Brethren bits

— Remembrance: Suely Zanetti Inhauser, 75, a longtime leader of Igreja da Irmandade (the Church of the Brethren in Brazil) alongside her husband, Marcos Inhauser, died on July 22 after living for some years with a progressive motor neuron disease. Her whole life was dedicated to the church, starting from a young age when she played the organ and was a choir director when involved in the Baptist youth of her region. She went to Costa Rica and Switzerland to specialize in liturgical music. She moved to Ecuador to study and graduated in Family Therapy, which she practiced as a ministry for more than 30 years. Before becoming involved with the Church of the Brethren, she was an assistant pastor in the Presbyterian Church in São Carlos, in the Presbyterian Church of Ecuador, and later a worship and music leader in the Church of the Covenant of Quito. She was married to Marcos Inhauser for 52 years. The couple moved to the United States and studied at Bethany Theological Seminary, where she graduated with a master of arts in theology. She was an assistant pastor in a Church of the Brethren congregation in Michigan, where she was ordained to the pastoral ministry. Returning to Brazil, she pastored the Mennonite Church in Campinas for 10 years (1993 to 2003). Her leadership in the Church of the Brethren in Brazil began in 2000 when the Inhausers started a new church planting effort there. In 2001, the mission venture in Brazil was approved by the former General Board of the Church of the Brethren. She and her husband became national co-directors and then co-coordinators in Brazil, serving through Global Mission. In 2003, she and her husband represented the Brazilian Brethren at the Brethren World Assembly. In 2006, around the time of the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches held in Brazil, she helped host a delegation of leaders from the Church of the Brethren in the US and Nigeria—the second event in a series of gatherings that led to the formation of the Global Church of the Brethren Communion. In 2011, she was one of the Brazilian representatives at the Historic Peace Churches of Latin America Conference in the Dominican Republic, as part of the World Council of Churches Decade to Overcome Violence. In 2013, she preached for the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. In more recent years, “since the diagnosis of her illness, more than 600 people (some of whom live abroad) came to visit her and tell her how significant her life and ministry was,” said a remembrance shared on Facebook by her family. “Couples testified to her that they remained married because of her teachings and therapy. God gave her the opportunity to hear these testimonies firsthand two years after the diagnosis.” She is survived by her husband, their three children, and grandchildren.

— Remembrance: David Charles Jehnsen, 83, who was instrumental in codifying the Kingian Nonviolence principles that have become foundational to the work of On Earth Peace, passed away on July 20 at Miller’s Merry Manor in Warsaw, Ind. Born May 22, 1943, to Ernest R. Jehnsen and Kathryn (Brightbill) Jehnsen, he grew up in the Church of the Brethren’s Michigan District. Prior to his recent illness and move to Indiana, Jehnsen was active in Living Peace Church of the Brethren, Columbus, Ohio. In his teens, he became active in the Civil Rights Movement, eventually working with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr. among others. According to a remembrance shared by On Earth Peace, in 1962 as a Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) worker Jehnsen served at Chicago’s West Side Christian Parish where he became involved in organizing clergy delegations and gathering community members to lay groundwork for Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to open a northern wing of the Civil Rights Movement. During this period, he worked with many Civil Rights leaders including Dr. LaFayette, James Bevel, CT Vivian, and Mary Lou Finley. He became a key organizer of the East Garfield Park Union to End Slums, focused on addressing deterioriated housing conditions, and also worked with Dr. LaFayette to create a youth-led project to test for lead in paint used in housing projects. Together with Dr. LaFayette, he codified the Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation curriculum based on their experiences working with Dr. King and in the Civil Rights Movement. The curriculum has inspired and equipped thousands of people around the world to connect with King’s legacy. Also with Dr. LaFayette, he founded the Institute for Human Rights and Responsibilities. Dedicated to Dr. King’s vision of institutionalizing nonviolence, Jehnsen developed long-term nonviolence leadership development projects in Cuba and New Orleans, and he played a key role drafting the legislation that created the United States Institute of Peace. Additionally, he drafted the legislation for the New York State Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission and Institute for Nonviolence during Mario M. Cuomo’s tenure as governor. In 1988 he married Deborah Mardigan, who survives him. A memorial service is planned for 12 noon on Saturday, Aug. 1, at Faith Bible Fellowship Church (formerly North Webster Church of the Brethren) in North Webster, Ind., preceded by visitation beginning at 10 a.m., and followed by a meal. Memorial gifts are received to On Earth Peace and to Faith Bible Fellowship Church. On Earth Peace plans to sponsor an online memorial service this fall. Find a full obituary at www.titusfuneralhome.com/obituaries/david-jehnsen. Find an interview with Jehnsen by Matt Guynn of On Earth Peace titled “The Origins of Kingian Nonviolence” in the January/February 2024 issue of Messenger, the Church of the Brethren magazine.

