“Get Real: Living as Courageous Disciples” is the theme of an evening of intergenerational events at the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference, 7-8:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 5. The Annual Conference will take place in Columbus, Ohio, on July 2-6. The evening of special events for all ages is organized and led by Joel and Linetta Ballew.
Annual Conference
Collections at Annual Conference Benefit YWCA Shelter, Express Concern for Nigeria
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. An offering of donations of items needed by the YWCA shelter for women will be received at the Thursday night worship service on July 3. In another collection at the Conference, cards expressing concern and prayerful encouragement for the Nigerian Brethren will be received on the afternoon of July 5.
Collections at Annual Conference Benefit YWCA Shelter, Express Concern for Nigeria
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. An offering of donations of items needed by the YWCA shelter for women will be received at the Thursday night worship service on July 3. In another collection at the Conference, cards expressing concern and prayerful encouragement for the Nigerian Brethren will be received on the afternoon of July 5.
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 .
New Annual Conference App Designed to Aid Conference-Goers
A new Annual Conference App has been created to aid Conference-goers and delegates as they attend the Church of the Brethren annual meeting this year on July 2-6 in Columbus, Ohio.
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.