One new church plant and one new fellowship were welcomed into the Church of the Brethren denomination during the opening business session of the 2026 Annual Conference on Monday, June 29.
Jose Rudy Amaya, a member of Conexion Pasadena (Calif.) Church of the Brethren, began June 1 as the first associate district executive minister intern for the Church of the Brethren’s Pacific Southwest District.
Today three new fellowships were welcomed into the Church of the Brethren by Annual Conference. Nate Polzin, executive director of Discipleship and Leadership Formation for the Church of the Brethren, assisted the Conference officers in recognizing the new groups and their representatives.
“Give now to support California wildfire response through Brethren Disaster Ministries,” said an appeal shared by denominational staff this week. “Children’s Disaster Services is already responding to the needs of children and families. Working with the Pacific Southwest District and partner organizations, Brethren Disaster Ministries is planning to address short- and long-term needs of vulnerable people impacted by the fires.”
Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) has been requested by the Red Cross to send two volunteer teams of seven to serve in shelters in the Los Angeles, Calif., area.
Pacific Southwest District executive minister Russ Matteson today (Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025) shared the following prayer request for the Conexion Pasadena congregation of the Church of the Brethren, which has been directly affected by the Eaton fire in the Los Angeles area, as well as other church members and congregations across the area.
The 2023 Song and Story Fest family camp co-sponsored by On Earth Peace will be hosted at Camp Peaceful Pines on July 29-Aug. 4. The camp and outdoor ministry center of the Church of the Brethren’s Pacific Southwest District is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park, near Dardanelle, Calif.
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff are monitoring the re-occurring storms and flooding in California and their damage, and sending prayers for those who are affected. The staff have reached out to leadership of Pacific Southwest District and received word that they have not heard from any Church of the Brethren congregations experiencing issues, either for their church buildings or their members.
At the opening business session, Stan Dueck, co-coordinator of Discipleship Ministries, introduced church groups accepted into the denomination. Twelve groups are being recognized in 2022. Also, four groups were reintroduced that were formally recognized at the 2021 virtual Annual Conference.
“You are invited to come and see the new church building that is home to Centro Ágape en Accíon Church of the Brethren in Los Banos,” said the announcement.
