October offers congregations the opportunity to participate in two national observances promoting the welfare of families and children: Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Children’s Sabbaths Celebration. A calendar for learning the book of Philippians by heart also begins in October, offered by the Annual Conference moderator as a focus for Bible study in preparation for the 2014 annual meeting.
Advocacy
United Nations Holds Second Forum on ‘the Culture of Peace’
On Friday, Sept. 6, the United Nations held the Second High Level Forum on The Culture of Peace. The background for the forum is the passing of, by consensus, Resolution 53/243 on the Declaration and Program of Action on a Culture of Peace, followed by the implementation of the International Decade for Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).
Many Brethren Congregations and Communities Plan to Celebrate Peace Day
Peace Day will be celebrated on Sept. 21, and On Earth Peace and the Church of the Brethren Office of Public Witness have teamed up this year to invite Brethren congregations and groups to plan events on the theme “Who Will You Make Peace With?”
Letter to President on Syria Is Signed by Hundreds at NOAC
Today a letter urging President Obama to “seek life-giving means to assist Syrians as they would seek peace and pursue it” was signed by close to 400 of those participating at the 2013 National Older Adult Conference.
Newsline Special: Day of Fasting and Prayer for Peace in Syria
Newsline Special: Day of Fasting and Prayer for Peace in Syria
Church of the Brethren Joins with Groups Warning Against Military Action in Syria
The Church of the Brethren is among some 25 nonprofits writing to President Obama to express concern about plans for military action in Syria. Also today, an Action Alert from the denomination’s Office of Public Witness warns that “military strikes are not the answer in Syria.”
Christian Ecumenical Organizations Call Attention to Egypt
The World Council of Churches, Christian Churches Together in the USA, and the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem have issued statements in the last few days calling attention to the crisis of political unrest and violence in Egypt. The three documents follow in full.
The Time Is Now: An Annual Conference Statement from the Summer of 1963
The following statement was adopted by the 1963 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren, which met in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., that June. The statement is reprinted here as published in the “Gospel Messenger” magazine of July 20, 1963, pp. 11 and 13: “The time is now to heal our racial brokenness…”
43rd Annual Dunker Church Service Planned at Antietam Battlefield
The 43rd annual worship service in the restored Dunker Church at the Antietam National Battlefield, a Civil War battlefield in Sharpsburg, Md., will be held on Sunday, Sept. 15, at 3 p.m. The service will be similar to an 1862 Dunker worship service, with Gene Hagenberger preaching on “Words Around Antietam.” Scripture texts will be James 1:19 and 26, and 3:1-12.
Churches Plan Creative Events for Peace Day 2013
Sept. 21 is international Peace Day, and On Earth Peace and the Church of the Brethren Office of Public Witness are teaming up to invite congregations to plan Peace Day events on this year’s theme “Who Will You Make Peace With?” Here are some creative examples of what congregations around the globe are planning.