Announcements
Lent Worship Planning webinar set for Feb. 1
Anabaptist Worship Network will host a Lent Worship Planning webinar on Facebook on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. EST. This webinar will explore Lenten worship resources from Leader magazine and Voices Together, as well as offering time for brainstorming creative ways to gather during Lent. See https://www.facebook.com/events/692537162581966 to sign up.
You’re invited: Join the Winter Read conversation
It’s not too late to join the conversation! You are invited to join in the Ohio Conference’s Winter Read discussions, which are taking place on Tuesday evenings on Zoom. This winter participants are discussing Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Learn more and register at https://bit.ly/2023WinterRead. To see recordings of previous discussions, email Alysa Short at alysashort@gmail.com.
‘Finer Points’ offers peacemaking tools
Interested in learning more about peacemaking on an interpersonal level? Check out “Finer Points,” a blog on the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center website: https://lmpeacecenter.org/finerpoints.
Mennonite Health Assembly set for March 7-9
The 2023 Mennonite Health Assembly will take place March 7-9 in Denver, Colorado. Registration is due by Feb. 21. For more information or to register, see https://bit.ly/MennoniteHealthAssembly.
Youth Venture offers ways to serve and learn
Youth Venture sends teens and young adults (ages 15-22) on short-term service and learning experiences to engage with the work of God that is already taking place in communities around the globe. Hosted by churches and Mennonite Mission Network partners, Youth Venture teams will explore how Christians across the street and around the world are engaged in the work of…
MCC essay contest is for youth
The annual MCC U.S. National Peace & Justice Ministries essay contest highlights the perspectives of youth on significant public policy issues. Are you a youth who attends a Mennonite high school or an Anabaptist church? This contest is your opportunity to express your views in essay format on critical issues facing U.S. society. Submissions are due Feb. 24, 2023, and may…
Winter Read conversations begin Jan. 10
The first installment of the Ohio Conference Winter Read will take place next week on Tuesday, Jan. 10! Please join us on Tuesday nights in January and February on Zoom as we discuss the book Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Our online conversation will take place on Tuesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. A reading schedule for this series…
Scholarship application deadline is Feb. 28
Everence is continuing its college scholarship program for the 2023-24 school year and will be accepting applications through Feb. 28, 2023. 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.
AMBS conference to focus on ‘Reimagining Ministry’
“Reimagining Ministry” will be the theme of the 2023 Pastors & Leaders Conference at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana. This year’s conference is designed to give pastors and church leaders ideas and practices to help nurture resilience, compassion and hope in themselves and in their congregations by learning from Jesus’ ministry. Pastors & Leaders 2023 will begin…
Laurelville to host Music & Worship Leaders Retreat
Laurelville Retreat Center in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, will host its annual Music & Worship Leaders Retreat January 20-22, 2023. This year’s theme is “Lament and Hope” with guest speaker Safwat Marzouk, author and theologian. The retreat gives music and worship leaders a space to learn, recharge, and connect with their peers through valuable workshops, seminars, resources, fellowship time, worship, and…
Anabaptist World seeks submissions about racial justice
Anabaptist World invites your original submissions for the Feb. 10 issue focusing on the theme “racial justice.” Articles should be between 600 and 1,200 words. For more information about this theme, see https://anabaptistworld.org/aw-call-for-submissions-racial-justice. Submissions are due to editor@anabaptistworld.org no later than Jan. 15, 2023.
Giving to Conference drops during November
Giving to Ohio Conference slowed during November, resulting in an increase in the Conference’s financial deficit for fiscal year 2022-23. Receipts for November totaled $20,285, a significant decrease from the $35,618 received during October. Expenses for November totaled $28,686, resulting a in deficit of $8,401 for the month. As of Nov. 30, the Conference’s operating balance was -$46,959. The Conference…
Camp Luz to offer scholarships for staffers
Camp Luz in Kidron is offering 11 scholarships for staff members who serve at least eight of the nine weeks of summer camp during 2023. For more information, please see the Camp Luz website: https://bit.ly/CampLuzStaffScholarships.
Plan now to join the Ohio Conference Winter Read
Coming in January: Please plan to join us for the Ohio Conference Winter Read. This winter people from around the Ohio Conference will gather on the Zoom videoconferencing platform to discuss the book Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Winter Read discussion sessions will take place in the evening on Zoom. Leaders for these discussions will be two members of Lee…
Fundraising goal met for van purchase
Thank you very much to everyone who donated funds toward the purchase of a van for the Akron Swahili Mennonite Church! The donation goal has been met, and the church will be able to take possession of the van in the near future.
MMN offers prayer slides for congregations
Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) now has prayer slides available, in PowerPoint and PDF formats, to aid your congregation in praying for Mennonite Mission Network’s international mission workers. You can find these resources on the “Prayer Resources” page of the MMN website: https://bit.ly/MMNPrayer. Scroll past the Prayer Vine and Presentation Slides to view the Mission Worker Slides.
