Announcements
Register for ACA by Feb. 9
Have you registered for Annual Conference Assembly (ACA)? Feb. 9 is the deadline to register for ACA at the regular fee of $50 per person. After that date, the registration fee rises to $65 per person. Sharon Mennonite Church in Plain City will host the 2024 ACA March 1-2. The featured speaker at this event will be Meghan Larissa Good,…
CommonWord offers resources for Lent
This year Lent begins Feb. 14. If you are looking for new Lenten resources, check out the website for CommonWord, a collaboration of Mennonite Church Canada and Canadian Mennonite University. In preparation for Lent, CommonWord has curated a collection of resources for this season of the church year. Included in the collection are books, songs, and worship resources such as…
MEA announces scholarship application deadline
ELKHART, Indiana — Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) has announced the deadline to apply for the MEA Scholarship for BIPOC Students within Mennonite Church USA (MC USA). Applications will be accepted through April 1, 2024, for the 2024-25 academic year. The scholarship was launched in the fall of 2023 to help students who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color…
Anabaptist World seeks submissions about including people with disabilities
Anabaptist World invites your original submissions for an upcoming issue focusing on the theme “Inclusion of people with disabilities.” Articles should be between 600 and 1,200 words. For more information about this theme, see https://bit.ly/AWDisabilitiesInclusion. Submissions are due to editor@anabaptistworld.org no later than Feb. 5.
Public educator group to meet Jan. 25
The next online meeting of the Mennonite Public Educators group is Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, at 7 p.m. Eastern. This group is intended for all Mennonite education professionals working in public school settings. The conversation topic will be “CRT, Social-Emotional Learning, & book banning.” Registration is required. Email info@MennoniteEducation.org to receive registration information.
Hope for the Future conference set for Feb. 9-11
Registration for Mennonite Church USA’s (MC USA) Hope for the Future conference, to be held in Dallas, Texas, Feb. 9-11, 2024, is now open. The annual conference provides space for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) leaders from across the United States to gather and share in mutual support and worship. More information is available on the MC USA website: https://bit.ly/2024HopeforFuture.
Register online for ACA
Registration is open for the 2024 Annual Conference Assembly (ACA). Sharon Mennonite Church will host ACA on March 1-2. For more information, please see https://bit.ly/2024ACAInfo. To register, go to https://bit.ly/2024ACARegistration.
Register now for Women in Leadership Retreat
The biennial Ohio Conference Women in Leadership Retreat is quickly approaching on Feb. 2-3, 2024. This year’s retreat will be held at the Lial Renewal Center in Whitehouse, Ohio, and will feature Jewel Gingerich Longenecker, dean of Lifelong Learning at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. She will lead participants in exploring what it means to claim the fullness of their identity…
Spiritual renewal program offered for clergy
The Center for Clergy Renewal (https://bit.ly/CCRProgram) offers spiritual renewal to Christian pastors through ecumenical immersion experiences into the life of Holy Wisdom Monastery, near Madison, Wisconsin, and an ongoing community of monastic resources and support that extends beyond the walls of Holy Wisdom. The program offers early and mid-career clergy the opportunity to nourish their spiritual center by developing life-long, covenantal relationships…
AMBS offers Practical Leadership Training
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, is offering training modules for pastors and lay leaders through its Practical Leadership Training program. Please see the 2024 Practical Leadership Training flyer to learn more about upcoming training modules.
Oak Grove in Smithville seeks lead pastor
Oak Grove Mennonite Church in Smithville, Ohio, is looking for a full-time lead pastor. Oak Grove was founded in 1818 and is steeped in Anabaptist belief, practice, and history. We seek a lead pastor to teach, encourage, and shepherd the people of Oak Grove Mennonite Church that they might grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ and might further His…
Winter Cluster meetings start Jan. 9
Five winter cluster meetings have been scheduled for Ohio Conference delegates to Annual Conference Assembly. Each meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and last about two hours. Locations are as follows: Jan. 9 — Tedrow Mennonite Church, Wauseon Jan. 11 — Beech Mennonite Church, Louisville Jan. 16 — Crown Hill Mennonite Church, Rittman Jan. 18 — Oak Grove Mennonite Church, West Liberty Jan.…
Ohio MCC Comforter Bash set for March 8-9
Fairlawn Mennonite Church in Apple Creek will host the fourth annual Ohio MCC Comforter Bash on March 8 and 9. The church is located at 8520 Emerson Road, Apple Creek. All are invited to knot comforters for Mennonite Central Committee. Women, men, youth groups, friends and family are invited! Come and go as you are able. Hours are as follows:…
Grant awarded to MEA Hispanic Ministries
Mennonite Education Agency Hispanic Ministries has received a $15,500 grant from The Schowalter Foundation to adapt the Instituto Bíblico Anabautista (IBA – Anabaptist Bible Institute) digital resources to better serve participants in virtual settings. Learn more at https://bit.ly/MEAHispanicMinistries-Grant.
MMN to offer new Anti-racism Grant
Mennonite Mission Network is offering an Anti-Racism Grant specifically for individuals and organizations managed by Asian, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous or other People of Color groups who are engaged in peacebuilding, social justice and anti-racism efforts. Learn more at https://bit.ly/MMNAnti-RacismGrants.
