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George in their personal and
congregational prayers as he
begins his work with the
Ohio Conference.
The Ohio Conference
Leadership Team has
hired George O'Reilly as
transitional conference
leader. He began working
with the Conference full-
time on Sept. 1.
George's primary role will be
to help the Leadership Team
in listening, trust building and
direction setting for Ohio
Conference with a long-term
goal of discerning a shared
vision for the Conference.
One of his first tasks as tran-
sitional conference leader
was meeting with pastors at
the All-Ohio Conference
Pastors’ Meeting, which took
place Sept. 2 in Bellville,
Ohio.
George’s most recent pasto-
ral assignment was serving as
transitional pastor at First
Mennonite Church in Canton.
Prior to his work with First
Mennonite Church, he was
pastor at Carlock Mennonite
Church in Carlock, Ill., and
Bethel Mennonite Church in
Mountain Lake, Minn., as well
as serving as an interim pas-
tor for several congregations
in Ontario, South Dakota and
Iowa.
The Leadership Team asks all
members of Ohio Confer-
ence congregations to keep
Transitional conference leader hired
By Dave Maurer Pastor, Bethel Mennonite
During the evenings of
July 27-30, 2015, Bethel
Mennonite Church in
West Liberty, Ohio, host-
ed its fifth annual soccer
camp for the community.
The camp, which took
place from 6 to 8 p.m.
each day, was done in
partnership with the
West Lib-
erty Soc-
cer Asso-
ciation,
which
helped
the con-
gregation
get the
word out
about the camp. The As-
sociation also set up goals
for the camp to use in
West Liberty’s Lion’s
Park where the Associa-
Soccer camp builds connections
SEPT/OCT 2015
2 Editorial
Credentialing
Ministry
4 Website redesign
Youth ministry
reflections
5 Camp Luz
Waterworks
Prayer Focus
6 Girl Talk at Friendship
Mennonite
7 Financial Q and A
8 Experiencing God
in the summer
9 On being
charitable
10 About people
12 Back page
briefings
INSIDE
THIS
ISSUE:
George O’Reilly
Continued on page 3
Children work on their skills at a soccer camp run by Bethel Mennonite Church in West Liberty.
VOL. LXIX, NO. 5
SEPT/OCT 2015
Editor: Ann H. Leaman
Ohio Mennonite Evangel
(USPS 404-500) is published
six times per year by the
Ohio Conference of Mennon-
ite Church USA, Box 210,
Kidron OH 44636,
telephone (330) 857-5421.
All material for publication
should be submitted to the
editor at 5854 Sunland St.
NE, Louisville OH 44641, or
via telephone:
(330) 453-0150, or e-mail:
one month prior to desired
publication date.
Ohio Mennonite Evangel is
distributed to all households
of Ohio Conference congre-
gations, other interested
individuals and church agen-
cies.
Ohio Mennonite Evangel is
printed at Carlisle Printing,
2673 TR 421 Sugarcreek OH
44681.
Send subscription information
and address changes to the
editor at 5854 Sunland St.
NE, Louisville OH 44641.
Periodical postage paid at
Millersburg OH 44654.
God’s steadfast love remains What’s your default setting?
If I am honest with myself, I
would have to say that I can
very easily slip into “worry”
mode, especially when
faced with a situation over
which I have little personal
control.
Over the next year, we as
the Ohio Conference face
the possibility of a lot of
changes. “Business as usual”
does not seem likely, since
we are facing many ques-
tions about funding, staffing
and how congregations
relate to each other and
Mennonite Church USA.
It’s easy for someone like
me to get stuck in a cycle
of wondering and worrying
about what the next year
holds.
As I was contemplating the
possibilities, I was reminded
of the words of Jeremiah in
Lamentations 3:22-23: “The
steadfast love of the Lord
never ceases; his mercies
never come to an end; they
are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.”
No matter what changes
may come, God’s great
faithfulness remains, and
God continues to work in
the world. Each day we
choose how we will focus
our attention. What are
you focusing on?
