For Black History Month 2026, Newsline is offering a feature for each week in February to celebrate our Black forebears in the Church of the Brethren. In this issue, we celebrate the life and groundbreaking ministry of Samuel Weir, the first ordained Black Brethren elder and preacher.
The Church of the Brethren Intercultural Ministries is presenting a webinar titled “Sankofa Storytelling Event” on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 2 p.m. (Eastern time). “We would like to tell you a story,” said an invitation.
For Black History Month 2026, Newsline is offering a feature for each week in February to celebrate our Black forebears in the Church of the Brethren. In this issue, we celebrate the life and groundbreaking ministry of Martha (Mattie) Cunningham Dolby.
“For we are strangers no more, but members of one family.” With these words, borrowed from a popular Brethren hymn, Miami (Fla.) Haitian Church of the Brethren pastor Ilexene Alphonse summed up the spirit of Atlantic Southeast District’s first Multicultural Festival.
The Church of the Brethren’s Council of District Executives (CODE) held its winter meetings Jan. 28-Feb. 1 in Miami, Fla., combining business sessions with an intercultural continuing education experience that connected with local congregations.
On Sunday afternoon, Feb. 1, Northview Church of the Brethren in Indianapolis, Ind., hosted a session on how to peacefully protest the actions of ICE. Mennonite and Friends churches also participated.
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.
Church of the Brethren Intercultural Ministries is inviting you to an online workshop held via Zoom on the topic, “Why Can’t They See What I See?” The event is scheduled for Feb. 7 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. (Eastern time). The event will feature professor Jonathan Kim of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Since President Trump initiated his federal immigration crackdown, sending thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to Minnesota, the communities that Open Circle Church of the Brethren supports have been in crisis.
At least two Church of the Brethren pastors—Jenn Hosler of Washington (D.C.) City Church of the Brethren and Matt Rittle of Arlington (Va.) Church of the Brethren—answered a call from local organizers for interfaith ministers to go to Minneapolis, Minn., last week as clergy support during events responding to immigration enforcement.
