Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service -- March 27, 2008 Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, News Director 800-323-8039 ext. 260 -- cobnews@brethren.org
NEW ANTHEM, PRAISE SONG COMMISSIONED FOR 300th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BRETHREN MOVEMENT
(March 27, 2008) Elgin, IL -- An anthem and a praise song have been commissioned in honor of the 300th Anniversary of the Brethren movement. The 300th Anniversary Committee of the Church of the Brethren has commissioned the creation of the new music.
The anthem is titled, "Speak, O Lord." Text and tune are by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, arranged by John Ferguson. The anthem has been published by Morningstar Music. Copies can be ordered at a reduced price by using the downloadable form located on the worship page of the Anniversary website (go to www.churchofthebrethrenanniversary.org/worship.html).
The praise song is titled, "Lord, Empower Us to Love," composed by Ron and Linda Sprunger, who are members of the Brethren Church. In addition to the version of the praise song to be sung by congregations, the Sprunger also have offered a choral arrangement or anthem version of the song. Published copies of the anthem version can be ordered by using the downloadable form also located on the worship page of the Anniversary website.
The 300th Anniversary Committee has developed a variety of other worship resources for congregations and districts to use as part of the Anniversary celebration. The resources are posted on the anniversary website under Resources/Worship.
The Church of the Brethren and other Brethren denominations trace their founding back to 1708, when the first group of eight Brethren were baptized in the Eder River in the village of Schwarzenau, Germany. The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It counts almost 130,000 members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.
# # #
For more information contact:
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford Director of News Services Church of the Brethren General Board 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120 800-323-8039 ext. 260 cobnews@brethren.org
********************************************************** To receive Church of the Brethren news via an e-mail list serv, go to http://listserver.emountain.net/mailman/listinfo/newsline