Convention News Fresh Daily July 5, 2017 Orlando, FL
In this issue Opening youth worship Opening adult worship Servant projects “Love is a Verb� at convention Indoor prayer walk inspires Mennonite colleges unite Updates and announcements
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Welcome to Orlando 2017!
opening youth worship
“Love is a verb, but we’re going to start tonight with love is a noun.” Jon Heinly, worship leader for the youth convention, asked the youth to take this week to consider how they participate in God’s love for them, the person sitting beside them, their neighbors and everyone else. But first, they needed to start with the basics. “God is love,” said Rachel SpringerGerber, the denominational youth minister. “We love because God first loved us, and so that is where we’re going to need to start, at the very beginning. Love is here, and that means God is here.”
“We will sing to God,” Crissman said, “because God is good and loved us first.” After establishing love as a noun in the opening service, the rest of the week will build on the overall convention theme of “Love is a Verb.” “I started thinking about what we were going to do at convention, and then thinking about God’s love in action,” said Glen Guyton, director of convention planning. “Verb is action. It’s energy, and what better theme for our convention for people to get excited about?”
Tempel is not the only one. “I hope to give myself up to God,” said Kaci Yoder, a youth from Goshen, Indiana, “and how it’s shown throughout the Bible and present day and what others think about that concept.” That’s exactly what this convention is about and what those in charge are hoping for. “We want you to experience the love of God,” Guyton said. “We want you, even just as you worship, to breathe in God’s loving presence, as soon as you walk into this room and as you leave, just to carry that love with you.”
And they are excited. The evening focused on worship through music, a mixture of contemporary praise songs and hymns (which will be a staple of youth worship) led by Seth Crissman, who recognizes that not everyone has identical styles of worship.
“I’m anticipating finding new ways to show love,” said Khampahas Tempel, a youth from Broadway, Virginia, “and finding ways other people are showing love.” 2
In the end, Heinly left those gathered in Chapin Theater with a question. “What is one thing you’ll do to participate in God’s love in this world?” —Jordan Waidelich
opening adult worship When you’re in the stomping grounds of Mickey and Minnie, surrounded by palm trees in the heart of the Sunshine State, you might forget that Orlando history also has its share of despair. That’s something that Sarah Bixler of Princeton, New Jersey, pointed out early in last night’s adult opening worship service. “We are meeting in the space of the Seminoles,” she said. “We acknowledge and honor the people on whose land we meet today. We lament how most of these peoples were exterminated and displaced by the United States.” Bixler, along with worship co-leader Shannon Dycus of Indianapolis set a thoughtful tone for the evening, also referencing the Pulse Nightclub
shooting just one year ago. In light of that pain and violence, Dycus said, Mennonites must be asking some key questions:
love into action: “I am loved by God.”
“What does it mean for us to be a peace church?” she asked. “How will we put love into action?”
Bixler said the adult services will move “from the internal to the external,” over the course of the week starting with a celebration of God’s love for us as individuals and ending with a call to spread that love to our neighbors.
But we can’t extend love to others until we have “deep roots grounded in God’s love,” Bixler said later. So Tuesday’s service focused on tending those roots.
And as dozens came forward to be anointed with oil at the end of the service they tended their roots and made plans to put love into action. —Kendra Burkey
The evening moved fluidly through prayer, scripture, a series of meditations and songs led by an eight-member worship band and provided an entry point to “Love is a Verb,” asking attendees to acknowledge the first step of putting
“What does it mean for us to be a peace church?” she asked. “How will we put love into action?”
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Servant Project Helps Restore Historic Nehrling Gardens Yesterday Mennonite youth from across the United States braved the 90-degree heat to help restore and preserve one of Orange County’s oldest and most beautiful tourist attractions. Under a canopy of exotic palms, Mennonite Church USA Servant Project participants uprooted invasive weeds and mulched footpaths in Gotha, Florida’s historic Nehrling Gardens.
“When I first arrived in 2002,” said Theresa Schretzmann-Myers, a board member and energetic volunteer coordinator, “you couldn’t even see the gardens. I drove by three or four times trying to find them. They were completely covered in invasive kudzu.” Now she can point proudly toward all sorts of unburied treasures: a rescued cedar tree which houses a family of five screech owls; a 140-year-old Australian bunya bunya tree, one of the oldest arboreal species on the planet, a rare survivor of the Jurassic age; a eucalyptus full of pileated woodpeckers; and some of the region’s richest winter nesting grounds for migratory birds from across North America.
