DENOMINATIONAL NEWS/NEWSLINE
News was received in late August from the Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria(Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, EYN) Media Office that one of the
Chibok schoolgirls
who was abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014had been rescued by a Nigerian military operation in Borno State. “Glory be to God, one of our Chibok abducted girls, Mary Nkeki from Kuburmbula, was released four days ago,” said a text message from Joel Tabji, EYN District Church Council secretary for Chibok.
“We have come this far by faith, hallelujah!” sang members of the Germantown congregation in Philadelphia in a worship service that opened a day celebrating 300 years of the Brethren in the Americas. The celebration on Saturday, July 29, was the culminating day of the 7th Brethren World Assembly. The worship celebration held in the historic Germantown sanctuary was led by pastor Richard Kyerematen, pastor Barbara Elizabeth Short-Clark, and others from the congregation, alongside leaders from the planning team for the assembly. Visiting dignitaries and guests brought greetings in person and onscreen. Annual Conference moderator Madalyn Metzger and general secretary David Steele represented the Church of the Brethren leadership. Steele characterized the celebration as a homecoming: “The sacredness of being together and coming home, what it means to be family.” Also representing Church of the Brethren leadership from around the world were Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria president Joel Billi, who brought greetings from the Brethren in Nigeria, and Theoneste Sentabire, who attended from Rwanda Church of the Brethren. Video greetings were shared from the Church of the Brethren in Burundi. Germantown continues its 300th anniversary celebration on Sunday, Oct. 8, at 2:30p.m. An announcement added an invitation to also join the congregation for its regular worship service that morning at 11 a.m., and for lunch at12:30 p.m., before the anniversary event that afternoon.
The Church of the Brethren FaithX program is announcing three opportunities for adults and older adults in 2024, in addition to the usual range of summer trips: Older adults age 55-plus are invited to join anew short-term service opportunity at Camp Ithiel in Gotha, Fla., Feb.25-March 1. Registration is now open at www.brethren.org/faithx. An adult domestic trip for those 18 and older will occur in partnership with Brethren Disaster Ministries July 28-Aug. 3. Registration will open on Jan. 10, 2024. And a n adult international trip for those 18 and older will travel to Ecuador to serve at Fundacion Brethren y Unida (FBU) June 1-10. FBU traces its beginnings to Church of the Brethren mission work in the 1970s. It specializes in agroecology, rural development, water resource management, and environmental education. Registration will open Jan. 10, 2024. Dates and locations for more summer 2024 FaithX service trips will be announced soon.
Bridgewater (Va.) College has established its second endowed, named school: the Rev. Wilfred E. and Dr. Joyce A. Nolen School of Business and Professional Studies. The school is the largest on campus, said the announcement. Wil Nolen has served on the denominational staff of the Church of the Brethren, retiring as founding president of Brethren Benefit Trust, now Eder Financial. He is a 1963graduate of Bridgewater and has been on the college’s board since 1993. Joyce Nolen is retired from a faculty position in student development at William Rainey Harper Community College. She is a 1961 graduate of Manchester University, where she was on the board from 1980 to 1990. Both are former members of Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin.
The Standing with People of Color Committee that was put in place by the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in 2022 is laying groundwork for the denomination to engage issues of race for a decade into the future. The committee includes members of Southern Ohio and Kentucky District and staff of On Earth Peace and the Church of the Brethren.
“7 Prompts” facilitator training is now being offered as part of the process leading to church-wide conversations around the themes of standing with people of color and working for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. The committee invites the entire denomination to participate in conversations–anywhere from the family dinner table to the round tables at Annual Conference–using seven prompts designed to start discussion. The prompts range from one’s own family history, through questions related to how we hear Jesus calling us now. Two training opportunities are scheduled for people who want to learn about the “7 Prompts” in order to help facilitate conversations. These online trainings are offered twice this month: Tuesday, Sept. 19, from 7 to 8:30p.m. Central Time, and Saturday, Sept. 23, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Central. Find out more and register at www.onearthpeace.org/cob_swpoc_7_prompts_training_2023_09_19.
Jan Fahs of North Manchester, Ind., has been elected to serve as chair of the Eder Financial board for the 2023-2024 year, which runs from August through next July. Fahs was elected by her peers on Aug. 7 during the board’s annual reorganization meeting. She is beginning her third year of serving as one of 12 Eder Financial board members. She is recently retired as church administrator of Manchester Church of the Brethren in Indiana, and formerly taught accounting and business at Manchester University. Elected as vice chair was Wayne Scott, who has served in that role for two years. Scott is an attorney in Pennsylvania. He previously served as executive deputy chief counsel for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Utility Commission. Other 2023-2024board members are Kevin Boyer; Sara Davis; Dennis Kingery; Eunice Culp; Katherine Haff; Russ Matteson; Audrey Myer; Jerry Patterson; David Shissler; and Randy Yoder.
