Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Report on CCEPI visit to Chibok on May 6

The following reports on a visit to Chibok, the town in Nigeria from which the schoolgirls were kidnapped, made by Rebecca Dali and the staff of CCEPI. The Center for Caring, Empowerment, and Peace Initiatives was begun by Dali, wife of President Samuel Dante Dali of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria or EYN). CCEPI has the mission of providing care for women and children affected by the violence in Nigeria, in particular orphans, and refugees who are fleeing to neighboring Cameroon or displaced within Nigeria. The report is presented as received, with no editing, in pdf format at www.brethren.org/partners/nigeria/may-6-report.pdf .

REPORT ON CCEPI VISIT TO CHIBOK ON 6TH MAY, 2014

INTRODUCTON

Centre for Caring Empowerment and Peace Initiative (CCEPI) who has been improving the wellbeing of orphans, vulnerable children, widows, displaced people, refugees etc. in many states and the neighboring country (Cameroun).

On the 6th May, 2014 CCEPI was able to show her concern by visiting Chibok people whose girls were abducted by BokkoHarram.

CCEPI carried along with some relief materials (cloths, soap, buckets and cups) for those whose houses/properties were burnt in the incident.

CCEPI’S MEETING AT EYN NO. 1WITH THE WOMEN WHO’S GIRLS WERE ABDUCTED

At about 10:00 am, CCEPI team arrived Chibok and met women leader of Chibok. The women were organized in the EYN No. 1 Church Chibok. The women appeared in women fellowship uniform with black tie showing their grievances.

The women leader introduced the CCEPI team and two other women from EYN Headquarters. The CCEPI Executive Director gave them word of encouragement from the Holy Bible, with tears in eyes for she could not withstand their presence.

The other two women also gave words of encouragement and finally the former EYN president greeted them, hence a closing prayer.

Pictures were taken with the women and those whose house/properties were burnt were given some cloths, soap, and cups/bucket. Data were collected, the list of abducted girls.

CCEPI VISIT TO EYN NO. 2

Again women were organized at EYN No. 2. The CCEPI team after leaving EYN No1 at about 1:00Pm came down to EYN No 2, where all the women appeared in black attire. The CCEPI Executive Director introduced CCEPI team and said out the purpose of visit, that was to show concern of what happened.

CCEPI Executive Director asked some of the women how the incident happen, a woman said in tear that ‘such has never happened it was terrible, we can’t sleep not to talk of dreaming about these girls’ she could not continue.

A man was interviewed and he said that ‘Government is not doing anything about it’ so he urged Federal Government to bring their girls because they are the leaders of tomorrow.

List of the abducted girls was taken.
 
CCEPI VISIT TO GSS CHIBOK

One of the people interviewed, is a staff of the school, directed CCEPI team to the school, show CCEPI destructions caused by these terrorists along with a girl who escaped.

CCEPI Executive Director asked him how he was able to escape. He said ‘well I was in my quarters and my children when we heard a gun shut; my children were very scared so I ran away with them over the fence and we escaped to the bush. When I come back in the morning, I saw my car/house burnt and all my neighbors’ quarters were set ablaze.

The girl was asked how it happened as CCEPI team and other people were going round the school. The girl said, ‘they came in mass over 50, distributed themselves into groups, some were setting the school ablaze. The ones that met us in the hostel told us not to run, they appeared in military uniform. They said all of us should enter car (many cars, big) in order to rescue us. We entered; they were taking us toward Sambisa forest. I and my friend decided to dump down the car and God so kind, we hide in grass those coming from behind did not see us. That is how we escaped. Some came two day after, but many are still there with them.’
 
CCEPI DISTRIBUTED MATERIALS TO MILLITARY MEN

Toward evening as CCEPI was coming back home, she discover that barrack was set ablaze. Said by the Mobile Police met with CCEPI team.

CCEPI now gave them buckets, cups, cloths and soap. According to them, they are also victims, they are not properly armed as those people so all their cloths were burnt.

Finally CCEPI Executive Director encouraged them.

Source: 5/13/2014 Newsline
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A round up of responses to Nigeria’s crisis

Painting by Brian Meyer

This painting by artist Brian Meyer of First Church of the Brethren in San Diego, Calif., came out of his concern for the kidnapped girls. He explains that painting this was a way for him to pray on their behalf.
  • Resources that may help church members and congregations consider how to respond to the kidnapping of the girls from Chibok, Nigeria, are posted at www.brethren.org/partners/nigeria/chibok-resources.html . Links take readers to Annual Conference statements on modern-day slavery and child exploitation as well as peacemaking and nonviolence and humanitarian intervention, relevant United Nations statements on the rights of the child and protection of women and children in armed conflict, the World Council of Churches’ call to just peace, and advocacy resources on modern-day slavery and human trafficking.
  • “We Built a School in Boko Haram’s Heartland” is the title of an interview with Gerald and Lois Neher, former Church of the Brethren mission workers in Chibok, Nigeria, now living in Kansas. The interview by Michael Daly was published today by The Daily Beast. “The very opposite of terrorists arrived in Chibok more than a half-century before the world came to know this remote Nigerian village as the place where maniacal members of Boko Haram kidnapped more than 270 girls and burned down their school. While the terrorist group struck in recent days intending only evil, Gerald and Lois Neher of Kansas came to Chibok in 1954 with the purpose of doing as much good as they were able. They helped make it possible for girls to attend school there in the first place,” read the in depth interview, in part. It reviews the Neher’s work in Chibok beginning in 1954, and the Church of the Brethren early mission involvement there. Read it at www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/13/we-built-a-school-in-boko-haram-s-heartland.html .
  • Gerald Neher has published a book about Chibok and its people, “Life Among the Chibok of Nigeria.” The large paperback tome is an extensive record of what Gerald and his wife, Lois, learned about the Chibok during their time as Church of the Brethren mission workers in the 1950s and 1960s. The author “listened to the elders speak about their land, their lineage, their ethos, their farming, religious beliefs, kinship, and much more,” says a description of the book. “He wrote the book so that the Chibok people would have a record of their past and their present as devastating changes have overtaken them.” Copies are available to purchase from Gerald Neher by calling 620-504-6078.
  • WSBT Channel 22 Mishawaka has covered the prayer effort at Nappanee (Ind.) Church of the Brethren on behalf of the schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok, Nigeria, by Boko Haram. “Church members say they hope the United States will help resolve this peacefully without military action,” the report said. Pastor Byrl Shaver was interviewed as well as Carol Waggy, who spent five years in Nigeria, and spent time in the area where these girls were kidnapped. “To have that personal connection made it even more heartbreaking," she said. Find the WSBT coverage at www.wsbt.com/news/local/local-churches-pray-for-nigerian-girls/25942368 .
Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

