| | Location: Blogs Mennonite Church USAMennonite Church USA News |
 | | Posted by: chris | Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | July 29, 2009 Congolese and American church representatives meet in Paraguay From left, Mama Sidonie Swana Falanga, a leader of the African Anabaptist Women Theologians group, and Nina Bartelt Lanctot, pastor of the Florence Church of the Brethren-Mennonite in Constantine, Mich., meet during a gathering of American and Congolese Mennonites at Paraguay 2009. “When we visit with each other, the illusions begin to fall away,” said Congolese pastor and church leader Mattieu Shimatu in a gathering of about 35 Mennonites from Congo and the United States in Asunción, Paraguay, on Friday, July 17. Paraguay 2009, the global gathering of Mennonites in Asunción, July 15 to 19, provided an opportunity for American and Congolese leaders to meet together. Mennonite Church USA and two Mennonite conferences in Congo are forming a church-to-church relationship with guidance from Mennonite World Conference. Rev. Benjamin Mubenga, president of Communauté Evangélique Mennonite (CEM) and Rev. Adolphe Komuesa Kalunga, president of Communauté Mennonite au Congo (CMCo) joined four members of the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board including Juanita Nunez, J. Richard Thomas, Terry Shue and moderator Ed Diller, and a roomful of others from both countries. Ron Byler, interim executive director for Mennonite Church USA, invited participants in the gathering to look around the room to celebrate the many connections between Mennonites in the Congo and United States. “A rich history of mission connections and more recent relationships through a women theologians group are joined by many other intersections among us through the years,” he said. Mennonite World Conference staff person Tim Lind shared with the group about the importance of developing relationships where gifts are shared with each other. “We all need to think about what gifts we have to share and what gifts we want to receive from the other,” he said. Pastor Nina Bartelt Lanctot, Florence Church of the Brethren-Mennonite, said the churches should connect at all levels of church including among women and youth. “How do we learn to know people deeply?” she wondered. Sidonie Swana Falanga, a leader of a group of African women theologians, said she was pleased when she saw that women were included in these relationships between Congo and the United States. One idea for nurturing future relationships was to twin churches in Congo and the United States. Another idea was for a Congolese leader to spend a year in one of the Mennonite communities in the United States. A delegation of a dozen people from Mennonite Church USA met with Congolese pastors and congregations in February 2007 and several leaders from Congo had visited with churches in Indiana and Kansas the previous summer. In November 2008, former moderator Sharon Waltner and Byler met with Congolese leaders in Kinshasa and Mbuji Mayi. Mennonite Church USA is developing a covenant of understanding with both groups. The covenant with CEM calls for mutual visits of diverse groups and sharing of gifts in training pastors, nurturing women in leadership roles, increasing youth involvement in the church and learning from each other in areas like faith sharing, church planting and peacemaking. The covenant with CMCo is still in development. Laurent Kamiselo, general secretary of CMCo noted that covenant documents can be abstract. He said he accompanied Stanley Green and Vicki Smucker, two of the February 2007 delegation members, as they visited with Congo leaders and congregations. “They have already lived and experienced our churches and what they have to say.” “I see your gifts of faith, prayer, music, vibrant worship and creative survival, and I know we have much to learn from you,” said Lanctot. The group put a priority on building face-to-face relationships. Noting the difficulty people from Congo face receiving visas to enter the United States, some suggested that it would be okay for visits being just one way, from the United States to the Congo. “Just being together, even when there aren’t words, helps,” said Shimatu. Photo available. | | Copyright ©2009 Mennonite Church USA | | Permalink | Trackback |
| |
| April 2008 - October 2008
| |
| | 2009 Education Leaders Gathering reistration began October 10 - Thursday, October 16, 2008GOSHEN, Indiana — Registration for the 2009 Education Leaders Gathering (ELG) began online October 10 at www.MennoniteEducation.org/ELG2009. Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) invites administrators and board members of Mennonite elementary and secondary schools and Mennonite higher education institutions, and conference and churchwide leaders to register for the 2009 ELG that will be held at The Hilton Pittsburgh (Pa.), January 30 to February 1, 2009. The cost of registration is $115 ($122 CND). Conference lodging rates at The Hilton of $89 plus tax are available to participants. read more ...
