WDC-Stories Archives - Western District Conference

When Praying Is Hard

Sometimes it is hard to pray. Someone we love is dying. The world around us seems so stressful we don’t know how to begin to pray about what concerns us. It’s hard for […]

Summer garden reflections

It’s that time of the year again! My garden is in full bloom, with tomatoes and peppers ripening, green beans and okra ready to pick, sweet potato vines spreading rapidly, […]

Accompanying in Fear: A Reflection on Love and Action in a Time of Uncertainty

The day I accompanied a friend to an ICE check-in appointment, fear was thick in the air. There was silence where there is usually conversation. Tension replaced the joy that […]

The Power of Story

[Stories] “welcome us in. Stories are verbal acts of hospitality,” according to Eugene Peterson. This rings true. We share our own stories with friends. We listen with rapt attention to […]

WDC Voices From Zurich

*Pictured: Several WDCers at the 500 years of Anabaptism celebration in Zurich, Switzerland. Top left: Delon Martens, Top Right: Samuel and Rachel Voth Schrag and their children, Bottom left: Wendy […]

An IRA qualified charitable distribution can be a tax-wise way of supporting WDC

Many friends of Western District Conference (WDC) support our programs by making regular financial gifts. Some are able to make these gifts from their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) through a […]

Mirrors and Windows

Every year when I teach my Children’s Literature course of (mostly) pre-service teachers, I talk to my students about selecting appropriate texts for use at home, in the classroom setting, […]

Making Space for Kids Makes Space for Everyone

The more I reflect on the priority of the Kids Meet Christ (KMC) program, “making space for kids in worship,” the more I think about accessibility. As I said to […]

Let the children come – and let us worship!

*Pictured: KMC Administrative Assistant, Jennie Wintermote (left), distributing a KMC “Prayground” kit to Debbie Goossen of First Mennonite Church, Beatrice, NE (right). As part of the program, all WDC Congregations […]

“God’s Love Knows No Borders”

*Pictured: 150 Mennonites gathered to walk together and hold a worship service protest in front of the Harvey County Courthouse in Newton, KS to call for compassion instead of deportation, […]

¡Jesús ha resucitado… y sigue caminando con nosotros!

“¿No ardía nuestro corazón mientras nos hablaba en el camino…?” Lucas 24:32 (NVI) El sepulcro está vacío. Cristo ha resucitado. Las canciones del Domingo de Resurrección aún resuenan en nuestros […]

Equipping for congregational leadership

Congregational leadership is not easy these days… but, of course, it’s never been simple! The New Testament epistles reveal that already in the early days of Christian community, leaders worked […]

Who Needs to Know? : OPAC Edition

Last month I highlighted some of the digital library resources available FOR FREE to any attendee of a WDC congregation. This month I want to highlight our amazing OPAC. What’s […]

Esperanza para la misión

*En la imagen: Participantes de Esperanza para el Futuro uniéndose al servicio dominical en español de la Iglesia Menonita Universitaria. BIPOC Líderes menonitas y aliados se reunieron en la College […]

Together

*Photo by Nicole Baster on Unsplash One of the ways that I recognize the Holy Spirit at work is when I begin to hear the same message repeated again and […]

Hope for the future, encouragement for the journey

Recently I traveled with several other WDC members to attend the Hope for the Future conference in Goshen, IN. Hope for the Future started in 2011, as a gathering of […]

Do You Have A Vision To Share?

Over the past few months, I have enjoyed meeting with friends of Western District Conference to hear how the conference has impacted their lives and to share updates about WDC […]

Who Needs to Know?

I received an email this week from someone in the central Kansas area who wanted to have their worship committee meeting at the WDC offices. (Of course! We’re happy to […]

CPC Guatemala Learning Tour: A Journey of Church Growth, Cultural Immersion, and Mutual Support

*Pictured: Our recent Church Planting Learning Trip to Guatemala was a deeply enriching experience. We focused on strengthening our relationships with our churches there, listening to their hopes and challenges, […]

Kids Meet Christ Initiative Press Release

In October, Western District Conference (WDC) of Mennonite Church USA received a $677,730 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support its new Kids Meet Christ program, encouraging congregations to reimagine […]