Delegate News – 4-24-23

April 24, 2023 Dear Ohio Conference credentialed ministers, delegates and congregations, The Leadership Team of Ohio Conference met for our annual retreat on April 13 to fellowship with one another, pray, and to discern together God’s leading of Ohio Conference over the next year. We want to let you know how we plan to move forward after Annual Conference Assembly…

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Please join us as we Dwell in the Word

On July 2 Paula Snyder Belousek (Assistant Moderator), Dan Hooley (Prayer Coordinator) and I met to discuss some spiritual practices that we might be able to engage in as a Conference during the course of our review/discernment process. We looked at what was recommended by the delegates at our Annual Conference Assembly back in March. Four spiritual practices were recommended…

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Leadership Team releases statement regarding MC USA Special Delegate Assembly

To: Ohio Conference Pastors, Delegates and Congregations From: Ohio Conference Leadership Team Subject: Statement regarding MC USA’s Special Delegate Assembly, May 27-30, 2022 Date: June 6, 2022 MC USA’s delegates met May 27-30 for a special delegate assembly in Kansas City, Missouri. Of the 502 delegates who participated, 47 represented Ohio Conference or one of our congregations. We met to…

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Please join us in prayer

Times of Prayer and Fasting for Ohio Conference’s Year of Review and the MC USA Delegate Assembly As we have recently begun our Year of Review working with a process consultant and with the upcoming Mennonite Church USA Delegate Assembly scheduled for May 27-30, 2022, it is very important that we are grounded in the spiritual disciplines as we try…

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Consultant to assist in Conference review

The Ohio Conference Leadership Team has approved entering into an agreement with Design Group International to assist in a three-part Conference review. The Leadership Team is taking this step based on feedback from delegates at the March 2022 Annual Conference Assembly. Delegates overwhelmingly affirmed the idea of using a process consultant to assist the Conference over the upcoming two years.…

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Sherah-Leigh Gerber

New regional pastor appointed

It is with much anticipation and excitement that the Ohio Conference Leadership Team announces the appointment of Sherah-Leigh Gerber to serve as regional pastor – east. Many people will remember Sherah-Leigh from when she served as our coordinator of volunteers from 2009 to 2014, prior to moving to Harrisonburg, Virginia. While in Virginia, she was the associate pastor for worship,…

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Conference minister reappointed for another term

In January the Ohio Conference Leadership Team reappointed Conference Minister Dick Barrett to another three-year term as conference minister. Interim Conference Moderator Paula Snyder Belousek said that the Leadership Team expressed a strong affirmation of Dick’s ministry and the excellent work he has done to build relationships and to stabilize the Conference after several years without a permanent conference minister.

Regional gatherings focus on mission statement, congregational sharing

By Dick Barrett Conference Minister On Oct. 20, 22, 27 and 29 Ohio Conference held four regional fall gatherings for delegates to Annual Conference Assembly. Delegates learned about a proposed new mission statement for the Conference, heard more about the upcoming Annual Conference Assembly, and shared with one another about their congregations’ experiences dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to…

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Ohio Conference offers Pastor Wellness Grants

Being a pastor in the 21st century is a very challenging calling. Being a pastor during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic has been even more challenging. Due to the many changes that have had to be made, many of our pastors have not taken a Sunday off since the pandemic began, many have cancelled or shortened their vacations, and…

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Pandemic curtails face-to-face meetings, but Conference work continues nonetheless

By Dick Barrett Conference Minister While these have been difficult times to be able to gather in person because of the coronavirus pandemic, through the use of technology we have been able to gather virtually to continue Ohio Conference work. Regional Pastors Tony Doehrmann and Ralph Reinford have continued to meet with pastors, pastor peer groups, and search committees via…

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Leadership is visioning for the future

The Ohio Conference Leadership Team and the Pastoral Team have begun meet­ing with consultants Howard and Cathy Wagler from South Hutchinson, Kansas. They are looking at our current mission and purpose statements (introduced in 2006) as we begin discerning together God’s vision for the future of the Confer­ence over the next five to seven years. The Leadership Team and Pastoral…

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Leadership Team makes statement on racial injustice

As the Leadership Team of Ohio Conference of Mennonite Church USA, we affirm the recent statement from Mennonite Church USA on racial injustice and Executive Director Glen Guyton’s open letter to the denomination. We lament the death of George Floyd, the latest death of an African-American person at the hands of a white police officer. We grieve the violence that has erupted…

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Consider carefully whether to meet during coronavirus outbreak

At the direction of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, the Ohio Department of Health issued an order on March 12 banning mass gatherings of more than 100 people. While religious institutions are one of the groups excluded in the ban, the Leadership Team of Ohio Conference encourages each of our congregations to carefully discern what is best, especially for the health…

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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…

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Ohio Conference leaders share at Constituency Leaders Council

