The Brethren Disaster Ministries Rebuilding Program local partner in eastern Kentucky’s Letcher County to support the recovery from July 2022 flooding is HOMES, Inc. Originally a project of Mennonite Central Committee, HOMES began in the 1980s and has always focused on more than just initial disaster recovery by working to repair homes in the area and to provide affordable rental properties.
Jenn Dorsch-Messler has announced her resignation as director of Brethren Disaster Ministries, having served for more than 10 years beginning on Feb. 24, 2015. Her resignation is effective Jan. 9, 2026. She has accepted a position on a new executive leadership team at Mennonite Disaster Service located in Lititz, Pa.
Brethren Disaster Ministries received a $5,000 UPS Long Term Recovery Grant through a partnership with the UPS Foundation and National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed the last grants for 2025 from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) headed by a large grant of $120,000 to support the Hurricane Melissa recovery program of Églises des Frères d’Haïti (the Church of the Brethren in Haiti) and $5,000 to support emergency relief in Cuba after Hurricane Melissa via ASIGLEH (the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela).
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS), a program of Brethren Disaster Ministries, has deployed to western Washington State following catastrophic atmospheric river flooding that began on Dec. 8.
From Sept. 21 to Nov. 15, 2025, more than 95 Brethren Disaster Ministries Rebuilding volunteers traveled to Johnson County, Tenn., to support 11 households impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Church World Service (CWS) has announced changes related to its kit program and collections, as the Material Resources program at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor closes by year’s end. Material Resources, the longterm Church of the Brethren program to collect, warehouse, and ship disaster relief and other material goods for CWS and other
Hurricane Melissa was one of the strongest hurricanes to ever appear in the Caribbean Sea. It caused extensive damage in Haiti before making landfall in Jamaica on Oct. 27 as an extremely powerful and destructive Category 5 hurricane. Melissa passed over the island nation heading north to make landfall in Cuba on Oct. 29 as a weaker hurricane with sustained winds of 120 miles per hour.
Michael Scalzi will retire on Dec. 31 as program assistant for Children’s Disaster Services (CDS), a Church of the Brethren program in Brethren Disaster Ministries based at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.
Brethren Disaster Ministries, including Children’s Disaster Services, the Rebuilding Program and Global Response, is undergoing a program review that includes a survey (see information below), stakeholder group meetings, interviews with program volunteers, and discussions with church leaders. Input is needed from anyone who engages with Brethren Disaster Ministries or the Church of the Brethren on any level.