|
| | Mennonite Men presents grant to Ohio church - Thursday, October 09, 2008NEWTON, Kan. — On Sept. 28, Mennonite Men representatives Lyle Troyer, Lorain, Ohio, from Ohio Conference, and Joe Graber, Berne Ind., a Mennonite Men board member, presented a $35,000 Join Hands grant to JubileeMennonite Church, Bellefontaine, Ohio. read more ...
|
| | Mennonite University Faculty Conference presentations now online - Thursday, October 09, 2008GOSHEN, Ind. — The fourth Mennonite University Faculty Conference, funded by The Marpeck Fund and Mennonite Education Agency (MEA), was held August 7-9, 2008, at Eastern Mennonite University. The keynote addresses and faculty presentations on the Mennonite University Faculty Conference’s theme, “Creation, Christ and the Classroom,” can now be accessed online at www.MennoniteEducation.org/2008MUFC. Presentations are available in PDF version and WMA audio streaming. read more ...
|
| | Convention 2009 gives Holy Spirit center stage - Thursday, October 09, 2008NEWTON, Kan. — The Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009 is far removed from when Jesus breathed his Spirit on the first disciples. But the planning committees for Mennonite Church USA’s convention next July are risking the theme on the belief he’ll do it again with huge crowds of Mennonites. read more ...
|
| | Interchurch peace gathering to draw Christian leaders - Thursday, October 09, 2008NEWTON, Kan. — Mennonite Church USA and other historic peace churches are inviting U.S. Christian leaders to participate in Heeding God’s Call: A Gathering on Peace, Jan. 13 to 17 in Philadelphia, Pa. read more ...
|
| | Denominational consultants examine timing of next hymnal project - Thursday, September 25, 2008NEWTON, Kan. — Results of an online survey completed by individuals representing Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada congregations indicate that many congregations may be ready for a new printed hymnal in 10 to 15 years. read more ...
|
| | Flores to transition ministry focus - Thursday, September 25, 2008NEWTON, Kan. — Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership and Western District Conference (WDC) together announce a ministry transition for Gilberto Flores, director of Denominational Ministry and Missional Church for Executive Leadership. Beginning in February 2009, Flores will leave his post with Executive Leadership to pick up ministry with WDC as associate conference minister for Texas. read more ...
|
| | Flores cambia enfoque de ministerio - Thursday, September 25, 2008NEWTON, Kansas — El Liderazgo Ejecutivo de la Iglesia Menonita USA y la Conferencia del Distrito del Oeste (WDC, por sus siglas en inglés) anuncian conjuntamente el cambio de ministerio de Gilberto Flores, director del Ministerio Denominacional y de la Iglesia Misional para el Liderazgo Ejecutivo. A partir de febrero de 2009, Flores dejará su puesto en el Liderazgo Ejecutivo para sumarse al ministerio de la WDC como ministro de conferencia adjunto para Texas. read more ...
|
| | Burkholder joins Mennonite Education Agency - Thursday, September 25, 2008GOSHEN, Ind. — Mennonite Education Agency executive director, Carlos Romero, announced that Timothy J. Burkholder of Goshen, Ind., will join MEA as the associate director with a focus on church relations and development. Burkholder, with over 25 years of experience working in this area in a variety of churchwide ministries, will begin working half-time at the Goshen office on October 1, increasing to full-time on January 1, 2009. read more ...
|
| | Historical Committee announces essay contest winners - Monday, September 15, 2008GOSHEN, Ind. — Mutual aid emerged as a theme of the winning entries in this year’s John Horsch Mennonite Historical Essay Contest, sponsored by the Mennonite Church USA Historical Committee. read more ...
