News From The Pews
Volume 7, No. 2
Spring Edition 2011
Summer has arrived. People are working and playing, traveling and resting, enjoying the outdoors and escaping the heat indoors--in other words, a normal summer. For us here at CMF, this summer is a little bit different since Joel is on sabbatical. We miss the presence of the entire family. In anticipation of this time, we had indicated earlier in the year that the Worship Committee the Spiritual Life Team were making plans to cover two areas vital of our common life, our worship and our welfare. In both cases, careful planning for the summer has been the result. Each week you will notice the telephone numbers of the Spiritual Life Team are listed in the bulletin, so you can call them if you have a particular need or emergency. You can also leave a message on the office phone or send an e-mail to the office that can be forwarded to them. The Worship Committee has planned an interesting and enriching program of worship for the summer, much of it using resources from within the congregation. We are very fortunate to have such talent in our group.
At Joel's sending service, I spoke about the manner in which we as a congregation will be on our own journey of exploration while Joel is on his own voyage of discovery. Rather than regular sermons from Joel, we will be listening to a much wider range of voices on a regular basis in our worship services. There will be new ideas, different approaches, and an array of styles for us to experience. This should be a welcome journey of discovery as we learn to know more about one another in this process. Joel will be changed as the result of his experiences on sabbatical. How will we be changed as a result of this experience?
John K., Council Chair
News from the Spiritual Leadership Team by Joe L.
Publishing the ``Joys & Concerns'' following each Sunday Service is one of a number of responsibilities the Spiritual Leadership Team is undertaking for the church while Pastor Joel is on Sabbatical. Among some of the other of SLT's duties during this time are:
Making follow up contacts with visitors to the church.
Assisting Violet by retrieving telephone messages to the church on Violet's days off and passing any information to appropriate committee members and returning calls as appropriate.
Making sure the church is making appropriate contact and offering assistance to members of the CMF community in cases such as births, illness, or deaths of extended family members. Assistance could be in the form of providing meals, a home or hospital visit by CMF member or members, passing information on to the church at the request of a church member, etc.
Keep the Church Council informed of these activities. Contact and involve other church committees as appropriate.
If you should become aware of a need which could or should be addressed by the CMF community during Joel's sabbatical, you are encouraged to contact one of the members of the Spiritual Leadership Team Linda H., Judy H., or Joe L. via the office at 513.871.0035 or by sending an email to the attention of SLT to officecincinnatimennonite.org.
Thank You
Worship Committee News by Connie B.
The summer of Pastor Joel's sabbatical is here. The hypothetical planning by the Worship Committee is over and the reality of our summer services has begun.
Take a look at the red quilt hanging in front of the church. Notice that the pattern continues throughout, is a familiar one. The way it's put together, though, is a little different than we usually see in this pattern and no two blocks are the same. That's how I conceive of our summer.
Some services will be totally familiar, same order, lectionary, a sermon, in our sanctuary. Following our usual pattern. Sometimes the sermon will be given by someone from our congregation, sometimes a visitor from outside the congregation.
Some services will have more music, some will ask us all to be more creative, one will offer us a glimpse of the Pittsburgh conference. We are hoping to have one musical/scripture service in an outdoor location. One Sunday (June 26) will be planned by the PJOS Committee and
another (August 28) will be planned by the Safe Sanctuary Committee. So far in June, we've had a Taiz é service, the Pentecost service with covenant signing, and a sermon by Jerry S . .
The Worship Committee hopes that this summer variety of services will fill your soul in different ways and offer you thoughtful worship in creative and different ways. Worship Committee members are Dustin M . , chair, Naomi G . , Mary S ., Neil W., and Connie B . (and, usually, Pastor Joel.) Any of us would welcome your suggestions and feedback for the summer services.
CMF and the Red Cross by Violet S.
Tammy Simendinger, director of the local chapter of the Red Cross near Oakley, recently contacted Pastor Joel in hopes to add CMF to a list of potential helpers in case of a local disaster or emergency. Pastor Joel agreed, knowing of the giving nature of our fellowship and of the Mennonite Disaster Service's previously established relationship with the Red Cross. I didn't know anything about how this relationship was started, so I decided to do some investigation. I have included three very interesting excerpts that I thought might give you some insight as well.
