Author: Shaquez Dickens
SOOP is open to retirees, families, and adults ages 25+
Calling all retirees, families, and adults ages 25+! Looking for a flexible service term that allows you to join the work of missional faith communities across North America? Learn more about SOOP at www.MennoniteMission.net/serve.
Youth Venture offers short-term service options
Looking for adventure? Serve, learn and grow with Youth Venture! Locations: Spain, Colombia, Arizona, Peru, Nazareth Village, Benin. Age: 15–22; term: 2–3 weeks. The application deadline is April 1. Learn more at www.MennoniteMission.net/Serve or email LaurenEH@MennoniteMission.net.
Mennonite Voluntary Service accepting applications
Join a community. Serve others. Put your faith into action. Apply to serve with Mennonite Voluntary Service in places like Chicago; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; and Alamosa. Age: 20+; term: 1–2 years. For more info, contact LaurenEH@MennoniteMission.net.
Congregation’s ministry focuses on healing trauma
Recently Dan King, a member of the Immigration Resource Team, shared a reflection about the experience he and his wife, Jeanette, had when they volunteered with San Antonio Mennonite Church’s ministry to immigrants. (To read Dan’s reflection, see http://bit.ly/SanAntonioService.) In 2019, San Antonio Mennonite Church received a Traditioned Innovation Award from Duke Divinity School for the congregation’s work toward healing…
Delegate News — Cluster meeting at Summit Mennonite canceled
Due to the possibility of icy road conditions this evening, the final cluster meeting at Summit Mennonite has been canceled. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD to any delegates from your congregation who do not have email so that we don’t have anyone making the drive. If you have further questions, please contact Judy King at the Ohio Conference office at 330-587-5421…
Proposed spending plan for 2020-21 is available
The proposed Ohio Conference spending plan for 2020-2021 was distributed and discussed at the winter cluster meetings. A copy is available here: 2020-2021 Proposed Spending Plan.
Millsaps to present Forum on gun violence
BLUFFTON, Ohio — Cyneatha Millsaps, executive director of Mennonite Women USA, will present the Forum “Gun Violence: Its Effects on Family and Community” at 11 a.m. on Feb. 11 in Yoder Recital Hall at Bluffton University. This event is free and open to the public. Millsaps will tell about her family’s experience with gun violence and describe the many risks…
OC Leadership Team Response to the MC USA Membership Guidelines Report
From the Ohio Conference Leadership Team: On Jan. 27 the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) released a report from an advisory group suggesting possible changes to the MC USA Membership Guidelines. You can find the release and full report on MC USA’s website. On Jan. 29 the Ohio Conference Leadership Team met for a regularly scheduled meeting.…
Scheduling is open for MDS Summer Youth Program
The MDS Summer Youth Program is a week-long service experience designed for youth (ages 15+) and their sponsors to put hands and feet to the gospel by serving others. If your youth group is interested in spending a week with Mennonite Disaster Service at a Summer Youth Project location, please register online at http://bit.ly/MDSSummerYouth to submit a request for your…
Conference to focus on faith and digital culture
Faith formation leaders, come to Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary March 2-5 to join other pastors, lay leaders, youth leaders, parents, and educators as we consider Shaping Faith in a Digital Culture. How do we nurture Christian identity in a digitally saturated culture? Featured speaker will be Karen-Marie Yust, M.Div., Th.D., author of Real Kids, Real Faith and professor of Christian education at Union Presbyterian…
MMN plans service learning tour
There is still time to sign up to join the Mennonite Mission Network Alumni & Friends Service-Learning Tour. From March 7-14, participants will serve alongside Service Adventure partners in Jackson, and SOOP partners in Meridian and Mashulaville, Mississippi. They also will be taking in Civil Rights experiences by hearing from an activist and going to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum,…
Wooster Mennonite teams with college students for service projects
College of Wooster students participated in service projects at Wooster Mennonite Church on Martin Luther King Day. Find out more: http://bit.ly/WoosterMennService.
Service Adventure leader sought
Service Adventure is looking for a leader for the Jackson, Mississippi unit. Unit leaders are 24 years old or older, and live in community with 3-5 young adults, serving as mentors. For more information, contact LaurenEH@MennoniteMission.net.
