June 24 issue
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Photo by Rina Harding/MC USA
MC USA plants 85 churches in five years
ELKHART, Ind. — In recent years, examinations of Mennonite Church USA demographics have focused on declining membership. But a recent list offers a new perspective.
A “snapshot” inventory compiled by MC USA shows 85 new congregations since January 2008. The inventory, based on information shared by 17 of 21 area conferences, includes new church plants as well as several established congregations that have joined area conferences. It does not include memberships transferred among conferences.
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Fabric of support
TSHIKAPA, Congo — Women’s ordination is a miracle that “affirms our value as women in the church, especially in a culture that has treated women as objects,” says Theresa Tudiakuile.
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Hangout for ‘MennoNerds’
A crowd of Anabaptists is communing outside church walls and inside every social media platform imaginable.
June 10 issue
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As Syria’s civil war worsens, MCC works toward $1.5M goal
AKRON, Pa. — Just when it seems like the situation in Syria can’t get any worse, it does, said Sarah Adams, Mennonite Central Committee representative for Syria and Lebanon.
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FPU history professor retiring after 44 years
FRESNO, Calif. — Each time Paul Toews led a pilgrimage to Ukraine, he closed a circle for himself and thousands of other Mennonites.
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Immigration celebrated
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Iglesia Menonita Hispana (Hispanic Mennonite Church) hosted a celebration of immigration May 3-4 at Iglesia Menonita Arca de Salvación.
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Man pleads guilty in home invasion, assault of three women
LANCASTER, Pa. — A 24-year-old man pleaded guilty May 30 to charges related to the home invasion, robbery and assault of three Mennonite women ages 85-91 on Dec. 14, Lancaster Online reported.
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MDS focuses on tornadoes’ forgotten victims
SHAWNEE, Okla. — The deadly tornado that ripped through Moore May 20 leveled a neighborhood and grabbed the nation’s attention. The tornadoes that struck the region a day earlier — also deadly, though less so — were mostly forgotten.
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Virginia church plant growing fast
HARRISONBURG, Va. — Peter Eberly read Conrad Kanagy’s profile of Mennonite Church USA and knew something needed to be done if the faith tradition he valued so deeply was going to survive.
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Delegation to Washington calls for immigration reform
A delegation of Mennonite leaders with firsthand experience with the U.S. immigration system gathered in Washington, D.C., May 14-15 to meet with congressional representatives and advocate for just and humane immigration reform.
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Honoring God and memories, Kansas church closes
PAWNEE ROCK, Kan. — The strains of hymns wafted through Bergthal Mennonite Church’s 1915 sanctuary as 350 worshipers paid their last respects.
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Philadelphia Anabaptists celebrate Pentecost
PHILADELPHIA — More than 100 worshipers erupted in applause as Tam Tran finished the opening riff on his South Vietnamese vong co-style guitar. As he began a soft strum, two more musicians joined to sing a song they had composed at a workshop two weeks earlier.
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AMBS grads challenged to speak with language of love
Goshen, Ind. — Scripture was read in Greek and English, but graduates were challenged to speak in the language of love at the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary commencement service May 25 at College Mennonite Church.
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Journey proclaims hospitality
As Elizabeth Soto Albrecht journeys from her home in Lancaster, Pa., to the Mennonite Church USA assembly in Phoenix, she will stop to listen to stories of congregations most impacted by the decision to hold the convention there.
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Peacebuilding spreads across S. Korean community
When Korea Anabaptist Center leaders established the Korea Peacebuilding Institute as a separate organization late last year and moved it from its shared office in downtown Seoul, they envisioned having a wider impact in its new South Korean community.
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A healthy church needs to review its pastor
Leadership in church institutions involves a sacred trust that we should always seek to improve. In my experience, pastors and other leaders welcome review and evaluation as a way to strengthen their role.
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