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Rooted in Christ as God’s beloved daughters
When did you last splotch colors of paint on your hand, then stamp your handprint on paper? This was the beginning of a beautiful piece of art at Women’s Retreat as we reflected on being Rooted in Christ. Each session we added something more to the picture — roots growing deep, branches high and…
A small congregation reaches out in a big way
3:16 Christian Community Church is a relatively small group that has made it our mission to be a big part of our surrounding community. We are located in a suburban setting on the edge of Hickory, N.C. We began our creative reputation by purchasing a building in 2016 that was never meant to be a…
Big Spring serves Page County neighbors
Big Spring Mennonite Church is deeply involved in many ways in Page County, Virginia. Our regular Wednesday noon prayer group prays for the needs and hopes of our community. We are reaching beyond those gathered for worship by attending quarterly events at the assisted-living facility of one of our members, and volunteering at a…
Hospitality: Ministry in the Neighborhood
Recently I enjoyed a fun and dynamic time with my three-year-old granddaughter. She was adamant that I “look” at the plethora of things she wanted to show me. I don’t speak Spanish and she doesn’t speak English. Her mother was born in D.R. Congo, grew up in Kenya and the US, but now serves with…
Sunday schools shape Christian faith
The Sunday school movement in Virginia Mennonite Conference had an uncertain beginning 150 years ago. In 1869, seventeen Virginia ministers barely got the two-thirds majority needed to pass a resolution allowing Sunday schools. Only one of the three bishops in that 1869 Conference meeting supported Sunday schools. Fortunately that supporting bishop presided over Emanuel Suter’s…
Thinking about faith formation in Mennonite Church USA
The Renewed Commitments of our Journey Forward process give us good guidance in how we will focus our faith formation efforts. As together we follow Jesus, witness to God’s peace, and experience transformation, we will be formed more and more into the likeness of Christ, which is our lifelong purpose as disciples of Jesus. Our…
Developing faith at Mount Clinton
Mount Clinton Mennonite Church, part of the Central District of Virginia Mennonite Conference, is located in the village of Mount Clinton, about five miles west of Harrisonburg, Va., and surrounded by corn, soybean and rye pastures that feed the dairy and poultry farms of Rockingham County. Mount Clinton has had ups and downs in…
Spiritual formation over the life stages
When I was growing up, my family attended a conservative Mennonite church near Goshen, Ind. We went to church three times a week and sometimes more. On occasion, in my teen years, I got to stay home to take care of a calving dairy cow, but otherwise church attendance was expected, as was Sunday school…
How we continue forming faith into adulthood
Translated by Lizzette Hernandez One of the ways we are working in faith formation at Iglesia Enciende una Luz and at Iglesia Shalom is through discipleship in small groups. In those groups, a closer relationship is developed among believers and new members of both congregations. This allows a space where people can reflect on their…
Taking our faith seriously with formation ministries
In September, my wife Eunice and I traveled to Pennsylvania to celebrate our forty-fifth class reunion. We were classmates at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School. I attended from fall 1970 through spring 1974. (VMC members Willis Hunsberger, Knoxville, Tenn., Barbara Weirich, Ted and Sue Swartz, and Rosemary Landis, all of Harrisonburg, Va., are also members…
Top ten reasons for Sharing Our Surplus at the Relief Sale
The Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale’s Sharing Our Surplus (SOS) Campaign was launched two years ago to solicit cash donations for Mennonite Central Committee in addition to money raised through auction, food and other sales. So far the effort has raised over $75,000, and has been designated specifically to meet the growing needs of refugees around…
Christian formation throughout the life course
Christian faith does not look the same in every season of life. Each season brings particular opportunities for Christian formation, and these vary in every individual. As we in the church walk alongside one another on the lifelong journey of faith, we can be attentive to one another in different seasons of life: childhood, early-…