News & Stories
This year as an Annual Conference Assembly service project, we will be collecting items for the food pantries at Crown Hill Mennonite Church in Rittman and Barberton Area Community Ministries, housed at Summit Mennonite Church in Barberton. Below is a list of suggested items to donate: Any canned fruit Any canned vegetables Any canned…
Delegate News – Resources for ACA
We look forward to seeing you at ACA ACA is almost here! We are looking forward to gathering together for Annual Conference Assembly on March 3 and 4 at Central Christian School in Kidron. More than 180 people have registered for ACA so far. If you still haven’t registered, please do so soon. You can register online at https://bit.ly/2023ACARegistration. Please…
ACA and hopes for the years ahead
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, host Jacob Dodson, pastor of Wooster Mennonite Church, talks with Conference Minister Dick Barrett about the upcoming Annual Conference Assembly (ACA), which will take place March 3-4 at Central Christian School in Kidron. In the course of their conversation, Dick reflects on what he has learned during this time of discernment for…
2023 Lent at Home guide now available
ELKHART, Indinana (Mennonite Education Agency) — “Created in the Image of God, Shaped By Jesus” is the theme of the Lent at Home 2023 worship guide, now available for free at the Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) website: https://bit.ly/2023LentatHome. Using the theme developed for Leader magazine, the guide weaves weekly and daily Scriptures with worship rituals, prayers, activities, and background information…
EMU Chamber Singers to tour Ohio
The Eastern Mennonite University Chamber Singers will be performing in Ohio and Indiana during the group’s Spring Tour 2023. The Eastern Mennonite University Chamber Singers is an auditioned touring chamber choir now in its 44th year. The theme of this year’s program is “Local and Global: songs of peace and justice.” The group will feature styles and composers from the…
Congregational Discernment Information and Request for Prayer and Fasting
I want to thank all our delegates for your active participation in the gatherings we have had over the past year as we continue to discern God’s will for us as a Conference as we move into the future. As communicated at our winter gatherings which just concluded this past Monday evening, this issue of Delegate News includes documents prepared…
Help cover ACA in prayer
Ohio Conference’s Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) is quickly approaching on March 3-4, 2023. Even if you are not attending ACA, you can still participate! We invite you to sign up to help cover all of ACA in prayer. We are looking for willing individuals to commit to praying 20 minutes during the ACA weekend. You can do this from anywhere…
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 3-4 at Central Christian School in Kidron. Registrations for ACA are due Friday, Feb. 10. After that date, the registration fee increases from $45 per person to $60 per person. For more information about ACA, please see the Conference…
June 18 is Social Justice Sunday
Grace & Groundings, Ohio Conference’s racial reconciliation resource team, is inviting all Ohio Conference churches to set aside Sunday, June 18, as Social Justice Sunday, in recognition of Juneteenth the following day. (If June 18 does not work well for your congregation, please consider setting aside a different Sunday as Social Justice Sunday.) The team is preparing worship planning resources,…
Work on plans to impact your community
How can your congregation positively impact your community? Ohio Conference’s upcoming missional workshop will be a great place to work on plans and get feedback from others. You can learn more about this workshop from Alex Dye, pastor of Oak Grove Mennonite Church in West Liberty, in this brief video: “Outward Church: Mobilizing the church wherever you are” is the…
Fundraiser to benefit Open Arms
Open Arms Hispanic Ministry will hold its annual Taco Tuesday fundraising dinner March 14 at 6 p.m. at Dutch Kitchen, 14278 Lincoln Way E, Dalton. RSVP by March 10 to kelsey@openarmshispanicministry.org or 330-466-7845 (call or text).
List of resources for racial reconciliation work now available
Grace & Groundings, Ohio Conference’s racial reconciliation resource team, has compiled a list of resources for working at racial reconciliation: Racial Reconciliation Resource List.
Zion Mennonite seeks collaborative ministry team pastor
Zion Mennonite Church in Archbold is seeking a full-time collaborative ministry team pastor. A job description is available: Collaborative Minstry Team Pastor Job Description. If you are interested in applying or learning more about this opportunity, please contact Regional Pastor Tony Doehrmann at 419-551-1107 or ocrpwest@gmail.com.
