Newsline for Jan. 28, 2022

“Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Romans 14:19).

NEWS
1) Church of the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding and Policy signs joint letter from faith groups urging leaders to de-escalate tension, pursue peace in Ukraine

2) Church of the Brethren Benefit Trust announces two changes as it implements five strategic goals

3) Mission Advancement office makes change in gift acknowledgment and receipt process

4) Pemi church burned in violent attack in northeastern Nigeria

5) ‘Life Support Project’ provides pen pals to people serving life or long-term sentences

UPCOMING EVENTS
6) Two-part Ventures course to focus on ‘Peace, Violence, and Nonviolence’

7) Bridgewater College hosts Forum for Brethren Studies event on ‘Brethren and the Polarizing Pandemic’

Photo by Wendy McFadden

8) Brethren bits: Remembering Ellis Shenk, Juniata physics students win award, Brethren Voices celebrates 200th episode, Brethren Heritage Center advertises handbells, World Council of Churches has three job openings for leadership staff


A note to readers: As many congregations return to in-person worship, we want to update our listing of Churches of the Brethren at www.brethren.org/news/2020/church-of-the-brethren-congregations-worship-online.html. Please send new information to cobnews@brethren.org.

Lifting up Brethren who are active in health care: www.brethren.org/news/2020/brethren-active-in-health-care.html. Add a person to the list by sending first name, county, and state to cobnews@brethren.org.


1) Church of the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding and Policy signs joint letter from faith groups urging leaders to de-escalate tension, pursue peace in Ukraine

With the threat of a Russian invasion looming in Ukraine, faith communities are uniting in their message to Congress and the Biden administration, calling for leaders to protect human lives and prevent war. The Church of the Brethren’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy has joined other Christian denominations and interfaith groups in sending a joint letter to Congress and the Biden administration. The letter, dated Jan. 27, 2022, urged leaders in the US, Russia, and Ukraine to invest in diplomacy, reject a militaristic response, and act to prevent human suffering.

The full text of the letter follows:

Statement by Faith Groups on the Situation in Ukraine

As people of faith, we are united in our conviction that we must do all we can to achieve and secure peace when there is the threat of conflict. Political leaders must do everything in their power to protect human lives and prevent war.

We are gravely concerned by Russia’s apparent preparations to conduct a military invasion of, or to otherwise attack or destabilize, Ukraine. We urgently call on all parties, including the U.S., to invest in efforts that will prevent violent conflict and to avert actions that will likely lead to grievous and unnecessary human suffering, long-lasting environmental destruction, and widespread economic harm.

To this end, we reject the threats and intimidation that escalate tensions and the likelihood of war. Rather than relying on militaristic approaches, our leaders must invest in efforts to sustain peace and prevent harm to those who would suffer the most from the devastating and long-term impacts of conflict. Only by vigorously pursuing all avenues for peace can we fulfill our sacred duty to respect the equal dignity and worth of every person.

American Friends Service Committee
Church of the Brethren, Office of Peacebuilding and Policy
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
National Council of Churches
Religions for Peace USA
Sojourners
The Episcopal Church
The United Methodist Church–General Board of Church and Society
Presbyterian Church (USA)
United Church of Christ, Justice and Local Church Ministries

In related news:

The National Council of Churches (NCC) has released the following appeal for peace for the people of Ukraine:

“Let them turn away from evil and do good;
let them seek peace and pursue it.”
— 1 Peter 3:11

“The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) joins with the World Council of Churches in an urgent call for peace for the people of Ukraine. We fervently pray that a diplomatic solution will be accepted, and that Russia will remove the troops on three sides of the Ukraine without resorting to a destructive and deadly conflict. Every possible means must be attempted to prevent the escalation of this confrontation into an armed conflict and the devastating threat of nuclear retaliation that it could bring to all the people of the world.

“As the NCC has long upheld peacemaking as one of its core principles, we implore the US government to work tirelessly toward a strong response that protects the people of the Ukraine from harm without resorting to war. We agree with the use of diplomatic tactics instead of warfare, including the Biden administration’s use of a novel export control focused on Russian industries, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and civilian aerospace. We applaud President Biden’s efforts to diffuse the situation including his reassurance that the Ukraine will not be joining NATO in the near term. We support the US stance against the placement of nuclear weapons in Ukraine and encourage the enactment of a formal agreement prohibiting nuclear weapon placement by either NATO or Russia. Additionally, we call on the US to rejoin the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty and for Russia to return to compliance of that treaty, which will prohibit intermediate- and shorter-range land-based missiles and allow inspections to ensure compliance.

