How can we find ways to find hope in this crisis in Nigeria? The core leadership of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) is safely settling into temporary homes and establishing an annex or temporary headquarters for the church. In our many meetings with EYN leadership the challenge is clearly daunting, but we found time to laugh and rejoice in God.
Brethren Disaster Ministries
Children’s Disaster Services Workshops Offer Training Opportunities
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS), which is a Church of the Brethren program and a part of Brethren Disaster Ministries, has announced a number of workshops in early 2015.
Carl and Roxane Hill to Co-Direct Nigeria Crisis Response
Carl and Roxane Hill have been named co-directors of the Nigerian Crisis Response for the Church of the Brethren, beginning Dec. 1. They will be working as part of the Global Mission and Service department and Brethren Disaster Ministries, and will be based at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill.
Brethren Disaster Ministries Surpasses Goal of Sandy Recovery Grant from Red Cross
A Hurricane Sandy recovery grant that Brethren Disaster Ministries was awarded last year from the American Red Cross (ARC) provided the financial backing needed to expand Brethren Disaster Ministries’ efforts in New Jersey from one project in Toms River to a second project based in Spotswood.
In Addition to Constant Prayer, Funds Are Needed in Nigeria
The following is the script from a short video report on the Nigeria crisis by Church of the Brethren videographer David Sollenberger. He returned last week from a reporting trip to Nigeria on behalf of Brethren Disaster Ministries and Global Mission and Service. In the video, this script is interspersed with brief interviews not quoted here. View the video at www.brethren.org or on YouTube at http://youtu.be/T_Y9hlxuBfo :
‘We Need Urgent Help from the International Community’ Writes EYN President
EYN president Samuel Dante Dali is calling for urgent help from the international community for the people affected by violence in northeast Nigeria. In a letter he sent to the Church of the Brethren in the US this weekend, he also called for the Nigerian government to give serious attention to the suffering of the people.
Nigerian Brethren Headquarters Property Overtaken by Insurgents
The Nigeria Brethren church headquarters property has been overtaken by Boko Haram extremist insurgents. The news was shared in the early hours of this morning in an e-mail from the staff liaison of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), who wrote:
Mission and Ministry Board Approves up to $1.5 Million for Expanded Crisis Response in Nigeria, Authorizes Marketing of Brethren Service Center Property
At its fall meeting the Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board took a number of significant actions, including approval of up to $1.5 million in funding for a greatly expanded response to the crisis in Nigeria; authorizing marketing of the Brethren Service Center property in New Windsor, Md.; and approval of a budget for denominational ministries in 2015. Chair Becky Ball-Miller led the meeting on Oct. 17-20 at the General Offices in Elgin, Ill.
Grants Support BDM Project Site in New Jersey, War Recovery in Gaza, Ebola Response in Liberia
The Brethren Disaster Ministries staff is directing a total of $54,000 from the Church of the Brethren Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to the disaster rebuilding project at Toms River, N.J., war recovery work by the Shepherd Society in Gaza, and the fight against the spread of Ebola in Liberia. An allocation of $40,000 continue funding
Nigerian and American Brethren Continue Aid to Those Displaced by Violence, MMB Members to Engage in Advocacy for Nigeria
Efforts continue by Nigerian and American Brethren to aid those displaced by violence in northeastern Nigeria, where news media report continued fighting and EYN members report more attacks in which members of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) were abducted or killed.