Brethren bits

— Remembrance: Dale L. Ott, 95, a former Church of the Brethren denominational staff member, died on Sept. 12 in Geneva, Switzerland, in a retirement community where he had been living. From 1966 to 1987 he was director of Brethren Service Programs for Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, based at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva which served as headquarters for the World Council of Churches (WCC) and other religious and humanitarian nonprofits. Prior to his move to Geneva, in 1962 he began as area director for Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) based in Kassel, Germany, and then in Berlin. After leaving the Brethren Service office, he worked for the WCC as a consultant with the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs and as Namibia program associate for the Commission on Inter-Church Aid, Refugees, and World Service. He then went on to a position with the Hospice Général de Genève, where he worked with refugees. After his retirement he continued to live in Geneva. He was a graduate of La Verne (Calif.) College, now the University of La Verne, and of Bethany Theological Seminary. Early in his career he was a teacher and held pastorates in southern California.

— Remembrance: Roma Jo Thompson (nee Mickey), 88, a former denominational staff and mission worker for the Church of the Brethren, passed away Sept. 12 at Bridgewater (Va.) Retirement Community after a long illness. Her career in the church started with Brethren Volunteer Service after high school and included multiple years of mission work in Nigeria, Somalia, and Sudan. In Sudan, she was instrumental in a Theological Education by Extension (TEE) program during a time of political unrest and violence. She was heavily involved in Brethren Disaster Ministries and worked for four years as director of the Cooperative Disaster Child Care program. She represented the Church of the Brethren on the Common Council of Church Women United and was a denominational representative to the World Council of Churches. She was active with Church World Service, serving for three years as director for the Mid-Atlantic region of CROP, and also worked with FEMA. She served as co-pastor for several interim pastorates. Additionally, she used her education training to teach unhoused first graders in Arizona. She is survived by three sons, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. A celebration of life service is planned for Oct. 26 at 11 a.m. at Bridgewater Church of the Brethren.

Coming soon on Brethren.org: A series of “tiny retreats” posted as brief online opportunities to take in inspiration and beauty from images and scripture. These will be offered once a week, appearing on Monday mornings. Find the first, this coming Monday, at www.brethren.org/pause/first-day-of-fall. Return to this link each Monday morning to find another “tiny retreat”: www.brethren.org/pause.

— Mid-Atlantic District also is sharing information about an art show and International Day of Peace event on Sept. 21 at Washington (D.C.) City Church of the Brethren. The show, which has sponsorship from the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy, is curated by artist Chidinma Dureke and is titled “Movements Unveiled: Colors in Motion.” Said the announcement: “The multimedia art show…delves into the concept of abstraction and representation with original works celebrating the International Day of Peace. As advocacy and policy work often gets stuck in limited imagination, this exhibition aims to contribute to a conversation that builds the bridge between finding and building peace in the midst of a world marked by chaos and despair. The exhibition aims to serve as an opportunity to provoke thoughts of peaceful protest and action as the artworks in the show incorporate components of migration, immigration, gentrification, and forced movement.” Gallery doors open at 4 p.m. followed by an event from 6-8 p.m. with insights from the artists and curator. Find out more at www.facebook.com/events/1207278560293244 or follow @brethrenopp on Instagram and ChurchOfTheBrethrenOPP on Facebook for more information about the artists and the show. The Eventbrite link is at www.eventbrite.com/e/movements-unveiled-colors-in-motion-tickets-982134880867.

— Church of the Brethren member Lucinda Barnum-Steggerda was interviewed in early September by WOOD TV Channel 8 about her work against gun violence in the area of Muskegon, Mich. She helped organize and was one of several Brethren who took part in an interfaith witness against gun violence just nine days before a series of shootings hit the city over Labor Day weekend. The Interfaith Prayer Walk Against Gun Violence on Aug. 25 brought together faith leaders under the auspices of the Muskegon County Cooperating Churches Peace and Justice Committee. Also participating, among others, were Tom Wagner, who represented Muskegon Church of the Brethren and was one of those offering a prayer for the event, and Dan Barnum-Steggerda, who contacted Newsline with the flier for the event and the link to the news video. Lucinda Barnum-Steggerda has for years been involved in work against gun violence and told the reporter from WOOD TV that the impetus for the prayer walk came this past spring when a drive-by shooting killed a six-month-old child in their home. Gun violence prevents people from feeling safe in their homes, she said. “It’s just horrible when families and children can’t gather and meet without something happening…. How can we teach people to resolve differences in a different way?” she asked. Part of the solution is finding alternative means of solving conflict, she said, but also making sure people’s basic needs are met so that they don’t feel desperate. View the full interview at www.woodtv.com/video/after-deadly-weekend-muskegon-groups-aim-to-reduce-violence/10009394.

— The annual Brethren Disaster Relief Auction is in its 47th year, taking place on Friday, Sept. 27, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday, Sept. 28, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Lebanon (Pa.) Valley Expo Center. Click here for details: https://brethrenauction.org/schedule-of-events.

— Pacific Southwest District is holding a Multi-Cultural Jubilee Celebration at Glendora (Calif.) Church of the Brethren on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 1-4 p.m. (Pacific time). Founa Augustin Badet, director of Intercultural Ministries for the Church of the Brethren, will be attending on behalf of the denomination and has been asked to bring the message for the Sunday morning worship service on Sept. 22. Helping to organize the event is Gilbert Romero, Ministry Training coordinator for the district.

— A concert “Celebrating the Music of Ephrata with Ephrata Cloister Chorus” is hosted by the Young Center at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, in the Leffler Chapel and Performance Center on Monday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. Said an announcement: “For this concert, Ephrata Cloister Chorus will perform four pieces composed at Ephrata and found in the Ephrata Cloister’s 1739 hymnal, Zionitischer Weyrauchs-Hilgel. The program will also include music composed at the Lititz Moravian community; selections from the Shaker community of Mt. Lebanon, New York; music of William Billings; African American Spiritual hymnody; and several contemporary sacred anthems. Preceding the concert, Archivist Rachel Grove Rohrbaugh will describe extensive conservation work completed in 2023 on two rare Ephrata music manuscript books housed in Elizabethtown College’s Hess Archives and Special Collections. Both books were created by hand at the Cloister in the mid-eighteenth century and contain beautiful examples of Pennsylvania German Fraktur.” The Ephrata Cloister Chorus is directed by Mark V. Herr and accompanied by Juliet Mitton. For more go to www.etown.edu/centers/young-center/events.aspx.