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.
“A Season of Peace: Caring for Your Mind, Body, and Spirit During the Holidays” is the topic for a webinar offered by the Church of the Brethren’s Intercultural Ministries on Dec. 16 at 12 noon (Eastern time).
The Deportation Defense Response Team is incredibly grateful for your generous support of the Legal and Mutual Aid Fund. At Annual Conference, On Earth Peace challenged the denomination to raise $100,000. You did it! As of Oct. 31, $107,380 has been raised to support individuals and families caught in the immigration system.
Don Mitchell has begun in a newly created role as director of Intercultural Ministries for the Church of the Brethren’s Atlantic Northeast District. He has been serving as director of Church Development for the district since August 2006.
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.
“Did you know there have now been 27 Church of the Brethren members helped because of your generosity?” said an announcement from the Deportation Defense Response team. “Folks who have received these funds that have covered the high costs of legal and filing fees have expressed to the team that they are so thankful and they feel they are not alone.”
A number of grants have been made recently from Church of the Brethren denominational funds including the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) for disaster relief, the Global Food Initiative fund (GFI) for food security, and the Brethren Faith in Action fund (BFIA) to support congregational outreach projects.
The Deportation Defense Response Team provides the following update on the numbers, first initials, and locations of Church of the Brethren immigrant congregants affected by detention or deportation. This information was updated on Sept. 19. The team continues to urge congregations to take up special offerings and fundraise within their communities to support the Legal and Mutual Aid Fund.
On Sept. 22, the Church of the Brethren and other plaintiffs filed their opening brief in their appeal of the district court’s decision denying their motion for a preliminary injunction in Mennonite USA v. DHS.
At the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference this summer, On Earth Peace challenged the denomination to raise $100,000 to provide a Legal and Mutual Aid Fund to support Church of the Brethren members facing challenges as a result of the detention and deportation efforts of agencies that are part of the government’s Homeland Security administration.