Each year, Church of the Brethren congregations across the country are invited to form one large worshiping congregation on Annual Conference Sunday by tuning in to the webcast of worship that morning. This year, you and your congregation are invited to join the streaming worship on Sunday, July 7, at www.brethren.org/ac2024/webcasts.
The Brethren Faith in Action Fund (BFIA) has aided six congregations and one camp with its latest round of grants. The fund provides grants using money generated by the sale of the upper campus of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. Find out more at www.brethren.org/faith-in-action.
Many congregations have added an online option to weekly worship as part of their response to the pandemic. Last year’s survey by the Church of the Brethren Yearbook staff showed that 84 percent of Church of the Brethren congregations responding said they had worshiped online during the pandemic. When asked if they planned to continue this in the future, 72 percent said yes. That means online worship numbers are now a meaningful part of total worship participation.
Earlier this year, the Church of the Brethren Yearbook Office conducted a survey asking congregational leaders to weigh in on their worship habits during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 300 Church of the Brethren congregations participated in the survey, representing more than a third of the close to 900 total number of congregations in the denomination.
Delegates and nondelegates who have registered for the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference, which will be online June 30 through July 4, this week have received an email with a personalized log-in “button.” Once Conference events begin, registrants simply click on the button with the words “Go to Annual Conference” to access the event webpage.
“What Will Be the ‘New Normal’? Anticipating a Post-Pandemic World” is the title of the next Moderator’s Town Hall sponsored by Paul Mundey, moderator of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. The online event takes place May 19 at 7 p.m. (Eastern time) with leadership from Mark DeVries and Dr. Kathryn Jacobsen.
The Church of the Brethren’s Pacific Southwest District is offering an online love feast service on Maundy Thursday, April 1, beginning at 6:30 p.m. (Pacific time). Those from around the denomination are welcome to join with others on the district’s YouTube channel as it premiers, or view it later as the service will remain on YouTube through Easter Sunday.
With Holy Week around the corner, the Dunker Punks team is finalizing another Virtual Love Feast service for the beloved community.
As we journey through Lent and look toward Holy Week and Easter, a group of Dunker Punks are right now preparing another Love Feast service bonus episode for the beloved community. You are invited to join in!
The Program and Arrangements Committee of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference has announced a denomination-wide online worship gathering titled “Venturing Forth Boldly as a Faith Family,” scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 27, at 8 p.m. (Eastern time). In a season of disruption and despair, the service will assure us of what “God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9) and how we can faithfully respond.
