NEWS
1) Christian Churches Together holds 10th annual convocation
2) Office of Public Witness urges reduction of military spending in 2017 federal budget
3) Congregational Life Ministries and ADNet extend agreement to work together
4) CCEPI graduates first set of orphans and widows in skill acquisition
PERSONNEL
5) Ronald Beachley to retire from leadership of W. Pennsylvania District
UPCOMING EVENTS
6) Bethany Seminary holds second annual young adult event
7) Brethren bits
In January 2016, Anabaptist Disabilities Network (ADNet) and the Church of the Brethren Congregational Life Ministries extended an agreement to work together to advocate for persons with disabilities in the church. Since 2014, the Church of the Brethren has had a representative serving on the ADNet board of directors and has worked in cooperation with ADNet’s mission to “support Anabaptist congregations, families, and persons touched by disabilities to nurture inclusive communities.”
Over the weekend, a tragedy involving students at Manchester University, the sudden hospitalization of associate general secretary Mary Jo Flory-Steury, and a fire at Cross Keys Village-one of the Church of the Brethren-related retirement communities, have prompted calls for prayer.
NEWS
1) Brethren leaders attend 25th Asamblea in Dominican Republic
2) Congregations are sought for Heifer fundraising
3) Churches invited to take part in Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters
NIGERIA SPECIAL SECTION
4) Nigeria Crisis Response co-directors visit unstable areas of northeast Nigeria
5) Seeds and farming supplies are next step for Nigeria Crisis Response
6) Reflections on a distribution of relief good by CCEPI in Nigeria
7) Lamps represent gifts shared between Brethren on two continents
8) Simple hand-sewn dolls and stuffed toys needed for Nigeria
9) ‘We can recreate a new and better tomorrow’: An address by the EYN president
10) Brethren bits
On our recent trip to Nigeria to meet with and encourage the Disaster Team of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), we took the opportunity to travel into unstable and potentially dangerous areas of the northeast.
Later this spring representatives of Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) will be traveling to Nigeria to work on trauma healing with children, working with women theologians of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria).
Dale Ziegler was one of the “Take 10/Tell 10″ group from Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren who made a trip to Nigeria in January, accompanied by Nigeria Crisis Response co-directors Carl and Roxane Hill. Here he tells the story of the “Lamps for Nigeria” project:
A delegation of the Mission Advisory Committee enjoyed a formal visit with Iglesia de los Hermandos Dominicano (Church of the Brethren in the Dominican Republic), visiting churches, touring outreach ministries, speaking with church members, and attending the 25th annual gathering, “Asamblea,” of the Dominican Brethren held Feb. 12-14.
Karen Hodges was one of the “Take 10/Tell 10″ group from Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren who made a trip to Nigeria in January, accompanied by Nigeria Crisis Response co-directors Carl and Roxane Hill. Here is her reflection after participating in a food distribution:
The following is the text of an address by Samuel Dante Dali, president of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), to the EYN Ministers’ Council. The council met at the EYN Headquarters in Kwarhi on Feb. 17-20. Newsline was sent this address by the EYN communications staff, in order to share it with the wider Church of the Brethren: