Announcements
Salem Mennonite to co-host service at Lima Mennonite
Palm Sunday special service at Lima Mennonite, Sunday, March 24, at 6:30 p.m. Lima Mennonite (1318 Main St., Lima, Ohio), together with Salem Mennonite in Elida, will host Sarah Augustine, co-founder and co-chair of the Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Coalition. Her presentation will focus on understanding the Doctrine of Discovery, a set of laws rooted in the 15th century that…
Healthy Boundaries refresher training planned
April 22 is the deadline to register for the Healthy Boundaries 201 training sponsored by the Ohio Conference. This training will be held on Tuesday, April 30, at Wooster Mennonite Church from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The training also will be available online through Zoom. Lunch will be provided for in-person participants. To register, go to https://buytickets.at/ohioconferenceofmennonitechurchusa/1157814.
April is Abuse Prevention Month
April is Abuse Prevention month. Congregations and pastors are welcome to contact Nancy Kauffmann, interim denominational minister of Church Safety for Mennonite Church USA’s Church Vitality office, if they wish to have a speaker, training or other resource to use during the month. You may contact her at nancyk@mennoniteusa.org.
Nominees sought for Bring the Peace awards
Mennonite Church USA is seeking award nominations for its 2024 Bring the Peace initiative. The denomination gives the award to a Legacy Peacemaker and a Young Peacemaker each year. A Legacy Peacemaker is someone who has devoted their life to peace and justice work, whereas a Young Peacemaker is a young adult or teenager who has just begun their peacemaking journey and is…
Safe Church policies will be webinar focus
Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) is hosting a webinar, “Making a Safe Church Protection Policy,” on Monday, March 25, at 7 p.m. ET. Facilitators will be Marlene Bogard and Nancy Kauffmann, MC USA’s interim denominational minister for Church Safety. Webinar participants will learn how to write a protection policy, how to use the policy, when to update their congregation’s policy…
Jesus Collective to hold Unite Conference
If you are interested in exploring further the ideas about a Jesus-centered faith that featured speaker Meghan Larissa Good presented at ACA, consider attending Unite, a conference hosted by the Jesus Collective. This event will take place April 24-26 in St. Paul, Minnesota. For more information, see https://jesuscollective.com/unite.
Webinar to focus on women in ministry
In honor of Women’s History Month, Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) is sponsoring a webinar, “The Hope-Filled Persistence of Women in Ministry,” on Monday, March 11, at 7 p.m. This webinar will look at the lives of MC USA women in ministry across the generations and today. Rev. Amy Zimbelman, conference minister of Mountain States Mennonite Conference, and Elizabeth Johnson,…
Bluffton to offer new environmental science major
BLUFFTON, Ohio — Starting in fall 2024, Bluffton University students will have the opportunity to major in environmental science. Housed in the department of health sciences, natural sciences and mathematics, the program will provide students a broader understanding of the natural and built worlds around them through classes in biology, chemistry, geology, and soil, water and climate sciences. See the…
Missio Dei issue features Latin American women
The 32nd issue of Missio Dei, a publication of Mennonite Mission Network, describes 20 years of Movimiento de Mujeres Anabautistas Haciendo Teología desde América Latina (Movement of Anabaptist Women Doing Theology from Latin America — MTAL). Spanish and English versions of the booklet, Women, 20 years of paving the way between dreams and hopes, a collaboration between Mission Network and…
Camp Luz seeks program director
Camp Luz is seeking a leader who is passionate about seeing people growing in their faith in Jesus Christ to serve as program director. Use your skills and experience to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of children, young adults, and families. This position is available immediately. See the Camp Luz news release for more information. A full…
Healthy Boundaries refresher training planned
Ohio Conference will hold a Healthy Boundaries 201 training on Tuesday, April 30, at Wooster Mennonite Church from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The training also will be available online through Zoom. For those meeting in person, lunch will be provided. Healthy Boundaries 201 is designed for credentialed pastors who have previously completed Healthy Boundaries 101. Please note: All persons…
Seminary programs offer support for pastors
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, is offering programs which support pastors currently serving in the church. The Transition to Leadership program guides and nurtures new pastors during the crucial first years of ministry. This two-year program includes monthly one-on-one mentoring sessions, biannual Learning Events with other new pastors and their mentors, and optional consultations with consultants with…
Fairlawn Mennonite to host MCC Comforter Bash
This year the Ohio MCC Comforter Bash will take place at Fairlawn Mennonite Church, 8520 Emerson Road, Apple Creek, Ohio. Hours are as follows: Friday, March 8 – 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, March 9 – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. See the Ohio Conference website for more information: https://wp.me/p6vGMi-4eD.
The Soil and the Seed offers resources for Lent
The Soil and The Seed Project has released a new collection of free resources for Lent, Easter and Pentecost. Included are a new album of music, “Little Liturgies,” art, and lyrics/chord/lead sheets. To download these resources, go to https://www.thesoilandtheseedproject.org/vol-9.
Lent at Home guide is now available
“Christ Among Us” is the theme of the Lent at Home 2024 worship guide, now available for free from the Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) website: https://bit.ly/2024LentatHome. This guide uses weekly and daily Scriptures as a basis for worship rituals, prayers, and activities designed to help individuals and households of all ages prepare for the season of Lent.