Red Cross
The International Red Cross, a humanitarian agency with national affiliates, was established in 1864 to care for war victims. Later it was broadened to relieve other forms of human suffering. During World War I in Russia more than 6,000 young Mennonite conscientious objectors served in hospital service in lieu of military service. They served with the All-Russian Union of Zemstvos which was a civilian organization, parallel to but associated with the Russian Red Cross. Some North American Mennonites also served in Red Cross ambulance units during World War I.
In 1921 the young Mennonite Central Committee organization was seeking ways of opening relief programs in the Soviet Union; MCC workers conferred with and were aided by the Red Cross affiliated agency of Fridt of Nansen , the International Russian Relief Executive. In World War II (1946-47) the Dutch Red Cross provided the MCC with a supply line for food supplies for the 1,200 Russian Mennonite refugees isolated in West Berlin.
The American (U.S.) Red Cross Disaster Services Division and Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) have cooperated and supported each other in responding to natural disasters since the 1950s. The liaison was a somewhat spontaneous process.
American Red Cross often provided food service and lodging for the Mennonite Disaster
Service workers. Survey and damage assessment personnel, canteen and fixed food service cooks and workers, shelter managers, caseworkers, staff secretarial and record keeping, and building advisors were often provided by MDS to augment American Red Cross disaster response teams. In the 1960s, American Red Cross frequently supplied the building materials and MDS supplied the skills and voluntary labor to rebuild many homes.
After declared government programs of benefits and funding were introduced in the 1970s, the two agencies continued to work together. American Red Cross caseworkers referred at an earlier stage in the recovery process the most needy families to Mennonite Disaster Service for cleanup and temporary repairs. The two agencies also supported each other in permanent
repairs and reconstruction for families in the non-declared areas.Because the various national Red Cross (Red Crescent in Muslim countries) are often funded by and linked to national governments, Mennonites have often been cautious in their collaboration with the Red Cross.
Bibliography
Wiebe, Katie Funk. Day of Disaster. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1976.
Toews, John B. Czars, Soviets, and Mennonites. Newton, KS: Faith and Life, 1983: 63ff.
Reimer, Al. My Harp is Turned to Mourning. Winnipeg: Hyperion, 1985, e.g. 209ff.
Klippenstein, Lawrence. "Mennonite Pacifism and State Service in Russia, ... 1789-1936." Ph.D. diss., U. of Minnesota, 1984: 131, 160-66, 198.
MLA style: Hostetter, C. Nelson. "Red Cross." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1989. Web. 20 June 2011. http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/R438ME.html.
National V oluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
NVOAD's Beginning
NVOAD is a consortium of recognized national voluntary organizations active in disaster relief. NVOAD was created in direct response to the challenges of meeting the needs of persons overtaken by disaster. After Hurricane Camille in 1969, it became clear that voluntary agencies were responding to the needs of disaster victims in a fragmented, uncoordinated manner. As a result, the following problems existed:
Disaster victims received help in haphazard ways.
Unnecessary duplication of effort often occurred while, at the same time, some needs were not being met at all.
Individuals interested in volunteering became frustrated by the variety of organizations in some areas of service and the lack of opportunities to serve other needs.
There was limited training for interested volunteers.
Information sources on services during disasters was woefully inadequate.
Communication between voluntary agencies was very limited and the coordination of
services was negligible.
In response to these problems, representatives from voluntary agencies began to meet on a regular basis to share their respective activities, concerns, and frustrations in disaster response. On July 15, 1970, representatives from seven voluntary agencies came together in Washington, D.C., to form NVOAD. The voluntary agencies represented at this first meeting were:
The American Red Cross;
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee;
Mennonite Disaster Service;
National Catholic Disaster Relief Committee;
Seventh Day Adventists;
Society of St. Vincent De Paul; and
· Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.
NVOAD grew rapidly. By its tenth anniversary, there were 21 member agencies. Following major disasters in the early 1990's, six new member agencies were accepted. At present, NVOAD is comprised of more than 30 national voluntary agencies providing a wide array of disaster relief services.
