A five-person Church of the Brethren delegation will be joining some 4,500 Christians at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Assembly in the city of Karlsruhe, Germany, on Aug. 31-Sept. 8. The theme is “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.”
Please do your part to nominate people for next year’s Annual Conference ballot. You can help shape the future of the Church of the Brethren! As you pray about this, who comes to mind–whom is the Lord prompting you to nominate for leadership in this Body of Christ?
The Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership is offering a new type of continuing education experience for ministers. Strength for the Journey brings together small groups of ministers to share experiences, hone skills, explore ideas, wrestle with common dilemmas, and take on topics that spark new energy for ministry, all while earning continuing education units (CEUs).
Death Penalty Action is hosting virtual vigils as executions take place in different states. The vigils begin an hour before the execution is scheduled and end either after the execution has happened or when it is called off. Each vigil takes the form of a webinar via Zoom.
In this issue: Correction, job openings, Annual Conference worship skits with additional historical information, On Earth Peace goal to train 1,000 in Kingian Nonviolence, gun violence organizing, campus ministry effort at Virginia Tech, and more
Lafayette (Ind.) Church of the Brethren developed a statement in response to recent violent events around the country: “The Lafayette Church of the Brethren strongly denounces racially motivated violence such as the recent murders in Buffalo, New York. As Christians, we know God loves everyone and calls us to love our neighbors and our enemies. We confess that we have been silent when we should have been speaking out against racial violence. We will not be silent anymore….”
Hollidaysburg (Pa.) Church of the Brethren will host Shane Claiborne–a prominent speaker, peace activist, and best-selling author from the Simple Way in Philadelphia–for a day of celebrating peace on Sunday, Sept. 11.
For the past five years, Shepherd’s Heart Fellowship in Osceola, Ind., has held a Paper and Hygiene Pantry to help those on food stamps, which does not provide such products. Also, these items are not readily available at food pantries. Every month, people come to our facility to receive three paper products, three to four personal or cleaning products, and laundry soap. We have had as many as 60 patrons.
The Brethren Faith in Action Fund (BFIA) recently distributed grants to Camp Emmaus, Friendship Church of the Brethren, and Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren.
Brethren Disaster Ministries (BDM) staff have directed Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) grants to support grants in Lebanon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the U.S., to respond to flooding and provide assistance to asylum seekers.
