Immigration
Immigration forum coming to Columbus
Interested in learning more about immigration issues? Immigration advocate Christy Staats is extending an invitation to Ohio Mennonites to attend Ohio 2022: A New Consensus on Immigration. This event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, July 7, at Scarlet City Church in Columbus. Staats notes, “During Lent of 2021 I had the privilege of joining…
Join the conversation about immigration
The Ohio Conference Immigration Resource Team has begun a series of posts about immigration on the Ohio Conference Facebook page. The most recent post, dated Feb. 9, explores the concept of compassion as it relates to immigrants. You are invited to join the conversation about immigration. See the team’s posts on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OhioConferenceMCUSA.
Borderlands Learning Tour: No easy answers
By Dick Barrett Conference Minister November 7th through the 14th of this past year I had the privilege and opportunity to participate in a Borderlands Learning Tour sponsored by the Great Lakes office of Mennonite Central Committee. The tour focused on the border between Douglas, Arizona, and Agua Prieta, Mexico, approximately 120 miles southeast of Tucson. Both Ohio Conference’s Leadership…
Immigration guide focuses on scriptures
Have you explored “A Biblical Guide to Immigration” yet? This past summer, the Ohio Conference Immigration Resource Team released this guide, which includes a compilation of scriptures related to immigration. This resource is suitable for both personal and congregational use. A copy of this guide is available at https://bit.ly/BiblicalGuideToImmigration and on the “Immigration” page of the Ohio Conference website: https://ohiomennoniteconference.org/resources/immigration.
Songs & Salsa to benefit Open Arms
Save the date: Open Arms Hispanic Ministries will hold its annual Songs & Salsa fundraising event on Sunday, Oct. 10, at 6 p.m. at Salem Mennonite Church, 3363 Zuercher Road, Dalton. Tortilla chips will be served with a variety of salsas and dips. The group Renacer from Goshen, Indiana, will provide music. A freewill offering will be taken to benefit…
Immigration Resource Team shares resources
The Ohio Conference Immigration Resource Team is continuing its work of raising awareness and sharing resources related to immigration. Scripture resource This summer, the Immigration Resource Team released a resource titled “A Biblical Guide to Immigration.” This guide, which includes a compilation of scriptures related to immigration, is suitable for both personal and congregational use. “A Biblical Guide to Immigration”…
Scripture resource focuses on immigration
The Ohio Conference Immigration Resource Team has compiled a list of scriptures related to immigration for personal and congregational use. “A Biblical Guide to Immigration” includes scriptures grouped by topic. It is intended for use in sermons and in Sunday school classes or for personal reflection. Download the Guide
Showing God’s love to immigrants: Will you join us?
The Immigration Resource Team of Ohio Conference is aware of many immigrants seeking asylum at our southern border. We ask: “How can we here in Ohio show them God’s welcoming love?” We remember the amazing way a dozen or so Ohio Conference churches came together to assemble 175 immigration welcome kits in the fall of 2019. Covid-19 precautions prevent this…
Glimpses into an unseen world
By Dan King About a year ago, pre-pandemic, one of my Guatemalan students invited me to her quinceañera. (For those who may not know, a Hispanic girl’s 15th birthday is an occasion for a no-expenses-spared party to signify her “coming of age.”) It was to be held at her evangelical church. I arrived a few minutes late, assuming the celebration…
Online event to focus on immigration
Malone University in Canton is co-sponsoring an online event focusing on immigration on Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. “Immigration Ohio 2020: Complex Questions and Solutions with Dignity” will feature keynote speakers Jill Stoltzfus and Ali Noorani. The event will also include panels of Ohio leaders in business, health care and immigration law, as well as pastors and…