{"id":27921,"date":"2026-10-02T16:53:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T16:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/?p=27921"},"modified":"2026-10-02T16:54:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T16:54:46","slug":"pastors-manual-in-creole-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2026\/pastors-manual-in-creole-french\/","title":{"rendered":"New Pastor\u2019s Manual in Haitian Creole and French to be used in Haiti and Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Sharon Brugger Norton<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a pleasant surprise, just five minutes before I was planning on leaving my office in Elgin, Ill., to head home to Indiana, to have Heidi Gross knock on the door and hand me copies of the new Pastor\u2019s Manual<\/a><\/em> in French and Haitian Creole. Fresh off the press!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pastor\u2019s Manual<\/em>\u2014titled Many\u00e8l pou Past\u00e8<\/a> in Haitian Creole and Manuel du Pasteur<\/a> in French\u2014is composed of excerpts from For All Who Minister<\/em>, and the timing of these publications from Brethren Press was perfect. I was leaving for a trip to Haiti just four weeks later and I could take a whole box of manuals with me in my baggage for free! Which Brethren doesn\u2019t love saving money?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In Haiti, these manuals will be used by the leaders of the 30 congregations and preaching points of l\u2019Eglise des Freres d\u2019Haiti<\/a> (the Church of the Brethren in Haiti) or Legliz Fr\u00e8 Yo, as the church is known in Haitian Creole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the manuals, I discovered some older print copies of two Galen Hackman books in Creole on Beliefs and Practices of the Church of the Brethren<\/em> and the History of the Church of the Brethren<\/em>. These found their way into my suitcase as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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For related resources:<\/strong>
–The Pastor’s Manual<\/em> in Spanish<\/a> also is available from Brethren Press.
— English-language resources<\/a> are available for free online while print copies of For All Who Minister<\/em>, a ministers\u2019 manual from Brethren Press, is temporarily out of print. Sections related to key ordinances in the Church of the Brethren are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Also pressed into my hands was the French edition of the Pastor\u2019s Manual<\/em>.<\/strong> These had been long requested by l\u2019\u00c9glise des Fr\u00e8res in the Democratic Republic of Congo, numbering 34 churches and more than 10,000 members. Although many languages are spoken there, French is the \u201clinga franca,\u201d so to speak. The church plans to use the manuals especially for its newer congregations in Kinshasa as part of training in Brethren identity, practices, and beliefs. The established churches in the eastern part of the country also will use them. These manuals will go in the checked bags of Christian Elliott, retired pastor of Knobsville Church of Brethren in southern Pennsylvania, who will travel to the region in November and deliver them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hearty thank you to Brethren Press<\/a> and the denomination for prioritizing these resources for our global churches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

— Sharon Brugger Norton is executive director of Global Mission<\/a> for the Church of the Brethren.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

———-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find more Church of the Brethren news:<\/p>\n\n\n