Ohio Conference Cast
Celebrating 50 years of the Ohio Conference
This episode of the Ohio Conference Cast features a discussion which took place Saturday, March 9, at the 2019 Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) at Salem Mennonite Church in Kidron. Two long-time pastors, Eldon King and David Tijerina, share their memories of the Ohio Conference and reflect on some of the changes which have taken place in the past 50 years.…
ACA Wrap-up: Celebration, Immigration, Missional Living
In this episode of Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn take a break from podcasting. Instead, the podcast’s number one fan, Lucas Johnson of Valley View Mennonite Church in Spartansburg, Pa., takes a look back at the 2019 Missional Conference and Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) with three other ACA participants: Kevin Himes, pastor of Salem Mennonite Church…
Immigration — Welcoming the Stranger, Part II
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Thomas Dunn and Bill Seymour talk about immigration with two members of the Ohio Conference Immigration Resource Team, Hannah Troyer of Summit Mennonite Church; and Kelsey Troyer of Oak Grove Mennonite Church in Smithville. Bill and Thomas talk with Hannah and Kelsey about how the resource team worked to develop…
Merry Christmas from Ohio Conference Cast
The final Ohio Conference Cast episode of 2018 includes Christmas greetings from co-hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn, as well as a look back at the previous 21 episodes from this past year. Listen to this episode to hear about their favorite podcast memories from 2018. You might even hear Paula Snyder Belousek sing part of the Ohio Conference Cast theme…
Immigration — Welcoming the Stranger
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Thomas Dunn and Bill Seymour talk about immigration with Dan King, a member of the Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team. While Dan is officially retired as an Ohio Conference pastor, he continues to minister through his part-time job as an interpreter at Dover High School, working primarily with students from Guatemala.…
Talking about what binds us together
When is the last time you heard someone describe a multi-hour meeting as “fun”? If you’ve never had that experience (or even if you have), listen to this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast to learn about a laughter-filled five-and-a-half-hour meeting of Ohio Conference pastors which took place Nov. 8. While the pastors’ discussion may have been about important topics,…
CLC — A place to build relationships together denominationally
In the latest episode of the Ohio Conference Cast podcast, co-hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn talk with Conference Minister Dick Barrett and Paula Snyder Belousek, pastor of Salem Mennonite Church in Elida, about their experience at the October meeting of the Constituency Leaders Council (CLC). Snyder Belousek describes the CLC as “a place to build relationships together denominationally.” This episode, which…
What can we learn from others in Mennonite World Conference?
For many North American Mennonites, the words “Mennonite World Conference” bring thoughts of a world-wide gathering of Anabaptists every six years. However, as Ohio Conference Cast hosts Thomas Dunn and Bill Seymour learn in this episode of Ohio Conference Cast, there’s much more to Mennonite World Conference than these large events. Helping Thomas and Bill to learn more about Mennonite World…
What does it mean when we say, “Jesus is our center?”
What does it mean when we say, “Jesus is our center?” What are our core beliefs? Ohio Conference credentialed leaders will be discussing these questions on Nov. 8 when they meet at the Upper Sandusky Library in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Thomas Dunn and Bill Seymour talk with Dan Hooley, one of…
Ralph returns refreshed — a reflection on time away and re-engaging in ministry
What happened to Ohio Conference Regional Pastor Ralph Reinford during his three-month leave earlier this year, and how were rhinos and crocodiles involved? Listen to this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast to find out. Reflecting on his time away from his Ohio Conference work, Ralph talks with Ohio Conference Cast hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn about things he…
Jessica says farewell
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn talk with Ohio Conference Missional Consultant Jessica Schrock-Ringenberg, who is moving to Excelsior Springs, Missouri. In addition to reflecting on her 14 years in the Ohio Conference, Jessica affirms the missional work that is taking place in the Conference. She also challenges some assumptions about leadership…
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…
Meeting Mennonites in Akron — Congolese church seeks connections
Did you know that there is a growing immigrant Mennonite congregation in Akron, Ohio? In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, host Thomas Dunn and his guest co-host, Hannah Troyer, find out about this congregation, which is composed of Congolese refugees who have resettled in Akron. Helping Thomas and Hannah learn more about this congregation is Rollin Mukanza, a social…
Church planting and patience
What role does patience play in the church planting process? In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, host Bill Seymour and his guest co-host, Paula Snyder Belousek, talk with Sally Youngquist of Living Water Community Church in Chicago, Illinois, about the process of planting that congregation. Listen to find out how many years it took for Living Water to…
Church Planting — From Jerusalem to Antioch
What happens when non-church planters — aka pastors from long-established churches — attend a church planting conference? And why would they even want to attend? In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast podcast, host Bill Seymour talks with Ohio Conference pastors Paula Snyder Belousek, Corben Weaver Boshart and Jessica Schrock-Ringenberg about their experience attending SENT 2018, a church planting…
