News & Stories
Donations sought for van purchase
Grant funds have been approved toward the purchase of a van for the Akron Swahili Mennonite Church, but more funding is still needed. Please see the Akron Swahili Mennonite Van Project Flier for details on how you can contribute.
Holy Land tour planned for April 2023
In partnership with Friendship Tours (friendshiptours.com), Pastor Ryan Harker (West Clinton Mennonite) will be leading a group on a 10-day tour of Israel on April 18-27, 2023. If you are interested in taking the trip, please sign up as soon as possible. The deadline for signing up is Oct. 1. For more information, email pastor.ryan@westclinton.church, or call West Clinton at…
Lee Heights pastor to speak at ‘Women of Faith
Vikki Pruitte-Sorrells, pastor of Lee Heights Community Church in Cleveland, will be one of the featured speakers at “Leaders Inspiring Leaders: Women of Faith Conference,” Friday, Sept. 29 through Sunday, Oct. 2. This conference, hosted at the Mennonite Church USA offices and the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary campus in Elkhart, Indiana, is sponsored by Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Women…
Delegate News – Fall 2022 #2
Please join us in prayer As a spiritual practice during this time of discernment for the Ohio Conference, we are committing to pray together as a Conference. Please join us each Wednesday at noon for a time of communal prayer on Zoom. We will be using Take Our Moments and Our Days: An Anabaptist Prayer Book as the resource for…
Delegate News – Fall 2022
Delegate gatherings begin Sept. 20 Delegates: Have you registered to attend one of the fall delegate gatherings? Ohio Conference is planning five fall gatherings for delegates to Annual Conference Assembly. Each meeting will run from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Meeting dates and locations are as follows: Tuesday, Sept. 20 ─ Oak Grove Mennonite Church, Smithville Thursday, Sept. 22 ─…
Youth ministry webinar recordings available
This spring Ohio Conference hosted a series of webinars for youth workers. If you missed them, don’t worry: Video recordings of four of these webinars are now posted on the “Youth Ministry” page of the Ohio Conference website. To view them, go to https://bit.ly/OCYouthMinistry.
Sent Network equips church planters
Interested in church planting? The Sent Network is a resource from Mennonite Mission Network designed to explore, equip, and send church-planting leaders where the Spirit leads. The resource’s goal is to assess and educate aspiring church planters, as well as give them information and tools to create new communities of faith. This online resource allows potential church planters to work through 12 modules,…
MCC offers worship resource for Day of Peace
To help your church observe the International Day of Peace, which is Sept. 21, Mennonite Central Committee has created a short worship resource. Congregations can choose to celebrate and pray for peace on Sunday, Sept. 25, or another Sunday. International Day of Peace – Worship Resource
Emergency relief supplies distributed in Ukraine
Partners of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Uman, Kharkiv, Nikopol and other places in Ukraine recently distributed emergency relief supplies to more than 16,000 people. Learn more about this relief effort at https://mcc.org/stories/rockets-rosebushes-relief.
Grounding our healing in grace
Let us begin to heal. Read Proverbs 3:1-7, noting especially verse 5a: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” We are in community with each other. Many of us are hurting. Can we come together and promote healing? Maybe you don’t see it. Maybe you don’t feel it. But when you listen…
Webinar to explain health care plan
Did you know that Mennonite Church USA has a health plan? The Corinthian Plan provides health coverage for eligible pastors, church employees and their families. Learn more about the Corinthian Plan during an upcoming webinar on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. ET. Current participants of the plan are also welcome to ask questions. To register, go to https://bit.ly/Sept20CorinthianPlan.
Women’s Retreat planned for October
“Light of the World,” based on Matthew 5:14-16, will be the theme of the annual Women’s Retreat at Camp Luz in Kidron on Oct. 14-15. Although the final input session will take place Saturday afternoon, retreat participants also will have the option to stay at the camp overnight until Sunday morning, Oct. 16. Speaker for this year’s retreat will be…
Discerning God’s will together
By Dick Barrett Conference Minister Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve…
Check out these curated resource collections
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate I know I have previously recommended CommonWord, which is a collaboration of Mennonite Church Canada and Canadian Mennonite University. This month, I’d like to highlight CommonWord’s collections of resources for a variety of topics. CommonWord has a collection of World Communion Sunday resources available for download. Traditionally, many congregations celebrate World Communion Sunday…
Praying Together as a Conference
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, Assistant Moderator Paula Snyder Belousek and Regional Pastor Sherah-Leigh Gerber introduce listeners to the Conference-wide prayer times planned for this fall. All are invited to take part in these prayer times, which will be held on Zoom on Wednesdays at noon, starting Sept. 14. We will be using Take Our Moments and Our…
Pastors meet for discernment
Photos by Sherah-Leigh Gerber By Dick Barrett Conference Minister On Aug. 23 Ohio Conference hosted a gathering of our active credentialed ministers at the Upper Sandusky Public Library. Forty-four ministers were able to attend the one-day retreat, which was facilitated by our consultant, Jeanne Zimmerly Jantzi, as part of our one-year review process. With the primary focus on discerning…
MDT awards three grants
The Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team (MDT) has awarded three grants totaling $15,225. The MDT approved these grants at its meeting on Aug. 18, 2022. Grants will provide funds toward the following projects: Community Garden — Grant funds will be given toward the creation of a community garden in Archbold. The goal of this project is to provide gardening space…
MEDA event to highlight work in Haiti
Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) invites you to learn more about MEDA’s work of economic development in Haiti. On Tuesday, Sept. 13, the Northeast Ohio Hub of MEDA will host a gathering from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Venture Heritage Farm, 13777 Arnold Road, Dalton, Ohio. The event will include authentic Haitian hors d’oeuvres and updates from the field with…
Has your congregation appointed ACA delegates?
