By Joshua Brockway Congregational leaders often do not think of funding needs in the first quarter of the year. The budget preparations feel like they just finished, and we already did the annual giving appeal. Every congregational treasurer will remind us, however, that the expenses don’t stop after the budget is passed, and neither can
The staff at Brethren Disaster Ministries have requested an additional allocation of $300,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to cover remaining program expenses for the Nigeria Crisis Response program for 2020 and to carry the response through March 2021. Since 2014, the Nigeria Crisis Response has provided more than $5 million in ministry resources
The staff at Brethren Disaster Ministries have directed grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in two countries in central Africa: Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In response to the pandemic, governments all over the world are closing borders, restricting travel, and
—Brethren Benefit Trust through the Church Workers Assistance Fund has created a COVID-19 Emergency Grant Program. The program has a streamlined application process to provide financial support to church workers (pastors, office staff, etc.) whose financial situation is adversely affected because of COVID-19 related issues. This would include help for bi-vocational pastors whose non-church work
“On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2). NEWS 1) Church World Service closes kit depots, affects Material Resources ministry 2) Brethren Disaster Ministries extends suspension
Following two webinars with Church of the Brethren pastors this week, the staff of the Ministry Office are collecting worship resources for use in virtual love feast and Easter services. The COVID-19 emergency means that congregations are faced with the question of whether to hold love feast virtually or instead to postpone it until a
A decision by the Church World Service (CWS) leadership team to close all of the kit depots in local congregations through May 31 will affect the Church of the Brethren’s Material Resources ministry based at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. The Material Resources warehouse facility receives, processes, and distributes CWS disaster relief
The Church of the Brethren denominational staff are minimizing the number of personnel present at both the General Offices in Elgin, Ill., and the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., in light of health authorities’ advice to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. At this time, both sites are closed to visitors and
Eric Miller reports that the lockdown at his home in Pingding, China, has ended. Miller and his wife, Ruoxia Li, have returned to work in the offices of their local partner, You’ai Hospital. They spent about a month at home with only two trips to the grocery store for supplies. Li and Miller recently signed
From the Church of the Brethren Workcamp Ministry team The workcamp team is continuing to plan workcamps as scheduled and it is our hope that we will be able to gather in service and fellowship this summer! As we get closer to the start of workcamps, we will be assessing recommendations from the CDC and
