Joel S. Billi, president of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), warned pastors of bowing to material things and called them to be different in society, at the 52nd graduation ceremony of EYN’s Kulp Bible College in Kwarhi. The president, who expressed his joy in this occasion at EYN’s highest theological institution, was represented by vice-president Anthony A. Ndamsai.
The Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) board has adopted 2017 Department of Defense screens for investments. Each year as part of its Brethren values investing initiatives, BBT’s Board of Directors approves investment screens by adopting two Department of Defense lists comprised of companies that earn significant revenue from US military operations.
The most recent grant from the Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative will help improve the diets of clients of a hospice in China. Other grants approved in recent months aid agricultural work in the Africa Great Lakes region, the education of leaders among Brethren in the Dominican Republic, and several community gardens in the United States that are connected with Church of the Brethren congregations. An additional domestic allocation supports the Brethren Nutrition Program of Washington (D.C.) City Church of the Brethren.
Organizers of the 2017 Annual Conference highlight special programming for this year’s annual meeting of the Church of the Brethren, taking place in Grand Rapids, Mich., June 28-July 2. In addition to business sessions for delegates, all attendees will have opportunities for spiritual enrichment, continuing education, fellowship, and family oriented activities.
In a concerted effort identifying the need to work on hunger and famine relief, a number of Christian groups in the US and internationally have announced a season of prayer and fasting that began on Sunday, May 21. According to the United Nations and other experts, 20 million people are at risk of starvation in four regions–northeastern Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen–and millions more are suffering from drought and food shortages.
More people face famine today than at any time in modern history, with 20 million people at risk of starvation and millions more suffering drought and food shortages. In light of this, the All Africa Conference of Churches and the World Council of Churches invite us to take part in a Global Day of Prayer to End Famine on May 21.
This year’s Christian Citizenship Seminar (CCS) took place from April 22-27. The theme was based on Native American rights and food security. Thirty-eight high school aged youth and their advisers from as far as California to as close as Pennsylvania, and states like Kansas in between, were a part of this year’s CCS.
NEWS
1) Bethany Seminary honors new graduates
2) Bethany trustees focus on new Strategic Plan
3) Office of Public Witness signs on to letter opposing deportations of Haitians
4) CCS 2017 studies Native American rights and food security
REFLECTION
5) CCS: Sparking a passion for social justice
PERSONNEL
6) Two units of Brethren Volunteer Service are placed at project sites
7) Sandy Schild retires from Brethren Benefit Trust
RESOURCES
8) Ecumenical Stewardship Center offers resources
9) Brethren bits
Correction, remembering Evie Toppel and Lila McCray, personnel notes, CDS continues work in Missouri, Brethren Press seeks dessert recipes for new cookbook, and more
In recent months, two units of Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) have been placed at project sites across the United States and in a variety of international settings. The units are listed below by volunteer names and project placements.
