Welcome to the McPherson Church of the Brethren | 200 N. Carrie, McPherson, Kansas | 620-241-1109
Our mission: "To be the body of Christ in our community,
sharing God's love and living the example of Jesus."
GREAT SUMMER OPPORTUNITY
3000 Miles for Peace Campaign workers needed: On Earth Peace seeks a Part-Time Campaign Organizer (paid position) and has other volunteer positions available.
Contact the On Earth Peace Office (www.onearthpeace.org) for additional information.
Peace through Justice●Care for Creation●Experiential Learning
Go. Meet. Learn. Gorw. Be renewed.
Change your world — and yourself!
NCP Learning Tours build community with our neighbors, explore important justice and environmental concerns, and offer opportunities to reflect on the connections between ourworld and their world. Expect basic but safe accommodations, an encounter with other culturesand ecosystems, good traveling companions, and plenty to think about. Trips are open to peopleof all ages, with every effort made to create experiences for folks from across the age and abilityspectrum. Cost excludes airfare and visas, but includes all on-the-ground expenses.
Ecuadorian Amazon June 13-22, 2013 Leaders: Delio, David Radcliff
Cost: $1150 ($1075—student) (plus airfare to and from Quito) Explore the rainforest, guided by Siona shaman Delio; see monkeys, birds, plants, pink dolphins—maybe even a jaguar; observe the impacts of oil drilling and ranching; visit indigenous communities; camp, canoe and hike in the Cuyabeno National Park; stay in remote but comfortable jungle lodge; visit land NCP is preserving.
Honduras July 12-21, 2013 Leaders: David Radcliff, Marisela Araujo
Cost: $675 ($600—student) (plus airfare to and from Honduras) Learn about poverty and its causes; visit and make friends in rural villages; take part in a community work project; experience the hospitality, faith and determination of the Honduran people.
Denali/Kenai Fjords National Parks, Alaska August 4-13, 2013 Leaders: Daniel Radcliff, David Radcliff
Cost: $850 ($750—student) (plus airfare to and from Anchorage) In Denali Park: camp, hike and take a day-long bus ride; see moose, grizzlies, Dall Sheep, a dogsled demonstration, and (if we’re lucky) Mt. McKinley, highest mountain in North America; spend a day doing a work project. In Seward on the SE coast: take a fjords cruise to observe whales, walruses, sea birds, and a massive glacier.
Nepal January 8-21, 2014 Leaders: Monita Rai, David Radcliff
Cost: $1150 ($1050—student) (plus airfare to and from Kathmandu) Experience South Asian culture and the breath-taking Himalaya Range. Visit Hindu temples, a Tibetan refugee camp, and communities where NCP supports women’s projects and girls’ education. Take a moderately strenuous two-day trek to a vantage point overlooking Annapurna II (optional activity available).
South Sudan February 9-23, 2014 Leaders: Gladys Mannanyu, Agness Amelito, David Radcliff
Cost: $1400 ($1300—student) (plus airfare to and from Uganda) Encounter the culture, politics, religious vitality and expansive landscape of South Sudan, the world’s newest nation. Learn about the challenges facing this poor and embattled yet determined people. Visit communities where NCP supports girls’ education, women’s development and reforestation. Enjoy a visit to Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda, home to elephants, giraffes, lions, and other amazing wildlife (additional cost).
For more information, visit www.newcommunityproject.org or contact David Radcliff at 888-800-2985; dradcliff@newcommunityproject.org.
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Registration Form
Trip I want to take ________________________________ $100 deposit enclosed_______
Name (as appears on passport for international trips)_____________________________________________________________
Address ______________________________________________________
Email _______________________________________________
Phone _______________________________________________
Special needs (diet or otherwise) ____________________________________________________________________________
For international trips: date of birth, passport no., date of expiration: ____________________________________________________________________________
Send to: New Community Project, 9036 W. Quail Track Drive, Peoria, AZ 85383 Make check payable to: New Community Project
NCP is deeply grateful for your interest in our work—we wouldn’t be entering our 10th year without your moral and material support! 2012 provided many opportunities for us to share our message of respect for God’s creation and justice for our neighbors. Highlights of the year included:
• Learning Tours that took 70 participants ranging in age from 14 to 68 to Nepal, the Dominican Republic, the Ecuadorian Amazon, and Denali/Kenai Fjords and Arctic Village, Alaska
• Sending $68,000 from our Give a Girl a Chance fund to Burma, El Salvador, South Sudan and Nepal for girls’ education and women’s development. 250 girls benefitted from scholarships and several thousand from sanitary materials, and over 500 women received support for small-scale economic development initiatives. $12,000 was sent from our If a Tree Falls… fund to our partners in Ecuador, Burma and South Sudan for reforestation and forest preservation.
