Nigerian Brethren teams will be available to visit churches this summer, in addition to the tour by the EYN Women’s Fellowship (ZME) Choir and the BEST group, according to the EYN Planning Committee. The committee is made up of members of three Pennsylvania congregations–Lancaster, Elizabethtown, and Mountville Churches of the Brethren–and is chaired by former Nigeria mission worker Monroe Good.
An updated itinerary for the EYN Women’s Fellowship (ZME) Choir tour this summer follows below.
The committee expects “around 60 sisters and brothers to be part of the EYN 2015 Fraternal Visit to Church of the Brethren churches here in the United States,” Good reported. “Some of them, who are not part of the Women’s Choir, are available to visit congregations in districts outside the choir tour route. They are available from June 27 to July 2.”
Thirty of the guests from Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) are in the women’s choir. Twenty or more additional EYN visitors including members of the Brethren Evangelism Support Trust (BEST), a group of businesspeople and professionals, who will be available for additional visits to churches. The whole group will attend the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in Tampa, Fla., July 11-15.
EYN team visits
Two-person EYN teams are available to visit congregations and districts to share about the situation of the Nigerian Brethren in the midst of persecution and suffering. The EYN teams will be available to visit from Saturday, June 27, through Thursday, July 2.
On June 27, the Nigerian guests will be in Elgin, Ill., and will leave from there to make any visits as requested. On July 2, all of the EYN teams must be at Washington Dulles Airport no later than 4 p.m. to meet up with the group.
Congregations or districts requesting a visit from an EYN team must pay for that team’s transportation from Elgin, Ill., to the visit location, and back to Washington Dulles Airport, plus any related expenses.
Send requests for an EYN team visit to Monroe Good at 717-341-3314 or ggspinnacle@gmail.com . Requests will be received on a first come, first served basis.
EYN teams visit in Pacific Southwest District
Already planned is a visit by four members of BEST to Pacific Southwest District, in conjunction with La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren, from June 28-July 1. The visit is at the invitation of the La Verne Church, which is offering financial support for the travel expenses.
The district shared in a recent newsletter that “these guests will move through the district in teams of two, and will share the story of EYN with congregations and the communities around them. They will speak to the challenges and destruction EYN has faced in the last years from Boko Haram, how EYN has and continues to live out their faith, and to give thanks for the prayers and support of the Church of the Brethren and other partners in responding to their needs. With over 100,000 church members displaced, there is no one in EYN who does not have a personal connection to the situation.”
Contact the hosting congregation for exact time and details of the following events planned in Pacific Southwest District:
Sunday, June 28: Danjuma and Sahtu Gwany will be at worship at La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren; Markus Gamache will preach at Principe de Paz Church of the Brethren in Santa Ana, Calif.; Zakaria Bulus will preach at Imperial Heights Church of the Brethren in Los Angeles, Calif.; and Markus Gamache and Zakaria Bulus will be at Pomona (Calif.) Fellowship Church of the Brethren for an evening event.
Monday, June 29: The Gwanys will be at Hillcrest, a Church of the Brethren retirement community in La Verne, in the morning; an evening event will be held at Glendale (Calif.) Church of the Brethren; location for an evening event for Markus Gamache and Zakaria Bulus is still being set.
Tuesday, June 30: The Gwanys will be at Church of the Living Savior in McFarland, Calif., for an evening event; Markus Gamache and Zakaria Bulus will be at First Church of the Brethren in San Diego for an evening event.
Wednesday, July 1: The Gwanys will be at Modesto (Calif.) Church of the Brethren for an evening event; Markus Gamache and Zakaria Bulus will be at Papago Buttes Church of the Brethren in Scottsdale, Ariz., for the afternoon, and will be Circle of Peace Church of the Brethren in Peoria, Ariz., for an evening event.
Updated choir itinerary
Here is an updated tour itinerary for the EYN Women’s Fellowship Choir and BEST:
June 22, 4 p.m.: Welcome Banquet at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.
June 23, 2 p.m.: An abbreviated concert at Fahrney-Keedy Village near Boonsboro, Md., Mid-Atlantic District
June 23, 7 p.m.: Concert at Hagerstown (Md.) Church of the Brethren, Mid-Atlantic District
June 24, 7 p.m.: Concert at Maple Spring Church of the Brethren in Hollsopple, Pa., Western Pennsylvania District
June 25, 7 p.m.: Concert at Maple Grove Church of the Brethren in Ashland, Ohio, Northern Ohio District
June 26, 7 p.m.: Concert in Elgin, Ill., arranged by Global Mission and Service. The choir and BEST group will hold a public concert at Elgin’s Wing Park bandshell under the title “Songs for Chibok.” A freewill offering will be taken to support the Nigeria Crisis Fund’s grants for education in northern Nigeria.
June 27, 1:30 p.m.: An abbreviated concert as part of an auction fundraiser for Nigeria at Creekside Church of the Brethren in Elkhart, Ind., Northern Indiana District
June 27, 7:30 p.m.: Concert at Manchester Church of the Brethren in North Manchester, Ind., South/Central Indiana District
June 28, 9:30 a.m.: Worship with Manchester Church of the Brethren
June 28, 7 p.m.: Concert at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Lafayette, Ind., sponsored by the West Section of South/Central Indiana District
June 29, 10:30 a.m.: An abbreviated concert at Friends Fellowship Community in Richmond, Ind.
June 29: Lunch and visit at Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind.
June 29, 7 p.m.: Concert at Salem Church of the Brethren in Englewood, Ohio, Southern Ohio District
June 30, 7 p.m.: Concert at Oak Park Church of the Brethren in Oakland, Md., West Marva District
July 3, 7 p.m.: Concert at Cross Keys Brethren Home, in Southern Pennsylvania District
July 4, 2 p.m.: Concert at Lebanon Valley Brethren Home in Palmyra, Pa.
July 4, 7 p.m.: Concert at Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, Atlantic Northeast District
July 5, 10:15 a.m.: Worship and concert at Lancaster (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, Atlantic Northeast District
July 5, 6 p.m.: Concert at Germantown Church of the Brethren in Philadelphia, Pa., Atlantic Northeast District
July 6, 2 p.m.: Concert at Peter Becker Community in Harleysville, Pa.
July 6, 7 p.m.: Concert at Coventry (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, Atlantic Northeast District
July 7, morning: Luncheon engagement in Washington, D.C.
July 7, 7 p.m.: Concert at Midway Church of the Brethren in Atlantic Northeast District
July 8, 7 a.m.: Prayer breakfast at Lancaster (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, Atlantic Northeast District
July 8, 7 p.m.: Concert at University Baptist/Brethren Church in State College, Pa., Middle Pennsylvania District
July 9, 7 p.m.: Concert at Central Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, Va., in Virlina District
July 11-15: Annual Conference in Tampa, Fla.
July 15, time TBA: Concert at Camp Ithiel in Gotha, Fla., Atlantic Southeast District
Donations are received to support the expenses of the tour. Make checks to Lancaster Church of the Brethren, with “EYN 2015 Tour” in the memo line. Mail donations to Lancaster Church of the Brethren, 1601 Sunset Ave., Lancaster, PA 17601. For questions contact Monroe Good at 717-391-3614 or ggspinnacle@juno.com .