“Please keep our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico in your prayers with Hurricane Dorian heading their way,” said Brethren Disaster Ministries director Jenn Dorsch-Messler in an email. The National Hurricane Center upgraded Dorian from tropical storm to hurricane status at 2 p.m. today. A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning is in effect for
Elsie Koehn has retired as district executive minister for the Church of the Brethren’s Southern Plains District. She has served in district leadership for more than 10 years. She concluded her service and was recognized during the district conference held in Falfurrias, Texas, on Aug. 8-9. The Southern Plains District board, chaired by Matthew Prejean
J. Colleen Michael retired July 31 as district executive minister for Pacific Northwest District, having served for more than seven years since Jan. 1, 2012. The district has appointed a three-member interim team to care for essential functions during a time of discernment regarding organizational structures that will serve the district in the future.
Following the action of the 2018 Atlantic Northeast District Conference to not approve the proposed same gender marriage policy, the district ministry commission began discussions on next steps in continuing their work on this issue. Discussion included the 1983 Annual Conference statement “Human Sexuality from a Christian Perspective” as well as acknowledging the importance of all the Annual Conference statements in the life of the church and all those who serve as set-apart ministers.
More than six months have passed since the destructive Camp Fire burned through most of the northern California town of Paradise and the surrounding area. The work in the community at recovery efforts and the making of plans for rebuilding the town continue to move forward, but the pace has been slow–in part because of a rainy winter and spring that settled over much of the area.
About 80 people gathered at Camp Mardela in Denton, Md., on May 19 to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Brethren arriving on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. In 1869, Jacob Kline and his family settled in Caroline County, near where the camp is now located. Brethren built their first meeting house about a decade later, in 1880, near Easton. Seven Mid-Atlantic District congregations are located on the Eastern Shore today.
Members of the Church of the Brethren’s Southern Ohio and Kentucky District have begun responding to those affected by the tornadoes that hit west-central Ohio, in and around the city of Dayton, on Monday, May 27.
The Leadership Team of the Church of the Brethren has provided district executives with a congregational withdrawal process. This “best practices” document was developed in consultation with the Council of District Executives in keeping with current polity. It was prepared for district leaders who are working with congregations that may be considering withdrawing from the denomination.
Over the weekend of March 1-3, more than 150 youth and advisors took part in the annual Roundtable regional youth conference held at Bridgewater (Va.) College. This marked the 78th anniversary of Roundtable, which invites senior high youth from the districts of the southeastern region (Atlantic Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Shenandoah, Virlina, West Marva, and Southeastern) as well as the Pennsylvania districts (Atlantic Northeast, Middle Pennsylvania, Southern Pennsylvania, and Western Pennsylvania).
Germantown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren is starting a five-year celebration of its 300th anniversary this year. The congregation located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia is considered to be the “mother church” of the denomination as the first congregation that the Brethren established in the Americas.
