WESTERN DISTRICT CONFERENCE

SPROUTS

 February 13, 2018

A weekly communication for:

WDC Churches and Pastors

WDC Executive Board, Commission, Committee and Task Force members

Any content may be used in bulletins and newsletters and

forwarded to congregational leaders and members.

WDC Sprouts is also available at:  www.mennowdc.org (Publications)

IN THIS ISSUE:

*Pastoral Openings

*News and Transitions

*Announcements

Pastoral Openings
First Mennonite Church, Hillsboro, KS – Pastor

News and Transitions

First Mennonite Church, McPherson, KS has called Rose Marie Zook Barber to be their next Pastor.  She anticipates beginning on May 18.  Randy Smith, who has been the Transition Pastor, will conclude on May 13.

Glen Guyton has been named the new Mennonite Church USA Executive Director, effective May 1.  Glen is a member of the San Antonio Mennonite Church in Texas.

Lois and Tom Harder, Co-Pastors at Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, Wichita, KS, have resigned, effective at the end of August.

Milton Harder, retired pastor, died on January 30 in Goessel, KS.  Milton served as Associate Pastor at Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church, Goessel, KS from 1989-94.

Our sympathy to Karen Mascho upon the death of her husband Steve on February 11 following a journey with cancer and hospice.  His memorial service will be on March 3 at the Gladewater (Texas) Bible Church.  Karen is a Spiritual Director for Prison Ministry with Kairos Outside Ministry in Oklahoma City, OK.

Aurora Parchmont started as Associate Pastor at Iglesia Menonita Casa del Alfarero in Pasadena, TX in December 2017, and will celebrate her installation service on February 18.

WDC announcements

  1. The next Leadership Lunch will be on February 22 from 12-1:30 pm at the WDC office.  The topic is:  “Make conscious choices (intervene skillfully)”.  All are welcome to attend this conversation on Kansas Leadership Center concepts, even if you haven’t attended a KLC training.  Bring your own lunch.  (Instructions to connect by Zoom video conference:  Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/659139163.  Or iPhone one-tap: US: +16699006833,,659139163##  or +14086380968,,659139163##.  Or Telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):  US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 408 638 0968  or +1 646 876 9923.  Meeting ID: 659 139 163.)
  1. The WDC/SCC Women’s Spring Supper will be at 6 pm on Thursday, March 15, at Whitestone Mennonite Church, 629 Crescent Drive in Hesston, KS.  Meal (Ham, potatoes & more) for $10 by Whitestone Mennonite Youth with payment to them.  Program at 7 pm with Joanna Gerber Pinkerton, daughter of Mennonite missionaries in the Belgian Congo, on Faith in Everyday Life.Music, Sadie and the Prowlers, from Hesston College.  Offering for AIMM, Women’s Literacy training in the Congo. Checks made to WDWM and memo line AIMM.  Reservations due by March 8 to Marlene Faul, 316-283-3342 or westerndistrictwomen@gmail.com (Poster attached.)
  1. Pastors’ Brown Bag Lunch:  As part of the Year of Evangelism, join the conversation about the book Comeback Churcheson April 18 at the WDC office.  If your church did not receive this gift from Resource Commission, please contact Kathy (kathynd@mennowdc.org).  How is your congregation integrating ideas from the book?  What are your struggles?  What are your evangelism dreams for your context?  Bring your lunch.  Drinks provided.

Camp Mennoscah announcements

  1. Last chance for the February 23-25 Scrapbook and Crafts Retreat at Camp Mennoscah!  Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to spend time with memories and crafty creations.  Register online at campmennoscah.organd call 620-297-3290 with any questions.  A second Scrapbook and Crafts Retreat will be held March 2-4.
  1. Hymn Sing and Dessert Auction for “Creation, Craftiness, and Cooling Off”! Camp Mennoscah invites everyone to join us from 4-6 p.m. on Sunday, February 25,at Whitestone Mennonite Church in Hesston. We’ll sing our favorite hymns, bid on delectable desserts, and hear about how, with your help, camp provides afternoon activities for campers to stay cool, be crafty, and learn about God’s creation. Funds raised will go toward the Camp Mennoscah general fund. Come and join us! (Poster attached.)
  2. Camp Mennoscah’s annual Youth Volunteer Weekend for grades 7-12 is March 16-17!  This over-the-top, laid-back, faith-filled and service-doused retreat should not be missed!  We will stay in the Retreat Center due to renovations at the Main Camp kitchen.  There will be music, worship, counselors, and projects for all.  Parents and sponsors do not need to attend.  Register online at campmennoscah.orgor contact us at 620-297-3290 for assistance.  We’ll see you there! (Poster attached.)
  3. It’s a new kitchen!  Camp Mennoscah is seeking kitchen helpers for our summer youth camps.  The renovations of the kitchen will be complete and it will be a whole new world of cooking fun.  Parents receive a camper discount up to full camp fees.  Contact us at 620-297-3290for further information.
  1. It’s Beyond Belief that our summer youth camps are already looming in the future!  Register your campers online today at campmennoscah.org!  Our summer theme is “Beyond Belief! The Universe of God” and we’ll be learning how God’s endless love launches amazing adventures.  Register online at campmennoscah.org!  Need more information?  Call us at 620-297-3290–we’re so ready for camp that we’re bouncing in our boots!

