Denominational leaders attended the annual meeting of the Council of Moderators and Secretaries (COMS) of Anabaptist denominations and groups, on Dec. 12-13, 2014. Representing the Church of the Brethren were Annual Conference moderator David Steele and moderator-elect Andy Murray, and general secretary Stan Noffsinger.
Also at the meeting was leadership from the Mennonite Church USA, the Conservative Mennonite Conference, the Missionary Church, the Brethren in Christ, and Mennonite Central Committee.
Noffsinger moderated the meeting, and the Mennonite Church USA staff led by executive director Ervin Stutzman hosted it at Mennonite Church USA offices in Elkhart, Ind.
The annual COMS meetings “foster ongoing relationships with other Anabaptist church leadership,” Noffsinger said.
As part of the 2014 meeting, he was able to give a presentation on the Nigeria crisis to COMS, Mennonite Church USA staff, and other interested parties from the Mennonite Church. Noffsinger reported that a connection made at that presentation has begun a conversation between Brethren and the Mennonite Church in Switzerland. The Swiss Mennonites also partner with Mission 21 to support Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria).
Following on the COMS meeting a press conference on the Nigeria crisis was sponsored by Northern Indiana District, organized by district executive Torin Eikler. Find a WSBT-TV Channel 22 report at www.wsbt.com/news/local/local-humanitarian-efforts-being-made-for-missing-nigerian-girls/30217146 .