News & Stories
Online event to focus on immigration
Malone University in Canton is co-sponsoring an online event focusing on immigration on Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. “Immigration Ohio 2020: Complex Questions and Solutions with Dignity” will feature keynote speakers Jill Stoltzfus and Ali Noorani. The event will also include panels of Ohio leaders in business, health care and immigration law, as well as pastors and…
Mennonite World Conference postpones global assembly
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) has decided to postpone the global assembly until 2022. The new date of the assembly is July 5–10, 2022. In close consultation with the National Advisory Committee in host country Indonesia, the Executive Committee of MWC has decided not to hold the international gathering in 2021 as originally announced. For more details, see http://bit.ly/2022MWCAssembly.
Fall regional meetings to be held online
Ohio Conference will hold fall regional meetings for delegates online this year rather than meeting in person. These meetings will have a missional focus and will include input from the Ohio Conference Missional Resource Team. All delegates to Annual Conference Assembly are encouraged to participate. Four fall regional meetings are scheduled: Tuesday, Oct. 20 — Northeast Ohio Thursday, Oct. 22…
Healthy Boundaries trainings set for fall
All Ohio Conference credentialed pastors are required to complete Healthy Boundaries training once every three years. This fall, the Conference will hold Healthy Boundaries 201 training events for pastors who have previously completed the Healthy Boundaries 101 training course. Healthy Boundaries 201 will be offered online via Zoom. Pastors can choose one of two training dates, Oct. 10 or Nov.…
Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale will include online auction, in-person preview events
As was previously announced, the 2020 Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale will be an online auction rather than an in-person auction. The online auction will take place Sept. 26-Oct. 3 on the sale website: https://www.ohiomccreliefsale.org. Although the quilt and wood auctions will take place online, the Relief Sale Board is making plans for live auction-related events from Sept. 25 to Sept.…
ACA and Missional Conference to be held virtually
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio Conference is planning to hold the 2021 Missional Conference and Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) virtually rather than in person. These events will take place March 4-6, 2021. The featured speaker for both events will be Brad Roth, pastor and author of God’s Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church.
Lighthouse Ministries postpones fundraiser
Based on guidance from the City of Canton’s health department, Lighthouse Ministries in Canton is postponing the Over The Edge fundraiser originally scheduled for Sept. 4-5. This event will take place during spring 2021. For more information about Over The Edge, see http://over-the-edge.cantonlighthouse.org.
Seminary short course to introduce Voices Together
A Worship Leader’s Introduction to Voices Together. Join Katie Graber, Ph.D., and Anneli Loepp Thiessen, M.M., to explore how your worship can grow in vitality through understanding the new Voices Together hymnal within the unique culture of your church community. This online AMBS short course from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary lasts six weeks. CEUs are available. See ambs.edu/worshipleaders for details.
MDS newsletter includes upcoming projects
The August edition of On the Level is now available from Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS). In the current issue, you can read how MDS volunteers with Early Response Teams are working in Iowa and learn about engineers rolling up their sleeves in West Virginia and helping to build bridges they designed. You also will find out how MDS is cautiously planning…
Connexus offers conflict transformation resources
When conflict occurs, how do we respond? Connexus, an organization serving Wayne County and Holmes County, is working to transform the culture of conflict by reconciling relationships and developing community. Leaders from Connexus will present information about conflict transformation to two Wayne County congregations this month. Lydell Steiner and Craig Mast will lead “An Introduction to Connexus and Conflict Transformation”…
Time is running out to apply for grants
Last call: There is still time to apply for an Ohio Conference Ministry Grant. Aug. 10 is the deadline to submit a grant proposal to the Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team (MDT). The MDT is accepting proposals from Conference congregations and related organizations for projects and mission initiatives. The MDT has $7,000 available for grants in 2020. This year the MDT is seeking…
Immigration Resource Team recommends book
An update from the Ohio Conference Immigration Resource Team: Please keep in your prayers our many immigrant neighbors who are at greater risk of infection with COVID-19 — those in crowded detention centers, meat packing plants, etc. Consider a donation to Open Arms Hispanic Ministry or Brazo en Brazo, who are working directly with this population. Here is a must-read,…
Giving to Conference drops during July
Giving to Ohio Conference dropped sharply during July, according to figures provided by Conference Financial Coordinator Stan Helmuth. Receipts for July totaled just $11,300, compared to $44,772 in June. Expenses for July totaled $28,099, resulting in an operating balance of -$16,799 for the month. As of July 31, the Conference’s year-to-date operating balance was -$10,613. The Conference fiscal year ends…
MCC seeks donations of school kits
With the start of the new school year imminent, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is asking for your help. MCC needs an additional 70,000 school kits to fulfill requests from their partners around the world this year. Making a kit is a fun and easy way to provide life-changing support to children in need. To learn how to pack a school…
Peace center offers mediation skills training
Registration is now open for both sessions of Lombard Mennonite Peace Center’s Mediation Skills Training Institute scheduled for this fall: Oct. 5-9 and Nov. 16-20. This workshop helps clergy and other church leaders deal more effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. Registrants will attend remotely via Zoom. A $200 discount is available to those who register by the discount…
COVID-19 global response fund helps churches
Mennonite World Conference’s COVID-19 inter-agency task force has approved 21 relief proposals. Food and sanitation materials are part of all the proposals from Anabaptist member churches in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Read more about how these funds will be used at https://bit.ly/MWCCOVID-19Fund.
