Mennonites sing and serve despite losses in Hurricane Eta
GOSHEN, Indiana (Mennonite Mission Network) — Hurricane Eta moved through Central America last week leaving wreckage in its path, especially in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. The hurricane claimed at least 260 lives; 150 of them in Guatemala, 62 in Honduras, and 27 in Mexico. Mennonite church members in the region are striving to do what they […]
Mennonite Mission Network leaders share unfolding vision for the future
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — When he first applied for the job, months ago, Mike Sherrill, who became Mennonite Mission Network’s new executive director August 1, says he did not imagine that it would mean leading the agency through a pandemic. But in God’s providence, that’s exactly what he’s doing, and he’s eager to […]
Menno Village plants seeds of heritage, justice
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — For Menno Village in rural Hokkaido, Japan, harvest is a yearlong process. Vegetables begin to be harvested in the spring; wheat in the waning days of July; and rice by the beginning of October. Each harvest, however, begins the same way: by planting a seed. It’s these seeds that […]
Camp Deerpark provides SOOP family space to roam, soil to grow
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — Amid an unsafe world, Katrina and Matt Eberly didn’t worry when their four children were nowhere to be seen at Camp Deerpark in upstate New York. They knew they were scampering through the woods with their new camp friends, catching minnows in the creek and stretching their bodies and […]
Trauma stewardship: transforming wounds into wellness
Who can listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in his own heart and even losing his precious peace of mind? In short: "Who can take away suffering without entering it? — Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society Out of her deep […]
God’s mission calls for peacemaking in violence and suffering
DAYTON, Virginia (Mennonite Mission Network) — Behind hundreds of people lined up behind a van waiting for food, makeshift tents stretched for miles. This sight on her first visit to Camp de la Lande in the summer of 2015 left Juliet Kilpin in a state of shock. The migrant and refugee camp, located on a […]
Celebrating the diverse riches of Hispanic Heritage Month
Mauricio Chenlo, minister of Church Planting for Mennonite Mission Network, wrote this blog to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States, spanning Sept. 15-Oct. 15, 2020. He also shared how the celebration connects with the work of the mission agency’s Sent Network, a leadership development resource for church planters and missional pastors. […]
Mission Network collaborates with global pandemic relief fund
NOTE: Mennonite World Conference (MWC) has given Mennonite Mission Network permission to add to and reprint sections of an earlier report found here on MWC’s Global Church Sharing Fund. NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — In healing solidarity with Anabaptist groups around the world, Mennonite Mission Network has contributed $15,000 for pandemic relief through Mennonite […]
Cofán faith journeys inspire a storybook on baptism
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — Playing soccer and storytelling are key aspects of Naomi Ross Richer’s life in Ecuador and at Goshen (Indiana) College. The energy needed for both has helped her persevere to create a book about baptism for indigenous youth in the Ecuadorian rainforest. The inspiration for The Baptism Story — illustrated […]
Donor giving continues during pandemic shutdown
Editor’s note: To mark the National Day of Charity on Sept. 5 in the United States, Karen Horsman, Mennonite Mission Network’s director of Donor Relations, reflects on how grateful she and her team are for the ongoing generosity of donors during the COVID-19 pandemic. As this past winter deepened in northern Indiana, the news of […]
Reflections on a life of ministry in Venezuela
I looked at my phone early on the morning of Aug. 5 and saw that Pastor Erwin Mirabal, president of the church conference Red de Misiones Menonita de Venezuela, had died of COVID-19. We had been praying for him for two weeks. His condition was stable the day before. His death was a shock for […]
Pandemic can’t squelch passion for Service Adventure
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) – Service Adventure unit leader Cindy Headings says that not even a pandemic has squelched her passion for serving for a fourth consecutive year. In fact, Headings says her longtime enthusiasm for leading the Colorado Springs, Colorado, unit was stoked even higher the first week in August. That’s when she […]