News & Stories
Please remember us in prayer this summer
Please keep Ohio Conference, our congregations and pastors in your prayers throughout the summer. If you would like a prayer request added, please contact Ann Leaman at ohioevangel@gmail.com, Conference Minister Dick Barrett at ohioconferenceminister@gmail.com, or Regional Pastor Tony Doehrmann at ocrpwest@gmail.com. Please remember these requests during your prayer times: — Ohio Conference as we continue to discern God’s future vision…
Webinar explores best practices for technology in worship
Anabaptist Worship Network recently offered a webinar about best practices for audio visual technology in worship. A recording is available at https://bit.ly/AudioVisualTechinWorship. Viewers can learn from expert panelists on a range of issues related to practical and artistic concerns for sound and images, with takeaways for both beginning and advanced technicians.
Conference ends first month of 2023-24 with a deficit
Ohio Conference ended the first month of the 2023-24 fiscal year with a deficit, according to figures provided by Financial Coordinator Stan Helmuth. Receipts for the month of April totaled just $12,451, including $12,299 in giving from congregations. Expenses for the month totaled $26,545, resulting in a deficit of $14,094 for the month.
Relief sale schedule available
The Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale & Auction will take place July 7-8 at the Mt. Hope Event Center. For more information, see the relief sale poster and the most recent Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale newsletter. 2023 Ohio Relief Sale Poster 2023-Ohio Relief Sale Newsletter
SEMILLA leadership to visit NE Ohio
SEMILLA Seminary Meet and Greet — Come join us for a meet and greet with visitors from SEMILLA Latin American Anabaptist Seminary, located in Guatemala City, which provides biblical, theological and leadership training to over 700 adult students annually throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Meet the leadership of SEMILLA and hear the latest updates on Saturday, June 3, 2-5…
AMBS offers Ministry Integrity Circles
Pastors, do you need help with ministry transitions or significant challenges? Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary’s (AMBS) Ministry Integrity Circles program provides the support of consultants within a community of peers. The Spring 2023 cohort begins June 26 and is free to participants. This program includes an initial in-person session at AMBS on June 26-27. Other sessions will take place over…
Webinar showcases new Bible storybook
The Shine Sunday school curriculum will soon have a new Bible storybook, The Peace Table. The Peace Table is the source of the Bible story for Shine’s elementary curriculum for 2023-26. Recently MennoMedia offered a webinar to overview the features of The Peace Table and its use in the curriculum. The webinar also explored how this book can help teachers…
Ministry Grants can help fund local projects
Ministry Grants are back! Aug. 4 is the deadline to submit a grant proposal to the Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team (MDT). The MDT is accepting proposals from Ohio Conference congregations and related ministries for mission projects and initiatives. This year the MDT has $7,395 available for grants. Since 2012 the MDT has awarded grants each summer, providing funds for a…
‘Aha’ moments: Reflections on a lifetime
By Gregory Battle “Now I understand why people choose to have biographers. This is painful to revisit.” — All-Too-Black Greg Many of the things that have formed my life experiences are the same things that have formed the lives of other men of my age. Then there’s a whole other thing: I am visibly Black. I have 67+ years of learning…
A Vision Beyond Ourselves
By Dick Barrett Conference Minister As a conference of Anabaptist Mennonite churches across Ohio and the surrounding states we find ourselves at the beginning of our second year of discerning together God’s vision for us as we look to the future. Over the past year our process consultant, Jeanne Zimmerly Jantzi, met with our credentialed leaders and congregational delegates to…
Creation care resources abound
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate This month I would like to highlight a number of resources related to the environment. MCC Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has gathered a set of resources related to the environment and climate change, all available at https://mcc.org/mcc-climate-change. The introduction to this collection says, “Our partners say changing weather affects almost every aspect of…
Group effort benefits MCC
Many people volunteered their time at the second Ohio MCC Comforter Bash, which was held in Kidron April 21 and 22. Volunteers knotted 220 comforters during the two-day event, a substantial increase from the 129 comforters which were completed during the 2022 Ohio MCC Comforter Bash. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has a goal of donating 45,000 blankets by the end…
New Hispanic Ministries course coming this fall
ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Education Agency) – The Schowalter Foundation recently awarded a $9,000 grant to the Hispanic Ministries seminary program of the Mennonite Education Agency (MEA). This grant will enable the Seminario Bíblico Anabautista Hispano (SeBAH) to offer an online continuing education course this September titled “The Journey of the Bible in the Spanish Language.” The course is designed for…
Mental health resources available from CommonWord
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. CommonWord, a collaboration of Mennonite Church Canada and Canadian Mennonite University, has curated a collection of mental health-related resources. To view the collection, see https://www.commonword.ca/Browse/3117.
