We have EXCITING news! Lilly Endowment Inc., through the Strengthening Youth Programs Initiative, has awarded Camp Mack a three-year $620,926 grant to use the outdoor education program in support of local school districts and to offer a day camp during extended school breaks. Camp Alexander Mack, a ministry of the Northern Indiana and South Central Indiana Districts of the Church of the Brethren, is located near Milford, Ind.
BFIA grants support Gun Buy Back Program, Blessing Box, and more projects at eight Church of the Brethren congregations
The Brethren Faith in Action Fund (BFIA) has aided eight Church of the Brethren congregations with its latest round of grants, including a grant of $5,000 for a Gun Buy Back Program of Spirit of Peace Church in partnership with a local municipal program administered by the state police. The fund provides grants using money generated by the sale of the upper campus of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.
EDF grants offer aid and relief in Haiti, the United States, Ukraine and Poland, the DRC, and Rwanda
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to respond to multiple crises in Haiti, support continued Brethren Disaster Ministries work following 2022’s summer flooding in the central United States, aid displaced Ukrainians with disabilities, provide school kits for displaced children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, provide flood relief in Rwanda, and support a summer program for migrant children in Washington, D.C.
GFI grants support BVSer in Ecuador, agricultural training in the DRC and Mexico, community garden in Alaska, water project in Burundi
The Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative (GFI) has announced a series of grants supporting a new Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) position in Ecuador, agricultural training in Mexico and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a community garden and soup kitchen in Alaska, and a water project in Burundi.
Visit to Nigeria boosts agriculture program of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria
The trip was a fact-finding visit and a chance to learn more about the agriculture and business initiatives of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). We had opportunities to discuss and assess the possibilities of EYN’s idea to open a government-recognized seed business to serve farmers in northeast Nigeria.
Brethren bits for Sept. 29, 2023
In this issue: Annual Conference officers, Program and Arrangements Committee, and worship leadership for 2024 meet; job opening for director of Intercultural Ministries; BVS Unit 334; FaithX for older adults; Creation Justice Ministries celebrates 40 years; and more
For a common spiritual cause: Prayer walk is sponsored by Virlina Peace Affairs Committee
Sponsored by the Virlina District’s Peace Affairs Committee, the walk was a new addition to the district calendar, designed as an intentional response to both rising incidents of gun violence in the city of Roanoke, Va., and recent efforts to understand and reverse the impacts of racism in the city.
Mountville Church witnesses on gun violence
In recognition of the International Day of Peace, Mountville (Pa.) Church of the Brethren shared in a worship service and public vigil to raise awareness of the magnitude of the national tragedy of gun violence.
Lynchburg church reaches out with ‘grieving service’ for a nearby death
As I stopped at the church building in Lynchburg, Va., to drop off some supplies from the church picnic, I saw two cars in the parking lot. The church doesn’t allow unauthorized parking, so I started to call the police. But before I got to the phone, police stepped out of the cars. They told me they wanted to know about any homeless men who had been staying in the woods behind the church building.
Manchester Church hosts the Sing Me Home Festival this Saturday, Sept. 30
The Sing Me Home Festival returns to North Manchester, Ind., tomorrow–Saturday, Sept. 30– with a full-day event hosted by Manchester Church of the Brethren.
Sing Me Home 2023 is free and open to the public
