Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) is pleased to announce that we will be hosting an in-person summer orientation for Unit 329 at Inspiration Hills Camp in Burbank, Ohio, from July 18-Aug. 6. We are excited to be able to gather safely and in intentional community for the orientation experience once more!
There was a lot to hear on the topics of biblical authority, accountability, the compelling vision, church division, and nationalism during the Moderator’s Town Hall hosted by Annual Conference moderator Paul Mundey. The online event in two parts was titled “Today’s Headlines, Yesterday’s Wisdom. Historical Insights for the Contemporary Church.”
“Play, on Purpose,” a virtual webinar featuring Lakisha Lockhart, associate professor of Practical Theology at Chicago Theological Seminary, will be presented by the Youth and Young Adult Ministries on May 11 at 8-9:30 p.m. (Eastern time). After registering for the webinar, participants will watch a 30-minute video before joining the live conversation on May 11. Ministers may earn 0.2 continuing education units through the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership.
The Part-Time Pastor; Full-Time Church Program invites multivocational pastors of Church of the Brethren congregations to join a summer book study of Part-Time is Plenty: Thriving Without Full-Time Clergy by Jeffrey MacDonald.
Join us for the New and Renew Virtual Conference, May 13-15. We will be exploring the theme “The Reward of Risk,” guided by many terrific workshop presenters and keynote speakers. Two workshop presenters for the event are Maria-José “Coté” Soerens and Darryl Williamson.
This year’s virtual New and Renew conference, centered around “The Reward of Risk,” is well-suited for bi-vocational ministers. The event features more than 20 live sessions that will be recorded and can be accessed through Dec. 15. These recordings will allow bi-vocational ministers, who normally may not be able to attend the conference in person, to take part online in contemplating the reward amid taking risks in ministry.
“What Will Be the ‘New Normal’? Anticipating a Post-Pandemic World” is the title of the next Moderator’s Town Hall sponsored by Paul Mundey, moderator of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. The online event takes place May 19 at 7 p.m. (Eastern time) with leadership from Mark DeVries and Dr. Kathryn Jacobsen.
The May offering from the Ventures in Christian Discipleship program at McPherson (Kan.) College will be “The Ministry of Jesus, Ubuntu and Cultural Competency for These Times” led by LaDonna Sanders Nkosi, director of Intercultural Ministries for the Church of the Brethren. The course will be held online in two evening sessions May 4 and May 11 at 6-8 p.m. – 8 p.m. (Central time).
The Church of the Brethren Leadership Summit on Wellbeing is planned by a group of denominational staff as a virtual event on the evenings of April 19-22. Early-bird registration ends April 9. Take advantage of the $25 savings on attendance to get the early-bird price of $50.
A special two-part Moderator’s Town Hall has been announced for April, with an array of Brethren historians as resource people on the topic “Today’s Headlines, Yesterday’s Wisdom: Historical Insights for the Contemporary Church.” Featured Brethren historians include Carl Bowman, William Kostlevy, Stephen Longenecker, Carol Sheppard, and Dale Stoffer.