Progressive Brethren Online

BMC accepted as a BVS volunteer placement site! Read more here
BMC granted exhibit space at the 2012 Annual Conference in St. Louis! Read more here.

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Welcome!

We are an online community of progressive groups and individuals that are members and friends of the Church of the Brethren. A joint venture of Voices for an Open Spirit (VOS), Womaen's Caucus, and Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interests (BMC), this site aims to collect in one place all the information progressive Brethren need to network, inform and resource themselves, and work for change in the Church and world.

If you are a progressive Brethren and would like to have your blog, site, ministry, etc., linked to Progressive Brethren Online, please contact our WebMaestra.

Who Are We?

Who are Progressive Brethren?

We are a very diverse group of people who identify with the Church of the Brethren. We recognize God’s Spirit at work in the church and are open to the new directions that Spirit may be leading us in. We embrace diversity, want genuine hospitality for all people, and respect those who hold differing opinions.

Some of us are in formal leadership in our congregations, districts, and the denomination. Others of us have been excluded from membership and leadership due to discriminatory church policies and decisions. Many of us are somewhere in the middle, wrestling with what it means to be Brethren and Christian in this time. We come from all across the country. We are urban, rural, and everything in between. We come from all races, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Progressive Brethren Online is a joint venture of Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interests (BMC), Voices for an Open Spirit, and Womaen's Caucus.

Progressive Brethren share a general set of values and traits that include being:

Diversity friendly
Earth friendly
Women friendly
LGBT friendly
Science friendly
Other faith friendly
Jesus friendly/focused
Focused on the living body of Christ
Peace and justice centered
Intellectually curious
Focused on the present life rather than afterlife
Focused on orthopraxis over orthodoxy

These generalizations are just a starting point for discussion and identification. We invite you to be part of the conversation!

Courtesy of the Church of the Brethren/Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

What is Progressive Christianity?

More about the Church of the Brethren

LATEST NEWS

Progressive Brethren eBoard provides new way for progressive Brethren congregations and individuals to network
2011 Progressive Brethren Gathering
Feast of Love calls Interim Organizational Team
2011 Annual Conference coverage

2011 Progressive Brethren Gathering WEBCASTS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11
Opening Worship -- 6:30 pm view recording

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12
Morning Worship -- 8:45 am view recording
Keynote Address: Dr Sharon Welch -- 9:15 am view recording
Action Ideas and Plans: Presentations -- 10:30 am view recording
Talk On -- 2:00 pm view recording
Banquet at General Offices -- 6:30 p.m. view recording

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13
Sunday Worship at Highland Ave. CoB -- 9:30 am view recording
Concluding Conversations -- 11 am view recording

Good News from BMC!

In recent months, BMC has been accepted as a placement site for BVS volunteers and has been approved for exhibit space at the 2012 Annual Conference. Read more from BMC's executive director:

From BMC Executive Director Carol Wise:

Dear Friends, After more than a decade of being denied, BMC is very, very pleased to announce that we have been accepted as a Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) placement site. This means that our Kaleidoscope volunteers will now be able to serve through Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) instead of needing to go through Lutheran Volunteer Corps or the Volunteer Ministries of the United Church of Christ as they currently must. We are grateful to Dan McFadden, Director of BVS, for being a persistent advocate for BMC, and to Stan Noffsinger, General Secretary, for his courage in making this decision. Please consider sending them a note of thanks and support to counter the negative feedback they are sure to receive. We are also grateful to Lutheran Volunteer Corps and the United Church of Christ for their embrace of us for so long. Thank you to everyone whose prayers, support, love and advocacy have helped move us to this new place. We are truly grateful.
With gratitude,

Carol Wise
BMC

Dear Friends,

BMC is very pleased to announce that our request for exhibit space at the 2012 Annual Conference has been approved!

This is truly something to celebrate. We give thanks for the faithful persistence and unflagging courage of those who have labored for more than twenty years for this moment to happen. For all of your letters, difficult conversations, creative acts of witness, gentle prayers and fierce support that made this decision possible, we are deeply grateful.

We look forward to being a presence of hope and justice in St. Louis.

See you at the booth!!

With gratitude,

Carol Wise
BMC

New Progressive Brethren eBoard is online!

A new eBoard designed for progressive Brethren is now online and available to progressive Brethren individuals, pastors, and congregations.

Designed to offer a safe online space where progressive Brethren can share ideas, resources, and news about what their Congregations are doing, the eBoard differs from existing list serves in that it is designed to be a place of support and sharing specifically for Brethren who self-identify as progressive.

The creation of the eBoard came out of the 2011 Progressive Brethren Gathering and is intended to help strengthen and support the progressive Brethren movement. To learn more about the eBoard and how to apply for membership, click here.

NEW VIDEO: Our Journey To Becoming A Welcoming Congregation

Portland Peace Church of the Brethren shares their story as a resource for other individuals and congregations during the CoB Special Response process. Current and past members of Peace Church share their own individual stories and feelings of how they dealt with the issues of homosexuality. As a result of their leadership, their church became a “welcoming congregation” to all, regardless of their “age, gender, race, ability, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.” Learn more about the video and order here.

NEW VIDEO:
On the Male Side of Middle

A story of love, honesty and integrity, this film about female-to-male transgender Mennonite Calvin Neufeld, captures a special moment in time between him and his family. Filmed a year after he began transitioning and a year after marrying his partner Sharon, this story shows how strong a family can be when they love, care and listen to each other. In collaboration with BMC. Writer, Director, Editor Paul Neudorf. Watch it below: