Announcements
Video training available for abuse prevention
The Dove’s Nest, an organization committed to empowering faith communities to keep children and youth safe from abuse in their churches, homes and communities, has a new video resource available. This new safety and abuse prevention training video for adult volunteers is now available to churches for a one-time fee of $75. In 38 minutes, the video covers these topics:…
Learn more about MennoCon21
MennoCon21, the Mennonite Church USA Convention, is scheduled to take place July 6-10, 2021, in Cincinnati. Planners intend for this convention to be a hybrid event, meaning that there will be both in-person and virtual programming. Learn more in the first MennoCon21 newsletter: OCT_2020_MennoCon21 Newsletter-Revised.
AMBS offers online leadership development program
Journey: A Missional Leadership Development Program. Encourage someone you know who has gifts for ministry to check out this 2-1/2-year distance-friendly non-degree program at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Participants explore spiritual leadership in their local churches and communities and deepen their understanding of Anabaptist theology and ministry through online study and meetings with a dedicated mentor. Apply for Winter 2021…
MennoMedia has new podcast
Podcast fans: MennoMedia and Leader magazine have begun a new podcast series, the -ing Podcast. This podcast, hosted by Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards and Allison Maus, explores questions such as: How are people of faith bringing their best selves to the world each day? How are we living, growing, and being as people of God? To listen, go to http://bit.ly/-ingPodcast.
Nov. 7 is next Healthy Boundaries training
A reminder for pastors and other credentialed leaders: Ohio Conference will hold a second online Healthy Boundaries 201 training session on Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (The first training was held Oct. 10.) All credentialed leaders are required to receive Healthy Boundaries training every three years to remain credentialed. If you are planning on signing up for…
MennoMedia campaign encourages appreciation for pastors
Did you know that October is Pastor Appreciation Month? During October MennoMedia will be celebrating pastors whose congregants have made a donation in their honor. Want to let your pastor know how much you appreciate them? A donation to MennoMedia in any amount enters your pastor into a drawing for a $100 Herald Press gift certificate. A donation of $25…
New partnership to offer global access to theological education
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), Elkhart, Indiana, have forged a new agreement to provide Anabaptist-based theological and church leadership education to Anabaptists around the globe in both for-credit and noncredit formats. Pastors and church leaders will be able to take courses in biblical and theological studies, church history and ministry in their home countries. For more information about…
Peace center offers mediation skills training
The last session of Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders for this year will be Nov. 16-20, 2020. This five-day training offered by the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center helps participants deal more effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. It will be held online via Zoom. For more information, contact the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center at Admin@LMPeaceCenter.org or…
Have you registered for Healthy Boundaries training?
A reminder for pastors and other credentialed leaders: Ohio Conference will hold online Healthy Boundaries 201 training sessions on Oct. 10 and Nov. 7. Both training sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Participants are free to choose the date which works the best for them. All credentialed leaders are required to receive Healthy Boundaries training every three…
Children’s faith formation is webinar topic
MennoMedia is offering a webinar about children’s faith formation, “Raising Them Up: Children, Faith, and Church,” on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 2 p.m. This webinar will take the format of a panel discussion moderated by David Csinos. Featured panelists will be Malinda Berry, Henry Zonio, Natalie Frisk and Becky Degan. Register for this webinar at http://bit.ly/RaisingThemUpWebinar. Please register before 5…
Webinar to explore mutual care
Anabaptist Disabilities Network will host a webinar, “Mutual Care in Difficult Times,” on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. These are stressful times of pandemic and social unrest. People with disabilities and their families carry additional burdens. This webinar will examine how we, as the Church, can practice mutual care, sharing joy and shouldering the load together. This webinar will…
AMBS program to focus on leadership integrity
Leadership Integrity Circles. New from AMBS’s Church Leadership Center! Join seasoned leaders Betty Pries, Ph.D., and Rick Stiffney, Ph.D., in exploring what it means to practice Christ-centered leadership in your workplace. Learn through self-reflection, conversation and spiritual practices. See ambs.edu/leadership for details.
Sent Network focuses on church planting
Curious about church planting or re-planting? Join the next Sent Network cohort and learn how to explore, equip, and be sent to spread the word of God! Visit MennoniteMission.net/SentNetwork to learn more and save your spot. The new cohort begins Sept. 21.
MCC in U.S. to livestream centennial celebration
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in the U.S. is inviting its supporters and the public to join a livestreamed celebration of its 100 years of ministry on Saturday, Oct. 17, starting at 6:50 p.m. Celebration 2020: MCC at 100 will include videos, storytelling, music, and a message of inspiration from longtime MCC leader and pastor Leonard Dow of Philadelphia. This livestreamed…
Anabaptist World seeks submissions
Anabaptist World invites your original submissions for the Nov. 6, 2020, print magazine issue and online content focusing on the theme “politics and faith.” Articles should be 1,200 words or less. The submission deadline is Oct. 1. For more information about this theme, see http://bit.ly/AnabaptistWorldNov2020. Submissions are due to Editor@AnabaptistWorld.org no later than Oct. 1.
