“On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2). NEWS 1) Church World Service closes kit depots, affects Material Resources ministry 2) Brethren Disaster Ministries extends suspension
Following two webinars with Church of the Brethren pastors this week, the staff of the Ministry Office are collecting worship resources for use in virtual love feast and Easter services. The COVID-19 emergency means that congregations are faced with the question of whether to hold love feast virtually or instead to postpone it until a
A decision by the Church World Service (CWS) leadership team to close all of the kit depots in local congregations through May 31 will affect the Church of the Brethren’s Material Resources ministry based at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. The Material Resources warehouse facility receives, processes, and distributes CWS disaster relief
The Church of the Brethren denominational staff are minimizing the number of personnel present at both the General Offices in Elgin, Ill., and the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., in light of health authorities’ advice to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. At this time, both sites are closed to visitors and
Eric Miller reports that the lockdown at his home in Pingding, China, has ended. Miller and his wife, Ruoxia Li, have returned to work in the offices of their local partner, You’ai Hospital. They spent about a month at home with only two trips to the grocery store for supplies. Li and Miller recently signed
From the Church of the Brethren Workcamp Ministry team The workcamp team is continuing to plan workcamps as scheduled and it is our hope that we will be able to gather in service and fellowship this summer! As we get closer to the start of workcamps, we will be assessing recommendations from the CDC and
By Emily Tyler Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) has been working with its project partners and volunteers around the world to encourage caution and safety during this COVID-19 crisis. Its mid-year retreat for domestic volunteers that was scheduled for March 23-27 has been cancelled and, instead, volunteers will gather virtually for a day of retreat activities
“May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). NEWS 1) Denominational facilities are closed to visitors, most staff to work from home2) New and Renew conference is canceled for 2020, postponed until 20213) Plans continue for Annual Conference4) Plans continue for 2020 workcamps5)
By Stan Dueck After prayerful discernment over the ongoing health concerns and the safety of people due to the coronavirus, the New Church Advisory Committee and Discipleship Ministries of the Church of the Brethren are canceling the New and Renew Conference scheduled for May 13-15, 2020. The event was to be held at the Church
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) associate director Lisa Crouch has shared Covid-19 resources for children. These include online resources from trusted sources for talking with children about the virus, a comic for exploring the situation, downloadable resources for working through emotions and helping children cope, among others: “Talking with Kids” from PBSwww.pbs.org/parents/thrive/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-coronavirus “Just for Kids: A
