Announcements
MEA suspends executive director search, pursues collaboration with MC USA Executive Board
ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Education Agency, Mennonite Church USA) — The Board of Directors of Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) has suspended its six-month search for an executive director to pursue a possible leadership collaboration with the Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Executive Board, according to Dick Thomas, MEA board chair. MEA is an agency of MC USA. MEA has a history…
Workshop looks at pastor-congregation relations
Lombard Mennonite Peace Center is offering an online workshop, “Facilitating Healthy Pastor-Congregation Relations” on Tuesday, Oct. 5, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. Held on the Zoom videoconferencing platform, this workshop will offer strategies for church leaders who want to help their congregation function in healthier ways. Attention will be given both to structural changes and emotional processes. See…
Peace Sunday is Sept. 19
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) invites all Mennonite congregations to observe Peace Sunday together with brothers and sisters in the global Anabaptist church family on Sept. 19, 2021. The theme for this year’s Peace Sunday is “Finding hope and healing in crisis.” The MWC Peace Commission has created worship resources for celebrating Peace Sunday. Download the Worship Materials
MMN video series seeks to ‘Stir Up Peace’
From Mennonite Mission Network: Check out the brand new Stir Up Peace video series! Learn the tools to seek positive change in nonviolent ways. All nine video episodes are less than six minutes long. See the videos at https://bit.ly/StirUpPeace.
Everence to hold development conference
Registration is open for the Everence Development Conference, which helps charitable organization leaders stimulate and nurture generosity to strengthen their missions. The event, Invest in What Lasts, is scheduled for Sept. 28-30 at the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. You can register now at everence.com/devcon21. The event is offered every two years.
MDS program offers travel reimbursement for pastors
Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) welcomes active, constituent pastors and their spouses to a hands-on MDS experience at an MDS project site in the U.S. or Canada. To encourage pastor participation, the Pastors to Projects program offers travel reimbursement. To learn more, see https://mds.mennonite.net/pastors-to-projects.
Anabaptist Disabilities Network offers suggestions for dealing with hearing loss
The Summer 2021 e-newsletter from Anabaptist Disabilities Network focuses on inclusion of those who are deaf or who have hearing loss. The newsletter includes information about technology for making audio during worship services more accessible for people with hearing loss. Go to https://bit.ly/ADNSummer2021 to read this newsletter.
Open Arms fundraiser set for July 17
Save the date! Open Arms Hispanic Ministries is sponsoring a Summer Fiesta Picnic on Saturday, July 17, at 4 p.m. at Oak Grove Mennonite Church, located at 7843 Smucker Road, Smithville. After more than a year of COVID-related restrictions, we will enjoy a safe, enjoyable time in Oak Grove’s beautiful picnic area. Activities include live music, a program at 5…
MCC offers virtual tour of borderlands
Mennonite Central Committee is offering a Virtual Borderlands Learning Tour June 28-July 2. Sessions will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. each day. This virtual learning tour is designed to engage participants with the reality of immigration from a different perspective. The Ohio Conference Immigration Resource Team is encouraging everyone to consider participating in this learning tour. See http://bit.ly/VirtualBorderlandsLearningTour for…
All-Ohio Conference Pastor Gathering set for Aug. 5
The next All-Ohio Conference Pastor Gathering will be Thursday, Aug. 5, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Upper Sandusky Community Library. Pastors, if you still need to RSVP, you can do so by sending an email message to Conference Minister Dick Barrett at ohioconferenceminister@gmail.com.
Anabaptist World article focuses on women in ministry in Ohio Conference
Anabaptist World has published an article about women in ministry in the Ohio Conference. You can read it at http://bit.ly/AWorldWomeninMinistry.
MDS newsletter details partnership with the Brethren Church
The June edition of On the Level is now available from Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS). In the current issue: MDS and the Brethren Church formalize a partnership of caring, the last houses in the Land of Hope are dedicated, bringing to completion a three-year effort, and youth across the U.S. are packing their bags to embark on MDS Summer Youth programs.…
MWC webinars will focus on baptism
On Sunday, June 6, and Sunday, June 13, Mennonite World Conference will be sponsoring a two-part webinar series titled Believe and Be Baptized: A Global Conversation on Baptism. Each webinar is 90 minutes long, and both webinars will be offered twice (at 7 a.m. EDT and 1 p.m. EDT) in order to make the event accessible to members of the…
Peacebuilding center plans virtual celebration
EMU — The global and domestic impact of Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding will be celebrated June 4-6 at the 25+1 Anniversary Celebration. This event was originally planned for summer 2020, but cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The format switched to all virtual once it became clear not only travel for guests but also on-campus hosting would be…
Webinar to discuss support for mental illness
Anabaptist Disabilities Network and Church of the Brethren Discipleship Ministries are co-sponsoring a webinar with the theme “Providing Mutual Support When People Experience Mental Illness.” This webinar will take place Thursday, June 17, at 2 p.m. EDT. How can we walk with people who are experiencing a mental illness in our congregations and community? Attend this “Mental Health 101” webinar…
Central Christian School Board appoints interim lead administrator
Terry Shue has been appointed interim lead administrator of Central Christian School in Kidron for the 2021-22 school year, effective July 1. He will serve in this role while the Central Christian School Board leads a search to hire a new superintendent. After a new superintendent is hired, he will return to his position as director of development for Central…
MennoCon21 newsletter gives convention details
The most recent MennoCon21 newsletter includes information about morning and evening worship at the convention, seminars for youth and adults, and COVID-19 protocols. MennoCon21 will take place July 6-10, both in Cincinnati and online. This newsletter is available here: MennoCon21 MAY Newsletter.