“At this crucial moment, we pray for the safety of all who live in Ukraine and join with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, one of our member communions, in asking, “May God hear our loving petition and soften the hearts and minds of all, within and without Ukraine during these dangerous times.”

(Find this statement posted online by the NCC at https://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/ncc-appeals-for-peace-for-the-people-of-ukraine.)

The World Council of Churches’ acting general secretary has released an urgent appeal for peace for the people of Ukraine:

“The World Council of Churches, with its member churches throughout the world, urgently appeals for peace for the people of Ukraine. As we follow the news of the mad progression towards war, we plead for a different logic than one based on geopolitical competition–a logic that considers the death and suffering that any armed conflict would inevitably visit on the children, women and men of Ukraine. We pray for a change of hearts and minds, for de-escalation, and for dialogue instead of threats. God’s people–and members of the ecumenical fellowship–find themselves on both sides of the current confrontation. But our God is a God of peace, not of war and bloodshed. Though the things that make for peace may be hidden from the eyes of those driving the march to war, we pray that they may yet be opened, and that peace may yet prevail.

“Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca
Acting General Secretary
World Council of Churches”

(Find this statement posted online by the WCC at www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/statement-on-ukraine.)


2) Church of the Brethren Benefit Trust announces two changes as it implements five strategic goals

A release from BBT

Church of the Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) made two changes beginning Jan. 1, 2022, to proactively live into its strategic goals, which are designed to enable the organization to adapt as denominational demographics and societal pressures continue to evolve. For now, these BBT changes include where staff work and organizational structure, with additional changes expected to be announced later this year.

Beginning Jan. 1, BBT officially adopted a work-from-home model for all staff, a strategic move that now allows all positions to be remote from a centralized office space. This will allow BBT to hire staff from around the country to be more effective and nimble in providing service to its members and clients. It also allows BBT to continue to be competitive in an aggressive employment market where employees increasingly are demanding more flexibility in where they work.

“In the 21 months since our staff members were forced to begin working from home, we have learned, adapted, grown, and thrived in our ability to serve our members and clients in a new way,” said Nevin Dulabaum, BBT president. “In a continued but hopefully post-pandemic landscape, we believe this model will serve us well.”

BBT is maintaining a small suite of offices at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., where teams may gather to work on collaborative projects and processes. However, more than half of the organization’s former office space has been relinquished to accommodate this new model with the expectation that the entire team will gather in person at least twice annually for business and team-building purposes.

“We view this change as the first step in maintaining operational excellence with those we serve,” Dulabaum said. “But that excellence starts with a great staff, and today’s employees are seeking flexibility in working location, competitive salaries and benefits, meaningful work, and a work environment that balances both professional and personal demands. BBT is addressing all of these needs.”

BBT also began implementing a new organizational structure on Jan. 1 that is designed to meet several additional strategic objectives–addressing the need to increase its member and client base so as to achieve more economies of scale, utilizing marketing and communications initiatives that are commonplace in today’s business community, and increasing long-term business continuity and succession planning preparedness. The former seven-person management team has been succeeded by a four-person executive team consisting of the president; CFO and vice president of investments; vice president of products and services, which includes retirement, insurances, organizational investing, and client relations; and the vice president of vitality, which includes support areas to ensure the firm is successful, such as data, IT, marketing, sales, communications, HR, and special project management.

Critical to BBT’s success is the relationship with its members and clients. Loyce Borgmann and Steve Mason are taking the lead in serving members and clients as part of the Client Services team. Borgmann is leading that team. Ed Shannon is product director for Pension, Jeremiah Thompson is product director for Insurance, and Dan Radcliff is product director for Organizational Investing (formerly known as asset management).

Other directors include German Gongora (IT), Huma Rana (Finance), Tammy Chudy (Special Projects), with several positions still being shaped and finalized. BBT plans to create several new positions, which includes directors of Marketing, Sales, and Data. While some staff are remaining in their existing positions, several other staff are moving to other places in the organization. This movement is a combination of these strategic changes and the retirements of Scott Douglas (at the end of January) and Connie Sandman (April).

