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BRETHREN WORLD ASSEMBLY July 23-26, 2003 Grace College
200 Seminary Drive
Winona Lake, Indiana 46590 Tel. 574-372-5100 Brethren representing more than 3,400 congregations consisting of over 600,000 members located in twenty-three nations around the world will gather for worship, fellowship, and celebration Publications:
Travel Assistance:
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Registration & Housing:
Meals will be served in Westminster Hall, where Assembly meetings will also be held. The rates listed here include three nights lodging and eight meals (Wednesday dinner through Saturday break-fast). Double occupancy - $122 Single occupancy - $152 For those who prefer, there are many motels in the Winona Lake/Warsaw area as well as numerous restaurants. Those attending for a single day are asked to pay a registration fee of $20. Those attending only the evening services on Wednesday, Thursday, and/or Friday will not be asked to register, but will be en-couraged to contribute to a free-will offering. The registration fee and form (postmarked by June 30, 2003) should be mailed to Brethren World Assembly, c/o Bill Darr, 200 Seminary Drive, Wi-nona Lake, IN 46590. Full payment with registra-tion is strongly encouraged. Please make checks payable to Grace College. A letter of confirmation along with travel directions and a campus map will be mailed to registrants. Please make check payable to Grace College and mail it with this registration form to: Brethren World Assembly Attention Bill Darr Grace College and Seminary 200 Seminary Drive Winona Lake, IN 46590
Exhibits and Book Sales:
Program:
The program will begin at 3:00 p.m. in the meet-ing room at Westminster Hall. The open session will feature papers on the historical roots of Church of the Brethren missions by A. Ferne Baldwin and histori-cal roots of Progressive Brethren missions by Ronald T. Clutter. The evening service will present a preacher from one of the Church of the Brethren international bodies with worship leadership pro-vided by Church of the Brethren members from Indi-ana. On Thursday morning, Dale R. Stoffer will lead a session on Brethren-sponsored denominations and congregations outside the United States. On Thurs-day afternoon, Mervin B. Keeney will lead a session on Church of the Brethren-sponsored denominations and congregations outside the United States. On Thursday evening another worship service will pre-sent a preacher from one of The Brethren Church international bodies with worship leadership pro-vided by Brethren Church members from Indiana. The Friday morning session will deal with Grace Brethren-sponsored denominations and congrega-tions outside the United States. The afternoon ses-sion will deal with brethren-sponsored short-term and long-term service projects around the world. Kenneth M. Shaffer, Jr. will present a paper on the origins of Brethren service programs and projects in the mid-twentieth century. A panel of a representa-tive of each of the six Brethren bodies will detail the involvement of their groups in service activities cur-rently. The preacher on Friday evening will be James L. Custer, Senior Pastor of the Columbus, Ohio, Grace Brethren Church. Worship leadership will be provided by Grace Brethren members from Indiana.
Tour:
We will then go to Camp Mack, where we will see the murals depicting the history of the Church of the Brethren in thirteen large panels with figures nearly life size. Other historical memorials around the campus will be noted. Closing meal will be served by the Camp. Winona Lake, Indiana, is an historic religious center in the Midwest. Brethren have held many annual conferences there. It has been the home of the Grace Brethren Denominational Offices since 1939. Many quaint shops line the streets near the lake. One can visit the Billy Sunday museum and home, as well as the Rhodehaver museum which is located in the former Westminster Hotel-now Grace College's Westminster Hall. Westminster Hall Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Indi-ana, was founded in 1937; Grace College began as a two-year college in 1948. The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches eventually developed from the association of Brethren Church congregations
History:
The second Brethren World Assembly was held in 1998 at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Vir-ginia. The theme was "Faith and Family - Chal-lenges and Commitments." Field excursions took conference attendees to Linville Creek to visit the sites of John Kline's murder and his former home; Tunker House, the former home of Peter Nead and M. R. Zigler and a designated National Historic Site; and the Linville Creek cemetery where John Kline and M. R. Zigler are buried. At this meeting, the Conservative Grace Brethren Church International became an active participant in the Brethren Ency-clopedia organization. This year the Assembly will be hosted by Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana. The theme is "Brethren Presence Around the World." Some of the Brethren bodies have active foreign mission pro-grams which have resulted in many congregations and denominational organizations outside the United States. There are more than 1,800 congregations of Brethren in at least 22 nations on every continent (except Antarctica). Total membership outside the United States is rather sketchy, but probably is at least 400,000. So there is a world-wide Brethren movement with more than 3,400 congregations and more than 600,000 members located in twenty-three nations. In addition to these permanently situated congregations, there are many Brethren around the world serving in short-term and long-term service ministries. This conference theme helps us visualize the question: Where are the Brethren around the world and what are they doing?
Brethren bodies:
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