Golf scramble to benefit Adriel
Adriel will hold a benefit golf scramble on Monday, Sept. 14, at the Eagle Rock Golf Club in Defiance. Proceeds from this event will benefit children in Northwest Ohio and throughout the state through Adriel’s foster care and adoption, clinical services, training, and family preservation programs. For more information or to register, go to https://www.adriel.org/how-you-can-help/adriel-golf-outings.
Anabaptist Witness seeks submissions for April issue
Call for submissions: Anabaptist Witness welcomes submissions of various genres (sermons, photo essays, interviews, biographies, poems, academic papers, etc.) for its April 2021 issue on “Worship and Witness.” The deadline is Nov. 1, 2020. View submission guidelines at anabaptistwitness.org.
Mennonite Church USA to meet virtually for remainder of 2020
(Mennonite Church USA) — Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) announced that it is adapting its meeting plans for the remainder of 2020, including the upcoming meetings of the Executive Board, the Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) and the Racial Ethnic Council, as well as the Women Doing Theology conference. For more details, see https://bit.ly/MCUSAVirtualMeetings2020.
MC USA leadership encourages discussion
Save the date: Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) is planning a second webinar on the theme “Race, Church and Change.” This webinar is scheduled for July 23 at 6:30 p.m. EDT on both Zoom and Facebook Live. To register for this webinar, please go to https://bit.ly/RaceChurchandChange2. The first “Race, Church and Change” webinar took place on Thursday, June 25, and…
Called to make disciples, even in a pandemic
COVID-19 has changed our daily lives in many ways, but even so, God is still at work in the world. And despite the challenges of living through a pandemic, the Ohio Conference Missional Resource Team is encouraging people to keep participating in God’s mission. “We still want to be a missional people,” said Missional Resource Team member Jacob Dodson, the…
Fighting the wrong battles with the wrong weapons
By Dick Barrett Conference Minister If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. — 2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV) Over the past several months we have witnessed several African American people die…
Involving young adults in ministry
How is your congregation ministering to youth and young adults? How are you involving these young people in ministry? Ohio Conference’s Youth and Young Adult Ministry Team has been encouraging Ohio Conference congregations to share their stories of how they are relating to youth and young adults. In this issue of Ohio Mennonite Evangel, we check in with Matthew Reed,…
Engaging immigration: Some action steps
A few thoughts from the Ohio Conference Immigration Resource Team: Are you aware that a significant number of immigrants living in Ohio (and the rest of this country) face a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 because of their work in meat processing plants and other factories? Don’t forget to pray for them. There’s plenty of time left this summer for…
MCC plans centennial livestream celebration July 26
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) will celebrate its centennial year with a virtual event on Sunday, July 26, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. MCC will be broadcasting live from Prairie Street Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Indiana, the site of an important first meeting in the formation of MCC when representatives of various Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren groups met in July 1920. This…
Giving to Conference increases during June
Ohio Conference’s financial picture improved during June, with much stronger giving from congregations than in May, according to figures provided by Financial Coordinator Stan Helmuth. Congregational giving in June totaled $43,884, compared with just $11,964 during May. During June total income from all sources was $44,772, and expenses for the month totaled $28,855, resulting a surplus of $15,917 for the…
Leadership is visioning for the future
The Ohio Conference Leadership Team and the Pastoral Team have begun meeting with consultants Howard and Cathy Wagler from South Hutchinson, Kansas. They are looking at our current mission and purpose statements (introduced in 2006) as we begin discerning together God’s vision for the future of the Conference over the next five to seven years. The Leadership Team and Pastoral…
Pastor gatherings to be held regionally
A note from Conference Minister Dick Barrett: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will not be holding one large pastor gathering in the fall as we have during the past several years. In place of the one gathering we are planning on meeting in person in smaller groups. Taking into account social distancing practices, we will gather during the…
Retreat for Pastors’ Wives canceled
Please note: The Ohio Conference Retreat for Pastors’ Wives has been canceled. This retreat had been scheduled for Nov. 6-8 at the St. Francis Spirituality Center in Tiffin, Ohio. Because of ongoing concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, retreat organizers have decided to cancel this event.
Planning continues for MWC Assembly in 2021
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) continues to plan for the next MWC Assembly, which is scheduled for July 2021. A statement in the latest issue of MWC Assembly News addresses concerns about the upcoming Assembly: “COVID-19 has had an impact in many areas of our lives. As the Assembly planning team, we are still on target to celebrate with you in…