NEWTON, Kan.On Sept. 15, the Provident Bookstore at 724 Main Street in Newton, Kan., was sold by Mennonite Publishing Network (MPN) to a local investor group. The store will be closed for two weeks for renovations. A grand re-opening is scheduled for early October.
In consultations with church and business leaders in December 2005 and in February 2006, MPN executive director Ron Rempel discussed plans to either close or sell the Newton store, which has required subsidization over the past five years.
He also said that MPN, as the publishing ministry of Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada, is seeking to focus on its core mission of publishing books and resources with an Anabaptist perspective. MPN publications, except for dated curriculum and periodicals, will continue to be available through the store.
In the consultations, Newton leaders indicated that the closure of the store would be a loss to the community. They formed a steering committee co-chaired by Dewayne Pauls and Virgil Penner representing the community and the Newton Area Chamber of Commerce and Ted Stuckey representing Mennonite Church USA to explore options and vision for local ownership. An investor group chaired by Lois J. Friesen has purchased the store inventory and other assets.
Rachel Friesen will provide management oversight for the store, which will be renamed Faith and Life Bookstore, LLC. Rachel commented “that as we learn from each customer, this store will grow and change. We want the store to more clearly reflect and represent their interest and concerns.”
For further information, contact:
Ron Rempel, executive director, Mennonite Publishing Network, rrempel@mph.org,
1-800-631-6535
Lois Friesen, chairperson, Faith and Life Bookstore, LLC, info@faithandlifebookstore.com,
1-316-283-2210; website: www.faithandlifebookstore.com
September. 18, 2006
MMA Presidential Succession Committee makes good progress
Strong leadership qualifications exist in current candidates
GOSHEN, Ind. The MMA Presidential Succession Committee reports its search for candidates went well this past summer, and it’s moving into the interviewing stage.
“We are pleased and enthused with the strong leadership qualifications in our candidates,” said Pat Swartzendruber, chair of the succession committee. “As a result, we are concluding resume reviews and beginning the interview process with a selected number of candidates.”
Since the committee is making good progress, the MMA Board of Directors is expected to be involved in interviewing at its upcoming meeting on Oct. 20 to 21.
“Although we are flexible in our timeframe based on how the interview process proceeds, we could be ready to name a new president this fall,” noted Swartzendruber. “A new president could be starting sometime in the first quarter of 2007.”
The succession process has already spanned more than six months of active work. Since formation, the committee surveyed MMA stakeholders internally and externally about characteristics needed in the organization’s next leader. Based on the survey’s results the committee created an executive profile to direct its search process.
While MMA received its first resume in March 2006, the committee continued to request and receive resumes through the end of August.
“Thank you for your continued prayers for these candidates and the committee's work as we enter the next phase of discernment," requested Swartzendruber.
The news section of the MMA Web site (MMA-online.org) will continue to carry presidential succession updates as available.
About MMA
MMA helps people manage resources in ways that honor God through its professional expertise in insurance and financial services. Rooted in the Anabaptist faith tradition, MMA offers practical stewardship education and tools to individuals, congregations, and organizations. To learn more, visit www.MMA-online.org or call (800) 348-7468.
Devotional book for families offers creative ways to nurture faith
NEWTON, Kan.A new book from Mennonite Publishing Network, the publishing agency of Mennonite Church USA, invites families to share devotions at home. God with Us Today: Devotions for Families is the second devotional book from author June Galle Krehbiel of Moundridge, Kansas.
Each of the 100 readings in God with Us Today includes a brief meditation on a scripture passage as well as a prayer and questions to help families worship God. Included with the short devotionals are poems, proverbs, quotations, word puzzles, song lyrics and simple facts to help children and adults better understand the Bible and our world.
"Today's busy families need creative ways to nurture faith at home," notes Eleanor Snyder, editorial director of the Faith & Life Resources division of Mennonite Publishing Network. “God with Us Today draws parents and children to personally connect with God, while having fun together."
Scripture texts for God with Us Today were selected from the new Gather ’Round Sunday school curriculum, a joint project of Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Church Canada and the Church of the Brethren. Churches have begun using Gather ’Round curriculum for the first time this fall.
Krehbiel’s first devotional book, 101 Devotionals with Children, (Herald Press, 1999) is still in print. Both books are available for purchase by calling 1-800-245-7894.
Grieser sisters practice resourceful giving
By J. Daniel Hess
ARCHBOLD, OhioOur New Testament contains a list of “big names” – Peter, Paul, John, Luke, James and numerous other prominent followers of Jesus whose names now label churches and cathedrals around the world.
