Many congregations have added an online option to weekly worship as part of their response to the pandemic. Last year’s survey by the Church of the Brethren Yearbook staff showed that 84 percent of Church of the Brethren congregations responding said they had worshiped online during the pandemic. When asked if they planned to continue this in the future, 72 percent said yes. That means online worship numbers are now a meaningful part of total worship participation.
Emily Tyler has resigned as director of Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS), effective Feb. 18, after three years in the position. She started as director of BVS on Feb. 4, 2019. She has been employed by the Church of the Brethren and BVS for almost 10 years, since June 27, 2012, when she began as coordinator for BVS recruitment and the Workcamp Ministry.
Emma Green, a staff writer at The New Yorker where she covers cultural conflicts in academia, will headline the symposium on “Brethren and the Polarizing Pandemic: What Next?” at Bridgewater (Va.) College on March 10-11. The sponsor of the event is the Forum for Brethren Studies. The event is open to the public.
The Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center (SVMC) is launching an additional educational series entitled Nurturing Ministry Skills. Available to both clergy and laity, this online (Zoom) series launches on Monday, March 7, from 7-8:30 p.m. (Eastern time) with “Coping with Two Years of a Pandemic: Care for Self and Others” led by Jim Higginbotham, professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Earlham School of Religion.
In this issue: Remembering Janet Crago, job opening, new center for autistic children in China, church anniversaries, webinar series on Gaza, a prayer for 900,000 deaths to COVID in the US, and more
Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) Unit 330, the winter 2022 unit, has completed orientation, and the newly trained volunteers have begun work at their project sites.
Online registration for the 2022 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference taking place in Omaha, Neb., on July 10-14 will open on March 1 at 12 noon central time / 1 p.m. Eastern time.
The Bridgewater (Va.) College community is mourning the deaths of police officer John Painter and campus safety officer Vashon “J.J.” Jefferson, who were shot and killed on the college campus on Feb. 1. The two men were coworkers and close friends. Media report that a former student has been charged in their deaths.
“We Wait for Light” is the title of the 2022 Lent devotional for Ash Wednesday through Easter published by Brethren Press. The author of the devotional is Walt Wiltschek, district executive minister for Illinois and Wisconsin District and a member of the editorial team for the Church of the Brethren magazine Messenger.
Chris Elliott, a farmer and pastor from Pennsylvania, and his daughter Grace are serving in Rwanda from January to May 2022, working on behalf of the Church of the Brethren Global Mission. Chris Elliott is helping with farming and also visiting other churches and projects in Rwanda and nearby countries. Grace Elliott is teaching in the nursery school of the Church of the Brethren in Rwanda. Here is a reflection on their experience:
