The Mission and Ministry Board of the Church of the Brethren has approved a $5,192,000 budget parameter for its Core Ministries in 2018, which is the same as the current 2017 budget. On June 28 in its pre-Annual Conference meeting in Grand Rapids, Mich., the board also heard a report on the sale of the upper campus of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., among other business.
Church of the Brethren Newsline July 1, 2017 by Frances Townsend and Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford The Annual Conference on Saturday, July 1, did not adopt a Recommendation #6 from the Review and Evaluation Committee “that On Earth Peace no longer remain an agency of the Church of the Brethren.” The vote came as the delegate body addressed 10 recommendations in
The document “Patient Hope in Matters of Conscience” was brought by On Earth Peace for consideration by Annual Conference. The delegates adopted a recommendation from the Standing Committee of district delegates to not delay other items of business, as called for in the document, but to receive the insights of the document and ask the Mission and Ministry Board in consultation with On Earth Peace and other experts to provide resources to better implement the 2008 Annual Conference resolution “Urging Forbearance” in the life of the church.
A worship service on Sunday afternoon, April 30, closed the upper campus of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. Some 125 people gathered on the lawn in front of the Old Main building on a warm, sunny afternoon to remember and celebrate the ministries that have taken place at the campus.
The Church of the Brethren has signed a purchase agreement with Shanghai Yulun Education Group for the “upper campus” of the Brethren Service Center property in New Windsor, Md. The purchaser intends to establish a private school on the property. The agreement is effective today, Nov. 14, 2016, but it is anticipated that a sale will not be finalized until spring 2017.
Financial reports and a budget proposal for 2017, grants for disaster relief following Hurricane Matthew, along with discussion of the state of the church and root causes of current tensions were all on the agenda of the fall meeting of the Mission and Ministry Board of the Church of the Brethren.
The Mission and Ministry Board of the Church of the Brethren held its summer meeting on June 29 in Greensboro, N.C., with a focus on finances. On the agenda were approval of a 2017 budget parameter for the Core Ministries of the denomination, approval of budget revisions for this year 2016, and affirmation of plans for a new financial campaign, among other business.
On the final afternoon of the 2016 Annual Conference, delegates dealt with the last of the queries still on the business agenda: two queries having to do with On Earth Peace’s agency status and accountability to Annual Conference, and a query titled “Living Together as Christ Calls.” Find links to the full texts of these queries online at www.brethren.org/ac/2016/business .
Six churches were welcomed into the Open Roof Fellowship at the Mission and Ministry Board meeting in advance of Annual Conference in Greensboro, N.C. The fellowship recognizes Church of the Brethren congregations that have made great strides in becoming more accessible to people with disabilities.
David A. Steele has been named general secretary-elect of the Church of the Brethren by the denomination’s Mission and Ministry Board. His appointment was announced yesterday, May 23, at a specially called meeting at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.