By Joshua Brockway The Mission and Ministry Board of the Church of the Brethren has approved a proposal to distribute $500,000 from the Health Education and Research Fund to church-related retirement communities. The proposal was presented by the Discipleship Ministries staff, who have worked with executive leadership of the Fellowship of Brethren Homes to discern
Children’s Disaster Services to provide individual Kit of Comfort
The staff of Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) have been working on a shift to new ways of serving children who are affected by disasters this year. The pandemic is affecting how volunteer organizations respond to disasters as they operate with caution and adapt to restrictions on face-to-face contact. During a time when CDS volunteers may
Church of the Brethren’s summer workcamps are canceled
From the Workcamp Ministry It is with a heavy heart that we are writing to announce the decision to cancel all workcamps this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In cancelling workcamps, we are choosing to prioritize health and safety and protect workcamp participants, local communities, and service site partners from unnecessary risk. Please know
First, don’t forget your faith
By Nevin Dulabaum, president of Brethren Benefit Trust In the 1989 movie, “Field of Dreams,” Doc Graham states, “You know, we just don’t recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they’re happening.” While that statement is poignant in the movie and is generally correct in everyday life, we obviously understand the magnitude of
Unprecedented virtual love feast events get large audience
Two virtual love feasts offered during Holy Week gained a large online audience. The two were unprecedented, church-wide events, held in addition to the virtual love feasts offered by individual congregations in the Church of the Brethren. As of April 15, a week after the live-streamed event, the love feast coordinated by the Office of
Intercultural Ministries offers an online author event with Mungi Ngomane
“Join us for #ConversationsTogether with Mungi Ngomane,” said an invitation from Church of the Brethren Intercultural Ministries director LaDonna Nkosi. “Share the invitation with your churches, friends, family, and peoples, and plan to join us!” The event will take place online via Zoom on Tuesday, May 5, 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. (Central time). Ngomane is author
National Young Adult Conference to be held virtually in 2020, in-person in 2021
By Becky Ullom Naugle Double dipping! Who doesn’t love two scoops rather than one? National Young Adult Conference (NYAC) will happen two years in a row: once virtually in 2020, and in-person in 2021. The NYAC 2020 theme, “Love in Action,” based on Romans 12:9-18, invites us to make our love for God’s children visible.
Brethren bits for April 25, 2020
New videos: — Paul Mundey, moderator of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference, has posted a video Easter message. The message frames the COVID-19 crisis in the hope of Easter/Eastertide, in a video filmed at the historic Dunkard Church on the Antietam Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Md. The video titled “God’s Glad Surprise” can be viewed at https://youtu.be/5Eim7SZyeCw . — “Spend
Brethren Academy offers two-part webinar on ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Pastoral Care’
“The Impact of COVID-19 on Pastoral Care” is a two-part webinar for pastors, chaplains, and other ministering people, offered by the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership. The presenter is Debbie Eisenbise, a pastor, spiritual director, and cofounder of Through the Threshold: End of Life Doula Services providing assistance in advance care planning and honoring death
Newsline for April 25, 2020
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you;the birds of the air, and they will tell you;ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you.”–Job 12:7-8a NEWS 1) EDF grants available to congregations and districts for humanitarian relief in their communities2) Brethren Disaster Ministries rebuilding sites are suspended for weekly volunteers3) Unprecedented