The Brethren Church

Dear Friends of Hope,

Our summer season is heating up (and we’re certainly not talking about the weather!). Summers are very busy times for us at Hope, and this one is no exception. We will be traveling to the States this summer for several weeks to visit churches, speak at the Brethren General Conference in Ashland (OH), and spend some much needed time with family and friends. Our speaking itinerary is shaping up nicely. You can access our summer schedule by going to our blog at http://hopeofireland.blogspot.com.

Even before we set foot on a jet bound for America, the month of June will be quite busy. Here are some of the plans that we are anticipating:

• 17-24 June, St. James (Maryland) Brethren Church mission team — They will be involved in a number of community projects, some youth work, and work projects. We will also be sharing with them our heart for ministry in Ireland and be discussing what evangelism looks like in the context of relationship. There are 12 members on the team.
• 28 June-6 July, youth team from the Goshen (Indiana) First Brethren Church — This trip is designated as a discipleship trip, and the members of this team will be discovering more about the plans and purposes of God for their lives. They will also be involved in a few local projects.

We have two youth weekends planned for Galway Christian Fellowship in the month of June. We are continuing to discuss with the Galway youth what the point of the Christian faith is, separating truth from myth. We will have other visitors from the Czech Republic, Canada, and the United States as well.

Our greatest challenge in June will be in saying farewell to Ben Purner who has served with us as an intern since June 2005. He has been such an integral part of the Hope team and our family for two years. Saying goodbye to our interns is always difficult, but this one will be especially challenging. He has, heart and soul, been a key part of who we are in Ireland. He will be missed not only by our fellowship and our team, but by our community, neighbors, and youth. Please pray for Ben as he makes his future plans and returns to New Jersey. Ben is being “replaced” by his younger brother Jonathan who will join us in September.

You can catch up on all that’s happening with Hope Community by checking out our website/blog on a regular basis. We update the blog a couple times each week, so the material you find there is always fresh. As for us personally, we are doing well. Our health has been good, and we continue to trust God for those things which are beyond our control. We are continuing to move ahead in our adoption plans as well. Brenda commits a lot of her personal time to completing the paperwork for the adoption.

As always, we appreciate those of you who “have our backs” in prayer. Here are a few items for your agenda of prayer for Hope:

• Pray for the transitions in our Internship (Hope Immersions). Our interns are an essential part of life and ministry in Ireland, and having the right interns is a core part of our life and work in Ireland.
• Pray for our little church as we continue to discover more and more the unique role of who God has called us to be as His in this community. Pray for Irish young people who we can raise up into leadership in the church.
• Pray for our on-going financial needs and our adoption process.

We love and appreciate you all. If we are anywhere near you this summer, we hope to be able to see you face to face. Until then, we remain yours and His.

Mark & Brenda Ray

A major role of the National Office is to maintain communication with our denomination. To keep all of our ministries up to date on what is going on in the Brethren Church, this “National Office Update” is a bi-weekly letter to inform pastors and leaders of the current events in our denomination.

It is our hope that by offering these updates, we will strengthen our communication as well as join together, so we may move forward in the mission of the Brethren Church. Please feel free to pass along this information to all of those in your church who are interested in staying up to date with the ministry of the Brethren Church.

Updates Extended to Elders

The Brethren Church National Office Updates have gone over so well with the pastors that we are now extending this to the Elders of the Brethren Church as well. This is in hopes of updating those in leadership to the fullest potential.

2007 General Conference Registration Deadline

Please remember the deadline for registering for General Conference and early BYIC Convention is THIS FRIDAY, June 1. All churches have received their Conference packet.

Brethren Mints

The Brethren mints we had at General Conference last year were such a hit for us here in the National Office that we would like to extend an invitation for you to buy a case of these mints for your own church. These are great freebies for your congregation and can be a great tool for outreach in your community. Last year the mints were spearmint, but we will also be ordering peppermint this year. Each box costs $85.00 and includes 1,000 mints. We will only be selling these mints by the box, but feel free to contact another church about sharing a box. We are asking orders to be placed before June 15. This gives us time to order them and have them ready for pick up at General Conference.

Please contact Amy at the National Office directly with the number of boxes you would like as well as your preference of spearmint or peppermint. (Sorry we are unable to offer ½ a box of each. If you want some of both, be creative and split a box with another church.)

Brethren Publications

To make Brethren publications more accessible, the following books are now available for purchase at the Carpenter’s Shop:

• Romans: The Gospel According to Paul by Gilmer
• The Table of Inwardness by Miller
• History of Brethren Missionary Movements by Ronk
• History of the Brethren Church by Ronk
• Faith and Fortitude by Flora & Flora
• Meet the Brethren by Durnbaugh
• Share Jesus Without Fear by Shepherd & Fay
• The Message of Faith by Flora
• Soul of The Symbols by Shultz
• Christian Doctrine by Miller

Please contact the Carpenter’s Shop at tcs1@brightdsl.net or toll free (877) 251-5051. These books are no longer available for purchase through the National Office.

