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.
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.
Congregations and communities of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) were among those suffering attacks during the Christmas season in northern Nigeria, reported EYN staff.
Clergy of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) have counted 107 farms harvested by Boko Haram said Mishak T. Madziga, EYN district secretary for the Wagga district, in an exclusive interview. In addition, he reported several deaths of EYN members at the hands of the terrorists. EYN president Joel S. Billi, who was in the area to celebrate the autonomy of a new local congregation, confirmed the report of many farmers losing their farms to Boko Haram in this critical time of harvest.
This poetic reflection on the experience of members of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) when under attack by Boko Haram was written by Sara Zakariya Musa and contributed to Newsline by Zakariya Musa who serves as head of EYN Media.
The Church of the Brethren has joined more than 20 Christian churches and organizations in the United States in sending a letter to the United States Congress mourning the loss of life in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories and calling for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. The denomination’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy signed an interfaith letter to the Biden administration and Congress, dated Oct. 16, also calling for a ceasefire.
Six people were killed and a church of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), as well as houses and other properties were burnt at Zah community under the district of Garkida, Gombi Local Government area, Adamawa State, in northeast Nigeria.
Two Borno and Adamawa communities were attacked in northeastern Nigeria in late December, as prayers were intensifying for the release of Andrawus Indawa, coordinator of Pastoral Enhancement Ministry for Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria).
In line with our 2004 Annual Conference “Resolution: Iraq,” 2006 Church of the Brethren “Resolution: An End to the War in Iraq,” and 2011 Church of the Brethren “Resolution on the War in Afghanistan,” the Church of the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding and Policy along with our ecumenical and interfaith partners are watching and engaging with developments on the repeal of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (2002 AUMF) and withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.
“In skeletal information reaching us from Garkida, three churches were set ablaze, five people killed, and five people are missing in a Boko Haram attack,” reported Zakariya Musa, head of media for Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). Garkida, a town in the Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State in northeast Nigeria, is the site of the founding of EYN and the place where the former Church of the Brethren mission in Nigeria began.