Church of the Brethren

In this issue: Celebration of life service for Earle Fike Jr., next week's weekly online prayer gathering for immigrant justice, Annual Conference Blood Drive, Third Thursday Webinar with Dennis Edwards, June 24 is last chance to apply to serve with BVS in this year 2025, and much more

The Church of the Brethren’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy was one of dozens of religious, humanitarian, and other nonprofit organizations joining in a letter to members of Congress opposing the White House rescissions proposal that was approved by the House of Representatives this week.

Friday, June 20, is World Refugee Day. Please consider taking some time in your worship spaces this month to talk about refugees, to pray for their situations, and to honor their stories.

James (Jim) Miner has announced his retirement as Yearbook specialist for the Church of the Brethren, as of June 26. In this role, which he began nine years ago in November 2016, he has been responsible for creating the annual Church of the Brethren Yearbook.

Mishael Nouveau has resigned as office manager for the Church of the Brethren’s Ministry Office as of June 27. Her work has been based at the denomination’s General Offices in Elgin, Ill., where she has served for seven years since Jan. 29, 2018.

Jazmin Gongora has been hired by the Church of the Brethren as administrative assistant for the Discipleship and Leadership Formation department, beginning June 17 at the General Offices in Elgin, Ill.

Going to Annual Conference? We hope to see you there! Don't forget to visit the bookstore. It will be in Colony A near the exhibit area. Brethren Press will offer book signings with five authors during the Annual Conference

The Church of the Brethren Gun Violence Prevention Action Team would love to see you at Annual Conference this year! Wear orange and join us.

As reported in the Brethren bits section of Newsline on March 21 (see www.brethren.org/news/2025/brethren-bits-68), President Trump sought to dismantle the US Institute of Peace (USIP) by removing its leadership and having personnel from a newly created federal office, called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), forcibly take over the institute’s headquarters on March 17. The fired USIP board members filed a lawsuit

An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund site clean-up of an empty lot adjacent to the driveway of the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., was completed last month.

At least 20 individuals came to Westminster (Md.) Church of the Brethren from seven other congregations in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and northern Virginia, to sing, pray, share, and partner in our desire for peace and goodwill on earth.

Zakaria Bulus spoke at a recent US Commission on International Religious Freedom hearing on governance in Nigeria, on the topic “Foundation for Securing Freedom of Religion or Belief.” The event was held May 5 in the Cannon Office building in Washington, DC.

In this issue: Remembering Earle W. Fike Jr. and Emmert Bittinger, the moderator's Love Calendar, next week's online prayer for immigrant justice, Shine writers wanted, Racial Justice Advocates and Allies Meet-Up, disaster clean-up volunteers needed, job opening at Camp Mack, and much more.

Evoking both the spiritual and the deeply human, 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.

Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains, Tempered Resilience, and How Not to Waste a Crisis, will be the keynote speaker for the next Church of the Brethren L.E.A.D. (Listen – Equip – Adapt – Disciple) Conference.

The Standing Committee of district delegates to Annual Conference will hold a Listening Session with Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday, July 1, at 7 p.m.

Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) has been requested to serve in St. Louis, Mo., in two shelters accommodating survivors of a massive tornado that hit the city on May 16.

Arlene and Cliff Kindy, Church of the Brethren members from central Indiana, are among a group of people carrying out a fast for Gaza. Cliff Kindy has been a frequent volunteer for Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) and Brethren Disaster Ministries.

In this issue: Remembering Mike Leiter, take the Shine survey, last session of moderator Dava Hensley's grief workshops, new video resource from Discipleship and Leadership Formation, job openings, Children's Disaster Services trainings, new district disaster coordinators, anniversaries, and much much more

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.