weLink
Vol.
4, No. 18: Oct. 28, 2009
- From the editor
- Remembering Elno
Steiner
- Missional Leadership Team update
- New server donated!
- Events
- At Amigo Centre
- At Bethany Christian Schools
- In the wider church
If
possible, please include blurbs from weLink (as applicable) in your church
bulletins and/or newsletters. Thank you!
From the editor
The Oct. 14 issue of weLink was canceled to give the editor (me!) an opportunity to use some unused vacation time. I hope you didn’t miss the issue too much! I deeply appreciated my time out of the office.
As part of a server upgrade in our office, this week I temporarily lost access to e-mails received before Oct. 26. (By the grace of God and with the brilliant work of our independently contracted IT person, my files will be reinstalled in the next few days.) If you sent an item to be included in this issue of weLink and you don’t see it here, I apologize! Please e-mail me again, and we’ll see what we can do to get the word out. Thank you for understanding!
-- Annette Brill Bergstresser, editor
Remembering Elno Steiner
We mourn the loss of Elno W. Steiner, 84, of Goshen, Ind., who died Oct. 16 at Elkhart
General Hospital after having been ill since a fall on Oct. 3 while on a walk. Elno served as a pastor at the following Mennonite
churches: Olive, Elkhart, Ind.; Waterford, Goshen; Pleasant View and Chestnut
Ridge, Orrville, Ohio; Grand Marais, Upper Peninsula, Mich.; Sonnenberg, Kidron, Ohio; and
Salem, Wooster, Ohio; retiring in 2002 after 50 years of pastoral ministry. He
received a bachelor’s degree in Bible from Goshen College in 1950 and a ThB in 1951 from Goshen Biblical Seminary, and was ordained
in 1951. He had a genuine pastor’s heart and was an effective encourager to
many. He also loved gardening, writing and poetry. Elno
is survived by his wife, Mabel; two daughters; one son; grandchildren and
great-grandchildren; five brothers; and three sisters. Services were held at
Olive Mennonite. Memorials may be sent to Mennonite Central Committee. Elno’s obituary may be read online: www.goshennews.com/obituaries/local_story_292105821.html
Missional Leadership Team update
The Missional Leadership Team (MLT) met for a full day Oct. 27 at Clinton Frame Mennonite in Goshen, Ind., and have additional meetings scheduled for Jan. 5 and March 25, 2010. The team anticipates setting a rhythm of quarterly meetings in the new conference structure.
New server donated!
We are grateful for the generous contribution of a new server
for the conference office’s computer network by an anonymous donor. It was way
past time to get a new server, so this gift feels like a breath of fresh air
and wide open space! (For any tech savvy people who are interested, our old
server was limping along on a mere 60 GB of hard drive space.) After we
received the new hardware, we contracted out the labor to migrate our data from
the old server to the new. We are grateful for this generous and timely gift! -- Heidi King, administrative coordinator
Events
“Living with
Spirit in the Midst of Empire”: Fourth Annual St. Marcellus Day Celebration:
Oct. 30–31 in South Bend, Ind. Plan to join us; it’s not too late! Keynote address and workshop facilitator: Mary Jo Leddy, a scholar, professor and activist who lives
and works with refugees in Toronto. The St.
Marcellus Celebration is sponsored by the Center for Peace and Nonviolence of St.
Joseph County, which seeks to explore, practice and promote Jesus’ nonviolent
way of righting wrong. The events are free and open
to the public; the Saturday workshop requires pre-registration. See: www.cpnv.net/Events.htm
What Would Lloyd Do? performances to be held
Nov. 7 and 8 at the old Goshen (Ind.) Theater (216 S. Main St.).
This new show from Ted & Company TheaterWorks stars
Ted Swartz and Trent Wagler -- along with Jay Lapp
and a choir of local singers -- and is directed by Ingrid De Sanctis. The play includes original music, lots of humor,
and themes of disappointment, disillusionment, faith and hope, within the
context of a church and a radio program. The play will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, and at 4
p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8. Goshen’s
LaCasa and Downtown 8:08 join Ted & Company TheaterWorks in sponsoring the show; a portion of the
ticket sales will benefit LaCasa. The show is
appropriate for all ages. For tickets, call 574 535-0808 (Wed-Fri), order
online at www.goshentheater.com, or purchase at the
door. Advance tickets are $12/adult; $7/student (premier seating is reserved
for advance ticket holders). General seating tickets are available at the door
for $2 more.