A reminder for congregations: Please be sure your congregation has delegates appointed prior to the fall delegate gatherings in September and early October. Once your congregation has appointed delegates, please send their names and contact information to Judy King at the conference office at ohmc@zoominternet.net. This year the Ohio Conference Leadership Team is encouraging each congregation to appoint an alternate…
Congregation offers hymnals
Salem Mennonite Church in Elida has used copies of Hymnal: A Worship Book, Sing the Journey and Sing the Story that they would like to pass on to a congregation or ministry that would put them to good use. If you are interested, contact Pastor Paula at pastor@salemmennonite.com.
Retreat will focus on ‘Joy in the Journey’
Ohio Conference will hold a retreat for wives of Ohio Conference pastors on Nov. 4-6, 2022, at the St. Francis Spirituality Center in Tiffin, Ohio. Miriam Zehr will be the speaker for this retreat, which will explore the theme “Joy in the Journey.” For more details, please see the retreat brochure. Register online by Oct. 7 at https://bit.ly/JoyintheJourneyRetreat.
Starting this fall: Please join us each Wednesday for prayer
One of the opportunities to practice our faith together, growing out of our commitments from the most recent Annual Conference Assembly gathering, is to join in a collaborative prayer practice this fall. We will meet on Zoom from noon to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, beginning Sept. 14 through Nov. 23, using Take Our Moments and Our Days: An Anabaptist Prayer Book,…
How is the Holy Spirit at work in the Ohio Conference?
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, Jacob Dodson and Bill Seymour talk with Conference Minister Dick Barrett about the current season of review and discernment taking place in the Ohio Conference. Listen to the episode to hear Dick Barrett discuss how the Holy Spirit is at work during this time and to hear his reflections on how the…
Women’s leadership conference planned
Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Women USA are planning a women’s leadership conference Sept. 29-Oct. 2, 2022, in Elkhart, Indiana. The theme of this gathering will be “Leaders Inspiring Leaders.” Conference events will take place at the Mennonite Church USA offices and on the campus of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. African American women will lead the conference through prophetic witness…
Peace Sunday is Sept. 18
Mennonite World Conference invites you and your congregation to observe Peace Sunday together with brothers and sisters in the global Anabaptist church family on Sept. 18, 2022. The theme for this year’s Peace Sunday is “Being a new creation in the midst of external turmoil.” Worship planning resources for Peace Sunday 2022 are available now: 2022 Peace Sunday Worship Materials
Conference deficit increases in July
Ohio Conference’s financial deficit continued to increase during the month of July, according to figures provided by Financial Coordinator Stan Helmuth. Receipts during June totaled $15,349, including $15,327 in giving from congregations. Expenses during June totaled $27,750, resulting in a deficit of $12,401 for the month. As of July 31, the Conference’s operating balance for the 2022-23 fiscal year was…
Grant supports conflict transformation program
Eastern Mennonite University has been awarded a grant of $998,606 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support Eastern Mennonite Seminary’s development of a new interdisciplinary pastoral leadership institute that will offer workshops, courses and trainings on conflict transformation. The institute opens this fall. For more information about this grant, see the EMU website: https://bit.ly/ConflictTransformationGrant.
LMPC to offer ‘Restorative Conversations’
Coming in 2023: Lombard Mennonite Peace Center will be offering a new one-day workshop called “Restorative Conversations: Storytelling, Healing and Community Building.” This one-day workshop will introduce church leaders to the key concepts of circle processes and ways in which circles can be used within their congregations. Restorative conversations are useful when working through difficult or polarizing topics, processing shared painful experiences,…
MEA schools seek staff members
Central Christian School in Kidron and a number of other schools affiliated with Mennonite Education Agency are still seeking staff members for the 2022-23 school year. Please see https://bit.ly/MEAJobs8-4-22 for a listing of these job positions.
Register for Mentor/Mentee Retreat by Aug. 16
Last call: Aug. 16 is the deadline to register for the Ohio Conference Mentor/Mentee Retreat. This retreat for newer pastors and their mentors will take place Sept. 6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the St. Francis Spirituality Center in Tiffin. Terry Shue will provide input, along with representatives from Ohio Conference. Register online at https://bit.ly/2022Mentor-MenteeRetreat.