Por Sara Álvarez y Wil LaVeist, de la Red Menonita de Misión [English] LEESBURG, Virginia (Red Menonita de Misión/Agencia Menonita de Educación/Iglesia Menonita de EE. UU.)—En la conferencia Esperanza ... para el Futuro III, los líderes de grupos raciales y étnicos invitaron a los menonitas blancos a usar su poder para ser agentes persistentes de la diversidad racial... read more →
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If you are not happy with the results below please do another searchBy Sara Alvarez and Wil LaVeist of Mennonite Mission Network [Español] LEESBURG, Va. (Mennonite Mission Network/Mennonite Education Agency/Mennonite Church USA)—At the Hope … for the Future III conference, Racial/Ethnic leaders invited white Mennonites to use their power to become persistent agents for increasing Racial/Ethnic diverse leadership if true multiculturalism is to happen within Mennonite institutions. Thirty-five Racial/Ethnic and 10 white leaders... read more →
All You Need Is Love will feature three plenary sessions. The first panel will set the stage for the conference, exploring how we talk about love, diversity and theology. The second and third sessions will feature a panel of three storytellers and one theological responder. The three storytellers will reflect on different aspects of love from their vocational roles and life experience. The theological response will come from a scholar who draws together the stories, reflecting on the theological significance for our lives. Elizabeth Soto Albrecht Coordinator of Field Education at Lancaster Theological Seminary and Moderator for Mennonite Church USA; Lancaster,... read more →
Blog Post
We are glad to share this message from Claire DeBerg, which was originally posted on Mennonite Women Voices, the blog of Mennonite Women USA. ~~~~ The following is a message I, Claire DeBerg, brought to Emmanuel Mennonite Church of Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sunday, November 24, 2013. It is part of the sermon series our church chose to feature from Mennonite Church USA’s Women in Leadership Project which produced resources for leading congregations in taking on the question and charge: “Do You See This Woman: Undoing Patriarchy and Moving Toward Right Relationships.”... read more →
Blog Post
By Ervin Stutzman On August 19 I released a statement announcing a discernment group to guide a denominational response to John Howard Yoder’s (JHY) abuse. The discernment group met for the first time on Sept. 4 and 5, 2013, in Goshen, Indiana. We spent significant time in worship and prayer, and in sharing our personal stories with particular attention to our experiences with sexual abuse—whether involving us personally or our family members, friends or colleagues. We also spent considerable time identifying hoped-for outcomes of the discernment process... read more →
Blog Post
For those who are following the latest discussions related to John Howard Yoder’s sexual abuse of women and its theological and ecclesiological implications, here is a collection of articles that outline the conversation and developments. This is not necessarily comprehensive, so feel free to suggest other articles to add to this digest. [updated periodically] In early June of 2013, responding to a book review written in The Mennonite, Barbra Graber created a Facebook note about John Howard Yoder’s abuses and what the church must do to work towards accountability and healing. A lively discussion ensued and she continues to add to... read more →
Blog Post
Not long ago, a pastor friend told me a painful story that he had just heard about his deceased maternal grandfather, a respected longtime minister in the Mennonite church. My friend’s mother had confided that her father had sexually abused several of his daughters, a pattern that continued over some years. The most troubling aspect of the account was that his grandfather’s fellow ministers were aware of these acts of incest but they did little to stop it. I would to God that such stories were not... read more →
Blog Post
The following report was originally submitted to the leadership of Indiana-Michigan Conference. It is re-posted here with Derrick's permission. by Derrick Ramer, Youth Pastor at Emma Mennonite Church, Topeka, IN “Biblical leadership: Leadership is an influence relationship between leaders and followers that intends real change according to mutual purposes”. – John Stahl-Wert Youth Ministry Council (YMC) was held at Amigo Centre in Sturgis Michigan over May 7-10, 2013. Each conference in MC USA is invited to send a representative to Youth Ministry council, specifically the conference youth pastor if there is one on staff. YMC is also comprised of church-wide... read more →
[Español] By Johnny Kauffman and Annette Brill Bergstresser ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Church USA)—In addition to traditional convention activities such as worship, seminars and fellowship, Mennonite Church USA’s July 1–6 convention in Phoenix will include 53 “learning experiences.” Depending on their content, they are either two or four hours in length and will be held primarily on Wednesday, July 3, in the afternoon and on Thursday, July 4, in the morning. Convention planners say that while each learning experience is unique, the events share the common goal of offering an extended time for in-depth study or participatory and experiential learning to... read more →
Subgroups focusing on mentoring, monologues, empowering resources, undoing sexism [Español] ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Church USA)—Mennonite Church USA’s Women in Leadership Project (WLP), whose goal is to address the systemic obstacles that stand in the way of women becoming church leaders, continues to generate interest and gather support from across the country. “We are blessed to be joined by many who are committed to volunteering their time in order to move this work forward,”... read more →
Mennonite Church USA This is the second of a Bible study series by different authors on the key Scripture texts for Mennonite Church USA’s next biennial convention, to be held July 1-6, 2013, in Phoenix. The convention theme is “Citizens of God’s Kingdom: Healed in Hope,” and the Scripture texts are Psalm 24:1, Philippians 3:20-21, Romans 5:1-5 and Ephesians 2:14-22. See www.mennoniteusa.org/convention. By Hyun Hur Hyun Hur lives with his wife, Sue—who contributed her insights and editing to this piece—and their three children in Temple City, Calif. Five years after planting and pastoring a Korean Mennonite... read more →
Leadership Development office invites video submissions for Call Wall exhibit at Phoenix 2013 By Jenn Carreto (Mennonite Church USA)—What qualities are important for a pastor to have? What are the essential elements of a ‘calling congregation’? The Leadership Development office of Mennonite Church USA hopes that congregations across the country will take up the challenge to answer these questions in 59 seconds or less. Congregations and individuals are invited to submit short videos that will be featured as part of the Call... read more →
[English] Por Wil LaVeist LEESBURG, Virginia (Red Menonita de Misión / Agencia Menonita de Educación / Iglesia Menonita de EE. UU.)—Más de 60 líderes raciales/étnicos de la Iglesia Menonita de... read more →
Blog Post
By Joanna Shenk First, I realize that many Mennonites have been skeptical of the feminist movement in previous generations and even today. Although I identify as a feminist I donot believe that the movement, and even the definition of the term, are without problems. I think at times the movement has been an excuse to demonize men rather than think about the ways men are also diminished by sexism. I think the term... read more →
[Español] By Hilary J. Scarsella ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Church USA)—In a time of heightened polarity around issues such as politics, immigration and human sexuality, area conferences across Mennonite Church USA have been making efforts to address controversy in creative ways that strengthen relationships. At the delegate assembly in Columbus,... read more →