East Belfast Mission, one of the project sites in Northern Ireland where Brethren Volunteer Service workers are placed, was in the news early this year when a peacebuilding event it hosted was met with violent protests. Here, BVS volunteer Megan Miller explains the groundbreaking work of the mission.
Tag: Global Missions
Court Decision on Properties Is Celebrated by First District Church of the Brethren in India
The Supreme Court in India has made a decision in a decades-long bitter court battle over ownership and control of former Brethren mission properties, following an early 1970s merger with the Church of North India (CNI) that included the former mission of the Church of the Brethren.
EYN Ministers Hold Annual Conference
The Minister’s Annual Conference of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN–the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) opened the evening of Feb. 10 with worship sessions led by Bulus Danladi Jau. In their song during the session, the EYN Headquarters Church ZME (women’s choir) sang, “Nigeria is in confusion, as killings and burnings are going on. Why? God help us.”
Grant Aids Displaced People in South Sudan
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed an allocation of $15,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to aid displaced people in South Sudan. Fighting that began in Dec. 2013 has resulted in the displacement of more than 200,000 people in South Sudan.
Congress Adopts Farm Bill: Points of Interest for the Church
The Farm Bill is one of the largest pieces of legislation Congress deals with, and this week the bill was finally passed and signed into law after a three-year legislative process. The $956 billion bill will be in effect for the next five years and it affects things such as farming policy, international food aid, food stamps, and conservation. Below are a few points of interest for the church.
Brethren Teaching at PUST Are on View in BBC One News Show
Brethren teaching at PUST, the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology in North Korea, are on view in a news program from BBC One, published this week and available to view online. “Educating North Korea” is the title of the BBC One news show Panorama, in which a video crew from the UK-based BBC were given permission to film at PUST.
Chinese Healthcare Professionals Visit with Brethren During Study Tour on Aging
Eric Miller and Ruoxia Li hosted a small group of Chinese healthcare professionals and business people who visited the United States from Jan 7-20. The mission of their trip was to learn about elder care and hospice in America.
EYN Staff Report More Deaths in Another Terrorist Attack in Nigeria
“It is always very difficult to report about a Boko Haram attack,” writes one of the staff of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN–the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), reporting yet more violence in northeastern Nigeria. The EYN staff member wrote in an e-mail to the Global Mission and Service office this week that the attack on Sunday in his village at Wagga Chakawa “came as a surprise to many people.”
Work and Prayer on the Border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic
A highlight from a recent Brethren mission trip to Haiti and the Dominican Republic was a time of prayer on the border between the two countries. Two groups of volunteers traveled to the Dominican Republic in December and January to help build a church in La Descubierta, with funding from Global Mission and Service, Brethren World Mission, and both volunteer groups. Located near the border with Haiti, La Descubierta is a community comprised primarily of Haitian immigrants.
Many State Laws Link Selective Service Registration to Driver’s Licenses
When young American men turn 18, they are required to register with the Selective Service System (SSS) because of federal law (50 U.S.C. App. 451 et seq). That law requires almost every male citizen, as well as immigrant men living in the United States, to register in the event of a military draft. To make sure there is 100 percent compliance, a lot of states have created legislation that links SSS registration with the process of applying for a driver’s license or state identification card.