Several staff gather in the Nigeria prayer room at the Church of the Brethren General Offices.
  • A prayer room for Nigeria has been established at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., so that denominational staff may join together in the prayer which Nigerian Brethren have requested. In the room as aids to prayer are copies of the Daily Prayer Guide written by Annual Conference moderator Nancy S. Heishman, Bibles, hymnals, prayer cards with the girls’ names, a prayer journal for participants to write down thoughts and prayers. Associate general secretary Mary Jo Flory-Steury created the special prayer space.
  • Church of the Brethren districts also have called their congregations to prayer for Nigeria. In Western Pennsylvania District, district executive Ronald Beachley sent an e-mail to congregations encouraging them to plan prayer vigils on May 11, Mother’s Day, or another suitable day, and announced that he would fast that day as another encouragement to prayer for the kidnapped schoolgirls. The e-mail closed with “Be joyful in hope; patient in affliction; faithful in prayer.”
  • Among the many congregations that have been praying for Nigeria, a number have posted Facebook notes or photos from special events during this past week. Marla Bieber Abe of Carlisle (Pa.) Church of the Brethren posted, “Dear EYN, I want you to know that the Church of the Brethren in Carlisle prayed for the missing girls, their families, and churches this morning in worship. I am sure we were not the only church! God can do wonders!”  At San Diego (Calif.) First Church of the Brethren, Sunday saw the lighting of a candle in support and prayer for the 200-plus young women who were kidnapped--along with a baby dedication and celebration of Mother’s Day. The San Diego Church plans a Prayer Circle for Nigeria on Saturday, May 17, at 6:30 p.m., that will include music, readings, prayers, litanies, and opportunity to share in meditation.
  • “Local prayer vigil held for girls kidnapped in Nigeria” was the title of a piece from Fox News Channel 28 in South Bend, Ind., on May 7, when Church of the Brethren members gathered at the Goshen City Church for a prayer vigil. "We have long and strong ties with the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria and it really does feel like this has hit our family," Madalyn Metzger told the news team. See the video report at www.fox28.com/story/25459278/2014/05/07/local-prayer-vigil-held-for-girls-kidnapped-in-nigeria .
  • Janet Mitchell, a member of Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne, Ind., organized a prayer vigil that was reported in an article in the Fort Wayne “Journal Gazette” on May 10. Members of area churches gathered at the Allen County Courthouse Green on Saturday morning to pray for the kidnapped girls. The event was for people of all faiths, and was joined by members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation and the local chapter of the NAACP. “‘Do not be afraid; Our love is stronger than your fear,’ the men and women sang, as the youngest attendee, Maya Koczan-Flory, 3, drew two hearts on the sidewalk for two of the girls who have died,” said the news report. Find it at www.journalgazette.net/article/20140510/LOCAL/140519970 .
  • The United Church of Christ has distributed an action alert titled, “JPANet: Act to end violence against women and children in Nigeria and throughout the world!” The alert read, in part: “Our faith compels us to reach for more holistic and sustained solutions for this and the other incidents like it, which take place with alarming frequency, often without the world’s notice. The grave reality remains that this kidnapping is part of a larger global crisis in which gender-based violence continues to occur in every country around the world on a daily basis.

    We cannot stand by while women and girls are used as tools of war and continue to experience violence!” It called for support for a bipartisan International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) which has been reintroduced in the Senate and would make ending violence against women and girls a top diplomatic and foreign assistance priority.
Photo courtesy of Stevens Hill Community Church

Stevens Hill Community Church of the Brethren in Elizabethtown, Pa., included concern for the kidnapped girls in the congregation's Mothers Day worship on may 11. “Praying for all the mothers and families in the EYN Church in Nigeria," said Ann Bach, who sent in this photo.
  • Church of the Brethren general secretary Stan Noffsinger was interviewed May 8 by Elena Ferrarin of the “Daily Herald,” a newspaper covering the western suburbs of Chicago, Ill. Noffsinger spoke about the connection with the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, and the call for Brethren across the US and Puerto Rico to engage in prayer and fasting. "We mailed letters to our congregations with the names of the girls. Each girl's name was sent to six congregations so they could focus their prayer," Noffsinger said. "We have been in constant communication with the church leadership in Nigeria." Read the interview at www.dailyherald.com/article/20140507/news/140508593 .
  • A sermon by Tripp Hudgins, published in the Sojourners God's Politics Blog on May 5, quotes from general secretary Stan Noffsinger’s comments from a National Council of Churches release about the girls’ kidnapping. The sermon titled, “In the Breaking #bringbackourgirls,” reflects on the initial lack of media coverage of the kidnapping, and his feeling of being “simply heartbroken and astonished” on finally hearing the news, in light of the experience of the disciples on the road to Emmaus as their eyes were opened to Jesus’ presence. “I had always thought that the burning hearts was a good thing. And it is. But it’s good in the way that it tells the truth, the way that the scales are lifted from our eyes and we see the world for what it truly is and not the fantasy I would make of it. It is in the breaking that we hear the truth. It is in the breaking that we come to understand.” Hudgins goes on to quote Noffsinger, “We are grateful for the prayers of millions of Christians, Muslims, and Jews around the world. We pray God’s unconditional love will touch the consciences of the men who did this.” Hudgins is a doctoral student in liturgical studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., and associate pastor of First Baptist Church of Palo Alto, Calif. Find his sermon at http://sojo.net/blogs/2014/05/05/sermon-breaking-bringbackourgirls .
  • The world's largest Muslim organization has denounced the kidnapping of the schoolgirls as "a gross misinterpretation of Islam,” according to media reports. The statement was made by a research institute and human rights committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, based in Saudi Arabia. "This crime and other crimes carried out by such extremist organizations negate all human principles and moral values and stand in contradiction to the clear teachings of the blessed Qur'an and the rightful examples set by the Prophet (Mohammad)," the OIC's International Islamic Fiqh Academy said. "The secretariat of the academy, shocked by this ugly act, strongly demands the immediate release of these innocent girls without causing any harm to any of them.”
Source: 5/13/2014 Newsline
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#BringBackOurGirls: Righteous, compassionate justice

By Brian R. Gumm

The Scripture from Ephesians guiding Thursday's prayers for the abducted girls in Nigeria focused on the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the name above all names, the name to which ultimately every knee on earth and in heaven will bow, and every tongue will confess as "Lord."

I'm alluding there to another Scripture, this from Philippians 2:1-11, which talks about the kenotic/self-emptying nature of Jesus' lordship. It is not a lordship enforced by the power of the sword, but rather it's a power born of suffering and absorbing the world's violence. It is a path that Jesus calls his disciples to walk, individually and collectively in his body, the church. We are to be a crucifom/cross-shaped people.

Today (Friday's) daily prayer focuses on God's justice, which in this situation we actively and desperately desire. In the face of such horror, even people far separated from it such as myself want to see these innocent girls redeemed and the men responsible brought to face justice. But both our burning desire for justice and concrete expressions of justice must themselves be brought under the Lordship of Christ. We must think carefully about what God's righteous, compassionate justice might look like even in horrific situations such as this.

Yesterday I saw a provocative post written by a Nigerian-American woman, Jumoke Balogun: “Dear Americans, Your Hashtags Won’t #BringBackOurGirls. You Might Actually Be Making Things Worse.” I discovered it immediately after posting yesterday's refection. I'm American and I used the hashtag in my post title (and did again with this one). Uh oh. I certainly don't want to make things worse, so I read the post with great interest. Here's a resonant passage:

“It heartens me that you’ve taken up the mantle of spreading “awareness” about the 200+ girls who were abducted from their school in Chibok; it heartens me that you’ve heard the cries of mothers and fathers who go yet another day without their child. It’s nice that you care.... Here’s the thing though, when you pressure Western powers, particularly the American government to get involved in African affairs and when you champion military intervention, you become part of a much larger problem. You become a complicit participant in a military expansionist agenda on the continent of Africa. This is not good.”

When I see Christians in the US (including some fellow Brethren) immediately jumping to petitioning the US government to step in and "help" in this situation, I get nervous for all the reasons that Balogun cites (and she references numerous data about US involvement across Africa, which I've also been tracking). The very recent misadventures of US military involvement in various African states has led to some pretty horrific unintended consequences, which shouldn't be surprising to anyone on the planet right now because they're of the same nature as US involvement in any number of countries around the globe in the past few decades.

Paul Schrag, in an editorial for the “Mennonite World Review,” cites how Christians in Nigeria, including the EYN, are struggling to resists the demon of violent retaliation even in the face of protracted violence in their country.

As the leader of a historic peace church, (Samuel Dante) Dali says he must protect himself from being overtaken by hatred. He views the militants as victims of demonic possession. “A true Muslim would never kill anybody,” he says. His greatest fear is that he and his people will succumb to a spirit of enmity and allow the demon to possess them as well.... Whether persecuted or comfortable, Christians everywhere must battle the evil spirit of hatred--and its companions, prejudice, and suspicion. Dali can see clearly the demon that stalks him. He knows whom he might hate, and he would recognize the emotion if he allowed it to overtake his soul.

For Christians who don't have the supposed privilege of stable host societies and powerful forces that maintain a relatively luxurious way of life (i.e. most of the Christians in the world), isn't it ironic that it's the church under persecution who is struggling mightily to embody the way of peace Jesus calls all Christians to?

