Newsline Update
Jan. 20, 2010
“Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever” (Psalm 138:8b).
Prayer requested for Nigerian Brethren; Haitian pastor is alive.
Haitian Brethren pastor Ives Jean is alive, but injured, reports Roy Winter, executive director of Brethren Disaster Ministries. Winter arrived in Haiti yesterday with a Church of the Brethren delegation from the US.
Earlier today the Church of the Brethren released a prayer request for pastor Ives Jean, who had been reported missing since last Tuesday’s earthquake. He is moderator of Eglise des Freres Haitiens (Church of the Brethren in Haiti) and serves as the only ordained minister among the fledgling church’s small group of licensed pastors.
More information about the Church of the Brethren disaster response in Haiti is available at www.brethren.org/HaitiEarthquake , where updates are being provided from the delegation that arrived in Haiti yesterday as well as information from Church World Service and other ecumenical partners.
A video message on Haiti from Church of the Brethren general secretary Stan Noffsinger also is now online, find the link at http://www.brethren.org/.
A blog has been set up to share detailed reports from the delegation’s experience in Haiti, reports from others involved with the relief effort in Haiti, along with an opportunity for reader response and the expression of concerns for Haiti; go to https://www.brethren.org/blog/?p=41#comments .
Request for prayer for Nigeria:
A request for prayer has been received from Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN–the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) in the city of Jos, where an outbreak of violence began Sunday and was continuing as of yesterday. The Associated Press has reported that at least 200 people have died in the violence.
Prayers are requested for the family of Shedrak Garba, an EYN student at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria (TCNN) who was killed by security forces after having gone out after a curfew that has been in force in the area. TCNN is located in the wider Jos area.
Prayers are requested for those whose homes have been burned in the rioting as well. Markus Gamache, an EYN leader in Jos, has sent news that at least two homes of Brethren families have been burned. His report also expresses concern for those who are fleeing the violence, those who have become separated from family members or who are looking for missing children, and the people who are experiencing more difficulty getting food and water.
Church of the Brethren mission workers Nathan and Jennifer Hosler also have sent a quick report by e-mail today. “We just finished up a Inter-Religious Forum on Peaceful Coexistence today here at KBC, sponsored by the Peace Program,” the Hoslers wrote. “It is quite striking holding that and talking about peace amongst Muslims and Christians while a conflict is occurring in Jos.”
The couple are working at EYN’s Kulp Bible College, which is in in eastern Nigeria, many hours drive from the violence occurring in central Nigeria. |
Pastor Ives Jean, the moderator of Eglise des Freres Haitiens (Church of the Brethren in Haiti) is alive, but injured, according to Brethren Disaster Ministries executive Roy Winter who arrived in Haiti yesterday with a Brethren delegation from the US. Earlier today, the Church of the Brethren issued a prayer request for the Haitian church leader, who had been missing since the earthquake last Tuesday. This photo of Pastor Jean was taken in Haiti last year. Photo by Jay Wittmeyer
The Church of the Brethren is offering ways to help support earthquake relief efforts in Haiti: The Emergency Disaster Fund is now receiving donations at www.brethren.org/HaitiDonations . Or mail a donation by check made out to Emergency Disaster Fund, Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. A special web page “Prayers for Haiti” has been created for church members, congregations, and others concerned about the people of Haiti to express their prayers, go to www.brethren.org/HaitiPrayers . Donations of hygiene kits and baby kits are being received at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.; go to www.churchworldservice.org/site/
PageServer?pagename=kits_main for kit instructions.
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