Prayer Request
Please pray for the ongoing search process for Franconia Conference and Eastern District as interviews are conducted and callings are discerned over the next several weeks for the youth ministry positions. Ask God to give clarity and discernment as to what He wants for the youth and their leaders in this region. Pray for all involved in the search process, including Conrad Swartzendruber, principal at CD, Ertell Whigham(FMC) and Warren Tyson(EDC), conference ministers as well as those being called to serve.
Christian Formation Sunday
Across Mennonite Church USA Christian Formation Sunday is scheduled for September 11. Each congregation is encouraged to consider how children, youth and adults are shaped spiritually by the home, school, and congregation. If you haven’t scheduled a special Christian Formation Sunday yet, check out the speaker’s bureau list of school administrators, faculty and staff at Christopher Dock, Penn View, and Quakertown Christian who are willing to participate in your congregation. A list of available persons and ways they are willing to participate is available here: Christian Formation Sunday speakers list Sept 11 2011 (2). Feel free to contact each school or individual directly to schedule a speaker or participant for your congregation.
Resources for Pastors
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary offers online and face-to-face events for Pastors and church Leaders. You are invited to participate in the following:
Advent Planning: Awesome deeds we do not expect
Webinar, Tuesday, October 18, 7:30-8:45 p.m. Register by October 14
Advent Planner: Awesome deeds we do not expect
Face-to-face workshop, Friday, October 7, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Register by September 23.
Hispanic Pastoral Continuing Education
Face-to-face, two-day leadership development program, Friday-Sunday, September 30-October 2
Business Leaders and Pastors: Partners in leadership and ministry?
Face-to-face workshop in Lancaster, Pa., Thursday, November 3. Register by October 1
Offered in conjunction with the annual convention of Mennonite Economic Development Associates
Promise and Peril: Understanding and managing change and conflict in congregations
Webinar, Wednesday, September 7, 2:00-3:30 p.m. Register by September 3.
Coming in January – Pastors Week 2012: Understanding Revelation for Today
Presenter: Loren L. Johns, with a special session by J. Nelson Kraybill
Monday, January 23, 7 p.m.-Thursday, January 26, 3:30 p.m.
For complete information and registration call 574-296-6269.
On Thursday, September 15, 8-10 a.m., Rev. Dr. Barbara Moses will be the featured presenter for the next Pastors’ and Leaders’ breakfast meeting. Out of her training and 30 years’ experience of working in the Philadelphia School system as a teacher and administrator, and more recently as the founding principal of Philadelphia Mennonite High School, Dr. Moses will share, “Managing Conflicts from a Christian Perspective.” he has learned that “not all conflicts can be resolved but they can all be managed.” Dr. Moses is a high energy, God-loving woman who is both wise and practical. She has a wonderful way of sharing the many miracles God has and is doing through the ministry of PMHS.
Reserve your place by Friday, September 9 for this breakfast meeting, to be held at the Mennonite Conference Center, 569 Yoder Road, Harleysville, PA. A $6 donation is requested to cover the cost of breakfast.
If you are unable to attend in person, the presentation will be live streamed. Watch for details of how to join the conversation via the convenience of your computer in next weeks’ Notes to Pastors.
Interested in learning the art and practice of spiritual companioning/spiritual direction? Kairos School for Spiritual Formation is offering Spiritual Guidance classes in Telford once a month, from September 2011 through May 2012. Classes are designed for clergy, pastors and congregational leaders—anyone called to guide the soul of persons and congregations whom they serve. Telford classes will be on Thursdays, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and led by John and Sandy Drescher-Lehman.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.