The prayer guide for today also has this very important passage from a Church of the Brethren Annual Conference statement on nonviolence in the way of Jesus. I'll quote the entire passage:

“God's revelation in Jesus Christ provides a very different sort of answer to the perennial questions intended to justify violence on behalf of victims. Yes, disciples are to care deeply about victims and act on their behalf. But what they do should be in accord with the teachings and spirit of Jesus. Moving against the life of another human being is never in harmony with what God has revealed in Jesus... Even when terrible inhumanities are being threatened or perpetrated, disciples refuse to become agents or advocates of violence. They cry out with victims. They intercede and pray against the powers of destruction. They may be called into actual accompaniment of victims, sharing their jeopardy, working at mediation, and joining with them in nonviolent resistance to those who victimize them. They seek the Spirit's guidance into creative initiatives that can show the judging love of God to those who move against others.... God's intent proclaimed in the Gospel is that all human beings, individually and corporately, give themselves to Jesus Christ and his way. Disciples should strive to make that intent manifest in their lives and witness. They must not, therefore, give their support and blessing to governmental policies and actions that are in stark opposition to the way of Jesus. They seek to propose and promote policies and actions by government that do have some congruence with his way.”

The "some" in the last sentence is incredibly, incredibly important. Yes, we Christians live on planet earth and must engage with the powers of this fallen age. Sometimes large, powerful governments can enact policies and actions that have some congruence with Jesus' way. But there are other powers also at work in those seats of government, and not every spirit is of God, so I would argue any such congruence is very tenuous and rare.

May God grant vision, imagination, and power to those who can take concrete steps toward the rescue of these girls and bringing righteous, compassionate justice to the perpetrators of such evil. And may God stay the hand of those who would be too quick to assume and seek a farcical justice that would only give birth to further injustice and more, horrendous unintended consequences. And as the prayer guide suggests: "Pray that the girls will put their trust in God and not feel forgotten."

Kyrie eleison. Lord, hear our prayers for justice. Spirit, guide our prayers for justice. Amen.

-- This piece is used with permission from Brian R. Gumm, recently ordained to ministry in the Church of the Brethren, who blogs from Toledo, Iowa, and does educational technology work for Eastern Mennonite University. Find his blog at http://restorativetheology.blogspot.com .

Source: 5/13/2014 Newsline
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NYC Prayer Day scheduled for June 22

By Tim Heishman 

A day of prayer for this summer’s National Youth Conference (NYC) has been scheduled for Sunday, June 22. Congregations across the country are invited to set aside a special time in their Sunday morning worship services on June 22 to pray for all who will participate in the conference; youth, advisors, and staff. NYC Prayer Day is intended to invite the entire denomination to participate in the experience of NYC and support those who attend.

The National Youth Conference office has prepared special worship resources for congregations and individuals to use. Resources include a prayer of consecration, a commissioning reading, a Call to Worship, song suggestions, and a prayer calendar and guide for those who wish to continue in prayer for NYC over the next few months. Included in the prayer guide is a list of creative ideas for how to support those who will be attending NYC. All resources are available at http://www.brethren.org/yya/nyc/prepare.html

National Youth Conference is scheduled for July 19-24 on the campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. For more information about NYC, please visit www.brethren.org, or contact the NYC office by calling 847-429-4323 or emailing cobyouth@brethren.org.

-- Tim Heishman is one of the three coordinators for National Youth Conference 2014, along with Katie Cummings and Sarah Neher.

Source: 5/13/2014 Newsline
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‘Shine Together’ guide for leaders and teachers helps introduce new curriculum

“Shine Together: The Essential Guide for Leaders and Teachers” is now ready for immediate shipping from Brethren Press. “Shine Together” introduces teachers and leaders to ways to transform Sunday school into a time of nurturing faith and experiencing God’s love. The book not only explains the nuts and bolts of a Shine session but also faith formation, the inclusion of children who learn differently, spiritual practices with children, and more. Shine is the new curriculum from Brethren Press and MennoMedia.

Two kinds of Shine starter kits are also available for immediate shipping. These contain the actual products used for the Fall 2014 quarter and some items for even more quarters.

Shine Starter Kit:
Only $175 ($225 value). This special price is available through Aug. 1.
Included are
  • Student pieces, teacher’s guides, and poster/resource packs for Early Childhood, Primary, Middler, and Junior Youth
  • One Early Childhood Music CD (used for three years)
  • One annual Shine songbook and CD (Primary, Middler, Junior Youth)
  • One copy of “Shine On: A Story Bible” (Primary, Middler)
  • Comes with Shine messenger bag, while quantities last.
Multiage Starter Kit:
Only $75 ($95 value).
Included are
  • One Primary and one Middler student piece
  • One Multiage teacher’s guide and one poster pack
  • One annual Shine songbook and CD
  • One copy of “Shine On: A Story Bible”
  • Comes with Shine messenger bag, while quantities last.
To discover more about Shine: Living in God’s Light, go to www.ShineCurriculum.com. To purchase Shine curriculum, starter kits, and the new “Shine Together: The Essential Guide for Leaders and Teachers” call Brethren Press at 800-441-3712.

Source: 5/13/2014 Newsline
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Brethren bits

Photo courtesy of CWS

Seen on Facebook this week: “Church of the Brethren volunteers made 504 CWS Emergency Clean-Up Buckets in 54 minutes with CWS-Ohio Region. WOW. And little Uriah put the last bucket on the truck. Way to go buddy!”
  • Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) has announced two open positions: director of Communications and assistant director of Financial Operations.
    The director of Communications is a full-time, salaried position based in Elgin, Ill. The director envisions how to interpret and educate members of BBT. This is achieved by providing oversight for communications, marketing, promotional and operational initiatives, and client relations that undergird BBT’s ministries. The director oversees the department that produces newsletters, fliers, mailings, advertisements, a family of websites, promotional and operational materials, videos, and other resources; serves as chief writer and editor for the organization; supervises the production manager and client relations manager; is a member of BBT’s management team; is responsible for establishing the organization’s editorial policies and guidelines; travels to the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference, board meetings, and other events. BBT seeks candidates with an undergraduate degree in communications, English, business, or related fields. Candidates should have a minimum of five years of professional experience in editorial, marketing, promotions, administration, and personnel supervision; need to be articulate writers and public presenters; have interest and aptitude in learning or understanding complex investment concepts; need to be proficient in desk-top publishing and media technology. Current and active membership in the Church of the Brethren is preferred; current and active membership in a faith community is required. Salary and benefits are competitive with Church Benefits Association agencies of comparable size and scope of services. A full benefits package is included.

