“Diversity: God’s Design,” a new, multimedia, study from Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) calls young adults to celebrate their unique gifts and the intentional diversity of God’s creation. The four-week curriculum uses biblical reflections to introduce the importance of intercultural competency as part of Christian growth and formation. “This curriculum will become increasingly relevant in our denomination as we seek to be more diverse and inclusive in sharing the Good News,” said Glen Guyton, executive director of MC USA and speaker, author and advocate for cultural competency. “So often we overlook the capability of our young people in... read more →
New Search
If you are not happy with the results below please do another search
Blog Post
Mennonite Church USA’s 2021 Advent at Home devotional, “Dare to Imagine,” was written by Talashia Keim Yoder, pastor of Christian Formation at College Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana. We invite you to wait for Jesus as we share weekly reflections and activities for all ages. Download the full Advent At Home worship guide. Week six: God's dance! Week of January 2 Focus Scripture: John 1:1-18 Additional Lectionary Scriptures: Jeremiah 31:7-14; Psalm 147:12-20; Ephesians 1:3-14 Weekly worship ritual Connect to the “big story” God created a good world. We were created to live peacefully, but we often miss the mark. When that... read more →
By Jessica Griggs for Mennonite Church USA ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Church USA) — The Schowalter Foundation awarded Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Executive Board (EB) two charitable funding distributions this fall, one to help fund internships at the denominational level and the other to provide support for pastoral misconduct and abuse investigations. Internships Funding Iris de León-Hartshorn, the associate executive director of Operations and director of Human Resources for MC USA, is spearheading the internship revival at MC USA. She said, “The denomination is always looking for ways to build up leaders for the future of the church.” In years... read more →
Blog Post
Mennonite Church USA’s 2021 Advent at Home devotional, “Dare to Imagine,” was written by Talashia Keim Yoder, pastor of Christian Formation at College Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana. We invite you to wait for Jesus as we share weekly reflections and activities for all ages. Download the full Advent At Home worship guide. Week two: God's peaceful embrace! Week of December 5 Focus Scripture: Luke 1:68-79 Additional Lectionary Scriptures: Malachi 3:1-4; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6 Weekly worship ritual Connect to the “big story” God created a good world. We were created to live peacefully, but we often miss the mark. When that... read more →
Blog Post
Christina, the author of this blog post, and Dustin Hite are cofounders of A Faithful Presence (AFP), a neighborhood-based ministry at Community First Village in Austin, Texas. Their daughters, Kaylynn (11) and Kristin (10), are integrated into the heart of the ministry, and the four of them live together as intentional neighbors among a community of about 300 people who have been chronically homeless. Before launching AFP, the Hites served together for a decade in church-based pastoral ministry, in which they spent their time building community... read more →
Blog Post
Rev. Amy S. Zimbelman is the conference minister for Mountain States Mennonite Conference. _____________ On October 28, the Southeast Armed Services YMCA in Colorado Springs hosted a community conversation entitled “After Afghanistan: The Future of Warfare.” (Read the news story in The Gazette.) A group of us showed up to share our hope for a future of peace. According to an analysis done by Harvard Professor Erica Chenoweth, peaceful, nonviolent resistance was over twice as successful in creating broad-based change than violent campaigns in the 20th Century. Our group was comprised... read more →
NEWTON, Kan. (Mennonite Church USA) — Representatives of Mennonite Church USA’s (MC USA) Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) discussed their role as the spiritual elders of the denomination during their first meeting of the biennium on October 15-16 via Zoom. The CLC also provided feedback to the Executive Board on how to equip and care for the church, as delegates prepare to discern “A Resolution for Repentance and Transformation” at the special delegate assembly on May 27-30, 2022, in Kansas City, Missouri. MC USA Moderator-Elect Jon Carlson chaired the CLC... read more →
Blog Post
