Ohio Conference Cast
Growing Disciples, Part 5 — Ecumenical Rebuking
This episode of the Ohio Conference Cast is the final podcast in a series about Missional Discipleship Groups. Lucas Johnson of Valley View Mennonite Church in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania, talks with Nate, a member of his Missional Discipleship Group. Nate and Lucas talk about rebuking, ecumenism, ministry, and love — all from a guy’s perspective. For more information about Missional…
Growing Disciples, Part 4 — Building Trust
This episode of the Ohio Conference Cast is the fourth installment in a series about Missional Discipleship Groups. In this episode, Lucas Johnson of Valley View Mennonite Church talks with Randi about her three-person small group and the trust that has developed between the members of the group. “It’s just turned into my favorite time of the week,” Randi says.…
Growing Disciples, Part 3 — Developing Relationships
The Ohio Conference Cast podcast is back with the third installment in a series exploring Missional Discipleship Groups. In this episode, Lucas Johnson of Valley View Mennonite Church in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania, talks with several people about how these small groups are building relationships and changing lives. For more information about Missional Discipleship Groups, see these articles: http://bit.ly/YourInvitationToMakeDisciples http://bit.ly/DisciplesMakeDisciples http://bit.ly/WindoftheSpirit…
Growing Disciples, Part 2 — Seeing God at Work
This podcast episode is the second in a series exploring Missional Discipleship Groups. Guest host Lucas Johnson, pastoral team member at Valley View Mennonite Church in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania, talks with several people who are participating in these weekly small groups. Listen to this episode to hear Casey and Gail, two members of a women’s small group, reflect on how God…
Growing Disciples, Part 1 — The Explosion
Sometimes growth takes a while, but patience can pay off. That’s been the experience at Valley View Mennonite Church in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania. In the latest episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, Lucas Johnson and Robb Esh, pastoral team members at Valley View Mennonite, talk about the growth of Missional Discipleship Groups in their area of Pennsylvania. The groups now include…
How do we #BringThePeace? A conversation with Glen Guyton
How do we #BringThePeace to our communities? Mennonite Church USA Executive Director Glen Guyton says, “People say that we are a historic peace church, but I say, hey, we need to be a peace church of today.” Learn more about Mennonite Church USA’s #BringThePeace campaign by listening to this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast. While visiting Ohio this month,…
Why faith-based education? A conversation with Susan Schultz Huxman of EMU
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, host Thomas Dunn talks about Mennonite colleges and faith-based education with Susan Schultz Huxman, president of Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Also joining the conversation are guest co-hosts Doug and Miriam Zehr, pastors at Oak Grove Mennonite Church in Smithville. https://ohiomennoniteconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/19_09_14_Susan-Schultz-Huxman_-Submitted.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts |…
Missional festival is coming in 2020
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, host Thomas Dunn and his guest co-host Dick Barrett talk about mission with Jacob Dodson, pastor of Wooster Mennonite Church and a member of the Ohio Conference Missional Planning Team. Listen to this episode to hear about plans for a summer missional festival in 2020. You will also learn more about some…
An Update with Dick Barrett
After a hiatus of several months, the Ohio Conference Cast podcast has returned. In this episode host Thomas Dunn is joined by a guest co-host, Jacob Dodson, pastor of Wooster Mennonite Church, for a conversation with Conference Minister Dick Barrett. “I’m excited about the people we have in Conference….I’m excited about where God is leading us in the months and…
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…