weLink
Vol.
3, No. 5: March 12, 2008
n Conference
prayers
n Remembering
Erick Sawatzky
n Transition
Team update
n Connecting
congregations
n From our IN-MI
Conference Resource Advocate
n IN-MI
Conference receives grant to explore financial challenges facing pastors
n At Bethany Christian
Schools
n Mennonite
Youth Choir Festival
n Days
of Prayer and Action for Peace in Colombia
If possible, please include
blurbs from weLink (as applicable) in your church bulletins and/or newsletters.
Thank you!
Conference prayers
In anticipation of Holy Week and Easter Sunday, pray that as followers of Jesus Christ, we would experience in a fresh way the meaning of Jesus’ suffering and the power of his resurrection in these next weeks.
Pray for IN-MI Conference’s congregational overseers, who will meet Tuesday morning, March 25, at Benton Mennonite in Goshen, Ind. Pray that God’s Spirit would guide and bless their ministry of walking with conference congregations.
Remembering Erick Sawatzky
A memorial
service for Erick Sawatzky
will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 16, at Eighth Street Mennonite,
602 South 8th St., Goshen, Ind. Erick, who taught at Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminary (AMBS), Elkhart, Ind., from 1986 to 2002, died Dec. 6, 2007,
in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. At AMBS, Erick focused on pastoral ministry and
field education. He served as overseer for Sunnyside Mennonite, Elkhart, from
January 1996 to March 2004. Erick’s obituary and tributes to him may be read at
www.ambs.edu/news-and-publications/news/Erick-Sawatzky.
Please join us and Erick’s wife and children as we celebrate the gift of his
life! -- compiled from information sent
by AMBS and Eighth Street Mennonite
Transition Team update
At the Transition Team’s March 3 meeting, team members shared about their experiences at the cluster meetings thus far; they’ve been excited by the lively, engaging conversations about adaptive and technical changes in the culture around us. The team discussed rewriting the constitution and writing job descriptions for the Missional Leadership Team and the Advisory Council, and affirmed a plan presented by Tim Burkholder for carrying out the work on the timeline.
At their next meeting -- Monday,
April 7 -- team members will begin to write the job description for the lead
conference minister, incorporating the valuable suggestions and insights
gathered from participants at the cluster meetings. They also will meet with
Tim Lichti and Nancy Kauffmann, conference regional ministers, to continue to
engage them in the transition process. --
Sarah Rohrer, Transition Team member
Connecting congregations
“The impact of the obsession with sports.” You are invited to hear Dave King, athletic director of Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va., speak on this topic at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 30, at Clinton Frame Mennonite, 63846 CR 35, Goshen. Dave will explore the current state of youth and club sports, exposing some of the myths guiding our involvements and looking at alternatives and solutions. Questions? Call Clinton Frame at 574 642-3165. -- Sheila Troyer, pastor of youth and young adults, Clinton Frame Mennonite
“Real Kids, Real Faith.” This workshop explores ways to create a more spiritual
world for children. Participants will consider how children interpret
themselves and the world; discover practices that encourage spiritual
imagination and invite children to encounter God in everything they do; reflect
on the roles of storytelling,
ritual, and community service in the lives of young people; and share stories
of life and ministries with children. Presenter: Karen Marie Yust. Pastors, children’s ministers, teachers, parents,
grandparents, and all who desire to nurture children’s faith are invited.
The workshop will be held
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in two
locations: Thursday, April 3, in
Greenwood, Ind. (Indianapolis area), and Friday,
April 4, in Fort Wayne, Ind. Cost: $30/person ($25/person for
congregational teams of three or more). Register by March 27 to guarantee lunch
and a copy of Yust’s book, Real Kids, Real Faith.
See: http://centerforcongregations.org/blogs/education_events/archive/2008/02/25/Real_5F00_Kids_5F00_Real_5F00_Faith.aspx
Several of us from Goshen churches interested in faith formation in children have heard about this resourcing workshop and think it may be of interest to others in the conference. -- Lois Kaufmann, Assembly Mennonite, Goshen
From our IN-MI Conference Resource Advocate
“Plugged in.” Parents, pastors, youth leaders and youth will find this monthly magazine a great source of information about electronic media, movies, music and video games popular with youth. It describes, discusses and evaluates e-culture on the basis of Christian values to help parents and youth leaders guide teens through the world of popular culture. See pluggedinonline.com or write to Focus on the Family, P.O. Box 35500, Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3550.
