Making connections is one of my life’s joys, and the Christian Citizenship Seminar (CCS) held on April 11-16 in Washington, D.C., was a place to make them.
Connecting at Christian Citizenship Seminar 2024
Advocacy
Ecumenical Advocacy Days holds a Spring Summit on ‘Faith in Action’
Registration is still open for the Ecumenical Advocacy Days Spring Summit 2024, an in-person event on May 17-19 in Washington, D.C. The Church of the Brethren’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy is a sponsor of the event and director Nathan Hosler is on the planning team, alongside other ecumenical partners.
Imagine! God’s earth and people restored
Along with over 1,000 other concerned faith and non-faith advocates, I had the opportunity of participating in the first-ever virtual Ecumenical Advocacy Days conference. This year’s EAD took place from Sunday, April 18, to Wednesday, April 21, on the theme, “Imagine! God’s Earth and People Restored,” and consisted of an opening session, two days of workshops, and one day devoted to congressional advocacy.
Marking the 75th anniversary of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Aug. 6 and 9, 2020, mark the 75th anniversaries of the nuclear bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The Church of the Brethren has been involved in peace witness in Hiroshima through the placement of Brethren Volunteer Service workers at the World Friendship Center. Currently, Roger and Kathy Edmark of Lynnwood, Wash., are serving as directors of the center through BVS (see www.wfchiroshima.com/english ).
Death Row Support Project reflects on first federal executions in 17 years
The federal government’s actions this past week are tragic on so many levels. What are the motives for ending a 17-year hiatus of the federal death penalty? The federal government has carried out the executions of two death row inmates this week: Daniel Lee on July 13 and Wesley Purkey on July 16.
Elizabethtown Church ‘walks to Nigeria’ in virtual challenge
Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren is holding a “Walk to Nigeria Team Challenge” in which church members and friends of the congregation are invited to log walking miles in their own neighborhoods toward enough miles to walk to Nigeria. “That’s 5,710 miles!” said an announcement.
Celebrating Juneteenth with news of Brethren actions, statements, and opportunities
Today is Juneteenth, and To join in this celebration, Newsline shares some of the recent actions, statements, and opportunities from Church of the Brethren congregations, pastors, and church members, and the denomination’s Intercultural Ministry:
Withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty signals pattern in international relations and arms control
In a 1980 Annual Conference statement titled “The Time Is so Urgent: Threats to Peace,” Brethren recognized a potential nuclear arms race as one of the most pressing political problems for peacebuilders to address. Amazingly, 40 years later we find ourselves on similarly shaky ground where the barrier between stability and hostility appears increasingly thin. By recently committing to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty, the current US administration has compromised the systems set in place to avoid an arms race or military engagement–and the church should take notice.
What does the Lord require? A statement from David Steele, General Secretary, Church of the Brethren
Our hearts break for the loss of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others who have lost their lives due to the color of their skin. Each death represents injustices disproportionately affecting the Black community.
National commission focuses on strengthening the country’s ability to go to war
Maria Santelli, executive director of the Center on Conscience and War (CCW), provided the following update about the Commission on Military, National, and Public Service. It follows on a statement to the commission by a group of 13 Anabaptist church bodies represented at an Anabaptist Church Consultation on June 4, 2019 (see the Newsline report
