News & Events
Middle School event: Trust in a God who trusts in you
On a cool rainy Saturday in September, ninety middle school youth and seventeen youth leaders, representing thirteen churches, gathered at Eastern Mennonite High School for a Middle School one-day youth event. Welcomed by Clyde Kratz, Executive Conference Minister, and led in lively worship by Seth Crissman and Greg Troyer, the event featured speaker Rebekka Stutzman.…
Read MoreOur Stories, God’s Story: Mennonite Women of Virginia retreat
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”3″ gal_title=”Mennonite Womens Retreat 2015″] “My story is as sacred to God as God’s story is sacred to me. Nothing is lost on the breath of God,” became a familiar refrain by the end of Mennonite Women of Virginia retreat, October 30-November 1. A crisp fall weekend at Massanetta Springs Resort, near Harrisonburg,…
Read MoreHow VMC is equipping leaders; will you join us?
As I pray and reflect, I can’t help but remember working through the logistics necessary to carry out Executive Conference Minister Clyde Kratz’s vision over the past calendar year: A January “Forum on Prison Ministry,” an effort to collaborate on the issue of overcrowding in the Harrisonburg/Rockingham County Jail, and other issues and ministry opportunities…
Read MorePastoral Consultation meets to engage questions of “Same-Gender Attraction, Relationship, Lifestyle”
One hundred pastors and credentialed leaders in Virginia Mennonite Conference gathered in November at Lindale Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, Va., for a three-day Pastoral Consultation, a time of intentional listening, sharing and discernment on “Same-Gender Attraction, Relationship, Lifestyle.” This was the fifth in a series of five Virginia Mennonite Conference consultations that offered a space for…
Read MoreA God ‘bigger than our differences’
Planners for the Mennonite Church USA Convention in Kansas City carefully assigned delegates to tables of eight or nine persons to reflect both geographical and viewpoint diversity. None of us at Table 22 knew each other beforehand, but the preliminary conversations around the table went at ping-pong speed as we quickly established commonalities and relationships.…
Read MorePastoral Consultation: Same-Gender Attraction, Relationship, Lifestyle
Event: Missional Church: Vision, Learning, Refocus
Conference Archives seeks church records for preservation
Congregations are busy with many activities that require their attention, but it is important for them to preserve the historical record of God’s work in and through their congregational life and ministries. Every congregation should have an historian who regularly collects, organizes and sends their records to the Virginia Mennonite Conference Archives for preservation and…
Read MoreIn action: How Harrisonburg District is making disciples
The spiritual dance of disciple-making takes many forms in, among and beyond the Harrisonburg District churches: Invitations to faith and baptism—One of my greatest joys in walking with pastors is seeing the smiles on their faces when they tell the stories of persons coming to faith in Jesus Christ and recent baptisms. I have also…
Read MoreContinual transformation: Manantial de Vida coaches with discipleship classes
From this moment on, we face one of our biggest challenge as the Body of Christ; to make true disciples of Jesus. At Manantial De Vida (Fountain of Life), we are committed to walk through this process with any person who joins this ministry. The process of following up, teaching, and mentoring are key to…
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