Author: Shaquez Dickens
MEA continues executive director search
Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) is continuing its search for a new executive director. The deadline to apply is March 31. For more details, please see https://bit.ly/MEAExecDirector.
Peace center offers mediation training refresher
A note from Lombard Mennonite Peace Center: For those who have already taken our Mediation Skills Training Institute (MSTI), we are pleased to offer a new one-day event: the MSTI Refresher Course. Sessions are available on Tuesday, May 11, and Saturday, June 12. The fee is $99, and the event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. The full five-day…
Online workshops are free to all
Ohio Conference is offering a series of free online workshops. These workshops will take place on Thursday evenings on Zoom, beginning at 7 p.m. For information about these workshops, please go to http://bit.ly/2021OnlineWorkshops. Please register online at https://bit.ly/OhioConferenceEvents by the Monday before the workshop.
Ohio Conference Cast 2.0 — Meet our new hosts
After a hiatus of several months, the Ohio Conference Cast podcast is back! In this episode, our new hosts, Corben Weaver Boshart and Ramon Lianez, introduce themselves. These two friends from Northwest Ohio are both pastors of Ohio Conference congregations, but they aren’t carbon copies of each other. Listen to this episode to learn more about Corben and Ramon. You’ll…
Ohio Conference to offer free online workshops
As winter turns to spring, Ohio Conference invites you to join with others across the Conference in the exploration of new ideas. During March and April, Ohio Conference is offering a series of free one-hour workshops on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. All workshops will take place on Thursdays, beginning at 7 p.m. These workshops, led by individuals from Ohio Conference…
Mennonite Disaster Service Early Response Teams head to Texas
Lititz, PA — Early Response Teams from Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) are heading to Texas with a focus on repairing broken pipes and waterlines so residents hard-hit by the recent deadly ice storm can make their first step toward recovery. The storm sent some 29 million people into a state of crisis and, though power is back on for many,…
Delegate News – Winter 2021 #3
We look forward to our time together We are looking forward to meeting online for Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) March 6. This year ACA will take place on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. This issue of Delegate News includes more information to help you prepare for ACA. Gifts Discernment Ministry to present slate at ACA At ACA delegates will be asked…
MennoMedia shares answers to copyright and licensing questions
Church services on Zoom, streaming, podcasting, screensharing — all of these practices raise questions of copyright, especially in relation to the new Voices Together worship and song collection. MennoMedia has assembled a comprehensive resource to answer all of your copyright questions. Up-to-date information, downloadable pdfs, and specifics about the Voices Together audio recordings and projection edition can all be found…
Strong January giving erases deficit
After running a deficit for most of the current fiscal year, Ohio Conference ended January with a positive operating balance, according to figures provided by Financial Coordinator Stan Helmuth. Receipts for the month totaled $48,939, including $40,278 in giving from congregations. Expenses for January totaled just $28,442, resulting in a surplus of $20,497 for the month. That surplus was large…
Webinar features Ohio pastors
“Speak the Truth in Love,” a webinar provided by Mennonite Mission Network, featured two Ohio Conference pastors. Vikki Pruitte-Sorrells, pastor of Lee Heights Community Church in Cleveland, and Kevin Himes, pastor of Salem Mennonite Church in Kidron, were featured panelists. Ann Jacobs of Mennonite Mission Network hosted the webinar, which celebrated relationships and considered how to mend divides that are…
MyNeighbor credit card purchases can help support your congregation
You can support your church every time you buy groceries, gas and other items — with the MyNeighbor card from Everence. When you use the MyNeighbor credit card for your purchases, Everence donates 1.5 % of the transaction total to your church or other selected organization — your Neighbor. It’s a great way to provide financial support, with no additional…
Invite a speaker from Mennonite World Conference
Would you like to hear from Mennonites from other parts of the world? As many congregations currently are worshipping through online services, Mennonite World Conference (MWC) guest speakers can connect local congregations with the global church. MWC’s officers can join a service as guest preacher or as presenter to share stories about the global family. To learn more, see https://mwc-cmm.org/stories/invite-mwc-speaker.
Goshen College offers free online devotionals during Lent
During Lent Goshen College is offering online devotions focusing on the theme “Deep Calls to Deep.” Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Goshen College students, faculty and staff provide reflections based on the upcoming Sunday’s lectionary scripture passages. You can read these devotions online at www.goshen.edu/devotions. To receive the devotions by email, go to www.goshen.edu/devotions/subscribe.
