“In my grief I saw myself being held…” This quote from Margaret J. Wheatley’s book, “Perseverance,” has been riding in my soul since I returned from Nigeria. The circumstances of the Nigerian conflicts happening around the gathering of the church at the Majalisa provide me with enough incongruence to feel grief and love in the same place.
Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria
A Round Up of Nigeria News
A gathering of news and updates from Nigeria, along with news of continuing prayer and support for Nigerian Brethren from US congregations and ecumenical partners:
A Heart for Bringing Christ: The Hills Speak About Their Time in Nigeria
Newsline interviewed Carl and Roxane Hill shortly after they returned to the United States from a term of service at Kulp Bible College of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN–the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). The Hills flew back to the US on May 14, in time to attend the church planting conference in Richmond, Ind., where Brethren videographer David Sollenberger taped a series of short interviews; find them at www.brethren.org/partners/nigeria/news.html .Following is the Newsline interview with the Hills:
Attack by Boko Haram Kills Nigerian Brethren, EYN President Requests Continued Prayer
Samuel Dali, president of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria or EYN), sent news today by e-mail of a new attack by Boko Haram in which several EYN members were killed. Boko Haram is an extremist sect in northern Nigeria violently seeking a “pure” Islamic state, and is responsible for last month’s abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls from a school in Chibok, Nigeria.
EYN Church Leaders Meet with 58 Chibok Schoolgirls’ Parents
The president of EYN (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria, the Church of the Brethren Nigeria) Samuel D. Dali, met with parents of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted on April 14. EYN, a world known peace church, operates largely in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe States in Nigeria, where a state of emergency has been in place for over a year.
Nigerian Brethren Continue to Suffer Attacks, Global Mission and Service Sends Relief Funds
The members of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria or EYN) continue to suffer attacks from the extremist group Boko Haram. EYN president Samuel Dante Dali reported by e-mail yesterday that another attack has destroyed homes, and family members of a church evangelist have been kidnapped.
Walking with the Nigerian Church: An Interview with Church of the Brethren General Secretary Stan Noffsinger and Mission Executive Jay Wittmeyer
In this interview conducted last month, shortly after they returned from a trip to Nigeria, Church of the Brethren general secretary Stan Noffsinger and Global Mission and Service executive Jay Wittmeyer spoke with Newsline editor Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford about the trip and the situation of the church in Nigeria. They attended the Majalisa or annual conference at the headquarters of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), met with EYN leaders and the Brethren mission staff in Nigeria–Carol Smith and Carl and Roxane Hill–and visited the capital city Abuja.
Conference Moderator Provides Resources for Daily Prayer for Nigeria
Annual Conference moderator Nancy Sollenberger Heishman has written a resource for daily prayer for Nigeria, for the girls abducted from a school in Chibok, and for their families. Titled, “With Anguished Tears and Bold Prayers, May We Be One,” the resource is posted online at www.brethren.org/Nigeriaprayerguides .
Congregations Invited to Pray for Girls Abducted from School in Chibok, Nigeria
In a letter being mailed this week, each Church of the Brethren is invited to pray for one of the girls abducted from Chibok, Nigeria, by name. The majority of the more than 200 abducted schoolgirls, ages 16 to 18, were from EYN (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) although the group included both Muslim and Christian girls.
Nigerian Churches Urge Global Prayer for 230 Missing Girls, Most from EYN
Church of the Brethren leaders in the US are joining Nigeria’s largest church network, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), to call for prayer and fasting for the safe release of hundreds of teenage school girls abducted April 14 from a school in Chibok, Nigeria, by an extremist Islamist terror group. Most of the affected families are part of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN–Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria).