DENOMINATIONAL NEWS/NEWSLINE
A “Sing Me Home” benefit concert for On Earth Peace was held at Manchester Church of the Brethren (North Manchester, Ind.) on Dec. 3 featuring musicians Jacob Jolliff and Seth Hendricks, along with “Hearth and Hymn.” York Center Church of the Brethren (Lombard) was among the sponsors.
A recent article by Brotherhood Mutual notes the challenges that rising energy costs are creating for congregations during the winter heating season. It suggests turning down the thermostat, installing available energy-conserving features, keeping furnaces cleaned and maintained, consolidating events when possible, and establishing a budget plan. [Congregations having trouble with utility bills are also encouraged to contact the district office for possible resources.]
On Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. Central Time, On Earth Peace’s gun violence organizing campaign will hold an “organizing meetup” to connect with people in churches and neighborhoods who are concerned about gun violence in the US, both those who are already taking some action and those who want to get involved. At 1:30 Central, 30 minutes before the full meetup, a special invitation is extended to members and friends of the Church of the Brethren to join a pre-meetup chat about working together to do something about gun violence specifically as Brethren. The 30-minute "chat" will be convened by Matt Guynn, OEP’s director of organizing, and Mandy Park of Brownsville Church of the Brethren, a member of OEP’s Gun Violence Organizing Campaign who is involved with Moms Demand Action. The goal of this campaign is to move into direct action to reduce gun violence in the United States.
The Brethren Faith in Action Fund (BFIA) has aided six congregations and one camp with its latest round of grants. The fund provides grants using money generated by the sale of the upper campus of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. Grants of up to $5,000 went to congregations in Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Kansas, and Florida, and to Camp Pine Lake in Iowa. Learn more at www.brethren.org/faith-in-action.
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff this fall directed grants totaling more than $150,000 from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to support a rebuilding project in Tennessee, assistance to small-scale farmers affected by Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico, work by Children’s Disaster Services and Church of the Brethren congregations in Florida following Hurricane Ian, flood recovery work of the Christian Solidarity Program for Honduras, a flood relief program of the Church of the Brethren in Uganda, and a flood relief program of ASIGLEH (the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela). To give financial support to the work of Brethren Disaster Ministries, donate to the Emergency Disaster Fund at www.brethren.org/edf.
McPherson (Kan.) College recently announced a massive gift of $500 million that could make it one of the richest liberal arts colleges in the United States. The 800-student college offers a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Restoration, the only four-year degree of its kind in the world. The program includes roughly 120 students that, upon graduation, spread worldwide into every arm of the automotive industry. “Tlhis is an unprecedented show of support not just for McPherson College but also for America’s small, liberal arts colleges,” said McPherson president Michael Schneider. “I am indescribably grateful to our anonymous donor.” The donation is set up as a 2:1 match, meaning the donor will give $2 for every $1 raised by the college between now and June of 2023. Read the full article at www.hagerty.com/media/news/worlds-only-four-year-automotive-restoration-program-gets-500m-boost.
A recent article by Brotherhood Mutual notes the challenges that rising energy costs are creating for congregations during the winter heating season. It suggests turning down the thermostat, installing available energy-conserving features, keeping furnaces cleaned and maintained, consolidating events when possible, and establishing a budget plan. [Congregations having trouble with utility bills are also encouraged to contact the district office for possible resources.]
On Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. Central Time, On Earth Peace’s gun violence organizing campaign will hold an “organizing meetup” to connect with people in churches and neighborhoods who are concerned about gun violence in the US, both those who are already taking some action and those who want to get involved. At 1:30 Central, 30 minutes before the full meetup, a special invitation is extended to members and friends of the Church of the Brethren to join a pre-meetup chat about working together to do something about gun violence specifically as Brethren. The 30-minute "chat" will be convened by Matt Guynn, OEP’s director of organizing, and Mandy Park of Brownsville Church of the Brethren, a member of OEP’s Gun Violence Organizing Campaign who is involved with Moms Demand Action. The goal of this campaign is to move into direct action to reduce gun violence in the United States.
The Brethren Faith in Action Fund (BFIA) has aided six congregations and one camp with its latest round of grants. The fund provides grants using money generated by the sale of the upper campus of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. Grants of up to $5,000 went to congregations in Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Kansas, and Florida, and to Camp Pine Lake in Iowa. Learn more at www.brethren.org/faith-in-action.
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff this fall directed grants totaling more than $150,000 from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to support a rebuilding project in Tennessee, assistance to small-scale farmers affected by Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico, work by Children’s Disaster Services and Church of the Brethren congregations in Florida following Hurricane Ian, flood recovery work of the Christian Solidarity Program for Honduras, a flood relief program of the Church of the Brethren in Uganda, and a flood relief program of ASIGLEH (the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela). To give financial support to the work of Brethren Disaster Ministries, donate to the Emergency Disaster Fund at www.brethren.org/edf.
McPherson (Kan.) College recently announced a massive gift of $500 million that could make it one of the richest liberal arts colleges in the United States. The 800-student college offers a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Restoration, the only four-year degree of its kind in the world. The program includes roughly 120 students that, upon graduation, spread worldwide into every arm of the automotive industry. “Tlhis is an unprecedented show of support not just for McPherson College but also for America’s small, liberal arts colleges,” said McPherson president Michael Schneider. “I am indescribably grateful to our anonymous donor.” The donation is set up as a 2:1 match, meaning the donor will give $2 for every $1 raised by the college between now and June of 2023. Read the full article at www.hagerty.com/media/news/worlds-only-four-year-automotive-restoration-program-gets-500m-boost.
Work has begun on a first-ever Anabaptist Bible, according to a release from MennoMedia. Brethren Press publisher Wendy McFadden, who attended an Aug. 26-28 event gathering some 45 “Bible ambassadors” from various Anabaptist communities, confirmed Church of the Brethren participation in the project. Also at the event was Josh Brockway, co-coordinator of Discipleship Ministries for the Church of the Brethren. The gathering in Des Plaines, Ill., kicked off the historic project, convened by John Roth, director of the “Anabaptism at 500” project of MennoMedia. The Anabaptist groups represented at the meeting included Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Church USA, Brethren in Christ, Evana, Lancaster Mennonite Conference, the Bruderhof, and the Church of the Brethren. Participants worked in table groups to review the plan for inviting 500 Bible study groups from across the Anabaptist community in North America to participate in the project and to consider what other components might be included in the Bible. These study groups will be assigned portions of scripture and asked to share their insights with the project. Volunteers can register their study groups at www.mennomedia.org/reading-scripture-together.
<< Home