Volume 5, No. 3

Autumn Edition 2009

 

 

Pastor's Perspective by Joel M .

In mid-November I shared a five year vision for the congregation and there was opportunity for small group discussion to respond to this and hear other ideas. In this newsletter Council chair Beth B. reports on some of the learnings as well as the ongoing process that Council will lead. There are many opportunities to continue to grow together. While this process points us forward, I also want to take this opportunity at the end of the year to note some of what has happened from 2009 ways that God's steadfast love has been with us as a congregation and ways that we have been faithful to our missional calling of healing and hope. It's impossible to name everything, but take a mostly-chronological jog with me through some highlights of the past year:
Held an evening prayer vigil for Oakley murder victim one block from the church + celebrated coming-of-age for jr. youth + celebrated my ordination in the Mennonite church + adult forum series on end-of-life issues + choir sings pieces in honor of MLK and Mandela + Professor Gayle Gerber Koontz visits CMF for a weekend Listening Project + Ohio Conference Annual Assembly focuses on being the church in mission + Safe Sanctuary committee continues their good work on drafting a policy + hosting Ten Thousand Villages storytelling educational event by Doug Dirks + Bluffton University President Jim Harder preaches at CMF + the first Cincinnati ``Peace Church Brunch'' occurs as a way of getting Mennonites, Brethren, and Quakers in touch with each other + Easter worship theme: ``None can stop the Spirit'' + nine year olds receive Bible from Christian Ed + PWC Repair Affair spring work day + campout at NN farm + Pentecost Sunday includes annual covenant signing, hosting the Kentucky Holy Land Pilgrimage crew, and honoring the short life of Belle Ruthann Miller + said goodbye to the Bye family and blessed them for their move to the farm in PA + Violet S. begins as new office assistant + CDC annual gathering focuses on living faithfully in empire + Many CMFers join Mennos from around the country at Convention 2009 in Columbus + Ed D. begins serving as Moderator of MC USA + Ed and Joel attend Mennonite World Conference in Asuncion, Paraguay + worship theme from Ephesians, ``Being the Church'' + new email addresses @cincinnatimennonite.org + school begins and our young people are another year older + New City Presbyterian begins worshiping in our building + pastor and congregation renew covenant for another five years + youth interview different adults for their faith story + Journey Groups begin + worship theme: ``Wisdom'' + memorial service celebrating life of Jan Abel + ``Job'' and the wall hanging from Myrna Miller-Dyck + Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove speaks at CMF + Five year visioning meeting after church + Henry Archer B. preempts his own baby shower + Dialogue and Discernment group meets to create a process for how CMF can have constructive dialogue around issues of healthy sexuality + CMF children's choir performs + the year's not quite over yet….

Council's Corner by Beth B .

Congregational Visioning

Thanks to all CMF'ers who attended Church Council's visioning meeting with Pastor Joel on November 15. Council was overwhelmed by the attendance and was grateful to those who made this meeting a priority in spite of other obligations. We had only a short time together, but made a good start towards delineating directions for congregational life and ministry over the next five years. Pastor Joel provided an excellent framework, picturing church life as a set of three overlapping circles - Community, Worship, and Mission - and sharing his ideas for how CMF can build on existing strengths in each of these areas.

We discussed congregational strengths and responded to Joel's vision in small groups. Some emphases mentioned frequently by small groups were:
1) Opportunities for growth in urban ministry, particularly in the Oakley neighborhood.
2) Need to focus on building our youth program, and increasing youth/young adult involvement.
3) Expanding our witness in the world through peace and service efforts as well as more intentionally working for numerical growth for our congregation.
4) Use of our church properties for a Voluntary Service unit (with arts or urban ministry focus).

The material gathered by Pastor Joel and Council in small group discussions will be reviewed by Council early in 2010, with more specific report back to the congregation, as we prayerfully begin work on key areas.

Those who were not able to be present at the November 15 visioning meeting are strongly encouraged to share with any member of Council (Beth B., Rosella C., Jim M., John K., Anne H., and William B.) their thoughts upon reading Pastor Joel's "Sharing a Vision for the Next Five Years," sent to all in November via email, or available by contacting Violet in the church office. You may also access Joel's vision statement on the blog at http://thewholepeace.wordpress.com . It is under Recent Posts and titled "Vision - the next five years."

This visioning is a wonderful opportunity for CMF to reflect on the future of our church, and to allow God's spirit to move in our midst!



Safe Sanctuary Update by Sheryl NN

After initially convening more than 18 months ago at the request of Church Council, the Safe Sanctuary committee is happy to announce that we have a Safe Sanctuary Plan ready to be presented to Church Council! The Plan has been through multiple revisions and numerous CMFers have provided feedback and input into the Plan. Most significantly, Linda H. and Rosella C., as Council members have met with the Safe Sanctuary committee the last six months and have provided significant input into both the structure and content of the Plan. Since October, Beth B. replaced Linda in this work. 

Beth and Rosella will now take the Plan to Church Council, and Council will be addressing the Plan shortly after the first of the year. Once Council and the Safe Sanctuary committee agree on a Plan, Church Council will then be bringing the Plan to the congregation for discussion and approval.
Church Council's hope is that this Plan can be brought to the congregation sometime this spring, with hopes for implementation over the summer and before the new Sunday School year begins in September, 2010. An important part of the discussion with the congregation will be education about safety for children and youth in our congregation. If you missed the first congregational meeting about these matters in November, 2009, it would be very helpful if you watched a DVD from that meeting; these DVDs are in a basket by the church mail folders.
If you have any questions about any aspect of what is happening with this work, please feel free to talk to either Sheryl NN or Beth B..

A Small Reminder from Christian Education...
There will be no Christian Education hour on the following Sundays :
December 27 and January 3 (Christmas); April 4 (Easter).
The last Sunday of the year will be May 23, 2010.


New to CMF by Tiffany M.

Dustin and I are both from Northeastern Ohio. After we got married we moved to Harrisonburg, VA so that Dustin could attend seminary at Eastern Mennonite. It has, since then, been a long process from there to here. I remember Dustin bringing some of the first rumblings of community living into our little two bedroom apartment. At that point we knew that we wanted to be very hospitable people, so the transition into community life did not seem too far out in left field. Through further study and many conversations with each other and others, we moved in with three of our friends in an old farm house just outside of town. We learned. We learned so much from those first two years of community living. Dustin did eventually graduate and we decided to get a change of scenery, and so here we are!

Currently, we are still living in a community, with a total of five individuals. It has been a challenging, but rewarding time spent in Cincinnati so far and we look forward to many more months to come. So feel free to stop by sometime, we would love to have you over for a meal!

If you have an idea for a future article, would like to submit a poem to the new poetry corner, or would like to be a newsletter
correspondent; please contact Violet at the CMF office. We're always looking for good stuff and good help!

May God's Peace be with You.

Cincinnati Mennonite Fellowship, 4229 Brownway Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45209
Mail to: 3046 Minot Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45209
513.871.0035, officecincinnatimennonite.org
Office hours: Tuesday and Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm unless something prevents