Mission
Register for missional workshop by March 31
The registration deadline for Ohio Conference’s missional workshop is approaching quickly! Do you have ideas for ministering to your community, but need motivation to begin making those ideas come to life? Then plan now to attend Ohio Conference’s 2023 missional workshop at the St. Francis Spirituality Center in Tiffin on Saturday, April 15. The theme of this interactive workshop is…
Register by March 31 for missional workshop
Do you have ideas for ministering to your community, but need motivation to begin making those ideas come to life? Plan now to attend Ohio Conference’s 2023 Missional Workshop at the St. Francis Spirituality Center in Tiffin on Saturday, April 15. The theme of this interactive workshop is “Outward Church: Mobilizing the church wherever you are.” During this one-day workshop, teams…
Sent Conference set for May 4-7
Mennonite Mission Network, in partnership with Mennonite Church USA Executive Board, Everence, and Mosaic Mennonite Conference, will host the seventh annual Sent Conference May 4-7 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The theme of this gathering will be “I Saw a Vast Crowd: Explorations in Multiethnic Ministry.” See https://bit.ly/2023SENT for more information.
ACA and hopes for the years ahead
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, host Jacob Dodson, pastor of Wooster Mennonite Church, talks with Conference Minister Dick Barrett about the upcoming Annual Conference Assembly (ACA), which will take place March 3-4 at Central Christian School in Kidron. In the course of their conversation, Dick reflects on what he has learned during this time of discernment for…
Work on plans to impact your community
How can your congregation positively impact your community? Ohio Conference’s upcoming missional workshop will be a great place to work on plans and get feedback from others. You can learn more about this workshop from Alex Dye, pastor of Oak Grove Mennonite Church in West Liberty, in this brief video: “Outward Church: Mobilizing the church wherever you are” is the…
Registration is open for Missional Workshop
Do you have ideas for ministering to your community, but need motivation to begin making those ideas come to life? Plan now to attend Ohio Conference’s 2023 Missional Workshop at the St. Francis Spirituality Center in Tiffin on Saturday, April 15. The theme of this interactive workshop is “Outward Church: Mobilizing the church wherever you are.” During this one-day workshop, teams…
Learning trip gives deeper understanding of MMN ministries in France
By Lynda Hollinger-Janzen Mennonite Mission Network Paris Mennonite Center (PMC) sponsored a learning fellowship visit for its supporters, Sep. 16-26, to give them a deeper understanding of its ministries in France and throughout the French-speaking world. James and Jeanette Krabill, who were long-time workers with Mennonite Mission Network, co-hosted the visit with their son and daughter-in-law, Matthew and Toni Krabill, who are…
Missional Workshop to focus on projects
Update: The 2023 Missional Workshop will take place at the St. Francis Spirituality Center in Tiffin, Ohio. In 2023 Ohio Conference is offering a Missional Workshop on April 15. During this one-day workshop, teams from Ohio Conference congregations will work on plans for projects designed to reach out to their individual communities. Mauricio Chenlo, minister for church planting at Mennonite…
Missional Workshop rescheduled
Ohio Conference is changing the date of the 2023 Missional Workshop from March 2-3 to April 15. As was announced previously, Mauricio Chenlo, minister for church planting at Mennonite Mission Network, will facilitate the Missional Workshop. This event will include significant time for congregational teams to work on a project and receive feedback about the project from others. The location…
MMN has Mission Sunday materials for your congregation
Is your church planning a mission Sunday in November? Do you want to explore God’s call to create sacred spaces for people to encounter Jesus? Mennonite Mission Network has Mission Sunday materials for your congregation to use. Go to https://bit.ly/2022MissionSundayResources to explore and download these resources.
MCC requests material resource donations
Mennonite Central Committee’s inventory of material resources is getting low. Needed items include comforters, soap and towels as well as dignity, hygiene, infant care, relief, school and sewing kits. Your donations will provide relief and a tangible sign of hope for people in difficult situations around the world. To get involved, please visit mcc.org/kits.
Ohio MCC Bike Ride to raise relief funds
This July a group of bike riders in Ohio will be raising funds for Mennonite Central Committee’s emergency response in Ukraine. Participants in the Ohio MCC Bike Ride will be riding on July 23 and 24. The group of riders will leave Summit Mennonite Church in Barberton and ride 100 miles over two days (approximately 50 miles each day) to help…
2022 Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale schedule set
The Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale will take place Aug. 5-6 at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wooster. For a schedule of events, please see the 2022 Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale Poster.
Relief sale website gets update
The Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale has a redesigned website with updated information about the upcoming sale on Aug. 5-6. See it at https://ohiomccreliefsale.org.
