eBrethren, October 9, 2013

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October 9, 2013   Support Children's Disaster Services Click here. CONTENTS Peace begins at home Invocation Transforming peace Here are some ways you can take action during Domestic Violence Awareness Month:- Learn about domestic violence: www.brethren.org/domestic-violencewww.thehotline.orgwww.nrcdv.org/dvamwww.faithtrustinstitute.org - Educate your church about domestic violence. Invite a local expert to speak; include information in your newsletter and on your bulletin boards. - Become a safe space for people to talk and to seek help and support. Provide meeting space for community support groups. - Volunteer with your local shelter or become a trained crisis volunteer. Statistics about domestic violence are sobering:- One out of every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. - Witnessing violence between one’s caretakers is the strongest risk factor of passing violent behavior from one generation to the next. - Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own families when they become adults. - 30% to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household. Peace begins at home Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Do your best to live in peace with everyone (Romans 12:10 NIV and 12:18 NCV). Home should be a sanctuary, a refuge from the cares and concerns of the world. But for too many, home is just the opposite. Instead of a place of peace and harmony, it is a battleground where words and fists damage body and soul. We can’t always see the emotional and spiritual—or even physical—scars that domestic violence leaves on its victims. So we may be lulled into a false sense that domestic violence is not a problem in our community, congregation, or even our family. But we would be wrong. Nearly three out of four Americans personally know someone who is or has been a victim of domestic violence. We may be unaware that someone in our own family or a parishioner sitting in our church pew is a victim. Jesus was acutely aware of the hurts of the people around him. Remember how keenly he felt the needs of the woman who barely touched his cloak; how he responded with love and concern (Mark 5:24-34)? As followers of Jesus, how can we be any less concerned about domestic violence in our midst? October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Now is a great time for you and your congregation to take action on behalf of those who are in need. Abuse is never okay. If you are currently a victim of domestic violence, please call the National (U.S.) Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or TTY 1-800-787-3224. Kim Ebersole is director of Family Life ministries, a core ministry of the Church of the Brethren. For more information about Domestic Violence Awareness Month e-mail kebersole@brethren.org , or visitwww.brethren.org/domestic-violence . To support the important work of this and all other Congregational Life Ministries, visit www.brethren.org/give . Forward to a friend Back to top www.brethren.org/jrhighsunday Invocation Loving God, may we continue to open ourselves up to your Spirit and allow you to continue the work of perfecting your love within us so that we become the people you created us to be. By your grace, help us to live in your love and continue to extend that love to the world. Amen. This prayer by John Keller is a worship resource for Junior High Sunday on November 3. Visit www.brethren.org/jrhighsunday for more resources. Jillian Foerster, a Brethren Volunteer Service volunteer in South Sudan.  Photo by Jay Wittmeyer Sister Mercy leads a counseling class with students from six secondary schools in South Sudan last November. Students practice counseling together.Photos by Jillian Foerster Transforming peaceBy Jillian Foerster There’s a tall, unkempt man who paces the half mile between where I work and live. We often cross paths, and he’s attracted to my different, un-African look. Several times I’ve deflected hugs and his methanol-scented breath by relying on the speed of my bike, or assistance of a friend. This man is certainly not the only person who suffers from alcoholism in South Sudan. Many indulge in the strong, cheap sachets of low-quality alcohol that litter the ground. It’s easy to look at these individuals and ignore their suffering due to the threat they pose, or to criticize those who buy alcohol instead of paying their children’s school fees. Still, this is a symptom of a larger societal problem. The impact from war is overwhelming and everyone has a story to tell—even those who seem to be in better health. Generations have been permanently altered from decades of fighting. The fabric of South Sudanese society has seen so much trauma that it’s torn almost beyond repair. This results in behaviors such as substance abuse, depression, suicide, violence in the home, and, more fatally, conflict amid communities. As we say, “trauma that is not transformed is transferred.” It has been inspiring to be a Brethren Volunteer Serviceworker in this community for the past two years, and to learn from my colleagues at RECONCILE, an indigenous, faith-based, peace-building organization. RECONCILE is intent on patching the broken pieces of this society through education, counseling, and other activities. RECONCILE’s work has already seen a reduction in suicides and gender-based violence, as well as transformation of individuals who were on the brink of becoming another town drunkard, or wandering the streets with mental illness. Many of those whom we have trained are working in their communities as peace builders, struggling to mediate inter-ethnic conflict, and talk to their church communities about the effects of trauma. It will take years for South Sudan to rebuild, but the work of RECONCILE and other peace builders around the new nation gives hope and proves that no place, no matter its history, is Godforsaken. —Jillian Foerster is one of many dedicated volunteers working on behalf of the Church of the Brethren around the world, carrying Christ’s love through service and partnership. To support the life-changing work of Global Mission and Service ministries, including Brethren Volunteer Service, visit www.brethren.org/give . Forward to a friend Back to top www.brethren.org/messenger “My dream for this coming year is that we will take steps toward living out the beginning of our denominational vision statement, which is: ‘Through scripture Jesus calls us to live as courageous disciples in word and action.’” —Nancy Heishman in the October edition of Messenger magazine. 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 23, 2013.