Author: Admin account

  • Anabaptist tree planting campaign plants over 2,250 trees this spring

    Anabaptist tree planting campaign plants over 2,250 trees this spring

    This spring Anabaptist communities have been enthusiastically planting trees, with over 2,250 trees planted in April alone. Congregations, farmers, men’s groups, and schools have partnered with Mennonite Men to plant trees as part of Mennonite Men’s campaign, JoinTrees, with the goal of planting one million trees by the year 2030.

    Steve Thomas, Mennonite Men U.S. coordinator and certified arborist, has encouraged JoinTrees partners to be creative in their planting projects. The results have been intergenerational events at a variety of sites, including tree plantings at churches, farms, retreat centers, and along the Indiana Toll Road.

    In addition to the various planting events, Mennonite Men’s board of directors also approved $8,247.00 for 5 grants to congregations, farms, and environmental education projects to assist them in tree planting projects they’re undertaking this spring and fall.

    One of the grants helped finance tree planting at Full Circle Farm in Three Rivers, Michigan, where farm owners Gabe and Bethany Bauman-Baker enlisted the help of students from Bethany Christian School in Goshen, Indiana. Students helped them plant 632 trees to create a fast-growing windbreak between their field and the conventionally farmed fields beside them and increase carbon capture.

    ‘We have three goals with this campaign to restore God’s earth,’ said Steve Thomas. ‘Doing our part to care for God’s creation, we aim to mitigate global warming, serve climate justice, and sustain biodiversity.’

    ‘We continue to receive inquiries about how to participate in our campaign,’ said Thomas. ‘People are seeking to join this campaign by offering land to plant, making contributions to fund tree planting, and helping to plant seedlings. We are excited by the strong, positive response across the church.’

    To date, 9,151 trees have been planted through the JoinTrees campaign. To learn more about JoinTrees and how you and your community can get involved, visit mennonitemen.org/jointrees.


  • Mennonite Men helps build churches from Brazil to Burkina Faso

    Mennonite Men helps build churches from Brazil to Burkina Faso

    Mennonite Men are assisting five new congregations across three continents with over $107,400 through JoinHands, Mennonite Men’s program to provide grants to help new congregations acquire their first church building. The board of directors of Mennonite Men approved grants at their board meeting on March 27 that will benefit Mennonite churches in Colorado, Virginia, Brazil, and Burkina Faso.

    “We’re excited to help provide these new, growing congregations with the space they need to worship and carry out vital ministries,” said Steve Thomas, U.S. coordinator for Mennonite Men.

    Mennonite Men worked with Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) to identify Samogohiri Mennonite Church in Burkina Faso and two congregations in Brazil, Igreja Evangélica Vida Nova and Igreja Evangélica Menonita em Lago Azul, as congregations that were working to construct a church building.

    “In Brazil, the people of Lago Azul and Vida Nova are excited to receive the JoinHand grant. These funds will help a lot as they are working hard on their church buildings,” said Linda Shelly, MMN’s Regional Director for Latin America.

    “The members of Samogohiri Mennonite Church dug the foundation for their building,” said Sharon Norton, co-director for Africa and Europe for MMN. “In order to keep their costs low, they’ve provided a lot of sweat equity, and got members of all ages involved.”

    In addition to granting funds internationally, Mennonite Men is also assisting Eastside Church, a congregation of Virginia Mennonite Conference in Harrisonburg, Virginia, as well as Hmong Mennonite Church, a congregation of Mountain State Mennonite Conference in Westminster, Colorado made up of Hmong people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group.

    JoinHands, which began in 1985 as Tenth Man, has distributed over $2 million helping churches in the United States, Canada, and in other countries to build or purchase their first building. Learn more at mennonitemen.org/joinhands.

  • Calgary Chin Christian Church celebrates 10 year anniversary with new building

    Calgary Chin Christian Church celebrates 10 year anniversary with new building

    On Sunday, March 14, 2021, Calgary Chin Christian Church celebrated the grand opening of their new church building, as well as marking their 10 year anniversary as a congregation.

    Because of the pandemic, the church held a celebratory worship service with a hybrid format, in which some members were present at the new building, while other members and special guests participated via Zoom.