    The assistant director of Financial Operations is a full-time salaried position based in Elgin, Ill. The primary function is to review and coordinate the reporting of all accounting and financial transactions related to the operations of the Programs and Administration of BBT. Scope of duties includes producing monthly financial statements, managing payroll, monitoring and managing cash flow, preparing account analyses, providing backup for other positions in the Finance Department. The assistant director of Financial Operations will attend local BBT Board meetings and other events, as assigned. The ideal candidate will possess a high level of technical proficiency, intense attention to detail, impeccable integrity, a collegial and engaging demeanor, and a strong faith commitment. BBT seeks candidates with an undergraduate degree in accounting, CPA preferred. Requirements include strong verbal and written communications skills, proficiency in Microsoft Office, strong working knowledge of fund accounting, demonstrated track record in developing first-in-class support of operating activities across product lines within a complex enterprise. Experience with Microsoft Great Plains is desired. Current and active membership in the Church of the Brethren is preferred; current and active membership in a faith community is required. Salary and benefits are competitive with Church Benefits Association agencies of comparable size and scope of services. A full benefits package is included.
    To apply, send a letter of interest, résumé, three professional references, and salary-range expectation to Donna March at 1505 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120, or dmarch@cobbt.org . For questions or clarification about these positions, call 847-622-3371. For more information about Brethren Benefit Trust visit www.brethrenbenefittrust.org.
  • Manchester Church of the Brethren is making available a DVD of the concert the congregation hosted on April 26, "Goodbye Still Night." The DVD will be available after June 1. The concert brought together Andy and Terry Murray with their daughters Kim and Kris, Shawn Kirchner, and Mutual Kumquat (Chris Good, Seth Hendricks, Dru Gray, and Jacob Jolliff). To purchase a DVD produced by David Sollenberger and Rainer Borgmann, send $25 to: Manchester Church of the Brethren, P.O. Box 349, North Manchester, IN 46962. Make checks payable to Manchester CoB. Upon receipt of payment the church will mail the DVD. Be sure to include name and address where the DVD should be shipped.
  • Lost and Found Church, a new church plant in Big Rapids, Mich., reported on its progress in the Michigan District newsletter this month. “As the L+F Church moves toward the Fall 2014 season, we are working on preparing to launch out into our community even more than we have at this point,” the report said. The group is asking for prayer as it forms a Leadership Team, moves to Sunday morning worship from Saturday afternoon gatherings, and finds a new location for weekly worship gatherings and other events. “We rejoice for the great things God has been doing in and through the Lost and Found Church over the past year,” the report said. “This includes, among other things, the growth we have seen in our college campus ministry at Ferris State University, Standing in the Gap. We have had multiple Michigan District Church of the Brethren youth, along many other Ferris students, connect with this campus ministry over the past year.”
  • On April 27, more than 50 walkers gathered at Antioch, Va., for the World Hunger Walk, reports Virlina District. “They raised over $6,000 from generous donors and sponsors as they traversed the beautiful scenery of Franklin County,” said the district newsletter. The auction steering committee expressed appreciation to the walkers, support workers, and donors.  Upcoming events include a golf tournament at the Mariner's Landing course on May 17, and on June 7, the 25th annual World Hunger Auction Bike Ride kicking off at 8 a.m. from the Antioch Church of the Brethren parking lot. In addition to the traditional 5, 10, 25, and 50 mile routes for bicyclists, motorcyclists are invited to participate in a special journey through the mountains, returning to the church for food and fellowship. Registration for all riders is $25, and they are encouraged to solicit donations in support of the event. For more information and registration go to www.worldhungerauction.org under the Events section.
  • The Virlina District Evangelism Committee will hold a Renewal, Revitalization, and Outreach event at Roanoke (Va.) Central Church of the Brethren on Saturday, May 31, starting at 9 a.m. There will be presentation from three groups. E3 Ministry Group (Engage, Excite, Expand) will be led by John Neff. Springs of Living Water will be led by David Young. Vital Ministry Journey will be Stan Dueck of the denomination’s Congregational Life Ministries staff.
  • Shenandoah District Disaster Ministries is continuing its “Sow and Grow” program in which participants pick up an envelope at the Shenandoah District Disaster Ministries auction that holds $10 and invest (grow) it over the coming year, returning the proceeds to the next year's auction. “The program started in 1998,” reports the district newsletter. “In the 16 years since then, $5,910 in seed money has grown to $97,350 to support Brethren Disaster Ministries. The goal for 2015 is $11,000.”
  • Congregational visit exchanges in Western Plains District began on May 4 for a total of 22 congregations (including two from neighboring districts) under the district’s KonX-ion emphasis. “The project is intended to build relationships across congregational lines and to help congregations appreciate their unique perspective and values,” said the district newsletter. Visits are to be completed by the end of June.
  • Western Plains District Conference will be held July 25-27 in McPherson, Kan., on the theme “Pursuing Peace.” Terri Torres will serve as moderator. Pre-Conference Service Projects will take the place of the usual pre-conference workshop this year, the district announced. Participants will join in serving the surrounding community in several service project opportunities on Friday afternoon. The weekend also includes the Cedars’ annual ice cream social Friday night, a Saturday afternoon reception hosted by Brethren Mutual Aid and Prairie View, a Women’s Breakfast on Saturday morning, and a Mission and Service Dinner on Saturday evening. Guest preachers are Ken Frantz of the Haxtun (Colo.) congregation, and Bill Scheurer, executive director of On Earth Peace.
  • Timbercrest Senior Living Community in North Manchester, Ind., will celebrate its 125-year anniversary with a Summer Festival on June 5-7. The festival will include a Children’s Carnival, festival food, and music by the Fort Wayne Chamber Brass, the Bulldogs, and Triumphant Quartet. Visit timbercrest.org for more details.
  • Camp Bethel near Fincastle, Va., is celebrating having been chosen again as “Best of Botetourt” for 2014 by the readers of the “Botetourt View” (Roanoke Times). Also, the Kevin Jones Performing Arts Camps repeated as the "2014 Best Camp For Kids."  See the camp’s ad at www.campbethelvirginia.org/2014BestofBotetourt.pdf .
  • A spiritual disciplines resource for approaching Annual Conference is provided by Springs of Living Water, an initiative in church renewal. Titled “Living as Courageous Disciples, Shining Like Stars in the World,” the resource is the next spiritual disciplines folder offered by Springs, said a release. The folder begins with Pentecost, and focuses on the New Testament letter to the Philippians, following on the Annual Conference moderator’s call to read and memorize the book this year in preparation for the Conference. The disciplines folders are designed for the entire congregation to use, but can be used by individuals as well. Vince Cable, pastor of Uniontown Church of the Brethren, has written Bible study questions for use by individuals or groups. Find the folder and Bible study questions at www.churchrenewalservant.org or contact davidyoung@churchrenewalservant.org . David and Joan Young noted in the release, “We join all Brethren in the emphasis on prayer and fasting.”
  • Elizabethtown (Pa.) College commencement speaker is Mark Samels, executive producer of PBS' "American Experience” from WGBH/Boston, the most-watched and longest-running television history series notes a release from the college. The commencement ceremony will be Saturday, May 17, at 11 a.m. at the Dell. For the college’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies commencement ceremony, the speaker will be Edward Martin, president and CEO of Blue Clay Ventures, who works with Richard Saul Wurman, founder of TED Talks, on the 555 Conference that brings together five global experts, five predictions of future patterns, and five cities across the world. The ceremony on May 17 at 4 p.m. at Leffler Chapel also will mark a school milestone: the first graduates of Elizabethtown's MBA program. Learn more at www.etowndegrees.com .
  • The Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center in Harrisonburg, Va., will hold a celebration and service of dedication for the Brunk Revivals Exhibit on Saturday, May 24, 1-4 p.m. The celebration will include a time for browsing the exhibit and memorabilia on display, a time of reminiscing and singing from the revival songbook, and a service of dedication featuring Myron S. Augsburger as guest speaker. A release explains that “Brothers George II and Lawrence Brunk held their first tent evangelistic meeting in 1951 in Lancaster, Pa. Thus began a series of campaigns as far north as Ontario and as far west as Oregon where in 1953 Lawrence left the organization which was renamed Brunk Revivals, Inc. with a board of directors. George II continued holding the tent meetings for another 27 years across 10 states and 5 Canadian provinces from Ontario to British Columbia. The Brunk Revivals Exhibit is housed in one of the original trucks that were used to haul tents and equipment to the various campaign sites.” The Brunk family created the exhibit and donated it to the center’s permanent collection where it can be viewed during open hours Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. There is no admission charge to the May 24 dedication event. A packet containing a revival songbook, a booklet featuring memories and articles on the history of the Brunk Revivals, and evangelism among Mennonites and Brethren in America, and other memorabilia will be available for purchase. For more information, visit www.vbmhc.org or call 540-438-1275.
  • The World Council of Churches (WCC) has published a release urging that the peace agreement negotiated between South Sudan’s president and former vice president come into immediate effect. “The peace agreement was signed by Kiir and Machar on Saturday, 10 May in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,” the release said. “Yet the situation remains volatile until the truce actually takes effect on the ground. Church leaders who were present at the signing of the peace agreement in Addis Ababa include Archbishop Paulino Lukudu Loro of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Juba, Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, and Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, former general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), ecumenical special envoy for South Sudan and Sudan and representative of the All Africa Conference of Churches.” With the agreement having been signed, the real work starts now, said Kobia, who urged that when both parties in the conflict have agreed upon common principals, they now must commit themselves to implement the peace agreement fully. “We believe that they meant what they said,” Kobia said. The participation of church leaders in the Addis Ababa negotiations comes after the recent visit to Juba of an ecumenical delegation which urged leaders on both sides to use the negotiations as an opportunity to agree to dialogue and implement an immediate ceasefire.
Source: 5/13/2014 Newsline
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Credits

Newsline is produced by the news services of the Church of the Brethren. Contact the editor at cobnews@brethren.org. Contributors to this issue of Newsline include Jim Chinworth, Lesley Crosson, Joan L. Daggett, Rebecca Dali, Kendra Flory, Brian R. Gumm, Matt Hackworth, Elizabeth Harvey, Tim Heishman, Donna March, Roy Winter, Jay Wittmeyer, David and Joan Young, and editor Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren.
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Wednesday, May 07, 2014

Newsline: May 7, 2014

SPECIAL NEWS SECTION ON NIGERIA BRETHREN BITS
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Congregations invited to pray for girls abducted from school in Chibok, Nigeria

Chibok, Nigeria
In a letter being mailed this week, each Church of the Brethren congregation is invited to pray for one of the girls abducted from Chibok, Nigeria, by name. The majority of the more than 200 abducted schoolgirls, ages 16 to 18, were from EYN (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) although the group included both Muslim and Christian girls.

