This issue of Newsline includes the following stories: 1) Financial report for 2011 includes hopeful signs and cause for concern. 2) Annual CCT meeting has anti-racism, anti-poverty focus. 3) Tax credit for health care expenses can help a church save. 4) Brethren couple to teach another semester at university in N. Korea. 5) Church representative attends World Interfaith Harmony week at UN. 6) Paynes called to lead Southeastern District. 7) Youth Peace Travel Team is named for 2012. 8) Leadership summit is planned for late March. 9) May is Older Adult Month on theme, ‘Aging with Passion and Purpose.’ 10) Stewardship is a team effort: A reflection on fundraising results for 2011. 11) Brethren bits: Remembrance, personnel, jobs, Annual Conference, district news, much more.
Stewardship is a Team Effort: A Reflection on Fundraising Results for 2011
In 2011, a new way of thinking about donor communication has taken place in the Church of the Brethren. Fundraising has taken on the flavor of a team effort, with staff from across many ministry areas starting to take responsibility for articulating the value of Church of the Brethren ministries–and their cost.
Brethren Bits for February 22, 2012
This issue of Brethren bits starts off with a remembrance for longtime Brethren Press employee Esther Craig, and continues with a personnel announcement from Brethren Benefit Trust, job and internship openings, a note from Conference Office director Chris Douglas, more news from Annual Conference, the spring “Guide for Biblical Studies” by Greg Davidson Laszakovits, a “Friend of the Court” amicus brief, and much, much more.
Annual CCT Meeting Has Anti-Racism, Anti-Poverty Focus
Christian Churches Together (CCT) completed its annual meeting Feb. 17 in Memphis, Tenn. Attending were 85 national church leaders from the organization’s five “faith families”: African-American, Catholic, Historic Protestant, Evangelical/Pentecostal, and Orthodox Christian. The group of men and women of many colors and ethnicities sought together to better understand and more effectively organize to combat racism and poverty in America.
Leadership Summit Is Planned for Late March
At the invitation of the General Secretary, 25 to 30 Church of the Brethren members will convene on March 28-30 for a leadership summit in northern Virginia. Participants hold both formal and informal leadership positions within the Church of the Brethren. The purpose of the summit is to prayerfully examine the dynamics of leadership needed in the church today.
Paynes Called to Lead Southeastern District
Russell and Deborah Payne have accepted the call to serve Southeastern District as co-district executives beginning June 1. They will make their home and establish the new Southeastern District Office in Sulphur Springs, Tenn.
Youth Peace Travel Team Is Named for 2012
The 2012 Youth Peace Travel Team has been named. As they spend time with junior and senior high youth this summer at camps across the Church of the Brethren, the team will teach about peace, justice, and reconciliation.
Advocacy and Witness Office Issues Statement on Religious Liberty and Contraception Issue
The Church of the Brethren’s advocacy and peace witness office based in Washington, D.C., has issued a statement on the current issues with regard to religious liberty and the provision of health insurance coverage for contraception.
Resources for Lent: Devotional and Blog Challenge Believers to Engage the World
In “A Community of Love,” the Lenten devotional from Brethren Press, author Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford encourages readers to engage in personal introspection that leads to participation in the community of faith. Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is hosting a blog as one way to invite readers into this larger community of faith. The site will offer simple prayers and questions growing out of the Lenten devotional. Also find more resources for Lent and Easter from Congregational Life Ministries, Global Women’s Project, and the Springs Initiative.
New Schedule Announced for Ministers Event Led by Brueggemann
The Ministers’ Association has issued a new schedule for its pre-Conference two-day learning event featuring Walter Brueggemann, July 6-7 in St. Louis. Brueggemann, a renowned Old Testament scholar and author of over 50 books, will address the topic “Truth Speaks to Power” and the question, “How can the witness of the gospel be uttered and enacted in the midst of a public domain that now features immense concentrations of money, power, and control?”