This past October, the Young Adult Steering Committee met at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., to begin planning for Young Adult Conference 2024, which will be held May 24-26 at Camp Shepherds Spring in Sharpsburg, Md.
The Nominating Committee of the Standing Committee of district delegates to the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference continues to seek nominations for the 2024 ballot. We are extending the deadline for submitting nominations from Dec. 4, 2023, to Jan. 5, 2024.
This year “The People’s Tree” comes from Monongahela National Forest in the beautiful Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. While it makes its way from town to town on its tour to Washington, D.C., its old-growth arboreal neighbors in the forest are at risk of being harvested for timber.
The next Church of the Brethren Christian Citizenship Seminar (CCS), for senior high youth and first-year college students and their adult advisors, will be April 11-16, 2024, in Washington, D.C. The 2024 theme is “And They Fled: Advocating for Just Immigration Policy,” drawing from Matthew 2:13-23.
New Strength for the Journey cohorts are forming for 2024, with different themes but the same format: monthly, virtual gatherings supported by funds for resources and a skilled convener to help hold sacred space for each group of ministers.
In this issue: A variety of Advent devotionals and calendars from church-related organizations, remembering Joan Pelletier, job opening, conversations with Howard Royer, “Send some Christmas cheer!” invites Brethren Volunteer Service, BVS anniversary celebrations, upcoming regional youth conferences, “Weaponizing Women in War” webinar, and a new academic volume on “Reparations and the Theological Disciplines: Prophetic Voices for Remembrance, Reckoning, and Repair” edited by Drew G. I. Hart and Gimbiya Kettering, among others.
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) deployed a team of three volunteers to Oak Park, Ill., to aid children and families among asylum seekers who have been sent to Chicago from the southern border of Texas. The team served from Monday, Nov. 6, to Thursday, Nov. 9, caring for 51 children.
In a Nov. 9 letter to President Biden, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and 30 American Christian leaders including Church of the Brethren general secretary David Steele called on President Biden and his administration to support an immediate ceasefire in Israel and Palestine, de-escalation, and restraint by all involved.
The Church of the Brethren’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy is among the sponsors of a time of prayer for peace in Israel and Palestine to be held in-person in the nation’s capital this coming Monday.
The Church of the Brethren Annual Conference has called for a three-year denominational process to move toward more vibrant and effective solidarity with communities of color. You are invited to join the efforts of the Standing with People of Color Study/Action process by attending an online meeting on Saturday, Nov. 18, to get connected and find your role in our efforts.
