NEWS
1) Young adult webinar is dedicated to uncovering the complexity of racism
2) EYN officials dedicate church for IDP camp funded in the name of a ‘spirited sister’
3) Digital hymn sing keeps West Green Tree singing all week long
UPCOMING EVENTS
4) Webinar series will focus on ‘Lessons from the Latinx Church’
RESOURCES
5) Brethren Press digital curriculum for the Fall offers Christian formation options during pandemic
6) Brethren bits
Officials of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) have dedicated a 500-person capacity church auditorium for more than 300 worshipers at an IDP (internally displaced person) camp in Wuro Jabbe, Yola South Local Area, Adamawa State. The project, which cost about 4 million Naira, was sponsored in the name of the late Chrissy Kulp, granddaughter of Stover Kulp–one of the founders of the Church of the Brethren Mission in Nigeria in the 1920s. She enjoyed traveling and had recently re-visited her childhood home in Nigeria. Born Dec. 26, 1954, Kulp passed away on July 8, 2019, at the age of 64, in Waynesboro, Pa. She was the daughter of Mary Ann (Moyer) Kulp Payne of Waynesboro and the late Philip M. Kulp.
The Shine curriculum from Brethren Press is helping congregations provide Christian formation while maintaining social distancing. With the Sunday school landscape changing, most churches will either rely on parents to teach their own children or have teachers host online classes. These new downloadable options from Shine work in conjunction with the fall curriculum and will assist leaders by supplying useful resources to accommodate multiple formats and class settings.
Our first Digital Hymn Sing went live on April 20 and had an estimated 200-plus participants. Each Monday night since, we have been consistent at about 200 live viewers, with hundreds of additional views after the video posts to YouTube, where people can view it days or weeks later.
In this issue: Denominational staff to continue to work from home through August, Brethren Press offers new face masks, personnel and job openings, a “loaves and fishes” story from Venezuela, need for prayer for Nigeria, and more news by, for, and about Brethren.
A special course from the Ventures in Christian Discipleship program at McPherson (Kan.) College is coming up in July. “Brethren in the Age of Pandemic: A Century Ago and today” will be presented by Frank Ramirez. The class will be held online on Tuesday evening, July 7, at 6:30 to 8 p.m. (Central time).
Today is Juneteenth, and To join in this celebration, Newsline shares some of the recent actions, statements, and opportunities from Church of the Brethren congregations, pastors, and church members, and the denomination’s Intercultural Ministry:
The Church of the Brethren is holding online celebrations for the whole denomination on July 1 and 2, the days when the now-canceled 2020 Annual Conference would have begun. These events are planned and sponsored by the Annual Conference Program and Arrangements Committee.
Jocelyn Siakula has resigned as orientation coordinator for Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS), a position that she has held since Jan. 5, 2015. She will conclude her work with the Church of the Brethren on July 18.
In this issue: Personnel notes, Peacebuilding and Policy director signs letter to Congress calling for police reforms and demilitarization of law enforcement, holds virtual celebration of volunteer houses in Elgin, latest children’s video from Children’s Disaster Services, Elizabethtown goes “back to the future” with “Drop the Needle” sermon series, Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) newsletter includes article on work with EYN, and more.