Rebecca Dali to visit and speak at several places in the US in July

Photo by Stan Noffsinger

Dr. Rebecca Dali shows pictures of the violence going on in Nigeria; part of her work heading up CCEPI (Center for Caring, Empowerment, and Peace Initiatives) is to collect the stories of survivors and pictures of the attacks that have occurred.

Rebecca Dali, a leading member of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), will visit and speak at several venues in the United States in July, including the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio, on July 2-6.

Also providing presentations on Nigeria are Carl and Roxane Hill, Church of the Brethren mission workers who in May completed a term serving with EYN in Nigeria.

Carol Smith, a Brethren mission worker placed with EYN in Abuja, Nigeria, is helping organize Dr. Dali's speaking engagements, working with Kendra Harbeck at the Global Mission and Service office.

Opportunities to hear Rebecca Dali speak

Rebecca Dali, wife of EYN president Samuel Dante Dali, has founded a nonprofit organization to aid those affected by the violence in northeastern Nigeria. The Center for Caring, Empowerment, and Peace Initiatives (CCEPI) was begun in order to serve the most vulnerable victims of the violence--widows and orphans. In recent months as violence has escalated, CCEPI has begun providing aid to the thousands of refugees fleeing to neighboring Cameroon or internally displaced within Nigeria.

Dali’s speaking engagements at Annual Conference as well as several Church of the Brethren congregations and other sites:

• South Bend, Ind., June 30: Dali is scheduled to be at a South Bend Peace Vigil at 5 p.m. in downtown South Bend, hosted by Lois Clark.

• Columbus, Ohio, July 3: Dali has been invited to share informally about the situation in Nigeria at the “conversation circle” in the Annual Conference Exhibit Hall hosted by Global Women’s Project. The Womaen’s Caucus, Brethren Mennonite Council, and the Open Table Cooperative also are sponsoring the “conversation circle.” The conversation with Rebecca Dali will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 3.

• Columbus, Ohio, July 5: Dali will address the delegate body of the Annual Conference at the start of the afternoon business session on Saturday, July 5, at 1:55 p.m. The church will be invited into a time of prayer for Nigeria, and congregations will be invited to bring forward their cards for EYN.

• Beavercreek, Ohio, July 6: Beavercreek Church of the Brethren will host a presentation at 6:30-8 p.m. The event is planned “to give us some insight to the struggles in Nigeria” an invitation said. “We welcome Dr. Rebecca Dali...who will share her experiences as founder of CCEPI in helping the families of northeastern Nigeria. At the Headquarters and Kulp Bible College of the EYN, Dr. Dali and the staff of the CCEPI, with the help of Church of the Brethren mission workers, distributed 4,292 articles of clothing, 2,000 kilograms of corn, and buckets and cups to 509 refugees who had lost at least one member of their family and were forced to leave their homes because of attacks by the Boko Haram. In May, Dr. Dali visited with the families of the abducted girls in Chibok, bringing relief supplies for those who lost homes, listening to their concerns and frustration and offering prayers and support.”

• North Manchester, Ind., July 7: Dali will be at the North Manchester Public Library at 7 p.m., hosted by Sally Rich. The event will take place in the Blocher Room. An invitation notes that Dali and CCEPI “were among the first to visit the families of the abducted girls. Dr. Dali will share stories of her work not only with the Chibok families, but with the many other victims whose stories are not as well known, but equally important.” The talk is open to the public and is free; however, donations will be accepted.

• South Bend, Ind., July 8: Crest Manor Church of the Brethren will host a presentation by Dali at 7 p.m.

• Adel, Iowa, July 12: Panther Creek Church of the Brethren will host a presentation by Dali at 12 noon.

• Chicago area, July 11: Tentative plans are being made for a speaking engagement at one of the Church of the Brethren congregations in the Chicago area.

Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

Roxane and Carl Hill at the church planting conference in Richmond, Ind., after their return from completing a term of service as mission workers and teachers at Kulp Bible College in Nigeria.

Opportunities to hear the Hills speak

Roxane and Carl Hill recently returned to the United States after completing a term of one-and-a-half years teaching at Kulp Bible College, a school of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria located in Kwarhi, near the EYN headquarters, in northeastern Nigeria.

The Hills have already begun a tour of presentations at Church of the Brethren congregations in the midwest, and they plan to be at Annual Conference. Most of their Sundays are booked through August, but congregations interested in hosting them for a mid-week event should contact Kendra Harbeck at kharbeck@brethren.org.

The Hills’ summer schedule:

• Beavercreek, Ohio, on June 29, hosted by Beavercreek Church of the Brethren.

• Columbus, Ohio, on July 2-6, where the Hills will attend Annual Conference.

• Akron, Ohio, on July 13, hosted by Eastwood Church of the Brethren.

• Littleton, Ohio, on July 20, hosted by Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren.

• Online with Living Stream Church of the Brethren on July 27.

• Roanoke, Va., on Aug. 10, hosted by Peters Creek Church of the Brethren. Pastor Jack Lowe also hopes to host a Virlina District-wide event for the Hills that afternoon, in addition to welcoming them to the Sunday morning service.

• Manassas, Va., on Aug. 17, hosted by Manassas Church of the Brethren.

• McGaheysville, Va., on Aug. 20, hosted by Mountain View Fellowship.

• Johnstown, Pa., on Aug. 27, hosted by Pleasant Hill Church of the Brethren.

• Mechanicsburg, Pa., on Aug. 31, hosted by Mechanicsburg Church of the Brethren.

For more information contact Kendra Harbeck, manager, Global Mission and Service Office, Church of the Brethren, 847-429-4388 or kharbeck@brethren.org.

Source: 6/25/2014 Newsline