Announcements
Bloggers focus on Advent themes
Throughout Advent, bloggers for The Mennonite will write reflections on the upcoming Sunday’s Lectionary text. These reflections are archived at themennonite.org/advent. To receive these reflections, sign up for the TMail e-newsletter at https://themennonite.org/t-mail or follow The Mennonite on Facebook.
Conference to consider faith and digital culture
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, is hosting “Shaping Faith in a Digital Culture” March 2-5. This conference will be a time for faith leaders to think theologically about living, worshiping and playing in digital spaces. Presenter Karen-Marie Yust, author of Real Kids, Real Faith, is professor of Christian education at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. She will…
Sent Conference 2020 coming to Philadelphia
Save the date! Mennonite Mission Network is planning another conference focusing on church planting. The Sent Conference 2020 will take place April 24–26 in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Praise Center. Visit http://www.MennoniteMission.net/SentNetwork to learn more about the Sent Network.
MMN seeks Service Adventure leaders
Thinking of pastoral ministry? Be a Service Adventure leader! Live in a unit house with a small group of youth and offer support as they serve and live in Christian community. Age: 24+; term: 2 years. For more information, contact LaurenEH@MennoniteMission.net.
Youth Venture team to serve at Nazareth Village
Experience the town of Jesus, meet its people, learn their language, join and experience local churches, and explore the rich and varied culture of Israel. Apply to join the Nazareth Village Youth Venture team at www.MennoniteMission.net/Serve. Age 18+; term: 2-3 weeks.
Goshen College offers online Advent devotions
Beginning Nov. 25 Goshen College will offer online weekday devotions during the season of Advent. Goshen College students, faculty and staff will provide weekday reflections based on the lectionary Scripture passages, focusing on the theme “What are you waiting for?” To learn more, see http://bit.ly/2019GCAdventDevotions.
Try the Anabaptist Prayer app during Advent
This Advent, try out the free Anabaptist Prayer app. Let Jesus’ words pervade your day through morning and evening prayer services with a distinctive Anabaptist flavor. Take Our Moments and Our Days: An Anabaptist Prayer App includes Scripture-saturated prayers and space for communal reflection. The free, easy-to-navigate app covers Advent through Pentecost as well as Ordinary Time. Available for iPhone…
Hesston to offer online Bib Lit course
Starting this January, Hesston College is offering its well-known Biblical Literature course as a 16-week online course taught by Bible professor Nick Ladd. To learn more, see http://bit.ly/HesstonBibLitOnline.
School for Leadership Training set for Jan. 13-15
Eastern Mennonite Seminary’s annual School for Leadership Training will take place January 13-15, 2020. “Shalom in the Streets: Recapturing God’s Vision in Ordinary Places.” The biblical narratives beckon us to discover shalom in genuine relationships with the people in our neighborhoods, communities and cities. In the flourishing of the places where we live, we flourish as well (Jeremiah 29:7). Some…
Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday is Jan. 19
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) invites all Anabaptist congregations to celebrate Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday on Jan. 19, 2020. Each year MWC provides worship planning resources for use on Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday. The theme for 2020 is “Jesus Christ: Our Hope.” This year the worship resources were prepared by MWC member churches in Canada and the United States. To download…
Hesston College alumni and friends event planned in Kidron
Hesston College alumni and friends across Ohio are invited to an event at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, at Salem Mennonite Church in Kidron. The church and college will host an evening of fellowship featuring a mini-concert by internationally acclaimed baritone Tony Brown, who is a Central Christian and Hesston College alumnus. A reception will follow the performance, along…
MC USA Executive Director is coming to Ohio
Come and meet Glen Guyton, executive director of Mennonite Church USA! On Nov. 24 Glen will visit First Mennonite Church in Bluffton and offer the sermon based on John 17:20-23. Worship begins at 10:30 a.m. Later that day, at 6:30 p.m., Glen will share his vision for the denomination at a reception in First Mennonite’s fellowship hall. All are invited…
Register now for spiritual direction event
On Feb. 4 Ohio Conference will be offering a day-long event at Camp Luz in Kidron to introduce the concept of spiritual direction to pastors. Spiritual direction is an opportunity to pay attention to God’s movement and stirring in one’s life. Led by Janice Hershberger, Randy Murray, and Christine Nafziger, attendees will learn about spiritual direction while also experiencing how…
Interested in developing leaders? Ohio Conference could use your help
How can Ohio Conference best develop pastoral leaders for today and for the future? The Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team (MDT) is forming a resource team to promote leadership development in our congregations. The MDT is seeking individuals, male and female, credentialed and lay leaders, who are interested in working at leadership development to serve on the team. If you…
MennoCon21 and MWC Assembly to meet at same time
MennoCon21 and Mennonite World Conference Assembly scheduling conflict: MennoCon21, the upcoming Mennonite Church USA convention, will take place July 6-10, 2021, at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. This schedule overlaps with the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) assembly in Semarang, Indonesia, on July 6-11. Read more: http://bit.ly/MennoCon21andMWC.
Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship welcomes new members
Join the conversation on faith and health! Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship (MHF) invites any Anabaptist working or interested in any healthcare field to join MHF. Students, practitioners, retirees — you are all welcome! Write to info@mennohealth.org, call 888-406-3643 or go to www.mennohealth.org/JoinTheConversation. For more information, please see the MHF flier: http://bit.ly/2019MHFFlier.
Congregations encouraged to apply for Spread the Peace Grants
To encourage congregations and conferences to “spread the peace” in and beyond Mennonite Church USA, the Peace and Justice Support Network of Mennonite Mission Network has small start-up and sustaining grants available. Funds will be given to those meeting the following criteria and as funding allows: To Mennonite congregations or conferences for projects based in the United States. For church…
Join MCC’s Great Winter Warm-Up
Mennonite Central Committee is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2020 with a comforter-making campaign. The goal is to complete 6,500 comforters for distribution to people in need all around the world. As part of this campaign, on Jan. 17 and 18, Salem Mennonite Church in Kidron will host The Great Winter Warm-Up, a comforter-making event. All are invited to attend…
Check CommonWord for Advent resources
Looking for additional Advent resources? Check CommonWord for possibilities, including free downloadable resources. Go to http://bit.ly/CommonWordAdvent to start exploring. CommonWord is a collaboration of Mennonite Church Canada and Canadian Mennonite University.
If you get one of these requests, don’t reply
A note from the Ohio Conference Leadership Team: It has come to our attention that several Ohio Conference pastors have been hacked recently, supposedly sending out emails and most recently, text messages, asking for gift cards. These requests are, of course, not legitimate. The office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost recommends that recipients of these text messages simply block…
Hesston conference to examine ‘the good life’
Save the date: Hesston College in Hesston, Kansas, will host the 2020 edition of its Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series Feb. 21-23, 2020. The theme for this conference will be “Living More with More: Redefining the Good Life.” The conference will seek to answer the questions, “What truly is the good life and how do we get there? How do…
Everence event to focus on faith and values
Everence is sponsoring a “Faith and Values in the Marketplace” workshop on Monday, Oct. 21, from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Gardens at Homestead, 8233 S.R. 241, Mt. Hope. The theme for this event is “Learning: a lifetime journey.” Please see the event flier for details. This workshop is especially designed for business families, pastors, community leaders and key…
The Mennonite seeks submissions for December issue
The Mennonite Inc. invites your original submissions for the December 2019 issue focusing on the theme “the unexpected.” Submissions are due to Editor@TheMennonite.org no later than Nov. 1. For more information about this theme, see http://bit.ly/TheMennoniteDec2019.
Explore a call to ministry with Journey
When God calls someone to ministry, 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 pastors and other congregational leaders who are called without specific training for ministry or who are exploring a…
Join the church planting conversation
Individuals from around Ohio Conference are invited to participate in Visible Kingdom Communities, a church planting conversation, on Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Ohio Conference office, 5358 Kidron Road, Kidron. For those who cannot attend in person, a video conferencing option will be available. If you would like to take part in this conversation, please…
Adriel benefit set for Oct. 24
Adriel is holding a fall benefit dinner at its Archbold office Oct. 24 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. This year’s event will include a catered dinner, presentations about Adriel’s mission and impact, and a live auction. Go to http://bit.ly/AdrielFall2019Benefit to download a registration form.
Church planting conversation set for Oct. 15
Individuals from around Ohio Conference are invited to participate in Visible Kingdom Communities, a church planting conversation, on Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Ohio Conference office, 5358 Kidron Road, Kidron. For those who cannot attend in person, a video conferencing option will be available. If you would like to take part in this conversation, please…
Concert to benefit Open Arms
Open Arms Hispanic Ministry is hosting “Songs and Salsa,” an evening concert in the Kidron Park Community Building, 4434 Kidron Road, Kidron, on Sunday, Oct. 13, beginning at 6 p.m. The musical group Honeytown will be performing, as will the worship team from Salem Mennonite Church in Wooster. There will be a variety of chips and salsas available. A freewill offering…
World Communion Sunday to be celebrated at Central
Join in celebrating World Communion Sunday on Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. at Central Christian School in Kidron. This worship service is a partnership of several local Mennonite churches and the Swahili Community Church of Akron, a Congolese Mennonite congregation. The event will include prayer, scripture, communion, and worship offerings from the Salem Mennonite dance group, Congolese Swahili choirs, and…
Fundraiser to benefit Wycliffe
Beech Mennonite Church in Louisville is hosting a fundraiser for Wycliffe Ministries on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event will include helicopter rides, activities for children, and motorized surrey rides. Lunch will be available. Beech Mennonite Church is located at 10037 Easton St. NE, Louisville. See the event flier for details.