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300th Anniversary Committee Members
Dean Garrett is an ordained minister serving part-time at Poplar Grove Church of the Brethren (Southern Ohio District) and has served other churches in that district in the past. He also works as an assistant pre-school teacher with the Preble County (Ohio) Head Start program. He lives in West Alexandria, Ohio and has served on the Southern Ohio District Historical Committee. Rhonda Pittman Gingrich is a member of the Open Circle Church of the Brethren (Northern Plains District), where she serves as volunteer coordinator of ministry with children and youth. An ordained minister, Rhonda is a freelance writer and congregational consultant, working particularly in the area of faith formation. She recently wrote Growing the Fruit of the Spirit, the 2007 Brethren Press Lenten devotional book. She also authored Heart, Soul, and Mind, the membership curriculum for the Church of the Brethren. Rhonda serves as recorder for the Anniversary Committee. Leslie Lake is Associate Pastor of East Chippewa Church of the Brethren (Northern Ohio District), where she directs music ministry, Christian education programs and ministers to youth. An ordained minister, she has been active in local religious education, in programs at Camp Inspiration Hills, and in district worship activities. Lorele Yager lives in Churubusco, Indiana. She has been very involved with youth ministries in a variety of congregations, and has often worked with junior high age youth. She has worked at the district level (Northern Indiana) with Christian education and served on the Church of the Brethren National Junior High Task Force for several years. Don Durnbaugh was professor emeritus of church history at Bethany Theological Seminary. He served as voluntary archivist and curator of Special Collections at Juniata College and a Fellow at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. He also authored several books on Church of the Brethren history, including The Fruit of the Vine, and led many heritage tours. Don was a valuable member of the Anniversary Committee, chairing it for three years. Because of his career as a scholar, teacher, and worker in the church, Don brought much-needed knowledge and insight—of Brethren history, of our place in the larger Christian family, and of the other Brethren bodies—to our work. He also shared stories and humor, his voice as we sang together, and his faith and his prayers. We are deeply saddened by his death and will miss his voice and his presence. |
Jeff Bach lives in Richmond, Indiana where he teaches history and Brethren-related courses at Bethany Theological Seminary. An ordained minister, he previously worked in pastoral ministry in Iowa and Kansas. He has written articles about Brethren history and has served on other Annual Conference committees. Jeff is currently chairing the Anniversary Committee.