The business agenda for the 2026 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference has been announced. Along with numerous reports and the ballot, the delegate body will receive an interim report from the Review and Evaluation Committee and will consider four items of new business: resolutions on weapons transfer and care for immigrants and refugees, polity adjustments for licensed and commissioned ministers, and the yet-to-be-announced recommended COLA for the pastoral scale.
The 2026 Annual Conference is held on June 28 to July 2, a Sunday to Thursday schedule, at the Grand Wayne Convention Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. Register and find out more at www.brethren.org/ac2026
Delegates are requested to attend a district briefing hosted by their member(s) of Standing Committee. In addition to providing information about the Conference, district briefings are important opportunities for delegates to connect prior to attending the Conference. Check with district offices for information about briefing(s) in your district.
For delegates who cannot attend their district briefing, the Annual Conference officers are hosting an online briefing on May 27 at 8 p.m. (Eastern time). Register at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ZBmMbL8KTsuPXv9gR6Kz4w#/registration
Unfinished business
Review and Evaluation Interim Report: The Church of the Brethren every decade calls a Review and Evaluation Committee. Elected during the fifth year of each decade, the committee is to review and evaluate the organizational structures and procedures of the denomination and report back with any recommendations of organizational change. Usually the report is made in the seventh year of the decade, but because of additional tasks assigned to this committee, their term is from two to four years.
This decade’s Review and Evaluation Committee was elected last year and includes Ilexene Alphonse, Atlantic Southeast District; Lupita Cruz-Ortiz, Virlina District; Chris Douglas, Illinois and Wisconsin District, secretary for the committee; Anna Lisa Gross, Northern Indiana District; and Daniel L. Rudy, Virlina District, committee chair.
The committee is bringing an interim report in 2026, outlining its work and activities so far and listing the assigned tasks: “assessing the quality, scope and effectiveness of the denominational structure and program, making recommendations regarding unfinished assignments related to calling denominational leaders, breaking down barriers to full participation in the major conferences of the church and recommending ways that our siblings in Christ, congregations and districts can live and work together in light of ongoing struggles related to the church’s response to LGBTQ+ persons within and beyond the church.”
The report includes a recommendation for no further changes to polity responding to the Calling Denominational Leadership query, which asked for consideration of “moving to a slate of nominees; allowing self-nominations and revising eligibility and disqualification rules for elected positions, such as the exclusion of agency board members or staff.” The Review and Evaluation Committee decided “that not enough time had passed to fully evaluate the effects of recent changes to church polity (i.e., the move away from election of agency board members and the loosening of the requirement for the Nominating Committee of Standing Committee to find four candidates for every position on the ballot).”
New business
Resolution on Weapons Transfer: Recommended by the Mission and Ministry Board, which adopted it in March 2025, this resolution cites Matthew 5:44-46, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…,” to call the church to “examine and respond to the impacts of the arms industry.”
It includes sections on the global impact of the US arms trade—noting that “the United States is currently the world’s largest exporter of weapons, with 39 percent of global weapons imports in 2023 coming from the US”—and the Church of the Brethren’s historic opposition to war and the defense industry—noting the church’s centuries long opposition to war and adherence to peacemaking and stated opposition to particular types of weaponry including nuclear weapons and military drones.
The closing section offers recommendations for the individual, congregations and districts, and the denomination. Recommendations range from educating about the US arms trade and the biblical call to peacemaking, to divesting from the arms industry, to public advocacy against US arms transfers and the defense industry.
Recommendations for Adjustments to the 2014 Ministerial Leadership Paper: Recommended by the Mission and Ministry Board, which adopted them in its March meeting this year, these two proposed adjustments to ministerial polity would affect licensed and commissioned ministers:
— Licensed ministers would receive “provisional credential status” in recognition of “the increased number of licensed ministers serving in ministry roles which require them to perform ministry functions normally expected to be carried out by credentialed ministers.”
— Commissioned ministers would receive a simpler path to qualify for ordination, in recognition of the cumbersome nature of this procedure. The simpler path being proposed is that the commissioned minister “be in conversation with the Brethren Academy and their credentialing committee to determine what additional training and/or study might be required.”
The Ministry Office and the Council of District Executives hold responsibility for reviewing and updating ministerial polity as implemented by the Ministry Advisory Council, which includes three district executives and three representatives from Bethany Seminary and the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, convened by the director of the Ministry Office. A review of the 2014 Ministerial Leadership polity is expected to continue through the coming year.
Resolution—Walking Together: Immigration, Peacemaking, Conscience, and Supporting Our Neighbors: The Mission and Ministry Board recommends this resolution, which it adopted in March this year, citing Matthew 25:36, “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” The resolution has five sections, the first four headed by these statements:
“Care for immigrants and refugees is an essential part of the Christian and Church of the Brethren ethic of service and peacemaking.”
“Church of the Brethren history and tradition include radical discipleship, conscientious objection, and participation in civil disobedience.”
“Faithful civil disobedience is grounded biblically and theologically.”
“Support for newcomers and respect for God’s love for justice are reaffirmed.”
The last two sections offer calls to action and a closing prayer in several languages. The calls to action for individuals, congregations, districts, and the denomination range from reading and listening to immigrant and refugee stories to public support for immigrant communities to understanding that civil disobedience may be necessary and support may be required for those parts of the denomination that prayerfully participate in civil disobedience.
Recommended Cost of Living Adjustment to the Minimum Cash Salary Table for Pastors: The recommendation is yet to be announced by the Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee.
Download full texts of all the business documents at www.brethren.org/ac2026/business
Find detailed information about the Conference and a link to register at www.brethren.org/ac2026
#cobac26
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