The Church of the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding and Policy has signed on to an interfaith letter opposing the proposal for a $1.5 trillion budget for the Pentagon. On Friday, April 3, the White House issued the Presidential Budget Request that included the $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget for Fiscal Year 2027.
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff have directed large grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to the church’s mission in South Sudan and to provide relief for Congolese refugees in Burundi and families continuing to be affected by violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Two departments of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) have shared information about recent violence affecting members and congregations of EYN in northeast Nigeria.
Church of the Brethren general secretary David Steele and Office of Peacebuilding and Policy director Nathan Hosler are urging the United States and Israel to cease their military actions against Iran and are calling on Iran to end its retaliatory strikes against surrounding countries where the US has military bases.
The Church of the Brethren’s Inter-Agency Forum (IAF) met in Florida on Jan. 27 and has issued the following statement. The IAF includes officers of the denomination’s Annual Conference; the general secretary of the Church of the Brethren and the chair of the Mission and Ministry Board; representatives of the Council of District Executives; and executives and chairs of the boards of the three Annual Conference agencies: Bethany Theological Seminary, Eder Financial, and On Earth Peace.
The Church of the Brethren Intercultural Ministries is presenting a webinar titled “Sankofa Storytelling Event” on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 2 p.m. (Eastern time). “We would like to tell you a story,” said an invitation.
On Sunday afternoon, Feb. 1, Northview Church of the Brethren in Indianapolis, Ind., hosted a session on how to peacefully protest the actions of ICE. Mennonite and Friends churches also participated.
Since President Trump initiated his federal immigration crackdown, sending thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to Minnesota, the communities that Open Circle Church of the Brethren supports have been in crisis.
At least two Church of the Brethren pastors—Jenn Hosler of Washington (D.C.) City Church of the Brethren and Matt Rittle of Arlington (Va.) Church of the Brethren—answered a call from local organizers for interfaith ministers to go to Minneapolis, Minn., last week as clergy support during events responding to immigration enforcement.
The Leadership Team of the Church of the Brethren’s Michigan District has written a letter “with heavy hearts and profound sorrow over a series of tragic events that have shaken our nation and deeply burdened our consciences.” The letter responded to recent violence related to immigration enforcement including the shootings of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.