The Church of the Brethren’s Children’s Disaster services (CDS) has deployed volunteers to Hawaii in partnership with the Red Cross. The volunteers traveled on Aug. 14-15. They have set up a Children’s Disaster Services Center in a Family Assistance Center in Lahaina, on the island of Maui. The volunteers are scheduled to serve through Sept. 4.
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.
The 2023 Song and Story Fest family camp co-sponsored by On Earth Peace will be hosted at Camp Peaceful Pines on July 29-Aug. 4. The camp and outdoor ministry center of the Church of the Brethren’s Pacific Southwest District is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park, near Dardanelle, Calif.
Five Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) volunteers deployed this week to the Little Rock, Ark., vicinity after a series of three tornados hit the area on March 31. One EF3 tornado, with winds of 165 miles per hour, touched down west of Little Rock and stayed on the ground for 34 miles, causing extensive damage.
Children’s Disaster Services has three upcoming training events. Participants completing the 25-hour workshops will have the opportunity to become certified Children’s Disaster Services volunteers. CDS would love to see an increase in the number of Church of the Brethren-related volunteers.
New resources offered through Brethren Press, the Church of the Brethren publishing house, include several new Bible study resources for children and adults, as well as a new Vacation Bible School curriculum for this summer, and the Lenten devotional for 2023.
“A Small World: Building Resiliency and Hope after Childhood Trauma” is the title of an upcoming webinar sponsored by the Church of the Brethren’s Discipleship Ministries and the Anabaptist Disabilities Network. The online event takes place on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. (Eastern time). Participants may earn 0.1 continuing education units.
Church of the Brethren ministries are assisting survivors of Hurricanes Ian and Fiona through shipments by Material Resources, Children’s Disaster Services teams in Florida, and acts of love and compassion in Puerto Rico.
These past few weeks have provided several opportunities for CDS volunteers to put their compassion, training, and servant leadership into practice.
Children’s Disaster Services presently has volunteers serving in the Washington, D.C., area with families who have been bussed from Texas and are seeking asylum in the United States.