And then, almost hidden from the crowd, are unnamed souls, often women, whose faith is remembered decades later by the New Testament writers. A woman who touches Jesus’ garment. A woman who begs Jesus to heal her daughter. A woman who pours ointment on Jesus’ head. A woman who places two small copper coins into the treasury. A woman who washes Jesus’ feet.
There are two such women living in northwest Ohio, more specifically in a duplex at Fairlawn Haven in Archbold. You won’t read headlines about them nor will you remember ever seeing their pictures in the press. Their names are Marge and Alta Grieser.
They are sisters in both an earthly and a heavenly sense. They are not wealthy but they are resourceful. They are retired from careers, but not from service. They are among the happiest people one could meet: “It does not take things to make people happy.”
Stop in for a visit. Ask what they’re up to, and you’ll soon be shown a quilt headed for the Black Swamp Auction (a combined benefit sale for Mennonite Central Committee and Sunshine Children’s Home), another one for the Adriel School auction and before long the list of benefit auctions to receive their quilts (and/or dinners) outnumbers your fingers – Hospice, Habitat for Humanity, the Goshen MCC auction, Heifer Project, Fairlawn, local bazaars and so forth. One pieced comforter was sent to a foster child to give to a friend.
They’ve been called the master quilters. It doesn’t take long for one to notice how fastidious they are with piecing and stitching. Their most expensive quilt sold for $7,000.
“We don’t do things for rewards, but we get rewarded anyway with new friendships,” says Alta, whose hearing sometimes keeps her from understanding others but never the words of her sister.
They give what they have. They donate dinners for eight. That is, people at benefits bid for a dinner prepared by Marge and Alta. The sisters “start from scratch” to prepare “sort of what we eat.” A bidder once paid $1,000 for one of their meals, only to turn the item back for a second sale.
They have enjoyed preparing and serving food to Sunday school classes, small groups from the church, Mennonite youth fellowships and junior youth fellowships, and neighbors in need. To a new arrival in the community, the sisters say, “Come on over.”
And then there’s the marble roller project. Somehow they came into possession of some marble rollers that by this time can be called a collection of interesting, odd and/or exquisite contraptions that move marbles down and around. The women, while quite protective of the rollers, have given presentations, “little sermons” suggested by the shape and operation of the rollers. One bird roller prompts them to talk about sharing. A pump roller offers opportunity to encourage the valuing of water. Another roller that goes every which way is used to emphasize reaching out to others.
Both women, earlier in their lives, volunteered for service, Alta at Kings View behavioral health center in California and Marge at Brook Lane Health Services in Maryland. Marge then worked as a licensed practical nurse in Toledo while Alta was employed at the local La Choy Foods. What they said about a friend – “neat, clean and very hospitable” – surely applies to them.
Their lives are now as full as ever. “Do we look bored?” asks Marge. Alta tells of receiving a call about an excess of yarn. Of course, the sisters could use it. They made beautiful yarn caps, ready to be sent to MCC and to a local Lutheran Service. “We made them right away. No use waiting until they’re needed.”
Recently they agreed to serve as mentors to Jamie, a teenager. After a recent visit in which Jamie helped put blocks together for a comforter and learned how to “tie and snip” (Alta: “her fingers are fast”), Jamie said, “I wish I could stay all day and make comforters.” The sisters are pleased to report that Jamie’s teacher says her school performance has improved.
The women speak more of their friends than their productivity. A very important colleague has been Ruth Claude, whose family MCC helped in Europe. She later resettled in Pennsylvania. Upon her retirement from a job, she taught herself to piece comfort tops and donated them in gratitude for what had been given to her. Ruth now provides Alta and Marge crib quilt tops (sometimes used as wall hangings) which they quilt and then donate.
The sisters call attention away from themselves by naming others who should be recognized for their generosity, including a couple down the street who donate gifts of knowledge, hard work and caring to Mennonite Disaster Service. They mention a fifth-grade neighbor and his younger brother and sister. Another story is about a new acquaintance who found a set of dishes, service for 12, that he gave to them for their projects.
Marge and Alta have been able to take a few trips together, one to Australia and another to Peru and Chile. In the latter trip they met with mission workers.
It’s highly doubtful the women will be named in the ultimate history of world Anabapstism, but their witness won’t die. “Just because you can’t give a million dollars doesn’t mean we can’t give. We can give right here at home, with our shoes off.”
