Today a letter urging President Obama to “seek life-giving means to assist Syrians as they would seek peace and pursue it” was signed by close to 400 of those participating at the 2013 National Older Adult Conference.
Peace
Newsline Special: Day of Fasting and Prayer for Peace in Syria
Newsline Special: Day of Fasting and Prayer for Peace in Syria
Church of the Brethren Joins with Groups Warning Against Military Action in Syria
The Church of the Brethren is among some 25 nonprofits writing to President Obama to express concern about plans for military action in Syria. Also today, an Action Alert from the denomination’s Office of Public Witness warns that “military strikes are not the answer in Syria.”
God of Life, Lead Us to Justice and Peace: An Interview with Leaders of the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches staff Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary, and Natasha Klukach, program executive for church and ecumenical relations, were hosted by the Church of the Brethren for three days in mid-August. Their visit came as the WCC prepares for its 2013 assembly, a worldwide gathering of Christians that takes place every seven years and considered the most significant time when Christians get together. During their time in Illinois, the WCC leaders met with Brethren communicators. General secretary Stan Noffsinger also sat in on the conversation. Here is an excerpt.
Christian Ecumenical Organizations Call Attention to Egypt
The World Council of Churches, Christian Churches Together in the USA, and the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem have issued statements in the last few days calling attention to the crisis of political unrest and violence in Egypt. The three documents follow in full.
The Time Is Now: An Annual Conference Statement from the Summer of 1963
The following statement was adopted by the 1963 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren, which met in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., that June. The statement is reprinted here as published in the “Gospel Messenger” magazine of July 20, 1963, pp. 11 and 13: “The time is now to heal our racial brokenness…”
43rd Annual Dunker Church Service Planned at Antietam Battlefield
The 43rd annual worship service in the restored Dunker Church at the Antietam National Battlefield, a Civil War battlefield in Sharpsburg, Md., will be held on Sunday, Sept. 15, at 3 p.m. The service will be similar to an 1862 Dunker worship service, with Gene Hagenberger preaching on “Words Around Antietam.” Scripture texts will be James 1:19 and 26, and 3:1-12.
Churches Plan Creative Events for Peace Day 2013
Sept. 21 is international Peace Day, and On Earth Peace and the Church of the Brethren Office of Public Witness are teaming up to invite congregations to plan Peace Day events on this year’s theme “Who Will You Make Peace With?” Here are some creative examples of what congregations around the globe are planning.
Peace Day 2013: With Whom Will You Make Peace?
Peace Day is coming up soon on Sept. 21, and this year’s theme asks one simple question: With whom will you make peace?
August Issue of ‘Basin and Towel’ to Focus on Peace
The August issue of “Basin and Towel,” a magazine produced by the Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren, focuses on “The Issue of Peace.” The staff hope to encourage a new congregational focus on “something that often is overlooked as a basic tenet of the Church of the Brethren,” said editor and Deacon Ministry director Donna Kline.