One regional meeting remains

Our thanks go out to all delegates who have attended the regional meetings at Tedrow Mennonite Church and Crown Hill Mennonite Church. The final regional meeting for delegates will take place on Tuesday, March 7, at Oak Grove Mennonite Church in West Liberty, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

ACA registration deadline is near

Have you registered for Annual Conference Assembly yet? After this Friday, March 3, the registration fee increases from $30 per person to $45 per person.  ACA will take place March 24-25 at Central Christian School in Kidron.

Register Now»

Also, don’t forget to register for the Missional Conference with Alan and Debra Hirsch, which is set for March 23-24 at Kidron Mennonite Church. See the missional conference event page for details. Please note: If you register for the missional conference after March 15, meals are not guaranteed. Meal counts must be given to the caterers by that date.

Register Now»

Ohio Conference Leadership Team would like to hear from you

Due to time constraints at the spring regional meetings, we have not included time for group discussion regarding the directional statement and the dual budget proposal presented by the Leadership Team and the Stewardship Ministry.

We covet your feedback on both proposals. We would encourage you to contact one of the Leadership Team members listed below with any questions or comments that you might have. We are meeting again on March 13 to finalize the proposal.

Thank you all for the many ways that you support us in this work.

Bob Sauder, conference moderator
419-633-7008
sauderbob2@gmail.com
Thomas Dunn, assistant moderator, Ministry Development Team chair
330-317-5587
thomas@crownhillmennonite.com
Dan Hooley, Credentialing chair
330-413-7319
danhooley@sbcglobal.net
Melanie Miller, Stewardship chair
614-570-4254
mgfmiller@gmail.com
Mel Hathaway, Gifts Discernment chair
330-601-6518
smcpastor@embarqmail.com

Documents are included for your review

For your reference, several of the documents presented at the regional gatherings are included with this issue of Delegate News.

• Leadership Team Proposed Direction Statement – 2017
• Listening Report from Cliff Brubaker – Revised
• 2017 Ohio Conference Proposed Budget
• 2017 Budget Presentation – PowerPoint Slides

In addition, the video on missional coaching is now on the Conference website.

Delegates may propose resolutions

A note about bringing resolutions to ACA: While normally most resolutions considered at ACA are proposed by the Leadership Team, delegates also may propose resolutions for the delegate body to consider at ACA. All delegate-developed resolutions must be submitted to the Resolutions Committee by the end of the worship service before the last day of the assembly. This procedure is intended to give the Resolutions Committee time to work. In most years, there are delegate business sessions on the first day of ACA, but such is not the case this year. Resolutions may still be submitted to the Resolutions Committee on Friday night, however.

For the 2017 Annual Conference Assembly, these three people will serve on the Resolutions Committee:

Tony Doehrmann, Jubilee Mennonite Church — jubileemenno@gmail.com

Robb Esh, Valley View Mennonite Church —  robert.esh1@gmail.com

Regina Wenger, Central Mennonite Church —regina@centralmennonite.org

For more details about proposing resolutions at ACA, please see “Bringing Resolutions to the Annual Conference Assembly” on pages 12-14 of the 2017 annual report book. If you did not receive an annual report book, contact Judy King at ohmc@zoominternet.net or (330) 857-5421.

Nominate a youth for Step Up

This summer’s Mennonite Church USA convention will feature a new program, Step Up, intended to get youth engaged in the discussions and work of the larger Mennonite Church. Each conference is encouraged to nominate three regular church attendees, incoming sophomores in high school and older, to be involved in this program. Youth will receive preparation for being a part of the delegate assembly and will sit at assigned tables during the delegate assembly. They will also debrief with other Step Up participants afterward. This is a unique opportunity to encourage youth interested in church leadership and in the workings of the larger church. The deadline to nominate a young person from your congregation has been extended. To nominate a youth to participate in this program, please contact Alysa Short at alysashort@gmail.com by March 8.

Delegate News is for you

…if you are a delegate to Ohio Conference’s Annual Conference Assembly. Each Ohio Conference congregation is eligible to send at least two delegates (or more, depending on the number of members), as well as an additional young adult delegate. In addition, the following people are automatically delegates:

• Credentialed pastors of Ohio Conference congregations
• Ohio Conference staff members
• Ohio Conference Leadership Team
• Ministry Development Team
• Stewardship Ministry Team
• Credentialing Ministry Team
• Gifts Discernment Ministry Team

If you are no longer a delegate for your congregation, please forward Delegate News to the new delegates in your congregation. In addition, please inform Judy King, Conference administrative assistant, of the change. You may contact her at ohmc@zoominternet.net or (330) 857-5421.