Glen Guyton, executive director of Mennonite Church USA (MC USA), urged the church to “Be Transformed,” revealing the denominational theme for the next biennium in his closing message at MennoCon21 on July 10 in Cincinnati, Ohio. “The power of the church lies in transformation,” said Guyton. “While transformation will look different in different communities and with different people the church serves, the mission of the church is always to prepare people for transformation to happen.” As with the previous “Bring the Peace” theme, “Be Transformed” echoes the Renewed Commitments for MC USA, which call for the church to “Follow... read more →
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If you are not happy with the results below please do another searchBy Jessica Griggs for MC USA CINCINNATI, Ohio (Mennonite Church USA) — Jeanne Davies, executive director of Anabaptist Disability Network, presented a seminar, titled “Worship for All,” Wednesday, July 7 at this year’s Mennonite Church USA biennial conference, MennoCon21, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Davies’ presentation explored a large variety of methods that congregations can implement to make their services more accessible to people with intellectual disabilities and autism. When we talk about accessible worship, we generally think about removing physical barriers, but we also need to consider that we rely heavily on materials that require reading and a lot of intellectual... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Joy Cotchen serves as Allegheny Mennonite Conference Minister of Children and Youth and works as a medical laboratory technician. She has been volunteering with convention since Nashville ‘01 in different capacities. In her spare time she enjoys the outdoors, walking and hanging with family, especially her five grandchildren. ____________________________________________________ In 2000, I was invited to serve on the planning committee for the Nashville 2001 conference. As part of that committee, I was required to volunteer in some capacity. That was my first experience as a volunteer for convention, and I’ve been... read more →
Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) has named Michelle Armster and Dona Park as the first recipients of its #BringThePeace award. The award recognizes the work of denominational peacemakers and is sponsored by MC USA’s Church Peace Tax Fund. “We who believe that Christ is our peace, walk knowing that the journey is long,” said Sue Park-Hur, MC USA denominational minister for Transformative Peacemaking. “Along the way, we need to acknowledge and honor courageous peacebuilders who have faithfully paved the path of peace. We also need to encourage and be... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Glen Guyton serves as the executive director for Mennonite Church USA. He has more than a quarter century of experience serving in the denomination at various levels. Guyton has a wonderful ability to share difficult and complex information with diverse groups. Organizations, professional associations and educators praise Guyton for his quick-witted humor and relatability. He has authored two books, IDEAL ME: Discovering Your Call in a Cluttered World and Reawakened: How Your Congregation Can Spark Lasting Change. Guyton holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from the United States Air Force... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Anna Groff is executive director of Dove’s Nest: Faith Communities Keeping Children and Youth Safe. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her spouse and their two young children. They are members of Shalom Mennonite Church in Tucson. Anna is originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Goshen College in Indiana and has a Master of Public Administration from Arizona State University. Dove’s Nest board members Nancy Kauffmann and Carol Knieriem will be leading a MennoCon21 seminar, “Abuse in Your Congregation: Who Should Know What, When, and How?” Wednesday, July 7... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Brad Kohlman serves as the vice president for Institutional Advancement at Bethel College. He and his wife, Megan, raise their two boys in Hesston, Kansas, and attend Bethel College Mennonite Church. Outside of working with alumni and donors, Brad enjoys coaching youth sports, fishing with his sons, listening to music from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, and cooking for family and friends. Brad will be hosting the Bethel College booth at MennoCon21. ____________________________________________________ My wife has a shirt that reads, “Hyphenated. Non-Hyphenated. The irony.” That pun makes me laugh every time... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Drew Strait teaches New Testament at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. His writing focuses on peace/peacemaking in early Christianity, along with early Christian negotiation of Roman imperialism. He is a member of Keller Park Church in South Bend, Indiana. Drew will be leading a youth MennoCon21 seminar, "The Bible and Christian Nationalism," Friday, July 9 at 2:45 p.m. in Room 238, and an adult seminar by the same name Saturday, July 10 at 9:00 a.m. in Room 234. ____________________________________________________ It was just over a year ago that President Trump cleared out Lafayette... