Office of the General Secretary

Stanley J. Noffsinger

Church of the Brethren responds to incorrect headline

The October 20, 2011 Carroll County Times front-page headline is not correct in stating that the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Maryland, is closing.
Read the complete press release.

General secretary to speak at Dunker Church service

Photos by Massachusetts Commandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and the US Army Military History Institute, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Kelly's Studio, Hagerstown, Maryland.

The Dunker Church of Antietam Battlefield during the Civil War and as it looks today.

General secretary Stan Noffsinger will be the preacher for the 41st Annual Dunker Church Service on Sunday, September 18, at 3:00 pm, at the Antietam National Battlefield, near Sharpsburg, Md. This worship service will be in the restored Mumma Meeting House, commonly referred to today as the Dunker Church. It was built in 1853 and heavily damaged by the September 17, 1862, Battle of Antietam. After extensive repairs were made, services resumed in the summer of 1864. This service is sponsored by area Church of the Brethren congregations.

• Information on the Dunker Church from the Brethren Historical Library and Archives
• Information from the National Park Service

Spiritual Preparation for Church of the Brethren Annual Conference 2011

Moderator Robert Alley has helpfully reminded us that preparation for Annual Conference is not just about finalizing details or writing presentations. It must also include time to prepare our souls.

Beginning June 13, Church of the Brethren employees are invited to engage in soulful preparation for Annual Conference, using worship guides based on typical patterns of common prayer.

The scripture readings were provided by Moderator Alley, and the Psalms come from various lectionary resources. Both texts for each day are for prayer and discernment. May their words provide the meeting ground between our souls, the heart of God, and the work of Christ’s church before us in Grand Rapids.

Click here for employee worship guides.

Church responds to apology offered at 300th Anniversary gathering in Schwarzenau

Photo by Nancy Miner

During the international celebration of the 300th Anniversary of the Brethren movement, held in 2008 in Schwarzenau, Germany, the Brethren received an apology for the persecution their faith ancestors suffered during the early 1700s in Europe. Ingo Stucke, a member of the Governing Board of the Protestant Church of Westphalia, Germany, made the apology during the formal Anniversary Program on the afternoon of August 3, 2008.

Stucke prefaced the apology with remarks noting that he has been gaining insights into the history of Anabaptist and Pietist movements. He named three conclusions about the ecumenical coexistence of his own faith tradition with that of the Brethren: that the Protestant Church of Westphalia was founded after World War II but is located in the first German territory where religious tolerance prevailed historically; that it was Lutheran and Reformed Christians who persecuted the Pietists and Anabaptists; and that where Pietism and revival movements have been active they have left their mark.

Stucke characterized a celebration like the 300th Anniversary of the Brethren as an invitation to place commonalities in the foreground, an occasion to critically examine theological concepts about baptism and other marks of faith, and perhaps a call for more conversation about theology.

In response to this formal apology, the Church of the Brethren has responded with a letter to the Church of Westphalia.  In the letter, the Church of the Brethren “officially confirm(ed) that we gladly forgive you with open hearts…seeking the ongoing, reconciling work of Jesus Christ.”

The response also opens the door to further conversations with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Germany and for ongoing conversation with the Church of Westphalia that will heal these centuries-old wounds.

Read the letter in English or in German.

Let's Move! initiative

Pastoral letter on the call to end childhood obesity

The national initiative, Let’s Move!, is focused on solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation. It is nothing short of terrifying that for the first time in two centuries, the current generation of children in America may have shorter life expectancies than their parents.

The Church of the Brethren was invited to participate in the component of this program focused on the role of faith and local communities in dealing with this crisis. We have developed a multi-phased approach designed to assist and encourage congregations and individuals to get involved locally, described in a letter from general secretary Stan Noffsinger.

Click to see a video summary of the CCT gathering.

