J. Michael Lausch has been appointed executive director of COBYS Family Services, a non-profit organization based in Lancaster County, Pa., that is related to the Church of the Brethren’s Atlantic Northeast District. Mark Cunningham retired from COBYS in Dec. 2023 after serving as executive director for the last 14 years of his 26-year tenure.
Tag: children
Children’s Disaster Services deploys to Ohio in response to tornadoes
On March 20, Childrens Disaster Services (CDS)–a ministry within Brethren Disaster Ministries–deployed volunteers to two Multi Agency Recovery Centers (MARCs) in Ohio, in collaboration with longtime partner Child Life Disaster Relief.
Gifts to live on: Caring for children after the Maui fires
Judi Frost is a member of the Week of Compassion Board of Stewards and a trained and experienced CDS volunteer. She deployed to Maui after the wildfires with an early CDS team to set up a center for children to be cared for while parents who have finally found some temporary shelter begin to ponder what’s next.
Children’s Disaster Services offers series of volunteer training workshops
Registration is now open for the Spring 2024 Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) Volunteer Training Workshops. If you have a heart for serving children and families in need following a disaster, find the schedule, cost, and a registration link at www.brethren.org/cds/training/dates.
Shine curriculum introduces Shine Everywhere
The Shine curriculum of Brethren Press and MennoMedia is introducing a new initiative called Shine Everywhere. Shine Everywhere will provide new avenues of communication between those who create Shine curriculum and the congregations and families who use it. The purpose of the new initiative is to listen attentively to congregations and families and then incorporate their input into new Shine resources.
Introducing ‘Shine Everywhere’
We did it! We have named our new initiative “Shine Everywhere.” We love the fact that it builds on Shine and extends the light metaphor of living in God’s light!
Prayers requested for church members and congregations affected by Perry school shooting in Iowa
Northern Plains District of the Church of the Brethren is requesting prayer in the wake of the shooting at Perry High School in Iowa on Thursday morning, Jan. 4. At least two members of the district worked at the school or on the campus that the high school shares with Perry Middle School, and they have survived the shooting unharmed physically. Other district members teach at the elementary level in the Perry school district or have worked in the district in various capacities. Other families in the district have children in the Perry schools or are related to students.
Shine curriculum hires Shana Peachey Boshart
Shana Peachey Boshart has been hired as the new program facilitator for the Shine Curriculum, a partnership between Brethren Press and MennoMedia. This grant-funded, fulltime position was created to facilitate the development of the Everywhere Faith program, a new faith practice resource. Shine was awarded a grant of $1,250,000 in August 2023 from Lilly Endowment Inc.
The Shine Vacation Bible School curriculum for 2024 invites children to discover Jesus
The Shine curriculum’s Vacation Bible School for 2024 is titled “Seekers in Sneakers: Discover Jesus!” and is available for purchase through Brethren Press. The boxed set includes the basics needed to offer a VBS session this coming summer.
CDS helps care for children and families among asylum seekers in Chicago area
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) deployed a team of three volunteers to Oak Park, Ill., to aid children and families among asylum seekers who have been sent to Chicago from the southern border of Texas. The team served from Monday, Nov. 6, to Thursday, Nov. 9, caring for 51 children.