News & Stories
Winter cluster meetings scheduled
Five winter cluster meetings have been scheduled for Ohio Conference delegates to Annual Conference Assembly. Each meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and last about two hours. Locations are as follows: Jan. 9 — Tedrow Mennonite Church, Wauseon Jan. 11 — Beech Mennonite Church, Louisville Jan. 16 — Crown Hill Mennonite Church, Rittman Jan. 18 — Oak Grove Mennonite Church, West Liberty Jan.…
Deficit increases during October
Ohio Conference’s expenses outpaced giving during October. Receipts for the month totaled $18,589, including $18,462 in giving from congregations. Expenses for October totaled $26,130, resulting in a deficit of $7,541 for the month. As of Oct. 31, the Conference’s year-to-date operating balance was -$41,747. The Conference fiscal year ends March 31, 2024.
Mennonite World Conference to hold Online Prayer Hour Nov. 17
Mennonite World Conference invites you to join the Anabaptist-Mennonite family at Online Prayer Hour, a Zoom prayer call, on Friday, Nov. 17, at 9 a.m. EST. There will be breakout rooms with a prayer leader in several languages. Please register in advance at https://bit.ly/MWCOnlinePrayerNov23.
The Corinthian Plan has open enrollment through Dec. 31
The Corinthian Plan is open for enrollment from Nov.1 through Dec. 31, 2023, for a Jan. 1, 2024, start date. The Corinthian Plan is a self-funded health care plan for pastors and church workers, sponsored and owned by Mennonite Church USA (MC USA). Please see the MC USA news release for more details: https://bit.ly/2024CorinthianPlan.
MC USA to relaunch Equipping e-newsletter
ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Church USA) — After a two-year hiatus, the Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Executive Board communications department is relaunching Equipping, a resource e-newsletter for leaders across MC USA. MC USA will reintroduce Equipping as a quarterly email newsletter featuring resources on leadership, peacebuilding, worship, faith formation and more from MC USA and its conferences, congregations, agencies, ministry…
Advent at Home guide coming soon
Update: The 2024 Advent at Home worship guide is now available. Go to https://bit.ly/AdventatHome to download it. ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Education Agency) — Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) announces the upcoming publication of Advent at Home 2023. Taken from Leader magazine’s Advent theme, “How will we know?” this worship guide accompanies individuals and families through the days and weeks of Advent…
CLC brainstorms strategies to strengthen youth engagement
Mennonite Church USA’s Constituency Leaders Council brainstormed strategies for strengthening youth engagement at its first meeting of the 2023-2025 biennium via Zoom on Oct. 27, 2023. To read a full report of this meeting, including comments from Ohio Conference Moderator Ken Sims, see the MC USA news release: https://bit.ly/CLC-YouthEngagement.
Community gun safety event brings Ohio churches together
In September, several Mennonite churches from Northwest Ohio worked together to host a community event about gun safety. Several organizations, such as RAWtools and Mennonite Central Committee, also helped make this event successful. By Nancy Roynon Beck Have you ever wanted to make something happen but did not know how? That was me last January. I was teaching the Mennonite…
Advent at Home guide available soon
Update: The 2024 Advent at Home worship guide is now available. Go to https://bit.ly/AdventatHome to download it. By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate Coming soon: Once again this year, Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) will be publishing an Advent at Home worship guide. It will follow the same Advent theme as Leader magazine, “How will we know?” The Advent at…
Winter Read to focus on mental health
Coming in January: The Ohio Conference Winter Read. This winter Ohio Conference will once again hold a Conference-wide book study using the Zoom videoconferencing platform. We will be studying the book Not Quite Fine: Mental Health, Faith and Showing Up for One Another by Carlene Hill Byron. A schedule of Zoom meetings will be published in December, as well as registration…
MC USA Executive Board meets in Cleveland
Ohio Conference Leadership Team welcomes MC USA Executive Board to Ohio By Camille Dager CLEVELAND, Ohio (Mennonite Church USA) — The Mennonite Church USA Executive Board strengthened key relationships and discussed creative strategies for convention and revitalization at the first Executive Board meeting of the biennium Oct. 18-20, 2023, in Cleveland, Ohio. Ohio Mennonite Conference welcomed the Executive Board and…
Tiny, awkward little steps
Engaging with mental illness as a congregation By Nathanael Hofstetter Ressler Maple Grove Mennonite Church Hartville, Ohio Realities exist in life that are daunting to consider, much less to know what to do about them. These realities loom over us in their enormity, and we seem to shrink into their shadows. How could I possibly do anything to address that?!…
Toledo pastor provides peace witness with the help of an anvil
Joel Shenk, pastor of Toledo Mennonite Church, describes how he learned blacksmithing as part of his personal peace witness and how Ohio Conference and his congregation have joined him in this work. Camille Dager, chief communication officer for Mennonite Church USA (MC USA), recently talked to Joel Shenk about his peace witness in response to growing gun violence in the…
Downsizing Summit Mennonite
By Joanne Lehman Many couples and individuals come to a place in life where downsizing is desired. Their situation has changed, and their living space is too big. Family members have moved out to begin life somewhere else. Maintenance is too expensive for the budget. Closets and cupboards are full of things they’ve collected over the years. Life goes…
Congregational giving drops during September
Congregational giving to the Ohio Conference dropped during September, while giving from individuals increased during the same month. During September, congregations contributed a total of $13,960, compared to $24,973 contributed during August. On a more positive note, the Conference received $5,100 from individuals during September. Total receipts for September were $19,094, and expenses for the month were $28,741, resulting in…
Encourage women in your congregation to attend Women in Leadership Retreat
Online registration is open for the Ohio Conference Women in Leadership Retreat planned for Feb. 2-3, 2024, at the Lial Renewal Center in Whitehouse, Ohio. The retreat will feature Jewel Gingerich Longenecker of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, who will focus on the theme “Finding Your Voice.” The planning committee for this retreat would like you to think about women in…
AMBS launches Forming Leaders Together campaign
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, has launched its Forming Leaders Together fundraising campaign. Funds raised through the campaign are supporting the seminary’s collaboration with Anabaptist-Mennonite organizations serving the church in Canada, the United States, and around the world. According to Paula Killough, MDiv, Director of Campaign, the seminary has reached 83 percent of its $12 million campaign…
Zoom meeting about Corinthian Plan scheduled
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 during an upcoming Zoom meeting on Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. ET. Current participants of the plan are also welcome to ask questions. Register online at https://bit.ly/CorinthianPlanQandA.
