A Call to Support our Brothers and Sisters in Nigeria
The ongoing disturbing news from Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) continues to sadden all of our hearts. Rev. Dr. Musa Mambula, who is well known as a writer, educator and current National Spiritual Advisor for EYN, has been visiting a number of congregations in our district to share about the persecution of Christians by Boko Haram terrorists in Northern Nigeria. As a result, many persons here in the ANE District are discussing and talking about what we can do to offer help for the seemingly overwhelming needs of our church family so many miles away.
Two district-led informational gatherings are being planned to raise awareness of and support for the response of the Church of the Brethren in the US to this crisis.
Meetings are scheduled for:
Rev. Dr. Musa Mambula
A central focus of the meetings will be a presentation on the US church’s planned response, which will be given by Roy Winter of Brethren Disaster Ministries at Hempfield and by MMB chair-elect Don Fitzkee at Indian Creek. Both events will include first-hand accounts of the situation in Nigeria from Musa Mambula, a time of prayer, and an offering for the Nigeria Crisis Fund.
At their October meeting, the Mission and Ministry Board (MMB) heard a report from Jay Wittmeyer of Global Mission and Service and Roy Winter of Brethren Disaster Ministries on the denomination’s plan to expand our response to this situation, using funds from a newly created Nigeria Crisis Fund. The Board allocated up to $1.5 million to this fund and is seeking to raise a total of $2.8 million for the first year of a multi-year response.
In her Newsline report on MMB actions Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford explained, “The denomination will continue to honor the intentions of the gifts received to the EYN Compassion Fund, but donors are encouraged to support the next phase of the relief effort by directing their gifts to a new Nigeria Crisis Fund within the Emergency Disaster Fund.”
Please mark these dates on your church calendars and be sure to encourage attendance by all who would like to be better informed about denominational efforts and by all who would like to be a part of offering support to our brothers and sisters in Nigeria.
FURTHER RESOURCES:
Click here for a related article from Lancaster Online, published on November 20th.
For more general information about Nigeria and EYN visit
Nate and Jenn Hossler’s page
at Hempfield Church of the Brethren