The letter from general secretary Stanley J. Noffsinger and Global Mission and Service executive Jay Wittmeyer, also highlights the fact that for the past several years EYN has been among the Christian and Muslim communities attacked by Boko Haram, an extremist Islamic sect that carried out the abduction of the school girls.

“When asked what the American church can do at this time to be supportive, EYN leaders asked for us to engage in prayer and fasting,” the letter says, in part. “Most of the girls abducted from Chibok were from Christian and Brethren homes, but many were from Muslim homes, and we are not making a distinction between them in our prayers. It is important for us to pray for the safety of all children.”

The fear is that these girls are to be trafficked and sold by their captors, and may end up being sold as slaves across the border into surrounding countries such as Niger and Chad.

The letter notes that the Church of the Brethren has contributed more than $100,000 to the EYN Compassion Fund over the last year to support Nigerian Brethren affected by the violence, “But we need to do more.”

The letter includes an enclosure with the names of 180 abducted girls--both Christian and Muslim--provided by EYN’s liaison officer, from a list published by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Each name on the list is being assigned to six congregations for focused prayer.

Source: 5/7/2014 Newsline
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Conference moderator provides resources for daily prayer for Nigeria

Annual Conference moderator Nancy Sollenberger Heishman has written a resource for daily prayer for Nigeria, for the girls abducted from a school in Chibok, and for their families. Titled, “With Anguished Tears and Bold Prayers, May We Be One,” the resource is posted online at www.brethren.org/Nigeriaprayerguides.

The resource invites church members from around the world to join in prayer with the people of Nigeria and particularly the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN--Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria). Prayer guides for each day of the week, Monday through Sunday, are intended to be used repeatedly each week during the crisis.

In addition, Heishman has written a special prayer guide for Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 11, and has provided a litany that may be incorporated into worship services on that day.

Find the daily prayer guides for Nigeria at www.brethren.org/Nigeriaprayerguides.

Source: 5/7/2014 Newsline
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Action Alert: Bring Back Our Girls

Courtesy of the Church of the Brethren Office of Public Witness

Nathan Hosler at a demonstration at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC
By Nathan Hosler and Bryan Hanger

As many of you know, three weeks ago, over 200 girls (many of them EYN Brethren) were kidnapped from their school in Chibok, Nigeria, by Boko Haram, an Islamic sect in northern Nigeria violently seeking a “pure” Islamic state.

It has been reported that around 40 girls escaped a few days after their kidnapping but subsequent news stories about the remaining girls' conditions or whereabouts have been incomplete at best. But it has been speculated that these girls were targeted and kidnapped so that they could become “slave brides” of some of Boko Haram's members, and on Monday, May 5th, a video was released of purported Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau saying, "God instructed me to sell them, they are his properties and I will carry out his instructions."

This is deplorable and absolutely unacceptable. Nigerian Brethren have been living under the threat of violence for many years, and this mass kidnapping by Boko Haram is just the latest example of the true fear our Nigerian brothers and sisters have to live with every day.

It is high time that our sisters be brought home from captivity and that all of our Nigerian brothers and sisters experience some measure of peace in their land. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and the Nigerian authorities have done very little for the kidnapped girls' release so far, and have not heeded the calls for help from the girls' families, and many Nigerians have taken to the streets to protest this lack of action.

We must join in solidarity with them. We must pray and we must act.

Last week a bipartisan group of Senators introduced Senate Resolution 433 ( find the text at http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-resolution/433/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22nigeria%22%5D%7D ) condemning the kidnapping and calling upon the US and Nigeria to work together to promote women's rights, security of schools, assistance in rescuing and reintegrating the girls, among other things. At this time asking your Senator to support this resolution is a critical action that can make a difference in Nigeria. The more that your Senators hear from you, the more officials from the US State Department and from the Obama administration will hear from them, and this will help our American leaders see Nigeria and the kidnapped girls as a priority.

We must lift up our voices and remember that each of us are members of one body, brought together by Christ (Ephesians 2:16-18). We are connected to one another by this Jesus we follow, and it is Jesus who proclaims freedom to the prisoners and release of the oppressed (Luke 4:18-19). These kidnapped Nigerian girls are our sisters and we must stand in solidarity with them and with our Lord.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

CALL TO PRAYER AND FASTING: The leaders of EYN have asked us to enter into a season of prayer and fasting for the wellbeing of the girls and the Nigerian people. We must stand in solidarity with our Nigerian brothers and sisters and remember that our God is a God of the oppressed and powerless. When all hope is lost, our God can find a way out of the wilderness.

TALK WITH YOUR PASTOR AND CONGREGATION: Bring up this issue with your pastor and share this action alert with your congregation. The more people who respond to the alert, the better chance our collective voice is heard by our leaders. Also, later this week a letter will be mailed to each congregation with the name of one of the schoolgirls who was abducted, in order to invite each congregation to engage in focused prayer. Attached to the letter will be a list of names of the girls whom we know about at this time, received from EYN's liaison officer.

ADVOCACY ACTION: Click here to find and contact your Senators: www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators/f_two_sections_with_teasers/states.htm . E-mail or call your Senators today and tell them to co-sponsor Senate Resolution 433 and to ask Secretary of State Kerry to put pressure on Nigeria to:
  • Peacefully work for the release of all of the kidnapped girls, give heed to the calls of their families for help, and work with neighboring countries to bring the girls back home.
  • Put in place measures to protect schools and students from becoming victims of violence and human trafficking.
  • Begin “just policing” practices that would help address some of the security concerns of both Christian and Muslim communities.
  • Support efforts of moderate Muslim leaders and concerned Christians to work together toward peace and renew good relations between neighbors of different backgrounds.
*NOTE: This past week, we spoke with and heard from State Department officials about the work in Nigeria that the Bureau of Conflict Stabilization Operations is doing, but we must encourage all parts of the US government to support our sisters and brothers in Nigeria.

This tragedy will not be solved overnight, and the work of building peace in Nigeria will be long, but we must have hope in the fact that we have a persistent and faithful Lord who will not abandon us. We must continue to do what we can here at home while praying for our Nigerian sisters and brothers abroad. We must take heart in the fact that the Prince of Peace is with us always, to the end of the age.

In Christ's peace,

Nathan Hosler, Coordinator
Bryan Hanger, Advocacy Assistant
Church of the Brethren Office of Public Witness

-- To give to the EYN Compassion Fund that aids pastors families and others who have lost loved ones or suffered from the violence in Nigeria, go to www.brethren.org/EYNcompassion. Church of the Brethren Action Alerts are a ministry of the denomination's Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C. For more information contact Nathan Hosler, Coordinator, Office of Public Witness, 337 North Carolina Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003; nhosler@brethren.org; 717-333-1649.

Source: 5/7/2014 Newsline
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Walking with the Nigerian church: An interview with Church of the Brethren general secretary Stan Noffsinger and mission executive Jay Wittmeyer

In this interview conducted last month, shortly after they returned from a trip to Nigeria, Church of the Brethren general secretary Stan Noffsinger and Global Mission and Service executive Jay Wittmeyer spoke with Newsline editor Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford about the trip and the situation of the church in Nigeria. They attended the Majalisa or annual conference at the headquarters of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), met with EYN leaders and the Brethren mission staff in Nigeria--Carol Smith and Carl and Roxane Hill--and visited the capital city Abuja. This is an excerpt from a lengthier interview that may appear in an upcoming issue of “Messenger” magazine:

photo by Jay Wittmeyer

General secretary Stan Noffsinger preaches at Majalisa or annual meeting of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, during a trip to Nigeria in April 2014.
Stan Noffsinger: Our presence was significant to the church. I don’t know how many times we heard, either from Samuel [EYN president Samuel Dali] or from Jinatu [EYN general secretary Jinatu Wamdeo] or members, how they recognized the risk we took to be there.