MEA launches redesigned website
Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) recently debuted its redesigned website. The new website offers user-friendly search features for degree programs and faith formation resources, a communications hub for news from across Mennonite education and Mennonite Church USA, as well as time-honored resources such as a prayer calendar, job board, and enrollment reports. To learn more about MEA’s mission and work, and…
Anabaptist World seeks poetry submissions
Anabaptist World is seeking poetry for inclusion in its digital offerings. The editors are looking for original poems that relate to the church calendar, as well as poems engaging theological themes that can speak to readers at any time of the year. When submitting poems, please do so in a Word document, and send up to three preferably unpublished poems…
MCC introduces Climate Action for Peace
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is holding a special online launch event to introduce its new Climate Action for Peace campaign. This webinar will be held Tuesday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m. ET. To learn more or to register, go to https://bit.ly/MCCClimateActionWebinar. Webinar participants will learn about how people around the world, with the help of MCC’s partners, are taking action…
MWC plans online prayer hour
Mennonite World Conference will hold an online prayer hour on Friday, May 19, at 10 a.m. ET. There will be breakout rooms with a prayer leader in several languages. To register, go to https://bit.ly/MWCPrayerMay2023.
Conference ends 2022-23 fiscal year with a deficit
Ohio Conference finished the 2022-23 fiscal year with a deficit of $20,112. The fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. The Conference ended February with a year-to-date operating balance of -$18,211. Receipts for the month of March totaled $19,678, including $18,545 in giving from congregations. Expenses for the month totaled $21,579, resulting in a deficit of $1,901 for the month. Over…
Updated office hours announced
Please note: Administrative Assistant Judy King’s office hours for answering phone calls and responding to emails will be Monday through Thursday, effective immediately. You may contact her at ohmc@zoominternet.net or 330-857-5421.
MC USA delegate to consider three resolutions
The Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Executive Board met in Los Angeles April 13-14, 2023. The board voted to forward three proposed organizational resolutions to the Delegate Assembly, including one that recommends shifting the Delegate Assembly to a three-year, or triennial, cycle. See a full report on the MC USA website: https://bit.ly/4-23ExecutiveBoardMeeting.
AMBS offers tuition matching grants
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary offers grants of up to $2,000 per academic year to match contributions that congregations, conferences and regional churches make toward a full-time graduate student’s tuition costs — whether they’re studying on campus or at a distance. Learn more at https://bit.ly/AMBSMatchingGrants.
April issue of MWC Courier focuses on creation care
The April issue of Courier, the publication of Mennonite World Conference, includes several articles from around the world focusing on creation care. Also included are resources for Young Anabaptists Fellowship Week and a profile of the church in France. To download a copy of this issue, go to https://bit.ly/April2023Courier.
Delegate News – 4-24-23
April 24, 2023 Dear Ohio Conference credentialed ministers, delegates and congregations, The Leadership Team of Ohio Conference met for our annual retreat on April 13 to fellowship with one another, pray, and to discern together God’s leading of Ohio Conference over the next year. We want to let you know how we plan to move forward after Annual Conference Assembly…
Free study guide now available
Believe and Be Baptized, a free study guide about baptism, is now available for Ohio Conference congregations. The study guide was produced by the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism (ISGA). Written by John D. Roth in collaboration with Tom Yoder Neufeld, the study guide reflects on topics discussed during the Lutheran-Mennonite-Roman Catholic Trilateral Conversation on Baptism. Believe and…
Ohio MCC Bike Ride to raise funds for MCC peace projects
This July a group of bike riders in Ohio will be raising funds for Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) peace projects. Participants in the Ohio MCC Bike Ride will be riding 100 miles on the Ohio to Erie Trail July 15-16, using the London, Ohio, trailhead as a starting point on both days. Riders will head north toward Columbus one day,…
2023 Social Justice Sunday
2023 – Social Justice Sunday Resources
EMU to host peacebuilding conference
Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, will hold the third Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival June 15-18. The theme of this gathering is “Coming Together: The Journey of Faith and Peace.” The Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival brings together Mennonite practitioners, artists and theologians from around the world to learn, share and discuss their work for peace. The…
CLC meets in San Antonio
The Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) of Mennonite Church USA met March 23-25 in San Antonio, Texas. The CLC provided feedback on three proposed organizational resolutions from the Executive Board at its meeting. See a report about the meeting at https://bit.ly/3-23CLCMeeting.
Journey Award honors stewardship role models
Who is your role model when it comes to being a responsible steward of their gifts and resources – including time, talent, money, health and the earth? Nominate them for the annual Everence® Journey Award! Nominations are due by April 30. See https://evrnce.com/igf for more information or to nominate someone.