Donna Parcell - Church of the Brethren
Donna Parcell of the Church of the Brethren was our guest speaker on September 6. Donna was here representing a project that her denomination supports in Nigeria. The denomination maintains hundreds of parishes and pastors in Brethren Congregations. In 2009 the Boko Haram began attacking churches and villages in the Northeastern sector in an attempt to destroy all Western influences. Many villages and churches were burned and 100,000 members and hundreds of pastors and parishes were forced to flee for their lives. The Boko Harem promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram" or forbidden to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society. More recently the Nigerian government military has stepped in and challenged the Boko Haram and is trying to drive them from the country. We applaud the courage of the people and the Brethern Church in their continuing work amongst the dangers of armed attacks and ignorance.