Healthy Boundaries 101 Date Moved

Due to a conflict with AMBS Pastors and Leaders week, the Healthy Boundaries training schedule for March 1 has been moved to February 1.  If you are a credentialed leader in need of this training, please check your schedule to see if the February 1 date works. The location is Living Water Community Church in Rogers Park, Chicago, IL. More details are online at illinoismennonite.com <http://illinoismennonite.com>   To register for this event, please email Holly Mason at hmason@mennonite.net by January 15. 

Help Shape the Future of Illinois Mennonite Conference

Let me set the scene. The conference continues to support congregations and pastors through pastoral coaching, mediation, pastoral searches, resourcing, relationship building, and credentialing. Our staff consists of one Full-time Executive Minister, 1 half-time Executive Assistant, and one 1/8 time Associate Conference Minister for Hispanic Ministries. The conference has made almost every substantial cut in expenses – we’re pretty lean. Yet, we are still facing a projected loss that will eat up what remains of our reserves (this is not 100% – January is the last month of our fiscal year – but we project being in the red $13,000).

There are many factors contributing to this reality. However, they do not change that reality. Our current income levels cannot support our current approach.

The conference is our congregations! The decision making authority of the conference rests with congregational delegates. Therefore, the delegates have some discernment to do. That discernment is the focus of our February 17, 2018 business meeting at Metamora Mennonite Church, beginning at 9 am.

If you are used to delegates gathering to “rubber stamp” budgets, THIS is NOT THAT!

Right now the conference needs congregations and delegates to gather together, fully-engaged, making spiritual discernment about the direction of the conference.

On our end, conference leaders are working to set the stage for effective discernment at that meeting.

The IMC Business meeting is on Saturday, February 17, 2018, at Metamora Mennonite Church in Metamora, IL.  We will begin at 9 am and conclude no later than 4 pm.  Each congregation is allowed 5 delegates. Congregations, please do your best to be represented in full or part.  Credentialled leaders, please participate in this gathering – your wisdom and insight are needed.

There is no cost for this event. We will take a donation to cover meal expenses if you are able (please don’t let this be a reason you do not participate).  For planning purposes, please RSVP to Holly Mason by February 5.

 


MLK Jr. Day to explore the soul of hip-hop and the church

ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), Elkhart, Indiana, will honor the legacy and racial justice work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with two events on Jan. 14 and 15 under the theme, “No Church in the Wild: Christianity, White Supremacy, Black Liberation and Hip-Hop.”

The featured speaker will be Daniel White Hodge, Ph.D., associate professor of intercultural communications at North Park University in Chicago and a recognized urban youth culture expert and cultural literacy scholar.

He is the author of The Soul of Hip Hop: Rims, Timbs and a Cultural Theology (IVP 2010) and Hip Hop’s Hostile Gospel: A Post Soul Theological Exploration (Brill Academic 2017); his next book, Homeland Insecurity: A Hip-Hop Missiology for the Post-Civil Rights Context (IVP Academic), will be released in June.

 

Hip-hop music and culture have a complex place in American society, observes Nekeisha Alayna Alexis, Intercultural Competence and Undoing Racism coordinator at AMBS and an organizer of the AMBS events.

“On one hand, they have become lucrative products that influence global trends in fashion, music and everyday language,” she says. “Yet hip-hop’s origins are from predominantly Black, economically marginalized communities — communities that remain pressed to the fringes and do not receive the recognition or the benefits they deserve for their contributions.”

Responses to hip-hop within and outside of the church can also be complicated, Alexis says. While some people uncritically dismiss it, others carelessly appropriate it. There are also debates among those who embrace it about how it has developed, where it’s headed and what needs to change. For this reason, she is grateful for the insights that Dr. White Hodge brings to the table.

“One of the things he adds to the mix is the ability to look at hip-hop as a valuable, critical and important cultural resource that we can learn from,” she says. “I’m excited to host an educator, thinker and leader who approaches the genre as a source of wisdom, who honors the creativity behind the form and recognizes its value in our society — and even to the practice of faith in the way of Jesus.”

Alexis also notes the connection to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who as a pastor and Christian leader fought against injustice within a movement that drew strength from singing, music and storytelling.

The events, to be hosted by AMBS’s Intercultural Competence and Undoing Racism team, include:

  • Free public lecture: “The Soul of Hip-Hop and the Church in America”
    Sunday, Jan. 14, 2–3:30 p.m.     at the Historic Roosevelt Center, 215 E. Indiana Avenue in Elkhart.
    AMBS is also hosting a book drive for the Tolson Community and Youth Center at the event; new and gently used non-religious books for diverse youth in grades 3-7 are especially welcome.
  • Interactive workshop: “Intercultural Competencies in an Era of Trump and Fake News”
    Monday,     15, 8:30 a.m. – noon at AMBS, 3003 Benham Avenue in Elkhart.
    Registration is required for the Jan. 15 workshop (limited to 30 participants); see description at ambs.edu/mlkday.

