The Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board on Oct. 21 adopted a statement on “Seeking Peace in Israel and Palestine.” The action was taken during the board’s fall 2023 meetings at the denomination’s General Offices in Elgin, Ill.
Peace
Brethren bits for Oct. 19, 2023
In this issue: Special group photos from NOAC, job opening, webinar recording from Part-time Pastor, Full-time Church, latest GFI newsletter, Christian Churches Together reporting, Elizabethtown College 125th anniversary in 2024, several releases and statements on Israel and Palestine from ecumenical partner organizations, and a prayer for peace.
Church of the Brethren general secretary sends pastoral letter to the Armenian community
Church of the Brethren general secretary David Steele has sent a pastoral letter to the Armenian community following the Azerbaijan attack against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) which forced the Armenian population to flee the area. The letter was sent to Archbishop Vicken Aykazian on behalf of the Armenian Church of America, the global Armenian Orthodox fellowship, and the Armenian community worldwide, with particular attention to the Armenian members and attenders within the Church of the Brethren.
Church of the Brethren and the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy join ecumenical and interfaith calls for ceasefire in Israel and Palestine
The Church of the Brethren has joined more than 20 Christian churches and organizations in the United States in sending a letter to the United States Congress mourning the loss of life in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories and calling for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. The denomination’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy signed an interfaith letter to the Biden administration and Congress, dated Oct. 16, also calling for a ceasefire.
BFIA grants support Gun Buy Back Program, Blessing Box, and more projects at eight Church of the Brethren congregations
The Brethren Faith in Action Fund (BFIA) has aided eight Church of the Brethren congregations with its latest round of grants, including a grant of $5,000 for a Gun Buy Back Program of Spirit of Peace Church in partnership with a local municipal program administered by the state police. The fund provides grants using money generated by the sale of the upper campus of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.
For a common spiritual cause: Prayer walk is sponsored by Virlina Peace Affairs Committee
Sponsored by the Virlina District’s Peace Affairs Committee, the walk was a new addition to the district calendar, designed as an intentional response to both rising incidents of gun violence in the city of Roanoke, Va., and recent efforts to understand and reverse the impacts of racism in the city.
Mountville Church witnesses on gun violence
In recognition of the International Day of Peace, Mountville (Pa.) Church of the Brethren shared in a worship service and public vigil to raise awareness of the magnitude of the national tragedy of gun violence.
New book emerges from new international Anabaptist peace network
A new book titled A Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace: Global Mennonite Perspectives on Peacebuilding and Nonviolence, edited by Fernando Enns, Nina Schroeder-van ’t Schip, and Andrés Pacheco-Lozano, is related to the emergence of the new Global Anabaptist Peace Network.
EYN: A wounded healer
“EYN is regarded as a wounded healer,” said Ekklesiyar ‘Yan’uwa a Nigeria vice president Anthony Addu’a Ndamsai. The statement was made while addressing staff members at the EYN Headquarters at Kwarhi, Adamawa State, Nigeria. He was one of a group of EYN leaders who have just returned from the United States, encouraging members to sustain the peaceful heritage of the church which Ndamsai considered has helped the church survived the difficulties imposed by Boko Haram terrorists.
On Earth Peace event during Church of the Brethren Annual Conference calls for an end to gun violence
A group of about 100 people gathered behind an orange banner stating, “We can end gun violence,” and walked to city hall
