News & Stories
LMPC offers Mediation Skills Training
Utica United Methodist Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan, will host a Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders May 13-17, 2019. This training is led by staff from the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center. Acquire contact hours for Continuing Education credits, enjoy fellowship with like-minded church leaders, and rejuvenate your ministry, all at the same time! Register by April 12 to…
Delegates approve immigration resolution
Delegates overwhelmingly affirmed a resolution on immigration at the 2019 Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) of the Ohio Conference. Those gathered at Salem Mennonite Church in Kidron March 8-9 numbered 204, including delegates from 38 congregations. Ninety-five percent of the delegates affirmed the immigration resolution, which calls for individuals to become better informed about the issues surrounding immigration, as well as…
MDS monitors Midwest flooding, plans response
Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) officials report that MDS is actively monitoring the flooding across the Midwest, especially in the hard-hit areas of Nebraska and Iowa. Local MDS volunteers are actively responding with cleanup crews in Nebraska. To learn more, including how you can help, see the MDS website: http://bit.ly/MDS2019Flooding.
MennoHealth Cast features personal stories
The MennoHealth Cast podcast, which launched in March, is a production of The Mennonite, Inc., and Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship. MennoHealth Cast seeks to highlight the personal stories of people involved in various fields related to the care of human beings. The first episode features an interview with Karen Vundla, who recently completed a 46-year career in nursing. To listen, go…
CommonWord offers Lenten worship resources
CommonWord, a collaboration of Mennonite Church Canada and Canadian Mennonite University, offers many resources for planning worship during the Lenten season. If you’re looking for resources to help you with planning worship or leading a devotional, you can visit www.commonword.ca/go/1765. Many of these resources are available as free downloads. If you’re looking for resources for a specific day you can…
Pastors and Leaders 2019 recordings now online
Even if you were not able to attend Pastors and Leaders 2019 at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), you still can hear presentations from that event. More than 145 people came together on the AMBS campus Feb. 25–28 to explore the theme of “Loving Our Neighbors in Tense Times.” Attendees were encouraged to imagine and proclaim new narratives that embrace…
Sonnenberg Mennonite plans mission event
Sonnenberg Mennonite Church in Kidron will welcome Howard and Cathy Wagler from Journey Mennonite Church in Hutchinson, Kansas, on the weekend of April 6-7. Over the past 25 years Howard and Cathy have helped shape Journey Mennonite into a thriving community of mission-minded believers worshiping at three campuses in central Kansas. They have a passion for leadership development and seeing…
Conference focuses on building relationships
Just prior to Annual Conference Assembly, the Ohio Conference held the 2019 Missional Conference at Salem Mennonite Church in Kidron March 7-8. Eighty-eight people participated in this event. The theme of the conference was “From Jerusalem to Antioch: Legacy Churches Anchoring Missional Communities.” Featured speakers were Sally Schreiner Youngquist of Evanston, Illinois, one of the founders of Living Water Community…
A new church for a new day
By Dick Barrett Conference Minister “And who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this?”— Esther 4:14(b) NIV Those words from Mordecai to Queen Esther in the Old Testament should resonate with all of us Christians in New Testament times. All of us have come to the royal position we find ourselves…
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 and…
Delegate News — Winter 2019 #6
ACA summary video is now ready Thanks to all delegates who attended the 2019 Annual Conference Assembly last week! A new summary video about the 2019 ACA is now ready. You can find it at https://youtu.be/UUin9aM0oTs. Please share it with members of your congregation. Photos of ACA and missional conference are on website Photos of ACA and the missional…
Missional book available from Conference office
Participants in the 2019 Missional Conference received a copy of the book Missional. Monastic. Mainline. by Elaine A. Heath and Larry Duggins. The Ohio Conference has several extra copies available for $18 each, including shipping. If you would like a copy, please contact Judy King at ohmc@zoominternet.net or 330-857-5421.
Tedrow Mennonite to celebrate 70th anniversary
Tedrow Mennonite Church will celebrate its 70th anniversary on Sunday, March 31, 2019. Worship will begin at 9:30 a.m. with a noon potluck meal to follow. Help us tell the story! Please send photos, memories and testimonies of how Tedrow Mennonite Church has impacted your life to doug@tedrowmennonite.org.
The Mennonite seeks submissions for May
The Mennonite Inc. invites your original submissions for the May 2019 print magazine issue and corresponding online content focusing on the theme “God So Loved the Whole World.” Submissions are due to Editor@TheMennonite.org no later than April 4. For more details, please see http://bit.ly/TheMennoniteMay2019.