— ahl
Personnel of the Ohio Conference of Mennonite Church USA
Moderator: Dean Beck — [email protected] Assistant Moderator: Thomas Dunn — [email protected] Transitional Conference Leader: George O’Reilly — [email protected] Credentialing Ministry Chair: Naomi Engle — [email protected] Gifts Discernment Ministry Chair: Mel Hathaway — [email protected]
Stewardship Minstry Chair: Keith Hostetler — [email protected] Regional Pastor: Ralph Reinford — [email protected]
Administrative Secretary: Judy King — [email protected] Finance Coordinator: Stan Helmuth — [email protected]
Conference Editor: Ann Leaman — [email protected] Coordinator of Volunteers: Alysa Short — [email protected]
Sept-Oct 2015 | Page 2
E D I T O R I A L
The Credentialing Ministry
Team is working to compile
questions to give to any
pastoral candidate who is
new to the Ohio Confer-
ence, such as a student, a
pastor from another Men-
nonite Church USA confer-
ence, or a pastor from an-
other denomination. The
candidate will need to sub-
mit answers to these ques-
tions to the Credentialing
Ministry Team for their
review prior to the pro-
The Ohio Conference Cre-
dentialing Ministry Team
(CMT) would like to an-
nounce several new proce-
dures they will be using:
CMT member LaVonne
Hartman will be the person
who contacts pastoral can-
didates to set the time of
their interview and to make
sure they have turned in
the needed documents on
time. These tasks were
formerly done by the re-
gional pastors.
spective pastor’s candidat-
ing weekend with a congre-
gation. CMT will inform
the congregation’s search
committee of anything they
see which might indicate
that the pastoral candidate
could not be licensed in the
Ohio Conference. Ohio
Conference will no longer
install new pastors prior to
their license being granted
by the Credentialing Minis-
try Team.
Credentialing Ministry announces new procedures
Bethel soccer camp tion plays most of its
games.
You may wonder, “Why would
a church host a soccer camp
for the community?” Well, a
few reasons come to mind.
First, there is a strong commu-
nity soccer presence for chil-
dren, but many adults know
little about the needed skills to
be able to teach their children.
This creates a natural oppor-
tunity to be the church in the
community. Second, our con-
gregation has a number of peo-
ple in it that have played and
even coached soccer. We have
a gifting that matches an oppor-
tunity (perhaps need?) in the
community.
Third, we live in a sports-crazed
culture, but unfortunately in the
midst of this there are many
children who are belittled and
denigrated by their peers and
even their coaches. Because of
this, soccer becomes a medium
for demonstrating the gospel
and planting the seeds of Jesus’
love in the lives of children,
some of whom have no other
contact with a church. Fourth,
coaching the camp creates
space to learn names and build
relationships with people out-
side of our church. In a small
town like West Liberty, these
relationships create long-term
informal connections with peo-
ple that one bumps into at the
grocery store or the ice cream
parlor.
Fifth, by charging a modest reg-
istration fee (with family dis-
counts and scholarships availa-
ble), the camp allows us to pro-
vide each child with a fair trade
soccer ball and a camp shirt.
This means that right be-
fore starting the fall season,
each child has his or her
own size-appropriate ball
to take with them to prac-
tice. And through the camp
we support local outreach
but also Third World
economies. All the balls
that we purchase are certi-
fied, fair trade balls. Plus,
people who do not even attend
our church wear their Bethel
Soccer Camp shirts around
town throughout the year.
All this may leave you wonder-
ing how the camp was struc-
tured. We began each night
with stretching and individual
ball skills to get the kids
warmed up. Then we divided
the 42 children into relatively
even groups in age and number.
Four head coaches each ran a
station four times each night
focused on a particular skill for
the night: dribbling, passing,
defense, or offense. Each group
then had a designated assistant
coach who served both as assis-
tants during the station time
and as group guides as the chil-
dren moved the group from
one station to the next. After
two 15-minute stations, we
took a 10-minute snack break
for icy pops. The children then
each rotated through the re-
maining two stations. We end-
ed each night together with a
brief review, a devotional and a
closing prayer.
Our last night began by taking a
group picture in the goal with
everyone wearing their camp
shirts. It ended by handing out
certificates of appreciation to
each child and ice cream for the
players and families. We also
extended an invitation for eve-
ryone to come to our church
Friday evening for a community
pizza and movie night. For this
event we heated up our wood
fired pizza oven behind the
“Coaching the
camp creates
space to learn
names and
build
relationships
with people
outside of our
church.”
