’s abuse. There are many terrible aspects of these stories – first and foremost the harm done through abuse. Imagine the shame and embarrassment if the most well-known Church of the Brethren thinker and teacher was found to have committed so many years of abuse with so many people? Yet the same intensity of the harm can match the intensity of the healing. Mennonites are taking this seriously. Check out intoaccount.org for powerful resources and stories.

How can the Church of the Brethren care for power dynamics, cultural expectations of masculinity and femininity, and the health of our own members? How can our processes of accountability seek redemption and transformation for the abuser, and healing and wholeness for the abused?

Read Sandi Evans Rogers’ article on denominational response to abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention.

Seats at the table: new logo

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Our new logo in our 55th year proclaims our passion for diversity and equity in decision-making and influence within the Church of the Brethren (and beyond, but we’re called to work within this culture and community!)

Pull up another chair!

Boldly claim that chair!

Making ever-more-room at the table!

What do you see?

There’s been so much to say…June 2024 Femailings

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We recognized our stories in each other’s. We reckoned with the harm in our history and our present.

We leaned in to one another and the gently powerful love of God, who is with us in pain and in healing.

Our spring book study of Her Words, My Voice by Heidi Ramer flew by. We ended each of 4 nights on zoom with plenty more to say. Stay tuned for a fall book study (of this or another related book). We’re digging in to be part of the solution!

I really appreciated the opportunity to be in courageous and vulnerable space with other CoB women and have conversation around issues and stories of power, exploitation, trauma, and abuse. In a tradition that follows a wounded Healer, we are strengthened by sharing in our common vulnerability and need. – Bobbi Dykema
logo for 2024 Annual Conference, heart in orange and red with cross

Welcome to the new Director of Intercultural Ministries Founa Badet!

We met with Founa to share our visions for the Church of the Brethren, young and emerging leaders, and God’s desire for diversity and justice. Founa invites you to get in touch if you are interested in building an Intercultural Community by completing this form for further communication.

If you feel discouraged by the enormity of harm—through abuses of power; marginalization of women, people of color, young people, lgbtq persons, those with disabilities; dangerous political tensions; struggling churches and communities—this promise from the book of Galations may be a welcome mantra for such a time as this.

Book Study: Her Words, My Voice by Heidi Ramer

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Recognize the abuse we’ve known.

Reckon with it.

Re-connect to one another and the gently powerful love of God, who is with us in pain and in healing.

Her Words, My Voice

Heidi Ramer’s mother, Karen, was raped for the first time in 1979. She was sexually assaulted at least twelve more times by the same man over the next three years and emotionally tormented by him for the next twenty. After harboring her secret for years, she eventually sought help through counseling and her faith. After Karen’s untimely death in 2001, Heidi’s father handed her a canvas bag full of handwritten journals. In that bag, Karen left a story that needed to be told. Her Words, My Voice merges the journal entries of a victim of sexual assault with her daughter’s journey of self-discovery to share an authentic, inspiring story of survival, hope, faith, and unwavering love.

Building toward Annual Conference

We encourage you to read this book in preparation for our Annual Conference dinner on July 4 when Heidi will be our speaker. (Buy the book at herwordsmyvoice.com) Whether you’ll be at Annual Conference or not, we hope you will consider studying the book with us on zoom, and/or in your own book clubs and Sunday school classes. Heidi has preached and met with Sunday school classes – contact her through the book website.

Discern this timing for you

This book and our zoom sessions together will be challenging for most of us, and may be triggering to those with experiences of sexual trauma. Pray and discern for yourself whether attendance would foster harm or healing in your journey.

In our meetings, we discuss the book itself as well as our own reactions. Due to the sensitive nature of the book and the vulnerability of the conversations that may occur, we ask you to register to the right.

“My dad said that my mother and I are entangled by our stories. Her story becomes my story, and what happens in mine and who I become all lead back to her. She didn’t get the chance to tell her story but made it clear that it was to be told. She was emphatic in her words that seem to be directed only at me. I have a duty. There are many things I could not or chose not to do for my mother while she was alive, but who am I to deny her this request? There are
countless victims out there, and for every victim, there are multiple secondary victims—those of us who stood on the sidelines and helplessly watched the aftermath of trauma
wreak havoc on the lives of our loved ones. We have stories as well. Our lives are never the same.”

– Heidi Ramer

 

Join us.

The sessions will be held on Wednesday evenings from 8pm-9pm Eastern on April 17, April 24, May 1, May 8. Registration for this event will close on April 15.

 

Faith and Reproductive Rights Think Session

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Womaen’s Caucus  Thinking Session

Faith and Reproductive Rights, October 20th at 8pm Eastern

Recent legislation to shut down the decision-making autonomy of people who can get pregnant carries implications well beyond the availability of abortions. Reproductive politics are connected:

  • to social issues of immigration and incarceration, 
  • to economic issues of welfare and education, and 
  • to faith perspectives that are used and abused to benefit those in power.

Where does the Church of the Brethren? How does faith influence our individual thinking and collective action? How does reproductive justice intersect with efforts to continue the work of Jesus? The 2022 Caucus luncheon at Annual Conference began unpeeling these layers and committed to further discussion. Whether or not you joined that lunch conversation, the issues weigh heavily on each of us and on all of us!

Join a Womaen’s Caucus Zoom “Thinking Session” on October 20 at 8:00 pm (EDT). For 75 minutes, large and small group conversations will study denominational statements and the work of well-regarded non-Church of the Brethren voices. Information will also be provided about an upcoming training offered by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice entitled Compassionate Care 101.

A reminder email with the Zoom link will be sent on October 18 and the Zoom link will be posted to the Womaen’s Caucus website on that same day.

To bolster your individual thinking prior to this event, you are encouraged to explore the resources linked below.

Resources: 

Church of the Brethren Statements   
1972 Statement on Abortion     
1983 Human Sexuality from a Christian Perspective                                            
1984 Statement on Abortion (based on 1972 statement)

A Beginner’s Guide to Reproductive Justice                
This collaborative organization has posted a broad overview of the history of the reproductive justice movement and the critical issues to be addressed. 

