Church of the Brethren

Recent grants made from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) have been directed by Brethren Disaster Ministries

The director of Brethren Disaster Ministries, Jenn Dorsch-Messler, traveled through Virginia and North Carolina the week of Oct. 21 to visit with Church of the Brethren district and church leaders. The trip responded to the impact of Hurricane Helen in both states.

Let’s take the opportunity, in small groups of three or four people, to share, listen to, and process our feelings and observations about racial justice and racism in our lives as Brethren by coming together via Zoom on Nov. 23 from 1-5 p.m. (Eastern time). During this four-hour session, members of the Standing with People of Color Committee will help you experience the “7 Prompts” and the BELOVED model of communication first-hand.

Jeff Lennard has announced his retirement from Brethren Press, effective March 28, 2025. He has served as director of Marketing and Sales for the Church of the Brethren publishing house for 18 years, since Nov. 2006.

In this issue: Remembering Jennifer Quijano West, Church World Service (CWS) has shared information about how it is planning to continue to support immigrants and refugees, at COP29 religious leaders have called for “regeneration and renewal of our only planetary home,” latest from Brethren Voices, and more.

The Discipleship and Leadership Formation department of the Church of the Brethren is announcing a new discipleship resource called “Learning to Wash Feet.” Director of spiritual formation Joshua Brockway has produced a series of five videos that define discipleship and explore the ordinances as examples of practices of discipleship formation.

The November offering from the Ventures in Christian Discipleship program at McPherson (Kan.) College will be “Understanding Your Grief to Find Hope and Healing” to be presented by Chris Whitacre and Kathy Reid. The course will be held online in two sessions, Tuesdays, Nov. 19 and 26, both at 7-8:30 p.m. (central time).

In this issue: International prayer concerns, Children's Disaster Services volunteers work in Florida, Annville church delivers 75 Clean-Up Buckets, job opening at the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center, upcoming events offered by the SVMC and On Earth Peace, and more.

The Church of the Brethren’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy is one of more than 100 faith-based and humanitarian organizations signing a letter to the senators in the US Congress urging them to cosponsor and vote in favor of four joint resolutions of disapproval introduced by Senators Sanders, Welch, and Merkley regarding several specific major arms sales to Israel.

The Standing Committee of district delegates to the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference met via Zoom on the evening of Sept. 30 to consider and act on covenants with the three agencies of Annual Conference—Bethany Theological Seminary, Eder Financial, and On Earth Peace. Also acted on was a recommendation to Annual Conference to renew their agency status.

The Church of the Brethren’s Mission and Ministry Board held its Fall 2024 meeting Oct. 17-20 at the denomination’s General Offices in Elgin, Ill. Colin Scott presided as chair, assisted by chair-elect Kathy Mack and general secretary David Steele.

By Marissa Witkovsky-Eldred FaithX is excited to announce service trip opportunities for all ages in 2025! A total of 12 service trips are planned. Opportunities include individual or combined trips for junior and senior high youth, a family service weekend with childcare provided, the older adult trip in March, and international or domestic trips for

The newly revised pastors’ Housing Equity Fund now offers a tax-friendly option for those ministers living in parsonages who wish to build equity toward a future home purchase. Significant revisions to the fund’s structure were approved by the 2024 Annual Conference and have resulted in the creation of this new investment fund option. Whereas the

Chicago (Ill.) First Church of the Brethren prayerfully took the pledge to join the Apartheid Free Communities network. Chicago First Church is the 400th organization to join under the sponsorship of American Friends Service Committee and the first Church of the Brethren congregation to join.

The Church of the Brethren Gun Violence Prevention Action Team would like to invite your congregation to remember gun violence victims who have passed away in 2024 by hosting a vigil or service in December as part of the Newtown Action Alliance’s 2024 Nationwide Vigils to #EndGunViolence initiative.

In this issue: Remembering Gerald Pence, dates and location for next National Youth Conference, prayer concern for the Community of Faith and Haitians in the Dominican Republic, leadership opening in West Marva District, closing date for L.E.A.D. Conference registration, and more news by, for, and about Brethren.

The Church of the Brethren’s aid and relief response following Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton continues on the denominational, district, and congregational levels. Here are some updates

This month the Standing with People of Color Committee will offer two opportunities for facilitator training for those interested in leading “7 Prompts” conversations in their communities and congregations.

On International Day of Peace, Sept. 21, Lititz (Pa.) Church of the Brethren erected a Memorial to the Lost. This memorial displayed more than 90 t-shirts, each marked with the name, date of death, and age at death of a person killed by gun homicide in Lancaster County, Pa.

Freeport (Ill.) Church of the Brethren held a peace gathering in September as part of its ongoing witness against gun violence. Families who have lost loved ones to violence attended the event, which received coverage from the local ABC television news.