Brethren share 300th Anniversary devotional at NCC assembly.

Representatives of the Church of the Brethren who attended the annual General Assembly of the National Council of Churches also took part in a traditional event during that gathering, a "communion dinner" during which each denomination comes together to build community among its own ecumenical representatives.

For the past several years, Brethren have joined with representatives from Quaker bodies and the American Baptist Church USA at the communion dinner. At this year's dinner, general secretary Stan Noffsinger gave each attendee a copy of "Fresh from the Word," the devotional book published by Brethren Press for the Church of the Brethren's 300th Anniversary. Having a few extra copies, he also gave one to NCC president Michael Livingston.

Livingston received several questions from others about the book, with people asking how they could get a copy. As a result, Noffsinger was invited to a microphone during the General Assembly in order to give information about how to order the book from Brethren Press.

>From this, much interest was generated in the 300th Anniversary. Three other denominational leaders requested to be a part of the Committee on Interchurch Relations events during the 2008 Annual Conference: Roy Medley of the American Baptist Churches USA, Stan Hastings of the Alliance of Baptists, and Thomas Swain of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.

--Jon Kobel is manager of the office of the general secretary for the General Board.

Source: 12/05/2007 Newsline