|
| | Gather ’Round materials connect generations in summer quarter - Monday, September 15, 2008NEWTON, Kan. — When Mennonite Publishing Network (MPN) integrated its congregational worship resources and Gather ’Round Sunday school materials around a unified theme this past summer, Bonita Howard knew they were an answer to her prayers for connecting the generations. read more ...
|
| | New meetinghouse brings peace to Peace Mennonite - Friday, August 22, 2008 LAWRENCE, Kan. — In approaching Peace Mennonite Church in Lawrence, Kan., one sees members tending flower beds in front of their recently-purchased building — a former Odd Fellows Lodge nestled into just under an acre of quiet green space. read more ...
|
| | Motorbikes Received - Wednesday, July 16, 2008In a July 7 e-mail to Mennonite Church USA leaders, Reverend Benjamine Mubenga Wa Kabanga, president of the Evangelical Mennonite Church in Congo (CEM), shared photos of local church leaders receiving motorbikes purchased as a gift from Mennonite Church USA members. read more ...
|
| | Pastors Day planned for Columbus Convention - Wednesday, July 16, 2008NEWTON, KAN. — Pastors Day will kick off the Mennonite Church USA Convention in Columbus, Ohio, next summer. This is the denomination’s first biennial convention to devote an entire day to resource pastors, according to Gilberto Flores, director of denominational ministry and missional church for Mennonite Church USA. read more ...
|
| | Myers, Enns and Roth speak at Interchurch Relations consultation - Wednesday, July 16, 2008AKRON, Pa. — Sixty people from across Mennonite Church USA met July 1 to 3 in Akron, Pa., as part of a consultation focused on the theme Connecting with ‘old’ and ‘new’ Anabaptists. Ched Myers, Elaine Enns and John D. Roth were presenters. read more ...
|
| | Executive Board "ready to defer" on one-board concept - Wednesday, June 25, 2008COLUMBUS, Ohio — Following a June 20 meeting of all Mennonite Church USA boards of directors, the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board spent a day and a half discerning how to move forward. After considering the perceived concerns and possibilities shared in the meeting, the Executive Board adopted Sunday a statement of response outlining its intentions for moving forward. read more ...
|
| | Long-held dream comes true in Hispanic church plant - Wednesday, June 04, 2008 NEWTON, Kan. — For years, Rosa Flores searched for someone who could
begin a Spanish-speaking Mennonite church in the Newton, Kan., area. It
wasn’t until she recognized herself as that person that the long-held
dream came true. read more ...
|
| | At the Summit: the church at the crossroads - Wednesday, May 28, 2008 WINNIPEG, Man. — For pastor and teacher Tom Yoder Neufeld, Christian identity and mission go hand in hand — and they are at the heart of the theme for the 2008 “People’s Summit for Faithful Living.” read more ...
|
| | New Anabaptist book in Spanish - Wednesday, May 28, 2008 GOSHEN, Ind. — As part of its role to advocate for the vision and mission of Anabaptist-Mennonite education in Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Education Agency announces the publication of a new book on Anabaptism in Spanish by Tony Brun. Siendo Anabautista y Contemporáneo: Contribuciones para una Comunidad local con conciencia universal, translated as Being Anabaptist and Contemporary: Contributions for a Local Community with Universal Conscience, seeks to show how 16th century radical Anabaptism complements the perennial and contemporary wisdom of humanity. read more ...
|
| | Commentary: Seeing myself in the face of an enemy by Susan Mark Landis - Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Two weeks ago, I was walking the streets of Esfahan, the large city near the disputed nuclear power plant of Iran. Iman Square, the second largest square in the world; Iman Mosque, bright dome colors flashing in sun; and the Persian Palace with the long winding stairway are among the most amazing ancient sites of the world and just miles from the nuclear power plant. Our Fellowship of Reconciliation USA (www.forusa.org) 21-person delegation, ages 21 to 75, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Native American, toured, shopped the bazaar and ate delicious quince/chicken stew at a traditional Iranian restaurant. read more ...