Information taken from: www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/downloads/is288_unit4.pdf
Mennonite Disaster Service
MDS, the disaster-relief agency of Mennonite churches in the United States and Canada, began at a picnic in Hesston, Kansas in 1950. As Sunday school members gathered to share ideas and food, they expressed a common desire to ``seek opportunities to be engaged in peaceful, helpful activity...just where we find ourselves.''
In 1950, following significant response efforts to tornadoes in Oklahoma and flooding in Manitoba, Mennonites began to further organize their practice of mutual aid. Two Sunday school class groups from the Pennsylvania Mennonite Church and the Hesston Mennonite Church formed a joint committee in Kansas and Mennonite Service Organization was born. Through a series of ``picnics in the park,'' the Mennonite Service Organization began to define itself. Questions arose, widening the circle of interest. Who is available to help? What skills can we provide? Do we have carpenters? Cooks? Typists? Welders? Nurses? Airplane pilots? How quickly can we respond? These questions bred more questions, pushing the boundaries of the organization and enabling it to grow.
Historical Anabaptist Context
For generations prior to 1950, mutual aid was an informal practice performed by Mennonites and other Anabaptist groups who felt that their faith was best expressed in the day to day actions of caring for one another. Through spontaneous gestures of assistance such as the well-known barn raising and the lesser-known harvest bee, the Anabaptists put their faith into action when fellow church members or neighbors faced calamity.
In the event that a family lost their barn to fire, tornado or flood, the surrounding church community would band together to build them a new one. In a flurry of activity the women would organize food preparation as the men set to framing and erecting the new structure. After one day of work, a new barn would stand to represent the love of Jesus Christ and the power of collaboration.
With the passage of time, the Anabaptist theology of service developed to the point where it became increasingly important to articulate the differences between Anabaptist service and military service. As a people of peace opposed to military participation, the Mennonites found that disaster response was an opportunity to serve not only their own people, but their country as well. In 1940, the Conference of Historic Peace Churches formed the Christian Fellowship Services that produced a document that was given to the Federal Government in Canada and formed a basis for the Alternate Service Program during WW II. Similar Anabaptist efforts in the United States foreshadowed the formation of MDS through high levels of Mennonite participation in the Civilian Public Service System.
Information taken from http://mds.mennonite.net/home/
Clothing Protector Project ,
An outreach project for Cedar Village shared with the Art and Spirituality Journey Group by Brianne B .
My neighbor Leigh Faulk is a year round volunteer at Cedar Village, a nursing home about five minutes away from where I live. I talked to her about my idea of doing a project at Cedar Village that I could coordinate. I was so happy when she told me about the Clothing Protector Project. I loved the idea of planning it, purchasing and choosing all the different fabrics and then cutting them out. I think the residents will love having all the interesting patterns to choose from to wear at mealtime. There are a few solid colors, dogs, horses, plaids, hearts, fish and many others. We have just one with musical notes on it, so I am hoping there is no fighting over it from two retired piano teachers.
As I started to plan the project, it became clear that the fleece material was going to cost a lot of money. I looked into getting donations of the fleece, but either the stores where fleece was available did not give donations or it would take a while because it would have to go through at the corporate level and it still wasn't guaranteed that they would give a donation. So along with Leigh's assistance, we made a decision to purchase as much fleece in remnant pieces and then get the best discount possible on the remainder of the material.
It took two different shopping trips to purchase the fleece. A typical price per yard of fleece is 8 to 12 dollars depending on whether is it plain, solid or anti pill. Often the stores will have a sale on fleece material. We purchased the fleece from 3 different stores. Each clothing protector used one foot of material. The total cost of purchasing the fleece was $338.11 and the cost per clothing protector was about $1.65. I think even my thrifty Dutch mother was happy with the price.
