{"id":25404,"date":"2025-06-19T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/?p=25404"},"modified":"2025-06-20T23:17:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T23:17:11","slug":"brethren-bits-78","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2025\/brethren-bits-78\/","title":{"rendered":"Brethren bits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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— Remembrance: James Harold “Jim” Baile,<\/strong> 95, a former member of the Church of the Brethren General Board, and father-in-law of Church of the Brethren general secretary David Steele, died on June 16 at Warrensburg (Mo.) Manor Care Center. Born in McPherson, Kan., on May 6, 1930, to Harold Frank Baile and Salome Mohler Baile, he attended Central Missouri State College and the University of Missouri where he majored in agriculture focused on farm management. He was active in the Future Farmers of America and obtained the American Farmer degree and was a State FFA Officer. Following graduation, he was drafted in 1953 to go to the Korean War and served as a conscientious objector with the International Voluntary Service. He was assigned to take 5,000 baby chicks on a propeller plane to Jericho, Jordan, where he taught English and agriculture to Palestinian refugee boys for two years. While leading the church youth group after his return he met Wilma Evelyn Cox and they married in 1958. His farming career began with managing his parents\u2019 farm as a young adult, and then with his wife farming an 80-acre farm near Warrensburg, Mo., where they raised feeder pigs for 50 years. His volunteer service to the church included leadership at the congregational, district, and denominational levels. He served the church as a deacon, church camp manager, district moderator, Brethren Disaster Ministries volunteer, and as a board member for the former General Board of the Church of the Brethren from 1977-1982. He also worked to alleviate hunger through activities with CROP on the local, state and national levels. His leadership in the community included election to the Warrensburg School Board for six years and the Johnson County Extension Council. He was instrumental in helping to start the Fire Protection District and was a board member for 18 years. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Wilma Evelyn Cox Baile; daughters Becky (Jerry) Baile Crouse, and Sarah (David) Steele; grandchildren; and a great grandchild. Visitation will be held 5-7 p.m. on July 24 at Williams Funeral Chapel in Warrensburg. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on July 25 at Warrensburg Church of the Brethren. Memorial gifts are received to the James H. Baile Memorial Fund in care of the funeral home. Online condolences may be left at www.williamsfuneralchapel.net<\/a>. Find a full obituary at www.williamsfuneralchapel.net\/obituary\/james-baile<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Messenger<\/em> is kicking off its 175th anniversary year at the 2025 Annual Conference. <\/strong>\u201cBe on the cover of Messenger<\/em>,\u201d says an invitation. \u201cGrab this selfie frame and pose for a picture. Happy birthday, Messenger<\/em>! 175 in April 2026.\u201d Conferencegoers will be able to picture themselves\u2014and their friends!–on the cover of Messenger<\/em> using this \u201cselfie frame\u201d in the Church of the Brethren exhibit. While there, pick up a copy of the July\/August issue that tells the story of how our Church of the Brethren magazine began.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Brethren Press is holding a daily drawing at the Annual Conference bookstore<\/strong> again this year, with gratitude to an anonymous donor for their $1,000 gift. The generous donor began offering this gift in 2011. The drawing is open to Church of the Brethren congregations and camps. The drawing must be done by a representative of the congregation or camp, in person at the Brethren Press bookstore in the Colony A Room at the convention center in Greensboro, Wednesday, July 2, through Saturday, July 6. Each daily winner will receive one $250 gift certificate to spend onsite to stock their church or camp library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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— Melrose Church of the Brethren<\/strong> in Rockingham, Va., in Shenandoah District, is celebrating its 140 anniversary this weekend. Events take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 21-22. See the listing at left.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

— On Earth Peace is offering an opportunity for Church of the Brethren districts to host a faith-based Kingian Nonviolence introductory training,<\/strong> \u201ca meaningful and practical offering rooted in the principles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with spiritual connections to our Church of the Brethren heritage and faith,\u201d said an announcement. \u201cWe are currently coordinating 2-hour introductory workshops specifically designed for Church of the Brethren communities, with each session anchored by a district to promote strong attendance and local engagement. These trainings are designed to support congregations in building tools for conflict transformation, community resilience, and justice-oriented leadership through the lens of our commitment to being Jesus in the neighborhood.\u201d The training include a two-hour live session, in person or virtual, with flexible timing. Currently the trainings are being offered in September, November, and January next year. Cost is a suggested $700, with sliding scale or \u201cpay what you can\u201d options available. If a district chooses to pursue a full 16-hour training following the introductory session, the initial cost will be credited toward that extended offering. \u201cWe\u2019re also excited about possibly launching a 16-hour training specifically for pastors, aimed at equipping spiritual leaders with a deeper grounding in nonviolence and justice work,\u201d said the announcement. \u201cIf you or your colleagues are interested in exploring this further, we\u2019d love to hear your thoughts.\u201d Districts are requested to RSVP to express interest and preferred scheduling windows by the end of July. Contact knv-fellow@onearthpeace.org<\/a> or go to www.onearthpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

— \u201cIn the name of national security, the Trump Administration is working to vastly expand the immigration detention system,\u201d<\/strong> warns a release from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), of which the Church of the Brethren is a partner denomination. This expansion includes \u201cusing the U.S. base at Guant\u00e1namo Bay and outsourcing detention to other countries including the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) in El Salvador. Both the military prison at Guant\u00e1namo Bay and CECOT are defined by torture and other cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment, along with the lack of due process and indefinite detention without trial.\u201d Additional concerns are the inability of advocates and even the US government to provide transparency and oversight, compounded by extraterritorial detention of migrants, the release said. NRCAT celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2026 and as part of that commemoration \u201cis working to oppose the expansion of immigration detention, oppose expanding the Migrant Operations Center at Guant\u00e1namo, oppose using the military prison at Guant\u00e1namo to hold migrants, and oppose outsourcing detention at CECOT and other international prisons.\u201d Supporters are invited to write to their representatives and senators in Congress to urge them to stand up for the human rights of detainees. Go to https:\/\/nrcat.salsalabs.org\/immigration-detention-2025-2\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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— Phyllis Dodd presented a talk on \u201cImmigration and Deportation–Love Has No Borders\u201d<\/strong> on June 1 to a group of 14 people at Westminster (Md.) Church of the Brethren. \u201cThe workshop was designed to inform people of the changes in immigration policy today and ways that the congregation can assist people who have been detained and their families and children who have been left behind,\u201d she reported to Newsline. \u201cWhat can the church do to follow the call to \u2018feed the hungry, help the stranger, clothe the naked, tend to the sick, and care for those in prison\u2019? How do we \u2018do unto others as you would have them do unto you?\u2019\u201d Her book, Love Has No Borders<\/em>, provides a background of true stories of a desperate people who have fled to the United States. \u201cThe fear has changed from fear of persecution in their countries to fear of persecution in the United States,\u201d she wrote. Contact her at 302-222-1019 to schedule a presentation for your church or organization.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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#MissionAndMinistryBoard #StrategicPlan #RacialJustice #LoveOurNeighbors #Discipleship #NewTestamentGiving<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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