POTC focuses on non-military career options
Peaceful Options for Training and Careers (POTC), an independent initiative formed by Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), has begun training volunteer counselors to help young adults find non-military career, service and training opportunities. Titus Peachey, a retired MCC peace educator, led the most recent training session on Jan. 18, 2024, via Zoom. To learn more, see the…
Social Justice Sunday is June 23
Grace & Groundings, Ohio Conference’s racial reconciliation resource team, would like to remind everyone that February is Black History Month and June 23 is Social Justice Sunday. This spring Grace & Groundings will be sharing resource materials for observing Social Justice Sunday in your congregation.
Orientation sessions will be held online
Orientation sessions for new delegates to Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) and for table group leaders at ACA will be held on Zoom prior to ACA. The new delegate orientation will take place Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. To attend, use this link: https://bit.ly/2024NewDelegateOrientation. The table group leader orientation will take place Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. To attend, use this…
Register for ACA by Feb. 9
Have you registered for Annual Conference Assembly (ACA)? Feb. 9 is the deadline to register for ACA at the regular fee of $50 per person. After that date, the registration fee rises to $65 per person. Sharon Mennonite Church in Plain City will host the 2024 ACA March 1-2. The featured speaker at this event will be Meghan Larissa Good,…
CommonWord offers resources for Lent
This year Lent begins Feb. 14. If you are looking for new Lenten resources, check out the website for CommonWord, a collaboration of Mennonite Church Canada and Canadian Mennonite University. In preparation for Lent, CommonWord has curated a collection of resources for this season of the church year. Included in the collection are books, songs, and worship resources such as…
MEA announces scholarship application deadline
ELKHART, Indiana — Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) has announced the deadline to apply for the MEA Scholarship for BIPOC Students within Mennonite Church USA (MC USA). Applications will be accepted through April 1, 2024, for the 2024-25 academic year. The scholarship was launched in the fall of 2023 to help students who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color…
Anabaptist World seeks submissions about including people with disabilities
Anabaptist World invites your original submissions for an upcoming issue focusing on the theme “Inclusion of people with disabilities.” Articles should be between 600 and 1,200 words. For more information about this theme, see https://bit.ly/AWDisabilitiesInclusion. Submissions are due to editor@anabaptistworld.org no later than Feb. 5.
Public educator group to meet Jan. 25
The next online meeting of the Mennonite Public Educators group is Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, at 7 p.m. Eastern. This group is intended for all Mennonite education professionals working in public school settings. The conversation topic will be “CRT, Social-Emotional Learning, & book banning.” Registration is required. Email info@MennoniteEducation.org to receive registration information.
Hope for the Future conference set for Feb. 9-11
Registration for Mennonite Church USA’s (MC USA) Hope for the Future conference, to be held in Dallas, Texas, Feb. 9-11, 2024, is now open. The annual conference provides space for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) leaders from across the United States to gather and share in mutual support and worship. More information is available on the MC USA website: https://bit.ly/2024HopeforFuture.
Register online for ACA
Registration is open for the 2024 Annual Conference Assembly (ACA). Sharon Mennonite Church will host ACA on March 1-2. For more information, please see https://bit.ly/2024ACAInfo. To register, go to https://bit.ly/2024ACARegistration.
Register now for Women in Leadership Retreat
The biennial Ohio Conference Women in Leadership Retreat is quickly approaching on Feb. 2-3, 2024. This year’s retreat will be held at the Lial Renewal Center in Whitehouse, Ohio, and will feature Jewel Gingerich Longenecker, dean of Lifelong Learning at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. She will lead participants in exploring what it means to claim the fullness of their identity…
Spiritual renewal program offered for clergy
The Center for Clergy Renewal (https://bit.ly/CCRProgram) offers spiritual renewal to Christian pastors through ecumenical immersion experiences into the life of Holy Wisdom Monastery, near Madison, Wisconsin, and an ongoing community of monastic resources and support that extends beyond the walls of Holy Wisdom. The program offers early and mid-career clergy the opportunity to nourish their spiritual center by developing life-long, covenantal relationships…
AMBS offers Practical Leadership Training
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, is offering training modules for pastors and lay leaders through its Practical Leadership Training program. Please see the 2024 Practical Leadership Training flyer to learn more about upcoming training modules.
Oak Grove in Smithville seeks lead pastor
Oak Grove Mennonite Church in Smithville, Ohio, is looking for a full-time lead pastor. Oak Grove was founded in 1818 and is steeped in Anabaptist belief, practice, and history. We seek a lead pastor to teach, encourage, and shepherd the people of Oak Grove Mennonite Church that they might grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ and might further His…
Winter Cluster meetings start Jan. 9
Five winter cluster meetings have been scheduled for Ohio Conference delegates to Annual Conference Assembly. Each meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and last about two hours. Locations are as follows: Jan. 9 — Tedrow Mennonite Church, Wauseon Jan. 11 — Beech Mennonite Church, Louisville Jan. 16 — Crown Hill Mennonite Church, Rittman Jan. 18 — Oak Grove Mennonite Church, West Liberty Jan.…