Church of the Brethren

Registration for the Church of the Brethren’s FaithX older adult (55-plus) service trip closes on Feb. 1. Please help us spread the word!

The Intercultural Ministries office and Intercultural Ministries Advisory Committee (IMAC) are encouraging our congregations and districts to help members to know their constitutional rights. As a denomination, we are striving to be a resource and referral space providing tangible information.

“Give now to support California wildfire response through Brethren Disaster Ministries,” said an appeal shared by denominational staff this week. “Children’s Disaster Services is already responding to the needs of children and families. Working with the Pacific Southwest District and partner organizations, Brethren Disaster Ministries is planning to address short- and long-term needs of vulnerable people impacted by the fires.”

In this issue: La Verne Church of the Brethren offers space to Pasadena Chorale, Intercultural Ministries “Café Cohort," save the date for New and Renew 2025, Children’s Disaster Services spring 2025 volunteer trainings, On Earth Peace's Agape magazine for children, job opening for chaplain at Bridgewater College, 2025 Roundtable regional youth conference, a thank you from CWS, news from congregations and districts, and much more.

Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) has been requested by the Red Cross to send two volunteer teams of seven to serve in shelters in the Los Angeles, Calif., area.

The Church of the Brethren’s Mission and Ministry Board has declared Thursday, Jan. 16, a day of prayer and fasting for the denomination, at the request of the board of the church’s Atlantic Southeast District. The declaration invites all Church of the Brethren congregations, projects, fellowships, the board, and the denominational staff to participate.

The February offering from the Ventures in Christian Discipleship program at McPherson (Kan.) College will be “Luke and Acts: Turning the World Upside Down” presented by Chris Bucher and Bob Neff. The course will be held online in two Tuesday sessions on Feb. 11 and 18 at 6:30-8:30 p.m. (central time).

This Spring, as part of the series “Build Bridges Across Ideological Divides,” the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership is offering the course “Ministering Across Cultures: Building Bridges Through Intercultural Competencies.”

What does justice look like to an elementary child? If a first grader is cold on the playground, justice may look like a warm coat if the rest of his class has them. Or to a fourth-grade girl, justice may look like clothes that fit if Mom and Dad can’t afford to replace the ones she’s outgrown. Justice may look like a new toy at Christmas for a third-grade child for whom, unlike his friends, Santa never comes.

Pacific Southwest District executive minister Russ Matteson today (Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025) shared the following prayer request for the Conexion Pasadena congregation of the Church of the Brethren, which has been directly affected by the Eaton fire in the Los Angeles area, as well as other church members and congregations across the area.

The Church of the Brethren’s Discipleship and Leadership Formation is offering a free one-hour webinar on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. (Eastern time), as the first of a series of three online events offered in partnership with Fresh Expressions. Credentialed ministers may receive 0.1 continuing education credit.

The Brethren Faith in Action Fund (BFIA) in its latest round of grants, approved in late 2024 through early 2025, has given grants to eight Church of the Brethren congregations. The fund provides grants using money generated by the sale of the upper campus of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.

The Church of the Brethren is supporting an independent investigation and assessment of allegations of multiple forms of abuse that may have occurred at Hillcrest School in Jos, Nigeria. The investigation is being carried out by the Zero Abuse Project.

Early on Jan. 1, 2025, a truck was driven into a crowd on Bourbon Street, New Orleans, killing 14 people and injuring 35 others. Children's Disaster Services (CDS) has sent a Critical Response Childcare team to provide a calm presence for the children of victims or children of families of the victims.

The goal of the 2023 Shenandoah District Conference was to raise $4,000 to purchase sewing machines for use in Burundi.

In this issue: Remembrances, job openings, a Zoom meeting of Standing Committee, Service Sunday, FaithX registration, EYN pastors released, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, upcoming events, and much much more.

The Death Row Support Project (DRSP) will be holding informational sessions for people interested in learning more about writing to those on death row. Join us on Zoom at any of the below times. During the session we will go over some basics of how this project works, introduce members of the team who are here to support you, and talk about expectations of DRSP writers.

A statement outlining a set of ministry priorities for the Church of the Brethren denomination has guided the Mission and Ministry Board’s decision on the 2025 budget. These priorities, identified by executive-level staff following a series of retreats that general secretary David Steele held over the past year, were outlined by Steele working with the Executive Committee.

The Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board held a special Zoom meeting Dec. 5 to act on a proposal for the 2025 budget for denominational ministries. Two items were acted on: The board approved the 2025 budget proposal brought by general secretary David Steele and treasurer Ed Woolf and recommended by the Executive Committee. The board supported a request from the board of Atlantic Southeast District for a day of prayer and fasting for immigrants.

Church of the Brethren treasurer Ed Woolf presented a year-to-date financial report to the Mission and Ministry Board’s meeting on Dec. 5, anticipating a good outcome in terms of giving to the denominational ministries.