ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The 2023 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference will take place July 4-8 (a Tuesday-through-Saturday schedule this year) in Cincinnati with the theme “Living God’s Love.” Tim McElwee of Fort Wayne, Ind., will serve as moderator. Advance delegate registration will be $320 per person ($395 onsite); non-delegate adult advance registration is $140 for the week ($175 onsite; $40 for post-high school through age 21, free for high school age and below). A virtual non-delegate option to participate online will also be available. Conference hotels will be $122 per night, plus tax. Registration and housing reservations are open.

Author and spiritual director Sheila Wise Rowe will be the featured presenter for the Church of the Brethren Ministers’ Association pre-Annual Conference continuing education event, July 3-4 in Cincinnati. Rowe describes herself on her website as “a truth-teller who is passionate about matters of faith and Christ-centered emotional healing” and “advocates for the dignity, rights, and healing of abuse and racial trauma survivors, and racial conciliation.” She spent a decade in South Africa ministering to unhoused and abused women and now lives in Massachusetts. Rowe has a master’s degree in counseling psychology and more than 28 years of experience as a Christian counselor, spiritual director, educator, writer, and speaker. Her award-winning book, Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience, will be the focus of this pre-Conference event. Find flyers in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, as well as registration links on the Office of Ministry pages at www.brethren.org.

In other Annual Conference news:

• The Nominating Committee of the Standing Committee of district delegates to the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference has presented the ballot for the 2023 Conference, with elections to be held during the meeting in Cincinnati:

Moderator-elect: Dava Hensley (Roanoke, Va.); Del Keeney (Mechanicsburg, Pa.)

Program and Arrangements Committee: Emmanuela Attelus (Miami, Fla.); Gail Heisel (La Verne, Calif.)

Mission and Ministry Board, Area 2: John Ballinger (West Salem, Ohio); Tina M. Hunt (Mansfield, Ohio)

Mission and Ministry Board, Area 3: Linetta Shalom Alley (Broadway, Va.); Deirdre Moyer (Eden, N.C.)

Bethany Theological Seminary board, representing clergy: Jennifer Hosler (Washington, D.C.); Jonathan Prater (Linville, Va.)

Bethany Theological Seminary board, representing laity: Mark Gingrich (Burnsville, Minn.); Julia Wheeler (La Verne, Calif.)

Eder Financial board: Raymond Flagg (Annville, Pa.); Dennis Kingery (Littleton, Colo.)

On Earth Peace board: Carol Young Lindquist (Fort Wayne, Ind.); Audrey Zunkel-DeCoursey (Portland, Ore.)

Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee: Lori Hurt (Boones Mill, Va.); Rudolph H. Taylor III (Cloverdale, Va.)

• Annual Conference has also announced preachers for the conference:

— Tuesday evening, July 4: Annual Conference moderator Tim McElwee will preach on the theme “Living God’s Love,” drawing on John 13:34-35, Ephesians 5:1-2, and 1 John 4:7-12.

— Wednesday evening, July 5: Sheila Wise Rowe, a Christian counselor, spiritual director, educator, writer, and keynote speaker for this year’s pre-Conference Brethren Ministers’ Association event, will preach on the theme “Bearing the Fruit of God’s Love,” drawing on Mark 12:28-34 and John 15:1-17.

— Thursday evening, July 6: Deanna Brown, founder and facilitator of Cultural Connections and a member of Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne, Ind., will preach on the theme “Responding in Love to the Needs of Others,” drawing on Luke 10:25-37 and 1 John 3:16-24.

— Friday evening, July 7: Jody Romero, pastor of Restoration Los Angeles (Calif.) Church of the Brethren and lead chaplain for the Los Angeles Christian Health Center, will preach on the theme “Seeing and Loving Like God,” drawing on Luke 7:36-50 and 1 Corinthians 13.

— Saturday morning, July 8: Audri Svay, an English professor, pre-school teacher, and pastor of Eel River Community Church of the Brethren in Silver Lake, Ind., will preach on the theme “Loving the Least in the Family of God,” drawing on Matthew 25:31-46 and John 21:15-19.

The worship services are being planned by Don Mitchell, Laura Stone, and David R. Miller. Beth Jarrett, the third-year Program and Arrangements Committee member, is chairing the worship team. Kyle Remnant will serve as music coordinator, Becca Miller as pianist, Marty Keeney as choir director, and Pam Hoppe as children’s choir director.