Bluffton peace lecture to tell story of MJ Sharp
BLUFFTON, Ohio — John E. Sharp will present “Changing the World One Life at a Time: The MJ Sharp Story” at 11 a.m. on March 26 in Yoder Recital Hall at Bluffton University. Sharp will reflect on the life of his son MJ Sharp who died in his prime as a peacebuilder in the Democratic Republic of Congo. On March…
Register now for Healthy Congregations Workshop
Berlin Mennonite Church will host a Healthy Congregations Workshop April 4-5. Workshop participants will learn how they can influence the health of their congregations, and how to detect and avoid unhealthy patterns of living together in community. Time is running out to receive the best registration price for this workshop. The registration fee includes a course manual and lunch. The…
Giving outpaces expenses during February
For the third month in a row, giving to the Ohio Conference outpaced expenses. According to figures provided by Financial Coordinator Stan Helmuth, total receipts for the month were $37,455, including $37,082 in congregational giving. Expenses totaled just $26,367, resulting in an operating surplus of $11,088 for the month. That surplus boosted the year-to-date operating balance to $32,783. Thank you…
ACA Wrap-up: Celebration, Immigration, Missional Living
In this episode of Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn take a break from podcasting. Instead, the podcast’s number one fan, Lucas Johnson of Valley View Mennonite Church in Spartansburg, Pa., takes a look back at the 2019 Missional Conference and Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) with three other ACA participants: Kevin Himes, pastor of Salem Mennonite Church…
Delegate News — Winter 2019 #4
Here is the slate of nominees for Conference positions Next week at Annual Conference Assembly, delegates will be asked to affirm a slate of nominees for a variety of Conference positions. This slate is compiled by the Ohio Conference Gifts Discernment Ministry. 2019 ACA Slate New delegate orientation set for 1 p.m. Friday All new delegates to Annual Conference Assembly…
Goshen College offers Lenten devotions
Goshen College is providing daily online devotions during Lent focusing on the theme “Blessed Hunger, Holy Feast.” You can sign up to receive these devotions via email: https://www.goshen.edu/devotions.
The Gathering Place offers webinars
The Gathering Place, a virtual space where Anabaptist faith formation leaders can gather, learn, share and grow, is getting a new start with new resources and several upcoming webinars for Mennonite Church USA faith formation leaders. Learn more at http://bit.ly/2019GatheringPlace.
EMU to offer cross-cultural tours
Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) is offering several Alumni and Friends Cross-Cultural Tours. These trips promise to be life-changing in many ways and are open to alumni, former and current parents of EMU students, and friends of EMU. You won’t find this kind of trip with your typical travel agent. Trip destinations include Cuba, Israel and Palestine, and South Africa, among…
‘Love Crosses Borders’ planned for summer
Love is the greatest of all virtues. But what does love look like in times of cynicism and polarization? Mennonite Men is organizing “Love Crosses Borders,” an immersion experience with immigrants which will take place this summer. From July 28 to August 3 Mennonite Men will journey to Georgia and connect with Casa Alterna, a hospitality house devoted to faithful…
EMU choirs to tour in Ohio
Eastern Mennonite University’s University Choir and Emulate Chamber Ensemble will be performing in Ohio and Indiana during their March spring break tour. Four performances are planned in Ohio: Sunday, March 3 Maple Grove Mennonite Church, Hartville, Ohio, 10:30 a.m. Walnut Hills Retirement Community, Walnut Creek, Ohio, 4 p.m. Berlin Mennonite Church, Berlin, Ohio, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 5 Zion Mennonite…
Berlin to host Healthy Congregations Workshop
Berlin Mennonite Church will host a Healthy Congregations Workshop April 5-6. Bill Blank, associate director of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, will lead the workshop. This workshop is designed for pastors, church staff, lay leaders and congregation members. Participants will learn how they can influence the health of their congregations, and how to detect and avoid unhealthy patterns of living…
Missional conference coming to Ohio May 9-11
Sentralized, a missional conference featuring several of the speakers that Ohio Conference has hosted recently, such as Alan and Deb Hirsch, along with many others, is coming this spring to Middletown, Ohio (between Dayton and Cincinnati). This event will take place Thursday, May 9, though Saturday, May 11. Most of the teaching and discussion time will occur Thursday and Friday.…
Pastors gather for relationship building, discussion
On Feb. 12, 27 credentialed ministers from across Ohio Conference gathered together at the Upper Sandusky Public Library once again for relationship building and discussion about the possibility of creating a covenant of the Conference’s core beliefs/values and practices. The meeting was a follow-up to their meeting on Nov. 8, 2018. It was a good day of fellowship, discussion and…
Delegate News — Winter 2019 #3
ACA registration price increases after Feb. 15 We are looking forward to seeing you at the 2019 Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) on March 8-9 at Salem Mennonite Church in Kidron. Thanks to all who have already registered! The registration deadline for ACA is Feb. 15. The cost to register is $45 by Feb. 15, and $60 thereafter. There is an…
The Mennonite seeks submissions for April issue
The Mennonite Inc. invites your original submissions for the April 2019 print magazine issue and corresponding online content focusing on the theme “Just Relationships.” Submissions are due to Editor@TheMennonite.org no later than March 1. For more details, please see http://bit.ly/TheMennoniteApril2019.
MC USA offers Lent At Home guide
(Mennonite Church USA) — Get ready for a holy feast. The Lent At Home resource based on the theme “Blessed Hunger…Holy Feast” is available now with materials for exploring God’s abundance and the season’s themes. The materials begin with Shrove Tuesday on March 5 and continue through Easter Sunday on April 21. The theme and Scriptures in the Lent At Home materials…