UPDATES

These bi-weekly UPDATES are shared so that leaders and congregations are aware of events and information taking place in LMC, agencies, fraternal organizations, congregations, and the broader church. These announcements are for your information and to share with others in your congregation through email, weekly bulletin, monthly newsletter, Sunday morning announcements, church website, or Facebook. Use your discretion and share what your congregation will find helpful.

LMC Office Events & Information

Leaders,

Church History for Anyone will be offered this fall.

Part 1, Early Church to Reformation begins September 17 for 10 weeks on Thursdays. ,

Part 2, Reformation to 20th Century, begins September 29 for 10 weeks & continues Part 1 from the Spring.

The cost is $30 and the class size is limited to 20. See the attached class description.
Access to the class is currently planned for Zoom and using Google Classroom. Students who pay the fee receive a Google Classroom invite, which requires a Gmail account, and a ZOOM link. Due to Covid-19, In-person class will be considered on a week-by-week basis.

Church History class Registration & Payment HERE

A Study of the Sermon on the Mount will be offered this fall. It will begin on September 8 and go for 11 Tuesday evenings. A donation of $30 will be accepted. The class size is limited to 15. See the attached class description. Zoom and Google Classroom will be used for this class, so you can be a part no matter where you live. Due to Covid-19, the in-person class will be considered on a week-by-week basis for students local to the Lancaster area.

Sermon on the Mount Class Registration

SEED Church Leadership Development for English Language Learners

Do you know someone with a growing leadership ability who could serve in even more dynamic ways in the church with more training and confidence?

SEED is a 3-year church leadership development program specially designed for English-as-second-language learners. It includes studies in Biblical literacy, church history, and leadership, as well as practical topics that target the ministry needs of urban, refugee, and recent immigrant churches. Classes study as cohorts on two Saturday mornings a month from September through May. To enroll or for more information, contact Chris or Dawn Landes at cdlandes@habeckerchurch.com or 717-799-3900.

Two significant distance-learning opportunities
are available to you this fall:

Shawn Otto, Congregational Counseling
&
Troy Landis, Discipling Others

Training in Ministry classes are designed to equip people to more effectively minister in the home, church, neighborhood, and work environments. All classes are delivered online with state-of-the-art learning methods.
To apply, go to
https://rosedale.edu/tim-application/

Congregational Counseling provides skills for mental health intervention in the congregation and community. Topics like premarital counseling, grief counseling, marriage counseling, parenting, and referral training are covered. Shawn Otto is a pastor at Bethel Mennonite Church in Sarasota, Florida and a trained counselor.

In our current situation, this class is quite relevant. "Experts warn prolonged isolation during the pandemic may worsen or trigger mental health problems." (https://www.sciencenews.org/article/coronavirus-covid-19-social-distancing-psychological-fallout)

Discipling Others equips students to aid others in their growth in Christ in the context of personal relationships. The class will cover both pre-conversion and post-conversion discipleship. Troy Landis is co-pastor at Living Light Mennonite Church and previously led Discipleship Ministries at Eastern Mennonite Missions. He has experience as a cross-cultural missionary.

Alan Hirsch argues that "we need to reconceive discipleship as a process that includes pre-conversion discipleship and post-conversion discipleship."

Training in Ministry, or TiM, developed through a collaboration of Rosedale Bible College, CMC, and LMC. The program includes a total of 16 courses organized in five tracks. See the attached brochure.

Each 10-week course earns three credits and costs $900. The Fall session begins the week of September 14 and ends the week of November 20.
Both LMC and CMC students are eligible for scholarships
through their respective conferences.

Students who complete three courses in a track
will be invited to attend a free course (3-credits) in a retreat format at Rosedale Bible College in August of 2021.

As you consider this option for yourself, consider others in your congregation who might similarly benefit, pass on this information, and encourage their participation.

For more details contact Brinton Rutherford, LMC (brutherford@lmchurches.org) or Steve Swartz, CMC (steve@cmcrosedale.org).

Press Here To Apply

LMC resource partner organization Events & Information

Eastern Mennonite Missions Partner in Southeast Asia Seeks Manager
A management-level position open at a successful Southeast Asian social enterprise. A minimum one-year contract beginning in 2021. For more information contact Jimm Derksen at jimm.derksen@emm.org.

Cancelation of Eastern Mennonite Missions Events
EMM staff members have spent the past several months closely following the COVID-19 developments and praying diligently for all who are being impacted. We have made the challenging decision to CANCEL Global Fair and the worker commissioning service this summer. We have also modified our Kingdom Team experience to an online setting. We're hoping that conditions will allow us to have the EMM banquet on November 12. Make sure to check emm.org for the most up-to-date information.