For information about the types of books that are desired for the book drive, as well as the events, see: ambs.edu/mlkday

 Located in Elkhart, Indiana, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is a learning community with an Anabaptist vision, offering theological education for learners both on campus and at a distance as well as a wide array of lifelong learning programs — all with the goal of educating followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God’s reconciling mission in the world.

Click here to view flyer

IMC Annual Business Meeting on February 17, 2018

On Saturday, February 17, 2018 the Delegate body of Illinois Mennonite Conference (IMC) will meet at Metamora Mennonite Church, Metamora, IL for a newly formatted annual business meeting.

This is the primary business meeting of the conference for the year. This meeting replaces the business portion of the Annual Assembly (a second gathering will take place October 19 and 20, 2018  at Sonida de Alabanza for the purpose of worship and equipping).

At the IMC business meeting, our goals are to approve the 2018 – 2019 IMC budget, to consider a change to the work of the Financial Advisory Team, and to discern the strategic direction of IMC.  It is possible we will add additional agenda items, or refine goals stated above. A full agenda will be sent to all congregations, pastors, and registered delegates two weeks prior to the meeting.

To register, please email hmason@mennonite.net. Let her know how many delegates will be attending from the congregation. There is no registration fee for this event. It’s our desire to ensure that every congregation can participate fully, regardless of economic resources. Your RSVP is helpful in planning.

Each congregation is allowed to send 5 delegates to this meeting, in addition to any credentialed pastors in your congregation.

In order to make the best decisions possible for the future of IMC, it is important to have as many participants as possible.

Details:

  • We will begin at 9 am and conclude no later than 4 pm.
  • There will be snacks throughout the day, opportunities to get to know others at table groups, and lunch.
  • There is no registration fee for this event.
  • A love offering will be collected to help cover the expenses for lunch and snacks.
  • Please RSVP to Holly Mason at hmason@mennonite.net

 

Stephan Rauh will become the first Lead Produce Farm for Hungry World Farm

TISKILWA, ILLINOIS (Hungry World Farm).   Stephan Rauh will become the first Lead Produce Farmer for the new organization, Hungry World Farm, on February 1, 2018.  Most recently Rauh raised vegetables for a farmers’ market, Community Supported Agriculture and direct sales in the Metamora area.  He graduated from Wheaton College with a degree in biology and a Human Needs and Global Resources certificate.
Rauh comes to Hungry World Farm with deep and varied experiences with raising food and working with food distribution.  He worked and learned for six months in Nicaragua.  He completed internships at Clay Bottom Farm (Goshen, IN) and 12 Seasons Farm (Fort Myers, FL). Rauh gained varied experiences volunteering at ECHO’s Global Farm in Florida.  He completed studies at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center in Agroecology.  Last winter Rauh worked to help design and establish a small fruit and nut orchard on the Big Island of Hawaii. He worked in Christian Service at a food bank and food pantry in Elkhart, Indiana, through the Mennonite Mission Network.
Hungry World Farm began in the fall of 2017 as a nonprofit organization receiving the former Plow Creek property east of Tiskilwa.  Hungry World Farm invites all to reflect upon the theory and practice of food production and consumption in deep consideration of hungers in the global village. The farm is near Tiskilwa, Illinois and includes tillable land, woods and a native hillside prairie.  Hungry World Farm utilizes the farm as a textbook for healthy, sustainable food production. Individuals and communities are empowered to strengthen local food systems, reflect on their own consumption and systemic impact on the environment.  Would you like to explore supporting the startup or volunteering on the farm?  Please contact hungryworldfarm@gmail.com.

A note from Illinois Mennonite Conference Moderator, Don Rheinheimer…

Greetings to each of you as we celebrate the salvation of God through Jesus Christ. As you reflect on the past and anticipate the future, may your …eyes see, your ears hear, and your heart conceive of what God has prepared for you (I Cor. 2:9-13). With joy, a strong Missional Leadership Team has been working this past year alongside our conference minister, Michael Danner, to address some of the issues before us, and I want to bring you up to date on some developments.

