“If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. “ — I John 3:17 In 2007, the Church of
Office of Public Witness
Insights from Peacebuilders Around the World
The following blog post is based on the report “Peacebuilding and Violent Extremism: Key insights and lessons from a global consultation convened by Peace Direct.” You can find the report here. As the convener of a working group on Nigeria, the Office of Public Witness works with a number of peace-focused organizations. One of
Justice is coming! It is Jesus.
by Nathan Hosler, director of the Office of Public Witness 2 Peter 3:8-15a Isaiah 40:1-11 Anticipation. Waiting. Agonizing? Uncertain. Advent—waiting for the promised One. On Thursday, while I was in northeast Nigeria, we rose early for our 3-4 hour drive and hit the road. Rutted. Through dry, mostly flat land with low trees except for
Reflections on Simplify: A Simple Living Weekend
The commitment of the Church of the Brethren to living simply is evidenced in our slogan- “Peacefully. Simply. Together.” It is often easy to visualize the “peaceful” and “together” aspects of Christian life, but “simply” is discussed less frequently. To address this Brethren value more fully, Brethren Woods hosted “Simplify: A Simple Living Weekend,” in
Reflections on Land and Columbus Day
By Nathan Hosler Navajo activist Mark Charles’ lecture on “A Native Perspective on Columbus Day” is a valuable accompanying piece to this blog post. You can view it here. “The arrival of Europeans was experienced by Native Americans as nothing less than an invasion. This invasion was not just of the land; it was an
David Young: Thoughts on Washington DC
The following blog is a guest post from David Young, the founder of Capstone Community Gardens in New Orleans. You can learn more about his work at www.capstone118.org. I had the opportunity to be in Washington D.C. from September 20 through 23, 2017. This was made possible by the Church of the Brethren Office of
Peacemaking and serving
By Nathan Hosler, director of the Office of Public WitnessIf all politics were controversial before, they have gotten even only more so in the past year. We may ask, “How do we advocate—engage in policy debates with our distinctive voice—when our own body also experiences many divisions?” The Office of Public Witness as a ministry
DACA Story: Erick
The following guest blog post was written by Erick, a DACA recipient who has been active in the life of the Church of the Brethren. An announcement regarding the future of the DACA program is expected to be made on Tuesday, Sept. 5th. Update, 9/5/17 11:27am: The DACA program has been rescinded, leaving a 6 month
“God’s time is always near”: Thoughts from the African American Museum
“God’s time is always near. He gave me my strength, and He set the North star in the heavens; He meant I should be free.” —Harriet Tubman, 1859 The path through the museum really begins outside, waiting in line with hopeful tourists and Washington, D.C., residents in the heat and humidity to receive midday tickets
Blessed by CCS
Attendees of Christian Citizenship Seminar 2017. Photo by Paige Butzlaff By Josiah Ludwick, associate pastor at Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren Over the last three years, it has truly been a blessing to send young people from our congregation to Christian Citizenship Seminar (CCS). Intercultural Ministries (ICM) and Youth and Young Adult Ministries (YYA) of the