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<\/td>\n<\/tr>\nClose to 200 Brethren from as far as Nigeria and Brazil, and as near as Elizabethtown and Annville, Pa., gathered Nov. 16-18 at Lititz (Pa.) Church of the Brethren for Mission Alive 2012, a conference sponsored by Church of the Brethren Global Mission and Service.<\/p>\n
Plenary sessions, worship services, and workshops on a wide array of mission-related topics were held over the weekend, which began Friday with an address by Jonathan Bonk, executive director of the Overseas Ministries Study Center in New Haven, Conn.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe in the West like to do a lot of abstract thinking about missions,\u201d Bonk said. \u201cBut the only meaningful mission is incarnation. We are full of \u2018a priori\u2019 agendas. We travel around the world and tell people what\u2019s good for them. We have to get back to our roots.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have come together to focus our hearts and minds on mission, ministry, and service of Jesus as his radical, compassionate disciples,\u201d said Church of the Brethren associate general secretary Mary Jo Flory Steury in her welcoming remarks Friday. \u201cWe are here to worship our God, to learn together and from one another, and to be encouraged, challenged, and empowered for continuing the work of Jesus in our local communities and around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/10\/samuel-and-rebecca-dali-in-a.jpg\") <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |
Speakers at Mission Alive 2012 included (above at left) Samuel Dali, president of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria–the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria–who attended with his wife Rebecca Dali, here shown taking part in one of the many workshops\u00a0at the conference.\u00a0Suely Inhauser (below at left) of Igreja da Irmandade–the Church of the Brethren in Brazil–was one of those bringing messages in worship. Here, she\u00a0and her husband Marcos Inhauser (center below), who serves as\u00a0coordinator of the mission in Brazil, chat with a Mission Alive participant.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/10\/suely-and-marcos-inhauser.jpg\") <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nOthers who spoke at plenary sessions or workshops included Samuel Dali, president of Ekklesiyar Yan\u2019uwa a Nigeria (EYN–the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), who attended with his wife Rebecca; Suely and Marcos Inhauser, national coordinators of Igreja da Irmandade in Brazil; and Annual Conference moderator Bob Krouse. Ilexene and Michaela Alphonse, Church of the Brethren mission workers in Haiti, also attended. Workshop topics ranged from \u201cThe Power of Prayer\u201d and \u201cMission in Post-Colonial Contexts\u201d to \u201cInternet Evangelism: The Ends of the Earth are a Click Away\u201d and \u201cEngaging Communities Through the Schools.\u201d<\/p>\n Samuel Dali updated attendees about current tensions between Muslims and Christians in his home country, and spoke appreciatively about the role of Brethren missions there historically. He also acknowledged more recent efforts by Nathan and Jennifer Hosler to foster reconciliation between opposing groups in Nigeria, particularly the establishment of CAMPI (Christians and Muslims for Peacebuilding Initiatives). The Hoslers had taught theology and peace at Kulp Bible College in northern Nigeria from 2009-11. Nathan Hosler currently works in Washington, D.C., as advocacy officer with the Church of the Brethren and the National Council of Churches.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery church in Nigeria is thinking about self-defense,\u201d Dali said. \u201cHow does the Church of the Brethren preach peace in this situation? Sometimes we are mocked when we talk about peace. But hope is not lost. Even during the time of missionaries it was not easy. But still they came up with a strategy to make sure the gospel was shared. So a difficult situation cannot stop the word of God. But it\u2019s not going to be easy. We value your prayers, and we invite you to continue to pray. We invite you to come to Nigeria and experience what is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n \n |
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