Sept-Oct 2015 | Page 3
Continued from page 1
Continued on page 6
Above, participants in Bethel Mennon-ite Church’s soccer camp pose with their camp t-shirts. Below, Bethel’s pizza oven gets a workout in prepa-ration for a pizza and movie night. Soccer camp partic-ipants and their families were invit-ed to take part in the event.
While the website was com-
pletely redesigned, the Web
address continues to be
www.ohiomennoniteconference.
org.
“The basic
theme of these
workshops was
an attempt to
help the
participants
think through
why they do
what they do
in youth
ministry, and
to consider
whether what
they do is
consistent with
an Anabaptist
approach to
youth
ministry.”
Sept-Oct 2015 | Page 4
Conference website is redesigned
By Randy Keeler
During the 2014-2015 academic
year I had the privilege of
spending my sabbatical year as
youth ministry resource person
for the Ohio Conference of
Mennonite Church USA. Be-
sides serving as a resource to
congregations in specific situa-
tions when called upon, I also
planned six workshops for
youth workers in different loca-
tions around the state in an
attempt to make them accessi-
ble to all the constituent
churches.
An especially valuable experi-
ence for me was meeting with
49 pastors and sometimes oth-
er youth leaders of the 73
churches in the Conference to
hear more about their respec-
tive youth ministries and to gain
information as to how they
were attempting to live out an
Anabaptist youth ministry ap-
proach in their specific loca-
tions.
At the beginning of my work,
Tom Kauffman and I agreed
that it would be helpful to pull
together an advisory group
from the Conference to help
me focus my work in areas that
might be most helpful. The
group consisted of Heather
Miller from Orrville Mennonite,
Andrew Michaels from Camp
Luz, Craig Strasbaugh from Ki-
dron Mennonite, and Alex Dye
from Oak Grove Mennonite
(West Liberty). It was agreed
that an area of resourcing miss-
ing in the Conference was some
basic youth ministry training for
lay workers. This agreement
spawned the planning of six
area workshops geared specifi-
cally for these lay workers. The
basic theme of these work-
shops was an attempt to help
the participants think through
why they do what they do in
youth ministry, and to consider
whether what they do is con-
sistent with an Anabaptist ap-
proach to youth ministry, mak-
ing them unique to other minis-
tries in their communities.
Entering into this work as a
resource for youth ministry
within the Ohio Conference, I
was hoping to have more inter-
action with congregations in the
Conference who were looking
for help in their youth minis-
tries. I believe the one-on-one
consultations with the pastors
were helpful in two ways: I was
able to ascertain the status of
youth ministry in the Ohio
Conference, and the discussions
encouraged pastors to be think-
ing about specific areas of their
youth ministry as it relates to
an Anabaptist approach making
it distinctive from other church-
Randy Keeler reflects on his sabbatical with OC
Ohio Conference unveiled a
new website on July 24. The
Conference enlisted the help of
Web designer/developer Greg
Yoder to update the site.
The goal of the redesign was to
provide an easier and more
intuitive way to access news
and information from around
the Conference, and to con-
nect congregations to various
resources that the Conference
provides. Visitors to the site
can now use a search function
to look for specific information.
Continued on page 11
Camp Luz breaks ground for pool
says, “Take delight in the
LORD, and [God] will give you
the desires of your heart.” The
psalmist is not trying to tell us
that God will satisfy our desires
or fulfill them, but rather God
places our desires there in the
first place.
Julian of Norwich, a 14th centu-
ry mystic, explains it this way: “I
(God) am the ground of your
beseeching. First, it is my will
that you should have it, and
then I make you to wish it, and
then I make you to beseech it. If
you beseech it how could it be
that you would not have what
you beseech?” (Showings, p.
248)
So if God knows what is in our
heart, and if we place ourselves
By Dana Short Ohio Conference Prayer Coordinator
How do you pray when you
don’t know how to pray, or
what to pray? Or when
words just won’t do? How
do you pray when you’re all
prayed out? How can inter-
cessory prayer be prayed
without words? If you can
relate at all to these pon-
derings, you are not alone.
