The Church of the Brethren has granted $100,000 to Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) to support the church rebuilding efforts of EYN members. The grants will be given to 20 churches at $5,000 a piece.
I went to Chibok last week. The security is extremely tight, and there is little space to do much, but I felt compelled to go along with three brothers from Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria): Marcus Gamache, Dr. Yusuf Yokubo, and the district secretary of Chibok. It was partially for my own understanding, partially to encourage EYN, and more specifically, the local Brethren families who continue to live and farm in Chibok.
Last month, I received an invitation to officiate at a love feast at Princeton Theological Seminary, where I am a visiting scholar. Surprised to learned there would be a love feast at Princeton, I jumped at the chance to help, but discovered the date conflicted with my responsibilities as a trustee at Bridgewater (Va.) College.
In this issue: Corrections, remembrances, personnel notes, job openings, SERRV offers tours of its Distribution Center at the Brethren Service Center on April 30, We Are Able workcamp seeks for assistants ages 18-plus, pre-NOAC gathering for pastors is announced for September, Healthy Boundaries 101 training session takes place May 8, “Pray for Christian Citizenship Seminar 2017″ asks Office of Public Witness, and more news by, for, and about Brethren.
I was privileged to travel to visit a Christian and Muslim refugee camp in Cameroon. The president of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) Joel S. Billi, the general secretary, administrative secretary, EYN spiritual adviser, and and six others including myself traveled to Minawawuoa in Maruoa Province, Cameroon, to visit a refugee camp on March 11.
The largest church denomination in northeastern Nigeria convened its annual conference at its Headquarters in Kwarhi, the first to be held there since the two years since the Boko Haram insurgency overran the area.
The fourth and final retreat for the Camp Cohort of the Sustaining Ministerial Excellence Advanced Seminar took place March 19-22 at Quaker Hill Retreat Center in Richmond, Ind. Congratulations to Barbara Wise Lewczak of Camp Pine Lake, Northern Plains District; Karen Neff of Camp Ithiel, Atlantic Southeast District; Linetta and Joel Ballew of Camp Swatara, Atlantic Northeast District; Jerri Wenger of Camp Blue Diamond, Middle Pennsylvania District; and Wallace Cole of Camp Carmel, Southeastern District.
Pastors of intercultural congregations are working to serve church members who are immigrants during a time when the nation’s immigrant community is feeling threatened. Leaders connected with the Church of the Brethren Intercultural Ministries are expressing concerns for the wellbeing of immigrants–documented and undocumented–in their congregations.
NEWS
1) Statement from Annual Conference moderator, general secretary mourns cycle of violence in Syria
2) Camp cohort completes the Sustaining Ministerial Excellence Advanced Seminar
3) Nigerian church holds annual conference after insurgency
4) Nigerian Brethren leaders make trip to Cameroon refugee camp
SPECIAL SECTION: CONCERNS OF IMMIGRANT BRETHREN
5) Intercultural leaders share concern for immigrant members: ‘The fears are real’
6) Please help them: Reflection of a Latino Brethren
7) Filipenses puede guiar a la iglesia en relación con personas indocumentadas
8) Philippians may guide the church in relating with undocumented people
REFLECTIONS
9) God lives! Now repent and be faithful
10) Sing, sing, sing: A reflection to prepare for Palm Sunday
11) Brethren bits
As citizens under the reign of God, we mourn the violence of these days…