News & Stories
Online Advent devotions to begin Nov. 21
GOSHEN, Ind. — As churches prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth, Goshen College offers an online spiritual resource to help believers make time and space in their hearts and minds to welcome Advent, even in the midst of busy schedules and hectic lives. Beginning Nov. 21 and culminating on Christmas Day, Goshen College students, faculty and staff will provide…
Grant supports event in Toledo
In August the Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team awarded a grant to Toledo Mennonite Church and several partnering organizations to help sponsor a Guns into Garden Tools Event in Toledo. That event took place Oct. 29 at the University Church in Toledo. To see a video featuring this event, go to http://bit.ly/GunsintoGardenToolsToledo.
Registration is open for missional conference
“Who is my Neighbor?” is the theme for the upcoming Ohio Conference Missional Conference with Alan and Debra Hirsch. This two-day event will take place March 23-24, 2017, at Kidron Mennonite Church immediately prior to Annual Conference Assembly. This missional conference will focus on a variety of topics: Inviting all people in so they feel that they have a place…
What does being “missional” mean?
This year in Ohio Conference the word “missional” is being used A LOT. In this podcast Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn interview Jacob Dodson to discuss what being missional actually means and what the implications could be for our individual congregations and for Ohio Conference. https://media.blubrry.com/3716337/ohiomennoniteconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Jacob-Dodson-Interview-2.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
Writers sought for Sunday school curriculum
Shine: Living in God’s Light, the Sunday school curriculum produced by MennoMedia and Brethren Press, is accepting applications for curriculum writers. The curriculum is for children age three through grade 8. Accepted writers must attend a Writers Conference in Virginia, March 2-5, 2017. Shine pays for meals and lodging during the conference and covers reasonable travel expenses. More details are…
Mennonite Men has new coordinator
The Mennonite Men Board of Directors is pleased to announce Steve Thomas of Goshen, Indiana, as their new Coordinator. Thomas brings extensive experience in ministering to men and has served at numerous Mennonite congregations as a pastor. He is a graduate of Hesston College, Goshen College and the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. “We are excited about having Steve Thomas join…
What is The Voice?
In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, Bill Seymour and Thomas Dunn talk with Erin Dye and Darrin Snyder Belousek about “The Voice,” a special task force created by the Ohio Conference Leadership Team. This task force, which includes Bill, Erin and Darrin, has been listening to questions and concerns from Ohio Conference congregations and communicating with Mennonite Church USA and denominational agencies…
Spread the Peace grants available
To encourage congregations and conferences to “spread the peace” in and beyond Mennonite Church USA, the Peace and Justice Support Network of Mennonite Church USA has small start-up grants available. Grants of $1,000 are given as Peace and Justice Support Network (PJSN) funding allows. The goal is to distribute $5,000 annually. PJSN will accept applications through Dec. 31, 2016. For…
Audio series offers interviews
Would you like to learn more about what’s happening in Ohio Conference while you’re on the go? A new podcast series, the Ohio Conference Cast, features interviews with people from throughout the Conference. You can download these audio interviews from iTunes (search for “Ohio Conference Cast”), or go to the “Podcasts” page to listen to them. The Ohio Conference Leadership…
Election Day Communion returns
Election Day Communion is back. In 2012 fifteen congregations from across the Ohio Conference held Election Day Communion services, including several who held joint communion services with other congregations. One of the purposes of Election Day Communion was to build unity in Christ in the midst of theological, political and denominational differences. Around 900 congregations from various denominations participated in…
Giving to Conference increases in September
Ohio Conference congregations gave $31,459 to the Conference in September, more than in any other month of the 2016-17 fiscal year. According to figures provided by Stan Helmuth, Conference financial coordinator, total receipts for the month of September were $31,477, and expenses totaled $22,354, resulting in a surplus of $9,123 for the month. That surplus improved the Conference’s operating balance…
What are the Missional Gatherings?
In this episode of Ohio Conference Cast, Jacob Dodson, pastor of Wooster Mennonite Church, talks with hosts Thomas Dunn and Bill Seymour about the Fall Mission Events taking place and about the Ohio Conference Year of Mission. https://media.blubrry.com/3716337/ohiomennoniteconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Jacob-Dodson-Interview.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
Cliff Brubaker plans meetings with congregational leaders
In this edition of the Ohio Conference Cast, Interim Regional Pastor Cliff Brubaker talks about his plans to visit all Ohio Conference congregations for a time of listening to congregational leaders. https://media.blubrry.com/3716337/ohiomennoniteconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/OCC-Episode-1-Cliff-Brubaker-.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS
Missional Conference to feature Alan and Debra Hirsch
On March 23-24 Ohio Conference will hold a Missional Conference with Alan and Debra Hirsch at Kidron Mennonite Church. This event will immediately precede Annual Conference Assembly, which will take place at Central Christian School in Kidron March 24-25. Attendees ages 30 and younger will receive a half-price discount on registration costs. To learn more about this missional conference, please…
MDS seeks volunteers for Detroit, West Virginia
Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) has an urgent need for volunteers in Detroit and West Virginia. Weekly volunteers are needed for projects in Detroit and West Virginia Nov. 20-Dec. 16. To schedule, please call the MDS Volunteer Development Team at 800-241-8111 or email Alicia Hurst at ahurst@mds.mennonite.net.
