May 2, 2013
- Bethany Theological Seminary will hold its 108th commencement in Nicarry Chapel on the seminary campus in Richmond, Ind., at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 11. Eleven master of divinity degrees will be conferred along with one master of arts degree and one Certificate of Achievement in Theological Studies. Commencement speaker will be J. Nelson Kraybill, lead pastor at Prairie Street Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Ind., and president-elect of Mennonite World Conference.
- On April 28, a team of more than 15 Manchester University students succeeded in working together to lift one million pounds--for peace. This event was part of the On Earth Peace campaign, 3,000 Miles for Peace. Manchester University is a Church of the Brethren-related school with a main campus in North Manchester, Ind.
- People often associate Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with soldiers returning from battle, but foster children sometimes exhibit similar symptoms as a result of the trauma they have experienced in their lives. COBYS Family Services therapist Laura Miller, LCSW, will lead a one-day seminar on PTSD in children on May 31 at Lancaster (Pa.) Church of the Brethren.
May 1, 2013
- Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is making available a set of Bible study tools for congregations and districts embarking on the Vital Ministry Journey. Three Bible studies have been published as paperback booklets.
- Manchester University in North Manchester, Ind., held its annual Peace Week on April 14-20 with a variety of guest speakers, workshops, worship times, and a concert under the theme “Opening New Doors: Acting for Peace.”
- A delegation of six traveled to Spain April 1-10, representing groups who are providing financial and logistical support to the emerging church in Spain. Members of this group were: Marla Bieber Abe, co-pastor of Carlisle (Pa.) Church of the Brethren representing Brethren World Mission; Norm Yeater and Carolyn Fitzkee of Chiques Church of the Brethren in Manheim, Pa.; Daniel and Oris D’Oleo of Renacer, a Hispanic church plant in Roanoke, Va.; and Fausto Carrasco of Nuevo Amanacer Church of the...
- Throughout the Strengthening Your Small Congregation event, leaders of small churches received essentially the same guidance from various speakers and workshop leaders: know yourself, know your congregation, seek out God’s purpose for you and your church. Organized in large part by the Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren, the event was the brainchild of the pastors of two small congregations in Indiana--Kay Gaier of Wabash Church of the Brethren and Brenda Hostetler...
April 29, 2013
April 25, 2013
- “Our first Majalisa was a good experience,” report Carl and Roxane Hill, Church of the Brethren mission workers with Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). There were over 1,000 in attendance at EYN’s 66th Majalisa on April 16-19.
April 24, 2013
- On the day the Global Christian Forum released an Appeal by Middle East church leaders calling their co-citizens “to reject all forms of extremism and enmity” and for the world community to “to support a Christian presence in the Middle East in partnership with other religions” it was reported that two Orthodox bishops had been kidnaped in Syria.