During the early hours of a recent morning, I was awakened by the sound of bombs exploding some distance away. Across the border from us, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there are frequent skirmishes between rebels and the government forces. It is not uncommon for us to hear gunfire and explosions. There is no imminent danger to us here, but knowing that others are facing death and destruction is disconcerting to say the least.
The Shine curriculum’s Vacation Bible School for 2024 is titled “Seekers in Sneakers: Discover Jesus!” and is available for purchase through Brethren Press. The boxed set includes the basics needed to offer a VBS session this coming summer.
A grant of $1,250,000 from Lilly Endowment Inc. will support the development of Shine: Living in God’s Light. MennoMedia received the grant on behalf of Shine, a joint publication of MennoMedia and Brethren Press. The grant is part of Lilly Endowment’s Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative, which aims to help parents and caregivers share their faith and values with their children.
Brethren Press is sharing information about three new and upcoming books: A Year of Living Differently, which is being published to mark the 75th year of Brethren Volunteer Service; The Peace Table, a new storybook Bible from the Shine curriculum jointly produced by Brethren Press and MennoMedia; and Luke and Acts: Turning the World Upside Down by Church of the Brethren biblical scholars Christina Bucher and Robert W. Neff.
Work has begun on a first-ever Anabaptist Bible, according to a release from MennoMedia. Brethren Press publisher Wendy McFadden, who attended an Aug. 26-28 event gathering some 45 “Bible ambassadors” from various Anabaptist communities, confirmed Church of the Brethren participation in the project. Also at the event was Josh Brockway, co-coordinator of Discipleship Ministries for the Church of the Brethren.
curriculum’s Bible story book, called All Together: God’s Story for You and Me. The book serves as the source of the Bible story for elementary classes. One new volume is produced each year, containing all the Bible stories for that year.
Brethren Press managing editor James Deaton (right, shown at center) attended the 2021 annual meeting of the Committee on the Uniform Lessons Series (CUS). The series is a basis for Bible study curriculum used in common by many denominations and publishing partners. Deaton attended on behalf of the Church of the Brethren publishing house, which uses the adult curriculum outlines for A Guide for Biblical Studies. He also is a member of the Adult Age‐Level Team, which reviews the development of the curriculum outlines for adults and creates teaching strategies.
The complete 13-session Compelling Vision Bible Study Series is now available in English with a Spanish translation to be available in coming days. The series is a project of the Compelling Vision Working Group and is intended to help church members study the compelling vision statement that will be brought for approval to the 2021 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren.
By Tim Heishman The following reflection was first published by the Church of the Brethren’s Southern Ohio and Kentucky District as an invitation to the district’s Climate Justice Workshops being held online each Thursday, 7-8:30 p.m. (Eastern time), through Nov. 12. The next workshop on Nov. 5 features Nathan Hosler, director of the denomination’s Office