Is this perhaps a time to let
our ‘being’ be our prayer?
God created us and knows
what is in our heart. After all,
God is the initiator of the de-
sires of our heart. Psalm 37:4
in God’s presence with our
hearts open, can it be that God
will take what we hold there
and do with it what God does
best? God loves us and will do
with our desires what is right
and good.
Another way to think about
this: If we are carrying some-
thing in our hearts, and if God
is carrying us, then it follows
that God is also carrying that
which we carry. Is it not a com-
fort to know that God does not
need our flowing, flowery, per-
fectly formed words to accom-
plish what it is that we desire?
As a child of God, could it be,
just maybe, that the gift of
yourself is all God desires of us
at these times?
Praying when the words won’t come
Sept-Oct 2015 | Page 5
On Sunday, Aug. 16, Camp Luz
in Kidron hosted a ground-
breaking ceremony for the
Waterworks Project. It took
imagination on that hot, sunny
day to picture a beautiful re-
freshing pool replacing the dry
dusty ground where the crowd
gathered, but over the coming
weeks and months that is ex-
actly what will be taking place.
Those in attendance heard from
Camp Director Andrew
Michaels, committee member
Inga Troyer and Board Presi-
dent Ken Neuenschwander
about how God has been at
work throughout the process
of dreaming, planning and fund-
raising. Rev. Tom Michaels of-
fered a prayer of blessing for
the work that still lies ahead.
Two rounds of guests, including
board and committee members,
directors, a lifeguard, and a
camper representative, took
ceremonial shovels of dirt be-
fore the whole group was invit-
ed indoors for a time of re-
freshments and fellowship.
Camp Luz plans to have the
new pool ready for campers
and guest groups next summer
and to make passes available for
purchase. To learn more about
this project, visit
www.campluz.com.
Groundbreaking for Camp Luz’s new swimming pool took place Sunday, Aug. 16.
P R A Y E R F O C U S
By Michelle Dozier
Girl Talk is a ministry of Friendship
Mennonite Church in Bedford
Heights, Ohio, for girls ages 9 to
13. The majority of the girls who
attend are from Bedford Heights
Daycare, a 35-year-old community
daycare that rents space from the
church. Pastor Nan Kanagy leads
the group.
My name is Michelle and I am
here to talk about the farm field
trip with Girl Talk on Aug. 3. It
was very fun, and I had a good
time. So I am going to start off
with three things that I liked
about the farm.
The first thing was the tour of
the farm. One thing we saw
was ground cherries, and we
ate them. They were sweet.
Then we picked out onions
from the ground. You just had
to pull a little bit and they came
right out! We saw goats, and
we fed them and named them.
Their names were Snow White,
Big Daddy, Princess, and last
but not least, Fifi. The goats
were in the barn.
Then lunch time came, and we
said a prayer before we ate.
We had sandwiches, corn on
the cob, and cantaloupe. Then
everybody got done eating their
food and since it was a nice
sunny day we all lay on a big
blanket, and Pastor Nan read us
a story from the Bible. It was
about a woman who was sick
her whole life, and she touched
Jesus and was healed, and Jesus
said, “You had faith.”
Then it was the end of the day,
and we all had to come back to
the daycare. That’s why I had a
great time! I am really going to
miss Girl Talk when I move to
Texas.
church and baked about 40-45
medium-sized pizzas. About 50
people came, and about half of
them were from our congrega-
tion. This created space for
social interaction between peo-
ple who attend Bethel and fami-
lies of the children who partici-
pated in the camp. We then
showed one of the Chronicles
of Narnia movies in our sanctu-
ary. We had planned to show
this as an outdoor movie, but
the weather did not cooperate
with us.
We are very thankful to the
Ohio Conference for the grant
in 2013 that assisted us in build-
ing the pizza oven. We also
appreciate Friendship Mennon-
ite Church and their willingness
to donate used bricks from
their dismantled grill at Friend-
ship Retreat. Some of these
bricks have been incorporated
into our oven and continue to
serve the Kingdom in a different
space and way.
Soccer camp
Sept-Oct 2015 | Page 6
Friendship Mennonite ministers through its ‘Girl Talk’ program
Participants in Friendship Mennonite Church’s Girl Talk ministry tried picking onions during their trip to a farm Aug. 3.