    The congregation, a Mennonite Church Alberta congregation, was able to purchase and renovate the building with assistance from a $40,000 grant from JoinHands, Mennonite Men’s program to provide grants to help new congregations acquire their first church building.

    Don Neufeld, Coordinator for Mennonite Men in Canada, shared at the event.

    “My presence today is about connection. At a basic level it is about connecting our donors and their funds and the needs of your congregation,” said Neufeld. “But this is more than just about money. It is about connection in God’s family and in our joint ministry to see God’s will abound in our world.”

    Neufeld expressed appreciation for the opportunity to work with church leadership to make a new church building possible for the congregation.

    Calgary Chin Christian Church is made up of Chin people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group from Chin State, Myanmar (Burma).

    The church began in June 2010 in the basement of one of the church members, with volunteers teaching songs and Bible verses to children. In January 2011, the congregation was founded, and then joined Mennonite Church Alberta in March 2013. After renting space from another church, with limited space and available time for their activities, church members are looking forward to growing their ministries, including Bible studies, women’s groups, and youth activities.

    JoinHands, which began in 1985 as Tenth Man, has distributed over $2 million helping churches in the United States, Canada, and in other countries to build or purchase their first building. Learn more at mennonitemen.org/joinhands.

    Photo courtesy of Calgary Chin Christian Church
  • EMHS students brave cold to plant American Chestnut trees

    EMHS students brave cold to plant American Chestnut trees

    On February 27, a group of students from Eastern Mennonite High School braved wintery conditions to plant 220 seedlings of the American chestnut tree.


    ‘We had forecasts of inclement weather, which included up to an inch of freezing rain and ice. It created a lot of challenges to our planting plans,’ said Loren Hostetter a volunteer with the American Chestnut Cooperator’s Foundation (ACCF) who coordinated the planting. ‘However, we had a group of very energetic and determined students who would not be denied the chance to participate!’


    The planting was funded in part through a grant from JoinTrees, a campaign launched last fall by Mennonite Men, the men’s organization of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA, to plant one million trees by the year 2030. While some individuals and organizations have funded their own tree planting initiatives as part of JoinTrees, this is the first planting funded by a grant from JoinTrees.

    ‘This first project with Mennonite Men funding was especially exciting as it was part of an important work of restoring the American Chestnut,’ said Steve Thomas. ‘With this we are not simply planting any tree, but a keystone species in the ecology of God’s creation in eastern hardwood forests.’

    The planting is part of a larger initiative of ACCF to reintroduce the American chestnut, a native species once the dominant tree in the Appalachian range, after it became functionally extinct from the American chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) in the 1920-1940s.

    Although the group’s goal had been to plant 300 seedlings, they needed to limit it to 220 seedlings because of weather conditions and restrictions on how many people could participate in the planting due to Covid. Hostetter said that they plan on concluding the planting in September when they will have more favorable weather.

    To find out more information about the JoinTrees campaign, visit mennonitemen.org/jointrees. If you, your congregation, or your organization would like to support JoinTrees or get involved, please contact Mennonite Men at mm@mennonitemen.org. Photo courtesy of Loren Hostetter

  • JoinHands grant enables African Community Church of Lancaster to grow its ministries

    JoinHands grant enables African Community Church of Lancaster to grow its ministries

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    This past fall, Mennonite Men presented a grant of $40,000 to African Community Church of Lancaster (ACCL) for their new church building in Manheim, Pennsylvania through JoinHands, Mennonite Men’s program to provide grants to help new congregations acquire their first church building. After renting space from other churches for several years, the congregation recognized the need for their own space so that they could hold longer worship services, prayer meetings, and have increased space for children and youth activities.

    The grant from Mennonite Men enables ACCL, an MC USA congregation in Atlantic Coast Conference, to make necessary improvements to the property and furnish some of the rooms in the church building.

    While members of the church are taking precautions due to the pandemic, having their own space allows them to expand not only their congregational ministries, but outreach to the community as well.

    The congregation, which is made up mostly of members with roots in Eastern and Southern Africa, including Kenya, Nigerian, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, holds an annual summer event inviting neighbors to share African food with them, and they are exploring ways to do a safe, socially-distanced version of the event this summer. They also hold a yearly conference to evangelize and make disciples, which they are looking forward to hosting at their new building in the future.

