On Friday, Jan. 30, the English Communication Skills Class at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, had the pleasure of celebrating Ms. Grace Mishler’s and Miss Lan’s birthdays in the classroom. Our guest, Grace Mishler, took center stage as the 12 students in attendance introduced themselves. She is a Social Work Project Developer at the university.
Brethren Bits for Feb. 3, 2015
In this issue: Fahrney-Keedy CEO Keith Bryan announces his retirement, Jeff Bach represents the Church of the Brethren on the Brethren Encyclopedia board, a plea to help the Alexander Mack Museum in Schwarzenau, Larry Glick as Elder John Kline is available to present program with Nigeria focus, Roundtable to gather at Bridgewater College in March, Southern Pennsylvania issue challenge to raise $250,000 for Nigeria, and more news by, for, and about Brethren.
Youth Peace Travel Team Is Named for 2015
The 2015 Youth Peace Travel Team has been announced. The team is cooperatively sponsored by the Outdoor Ministries Association, On Earth Peace, Bethany Theological Seminary, and the Church of the Brethren’s Advocacy Office and Youth and Young Adult Ministry Office.
Ministers’ Association ‘Delving Deeply into Compassion’ at Pre-Conference Event
The Minister’s Association invites you to join them and Joyce Rupp in Tampa, Fla. Registration is up and running for the pre-Conference Meeting, “Delving Deeply into Compassion,” with Joyce Rupp.
Newsline for Feb. 3, 2015
1) Church of the Brethren funds give grants for work in Africa and Haiti. 2) Co-directors of Nigeria Crisis Response praise God for ‘phenomenal’ giving. 3) Youth Peace Travel Team is named for 2015. 4) White Gift Offerings, an Ivester tradition of ministry and outreach. 5) Concerned about uncertainties of the Affordable Care Act? Help is on the way. 6) Ministers’ Association ‘Delving Deeply into Compassion’ at pre-Conference event. 7) Romans 12 provides theme for National Junior High Conference. 8) Bethany Seminary to host ‘Anabaptism, the Next Generation’ 9) Drone warfare: Easy and cheap. 10) Brethren bits
Co-Directors of Nigeria Crisis Response Praise God for ‘Phenomenal’ Giving
“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise…. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (Psalm 145:3a, 9).
Church of the Brethren Funds Give Grants for Work in Africa and Haiti
Grants have gone to several ministries in Africa and Haiti from two funds of the Church of the Brethren, the Global Food Crisis Fund (GFCF) and the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF). The four grants total $49,330.
Romans 12 Provides Theme for National Junior High Conference
National Junior High Conference will be held June 19-21 on the campus of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College. The conference will invite youth and their advisors to consider Romans 12:1-2. The theme, “Living the Change: Our Offering to God,” asks participants to consider taking their everyday, ordinary life–our sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life–and place it before God as an offering.
White Gift Offerings, an Ivester Tradition of Ministry and Outreach
Following the aftermath of World War II, members of Ivester Church of the Brethren in Grundy Center, Iowa, began what has become a long tradition–the White Gift Offering. It began as an offering of clothing, bedding, or other household items for people in need. On a designated Sunday in Advent, members of the congregation were invited to bring a gift, wrapped in white, to place under the church Christmas tree during worship. The gifts were then sent to Church World Service for distribution to needy people.
Reports from EYN Staff, BDM Volunteer Focus on Recent Attack on Maiduguri, Nigeria
Muslims and Christians are fleeing Maiduguri, a large city in northeastern Nigeria, looking for safer places after Boko Haram insurgents attacked the area over the weekend and the Nigerian army responded, reports EYN staff liaison Markus Gamache. In a separate report Cliff Kindy, a short-term volunteer in Nigeria with Brethren Disaster Ministries, writes about efforts of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) to serve the thousands who have fled into Maiduguri to escape continuing violent attacks of Boko Haram insurgents on other communities in northeast Nigeria.