Grace Brethren International Mission executive director Dave Guiles presented two seminars to the Brethren Heritage Tour participants Monday morning in the Chateau St. Albain, France. The first was on Jacob Cassell and the founding of the Brethren missionary movement in 1900 and following, and the second was the story of Africa missionary James Gribble and

Maribeth Taylor (left), from the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church, is the newest intern/assistant to arrive at the Chateau St. Albain in France. This photo was taken at lunch Monday, and Maribeth had arrived only about 30 minutes earlier. She will assist at the chateau for about the next six months. At right is

Retired Grace Brethren pastor Russ Ogden, now living near Indianapolis, IN, recently received his Ph.D. degree. Here is a message he recently sent to friends and prayer supporters (photo by Joan Snively) Betty and I express our deepest gratitude to our family and friends who have encouraged us throughout the arduous years I have labored

YIB (Your Intrepid Blogger) has concluded the CHARIS experience in Frankfurt, Germany, and is now in France. Dave and Sue Guiles and I took a patchwork of trains, Paris subways, and other means to cross over into France and re-join the Brethren Heritage Tour Saturday night in Lyon, France. Sunday morning we attended the Lyon

Debbie Hocking (second from left, in white blouse) welcomed the Brethren Heritage Tour to the Chateau St. Albain this afternoon in France. She and her husband, Jay (who is currently in the U.S. for his brother’s wedding) are hosts at the Chateau, along with a group of young staff people. After a delicious dinner, the

CHARIS 2008, the worldwide gathering of Grace Brethren leadership from about 17 countries, closed Friday night with a threefold communion service led by Edouardo Coria (pictured) of Argentina, who has been a pastor for 45 years. In an emotional ending, the group sang together, worshiped together, and then walked up to the nearby marketplace to

A barbecue with grilled steaks and bratwursts on the patio provided good food and fellowship Thursday evening at the CHARIS gathering in Bad Homburg, Germany. The youth hostel there has provided an excellent venue for the meetings of the assembled worldwide leadership of Grace Brethren churches, numbering about 55 delegates and support people in total.

A table tennis interlude provides a nice break from the intensity of the sessions of CHARIS, the worldwide gathering of Grace Brethren church leaders, meeting at a youth hostel in Bad Homburg, a suburb of Frankfurt, Germany, this week. CHARIS officially ends with a Friday evening session. Playing table tennis here are, from left, Steve

Following the regional presentation from Africa on Thursday evening, the African pastors present sang a special song for the CHARIS delegates, led by Samuel Dadje of Chad (left) and Francois Ngoumape (right) of the Central African Republic. Although four pastors and leaders were able to come from Chad, the visas of other delegates from the