Brethren Volunteer Service summer and fall units are placed and begin work

The volunteers participating in Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) summer and fall orientation units have been placed at their project sites and have begun work. The volunteers received orientation online, in a virtual process that for some occurred as they were in quarantine at their project sites in a COVID-19 protocol that BVS has put in place this year.

In addition, Brethren Revival Fellowship and BVS have deployed a BVS-BRF unit in Maine.


BVS Unit 325: (bottom row, from left) Pauline Liu (staff), Alexa Henry, Naomi Yilma; (second row) Chad Whitzel, Rose Harvey, Alton Hipps, Kylie Mountain; (third row) Daniel Wright, Eric Joloka, Evan Ulrich, Kara Miller (staff); (top row) Emily Tyler (staff), Hannah Shultz (staff), Michael Brewer Berres, Amelia Gunn.

Summer unit

BVS summer unit 325 held orientation online from July 26 to Aug. 7. Volunteers, their hometowns or home congregations, and their project placements:

Michael Brewer Berres of Luxemburg, Wis., is serving at Quaker Cottage in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Amelia Gunn of Cordova, Md., and Easton Church of the Brethren also is serving at Quaker
Cottage.

Rose Harvey of Roanoke, Va., and Oak Grove Church of the Brethren is serving at SnowCap Food Pantry in Portland, Ore.

Alexa Henry of the Bronx, N.Y., is serving at the Bernardo Kohler Center in Austin, Texas.

Alton Hipps of Dayton, Va., and Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren is serving with the Workcamp Ministry of the Church of the Brethren, working out of the General Offices in Elgin, Ill.

Eric Joloka of Philadelphia, Pa., is serving at Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren.

Kylie Mountain of Ambler, Pa., and Ambler Church of the Brethren is serving at Lancaster (Pa.) Habitat for Humanity.

Evan Ulrich of Homer, N.Y., is serving with Brethren Disaster Ministries in Ohio.

Chad Whitzel of Easton, Md., and Easton Church of the Brethren is serving with the Workcamp Ministry of the Church of the Brethren.

Daniel Wright of Pryor, Okla., is serving at Harrisburg First Church of the Brethren.

Naomi Yilma of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is serving at the Church of the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding and Policy in Washington, D.C.


BVS Unit 327: (bottom row, from left) Kinny Paw, Saudah Nassanga; (top row) Claire Orner, Rusty Orner, Deb Wilson.

Fall unit

BVS fall unit 327 held orientation online from Sept. 27 to Oct. 9. Volunteers, their hometowns or home congregations, and their project placements:

Saudah Nassanga of Kampala, Uganda, will serve at L’Arche Belfast, Northern Ireland, pending a visa.

Claire and Rusty Orner of Brookville, Pa., will serve at the Asian Rural Institute in Japan, with plans to travel there in early 2021.

Kinny Paw of Lititz, Pa., is serving at SnowCap Food Pantry.

Deb Wilson of Louisville, Ky., is serving at Project PLASE in Baltimore, Md.


BVS-BRF Unit 326: (from left) Bryce Ocker, Aubrey Copenhaver.

BVS-BRF unit

BVS-BRF unit 326 is serving at the Root Cellar in Lewiston, Maine. Members of the unit are:

Aubrey Copenhaver of the White Oak Church in Manheim, Pa., who also is serving as a homeschool helper.

Bryce Ocker of Upton Brethren Church in Greencastle, Pa.

Houseparents Glenn and Elaine Horning of Lewiston (Maine) Church of the Brethren.

Pauline Liu, BVS orientation coordinator, and Emily Tyler, BVS director, provided the information for this report. For more about BVS and how to volunteer go to www.brethren.org/bvs .


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