More than 300 members of the greater Ambler, Pa., community packed the Church of the Brethren, where the resonating message by religious and civic leaders was “there is no place for hate in our community.” The May 25 candlelight vigil was a reaction to Ku Klux Klan literature left in the driveways of Maple Glen homes and “KKK” and four-letter words found spray-painted along the Power Line Trail in Horsham 10 days before.
Peace
Nigeria Crisis Response shares updates on its relief work
Nigeria Crisis Response coordinator Roxane Hill has shared updates on the relief work ongoing in northeast Nigeria. The Nigeria Crisis Response is a joint effort of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria and the Global Mission and Service and Brethren Disaster Ministries of the Church of the Brethren, working with several partner organizations in Nigeria. (Learn more at www.brethren.org/nigeriacrisis .)
Most of the Chibok girls released in May were prayed for by Church of the Brethren congregations
Sixty of the Chibok girls who were released in a prisoner swap in early May were among those who have been held in prayer by Church of the Brethren congregations since 2014. Each of those congregations has received a letter from the Church of the Brethren.
Brethren Benefit Trust adopts 2017 Department of Defense investment screens
The Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) board has adopted 2017 Department of Defense screens for investments. Each year as part of its Brethren values investing initiatives, BBT’s Board of Directors approves investment screens by adopting two Department of Defense lists comprised of companies that earn significant revenue from US military operations.
Newsline Special for Good Friday 2017
1) Action Alert for the third anniversary of the Chibok kidnappings
2) Global Mission and Service executive visits Chibok during recent trip to Nigeria
3) Church of the Brethren gives grants to rebuild Nigerian churches
4) Remembering Chibok at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University
5) Carrying the cross without fear: How the Coptic Church in Egypt deals with the constant threat
6) Love feast at Princeton
Remembering Chibok at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University
For the third year in a row, Kristie Hammond of Olivet Church of the Brethren in Ohio–now a senior at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU)–arranged for a social justice speaker to commemorate each passing year of the Chibok abductions. She says she was personally affected by this horrific event because the girls were her age, or younger, and were kidnapped for trying to get a post-secondary education just as she is doing.
Global Mission and Service executive visits Chibok during recent trip to Nigeria
I went to Chibok last week. The security is extremely tight, and there is little space to do much, but I felt compelled to go along with three brothers from Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria): Marcus Gamache, Dr. Yusuf Yokubo, and the district secretary of Chibok. It was partially for my own understanding, partially to encourage EYN, and more specifically, the local Brethren families who continue to live and farm in Chibok.
Nigerian Brethren leaders make trip to Cameroon refugee camp
I was privileged to travel to visit a Christian and Muslim refugee camp in Cameroon. The president of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) Joel S. Billi, the general secretary, administrative secretary, EYN spiritual adviser, and and six others including myself traveled to Minawawuoa in Maruoa Province, Cameroon, to visit a refugee camp on March 11.
Intercultural leaders share concern for immigrant members: ‘The fears are real’
Pastors of intercultural congregations are working to serve church members who are immigrants during a time when the nation’s immigrant community is feeling threatened. Leaders connected with the Church of the Brethren Intercultural Ministries are expressing concerns for the wellbeing of immigrants–documented and undocumented–in their congregations.
Statement from Annual Conference moderator, general secretary mourns cycle of violence in Syria
As citizens under the reign of God, we mourn the violence of these days…