The 2020 Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD) take place April 24-27 in Washington, D.C. The event includes a national gathering of Christian advocates and activists, and a lobby day. The theme this year, “Imagine! God’s Earth and People Restored,” explores the intersection of climate change and economic injustice. The Church of the Brethren’s Office of Peacebuilding
The Church of the Brethren has signed on to the following “Faith Statement on Escalating Violence with Iran’”: January 3, 2020 Faith Statement on Escalating Violence with Iran As people of faith, we condemn the United States’ dangerous aggression towards Iran, including the assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and the deployment of additional troops to the
The Church of the Brethren is one of 32 faith groups that signed a letter to the 2020 presidential candidates calling for a reduction in military spending and redirection of those funds to address needs such as poverty, hunger, education, healthcare, and the environment, among others. An additional 70 or so individual faith leaders also
By Nathan Hosler A few weeks ago, I traveled with the executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), Mae Elise Cannon, and Erik Apelgårdh of the World Council of Churches (WCC), to Iraqi Kurdistan. The intent was to expand CMEP’s work in the region, with a particular focus on the sustainability of the
Kristin Flory will retire at the end of 2019 as Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) staff at the Brethren Service Europe office in Geneva, Switzerland. The office is being closed. In the new year, the Europe program of BVS will shift to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Flory has served in the position for
The Brethren Service Europe office of the Church of the Brethren will be closed at the end of 2019. It is hosted at the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Center in Geneva, Switzerland, the city where it has been located since 1947. Currently the work of the office centers on placement and supervision of Brethren
By Alexandra Toms “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion” (Psalm 137:1, NIV). This year, 2019, marks the 400-year anniversary of the first enslaved African persons being brought to North America. In 1619, a ship carrying the first group of enslaved people from Africa arrived on the shores of
By Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, with contributions from Peggy Reiff Miller The 75th anniversary of Heifer International was celebrated Oct. 5, in Castañer, P.R., hosted by Puerto Rico District of the Church of the Brethren, the Castañer congregation, and Castañer Hospital. (For photos of the celebration and other views of Puerto Rico go to www.bluemelon.com/churchofthebrethren/puertoricohostsheifers75thanniversary .) Puerto Rico was
A group of 13 Anabaptist church bodies has sent a joint letter to the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service following on an Anabaptist Church Consultation held in Akron, Pa., on June 4, 2019. The group includes the Church of the Brethren. The National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service was established
The Church of the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding and Policy has signed a letter asking Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to strengthen US refugee resettlement as a core part of a robust international religious freedom agenda. The 42 signatories to the letter, which was coordinated by World Relief, represented a wide range of faith traditions. It was sent to the appropriate officials at the State Department and to the Vice President’s office.
