Publications
Stories shared at Fall Mission Events
People from all across the Ohio Conference came to three regional gatherings to talk about how God is working in their congregations and communities. Jubilee Mennonite Church in Bellefontaine, Central Mennonite Church in Archbold and Berlin Mennonite Church hosted the three Fall Mission Events in October and November. These events are part of the Ohio Conference Year of Mission, which…
Bluffton junior explores vocation and faith in Guatemala
Bluffton University — During the summer of 2016, Blake Hershberger ’18, an international peace, justice and conflict studies major from Canton, Ohio, immersed himself in the Guatemalan culture. Hershberger, a member of Beech Mennonite Church in Louisville, lived in Guatemala City for one month with the aid of a $1,500 Summer Discovery Grant awarded by Bluffton University to students who are…
Calling and caring for pastors
By Ralph Reinford Regional Pastor As a regional pastor, a fair amount of my time is spent working with congregational search groups and looking for new pastors. These are uncertain times, and I often get asked if there are available pastors. I also get asked why anyone would want to be a pastor. It is obvious to me that God…
Pastors meet for Year of Covenant discussion
Pastors from around the Ohio Conference gathered Sept. 28 at Maple Grove Mennonite Church in Hartville for a Year of Covenant meeting. David B. Miller, associate professor of missional leadership at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, was the presenter. Covenants contain both privileges and commitments, but it is the commitments which tend to be neglected, Miller said. He noted that in…
MMN has new mission bank teaching tools
By Lois Bontrager Ohio Conference Resource Advocate Has your congregation used the mission banks available from Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) with the children in your congregation? Introducing MMN’s newest mission bank teaching tools — Joining God’s team in Congo. These materials will help you teach your children and congregation about mission in Congo, and can be used a number of ways…
Fall meetings to focus on mission
How have you seen God at work in your congregation during the Ohio Conference Year of Mission? This fall, members of all Ohio Conference congregations are invited to gather together at Fall Mission Events to share stories of how their churches are engaging in God’s mission in their local communities. Everyone in Ohio Conference is invited to attend the Fall…
Conference awards eight grants
The Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team (MDT) has awarded eight grants totaling $21,614 to Ohio Conference congregations and Conference-related groups. The Ministry Development Team approved the grants at its Aug. 1 meeting in Upper Sandusky. Funding for these grants comes from surplus funds that had accumulated during years in which the Conference ended its fiscal year with a surplus. The…
Cliff Brubaker accepts additional assignment
The Ohio Conference Leadership Team has invited Interim Regional Pastor Cliff Brubaker to work with the Conference on a full-time basis, beginning Sept. 18. Since April he has been serving as regional pastor on a half-time basis. This additional half-time assignment will have two areas of focus: Working with the continuing process of the Ohio Conference Year of Covenant Identifying…
What will we “take away” from Event Two?
Any reasonable person might well ask this question or one much like it in considering the prospect of Ohio Conference’s credentialed leaders meeting together on Sept. 28. I would suggest the more important question might be, “What will we bring to Event Two?” If we bring only expectations about the rules, the answers, the procedures, we may be disappointed, each…
Striving to be my best self
I have sometimes quoted a quip from Garrison Keillor of A Prairie Home Companion: “They say wisdom comes with old age — but sometimes old age comes alone.” I suppose I haven’t quite admitted I am old yet, but I can feel myself getting there. I also should admit I haven’t quite gotten to “wise” yet, but I can feel…
Donation to support church planting
Cornerstone Mennonite Fellowship has closed its doors, but one of the last actions of the congregation will further church planting. Members of the congregation, which was located in Plain City, decided to close the church as of Dec. 31, 2015. A closing worship service was held Jan. 10, 2016. Following the church’s closing, the church’s board decided to make a…
Overplayed focuses on youth sports
By Lois Bontrager Ohio Conference Resource Advocate Now available from MennoMedia: Overplayed: A Parent’s Guide to Sanity in the World of Youth Sports by David King And Margot Starbuck. This book equips parents with concrete tips such as the following: Encouraging kids to play a different sport for a season Grabbing coffee with a friend during soccer practice (instead of…
Resource Teams can meet shared needs
Do you see a need that Ohio Conference should address? One way to work at these needs is by forming a Resource Team. A Resource Team is a temporary group that carries out specific tasks identified by the Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team (MDT). Resource Teams exist to respond quickly to the needs of congregations within the Ohio Conference. As…
Task force wants to hear from you
At Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) 2016 the delegate body affirmed an Ohio Conference “Statement on Remaining with MC USA.” One key element of this statement was that Ohio Conference would “remain a part of MC USA in order to articulate to the denomination our perceptions of differences in doctrine and practice.” The Ohio Conference Leadership Team…
Birthday blessing crosses cultures at Salem
