Aug. 6 and 9 mark 80 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombings resulted in a combined death toll of approximately 200,000 to 250,000 people by the end of 1945. In Hiroshima, it is estimated that 70,000 to 140,000 people died, while in Nagasaki, the estimated death toll was 39,000 to 74,000.
In response to the United States bombing of three Iranian nuclear facilities early on Sunday, June 22, 2025, the Church of the Brethren expresses deep concern and issues a call for the peaceful resolution of conflict.
Zakaria Bulus spoke at a recent US Commission on International Religious Freedom hearing on governance in Nigeria, on the topic “Foundation for Securing Freedom of Religion or Belief.”
The Church of the Brethren’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy was one of dozens of religious, humanitarian, and other nonprofit organizations joining in a letter to members of Congress opposing the White House rescissions proposal that was approved by the House of Representatives this week.
As reported in the Brethren bits section of Newsline on March 21 (see www.brethren.org/news/2025/brethren-bits-68), President Trump sought to dismantle the US Institute of Peace (USIP) by removing its leadership and having personnel from a newly created federal office, called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), forcibly take over the institute’s headquarters on March 17. The fired USIP board members filed a lawsuit
Dr. Mary Abraham of the Church of the Brethren’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy represented the denomination at a prayer vigil held by ecumenical Christian leaders affiliated with Creation Justice Ministries in Phoenix, Ariz.
A US District Court judge has denied a preliminary injunction motion in Mennonite USA v. DHS, the sensitive locations lawsuit in which the Church of the Brethren is one of 27 plaintiffs.
An interfaith prayer vigil on the evening of Thursday, April 3, at 6:30 p.m. (Eastern time) held both in-person at National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C., (5 Thomas Circle NW) and online via live-stream will support a court hearing in the sensitive locations lawsuit.
A resolution on weapons transfers was adopted by the Church of the Brethren’s Mission and Ministry Board at its spring meeting held March 7-9 at the General Offices in Elgin, Ill. Board chair Colin Scott led the meeting, assisted by chair-elect Kathy Mack and general secretary David Steele.
The Church of the Brethren has signed the “Ash Wednesday Ecumenical Declaration: Defending Refuge” as one of the Covenant Members of Church World Service (CWS).
