The Mission and Ministry Board has turned down a proposal to change delegate representation at Annual Conference, which had potential to increase the number of delegates that some larger congregations could send to Annual Conference and the number of delegates that some larger districts could appoint to Standing Committee (see story below). The decision came during the board’s spring meeting March 8-11 held at the Church of the Brethren General Offices, Elgin, Ill.
The April offering from the “Ventures in Christian Discipleship” program at McPherson (Kan.) College will focus on “Healthy and Safe Congregations.” Almost all congregations aspire to welcome the stranger into our midst. Our tradition, sacred texts, doctrines, teachings, and cultural values can be a resource to visitors, members, and the community. But sometimes those very things we love become a roadblock to others. This course will look specifically at how congregations can be a safe place for those who are vulnerable.
May 1 has been announced as opening date for registration for the 2019 National Older Adult Conference. This year’s NOAC takes place Sept. 2-6 at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in western North Carolina. The theme is “Reaching Across Generations, Beyond Differences, Through Conflict, into Joy.”
As we gather in Greensboro, N.C., during Annual Conference to “Proclaim Christ, Reclaim Passion,” business sessions will feel different to Conference-goers. Worship, Bible study, and conversations designed to help us discern God’s call for us as the body of Christ will be the focus of the business agenda at the 2019 Annual Conference.
“Conflict Competent Leadership” is the title of a “New and Renew Webinar” offered through the Discipleship Ministries. The webinar is scheduled for March 19 at 1-2 p.m. (Eastern time). Participants in the live event may earn 0.1 continuing education credit.
What does the affirmation “All War Is Sin”* mean when wars are waged on drugs, on crime, on poverty, when the designated enemy is not a soldier on foreign soil, but citizens of one’s own country?
A change to the Internal Revenue Code imposes a new tax on parking facilities owned by nonprofits, and may affect some churches. This new business income tax provision is found in Section 512(a)(7) of the code.
Germantown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren is starting a five-year celebration of its 300th anniversary this year. The congregation located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia is considered to be the “mother church” of the denomination as the first congregation that the Brethren established in the Americas.
Remembrance, personnel notes, prayer requests from Nigeria and Haiti, Bridgewater College project, Dunker Punks podcast, and more
In January GFI manager Jeff Boshart visited Fundación Brethren y Unida in Picalqui, Ecuador, making several field visits and attending a board of directors meeting as a new member.
