weLink
Vol.
3, No. 1: Jan. 9, 2007
n Conference
office updates
n Conference
prayers
n Remembering
James Waltner
n Remembering
Samuel Hernandez
n Transition
Team update
n Cluster
meeting schedule
n Connecting
congregations
n At Bethany Christian
Schools
n At
Amigo Centre -- upcoming events
If possible, please include blurbs from weLink (as applicable) in
your church bulletins and/or newsletters. Thank you!
Conference office updates
Happy new year to each of you! The conference office will be closed Jan. 21 in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
Conference prayers
Join us in giving thanks for Tim Burkholder’s presence in our office as interim executive conference minister! Tim B. was licensed toward ordination Jan. 6 at Waterford Mennonite, Goshen, Ind., for his work in this role. Tim can be contacted at timothyburkholder@im.mennonite.net or by phone via the conference office.
On Jan. 2, we sent an e-mail to weLink readers requesting prayer on behalf of Gladys Maina and Simon Mungai, pastors at Morning Star Church in Muncie, Ind., for safety for their family and friends and for peace in their homeland of Kenya, where hundreds of Kenyans have died in widespread violence following national elections on Dec. 27. In addition, Simon’s mother passed away Jan. 1 (peacefully at home in Kenya), but the family has not been able to get together to bury her because of these circumstances. Gladys and Simon come from the Kikuyu tribe that is being targeted.
Jan. 8 update: Things are calming down in the cities, but
Gladys and Simon still are not able to contact some family members. They
continue to face many unknowns but are very appreciative of support they’ve received
from other congregations. See this article on Mennonite Central Committee’s
support of a Kenyan organization that is working to bring an end to this violence:
www.mcc.org/news/news/article.html?id=290 -- Tim Lichti, conference regional minister
Remembering James Waltner
We
mourn the loss of James H. Waltner, 76, of Goshen, Ind. -- current overseer,
former conference moderator and former pastor -- who passed away Dec. 18. James
was active in church work for more than five decades. He spent the last ten
years of his pastoral ministry at College Mennonite in Goshen, Ind., retiring
in 1996. At the time of his death, he was serving as overseer for five IN-MI
Conference congregations: Belmont Mennonite and Belmont Neighborhood Fellowship
in Elkhart, Ind.; East Goshen Mennonite; Kern Road Mennonite in South Bend, Ind.;
and North Goshen Mennonite. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma last summer.
In the correspondence that James and Lenore’s children -- Rachel, JoAn and Tim -- sent to the conference office, they noted
that James’ journey with cancer has been difficult for all of them, but that
they have felt surrounded by caring concern, love, and prayers. Please continue
to keep the family in your prayers. See James’ obituary: www.goshennews.com/archivesearch/local_story_355111507.html
Remembering Samuel Hernandez
We also mourn the loss of the Reverend Samuel F. Hernandez, 66, of Goshen, Ind., Jan. 3. Sam’s life intersected in many ways with people and congregations in IN-MI Conference and across the Mennonite Church. After planting the first Hispanic Mennonite church in Woodburn, Ore. -- now the Iglesia Menonita Pentecostes -- he served as pastor of Iglesia Menonita del Buen Pastor in Goshen (1977–79). He also was executive secretary for the Mennonite Church General Board Office of Latin Concerns and served on the IN-MI Conference Executive Committee. At the time of his death, he was interim pastor of Fuente de Vida in Goshen. We extend our condolences to his wife Donna and the extended family. We invite your prayers for Sam’s family. See the obituary: www.goshennews.com/obituaries/local_story_004223218.html
Transition Team update
During 2008, we on the IN-MI Conference Transition Team (TT) invite you to join us in a journey of focusing on and listening to Luke 10:1-12 -- the story of Jesus sending out the 70 -- believing that both the TT and the conference as a whole will navigate the transition to the new organizational system most joyfully if we find our source in Scripture.