Mini Bookworm Frolic - Due to the coronavirus pandemic, our annual Bookworm Frolic will be offered in a different format and on different dates this year. Stock up on your reading favorites at our Mini Bookworm Frolic held September 17 & 18, 9 am to 7 pm, and September 19, 9 am to 4 pm, at the Historical Society. We will require customers to observe the health and safety recommendations in place at that time.
2021 Herr European Heritage Tour - Led by Lois Ann & Lemar Mast and Jean Kilheffer Hess on September 7 – 20, 2021. Registration deadline January 1, 2021. Make a deposit and reserve your space at bit.ly/Herr2021Tour or contact Mennonite Family History at mast@masthof.com or call 484-798-8556.
Music in the Orchard (Live Stream) - The popular concert series continues on Saturday, August 8, at 6 pm. The Jayplayers, with special guest, Kiana Corley, will perform from the picturesque grounds of the historic 1719 Herr House & Museum. Stream the concert on Facebook Live. Connect on the evening of the event at facebook.com/hansherr.org/live. Donations are appreciated.
Annual Storytelling Night (Live Stream) - September 7, 2020, at 7 pm, featuring Dr. Pamela Tieszen, Superintendent of Lancaster Mennonite Schools, & Nelson Okanya, Global Missions President at the Center for Serving Leadership. Told in a series of short-format stories, each storyteller relates personal anecdotes from richly varied life experiences. Broadcast exclusively on Facebook Live at facebook.com/lmhs.org. Live-stream features a link for much appreciated online donations. Donations are also welcome by check at Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, 2215 Millstream Road, Lancaster, PA 17602.
Mennonites Launch Collaborative Digital Storytelling Project to Record 2020, Project invites stories, videos, images. Joins trend for digital connection and historic conservation. Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society (LMHS), along with 15 collaborating organizations across the United States and Canada, announces the launch of Anabaptist History Today, a storytelling platform inviting individuals to upload experiences of everyday life in 2020. The effort joins a growing trend of gathering and sharing stories, reflections, and artistic expression during these changing times. The site features experiences of Anabaptists – Mennonites, Brethren in Christ, Church of the Brethren, and others, with story submissions, images, videos, and audio browseable on the web as well as archived by a collaborating history organization.

To learn more about the Anabaptist History Today project, visit https://aht.libraryhost.com/s/archive/page/Welcome.

Landis Homes is happy to help support the 2020 Water Week Aug 7-15. This event, by the Lancaster Conservancy, is full of great ways to be outside in safe ways and to learn more about the Conestoga River basin. Everyone is encouraged to take some time to walk one of the many cricks and creeks and remove litter. There is a lot more information, including other ways to be involved, at https://www.lancasterconservancy.org/water-week/

If you know a resident at Landis Homes, please consider sending them a message of love and support. To do this, go to https://www.landishomes.org/messages/. You can leave a written note and even attach images to share with them. The note will be printed and placed in the resident's mailbox.

Landis Homes and Landis Communities support three groups open to the public. They are intended to provide a setting for people to discuss feelings, concerns, and attitudes during and after personal or family crisis situations. Professionally trained staff facilitate many of these groups.

Memory Loss Support Group meets the last Tuesday of each month, except for December. The group organized is co-sponsored with the Alzheimer's Association Greater Pennsylvania Chapter. It is free and open to the public. For more information contact Landis Homes at (717) 581-3939.
Parkinson's Support Group meets the third Monday of each month from March through November. Persons with Parkinson's Disease and their caregivers are welcome to attend for education and support. For more information call (717) 509-5494.
No Longer Alone Family Support Group provides a place for those who have a loved one living with mental illness, to learn and share their experiences. Meets the 4th Sunday of every month, 3:00-5:00 pm. For more info, call Landis Communities at 717-381-3500.

While Fellowship Day at Landis Homes will look different this year, it is still happening. Each year it benefits the Landis Homes Caring Fund. Saturday, Sept. 12. Take-Out only Peters Chicken BBQ and other featured foods. In addition, the auction is moving online-only, but still features Quilts, Art Work, and Specialty Items. For more information, call (717) 509-5490 or go to https://www.landishomes.org/giving/benefit-events/fellowship-day/

https://mcc.org/get-involved/events/celebration-2020-mcc-100
Saturday, October 17, 2020

Due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, this event has been postponed. The new date is October 17, 2020, at 7:00 am. Look for updated information here and on MCC social media pages.
Questions? Contact centennial@mcc.org.