“BBT was created in 1988 by the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference to work on employee benefits and organizational investing,” said Dulabaum. “Over the years, the complexity of the business and the scope of our client base and assets under management have grown. Now we need to address that growth to work more collaboratively across program units as we seek to be responsive to the changing dynamics of the marketplace, the needs of those we serve, and to be able to scalable with strong business continuity and succession planning processes built into our daily operations.”

These steps are part of the organization addressing five strategic goals of growth, marketing, right positions/right people, location of workforce, and identity. Additional announcements about further changes to BBT are expected this summer.

“Our intent is to continue providing excellent service to Church of the Brethren employees and organizations,” Dulabaum said. “That commitment will never waver, and so we need all members and clients and organizations of the denomination to support and use our products and services. That will ensure that those we serve will receive top-tier service for years to come.”

– Find out more about BBT at https://cobbt.org.


3) Mission Advancement office makes change in gift acknowledgment and receipt process

By Traci Rabenstein

Over the past few years, the Office of Mission Advancement and the Finance Office of the Church of the Brethren have been reviewing the process of acknowledging and receipting gifts made in support of all of our Core Ministries and independently-funded ministries. (Learn more about our ministries at www.brethren.org/greatthings.)

Our long-standing process has been to send a combined acknowledgment letter and receipt for every contribution received from an individual, couple, congregation, or organization (excluding gifts made online that each receive an acknowledgment and receipt by email when a gift is submitted).

Our new process, however, will be to send an acknowledgment postcard for each check or cash contribution received by mail, but not a receipt. Instead, we will send a year-end giving statement that will list all contributions made (by mail or online) during the calendar year. This change will allow the Office of Mission Advancement to acknowledge gifts more quickly than our current process and provide our team with an additional way to connect with all supporters.

This new process began Jan. 1, 2022. If you have any questions about this change, please feel free to contact me at 717-877-3166 or trabenstein@brethren.org.

— Traci Rabenstein is director of Mission Advancement for the Church of the Brethren.

A postcard that will be sent to acknowledge gifts received to the Church of the Brethren

4) Pemi church burned in violent attack in northeastern Nigeria

Brethren Disaster Ministries has received a report of another violent attack affecting Nigerian Brethren in northeastern Nigeria, reported by Zakariya Musa, head of Media for Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria).

The report concerns a Jan. 20, 2022, attack on the community of Pemi in the Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, in which 1 person was killed and 17 children, including a 4-year-old boy, were abducted. It is believed that the attackers use abducted children as shields against military interference.

In addition, the attackers burned and/or looted the main auditorium of the Pemi EYN church, six shops, eight houses, and other properties. “The same church was burnt in December 2020 by Boko Haram during the kidnap of Pastor Bulus Yakura, and was renovated recently by the Borno State Government,” he wrote.

Buildings burned in the Jan. 20 violent attack on the community of Pemi, Borno State, Nigeria. Photo courtesy of Zakariya Musa, EYN

The attackers were reportedly chased away by military troops from Chibok, about 20 kilometers away. People have returned to the village but are still in fear, Musa reported.

He added a list of concerns:
— Continued attacks with less interference.
— Lack of security presence in the communities.
— Christian communities in the area made soft targets.
— Cold weather.
— Those who found their houses burnt have lost almost everything. They need immediate humanitarian response, such as food, clothes, medical care, bedding, utensils.
— Humanitarian organizations have limited access to the area because of high risks and hazards involved, due to proximity to Sambisa Forest where Boko Haram has hide-outs.
— Aid workers also are targeted.

“Above all,” he wrote, “our sincere prayers are important, because the people, mostly farmers in the area, are not giving up on their ancestral land, nor abandoning the communities despite incessant attacks.”


5) ‘Life Support Project’ provides pen pals to people serving life or long-term sentences

By Dina Milito

In partnership with the Death Row Support Project (DRSP, a Church of the Brethren-related nonprofit), Life Support provides pen pals to people in prison serving life or long-term sentences. Mail call is reported by many prisoners to be the high point of their days, and often times, pen pals are the only regular contact with the free world prisoners may have.

