Church of the Brethren

By Sharon Franzén Brethren Disaster Ministries (BDM) has opened a new Rebuilding project site in Yancey County, N.C., expanding its long-term response to communities affected by Hurricane Helene in 2024. The site opened June 7, 2026, after volunteers served earlier this year in Ashe, Henderson, and Transylvania Counties. Yancey County was among the communities hardest

By Ryan Braught The Church of the Brethren’s Part-Time Pastor; Full-Time Church program will sponsor Practicing the Way: The Scripture Practice this fall for multi-vocational pastors. What is the Scripture Practice? In Practicing the Way, a book by John Mark Comer, readers are introduced to nine spiritual practices—Sabbath, Solitude, Scripture, Prayer, Fasting, Generosity, Community, Service, and Witness—that help

The Church of the Brethren has named Rev. Dr. John Fillmore as director of ministry, effective Nov. 2, 2026. As part of the denomination’s Discipleship and Leadership Formation team, he will lead the Ministry Office, equipping ministers, supporting congregations and districts, and strengthening pastoral leadership across the denomination. Fillmore has served as pastor of Nampa

Dear Beloved Community of the Church of the Brethren, I write today with particular concern for our Haitian church members and their families. Following the expiration of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) on July 27, many now face the possibility of detention, deportation, and family separation. Among those affected are approximately 300 Haitians who are part of Church of the Brethren congregations across the United States.

In this time in which many of our Haitian sisters and brothers no longer have valid work permits due to the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti, it is more important than ever that the church give generously to the Legal and Mutual Aid Fund. This fund directly supports our Haitian Church of the Brethren members in the US, among others.

From Sept. 1 to Oct. 4, churches worldwide will mark the Season of Creation, at the invitation of the World Council of Churches. (The Church of the Brethren is one of the founding members of the WCC.) The Season of Creation runs for five weeks, and is given to prayer and action for the care of creation. The theme this year is “Living Water,” drawn from Ezekiel 47.

In this issue: Correction, remembering Suely Inhauser and David Jehnsen, prayer requests from around the world, Jesus in the Neighborhood videos, Brethren Volunteer Service units begin and end service, latest issue of Rooted, and much more.

The SVMC office is collecting short stories from ministers who have odd stories to tell. Maybe you remember a wedding mishap or a funeral gone awry, a hospital miracle, a bizarre Sunday morning experience, or an unbelievable moment at camp.

Fourteen of our churches participated in a Peanut Butter and Canned Food Drive challenge within our district. An amazing total of 56,490.64 ounces (3,530.67 pounds) were collected.

Crest Manor Church of the Brethren and Dismas House of South Bend, Ind., have entered into a “Shalom Partnership” to offer mutual friendship, support, and community for residents of Dismas House seeking to find their way back into society following incarceration.

On Friday, July 3, while many were beginning their Independence Day celebrations, two Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) volunteers were aiding the Kerrville, Texas, community in a very different commemoration.

Two pastors were ordained for pastoral ministry in the Mangateen IDP [Internally Displaced Person] camp in June: Daniel Mawer and Paul Makuar. Mawer was trained in the Presbyterian tradition but due to conflicts in the leadership of the Presbyterian Church in South Sudan, he asked if he could join the Church of the Brethren.

The National Youth Conference office is excited to announce all of our speakers for NYC 2026! For some 10 weeks in advance of NYC, a speaker was announced on NYC social media pages as part of a series titled “Speaker Saturday.” Read below to find out a bit about each of our speakers.

“As we approach the 250th anniversary of the event that kicked off the revolution, we might ask, what do we Brethren think about the Declaration of Independence? … And what would our forebears say about what we’ve become?” asked Denise Kettering-Lane at her standing-room-only equipping session titled “Dunkers and the Declaration of Independence: Then and Now.”

The following call to worship was shared during the closing worship service of the 2026 Conference on Thursday morning, July 2, with leadership from Gail Heisel. And it has a back story.