Media Matters at Third Way Café. Mennonite Media offers weekly reviews and background articles on the media at www.thirdway.com/mm/, believing that what you absorb through television, movies, radio, internet, music, video games, advertising, and news affects you and your family. Also available are articles, essays and tools to help you and your family be more aware of trends and how to critique, analyze and consume (or not!) current media.
See also the resource “Menno Lens,” a tool for evaluating Christian resources with a Mennonite eye. It offers a quick overview of criteria to consider as you select Christian resources. Use it to help your congregation choose materials that will form and reinforce strong Anabaptist/Mennonite faith among your children, youth and adults. Available for free download at: http://209.135.140.116/resourcecentre/ResourceView/5/6589
-- Eldon Stoltzfus, IN-MI Conference Resource
Advocate
IN-MI Conference receives grant to explore financial challenges facing pastors
To strengthen pastoral leadership, IN-MI Conference has received a $46,250 planning grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. as part of the first phase of their experimental Initiative to Address Economic Challenges Facing Indiana Pastors. This grant will be used to find ways to understand and respond creatively to financial pressures affecting the ministries of our pastors. The IN-MI Executive Committee, Stewardship and Finance Commission, and Church Life Commission will lead the process.
In the first phase, a five-member Economic Challenges Task Force will explore the financial pressures our pastors face and design programs to respond to these challenges. The task force will consist of three leaders from the conference constituency; a representative from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind.; and a representative from MMA, Goshen, Ind.; who will work with Timothy Burkholder, project director, and Advancement Associates, Inc., project consultants. The task force will base its programs on extensive research among pastors and church leaders.
If sufficient needs are identified, the conference would enter the second phase by applying for a grant to implement the programs designed in the first phase.
Praise God for this timely gift,
and pray for those who will carry out the work of the Task Force and for the
ongoing well being of our pastors! --
Timothy Burkholder, interim executive conference minister
At Bethany Christian Schools
Bethany Christian Schools’ Fun Fest is this Friday, March 14. Proceeds assist and benefit all Bethany students. This family event includes live and silent auctions, a carnival and food! See www.bethanycs.net or call 574 534-2567.
Mennonite Youth Choir Festival
The 2008 Mennonite Youth Choir Festival will be held March 15–16 at Goshen (Ind.) College’s Music Center, with a concert at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 16. One hundred twenty youth in grades three to eight -- representing 40 faith communities from Indiana, Michigan and Ohio -- will sing sacred choral music by Haydn, Scarlatti, Praetorius, Bedford and Delmonte, as well as hymn selections. Participants have worked to learn the pieces in their home communities.
Doors will open at 1:20 p.m.,
with prelude music beginning at 1:30 p.m. Guest director: Janeal
Crabb Krehbiel of Lawrence,
Kan. Accompanist: Miriam Augsburger of Goshen. Tickets are available on concert day at the
Music Center: $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and students. See also: www.youthchoir.mennonite.net -- Lola
Gingerich, planning committee
Days of Prayer and Action for Peace in Colombia
Days of
Prayer and Action for Peace in Colombia: April 27–28. Mennonite churches and Mennonite Central
Committee partners in Colombia are calling on their sisters and brothers in the
United States and Canada to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in
the country. April 27 is a Day of Prayer, on which congregations are
invited to join in worship with Colombians and to pray for peace and justice in
this war-torn land. April 28 is a Day of Action to witness for peace in
Colombia and to call for policy changes that better reflect the values of God’s
kingdom. Sign your congregation up by March 31 at mcc.org/colombia/. Worship and advocacy resources will be
available online. See: www.mcc.org/us/washington/days/index.html.
Questions? Contact Zach Kaufman: zkaufman@mcc.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: www.im.mennonite.net/News_Calendar/weLink
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
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