For a prisoner to receive mail or email and know that they are thought of and remembered is vital to keeping hope alive. To be treated as a friend and a human being plays an important role in the growth and redemption of many prisoners. In addition to letters sent through the mail, many prisoners now have access to systems that allow them to send and receive email for the same cost as a postage stamp.

If you have questions and/or are interested in signing up to support a prisoner through the Life Support pen pal program, please contact Dina Milito at dinadrsp@igc.org.

The death penalty and the Death Row Support Project…

By Rachel Gross

The week of Jan. 17, 2022, marked the 45th anniversary of the resumption of executions in the United States. Ending a 10-year period with no state killings, Gary Gilmore was shot by a firing squad in Utah on Jan. 17, 1977.

In the summer of 1976, the US Supreme Court had decided that states were free to write new death penalty laws; they just needed to be “fair.” Thirty-five states obliged. A few states still had men serving death sentences that were handed down before the Supreme Court had declared the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972.

Since 1973, 8,752 individuals have been sentenced to death in the US. Of those, 1,540 have been executed. Some have died, 186 have been exonerated, and many have had their sentences commuted to life or less. Today’s death row population is 2,440, the lowest it has been since 1990. “Only” 27 states still use the death penalty. (These statistics are from the Death Penalty Information Center.)

DRSP was started in 1978 in response to the resumption of death sentencing and executions. In the years since then, over 14,000 pen pals have been assigned. While we know that not everyone follows through in writing, we also know that hundreds of meaningful and long-lasting relationships have formed. Some have lost their pen pals to executions; others have rejoiced at their release from prison.

…and Life Support

DRSP has assigned pen pals, whether requested or not, to almost every person currently under sentence of death in the US. We are therefore grateful for our partnership with Life Support (LS), which expands the reach of DRSP. A life sentence without parole (LWOP) is sometimes referred to as “the other death sentence.” While a series of legal appeals are mandated for those with death sentences, those safeguards are not in place for those with LWOP. A person can be grateful not to be facing execution; however, anticipating 40-50 years in prison is dismal.

In 2016, after several years of volunteering with DRSP, Dina Milito suggested the idea of starting a parallel pen pal program for those with long-term sentences. As DRSP director, I did not feel able to incorporate that into my work but am grateful that Dina did! She manages Life Support completely on her own; all I do is offer it as an option when people sign up for DRSP. Between people signing up for DRSP who choose Life Support, and other contacts Dina has made, she has assigned over 500 pen pals.

We are featuring Life Support in this month’s newsletter because Dina currently has a list of 40 people in prison who are waiting to be assigned pen pals; some of them have been waiting for a year. Whether you’re someone whose death row pen pal didn’t work out, or someone who has time to write a second person, if you are interested in writing to someone with a long-term sentence, please contact Dina!

– Find out more about the Death Row Support Project at www.brethren.org/drsp.


UPCOMING EVENTS

6) Two-part Ventures course to focus on ‘Peace, Violence, and Nonviolence’

By Kendra Flory

The next offering from the Ventures in Christian Discipleship program based at McPherson (Kan.) College will be “Peace, Violence, and Nonviolence.” The course will be held online over two evening sessions on Thursday, Feb. 24, and Thursday, March 3, both at 7 p.m. (Eastern time). The course will be presented by Katy Gray Brown and Virginia Rendler.

This course provides a groundwork for the central concepts in peace studies. We will consider definitions of power; different forms of violence and their interconnection, with a particular discussion of militarism and zealous nationalism as forms of fundamentalism; and central concepts of nonviolence (both principled and strategic). As a discussion-based course, there will be opportunity for participants to engage not only with the material but with one another as they explore examples of and alternatives to violence, nationalism, and militarism. Participants will leave with an understanding of the collaborative and community-building components of nonviolence.

Katy Gray Brown and Virginia Rendler direct the peace studies program at Manchester University in North Manchester, Ind., where peace studies began as an undergraduate field in 1948. The program’s mission is to provide people with a critical understanding of the causes and consequences of violence and injustice, equipped with both theoretical and practical knowledge of nonviolent ways of resolving conflict and promoting justice. Peace studies prepares people to be capable, confident, and courageous in the work of building a peaceful and just world.

Continuing education credit is available for $10 per course. During the registration process, you will have the opportunity to pay for CEUs and give an optional donation to the Ventures program.

To learn more about Ventures in Christian Discipleship and to register for courses, visit www.mcpherson.edu/ventures.

