After 15 years of participation in the AmeriCorps education award program, Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) has learned that its access to the program has been cut off. Federal budget cuts mean the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is not funding such grants to the volunteer networking organization of which BVS is a member, for the 2011-2012 term.
Planting Network Rolls Out Year-Long Prayer Emphasis
The New Church Development Advisory Committee is “rolling out a year-long prayer emphasis” according to Jonathan Shively, executive director of Congregational Life Ministries. Over the months leading up to the 2012 church planting conference, the committee aims “to cultivate a dynamic network of prayer that includes sharing prayer needs and telling stories about ways that prayer is being answered,” he announced in a Facebook post.
BBT Board Approves Changes Impacting Retirees of Brethren Pension Plan
The phasing out of the Brethren Pension Plan Annuity Benefit Reduction Assistance Program and a change in how the fund that pays out all Pension Plan annuities is invested were two major action items approved by the Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) Board of Directors when they met April 30 and May 1 at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill.
Brethren and the Civil War
In a recent newsletter, Shenandoah District included the following reflection on the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, and how Brethren at the time responded: “On May 19-22, 1861, the Brethren held their Yearly Meeting at Beaver Creek (now a congregation near Bridgewater, Va.). This is a particularly historic and meaningful gathering that deserves commemoration because it occurred in our district during the turbulent, opening days of the Civil War….”
Officers Issue Prayer Calendar to Prepare for Annual Conference
The Annual Conference officers are requesting prayer for the 2011 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren, on July 2-6 in Grand Rapids, Mich. A prayer calendar is available in this news story, and is online at www.brethren.org/ac in a format designed for easy use as a planner and for printing. The Implementation Committee of the Standing Committee of district delegates was asked to create a resource to help the officers and committee spiritually prepare for the work in Grand Rapids. This prayer calendar is the result, and is being shared with the whole church.
Journal from Jamaica – May 21, 2011
It can’t be easy to take care of almost a thousand international guests, with so many different needs and expectations. Even at the most chaotic times, such as yesterday afternoon when hundreds of people were trying to get their sack lunches for the Peace Concert, and the cafeteria staff were trying to make sure the right people got the right lunch boxes, no one was taking their stress or anxiety out on anyone else. The attendant at the women’s restroom tent exemplifies this attitude. She keeps 10-plus porta potties clean, maintain the hand washing station, soap, and towels, and even watches our belongings when we come in loaded with bags and umbrellas. And she’s always cheerful and friendly.
Newsline Special : Disaster Response Update and IEPC Final Message
Children’s Disaster Services responds in Joplin, Brethren Disaster Ministries reports on preliminary activities, requests EDF grant, Convocation final message rejects war in favor of ‘just peace’
Peace Among the Peoples’ is Subject for Fourth Plenary Panel
“We are invited as Christians to see working for peace at every level of society as an act of discipleship,” said Lesley Anderson as he opened the fourth plenary panel discussion of the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) on the theme, “Peace among the Peoples.” “The question is, how?” Panel moderator Kjell Magne Bondevik, a
Journal from Jamaica – May 22, 2011
Here are some moments I’ll treasure in my memory of this peace convocation…
Journal from Jamaica – May 21, 2011
Church of the Brethren director of news services, Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, is reporting from the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) in Jamaica through May 25, the culminating event of the Decade to Overcome Violence. She hopes to post a journal entry each day as a personal reflection on the event. Here is the journal entry for