Brethren bits

— Remembrance: David A. Waas, 99, professor emeritus of history at Manchester University in North Manchester, Ind., and a highly respected peace advocate in the church, died Feb. 4 just a little more than two weeks short of age 100. A remembrance from the university shared the news of his passing “with a heavy heart.” The university also shared a comment received from a former student when Waas was given an Alumni Honor Award: “Each lecture was a progression of ideas, people and anecdotes leading up to a comprehensive conclusion…. He focused on history as if it were a vast tapestry of interwoven events and people.’” Born in Burbank, Calif., on Feb. 20, 1926, he graduated from Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, Calif., in 1943; earned a bachelor’s degree from Manchester in 1947 (during his time as a student he met his wife, Becky Brightbill, in chapel); attended Bethany Theological Seminary 1947-1948; and earned a master’s degree in 1949 and a doctorate in 1958 from the University of Illinois. He worked and taught at several colleges across the country, including as dean of Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, 1960-1964, before returning to Manchester where he taught until his retirement in 1991. At Manchester, as well as teaching history he also served as head of the Department of History and chair of the Division of Social Studies. He was an ordained minister and briefly pastored Glendale (Calif.) Church of the Brethren. His leadership on the denominational level included participation on at least three study committees that produced papers adopted by Annual Conference: the 1993 “Structure to Deal with Global Denomination,” which he chaired; the 1989 paper on South Africa; and the 1970 poetic Vietnam War-era resolution “A Hope for Peace.” He was a keynote speaker for National Older Adult Conference and was a dedicated supporter of the Death Row Support Project. He was a world traveler and advocate for peace in many parts of the globe including the Middle East, and provided analyses of conflict areas for church-based publications and presentations. After his retirement, he and his wife taught on several Semester at Sea voyages and led dozens of tours to countries all over the world. He is preceded in death by his wife, Becky, and his youngest daughter, Lorraine. He is survived by three daughters, Martha, Deborah, and Elizabeth, and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. Memorial gifts are received to On Earth Peace. A memorial service will be held at Manchester Church of the Brethren at a date yet to be determined. Find a full obituary at www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/david-waas-obituary?id=60738022

An update from the Deportation Defense Response Team: “We praise God that U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes blocked the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians last week while a lawsuit challenging it proceeds. While this is a temporary victory that provides extended protections, uncertainty looms. Lynn Tramonte, executive director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, rightly states, ‘…people can’t live their lives like this, pegging their families’ futures to a court case.’ We ask for continued intercessory prayer and action for our Haitian sisters and brothers. To read more and to spot the faces of some of our Church of the Brethren pastors and leaders present in the audience at the church in Springfield, Ohio, see this article and video. Among those present were Jan and Dick Futrell, Irv Heishman, Tara Hornbacker, Caleb Kragt, Mark Lancaster, Rex Miller, Dan Royer-Miller, Tim Sietman, Zach Spidel, and Dawn Wojcik.” Find the video and report from the Associated Press at https://apnews.com/article/haiti-springfield-immigration-ruling-202aef9c838bec43d19d6f1d67766b77

— Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) staff were at Powerhouse on Feb. 6-7 at Columbia City (Ind.) Church of the Brethren. Virginia Rendler, BVS co-director, and Aly Heckeroth, assistant FaithX coordinator, attended the regional youth conference for Northern Indiana District and found it “full of fun, worship, games, and faith-building fellowship,” they wrote for the BVS email newsletter. They provided a FaithX-themed scavenger hunt, and former BVSer Anna Schweitzer represented Youth and Young Adult Ministries, sharing about the upcoming National Youth Conference.

— “We were so excited to go to Ladysmith, Virginia to see the monks last week,” wrote Phyllis Dodd and Rusty Curling in a report to Newsline. The two Church of the Brethren members were among the thousands of people who have gone out to the roadside to see a group of Buddhist monks as they walked from Texas to Washington, D.C. Religion News Service (RNS) reported that the monks completed their 108-day, 2,300-mile “Walk for Peace” on Feb. 10, when they were welcomed to the nation’s capital with an interfaith service at the Washington National Cathedral (see https://religionnews.com/2026/02/10/as-walk-for-peace-reaches-dc-buddhist-monks-share-interfaith-message-with-thousands). “There were people from all over the world standing along the side of the road,” wrote Dodd and Curling, in part. “People from Germany, from Asia, people waiting to hand them a gift of flowers, spreading petals on the ground, offering fruit, hoping for even a glimpse. Rusty and I were holding signs, ‘Today is my peaceful Day,’ ‘Seek Peace and Pursue It.’ One of the monks saw Rusty’s sign and blessed him. It was a holy moment, he said…. As the head monk said, this is not about religion or politics; it is to remind America that peace is possible. But it has to start within. Then the monks went on to explain that peace is not looking at your cell phone or praying for peace to happen from the outside world (because we all do that), but that peace begins within.”