The Beginner’s Guide to Reproductive Justice                                                   
This feminist commercial organization supports activism through the sale of feminist fashion. This particular blog references the book Reproductive Justice: An Introduction by Loretta J. Ross and Rickie Solinger and the essay entitled A New Vision for Reproductive Justice written by Forward Together (formerly Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice). 

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice                                               
This broad faith organization supports reproductive choice through education and advocacy. Caucus has become affiliated with this group and will offer CEUs for training pastors in Compassionate Care. You are encouraged to investigate the two links to Issues and Religious Resources.

Zoom Link: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89307038465

Femailings September 2022

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think-ing/’THiNGkiNG/     

noun: the process of using one’s mind to consider or reason about something

After two years of physical distance, the 2022 Womaen’s Caucus Annual Conference luncheon gathered in Omaha. We intentionally built a program that encouraged table discussions among new and long-standing friends. So much had changed in personal lives as well as in a world traumatized by medical, economic, and social upheaval! With enthusiasm and hope, table groups shared their perceptions of challenges now facing women and ways that Womaen’s Caucus could work to address them. The overwhelming plea was for Caucus to bring people together to learn and support one another.

On October 20, 2022, Caucus will begin a series of Zoom Thinking Sessions on the topic of “Living as an Intergenerational Church.” Generations are typically defined as all the people living within a designated time period, and generations are characterized by the contexts in which they live: self-identity and needs, sense of purpose at their time in history, hopes and fears.

Each Thinking Session will focus on a characteristic of different generations and how it impacts participation in the Church of the Brethren. Topics include: surviving our flawed denominational history, diminishing rights of women internationally, and how persons coming into the turmoil since the 1983 paper on human sexuality feel connected to or disconnected from the CoB.

Two weeks before each session, short reading materials will be posted on the Womaen’s Caucus website for those who wish to grow their thoughts on the topic. Sessions will last about 75 minutes, beginning at 8:00 pm Eastern time, with short comments about the topic and questions for participant discussion in Zoom breakout rooms. Small group comments will be shared with the full group and help to drive future actions by Caucus and others with similar concerns.

It has been said that if you can’t stop thinking about something, you shouldn’t stop working on it.

Thinking Session: Faith and Reproductive Rights

October 20, 2022 8:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time
Watch for an email with the Zoom link/check the WC website

Womaen’s Caucus remains committed to working on creating a faith community free from attitudes and practices of injustice.

Read the complete Femailing issue here. 

Femailings September 2022

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CoB Statement on Abortion

Our Annual Conference booth and luncheon were opportunities to dialog about the Church of the Brethren Statement on Abortion, adopted in 1984. First we asked “What do you think the Church of the Brethren says about abortion?”

“That it’s wrong,” answered virtually everyone we talked to.

Turns out it’s more nuanced than that.

The CoB position contains only one simple anti-abortion sentence:
Brethren oppose abortion because it destroys fetal life.

Reading on we find the complexity that the subject requires:
Let it be clear that the Brethren ideal upholds the sacredness of human life and that abortion should be accepted as an option only where all other possible alternatives will lead to greater destruction of human life and spirit. 

We encourage you to read the full statement.

Womaen’s Caucus advocates a position on abortion that is prayerfully respectful of women as moral decision makers. We wonder: How can we be innovative, adaptable, and fearless disciples who cherish sacred life and also support persons for whom abortion is the least destructive option?

Read the complete Femailing issue here. 

Femailings September 2022

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Reproductive Justice

Training for Ministers

Many of us are mourning the loss of bodily autonomy and access to needed medical care in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision in June. And many of us are wanting something concrete and tangible to DO. While there already are good networks to connect those in need with care (https://abortionfunds.org/ is a good place to start), as people of faith we see a need for empowered and compassionate spiritual companionship for those making pregnancy decisions or undergoing pregnancy loss. 

To that end, Womaen’s Caucus is partnering with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice to offer a learning opportunity: Compassionate Care 101. This course will be primarily self-guided, with several live Zoom discussions along the way to process and reflect together. CEUs available. Register for the course here and plan to participate in Zoom sessions with other CoB learners on November 17, December 15, and January 19 at 8pm Eastern. Please email womaenscaucuscob@gmail.com once you have registered to obtain the Zoom discussion group links. 

Course Description: Compassionate Care 101 provides an overview of and practice opportunities with the care skills needed to facilitate a process whereby people, who are making reproductive decisions or experiencing reproductive loss, access their own inner strengths, resources, values, and knowledge to make and implement decisions that are right for themselves and/or to heal.
Course Goals: By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Understand the core goals of compassionate care
  • Enhance your ability to center and be guided by the values, needs and goals of the care seeker
  • Recognize and effectively manage the power differences that can impact the quality of compassionate care
  • Develop a working knowledge of and proficiency in core communication skills need to support individuals making life decisions or experiencing significant loss
Course Topics: Pre-Assessment, Core Goals, Core Skills, Values Clarification/Impact of Values, Navigating Intercultural Differences and Power Dynamics, and Simulated Conversation  
Read the complete issue of Femailings here. 

Womaen’s Caucus Annual Conference Plans

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Visit us at the Booth

If you’ll be with us in person, please come by to chat, read about some of our history and weave with us.  

Luncheon: Taking Our Turn in Line

Monday July 11th at 12 noon

We renew our relationships with one another and with the work of Womaen’s Caucus as we gather in person! Gathering at tables is a sacred setting to share powerful stories, recalling the feminists whose heavy lifting changed our world – and then we’ll consider ways to take our own places in line. A bucket brigade, a picket line, a parade: we write history together now. Whether you are a long-time affiliate of Caucus or simply curious, you are welcome to these tables! 

Equipping Session: Justice, Transformative Leadership, and the Future of the CoB

Tuesday July 12th at 8:30 pm Central Time

Is there a crisis of leadership in the CoB? What are the internal and external contributors to this crisis? As potential leaders “count the cost,” are too many finding that the time commitments and emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental costs are too high? What fearless, adaptive, and innovative responses to these challenges might we work toward together? For those registered for virtual AC, please join us online!