Mennonite church announcements
1.  It’s not too late to start Lent family worship.  Just go to www.anabaptistfaithformation.org and download “Between Me & You,” a free guide for family worship from now through Easter, April 1.

  1. Hesston College’s Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series (AVDS) conference Feb. 23-25 will offer ordinary people a change to effect change in their context.  Hear from respected teachers and theologians, including the Dr. Drew G.I. Hart of Messiah College, Wichita-area pastors Kevass Harding and Lois Harder, Hesston Bible professor Michele Hershberger and Kansas Leadership Center faculty.  Learn about the Doctrine of Discovery through the Ted & Co. TheaterWorks show, “Discovery:  A Comic Lament.”  Register by February 16 at hesston.edu/avds.  $100/person, $75/each for two or more.  (A video previewing the AVDS conference weekend can be found at hesston.edu/avds.  You are welcome to share this video during your Sunday worship time or in whatever ways you see fit.)
  1. Ted & Company Theaterworks will present “Discovery:  A Comic Lament”at 7 pm, Saturday, February 24, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus.  Starring Ted Swartz and Michelle Milne, this newest production of Ted & Co., is a play about the Doctrine of Discovery, the legal framework that justifies the theft of land and oppression of Indigenous Peoples.  It weaves through time and geography, offering both comic and challenging glimpses into the absurdity of white settler oppression of Indigenous Peoples and the land we live on.  Tickets are $12 for adults and can be purchased at the door or in advance at the Hesston College Bookstore, 620-327-8104.  Youth through high school age are free.  Participants in Hesston College’s AVDS weekend receive a ticket through their conference registration.
  1. Mennonites and the Holocaust Conference – March 16-17 at Bethel College, North Newton, KS– The history of Mennonites as victims of violence in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly on the territory of the Soviet Union, and as relief workers during and after the Second World War has been studied by historians and preserved by many family histories. This commemorative and celebratory history, however, hardly captures the full extent of Mennonite views and actions related to nationalism, race, war, and survival. It also ignores extensive Mennonite pockets of sympathy for Nazi ideals of racial purity and among some in the diaspora an exuberant identification with Germany that have also long been noted. Now in the last decade an emerging body of research has documented Mennonite involvement as perpetrators in the Holocaust in ways that have not been widely known or discussed. A wider view of Mennonite interactions with Jews, Germans, Ukrainians, Roma, Volksdeutsche, and other groups as well as with state actors is therefore now necessary. This conference aims to document, publicize, and analyze Mennonite attitudes, environments, and interactions with others in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s that shaped their responses to and engagement with Nazi ideology and the events of the Holocaust.  More information and register by March 9 at:  https://www.bethelks.edu/academics/convocation-lecture-series/mennonites-and-the-holocaust/
  1. Healthcare Student Essay Project: Anabaptist students in all healthcare disciplines are eligible to submit an essay in connection with the Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship (MHF) Annual Gathering 2018, June 22-24 at Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio. Share your perspective on the theme: “Stories of Healing.” Contest is open to  those currently enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate, professional, residency, fellowship, or internship programs relating to health (physical, mental, or spiritual) who also support the mission of MHF to be an interdisciplinary community of Anabaptist health professionals. Deadline is February 28. Winners will be published in Mennonite Health Journaland receive free registration for the June Annual Gathering. For more information, go to www.mennohealth.org/essays/ or contact info@mennohealth.org.

Western District Conference

2517 North Main, PO Box 306

North Newton KS  67117

316-283-6300; FAX:  316-283-0620

Email:  wdc@mennowdc.org

Website:  www.mennowdc.org