Announcements
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…
Registration is open for MennoCon21
Registration is open for MennoCon21, which will take place July 6-10, both online and in Cincinnati, Ohio. An early bird discount is available through April 30. See https://convention.mennoniteusa.org/registration/ for more information.
Lighthouse Ministries to celebrate 25 years
Lighthouse Ministries in Canton is celebrating 25 years of ministry with two events in May. On May 8 from noon to 4 p.m. the Lighthouse will host a marketplace and tour at its southeast Canton location. This socially-distanced event will include a self-led tour and refreshments. Participants also will be able to support the fourth- and fifth-grade students in the…
Everence offers tips for planning giving
Everence offers Spring tips to refresh your giving plans. Now is an ideal time to review your 2021 charitable goals. See http://bit.ly/RefreshYourGiving for details.
Leonard Dow assumes new role at Everence
Everence has named Leonard Dow as its vice president of community and church development, effective March 31, 2021. Dow first joined Everence in 2017 as a stewardship and development specialist, helping to create the organization’s urban market business plan. To learn more, see http://bit.ly/EverenceLeonardDow.
Online workshop series continues
Ohio Conference is continuing its series of workshops held on Thursday evenings from 7 to 8 p.m. These free online workshops are open to everyone, and we invite you to come and learn more about the Lord’s work. Tonight, April 8, Matthew Peterson will lead the workshop “Creating a Culture of Ordinary Goodness.” During World War II, the town of Le Chambon, a…
‘MissionWary?’ examines mission in a Mennonite context
“MissionWary?” takes a deep dive into examining mission in a Mennonite context. This new podcast from Mennonite Mission Network is now available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
AMBS creates worship materials for congregations
Recognizing the toll that COVID-19 has had on pastors and worship planners over the last year, members of the community at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, have prepared worship materials for congregational use for two separate worship services. The first set of worship materials is designed for the Sunday after Easter (April 11). The resources, which are based…
Newsletter includes info about MennoCon21
Wondering about this summer’s denominational convention? The latest MennoCon21 Newsletter includes information about this year’s convention, which will be a hybrid event with an in-person gathering in Cincinnati as well as an online option. The online experience will use a virtual event platform called Pheedloop, which is specially designed for conferences. Registration for MennoCon21 opens April 6. See the MennoCon21 Newsletter…
CommonWord calendars link to worship resources
CommonWord now has season and event calendars with links to related resources. To explore these handy references to lectionary resources and materials for other events in the church and calendar years, go to https://www.commonword.ca/Content/worship-calendar.
MDS seeks volunteers for plumbing repairs
Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers have been helping to restore water in Texas homes damaged by a major February ice storm. More volunteers are needed for plumbing repairs. Read the March edition of On the Level, the MDS newsletter, for details: http://bit.ly/OnTheLevel3-21.
Recordings of ACA are online
Recordings of Annual Conference Assembly are available on the Ohio Conference website. Recordings include all three business sessions and the worship service. To view any of these recordings, go to https://bit.ly/AboutACA.
How important are emergency savings?
Evelin Gonzalez, a financial consultant at Everence, discusses the importance of an emergency savings fund during a pandemic: http://bit.ly/Everence-EmergencySavings.
Online seminary course deals with congregational conflict
Online Anabaptist Short Course: Transforming Congregational Conflict and Communication: April 14 – May 25. Join Betty Pries, Ph.D., to explore the possibilities and pitfalls of courageously engaging differences within congregational life in this six-week online noncredit course at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. No grades, no papers! CEUs available. Register by March 17 and save $50. See ambs.edu/shortcourses.
MEA continues executive director search
Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) is continuing its search for a new executive director. The deadline to apply is March 31. For more details, please see https://bit.ly/MEAExecDirector.
Peace center offers mediation training refresher
A note from Lombard Mennonite Peace Center: For those who have already taken our Mediation Skills Training Institute (MSTI), we are pleased to offer a new one-day event: the MSTI Refresher Course. Sessions are available on Tuesday, May 11, and Saturday, June 12. The fee is $99, and the event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. The full five-day…
Online workshops are free to all
Ohio Conference is offering a series of free online workshops. These workshops will take place on Thursday evenings on Zoom, beginning at 7 p.m. For information about these workshops, please go to http://bit.ly/2021OnlineWorkshops. Please register online at https://bit.ly/OhioConferenceEvents by the Monday before the workshop.
MyNeighbor credit card purchases can help support your congregation
You can support your church every time you buy groceries, gas and other items — with the MyNeighbor card from Everence. When you use the MyNeighbor credit card for your purchases, Everence donates 1.5 % of the transaction total to your church or other selected organization — your Neighbor. It’s a great way to provide financial support, with no additional…
Invite a speaker from Mennonite World Conference
Would you like to hear from Mennonites from other parts of the world? As many congregations currently are worshipping through online services, Mennonite World Conference (MWC) guest speakers can connect local congregations with the global church. MWC’s officers can join a service as guest preacher or as presenter to share stories about the global family. To learn more, see https://mwc-cmm.org/stories/invite-mwc-speaker.
Goshen College offers free online devotionals during Lent
During Lent Goshen College is offering online devotions focusing on the theme “Deep Calls to Deep.” Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Goshen College students, faculty and staff provide reflections based on the upcoming Sunday’s lectionary scripture passages. You can read these devotions online at www.goshen.edu/devotions. To receive the devotions by email, go to www.goshen.edu/devotions/subscribe.
Register for ACA by Feb. 26
There’s still time to register for Annual Conference Assembly! Online registration is open for the 2021 missional conference on March 4 and 5 and Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) on March 6. Both events will take place on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. Brad Roth, pastor and author of God’s Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church, will be…
Anabaptist World seeks submissions
Anabaptist World invites your original submissions for an upcoming issue focusing on the theme “What if they don’t come back?” For many of us, the coronavirus pandemic has uprooted church as we know it. Congregational life, and the community that it creates, has shifted, revealing unexpected challenges and opportunities. Article length should be about 600 to 1,200 words. Submissions are due…