Christiana Peterson – Mystics, misfits and longing for a deep encounter with God
What is a mystic? Ohio Conference Cast hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn explore this question and more with Christiana Peterson, a member of Midway Mennonite Church and the author of the new Herald Press book titled Mystics and Misfits: Meeting God Through St. Francis and Other Unlikely Saints. “Being a mystic in my definition is … longing for a deep…
What’s holding us together? — Another conversation with Terry Shue
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn chat with Terry Shue, who recently completed his work with Mennonite Church USA as director of leadership development. Bill, Thomas and Terry discuss a wide range of topics, including (among other things) new staff members for Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite World Conference, and Terry’s hopes for…
Where does mission begin? Podcast explores MC USA, MMN and mission
Where does mission begin? With denominational leaders, at a mission agency, or in the local congregation? The guests on the latest episode of the Ohio Conference Cast encourage local congregations to be actively involved in mission. “We sense our call to walk alongside and empower churches to accomplish the vision that they have,” says Stanley Green, executive director of Mennonite…
Plug into Ohio Conference Cast podcasts
Ohio Conference Cast podcasts are a great way to learn more about Ohio Conference and the broader Mennonite Church. Have you listened to Ohio Conference Cast lately? During April and early May, hosts Bill Seymour, pastor of Orrville Mennonite Church, and Thomas Dunn, pastor of Crown Hill Mennonite Church in Rittman, have talked with Paula Snyder Belousek about the search…
MEA, the Church, and MC USA higher education
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn are joined by Darrin Snyder Belousek and Carlos Romero, executive director of Mennonite Education Agency (MEA). As part of this conversation, Bill and Darrin remind listeners about their role as members of The Voice, a task force which facilitates conversation between Ohio Conference congregations and Mennonite…
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…
The Wheelhouse – A bicycle ministry in the city
“We don’t feel like we were particularly gifted to do this. Every time, though, we were worried about something — like where would we store the bikes, how would we learn how to fix bikes — every time we were worried about that, something came forward. An answer came from God.” — Ginny Cress, speaking about the Wheelhouse, a bicycle ministry…
Evangelism and discipleship – How are they related?
What’s the relationship between evangelism and discipleship? Ohio Conference Cast hosts Thomas Dunn and Bill Seymour discuss this question with Meghan Good and Marvin Lorenzana, the speakers at the Gathered and Sent Missional Conference at Bluffton University. https://ohiomennoniteconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/18_03_09_MissionalConf_Submitted.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | RSS
Evangelism – Is Jesus Christ worth knowing for his own sake?
Ohio Conference Cast has come to Bluffton University! In this podcast episode, Ohio Conference Cast hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn discuss the Gathered and Sent Missional Conference with two conference participants, Sarah Geiser, and Robb Esh. On Thursday night, featured speaker Meghan Good, teaching pastor at Trinity Mennonite Church in Glendale, Arizona, opened the missional conference by talking about…
Stories from Tanzania – seeking peace and dealing with difficult issues
“We have been praying for you [Mennonite Church USA],” says Bishop Amos Muhagachi, a leader in the Tanzanian Mennonite Church who is currently studying at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana. In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn talk with Bishop Amos Muhagachi about his experiences with seeking peace on the national level…
Church planting and seeing the church differently
This episode of the Ohio Conference Cast features a conversation with Jason Rissler, a church planter from the Ohio Conference based in Strasburg, Ohio. Hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn discuss church planting with Jason, and they consider Jason’s question, “Can we give ourselves permission to see the church differently?” What if new churches don’t look like traditional congregations? https://ohiomennoniteconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/18_02_14_JasonRisler_Submitted.mp3Podcast: Play…
New Pastors in Ohio Conference
In the latest episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, co-hosts Bill Seyour and Thomas Dunn talk with four pastors who are new to the Ohio Conference — Verle Brubaker (Maple Grove Mennonite Church in Hartville), Matthew Peterson (Midway Mennonite Church in Columbiana), Matt Reed (Beech Mennonite Church in Louisville), and Sue Short (Zion Mennonite Church in Archbold). Listen to this episode…
Missional Conference Preview with Meghan Good
How do we communicate our faith as Anabaptists? What is the mission that God has entrusted to the church, and how do we actually, practically go about doing that effectively? The guest for this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, Meghan Good, is interested in helping believers think about these questions. Meghan Good is the teaching pastor at Trinity Mennonite…
Merry Christmas from Ohio Conference Cast
The last Ohio Conference Cast episode of 2017 includes Christmas greetings from co-hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn, as well as a look back at the previous 32 episodes. https://ohiomennoniteconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/17_12_19_YearEnd_Submitted.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | RSS
A Day in the Life of Ralph
One of the main tasks of an Ohio Conference regional pastor is to serve as a pastor to pastors, but what does that phrase actually mean? And what else does the job entail? In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, co-hosts Thomas Dunn and Bill Seymour talk with Regional Pastor Ralph Reinford about his work with Ohio Conference — the…