The report of the Nigerian government to the outside world is that Boko Haram have been defeated. But the government is still losing soldiers, losing billions of Naira for security, and also losing lives. The internal situation is clearly different from the government report.
Church of the Brethren Newsline December 21, 2017 A grant of $15,000 has been given by the Church of the Brethren’s Global Mission and Service office to Gujarat United School of Theology (GUST) in India. The grant assists the school with much-needed repairs to classrooms and other facilities. GUST is a seminary of the Church of
Church of the Brethren general secretary David Steele and Office of Public Witness director Nathan Hosler have given endorsement to a Christmas letter to Vice President Mike Pence “to protect the humanitarian, diplomatic, and peacebuilding budget in the FY19 budget” of the federal government.
Hurricane Maria recovery in Puerto Rico is slow, but there is progress. When a whole island has extensive damage to basic services like electricity, running water, and cellular communication, recovery is difficult and long. Power is returning to more areas, but less than half the residents have power. Cellular service is improving, and church leaders are able to communicate better.
Brethren Press has released the “Church of the Brethren Yearbook 2017” in a new format. Previously, the Yearbook was published as a searchable pdf file on a CD. The 2017 Yearbook is a searchable pdf on a USB flash drive that looks like and is the size of a credit card.
On Dec. 5 and 6, Greg Davidson Laszakovits, pastor of Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, and constituent of Senator Pat Toomey, Senator Bob Casey, and Congressman Lloyd Smucker (PA-16), traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with policy staff in each of these offices to push support for a clean Dream Act. The legislation serves as a means to prevent deportation of 800,000 undocumented youth who came to the United States as children.
NEWS
1) Children’s Disaster Services responds to fires in southern California
2) EYN disaster team coordinates housing repairs in remote areas
3) Action alert from Office of Public Witness calls for action on drone warfare
4) National Trust for Historic Preservation offers tour of denominational offices
5) Pacific Southwest District celebrates a weekend of witness and ‘withness’
6) Atlantic Northeast District delivers 455 clean-up buckets to New Windsor
7) Elizabethtown pastor stands in support of ‘Dreamers’
8) Unique quilt supports ongoing needs in Nigeria
PERSONNEL
9) Mark Hartwig retires as IT director for the Church of the Brethren
10) Patrice Nightingale retires as Brethren Benefit Trust manager of production
UPCOMING EVENTS
11) National Youth Conference registration opens in January
12) January Ventures course to focus on ‘Congregation in Mission’
13) Brethren bits
In this issue: personnel announcements, job openings, volunteer opportunities, send Christmas cards to BVSers, Bethany Day at Seminaries that Change the World, the next Clergy Tax Seminar, “Brethren Voices” features Brethren Disaster Ministries, and more news from congregations, districts, colleges, and ecumenical partners.
National Youth Conference (NYC) registration opens in a little over a month. Sample registrations are available online at www.brethren.org/nyc . NYC is a Church of the Brethren conference held every four years for youth who have completed grade 9 through the first year of college or age equivalent, and their adult advisors.
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) is responding to the fires in southern California, at the end of a week in which wildfires stoked by strong Santa Ana winds started northwest of Los Angeles and now have begun in the San Diego area as well. CDS will be deploying a team of eight volunteers to serve affected children and families in southern California beginning this weekend.