Position on Abortion

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In 2010, the Womaen’s Caucus of the Church of the Brethren articulated a goal of advocating a position on abortion that is prayerfully respectful of women as moral decisionmakers. With legislation and judicial decisions unfolding rapidly around reproductive healthcare, we felt that now is the time to articulate a clear position.

With regard to legislation and judicial decisions, we assert that the state has no authority or right to compel a person to carry a pregnancy to term and give birth, and deplore the efforts of legislators and courts to curtail or diminish the constitutional right to privacy. Pregnancy decisions must rest with the pregnant person, their doctor, and their higher power. While we may seek to encourage the pregnant person to graciously allow their body to carry a new human life into the world, no other person or entity has the right to compel the pregnant person to do so. The pregnant person’s life, health, bodily autonomy, human potential, and religious freedom must be the primary concern.

In John 10:10, Jesus declares that he has come that we may have life, and life abundant. We believe that safe and legal abortion access is necessary for the abundant life of all those who can become pregnant. Our lives, health, autonomy, and potential are precious in God’s sight. May they also be precious to those entrusted with making policy decisions. Amen.

Read our full statement or download:

WC Statement on Abortion 2022

Annual Conference Ballot Interviews

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Over the past year the Womaen’s Caucus Steering Committee has put an emphasis on understanding and encouraging engagement with leadership within the Church of the Brethren. Part of this energy was delightfully spent on interviewing those who are on the Annual Conference ballot this year. We teamed up with Dunker Punks and Young Adults on Fire to do our best to interview all those on the ballot. Not everyone responded to our interview requests but every effort was made to uplift all the voices of those on the ballot. 

For reference here is the ballot for the 2022 Annual Conference positions. 

Moderator Elect 

Interviews with Madalyn Metzger and Marla Bieber Abe by Jessie Houff

#132 Part 1: Moderator Elect, Ask the AC Nominees

Annual Conference Secretary

Interviews with David Schumate and Connie Burkholder by Bobbi Dykema

#132 Part 2: AC Secretary, Ask the AC Nominees

Program and Arrangements Committee

Interviews with Rachel Bucher Swank and Jacob Crouse by Anna Lisa Gross

#132 Part 3: Program + Arrangements, Ask the AC Nominees

Mission and Ministry Board, Area 1

Interviews with Joel Gibbel and Regina Holmes by Jonathan Bay

#132 Part 4: Mission + Ministry Board Area 1, Ask the AC Nominees

Mission and Ministry Board, Area 2

Interview with Rosanna Eller McFadden by Jonathan Bay

#132 Part 5: Mission + Ministry Board Area 2, Ask the AC Nominees

Bethany Theological Seminary – Colleges

Interviews with Katy Gray Brown and Jonathan Fry by Audri Svay

#132 Part 6: Trustee Representing Colleges, Ask the AC Nominees

Bethany Theological Seminary – Clergy

Interviews with Susan Stern Boyer and Laura Stone by Audri Svay

#132 Part 7: Trustee Representing Clergy, Ask the AC Nominees

Brethren Benefit Trust Board

Interviews with Kevin Boyer and Carl Eubank by Sara Davis

#132 Part 8: BBT Board, Ask the AC Nominees

On Earth Peace Board

Interview with Matt Boyer by Hannah Bentley

#132 Part 9: OEP Board, Ask the AC Nominees

Pastoral Benefits and Compensation Advisory Committee

Interview with Angela Finet by Carol Lindquist

#132 Part 10: Pastoral Compensation + Benefits, Ask the AC Nominees

Femailings June 2022

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Are we better off today than we used to be? 

Preparing for the first in-person Annual Conference in three years, we know
we’re changing.For better and for worse!
 
As women’s rights regress in the United States (and continue to languish in many places) we wonder: are we better off than we used to be?
 
How do we measure the value of our work? How do we best work for the future?
We grieve and despair and rage at ongoing violence and hate in our communities.
Acts of loving kindness bloom, too, and we wonder is anything getting better?! Let us pray.

Read the complete issue here. 

Femailings February 2022

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What does it mean to make history? 

In this issue of Femailings we look at leaders of all kinds. From contemporary young leaders Simone Biles and Amanda Gorman to past Womaens Caucus leaders Elaine Sollenberger and Peg Yoder. There’s much more in the issue; find the digital issue here. 

Listening to leaders

Yes, we have many open pastoral positions. Yes, we have exhausted, ill pastors and lay-leaders. Yes, we have shrinking churches. And you know what else? Yes, we have sincere, gifted, faithful, fierce pastors serving throughout the church. We will highlight a call story each Femailings, with thanks to Nancy Heishman and the Office of Ministry for gathering these stories.

Femailings December 2021

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Womaen's Caucus 2021 Femailings

We celebrated our 50th anniversary reflecting on our origin story, as fierce, faithful people asked the Church of the Brethren to take women seriously as persons and as leaders. That charge sparked our year of generating power. We interviewed dozens of people for Messenger Radio and Dunker Punks Podcast, amplifying stories of speaking truth to power and barriers to leadership. We pray for the year ahead, and reflect on memories of 2021!

First “Think” with Caucus

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Sisters, Brothers, and Siblings on the Journey,

With excitement and hope, Womaen’s Caucus invites you to join its first-ever “Thinkers” event on Zoom on November 2 at 8 pm EST!

For approximately 75 minutes, “Think” with us as we consider new ways of nominating and electing CoB denominational leaders and imagine effective support systems for persons elected and those who are not elected. Using both small group discussion and whole group interaction, our intent is to develop recommendations to update our leadership processes to reflect today’s family, work, and church needs.

Recently, Caucus and the AC Leadership team have been looking at obstacles to serving in CoB denominational leadership positions elected at the Annual Conference. And there are a lot of obstacles! Now it is time to consider new ways of developing future leaders, electing them, and supporting them in their work on behalf of the whole church.

Two discussion questions will guide our work. First, how can the process
for receiving nominations and preparing the AC ballot be changed to attract more participants and broader representation of the denomination?  Second, how can AC-elected leadership positions be reconfigured to make them more appealing to a greater variety of potential nominees while meeting current and future denominational needs? 

