Intercultural Ministries Café: Faith & Culture Conversations—rooted in relationship, discipleship, and practical intercultural engagement—will be held once a month for the next few months.
Nine months ago, during our report to the delegates at Annual Conference, we challenged the congregations of the church to raise $100,000 to create a new Legal and Mutual Aid Fund to meet the needs of Church of the Brethren immigrants due to harsh immigration enforcement. On Easter weekend, we give thanks that compassionate individuals and churches within the denomination have donated more than a quarter of a million dollars ($250,000) in the last nine months. Praise God!
By Founa I. Augustin Badet, director of Intercultural Ministries: God of every people and every language, You spoke creation into being and called it good.
Members of the Church of the Brethren Deportation Defense Response Team were in Miami, Fla., this past weekend, meeting with Church of the Brethren denominational and district leadership. We worshiped with Haitian sisters and brothers in Church of the Brethren congregations in southern Florida, and were part of fervent prayers for God’s intervention and protection as the federal government moves to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians living in the US, as of 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
As we honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I dream of a day when we embrace discomfort as part of our sacred calling to live in unity—many stories, one Spirit, one body in Christ. Hope is born when love refuses to remain silent. Justice, after all, is love made visible, and kindness is faith in action.
On Saturday, Nov. 22, Jesus Lounge Ministry celebrated its first-ever Thanksgiving event at the Fairfield Inn in West Delray Beach, Fla. The worship service was conducted in English, Haitian Creole, Spanish, and French, accompanied by joyful music and interpretive dance, all to the theme of gratitude.
Intercultural Ministries offers three upcoming webinars on “Understanding Bias,” “Cultural Responsiveness,” and “Privilege and Being an Ally. Presenters will be Rev. Founa A. Badet, Director of Intercultural Ministries, and Dr. Meridith Gould. The webinars will take place Nov. 6, 13, and 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
While reflecting upon the tragedy of the German church experience during the 1930s, theologian Martin Niemöller used these words:
“First they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out…
Jesus Lounge Ministry has partnered with the Student Life Alliance in West Palm Beach, Fla., where pastor Founa Augustin Badet is the treasurer, and the Delray Beach Library “Let’s Talk Period” program to support at-risk teens and tweens with hygiene and feminine hygiene kits. The ministry is a Church of the Brethren new church start in Atlantic Southeast District.
