Tag: Stories

  • Friends: shelter, treasure, medicine for one another

    Friends: shelter, treasure, medicine for one another

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    Excerpted from Living That Matters: Honest Conversations for Men of Faith by Steve Thomas and Don Neufeld. Used by permission of Herald Press. All rights reserved.


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    Great books and films often depict the important role of friends. Consider Sam accompanying Frodo on his journey in The Lord of the Rings. Frodo wouldn’t have made it and completed his mission without Sam. And Frodo’s recovery and joy were complete in the end only by being reunited with his friends.

    The author of the Book of Sirach (in the Apocrypha) writes on the gift of being and having friends:

    Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter:
    whoever finds one has found a treasure.
    Faithful friends are beyond price;
    no amount can balance their worth.
    Faithful friends are life-saving medicine. (6:14–16)

    The writer also describes false friendship to show what true friends are like. Faithful friends stand together in times of trouble. They are faithful in conflict. And they are close in adversity (6:8–13). When we have true friends, we can say with the writer, ‘Wine and music gladden the heart, but the love of friends is better than either’ (40:20). The friendship between David and Jonathan illustrates this love that is intimate, steadfast, and protective (1 Samuel 18–20, 23; 2 Samuel 1).

    Jesus was a true friend. Consider his concentric circles of friends and what he modeled. We think first of his twelve companions. Within this circle was the inner circle of Jesus, Peter, James, and John. And inside this circle, Jesus enjoyed his closest friendship with John, the ‘beloved.’ Even with Jesus, we see different levels of friendship. Outside the twelve, Jesus also had many other friends, like Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Jesus looked upon them not simply as followers but also as friends. He made this clear in the end when he said, ‘I do not call you servants, . . . but I have called you friends’ (John 15:15). When Lazarus died, Jesus cried. When others saw Jesus weeping, they exclaimed, ‘See how he loved him!’ Here’s a strong man crying over the death of a friend (John 11:35–36). Such was the love of Jesus for his friends.

    Notice that Jesus chose to be with others who were significantly different from one another. For example, Jesus chose to be friends with Simon—a revolutionary Zealot—and Matthew, a tax collector and a Roman collaborator. Arguments and conflicts among the twelve disciples demonstrate that these friendships were challenging. But as we discussed earlier, conflict is simply a normal part of relationships. Rather than seeing it as a problem, Jesus saw these occasions as opportunities to learn.

    Jesus formed close friendships not only with men but also with women, like Mary and Martha. This was radical for his day. With both men and women, he modeled learning and growing together as a company of companions.

    In his relationships, Jesus shows us that friends embody love for one another. In being friends, we receive and extend God’s love. And as we include others in our circles of belonging, we widen the embodied circle of God’s love in the world.

    How can we be better friends? By

    • having regular habits of meeting together,
    • being vulnerable in order to truly know each other,
    • sharing our joys and struggles,
    • extending God’s unconditional love.

    Being friends takes practice—that is, regular habits of being together. I have been in small groups of women and men who meet regularly to share deeply of life and faith. I have also had the weekly practice of walking with a friend at six in the morning before work. And for many years, I’ve met with a men’s group every other week at six in the morning. Sometimes I just want to sleep in, especially on dark winter mornings, or stay home after a long day. When I look at my busy calendar or feel tired, I sometimes wonder whether it’s worth the time and effort. So what keeps me going? It’s what we experience together as friends by being a shelter, treasure, and medicine for one another.


    Living that Matters: Honest Conversations for Men of Faith serves as a men’s guide for conversation and reflection and includes 70 topics, like inclusion, for use by individuals or groups. Look for the book’s release from Herald Press in January, 2023. Preorder Living that matters: Honest Conversations for Men of Faith HERE.


