By Annette Brill Bergstresser ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Church USA/Mennonite Mission Network) — A six-week Sunday school curriculum — Returning Veterans, Returning Hope: Seeking Peace Together — can help small groups and congregations who want to explore how the church can play a part in the healing journeys of returning veterans. The materials draw on biblical reflection, the latest understandings of trauma and moral injury, and the experiences of veterans themselves. “We have long known that war affects not only innocent civilians but also those we ask to fight,” said Carolyn Holderread Heggen, trauma psychotherapist and creator of the “Transforming the Wounds... read more →
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Melody M. Pannell currently serves as assistant professor of social work at Eastern Mennonite University. It is her life mission to embody practical theology through the values and ethics of social work and encourage those that she serves to engage in a transformative journey of emancipatory hope in action and empowerment through holistic, therapeutic and restorative ministry. “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the... read more →
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Sent 2016: A gathering of Mennonites planting Jesus-centered communities, was the first gathering of Anabaptist-Mennonite church planters of its kind. Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Mission Network brought together church planters, groups testing the call, pastors, missiologists and conference leaders March 31-April 2, to explore approaches, best practices and the variety of perspectives that exist on church planting through an Anabaptist lens. This is the final post in our series from participants in Sent 2016. Byron Pellecer was born in Guatemala City where he began his faith journey in a local Mennonite church. His passions are lead pastoring, church planting and leadership development. He... read more →
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This is the fourth post in a series highlighting churches across Mennonite Church USA who were awarded the Peace and Justice Support Network’s Spread the Peace grant for 2015. The PJSN is a partnership of Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Church USA. Each of these congregations is working in different ways to spread peace in its community. Donna Minter is a licensed psychologist married to Bruce Brunner. She has three amazing adult stepdaughters, two fine sons-in-law and a 15-month-old granddaughter, Harper. She is a vigorous member of Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and loves life in the Twin Cities. When... read more →
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Betsy Headrick McCrae is pastor of Glennon Heights Mennonite Church in Lakewood, Colorado. She is married to Bruce McCrae, mother of two adult daughters, grandmother of two grandsons and eagerly anticipating the arrival of two more grandchildren in the very near future. Between church and family, her life is rich to overflowing. Several weeks ago I watched a video interview with Hassan Latif, founder of the Second Chance Center in Aurora, Colorado, and a good friend of our congregation. The Second Chance Center works with folks who are being released from prison to help them get back on their feet.... read more →
First national church-planting summit, Sent 2016, brings together diverse group of practitioners to encourage and inspire one another. [Español] By Danielle Klotz NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (Mennonite Mission Network/Mennonite Church USA) — Inspiration for courage and faithful obedience to God’s call flowed continuously at Sent 2016, Mennonite Church USA’s first national... read more →
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Rachel S. Gerber is the Mennonite Church USA denominational minister of youth and young adults and editor/creator of The Gathering Place, an interactive website for Anabaptist youth leaders for resourcing, networking and spiritual formation. She lives in Bloomington, Indiana, with her husband of 16 years and three young boys. I recently ordered, “Searching For Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church” by Rachel Held Evans. According to the back cover, Rachel “ … like millions of her millennial peers, didn't want to go to church anymore. The hypocrisy, the politics, the gargantuan building budgets, the scandals – church culture seemed... read more →
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Alyssa Rodriguez attends First Mennonite Church in Iowa City, Iowa, and works as a free health clinic coordinator, serving uninsured and under-insured populations while also learning the ins and outs of motherhood with her beloved daughter, Zulema. Beginning last summer, following the retirement of our co-pastors after 15 years of service, the church I belong to has been receiving assistance from an interim pastor. Part of his job has been to dissect our church’s identity as we prepare for new leadership. He has done this by taking surveys and questionnaires, as well as conducting focus groups and open meetings. One... read more →
[Español] By Janie Beck Kreider (Mennonite Church USA) — Mennonite Church USA Executive Board (EB) members, Cabinet staff and agency leaders gathered Feb. 11–13 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel near Chicago, Illinois, for the second meeting of the 2015–17 biennium. In addition to spending time in worship and prayer, the EB members passed a statement clarifying the meaning of forbearance, conducted a review of Mennonite Education Agency (MEA), discussed a proposal to create a new Racial Ethnic Council... read more →
By Jenny Castro (Mennonite Church USA) — At Youth Ministry Council: The Gathering 2016, held Jan. 29-Feb. 1 in Orlando, Florida, 42 youth workers from across Mennonite Church USA met to network, encourage one another, worship together and explore approaches to faith formation through real-life scenarios. “It was an amazing time of meeting, connecting and problem-solving with other Anabaptist youth ministers and pastors,” says Lindsay Diener, youth minister at Jubilee Mennonite in Meridian, Mississippi. “As a new youth minister, I sometimes... read more →
La quinta reunión anual de líderes generará políticas abarcadoras [English] Por Wil LaVeist HAMPTON, Virginia (Red Menonita de Misión/Iglesia Menonita de EE. UU./Agencia Menonita de Educación) — En el quinto encuentro anual de “Esperanza para el futuro” (HFF, por sus siglas en inglés), realizado del 21 al 24 de enero, hubo un fuerte sentir de que es hora de poner las ideas en acción para incrementar la diversidad racial/étnica en los puestos... read more →
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Glen Guyton is chief operating officer of Mennonite Church USA. Since I have primary oversight of the Mennonite Church USA finances and the planning of our national convention, it is hard for me to totally unplug from my work. Technically I am supposed to be on sabbatical, but people in Mennonite Church USA keep emailing me and texting, asking me what I am going to do. Here is a sampling of what they have been asking since the “big announcement" : “Are you nervous about convention?” “How challenging is your job right now?” “What is going on with the staff?”... read more →
[Español] By Jenny Castro Sandra Pérez, a member of Manhattan (New York) Mennonite Fellowship, serves on the New York City oversight ministry team for Atlantic Coast Conference and on the steering committee for the Women in Leadership Project of Mennonite Church USA. She works and serves across cultures, equipping leaders with resources to build relationships across the church. (Mennonite Church USA) — Sandra Pérez’s mother brought her to New York City when she was just eight months old. Her father had been killed in a car accident in Puerto Rico just months... read more →
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Horace McMillon serves as the tent making pastor of Open Door Mennonite Church of Jackson, Mississippi. He and Monique, his bride of 19 years have two teenaged children. Prior to their move to Jackson, Horace served as Associate Pastor of the Community Mennonite Church in Markham, Illinois. He is the author of "No Mo'Broke: Seven Keys to Success from a Christian Perspective." Horace earned a Mater of Arts from Chicago Theological Seminary and holds a Doctor of Ministry from Oval Bible College. We are urban. We are multi-cultural. We are Southern. Located in Jackson, Mississippi, Open Door is the only Mennonite... read more →
Conversations provide structure for feedback By Janie Beck Kreider (Mennonite Church USA) — Approximately 40 young adults at KC2015 — the Mennonite Church USA convention held June 30–July 5 in Kansas City, Missouri — gathered July 3 for an evening of synergistic conversation on a range of church-related topics. “We wanted to create a space where young adults could get together and talk about their concerns and what matters to... read more →