Mennonites talk about ways to respond to war in Gaza
More than 800 people from 250 congregations across Canada and the U.S. met online Nov. 28 to talk about ways to respond together to the war in Gaza and Palestine. See the Anabaptist World report for details: https://bit.ly/Nov28Meeting.
Retreat will equip women to use leadership gifts
Online registration is open for the Ohio Conference Women in Leadership Retreat planned for Feb. 2-3, 2024, at the Lial Renewal Center in Whitehouse, Ohio. The retreat will feature Jewel Gingerich Longenecker of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, who will focus on the theme “Finding Your Voice.” This retreat will explore what it means for women to lead as their authentic…
EMU to host Shalom Academy
Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, will host Shalom Academy (formerly School for Leadership Training) Jan. 8-10, 2024. Cultivating unity within faith communities can be difficult when cultural pressures are divisive. Shalom Academy 2024 will offer a place to learn and reflect on the practices that move congregations past divisiveness and toward peace, both within their walls and in their…
AMBS gathering to focus on peacemaking
“Strategies for Peacemaking” will be the theme of the 2024 Pastors & Leaders Conference at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, Feb. 19-22, 2024. Betty Pries, PhD, will be the featured speaker. This conference will focus on tools for peacemaking — building our capacity to tend to our inner work; address conflicts within our churches; and lead people…
New training modules offered at AMBS
In August Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, launched a new Practical Leadership Training program to help pastors, lay leaders, community leaders, and leaders of nonprofit organizations increase their capacity to provide effective Anabaptist leadership in a variety of settings. A new set of training modules is available beginning in January. Topics include Intergenerational Faith Formation, Riding the Wave…
CommonWord offers variety of Christmas resources
CommonWord, a collaboration of Mennonite Church Canada and Canadian Mennonite University has a variety of Christmas resources available for download. View them at https://www.commonword.ca/go/2191.
Mennonite World Conference to hold Online Prayer Hour Nov. 17
Mennonite World Conference invites you to join the Anabaptist-Mennonite family at Online Prayer Hour, a Zoom prayer call, on Friday, Nov. 17, at 9 a.m. EST. There will be breakout rooms with a prayer leader in several languages. Please register in advance at https://bit.ly/MWCOnlinePrayerNov23.
The Corinthian Plan has open enrollment through Dec. 31
The Corinthian Plan is open for enrollment from Nov.1 through Dec. 31, 2023, for a Jan. 1, 2024, start date. The Corinthian Plan is a self-funded health care plan for pastors and church workers, sponsored and owned by Mennonite Church USA (MC USA). Please see the MC USA news release for more details: https://bit.ly/2024CorinthianPlan.
MC USA to relaunch Equipping e-newsletter
ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Church USA) — After a two-year hiatus, the Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Executive Board communications department is relaunching Equipping, a resource e-newsletter for leaders across MC USA. MC USA will reintroduce Equipping as a quarterly email newsletter featuring resources on leadership, peacebuilding, worship, faith formation and more from MC USA and its conferences, congregations, agencies, ministry…
Advent at Home guide coming soon
Update: The 2024 Advent at Home worship guide is now available. Go to https://bit.ly/AdventatHome to download it. ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Education Agency) — Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) announces the upcoming publication of Advent at Home 2023. Taken from Leader magazine’s Advent theme, “How will we know?” this worship guide accompanies individuals and families through the days and weeks of Advent…
CLC brainstorms strategies to strengthen youth engagement
Mennonite Church USA’s Constituency Leaders Council brainstormed strategies for strengthening youth engagement at its first meeting of the 2023-2025 biennium via Zoom on Oct. 27, 2023. To read a full report of this meeting, including comments from Ohio Conference Moderator Ken Sims, see the MC USA news release: https://bit.ly/CLC-YouthEngagement.
Encourage women in your congregation to attend Women in Leadership Retreat
Online registration is open for the Ohio Conference Women in Leadership Retreat planned for Feb. 2-3, 2024, at the Lial Renewal Center in Whitehouse, Ohio. The retreat will feature Jewel Gingerich Longenecker of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, who will focus on the theme “Finding Your Voice.” The planning committee for this retreat would like you to think about women in…
AMBS launches Forming Leaders Together campaign
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, has launched its Forming Leaders Together fundraising campaign. Funds raised through the campaign are supporting the seminary’s collaboration with Anabaptist-Mennonite organizations serving the church in Canada, the United States, and around the world. According to Paula Killough, MDiv, Director of Campaign, the seminary has reached 83 percent of its $12 million campaign…
Zoom meeting about Corinthian Plan scheduled
Did you know that Mennonite Church USA has a health plan? The Corinthian Plan provides health coverage for eligible pastors, church employees and their families Learn more during an upcoming Zoom meeting on Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. ET. Current participants of the plan are also welcome to ask questions. Register online at https://bit.ly/CorinthianPlanQandA.
On the Level explores the benefits of being a volunteer
The October edition of On the Level is now available from Mennonite Disaster Service. In the current issue: Kevin King shares the health benefits of being a volunteer; an old grocery store is transformed near Red Lake, Minnesota; and if you enjoy quilting, knitting or crocheting, you’ll want to learn more about the MDS Housewarmer Project. To read more, go…