Faith leaders gather in Flint for environmental justice tour, plan for ecumenical water justice action

From May 13-14 in Flint, Mich., 23 board members of Creation Justice Ministries, an ecumenical eco-justice organization, gathered to pray, learn, and act for water justice. The Church of the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding and Policy is an active member, and membership affords opportunities to network with other Christian communions, denominations, and fellowships with active commitments to protect, restore, and more rightly share God’s creation.

The Creation Justice Ministries board meeting in Flint, Michigan

Church and Peace celebrates 70 years of active peace work in Europe

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.”

Faith, civil, and human rights groups join to urge official visit by UN independent expert to investigate racism in the United States

oday, March 21, a broad coalition of religious and civil rights leaders will deliver a letter to Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo requesting an official invitation to professor E. Tendayi Achiume, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, to the United States. The Church of the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding and Policy has signed the letter and its staff were at the initial planning meeting, reports director Nathan Hosler.

Interfaith letter opposes CIA lethal drone strikes, Brethren invited to May 3 rally against drone warfare

The Church of the Brethren has signed an interfaith letter to the US Congress about CIA drone strikes. The sign-on by the denomination’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy represented one of 25 faith-based organizations that together released the statement on Feb. 19. The letter asks members of Congress to end the CIA’s use of armed drones to carry out lethal attacks. Find the full text of the letter below.

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BBT president signs on to letter from denominational benefit plans

The president of Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT), Nevin Dulabaum, has signed on to a letter to Congressional leaders sent by chief executive officers of denominational benefit plans. The November letter expressed concern about two separate sections of the Internal Revenue Code, one with potential to restrict participation in church retirement income account plans, and the other to potentially impose a tax on church parking lots.

Nigerian Brethren host the Fellowship of Christian Churches in Nigeria

Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) has hosted the 64th annual assembly of TEKAN at EYN headquarters in Kwarhi, Nigeria. TEKAN stands for the Fellowship of Christian Churches in Nigeria and includes 15 primarily Hausa-speaking denominations, making it the largest Christian ecumenical body in Nigeria.

Foods Resource Bank announces new name, leadership

FRB announced that a new name, Growing Hope Worldwide, will go into effect Oct. 1. The new name emphasizes the organization’s goal to “plant seeds of hope for generations to come.” Max Finberg will be the new president/CEO.

Delegates affirm the ecumenical and interfaith work of the church

The 2018 Conference approved “Vision of Ecumenism for the 21st Century,” and in doing so reaffirmed the historical identity of the Church of the Brethren as a denomination active in ecumenical work and in relationship with other Christian bodies. The paper also calls the church to build and nurture positive interfaith relationships.

Bethany Seminary president takes part in ecumenical meeting with Pope Francis

Bethany Seminary president Jeff Carter attended World Council of Churches (WCC) biennial meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, June 15-21. He is the Church of the Brethren representative to the WCC Central Committee, a group of 150 people who represent nearly 40 percent of the WCC’s 348 member churches.

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