Meet & Eat

New Preschool Director Announced

Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren is pleased to announce the hiring of Michelle Hunley as Preschool Director, beginning June 1, 2023. Michelle has two boys who have graduated from our preschool. She initially served as a parent volunteer back in 2012. The following year she was asked to serve as an Assistant Teacher and then in 2019 she also began serving as an Assistant Director as well as Assistant Teacher. In 2022 she transitioned to being one of our three Directors for the 2022-2023 school year. We will miss our beloved Judy Frederick, but are excited about the creative ideas Michelle has for our preschool and her evident passion to continue to make it a wonderful place for children to play, grow and be loved. She originally sent her boys to our preschool because she was looking for one accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and is committed to preserving the legacy our preschool has been for Fort Wayne. We know she will strive to find ways to make it even better. Please join us in giving Michelle a warm welcome!

Doctrine of Discovery

Church of the Brethren Newsline - March 17, 2023 - By Wendy McFadden

The Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board, meeting March 10-12 in Elgin, Ill., approved a statement lamenting the Doctrine of Discovery and recommended its adoption by Annual Conference. The meeting was led by chair Carl Fike, working with chair-elect Colin Scott and general secretary David Steele.

Titled “With Actions and in Truth: A Lament of the Doctrine of Discovery,” the statement “names the injustices of the church’s history with Indigenous peoples, invites the members of the denomination to study and understand the complex relationship between the church and Native nations, and equips the Church of the Brethren with a foundation for future action.”

The Doctrine of Discovery has been used for centuries “to justify the brutal and violent subjugation of indigenous peoples around the world and in North America.” The doctrine consists of written documents “and the pervasive ideologies that followed.”

In recent years many Christian denominations have issued statements repudiating this doctrine, which originated in the Catholic church and was then adopted by the majority of Christian groups. The Doctrine of Discovery has been used to justify genocide and enslavement of Native peoples. The Church of the Brethren statement grew out of years of background work by the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy and Discipleship Ministries.

Annual Conference 2023 Registration and Housing Now Open

Plan now to attend the 236th recorded Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren to be held in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 4-8, 2023. As we gather to explore the theme “Living God’s Love,” conference goers can participate in a variety of events and activities designed to “unite, strengthen, and equip the Church of the Brethren to follow Jesus.” More details and registration forms are available on the registration page of the Annual Conference website. There's a signup sheet outside Melinda's office for anyone interested in attending. That will help us help you - coordinate rides, housing, etc. For example, former BH Pastor Deanna Brown preaches Thursday evening - would a group like to go down for worship?

Next Sunday: April 16, 2023

First Witnesses to Resurrection

Join us in worship next week as we welcome our guest speaker, David Radcliff, from New Community Project (NCP). NCP is a small nonprofit with a big goal: to change the world. NCP’s “primary mission is to educate people in US society around issues of consumption, globalization, and living responsibly with the earth and with our neighbors. We also support the work of our partners in seven countries in educating girls, empowering women, and carrying out reforestation. We provide resources that challenge us, experiences that change us and a community that gives us hope.”

David will share a message entitled “Between now and then” based on Mark 16:1-8, the text where the women who went to anoint Jesus’ body discover that he arose and is no longer in the tomb. He will also introduce NCP during Meet and Eat and engage the children during their special time in worship. Come to learn more about David’s vision for living between now and then as followers of Jesus’ way, as it has budded and rooted through the work of the New Community Project in the US and around the globe.

Please read Mark 16: 1-8 to prepare.

David Radcliff
Director of New Community Project

Published by Beacon Heights
Church of the Brethren

Editor: Melinda Long
Phone: (260) 482-8595
Email: office@beaconheights.net