Register for ACA by Feb. 26
There’s still time to register for Annual Conference Assembly! Online registration is open for the 2021 missional conference on March 4 and 5 and Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) on March 6. Both events will take place on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. Brad Roth, pastor and author of God’s Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church, will be…
Anabaptist World seeks submissions
Anabaptist World invites your original submissions for an upcoming issue focusing on the theme “What if they don’t come back?” For many of us, the coronavirus pandemic has uprooted church as we know it. Congregational life, and the community that it creates, has shifted, revealing unexpected challenges and opportunities. Article length should be about 600 to 1,200 words. Submissions are due…
Regional meeting recording available for viewing
A recording of the West Central/Southwest Ohio regional meeting for delegates held on Feb. 4 is available online for viewing. To view the recording, click on the link below and enter the password listed. West Central/Southwest Ohio Regional Meeting — click on the link and enter the password $N%fdqM6
Video conversations focus on immigration
During the month of January, Evangelical Immigration Table hosted a series of video conversations about immigration. Recordings of these conversations are available for viewing on Evangelical Immigration Table’s website: https://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/2021convening. Topics featured were “Discipleship in Politically Polarized Times,” “The Mission on Our Doorsteps,” “Evangelical Priorities for Immigration Policy in the Biden Administration and the 117th Congress,” and “Faith, Work, Economics…
Join MCC’s Great Winter Warm-up
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) invites you to join the Great Winter Warm-up: At Home this winter. Last year, countless volunteers generously gave their time and talents to create more than 9,000 comforters at events across Canada, the U.S. and Europe. This year, MCC is asking people to stay safe and participate by making comforters at home instead. More information, including…
March 10 is application deadline for Everence scholarships
Everence is continuing its college scholarship program for the 2021-2022 school year and will be accepting applications through March 10, 2021. The program awards scholarships of $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000. To be eligible, the student or the student’s parent must own or be using an Everence product. For more details or to apply, visit everence.com/college-scholarships.
Camp Luz plans Men’s Solitude Retreat
Camp Luz will hold a Men’s Solitude Retreat Feb. 26 and 27. This retreat will be focused on solitude and personal reflection based on a theme from Esther 4:14b, which says, “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Retreat organizers will have a set of devotions for participants to use…
Peacebuilding institute offering online courses
The Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) at Eastern Mennonite University will be conducting its May and June courses online this year, due to uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic. SPI is offering courses in the areas of trauma awareness, restorative and social justice, leadership and management, and conflict transformation skills. For more information, see https://emu.edu/spi.
MWC seeks new chief operations officer
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is seeking a new Chief Operations Officer, starting in April 2021. The position is based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The COO must have competencies in accounting and financial reporting, maintaining corporate status in Canada and the USA, developing administrative policies for the North American offices, managing human resources and information technology for staff and participating in…
Delegate News – Winter 2021 #2
Winter regional meetings begin on Feb. 2 Ohio Conference is holding four online winter meetings for delegates to Annual Conference Assembly: Tuesday, Feb. 2 — Wayne County/Holmes County Thursday, Feb. 4 — West Central/Southwest Ohio Tuesday, Feb. 9 — Northeast Ohio Thursday, Feb. 11 — Northwest Ohio All meetings will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on the Zoom…
MC USA to hold virtual Delegate Assembly in July
The Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA has voted to hold the denomination’s biennial Delegate Assembly online due to uncertainty around COVID-19 gathering restrictions. Originally scheduled to meet in person on July 6-10, 2021, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Delegate Assembly will meet virtually on Saturday, July 10, from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. While the 2021 MC USA Delegate Assembly will…
Search begins for new MEA executive director
The search has begun for the next executive director of Mennonite Education Agency (MEA). A profile of the agency and a job description are available on the MEA website: http://bit.ly/News-MEA.
Regional meetings set for February
Ohio Conference will hold online winter meetings for delegates to Annual Conference Assembly. Four regional meetings are planned: Feb. 2 — Wayne County/Holmes County Feb. 4 — West Central/Southwest Ohio Feb. 9 — Northeast Ohio Feb. 11 — Northwest Ohio All meetings will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. For login information, please contact Judy King at ohmc@zoominternet.net.
MC USA offers Lent at Home guide
(Mennonite Church USA) — Mennonite Church USA’s (MC USA) 2021 Lent at Home worship guide is now available. The annual guide for home-based worship provides daily and weekly scripture readings, prayers and rituals for individuals and families observing Lent, the period of prayer and reflection from Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, to Easter, April 4. “In today’s divided society, we are…
Pastors invited to experience ‘The Joy of Rest’
Dan Schrock will be the presenter for “The Joy of Rest,” a spiritual direction retreat for pastors, on Tuesday, Feb. 16. This online retreat will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. In this brief video, Dan Schrock reflects on the importance of rest in the life of pastors, and he invites all Ohio…
Scholarship fund supports seminary students
ELKHART, Indiana — For the past 30 years an endowed scholarship at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) has helped dozens of students pursue pastoral leadership education, and now AMBS has begun a campaign to celebrate the aid given and raise funds for continued student support. Since its inception in 1990, the Paul M. and Bertha M. Miller Pastoral Leadership Scholarship…
ACA to be held online in 2021
For the first time in the history of the Ohio Conference, delegates from Conference congregations will not gather in person for Annual Conference Assembly (ACA). The 2021 ACA will be a virtual, one-day event, taking place March 6 on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. The theme for the 2021 ACA is “Come and See! The Mission of the Church in God’s…