|
| | United Church of Canada endorses Gather ’Round curriculum. - Wednesday, May 28, 2008NEWTON, Kan. — The United Church of Canada has become the newest cooperative user of the Gather ’Round curriculum, citing its value for congregations that want to connect with families. read more ...
|
| | Churches in Congo and United States learning to work together - Thursday, May 15, 2008WATERLOO, Ont. — When the United States government recently refused to give a visa for Rev. Benjamin Mubenga to visit the United States, Mennonite Church USA leaders decided to go to him instead. Mubenga, president of the Evangelical Mennonite Church in Congo (CEM), was in Canada to meet with Mennonite Church Canada pastors and congregations. read more ...
|
| | Mennonite Historical Bulletin announces Mennonite History essentials - Thursday, May 15, 2008GOSHEN, Ind. —
Mennonite church, college and historical libraries have shelves filled with books about the history of the
faith. Choosing which ones to read can be a daunting task. That’s why the
April issue of Mennonite Historical
Bulletin, published by the Mennonite Church USA Historical Committee,
has compiled “The Essential Anabaptist/Mennonite History Reading List.” read more ...
|
| | Needles stitch healing into storm-ripped lives - Thursday, May 15, 2008NEWTON, Kan. — “Hammers ring hope” in Mennonite
Disaster Service (MDS) building projects. And since 2005, needles also ring hope
as quilters stitch healing into those same storm-ripped lives through
Housewarming, a Sister Link Project of Mennonite Women USA. read more ...
|
| | New Mennonite Women USA editor no stranger to ministry - Thursday, May 01, 2008NEWTON, Kan. — When Patricia Burdette began to serve Mennonite Women USA (MW USA) four years ago on the board of directors, she had no idea she was helping to guide the staff she would someday join as editor.
read more ...
|
| | Editor completes work with Mennonite Church USA - Thursday, May 01, 2008NEWTON, Kan. — Laurie Oswald Robinson of Newton, Kan., resigned earlier this year from her position as editor for Mennonite Women USA.
read more ...
|
| | Conference resource advocates attend training in Baltimore - Thursday, May 01, 2008BALTIMORE — Mennonite Church USA conference resource advocates met March 28 to 30 in Baltimore for a training retreat focused on networking and learning about new resources. Thirteen of Mennonite Church USA’s 21 area conferences were represented at this third annual gathering.
read more ...
|
| | No words big enough for Greensburg Mennonite’s gratitude. - Thursday, April 24, 2008GREENSBURG, Kan. — Jeffrey Blackburn, pastor of Greensburg Mennonite Church, searches for words big enough to convey the gratitude for Mennonite Church USA’s support after a May 4 tornado last year destroyed their church. read more ...
|
| | Connie Stauffer hired as interim associate director for MEA. - Thursday, April 24, 2008GOSHEN, Ind. — Connie Stauffer of Lancaster, Pa., began serving as interim associate director for Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) April 21. MEA is the education agency of Mennonite Church USA. Stauffer will be the MEA staff liaison with Mennonite Schools Council (MSC) and will carry these responsibilities until a permanent person has been hired. read more ...
|
| | Gather ’Round offers summer supplement for youth and junior high - Monday, April 21, 2008NEWTON, Kan. — In response to requests by congregations, the Gather ’Round Sunday school curriculum is offering a new Youth/Junior Youth Summer Supplement this year. The supplement accompanies either the Summer 2008 Connect guide for parents and caregivers of children or the teacher’s guide for multiage groups.
read more ...
|
| | Commentary: A vision of faith and unity for the church’s future - Monday, April 21, 2008This testimony comes from Mennonite Church USA moderator Sharon Waltner, moderator-elect Ed Diller, executive director Jim Schrag and associate executive director Ron Byler. Additional commentaries from Mennonite Church USA are planned to be released on a regular basis as the Executive Board continues moving toward its vision.
read more ...
|
|
| |
| Older news items are archived here.
| |
|