Jay Wittmeyer: And how encouraging it was. They were deeply encouraged by our presence and our willingness to walk with them in these times.

Stan: There was real concern that they really were alone. Christians are a minority in a predominantly Muslim territory [in northeastern Nigeria]. Samuel kept saying over and over, “Please tell your family and the board how much we appreciate the risk.” It was perhaps an acknowledgment that the risk was more significant than we would have wanted to acknowledge.

During their trip to Nigeria, Stan Noffsinger and Jay Wittmeyer visit with Church of the Brethren mission workers: (from left) Stan Noffsinger, Carol Smith, Roxane Hill, Carl Hill, and Jay Wittmeyer.
The risk is evident everywhere. No matter where we went, whether it was the compound of our guesthouse or the EYN headquarters, there were security guards with guns all the time. There were convoys of military soldiers in Humvee-type vehicles with machine guns mounted on top cruising up and down the roads. A very visible presence of the military.

Jay: Our movements were highly restricted. Our guesthouse where we stayed was about a quarter mile away [from EYN headquarters] and we could have at times have walked. But they said, “No, you don’t spend a minute on that road.” Because it was on the main road.

Stan: There was a curfew at nine o’clock every night. You weren’t welcome on the street after the curfew.

The other thing that was very real was what has happened to EYN, the local congregations, districts, and the church. As Samuel Dali was going over that report, the pain of all of the loss and unknown was evident in the faces and the eyes of the people. Within that report is a district by district accounting of who isn’t alive, the churches burned, and houses destroyed. That was a pretty somber occasion.

Newsline: It really shifts your idea of priorities, looking at what they’re going through. It’s that image of a body under attack. You pull in your resources.

Jay: That was the analogy I came away with. Like frostbite.... Part of it is you’re only able to focus on the core at the moment.

Stan: That’s true. If you look at trauma of any kind, and this is societal trauma, what do you do? Your peripheral vision deteriorates, and the lens that you use to look at everything changes daily based on the level of your experience. So if you have 200 girls kidnapped and two-thirds of them are Church of the Brethren, the lens for EYN gets shifted. And then you have a time of relative calm, and then there’s a bombing in the capital. And what becomes reality is doing anything and everything you can to help stabilize your experience. So you invest your resources closer and closer to home to stabilize the community.

Photo by Stan Noffsinger

EYN president Samuel Dali (center) leads the Majalisa
Newsline: I wonder if you could speak about the work with Muslim leaders who are friendly to the work of peace?

Jay: There are three elements to the work: Toma Ragnjiya is the EYN peace officer, and then there is the work that Rebecca Dali does, and then the work that Markus Gamache is doing and that Basel Mission is supporting in Jos.

Stan: For Rebecca [Dali], the work with the Center for Caring, Empowerment, and Peace Initiatives or CCEPI isn’t anything new in her involvement with people who have been affected by violence. But it does mean that when there is an incident like the girls being abducted from Chibok, she is involved and working with the families. She is building an incredible database of narrative of acts of violence. She’s been to Cameroon, across the border, across the territory of Boko Haram, and in the refugee camps.

Jay: She’s developing a reputation within the Muslim community as someone that can be trusted to come in and do legitimate relief work. Rebecca is in the midst of people. She often says numbers [of those affected by violence] are underreported. She can list out name by name, person by person, why the numbers are wrong. She really has a grasp of that, and has good people working for her. This is a legitimate NGO that needs to be separate from the church. I don’t think a church agency could get to the places she wants to get to.

Stan: Markus Gamache’s work in Jos is called Lifeline. This is an interfaith group coming together as individuals, to respond to the need in the community. They’re working at internships, apprenticeships.

Jay: They would like to do micro finance. But before they give a loan they would like that recipients first do an internship so that they learn the skills, and then step out and take a loan to buy equipment and start their own business.

Photo courtesy of EYN

The Church of the Brethren sponsored this water project to provide a well at a Muslim school, through the interfaith peace project in Jos. Six students of this same school were killed in a riot in Jos, and the school was burned by Christians, but has since been rebuilt. It continued to be very dangerous for the students to go out for water because the school shares a boundary with a Christian community.
Newsline: One of you had said something about a well that was dug with this group?

Jay: It was a very important aspect of demonstrating this organization’s commitment to interfaith work. Because wells are so hard to drill even in your own community, to go into the Muslim community and [provide a well] is really something. That is really what propelled Markus’ work and allowed him access into Muslim communities. He told stories where his wife said, “Don’t you dare go there because they’ll kill you.” And yet that well has given him access into those communities to do more work. That was a tremendous witness.

Stan: The other piece is, what’s going to happen when the violence subsides? We asked both Rebecca and Samuel, “How is the church preparing to reintegrate the child soldiers?” And how can we assist, how can we walk with the Nigerian churches? There could be thousands of child soldiers that at some point in time are going to be summarily dismissed. What are you going to do with all these kids that have really been messed up?

Newsline: Not to mention the girls who have been used as sex slaves. I hate to even ask this, but is Nigeria at a point where we can say, “When the violence subsides”?

Photo by Roxane Hill

Feetwashing held by EYN. Mission worker Carl Hill (at right) takes part in the outdoor service alongside friends in the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria.
Jay: I would be surprised if it’s less than 20 years. I just saw so many similarities with the Communist take over in Nepal. There was a statement by a Boko Haram leader that said, “There are two types of people in the world: those that are for us, and those that are against us.” It reminded me of Pol Pot’s statement that if someone won’t work for the party they have no value, and if the person is killed there is no loss. I just think it’s going to be a long slow struggle with the violence going to another level, and then to another level.

After the bombing in Abuja people were pretty shaken up. They were saying, “How much longer is this going to go on?” Well, you could have a bomb a day for years. We didn’t have any sense of either a government initiative, or any sense of support from [Nigerian president] Goodluck Jonathan.

Stan: Quite to the contrary, there was suspicion that there are those in government who are suspected to be supportive of Boko Haram.

Jay: We didn’t hear anything that sounded like Boko Haram is reaching out for peace settlements. Or that the security forces are winning this at a military level. We didn’t get any sense of anything but that it was going to get worse.

Stan: The lasting impression I left with is just how the Nigerian church is striving to be faithful to their God, and to their belief that Jesus is their redeemer and savior. To live daily with the challenge of security, threats of violence, and some conversation around, “I’d rather be killed than abducted,” is sobering and challenging. In the midst of that uncertainty, I heard our brothers and sisters repeatedly say, “I trust my God to walk with me and to provide for me during this journey of my life, no matter how long it is.”

What would happen to our church in the United States if we became the oppressed and persecuted in this culture? How do we measure up? How does living in safety and wealth taint our understanding of the role of faith in our lives? If I could choose, I would love to have the faith that I see expressed in the Nigerian people.

