Presidential Forum -- April 13-14, 2012
Registration opens January 5, 2012

Bethany's fourth Presidential Forum will focus on the intersection of sexuality and spirituality.

Bethany Seminary and Earlham School of Religion's (ESR) weekly Peace Forum gathering is growing! Not only are participants sitting on the floor because the room's 90 chairs are full, the crowd is gathering online. Peace Forum presentations can be viewed live or in archived form. Online participants in the live webcasts can even pose questions and comments to the presenter.

Bethany Seminary’s board of trustees met March 25-27, 2011, for their semi-annual meeting at the Bethany campus in Richmond, Indiana. In addition to hearing reports from all areas of the Seminary and passing several action items, the board took time to reflect on Bethany’s role in the twenty-first-century church.

In Hebrew scriptures, we learn that the sabbath was a time of rest, waiting for God in meditation and prayers, and restoration of right relationship with God, creation, and one another. Throughout Christian history, our forebears turned to Scripture, various forms of individual and communal prayer, and fasting to listen for God’s leading and to cease from fear and rancor. In the beginning of our sacred scriptures we read that God establishes the earth and all creation and that it is good. And in the closing book of Revelation we hear again a vision of restored creation where a river flows from the throne of God and the leaves from the tree of life planted by the river are for the healing of the nations (Rev. 22:1-2).

Brethren Academy Announces Launch of Spanish Language Ministry Training Track

BY CHERYL-BRUMBAUGH CAYFORD
Director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren

A new Spanish language ministry training track is being created for the Church of the Brethren, through the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership and a Mennonite ministry certification program, Seminario Biblico Anabautista Hispano. The Brethren Academy is a partnership of the Church of the Brethren and Bethany Theological Seminary.

Live Webcast of the Historic Peace Churches Conference (La Conferencia de las Iglesias Históricas de la Paz)

La Conferencia de las Iglesias Históricas de la Paz de las Américas será realizada en la República Dominicana desde el 28 de noviembre hasta el 2 de diciembre de 2010.

The Bethany Theological Seminary Board of Trustees gathered at the Richmond, Indiana, campus for their semi-annual meeting October 29-31, 2010. The Board celebrated several significant accomplishments, including receipt of two grants, acceptance of a proposal for a distributed education track for the Master of Arts degree, and ongoing partnerships with the World Council of Churches related to the Decade to Overcome Violence initiative.

Exploring Your Call, a summer program for youth, will take place at Bethany Theological Seminary on June 17-27, 2011. This ten-day event provides the opportunity for young people entering their junior or senior year of high school in Fall 2011 to explore faith and vocation through courses, congregational involvement, community service projects, personal and spiritual enrichment, and recreation. Ruthann Knechel Johansen, president of the Seminary, says, “Initiatives like this are crucial for the long term health and witness of the church. I am pleased that Bethany will once again offer Exploring Your Call.”