We encourage you to review this document that describes the current process for nominations/elections and provide a summary of what we have learned during the past eighteen months of our research. Click here to view the document. 

November 2 is Election Day on many calendars, an easy reminder to join us. Please contact us for zoom information. 

 

Blessings amid the barriers

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Kathryn LaPointe, Rebekah Flores, Susan Boyer and Tabitha Rudy shared stories: of barriers to leadership, of God’s call to minister within congregations and with new neighbors, of empowerment and deep love, in the manner of Jesus.

The gathering was full of blessing, and these benedictions were shared in the chat:

Thank you all for this important discussion. I think the great power we have is to speak our truth and move others by our stories to create a groundswell that can shift the power dynamic.

May God’s Spirit open ears and hearts to listen to the truth spoken by powerful voices.

We have been illuminated – let us illuminate.

My prayer: to hold the hearts of the oppressor in light to soften the harshness, to help release suffering, to nourish healing, to find praise and peace in Divinity.

Blessings of Love; Light on your paths, and Strength for the journey! I feel we really are here for one another…on our paths, easy or hard, challenged or blessed!

Do not stop questioning, thinking, talking, DO NOT STOP!!!

Rejuvenating after Annual Conference 2021

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We celebrated Womaen’s Caucus’ 50th anniversary with 50 devices (and more than 50 people) praying for God’s reconciling and transforming justice in our lives and church. We lamented the lack of women and other marginalized persons in denominational leadership. We shared stories of empowerment to leadership, and barriers to leadership, including a lack of mentoring for ministers, the sabotage of women on the ballot, and theology that preaches male and white supremacy.

We gathered on Saturday, the final evening of Annual Conference, with the question: how will you care for yourself and rejuvenate at the end of this exhausting week? The gathered body of Christ named
  • laughing with friends
  • spending time in God’s creation
  • singing hymns
  • eating nourishing and delicious food, and more as we celebrated being together through a zoom meeting.

In this rapidly changing church and world, Womaen’s Caucus is generating power with the wise, faithful, fierce margins of the church: women, people of color, lgbtq and variously-abled persons. We are salt for the earth, teaches Jesus. In this spirit we offer a panel discussion on July 15, workshop on August 24, and sharing session on Oct 5.

 

We closed our Annual Conference networking session singing “You are salt for the earth, o people, bring forth the Kingdom of God!”

(Thanks to Living Peace Church of the Brethren in Ohio for the song!)

Counting the Cost in Leadership Development

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We’re generating power for a fierce, faithful, just church. Join our upcoming sessions.
    The call to church leadership comes as we sense a bigger purpose in our lives, or feel a tap on the shoulder by someone who believes in our potential to bring wisdom and compassion to the Church of the Brethren. When Womaen’s Caucus learned that half the nominees for the Annual Conference ballot never fill out the Nominee Information Form (and, therefore, are never considered for the ballot), we grieved all those gifted and faithful individuals who do not serve at denominational tables of leadership.
    This year, Womaen’s Caucus is elevating denominational attention to processes for electing leaders with special attention on the barriers faced by women and marginalized persons as they seek to fulfill their calling into leadership of the Church of the Brethren.
    Come, join two new online, hourlong webinars dedicated to growing our pool of future church leaders, both in numbers and perspective. The window for receiving nominations for the AC ballot is open, so invite others within your congregation and district to participate, too.
    Email womaenscaucuscob@gmail.com to register and receive a short document that will provide background information.

LEADERSHIP IN THE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN – Tuesday, August 24, 8 pm Eastern  This session will be recorded for later access on the Womaen’s Caucus website, and will help frame the conversation for the October 5 workshop.

COUNTING THE COST IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT – Tuesday, October 5, 8 pm Eastern
    Election results reveal a pattern of who is most likely to serve in elected Church of the Brethren leadership roles. Despite adopted statements indicating denominational support for females, BIPOC, and people from across the denomination geographically, the pattern of electing males (often white male pastors) remains. Why is that?
    A wide range of reasons have been suggested: beliefs about role and capability of non-white non-male leaders, the financial impact and child care needs created by leadership roles, the emotional cost of being considered for an office, and personal uncertainty about the viability of the denomination. This webinar will explore these and other barriers in order to reduce their impact as we seek to develop strong leaders for the future. Leadership will include prior participants in the election process and those who names have been submitted but were never placed on the ballot. 
    Hosted jointly by Annual Conference leaders and the Womaen’s Caucus Steering Committee, suggestions for improvement will be shared with those overseeing and participating in the AC election process. This session will be recorded for later access on the Womaen’s Caucus website.

Upcoming Events: Generating Power

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You’ve heard of the glass ceiling; you’ve probably heard of the stained glass ceiling (women excluded from church leadership). You’ve seen it in action. You’ve watched women get on the ballot, but lose to men. You’ve seen women side-by-side nominated for moderator both lose to a man nominated from the floor of Annual Conference. You see many women pastors – you probably have women ministers (you might be a woman in ministry!) yet you know there are districts where women are virtually excluded from pastoral ministry.

We live with a pandemic of patriarchy which elevates aggressive, egotistical masculinity, and scorns vulnerability and intuition, diagnosing them as “feminine” and weak. And we all get sick within these pressures.

We grieve that these diseases are flourishing in the Church of the Brethren. We put on our lab coats, pull out stethoscopes, and work to diagnose: what keeps women from getting nominated? What prevents women, BIPOC, LGBTQ and variously-abled people to respond YES to nominations? What blocks delegates from affirming these people’s call to leadership?

Diagnosis is elusive and we can get stuck trying to figure it out. We have identified a few problems that we are ready to help treat. And we see health and vitality that we are eager to celebrate. Our summer/fall line-up of events are treatment and celebration.

Mark your calendars

 Barriers to Leadership

We can cite statistics and wring our hands at the dearth of women in leadership (and we do!) but we know that stories are what transform and activate us. Gather to hear four women’s unique – yet universal – experiences: July 15, 8pm Eastern

Find Out More

Leadership 101

God calls an equitable, just, diverse and passionate church! Let’s get equipped through a workshop with Nominations Committee and Annual Conference leadership: Aug 24, 8pm Eastern

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Nomination to Election

Hear from others who have been nominated, get tips on filling out those forms, and generate new ideas for this process. You’ll also find solidarity with others who know putting our hats in the ring can be vulnerable!