Source: 5/7/2014 Newsline
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Brethren bits

Photo by Ben Bear

Olympic View Church of the Brethren in Seattle, Wash., and Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) co-hosted a dinner this past Thursday, May 1. BVS alumni were invited to come and share their stories, during a visit by BVS assistant for recruitment Ben Bear. Shown above: some of the area youth who joined in the meal, along with youth program coordinator Bobbi Dykema. Two BVS alumni--Ryan Richards and Frosty Wilkinson--shared their stories of what they did during their BVS terms. Pastor Ken Rieman, also a former BVSer, was at the event. “We had spaghetti, bread, salad, and cookies for the meal,” reported Bear. “Bobbi’s friend, J. Scott, made a delicious homemade sauce for the pasta. There were about 30 people who attended.” For more about BVS go to www.brethrenvolunteerservice.org .
  • Correction: an incorrect link was given for more information about Brethren Housing Association 25th Anniversary events. The correct link is http://bha-pa.org/events .
  • Washington City Church of the Brethren in Washington, D.C., seeks a food ministries coordinator to direct overall operations of the Brethren Nutrition Program, a lunch program for people who are homeless and in need on Capitol Hill. The coordinator will supervise day-to-day functions, and lead communications, public relations, and fundraising; utilize faith and skills of administration, organization, development, and public speaking. Some experience with social work, social justice ministries, or working with marginalized people is required. The position begins July 1 and is a full-time 40-hour stipend position with benefits, including housing at Brethren House, a community house on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. To view the complete position description go to http://washingtoncitycob.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/washington-city-cob-food-ministries-coordinator.pdf . To apply, apply send a cover letter and a resume to bnpposition@gmail.com .
  • Bethany Theological Seminary has announced new alumni/ae in leadership. Following on an Alumni/ae Association ballot this spring, Brian Flory (MDiv '99), and Becky Baile Crouse (MDiv '88), were selected to represent alumni/ae at Bethany as a trustee and on the Alumni/ae Coordinating Council, respectively. Flory has been pastor of Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne, Ind., since 2007 and previously pastored Ambler (Pa.) Church of the Brethren. He was a member of the Atlantic Northeast District board from 2001-06, including two years as vice chair of the Nurture Commission, and directed workcamps for Brethren junior high and high school youth from 2001-05. Other church involvement has included serving as an Annual and District Conference delegate and on planning committees for the Supportive Communities Network Pastor's Retreat and the Progressive Brethren Gathering. Crouse has been a member of the pastoral team at Warrensburg (Mo.) Church of the Brethren since 2004, and works full-time as a pediatric chaplain at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. She completed a doctor of ministry in children and poverty in 2013 from Saint Paul School of Theology. In 2005-06 she was on the denominational Review and Evaluation Committee, and she has preached at both National Youth Conference and Annual Conference.
Photo courtesy of BVS

BVS Coast to Coast sets off from the Atlantic Coast of Virginia on May 1
  • “Wheels in Each Ocean': Grads Trek Cross-Country” is the title of an article about the BVS Coast to Coast bicycle ride posted by the “Daily News-Record” of Harrisonburg, Va. Reporter Candace Sipos interviewed the two Brethren Volunteer Service workers who began their nation-wide trek on May 1 from the Atlantic coast of Virginia: Chelsea Goss and Rebekah Maldonado-Nofziger. “Hopefully, we'll have our wheels in each ocean,” Goss told the paper. BVS director Dan McFadden commented, “Over the years, people have said, ‘They ought to have a team of volunteers going around to churches ... [to] promote BVS,’” so when Goss had the idea for this trip, “We very much jumped on the bandwagon.” Read the full newspaper story at http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=14D958C0218A78B8p_docnum=1 .
  • New online resources available at the denominational website Brethren.org include a sample article from the May issue of “Messenger” magazine. “Colors of Peace” by Gabriella Stocksdale, a high school student from Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill., took third-place honors in Bethany Theological Seminary’s 2014 Peace Essay Contest. “In an atmosphere where police roam the hallways and violent fights erupt without notice, what--if anything--can one Brethren high school student do to foster peace and understanding?” says a preview of the piece. Find it at www.brethren.org/messenger .
  • Also new at Brethren.org, additional online content from “Basin and Towel,” which is published by Congregational Life Ministries. Sample articles have been posted from an issue on “The Calling Community,” the second in a series focused on congregational vitality. “Calling communities are communities of power,” said the introductory reflection, in part. “Not power over one another, to make someone do what we want, but power with--with God through the work of the Holy Spirit, with one another for the release of gifts and passions, with the world for transformation.” Also posted are documents showing how the Peoria (Ill.) congregation shared sabbath time during the pastor’s sabbatical, and a video interview with Josh Brockway about the new spiritual gifts resource “Vital Passions, Holy Practices: Exploring Spiritual Gifts.” Go to www.brethren.org/basinandtowel to find these resources and more. Purchase “Vital Passions, Holy Practices” from Brethren Press for $7 per copy plus shipping and handling at www.brethrenpress.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1987 or call 800-441-3712 to order.
  • With the help of David Sollenberger and many others, the Office of Public Witness has put together a new video about the Going to the Garden initiative that is being implemented in coordination with the Global Food Crisis Fund (GFCF). “Check out how churches are using their grant money to cultivate gardens and community,” said an announcement. “And make sure to ‘Like’ the new Going to the Garden [Facebook] page for future updates about what congregations are doing and how you can get your congregation involved!” View the video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4bvP7pR2NE&feature=youtu.be . Find Going to the Garden on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoingToTheGarden .
  • A Shine Training Event will be held on Thursday, May 8, from 7- 9 p.m. at 3145 Benham Ave., Elkhart, Ind. Shine is the new curriculum published by Brethren Press and MennoMedia for use in Christian education and Sunday school classes. “Who should attend?” said an invitation from South Central Indiana District. “Anyone interested in learning more about the Shine children’s Sunday school curriculum and how to use it in your congregation. All nearby Church of the Brethren and Mennonite churches are invited.” For more information visit www.ShineCurriculum.com .
  • A new issue of “Roundabout Online,” the newsletter for the Gather ’Round curriculum published by Brethren Press and MennoMedia, is posted at http://myemail.constantcontact.com/A-simple-miracle.html?soid=1102248020043&aid=Gi1Qaj8spiM . This issue features a reflection on the “big miracle” in John 21 and the “simple miracle” of sharing food with Jesus, as well as links to a freshly redesigned website for Gather ’Round and to preview materials from successor curriculum Shine, which begins this fall.
  • “Tractor Sunday draws 368 farmers to church in E-town” said a Lancaster Online news article about the Sunday, May 4, service at West Green Tree Church of the Brethren in Elizabethtown, Pa. The event in which two other churches participate, Chiques Church of the Brethren whose pastor Nathan Myer was the speaker, and Mount Pleasant Church of the Brethren whose men’s quartet sang, includes a morning service and a lunch for farmers. It is “a thank you to our farmer friends for the job they do and thanking the Lord for the harvest,” organizer Doug Breneman told the reporter. He is a deacon at the church and has organized Tractor Sunday since it started in 2011. Read the article at http://lancasteronline.com/tractor-sunday-draws-farmers-to-church-in-e-town/article_6765c082-d3c8-11e3-9685-001a4bcf6878.html .
  • Cedar Grove Church of the Brethren at Ruckersville, Va., held a special service of blessing for bikers and bikes on Sunday, April 13, according to the Shenandoah District newsletter. “Receiving blessing for safety and traveling mercies were 42 bikes and approximately 60 bikers. Two people came forward during the altar call for healing and laying on of hands. After that, another visitor asked to be saved and accepted Christ as Lord and Savior.”
  • The Global Women’s Project has again held its annual Mother’s Day Gratitude Project. The annual event “celebrates not only the important women in our lives but helps women and girls in our Partner Projects throughout the world!” said an announcement. Supporters send in a note with the name and address of women they would like to honor on Mother’s Day, enclosed with a check for the ministry, and the women who are being honored receive a note back from the project noting how women in Partner Projects in places like South Sudan, Rwanda, Nepal, Uganda, and Wabash, Ind., are receiving support. For more information go to http://globalwomensproject.wordpress.com .
  • The 2014 Brethren Bible Institute sponsored by the Brethren Revival Fellowship (BRF) will be held July 21-25 at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College. Classes meet from 8:50 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Total cost including room, board, and tuition is $200. Find an application form including a roster of instructors and course offerings at http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1110837621104-292/2014+BBI.pdf . Application forms also may be requested from Brethren Bible Institute, 155 Denver Road, Denver, Pa. 17517.
  • The World Council of Churches (WCC) is encouraging “swift and peaceful” action to restore Nigeria’s missing girls, in a release dated May 6. The abduction has prompted “profound concern” the release said. In his letter to Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, WCC general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit wrote, “This tragic situation is devastating not only to the immediate community, but also to all Nigerians praying and working for peace. It touches the World Council of Churches directly, as many who have lost their daughters are members of our church families in Nigeria,” said Tveit. He said the WCC’s concern is “intensified in the face of increasing global sexual exploitation of girls and women, and the possibility that these abducted students may become victims of just such injustice and violence.... Following the rescue of these children for which we pray, the impact of exploitation may require long-term accompaniment of the young women and their families by the Nigerian government, faith communities and local networks of care and support.” Tveit said the WCC is ready to assist in “mobilizing the inter-religious and international communities to seek effective and peaceful means towards safely restoring these students to their homes, loved ones and communities.” Read full text of the letter at www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/general-secretary/messages-and-letters/letter-to-goodluck-jonathan-on-nigerias-missing-girls . A list of the WCC member churches in Nigeria is at www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/africa/nigeria .
  • In more news from the World Council of Churches, an ecumenical delegation has visited South Sudan, where fighting has culminated in a humanitarian crisis. “The senseless war in South Sudan must end now,” said WCC general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit, in a release. “It is shocking to see how leaders in both parties involved in the conflict have led their own people to such pain and suffering,” Tveit said. “From the stories I was told, it is impossible to comprehend the scale of killings and atrocities taking place.” Tveit stressed the need for leaders on both sides to use the negotiations resuming this week as an opportunity to agree and implement a ceasefire immediately. “This will enable aid groups, including ACT Alliance, to respond effectively to the humanitarian crisis resulting from the violence,” the release said. The high-level delegation was led by WCC Central Committee moderator Agnes Abuom, and included ACT Alliance general secretary John Nduna, general secretary of the World YWCA Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, former WCC general secretary and ecumenical special envoy for South Sudan and Sudan Samuel Kobia, who also represented the All Africa Conference of Churches, and WCC program executive for advocacy for Africa, Nigussu Legesse. The group expressed solidarity with local churches, met with the South Sudan vice-president James Wani Igga and UN representative to South Sudan Hilde Frafjord Johnson, and with political detainees from the opposition in Juba, released recently by the South Sudanese government. One goal of the pastoral visit was to encourage the churches in Sudan to keep pressing for an end to the violence. The delegation also brought the message that there are churches around the world who stand in solidarity with them.
  • Bread for the World will celebrate its 40th anniversary during a National Gathering on June 9 in Washington, D.C., followed by the organization’s annual Lobby Day June 10. Bread’s mission is to be “a collective voice urging our nation’s decision-makers to end hunger at home and abroad.”
Source: 5/7/2014 Newsline
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Credits

