In this issue: Remembering Art Myers, Brethren Disaster Ministries updates on Hurricane Isaias, Brethren Benefit Trust extends COVID-19 Emergency Grant as part of Church Worker’s Assistance Plan, Office of Ministry recommends webinar on “COVID-19 Mental and Spiritual Health of Children and Teens,” Columbia City Church participates in “Bells for John Lewis.”
Brethren Disaster Ministries
COVID-19 Pandemic Grants Program issues grants to another 11 congregations
As of the end of July, 25 congregations across 9 districts have received grants totaling $104,662. Programs have included food distributions, hot or takeaway meals, children’s summer meals, childcare, rental and utility assistance, hygiene and safety supplies, and shelter for vulnerable homeless populations. Brethren Disaster Ministries is beginning to receive reports about some of the first grants given, and it is clear that the assistance came at just the right time and has been received with gratitude.
EYN members are among aid workers executed by insurgents in Nigeria
Two members of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) were among the five humanitarian aid workers who have been killed execution-style by a faction linked to Boko Haram.
A report on the work of Nigeria’s Disaster Ministry Team
The Disaster Ministry of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria’s (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) has been operating for more than five years. The staff work in numerous humanitarian sectors specifically in Nigeria’s northeast. One of their constant struggles is knowing who to help, as there is always more need than funds and materials to go around.
EYN Majalisa holds election for leadership
The 73rd Annual General Church Council Conference (Majalisa) of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) was held July 14-16 at the EYN Headquarters in Kwarhi, Hong Local Government Area, Adamawa State. The highest decision-making body of the church denomination was initially scheduled for March 31 to April 3, but was postponed due to the global pandemic.
Brethren Disaster Ministries celebrates Puerto Rico completion and new Ohio project, among updates
Brethren Disaster Ministries is celebrating completion of a rebuilding project in Puerto Rico in partnership with the Puerto Rico District of the Church of the Brethren. The project worked on homes that were destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Maria, and completed 100 homes. Brethren Disaster Ministries also celebrates the opening of a new project site in Dayton, Ohio–the first resumption of volunteer work since a shut-down due to COVID-19 that began in mid-March.
Press conference by EYN president brings attention to recent Boko Haram attacks, calls on government and international community for action
“While we remain committed as Nigerian citizens in supporting the government of the day in achieving its mandate, EYN was shocked at the Democracy Day Speech of President Buhari on June 12, where he said, “All the local governments that were taken over by the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa have long been recovered and are now occupied by the indigenes of these areas who were hitherto forced to seek a living in areas far from their ancestral homes.” That was unfortunate, misleading, and demoralizing….”
EYN officials dedicate church for IDP camp funded in the name of a ‘spirited sister
Officials of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) have dedicated a 500-person capacity church auditorium for more than 300 worshipers at an IDP (internally displaced person) camp in Wuro Jabbe, Yola South Local Area, Adamawa State. The project, which cost about 4 million Naira, was sponsored in the name of the late Chrissy Kulp, granddaughter of Stover Kulp–one of the founders of the Church of the Brethren Mission in Nigeria in the 1920s. She enjoyed traveling and had recently re-visited her childhood home in Nigeria. Born Dec. 26, 1954, Kulp passed away on July 8, 2019, at the age of 64, in Waynesboro, Pa. She was the daughter of Mary Ann (Moyer) Kulp Payne of Waynesboro and the late Philip M. Kulp.
Church World Service kit depots to re-open in mid-August
“CWS is planning to open many of its spring kit depots from Aug. 17-Sept 4!” Brethren Disaster Ministries shared on its Facebook page this week. “Thank you for continuing to care for and send blessings to those affected by disasters. These kits make a real difference!”
EDF grants go to Ohio tornado response, COVID-19 relief in the US, Rwanda, Mexico
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to finance its tornado rebuilding work in the area around Dayton, Ohio, and to aid COVID-19 responses by Church World Service (CWS), Bittersweet Ministries in Mexico, and the Rwandan Brethren. Another EDF grant also funds a second round of the COVID-19 Pandemic Grants program offering grants to Church of the Brethren congregations and districts in the United States and Puerto Rico who are carrying out pandemic-related humanitarian work in their communities.