By Raul Tadeo The Hispanic members of the Salem Mennonite Church of Wooster love LuLu Miller, the oldest member of the bilingual congregation. LuLu has learned to accept the “besos”(kisses on the forehead and cheeks) and “abrazos” (hugs) that the Hispanics use to greet her with every Sunday morning when she arrives at church. On Sunday, May 22, she reached…
New Fears
As my wife and I were driving to church last Sunday, she received a chat text from our daughter who lives in Northern Ireland. Our son-in-law is a technical climber, an instructor of mountaineering instructors actually, and their two daughters are quite the outdoor enthusiasts normally. In fact, at just about 4 years old the older girl had her own…
Signs of Health in a Recovering Body
A recurring pesky condition cropped up again recently in my physical person. While not generally overwhelming, this condition is difficult to ignore and disrupts focus on “regular” life. Not that illness, irritations, “dis-ease,” etc are not a regular part of life. They are for the vast majority of us, and quite common for many. In fact, to an immunologist, a…
Constancy and Change
As people of faith we have the great privilege of relying on the Constancy of God. In Hebrews 13, the writer quotes a promise found in Deuteronomy — “I will never leave you or forsake you” —as a way to remind readers about how our God is so faithful. And I too can join in and declare this is true.…
Salem breaks ground for new facility
By Bob Sauder Editor’s note: How does a congregation decide when to build a new facility? The journey to new construction is often a long one, and the path is not always a straight line. Bob Sauder, the new moderator of the Ohio Conference, is a member of Salem Mennonite Church in Waldron, Mich. He reflects on the years-long process…
Women’s retreat to focus on sharing stories
“Sharing Your Story” will be the theme of the annual Women’s Retreat Sept. 16-18 at Camp Luz in Kidron. Guest speakers for the weekend will be Vickie Esh and Kim Leichty. Women’s Retreat is designed for women of all ages to come and spend time with others worshipping, laughing, and relaxing. The cost of the retreat is $90 for those…
Spiritual competence
By George O’Reilly Year of Covenant Facilitator The Church of today is in a crisis of credibility. Not just with those who never entertained the possibility of Christian faith, but especially with many who tried the Church and found it “wanting.” If the Church just had problems with intellectuals and materialists, the Church would have much higher standing with our…
Awesomely and Wonderfully Made
In a passage often echoed in our own experience, a psalmist declares in considering his physical being: “I praise You, for I am awesomely, wonderfully made ….” — Psalm 139: 14 (TNK) We can readily identify even in our age of advancement in science and medicine at the almost unbelievable complexity and the mysterious functioning of the human body. Even…
Going Organic
Organic is in! Everywhere we look new organic approaches to life are being touted as the healthy, the natural, the most environmentally friendly ways to be and live. So, I began pondering … Did Jesus espouse an organic approach to spirituality and discipleship? And, if so, just what exactly might that mean? On the last day, the great day of…
West Clinton congregation sees value in being blessed by a dress
By Pam Graber Outreach ideas come in many ways, but by far the most successful come when God does the nudging. West Clinton’s “Prom Trend: Beauty Comes from the Heart” event is the result of one such nudge. “If someone had told me five years ago that I would be coordinating a prom dress event, I would have told…
The power of congregational support in a long, difficult journey
By Howard Nikkel My particular journey began seven and a half years ago when I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. The journey has included many visits to the cardiologists, medications to help the heart function better, a procedure called ultrafiltration done in a Venezuelan hospital, an implant that contained a pacemaker, defibrillator and a resynchronizer, and ending up with…
Volunteers accept Conference positions
Members of Ohio Conference congregations who volunteer their time play a vital role in Conference life. Without the help of numerous volunteers, many of the programs and functions of the Ohio Conference could not take place. Much of the work of Ohio Conference is done by the Leadership Team, the Ministry Development Team, the Credentialing Ministry, the Stewardship Ministry…
Inspiration
By Pastor George O’Reilly Transitional Conference Leader Inspiration. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I really need some. You see, most of the time I’m a pretty much a “keep on keeping on” kind of person. And that can be good, since that often seems like what I need to do, just keep moving. If I name it “persistence,”…
Working together as a body
By George O’Reilly Transitional Conference Leader As I write this, many of us have just returned from several days of working together as Ohio Conference on our mission and trajectory for the next year certainly, and on into the foreseeable future. We began with a special Missional presentation from Forge Network titled “Becoming Missional: Re-Learning How to Be Sent.” This…
A Most Neglected Commandment
By George O’Reilly Transitional Conference Leader Having come into Mennonite circles from an evangelical background and seminary, despite attempts at understanding this new approach to life and discipleship, I was not always able to quickly “track” the peculiarities of typical “Mennonite theology.” During my first pastorate at a Mennonite congregation in Illinois, I found myself personally taking issue with an…
Embracing the Hope we really don’t want
By George O’Reilly Transitional Conference Leader I have come to value more and more Paul’s emphasis on Hope in the midst of personal and corporate anguish. There are simply times when despite the effectiveness of Christ’s work for His body that we simply will not receive what we know is rightfully ours in this life. Galatians 5 is an intense…