News

The 2009 North American Young Adult Fellowship retreat: “And when they shall ask”: Oct. 23–25 at Menno Simons Christian School in Calgary, Alberta. Download a promotional poster and registration form.

Mennonite spiritual directors retreat, Oct. 26–28 at the Jesuit Retreat House in Cleveland, Ohio. This retreat for spiritual directors and pastors who provide spiritual direction explores the ministry of spiritual direction in the context of John 15:12-17, where Jesus declares that we are no longer slaves, but friends. Presentations by Dr. Wendy M. Wright will explore the contours of spiritual friendship and spiritual direction relationships, especially as they occur over time. Registration (plus 6 meals/2 nights lodging) is $270 if postmarked by Aug. 31; $285 if postmarked after Aug. 31. View a brochure online. Contact Marlene Kropf: marlenek@mennoniteusa.org or 574 523-3042

Mennonite Church USA Corinthian Plan progress report. The number of congregations that are deciding to join The Corinthian Plan continues to grow.  As of July 20, 381 congregations have either enrolled or indicated that they intend to enroll in the new plan.  This is nearly 60 percent of our goal with 70 days left in the enrollment period.

IN-MI Conference congregations reflect this churchwide trend. Sixty percent of the congregations in the conference have enrolled or indicated they intend to enroll. Eight have indicated they do not intend to participate. This leaves 23 congregations that have yet to decide. Every congregation is important regardless of its size or financial resources. We need everyone’s participation to make the plan as strong as possible.

Congregations have until Oct. 1 to indicate their intentions. An assessment will be made at that point whether enough congregations will participate to have a viable plan. Please do not delay getting the information that you need to make an informed decision! Call your Corinthian Plan ambassador for assistance. For additional information and answers to frequently asked questions, visit the web site—www.thecorinthianplan.org. If you have further questions, contact Keith Harder: keithh@mennoniteusa.org or 866 866-2872. Read more.

“Because we care”: Blooming Glen Mennonite puts mutual aid in practice for brothers and sisters in IN-MI Conference. Thank you, Blooming Glen (Pa.) Mennonite Church! Remembering when they received help during a severe drought in 1999, people at Blooming Glen Mennonite wanted to help brothers and sisters in the Goshen/Elkhart area and other IN-MI Conference congregations being hit with a “drought” of jobs, and held a pancake breakfast fundraiser on April 19 that yielded $8,200! What a wonderful gift! Read Robin Long’s (Blooming Glen’s business manager) account of the experience.

In considering how to distribute Blooming Glen’s generous financial gift, Dan Miller, lead conference minister; Steve Slagel of East Goshen (Ind.) Mennonite; and Len Geiser of College Mennonite, Goshen; decided to target specific areas to receive the gifts by selecting congregations to serve as distribution points—congregations that would already have an infrastructure to manage distribution of resources to those in need—with the idea that Mennonites and others could access the gifts in those areas by contacting them:

Upper Peninsula, Mich.—Rexton Mennonite and Naubinway Christian Fellowship

Detroit, Mich.—Community Christian Fellowship Ministries

Elkhart, Ind.—Belmont Neighborhood Fellowship

Goshen, Ind.—North Goshen Mennonite

Kokomo, Ind.—Howard-Miami and Parkview Mennonite

LaGrange County, Ind.—Marion Mennonite

In most cases, the money will be used to purchase food supplies for pantries. Also, Mennonite Central Committee Great Lakes donated 50 cases of canned meat for distribution with the funds.

Participants at Annual Sessions in June expressed their thanks for Blooming Glen’s generosity by signing a special card.

“Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day” is the theme for the Women Creating Community 2009-10 retreat series at A Quiet Place Prayer Center, Milford, Ind. Download a brochure.

Hesston (Kan.) College announces Spring 2009 academic honors. Registrar Jeanne Billings has announced the names of full-time students (completing 12 hours or more) whose grades for spring semester (2009) have earned them places on the Dean’s List and Honor Roll. Read more.