Continued from page 3
FAQs regarding Ohio Conference funding Part of the work of the Ohio
Conference Stewardship Minis-
try is responding to questions
about Ohio Conference financ-
es. Below are answers to some
frequently asked questions.
I heard that the Ohio Con-
ference has a lot of money
in the bank but is asking for
more. Is this true?
In the current fiscal year, the
Ohio Conference is experienc-
ing a deficit. At the beginning of
the 2015-16 fiscal year (starting
April 1), the Conference had
$125,000 available for this op-
erating shortfall. Because of
action taken at the budget ap-
proval at the 2015 Annual Con-
ference Assembly, this amount
is all that is available for deficit
spending in 2015.
What about the capital
funds? What are those?
Ohio Conference has several
funds separate from the general
operating fund. Here are some
details about these funds:
Endowment Fund: The En-
dowment Fund was established
as a fund that could be used to
create grants for special initia-
tives. The Endowment Fund
rules say that only 4 percent of
the total amount in the fund
may be spent in a given year.
Given that the Endowment
Fund currently has a balance of
approximately $250,000, there
would be $10,000 available for
grants from the Endowment
Fund in this current year.
Loan Fund: This money is
available for congregations
seeking to borrow money
which they may not be able to
borrow from other sources.
Capacity Building: In 2006
the Conference started the
Capacity Building Fund. The
fund’s purpose is to provide
financial support to projects
outside the scope of normal
Conference operations. A Ca-
pacity Building Team was
formed and commissioned to
increase the capacity of the
Ohio Conference to do God’s
work by encouraging member
congregations and partners to
generously share time, spiritual
gifts, talents, energy and financ-
es. After a short time, the Ca-
pacity Building Team disbanded,
but some money remains in this
fund, and over the years the
Leadership Team and Ministry
Development Team have used
Capacity Building Funds to sup-
port a variety of special pro-
jects, such as a new website
design, Randy Keeler’s sabbati-
cal expenses while serving as a
youth ministry resource, youth
leader scholarships, LifeBridge
North and Victory Community
Church.
Short- and Long-Term Sur-
plus Funds: These are monies
that were accumulated during
some years in which more con-
tributions came in than were
spent. Rather than using these
funds for day-to-day operations,
the Conference has decided
that 20 percent of this balance
can be spent annually for grant
projects.
Why not use some of the
grant money to fund the
ongoing operations of the
Conference?
One way of thinking is that if
the current member churches
do not support the ongoing
day-to-day operations of the
Conference, why should the
Leadership Team take it upon
itself to circumvent that senti-
ment? In other words, if the
churches don’t value the ser-
vices and activities of Confer-
ence, should the Conference
keep doing what it is doing? As
the Stewardship Ministry Team,
we sensed that the 2015-2016
budget would not pass with
that kind of thinking, so a cap
on deficit spending was put into
place: Spending cannot exceed
the amount of money that has
been set aside for shortfalls,
which was a total of $125,000.
Why are we not seeing
more initiatives in church
planting and evangelism
from the Conference?
Most of Conference time is
currently being spent on main-
taining and pastoring the con-
gregations as they are. If there
are requests for additional initi-
atives and innovative programs,
there are funds available
through the grant process for
that. We would encourage
groups of congregations in geo-
graphical areas or with affinity
for a certain project to propose
those projects to the Ministry
Development Team for approv-
al. Leadership Team and Stew-
ardship Ministry would love to
see bold innovative projects
that would strengthen the
church and help to carry out
the mission of Ohio Confer-
ence. In some ways this puts
the responsibility back on con-
gregations to bring forth needs
that they see in their local are-
as. These funds will be prefer-
entially given to projects that
have the greatest potential for
spreading the good news of
Christ and carrying out his
Kingdom work.
Sept-Oct 2015 | Page 7
By Erin Dye Adriel Chaplain
Eleven themed weeks. Ten
memory verses. Forty-two
youth. More than 275 hours
of activities. What do these
numbers represent? They
are merely an outline of all
that occurred during Adri-
el’s summer program!
Many people have shared in
these precious summer
months at Adriel over the
years and know the value of
time spent under these cir-
cumstances.
