Bridges newsletter (on small screens)
- Gifts to live on: Caring for children after the Maui fires
Judi Frost is a member of the Week of Compassion Board of Stewards and a trained and experienced CDS volunteer. She deployed to Maui after the wildfires with an early CDS team to set up a center for children to be cared for while parents who have finally found some temporary shelter begin to ponder what’s next.
- Register by April 1 for FaithX service trip in partnership with Brethren Disaster Ministries
Dawson Springs, Ky., will be the location of the FaithX adult (age 18-plus) service trip in partnership with Brethren Disaster Ministries on July 28-Aug. 3, 2024. There is still time to sign up for this trip if you are interested! FaithX registration can be found at www.brethren.org/faithx and will close on April 1.
- Children’s Disaster Services offers series of volunteer training workshops
Registration is now open for the Spring 2024 Children's Disaster Services (CDS) Volunteer Training Workshops. If you have a heart for serving children and families in need following a disaster, find the schedule, cost, and a registration link at www.brethren.org/cds/training/dates.
- A pastoral statement for Haiti
Church of the Brethren general secretary David Steele has shared the following pastoral statement for Haiti during a state of emergency and widespread violence in the Caribbean island nation. The full text of the pastoral statement follows in three languages: English, Haitian Kreyol, and French:
- Brethren Disaster Ministries extends rebuilding project site in Kentucky
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff have announced that the rebuilding project currently serving Dawson Springs, Ky., has been extended until Aug. 17, 2024. This project is rebuilding homes as part of the 2021 tornado recovery in Hopkins County. Brethren Disaster Ministries opened the project site in January 2023.
- People killed, church communities attacked in Christmastime violence in Nigeria
Congregations and communities of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) were among those suffering attacks during the Christmas season in northern Nigeria, reported EYN staff.
- Brethren Disaster Ministries celebrates house blessings, attends events with Kentucky governor
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff and volunteers celebrated house blessings for homes that the disaster rebuilding program completed last year in Kentucky. House blessings were held last summer and fall for homes completed for tornado survivors in Dawson Springs, Ky.
- Last round of grants for the year announced by denominational funds
A last round of grants for the year 2023 were given from three funds of the Church of the Brethren: the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF--support this ministry with donations at https://churchofthebrethren.givingfuel.com/bdm); the Global Food Initiative (GFI--support this ministry with donations at https://churchofthebrethren.givingfuel.com/gfi); and the Brethren Faith in Action Fund (BFIA--see www.brethren.org/faith-in-action).
- CDS helps care for children and families among asylum seekers in Chicago area
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) deployed a team of three volunteers to Oak Park, Ill., to aid children and families among asylum seekers who have been sent to Chicago from the southern border of Texas. The team served from Monday, Nov. 6, to Thursday, Nov. 9, caring for 51 children.
- Children’s Disaster Services deploys to Lewiston, Maine
On Oct. 28, Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) deployed a team of five Critical Response Childcare volunteers to Lewiston, Maine, in partnership with the Red Cross. This deployment was made in response to the mass shootings at two locations in Lewiston in which 18 people were killed and 13 others were injured.
Bridges newsletters
Bridges – Winter 2023/4 (500KB)
Ways to serve, Rebuilding updates, 2023 projects and expenses, Nigeria, DR Congo, and more
Bridges – Fall 2023 (2 MB)
CDS deployments, BVS volunteers, Hurricane Ida response, global updates, and more
Bridges – Summer 2023 (943 KB)
Rebuilding and CDS updates, Kentucky project, assistance in the DR Congo and Rwanda, and more
Bridges – Winter 2023 (2 MB)
A New Home for Survivors and BDM Volunteers, Trauma and Children: Why CDS is Important to Children After Disasters, and more
Bridges – Fall 2022 (2 MB)
2022 Hurricanes Response, BVS Volunteer Joins BDM Rebuilding Team, North Fort Myers Church of the Brethren: Responding to God’s Call, and more
Bridges – Summer 2022 (2 MB)
Ukraine, Children’s Disaster Service and Rebuilding updates, disaster response auctions, and more
Bridges – Winter 2022 (1 MB)
Hurricane Florence long-term recovery, winter tornado response, volcano response in DR Congo, Homes for Haiti, Nigeria Crisis Response update, CDS news, and more
Bridges – Fall 2021 (1 MB)
CDS updates, Nigeria Crisis Response, volcano relief in DRC, Afghan refugees, Haiti earthquake response, Rebuild updates, and more
Bridges – Summer 2021 (1 MB)
Hurricanes, tornadoes, migrating children, volcanoes, and northeast Nigeria
Bridges – Winter 2021 (1.8 MB)
2020 reports (BDM, CDS, Nigeria Crisis), hurricanes in Central America, Puerto Rico celebration, house blessings, and more.
Bridges – Fall 2020 (293 KB)
Rise up Brethren! COVID-19 pandemic grants, DR Congo flood relief, Lebanon explosion, Iowa derecho response, and more.
Bridges – Summer 2020 (904 KB)
Choosing to serve in these challenging times: COVID-19 grants, CDS updates, Rebuild news and plans, Puerto Rico, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo
Bridges – Winter 2020 (1.50 MB)
EDF grant supports district response to Puerto Rico earthquakes, Home sweet home, Angels serving after forgotten storms, Wrapping up in Nichols, S.C., Rebuilding updates, Hurricane Dorian response in the Bahamas
Bridges – Fall 2019 (1.34 MB)
Puerto Rico partnership, CDS updates, American Red Cross honors CDS volunteers, Rebuilding news, border crisis, Nigeria progress, Hurricane Dorian – Bahamas
Bridges – Summer 2019 (699 KB)
Rebuilding updates, Puerto Rico, VOAD conference, South Sudan relief, cyclones hit southern Africa, CDS updates
Bridges – Winter 2019 (435 KB)
Art, CDS news, Puerto Rico recovery, USVI report, upcoming disaster auctions, 2018 report, Nigeria update, Honduras flood response, and more
Bridges – Fall 2018 (1.04 MB)
Hurricane response, Rebuild update, CDS deployments, Nigeria Crisis, lessons during the hurricane
Bridges Summer 2018 (837 KB)
Puerto Rico: The race to rebuild; DRSI in the USVI; Kathy Fry-Miller retirement announcement; BDM at National VOAD 2018, and more.
Bridges – Winter 2018 (414 KB)
Children’s Disaster Services report, Hurricane Maria response, Rebuild program update, disaster response in Missouri, Nigeria, and more.
For older back issues of Bridges, contact the BDM office.