District Newsletter – June 29, 2011

July 13, 2011
by Tim
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1. 2011 DISTRICT CONFERENCE INFORMATION ONLINE – click here
2. DISTRICT CONFERENCE SPECIAL PROJECTS
3. 2011 ANNUAL CONFERENCE WEBCASTS
4. NEWS FROM ANNUAL CONFERENCE
5. BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF LEADERSHIP: Leading By Teaching (Matthew 28:20)
6. CAMP PINE LAKE LODGE TURNS 50 YEARS OLD NEXT YEAR
7. SUMMER INTERN WORKING ON DISTRICT COMMUNICATIONS
8. CHRISTINA SINGH: A COURAGEOUS AND CONTAGIOUS WOMAN
9. LOIS WILLIAMS: A COURAGEOUS AND CONTAGIOUS WOMAN
10. 2011 DISTRICT DIRECTORY AVAILABLE ONLINE
11. DISTRICT PRAYER MINISTRY: CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER CALENDARS
12. DISTRICT CALENDAR OF EVENTS
13. DISTRICT STAFF CONTACT INFORMATION
14. ARCHIVES, DOCUMENTS, WEBSITES, BLOGS, PICTURES, ETC

1. 2011 DISTRICT CONFERENCE INFORMATION ONLINE – click here

District Conference is July 29-31 at Camp Pine Lake, Eldora, IA. Information has been sent to all congregations and registered delegates. Go to ourDistrict Conference Website to view the below items. To download, share or print these materials, go to the resources page of the website.

Registration General Form and Lodging Information
Registration for Infant Care
Registration for Children’s Activities
Overnight Lodging in Area Motels

Conference Schedule
Childcare and Youth Schedule
Auction Poster

Contact Information for District Conference Planners and District Staff

Insight Sessions

District Conference Special Projects

Conference Booklet (Coming Soon!)

2. DISTRICT CONFERENCE SPECIAL PROJECTS

From Judy Mill, District Witness Commission Chair

Sharing outreach stories: A reminder to each congregation/fellowship to send in articles/photos about a specific outreach to your community that your church is participating in that may be unique / custom designed to your group. We would like to share your story on a display table at district conference this summer. Please send / email to Judy Mill before conference…..preferably by June 30th. Please assign someone in your congregation to do this article. These stories are a means to encourage one another and give each other ideas of ways to reach out and better serve our community. Also, anydiaper making stories or news articles you would like to share, please get to me. Judy Mill, 30001 County Road 109, Lewiston, MN 55952judymill@hbci.com

Bring non-perishible food items to District Conference to help with the local food shelf in the area. Be sure to remind one another in your congregation / fellowship to bring these food items. There will be a table to place your items on at district conference.

Bring your completed diapers for Haiti to District Conference. We will be displaying some of them and hope to have a time for dedicating them and blessing the hands that made them and the babies that receive them. The diapers can come in bags or boxes. Do not tape the boxes. They will all need to be counted and boxed up later when Judy takes them to Rochester.
From Paul Coffman, Heifer Project Advocate

Call for Heifer Project Pictures: Some individuals and churches in N Plains District have pictures relating to local Church of the Brethren beginnings of Heifer Project (now Heifer International). There are historical pictures of heifers ready to be shipped from various church communities in our district. There are pictures of the “sea-going cowboys” who helped in the overseas shipments. If you or your church has such pictures please bring them (or copies of them) to District Conference where we can share them in a display. They should be labeled with pertinent information. Please let Paul Coffman know ahead of time if you plan to bring pictures. Paul Coffman, 29297 150th St., South English, IA 52335, 319 667-5070, pcoffman@netins.net

From Linda Lantz, District Nuture Commission Chair

Sharing Books at District Conference: Do you have books of a religious or spiritual nature that you would like to share with someone else? The Nurture Commission is inviting you to bring a few books to District Conference. They will be placed in the Display area and be available to anyone for a donation. Contact Linda Lantz, chair of the Nurture commission with questions. 515-833-2608 or delantz@iowatelecom.net.