Established in 1885 by Henry Nehrling, a renowned ornithologist and experimental horticulturist, the Nehrling Gardens were once home to more than 200 species of palm trees and hundreds of other exotic plants introduced, tested and cultivated by Dr. Nehrling. Nature lovers flocked to the gardens, as did such enterprising figures as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, who sought out Nehrling’s expertise on strange plants, hoping to find a technological breakthrough growing in his remarkable gardens.
Inside the restored home, Schretzmann-Myers puts on white gloves to handle Dr. Nehrling’s 1895 publication “Our Native Birds: Song and Beauty,” and reads aloud his description of the now-extinct passenger pigeon, which once assembled in great numbers in the gardens. Outside in the heat, some 50 young Mennonites have gathered to put love into action. Armed with trowels, shovels and rakes, they are helping to cultivate a small but vibrant corner of God’s creation. —Luke Beck Kreider
Today, its six remaining acres of tropical and subtropical plants and its restored 19th-century wood frame home are on the National Register of Historic Places and are a Florida Heritage Landmark. This is thanks to the work of the non-profit Henry Nehrling Society to preserve the horticultural wonder amidst the twin threats of invasive plants and aggressive real estate developers.
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LOVE IS A VERB at convention...
How are you hoping love is a verb will take action this week?
“I hope that I am willing to put my life energies into bringing justice this week. The reality is we can’t bring justice across the street and around our world if we are unable to bring justice right here with our brothers and sisters. My goal this week is to be fully present in the Delaney sessions I attend and in the Future Church Summit. My hope is that in these spaces we will use our life energies to be courageous and present with each other this week.” —Wanda Stopher, lead pastor at First Mennonite in Bluffton, Ohio
“People from different backgrounds and races coming together in worship” ---Seth Keim, Park View Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg Virginia
I would like to see us relating across divides of difference. In that process I hope we can hold on to that idea that love is a verb... We may not think the same way but we are connected in love. ---Tony Brown, McDonald, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Mennonite Church
My hope for convention is that there be a renewed energy around the possibilities of our denomination that can give us positive energy rather than feeling defeated. ---Ken Rodgers, Hesston, Kansas, Hesston Mennonite Church
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Indoor PRAYER WALK Inspires Mennonites from all over the country rode up escalators, trekked across a sky bridge and walked through hallways in song and silence during the Mennonite Women USA and Mennonite Men-sponsored prayer walk yesterday afternoon.
“We came up with this idea of doing a prayer walk instead as nice, free alternative,” Bogard said. “But also as a way of centering our hearts and minds in Christ prior to the rest of the business.” Elizabeth Soto, a participant, said prayer walks are an important part of convention.
The walk began with a hymn, led by Peggy Carter. Together, the group filled the convention center lobby with fivepart harmony while they sang “Unity.” In the Rosen Plaza Hotel the group squeezed together in a hallway. Marlene Bogard, director of Mennonite Women USA, welcomed the group to pray silently, and then, as they felt led, voice their prayers to the rest of the group. “For the gift of your church, from the North to the South, to the East and to the West,” prayed one participant. “For the Executive Board and staff,” said another. From there, the prayer walk made its way back to the convention center lobby, where Carter led the group in singing “They’ll Know We are Christians.” Bogard called the event “serendipitous.” After all, Mennonite Women USA planned to have their traditional dinner. But when costs became too high, Bogard called Steve Thomas, coordinator of Mennonite Men, and asked to host an event together.
“I believe in the power of prayer, but as a collective….We have done this prayer walk in Phoenix and in Kansas City. Why not join a body and start by praying together?” George Thompson, another participant, said the prayer walk was exactly what the church needs right now: “The prayer walk, in particular, is to seek the spirit of God to be with us, to guide us through [this week]. These are difficult times.” To close the prayer walk, Thomas invited the group to go in peace: “Let us continue to walk together in a time where people are walking in many different directions. Let us remember who we are, whose we are: sisters and brothers in Christ, part of the one church family.” —Abby King
celebrating women MennoTalk | Wednesday, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. | F4 6
Mennonite colleges unite in joint recruitment effort One.
