[s-cars] Fwd:

[Robert Myers]

Paul, you may find this of interest.

>From: "David McKellip" <mtdove at msn.com>
>To: Multiple recipients of list COB-L <cob-l at bridgewater.edu>
>
>Subject: FYI
>
>
>Subject: Information about the Consultation on Alternative Service
>Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 16:53:26 -0600
>From: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford <cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb at brethren.org>
>
>Warm greetings to all. Following is a release from the General Board 
>giving the latest information we have on the upcoming Consultation on 
>Alternative Service that is being planned for March 4-5, to be hosted by 
>the Church of the Brethren at the General Offices in Elgin, Ill. Please 
>share this with your district leaders and with congregations and 
>individuals in the district who may be interested in or involved in 
>discussions regarding alternative service and preparations by the peace 
>churches in the event of a military draft.
>
>With best wishes--
>
>--Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
>Church of the Brethren General Board News Services
>
>*--------------------------------
>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>CHURCHES BEGIN PLANNING FOR ALTERNATIVES TO MILITARY SERVICE
>
>ELGIN, Ill. - Leaders from several Christian denominations will hold a 
>March 4-5 consultation in Elgin, Ill., to address contingency planning in 
>case of a US military draft. The consultation of church leaders-mostly 
>from peace churches in the Anabaptist tradition-will include education on 
>Selective Service requirements, updates on military recruiting efforts, 
>and wide-ranging conversations about alternatives to military service. It 
>also will address how to respond to an increase in military recruitment 
>efforts and how to promote a culture of volunteerism among youth.
>
>Selective Service is the federal agency that registers and maintains a 
>database of young men as they reach their 18th birthdays in order to 
>maintain an accounting of those available in the event of a military draft.
>
>The Council of Moderators and Secretaries (COMS), a group of leaders from 
>Anabaptist denominations, is sponsoring the by-invitation-only 
>consultation of about 80 people, which will be hosted at the General 
>Offices of the Church of the Brethren in Elgin. The planning group 
>includes representatives from the Church of the Brethren, the Mennonite 
>Church USA, the Brethren in Christ Church of North America, the US 
>Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, and Mennonite Central Committee 
>(MCC) US.
>
>Invited participants will include church leaders, church youth and young 
>adults, and representatives from church agencies and educational 
>institutions. The Church of the Brethren will have a delegation of about 
>12 people including the Annual Conference moderator and moderator-elect, 
>representatives of the General Board and On Earth Peace, and youth and 
>young adults. Other denominations have asked to be included in the 
>consultation and the planning group is considering inviting 
>representatives of the American Friends Service Committee and the 
>Bruderhof. In addition, an invitation is being extended to representatives 
>of the American Baptist Churches USA, which has a fraternal relationship 
>with the Church of the Brethren.
>
>The idea for the consultation comes in a time of war, sparked in part by 
>face-to-face conversations between Selective Service staff and staff of 
>the Church of the Brethren General Board. Planning for the consultation 
>has been facilitated by staff of MCC US, which have spent ten months 
>making contingency planning for such a meeting.
>
>In conversations with the Brethren staff, Selective Service staff 
>emphasized that there is no draft and none is coming, as indicated by 
>statements from the White House and Pentagon in recent months. They told 
>the Brethren that the conversations are in regards to preparedness only. 
>On Dec. 2 three Church of the Brethren staff directors-Phil Jones, 
>director of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office; Dan McFadden, director 
>of Brethren Volunteer Service; and Roy Winter, executive director of the 
>Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.-met with staff of the 
>Selective Service involved with the Alternative Service Division. The 
>Brethren requested the meeting after an unannounced visit by a member of 
>Selective Service to the Brethren Service Center, which has a long history 
>of being a site for organizing around issues of conscience and military 
>service. Most notably the center hosted Civilian Public Service workers 
>from 1944-46.
>
>The consultation "is important to all of us as Historic Peace Churches," 
>said Stan Noffsinger, general secretary of the Church of the Brethren 
>General Board. "The outcome of this gathering is strengthened through the 
>participation of each of these denominations," he said. The prospect for a 
>military draft "is a common denominator and we are proactive in 
>considering our next steps."
>
>"I think it's very important that the Anabaptist churches and those of us 
>with concerns for peace be working together," said McFadden, who 
>represents the Church of the Brethren on the planning group. "While the 
>political parties and leaders continue to say there will be no draft, it's 
>time for us to prepare," he said.
>
>MCC US executive director Rolando Santiago said he and MCC staff want to 
>emphasize planning across denominations for alternative service and 
>increased education about options other than the military. He noted that 
>the option of joining the military is often most attractive in 
>economically depressed communities, especially communities of color. 
>"Military recruitment messages emphasize generous education benefits, job 
>training, and the development of leadership skills as incentives for 
>enlistment, resulting in a virtual draft of those with few other 
>opportunities," said the MCC proposal for the consultation.
>
>The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to 
>continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its 
>faith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and 
>Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. 
>It celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 
>members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and 
>sister churches in Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.
>
># # #
>
>CONTACT:
>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, Director of News Services
>Church of the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120
>800-323-8039 ext. 260; cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb at brethren.org
>
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