Conference students among Goshen College 2009 President’s Leadership
Award recipients
Two college-bound students from IN-MI Conference congregations are among 10 students who have received Goshen (Ind.) College’s 2009 President's Leadership Award (PLA), the college’s top merit scholarship: Erin Helmuth of Prairie Street Mennonite, Elkhart, Ind., who will graduate May 31 from Bethany Christian High School; and Peter Martin of North Goshen (Ind.) Mennonite, who will graduate May 31 from Goshen High School. Read more.

Eastern Mennonite University Dean’s Lists. The following students from IN-MI Conference congregations were named to the dean’s list at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), Harrisonburg, Va., during the 2008–09 school year. To qualify for the dean’s list, a student must achieve a semester grade point average of at least 3.750 or above and complete at least 12 semester hours of credit. See list.

Is service again becoming a trend? This year 227 young adults and people of all ages have chosen to invest their time in Mennonite Mission Network Christian service programs—a 44 percent increase in participants over 2007. Mary Jo Martin of Olive Mennonite in Elkhart, Ind. received affirmation from her church family and parents that made her choice easy. “My church definitely supports doing service and MVS. I’m sending update e-mails to them and they’re very interested in what I’m doing. They consider it an extension of them, in a way,” said Mary Jo in an article from Mennonite Mission Network. See a list of 17 participants from IN-MI Conference.

Congregation answers call to help with disaster cleanup
A few months ago, members of Paoli (Ind.) Mennonite Fellowship were struggling to find a proper location for their annual mid-winter effort in disaster service. For several years, they had gone to the Gulf Coast to assist in recovery from Katrina and other disasters. But this year, all the places seemed to be filled. A couple of sites in Mississippi were considered, but nothing seemed to fit just right—until a sudden disaster much closer to home summoned their efforts. Read more.

Pastors share experiences of crossing divisions. Two IN-MI Conference pastors were among the presenters at an event hosted by Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary’s Engaging Pastors program on April 30 about ministering in diverse contexts: Maria Crockett of House of Power, Elkhart, Ind., and Cora Brown of Church Without Walls, Elkhart. Seferina DeLeón of Iglesia Menonita del Buen Pastor, Goshen, Ind. (and interim assistant conference regional minister), also participated. Read more.

 

Journey of Hope … From Violence to Healing

In 1969, the brutal murder of Helen Bohn Klassen drastically changed the lives of Helen’s family, including her husband, the late Otto Klassen, and her four daughters: Ruth, Frieda, Bess, and Suzy.  Ruth, Bess, and Suzy have traveled with the “Journey of Hope, From Violence to Healing” speaking out against the death penalty for several years. They reject vengeance and violence and choose loving kindness and forgiveness instead.
They, along with Bill Pelke, whose grandmother, Ruth Pelke, was murdered by four teenaged girls in Gary, Ind., will share their stories of healing forgiveness and hope during the March 15 worship service at College Mennonite Church and in the Sunday School hour that follows.

College Mennonite church has chosen the Lenten theme, “Our Lives are in Your Hands.” The specific theme for March 15 is, “God Overturns Human Wisdom.”  The lectionary text is from Exodus 20:1-17, where God gives the Israelites the Ten Commandments.

College Mennonite Church welcomes anyone to attend the worship service at 9:30 am or the Sunday school hour that begins at 10:45 am. CMC is located at 1900 South Main Street in Goshen. For more information call 535-7262 or visit the church’s Web site at www.collegemennonite.org where the worship service is broadcast live each Sunday. The worship service is also available live through the FM station WGCS.

Mexico Study and Travel Course, May-June, 2009. For the third year Goshen College offers a continuing education study-and-travel course for adults titled “Our Mexican Neighbors.” This five-week night class meets twice each in May and June, plus it includes a one-week trip to Mexico City and Cuernavaca. Highlights include a visit to Teotihuacan; historic Mexico City; a briefing at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City; a walking tour of Cuernavaca; a field trip to the village of Buenavista.
      Class dates are Wednesday evenings, May 20 & 27; June 10 & 17. Tour to Mexico is May 30 to June 6. For details contact Dr. Mary Moretto (574-535-7458) or course instructor Prof. Delmar Good (574-535-7452). E-mail marym@goshen.edu or delgg@goshen.edu. Web brochure is at http://www.goshen.edu/daes/Home