Equip
Training opportunities in mediation and conflict transformation in ministry
Lombard Mennonite Peace Center (LMPC) is hosting Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders in Huron, Ohio, May 27-31 at Christ Episcopal Church. This 32-hour training is for clergy looking to increase or improve their mediation skills. If these dates are not convenient, there will be other trainings in Pennsylvania and Illinois this summer. LMPC is also offering Leadership Development…
Journey
Journey is a missional leadership development program from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) that develops leaders centered in Jesus for ministry. Are you on a journey to ministry? Do you know someone who is on a journey to ministry? Why not tap them to join Journey? To find out more information, check out this link.
Healthy Boundaries refresher training planned
April 22 is the deadline to register for the Healthy Boundaries 201 training sponsored by the Ohio Conference. This training will be held on Tuesday, April 30, at Wooster Mennonite Church from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The training also will be available online through Zoom. Lunch will be provided for in-person participants. To register, go to https://buytickets.at/ohioconferenceofmennonitechurchusa/1157814.
April is Abuse Prevention Month
April is Abuse Prevention month. Congregations and pastors are welcome to contact Nancy Kauffmann, interim denominational minister of Church Safety for Mennonite Church USA’s Church Vitality office, if they wish to have a speaker, training or other resource to use during the month. You may contact her at nancyk@mennoniteusa.org.
Safe Church policies will be webinar focus
Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) is hosting a webinar, “Making a Safe Church Protection Policy,” on Monday, March 25, at 7 p.m. ET. Facilitators will be Marlene Bogard and Nancy Kauffmann, MC USA’s interim denominational minister for Church Safety. Webinar participants will learn how to write a protection policy, how to use the policy, when to update their congregation’s policy…
Webinar to focus on women in ministry
In honor of Women’s History Month, Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) is sponsoring a webinar, “The Hope-Filled Persistence of Women in Ministry,” on Monday, March 11, at 7 p.m. This webinar will look at the lives of MC USA women in ministry across the generations and today. Rev. Amy Zimbelman, conference minister of Mountain States Mennonite Conference, and Elizabeth Johnson,…
Healthy Boundaries refresher training planned
Ohio Conference will hold a Healthy Boundaries 201 training on Tuesday, April 30, at Wooster Mennonite Church from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The training also will be available online through Zoom. For those meeting in person, lunch will be provided. Healthy Boundaries 201 is designed for credentialed pastors who have previously completed Healthy Boundaries 101. Please note: All persons…
Seminary programs offer support for pastors
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, is offering programs which support pastors currently serving in the church. The Transition to Leadership program guides and nurtures new pastors during the crucial first years of ministry. This two-year program includes monthly one-on-one mentoring sessions, biannual Learning Events with other new pastors and their mentors, and optional consultations with consultants with…
Twenty-five women attend Women in Leadership Retreat
All photos by Alysa Short Twenty-five women attended the Ohio Conference Women in Leadership Retreat Feb. 2-3 at the Lial Renewal Center in Whitehouse, Ohio. Speaker Jewel Gingerich Longenecker, dean of lifelong learning at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, led group sessions focusing on the theme “Finding Your Voice.” The retreat format also included time for worship, spiritual practices, quiet…
Sharon Mennonite to host ACA
Meghan Larissa Good to be featured presenter Sharon Mennonite Church in Plain City will host the 2024 Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) March 1-2. The theme of this year’s gathering will be “Following Jesus Together with a Common Mission,” based on Philippians 2:5-11. The 2024 Annual Conference Assembly is intended for all members of Ohio Conference churches, not just delegates. In…
You’re invited: Join us for the Winter Read
Starting this month: The Ohio Conference Winter Read, a Conference-wide book group on Zoom, will be returning for the third year in a row. We would love to have you join us for conversation about the book Not Quite Fine: Mental Health, Faith and Showing Up for One Another by Carlene Hill Byron. Discussion leaders will be Emiley Shenk and …
Women in Leadership Retreat to equip women to use their leadership gifts
Coming in February: “Finding Your Voice” will be the theme of the 2024 Ohio Conference Women in Leadership Retreat. This retreat is planned for Feb. 2-3 at the Lial Renewal Center in Whitehouse, Ohio. Presenter for the retreat will be Jewel Gingerich Longenecker, dean of lifelong learning at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana. She will lead participants in…
Please join us for the Winter Read
In less than a month, the Ohio Conference Winter Read will begin. We would love to have you join us for conversation about the book Not Quite Fine: Mental Health, Faith and Showing Up for One Another by Carlene Hill Byron. Discussion leaders will be Emiley Shenk and Darin Nissley. Winter Read discussions will take place on Zoom on five…
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…
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…
Tiny, awkward little steps
Engaging with mental illness as a congregation By Nathanael Hofstetter Ressler Maple Grove Mennonite Church Hartville, Ohio Realities exist in life that are daunting to consider, much less to know what to do about them. These realities loom over us in their enormity, and we seem to shrink into their shadows. How could I possibly do anything to address that?!…