“Through the
Garden Gate in Afghanistan:” 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 10, at Newcomer 19, Goshen (Ind.) College. Please join us for
a special Michiana Mennonite Economic Development Associates
(MEDA) chapter meeting to hear Lana Mo, MEDA Afghanistan horticulture
development manager. Everyone is welcome to attend this free event!
“Grief, Spirituality and Sexuality: Life after Losing a Spouse”: Dec. 4–6 at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center, Mt. Pleasant, Pa. During this weekend retreat for widowed persons and
those walking with them, Presenter Rachel Nafziger Hartzler
will explore themes of suffering, lament and hope -- including a ritual service
addressing grief during the holiday season -- while creating a space where
participants can share with one another in a safe, uplifting environment. To
learn more and to register, visit www.laurelville.org, call 800 839-1021, or e-mail Rachel at rach@maplenet.net.
At Amigo Centre
We invite your prayers for those participating in and leading this weekend’s annual Pastoral Leadership Team Weekend at Amigo Centre, Sturgis, Mich. May they be given Spirit-led insights that will help them further extend God’s healing and hope in their communities. (The event is co-sponsored by Amigo Centre and IN-MI Conference.)
At Bethany Christian Schools
Senior Class Fish Fry: 4:30–8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30
at Bethany Christian High
School, Goshen, Ind. Come for an evening of fellowship, homemade pie, and all
the fish you can eat! Tickets are $8.25 for adults and carryout and $5.25 for
children K–6 (preschool-age free). Tickets may be purchased from any Bethany
senior or at the school (574 534-2567).
The Curious Savage, a heartwarming comedy for all ages, will be
presented Nov. 20–22 by Bethany
Christian High School. The Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m.,
and the Sunday performance is at 3 p.m. Tickets may be reserved beginning Oct.
30 by calling 574 534-2567 ($8/adult, $6/student). See: www.bethanycs.net/curious_savage
In the wider church
Is your church welcoming to persons with disabilities? How do you know? One way to find
out is to use ADNet’s (Anabaptist Disabilities Network) Individual
and Family Needs Questionnaire. The questionnaire is reproducible -- it can be distributed to each
household in your congregation; revealing -- allowing family members to
share how they feel included or excluded in the church; respectful -- responses can be signed or unsigned
and are seen by a select committee and summarized by them for the congregation;
resourceful -- it can be
used on its own or as part of a larger study and action on congregational
inclusion of persons with disabilities; and ready -- visit the Congregational
Accessibility Network website (www.accessibilitynetwork.net) for more
details and to download the form.
Prayer support for Mennonite education. Encourage your congregation
to sign up for a free subscription to “Prayers for Faith and Learning,” a monthly
listing of specific prayer requests for Mennonite educational institutions and
programs of Mennonite Church USA. (Mennonite Education Agency would also
appreciate being included in your prayers as they work with the 40+ preschools,
elementary and secondary schools, colleges/universities, seminaries and educational
programs.) View the requests at www.MennoniteEducation.org/PRAYERS, or
e-mail info@MennoniteEducation.org to subscribe (using
“Subscription to prayers” as the subject and including the congregation’s name,
e-mail address to be used, and contact person’s name in the message). MEA
appreciates your help in strengthening the church through education!
Submissions wanted for new book on living simply and sustainably: Simply Sustainable scheduled for release in fall 2010. What are you doing to live more simply and sustainably? Mark Beach and Mary Beth Lind, the authors of a new Mennonite Publishing Network (MPN) book, Simply Sustainable, want to know. Like previous MPN books such as More With Less (1976) and Simply in Season (2005), Simply Sustainable will also draw on the wisdom of people around the globe. Categories people can write about include food, cleaning, energy conservation, fair trade, money and barter, recycling as well as physical, spiritual and mental health and other topics. To offer a submission, or to learn more about the book, go to www.simply-sustainable.org/.
weLink serves to connect IN-MI Conference congregations to
each other, to Amigo Centre and Bethany Christian Schools, and to the wider
church. It is published on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. weLink issues are archived on the conference web site
at: im.mennonite.net/news/welink/welink.php
To subscribe to or unsubscribe from the weLink mailing list, contact the conference office: imoffice@im.mennonite.net
Editor: Annette Brill Bergstresser, annette@im.mennonite.net (Send
material for the Nov. 11 weLink by noon
on Nov. 9.)
Indiana-Michigan
Mennonite Conference
Mailing address: 212 S. Main St., Goshen, IN 46526-3723
Phone: 574 534-4006; 800 288-8486
E-mail: imoffice@im.mennonite.net
Web site: www.im.mennonite.net