| September 25, 2013 | |
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CONTENTS
Our global community
Did you know?
Gathering stories |
Kendra Johnson, manager of the office of Global Mission and Service.
Read more about Global Mission and Service ministries online atwww.brethren.org/partners .
Photos by Mandy Garcia.
Pray through the monthly Global Prayer Guide at www.brethren.org/partners .
Become a mission advocate for your district or congregation.
Find out how at www.brethren.org/missionadvocate .
| Our global community
Kendra Johnson is busy settling in as the new manager of the office of Global Mission and Service—and her focus, dedication to ministry, and passion for service make her a great fit for the job. Amid booking flights to South Sudan, wiring reimbursements to Haiti, and acting as liaison between 20 international workers and the Global Mission office, Kendra recently made time to tell me a bit about her new responsibility to tell stories of global community with the Church of the Brethren.—Mandy Garcia, associate director of Donor Communications
What excites you about your new job?
Global Mission and Service is a wide-ranging program area: There’s Brethren Volunteer Service, Brethren Disaster Ministries, Children’s Disaster Services, and theGlobal Food Crisis Fund as well as international missionpartnerships, including efforts with the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, Haiti, Spain, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic, and additional mission workers in Vietnam, North Korea, South Sudan, and other countries. I’m excited to support the mission workers and volunteers that are serving around the world.
Why are international partnerships important for the Church of the Brethren?
The church exists to meet the needs of the world—concrete needs, and a need for hope. I’m passionate about the Church of the Brethren coming alongside sister churches in places like Haiti and Spain, supporting them as they develop their own path. They are sisters and brothers in our family, each doing church in their own way, forming a global community.
How can eBrethren readers support/get involved in Global Mission and Service?
eBrethren readers can go online to donate to Global Mission and Service, the Global Food Crisis Fund, or Brethren Disaster Ministries. They can stay informed by subscribing to the “Minute for Mission”
e-newsletter, praying through the monthly prayer guide, and signing up to be a mission advocate for their congregation and/or district.
What is a mission advocate?
Mission advocates are volunteers who take up the responsibility to stay informed, know who’s in the field and what’s going on, and share with their congregation. That could mean a monthly, four-minute report to the congregation or helping at district conferences, all to keep our mission workers present in people’s minds. We’re working on getting mission advocates in each congregation and each district to build a wide network of support on different levels.
How does stewardship relate to your work?
One of my goals is to connect mission workers with the resources that Brethren can provide. That definitely includes financial stewardship, because of the huge cost of running these programs. But it’s a relational stewardship as well. It’s important to keep people who are in far-away countries present in the minds of people in Indiana or Virginia, so that they know who’s working on their behalf and can devote time to pray, or to sending a card, or to taking an offering. The fact that we have people in these places is really exciting, and this ministry couldn’t exist if it didn’t have the whole church's support in all its forms. We are all members of this global community.
Kendra Johnson grew up in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and attended Dana College in Blair, Neb. She started as manager of Global Mission and Service on September 1, after completing her second term in Brethren Volunteer Service. Kendra enjoys eating ice cream, speaking German, and reusing plastic silverware. To learn more about Global Mission and Service visitwww.brethren.org/partners or e-mail Kendra atkjohnson@brethren.org . To support these life-changing ministries visit www.brethren.org/give.
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Did you know?
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Thank you for keeping us connected!
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Donna Kline leading a workshop at the "Strengthening your small congregation" seminar in April.
Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford.
Gathering together for deacon training at New Fairview Church of the Brethren earlier this year.
"Listen and play: ministry with children in times of stress" workshop at this year's Annual Conference.Photo by Donna Kline. | Gathering storiesBy Donna Kline, director of Deacon Ministry
It was only mid-afternoon but already the parking lots were nearly full. People poured out of cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks, anxious to hug friends they’d been missing. The day they had been looking forward to for so long had finally come, and they were ready to enjoy time together.
This is the beautiful scene I witnessed as I pulled into a Church of the Brethren district conference this summer.
We certainly are a "gathering" people, aren’t we? In addition to regular worship gatherings, we gather in chronological cohorts at Junior High Conferences,National Youth Conferences, Young Adult Conferences, and the National Older Adult Conference. We gather to share our passion for ministries in new church development, spiritual direction, deacon ministry, workcamps, disaster recovery, intercultural ministry, and continuing education for pastors. Sometimes we gather just for the sake of gathering!
But what happens when the gathered disperse? When youth come down from the "mountain high" of NYC, when the more "seasoned" Brethren board the buses after NOAC, when we shower and return home from cleaning up after a flood, when we turn off the lights in our sanctuaries and fellowship halls? How do we maintain that sense of community?
It’s not easy, and, if I dare say so, we don’t always do it well. When I check in with deacons after completing a workshop, more often than not I hear that they just can’t get the rest of their deacon body to share their enthusiasm. It’s not unlike sharing a funny story, only to get a half-hearted smile in return. All we can think to say is, "I guess you had to be there."
As much as we Brethren love our gatherings, we simply can’t always be there. But we can share what we learn—our experiences. As a denomination, we’re getting better at sharing our stories through publications likeMessenger, Basin & Towel, Newsline, and this note you’re reading now. Many of you read my deacon stories. But we know there are lots more stories out there of God’s presence in our gatherings, and we want to hear them. We may not always be able to gather shoulder to shoulder, but our shared stories can keep us close, gathered in community.
If you have a story to share, send it toebrethren@brethren.org . If you’d like to read others’ stories, visit www.brethren.org/publications . To support the many ministries of the Church of the Brethren, visitwww.brethren.org/give . Thank you for sharing the journey!
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 Carl and Roxane Hill, teachers at
Kulp Bible College in Nigeria.
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"Please lift up in prayer Carl and
Roxane Hill as they return to Nigeria for
another semester of teaching. Pray for
health and wisdom as they resume work at
Kulp Bible College near Mubi, Nigeria,
after sharing their stories with
brothers and sisters across the United States."
—From Minute for Mission on September 17.
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 | Do you have a story about how you and your congregation practice stewardship? E-mail it to mgarcia@brethren.org !
eBrethren: Stories of Brethren Stewards, is produced every other week by the Church of the Brethren's donor communications team. Send feedback to mgarcia@brethren.org
or call 847-742-5100 ext. 361.
Thanks for reading!
Watch for our next issue on October 9, 2013. |
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