Committee Studying Ecumenism Seeks Responses to Survey

The Annual Conference study committee on a Vision of Ecumenism for the 21st Century is conducting a survey of the delegates of Annual Conference 2013, Young Adult Conference participants, those involved in district ministry, and Mission and Ministry Board members as it prepares to write a Church of the Brethren vision paper on ecumenism.

Conference Moderator Provides Resources for Daily Prayer for Nigeria

Annual Conference moderator Nancy Sollenberger Heishman has written a resource for daily prayer for Nigeria, for the girls abducted from a school in Chibok, and for their families. Titled, “With Anguished Tears and Bold Prayers, May We Be One,” the resource is posted online at www.brethren.org/Nigeriaprayerguides .

Congregations Are Invited to Join in Annual Conference Sunday

Church of the Brethren congregations and individuals are invited to join in a special Annual Conference Sunday worship service from around the country on July 6. The Conference Office is inviting churches to join in the webcast of worship that Sunday, in order “to worship together as one virtual church.”

Revision to Ministerial Leadership Polity Heads up Annual Conference Business Agenda

The business agenda for the Church of the Brethren’s 2014 Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio, on July 2-6 includes proposed revisions to the Ministerial Leadership Polity, along with other returning business items that deal with guidelines for implementing the Congregational Ethics Paper, guidance for responding to the changing of Earth’s climate, a Vision of Ecumenism for the 21st century, and more equitable representation on the Mission and Ministry Board.

Conference Witness to Host City Benefits YWCA Shelter for Women in Columbus

The Church of the Brethren Annual Conference partners this year with the YWCA/YMCA of Columbus, Ohio, for an annual Witness to the Host City. Annual Conference 2014 takes place in Columbus on July 2-6, led by moderator Nancy Sollenberger Heishman. Each year, the Witness to the Host City service project invites Brethren to aid the city that hosts the denomination’s annual meeting.

Pre-Conference Events Include Ministers’ Association, Congregational Vitality Workshops

Two ministry training events head the meetings that precede the 2014 Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio: the Ministers’ Association, and Congregational Vitality Workshops. Other regular annual meetings held prior to the Conference include the Standing Committee of district delegates, the Mission and Ministry Board, and the Council of District Executives, among others.

Bidding Process Brings Annual Conference Back to Ohio and California

The Conference office has announced the locations for upcoming Annual Conferences. In 2018 the annual meeting of the Church of the Brethren will return to Cincinnati, Ohio, where it has been held in previous decades; and in 2019 the event returns to the Town and Country Resort in San Diego, Calif., where it was held in 2009.

Annual Conference 2014 Will Celebrate Courageous Discipleship

General registration opens Feb. 26 at 12 noon (central time) for the 2014 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren in Columbus, Ohio, on July 2-6. The theme, “Live as Courageous Disciples,” is from the New Testament letter to the Philippians. Events take place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Here is a preview of the Conference.

On Earth Peace Seeks Volunteers for Ministers of Reconciliation Team at Annual Conference

“Already planning to attend the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference? Are you hearing a call to a ministry of presence and reconciliation?” asks an invitation from On Earth Peace. The Ministry of Reconciliation (MoR) is seeking members for a team to serve at the Conference. “Please prayerfully consider whether you or someone you know might be gifted to this ministry.”

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