Grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative (GFI) are supporting the attendance of three Church of the Brethren leaders at a symposium on sustainable agriculture and appropriate technologies in Tanzania, repair of a vehicle owned by the agriculture department of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), and Capstone 118’s outreach in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans.
In January, the Annual Conference office sent a letter to the pastor, moderator, or church representative of the Church of the Brethren congregations, giving detailed information about the 2023 Conference.
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to continue the Nigeria Crisis Response through 2023 and to support a response to flooding and conflict in South Sudan.
Representatives from 19 of the Church of the Brethren’s 24 districts gathered for the Council of District Executives (CODE) annual winter meeting in Florida on Jan. 7-11. The district executives were joined by Annual Conference officers and agency representatives for portions of the meeting.
Circular tables. The Mission and Ministry Board meets around circular tables the same way Church of the Brethren delegates to Annual Conference have for the past decade. When used purposefully, this setup–this space–can inspire robust sharing, provoke thoughtful discernment, and give voice to an array of perspectives. We grow, we are nourished, and, sometimes, we find ourselves outside our zones of comfort.
In this issue: Correction, remembering David Button, “Conversation with the Moderator” at Bridgewater College Forum for Brethren Studies, job and internship openings, prayer concern for Haiti, and much more.
The Breaking Down Barriers Study Committee was asked by the delegates of the 2022 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren to explore how we gather and how we might create greater equity in access, so that we can include as many people as possible in Annual Conference and other church gatherings.
Each year Crest Manor Church of the Brethren in South Bend, Ind., has a “mitten tree” to collect items of warmth for the local community.
The seventh Brethren World Assembly will take place July 26-29, 2023, at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College and at Germantown Church of the Brethren in Philadelphia, Pa., on the final day, July 29.
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff are monitoring the re-occurring storms and flooding in California and their damage, and sending prayers for those who are affected. The staff have reached out to leadership of Pacific Southwest District and received word that they have not heard from any Church of the Brethren congregations experiencing issues, either for their church buildings or their members.