Explore faith and values in business
Everence, Mennonite Foundation, and the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center will present a workshop titled “Faith and Values in the Marketplace” on Monday, Nov. 14, at the Gardens at Homestead Furniture in Mt. Hope. The workshop will run from 6:45 to 9:15 p.m. The workshop will include three presenters: Edward Hershberger, business owner and deacon — “Mutually Beneficial Employer-Employee Relations”…
Alan Kreider to speak at Malone University
The Center for Christian Faith & Culture will welcome Dr. Alan Kreider to Malone University in Canton on Thursday, Nov. 17. He will speak at a pastors’ luncheon at the University’s Brehme Centennial Center. This event, which will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m., is also open to non-pastors. Dr. Kreider combines a lifetime of academic study about the…
David Boshart presentation now on DVD
Are you interested in hearing the presentation about rural church mission given by David Boshart in September at Zion Mennonite Church? Boshart, the executive conference minister of Central Plains Mennonite Conference, spoke on the topic “New Frontiers in Mission for the Rural Church” while at Zion. To order a DVD of his presentation, please contact Karmin Brooks in the Zion…
Maple Grove in Hartville hosts second Year of Covenant Meeting
Forty-five people took part in the second Ohio Conference Year of Covenant Meeting, which took place Sept. 28 at Maple Grove Mennonite Church in Hartville. The resource speaker for the day was David B. Miller, associate professor of missional leadership at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana.
2016 Youth Worker Retreat
Ohio Conference held a Youth Worker Retreat at Camp Luz in Kidron Sept. 30-Oct. 1. Presenters were Dr. Randy Keeler, associate professor of religion at Bluffton University; and Brent Lacey, author of the book Rural Youth Ministry: Thrive Where You’re Planted.
MMN has new mission bank teaching tools
By Lois Bontrager Ohio Conference Resource Advocate Has your congregation used the mission banks available from Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) with the children in your congregation? Introducing MMN’s newest mission bank teaching tools — Joining God’s team in Congo. These materials will help you teach your children and congregation about mission in Congo, and can be used a number of ways…
Fall meetings to focus on mission
How have you seen God at work in your congregation during the Ohio Conference Year of Mission? This fall, members of all Ohio Conference congregations are invited to gather together at Fall Mission Events to share stories of how their churches are engaging in God’s mission in their local communities. Everyone in Ohio Conference is invited to attend the Fall…
Conference awards eight grants
The Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team (MDT) has awarded eight grants totaling $21,614 to Ohio Conference congregations and Conference-related groups. The Ministry Development Team approved the grants at its Aug. 1 meeting in Upper Sandusky. Funding for these grants comes from surplus funds that had accumulated during years in which the Conference ended its fiscal year with a surplus. The…
Delegate News – Fall 2016
Fall meeting schedule is altered In most years, delegates to Annual Conference As sembly (ACA) are asked to attend cluster meetings in both the fall and the winter in preparation for ACA. This fall instead of holding smaller cluster meetings in seven or eight locations, the Confer ence will hold Fall Mission Event gatherings in three sepa rate locations throughout the state. All…
Cliff Brubaker accepts additional assignment
The Ohio Conference Leadership Team has invited Interim Regional Pastor Cliff Brubaker to work with the Conference on a full-time basis, beginning Sept. 18. Since April he has been serving as regional pastor on a half-time basis. This additional half-time assignment will have two areas of focus: Working with the continuing process of the Ohio Conference Year of Covenant Identifying…
What will we “take away” from Event Two?
Any reasonable person might well ask this question or one much like it in considering the prospect of Ohio Conference’s credentialed leaders meeting together on Sept. 28. I would suggest the more important question might be, “What will we bring to Event Two?” If we bring only expectations about the rules, the answers, the procedures, we may be disappointed, each…
Striving to be my best self
I have sometimes quoted a quip from Garrison Keillor of A Prairie Home Companion: “They say wisdom comes with old age — but sometimes old age comes alone.” I suppose I haven’t quite admitted I am old yet, but I can feel myself getting there. I also should admit I haven’t quite gotten to “wise” yet, but I can feel…
Peace Center plans peacemaker’s pilgrimage
Richard Blackburn, executive director of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, will be leading “A Peacemaker’s Pilgrimage to the Holy Land” Jan. 11-22, 2017. Please see www.lmpeacecenter.org/events/a-peacemakers-pilgrimage-to-the-holy-land/ for more information. Credentialed pastors, please note: Mennonite Church USA’s “Come and See Fund” will provide a minimum of a $500 scholarship for any credentialed MC USA leaders who join the pilgrimage. To apply…
Retreat for pastors’ wives set for Nov. 11-13
What is life in the parsonage like? Being a pastor’s wife is a high calling and a great joy, a great responsibility and a great blessing. Pastors’ wives, do you ever wonder if other pastors’ wives experiences are similar to yours? How do they handle the struggles, lean on the blessing of this ministry and enjoy their high calling? During…
Everence has resources for youth
Everence continues to be a valuable resource to help us as we navigate our stewardship journey. A great resource for youth is a three-session study called Real life talk about money: navigating the money maze. The goal of this series is to introduce young people to real-life application of biblical principles about money so that young people will prepared to…