DENOMINATIONAL NEWS/NEWSLINE

An upcoming new book from Brethren Press, Between You and Me is an intimate conversation about the distance between people. With personal storytelling as her art of choice, theopoet Audri Svay draws on her experiences as a poet, professor, and pastor to challenge ideas of acceptance, question societal assumptions, and explore intersections of identity. Svay received her master of arts degree in Theopoetics and Writing from Bethany Theological Seminary and has served as a pastor and theopoet in the Church of the Brethren. Her articles and poetry have been published in Messenger and Brethren Life and Thought, and she was the recipient of Manchester University’s 2024 Young Alumni Impact Award. She lives in northern Indiana where she teaches writing at the University of St. Francis. Pre-order now at www.brethrenpress.com.

Global Women’s Project raised almost $6,700 for its Mother’s Day Gratitude Project, with 45 donations and 16 memorials, and 60 cards sent to honorees.

The Anabaptist Disabilities Network (ADN) and the Church of the Brethren and its Discipleship and Leadership Formation department have renewed their partnership to provide training, education, and resources that support congregations in becoming more inclusive of people with disabilities and mental illness. ADN is a small organization located in Elkhart, Ind., which serves the Anabaptist community in North America. ADN connects and supports people who have disabilities, their families, and faith communities to create a culture of belonging for everybody. Jeanne Davies (York Center) serves as director.

The Church of the Brethren Intercultural Ministries Jubilee Celebration will take place Nov. 18-21 in Gotha, Fla., at Camp Ithiel. Find more information at https://www.brethren.org/intercultural/#jubilee. Intercultural Ministries will also be holding several events at Annual Conference this summer.

The L.E.A.D. Planning Team has scheduled the next in-person denominational L.E.A.D. Conference for May 1-3, 2026, again hosted by Ephrata (Pa.) Church of the Brethren. Between now and then, the team is planning quarterly virtual events as four free webinars focused on one of the four leadership components: Listen, Equip, Adapt, Disciple. The first webinar is scheduled for Thursday, June 19, at 6 p.m. Central Time featuring Dennis Edwards, the keynote speaker at the L.E.A.D. Conference held last fall, presenting material on listening as a leadership skill from his book Humility Illuminated. Others will follow on Oct. 16, Jan. 15, and March 19. CEU’s are available for clergy. For more information and to register go to www.brethren.org/thirdthursday.

Registration for Song and Story Fest 2025 at Camp Brethren Woods in Keezletown, Va., July 6-12, is now available, using this online form. More details about Song and Story Fest can be found here. Online registration and payment are again being offered to help streamline the process. Pay online (additional 3% fee) or send a check to On Earth Peace, after submitting your

registration online. Using the online registration form is preferred, but the form can also be printed and mailed if needed.

“Early Anabaptism in Global Perspective: Past, Present, and Future at 500 Years” is the topic for a conference at the Young Center at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College on July 22-24. This conference marking the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Anabaptist movement will revisit early Anabaptism and give special attention to the global context in which it emerged and spread. Speakers will also consider how Anabaptist history has been received by churches and academics in more recent times and in varying contexts around the world. With more than three dozen plenary sessions, papers, seminars, and roundtables by presenters from ten countries, the conference will examine such varied themes as migration, diplomacy, the arts, colonialism, peacemaking, and theological identity. Optional pre- and post-conference field trips will visit area libraries and archives and the 1719 Museum. Find out more and register at www.etown.edu/centers/young-center/anabaptism-conference-2025.aspx.