The past couple years we’ve explored trauma (especially sexual and gendered abuse) in the Church of the Brethren.

This summer we’re exploring collective trauma - how are we hurt (and how are we healed) - in our groups?

We look forward to seeing you at our booth (shared with Brethren Mennonite Council for LGBTQI Interests) and throughout Annual Conference July 1-6!

We're learning how our bodies carry trauma - but how does our church body carry trauma? Learn from Denise Kettering Lane, Jennifer Keeney Scarr, Laura Stone and Lindsay Wenger about collective trauma in the Church of the Brethren: immigration, conflict, oppression, and more. We'll continue the conversation in our Saturday equipping session, and hope you can attend both events.
We realize AC meal events can be out of some people’s price range (or outside their dietary needs) and we welcome you to come without a ticket - we’ll have room for people to come without eating.

Dinner Friday, July 4, 5-6:30pm

What spiritual, theological and creative resources do we have to tend to collective trauma in our contexts? We'll continue the conversation we began at our Friday meal event, and encourage you to participate in both events (but we'll make sure you can catch up even if you can only attend one.)

Saturday 12:30pm Equipping Session

We will not have any hybrid options at AC 2025 due to our teeny volunteer steering committee’s resource reality. We do hope to see you there!

Womaen’s Caucus long held a tradition of gathering for prayer near the time of voting and/or announcing the elections at Annual Conference. These prayers were especially for women on the ballot.

This year we encourage you to be in prayer for all who said YES to being on the ballot, whether they were chosen by Nominating and Standing Committees or not.

We invite you to be in prayer for Nominating Committee and all of Standing Committee and Annual Conference Officers and Staff who consider carefully the calling of leaders.

We join you in prayer for a fiercely faithful church with passionate, prophetic leaders of integrity!

11.12 8:00PM EST

Whether you’ve been elected to a denominational leadership position, or have no idea how to even nominate someone, join us on zoom for an informative, active session: Tuesday, November 12 at 8pm Eastern.

Nominations are made online, with or without consulting your nominee first. But, the nomination can only move forward if the person you nominated fills out the nominee information form – and over half of the nominees never do! 

At AC 2025 we’ll be electing:

Moderator-elect

Program and Arrangements Committee

Mission and Ministry Board

from Area 1: Atlantic Northeast, Mid-Atlantic*, Middle PA, Southern PA, Western PA

from Area 4: Missouri-Arkansas, Northern Plains, Southern Plains*, Western Plains (*no representation for the past 10 years)

Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee (Laity)

Review and Evaluation Committee

Five persons, 2-4 year term

Check out the nominations process video and FAQs at 

https://www.brethren.org/ac/nominations/ and/or come to our Nominations Party on Tuesday, Nov at 8pm Eastern.

10.15 & 10.22 6:00-7:30PM

REVIEW:

The God of our childhoods was terrifying. Sure, He (and it was always “He”) loved us, but we also knew He could destroy us in a moment if we displeased Him. Poof! Like Lot’s wife, we’d become a pillar of salt. God knew us intimately and had complete control over us. Like an abuser, He asked us to love Him even as he threatened us with the torments of hell if we didn’t.

We were told not to question Him; we were to submit and obey. Our metaphors—Father, Master, Lord and King—reinforced this, and we were to submit and obey in the same way to the men who stood in God’s place for us—fathers, pastors, husbands, teachers, leaders. The very words we used to describe God—almighty, powerful, all-knowing, majestic, righteous—instilled fear in us as they underlined the sense that God could do to us whatever He wanted at any time, for any reason. And we were to thank Him for it.

Week after week we heard the stories—Miriam stricken with leprosy, Sapphira falling down dead at Peter’s feet.

We memorized the Bible verses:

We even sang it: “Perfect submission, perfect delight”; “I surrender all”; “Trust and obey”; “Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way. Hold o’er my being absolute sway.”

Everywhere we turned we were told to submit and obey—God, fathers, pastors. The message became part of us. Good girls and good women did as they were told and kept quiet about it.

What a setup for abuse.