Review and Evaluation Committee begins its work

A release from the Review and Evaluation Committee of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference

The Review and Evaluation Committee is made up of five members, elected by the Annual Conference from across the denomination. The members of the committee include: Daniel Rudy (chairperson), Chris Douglas (secretary), Lupita Ortiz-Cruz, Ilexene Alphonse, and Anna Lisa Gross.

The committee first participated in the Setting the Table conversations and consultation with leadership from the Church of the Brethren, Bethany Theological Seminary, Eder Financial, On Earth Peace, and the Council of District Executives. Following that gathering, the Review and Evaluation Committee met for three days at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., to understand their assignment and to begin their work.

The committee made several important decisions at that time. As the committee began calling internal leadership, several members respectfully asked that the committee not consider them as candidates for the chair’s role. In addition to calling leadership, the Review and Evaluation Committee quickly made the decision to present items of new business to the Annual Conference delegate body as soon as they are ready, rather than waiting for a final report to present recommendations. The committee anticipates having items of new business to present each year that it remains active.

In terms of structuring its work, the committee decided to tend to the items that it believed could potentially be ready to present to the 2026 Annual Conference delegate body first. Following the deadline to submit materials for the 2026 Annual Conference book, the Review and Evaluation Committee will then circle back and begin working on some of the larger questions of denominational structure. In effect, this means that the Review and Evaluation Committee will present its findings regarding the Calling Denominational Leadership query and potentially some recommendations related to the Breaking Down Barriers query in 2026.

The committee anticipates beginning its deeper dive into the questions of denominational structure and tending to the two full queries assigned to the committee in the Spring of 2026, with recommendations not coming to the Annual Conference delegate body until 2027 at the earliest.

The members of the Review and Evaluation Committee are grateful for the prayers, the thoughtful suggestions, and the deep conversations of our siblings in Christ as we continue with the tasks that you have called us to address. We encourage you to use the email address reviewandevaluation@brethren.org to reach out to any member of the committee with questions, feedback, and suggestions.

The Review and Evaluation Committee will be hosting a hearing at the 2026 Annual Conference, which will provide an intentional time to receive feedback and to hear from the body.

— Daniel Rudy contributed this report to Newsline on behalf of the Review and Evaluation Committee of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. For more about the committee and its work go to www.brethren.org/ac/study-committees

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