On the Level explores the benefits of being a volunteer
The October edition of On the Level is now available from Mennonite Disaster Service. In the current issue: Kevin King shares the health benefits of being a volunteer; an old grocery store is transformed near Red Lake, Minnesota; and if you enjoy quilting, knitting or crocheting, you’ll want to learn more about the MDS Housewarmer Project. To read more, go…
Updated flyer has instructions for reporting misconduct
The Credentialing Ministry Team of Ohio Mennonite Conference has updated the “How to Report Pastoral Sexual Misconduct” flyer and strongly encourages congregations to post it in their meeting spaces. Please consider posting in visible places, but it doesn’t have to be the first thing people see when entering the church. Consider posting in bathrooms, on bulletin boards or other conspicuous places around…
ACA 2024 is for everyone, not just delegates
Ohio Conference’s 2024 Annual Conference Assembly will take place March 1-2 at Sharon Mennonite Church in Plain City. A 2024 ACA Save the Date Flyer is now available. Please share it with your congregation and post it on your church bulletin boards. The ACA Planning Committee is inviting everyone from Ohio Conference congregations to attend this year’s ACA because of the…
Podcast features Ohio Conference members
“Til Death Do Us Part” is a new podcast featuring conversation between author Christiana Peterson and her husband, Matthew Peterson, who is pastor of Midway Mennonite Church in Columbiana. In the description of this podcast, Christiana says, “Because I write about death and my husband is a pastor who is often invited into sacred spaces where death is present, we…
ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Church USA) — Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) has launched “Learn, Pray, Join: End Gun Violence,” an initiative to bring awareness to the complex issue that intersects with poverty, racism, discrimination, criminal justice, education and the environment. MC USA will host two webinars about the topic of gun violence, beginning with “Anabaptism and U.S. Gun Culture” on…
Author Summit to feature Meghan Larissa Good
Jesus Collective is planning an Author Summit featuring Meghan Larissa Good, who will be the featured speaker at the 2024 Annual Conference Assembly. In the Author Summit, participants will meet via Zoom to explore Good’s soon-to-be published book, Divine Gravity: Sparking a Movement to Recover a Better Christian Story. The series will include seven meetings, all featuring conversation with Good.…
Zoom meetings are for public educators
Mennonite Public Educators is hosting a series of Zoom meetings, “Being a Mennonite in Public Ed.” The first meeting will take place Thursday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. ET. Participants will be invited to have real discussions about what it means to live out their faith in the public schools. Mennonite Public Educators is a group that brings together Mennonite teachers…
Mennonite Men to hold retreat Dec. 9
Mennonite Men will hold a Men’s Retreat Saturday, Dec. 9, at Pathways Retreat in Goshen, Indiana. The theme of this half-day retreat will be “Living that Matters for Men.” Steve Thomas, US coordinator for Mennonite Men, will be the retreat leader. For more information, see the retreat flyer. To register, go to bit.ly/pathways_Living_That_Matters.
Delegates meet for discussion, look to the future
Thank you to everyone who attended Ohio Conference’s fall delegate cluster meetings. Delegates met for a time of discernment and discussion, considering these questions: What is the context in which Ohio Conference congregations find themselves in today? What are the needs and longings of the communities in which Ohio Conference congregations reside? In light of the context, what is God’s…
Conference deficit decreases slightly in August
Ohio Conference’s year-to-date deficit decreased slightly during August. Ohio Conference’s income totaled $25,105 during August, including $24,973 in giving from congregations. Expenses during August totaled $24,737, resulting in net income of $368 for the month. Despite the small surplus during August, the Conference continues to run a deficit in 2023-24. As of Aug. 31, the Conference’s operating balance for the…
Register online for Women in Leadership Retreat
One role of ministry leaders is to notice and affirm the gifts of those in your congregation. The planning committee of this winter’s Ohio Conference Women in Leadership Retreat would like you to begin thinking now about women in your congregation that you could encourage to attend. We would love to see each congregation send at least one woman, preferably more!…
Seminary short course to focus on resisting Christian nationalism
Online Short Course: Resisting Christian Nationalism with the Gospel of Peace: Oct. 25 – Nov. 21. Join Drew Strait, Ph.D., in this four-week online short course from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary to deepen your understanding of White Christian nationalism and explore practical and effective nonviolent strategies for resisting it — drawing insights from how Jesus countered oppression. No grades, no…