NEWS
1) Partnership in prayer is requested throughout the church
2) Budget for 2017, grants for hurricane relief, discussion of state of the church on the agenda of Mission and Ministry Board
3) UN Working Group on People of African Descent presents findings
4) Brethren bits
In this issue: Remembering Galen and Doris Beery, personnel notes, Workcamp Ministry announcement, Christian women’s letter, Musa Mambula receives award, webinar on Syria, Harrisburg First celebrates anniversary, Miami congregation collects for Haiti, the Gathering, Election Day Love Feast at Brethren Woods, and more news by, for, and about Brethren.
Partnership in prayer throughout the church is requested as the Leadership Team of the Church of the Brethren and the executive committee of the Council of District Executives meet Nov. 1-2 to work on the task assigned from this past summer’s Annual Conference. The delegate body referred the concerns of the “Query: Same Sex Weddings” to the Leadership Team in consultation with the Council of District Executives “to bring clarity and guidance concerning the authority of Annual Conference and districts regarding the accountability of ministers, congregations, and districts, bringing recommendations to the 2017 Annual Conference.”
Financial reports and a budget proposal for 2017, grants for disaster relief following Hurricane Matthew, along with discussion of the state of the church and root causes of current tensions were all on the agenda of the fall meeting of the Mission and Ministry Board of the Church of the Brethren.
The Global Food Initiative (formerly the Global Food Crisis Fund) issued a grant of $660 for representatives of Iglesia de los Hermanos (the Church of the Brethren in the Dominican Republic) to travel to Santiago, DR, for a week of training with Medical Ambassadors International. Other recent grants support cultural/garden exchanges partnering indigenous communities in Lybrook, N.M., and Circle, Alaska.
NEWS
1) Group of Chibok schoolgirls are released from captivity
2) Disaster ministries, mission staff assess hurricane damage, begin planning for response
3) Global Food Initiative supports medical training for Brethren in DR, cultural/garden exchanges
UPCOMING EVENTS
4) National Junior High Sunday calls youth to ‘Grow in Wisdom’
5) ‘Vision for new hope’ is theme of Advent Offering for Church of the Brethren ministries
6) Brethren bits
In this issue: Remembering Parker Marden, National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund seeks volunteers, Lick Creek ice cream social benefits Habitat, Western Pennsylvania to hold its 150th annual district conference, World Hunger Auction distributions, Bridgewater College students give up meals for CROP, “Seek Peace and Pursue It” exhibit at Bridgewater, and more.
The annual Advent Offering for Church of the Brethren ministries is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 4, the second Sunday of Advent. The theme, “Vision for New Hope,” is inspired by Isaiah 11:1-10 from the lectionary.
The On Earth Peace board and staff met together on Oct. 6-8 and were hosted by West Charleston Church of the Brethren near Tipp City, Ohio. On Earth Peace board member and co-pastor Irv Heishman hosted the meeting with the expectation that a congregation that welcomes diversity in its midst, with Spanish and English speakers, would be a welcoming place for all members of the On Earth Peace board, and especially welcoming to persons of color.
The Nigerian government says 21 of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014 have been freed in negotiations with the insurgents, according to reports from media outlets today including the Associated Press and ABC News. The negotiations were carried out with help from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss government.