Our youth have lives unlike the
average person their age, and
one of the times this becomes
clear is during the summer.
While other youth are enjoying
time off from school, vacation-
ing with their families, and
spending their days as they
choose, our Adriel youth are at
a residential treatment facility.
We still remain a residential
treatment facility, but one thing
we can do is fill our youth’s
days with fun, expose them to
new experiences, and help
them feel valued for who they
are.
Summer program consisted of
three of the five weekdays filled
with themed activities and an
off campus outing as an incen-
tive for participation and good
behaviors. The other two days
our youth kept in a school rou-
tine and worked towards need-
ed educational credits with Ti-
tle 1 teachers. If we could keep
youth engaged in a variety of
activities from playing Pictionary
to shooting water balloons,
youth could keep out of
the trouble that bore-
dom stirs and therefore
could continue to partic-
ipate in their therapeutic
treatment program that
is the foundation of their
placement at Adriel.
While some of the activ-
ities were clearly fo-
cused on a biblical mes-
sage for the week and
each week had a themed
Bible verse to memorize,
it was clear God was
present at all our activi-
ties. When a youth felt
accomplished at learning
how to swing a wiffle bat
at age 13, and when
youth invited a new
youth to join in a card
game, and when a youth
traveling off campus and
could take in the beauti-
ful sights of rural farmland, God
was glorified.
Summer program created great
community opportunities as
well. One of the highlights from
the summer was a farm tour at
a local Mennonite church mem-
ber’s home. The majority of our
youth got to attend and learn
about the milking process, pet
baby cows, take a hay ride, and
Sept-Oct 2015 | Page 8
Experiencing God in the summer
Continued on page 9
Youth at Adriel participated in a variety of activi-ties during the summer. In the top photo, an older teenage boy teaches one of the younger boys how to ride a bike. Below, a youth visiting a farm takes the opportunity to pet the calves.
Online giving — now or later? By David A. Miller
“Your church can no longer
afford to remain offline” is
the conclusion of Lake Insti-
tute of Faith and Giving.
The institute provides veri-
fiable data and counsel that
I want to share.
Some people may consider the
option of online contributions
as unnecessary or a gimmick.
But Lake Institute’s research
demonstrates that online op-
tions almost always result in a
considerable increase in annual
giving.
Currently, it appears that less
than half of all churches allow
online giving. With congrega-
tions of 200 members/
attendees or more, it’s 70 per-
cent. These congregations
spend significant time promot-
ing online giving options.
A recent study estimated that
online giving supports about 12
percent of a church’s annual
budget. Lake Institute’s anecdo-
tal research suggests it may be
closer to 33 percent for larger
congregations.
What does this mean for your
congregation?
Certainly there are expenses
and set-up work. But if you
surveyed the number of at-
tendees who carry cash or
checks, even the baby boomers
may affirm the shift in practice
toward making donations elec-
tronically.
I’ve heard numerous stories of
people who give weekly via
online options. So regardless of
attendance, they are making a
contribution.
What about the practice of
passing the offering plate? How
do we pass on the values of
generosity to the next genera-
tion? Lake Institute sees church-
es needing to tackle this issue
with both theological depth and
creativity.
I don’t have definitive answers
on how and when, but I am
convinced online giving is here
to stay. Each church will have
to decide if online giving is an
option it will offer. May God
grant wisdom as the discussion
and decisions occur.
David A. Miller is an Everence
Charitable Services Representative.
Contact him at 330-763-3191 or
playground side by side with
Bethel youth.
Although we may not have
explicitly pointed out every
time that when you have good
sportsmanship, you’re loving
your neighbor as yourself, or
when you’re trying your hard-
est to complete an obstacle
course you’re using the gifts
that God has given you, we
trust the working of the Spirit
and the healing Christ offers
our brokenness. We feel
blessed for the opportunity
and grateful for the Lord’s
strength and guidance
throughout this season!
hold a chicken. As many of our
youth come from an urban area
or haven’t had any farm con-
nections, this was a great first
experience! A handful of youth
left proclaiming they wanted to
be a farmer one day.
