Resources
Check out these Lenten resources
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate This month I would like to highlight some Lenten worship and devotional resources. The Soil and The Seed Project has released a new collection of free resources for Lent, Easter and Pentecost. Included are a new album of music, “Little Liturgies,” art, and lyrics/chord/lead sheets. To download these resources, go to https://www.thesoilandtheseedproject.org/vol-9. CommonWord, a…
Safe Church offers tools for abuse prevention
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate This month I would like to highlight Safe Church, which is Mennonite Church USA’s newly formed abuse prevention ministry. Safe Church now has a webpage available on the Mennoite Church USA website: https://bit.ly/MCUSASafeChurch. The webpage offers resources to help faith communities keep children, youth and vulnerable adults safe from abuse of any kind. Safe Church offers…
The Soil and The Seed Project offers Advent and Christmas resources
If you are seeking ways to nurture faith at home during Advent, take a look at the new free resources available online at The Soil and The Seed Project: https://bit.ly/SoilandSeedVol8. Volume 8 of these faith formation resources, now available, is intended for use during Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. The Soil and The Seed Project has created “little liturgies” with downloadable…
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…
List of resources for racial reconciliation work now available
Grace & Groundings, Ohio Conference’s racial reconciliation resource team, has compiled a list of resources for working at racial reconciliation: Racial Reconciliation Resource List.
CommonWord offers Lenten resources
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate This year Lent begins on Feb. 22, which means now is a great time to look for worship and devotional resources related to Lent. If you are looking for new Lenten resources, check out the website for CommonWord, a collaboration of Mennonite Church Canada and Canadian Mennonite University. In preparation for Lent, CommonWord…
Bible study series explores diversity
Mennonite Church USA has produced “Diversity: God’s Design,” a new four-week Bible study aimed at young adults (but appropriate for intergenerational audiences) that celebrates diversity and intercultural competence. “Diversity: God’s Design” features voices from across the Mennonite church who share biblical narratives and personal experiences that invite participants to explore how and why they should join the journey of celebrating…
New resources for Lent now available
Looking for Lenten resources which you can use at home? The Soil and the Seed Project has released a new free collection of resources for this season. The Soil and the Seed Project: Vol. 2 ─ Lent–Easter–Pentecost is a collection of music, artwork, and “little liturgies” following the liturgical calendar. These resources offer new ways to establish daily and weekly…
MennoMedia offers new resources for pastors
MennoMedia is offering the “What Now?” series designed specifically for pastors as they navigate the challenges and opportunities that have emerged as a result of the global pandemic. In August, September, and October subscribers will receive an email every other week with links to practical resources, worship helps, downloadable PDFs, shareable images, a mini-series of -ing podcasts, and more. There will be…
CommonWord offers Lenten resources
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate This year Lent begins on Feb. 17, which means now is a great time to look for worship and devotional resources related to Lent. If you are looking for new Lenten resources, check out the website for CommonWord, a collaboration of Mennonite Church Canada and Canadian Mennonite University. In preparation for Lent, CommonWord…
MC USA, Together in Worship offer free resources
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate This month I would like to highlight free worship resources, both for corporate worship and for worship at home. Together in Worship Are you looking for Anabaptist worship resources? Together in Worship (togetherinworship.net) is a new website containing a wide variety of free worship resources. A partnership with CommonWord, Together in Worship is a…
Anabaptist Worship Network develops website
The Anabaptist Worship Network, which began as a group on Facebook, now has its own website at http://anabaptistworship.net with worship resources and information about courses and events. The Anabaptist Worship Network is dedicated to supporting worship and song leaders in making intentional, theologically grounded, and spiritually inspired choices about worship practices that respond to their local contexts.
Webinar to focus on pastoral care, social distancing
MennoMedia is hosting a free webinar about pastoral care on June 11 at 2 p.m. Pastoring from a Distance: Offering Pastoral Care while Social Distancing will feature a panel discussion with Anabaptist pastors moderated by David Augsburger. The webinar will explore practical advice as well as theological considerations for providing pastoral care while practicing social distancing. To register for this…
Website offers faith-based resources for abuse response and prevention
Mennonite Central Committee, with support from CommonWord, has launched a resource website addressing issues of abuse for faith communities and their members. The website includes resources on intimate partner abuse, healthy relationships, sexual violence, clergy sexual abuse, and how to offer support to survivors of abuse and assist those perpetrating harm. To access these resources, go to abuseresponseandprevention.ca.
Central District compiles COVID-19-related resources
Central District Conference has compiled a list of resources related to COVID-19. Some highlights include the following: A link to a 50-page guide with information about how congregations can use streaming platforms for church services Financial resources to help churches apply for a small business loan through the recently passed CARES Act Everence’s resources for supporting congregational members with needs…
Planning for Sunday school amid church closures
While gatherings are limited because of COVID-19, MennoMedia is offering free online resources for Christian education. These materials are from MennoMedia’s Shine curriculum, and they are free for use by churches for online learning or to send to parents for use at home. You can find them at https://shinecurriculum.com/shineathome/free-resources.
Christians at the Border looks at immigration through the lens of scripture
By Greg Bowman Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible, 2nd Edition (2013) by M. Daniel Carroll R. This author makes a profoundly simple — but perversely challenging — request: Christians, please base your attitudes about immigration on the clear teaching in the Bible — in both testaments — before considering cultural, economic, and legal arguments. He…
2019 Advent guide for families is now available
Anabaptist Faith Formation and Mennonite Church USA are offering a free, downloadable guide for family worship during Advent written by Elsie Rempel. This resource, titled Waiting and Wondering, is designed for parents to use at home with their children. With this free worship guide, families can create a space to notice important questions and bring them to God. For six weeks from…
MMN offers prayer resources
By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate Did you know that the Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) website offers prayer-related resources? Many people may already be acquainted with Prayer Vine, MMN’s monthly prayer newsletter which lists daily prayer requests for MMN workers and programs. Each issue of Prayer Vine is available both as a PDF and as a PowerPoint file. The…
New resource advocate named
Ohio Conference Editor Ann Leaman has agreed to serve as the Ohio Conference resource advocate. The role of the resource advocate is to be aware of the latest resources from the various Mennonite Church USA groups and to find creative ways to make these resources useful to pastors and lay leaders in congregations. If you have questions about what resources…
MMN offers free Scripture graphics
Are you looking for Scripture-related art that you can use in your office, youth room or classroom? Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) offers a wide selection of Scripture graphics on its website which you can download for free: http://bit.ly/MMNScriptureGraphics. You can browse the entire collection or narrow your search by focusing on a specific book of the Bible. A sample graphic…