The Global Mission and Service office has released a new DVD which updates the Church of the Brethren about the Nigeria Crisis Response for 2016. The video called “The Long Journey Home” outlines what has been accomplished with funds raised by the church and mission partners during 2015, and provides a blueprint for the church’s support of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) for 2016.
Peace
Live Your Life in the Hand of God: An Interview with Rebecca Dali
The following is excerpted from an interview with Rebecca Dali made during last year’s Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in July 2015. It was shortly after she had been able to go back home to Michika for the first time since Boko Haram had taken over the area, and then had been forced back out by the Nigerian military. Dali heads up CCEPI, a humanitarian nonprofit serving widows, orphans, and others affected by violence. Now there is significantly less violence than last summer, but Dali’s comments give insight into the suffering of many in Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) and their Christian and Muslim neighbors. She shares about the spiritual foundations of her work, and helps explain how young Nigerian men are enticed into joining Boko Haram:
One-and-a-Half Years in Cameroon: An Interview with an EYN District Secretary
Luka Tada was a district secretary of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) serving the District Church Council (DCC) Attagara in Gwoza Local Government in Borno State. He began his service as a district secretary before the Christian population of the area was forced out of Nigeria by the Boko Haram insurgents, and fled to Cameroon. Among other surviving pastors in the area, he fled with his church members to Cameroon where UNICEF placed them in a camp in Minawawo.
German Mennonite Peace Prize to Go to EYN and Muslim Partners
A peace prize will be awarded to Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) and its Muslim partners who have cooperated in the “Christian and Muslim Peace Initiative” known as CAMPI. The announcement of the prize was made in a release from Mission 21, a partner organization of EYN that is based in Switzerland.
Conference Attendees Are Invited to Participate in Jubilee Service Projects
What does an afternoon of no business session, plus service opportunities, equal at this year’s Annual Conference? Jubilee Service Projects! The Annual Conference Programs and Arrangements committee has set aside the afternoon of Friday, July 1 as a time for Conference-goers to participate in a Jubilee Afternoon.
Rockford Community Church Sends Mobile Library to Nigeria
With an eye on helping young people and promoting peace, a mobile library has been sent to northeast Nigeria by Rockford (Ill.) Community Church of the Brethren, with help from many other donors.
Christian Churches Together Holds 10th Annual Convocation
At the 10th annual convocation of Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT), held in early 2016 in Arlington, Va., member churches and organizations deepened their work on racism and other issues of common concern.
CCEPI Graduates First Set of Orphans and Widows in Skill Acquisition
Director of the Center for Caring and Peace Initiative (CCEPI) in Nigeria, Rebecca S. Dali, charged the first graduates of the Livelihood Skill Acquisition Center established by CCEPI to work hard by utilizing the materials such as knitting machines, sewing machines, and computers given to them to make them economically independent.
Churches Invited to Take Part in Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters
As part of our call to work toward ending global hunger and poverty, the Office of Public Witness invites congregations to participate in Bread for the World’s 2016 Offering of Letters. This year’s theme, “Survive and Thrive,” focuses on the impact of malnutrition on women and children.
Four Members Join the Youth Peace Travel Team for 2016
The members of the 2016 Youth Peace Travel Team have been announced. As the team spends time with youth this summer at camps across the denomination, they will teach about peace, justice, and reconciliation, all core values throughout the Church of the Brethren’s 300-plus year history.