Another great community ex-
perience was enjoying a pizza
party from the outdoor pizza
oven at Bethel Mennonite
Church. Youth made their own
pizza, shared a dinner table with
the volunteers, and learned the
benefits of making their own
food fresh. Then they kicked
soccer balls and played on the
Adriel
“Lake Institute’s
research
demonstrates
that online
options almost
always result in
a considerable
increase in
annual giving.”
Sept-Oct 2015 | Page 9
O N B E I N G C H A R I T A B L E
Continued from page 8
Summer program at Adriel isn’t just for the youth to have new experiences! Adriel Chaplain Erin Dye reacts to the experience of holding a chicken for the first time.
Sept-Oct 2015 | Page 10
Pastoral notes
classes as well as opportunities
in the local school. Students
also got a chance to experience
the capital city of Gaborone.
The experience concluded with
a safari to see the beautiful Afri-
can landscape and wildlife.
Short, the daughter of Stan and
Sue Short, is a junior majoring
in public relations and minoring
in marketing. She is a 2012
graduate of Archbold High
School and a member of Zion
Mennonite Church.
This experience fulfilled Bluff-
ton’s undergraduate cross-
cultural requirement.
BLUFFTON, Ohio — Meg
Short of Archbold participated
in a cross-cultural experience in
Botswana May 5-27.
She and other Bluffton Universi-
ty students experienced village
life living with families in the
African country. The students
had daily activities and language
Bluffton University A B O U T P E O P L E
On July 19 Conference Minister
Tom Kauffman officiated at
David Elkins’ installation service
as part of the new pastoral
team at Central Mennonite
Church in Archbold. David, his
wife, Becky, and their two
daughters, Kaitlyn and Abby,
moved to Archbold on July 25.
Prior to coming to Central
Mennonite, David completed
nine years of service as pastor
at Lima Mennonite Church in
Lima.
Glenn Nofziger is the new associ-ate pastor at Martins Creek Mennonite Church in Millersburg. He is pictured with his wife, Erin.
Glenn Nofziger was installed as
associate pastor at Martins
Creek Mennonite Church in
Millersburg on July 12. Glenn
graduated from Eastern Men-
nonite Seminary in May. He and
his wife, Erin, have two chil-
dren, Mattea and Luke, and are
expecting their third child any
day. The congregation present-
ed Glenn with several symbols
related to ministry. Lead pastor
Jay Conn welcomed Glenn and
Erin as members.
Wendell Nofziger (Glenn's
brother), Marc Hochstetler
(pastor at Moorhead Mennonite
Church) and Regional Pastor
Ralph Reinford shared short
sermonettes during the worship
service. Ralph led the installa-
tion, anointing and prayer of
dedication and blessing. A
carry-in meal followed the ser-
vice.
Continued on page 11
David Elkins, pictured at right, was installed as part of the new pastoral team at Central Mennon-ite Church in Archbold. Also pictured is Con-ference Minister Tom Kauffman.
“Since I am
continuing as a
youth ministry
advocate for
the
Conference, I
am still
available to
congregations
who may have
specific
questions.”
David is the first pastor to be
selected on Central's new mul-
tiple staff team. The search
committee is committed to
finding at least one more full-
time pastoral candidate, and
possibly a part-time candidate
as well. David's extended family,
including his father, brother,
mother and stepfather, were
also able to join in the celebra-
tion. Tom Kauffman preached
the sermon from Luke 10 titled
“Gospel Thoughts on Pastoral
Ministry." A fellowship meal
followed the morning activities
to conclude the celebration.
Bible, a monetary gift, and a
quilt for their home pieced by
members of the congregation.
Conference Minister Tom
Kauffman officiated at Jacob
Dodson's ordination service at
Wooster Mennonite Church on
Aug. 23, 2015. The 2 p.m. ser-
vice followed a carry-in meal
for the congregation and out-
of-town guests.
Congregational members Jim
Bay and Cathy Schmid were key
lay leaders during Jacob's years
as a licensed pastor, and he
invited them to share the ordi-
nation sermon, preaching on
John 9:1-11. Jacob's son and
daughter, Micah and Aubrie,
read the scripture.
