Items

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  Conservative Anabaptist Groups and COVID-19

  A panel discussion hosted by Professor Marlene Epp, director of the Institute of Anabaptist and Mennonite Studies at Conrad Grebel University College. Panelists include Abe Harms, Gerry Horst, Kenny Wollmann, and Ben Nobbs-Thiessen.
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  Empty

  During COVID-19 we experienced temporary shortages. Items like milk, toilet paper, yeast, and flour we snapped up as people prepared for the lock down. This is the first time I experienced the shelves at my local grocery store being empty of milk. This surprised me and the seriousness of the lock down became more real.
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  Journal of the COVID Year

  The author wrote this poem almost daily during the early days of the pandemic, and it expresses that painful reality.
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  COVID Chronicles - Portland Mennonite Church

  COVID Chronicles is a project of Portland Mennonite Church (PMC) in Portland, Oregon. The purpose is to help people affiliated with PMC connect with each other during this time when we are not able to meet and worship in-person because of the global pandemic. Through podcast interviews, we hear stories about where we came from, how we came to be at PMC and what our lives are like during this historic time. The project began mid-July 2020.
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  A pastor's protest experience

  Todd Gusler lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he is the pastor of Rossmere Mennonite Church. On Sunday May 31, 2020 a protest against police brutality and the murder of George Floyd was scheduled to be held in downtown Lancaster. Organized by a local group, the protest was meant to be a car rally so people could participate while socially distancing from each other due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Participants were to drive a prearranged route that went past the police station. Below is an account of Todd’s experience that was originally posted to his Facebook page.
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  An Anabaptist Sunday Morning

  The time of the Covid-19 pandemic has caused many changes in life's routine. Sunday mornings in the time of Covid mean staying at home and sheltering. Worship takes a form on these Sundays different from the usual routine. This short report tells about how Sundays have changed for me.
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  Bethel College COVID-19 Update, Sept. 4, 2020

  Update about Bethel College COVID cluster and follow-up.
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  COVID-19, racial justice and community

  Ken Hochstetler, President and CEO of Everence, discusses how the first seven months of 2020 have brought dramatic change and upheaval for all of us – and it’s during times of uncertainty that our relationships with each other are more essential than ever.
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  A reading list on race and economic justice

  We must look deeper at what it means to live in community with one another. From the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on diverse and economically disadvantaged communities to attacks on people of color to protests denouncing injustice across our country, it is imperative that we consider how our neighbors, brothers, sisters and friends experience community – as well as if, how and why their experiences may differ from our own. To help all of us step up to this responsibility, Everence has developed a Faith, Race and Money reading list might help you and/or your group learn more about issues of race, faith, money and injustice – how they came to be, intersect, and continue to impact communities of color yet today.
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  National church financial trends: Before and after COVID-19

  Webinar recording: Churches have rapidly adapted to the financial swings of the COVID-19 pandemic – on top of significant adaptations in recent years due to changing societal trends. Lake Institute on Faith & Giving has conducted comprehensive research on this topic in two studies: 1) the National Study of Congregations’ Economic Practices, and 2) Faith and Giving in the Time of COVID-19. Listen to this webinar recording on these studies to learn more about the economic practices of congregations, including how they receive, manage, and spend financial resources in the midst of change.
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  Washington, D.C., NFL team agrees to reconsider racist name

  News release: Praxis Mutual Funds®, a fund family of Everence®, signed on to letters calling on Nike, Pepsi, and FedEx to terminate their business and public relationships with the National Football League’s Washington, D.C., franchise if it does not stop using the name “Redskins,” a term long considered racist by American Indians.
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  Everence to celebrate 75th anniversary virtually

  News release: Everence® is not letting social distancing deter plans to commemorate the organization’s 75th anniversary. Instead of an in-person gathering, the faith-based financial services company will celebrate virtually, with a videocast scheduled for Sunday, July 19, 2020, at 3 p.m. (EDT).
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  Loving our neighbor

  Understanding the reality of low-to-moderate income communities in the age of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter.
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  We can and must do better

  All of us at Praxis Mutual Funds®, a fund family of Everence Financial®, are distraught by the systemic racism and police violence plaguing our country. We commit ourselves to using the many tools at our disposal as investors – screening, shareholder engagement, proxy voting, positive impact bonds, community investing and more to address the inequity and systemic racism that infect our lives in so many ways. We can do more. We can do better ... and we must.
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  A message of lament

  From Everence President and CEO Ken Hochstetler, in response to the discrimination and oppression that are an ever-present and daily reality for many who are part of the Everence family – including our employees and members.
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  New African Development Bank social bond targets COVID-19 response

  MarketScreener and several other news outlets recently highlighted Praxis Impact Bond Fund’s investment in the African Development Bank’s Fight COVID-19 social bond: London Stock Exchange: African Development Bank celebrates milestone with first social bond listing on London Stock Exchange.
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  Praxis Mutual Funds among early signatories of ICCR Investor Statement on Coronavirus Response

  Praxis Mutual Funds®, a leading faith-based, socially responsible family of mutual funds from Everence® Financial, calls upon company leadership to uphold policies that care for employees, customers and suppliers in the face of the COVID-19 global humanitarian crisis.
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  COVID-19 Congregational Relief Fund distributes most of initial funding

  News release: In just over a month since its launch, the COVID-19 Congregational Relief Fund distributed more than $735,000 to 159 churches in the United States facing critical financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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  Caring for each other through crisis

  News release: How one church in the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis offers support, connection and hope.
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  Grants provide help for Anabaptist churches facing financial crisis

  News release: From April 13 to May 11, 2020, the COVID-19 Congregational Relief Fund has received more than 300 grant applications from churches facing financial hardships.
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  MDS, Everence and MCC launch COVID-19 Congregational Relief Fund

  News release: Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), Everence® and Mennonite Central Committee U.S. (MCC U.S.) have joined together to launch a COVID-19 Congregational Relief Fund to aid churches facing financial crisis due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
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  Everence offers assistance and relief options during COVID-19 outbreak

  News release: As part of its mission to help people, churches, businesses and organizations integrate their faith and values into their financial decisions, Everence® is offering assistance and relief options to help members and customers impacted by the evolving COVID-19 outbreak.