Western Plains District held a Brethren Volunteer Service 75th anniversary reunion event on July 22 at The Cedars retirement community in McPherson, Kan., with dozens of people gathering to celebrate and share their BVS memories. Monica Rice Frye, The Cedars director of development and constituent relations, hosted. “Those attending ranged from a ‘seagoing cowboy’ who served in BVS’ early years to a volunteer who had just recently completed her service,” said the report. “Monica called it ‘an amazing group of loving and generous people’ and said, ‘As we shared our units and placements around the room it became clear that the impact of BVS has been both global AND personal!’ Those interested in planning a BVS anniversary event are invited to contact bvs@brethren.org.
Ecumenism Metro Chicago and Chicagoland Christians United for the Care of Creation held a Declaration for the Care of Creation Signing Ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 17, at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. The signing was held in conjunction with the Parliament of the World’s Religions, which drew thousands of people from across the world.
Christian Churches Together (CCT) is holding its annual forum on Oct. 3-6 in Savannah, Ga. The event will gather leaders and representatives of the ecumenical organization’s 30-plus communions and organizations representing Orthodox, Catholic, mainline Protestant, Evangelical, Pentecostal, and historic Black churches to “pilgrimage together on the Historic Baptismal Trail, pray and dialogue with one another, and experience each other’s traditions in shared worship as we seek to love, learn, and lead together,” said an announcement. The theme is “Water that Unites and Water that Divides: Baptism and the Journey to Unity and Reconciliation.” The Church of the Brethren is a member denomination of CCT.
“Believing and Belonging,” an accessible Anabaptist membership curriculum from Anabaptist Disabilities Network, is now available at www.brethrenpress.com. The curriculum is designed to help churches welcome people with disabilities into full fellowship in the body of Christ, according to a release from ADN.
Wood Travel Partners, a Brethren-affiliated travel agency, is offering a river cruise tour of Germany, including a stop in Schwarzenau, Aug.22-30, 2024. The cruise, down the Rhine and Danube rivers, will also include stops in Regensburg, Nuremberg, Bamberg, Wertheim, Cologne, and elsewhere. To learn more, call 765-274-3986 or email jwood@dreamvacations.com.
A new book celebrating Brethren Volunteer Service’s 75th anniversary, A Year of Living Differently, by author Jim Lehman, is now available from Brethren Press. Cost is $19.48. Order at www.brethrenpress.com or call800-441-3712.
The Church of the Brethren Mission Advancement team has decided to no longer ask congregations to submit a Self-Allocation Form detailing projected giving to various denominational and district programs during the year. Instead, an annual narrative providing an overview of mission and ministry efforts will encourage congregations to support the work of the church.
“We have come this far by faith, hallelujah!” sang members of the Germantown congregation in Philadelphia in a worship service that opened a day celebrating 300 years of the Brethren in the Americas. The celebration on Saturday, July 29, was the culminating day of the 7th Brethren World Assembly. The worship celebration held in the historic Germantown sanctuary was led by pastor Richard Kyerematen, pastor Barbara Elizabeth Short-Clark, and others from the congregation, alongside leaders from the planning team for the assembly. Visiting dignitaries and guests brought greetings in person and onscreen. Annual Conference moderator Madalyn Metzger and general secretary David Steele represented the Church of the Brethren leadership. Steele characterized the celebration as a homecoming: “The sacredness of being together and coming home, what it means to be family.” Also representing Church of the Brethren leadership from around the world were Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria president Joel Billi, who brought greetings from the Brethren in Nigeria, and Theoneste Sentabire, who attended from Rwanda Church of the Brethren. Video greetings were shared from the Church of the Brethren in Burundi. Germantown continues its 300th anniversary celebration on Sunday, Oct. 8, at 2:30p.m. An announcement added an invitation to also join the congregation for its regular worship service that morning at 11 a.m., and for lunch at12:30 p.m., before the anniversary event that afternoon.
The Church of the Brethren FaithX program is announcing three opportunities for adults and older adults in 2024, in addition to the usual range of summer trips: Older adults age 55-plus are invited to join anew short-term service opportunity at Camp Ithiel in Gotha, Fla., Feb.25-March 1. Registration is now open at www.brethren.org/faithx. An adult domestic trip for those 18 and older will occur in partnership with Brethren Disaster Ministries July 28-Aug. 3. Registration will open on Jan. 10, 2024. And a n adult international trip for those 18 and older will travel to Ecuador to serve at Fundacion Brethren y Unida (FBU) June 1-10. FBU traces its beginnings to Church of the Brethren mission work in the 1970s. It specializes in agroecology, rural development, water resource management, and environmental education. Registration will open Jan. 10, 2024. Dates and locations for more summer 2024 FaithX service trips will be announced soon.