Gifts from the congregation to
Jacob and his family included a
sultation with congregations,
but I anticipated being much
busier in this area. Since I am
continuing as a youth ministry
advocate for the Conference, I
am still available to congrega-
tions who may have specific
questions or would like help in
being led through a process to
determine a new or revised
approach to their youth minis-
try. The end of this sabbatical
year does not signal an end to
my availability for resourcing
for congregations. My work at
es in their area. The workshops
held in the various regions of
the Conference allowed me the
opportunity to interact with
youth sponsors and hear some
of their joys and struggles in
working with youth.
I was expecting to be called on
more to assist with individual
congregations needing help in
re-thinking their approach to
youth ministry. This area of
work never developed to the
level which I had hoped. I was
involved in some individual con-
the university allows for this
kind of involvement, and it actu-
ally helps to enrich my teaching
as I continue to interact with
those who are on the ground
doing the day in and day out of
ministry with youth.
Thank you for the opportunity
to be involved with you this
past year in a more intentional
and deliberate way. I have been
enriched and am better for it
having occurred and hope that
the feeling is reciprocal.
Youth ministry resource
Sept-Oct 2015 | Page 11
Continued from page 10 A B O U T P E O P L E
Wooster Mennon-ite Church Pastor Jacob Dodson (left) was ordained for Christian Ministry Aug. 23 at Wooster Mennonite with Conference Minis-ter Tom Kauffman (center) leading the ordination ceremo-ny. Also pictured left to right are Jacob’s family members, including Aubrie, Micah and his wife, Katie, who is holding Hannah.
Continued from page 4
Back page briefings...
For more Ohio Conference
news, visit the Ohio
Conference website:
ohiomennoniteconference.org
both international and U.S.
travelers. Volunteers are
provided full room and
board in the Guest House
and a monthly stipend of
$140. Health insurance is
paid for full-year volunteers
if needed. Hospitality duties
include cleaning, laundry,
maintenance, baking, host-
ing breakfast and tea, and
welcoming guests. IGH is a
great location for sightsee-
ing and exploring the many
facets of Washington, D.C.
For information and an
application, contact Judy
Nord at 301-985-6858 or
or International Guest
House at 202-726-5808 or
Brazo en Brazo will
hold its annual Fiesta
Familiar Sept. 20 from 4
to 7 p.m. at Lima Mennon-
ite Church, 1318 N. Main
St., Lima. The theme for
this year’s celebration is
“Encourage each other”
based on I Thessalonians
5:11. All are invited to cele-
brate this ministry support-
ed by area Mennonite
churches, including First
Mennonite (Bluffton),
Grace Mennonite
(Pandora), Lima Mennonite,
Pike Mennonite (Elida) and
Salem Mennonite (Elida).
The Gathering Place
(http://thegatheringplace.us)
is an interactive website
intended to resource, equip
and network youth leaders
in Mennonite Church USA.
Each month the Gathering
Place highlights a different
theme and gathers people
through real-time video
conferencing to engage the
theme in a variety of ways.
Volunteer staff mem-
bers are needed at The
International Guest
House (IGH) in Washing-
ton, D.C. (for three months
or a full year) for the minis-
try of Christian hospitali-
ty. The Guest House, a
ministry of Allegheny Men-
nonite Conference, serves
Conference Calendar S E P T
18-20 Ohio Mennonite Women’s Retreat, Camp Luz, Kidron
O C T
1 Prepare-Enrich Training Workshop, Shalom Counseling and Mediation Center,
Archbold
6-7 Women in Ministry Retreat, Camp Mowana, Mansfield
17 Adriel Benefit Auction, Adriel School, West Liberty
N O V
13-15 Ohio Conference Pastor-Spouse Retreat, Mohican State Park Lodge
13-15 Youth Retreat, Camp Luz, Kidron
J A N
15-17 Junior High Retreat, Camp Luz, Kidron
22-23 Mother-Daughter Retreat, Camp Luz, Kidron
F E B
5-6 Pastor-Elder Retreat, Widewater Retreat Center, Liberty Center, Ohio
12-13 LEAD3D (Youth Leadership Project) Retreat, Camp Luz, Kidron
19-20 Pastor-Elder Retreat, Camp Buckeye, Beach City, Ohio
M A R
11-12 Annual Conference Assembly, Central Mennonite, Archbold
18-20 Men’s Retreat, Camp Luz, Kidron