Journal articles focus on healing and health
From AMBS: A new issue of Vision focusing on the theme “Health, Healing and Hope” is available for free online. In the Spring 2021 issue of Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology, authors share about their personal struggles with illness, their experiences as caregivers and their encounters in pastoral or chaplaincy care. Other topics include health as it relates…
Webinars to focus on peace and justice issues
Lombard Mennonite Peace Center is offering a new webinar series titled Shalom: Six Perspectives on Peace and Justice. Each webinar will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Time. A variety of topics will be explored: June 8 — Why did Jesus have to die? — led by J. Denny Weaver June 29 — Does our past really matter?…
SENT Conference 2021 recordings are online
Mennonite Mission Network held its Sent Conference 2021 online during April. This event focused on church planting and church vitality. Keynote speakers included Katerina Friesen, pastor of Wild Church in Fresno, California; Tim Amor, pastor of Beatrice Mennonite Church in Beatrice, Nebraska; and Reverends Karen Sethurama and Gordon McDade, pastors and church planters of Soulspace in Belfast, Ireland. If you…
MEA-affiliated schools seek staff members
Central Christian School in Kidron and a number of other schools affiliated with Mennonite Education Agency are seeking staff members. Please see http://bit.ly/MEAJobs5-21 for more information on these positions.
Free counseling available for pastors
A reminder for all pastors of Ohio Conference congregations: Pastors serving in the Ohio Conference have two options for free counseling sessions. Shalom Counseling and Mediation Center in Archbold, Ohio, offers six free counseling sessions to pastors. Any additional sessions are available at a 50 percent discount. You may contact Shalom at 419-445-1552 for further details or to arrange a…
MCC needs relief kit donations
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) needs more relief kits. MCC reports that its partners have requested 27,000 relief kits this year. But due to the pandemic, MCC’s Material Resources warehouse inventory is significantly lower this year than it was at this time last year. In order to meet this need, MCC needs your help. Learn more at https://mcc.org/get-involved/kits/relief.
MCC seeks summer staff for SWAP
SWAP summer staff needed! Mennonite Central Committee’s Sharing With Appalachia People (SWAP) program is in need of job site coordinators and meals coordinators to support home repair projects in Kimball, West Virginia, or Harlan, Kentucky. Applicants should be at least 19 years old, but these paid roles are not limited to young adults. For more information and to apply, visit…
MWC 2022 Assembly to be hybrid event
After deciding to offer the Mennonite World Conference assembly in Indonesia as a hybrid in-person and online event July 5-10, 2022, program committee members and assembly staff are exploring online opportunities. See http://bit.ly/MWC2022Assembly for more information.
Peacebuilding courses to be held online
May 11 is the deadline to register for the Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) at Eastern Mennonite University. SPI will be conducting its May and June courses online this year, due to uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Courses begin the week of May 17 and run through June 18. SPI is offering courses in the areas of trauma awareness, restorative…
Anabaptist World seeks article submissions
Anabaptist World invites your original submissions for an upcoming issue focusing on the theme “Wise Managers?” How are Anabaptists doing as stewards — as caretakers of community resources and personal assets, financial and otherwise? Article length should be about 600 to 1,200 words. Submissions are due to editor@anabaptistworld.org by May 3. For more information about this theme, see http://bit.ly/AnabaptistWorldWiseManagers.
Open Arms plans Fellowship Fiesta
Open Arms Hispanic Ministries will hold a fund-raising event, the Open Arms Fellowship Fiesta, on July 17 at Oak Grove Mennonite Church in Smithville. This event will be a boxed-lunch picnic. More details will follow.
Adriel to hold benefit auction May 6-8
Adriel will hold a virtual benefit auction May 6-8. You can preview the items being offered beginning Saturday, May 1. Proceeds are used to benefit children and families in need. For more information, see www.adriel.org.
Explore a call to ministry with Journey
When God calls someone to leadership, a journey begins. Perhaps you are on that journey. Perhaps you are looking for mentors and companions along the way. Ohio Conference invites you to join Journey: A Missional Leadership Development Program. This program is for lay leaders, pastors, church planters, and other emerging leaders who are called without specific training for ministry or…