Church of the Brethren Webcast Series

The Church of the Brethren Webcast Series is a news and information partnership of all the Church of the Brethren agencies, produced by Bethany Theological Seminary. Webcasts feature conversations and interviews that highlight news, upcoming events, and items of interest. Listeners are invited to post comments and participate in discussions about each webcast. New webcasts are posted bi-weekly, or more frequently for breaking news. You may also subscribe to receive automatic updates.

Explore this site further by visiting our Frequently Asked Questions and archives. For more information about the Church of the Brethren, please visit www.brethren.org.

The Church of the Brethren Webcast Series is pleased to present live video webcasting of Bethany Theological Seminary's Inaugural Forum, "Hearing Scriptures of Peace," March 30-31, 2008. The Forum celebrates the recent call of Ruthann Knechel Johansen as president and the role of the Seminary as a resource for the church and beacon for the world. Recordings of these webcasts, viewable on your computer just like the live broadcasts, have now expired. If you still require access, please contact webcast@bethanyseminary.edu -- thank you for your interest!

The Inaugural Forum publicly marks the beginning of a new chapter at Bethany Seminary and opens the witness of the seminary and the Church of the Brethren to a world hungering for peace and justice. The roots of this witness are in scripture, reach back three hundred years in Church of the Brethren history, engage deeply and broadly faith questions of the present moment, and will extend into the future. We invite you to join us for the celebration of and commitment to this witness.

To learn more about the Forum, please visit the forum page at www.bethanyseminary.edu/forum.

Webcast Schedule (sessions that were webcast/recorded)

Sunday, March 30

1:30 - 2:30 p.m. EDT Plenary Session, Dr. Scott Appleby

The Incarnation of Reconciliation: Interpreting Scripture Through the Person of Jesus

4:15 - 5:15 p.m. EDT Presentations by Bethany Students

7:30 - 9:00 p.m. EDT Worship Service

During the worship, President Johansen will share "Asking for Wonder," and a quartet will present Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time.

Monday, March 31

8:30 - 9:30 a.m. EDT Plenary Session, Rabbi Rachel Gartner

Vechol Netivoteha Shalom: All the Paths of Torah are Peace

BONUS: Small Group Reflections and Reporting

1:15 - 2:15 p.m. EDT Plenary Session, Dr. Rashied Omar

Islam Beyond Tolerance: The Qur’anic Concept of Ta’ruf/Embrace

BONUS: Closing Worship

"It's a lot more than a yearly event when matters of concern are discussed," states the introductory video on the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference website. The 2008 Annual Conference, July 12-16 in Richmond, Virginia, promises to be just that. The Conference will mark the 300th anniversary of the Church of the Brethren, and will convene as a joint conference with the Brethren Church, bringing the two denominations together in such a gathering for the first time since the 1880s.

"War, violence, and inter-religious dialog are daily realities for our Christian sisters and brothers in Indonesia," says Scott Holland, associate professor of Theology and director of Peace Studies and Cross-Cultural Studies at Bethany Theological Seminary.  In this interview, Scott and Don Miller, professor emeritus of Christian Education, recount just a few of the many powerful testimonies of peace shared by citizens from various Asian countries at the December Historic Peace Churches International Conference.  It was the third in a series of gatherings sponsored by the World Council of Churches' Decade to Overcome Violence initiative. Other conferences were held in Switzerland in 2001 and Kenya in 2003.  Miller and Holland are joined by Dawn Ottoni Wilhelm, associate professor of Preaching and Worship, who attended the Kenya conference.

The Church of the Brethren Webcast Series, in collaboration with the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, with technical production courtesy of Bethany Theological Seminary, was pleased to host live interactive video streaming of the conference being held in honor of the 300th Anniversary of the Brethren movement (including the Church of the Brethren):

Honoring a Legacy, Embracing a Future:
Three Hundred Years
of Brethren Heritage

As each session that was able to be webcast becames available, there was a link that allowed one to see and hear the conference sessions. Recordings of those broadcasts are now available here for viewing over the internet... simply click the link associated with each session to watch the recording!

(Links to recordings have been updated as of 2/22/2008!) 

SESSIONS BROADCAST:

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11

7:30p Keynote Address by Stewart Hoover
"Brethren Heritage and Modern Culture: Vision and Challenge"
view recording

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12

8:15 am to 9:30 am CONTEMPORARY ISSUES PANEL
“Living Our Twenty-First Century Faith: Being Brethren in a Pluralistic Society”
view recording

10:00 am to 11:00 am PLENARY SESSION
“Anabaptist and Pietist Influences on the Early Brethren: Approach to Brethren Beginnings” -- Marcus Meier
(permission not granted to broadcast or record)

11:00 am to 12:15 pm PEACE PANEL
Panel: “Honoring our Peace Witness Through Activism and Scholarship”
Timothy McElwee, Kenneth Brown, Cliff Kindy, Deborah Roberts
view recording

2:00 pm to 3:00 pm PLENARY SESSION
“Balancing Word and Spirit in Anabaptist, Pietist, and Brethren Hermeneutics” --Dale Stoffer
view recording

3:30 pm to 4:45 pm PEACE
“The Brethren Witness and the Search for a Culture of Peace in Africa”
Donald E. Miller
“Pennsylvania's Civil War Conscientious Objectors: A Brethren Perspective”
Jonathan R. Stayer
view recording

7:00 pm PLENARY SESSION
“The New Testament Is Our Creed: Brethren and the Canon”
Chris Bucher
view recording

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13

8:15 am to 9:00 am PLENARY SESSION
“A Profile of the Church of the Brethren Today”
--Carl Desportes Bowman
(permission not granted to broadcast or record)

9:15 am to 10:00 am PLENARY SESSION
Panel of Young Adults: "What Story Will a Peace Church Tell?"
Scott Holland
view recording

10:30 am to 11:30 am PLENARY SESSION
“Reflections on What I Have Heard”
Richard T. Hughes
view recording

Listen to the reflections of two members of the Sudan Initiative's Assessment Team on their recent trip to investigate mission locations. Phil and Louise Rieman share their thoughts and experiences during this short audio cast. In addition to many opportunities for ministry in Sudan, there are many questions. Will there be more violence? How can our gifts as peacemakers compliment the vision for reconciliation in a place that has know war for decades? The Riemans share ideas about how members of the Church of the Brethren can be the hands and feet of Christ to our sisters and brothers in Sudan in the coming years.

"Can You Do One Thing?" Kurt Borgmann, pastor of the Manchester Church of the Brethren, asked this question then he spoke at the denominational Deacon Luncheon at the 2007 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. In this webcast, Kurt reflects that each deacon has at least one gift, or expression of caring, to give. Then he considers the question, "What if every deacon gave their one gift of caring consistently and generously?" Kurt's presentation would benefit every deacon, and especially those who are considering the call to serve as a deacon. So tell your friends or plan your next meeting around this webcast titled, "Can You Do One Thing?"

Preparations for the 221st Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in Cleveland Ohio are nearing completion! Soon all will be ready for members to gather from across the country and around the world to worship God, tend to God's ministry, and symbolically gather as one body.

The recent tragedy at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute has generated several debatable issues, including gun control and how to help deeply troubled individuals who do not pursue mental health treatment and cannot be mandated to receive treatment as an adult. In a series of five webcasts, psychologist John Wenger of Anderson, Indiana, a member of the Church of the Brethren, offers a deeper understanding of mental illness, and opportunities for individuals and congregations to support individuals and families who live with mental illness.

This first of five webcasts on mental illness addresses the question, "Is there a relationship between violence and mental illness?"