The tagline for the Church of the Brethren is “Continuing the Work of Jesus. Peacefully. Simply. Together.” Because of COVID-19, the “together” part for the 2020 National Young Adult Conference presented a difficulty in our ability to create a sense of community. Young adult conference favorite activities include playing late-night board games, singing hymns and campfire songs, gathering for meals, dissecting the scripture in messages and in small groups, and generally just being together.
Tag: Youth and Young Adults
Ministry Summer Service interns for 2020 serve home congregations or serve remotely
Seven interns are serving as a part of Ministry Summer Service (MSS) despite alterations to the program due to COVID-19. Instead of meeting in-person for a week-long orientation and then spending nine weeks serving alongside a ministry mentor in a local setting, interns are meeting weekly for education, formation, and fellowship sessions via video conference. Interns offer leadership to their home congregations, as possible given local COVID-19 guidelines where they live, or to another congregation through technology.
Young adult webinar is dedicated to uncovering the complexity of racism
Two days before George Floyd’s murder, National Young Adult Conference (NYAC) participants gathered to watch Drew Hart present on the systemic racism that was about to once again become front-page news. But for far too many of us in the church, particularly those of us who are white, it is all too easy to ignore when it doesn’t dominate the headlines.
Workcamp Ministry will offer seven weeks of virtual workcamps
By Hannah Shultz The Workcamp office is excited to announce that we will be holding seven weeks of virtual workcamps this summer! Virtual workcamps will be held from 4-5 p.m. (Eastern time) every Monday from June 22 to Aug. 3. Each week will focus on one of the daily themes from our workcamp devotional book.
Financial support is encouraged for Outdoor Ministries Association camps
By Linetta Ballew “Love is something if you give it away, give it away, give it away.Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more.It’s just like a magic penny, hold it tight, and you won’t have any.Lend it, spend it, and you’ll have so many, they’ll roll all over the
National commission focuses on strengthening the country’s ability to go to war
Maria Santelli, executive director of the Center on Conscience and War (CCW), provided the following update about the Commission on Military, National, and Public Service. It follows on a statement to the commission by a group of 13 Anabaptist church bodies represented at an Anabaptist Church Consultation on June 4, 2019 (see the Newsline report
Brethren bits for May 1, 2020
— “We want to recognize your seniors! Tell us who they are and send a picture!” said an invitation from “Messenger” magazine and the Youth and Young Adult Ministry. This is an effort to give special recognition to the high school and college/university classes of 2020, who because of the pandemic are missing out on many beloved,
Church of the Brethren’s summer workcamps are canceled
From the Workcamp Ministry It is with a heavy heart that we are writing to announce the decision to cancel all workcamps this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In cancelling workcamps, we are choosing to prioritize health and safety and protect workcamp participants, local communities, and service site partners from unnecessary risk. Please know
National Young Adult Conference to be held virtually in 2020, in-person in 2021
By Becky Ullom Naugle Double dipping! Who doesn’t love two scoops rather than one? National Young Adult Conference (NYAC) will happen two years in a row: once virtually in 2020, and in-person in 2021. The NYAC 2020 theme, “Love in Action,” based on Romans 12:9-18, invites us to make our love for God’s children visible.
Zoom call yields creative ideas for this year’s National Youth Sunday
By Nolan McBride On April 14, the Church of the Brethren Youth and Young Adult Ministries hosted a Zoom meeting for youth advisors to share ideas for celebrating Youth Sunday in the era of COVID-19. This year, National Youth Sunday is scheduled for May 3. Given the fact that most congregations cannot currently meet in
