Brethren bits for July 23, 2021

— Prayer requests:

From South Sudan comes a new request for prayer from Taban Patrick Liberio following a July 22 break-in and attack by robbers at the Moti Peace Center for Brethren Global Service, also known as the Church of the Brethren Peace Center in Torit. Liberio serves as agriculture officer for the center. Renewed prayer also is urgently needed for the release of Global Mission staff Athanasus Ungang. The local authorities have cast their net wide in attempting to locate the unknown assailants who murdered a church leader some weeks ago, and in doing so have continued to hold for questioning Ungang and other church leaders and colleagues.

A prayer concern for the growing number and intensity of wildfires in the northwest was shared this week by Pacific Northwest District’s Debbie Roberts, who has been on the leadership team for the district. On July 20 she shared concern for the new Inkaneep Creek wildfire, which started earlier this week and grew quickly from 7 1/2 acres to thousands of acres. It is in view of the home of Daniel Klayton, pastor of the Whitestone congregation and the district administrator, in the Canadian border town of Osoyoos, about 20 miles north of Tonasket, Wash. He and his family were up all night waiting to see if they would need to evacuate, watching “huge plumes of fire, easily 30-plus feet tall and just all over and down the mountainside. Ground crews overnight kept it just away from the residential development.” That next morning, helicopters and airplanes began dropping water and retardant. “Winds are up today so we’re all praying for control and for the lives of firefighters, residents, and tourists,” Roberts wrote. “Here in Tonasket we’re getting smoke and a little ash, and all holding our breath that it will be under control soon. May we pray for safety and wellbeing for Daniel and Savannah in particular and for those affected by this fire and other fires during this precarious fire season. Fire crews are working around the clock and are seeing plumes of smoke and fire that are unprecedented. From the Red Apple fire in Wenatchee (which looks to be now 80 percent contained) to this newest one, we find ourselves worried as we wonder what the new summer fire normal is in our Pacific northwest mountains.”

The worship services from the 2021 Annual Conference continue to be available to view online, and the Conference office is encouraging church members to view them and use them as worship resources. “We hope you enjoyed all five of the Annual Conference 2021 Worship services, but if you missed any you can go to www.brethren.org/ac2021/webcasts to watch,” said an invitation. “Listen to the prophetic words of preachers Paul Mundey, Richard Zapata, Chelsea Goss Skillen and Tyler Goss, Beth Sollenberger, and Patrick Starkey.” The invitation specially noted “the Sunday morning debut of Gregory Bachman’s original composition for orchestra which features 18 Brethren musicians, you’ll want to go back to listen to it. It was fantastic! We hope you take the opportunity to go back and watch any Worship Service you might have missed or just enjoy them all over again.”

A collection of historical photos of the construction of the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., has been posted online by the Illinois Digital Archives. The photos were provided by the Brethren Historical Library and Archives. Gail Borden Library, the public library in Elgin, also was involved as part of its project to collect and digitize historical photos of various parts of the city. View the collection at www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/newgailbord01/id/38806.

Ecumenical Advocacy Days is hiring a conference coordinator for the April 2022 Virtual Advocacy Days event. The coordinator will build on the dynamic tradition established by previous annual meetings and be committed to facilitating an ongoing exploration of ways to make the 2022 event and future conferences even more exciting and powerful, with the goal of expanding impact on the domestic and international policies addressed. Experience in working with ecumenical relations and faith-based organizations, a working knowledge of the denominational church world, and familiarity with Christian theology is a plus. The coordinator is a contracted position from Sept. 1, 2021, through May 31, 2022, with the possibility of an extension for future conferences as budget allows. The contractual payment for this period is within the range of $55,000-$70,000, depending on experience. The application deadline is Aug. 13. For the full job description and how to apply, go to https://advocacydays.org/2021/07/21/ead-seeking-conference-coordinator-for-april-2022-virtual-advocacy-days-event.

Paul Stump, who turns 100 this September, has been lauded in the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune for his volunteer work for Pine Creek Church of the Brethren. For more than 65 years, he has been devoting “his skill, experience, and dedication to his community church, where he works to maintain the grounds,” the article said. “Almost every Wednesday, Stump crosses the road to the Pine Creek Church of the Brethren to take care of the lawn with a tractor and mower. The grounds include over 30 acres of land, and the process takes about four hours. A church volunteer who helps Stump and has known him for two decades, Dave Hostetler, remains impressed by Stump’s drive. He described Stump as quiet, wise, and hard-working. ‘He’s a super guy,’ Hostetler said.” Read the full article at www.southbendtribune.com/story/news/2021/07/19/north-liberty-man-almost-100-still-drives-tractor-mower-church/7937380002.

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