Oct 5, 8pm Eastern

Find Out More

Leadership in the Church of the Brethren workshop

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The call to church leadership comes as we sense a bigger purpose in our lives, or feel a tap on the shoulder by someone who believes in our potential to bring wisdom and compassion to the Church of the Brethren. When Womaen’s Caucus learned that half the nominees for the Annual Conference ballot never fill out the Nominee Information Form (and, therefore, are never considered for the ballot), we grieved all those gifted and faithful individuals who do not serve at denominational tables of leadership.
    This year, Womaen’s Caucus is elevating denominational attention to processes for electing leaders with special attention on the barriers faced by women and marginalized persons as they seek to fulfill their calling into leadership of the Church of the Brethren.
    Come, join two new online, hourlong webinars dedicated to growing our pool of future church leaders, both in numbers and perspective. The window for receiving nominations for the AC ballot is open, so invite others within your congregation and district to participate, too. To attend either workshop, email  womaenscaucuscob@gmail.com to register and receive a short document that will provide background information.

LEADERSHIP IN THE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN webinar – Tuesday, August 24, 8 pm Eastern 
Hosted jointly by Annual Conference leaders and the Womaen’s Caucus Steering Committee, this workshop will describe the steps that are taken to receive nominations for the AC ballot and the series of events and considerations that conclude with the AC election itself. During this live discussion, participants can offer questions and comments. This session will be recorded for later access on the Womaen’s Caucus website, and will help frame the conversation for the October 5 workshop: Counting the Cost in Leadership Development.

Speaking Truth to Power: Barriers to Leadership

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Kathryn LaPointe, Rebekah Flores, Susan Boyer, Tabitha Rudy

We can cite statistics and wring our hands at the dearth of women in leadership (and we do!) but we know that stories are what transform and activate us. Hear four women’s unique – yet universal – experiences. Called to leadership but voted down. Offered a seat at the table but not listened to. Invited onto the committee but couldn’t find reliable childcare and missed meetings and fell out of the loop. Grew weary of being the *only* woman, and/or person of color, and/or LGBTQ person in the group.

Just like our first Speaking Truth to Power panel in 2020, expect to be challenged, inspired, welcomed and affirmed in this gathering! You can watch the 2021 panel live or later!

The Living Stream congregation is pleased to once again be hosting the Womaen’s Caucus panel. We support Caucus’ purpose and vision and seek to embody in our online church full inclusivity and equality in the Body of Christ. We welcome visitors, explorers, sojourners every Sunday evening at 8pm eastern / 5pm pacific time at www.livingstreamcob.org.

As we speak truth to power we are generating power. Stories can change us; stories can change our culture. Womaen’s Caucus wants to generate power with you as we call the equitable, just, diverse and passionate church! Let’s get equipped: Leadership in the CoB workshop, August 24!

A prayer for Annual Conference 2021

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June 19, 2021

Brother Paul, Brother Jim, and Brother David,  

  The Womaen’s Caucus Steering Committee holds you steadfastly in prayer as we approach the first virtual Annual Conference, knowing there are many pressures and concerns in your minds and hearts. We trust that the Spirit is moving among us, creating new pathways that will benefit the denomination and all those in it for years to come. 

  We write to you for a couple of reasons. As you may recall, one of the action items in our letter of concern regarding Tod Bolsinger’s place of honor at Annual Conference is to match his speaking fees with a gift to a predominantly Black or Native congregation in the denomination. We do not believe in asking of others what we are unwilling to do ourselves, so we wanted to let you know that we have made symbolic gifts to several CoB organizations that serve primarily non-white or indigenous persons. We encourage others to determine their own gesture to recognize their contrition as they seek to abandon practices that diminish others in the family of God.  

  Many church leaders are uncovering the ways in which we, as individuals and as a denomination, have been complicit (however unconsciously) in the subjugation of and discrimination and prejudice against Black and Indigenous people of color and we are looking to Annual Conference leadership to lead us in vulnerability and confession. Knowing that you have many demands on your time and spirits, we offer a prayer that would be appropriate for Brother Paul to pray at any of several points of live engagement during Annual Conference: 

God in whose image all humankind has been created, in glorious diversity,  we give thanks for the ways you have blessed and challenged us through those who are different from ourselves.

Those of us who are white confess that we have been complicit in many kinds of historic and present harm done to our Black and Indigenous brothers and sisters.  

We have benefited from stolen and devalued labor and land.  

We have benefited from prejudice that has limited the opportunities of others and distributed the resources of your creation inequitably.  

Even when we have sought to be openhanded and charitable, we have often done so in a way that failed to acknowledge the dignity and agency of others.  

Lord God, we ask you humbly in this hour to forgive these sins and teach us to understand better how to live out your shalom for all people and all creation.  

Give us opportunities to renounce our privilege and allow those with less to speak and to lead.  

Keep us ever humble and teachable regarding all the things that are outside our lived experience.  

Help us to understand that (as with so much injustice) not all of us are guilty, but all of us are responsible.

You have called us to the doing of your justice, to be merciful and kind as you are merciful and kind, and to ever and always walk humbly with you.  

We pray this, humbly and aching for transformation, in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

 Brothers, may this virtual Annual Conference be blessed by a spirit of truly fearless, innovative, and adaptable leadership.  

Bobbi Dykema, Anna Lisa Gross, Carol Lindquist, Sara Davis, Jonathan Bay, Carla Gillespie, Kathryn LaPointe 

Saturday, July 3 at 5:30 pm (Eastern)

In the historic first fully online Annual Conference, we look forward to seeing your faces up-close, unmasked, as we greet old friends, meet new friends, and learn about highlights from 50 years of Womaen’s Caucus! Just like any of us reaching 50 years, Womaen’s Caucus has grown up, acquired stretch marks, earned wrinkles, gotten tired at times, and gained wisdom. In the past year Womaen’s Caucus has chosen to refresh-at-50, and we are excited and energized! We’ve been updating our organizing documents and rejuvenating our vision. We invite you to engage this refreshed Caucus, as a *thinker* *doer* *donor* *supporter* and we’ll explain all of this in our networking session! Whether you’re brimming with memories of Caucus, or newly-encountering Caucus, you are most welcome. (All genders welcome!)