Mennonite World Conference postpones global assembly
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) has decided to postpone the global assembly until 2022. The new date of the assembly is July 5–10, 2022. In close consultation with the National Advisory Committee in host country Indonesia, the Executive Committee of MWC has decided not to hold the international gathering in 2021 as originally announced. For more details, see http://bit.ly/2022MWCAssembly.
ACA and Missional Conference to be held virtually
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio Conference is planning to hold the 2021 Missional Conference and Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) virtually rather than in person. These events will take place March 4-6, 2021. The featured speaker for both events will be Brad Roth, pastor and author of God’s Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church.
Lighthouse Ministries postpones fundraiser
Based on guidance from the City of Canton’s health department, Lighthouse Ministries in Canton is postponing the Over The Edge fundraiser originally scheduled for Sept. 4-5. This event will take place during spring 2021. For more information about Over The Edge, see http://over-the-edge.cantonlighthouse.org.
Seminary short course to introduce Voices Together
A Worship Leader’s Introduction to Voices Together. Join Katie Graber, Ph.D., and Anneli Loepp Thiessen, M.M., to explore how your worship can grow in vitality through understanding the new Voices Together hymnal within the unique culture of your church community. This online AMBS short course from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary lasts six weeks. CEUs are available. See ambs.edu/worshipleaders for details.
MDS newsletter includes upcoming projects
The August edition of On the Level is now available from Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS). In the current issue, you can read how MDS volunteers with Early Response Teams are working in Iowa and learn about engineers rolling up their sleeves in West Virginia and helping to build bridges they designed. You also will find out how MDS is cautiously planning…
Connexus offers conflict transformation resources
When conflict occurs, how do we respond? Connexus, an organization serving Wayne County and Holmes County, is working to transform the culture of conflict by reconciling relationships and developing community. Leaders from Connexus will present information about conflict transformation to two Wayne County congregations this month. Lydell Steiner and Craig Mast will lead “An Introduction to Connexus and Conflict Transformation”…
MCC seeks donations of school kits
With the start of the new school year imminent, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is asking for your help. MCC needs an additional 70,000 school kits to fulfill requests from their partners around the world this year. Making a kit is a fun and easy way to provide life-changing support to children in need. To learn how to pack a school…
Peace center offers mediation skills training
Registration is now open for both sessions of Lombard Mennonite Peace Center’s Mediation Skills Training Institute scheduled for this fall: Oct. 5-9 and Nov. 16-20. This workshop helps clergy and other church leaders deal more effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. Registrants will attend remotely via Zoom. A $200 discount is available to those who register by the discount…
COVID-19 global response fund helps churches
Mennonite World Conference’s COVID-19 inter-agency task force has approved 21 relief proposals. Food and sanitation materials are part of all the proposals from Anabaptist member churches in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Read more about how these funds will be used at https://bit.ly/MWCCOVID-19Fund.
Golf scramble to benefit Adriel
Adriel will hold a benefit golf scramble on Monday, Sept. 14, at the Eagle Rock Golf Club in Defiance. Proceeds from this event will benefit children in Northwest Ohio and throughout the state through Adriel’s foster care and adoption, clinical services, training, and family preservation programs. For more information or to register, go to https://www.adriel.org/how-you-can-help/adriel-golf-outings.
Anabaptist Witness seeks submissions for April issue
Call for submissions: Anabaptist Witness welcomes submissions of various genres (sermons, photo essays, interviews, biographies, poems, academic papers, etc.) for its April 2021 issue on “Worship and Witness.” The deadline is Nov. 1, 2020. View submission guidelines at anabaptistwitness.org.
Mennonite Church USA to meet virtually for remainder of 2020
(Mennonite Church USA) — Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) announced that it is adapting its meeting plans for the remainder of 2020, including the upcoming meetings of the Executive Board, the Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) and the Racial Ethnic Council, as well as the Women Doing Theology conference. For more details, see https://bit.ly/MCUSAVirtualMeetings2020.
Retreat for Pastors’ Wives canceled
Please note: The Ohio Conference Retreat for Pastors’ Wives has been canceled. This retreat had been scheduled for Nov. 6-8 at the St. Francis Spirituality Center in Tiffin, Ohio. Because of ongoing concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, retreat organizers have decided to cancel this event.
Planning continues for MWC Assembly in 2021
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) continues to plan for the next MWC Assembly, which is scheduled for July 2021. A statement in the latest issue of MWC Assembly News addresses concerns about the upcoming Assembly: “COVID-19 has had an impact in many areas of our lives. As the Assembly planning team, we are still on target to celebrate with you in…
Peace Sunday is Sept. 20
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) has created resource materials for a Peace Sunday worship service on Sept. 20, using the theme “When one member suffers, all members suffer: Peace as accompaniment and solidarity.” Go to https://bit.ly/2020MWCPeaceSunday to download these materials.