News & Stories
Webinar features Ohio pastors
“Speak the Truth in Love,” a webinar provided by Mennonite Mission Network, featured two Ohio Conference pastors. Vikki Pruitte-Sorrells, pastor of Lee Heights Community Church in Cleveland, and Kevin Himes, pastor of Salem Mennonite Church in Kidron, were featured panelists. Ann Jacobs of Mennonite Mission Network hosted the webinar, which celebrated relationships and considered how to mend divides that are…
MyNeighbor credit card purchases can help support your congregation
You can support your church every time you buy groceries, gas and other items — with the MyNeighbor card from Everence. When you use the MyNeighbor credit card for your purchases, Everence donates 1.5 % of the transaction total to your church or other selected organization — your Neighbor. It’s a great way to provide financial support, with no additional…
Invite a speaker from Mennonite World Conference
Would you like to hear from Mennonites from other parts of the world? As many congregations currently are worshipping through online services, Mennonite World Conference (MWC) guest speakers can connect local congregations with the global church. MWC’s officers can join a service as guest preacher or as presenter to share stories about the global family. To learn more, see https://mwc-cmm.org/stories/invite-mwc-speaker.
Goshen College offers free online devotionals during Lent
During Lent Goshen College is offering online devotions focusing on the theme “Deep Calls to Deep.” Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Goshen College students, faculty and staff provide reflections based on the upcoming Sunday’s lectionary scripture passages. You can read these devotions online at www.goshen.edu/devotions. To receive the devotions by email, go to www.goshen.edu/devotions/subscribe.
Register for ACA by Feb. 26
There’s still time to register for Annual Conference Assembly! Online registration is open for the 2021 missional conference on March 4 and 5 and Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) on March 6. Both events will take place on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. Brad Roth, pastor and author of God’s Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church, will be…
Anabaptist World seeks submissions
Anabaptist World invites your original submissions for an upcoming issue focusing on the theme “What if they don’t come back?” For many of us, the coronavirus pandemic has uprooted church as we know it. Congregational life, and the community that it creates, has shifted, revealing unexpected challenges and opportunities. Article length should be about 600 to 1,200 words. Submissions are due…
Regional meeting recording available for viewing
A recording of the West Central/Southwest Ohio regional meeting for delegates held on Feb. 4 is available online for viewing. To view the recording, click on the link below and enter the password listed. West Central/Southwest Ohio Regional Meeting — click on the link and enter the password $N%fdqM6
Video conversations focus on immigration
During the month of January, Evangelical Immigration Table hosted a series of video conversations about immigration. Recordings of these conversations are available for viewing on Evangelical Immigration Table’s website: https://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/2021convening. Topics featured were “Discipleship in Politically Polarized Times,” “The Mission on Our Doorsteps,” “Evangelical Priorities for Immigration Policy in the Biden Administration and the 117th Congress,” and “Faith, Work, Economics…
Join MCC’s Great Winter Warm-up
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) invites you to join the Great Winter Warm-up: At Home this winter. Last year, countless volunteers generously gave their time and talents to create more than 9,000 comforters at events across Canada, the U.S. and Europe. This year, MCC is asking people to stay safe and participate by making comforters at home instead. More information, including…
March 10 is application deadline for Everence scholarships
Everence is continuing its college scholarship program for the 2021-2022 school year and will be accepting applications through March 10, 2021. The program awards scholarships of $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000. To be eligible, the student or the student’s parent must own or be using an Everence product. For more details or to apply, visit everence.com/college-scholarships.
Camp Luz plans Men’s Solitude Retreat
Camp Luz will hold a Men’s Solitude Retreat Feb. 26 and 27. This retreat will be focused on solitude and personal reflection based on a theme from Esther 4:14b, which says, “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Retreat organizers will have a set of devotions for participants to use…
Peacebuilding institute offering online courses
The Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) at Eastern Mennonite University will be conducting its May and June courses online this year, due to uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic. SPI is offering courses in the areas of trauma awareness, restorative and social justice, leadership and management, and conflict transformation skills. For more information, see https://emu.edu/spi.
MWC seeks new chief operations officer
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is seeking a new Chief Operations Officer, starting in April 2021. The position is based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The COO must have competencies in accounting and financial reporting, maintaining corporate status in Canada and the USA, developing administrative policies for the North American offices, managing human resources and information technology for staff and participating in…
Delegate News – Winter 2021 #2
Winter regional meetings begin on Feb. 2 Ohio Conference is holding four online winter meetings for delegates to Annual Conference Assembly: Tuesday, Feb. 2 — Wayne County/Holmes County Thursday, Feb. 4 — West Central/Southwest Ohio Tuesday, Feb. 9 — Northeast Ohio Thursday, Feb. 11 — Northwest Ohio All meetings will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on the Zoom…
MC USA to hold virtual Delegate Assembly in July
The Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA has voted to hold the denomination’s biennial Delegate Assembly online due to uncertainty around COVID-19 gathering restrictions. Originally scheduled to meet in person on July 6-10, 2021, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Delegate Assembly will meet virtually on Saturday, July 10, from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. While the 2021 MC USA Delegate Assembly will…
Search begins for new MEA executive director
The search has begun for the next executive director of Mennonite Education Agency (MEA). A profile of the agency and a job description are available on the MEA website: http://bit.ly/News-MEA.
