The following terms reflect the culture of the Church of the Brethren, a denomination grounded on the principles of Anabaptism and founded through the Pietist efforts of Alexander Mack, in the summer of 1708 near the small German village of Schwarzenau. This resource is not an exhaustive compilation of all denominational terminology, for space precludes the incorporation of vast amounts of information, which might also be garnered from other Brethren works, such as the Brethren Encyclopedia, Brethren Bibliography, European Origin, Brethren in America, Ephrata Cloister, 19th Century Acculturation, Brethren Timeline, Brethren Groups, and Brethren Genealogy. We have also included a few Internet related terms because this technology is fast becoming a part of our denominational culture. You are encouraged to share your comments, suggestions, or corrections with the Web Administrator.

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Camping Ministries

    Most of the twenty-three districts of the Church of the Brethren own and operate their own church camp. A few of the larger districts have more than one camp location, and some districts offer more than one program. For example, one district may offer a "white-water rafting" program where campers are transported to a distant river, while their "caving" program may send other campers several miles to a distant cave for fun and exploration.

www.cob-net.org/camp.htm

Caring Ministries Conference

    A biennial (every other year) gathering sponsored by the Association of Brethren Caregivers, for deacons, pastors, and specially trained caregivers.

Christian Citizenship Seminar

    An annual event, sponsored by the Youth/Young Adult Ministry of the General Board, targeting high school age youth, with information about what it means to be a good citizen. Activities are held in both Washington D.C. and New York City.

Church World Service

    A ministry of the National Council of the Churches of Christ, and organized in 1946 by several denominations to: "Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, comfort the aged, and shelter the homeless." They provided over 11 million pounds of food and medical supplies to war torn Europe, with later operations during peace time focusing more on disaster relief. Because the Church of the Brethren was intimately involved in it's formation, they offered Church World Service their New Windsor Service Center facilities to process material aid.

www.churchworldservice.org/

COB + Collaboration On Admissions (COBCOA)

    A newly formed cooperative effort among Church of the Brethren member educational institutions, to increase the number of Brethren students participating in each college, university, or seminary, by coordinating resources for pooling admissions nationally. In previous years, each institution supervised it's own program of recruiting Brethren students.

www.cobcoa.org

College

See Brethren Affiliated Colleges

Conflict Resolution Teams

    A program of On Earth Peace Assembly and Ministry of Reconciliation, to train young adults to explain the concepts of peacemaking and conflict resolution, especially to church camps and congregations. See OEPA.

Congregational Life Teams

    One of the eight administrative departments of the General Board. During the 1997-1998 redesign process of the General Board, a new strategy was proposed to further enhance communication, resourcing, and interpretation between the General Board and districts and congregations with the establishment of Congregational Life Teams. Each of the five different regions are staffed with half-time positions.

Council of District Executives

    District staff began to coordinate their mutual efforts in the early 1970s through their own formation of an organization, for purposes of social interaction, professional growth, and mutual support. The 2001 Annual Conference took action to: “recognize the Council of District Executives as an organization within the denomination, where Annual Conference agencies share information, participate in mutual ministry discussion, and explore the various voices of district and agency life, leadership, and ministries.”

www.cob-net.org/code.htm

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