When the pandemic hit the US in full force in March 2020, it quickly became apparent to some that financial pressures were impacting a group of pastors and church, district, and camp employees. Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) was one entity that quickly realized the need.
NEWS
1) Mission and Ministry Board meeting focuses on new strategic plan
2) National Council of Churches issues statement on the shooting deaths in Atlanta
3) Brethren Press managing editor joins in meeting of Committee on the Uniform Lessons Series
4) Brethren Volunteer Service participates in Volunteer Fest and #WhyService campaign
UPCOMING EVENTS
5) Hosler is presenter for the Durnbaugh Lecture of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies
6) Two-part Moderator’s Town Hall in April will feature Brethren historians
7) Dunker Punks plans online love feast, seeks pastors and worship planners to submit recordings
8) ‘Let us pray together in the time of COVID-19’: World Council of Churches to convene worldwide online prayer service
FEATURE
9) Trail thoughts on surrender: Trekking toward God’s adventurous future
10) Brethren bits: Correction, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21, remembering Ronald Duane Spire, job opening, personnel note, video for Leadership Summit on Wellbeing, celebrating Bill Kostlevy’s retirement, 2021 Living Peace Award, lots of great webinars, and more
In this issue: Correction, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21, remembering Ronald Duane Spire, job opening, personnel note, video for Leadership Summit on Wellbeing, online event celebrating Bill Kostlevy’s retirement, the 2021 Living Peace Award, and more news by, for, and about Brethren
As we journey through Lent and look toward Holy Week and Easter, a group of Dunker Punks are right now preparing another Love Feast service bonus episode for the beloved community. You are invited to join in!
The World Council of Churches (WCC) will convene a global online prayer service on March 26 at 9 a.m. (Eastern time, or 2 p.m. Central European Time) as part of “A Week of Prayer in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The week of prayer begins Monday, March 22, to commemorate a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic.
The Mission and Ministry Board of the Church of the Brethren held spring meetings via Zoom on Friday through Sunday, March 12-14, 2021. Main items of business continued work on the board’s new strategic plan and received year-end financial reporting for 2020.
A special two-part Moderator’s Town Hall has been announced for April, with an array of Brethren historians as resource people on the topic “Today’s Headlines, Yesterday’s Wisdom: Historical Insights for the Contemporary Church.” Featured Brethren historians include Carl Bowman, William Kostlevy, Stephen Longenecker, Carol Sheppard, and Dale Stoffer.
“Weapons Transfers as Foreign Policy: Theological Ethics, Economics, and Strategy” is the subject of an upcoming online lecture to be given by Nathan Hosler, director of the Church of the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding and Policy. This is the 2021 Durnbaugh Lecture of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College.
Brethren Press managing editor James Deaton (right, shown at center) attended the 2021 annual meeting of the Committee on the Uniform Lessons Series (CUS). The series is a basis for Bible study curriculum used in common by many denominations and publishing partners. Deaton attended on behalf of the Church of the Brethren publishing house, which uses the adult curriculum outlines for A Guide for Biblical Studies. He also is a member of the Adult Age‐Level Team, which reviews the development of the curriculum outlines for adults and creates teaching strategies.
Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) attended Volunteer Fest on March 8-11, a four-night event hosted by Catholic Volunteer Network to connect with prospective volunteers about volunteering with faith-based organizations. The theme of this week was #WhyService, why is service important and why do people want to do service?