Bridgewater (Va.) College has established its second endowed, named school: the Rev. Wilfred E. and Dr. Joyce A. Nolen School of Business and Professional Studies. The school is the largest on campus, said the announcement. Wil Nolen has served on the denominational staff of the Church of the Brethren, retiring as founding president of Brethren Benefit Trust, now Eder Financial. He is a 1963graduate of Bridgewater and has been on the college’s board since 1993. Joyce Nolen is retired from a faculty position in student development at William Rainey Harper Community College. She is a 1961 graduate of Manchester University, where she was on the board from 1980 to 1990. Both are former members of Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin.
The Standing with People of Color Committee that was put in place by the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in 2022 is laying groundwork for the denomination to engage issues of race for a decade into the future. The committee includes members of Southern Ohio and Kentucky District and staff of On Earth Peace and the Church of the Brethren.
“7 Prompts” facilitator training is now being offered as part of the process leading to church-wide conversations around the themes of standing with people of color and working for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. The committee invites the entire denomination to participate in conversations–anywhere from the family dinner table to the round tables at Annual Conference–using seven prompts designed to start discussion. The prompts range from one’s own family history, through questions related to how we hear Jesus calling us now. Two training opportunities are scheduled for people who want to learn about the “7 Prompts” in order to help facilitate conversations. These online trainings are offered twice this month: Tuesday, Sept. 19, from 7 to 8:30p.m. Central Time, and Saturday, Sept. 23, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Central. Find out more and register at www.onearthpeace.org/cob_swpoc_7_prompts_training_2023_09_19.
Jan Fahs of North Manchester, Ind., has been elected to serve as chair of the Eder Financial board for the 2023-2024 year, which runs from August through next July. Fahs was elected by her peers on Aug. 7 during the board’s annual reorganization meeting. She is beginning her third year of serving as one of 12 Eder Financial board members. She is recently retired as church administrator of Manchester Church of the Brethren in Indiana, and formerly taught accounting and business at Manchester University. Elected as vice chair was Wayne Scott, who has served in that role for two years. Scott is an attorney in Pennsylvania. He previously served as executive deputy chief counsel for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Utility Commission. Other 2023-2024board members are Kevin Boyer; Sara Davis; Dennis Kingery; Eunice Culp; Katherine Haff; Russ Matteson; Audrey Myer; Jerry Patterson; David Shissler; and Randy Yoder.
Western Plains District held a Brethren Volunteer Service 75th anniversary reunion event on July 22 at The Cedars retirement community in McPherson, Kan., with dozens of people gathering to celebrate and share their BVS memories. Monica Rice Frye, The Cedars director of development and constituent relations, hosted. “Those attending ranged from a ‘seagoing cowboy’ who served in BVS’ early years to a volunteer who had just recently completed her service,” said the report. “Monica called it ‘an amazing group of loving and generous people’ and said, ‘As we shared our units and placements around the room it became clear that the impact of BVS has been both global AND personal!’ Those interested in planning a BVS anniversary event are invited to contact bvs@brethren.org.
Ecumenism Metro Chicago and Chicagoland Christians United for the Care of Creation held a Declaration for the Care of Creation Signing Ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 17, at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. The signing was held in conjunction with the Parliament of the World’s Religions, which drew thousands of people from across the world.
Christian Churches Together (CCT) is holding its annual forum on Oct. 3-6 in Savannah, Ga. The event will gather leaders and representatives of the ecumenical organization’s 30-plus communions and organizations representing Orthodox, Catholic, mainline Protestant, Evangelical, Pentecostal, and historic Black churches to “pilgrimage together on the Historic Baptismal Trail, pray and dialogue with one another, and experience each other’s traditions in shared worship as we seek to love, learn, and lead together,” said an announcement. The theme is “Water that Unites and Water that Divides: Baptism and the Journey to Unity and Reconciliation.” The Church of the Brethren is a member denomination of CCT.
“Believing and Belonging,” an accessible Anabaptist membership curriculum from Anabaptist Disabilities Network, is now available at www.brethrenpress.com. The curriculum is designed to help churches welcome people with disabilities into full fellowship in the body of Christ, according to a release from ADN.
Wood Travel Partners, a Brethren-affiliated travel agency, is offering a river cruise tour of Germany, including a stop in Schwarzenau, Aug.22-30, 2024. The cruise, down the Rhine and Danube rivers, will also include stops in Regensburg, Nuremberg, Bamberg, Wertheim, Cologne, and elsewhere. To learn more, call 765-274-3986 or email jwood@dreamvacations.com.
A new book celebrating Brethren Volunteer Service’s 75th anniversary, A Year of Living Differently, by author Jim Lehman, is now available from Brethren Press. Cost is $19.48. Order at www.brethrenpress.com or call800-441-3712.
The Church of the Brethren Mission Advancement team has decided to no longer ask congregations to submit a Self-Allocation Form detailing projected giving to various denominational and district programs during the year. Instead, an annual narrative providing an overview of mission and ministry efforts will encourage congregations to support the work of the church.
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