#LoveOurNeighbors #Discipleship #RacialJustice
CWS launched Rise Up for Refuge earlier this year. As part of this national campaign, the Harrisburg and Lancaster offices sponsored a daylong Rise Up conference at Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren.
Five Church of the Brethren congregations in Pennsylvania are joining together to organize and sponsor “PeaceFest: Turning Communities Toward Peace” on Saturday, Sept. 19—the weekend closest to the International Day of Peace. This event is free and open to the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lititz Church of the Brethren.
Dear Beloved Community of the Church of the Brethren, I write today with particular concern for our Haitian church members and their families. Following the expiration of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) on July 27, many now face the possibility of detention, deportation, and family separation. Among those affected are approximately 300 Haitians who are part of Church of the Brethren congregations across the United States.
The delegate body of the 2026 Annual Conference on Wednesday afternoon, July 1, adopted a “Resolution on Weapons Transfer” with a solid majority vote. The paper cites Matthew 5:44b-45, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…,” to call the Church of the Brethren to “examine and respond to the impacts of the arms industry.”
The Mission and Ministry Board brought their recent resolution for adoption by the delegate body. Titled “Walking Together: Immigration, Peacemaking, Conscience, and Supporting our Neighbors,” it reiterates that “care for immigrants and refugees is an essential part of the Christian and Church of the Brethren ethic of service and peacemaking.”
It was already a timely topic when it was scheduled as one of the Equipping Sessions at the 2026 Annual Conference—but the events of the past few days led “Loving Our Immigrant Neighbors: Legal Updates, Ally Resources, and US Militarism” to be a standing-room-only session, with the seats filled and many people leaning on walls and sitting on the floor.
The Supreme Court on Thursday, June 25, 2026, issued a decision undermining the humanitarian protection afforded to individuals from Haiti and Syria with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson-Brown dissented from the 6-3 decision in the case “Mullin v. Doe.”
The Kairos Center, which coordinated an amicus brief in which the Church of the Brethren joined with other denominations and faith groups, has issued a press statement on the case “Mullin v. Al Otro Lado.”
On April 24, after two hours of training, the Intercultural Ministries office awarded the participants certificates of completion as new “frontliners.” Four people attended the training that evening, and three were assigned to this role in their districts.
Across the United States, immigrant and refugee families are living in fear while facing increasing violence, detention, deportation, and dehumanizing rhetoric. These actions are impacting not only undocumented immigrants, but also legally present refugees, asylum seekers, green card holders, and naturalized citizens.