I thought about who I should ask to help me cut out 200 clothing protectors since I thought it would be a lot more fun and a lot less work when doing it with other people. I thought of asking some of my friends, but then decided to also ask some ladies from Cincinnati Mennonite Fellowship. The 4 ladies that I asked are part of a small group whose focus is Art and Spirituality. They meet regularly to talk and to work on art projects. So this Sunday evening I had two friends and the ladies from church get together in our church basement to cut out the material. We had a template for the clothing protector given to me from Leigh that we used for our pattern. We had a good time cutting and talking. We ended up making 204 clothing protectors.
(Project was completed on Sunday, June 12, 2011.)
OAKLEY FOOD PANTRY
2011 LETTER OF THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS
On April 30 th of this year the Oakley Food Pantry completed its 18 th year of service to the Oakley community. This provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the past year and give thanks to our many volunteers who make this vital service a reality.
The basics: The Oakley Food Pantry serves households within the 45209 zip code of Cincinnati. Households are able to come to the pantry nine times, after which they are limited to one visit per month. These limits reset at the May 1 beginning of each service year. The pantry is open weekly from 10-11am on Tuesdays. There are five Oakley congregations that provide primary support for the pantry: The United Church of Christ in Oakley (where the pantry is housed), St. Paul's Anglican Church, St. Cecelia Catholic Parish, Hyde Park Bethlehem United Methodist Church, and Cincinnati Mennonite Fellowship.
Some numbers: From May 1, 2010 through April 30, 2011, we served 197 Oakley households. There were 441 people in these households, 126 of which are children, and 30 of which are seniors. The pantry saw 1089 total visits throughout the year, about 20 a week, which means that the average household visited the pantry about 5.5 times. Of the 197 household served, 53 of them, a little over 1/4 th , were at or over the nine visit mark, signifying significant need in these households.
New developments this year: This past year we began to seek out ways of making available more protein and fresh produce. This has been fulfilled through a partnership with Remke Biggs in Hyde Park Plaza, which has provided us with meat, milk and produce. We are grateful for their generosity. Another new development has been Wednesday evening dinners served at the United Church of Christ in Oakley. These meals serve as an extension of the pantry's commitment to providing food to those in need among us.
Thank you! The pantry depends on the volunteer time and money and gift donations of many people and organizations. We are grateful to each one who gives their time and energy to this ministry. We value your efforts, your caring presence, and your prayers. Along with our congregations and support from individuals, we want to offer thanks to Remke Biggs, Panera Bread, 5/3 rd Bank, CVS Pharmacy, and Fresh Market for their support.
A reflection: Although we do not have totals from previous years to compare this year to, our sense is that the demand for food has been rising in the last number of years. We are glad to be fulfilling an important mission in our neighborhood and are pleased we are able to serve this many households. We do, however, take these high numbers as an indication of the somber reality of poverty among us and recognize that these are symptoms of larger social and economic forces.
In closing: Thank you again for all of your efforts and gifts. We look forward to continuing to partner with you in our 19 th year of service to the Oakley community.
-- The Oakley Food Pantry Executive Committee (as written by Pastor Joel)
News about City Gospel Mission by Violet S.
Support for CGM is alive and well! The Coordinator position for City Gospel Mission has been taken over by Emma P . , long time supporter of the mission. She and her family have been delivering desserts furnished by CMF'ers for several years. This voluntary service of baking and delivery doesn't stop at the front door. She and her family stay to help serve the meal to the people present, converse with the other churches that are participating, and give support and fellowship to all present. The first time I went, I was completely energized with the overwhelming feeling of goodwill and of wanting to do more. Jean S . and Beth B . ha ve been delivering as well for several years.
We'd like to have more people involved in visiting the mission, delivering the desserts, and learning the ropes. For all the Youth, this is a GREAT OPPORTUNITY for you to participate in an outreach program. Emma has assured me that she and her family could help you to understand what to do (it's not hard). Also, if you joined after October 2010, you may be unaware that we have a list of bakers that regular bake for the mission (on a schedule). We would like to expand that list. Please consider joining, it's okay to join after the schedule's been made. We'll fit you in!
If you have any questions about programs at City Gospel Mission, their website is http://www.citygospelmission.com/index.html. News from CGM is posted from time to time on the bulletin boards in the foyer.
Please contact Emma if you have any questions about how you may become involved or more involved with the mission!
May God's Peace be with You.