Marge and Alta Grieser. Photo Ken Nafziger
Dan Hess lives in Indianapolis and is a member of Shalom Mennonite Church.
Mennonites support healthcare access in Harlan County, Ky.
By J.D. Miller
HARLAN, Ky.Located in Central Appalachia in the southeastern most corner of Kentucky, Harlan County has long faced issues of healthcare access because of a large population with low income and no insurance coverage. There has been a small presence of Mennonite healthcare professionals in Harlan County since the late 1960s.
These Mennonites came to this area because they wanted to work at improving healthcare access. They have not created their own institutions, but have worked within the community to foster and support community initiatives and organizations and are an example of multiple parts of Mennonite Church USA working to address the issue of healthcare access in the United States.
Survey results released from the Commonwealth Fund report that 41 percent of non-elderly adults in the U.S. with incomes between $20,000 and $40,000 per year had no health insurance for all or part of 2005. The May 3, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that “Even among higher income adults, lack of healthcare insurance was associated with significantly decreased use of recommended healthcare services.” This report went on to say that increased income did not correct the lack of use of healthcare services that is seen among lower income adults in the U.S.
Most uninsured adults report that they cut corners on medical care to save money. They fail to fill prescriptions, skip medications, and go without preventive care. When they become ill, many of the uninsured spend their entire savings on healthcare. The Institute of Medicine estimates that lack of health insurance leads to 18,000 unnecessary deaths each year. That is equal to six 9/11’s annually.
John is a 62-year-old man who is drawing Social Security but is not eligible to receive Medicare until age 65. He is unemployed and has a monthly income of $649. Before he received his Social Security, he received Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and his medications and doctor visits were covered by Medicaid. However, once he obtained Social Security, he lost his Medicaid card and was no longer able to pay for his emphysema medications and his doctor visits. With help from a local clinic, the Harlan Countians for a Healthy Community (HCHC) Cares Program was able to arrange four doctor visits per year. The Cares Program was also able to arrange for coverage of John’s most expensive medications through a pharmaceutical company’s Indigent Patient Assistance Program.
At age 19, Jimmy is no longer eligible for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. He is living with his grandparents and is not employed. When he went to donate blood, he was told his blood pressure was high. He was not able to afford care for this until he contacted the Cares Program of the HCHC and had doctor’s visits arranged with the cooperating local clinic. The Cares Program paid for a month’s supply of the blood pressure medication he was prescribed and helped him get on a pharmaceutical company’s Indigent Patient Assistance Program that gave him a three month supply of his medication for $20. The Cares Program also gave him information on hypertension and the importance of blood pressure control.
When Mary, a 57 year old woman got a toothache and had no insurance, she was in trouble. Her husband drew SSI and had a Medicaid card, but she had no coverage and their income went to paying bills and living expenses. Because of her low income, she too qualified for the Cares Program of the HCHC which arranged with the same clinic for a dental visit and for coverage of the antibiotic prescribed by the dentist. The dentist also asked for her to see a doctor prior to any procedures and the Cares Program covered this visit as well. She was cleared by the doctor for dental extraction, which was then covered by the Cares Program together with the clinic.
HCHC is one grassroots community organization, supported in part by its local Mennonites, attempting to deal with problems of lack of access to healthcare in Harlan County. HCHC formed about five years ago as a coalition of healthcare agencies, other community agencies, and other community people in Harlan County, Ky. Its focus is on access to health care for the people of this county. The organization has aggressively sought outside funding to support its programs and employs two non-professional home aids to help people who lack resources for obtaining healthcare, deal with their problems of access to care.
Data collected regarding the impact of the HCHC program has shown a decrease in emergency room visits as well as a decrease in hospital admissions by the indigent patients who have received HCHC services.
The organization is supported by many of the healthcare organizations in the county. The local hospital pays the salary of a home aid and a local clinic has agreed to see patients referred to it at minimal cost. Although grant funds are tenuous, and its longevity is uncertain, for now, by promoting working together, HCHC has found a way to improve access to care for needy people in this county.
Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership encourages those within the denomination who are interested in working to address healthcare access issues to participate in this churchwide initiative. For more information or to see how congregations are participating, visit www.MennoniteUSA.org/healthcare.
J.D. Miller, M.D., is an internist and has lived and worked in Harlan County for nearly 33 years. He is the CEO of a small rural community clinic. For the past three years, he has split his time between the clinic and in serving as vice president, Medical Affairs of a nine-hospital chain throughout Eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia.