This article is part of Mennonite Church USA’s Cost of Poverty: Learn, Pray, Join initiative. Leonard Dow is vice president of Community and Church Development for Everence, where he leads in efforts to serve emerging diverse communities and churches that have been historically underserved. Dow also leads the Everence team in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Everence Senior Leadership Team, as well as president of Everence Community Investments LLC. Leonard, his wife, Rosalie, and three adult children live in Northwest Philadelphia. ____________________________________________________________ When I look at the pockets of poverty in my Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, community, I can’t help but also... read more →
Blog Post
This article is part of our series on Voices Together, the new worship and song collection from MennoMedia, in partnership with Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada. Sarah Kathleen Johnson was the worship resources editor for “Voices Together” and the editor of the “Voices Together: Worship Leader Edition.” Originally from Waterloo, Ontario, she currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology and Worship and Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at Vancouver School of Theology and St. Mark’s College at the University of British Columbia. Carl Bear is a church musician and musicologist,... read more →
Church revitalization is an important theme at MennoCon21, the biennial convention of Mennonite Church USA (MC USA), which is meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, and online, July 6-10. Many of the equipping seminars, of which there are more than 70 in-person and 20 online, focus on various aspects of church renewal. “Revitalization and equipping leaders are essential for our denomination to thrive, moving into the next decade and beyond,” said Glen Guyton, MC USA executive director. “We have spent the past few years in the storming and norming phases of organizational development. Now we need to begin performing and living... read more →
Blog Post
This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Polly Carlson grew up in Freeman, South Dakota, where she graduated from Freeman Academy and attended Salem Mennonite (South) Church. In May of 2020, Polly graduated from Bethel College of North Newton, Kansas, with a BA in elementary education. A few months later, she moved to San Francisco, California, to do a year of service with Mennonite Voluntary Service, where she currently teaches elementary school aged children from immigrant families in the Mission District. ____________________________________________________ When I was asked to write about my experiences at MennoCon, it didn’t take me very long... read more →
The Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Executive Board (EB) unanimously voted to reappoint Glen Guyton to another three-year term as executive director of the denomination, effective April 1. The reappointment affirms Guyton’s successful leadership during a particularly challenging time for the church, as it addresses heightened cultural changes, social unrest and financial uncertainty in the United States. Challenges have been further complicated by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Guyton’s initial term began May 1, 2018. The EB reviewed the results of Guyton’s evaluation and affirmed his commitment in leading MC USA in the past, present and future, noting his optimism,... read more →
Page
Video Introduction Transcript Ruth Wilson Gilmore once wrote, “Abolition is not absence, it is presence. What the world will become already exists in fragments and pieces, experiments and possibilities.” As it is, police abolition is not only about abolishing the police;... read more →
Blog Post
This post is part of Mennonite Church USA's Cost of War: Learn, Pray, Join initiative. Jonathan Brenneman is the communications manager for FOSNA: A Christian Voice for Palestine. From 2016-18, he volunteered for Mennonite Church USA as the Israel-Palestine Partners in Peacemaking coordinator. ______________________ “Why are you stopping this child from going to school?” I asked the Israeli soldier, on a brisk morning in Hebron (Al-Khalil). A 10-year-old Palestinian stood impatiently awaiting the return of his backpack. “We have to search him for security reasons. You think these children are so innocent. We once found one carrying a knife... read more →
MC USA Constituency Leaders Council meets, recommends two resolutions to go to the Delegate Assembly
By MC USA staff *Updated March 18, 2021. The Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) of Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) recommended two out of four proposed resolutions and several bylaw changes be forwarded to the Delegate Assembly, at its online meeting on March 12-13, 2021. MC USA Moderator-Elect Linda Dibble chaired the CLC virtual gathering of leaders from the 16 area conferences, five denominational agencies, constituency groups, racial/ethnic groups and MC USA staff. The two proposed resolutions that received support address retirement of the denomination’s Membership Guidelines and accessibility for people with disabilities. The two remaining proposed resolutions address the... read more →