  1. Annual Assembly: Because we struggle with how to allocate time between worship, inspiration and business when we gather for one weekend, we are dividing our assembly into two separate gatherings this year.
  2. A one-day delegate meeting at Metamora Mennonite Church on February 17 to discuss and discern financial and structural concerns facing the conference. Delegates will assist leadership in setting a direction for our work, (see 2C below). We will also affirm IMC leadership at this meeting.
  3. A two-day gathering at Sonido de Alabanza in Cicero on Friday and Saturday, October 19, 20. The focus will be on worship, equipping and learning more about the challenges and ministries of the churches in this area. As we plan, we hope to include workshops, tours, music from different churches, and a few speakers. Participants are invited to stay an extra day to worship with a local church on Sunday morning.
  4. IMC Financial and Structural Resources: Delegates asked the MLT to address a multi-year pattern of insufficient funding for conference that has resulted in a depletion of reserve funds. We believe that conference resources should be funded by contributions from member churches. There is no endowment to draw on and we don’t believe using reserve funds nor private fund-raising are acceptable long-term options.
  5. Expenses have been cut as much as possible while maintaining a part time administrative assistant and the equivalent of one full time conference minister. Martín Navarro was hired on marginal time to assist in exploring stronger relationships with churches that primarily serve the Latino community. His position is funded by an offset in Michael’s salary.
  6. Not all of the member congregations in the conference financially support the conference, but Michael responds to the requests of all congregations regardless of financial support.
  7. The MLT is meeting with a few additional people in January to shape questions that delegates will be asked to address at our February 17 meeting. Your counsel is vital in determining the nature of our conversation and the proposals that will ultimately come back to the delegate body.
  8. Year-End Giving: The conference fiscal year ends on January 31, 2018. If your church has not made a contribution to IMC this past year, I encourage you to do so. If you have contributed, we thank you, and ask you to consider including IMC in any special year end giving that you might do. I can assure you that your conference staff works very hard and maximizes every dollar that is given.

Please continue in prayer for us as we discern God’s call and the Spirit’s leading for our future as a conference. Feel free to contact me or Michael if you have any questions.

 

Don Rheinheimer,

Moderator, Illinois Mennonite Conference

Christmas Eve: Light amid the darkness

12.24. 2017  Posted By: The Mennonite  

Martin Navarro is a member of Prairie Street Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Indiana, and is a Stewardship Consultant with Everence Financial.    

Reflection on Luke 1:46b-55. 

Mary’s song, the Magnificat, is a reminder of Advent’s darkness and the anticipated hope we wait for in Jesus. Every year, Advent is celebrated in faith communities to reflect the coming of Jesus. Throughout that reflection, sometimes Advent’s darkness is ignored (and at times, the suffering of many is ignored). To celebrate the hope in Advent without understanding hopelessness seems to be ignoring the suffering that is present prior to the arrival of Jesus. Mary’s song is the initiation of hope, but she does not sing it without mentioning the challenges and struggles.

Darkness cannot be ignored. People live in uncertainty and live day in and day out just to survive. Some are on the edge of an economic crisis and others fear losing their families to unjust immigration policies. Advent’s darkness this year is relevant enough to help us understand Mary’s song. The suffering and hope she sings echo what many sing every Sunday from the pews. Darkness is part of the Advent season, and it should be embraced.

Darkness does not necessarily mean evil. In this context, I would say that Mary is indirectly singing of suffering. It’s a reflection of the experience of being a marginal woman in a patriarchal society. One cannot sing this song without really experiencing life in the margins of society.

Singing hope amidst suffering requires pouring out your spirit and soul (all that is in you). Suffering/darkness is not the absence of the light.

The light of Jesus shines in the darkness. Suffering exists to help understand hope. Real hope is at the foundation of suffering. The experience of suffering is when all options are taken away. This is when a person can only hope for that bright light to shine. Hence, an experience of no options leads a person, out of desperation, to hope for a better day. To hope for the day when the lowly are uplifted and the powerful are turned away.

The church is the very representation of Advent. A light that shines in an existing darkness; ministry is that revelation, revealing Jesus’ hope in a suffering world. This dark world looks to violence to bring about justice. They dismiss Jesus’ way of exalting the poor. The church can open this revelation through living in the darkness and celebrating the coming of Jesus.

Jesus’ coming is not an actual “cloud in the sky” coming, but the actions that bring about the teachings of Jesus on earth. Jesus came and darkness still existed. He understood the darkness that caused suffering. He challenged those who were part of the established system. We are left understanding that darkness is a starting point to understand ourselves and those in our surrounding communities.

Advent helps us see ourselves in our own darkness, but also to see the light ahead of us that communicates hope.

This Advent, that light is shining in our immigrant communities, impoverished communities and other marginal groups that society has pushed to the periphery. As a church, we should not only embrace hope, but understand what it is to live with hopelessness.