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Veronica Quiroz is an intern in the Marketing department of Everence, where she supports projects and initiatives of the Everence marketing team. Veronica is a student at Marian University Indianapolis (Indiana), where she is majoring in marketing, with a minor in Spanish for the professions. On campus she serves as treasurer for Theta Phi Alpha and is on the cheer team. Veronica resides in Goshen, Indiana, along with her parents, sisters and two dogs. Everence will host an adult MennoCon21 seminar, "Seeking Economic Justice in Communities of Color," led by Leonard... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Jerrell Ross Richer teaches courses in economics and sustainability at Goshen College in Indiana. He also teaches Global Sustainability in the Collaborative MBA program – a joint program with faculty and students from Goshen College, Eastern Mennonite University and Bluffton University. Each January, Jerrell travels to the Ecuadorian rain forest in South America with his wife, Jane, and their children, as International Service Workers with Mennonite Mission Network. Their mission focuses on accompanying Indigenous church leaders, supporting children and youth, and promoting community development through ecotourism in the Cofán-speaking village of... read more →
As cities re-open for summer travel and events, Cincinnati, Ohio, will host a major Christian convention. Duke Energy Convention Center will transform into a gathering place for Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) and its MennoCon biennial convention, July 6-10, 2021. “We are excited to host MennoCon21 at the Duke Energy Convention Center,” said Spectra’s Ric Booth, general manager at the Duke Energy Convention Center. “Conventions such as MennoCon21 are a critical component to the health of downtown Cincinnati, driving hotel room nights and spending within our downtown restaurants and small businesses. The lifting of travel and capacity restrictions has... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Gerald J. Mast is Professor of Communication at Bluffton University. He has written, co-authored and edited numerous books and essays, including most recently (with J. Denny Weaver), Nonviolent Word: Anabaptism, the Bible, and the Grain of the Universe (Pickwick, 2020). He is married to Carrie Mast, and they are members of First Mennonite Church, Bluffton (Ohio). He enjoys reading, biking and singing in the church choir. Gerald will be leading an adult MennoCon21 seminar, "Reading the Bible, Hearing God’s Word", Friday, July 9 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 230/231. ____________________________________________________ “The Bible is... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Katie Graber is an ethnomusicologist, who studies race and ethnicity in a variety of contexts, including Mennonite music, American music and European opera. She has taught classes on Western music history and world music, and she accompanies Suzuki recitals and school choirs. She leads singing at her church in Columbus, Ohio, and chairs the Intercultural Worship committee for the Voices Together project Katie will be co-leading a MennoCon21 virtual seminar, "Voices Together: A Closer Look", July 8 at 4:15 p.m. The seminar will be available on Pheedloop for the month following... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Brian Martin Burkholder serves as University Chaplain and Director of Faith and Spiritual Life at Eastern Mennonite University. He enjoys encouraging others, gardening, nature, leading singing and worship, and retreats of various types. He is energized by chaplaincy, bluegrass, folk, roots and world music, hiking in beautiful natural settings, spiritual mentoring, and almost everything water-related. He also gets into personality inventories. Enneagram: three Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: ENFP/J Strengths Finder: adaptability, harmony, maximizer, responsibility, arranger Spiritual Gifts: administration, support, service Spiritual Type: come to the seminar Brian will be leading a MennoCon21... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Michele Hershberger is such a Bible nerd that she's been caught drawing atonement graphs on Pizza Hut napkins. She's constantly on the lookout for ways to revive the church, knowing that the biggest part of that search is listening to the Spirit. She also loves spending time with her husband, Del, and young adult children. They might be found motorcycling, camping in the woods or performing in a local theater. Michele is Chair of the Bible Department at Hesston College, where she teaches classes in biblical studies, youth ministry and missional... read more →