Register now for Engaging Mission 2020
Please note: Due to the uncertainty about when restrictions will be lifted for public gatherings, the Ohio Conference Leadership Team has decided to cancel this event. Online registration is now open for Engaging Mission 2020, an Ohio Conference missional festival planned for June 26-28 at Bluffton University. This event will be for people of all ages, including family…
Pastors to meet Feb. 11 in Upper Sandusky
The next All-Ohio Conference Pastors’ Gathering will take place Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Upper Sandusky Public Library. There will be a time of dwelling in the Word, fellowship, and sharing about what is going on in Conference and in our congregations. This gathering will also include some time talking about the possibility of…
Giving increases during December
Giving to Ohio Conference increased greatly during December, according to figures provided by Financial Coordinator Stan Helmuth. In fact, the amount received in December was almost double the amount received in any other month of the current fiscal year. (See the accompanying chart for details.) Receipts for December totaled $60,581. Of that amount, $36,966 came from congregational giving. During December…
Immigration perspective — Our holiday experience in San Antonio
By Dan King For a change in our Christmas vacation routines, my wife, Jeanette, and I decided to give two weeks as SOOP volunteers with San Antonio Mennonite Church this year. We had visited there briefly twice before and were touched in seeing the dedication of this small congregation in reaching out to immigrants in need. For five years they…
The Mennonite seeks submissions for March issue
The Mennonite Inc. invites your original submissions for the March 2020 issue focusing on the theme “the mystery and power of prayer.” Submissions are due to Editor@TheMennonite.org no later than Jan. 31. For more information about this theme, see http://bit.ly/TheMennoniteMarch2020.
Service Adventure preview weekend is Feb. 20-23
What will you do after high school? Be informed about your options! Come visit a current service unit during the Service Adventure preview weekend, Feb. 20-23, 2020. Contact Susan Nisly for more information: SusanN@MennoniteMission.net.
MMN offers service assignments around the world
Want to utilize your skills while learning about another culture? Walk together in mission with our partners around the world through an international service term. Explore opportunities at www.MennoniteMission.net/Serve.
Lodging list for ACA is updated
Registration is now open for the 2020 Annual Conference Assembly (ACA), which will be held Saturday, March 7, at Sharon Mennonite Church in Plain City. The theme of the 2020 ACA will be “Hearts of Wisdom,” based on Psalm 90:12. The registration deadline for ACA is Feb. 14. The cost to register is $30 for those who register by Feb. 14,…
Register now for spiritual direction event
Last call for registrations: Ohio Conference is offering a spiritual direction event for pastors Feb. 4 at Camp Luz in Kidron. The Conference is encouraging all pastors to have a spiritual director, and this event will introduce the concept of spiritual direction. Led by Janice Hershberger, Randy Murray, and Christine Nafziger, attendees will learn about spiritual direction while also experiencing…
Emmanuel Mennonite holds closing service
Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Monclova, Ohio, has closed. A main outreach of the congregation was to the men and women of Bittersweet Farms who live with autism. The Emmanuel congregation held its final worship service on Sunday, Dec. 29. Pastor Reid Short, the long-time pastor at Emmanuel, delivered the final message at the closing worship service. He served at Emmanuel…
A time for prayer
We find ourselves in a time of great divisiveness, both in America and in many places around the world. We find ourselves in a time where the United States and Iran are on the brink of war. This is a time for us Christians to unite and pray for peace: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but…
Course offers congregations tools for engaging conflict
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) — For six weeks each year, Betty Pries, Ph.D., a conflict management specialist based in Waterloo, Ontario, leads an online short course for AMBS as a sessional instructor. In the course, Transforming Congregational Conflict and Communication, Pries and her students draw on biblical, theological, practical and spiritual sources in examining difficult experiences that pastors and…
Engaging Mission 2020 is for all ages
Please note: Due to the uncertainty about when restrictions will be lifted for public gatherings, the Ohio Conference Leadership Team has decided to cancel this event. Over the past four years, Ohio Conference has held a missional conference immediately prior to Annual Conference Assembly. This year there will not be a missional conference in March. Instead, the Conference…
Bluffton University students explore faith through interactive program on Christianity
BLUFFTON, Ohio — For the second semester in a row, Bluffton University’s campus ministries team and student volunteers led Alpha, a multi-week video series and discussion group centered on the Christian faith. The international program, developed in London in 1977, creates spaces where participants come together for conversations about faith, life and God. “Alpha is specifically designed for people who…
A peace church?
By Dick Barrett Conference Minister This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” — Luke 2:12-14 (ESV)…
Youth and young adults: the NOW and FUTURE church
Photo credit: “Bulletin Board” by chelmsfordpubliclibrary is licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. By Alex Dye She was 8 years old, chin up with eyes squinting, scrutinizing the faces on the bulletin board. Her gaze glanced across the names under each face and fell upon accompanying titles like “Church Council Chair” and “Worship Committee Chair” and “Trustee” and “Elder,” all designations…
Sharon Mennonite to host ACA
Sharon Mennonite Church in Plain City will host the 2020 Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) of the Ohio Conference on Saturday, March 7. The theme of this year’s gathering will be “Hearts of Wisdom,” based on Psalm 90:12. In each of the past several years, ACA has been held over a two-day period, and the Assembly has been preceded by a…