Ashland Theological Seminary 2007 Graduates

Congratulations to the following seminary students who will be graduating this coming Saturday, June 2.

Glenn Black- Counseling MA
Karla Kirtland-Schweyer- Counseling MA
Jim Ramsey- Counseling MA
Erin Sevin- Counseling MA

Gary Castro- MDiv
Joel Engman- MDiv
Lenore Gray- MDiv
Rich Hagopian- MDiv
Pam McQuade- MDiv

Camp Berea Trip

The momentum from the Mississippi Missions trip continues to build! Leaders and lay people alike gathered two weeks ago at Shipshewana, Indiana to not only pour into a camp program that has and will continue to see many campers trust Jesus but to also pour themselves into one another building strong, can-do relationships across local, state and district lines. The next exciting opportunity for building The Brethren Church and increasing our connectedness to one another is at Camp Berea of the Northern California District. This camp sits in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountain range and has proven itself to be an inspiring place to build the kingdom! Approximate cost of trip: $500 including airfare. Dates: Any time from July 29th to August 12th.

Ken Hunn Travel

Ken will be out of the office for the next three weeks as he joins Larry and Bev Baker to a trip to Malaysia as they meet with David and Jenny Loi. Please keep them in your prayers as they worship and travel in Malaysia.

District Conferences

District Conferences have gone well and continue in the upcoming weeks. Please be in prayer for the Midwest Conference (June 8-10 at Fort Scott, KS) as well as the Northeast Conference (June 15-16 at Johnstown, PA).

Please let us know if there are any specific ministries that you would like to know more about, that we could feature in a future updates.

A major role of the National Office is to maintain communication with our denomination. To keep all of our ministries up to date on what is going on in the Brethren Church, this “National Office Update” is a bi-weekly letter to inform pastors and leaders of the current events in our denomination.

It is our hope that by offering these updates, we will strengthen our communication as well as join together, so we may move forward in the mission of the Brethren Church. Please feel free to pass along this information to all of those in your church who are interested in staying up to date with the ministry of the Brethren Church.

2007 General Conference

Registration Deadline
Please remember the deadline for registering for General Conference and early BYIC Convention is in two weeks, June 1. If your church has not received your Conference packet, please contact the national office.

Book Sale
2007 General Conference will be offering a Book Sale once again with all proceeds going to the Hispanic Outreach in Florida. Clean out those office bookshelves and bring resources you are finished with to donate to the book sale so other pastors and leaders can benefit from them within the Brethren Church.

Pastors and Leaders Lunch
As you sign up for General Conference, be sure to register for the Pastors and Leaders Lunch for Tuesday lunch. We are excited to share a time together with pastors and leaders from around the denomination as we prepare for the new day vision. The program will consist of a fuller view from Hunn, Ludwig, and Diehl on the NEW DAY vision of the Brethren Church. A free resource gift for each participant!

Church Representation
As General Conference draws near we want to impress upon you the importance of pastors working with your congregation to send a full representation of delegates from your church. This is an important year of change and renewed direction in the Brethren Church. It will be good to have our churches fully represented. As the leader of your congregation please consider it your role to personally invite others from your church to serve as both delegates and attendees. As you fill out your slate of delegates be sure to enlist the entire congregation to be in prayer during this exciting time. Thanks pastors, for your extra help in making this a memorable time!

National Ordination Council Candidates

The National Ordination Council convened on Tuesday and Wednesday last week at the Brethren Church National Office and approved the following individuals for ordination. Please join with us as we congratulate them and welcome them as future Brethren elders!

Joe Burgos**
Larry Stutzman**
Bill Ludwig
Gary Castro
Jeff Earman

**Candidate approved pending course completion.

In Transition

Our congratulations to Dr. Roy Andrews who has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Educational Ministries Department at Multnomah Bible College in Portland, Oregon. Roy received his Ph.D. from Trinity Graduate School in Deerfield, IL last year. This fulfills a long-time goal to teach in higher education. Roy & Mesu will conclude their ministry at Elkhart First Brethren Church and move to Portland in early August. God’s blessings to the Andrews’ as they serve in this new calling!

Five Stones Community Church (Ashland, Ohio) has called Rev. David Sherwood to serve as lead pastor. For the last 20 years, David has served in various churches as a Church Planter, Student Ministries Pastor, Lead Pastor, and many other roles. He is moving from Fort Worth, Texas with his wife Amy, and children Chip, Madison and Carmichael (Mikey) early this summer to begin his ministry at Five Stones. You can read more about David at www.5stones.org. His email is david@5stones.org — be sure to welcome him to the denomination!

Churches Looking for Pastors

Please be in prayer for these churches as they seek new pastors.

Mathias Brethren, WV
Lanark First Brethren, IL
Wabash First Brethren, IN
Northgate Community Church, CA
Meadow Crest Brethren, IN
Brethren Church at Sergeantsville, NJ
Falls City First Brethren, NE
Roann First Brethren Church, IN
Elkhart First Brethren Church, IN

Please let us know if there are any specific ministries that you would like to know more about, that we could feature in a future updates.