Newsline Special: Brethren Respond to Newtown

Dec. 20, 2012 "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation" (Matthew 2:18a). NEWSLINE SPECIAL 1) Brethren leaders send letter of support to the people of Newtown. 2) National Council of Churches press conference will call for meaningful action on guns. 3) NCC asks churches to ring bells tomorrow for Newtown victims, support January action day on gun violence. 4) NCC provides resources for churches to address gun violence and its aftermath. 5) Prayer, new carol text are written by Brethren pastors after the tragedy. ******************************************** 1) Brethren leaders send letter of support to the people of Newtown. In a call made from Jerusalem Dec. 14, Church of the Brethren general secretary Stanley Noffsinger expressed his deep sorrow upon hearing the news of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The news reached him while he and other Brethren leaders were taking part in a delegation to the Middle East. Noffsinger and the delegation have sent a letter to the people of Newtown. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2012/brethren-leaders-send-letter-to-newtown.html 2) National Council of Churches press conference will call for     meaningful action on guns. The National Council of Churches (NCC) has been active since the school shooting in Newtown, by making available resources to congregations (see story below) and encouraging religious leaders to address the issue of gun violence. Tomorrow the ecumenical organization, of which the Church of the Brethren is a member, is holding a press conference in Washington, D.C., where religious leaders will speak out on gun violence. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2012/ncc-holds-press-conference-on-gun-violence.html 3) NCC asks churches to ring bells tomorrow for Newtown victims, support January action     day on gun violence. The National Council of Churches is inviting the nearly 100,000 churches related to its member communions to ring church bells tomorrow morning, Friday, Dec. 21, to mark one week since 20 children and six adults were killed by a gunman in a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. The houses of worship that take part in the “Church Bell Ringing to Honor Newtown” will observe a minute of silence and sound their bells 26 times in memory of those who died. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2012/ncc-invites-churches-to-ring-bells.html 4) NCC provides resources for churches to address gun violence and its aftermath. The National Council of Churches is making a number of the responses it has received to the Newtown tragedy available online, along with worship and action resources for churches to address gun violence and help parishioners deal with the aftermath of a tragedy that has affected the entire nation. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2012/ncc-provides-resources.html 5) Prayer, new carol text are written by Brethren pastors after the tragedy. Following are worship resources by two Church of the Brethren pastors, a prayer sparked by the tragedy at Newtown and a new version of a well-known Christmas carol. “A Prayer for Comfort and Peace” is written by Bernie Fuska. “Whose Children These?” is written by Frank Ramirez. Read the full story at www.brethren.org/news/2012/prayer-and-new-carol-text-sparked-by-tragedy.html Contributors to this issue of Newsline include Philip E. Jenks, Ronald E. Keener, Nancy Miner, Jerry L. Van Marter of the Presbyterian News Service and editor Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren. Look for the next regularly scheduled issue on Dec. 27, 2012.