    2020 was Mennonite Men’s biggest year ever for JoinHands, with a total of $170,000 granted to five congregations. Mennonite churches Mennonite Men assisted this year were all ethnic-racial congregations serving African, Chin, Haitian and Hispanic communities of faith.

    If your congregation is a Mennonite congregation that is 10 years old or less and is looking to acquire its first building, you can find out more about the JoinHands program at mennonitemen.org/joinhands or by contacting Mennonite Men at mm@mennonitemen.org.


  • Seedling bouquets as creative Valentines gifts

    Seedling bouquets as creative Valentines gifts

    ​This Valentine’s Day, members of Ambler Mennonite Church in Ambler, Pennsylvania are surprising their loved ones with a ‘green’ Valentine’s Day Care Package. Inside, recipients will receive a ‘bouquet of trees,’ in which one dozen tree seedlings were donated for planting in their honor. The congregation is doing this as a way of supporting JoinTrees, Mennonite Men’s campaign to plant one million trees by 2030. In total they’ll give 46 bouquets, for a total of 552 trees.

    ‘This bouquet of trees is truly life-giving!’ said Gretchen Merryman-Lotze. ‘Trees have the remarkable ability to sequester carbon, moderate climate change, and cool the earth. By supporting Mennonite Men’s campaign to plant one million trees by 2030, we take confidence in knowing that our seedlings will be planted in locations where they can be watered and cared for in order to grow, thrive, and heal our planet.’

    This project was coordinated by the church’s ‘Green Team’ as an eco-friendly alternative to the more traditional bouquet of cut long-stem roses, which are often grown with harmful pesticides, shipped long distances, and require refrigeration throughout transit. The idea developed after realizing that February 14 falls on a Sunday this year, providing the congregation with a unique opportunity to share their love for others and the planet.

    If your congregation or group is interested in creative ways to support JoinTrees, please contact us at mm@mennonitemen.org. If you’d like more information about JoinTrees, you can visit mennonitemen.org/jointrees.


  • Riverton Fellowship Circle donates $30,000 to JoinHands program

    Riverton Fellowship Circle donates $30,000 to JoinHands program

    ​When the Mennonite Church Manitoba congregation, Riverton Fellowship Circle, decided to close this summer, they decided to ‘pay it forward’ in a number of unique ways. 1. They gave their building to the Riverton Friendship Centre, the drop-in organization they were born out of. 2. They gave $30,000 back to JoinHands (formerly Tenth Man), a program of Mennonite Men that provides grants to help new congregations acquire their first church building. Riverton Fellowship Circle had received a grant from Tenth Man to build their building, and they wanted to enable another congregation to build. 3. They established bursaries for indigenous young people to participate at Camps with Meaning and study at Canadian Mennonite University.

  • Zoom Conversation on Racial Reconciliation on January 23, 2021

    Zoom Conversation on Racial Reconciliation on January 23, 2021

    As a part of God’s reconciling work, we are called to dismantle racism and build relationships across racial divides. On Saturday, January 23, 2021, from 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. EST, Mennonite Men will be hosting a Zoom meeting, open to all genders, with members of Seeking the Beloved Community, a group of Black and White men in Elkhart, Indiana, who have been engaged in this work for seven years. A number of these are pastors and members of Mennonite congregations. This is a regular, open, monthly meeting of men seeking to build relationships, especially among men. They seek to deepen bonds with each other, across race and culture, within families, among local churches and neighborhoods. They seek to confront racism, expose privilege, and engage in activities that promote shalom and demonstrate God’s Beloved Community.

    This interactive Zoom meeting will consist of presentations from members of Seeking the Beloved Community, whole group conversation, and breakout sessions. As we engage with this group, we will discover

    · What happens when Black and White men come together,

    · The gifts and challenges of building such relationships,

    · Hidden truths and fears revealed in our gatherings,

    · How we change as a result of our experience together,

    · Personal experiences of privilege, racism and change,

    · How building community helps as a step to dismantle racism,

    · Ways the Spirit works to form God’s beloved community.