From Alta Gahm, District Conference Planning Committee

Auction Items: Start looking for items to auction in support of Northern Plains District. It could be a quilt, winter scarf, wood craft, collectible figurines, gooseberry jelly, or three prong forks. Anything your imagination can come up with. It doesn’t have to be handmade. Bring the items to Conference on July 30. The auction will be held after the close of the business session on Saturday. You can download and print out the auction poster found on theresource page of the District Conference website.

3. 2011 ANNUAL CONFERENCE WEBCASTS

For 2011, every business session and every worship service at Annual Conference will be webcast. To view the live broadcasts over the internet, simply open your browser to www.brethren.org/webcasts, and then click on Annual Conference. The broadcast window will appear on the Annual Conference broadcast page. Additionally, recordings of each webcast will be available shortly after each session concludes, so those not able to watch live (or those wanting to review a session) may view the recordings from the links provided.
For the second year in a row, we encourage congregations to consider joining with all the attendees gathered at Annual Conference, and many other congregations across the country, to share Sunday morning worship together via the webcast. Using a computer to project Sunday morning’s worship live (or recorded, in the case of congregations in western time zones), congregations can share in the prayers, the singing, and the preaching right from the conference floor for their worship July 3. Last year, estimates were that well over 1,000 Brethren from 16+ states joined in. (For technical assistance to help your congregation join in this country-wide worship service, please feel free to contact Enten Eller, the webcast producer, atEnten@webcastcentral.net.)

4. NEWS FROM ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Onsite news reporting from Annual Conference 2011 will begin with reports from the Standing Committee meetings and other pre-Conference events as of Friday, July 1, or before. During the Conference itself, from July 2-6, daily news reports and photo albums will report on business decisions, worship, and other special events. The Conference sermons will be posted online along with worship bulletins. Find the onsite reporting from Grand Rapids atwww.brethren.org/news.

5. BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF LEADERSHIP:

Leading By Teaching—Matthew 28:20

Lois Grove, Minister of Leadership Development

When I write this piece on leadership each month I’m sure there are those who take one look and say, “This doesn’t apply to me, I’m not a leader in the church.” SO, I’m going to shift the term “leader” to that of ‘teacher” this month. In Matthew 28:20 we have these words of Jesus—“Go ye into all the world…….teaching them to observe all the things that I have commanded you.”

All of us are teachers whether we are aware of it or not. A friend of mine who was attempting to quit smoking, saw his 3-year old son pick up a small stick, pretend to puff on it, and breathe a sigh of contentment. At that epiphany moment, my friend, a doctor, knew he was a teacher and quit his habit right away.

Because we all are teachers, commissioned to be disciples of all that Jesus has taught and commanded us, we have a huge responsibility placed on us. The teaching we do doesn’t necessarily happen during the Sunday School hour—we teach by paying attention to the people in our church communities who sit day after day unvisited in care centers; we teach by prioritizing a lifestyle that values people over things; we teach by eating healthy food and exercising our bodies, treating them as a special part of God’s creation; we teach by carving out set-aside time each day to renew and rejuvenate our relationship with the one who created us; we teach by………………………….

Blessings on the journey as you teach accordingly to what you have learned from the Master Teacher.

6. CAMP PINE LAKE LODGE TURNS 50 YEARS OLD NEXT YEAR

Plans are underway to celebrate in 2012 the 50 year anniversary of our Camp Pine Lake Lodge. To see the June 10, 1962 service bulletin for the dedication of the lodge, click here.

7. SUMMER INTERN WORKING ON DISTRICT COMMUNICATIONS

Hannah Button-Harrison is working this summer as an intern with Northern Plains District in the area of digital communications. She is the daughter of Tim and Mary Jane Button-Harrison and will be a senior at Carleton College in Northfield, MN, studying music and education. She has met with a small group of young adults from Northern Plains District (plus a Denominational staff person) who will work with her as an advisory group to improve and expand communications within the District and also to develop a Minister of Communications position to begin in 2012. She has created a 2011 District Conference website to share conference information online and is beginning to develop a general website for the District. The general website address will be www.nplains.org. You will be hearing about other projects throughout the summer. Hannah can be contacted at nplainscom@gmail.com.

8. CHRISTINA SINGH: A COURAGEOUS AND CONTAGIOUS WOMAN

In 2009, a young pastor came to Panora Church of the Brethren to minister to their needs. She knew what it was to feel alone and afraid; she knew what it was to be separated from family who had been a part of her life. As a part of her healing from brokenness and separation, Christina Singh has written a book: From Krishna to Christ. The book was recently released on Amazon.com.

