NEWS
1) Celebrating Peace Day as part of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace
2) Religious leaders of many faiths talk peace in Assisi
3) Nigerian Brethren welcome Church of the Brethren executive staff, continue relief efforts
4) Manchester University Intercultural Center will be named for Jean Childs Young
UPCOMING EVENTS
5) Workcamp Ministry announces staffing, theme for summer 2017 events
6) Brethren bits
In this issue: Remembering Esther Eichelberger, Brethren in Spain celebrate their fourth annual conference, deadline for Brethren Press “early bird” offers, Carlisle Truck Stop Ministry announces new co-chaplains, Renacer holds Hispanic leadership conference, “12 Baskets and a Goat” to be performed three times in October, Virlina District announces more than $45,000 for West Virginia Flood Offering, and more.
The Workcamp Ministry of the Church of the Brethren has welcomed Shelley Weachter and welcomed back Deanna Beckner as assistant coordinators for the 2017 summer workcamp season. The theme developed by the workcamp team for the 2017 season is “Say Hello,” which is a phrase pulled from 3 John 13-14 in “The Message” version. The theme will focus on communication with God, each other, and the world.
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) has sent another team of volunteers to continue caring for children and families who have been affected by the extreme flooding in Louisiana. On Thursday, CDS staff shared via Facebook, “While we thought our team that left yesterday would be our final Baton Rouge team, things changed and we were asked to send in another team.
On Oct. 13 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., at the Atlantic Northeast District office in Elizabethtown, Pa., Dr. Musa Mambula will teach about Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). He will speak about EYN in an age of persecution and terrorism, facing the challenges of Boko Haram, and building Christian/Muslim relations.
In this issue: Personnel notes and job openings, meeting of Venezuelans interested in becoming Brethren, World Mission Offering is this Sunday, Bethany Seminary’s next Campus Visit Day, On Earth Peace seeks hosts for MoR’s Matthew 18 workshop, church anniversaries, a banner weekend for district conferences, and more news by, for, and about Brethren.
NEWS
1) Ministry adds four new locations, involves 350 participants in summer workcamps
2) Children’s Disaster Services sends another team to continue work in Baton Rouge
3) Alaska gardening project continues to enrich nutrition for communities
4) Nigerian Fellowship Tour visits IDP camps, schools, and other crisis response sites
5) Ecumenical leaders of WCC and NCC issue joint statement on Holy Land
PERSONNEL
6) Lamar Gibson hired as development director for On Earth Peace
UPCOMING EVENTS
7) Peace Day 2016 is scheduled for Sept. 21, Brethren will be participating
8) Atlantic Northeast District hosts Christian/Muslim workshop with Musa Mambula
9) Brethren bits
This was our tenth summer of traveling to Alaska to encourage, teach, and promote vegetable gardening. Bill went to Circle at the beginning of April, six weeks earlier than the usual mid-May arrival, hoping to make this year the most beneficial and successful yet.
Lamar Gibson has been hired as development director for On Earth Peace. He has worked for nine years in both private businesses and the nonprofit sector as a fundraiser and as a consultant on business operations and development. His work for On Earth Peace will include engaging existing supporters while also expanding the community to include people “from even more denominations and walks of life,” said an announcement in the agency’s e-mail newsletter.
A number of Church of the Brethren congregations, districts, colleges, and other church-related organizations and groups from across the country will be participating in Peace Day 2016 on or around Sept. 21. This year’s theme is “Called to Build Peace.”