    Through this event, we will encourage deepening relationships across racial forms of belonging, dismantling racism, and participating in God’s community.

    We suggest a donation of $25—all of which will go to Seeking the Beloved Community to minister to needs in their neighborhoods. However, we invite anyone to participate regardless of ability to make a financial contribution.

    Register for this event at https://seekingthebelovedcommunity.netlify.app/ and we will send a Zoom meeting link to you.

    ‘The end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opposers into friends. It is this type of understanding goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love which will bring about miracles in the hearts of (humanity).’ –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • Men’s Retreat at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp

    Men’s Retreat at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp

    ​Early March as the warm weather and longer daylight hours inched closer,
    men gathered at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp for the annual Men’s Retreat
    hosted in part by Mountain States Mennonite Conference. This retreat was
    attended by 46 men and was filled with laughter, good singing, and much
    conversation. Saturday afternoon the tradition continued of competing in Human
    Curling (a RMMC original game which combines the thrill of bumper cars and the
    strategy of chess), showing off people’s competitive side and youthful energy.
    There was also a snowshoe hike around camp to see the “Elders”, the oldest and
    largest trees at camp.

    Steve Thomas, US Director for Mennonite Men, facilitated the worship sessions during the weekend on “Celebrating God’s Love, Grace and Compassion in Our Everyday World.” He led participants in reflecting on their image of God and offered table discussion groups to explore questions and ideas together.

    A few comments from the retreat evaluations are below.
    “I appreciated Steve’s ability to connect with us.”
    “Steve’s messages were insightful and left much to reflect inviting further research.”
    “I appreciated that Steve did not tell us what our image of God should be, but facilitated our exploring what our image of God actually is.”
    I appreciated interactions with other men, both informally and as part of the presentation by Steve.

    –By Jenelle Roynon, program director for Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp.

  • Waterford Church in Goshen gives a tithe of its building project to JoinHands

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    Welcoming Spaces 3.0 will turn into a welcome addition to Mennonite Men’s JoinHands program, thanks to a contribution from Waterford Mennonite Church.

    In late 2018 Waterford began its ‘Welcoming Spaces 3.0’ campaign, seeking to make several improvements in their physical facilities to create a more inviting space for guests and regular attenders alike. To date, the church in Goshen, Indiana, installed an ADA-compliant ramp in the sanctuary, providing access to the platform for those with physical limitations. They also repaved the parking area to provide a safer and more attractive surface to a lot that had significant cracks throughout. Welcoming Spaces 3.0 followed earlier Welcoming Spaces campaigns for facility improvements.

    Drawing on a model used by other congregations, Waterford chose to ‘tithe’ from its campaign, providing resources to other groups seeking to provide more welcoming spaces, with plans to make Mennonite Men the largest beneficiary of the tithe. To date, Waterford has contributed $5,000 to JoinHands.

    ‘Although by most standards, this is not a major capital campaign, in my 15 years pastoring here this is the largest project we’ve done which required fundraising,’ said Pastoral Team Leader Neil Amstutz. ‘I have found Waterford to be a generous and responsive congregation when special needs have been brought forward. There is always a healthy dialogue between advocates of money spent ‘for ourselves’ versus money spent ‘for mission’. This campaign gave us the opportunity for our physical improvements to also bring benefits far beyond ourselves for churches that are growing.’

    The Waterford contribution to Mennonite Men is anticipated to grow, said church leaders. ‘As we began our projects, we knew of at least three significant needs we wanted to address,’ said Jan Oostland, the church’s facilities manager. ‘We’ve improved two significant spaces with the ramp addition and parking lot repairs, but we also knew we wanted to address some issues in our fellowship hall. In the months to come, we’ll be fleshing out what that will look like and perhaps consider some other needs.’

    ‘Grounded in our gratitude for the gracious God we serve, it has been exciting to see many in our congregation prayerfully respond with generous offerings,’ said Lyle Miller, Welcoming Spaces 3.0 coordinator. ‘As we invite people to participate in the remaining activities, we anticipate being able to send even more to JoinHands. We are thankful for the ways Mennonite Men helps men ‘grow, give and serve as followers of Jesus.”