Church of the Brethren NOAC

05/26/2026

Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford caught the NOAC Planning Team hard at work last week!

05/21/2026

NOAC 2027 Planning is up and running!! The NOAC Team met in Elgin this week to begin the planning process. We have a GREAT team!

We will share more information soon on the theme, preachers, and keynote speakers!

Thanks to Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford for taking this photo.

Left to right:
Dennis Webb, Illinois/Wisconsin district, Intercultural Coordinator
Heidi Berkenbosch, N. Plains, district, Workshop Coordinator
Kim McDowell, Mid Atlantic district, Worship Co-Coordinator
Glenn Bollinger, Shenandoah district, Hospitality Coordinator
Christy Waltersdorff, Illinois/Wisconsin district, NOAC Coordinator
Ilexene Alphonse, Atlantic Southeast district, Worship Co-coordinator

04/21/2026

Our NOAC family is grieving the death of Leonard Matheny. He died yesterday of liver cancer. Leonard served on the NOAC Planning Team for NOAC 2023 and NOAC 2025. He was such a hard worker I couldn't find a photo of him sitting down! He was a man of deep faith, exuberant kindness, and overflowing joy.

From the Illinois/Wisconsin District District Executive, Walt Wiltschek:
Leonard was a member at Peoria First and long-time dedicated volunteer in the Illinois/Wisconsin District and denomination. Leonard was most recently serving as financial secretary for the district. He previously had been chair of the Church Revitalization and Development Team, coordinator of the Potluck Experience planning team, a leadership team member, and served a term as district moderator, among other roles.

Denominationally, he served on the National Older Adult Conference planning team and for many years was delegate registration coordinator at Annual Conference. He was also quite active at Peoria First and the community, serving in a variety of capacities.

We are grateful for Leonard's generous and cheerful life and ministry, and our prayers are with his wife, Vicki; his children, Wendy and Justin; and the rest of his family, as well as with the Peoria First congregation, as we grieve in this time of loss.

A celebration of life will be held Saturday, April 25, at the First Church of the Brethren in Peoria (4714 N Sheridan Road, Peoria).
9:00-11:00 Visitation
11:00-12:00 Service
12:00 Lunch
In lieu of flowers, we welcome donations in Leonard’s memory to the First Church of the Brethren of Peoria with a note designating Mountain Mission or to the OSF Cancer Institute.

photo: Vicki and Leonard Matheny preparing for NOAC at Lake Junaluska

03/29/2026

The NOAC Book Study group is going strong!

Tuesday evening Dominique Gilliard will join us to discuss his book, SUBVERSIVE WITNESS.

We meet from 6:30-8:00 pm central time.

If you wish to join us, send an email to [email protected] to request the zoom link.

03/03/2026

The NOAC Book Study group will meet today from 6:30-8:00 pm (central time). We will discuss chapters 3 (Esther) and 4 (Moses).

02/19/2026

Our first NOAC Book Study session included 23 people. We had an honest, profound, and stimulating discussion of SUBVERSIVE WITNESS.

Where do you see Christ's subversive witnesses at work in our world today?

We will meet again on Tuesday, March 3. It's not too late to join us. Send an email to: [email protected] to be added to the list.

Send a message to learn more

02/17/2026

The first NOAC Book Study begins this evening on zoom!! Dennis Webb and Christy Waltersdorff will lead this study.

Almost 40 people have signed up to discuss Dominique Gilliard's book, SUBVERSIVE WITNESS.

It's not too late to join us! Send an email to [email protected] to sign up.

01/20/2026

Twenty-five of you have signed up for our book study! We have room for more! If you are interested, please send a message to [email protected].

Dennis Webb and Christy Waltersdorff will co-lead the study.

We are aware of the time zones involved so we are thinking about meeting every other Tuesday from 6:30-8:00 pm (central time).

We are planning to begin on Tuesday, February 17. Those who signed up will receive a zoom link via email prior to the meeting.

Our book is SUBVERSIVE WITNESS by Dominique Gilliard.

You an order your copy of the book online from Brethren Press at https://www.brethrenpress.com/product_p/9780310124030.htm or by calling customer service at 800-441-3712.

01/16/2026

Plans for the book study are beginning to take shape. The co-leaders will be Dennis Webb and Christy Waltersdorff. The group will meet on Zoom beginning in February.

If you are interested in participating, please send an email to Christy at [email protected]. Let her know if you prefer to meet in the daytime or evening.

We will begin with Dominique Gilliard's Book, SUBVERSIVE WITNESS. We are hoping he can visit with us once during the study.

We recommend ordering the book from Brethren Press at brethrenpress.com or 1-800-441-3712. We believe it is beneficial to order from our own Brethren bookstore rather than Amazon or other giant corporations.

We hope to begin the study in mid-February.

01/13/2026

Plans are underway for our first ever NOAC Book Study.

We will begin with Dominique Gilliard's book, SUBVERSIVE WITNESS. We suggest that you support Brethren Press and order this book from brethrenpress.com.

We are hoping to start in February. Watch for more information.
If you have already notified us of your interest, we have your name on our list.

If you are interested, please send us a note at [email protected]