The ballot to be presented to the 2019 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren has been released. Topping the ballot are two nominees for moderator-elect: Joe A. Detrick and David Sollenberger. Other offices to be filled by election are positions on the Program and Arrangements Committee, the Mission and Ministry Board, and the boards of Bethany Seminary, Brethren Benefit Trust, and On Earth Peace. Elections will be held during the Conference on July 3-7 in Greensboro, N.C.
The Compelling Vision Process Team is inviting all Brethren to connect with a Facebook page dedicated to spiritual preparation for the visioning conversations that will happen during the 2019 Annual Conference in Greensboro, N.C. The page is titled, “COB Compelling Vision Spiritual Connection Page” and may be found at www.facebook.com/COB-Compelling-Vision-Spiritual-Connection-Page-1050919648604889 .
Shannon McNeil has been hired by the Church of the Brethren as a fulltime Mission Advancement advocate, working out of the General Offices in Elgin, Ill. She and Nancy Timbrook McCrickard will serve as a team of advocates working at relationship-building with donors.
Emily Tyler started a new position as director of Brethren Volunteer Service on Feb. 4. She continues to work out of the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., where she has been coordinator for BVS recruitment and the Workcamp Ministry for more than six years, since June 27, 2012. BVS is located within the denomination’s Global Mission and Service program.
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) has announced its 2019 training workshop calendar for the year. An online map of the locations and dates is available at https://maps.esp.tl/maps/_CDS-2019-Training-Workshops/pages/map.jsp?geoMapId=620310&TENANT_ID=178622&fbclid=IwAR0cOJkkd1sBKF4WgVt44d82P8zyQfYqyMaGehROjAj6UwSzBrP9i9-80cE . Go to www.brethren.org/cds for more information and to register for a workshop.
The Office of Ministry has begun work on a new Thriving in Ministry program, a grant-funded initiative offering support for multivocational Church of the Brethren pastors. Dana Cassell, pastor of Peace Covenant Church of the Brethren in Durham, N.C., has been hired as manager. She started in this half-time position on Jan. 7 while continuing in her pastoral role.
The Church of the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding and Policy attended a press conference of the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 23. This commission is tasked with exploring national attitudes toward military and volunteer service, and potentially recommending changes to the Selective Service system.
Several courses are offered by the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership in the spring. These are open to students in the Training in Ministry (TRIM) and Education for Shared Ministry (EFSM) programs, ministers seeking continuing education, and others. The fee per course is $295.
Two nursing students are recipients of Church of the Brethren Nursing Scholarships for 2018. This scholarship, made possible by the Health Education and Research Endowment, is available to members of the Church of the Brethren enrolled in LPN, RN, or nursing graduate programs.
NEWS1) BBT president signs on to letter from denominational benefit plans 2) Brethren Faith in Action Fund allocates first grants 3) New theological focus at Bethany Seminary is funded by AAAS grant 4) Global Food Initiative gives grants to agriculture-related projects in Spain, Nigeria, East Africa, the US 5) Nigerian Brethren host the Fellowship of