From Krishna to Christ is a memoir of a young woman’s heartrending experiences of subjugation to the will of men in her family and the Hindu society, and the breaking of the shackles of bondage into the light of freedom. It is a story of her journey and slow transformation from being a servile Hindu woman and worshiping Hindu gods of clay – namely Krishna, Shiva and Ram, to her faith and trust in Jesus Christ. She finally emerged as a mature and enlightened woman in spite of the difficulties and persecutions she faced in following Jesus. The story starts from her childhood. Early in life she encountered a picture of Christ with open arms, which sparked her curiosity. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English in India. She left her family in 1980, to teach and be principal in a Christian school. As she began teaching in a Christian school, she was separated from her family because of her faith in God. From that point, Christina had to set her goals and accomplish them without the support of family.

After over 20 years of teaching and being principal, she finally enrolled to Bethany Theological Seminary and completed her Master of Divinity degree. When she left her family to avoid an arranged marriage and a harsh religion, she dedicated her life totally to God and is now serving as pastor in Panora Church of the Brethren.

When Christina attended the Women’s Retreat in 2009, she was aglow with her love for God, her passion for ministry, and her zeal for sharing the gospel in the Panora community. Coming to the United States in 2003 she decided to attend Bethany Seminary and graduated with a Masters of Divinity. Christina’s husband Alfred, an accomplished educator and musician, became her support and mentor for the Christian faith and ministry. She was prompted to write the book and share her story by the Holy Spirit, encouraged by her husband Alfred and Susan Yanos at Bethany Seminary. She hoped her story of overcoming oppression might help others who struggle to become Christians and leave their childhood faith and home.

Christina Singh is another amazing Courageous and Contagious woman in Northern Plains. You can order her book from Amazon.com online. Here is a picture of the book-cover.

9. LOIS WILLIAMS: A COURAGEOUS AND CONTAGIOUS WOMAN

One of the most energetic women in the Northern Plains District will be serving her chicken and noodles the third Friday night of each month in the Fire Station in Eddyville Iowa. The last time chicken hind quarters were on sale, Lois Williams bought 70 pounds. She makes noodles from 12-15 eggs to go with the chicken. The ‘chicken and noodle’ supper started as her gesture for the people who were left alone, and needed an evening out. Now the monthly community event attracts about 80 people.

Lois keeps quite a schedule. In addition to serving the Monroe County Church of the Brethren, she’s been on call for Hospice since 1999 and holds services at the nursing home in Albia once a month. The last four years, Lois presented the scholarship on behalf of the community to seniors, and had Scripture and prayer at the graduation ceremony for Eddyville-Blakesburg High School. This year she has officiated at 5 baptisms, and 7 weddings; she has also officiated at 14 funerals. Since she resides in the Eddyville area and has long standing acquaintance in the community, Lois gets many calls from the community for ministerial services; last year she preached 73 sermons, serving two churches—Monroe County COB and Bethel Christian Church..

Lois lives 1 1/2 miles from Eddyville. She raises a big garden with 60 tomato plants, beans, cabbage, zucchini, carrots and other vegetables; she cans a great deal of it to serve at the monthly suppers. In addition to the garden, Lois mows the 3 acre lawn.

Lois lost her parents early in life and was raised by an older sister. She preached her first sermon when she was 16 and received her license in 1938; she will receive an award for her ministry of 70 years in the Wesleyan Church this year!! She has ministered at the Monroe County church since 1991.

Lois has worked at many things besides ministry; she was a foster parent for 30 years, and had 32 kids in her care during that time. She also worked at the hospital which gave her insight for her role in Hospice. In addition, Lois had her own family to care for. Now she enjoys watching her grandkids play ball; she received a call one Saturday in June that her grandkids from Danville were playing in Eddyville tournament. .A group of eight were fed supper at Lois’ home—hot dogs, hamburgers, cookies, cottage cheese and ice cream. Lois stayed at the games until 9:20 p.m. watching her grandkids win two out of three games.

Courageous, contagious, and energetic—three adjectives that describe 89 year old Lois Williams, a long time servant of God!

