The Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) Units 322 and 323 have completed orientation and their members have begun work at their placement sites. The new volunteers’ names, congregations or hometowns, and placements follow. BVS Unit 322: Judy Carl of Pomona (Calif.) Church of the Brethren is serving with the Asian Rural Institute in Tochigi-ken, Japan. Janine Dietle of
Hannah Shultz has been hired by the Church of the Brethren as coordinator of short-term service, working as staff of Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS). She will begin her new position at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., on Aug. 5.
About 150 people from peace churches, peace organizations, communities, friends, and guests–from 10 denominations and Christian traditions and 14 countries–met to mark the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the European ecumenical network Church and Peace. They gathered on May 18 for a ceremony in the Reformation Church of Moabit in Berlin to celebrate the network’s past, present, and future with the theme, “‘I will give you future and hope’ (Jeremiah 29:11): 70 years of living nonviolence and resisting militarization.”
The Church of the Brethren has renewed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Selective Service System, the federal department responsible for the nation’s preparation for a military draft and draft registration. Selective Service also has worked with the historic peace churches to plan for alternative service for conscientious objectors in the event of a draft.
“The earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened…” (Matthew 27:51). NEWS 1) Planting potatoes, harvesting choirs in Rwanda2) Office of Peacebuilding and Policy signs on to letter about Syria3) EAD 2019 stirs up ‘good trouble’ for healing of national and global problems PERSONNEL 4) Gimbiya Kettering resigns from Intercultural Ministries
Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) has announced the dates and locations of orientation units for the rest of the year. BVS offers orientations to train prospective volunteers to serve fulltime for one or more years at projects across the United States and in several other countries around the world. For more about BVS go to www.brethren.org/bvs .
NEWS 1) Housing allowance is upheld by appeals court2) Faith, civil, and human rights groups join to urge official visit by UN independent expert to investigate racism in the United States3) Sili buried beside husband at Chibok, among recent losses of EYN members4) Nigeria Crisis Response work continues amidst the violence PERSONNEL 5) BVS volunteers
A new venture of Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) is a “fast track” for orienting and placing volunteers. The arrangement allows for quicker filling of openings at projects and earlier placement of volunteers between regularly scheduled orientation units. Of the initial three fast-track volunteers, two filled assignments in Northern Ireland and one in Pennsylvania.
NEWS 1) Joe A. Detrick and David Sollenberger top Annual Conference ballot for 2019 2) Brethren are invited to spiritual preparation for visioning at Annual Conference 3) National commission considers changes to Selective Service 4) Boko Haram attack three villages in Adamawa State, Nigeria PERSONNEL 5) Emily Tyler begins as director of Brethren Volunteer Service 6) Thriving in Ministry program begins,
Emily Tyler started a new position as director of Brethren Volunteer Service on Feb. 4. She continues to work out of the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., where she has been coordinator for BVS recruitment and the Workcamp Ministry for more than six years, since June 27, 2012. BVS is located within the denomination’s Global Mission and Service program.