By Paula Snyder Belousek Assistant Moderator Conference Minister Dick Barrett, Moderator Lynn Miller and Assistant Moderator Paula Snyder Belousek presented information about the Ohio Conference during the Oct. 17-18 meeting of Mennonite Church USA’s Constituency Leaders Council in Glendale, Arizona. Each conference and constituency group gave 10-minute presentations over the two days of the Constituency Leaders Council (CLC). Each group answered…

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Lynn Miller accepts moderator position

The Ohio Conference Leadership Team is pleased to announce that Lynn Miller of Tedrow Mennonite Church has agreed to serve as our Conference moderator. Lynn has been a part of Tedrow Mennon­ite Church all his life, and he has served as a delegate to Ohio Conference in the past both as a member of Tedrow and as a member of…

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A conversation with Dick Barrett

In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast podcast, hosts Thomas Dunn and Bill Seymour talk with Dick Barrett, the new conference minister for the Ohio Conference. Listen to this conversation to learn more about Dick’s background, his journey to becoming an Anabaptist, and his hopes for the Ohio Conference in the coming years. As a bonus, this episode also…

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Dick Barrett hired as conference minister

The Ohio Conference Leadership Team has hired Dick Barrett of West Liberty to serve as conference minister of the Ohio Conference of Mennonite Church USA. Dick comes to the conference minister position after serving Oak Grove Mennonite Church in West Liberty, Ohio, for 16 years, the first four as associate pastor and the last 12 as lead pastor. After being…

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Online prayer session set for May 31

Unite For The Search: Online Meetings for Prayer. Please join us as we unite in prayer for the search for a new conference minister for the Ohio Conference. Using the GoToMeeting Web conferencing program, we’ll connect on Thursday, May 31, from 11 a.m. to noon. Please use the information below for logging in to the online meeting: Prayer Time –…

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Search committee reports progress, asks for prayer

The Search Committee tasked with hiring a Conference Minister has been hard at work over the past six weeks. We have advertised in the Mennonite press, and reached out to constituency groups, seminaries and conference leaders to collect names and contact potential candidates. One of the challenges for our recruitment process is that many have not heard about the exciting…

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Getting the word out — Ohio Conference is a great place to be

As the search for a new conference minister for Ohio Conference re-opens, Paula Snyder Belousek talks with Ohio Conference Cast hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn about the search process and about the positive energy she has been observing in the Conference. Snyder Belousek, the chair of the Conference Minister Search Committee, says, “God is doing exciting things in Ohio…

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Conference minister search re-opens

In February the Leadership Team made the decision to hire a full-time conference minister, rather than seek someone to fill this important role part-time. This is possible because Ralph Reinford, regional pastor, will be moving to part-time hours by Nov. 1, 2018. The previous search committee has been recalled and reorganized, and the members of that committee have again begun…

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Leadership Team reports on search process

After many hours spent discussing the conference minister position and a very comprehensive search process, the Search Committee and the Leadership Team are in agreement that hiring someone at a half-time capacity is not a healthy thing for any candidate or the Conference at this time. We apologize to the Conference staff and to those of you who have counseled…

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The search is on

In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn discuss the search for a new half-time conference minister with Jeff Hochstetler, a member of the search committee. Jeff describes the type of person the search committee is seeking and talks about some of the expectations for this position. Since this episode of Ohio Conference Cast…

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Delegate News – Fall 2017

Fall meetings planned for delegates This fall Ohio Conference will hold four regional cluster meetings for delegates to Annual Conference Assembly (ACA). Each meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and last about an hour and a half. Meeting dates and locations are as follows: Oct. 17 – Lockport Mennonite Church in Stryker Oct. 24 – Oak Grove Mennonite Church in…

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Delegate input sought on staffing

The Ohio Conference Leadership Team would like to hear from Conference delegates. In the Summer 2017 issue of Delegate News, the Leadership Team presented an update on the search for Conference leadership staff. Tentative job descriptions were included for both a Missional Leader and a Conference Administrator. (See Delegate News for details.) The Leadership Team is asking for delegate input about…

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Delegate News – Summer 2017

Conference Leader Announcement At the 2017 Annual Conference Assembly, the Leadership Team was tasked with finding a Conference leader who is passionate about mission and who would encourage and lead us in our desire to become more missional as well as pick up the pieces that have over-burdened our staff for the past two years. As the Leadership Team began…

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Leadership Team continues work on staffing

The Ohio Conference Leadership Team, with the help of Regional Pastor Cliff Brubaker, has been diligently working at finding leadership for the Conference to address several needs. We are looking for leadership to guide the missional movement that has become the desired focus of the Ohio Conference. In addition, the Leadership Team is seeking to ensure that executive functions are…

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What does it mean for Ohio Conference to be Gathered and Sent?

In this episode of Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Thomas Dunn and Bill Seymour talk with Regional Pastor Cliff Brubaker about Gathered and Sent, a new focus which brings together the work of two previous initiatives, the Year of Mission and the Year of Covenant. Cliff describes what planners are envisioning for both the “Gathered” and “Sent” parts of this process. Hint:…

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