By MC USA staff Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Executive Board (EB) member Jon Carlson has been nominated as moderator-elect, beginning in July 2021. Stan Shantz, chair of MC USA’s Leadership Discernment Committee, announced the nomination at this week’s Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) virtual meeting on March 12. Carlson is the lead pastor of Forest Hills Mennonite Church in Leola, Pennsylvania and assistant moderator of Atlantic Coast Conference. Shantz, lead pastor at James Street Mennonite Church, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, described Carlson as having a firm focus on the vision, mission and goals of the... read more →
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If you are not happy with the results below please do another search MC USA and RAWtools both seek to #BringThePeace through restorative justice. The organizations are partnering through RAWtools’ guns-to-garden-tools program and MC USA’s Justice Fund. By Jessica Griggs for MC USA Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) has partnered with RAWtools, Inc., an organization that transforms donated guns into garden tools and art. This collaboration encourages local MC USA congregations to engage in costly peacemaking, by holding gun donation events in their local communities. In January, Portland (Oregon) Mennonite Church and First Mennonite Church of Denver (Colorado) were the first two MC USA congregations to participate in the collaboration by... read more →
The Executive Board (EB) of Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) voted during its Jan. 22-23, 2021 meeting to hold its biennial Delegate Assembly online due to uncertainty around COVID-19 gathering restrictions. Originally scheduled to meet in person on July 6-10, 2021, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Delegate Assembly will meet virtually on Saturday, July 10 from 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. ET. The online 2021 Delegate Assembly will feature a limited agenda, addressing simple and organizational resolutions. Decisions regarding church statement resolutions, such as those related to the Membership Guidelines, will be postponed until a future in-person delegate gathering. The virtual 2021... read more →
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As I reflect on the year 2020, Jeremiah 29:11 comes to my mind: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSV) To say 2020 has been a difficult year would be an understatement — from the eruption of violence and racial unrest that our country has never completely overcome, to the worst life-claiming pandemic the world has seen in nearly 100 years, to the nation’s political divisions that have unveiled how divided we’ve long been as Americans.... read more →
By MC USA staff Mennonite Church USA’s (MC USA) 2020 Advent at Home devotional, “We Wait for Jesus,” is now available for free download. The annual guide for home-based worship provides daily and weekly scripture readings, prayers and activities for individuals and families observing the season of anticipation leading to the birth of Jesus. “When families worship together, it provides a rich environment for children to grow in faith – and to retain those faith practices for the rest of their lives,” said Shana Peachey Boshart, MC USA denominational minister for Faith Formation, citing a 2016 Pew Research Center... read more →
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Wendy Janzen is a spiritual director who provides pastoral leadership for Burning Bush Forest Church in Kitchener, Ontario, and also serves with Mennonite Central Committee Ontario in the Indigenous Neighbors Program. _______________ During this pandemic, we have had limitations placed upon us. Our world has become smaller. We have been asked to keep a six-foot distance from others beyond our closest bubble in order to keep us safe from the virus. This protocol can leave us feeling isolated and physically distant, longing for human touch and the freedom to give a hug or hold a hand. Despite this distancing from... read more →
(Mennonite Church USA) — Planning for MennoCon21, the biennial convention of Mennonite Church USA (MC USA), is underway, with convention planners creating a hybrid event. The first convention newsletter, published this week, shares initial details about the convention, July 6-10, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. “I am holding out hope that we will be able to meet in person in Cincinnati, Ohio,” said Scott Hartman, MC USA director of event planning, in his opening letter. “We realize that 10 months from now, there will likely be some restrictions related to the pandemic. We also realize... read more →
By MC USA staff Women in Leadership (WiL), a ministry of Mennonite Church USA (MC USA), will be addressing intersectionality and patriarchy in its upcoming webinars on Sunday, Oct. 11 and Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020. Attendees are asked to register here by October 8 for both events. The webinars are part of WiL’s “What We Need Is Here” series, focused on engaging theological work born out of women’s experiences. The webinar series is an alternative to WiL’s Women Doing Theology conference, which was slated for November but postponed for attendees’ safety and wellbeing. "We're grateful to cultivate this space,... read more →
By John Gehring, with additional reporting by MC USA staff Reprinted and edited with permission from National Catholic Reporter. While millions of Americans are still adjusting to the social isolation brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Edith Espinal has been a stranger to what is considered normal for almost three years now. An invisible virus didn't drive her into seclusion. What has her locked down behind unfamiliar... read more →
English below. Por: Equipo editorial de MenoTicias Hemos notado un número nuevo de personas que siguen MenoTicias, así que nos ha parecido muy importante realizar como equipo una pequeña presentación para ustedes. Para mí es un privilegio hablarles sobre mi colaboración con la oficina de Ministerios Hispanos... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA's Immigration Justice: Radical Hospitality Learn, Pray, Join initiative. Richard R. Aguirre is an administrator at Goshen College and an elder at Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship. He coordinates the Goshen Mayor’s Latino Advisory Committee and is a board member of the Center for Healing & Hope, which helps immigrants and refugees through the Elkhart County HOPE Network. _______________________ In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus tells the story of a man who was robbed, beaten, and left half dead on a dangerous road. A priest and a Levite... read more →
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Glen Guyton is executive director of Mennonite Church USA. This article was originally published in The Mennonite. __________________________ Twenty-seven years ago, not even I expected to be in this seat. I didn’t know what a Mennonite or an Anabaptist was, but now I find myself at the center of it. I remember my first attempt at getting published in The Mennonite. I wrote a fiery response to an editorial by Everett Thomas, who I believe was editor at the time. My memory escapes the exact context that prompted my response, but part of it was my perception of how Mennonites were applying... read more →
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Moriah Hurst is a pastor at Parkview Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She previously served with Mennonite Mission Network in Australia and is a graduate of Anabaptist Mennonite... read more →
By MC USA staff (Mennonite Church USA) — The creators of Anabaptist History Today (AHT), a new collaborative storytelling project, are calling on Anabaptists across the United States and Canada to share their experiences during the remarkable historical, biological and social events of 2020. Led by co-creators Jason Kauffman, director of Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Archives, and Jean Kilheffer Hess, executive director of Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Mennonite Historical Society, AHT is a unique, large-scale, collaborative digital project designed to specifically engage and serve the Anabaptist community through storytelling. It is supported by a total of 16 Anabaptist archives and... read more →
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Learn. Pray. Join. With hope we pray for peace and clear minds for all leaders engaged in historic talks regarding the future of North and South Korea. This initiative invites MC USA members and congregations to: Learn. During the month of May, commit to learning more about the history of the Korean Peninsula and the dynamics of tension and conflict there. • PJSN’s Peace Lab podcast will feature an episode on North Korea in early May, exploring the history of tension and conflict in the region and what MC USA members can do to promote peace. Host Jason Boone will... read more →