2020 (deferred) Mission & Ministry Board Ballot (Area 4)

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Womaen’s Caucus interviewed candidates for the 2020 deferred and 2021 ballots which will be voted on by Annual Conference delegates in July. We asked the same questions for each position, plus one unique question based on something we read in the candidate’s profile. See all the candidates we interviewed here.

Kathy Mack

mission & ministry board

kathy mack

You are a candidate for membership in a critical leadership group within the Church of the Brethren. What do you believe are the most significant leadership needs within the denomination over the next five years?

Love and trust in the Lord

Love of the Church of the Brethren and its people

Commitment to the church and its future as well as its heritage

Vision for the future

Listening and communication skills

Integrity 

To be a living example of leading a Christian life focused on peace and reconciliation 

To be a servant leader to both the Church of the Brethren and the nation and world in which we live

 

 

 

How do the statements and actions from MMB respond to those needs?

The Mission and Ministry Board is tasked with providing opportunities for local congregations to be communities of faith that proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, respond to the needs of neighbors and to promote peace.  All statements and actions of MMB need to keep these values at the forefront when responding to specific needs of our church body and when calling leaders forward.

What resources do you bring to this work?

I worked over 30 years for an international technology company.  During my career I worked with many different types of people from around the world.  I was required to assess and solve complicated problems, while communicating with peers, executives, and customers.

I also have had numerous leadership positions within the Church of the Brethren and non-denominational Christian groups.  Each of these experiences have allowed me to work with people very committed to their relationship with Christ but bringing different views and approaches to living their faith.

My years of experience from my career and my church work have given me good listening, discerning and communication skills that I believe and I can understand, but not necessarily agree with, most people’s point of view, which allows me to search for and often find common ground.

What additional resources do you need and/or what additional resources does MMB need to serve the denomination?

To be successful, MMB needs the trust and support of the denomination, its individual congregations and most importantly listening for and following God’s will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell us about a context in which you were or a current context in which you are a minority. And we’re hoping for something that’s longer than a week long workcamp.

 

My entire adult life, I have studied and then worked in the computer technology field.  This career path is dominated by men.  Since my freshman year of college at McPherson College, as a woman, I have been in the minority.  I have also worked my entire career with international peers and customers which has given me the perspective of a global community, working for common goals.  In my most recent team, I was the only US citizen, with my teammates being from China and Romania. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have early church (which today is innovative church) experiences, such as house church and Sending of the Seventy. What vision or insight can you bring from innovative church to MMB and our denomination?

Being a member of a house church brings many advantages and some challenges.  As a small group, every member is valued and needed for success.  Without the expenses of a building or employees, we are able to put 100% of our funds towards outreach and witnessing to our local, regional, national and global communities.  The challenge of not having a building, it is harder to have a focal point for our meetings, inviting guests and a visible presence in our community.

 

The Sending of the Seventy was an activity that was used several times in the Northern Plains District to address some deep concerns and divisions among congregations.  We sent 2 visitors to each church to listen to the issues, hopes and joys of each congregation and then to report back at the district level what was learned.  One of several take-aways I learned was at the root of many problems is the feeling of individuals and congregations that they are not being heard and their concerns are not taken seriously.  By sending visitors from other congregations, some traveling many hours for the meetings, a sense of caring and commitment was conveyed. 

Daniel Butler

mission & ministry board

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You are a candidate for membership in a critical leadership group within the Church of the Brethren. What do you believe are the most significant leadership needs within the denomination over the next five years?

It’s not hard to look and look around and see that we have a lot of division everywhere. It seems to be fairly easy to come up with something to divide us on. So I guess I’d say one of the things I see coming up with the next five years is finding a working strategy to help bring us together. And one of those could definitely be through the visioning process that we’re going through right now, that will go on with Annual Conference. It’s very easy to split, this group over here, this group over there. To sift through that and find the commonality between the two, and build on that. As we move forward, we have to be Christ-centered in all things that we do, and being mindful of that would be a good starting point.

How do the statements and actions from MMB respond to those needs?

I think we’re moving in the right direction, like I said, with the shared vision process that we’re going through. Having a leadership group that is flexible enough to meet these ever-changing waves and currents. But at the same time, still being able to focus and work toward the greater good.

 

What resources do you bring to this work?

I have spent the last year eight years on our the Northern Plains District Board with one of those years being moderator-elect, another year being moderator. I’m a McPherson college graduate, Bachelor in history. I’ve been in sales the last 20 some years. On the side, volunteer coaching, just wrapped up a softball season and we had a lot of fun. Wrapping up my last term as board chair. I wouldn’t necessarily say that that qualifies me for anything but I’m not afraid to get on board. I’ve been told I play well with others. I definitely think that’s a positive coming in to a new group, especially one as diverse as we hope this one is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What additional resources do you need and/or what additional resources does MMB need to serve the denomination?

I don’t know if Northern Plains is any sort of microcosm. One of the things that I joked around with for a long time was that I was the youngest member on District Board, and basically spent all of my 30s on district boards. And so that was kind of a running joke for me year after year. Oh, hey, look, I’m still the youngest. We should not only have gender and racial diversity, but age. Each age group has interesting personalities, different life experiences, all add so that no group is ever the same. And that is absolutely wonderful. Because we absolutely should be the same group every time. Growth is so much better than stagnation. So just making sure that we’re able to draw from all groups, all experience to be able to gather experiences like that.

Tell us about a context in which you were or a current context in which you are a minority. And we’re hoping for something that’s longer than a week long workcamp.

Thinking about this question is really interesting. Look at where I check the boxes on my IRS taxes. I’m approaching middle age, white, I’m a male and I’m overweight. I’m  average.

