Older adult FaithX participants had a wonderful week at Camp Ithiel in Gotha, Fla., where they spent time together in service, fellowship, and worship. A variety of volunteer projects were completed under the guidance of camp director Mike Neff, including removal of invasive plants, trimming of overgrown forest, kitchen help, cleaning, window washing, and painting.
Registration for FaithX 2024 is opening on Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. (Eastern time) at www.brethren.org/faithx. The schedule, pricing, and more details about FaithX trips for 2024 is at www.brethren.org/faithx/schedule.
Coming up in February, FaithX is hosting an older adult service trip at Camp Ithiel in Gotha, Fla., and you are invited to join us! Registration is open now for this trip and will close on Feb. 1, 2024. To register and for more information, go to www.brethren.org/faithx.
A total of 13 service trips are planned for FaithX 2024, the Church of the Brethren’s program of short-term service opportunities for youth, young adults, and adults. New opportunities include more options for combined junior and senior high youth groups, a family camp with childcare provided, an older adult trip in February, and both international and domestic trips for adults.
The NOAC 2021 Planning Team will be “Overflowing with Hope” that all Internet connections are working next week as the first-ever online NOAC hits the airwaves.
This week, Newsline editor Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford interviewed National Older Adult Conference (NOAC) coordinator Christy Waltersdorff. The NOAC Planning Team has made the decision that the conference, held every two years, will be fully online in 2021 instead of in-person at its usual site in Lake Junaluska, N.C. Dates are Sept. 6-10. Registration starts May 1 at www.brethren.org/noac.
The planning team for National Older Adult Conference (NOAC) 2021, scheduled for Sept. 6-10 next year, met online via Zoom in October. After much discussion, it was decided that the 2021 conference will be held online only, based upon ongoing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several of the member communities of the Fellowship of Brethren Homes have sent thank you notes expressing gratitude for a large grant of $500,000 given by the Church of the Brethren’s Health Education and Research Fund. The grant was given to defray expenses of the retirement communities related to the pandemic, and several communities shared information about how the money is being used.
By David Lawrenz Operating a senior living community is challenging under normal circumstances. Staffing, regulations, reimbursement, uncompensated care, occupancy, public relations, natural calamities, and more offer an unlimited source of challenges and threats on a regular basis. Now, one can only try to imagine the challenges in this unprecedented time–the constant, ever-changing, seemingly insurmountable challenges
New videos: — Paul Mundey, moderator of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference, has posted a video Easter message. The message frames the COVID-19 crisis in the hope of Easter/Eastertide, in a video filmed at the historic Dunkard Church on the Antietam Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Md. The video titled “God’s Glad Surprise” can be viewed at https://youtu.be/5Eim7SZyeCw . — “Spend