Register online for Women in Leadership Retreat
One role of ministry leaders is to notice and affirm the gifts of those in your congregation. The planning committee of this winter’s Ohio Conference Women in Leadership Retreat would like you to begin thinking now about women in your congregation that you could encourage to attend. We would love to see each congregation send at least one woman, preferably more!…
New resources are available for leadership training and faith formation
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate In this column I would like to highlight two new sets of resources, one for leadership training and one for faith formation. Practical Leadership Training In August Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) is beginning a new program called Practical Leadership Training. This program is designed to equip not only pastors, but also lay…
Foundations for Justice webinar series planned
As part of Ohio Conference’s continuing education regarding anti-racism and intercultural competency, we are offering a three-part “Foundations for Justice Series,” to be held virtually from 7 to 8:15 p.m. on three Thursdays — Oct. 20, Nov. 3, and Nov. 17. This training series will be led by Nekeisha Alayna Alexis, Intercultural Competence and Undoing Racism Coordinator at Anabaptist Mennonite…
Conference to hold Mentor/Mentee Retreat
Ohio Conference will hold a Mentor/Mentee Retreat for pastors on Sept. 6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the St. Francis Spirituality Center in Tiffin. Terry Shue will provide input, along with representatives from Ohio Conference. Registration is due by Aug. 16. For more details, see the 2022 Mentor-Mentee Retreat Flier.
Conference youth worker webinar series continues
Ohio Conference is continuing its series of free online seminars for youth workers during the month of May. “Jesus as Model: Youth Ministry Reimagined” is the theme of this series, which began in late March. The final three online seminars will be held from 7 to 8:15 p.m. on May 10, 17 and 24. In addition to hearing from presenters, seminar participants…
Youth worker seminar series continues
Next Tuesday, April 12, Ohio Conference will host the second in a series of free online seminars for youth workers. “Jesus as Model: Youth Ministry Reimagined” is the theme of this series, which features a variety of presenters. Seminars are being offered from 7 to 8:15 p.m. on Tuesdays. Remaining dates include April 12, 19 and 26, and May 10,…
Register now for enneagram workshop
Last call for registrations: Ohio Conference will host “Exploring the Enneagram as a Ministry Tool,” a one-day workshop for pastors on May 3. The workshop will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the main branch of the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library, 43 W. Third St., Mansfield, Ohio. This workshop will explore how Enneagram types affect compatibility, functionality…
Winter Read starts discussion process
Conversations about race can be uncomfortable for some of us. How do we begin to grapple with issues of racial reconciliation? More than 60 people from around the Ohio Conference committed to discussing racial reconciliation this winter while participating in a new initiative called the Ohio Conference Winter Read. Led by Pastors Vikki Pruitte-Sorrells of Lee Heights Community Church in…
Barnacles and brownies
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Editor On March 3 and 4, Howard and Cathy Wagler of Hutchinson, Kansas, were presenters for a missional conference at Zion Mennonite Church in Archbold, focusing on the theme “Befriending the Neighborhood: Am I a Good Neighbor?” Sixty people from around the Ohio Conference participated in this conference. I was one of those 60 people.…
Women leading, empowered by the Holy Spirit
By Alysa Short Coordinator of Volunteers Ohio Conference held a retreat for women in leadership Feb. 18-19 at the St. Francis Spirituality Center in Tiffin, Ohio. Twenty-three women from around Conference participated in this overnight retreat led by Rebecca Slough, academic dean and professor of worship and the arts emerita at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana. Focusing on…
Missional conference recordings are available
Wondering what you missed at the 2022 missional conference? Sixty people from all around the Ohio Conference took part in this event, which was held March 3-4 at Zion Mennonite Church in Archbold. Even if you missed this gathering, you can still learn from our missional conference presenters, Howard and Cathy Wagler. Video recordings of the conference are available at…
First youth worker seminar is March 22
Coming soon: Ohio Conference is offering a series of free online seminars for youth workers during March, April and May. “Jesus as Model: Youth Ministry Reimagined” is the theme of this series, which will feature a variety of presenters. The first of these seminars will be this coming Tuesday, March 22. Seminars will be offered from 7 to 8:15 p.m.…
Location set for Enneagram workshop
Ohio Conference will host a one-day workshop for pastors on May 3. “Exploring the Enneagram as a Ministry Tool” is the theme of the workshop, which will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the main branch of the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library, 43 W. Third St., Mansfield, Ohio. This workshop will explore how Enneagram types affect compatibility,…
Free youth worker seminars planned
Update: The number of youth worker seminars has changed. The series of seminars will begin on March 22 instead of March 8. Please see the updated schedule below. Ohio Conference is offering a series of free online seminars for youth workers during March, April and May. “Jesus as Model: Youth Ministry Reimagined” is the theme of this series, which will…