— Kendra Flory is advancement assistant at McPherson (Kan.) College.


7) Bridgewater College hosts Forum for Brethren Studies event on ‘Brethren and the Polarizing Pandemic’

By Carol Scheppard

On March 10-11, Bridgewater (Va.) College and the Forum for Brethren Studies will present a symposium on “Brethren and the Polarizing Pandemic: What Next?” The event is open to the public.

The symposium will contemplate the Church of the Brethren as it emerges from the global pandemic, assessing pre-COVID trends and determining their likely post-COVID trajectory. Topics include the likelihood of further division, social and economic inequality, and the influence of external authority, as illustrated by the 1919 and 2021 pandemics.

Presenters are Robert Johansen (Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies, Notre Dame University), Stephen Longenecker (Professor of History Emeritus, Bridgewater College), and Samuel Funkhouser (Director, Brethren Mennonite Heritage Center). Bethany Seminary president Jeffrey Carter and Shenandoah District executive John Jantzi will present current perspectives from their constituencies, and Carl Bowman, (Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia) will chair a panel of Brethren leaders (Donita Keister, Audrey Hollenberg-Duffey, and Larry Dentler) offering personal reflections on the meaning of Brethren membership.

Emma Green, staff writer for The New Yorker and The Atlantic, will begin the symposium on Thursday evening, March 10, with an endowed lecture in Cole Hall. Green has written extensively on culture, politics, and religion, and her lecture will bring reflections on religion in post-COVID America. She also will open the symposium on Friday morning, March 11, with Q and A. The lecture is free; the Friday session in the President’s Suite in Nininger Hall has a registration fee of $20, mostly to cover lunch.

The sponsor of the event is the Forum for Brethren Studies. Advance registration is greatly appreciated, but walk-ups are welcome. For information, to register, and to receive parking information, contact Carol Scheppard, cscheppa@bridgewater.edu.

— Carol Scheppard is Professor of the College, Department of Philosophy and Religion, Bridgewater College.


8) Brethren bits

— Remembrance: Ellis J. Shenk, 90, who worked for two decades in Brethren Service and was a “seagoing cowboy” for Heifer Project, died at home in Bel Air, Md., on Dec. 28, 2021, surrounded by family. He was born Feb. 10, 1931, in Hershey, Pa., to Harvey Kurtz Shenk and Sylva Longenecker Gingrich. At Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. After college, he joined Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) and served for four years in post-World War II Germany working to resettle refugees. He started his BVS assignment in 1953 as a seagoing cowboy on a boat carrying heifers to war‐torn Europe. Once back in the US, he spent several months visiting Church of the Brethren congregations across Pennsylvania to speak about BVS. He married Carolyn Ressler and they moved to Washington, D.C., where he earned a master’s degree in International Service from American University. His many years of service with the Brethren Service Commission (BSC) began in Washington, where he worked with the National Service Board for Religious Objectors (NSBRO). The couple then worked with BSC in Europe and in the Caribbean for the next 15 years. In Sardinia, Italy, they worked on refugee resettlement for more than five years, with Ellis Shenk serving as administrator of the HELP project that had connections with actor and then-BVSer Don Murray. At Castañer Hospital in Puerto Rico, Ellis Shenk served for almost a decade as hospital administrator. He then joined World Vision, working as director of development projects in Bangladesh and later as an assistant administrator at a hospital in Ecuador. Returning to the US, he worked in New York City for CODEL (Coordination in Development), which focused on community-based development requiring coordination between Catholics and Protestants, serving as coordinator for Asia and the Pacific and managing projects in the Philippines, the Fiji Islands, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and Thailand, among others. He ended his working career as coordinator at ECPAT (End Child Prostitution in Asia Tourism). Following retirement he moved to Bel Air, where he was involved with Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren and volunteered at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. For his service to humanity, his alma mater, Elizabethtown College, awarded him the “Educate for Service Award.” He enjoyed traveling and meeting people from all over the world, and over the course of his life traveled to all 50 states and more than 30 countries. He spoke English, German, Italian, and Spanish, as well as some French and Bangla. He also had a passion for genealogy, loved music, and enjoyed singing. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Carolyn Shenk, and their five children: Suzanne Shenk and husband, Scott Siegal, Todd Shenk, Krystal Shenk, Jolyn Shenk, and Shawn Shenk and wife, Kelly Shenk; and six grandchildren.

