Mission
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…
Missional conference to focus on the rural church
Pastor and author Brad Roth will be the featured speaker for Ohio Conference’s 2021 missional conference on March 4 and 5. The theme of this online event will be “Come and See! The Mission of the Church in God’s Country.” Please see the event brochure for more information. To register online, go to https://bit.ly/2021MissionalConference.
Ohio MCC Comforter Bash is postponed
The Ohio MCC Comforter Bash originally scheduled for April 2021 has been postponed for one year. In the meantime, MCC encourages you to continue making comforters for MCC in your homes or churches. These handmade comforters bring hope and comfort to the people who receive them. They provide not only warmth, but also a tangible message that their needs are…
Hurricane recovery donations sought
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) asks for support for Central American hurricane recovery: Not one hurricane, but two hurricanes within two weeks have caused extensive flooding in Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Hurricanes Eta and Iota have destroyed crops and forced people from their homes. MCC is working with churches and community organizations to provide emergency food, hygiene supplies and cleanup support.…
MMN webinar to share vision for the future
Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) is hosting a webinar with MMN Executive Director Mike Sherrill on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. The webinar will focus on the theme “Adapting to the pandemic and innovating for the future.” Participants will hear how MMN is swiftly adapting to current circumstances, and they will get updates on MMN’s current work and learn about…
MCC in U.S. to livestream centennial celebration
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in the U.S. is inviting its supporters and the public to join a livestreamed celebration of its 100 years of ministry on Saturday, Oct. 17, starting at 6:50 p.m. Celebration 2020: MCC at 100 will include videos, storytelling, music, and a message of inspiration from longtime MCC leader and pastor Leonard Dow of Philadelphia. This livestreamed…
Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale goes online
In mid-March, it all came to a stop. As with many other events, the global pandemic hindered the planning for the 55th annual Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale. Many relief sales around the nation and Canada were cancelled, leaving Mennonite Central Committee short on funding. With this in mind, the Ohio sale planning committee has committed to an online auction only,…
Open Arms Live Online set for Sept. 19
Open Arms Hispanic Ministries will hold an online program, “Open Arms Live Online,” on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. The program will include updates on how Open Arms is working to meet the needs of Hispanics during the time of COVID-19. Speakers will include Open Arms Executive Director Haroldo Nunes and Dan King, who serves as chair of the…
Fall regional meetings to be held online
Ohio Conference will hold fall regional meetings for delegates online this year rather than meeting in person. These meetings will have a missional focus and will include input from the Ohio Conference Missional Resource Team. All delegates to Annual Conference Assembly are encouraged to participate. Four fall regional meetings are scheduled: Tuesday, Oct. 20 — Northeast Ohio Thursday, Oct. 22…
Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale will include online auction, in-person preview events
As was previously announced, the 2020 Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale will be an online auction rather than an in-person auction. The online auction will take place Sept. 26-Oct. 3 on the sale website: https://www.ohiomccreliefsale.org. Although the quilt and wood auctions will take place online, the Relief Sale Board is making plans for live auction-related events from Sept. 25 to Sept.…
COVID-19 global response fund helps churches
Mennonite World Conference’s COVID-19 inter-agency task force has approved 21 relief proposals. Food and sanitation materials are part of all the proposals from Anabaptist member churches in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Read more about how these funds will be used at https://bit.ly/MWCCOVID-19Fund.
Called to make disciples, even in a pandemic
COVID-19 has changed our daily lives in many ways, but even so, God is still at work in the world. And despite the challenges of living through a pandemic, the Ohio Conference Missional Resource Team is encouraging people to keep participating in God’s mission. “We still want to be a missional people,” said Missional Resource Team member Jacob Dodson, the…
MCC livestream celebration set for July 26
A message from Mennonite Central Committee: It’s time to celebrate 100 years! Join us (virtually) for an MCC Centennial Celebration this Sunday, July 26. This year marks the 100th anniversary of MCC! It is not the centennial year we anticipated. Still, we invite you to join us (virtually) on Sunday, July 26, at 6:30 p.m. (EDT), as we offer thanks…
New members join Immigration Resource Team
The Ohio Conference Immigration Resource Team has added two new members from western Ohio, Megan Bettelon and Krisha Pagniano. Below they share some information about themselves and their interest in immigration: Megan Bettelon: I’ve been a lifelong attendee of Huber Mennonite Church in New Carlisle. I am a social worker and currently work in a school setting. Growing up in…
Michael Sherrill to be next executive director of MMN
The Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) board of directors has appointed Michael J. Sherrill, Ph. D., as the organization’s next executive director. Dr. Sherrill is an ordained educator, scholar, administrator, and leader with 25 years of global experience. Dr. Sherrill has been the director of Asia and Middle East for Mennonite Mission Network since 2017. See the MMN news release for…
2020 Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale to be an online auction only
Due to the uncertainty COVID-19 has brought to our lives, the Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale Board has decided to hold an online auction only rather than a physical event and auction this year. Many auctions of all types have been cancelled or at least postponed. Plans are to still offer items from the quilt and wood auctions, as well as…
Engaging Mission 2020 has been canceled
Please note: Because there is uncertainty about when restrictions will be lifted for public gatherings, the Ohio Conference Leadership Team has decided to cancel Engaging Mission 2020. This intergenerational missional festival was scheduled to take place June 24-26 at Bluffton University. Plans are already underway for a missional conference next March. The 2021 missional conference is scheduled for March 4-5 at…
Missional festival is for people of all ages
You’ve probably heard the word “missional” many times before. But what does it really mean? And how can you live missionally? You can explore the answers to these questions at Engaging Mission 2020, an Ohio Conference missional festival planned for June 26-28 at Bluffton University. This will be a bilingual event in both English and Spanish. Engaging Mission 2020 is…