The following release from the World Council of Churches (WCC) notes an unprecedented honor for a member of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). Rebecca Dali, founder of the Center for Compassion, Empowerment, and Peace Initiatives (CCEPI), has received the 2017 Humanitarian Award from the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation at a ceremony at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
Joel Stephen Billi was elected president of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) and assumed his duties on May 3, 2016, alongside other principal officers of the church. He came into leadership at a time when the church was in a state of disarray following the incessant attacks on its members by insurgents. After spending one year in office, this interview was conducted to take stock of his stewardship as the leader of the church at such a hard time in the history of EYN. Here are excerpts from the interview,
One week after attending the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in Grand Rapids, Mich., on July 10 leaders of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) attended several meetings in Washington, D.C., organized by the denomination’s Office of Public Witness.
Five members of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) were killed in a recent Boko Haram attack in Adamawa State. Reporting the incident happened in a no-network area of Adamawa State, EYN district church secretary Mildlu Rev. Bitrus Kabu said Wakara Village was attacked from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, June 8.
Nigeria Crisis Response coordinator Roxane Hill has shared updates on the relief work ongoing in northeast Nigeria. The Nigeria Crisis Response is a joint effort of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria and the Global Mission and Service and Brethren Disaster Ministries of the Church of the Brethren, working with several partner organizations in Nigeria. (Learn more at www.brethren.org/nigeriacrisis .)
Sixty of the Chibok girls who were released in a prisoner swap in early May were among those who have been held in prayer by Church of the Brethren congregations since 2014. Each of those congregations has received a letter from the Church of the Brethren.
Joel S. Billi, president of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), warned pastors of bowing to material things and called them to be different in society, at the 52nd graduation ceremony of EYN’s Kulp Bible College in Kwarhi. The president, who expressed his joy in this occasion at EYN’s highest theological institution, was represented by vice-president Anthony A. Ndamsai.
In a concerted effort identifying the need to work on hunger and famine relief, a number of Christian groups in the US and internationally have announced a season of prayer and fasting that began on Sunday, May 21. According to the United Nations and other experts, 20 million people are at risk of starvation in four regions–northeastern Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen–and millions more are suffering from drought and food shortages.
More people face famine today than at any time in modern history, with 20 million people at risk of starvation and millions more suffering drought and food shortages. In light of this, the All Africa Conference of Churches and the World Council of Churches invite us to take part in a Global Day of Prayer to End Famine on May 21.
President Joel S. Billi of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) has confirmed news reports of the release of 82 of the Chibok schoolgirls who were abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014. Media are reporting that the girls were released to the Nigerian government by Boko Haram on Saturday, in exchange for five Boko Haram suspects.