Regional meetings set for February
Ohio Conference will hold online winter meetings for delegates to Annual Conference Assembly. Four regional meetings are planned: Feb. 2 — Wayne County/Holmes County Feb. 4 — West Central/Southwest Ohio Feb. 9 — Northeast Ohio Feb. 11 — Northwest Ohio All meetings will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. For login information, please contact Judy King at ohmc@zoominternet.net.
MC USA offers Lent at Home guide
(Mennonite Church USA) — Mennonite Church USA’s (MC USA) 2021 Lent at Home worship guide is now available. The annual guide for home-based worship provides daily and weekly scripture readings, prayers and rituals for individuals and families observing Lent, the period of prayer and reflection from Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, to Easter, April 4. “In today’s divided society, we are…
Pastors invited to experience ‘The Joy of Rest’
Dan Schrock will be the presenter for “The Joy of Rest,” a spiritual direction retreat for pastors, on Tuesday, Feb. 16. This online retreat will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. In this brief video, Dan Schrock reflects on the importance of rest in the life of pastors, and he invites all Ohio…
Scholarship fund supports seminary students
ELKHART, Indiana — For the past 30 years an endowed scholarship at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) has helped dozens of students pursue pastoral leadership education, and now AMBS has begun a campaign to celebrate the aid given and raise funds for continued student support. Since its inception in 1990, the Paul M. and Bertha M. Miller Pastoral Leadership Scholarship…
ACA to be held online in 2021
For the first time in the history of the Ohio Conference, delegates from Conference congregations will not gather in person for Annual Conference Assembly (ACA). The 2021 ACA will be a virtual, one-day event, taking place March 6 on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. The theme for the 2021 ACA is “Come and See! The Mission of the Church in God’s…
Missional conference to focus on the rural church
Ohio Conference will hold an online missional conference during the evenings of March 4-5, just prior to Annual Conference Assembly. The theme of this conference will be “Come and See! The Mission of the Church in God’s Country.” Brad Roth, pastor and author of the book God’s Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church, will be the featured…
CommonWord offers Lenten resources
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate This year Lent begins on Feb. 17, 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…
Behold the Lamb of God
By Dick Barrett Conference Minister I write this in preparation for our 2021 Annual Conference Assembly, scheduled to be held virtually this year on Saturday, March 6. On March 7, 2020, we were able to meet in person at Sharon Mennonite Church. Little did we know that in less than a week our world would be turned upside down as…
Giving to Conference increases during December
Giving to Ohio Conference increased greatly during December, according to figures provided by Financial Coordinator Stan Helmuth. Receipts for December totaled $65,389. Of that amount $29,710 came from congregational giving. During December giving from individuals was very strong. In response to a year-end appeal letter from Conference Moderator Lynn Miller, individuals gave a total of $31,535. That amount far surpassed…
Glimpses into an unseen world
By Dan King About a year ago, pre-pandemic, one of my Guatemalan students invited me to her quinceañera. (For those who may not know, a Hispanic girl’s 15th birthday is an occasion for a no-expenses-spared party to signify her “coming of age.”) It was to be held at her evangelical church. I arrived a few minutes late, assuming the celebration…
AMBS to offer two new scholarships
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, is offering two new scholarships. The Multicultural Church Scholarship is for students who are currently serving in or preparing for ministry assignments in a multicultural context and/or who belong to historically underrepresented racial or ethnic groups within the Mennonite Church. Each year, this award will provide a limited number of 100-percent tuition grants to…
MWC year-in-review video looks at how churches responded to pandemic
How did the pandemic affect Mennonite World Conference (MWC) during 2020, and what lessons were learned? MWC’s annual year-in-review video explores how member congregations and the organization as a whole adjusted to new realities and found new ways of following Jesus. You are invited to download this short video from the MWC website and show it to your congregation: http://bit.ly/2020MWCYearReview.
Conflict transformation is workshop topic
Lombard Mennonite Peace Center (LMPC) is offering an online workshop, “Conflict Transformation Skills for Churches,” on Feb. 13 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. Although a normal part of life, conflict is usually seen as something negative. Participants in this workshop will acquire the knowledge and skills to transform conflict into a force for positive change and spiritual growth.…
Conversations to focus on immigration
Evangelical Immigration Table is launching a series of virtual conversations about immigration which are being held each Thursday in January. The first conversation, held on Jan. 7, focused on the topic “Discipleship in Politically Polarized Times.” To learn more about this series or to register, go to https://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/2021convening.