Ice and fire. No, not the epic Game of Thrones saga but the very real elements some endured to gather for the Western Plains District Leadership Training in Great Bend, Kan.
“Redeeming AI: Biblical Guidelines” is this year’s theme for the pre-Annual Conference Church of the Brethren Ministers’ Association continuing education event. Russell Haitch, Bethany Theological Seminary professor of theology and human science, will be the keynote speaker. The event will take place Saturday evening, June 27, and all day Sunday, June 28, in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Registration for the Church of the Brethren’s L.E.A.D. (Listen Equip Adapt Disciple) Conference is now open at www.brethren.org/dlf/lead-conference. This year’s conference is May 1-3 at Ephrata (Pa.) Church of the Brethren and also open to virtual attendees. The scripture theme is Hebrews 11:8, which talks about Abraham following God through unfamiliar territory—certainly an apt description of church leadership today!
Church of the Brethren general secretary David Steele and Office of Peacebuilding and Policy director Nathan Hosler are urging the United States and Israel to cease their military actions against Iran and are calling on Iran to end its retaliatory strikes against surrounding countries where the US has military bases.
The Nominating Committee of the Standing Committee of district delegates to the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference is presenting the following ballot for the 2026 Conference taking place in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Sunday, June 28, to Thursday, July 2.
The Annual Conference organizers have announced the preachers for the five daily worship services to be held during the Conference. Each worship service will focus on a theme and symbol from the Church of the Brethren’s biblical heritage. Speakers will be asked to reexamine and reappropriate historic Brethren themes for our time.
A consultation on the future of the Church of the Brethren’s mission priority in South Sudan was held recently in Nappanee, Ind., hosted at Union Center Church of the Brethren.
For Black History Month 2026, Newsline is offering a feature for each week in February to celebrate our Black forebears in the Church of the Brethren. In this issue, we celebrate the first Black man and the first Black woman to serve as moderator of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference.
This is an update from Open Circle Church of the Brethren in Burnsville, Minn., following the Jan. 30 article titled “Open Circle Congregation Mobilizes to Support Minneapolis and Surrounding Communities”
The Church of the Brethren’s Part-Time Pastor; Full-Time Church program will be sponsoring “Practicing the Way: The Sabbath Practice” for all multi-vocational pastors this Spring. Over four Monday sessions, the group will spend time learning about the practice of Sabbath, practicing the practice (in between sessions), reflecting on the practice, and processing the practice together.
