The ecumenical organization Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), of which the Church of the Brethren is a member denomination, is offering a variety of resources for acting and praying for peace in Israel and Palestine, and for gaining a better understanding of the conflict there.
On Aug. 19, attendees of the Open Circle and Common Spirit congregations in the Church of the Brethren’s Northern Plains District came together to begin their joint Jesus in the Neighborhood project.
In mid-summer, due to distressing weather conditions, the prospect for the 30 acres of corn that make up the 2023 Polo Growing Project appeared bleak. But at harvest in mid-October, the results were no less than astonishing, the crop yielding an average of 247.5 bushels per acre. Net proceeds for the project stand at $45,500, a notch above last year’s near-record earnings of $45,000.
“Join us for this informational and instructive seminar!” said an invitation to the Clergy Tax Seminar 2024 sponsored by the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, the Church of the Brethren Office of Ministry, and Bethany Theological Seminary.
On Oct. 28, Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) deployed a team of five Critical Response Childcare volunteers to Lewiston, Maine, in partnership with the Red Cross. This deployment was made in response to the mass shootings at two locations in Lewiston in which 18 people were killed and 13 others were injured.
A decision to close Material Resources–a Church of the Brethren program that collects, processes, warehouses, and ships material relief aid–and a statement on “Seeking Peace in Israel and Palestine,” as well as a budget for 2024 topped the agenda of the Mission and Ministry Board’s Fall 2023 meetings on Oct. 20-22 at the General Offices in Elgin, Ill.
The Mission and Ministry Board has decided to close the Church of the Brethren’s Material Resources program based at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. The decision made on Oct. 21, during the board’s fall 2023 meetings, is to wind down the program over a period of up to 30 months. Brethren Disaster Ministries and Children’s Disaster Services are not affected.
La Junta de Misión y Ministerio de la Iglesia de los Hermanos adoptó el 21 de octubre una declaración sobre “Buscar la paz en Israel y Palestina”. La acción se tomó durante las reuniones de la junta de otoño de 2023 en las oficinas generales de la denominación en Elgin, Illinois.
The Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board on Oct. 21 adopted a statement on “Seeking Peace in Israel and Palestine.” The action was taken during the board’s fall 2023 meetings at the denomination’s General Offices in Elgin, Ill.
Church of the Brethren general secretary David Steele has sent a pastoral letter to the Armenian community following the Azerbaijan attack against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) which forced the Armenian population to flee the area. The letter was sent to Archbishop Vicken Aykazian on behalf of the Armenian Church of America, the global Armenian Orthodox fellowship, and the Armenian community worldwide, with particular attention to the Armenian members and attenders within the Church of the Brethren.