Webinar to highlight Uniting for Ukraine Program
Since February, more than 14 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes. In response, the U.S. government developed the Uniting for Ukraine community sponsorship program. Join MCC and Church World Service on Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. EST to learn more about the Uniting for Ukraine program and how the faith community can walk alongside Ukrainians as they…
Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale to send $400,000 to MCC
The Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale Board will send $400,000 to Mennonite Central Committee. Based on the recommendation of the group’s treasurer, a motion authorizing that action was approved at the organization’s recent wrap-up meeting. See the Board’s most recent newsletter for more information: Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale Newsletter.
Check out these Advent resources
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate As we move into the season of Advent, Mennonite Church USA and CommonWord have Advent resources for individuals, families and congregations. “Restoration is Near!” is the theme of the Advent at Home 2022 worship guide, now available at the Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) website: https://mennoniteusa.org/adventathome. Using the theme developed for Leader magazine, the…
Sabbatical plans announced
Conference Minister Dick Barrett will be on sabbatical from Nov. 28 to Dec. 31, 2022. If you need a Conference pastor during that time, please contact Regional Pastor Tony Doehrmann. Tony will be on vacation Dec. 4–11. During that week Paula Snyder Belousek, assistant moderator and pastor at Salem Mennonite Church in Elida, will be the emergency contact person. As…
Restorative Conversations workshop planned
Coming in 2023: Lombard Mennonite Peace Center will be offering a new one-day workshop called “Restorative Conversations: Storytelling, Healing and Community Building.” This workshop will introduce church leaders to the key concepts of circle processes and ways in which circles can be used within their congregations. Restorative conversations are useful when working through difficult or polarizing topics, processing shared painful experiences, building…
MC USA shares new resolutions process
ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Church USA) — Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Executive Board staff has posted new “Guidelines for Developing Organizational Resolutions and Church Statements in Mennonite Church USA” on the MC USA website: https://bit.ly/2022DevelopingResolutions. The guidelines are effective immediately and apply to proposed organizational resolutions or church statements submitted for consideration by the 2023 Delegate Assembly (Kansas City, Missouri, July…
Giving Tuesday event planned at Sauder Village
Everence will hold a Giving Tuesday event on Nov. 29 at Founder’s Hall at Sauder Village in Archbold. The event, which will include dinner and a Difference Makers Expo, will begin at 5 p.m. Register by Nov. 21 for this event. For more information, please see https://bit.ly/2022EverenceGivingTuesday.
MDS shares long-term response to Hurricane Ian
The November edition of On the Level is now available from Mennonite Disaster Service. In this issue: Learn about the MDS long-term response to Hurricane Ian in Florida; read about volunteers responding to Hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada; and learn about a new Web page with volunteer opportunities closer to home. Also included is information on the upcoming MDS Annual…
Cluster meeting dates set
Mark your calendar: Ohio Conference will hold five winter cluster meetings for delegates to Annual Conference Assembly. Locations are as follows: Jan. 17 — Maple Grove Mennonite (Hartville) Jan. 19 — Toledo Mennonite Jan. 24 — Sharon Mennonite (Plain City) Jan. 26 — Orrville Mennonite Jan. 30 — Online via Zoom
Video project focuses on visual art in worship
Together in Worship, an online collection of free worship resources from Anabaptist sources, is pleased to announce the launch of a new resource about the use of visual art in worship. A Creative God: The Visual Arts in Worship is a video project that explores how seven Mennonite congregations in southern Pennsylvania and eastern Virginia use visual art and other visual…
Missional Workshop rescheduled
Ohio Conference is changing the date of the 2023 Missional Workshop from March 2-3 to April 15. As was announced previously, Mauricio Chenlo, minister for church planting at Mennonite Mission Network, will facilitate the Missional Workshop. This event will include significant time for congregational teams to work on a project and receive feedback about the project from others. The location…
Copies of hymnal sought
Does your congregation have copies of Hymnal: A Worship Book that you would be willing to sell or donate? Andrea Nord, a former member of University Mennonite Church now living in Greenville, Illinois, is seeking copies of this hymnal for her Free Methodist congregation in Illinois. She will be driving to Harrisonburg, Virginia, over Thanksgiving and could pick up the…
MMN has Mission Sunday materials for your congregation
Is your church planning a mission Sunday in November? Do you want to explore God’s call to create sacred spaces for people to encounter Jesus? Mennonite Mission Network has Mission Sunday materials for your congregation to use. Go to https://bit.ly/2022MissionSundayResources to explore and download these resources.
Please join us in prayer on Wednesdays
Please join us each Wednesday at noon for a time of communal prayer on Zoom. We will be using Take Our Moments and Our Days: An Anabaptist Prayer Book as the resource for our time together. To participate, you can use either the prayer book or the app of the same name, available at http://bit.ly/AnabaptistPrayerApp. The login link for these…