We are encouraging elder groups, area councils, and participants in cluster meetings and annual sessions to allow this Scripture passage to inform and shape the conference’s transformation process, believing that its call to leave the familiar and risk the future will be important as we go forward. We see our work as not simply about making technical adjustments to our structure but about changing our thinking about how the conference furthers God’s mission. -- Gene Hartman (chair), Dan Miller, Sarah Rohrer, Bill Scott, Klaudia Smucker, John Troyer, Tim Burkholder
The Transition Team met Jan. 7. They reflected on their invitation to the conference to focus on the Luke 10 passage, recognizing that for some people, it is a new “assignment” and for others, already familiar. They affirmed the help that this passage offers in joining the work of God in our culture today.
The team prepared for their part in the upcoming cluster meetings, where
time will be used to shape roles and job descriptions and to introduce a timeline
for the transition process. Team members also considered how to coordinate the
parts of their work that intersect with the ongoing work of the executive committee.
They committed to fasting and praying on the Thursday before the next meeting
(March 3). -- Tim Burkholder, Transition
Team member
Cluster meeting schedule
Plan now to join people from fellow congregations at your regional cluster meeting in February/March! A major part of the time will be led by the Transition Team. Anyone who is interested is welcome to attend! The meetings will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in these locations:
Feb. 9: Northeastern Indiana at Marion Mennonite in Shipshewana
Feb. 16: North Central Indiana (Elkhart) at Pleasant View Mennonite in Goshen
Feb. 23: North Central Indiana (Goshen) (location to be announced)
March 1: Southern Michigan at Locust Grove Mennonite in Burr Oak
March 8: Northwestern Indiana at North Main Street Mennonite in Nappanee
March 15: Central/Southern Indiana; Kentucky; Tennessee at First Mennonite of Indianapolis
March 29: Northern Michigan (location to be announced)
Connecting congregations
Which resources has your congregation used to provide leadership training for people in lay ministry positions? Some congregations have a “system,” while others are looking for resources in areas such as conflict resolution, communication and teamwork. Some have had success in working with elder teams using Anne Stuckey’s book, Training Ministry Teams: A Manual for Elders and Deacons. We invite you to share about resources you have found helpful. Also, let us know if this is an area in which you would like to see the conference develop resources in the form of seminars, reading lists, or training events in your region. Send responses to Tim Lichti, conference regional minister: tim@im.mennonite.net
Grammy-nominated folksinger John McCutcheon will be at Waterford Mennonite, Goshen, Ind., Feb. 9–10. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, he’ll give a free lecture titled “The arts as an agent for social change.” Special guests will include actors from Bethany Christian Schools, performing a scene from their upcoming drama, “Dead Man Walking.” At 6 p.m. Saturday evening, McCutcheon will perform a concert titled "Stories of peace and justice." He’ll take part in Waterford’s 9 a.m. worship service on Sunday. For concert tickets, contact Waterford: 574 533-5642 or wmc@waterfordchurch.org
At Bethany Christian Schools
Bethany Christian Schools’ (BCS) Fun Fest will be held March 14! Quilters: Come join other BCS friends and family to complete a quilt to be auctioned at the event. The quilt will be set up in the school lobby from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each school day. Check in at the office upon arrival. To reserve a complimentary lunch, call ahead: 574 534-2567
At Amigo Centre -- upcoming events
Jan. 18–20....... Winter Youth Retreat (Senior High), speaker: Michele Hershberger
Feb. 15–17....... Winter Youth Retreat (Junior High), speaker: Moriah Hurst
Feb. 22–24....... Winter Youth Retreat (Senior High), speaker: John D. Roth
March 13.......... Amigo Friends Banquet, Das Dutchman Essenhaus, Middlebury, Ind.
March 28–30.... Scrapbooking Retreat
April 4–6.......... Quilting Retreat
April 25–27....... Engaged and Pre-engaged Couples Retreat, speaker: Wes Bontreger
April 26............ Woodcutting Day
April 25–27....... Married Couples Retreat, speaker: Andrew Stoner
May 9–10......... Mother/Daughter Scrapbooking Retreat
May 16............ Amigo Park opens
To learn more, see www.amigocentre.org online or call 269 651-2811. We look forward to connecting with you soon!
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: www.im.mennonite.net/News_Calendar/weLink.
Editor: Annette Brill Bergstresser, annette@im.mennonite.net
To subscribe to or unsubscribe from the weLink mailing list, contact the conference office: imoffice@im.mennonite.net
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