Messenger: the magazine of the Church of the Brethren

05/07/2024

Photos from the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan

27/06/2024

Just in time for our July/August issue with the cover feature "A Century of Holy Ground" by Walt Wiltschek, celebrating 100 years of church camps, Bible study writer Audrey Hollenberg-Duffey has curated a playlist of favorite camp songs. Go to https://www.brethren.org/messenger/playlists/playlist-camp-songs/

14/06/2024

What do we spend on war? Here's an exploration of that question from the June issue of Messenger: https://www.brethren.org/messenger/uncategorized/what-do-we-spend-on-war/

11/06/2024

"A few weeks ago I was a substitute teacher for the elementary class at my church. This age group does more running around the room than junior youth, the age I have more experience with. But after a little chaos and some sharing time, everyone focused intently on the Bible story." Read the full "From the Publisher" column at https://www.brethren.org/messenger/from-the-publisher/follow-the-peace-path/

11/06/2024

Carrie Miller served as long-term disaster project leader for the Brethren Disaster Ministries (BDM) Hurricane Maria recovery project in Puerto Rico from August 2018 to June 2020. BDM invited her to reflect on her experiences, hoping to encourage others to consider serving with BDM or another service ministry. Read the article at https://www.brethren.org/messenger/reflections/a-change-of-trajectory/

05/06/2024

Sharing the latest playlist!

As she is preparing to lead us at Annual Conference, Moderator Madalyn Metzger has put together a playlist of songs that speak to her at this time. Go here www.brethren.org/ac2024/moderator and choose Spotify or YouTube to listen.

13/05/2024

"Hot off the press": A new series on Messenger Radio, "Voices of the Death Row Support Project". In the first episode, Rachel Gross and Anna Lisa Gross interview long-time DRSP volunteer Paige Butzlaff. https://www.brethren.org/messenger/uncategorized/messenger-radio/

14/04/2024

Remembering the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria, 10 years on. Read this retrospective of the decade since at https://www.brethren.org/messenger/uncategorized/chibok-abduction-10-years/

01/04/2024

April is Earth Month, April 22 is Earth Day, and Interfaith Power & Light encourages observance of a Faith Climate Action Week April 19-28--presenting excellent opportunities to lift up what we should be doing all year: taking good care of God’s gift of creation.

Use this Creation Care BINGO card to set goals for your congregation, or celebrate things that you already are doing for creation care. If you complete a line (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) or—better yet—if you fill all the squares, take a picture of your card and send it with your congregation’s name to [email protected].

Find the card posted as a pdf at https://www.brethren.org/messenger/climate-change/a-square-for-care-of-creation/

27/03/2024

"It may seem that doing church used to be like riding a bike: Activities hummed along like wheels on a bike path, and there were committees and volunteers to keep them turning. People showed up every Sunday for the weekly ride.

"But it turns out that church is not like riding a bike. It is possible to do it well for a long time and then discover that one’s center of gravity has shifted" Read more of this publisher's column from Wendy McFadden at https://www.brethren.org/messenger/from-the-publisher/like-riding-a-bike/

15/03/2024

"I’ve been in confusion throughout the beginning of Lent season with the traditional Lent calling to fast and the two celebratory commemorations of Palm Sunday and Purim. I want to believe that my giving up bread and water for a period of hours within each day from Ash Wednesday to Easter will fulfill my Lent fasting obligation and be acceptable to our Lord. However, my few hours each day of choosing to give up bread and water, while 2.2 million people in Gaza face death by starvation seems contrary to the meaning of fasting and Lent." Read the full reflection by Doris Abdullah at https://www.brethren.org/messenger/reflections/dust-and-tears/

(Photo taken in Gaza by Hosny Salah/Pixabay)

07/03/2024

Have you seen the back cover of the March 2024 Messenger magazine (https://www.brethren.org/messenger/), highlighting the BDM Rebuilding Program?

We celebrate the many ways that BDM volunteers can serve on a Rebuilding project site - it's more than swinging hammers!

We also celebrate our steadfast supporters who may never set foot on a project site but whose service makes our ministry possible: those who pray, advocate, donate financially, and those who make it possible for other volunteers to serve by, for example, taking over church duties, picking up mail, watering plants and vegetables, helping out with the family, etc. Everyone has a part to play!

05/03/2024

Our March 2024 issue includes photos and poetry submitted by readers on the topic of “life.” Allison Snyder, interim manager of the Brethren Historical Library and Archives, curated a play list for March, saying: “I hope that this music collection reflects the theme, although ‘Life’ is a hard one to capture, in its complexity...." Go to https://www.brethren.org/messenger/playlists/life-2024/

(Cover photo for the March 2024 Messenger is by Regina Holmes)

29/01/2024

The playlist to accompany the latest Messenger issue focuses on music by and about refugees or former refugees. Musicians share songs in different languages, with themes of home, belonging, immigration, nostalgia, and hope. Listen to the playlist on Spotify (with a free account) or YouTube: www.brethren.org/messenger/playlists/playlist-refugees

29/01/2024

Refugee article receives praise: "Thank you for permission to share this wonderful article. It is the best story about our office/community I’ve read since I began here." — Erika Juran, Development and Communications Officer, Church World Service (CWS)

Find the January/February articles about refugees and the Church of the Brethren online at https://www.brethren.org/messenger/reflections/welcoming-refugees/

(Photo credit: Sherri Kimmel)

27/12/2023

Congratulations to Germantown Church of the Brethren for the great press coverage of a milestone Christmas Day!

Germantown Church of the Brethren's 300th Anniversary made the front page of the Philadelphia Sunday Sun! Congratulations to the congregation on a milestone Christmas Day! (Thank you Michael Kleiner for sharing this cover scan.)

19/12/2023

The Sound of Christmas: Church of the Brethren staff have shared their favorite Christmas songs, compiled into the latest Messenger playlist. The variety of tastes contributed to a list of over 50 songs from many different genres and artists. Go to https://www.brethren.org/messenger/playlists/playlist-christmas-favorites/

Here are a few contributor comments:
• "I love most Christmas music. It’s hard to pick a favorite."
• "Good King Wenceslas is a favorite of mine. I saw his crypt when I was in Prague. I really like the story of the song and I remember learning to play it on the piano when I was young."
• "This always seems to bring tears to my eyes… "
• "I love absolutely anything from "Amahl and the Night Visitors" by Gian Carlo Menotti, which is my all-time favorite Christmas music. I can remember that we watched this every year as a family when I was little. It first came out a few years before I was born but it seemed to be shown on TV every year and I loved it and still do."
• "These Christmas songs always bring me joy and get me in the Christmas spirit!"

Christmas blessings to you from the Church of the Brethren staff and volunteers!

Find the playlist at https://www.brethren.org/messenger/playlists/playlist-christmas-favorites/