Collections at Annual Conference benefit YWCA shelter, express concern for Nigeria

The Church of the Brethren Annual Conference partners this year with the YWCA/YMCA of Columbus, Ohio, for an annual Witness to the Host City. An offering of donations of items needed by the YWCA shelter for women will be received at the Thursday night worship service on July 3. In another collection at the Conference, cards expressing concern and prayerful encouragement for the Nigerian Brethren will be received on the afternoon of July 5.

Annual Conference 2014 takes place in Columbus on July 2-6, led by moderator Nancy Sollenberger Heishman.

Witness to the host city

Each year, the Witness to the Host City service project invites Brethren to aid the city that hosts the denomination’s annual meeting. The YWCA shelter for women in Columbus, called Rebecca’s Place, works with women and children in a significant ministry providing educational opportunities, job training, employment services, and more to equip women and families for a better future.

Below are some of the most pressing needs that Brethren may respond to. An offering of these donations will be taken at the Thursday night worship service on July 3. Conferencegoers are invited to bring one or all of the following items:

• Socks, both men’s and women’s are needed

• Disposable baby diapers, any size

• Hygiene kits. Each kit should include 1 hand towel (not a finger tip or bath towel), 1 wash cloth, 1 one-gallon zipped plastic bag that is filled with 1 bath-size bar of soap, 1 bottle of shampoo, 1 container of deodorant, 1 nail clipper, 1 wide-tooth comb, 1 container of dental floss, 6 bandaids.

Cards for Nigeria

Cards for Nigeria also will be collected at the Annual Conference, during a time on Saturday afternoon, July 5. All congregations are invited to send with their Conference delegate a card of encouragement and prayerful concern for Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria).

Cards will be gathered on July 5, at the beginning of the afternoon business session during a time of remembrance and prayer for EYN. The cards will be delivered to EYN by staff at the next available opportunity.

Source: 6/10/2014 Newsline