Announcements
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.
Convention planners seek proposals for seminars
Convention planners are seeking proposals for equipping seminars at MennoCon21, the Mennonite Church USA biennial convention slated to take place in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 6-10, 2021. The deadline for proposal submissions is Oct. 10, 2020. See https://bit.ly/MennoCon21SeminarProposals for more information.
MCC livestream celebration set for July 26
A message from Mennonite Central Committee: It’s time to celebrate 100 years! Join us (virtually) for an MCC Centennial Celebration this Sunday, July 26. This year marks the 100th anniversary of MCC! It is not the centennial year we anticipated. Still, we invite you to join us (virtually) on Sunday, July 26, at 6:30 p.m. (EDT), as we offer thanks…
Everence to celebrate 75th anniversary July 19
GOSHEN, Indiana — Everence is not letting social distancing deter plans to commemorate the organization’s 75th anniversary. Instead of an in-person gathering, the faith-based financial services company will celebrate virtually, with a videocast on Sunday, July 19, at 3 p.m. (EDT). The July 19 videocast will feature comments from John D. Roth, Ph.D., Goshen College Professor of History and author…
Lighthouse Ministries plans Over The Edge fundraiser
A message from Lighthouse Ministries in Canton: Are you willing to go Over The Edge for kids? On Friday and Saturday, Sept. 4 and 5, people from all over northeast Ohio will be rappelling 14 stories down the side of the Bliss Lofts in downtown Canton. You have to raise $1,000 for the right to rappel, but all the money goes towards starting a mentoring program, academic supports, and funding scholarships for vocational training or college…
AMBS webinar is for those experiencing loss
AMBS webinar: Mourning Our Losses Together During COVID-19: The Good News of Biblical Lament: Tuesday, July 21, 2–3 p.m. EDT. This free webinar — back by popular demand! — is for those experiencing loss and those journeying with them. Participants will explore the three–act movement of biblical lament as a faithful response to God. Registration is required. See ambs.edu/mourningourlosses.
MCC plans centennial livestream celebration
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) will celebrate its centennial year with a virtual event on Sunday, July 26, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. MCC will be broadcasting live from Prairie Street Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Indiana, the site of an important first meeting in the formation of MCC. This livestream event will feature a combination of live and pre-recorded speakers and music.…
MCC U.S. names next executive director
Ann Graber Hershberger has been named the next executive director of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) U.S. She will begin her new role in October 2020 as current executive director J. Ron Byler retires. The shift reflects a leadership plan determined in 2019 and affirmed by the organization’s board of directors at their June 20 meeting. Hershberger began as associate executive director following…
Peace center moves its courses to Zoom
For the rest of 2020 Lombard Mennonite Peace Center will hold all its scheduled training events remotely via Zoom rather than in person. Scheduled training events include Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders (Aug. 3-7), Conflict Transformation Skills for Churches (July 18), Healthy Congregations (July 21), and Breaking Free: Finding Resilience in an Era of Collective Trauma (July 16…
Mennonite colleges begin sharing plans for fall semester
Mennonite colleges and universities in the United States have begun announcing plans for returning to in-person classes this fall. The Mennonite reports more details at https://bit.ly/Fall2020CollegePlans.
Ecumenical group develops guidelines for resuming in-person worship
Following an extended consultation, an ecumenical group of religious leaders has developed a set of guidelines for resuming in-person worship services. You can read their recommendations at https://bit.ly/ResumingCare-FilledWorship.
The Mennonite seeks submissions for August issue
The Mennonite Inc. invites your original submissions for the August 2020 issue focusing on the theme “Why I am an Anabaptist.” For more information about this theme, see https://bit.ly/TheMennoniteAugust2020. Submissions are due to Editor@TheMennonite.org no later than July 3.
MCC webinar to share international stories of responding to COVID-19
Mennonite Central Committee will hold a Facebook Live webinar on June 17 about COVID-19 in the developing world: Wednesday, June 17, at 7 p.m. EST: “COVID-19 hits the developing world: Q&A with MCC’s Health Coordinator” free Facebook live webinar. Paul Shetler Fast, MCC’s Health Coordinator, will share stories of how MCC is scaling up and adapting programs in response to COVID-19.…
Webinar to explore immigration policy effect on COVID-19 spread
Mennonite Central Committee’s webinar series on immigration continues June 16: Tuesday, June 16 at 2 p.m. EST: “MCC’s migration work in Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala/El Salvador” free immigration webinar. In the continuing six-part webinar series on immigration and border realities, MCC staff and partners will discuss how U.S. policies and protocols are affecting the spread of the coronavirus among vulnerable populations in Latin…
MennoMedia offers free devotional resource
MennoMedia is offering a second special issue of its daily devotional magazine, Rejoice!, as a free download. The special publication, titled Rejoice! A Time Enduring, was written, edited, and designed by individuals volunteering their time to contribute their gifts for the benefit of their communities of faith. To download a copy, go to https://bit.ly/RejoiceATimeEnduring.
MWC calls for coordinated aid response
Mennonite World Conference has invited Anabaptist mission and service agencies to coordinate their financial response to COVID-19 hardships experienced especially by under-resourced member churches around the world. Learn more at https://bit.ly/MWCPandemicResponse.
Mourning in time of COVID-19 is webinar topic
AMBS webinar: Mourning Our Losses Together During COVID-19: The Good News of Biblical Lament: Tuesday, June 23, 2–3 p.m. EDT. This free webinar is for those experiencing loss during this global pandemic and their caregivers. Participants will explore the three–act movement of biblical lament as a faithful response to God in both individual and corporate settings. Registration is required: ambs.edu/mourningourlosses.
Donut Day fundraiser to benefit MCC
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is inviting everyone to celebrate National Donut Day on June 5 by joining MCC’s social media baking party. Due to COVID-19, many spring and summer MCC relief sales have been postponed or canceled. These events raised more than $2.2 million last year alone. Any funds raised on National Donut Day will go to MCC’s “Where needed…
MMN webinar to focus on spiritual practices
Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) is offering a free webinar, “Spiritual practices for peacemakers: finding your center when you feel pulled apart.” Karla Minter, church relations representative for MMN, will lead the webinar on June 4 at 7 p.m. She will invite participants to encounter or rediscover spiritual practices that create a daily rhythm to help turn despair and isolation into…
Black Swamp Benefit canceled, donations sought
The 2020 Black Swamp Benefit has been canceled, but all are encouraged to contribute online to this fundraiser, which benefits Sunshine Inc. and Mennonite Central Committee. To donate, log on to Facebook and search for @blackswampbenefit. You can contribute to this fundraiser by clicking on the post with the “donate” button. The goal for this online fundraiser is $10,000.
Webinar to focus on pastoral care, social distancing
MennoMedia is hosting a free webinar about pastoral care on June 11 at 2 p.m. Pastoring from a Distance: Offering Pastoral Care while Social Distancing will feature a panel discussion with Anabaptist pastors moderated by David Augsburger. The webinar will explore practical advice as well as theological considerations for providing pastoral care while practicing social distancing. To register for this…
Website offers faith-based resources for abuse response and prevention
Mennonite Central Committee, with support from CommonWord, has launched a resource website addressing issues of abuse for faith communities and their members. The website includes resources on intimate partner abuse, healthy relationships, sexual violence, clergy sexual abuse, and how to offer support to survivors of abuse and assist those perpetrating harm. To access these resources, go to abuseresponseandprevention.ca.