This year’s booth focuses on three target areas MCU identified.
One is the number when it comes to the Mennonite Colleges and Universities booth.
MCU realized what they provide and what students look for isn’t that far off. But their communication has been.
One booth. One T-shirt. One goal. “What we learned is that the things that we’re really promoting, like peace and justice, service, sustainability, intercultural education, anabaptist values --- that is important but it’s secondary to them,” Swartzendruber said. “What is important is academic quality, affordability, and tangible outcomes.”
Around 80 percent of Mennonite youth do not consider Mennonite Colleges and Universities (MCU) when preparing for higher education. MCU wants to change that. While budgets and number of Mennonites are shrinking, the colleges had to come up with a positive solution to draw youth in.
Youth entering the exhibit first encounter a wall featuring alumni from all the institutions, a matching game exposing them to different academic areas and a wall of facts and digital surveys that help shine light on financial aid. It also includes t-shirts, a coffee bar and many fun prizes. Youth can get a t-shirt by signing up for the matching game. As they continue the game there are opportunities to win ten $5,000 scholarships, college swag bags, a collegebound pack (including a laptop), and VIP visits.
“It was obvious that all of us still very much valued convention and our target market of Mennonite youth,” said Rachel Swartzendruber, Hesston College Vice President of Admissions. “Shrinking budgets is a reality for all of us. And we wanted to continue to have a high quality convention presence, continue to meet with these youth in a real interactive, high energy way without sacrificing quality.” And that they did. As youth started to trickle and then flood in from opening worship, the group of admission leaders, their staff and students met the youth with lots of enthusiasm. Cheers could be heard across the hall as the first youth signed in and when the first match was made.
“It’s truly about reaching that 80 percent,” Swartzendruber said. “We want to encourage and connect with that 20 percent that are thinking Mennonite colleges, but the reality is 80 percent of Mennonite youth are not thinking Mennonite colleges. So let’s catch their attention, collectively. —Erin Bradley
“It’s less of a competition,” Callie Linnes of Hillsboro, Kansas. “It was nice to see everything at once.” 7
TODAY’S FORECAST
updates & Announcements
Sunny a.m. Increasing clouds with some thunderstorms later in the day. High 92- Low 74 / Humidity: 69%/Winds SE
TODAY’S
TOPTEN Top Ten Mennonite Road Trips
10 Not pulling over to get snacks because your mom made gorp
9 Sampling the best ice cream in each state 8
Not riding shotgun!
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Stopping every 10 miles to see family
Seminar/Workshop Cancellations: Thursday, July 6, 9:00-10:00 a.m. – Internships Across the Denomination has been cancelled
Thursday, July 6, 4:30-5:30 p.m. – Sexuality: Navigating the Sexual Landscape has been moved to 231B
Friday, July 7, 9:00-10:00 a.m. – How To Do College Right (The First Time) has been cancelled
Saturday, July 8, 9:00-10:00 a.m. – A Mennonite Girl from Harlem: Transforming Self and Society has been moved to 224G
Saturday, July 8, 9:00-10:00 a.m. – How To Do College Right (The First Time) has been cancelled
“Engage in shaping the Global Anabaptist Health Network”
Saturday, July 8, 9:00-10:00 a.m. – Leading Beyond a “Grass Is Greener” Mentality has been cancelled.
Join Rick Stiffney and others who are giving energy to the development of the new Global Anabaptist Health Network, an international network of Anabaptist health professionals and institutions. We will meet for conversation Wednesday, July 5, at noon in the food court area at a table held by Rick. The table is situated along the wall opposite from the restrooms sign!
Room Changes: Wednesday, July 5, 1:30-2:30 p.m. – Things You Wanted to Know about Syria, But Were Afraid to Ask has been moved to 231B
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Trying to play the license plate game but only seeing buggies
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Passing by Starbucks in favor of locating a local free-trade coffee shop
4 Walking, because gas is expensive 3 Visiting the Glen Guyton Monument (if it’s not there, it should be)
2 Singing along to the radio in four-part harmony
1 Trying to resolve conflicts with other drivers
tomorrow’s prompt: Top 10 Reasons why Mennonite Girls and Women Rock! Submit your answers using the hashtag #Menno10
Actors Ted Swartz and Michelle Milne performed last night in Discovery: A Comic Lament, a play by Alison Brookins. 8