Ministry Grants fund local projects
Ministry Grants are back! Aug. 1 is the deadline to submit a grant proposal to the Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team (MDT). The MDT is accepting proposals from Ohio Conference congregations and related ministries for projects and mission initiatives. This year the MDT has $15,225 available for grants. Since 2012 the MDT has awarded grants each summer, providing funds for…
Many work together at MCC Comforter Bash
Many people came together to support Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) at the Ohio MCC Comforter Bash on April 22-23. A total of 129 comforters were knotted during the two-day event at the Kidron Community Park Building, with 150 volunteers participating in the work on Friday and 75 volunteers on Saturday. MCC will distribute these comforters to people in need around…
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.…
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…
Have you registered for ACA yet?
The deadline to register for Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) is approaching quickly. Have you registered yet? ACA will take place March 4-5 at Zion Mennonite Church in Archbold. Registrations for ACA are due Friday, Feb. 11. After that date, the registration fee increases from $45 per person to $60 per person. For more information about ACA, please see https://bit.ly/2022ACAInfo. To…
Rural ministry webinar to feature Brad Roth
For those interested in rural ministry: Brad Roth, the featured speaker for Ohio Conference’s 2021 missional conference, will be one of the presenters for a free webinar, “Cultivating Rural Ministry.” This webinar, sponsored by Luther Seminary, will take place Thursday, Feb. 10, at 1 p.m. CST. Other presenters include Allen Stanton, pastor and author of Reclaiming Rural: Building Thriving Rural…
Learn the practical side of being a good neighbor
Immediately prior to Annual Conference Assembly, Zion Mennonite Church will host a missional conference March 3-4 featuring speakers Howard and Cathy Wagler. The Waglers serve as network directors for South Central Mennonite Conference. In this conference they will focus on the practical side of being a good neighbor, based on Luke 10:25-37. For more information about the 2022 missional conference,…
Conference to focus on how to be a good neighbor
Ohio Conference will hold a missional conference March 3-4 at Zion Mennonite Church in Archbold, immediately prior to the 2022 Annual Conference Assembly. The theme of the missional conference, based on Luke 10:25-37, will be “Befriending the Neighborhood: Am I a Good Neighbor?” Presenters will be Howard and Cathy Wagler, church planters from Hutchinson, Kansas. The Waglers currently are serving…
Breaking stereotypes one quilt at a time
From MCC Great Lakes: Growing up in northeast Ohio, Paul Seling always admired beautiful quilts and hoped to learn how to make them someday. Stuck at home during the pandemic this past year, he decided to tackle that goal. A 34-year-old father of two young children, he doesn’t fit the stereotypical mold of a traditional Mennonite quilter. But he uses…
Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale will be an in-person event this year
Wooster, Ohio — For 56 years, the Mennonite, Brethren, Apostolic and Amish churches of northeastern Ohio have worked together to create a festive event that raises funds for the work of Mennonite Central Committee. After a COVID-limited virtual auction in 2020, the Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale will return in person Aug. 6 and 7. The event will take place in…
MDS shower trailer ‘restoring dignity and hope’ for homeless individuals in Colorado
From the generous hands of the Maple Grove Mennonite Church in Hartville, Ohio, a shower trailer traveled to Denver, Colorado, where it will help homeless people restore a sense of dignity in their lives. Volunteers from the church built and used the shower trailer in 2012 when they helped Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) rebuild a church in Alabama. When they…
Planning is underway for 2021 Relief Sale
The Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale Board has begun planning for an in-person Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale on Aug. 6-7 at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wooster. The event will be under one roof in an air-conditioned building. Online bidding will be offered again for auction items. The Relief Sale Board will host its annual Kick-Off Meeting on Tuesday, April 27,…
‘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.
Conference explores mission in the rural church
Speaker Brad Roth helped participants focus on God’s mission in the rural church during the evenings of March 4 and 5 during Ohio Conference’s missional conference. One hundred nineteen people participated in this event, which was held on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. A pastor of a rural church in Kansas, Roth is also the author of the book God’s Country:…
Sharing our faith with others — Count the casts, not the fish
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Corben Weaver Boshart and Ramon Lianez talk about evangelism with Brad Roth, who was the speaker at Ohio Conference’s 2021 missional conference. Corben, Ramon and Brad discuss evangelism, especially in a rural setting. Listen to this episode to learn why curiosity and asking questions are important as we share our faith,…
Missional conference to focus on the rural church
Ohio Conference will hold an online missional conference during the evenings of March 4-5, just prior to Annual Conference Assembly. The theme of this conference will be “Come and See! The Mission of the Church in God’s Country.” Brad Roth, pastor and author of the book God’s Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church, will be the featured…