I had a multicultural studies class at McPherson taught by Professor Jessica Brown, an absolutely wonderful woman. The coolest thing about the class was I was one of only about 5 white people in the class. And I know that for myself, and a friend of mine that also took it, it was very eye-opening. Hearing firsthand experiences of racial profiling was…eye-opening isn’t the right word, because it’s not powerful enough to say what it was for me. I mean, one of the stories told by one of my classmates, an absolutely wonderful human being–he was about six foot one, Hispanic, had tattoos, and was wearing a gray sweatshirt. He was actually arrested two or three times in one day, just because he fit a profile. He told us about it — he gave us as much detail as he felt comfortable giving. You couldn’t help but sit there in awe that he kept his wits about him. He had done nothing wrong. It was stories like that. There were a few other students that were able to speak up about their experiences. It was very humbling. It really, at that time, brought some context to someone raised in a very monochromatic situation. Not that there wasn’t any other exposure to other cultures growing up, but once-in-awhile, not everyday life.

 

That has thankfully changed over time. I have a niece that is biracial and she’s an absolute blessing. It’s been really interesting to see her come through this period and see her reactions to a lot of different events that are going on right now. And at the same time, it’s very odd. Because I know there are questions she has that none of us can answer. Because I’m like, a middle-age white male. I don’t know. So while I don’t understand, I have empathy.

 

From coaching to district board. What are some blessings and some burdens of working in a team?

I’ll be honest. There are times getting a new group of young people is much scarier than joining district board. It’s a different situation: coach/player relationship versus the peer-to-peer level playing field where I’m not in charge. What is absolutely wonderful about being a part of a group (like district board) is you’re part of a group of people that are called, and have passion to be a part of something beyond themselves. We definitely did not see eye-to-eye on everything which was wonderful.

 

There can be no growth without something to work towards. So getting to know the different board members, learning to work with different personalities. That’s one of the greatest things about working with groups. Even coaching: all the little micro personalities, no matter what, the goal is always the same. I want my players to learn skills. I want them to be able to see that the skills translate into other things but most importantly I want to make sure that they have fun.

 

I often say that if I’m somewhere and then I tell you I’m not having a good time there’s a pretty good chance that leaving. So if I’m somewhere, I’m having a good time! Otherwise why would I stay? So I want to make sure that they have a good time.

2021 Mission & Ministry Board Ballot (Area 3)

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Womaen’s Caucus interviewed candidates for the 2020 deferred and 2021 ballots which will be voted on by Annual Conference delegates in July. We asked the same questions for each position, plus one unique question based on something we read in the candidate’s profile. See all the candidates we interviewed here.

 

Phil Stone

mission & ministry board

 

Phil stone jr

We reached out to Phil through his congregation, Sunrise Church of the Brethren, and Phil’s pastor sent along our interview request and contact information. We have not heard back from Phil but you can read his profile.

 

 

 

Karen Shively Neff

mission & ministry board

karen shively neff

You are a candidate for membership in a critical leadership group within the Church of the Brethren. What do you believe are the most significant leadership needs within the denomination over the next five years?

We need to figure out a way to meet the needs of the younger generations, millennials and Gen Y, all these different people come to the table and want to serve Jesus, but they might want to do it in different ways from their parents or their grandparents and so our church has to be open to, how do we meet the needs of not only our congregations, but the individual people who want to serve Christ. And encouraging them to be part of the body of Christ but still be able to serve the way they want to serve. 

We’re struggling in our nation navigating being part of politics and I think politics enter into congregations. How do we continue to love our neighbors, and each other, in case we don’t agree politically?

We need to meet the critical injustices in the world; it’s super important that we don’t put our heads in the sand, but be willing to be out there. One thing I really love is that, when a crisis happens on a world stage, the Church of the Brethren puts out a statement. I really appreciate that, because somebody is thinking and eloquently writing a statement for our church even though we know not everybody in our congregation feels the same way. There are so many things happening in the world, so much injustice and we’re called to meet those issues.

I think there’s a crisis in ministry right now: finding ministers to serve churches. Bethany’s last graduating class had so many people in it but not a single one was planning on going into congregational ministry. We need to figure out how to tap people and how to support them bivocationally. I’m a bivocational minister myself. knowing that my church can’t afford a full-time pastor, but still needs somebody to lead them–a lot of churches are struggling like that right now, having to call people out in ministry and figuring out how to, to meet their needs. I went through the TRIM program which was great, because I could do it while I was working and raising a family. I like the way Bethany has branched out into different ways that people can get their education and their training to serve. And it’s great that there are so many ways you can use a Bethany degree! We still need people to be in ministry.

Continuing to know ways to serve; we do such a great job of disaster response, BVS, outdoor ministries, all these ways that people can serve. Individual congregations are highlighted that are doing all these cool things! I think we need to continue to say that service is a huge part of who we are as a church.

The financial challenges that come with coming out of a pandemic, and dwindling congregations, and those politics that get in the way of people wanting to give their money to a church (they say “hey, they’re not serving my needs.”) How do we encourage giving, tithing and best using our resources, and not having to lay people off. I think the pandemic has compounded that a bit, but it’s good to hear of people giving gifts, like to Brethren Press, to help them be able to function during a pandemic. People give amazing amounts of money when they feel passionate about something, like when Nigeria was struggling with Boko Haram, people gave amazing amounts of money. I think we just have to inspire people with our programs and encourage them to know that we are going to be good stewards of their money.

How do the statements and actions of MMB respond to these needs?

I’m going to find out more, but I always imagined the Mission and Ministry Board being like the leadership team of a congregation, meeting to make the decisions. MMB has a lot to do with a lot of those things because they can move the congregations in a direction by voting on something or putting a program out there, or highlighting something that they really feel is important for the denomination. I see MMB as driving the denomination – the steering wheel, maybe, and obviously there’s going to be people putting on the brakes, there’s going to be people changing your rear view mirror…MMB could be the GPS telling us where we’re going, saying “you know you can give us your opinion about that and we’ll listen.”

What resources do you bring to this work?