Newsline is produced by the news services of the Church of the Brethren. Contact the editor at cobnews@brethren.org. Contributors to this issue of Newsline include Ben Bear, Christopher Fitz, Bryan Hanger, Nancy Sollenberger Heishman, Nathan Hosler, Stan Noffsinger, Howard Royer, Jenny Williams, Jay Wittmeyer, and editor Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren.
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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Newsline: April 29, 2014

NEWS ANNUAL CONFERENCE UPDATE OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS FEATURE BRETHREN BITS
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Nigerian churches urge global prayer for 230 missing girls, most from EYN

Church of the Brethren leaders in the US are joining Nigeria’s largest church network, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), to call for prayer and fasting for the safe release of hundreds of teenage school girls abducted April 14. The girls were kidnapped from a school in Chibok, Nigeria, by Boko Haram, an extremist Islamic sect in northern Nigeria violently seeking a “pure” Islamic state. Most of the affected families are part of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN--Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria).

In related news, Church of the Brethren Global Mission and Service executive Jay Wittmeyer has written to Illinois Senator Dick Durbin about the kidnapping of the girls, in order to raise awareness of the situation in Nigeria among US government officials.

Chibok is in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, and in past decades was a mission station of the Church of the Brethren. Here are excerpts from a report by World Watch Monitor, which exists to report the under-reported story of Christians worldwide under pressure for their faith:

“The CAN leadership, especially our president, has called that all Christians pray and fast because of the security situation in the country: the recent bomb blast in Nyanya in Abuja, and then the abduction of students in a girls’ secondary school...and all the challenges of security that are going on,” said Musa Asake, general secretary of CAN. The local chapter of CAN in Borno State also decreed three days of prayer and fasting.

On April 14, at around 10 p.m., suspected members of Boko Haram swooped into Chibok in seven Hilux Toyota pick-ups. While some of the attackers set government and other buildings ablaze, others went to the senior secondary school where they overpowered the security guards before herding at least 230 of the female students onto trucks, and drove the girls (who were between the ages of 16 and 20) deep into the nearby Sambisa Forest.

“Such an attack where girls were taken away has never taken place. Even recently when they [Boko Haram militants] attacked a Federal Government College in Buni Yadi, the boys were killed but the girls were told to go away and leave the school. They never took them away. This is the first time they are taking such a number of girls in a school. So we are assuming they did so because most of the girls are Christians,” said a local church leader, whose identity could not be disclosed for security reasons.

State Governor Alhaji Kashim Shettima first announced that 52 girls had escaped, leaving 77 still missing. But the head teacher at the school Ms. Asabe Kwambura refuted his claims and said parents reported 230 girls were abducted, with 40 having escaped. All schools in the state were closed due to the insecurity.

The federal government has challenged Borno security agents to do everything possible to rescue the girls. Borno State Governor Shettima has offered a reward of 50,000,000 Naira (about $50,000) for any information leading to the rescue of the girls. But this is not enough to calm parents’ anger, and criticism of the military's handling of the crisis is mounting.

Samuel Dali, president of EYN, spoke to World Watch Monitor a week after the kidnapping. “We haven’t heard anything that the government is planning. Even some in the state government who are supposed to direct us are starting to complain that the federal government needs to do something. We just hear people saying we need to do something, we need to do something, but we just don’t know what needs to be done.”

Some parents have decided to take things into their own hands, and have pleaded with Boko Haram to release the girls, in vain. Others have ventured into the Sambisa Forest to look for their daughters, without the support of the military. About 60 kilometers into the forest, locals advised them not to proceed any further because it was too dangerous, as Boko Haram is equipped with much more sophisticated weapons than the sticks and machetes the parents were carrying.

“We call on President Goodluck Jonathan to take the necessary measures to free our children. We really feel neglected. I am convinced that if these abducted girls were their own daughters, they would have done something,” said a grieving father. “We call on the kidnappers to listen to our cry and sorrow and let our children come back home,” he added in despair.

A worker with Open Doors International, which partners with churches in northern Nigeria, added: “The abducted girls will most probably be responsible for cooking and cleaning for the insurgents. But there is every possibility that these children could be forcefully converted to Islam and married off to members of the group or other Muslim men.”

So far the affected parents have not received any psychological or medical assistance. Moreover, the girls who escaped have been already recalled to sit their examinations again. Some parents accused local authorities of attempting to prevent these escaped schools girls from retelling their ordeal to the media.

Meanwhile, the thoughts of the stunned Nigerian nation are with the girls who still remain in the forest. One commentator described to the BBC the mood of the nation as one of “present, continuous agony.”

-- This is excerpted from a report provided by World Watch Monitor. 

BBC reports on the kidnapping note that “Boko Haram, whose name means ‘Western education is forbidden,’ is fighting to establish Islamic law in Nigeria” and “often targets educational establishments.” BBC Nigeria correspondant Will Ross in an analysis piece compared this kidnapping to a notorious incident in Uganda: “The attack is an eerie echo of a mass abduction in northern Uganda back in 1996. A total of 139 girls aged between 11 and 16 were seized from dormitories at St Mary's School in Aboke. They were tied together with rope and were taken away by the Lords Resistance Army, which says it is fighting for a state based on the Biblical 10 Commandments. So, same terror tactics, different religion.” Go to www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27187255 to read the full report from Will Ross.

For Brethren who wish to gain more insight, Global Mission and Service executive Jay Wittmeyer recommends “Our Bodies, Their Battleground: Boko Haram and Gender-Based Violence against Christian Women and Children in North-Eastern Nigeria Since 1999" by Atta Barkindo, a doctoral candidate with SOAS, London; Benjamin Gudaku of Eduwatch Consults and Research Centre, Abuja, Nigeria; and Caroline Katgum Wesley of Nigeria’s Political Violence Research Network. “Our Bodies, Their Battleground” was published by Open Doors International. Find it online at www.worldwatchmonitor.org/research/3117403.

Source: 4/29/2014 Newsline
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