Christian Churches Together meets in Birmingham

Christian Churches Together (CCT) gathered Jan. 10-14, 2011, in Birmingham, Ala., as representatives of churches and Christian organizations across the United States, in order to examine the issue of poverty through the lens of racism. At the end of its annual meeting, CCT issued a letter responding to the famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail" that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s sent to a group of clergy in Birmingham in 1963. “So far as we know, no one has ever issued a clergy response to Dr. King's letter,” CCT said.

Read the CCT letter to Dr. King here (PDF).

Bullying

Pastoral letter on bullying
Our response to bullying, at its base, is a response to violence. Bullying, for any reason and in any manner, is inconsistent with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

General secretary Stan Noffsinger has issued a pastoral letter in response to this form of violence. Click here to download a copy of the letter in PDF format.

Click here for anti-bullying resources.

General Assembly marks 100 years of ecumenism
The recent Centennial Gathering of the National Council of Churches (NCC) and Church World Service (CWS) brought more than 400 people to New Orleans, La., to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1910 World Mission Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland--an event many church historians regard as the beginning of the modern ecumenical movement.

The following links to the National Council of Churches website provide more in-depth coverage of the Centennial Gathering.

• Gillette hymn captures the spirit of the Centennial Gathering
• NCC Governing Board calls for end to the War in Afghanistan
• Young adults hold third annual NewFire gathering
• Ecumenical Women are a powerful presence
• Statements and resolutions
• Gathering closes
• Follow-up on New START II action

Congregations invited to join in against gun violence
The NCC has released a letter to local congregations describing actions they can join in against gun violence. Suggestions include taking direct action against irresponsible gun sellers in partnership with organizations like Heeding God’s Call (www.heedinggodscall.org), and helping to close the gun show loophole. “While federal law requires licensed gun sellers to perform criminal background checks on everyone they sell a gun to,” the letter explains, “a gap in federal law currently permits private sellers, who often congregate at gun shows, to sell guns without background checks or recordkeeping of any kind.”

Click here for the full letter.

The Church of the Brethren was one of the sponsors of the ecumenical peace conference, “Peace Among the Peoples: Overcoming the Spirit, Logic, and Practice of Violence,” on July 28-31, 2010, in Elkhart, Ind., along with a number of churches, national and state ecumenical groups, peace and justice organizations, and educational institutions.

Focusing on contemporary North American responses to war, “Peace Among the Peoples” served as a preparatory meeting for the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation--the culminating event of the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV), to be held in Kingston, Jamaica, May 17-25, 2011.

Click here for the complete report on the “Peace Among the Peoples” conference.

Immigration

Pastoral letter on immigration
A pastoral letter on immigration issues adopted in October 2006 by the former Church of the Brethren General Board (the predecessor to the denomination's Mission and Ministry Board). Click here to download a copy of the letter in English and Spanish, in PDF format.

Prayer for immigration
Prayer for the Human Tragedy Behind Immigration, by Rev. José Luis Casal, Presbyterian Church (USA), used at the National Council of Churches Governing Board meeting in May 2010. Click here to download a copy of the prayer in English and Spanish, in PDF format.

Stan speaks about "A Covenant for Civility"

General Secretary Stan Noffsinger reflects on “A Covenant for Civility” and issues a call to follow its Biblical mandate. The is a document developed by Sojourners, the organization based in Washington, DC, whose mission is to articulate the biblical call to social justice, and signed by heads of communion, pastors of congregations, and representatives of associations of churches—church leaders across the theological spectrum.

Click here to go to the Sojourners website for the full text of "A Covenant for Civility" and a list of the signers.

General secretary Stan Noffsinger reflects on the history and progress of the Inter-Agency Forum, an annual meeting of the heads of all the Church of the Brethren agencies, and how their growing ability to work together might offer a challenge to all Brethren to come together to find God’s purpose in the twenty-first century.

[Note: this tape was prepared quickly and is not up to the standards we have for this page. Timeliness seemed more important than perfection. Look for more video clips from the General Secretary in the days ahead.]