I come from an interesting position because I grew up in the heartland but I live on the fringes. Atlantic Southeast, you gotta admit it’s on the fringes. And we’re a small district, we’re a very multicultural district, and we can kind of get lost way down here in Florida. I haven’t been to Annual Conference in a few years so I feel like I’ve kind of stepped back. I used to be super involved with lots of different things and I was on the district board and so forth and so I was always aware of things going on in the district and in the denomination, but for the last couple of years (and maybe that’s due to the pandemic as well) I feel a little bit more isolated. 

I’m coming with a fresh perspective to the group, with a willing ear, and with my opinions. I’m not somebody who’s very demanding in my opinions, but I’m willing to share when somebody asks. I grew up in the Church of the Brethren and it’s been near and dear to my heart! So I come with that sense of wanting to pray for the best, to have the best path for our denomination and wanting to fight for unity and for understanding and for openness.

And I come with a resource of willingness to serve. When somebody asks me to do something, I focus on it so – I just want to do the job that I’ve been asked to do. I’m willing to learn. I have experience: being district moderator. Being on a leadership team in the district.

What additional resources/support are needed for you and/or MMB to serve the denomination in fulfilling its mission?

Physical things like finances. When it comes to people, you can’t make them do something or see from a different perspective. You can only hope that they can put themselves in somebody else’s shoes, or or agree to disagree but not to break the relationship. So the resources that I need would be understanding from others, and the willingness to to work for the good of the Kingdom. If I’m elected I’ll know a lot more about the resources we need!

Tell us about a context in which you are/were a minority (longer than a weeklong workcamp).

This is my 30th year in the Orange County Public School System and I work in an inner city school with almost 100% minority children and staff. In the last seven years I’ve been coaching in childcare centers through the school system and all the childcare centers are in the inner city district that’s very poor, with high crime and drug use and I work with the poorest of the childcare centers to help them improve their teaching, so that their children can enter the school system ready to learn. 

Our church here in Florida is multicultural, too. We do have white churches, we have Hispanic churches and we have Haitian churches, and we come together for camp and I  live at camp so I get to see it. We just started junior high camp, and I would say that we have a majority of minorities–that minorities are the majority of our campers at camp. Our staff here at Camp is mostly minorities. My whole working career, pretty much, I’ve been working with minorities. Our little congregation is the mother church for Nuevo Comienzo, a new Hispanic church start about an hour from here.

Your training in facilitating teamwork and your work in early childhood education may equip you with creative and empowering strategies for MMB – whether you’re meeting on zoom or in person. What are some of your favorite ways to facilitate teamwork and/or classes to both accomplish goals and grow in compassion?

The last four or five years the camp staff have a orientation and they asked me to do the team-building activities with the camp staff so I just come up with interesting activities that require them to work together and unpack how they feel after doing the activity, and how does that work with your campers and, how do you build that camp family while you’re dealing with a lot of different personalities?

I do Communities of Practice with the teachers that I coach. During the pandemic, we had to do those digitally so I would offer weekly times that they can come on, and I would ask questions and  we would get to know each other. To get them to work together and to try to help them learn–not just me telling them, but get them to learn some things on their own. In the classroom you have to get the whole class to work as a team. Creative ways of doing that require us to understand that people come with all different backgrounds and different abilities to handle situations. Little children, for example, their executive state hasn’t developed fully, and so they have trouble with problem-solving and they have trouble with seeing from a different perspective and I’m with four-year-old, mostly and younger. And so they’re egocentric and have so many ways that they need to learn social and emotional things. But there are adults that grow into adults without learning them!

 

Sometimes you have to look at a person dealing with something, you can say “oh I see that he’s struggling with this issue because he doesn’t have that in his executive state wheelhouse.” And knowing myself–you have to know yourself whether it’s “I’m not very good at being organized” or “if somebody pushes my buttons, this is how I act, and I have to bring myself back into control.” So understanding your own executive state and then recognizing issues in other people would be something that would be helpful as part of the team.

 

When I was on the district board here in Florida we went through one of those inventory things where you answer all these questions and they figure out what kind of person you are, if you’re an introvert or an extrovert and all that. So we did this inventory. And Del Keeney did the “thinking hats” with a pastoral cohort group that I was part of. The Church of the Brethren camp pastoral cohort – the thinking hats helps you get to know yourself, to think about how other people behave and act. It helps you, hopefully, be a good team player, and someone who can take deep breaths.

 

In my classroom: here’s one thing I know about little kids and being and helping them with their behavior is: whatever you focus on is what you’re going to get. If you focus on their behavior, you’re going to get more bad behavior; if you focus on good behavior you get good behavior. So in my class we tried to focus on the good. Number one, children make sure they welcome people and have a family feeling. And then when you’re kind to someone we would recognize that, and you can recognize in many different ways. We had little bluebirds that when you did something kind, a bluebird went into your nest, and then you can see how many kindnesses you did in a day or a week. So they would come to me and say, “I pushed so-and-so on the swing!” because they wanted to share the kind things that they had done to be recognized for their kindness. I had to teach them some things that they could do to be kind, but also noticing when they were and they didn’t even know they were being kind! “You held the door for Jacob” or “You picked Kara up when she fell down and you asked her if she was okay instead of laughing at her.” Noticing people, noticing their behaviors and adults need to be noticed, too. Noticing when someone does hard work, and appreciating them fully–you don’t have to do it in front of the whole crowd but just going to someone and saying “I really appreciate the comment that you made” or “I really appreciate the hard work you put into that.”

 

That is important – for all of us to celebrate what is going well in leadership: MMB, staff, other leaders – and not just complain. And it’s important for leaders like MMB to look for good news throughout the church. We are living in so much tension that many leaders focus on the problems and give their energy to the squeaky wheels. You’re right: what we focus on grows. And if that’s conflict and threatening to leave, by paying a lot of attention to that we’re teaching the church that it works.

 

Some people like to use their money as leverage. We’ve had that happen in our district, we wanted to have a youth pastor for the district, and if they didn’t do it the way that someone wanted, they weren’t going to give any money to the project. So that happens–people use that kind of leverage. Sometimes people surprise me with their behavior, but then sometimes I’m sure people are surprised by my behavior. So fair enough. I can’t point any fingers because there’s always some pointing back at me.