— The Juniata College chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) has won an Outstanding Chapter Award from the SPS National Office. Juniata is a church-related college in Huntingdon, Pa. A release said this is the 23rd consecutive time the chapter has been recognized “for its excellence as a top-tier student-led physical sciences organization, a designation given to fewer than 15 percent of all SPS chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and internationally, and the longest uninterrupted run of recognition in the country…. The SPS chapter at Juniata College is advised by Jim Borgardt, Woolford Professor of Physics, and is led by student officers, including co-presidents, Elyzabeth Graham ’22 of McKinney, Tx., and Thomas Cope ’22 of Fogelsville, Pa.”

— Brethren Voices is celebrating its 200th episode with “Mike Stern and Bill Jolliff in Concert Supporting the World Friendship Center, Hiroshima, Japan.” Reports Ed Groff, producer of this video series produced for public access television, Brethren Voices is celebrating nearly 17 years with an episode featuring the musicians Mike Stern and Bill Jolliff in concert. The World Friendship Center was founded in Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1965 by a Quaker, Barbara Reynolds, “as a place for building friendships, one at a time, promoting peace in the world without nuclear weapons,” Groff writes. “Bill Jolliff is a frequent featured performer at the annual Song and Story Fest preceding the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. Bill Jolliff shares songs that he has written as well as ‘There’s Sunshine in My Soul, Today’ by Maria Good, written in 1888. Bill indicated that he could identify with this song, being a professor of English at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. He teaches American literature, poetry writing, and literary criticism…. Mike Stern was featured in the January 2022 Brethren Voices. His song, ‘As if the Flowers Knew,’ provides the musical introduction to this program with video of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park provided by Brent Carlson. Mike spent many years as a family nurse practitioner and recently has been working on creating a couple of song books for his creations. Mike is known for his songs of peace, justice, wonder, compassion, and love.” Groff hosts this episode. View it on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoDF1eqRRtk.

— “If your church is looking for a two-octave set of previously owned handbells, the Brethren Heritage Center has a set of American-made Schulmerich handbells with cases that need a home,” said an announcement shared by Neal Fitze, a volunteer at the center located in Brookville, Ohio. “Schulmerich handbells are one of the top makers of handbells and are preferred by many churches and schools. These handbells are in excellent condition. They were new in 1983 and have had only one owner. If you have some interest, please email us at mail@bhcenter.org.”

Photo courtesy of the Brethren Heritage Center

— The World Council of Churches (WCC) has posted three job openings for leadership staff following decisions made by its executive committee during meetings last November. The openings include program director for Unity and Mission, program director for Public Witness and Diakonia, and director of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order. “These three positions will be integral for the work of the WCC to continue with a strong and sustainable leadership team after the WCC 11th Assembly,” said Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC Central Committee, in a release. “The three positions are open due to retirement of two deputy general secretaries, at the end of 2022.” The new staff will be appointed by the Executive Committee in June 2022 and will join the WCC in November 2022, working together for two months with the present colleagues in those positions, for proper handing over and learning. Web pages providing more information about each of these positions are as follows: Program Director for Unity and Mission https://wcccoe.hire.trakstar.com/jobs/fk0snqy, Program Director for Public Witness and Diakonia https://wcccoe.hire.trakstar.com/jobs/fk0sci4, Director of Faith and Order https://wcccoe.hire.trakstar.com/jobs/fk0scoh. The deadline for all applicants is April 30.


Newsline is the email news service of the Church of the Brethren. Inclusion in Newsline does not necessarily convey endorsement by the Church of the Brethren. All submissions are subject to editing. Newsline stories may be reprinted if Newsline is cited as the source. Contributors to this issue include Neal Fitze, Kendra Flory, Sharon Billings Franzén, Cynthia Griffiths, Ed Groff, Rachel Gross, Nathan Hosler, Dina Milito, Traci Rabenstein, Jean C. Sack, and editor Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren. Please send news tips and submissions to cobnews@brethren.org . Find the Newsline archive at www.brethren.org/news . Sign up for Newsline and other Church of the Brethren email newsletters and make subscription changes at www.brethren.org/intouch . Unsubscribe by using the link at the top of any Newsline email.


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