10. 2011 DISTRICT DIRECTORY AVAILABLE ONLINE

The 2011 Northern Plains District Directory has been distributed to congregations, pastors, and District Board members. Click here to access an online and printable version of the 2011 Directory. For the 2011 District budget section of the directory click here. If you would like a digital version of the final section of the directory (names, addresses, phone numbers and emails of District and congregational leaders) email Tim Button-Harrison,nplainscob@gmail.com. To request a paper copy of the 2011 Directory, contact Nancy Davis, npofficesecretary@gmail.com.

11. DISTRICT PRAYER MINISTRY: CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER CALENDARS

Click on the name of your congregation to open your prayer calendar. It can be downloaded to your computer, emailed to others in your congregation, or printed out. Ankeny, Beaver, Big Sky¸Cedar Rapids, Common Spirit, Dallas Center, English River, Fairview, Fredericksburg, Greene, Hammond Avenue,Hands of Christ, Iowa River, Ivester, Lewiston, Libertyville, Living Peace, Monroe County, Mount Etna, Open Circle, Ottumwa, Panora, Panther Creek,Peace, Prairie City, Robins, Root River, Salem, Sheldon, South Waterloo, Stover Memorial, Worthington.

12. DISTRICT CALENDAR OF EVENTS

—- 2011 —-

June 30-July 2, Council of District Executives, Grand Rapids, MI

July 2-6, Annual Conference, Grand Rapids, MI

July 19, District Professional Growth Committee, Conference Call, 10 a.m.

July 18-23, Senior High Camp at Camp Pine Lake

July 24, District Executive Preaching at South Waterloo COB

July 25-29, Middler Camp at Camp Pine Lake

July 29-31, District Conference, Camp Pine Lake, Eldora, IA

August 1-8, DE on vacation

August 1-6, Junior High Camp at Camp Pine Lake

August 12-14, 2^nd Annual District Men’s River Weekend at Camp Pine Lake

August 22-25, DE at Advanced Foundations for Church Leadership

September 3-5, All Ages Camp at Camp Pine Lake

September 5-9, National Older Adult Conference

September 8, Brethren Pastors Meeting, South Waterloo COB, noon

September 10, Church Development and Renewal Committee, Clear Lake Library 10:30

September 13, Brethren Pastors Meeting, Stover Memorial COB, 10 a.m.

September 16-17, District Women’s Retreat at Camp Pine Lake with Karen Knight

September 30-October 1, District Intercultural Workshop at Camp Pine Lake

October 2, World Communion Sunday Love Feasts

October 8, Camp Board Meeting

October 12-13, DE at Pastoral Compensation & Benefits Advisory Committee

October 28-29, District Board Meeting, location tba

November 5, Church Development and Renewal Committee, Clear Lake Library, 10:30

November 14-17, DE at Advanced Foundations for Church Leadership

—- 2012 —-

July 7-11, Annual Conference, St. Louis, MO

—- 2013 —-

June 29-July 3, Annual Conference, Charlotte, NC

—- 2014 —-

June 28-July 2, Annual Conference, Columbus, OH

—- 2015 —-

July 11-15, Annual Conference, Tampa, FL

13. DISTRICT STAFF CONTACT INFORMATION

Tim Button-Harrison, District Executive, 1211 Clark Ave., Ames, IA 50010, 641-485-5604, nplainscob@gmail.com

Nancy Davis, Office/Financial Secretary, P.O. Box 493, Ankeny, IA 50021, 515-964-4816, npofficesecretary@gmail.com

Lois Grove, Leadership Development, 6 Grenville St., Council Bluffs, IA 51503, 712-326-8266, grove19@msn.com

Matt and Betsy Kueker, Camp Managers, 23008 W Avenue, Eldora, IA 50627, 641-939-5334, camppinelake@heartofiowa.net

Barbara Lewczak, Camp Program Director, 26505 195th St., Minburn, IA 50167, 515-240-0060, bwlewczak@netins.net

Hannah Button-Harrison, Communications Intern, 1211 Clark Ave., Ames, IA 50010, 515-460-5365, nplainscom@gmail.com

14. ARCHIVES, DOCUMENTS, WEBSITES, BLOGS, PICTURES, ETC

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