Our Local Mennonite Schools

Bethany Christian Schools

Shop Ten Thousand Villages in Goshen through Saturday, December 14, and support Bethany Christian Schools. Tell the cashier that you are shopping for Bethany and 20% of sales will be donated to Bethany. Your loved ones will enjoy the creative handcrafted gifts you purchase and artisans will receive vital, fair income as you support Bethany.

Bethany Christian High School will hold its annual Christmas concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 13, in Goshen College’s Sauder Concert Hall. Come hear choral and instrumental groups as they celebrate the birth of Christ in music and join them on stage for their concluding song “The Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah.

Bethany alumni will receive free admission and be eligible for prizes at the boys and girls evening Holiday tourney basketball games on Saturday, December 21. The boys game begins at 6:00 p.m. and the girls at 7:30 p.m. Note, alumni night does not include the morning games of the Holiday Tourney.

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS)

AMBS Leadership Clinics are Monday, March 2. Open to any leader, forming faith in the community, these daylong workshops take place before the joint Pastors and Leaders 2020 and Deep Faith conference on Shaping Faith in a Digital Culture begins. Sessions include Shine Curriculum’s Vision for Faith Formation; Forming Faith in Digital Spaces (collaborative research project); and Healthy Boundaries 101 and 201. Sign up by January 13 for the lowest rate; group discounts are available.

Our Mennonite Institutions (local events & news)

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)

Give a kit for Christmas! From hurricanes and flooding to conflict and drought, MCC is responding to many disasters around the world. This Christmas, why not gather your family and pack a school kit as a gift to other families whose lives have been disrupted by war or disaster? View more information about school kit contents and how you can get involved. Information is also posted on the bulletin board by the mailboxes. Take your completed kits to The Depot Material Resource Center.

Our Mennonite Institutions (at large)

Mennonite Church USA

This year, Mennonite Church USA Archives launched an oral history project to collect interviews of young people between the ages of 24-40 within MC USA. Participants answered questions about their religious background, racial/ethnic identity and hopes for the future of MC USA. Excerpts from these interviews will be regularly featured in the Menno Snapshots blog.

Two Mennonite Church USA conferences voted unanimously to unite, ending a 172-year split. Read about this historic event.

Mennonite Creation Care

Forest churches  are groups of people who worship outdoors. Mennonite World Review recently featured Pastor Wendy Jantzen's work leading a monthly forest church near Wilmot, Ont. “Creation or nature is part of our congregation as well as our worship leader,” she said. “Nature guides our worship and engages in worship with us, which I think is very biblical." Read more.

Mennonite World Conference (MWC)

Genesis 1–11 is considered prologue to the entire Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. God’s intention for humans to multiply and scatter over the face of the whole earth is a central theme in the prologue. It is also reflected in what has been dubbed “table of nations” in Genesis 10. This celebrates the diversity of cultures and nations from Noah’s progeny (Genesis 10:5, 20, 31). Read more.

Community Announcements

Children's Choir Concert

Join the Children's Choir of Michiana as they celebrate winter's festivities as well as showcase a diversity of musical styles. Enjoy musical numbers both familiar and new, with a special emphasis on music of the season. From Christmas carol settings to selections from the silver screen, and from traditional spirituals to music from the European classical composers, this concert will demonstrate the children's choir skilled versatility and enthusiasm for a wide range of music. The concert will be held at Kern Road Mennonite Church (18211 Kern Rd. South Bend, IN 46614) on December 14, 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $9.00 for adults, $6 for seniors, students, and children) and may be purchased online or at the door.

Handel's Messiah Sing-a-Long

This Saturday, December 14, you are invited to a Sing-a-Long of favorite choruses from Handel's Messiah. Backed by the Maple City Community Orchestra, and supported by voices from St. Joseph Valley Camerata, your voice will contribute to the performance. The event will be held in Goshen College's Sauder Hall. The doors will open at 7:00 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. If you have your own copy of the music, please bring it along. As always, the concert is free and open to the public.

Longest Night Service

College Mennonite Church invites everyone to a Longest Night Service Thursday, December 19 (winter solstice) at 6:30 p.m. This 50-minute service of song, scripture, silence and prayer is an opportunity to pause in the midst of a busy season, to express lament and look to God for hope.