Bluffton to offer Master of Nutrition and Dietetics
BLUFFTON, Ohio — Bluffton University is now offering a Master of Nutrition and Dietetics graduate degree for students interested in becoming a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). Beginning in January 2024, students must have a master’s degree and at least 1,000 hours of supervised experiential learning to sit for the RDN licensing examination. Bluffton’s new program fulfills both requirements. See www.bluffton.edu/dietetics…
Webinar series to focus on prison system
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Mennonite Church USA are partnering in a new webinar series, “Beyond incarceration: A hard look at dismantling the prison system and building healthy communities.” This series will explore the ways the faith community is actively understanding and working against these complex systems of confinement. The webinars will take place on Feb. 7, Feb. 21, March 7,…
Register for ACA by Feb. 10
Have you registered for Annual Conference Assembly (ACA)? Feb. 10 is the deadline to register for ACA at the regular fee of $45 per person. After that date, the registration fee rises to $60 per person. Central Christian School in Kidron will host the 2023 ACA March 3-4. The theme of this year’s gathering will be “Doing Life Together: Rooted…
ACA resolution procedure announced
If you would like to propose a resolution for delegates to consider at Annual Conference Assembly (ACA), please note: At its Nov. 17 meeting, the Ohio Conference Leadership Team decided that this year all proposed resolutions must be submitted no later than three weeks prior to ACA. The deadline to submit a resolution is Feb. 10, 2023. If you have…
Giving to Conference drops in December
Giving to Ohio Conference was lower than average during December, resulting in a deficit of $8,493 for the month. According to figures provided by Stan Helmuth, Ohio Conference financial coordinator, receipts for the month totaled just $16,028, including $10,306 in congregational giving. Total expenses for the month were $24,521. As of Dec. 31, 2022, the Conference’s operating balance was -$55,452.…
Lent Worship Planning webinar set for Feb. 1
Anabaptist Worship Network will host a Lent Worship Planning webinar on Facebook on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. EST. This webinar will explore Lenten worship resources from Leader magazine and Voices Together, as well as offering time for brainstorming creative ways to gather during Lent. See https://www.facebook.com/events/692537162581966 to sign up.
You’re invited: Join the Winter Read conversation
It’s not too late to join the conversation! You are invited to join in the Ohio Conference’s Winter Read discussions, which are taking place on Tuesday evenings on Zoom. This winter participants are discussing Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Learn more and register at https://bit.ly/2023WinterRead. To see recordings of previous discussions, email Alysa Short at alysashort@gmail.com.
‘Finer Points’ offers peacemaking tools
Interested in learning more about peacemaking on an interpersonal level? Check out “Finer Points,” a blog on the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center website: https://lmpeacecenter.org/finerpoints.
Mennonite Health Assembly set for March 7-9
The 2023 Mennonite Health Assembly will take place March 7-9 in Denver, Colorado. Registration is due by Feb. 21. For more information or to register, see https://bit.ly/MennoniteHealthAssembly.
Youth Venture offers ways to serve and learn
Youth Venture sends teens and young adults (ages 15-22) on short-term service and learning experiences to engage with the work of God that is already taking place in communities around the globe. Hosted by churches and Mennonite Mission Network partners, Youth Venture teams will explore how Christians across the street and around the world are engaged in the work of…
MCC essay contest is for youth
The annual MCC U.S. National Peace & Justice Ministries essay contest highlights the perspectives of youth on significant public policy issues. Are you a youth who attends a Mennonite high school or an Anabaptist church? This contest is your opportunity to express your views in essay format on critical issues facing U.S. society. Submissions are due Feb. 24, 2023, and may…
Humbled from the start: One person’s start on the anti-racist journey
By Greg Bowman Part 1 “When did you begin to grapple with being White?” The answer to this question is fairly straightforward: about 2001. The back story is more revealing. I was 49, living in eastern Pennsylvania in an all-white community, attending an all-white rural Mennonite congregation in Bally. It was at a Saturday morning session of a weekend-long anti-racism…
CommonWord offers Lenten resources
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate This year Lent begins on Feb. 22, which means now is a great time to look for worship and devotional resources related to Lent. If you are looking for new Lenten resources, check out the website for CommonWord, a collaboration of Mennonite Church Canada and Canadian Mennonite University. In preparation for Lent, CommonWord…
Winter Read discussion begins
The Ohio Conference Winter Read has returned! Once again this winter Ohio Conference is holding a Conference-wide book study using the Zoom videoconferencing platform. 2023 marks the second year for the Winter Read. Last year, more than 60 people participated in discussions about the book Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison. This year Winter Read participants are studying Just Mercy, a…
Radical Love and Radical Discipleship
By Dick Barrett Conference Minister 2023 marks 25 years since I joined the Mennonite Church. It has certainly been an interesting journey, first as a congregational member, then an associate pastor, lead pastor, and now as a conference minister. As I found myself on a one-month sabbatical during December, it caused me to reflect on why I joined the Mennonite…
Central Christian School to host ACA
‘Doing Life Together: Rooted and Grounded in Love’ will be Assembly theme Central Christian School in Kidron will host the 2023 Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) March 3-4. The theme of this year’s gathering will be “Doing Life Together: Rooted and Grounded in Love,” based on Ephesians 3:16-21. In a letter to delegates, Conference Moderator Ken Sims wrote, “We look forward…
Dwelling in the Word together
Participants from across the Conference reflect on Scripture reading initiative When Sue Short, collaborative minister at Zion Mennonite Church in Archbold, heard about Ohio Conference’s Dwelling in the Word Scripture reading initiative, she was excited about the plan. “That’s something that’s important to me — encouraging folks to read Scripture, and however that can happen, I’m on board for that.…