Correction: Dedan Shavah was incorrectly identified in the NYC wrap up issue of Newsline. He attended National Youth Conference not as an international student but as an international youth participant from Nigeria with his father, Elisha Shavah, as adult advisor from Nigeria. The editor apologizes for this mistake.

— The Global Mission office shared prayer concerns this week from international denominations in the Global Church of the Brethren Communion. Among them:

L’Eglise des Frères d’Haiti (the Church of the Brethren in Haiti) requested prayer as “Haiti continues to experience devastating humanitarian and security crises as armed gangs control much of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. More than 1.5 million people, including children, are displaced from their homes and living in makeshift camps with limited access to good food, clean water, and medicine. Continue to pray for a credible government to be adopted in Haiti, one that leads with the fear of the Lord and works to bring peace. Pray, too, for the Haitian church’s annual conference happening August 10-16, for the continuation of the members’ deep faith, and commitment to serving the kingdom of God in the midst of extremely difficult circumstances.”

Also holding its annual conference in August is ASIGLEH (the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela). The Venezuela church will be meeting Aug. 3-7. Attending as an international guest will be Comunidad de Fe president Francisco Santos and others from Church of the Brethren groups in the Dominican Republic. Prayers are requested “for safe travel and the building of strong relationships.”

Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) continues to request prayer for its adult and child members who are suffering from persecution, including violent attacks on communities mainly in the northeastern states of Nigeria where EYN congregations are concentrated. “The violence causes large displacements of people into crowded Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps where the living conditions are difficult,” said the prayer request. “Nevertheless, the church has remained steadfast in our faith in the midst of adversity and injustice, and we have learned to demonstrate the power of the gospel through forgiveness. We have been challenged to promote the spirit of peaceful coexistence to help in building trust among Christians and Muslims and others in Nigeria. We therefore appeal peacefully to our Brethren in America and other countries to join us in prayers, trusting that God in His mercy will intervene in our situation. The Lord God is our strength.”

First District Church of the Brethren in India is requesting prayer for those affected by many days of very heavy rainfalls in the region. The church’s Bishop D. L. Miller Church of the Brethren Compound was flooded but there was no significant damage. “Please pray for all the people who have been displaced in our region and for more normal weather patterns to return soon…. Pray for the farmers who will be sowing this season’s paddy crops, that they will not be adversely affected by the heavy rains and will have a fruitful harvest,” the request said. Also requested is prayer for youth on a national level who were peacefully protesting against malpractices in the Indian education system “and subsequently were seriously injured by brutal baton attacks and the firing of tear gas shells by the Delhi police and the Rapid Action Force.”

A prayer request from Ukraine was shared by Quinter (Kan.) Church of the Brethren and Western Plains District. The prayer request for the Brethren congregation in Chernihiv (Chernigov), Ukraine, and pastor Alex Zazhytko, came as a large-scale missile and drone attack from Russia was expected the night of July 29-30. Said the request from pastor Zazhytko: “I ask you to please keep Ukraine in your prayers tonight. May the Lord protect us, keep us safe, and have mercy on us. He has faithfully watched over us until now, and we trust that He will continue to do so tonight. ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble’ (Psalm 46:1).”

— A worship service during the 2026 Annual Conference, held with the Brethren Mennonite Council for LGBT Interests (BMC) and the Supportive Communities Network (SCN), “continued the celebration of BMC’s 50th anniversary,” wrote Irvin Heishman in a report to Newsline. The celebration “featured a video of Martin Rock, its founder. Martin is a member of the Church of the Brethren who lost his employment with Mennonite Central Committee when it was discovered that he was gay. A timeline of BMC’s history since that beginning was displayed and several people shared stories of experiences with BMC. Three congregations were recognized as new members of the Supportive Communities Network: the Westminster Church of the Brethren (Mid-Atlantic District), Central Church of the Brethren (Virlina District), and Chicago First Church of the Brethren (Illinois/Wisconsin District). SCN is a network of Mennonite and Church of the Brethren communities which are publicly affirming of gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual members. Clayton Gladish, BMC board chair and Pastor of the Silverwood Mennonite Church in Goshen, IN officiated at the recognition. There are now around 150 Church of the Brethren and Mennonite open and affirming communities in the US and Canada which are part of the SCN network.”

— Church World Service (CWS) on July 28 celebrated the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The convention is “a landmark international promise made following World War II to protect people around the world facing war, violence, and persecution,” said a CWS release. “The United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, calls for a renewed commitment to designing fair national asylum systems, addressing global security challenges, pursuing local integration, and similar initiatives contained in the initial goals of the Refugee Convention.” Last week, CWS with six other refugee support organizations and five members of Congress hosted an event commemorating the anniversary with a call to renew the promises made in 1951. Read the CWS statement honoring the anniversary at https://cwsglobal.org/press-releases/upholding-refugee-rights-on-the-75th-anniversary-of-the-1951-refugee-convention