• Over 150 presentations in schools, colleges and congregations, and dozens of work groups from churches and schools visiting our Sustainable Living Center in Harrisonburg, VA
• Progress on a $1.5 million Greenway being planned in Harrisonburg, as well as two houses being refurbished in the downtown area which will host people seeking a new direction in life, as well as a refugee family
• Our Muddybike gardening program in Harrisonburg supplying local schools, restaurants—and perhaps even the county jail—with fresh organic produce
• Intern Chelsea Goss in the second year of her two-year involvement with NCP
For more information on our projects and programs, visit www.newcommunityproject.org or email us at ncp@newcommunityproject.org
Blessings and peace as you carry out your many ministries within and beyond the congregation.
David Radcliff, director
News Release — February 23, 2013
Richmond, Indiana — The Bethany Theological Seminary Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that Rev. Dr. Jeffrey W. Carter of Manassas, Virginia, has accepted the call to serve as the Seminary’s tenth president, beginning July 1, 2013.
“The board of trustees is very pleased that someone with Dr. Carter’s commitment, talents and background answered the call to the leadership of Bethany,” stated Lynn Myers, chair of the board. “In our discussions, he told of being encouraged by a gentleman who had great influence in his decision to become a pastor. In his new role as president, we look to him to replicate that experience as he leads the Bethany effort to call those within and beyond the Church of the Brethren to vocations in ministry.”
An alumnus of the Seminary, Carter comes to Bethany with years of pastoral and denominational leadership in the Church of the Brethren. He is currently pastor and head of staff at Manassas Church of the Brethren, a position he has held since 2003. Previous pastoral ministry includes positions as associate pastor and team pastor at Manassas between 1995 and 2003 and two years as associate pastor at Florin Church of the Brethren in Mt. Joy, Pennsylvania.
Carter is a graduate of Bridgewater College with a bachelor’s degree in international studies. He earned a master of divinity degree from Bethany in 1998 and a doctorate in ministry with a concentration in practical theology and hermeneutics from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2006.
Bethany trustee Rhonda Pittman Gingrich chaired the Seminary’s Presidential Search Committee. “As we began our work, the committee sought input from a variety of constituencies,” she said. “A deep love for Christ and the church, a passion for intellectual and spiritual growth, pastoral experience, a commitment to building relationships within the denomination, and dynamic communication skills were among the many desired qualities identified during the information gathering stage. Dr. Carter not only embodies these qualities; he also brings the necessary leadership skills to fulfill the current strategic plan and a vision for the future.”
The Church of the Brethren has tapped Carter to serve in various denominational capacities throughout his ministry. Currently a member of Annual Conference Standing Committee, he chaired both the Annual Conference Study Committee on Denomination Name and the Forms Reception Committee as part of the Special Response Process. He has served on the Brethren Housing Corporation Board of Directors and been a featured speaker at Annual Conference, National Youth Conference, National Jr. High Conference, and many other events. Between 2000 and 2006, the Mid-Atlantic District called Carter to the district board, including the position of chair of the Ministry Commission, and to the role of district moderator.
Carter’s publications include contributions to Feasting on the Word, a commentary series published by John Knox Press, and the essay “Worship in the Church of the Brethren,” appearing in Worship Today: Understanding, Practice, Ecumenical Implications, published internationally through World Council of Churches Publications in Geneva, Switzerland. His articles for Church of the Brethren publications include regular contributions to Messenger magazine.
As a pastor, Carter has provided guidance and direction for the many facets of congregational life and ministry, emphasizing support of and involvement in the denomination and its programs. His earlier years involved the development and strengthening of Christian education and youth ministry, with increasing responsibility in administration of church programs and operations. He has worked with his congregation to acknowledge its needs and its potential, envision possibilities for growth, develop an effective strategic plan, and strengthen the church’s fiscal position. Throughout his ministry, Carter has demonstrated the importance of communication and relationship building.
“I am excited to join the Bethany community and offer my pastoral experience and academic commitments in leading the Seminary forward with great hope and promise. I look forward to deepening my relationship with students, staff, faculty, and trustees while embracing and extending the Seminary’s circle of friends.”
Carter has also extended the influence of the Church of the Brethren and his own faith commitment into wider circles. Prior to entering ministry, he served as a legislative aide with the Brethren Washington Office through Brethren Volunteer Service, participating with ecumenical and public policy advocacy agencies and representing the denomination’s views and positions in collaborating with government officials and organizations. From 2003-2010, Carter was the Church of the Brethren representative to the World Council of Churches and simultaneously served on the United States Conference of the World Council of Churches Board of Directors. He is currently lead chaplain for the Department of Fire and Rescue of Prince William County, Virginia.
“I have an abiding love for Christ and the church, a commitment to Incarnational education, a deep regard for the cultural and theological tradition of the Church of the Brethren, and an open imagination to new ways of being the church and calling forth and equipping leaders. Bethany Theological Seminary has a unique calling as it forms individuals and a church for ministry, witnesses to God’s shalomand Christ’s peace, and sends forth disciples to proclaim the good news of Christ Jesus. I look forward to beginning this new adventure in mission and ministry.”
Jenny Williams
Director of Communications and Alumni/ae Relations
765-983-1825