West Marva District partners with Sleep in Heavenly Peace to build beds for local children

A release from West Marva District

More than 40 volunteers from the Church of the Brethren’s West Marva District worked together to build more than 30 twin-sized beds for children in the local area who have no bed of their own or face inadequate sleeping conditions.

The bed-build event was held in the Fellowship Hall of Oak Park Church of the Brethren in Oakland, Md., in partnership with the Morgantown area chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a national nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that “no kid sleeps on the floor in our town.”

Despite dreary weather, volunteers worked across several indoor cutting and sanding stations while others stained and branded completed headboards and footboards outdoors using non-toxic materials approved for children.

Event organizer Jennifer Kreighbaum, pastor of Bear Creek Church of the Brethren in Accident, Md., shared her inspiration for bringing the project to the district. “I participated in a similar build at our Brethren Annual Conference last year and came home energized,” Kreighbaum said. “When I discovered there was a Sleep in Heavenly Peace chapter right here in our district, I knew this was something we should do.”

The project was blessed by a $2,000 grant from the Community Dreams Foundation through First United Bank, which covered the cost of lumber.

Leading up to the project, congregations throughout the district collected dozens of new bedding sets, which were dedicated during the 2025 West Marva District Conference at Moorefield Church of the Brethren.

This was the first Sleep in Heavenly Peace bed build for Leah J. Hileman, district executive minister of West Marva. “This is the kind of work our churches love to do—something tangible and lasting,” Hileman said. “We’ll do this again in the future.”

Before the event was finished, three of the beds were delivered to children living just a short distance from the build site. Kreighbaum joined the delivery team and offered prayer and encouragement to the family.

West Marva District (www.westmarvachurches.org) encompasses 27 Church of the Brethren congregations across western Maryland and West Virginia. To learn more about Sleep in Heavenly Peace, find a local chapter, or start one in your area, visit www.shpbeds.org

— Leah J. Hileman, West Marva District executive minister, provided this report to Newsline. Find media coverage of the Sleep in Heavenly Peace bed build in West Marva District published in the Garrett County Republican newspaper at www.wvnews.com/garrettrepublican/news/church-of-the-brethren-sleep-in-heavenly-peace-build-beds-for-local-children/article_bd6a74f4-86a3-48ff-81ae-c4242baeb5ed.html