  • A Forest of Faith: Planting an acre of trees, Indiana congregation adds a second sanctuary

    A Forest of Faith: Planting an acre of trees, Indiana congregation adds a second sanctuary

    ​This article originally appeared in Anabaptist World, August 26, 2022


    On Good Friday, congregants and friends of Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship in Goshen, Ind., began planting trees on an acre of land behind the church building. Bare-root seedlings, not more than 2 years old, were placed in the soil. Each vulnerable tree touched a person as it went into the ground. By the end of the Easter weekend, 700 trees, representing 17 species, were in the earth.


    This bit of ground was part of a three-acre plot the church purchased in 2007. Some of it was used to create a large community garden. Another portion was seeded to wildflowers. The back acre was left to be mowed.

    The land is surrounded on two sides by residential development and on a third by farmland.

    At one time, this land must have been farmed, too, along with the rest of the neighborhood. And before that, it would have held forest, wetland and forested wetland.
    And now an acre is being returned to trees.

    Why?

    James Yoder, who attends the church, saw an opportunity. While the garden and wildflowers represent- ed certain aspects of church life and church values, something was missing. A committee to develop a memorial garden plan on the south end of the three-acre space was already in place. But how could the entire space be used as an outdoor sanctuary, consistent with the congregation’s mission of being a welcoming place to its neighbors?
    In 2020, with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Berkey Avenue moved worship services outdoors. They felt fortunate to have green space to do this. By August 2021, the congregation decided to create a long- term plan for the entire three acres. They envisioned a memorial garden, outdoor worship space, community garden, wildflower meadow, prayer labyrinth and woods.
    How could the entire space be used as an outdoor sanctuary?

    By the spring of 2022, funds were raised and the Berkey Outdoor Sanctuary Committee formed, led by Ruth Miller Roth, Bryan Heinz and James Yoder, to carry out the plan. Yoder’s role was to give leadership to the woods.

    Site preparation for the memorial garden and outdoor worship space began this summer. The columbarium was scheduled to be delivered in mid-August. By late fall they hope to have everything completed, including connecting paths, plantings and a pergola marking the entrance into the sanctuary space.

    The vision for planting the back acre to trees — reforesting a small portion of land — was a way to act out long- term care and hope. The trees will communicate something about who is welcome. Yoder imagined people in the surrounding neighborhoods would be drawn to the emerging forest as a place to walk and relax or play and explore — a sanctuary from everyday routines.

    The woods will take on a broader sanctuary-life as animals are drawn to it. These nonhuman brothers and sisters will find their way back to the land some of their ancestors once inhabited. This ground will become a meeting place for a fuller chorus of the creation, reflecting a more diverse, truer aspect of the Creator.

    Yoder began attending online seminars to learn about reforestation and scaled-up planting. He consulted with Steve Thomas, director of the Men- nonite Men JoinTrees campaign, and Ben Wilson, a district forester, about tree species appropriate for northern Indiana and the space available at the church. He talked with members of the congregation to gauge and engage interest. With a charismatic smile, Yoder helped others to see the rightness of giving some land over to a wooded sanctuary. The vision caught.

    The JoinTrees tree-planting campaign committed funding and expertise. The City of Goshen’s goal to double the tree canopy by 2045 became part of the motivation. The growing awareness of the important role trees play in land stewardship helped the congregation pull together the pieces.

    A planting plan was developed and mapped. Trees were ordered from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources State Nursery. A planting date was selected, and the word was spread. The ground was prepared, and a spot for each tree was marked with a flag identifying the species.

    The Sunday before planting, Yoder encouraged fellow attenders to consider planting a tree as a symbol of hope and resurrection.

    On Good Friday, lots of people showed up with shovels and hand augers. There were demonstrations of proper planting: correct depth, making sure roots are respected. Crews were organized, family groups were instructed, and trees were planted.

    By the time I arrived shortly after noon, Yoder needed to slow things down to make sure there were enough trees for the youth group to plant the following day. Indeed, by Easter, a small forest was planted.

    Any planting requires faith. It takes work and maintenance. But, as anyone who has planted a garden knows, there is only so much a person can do. The actual growing is up to the intricacies of germination, nutrition, photosynthesis, cell division, molecu- lar biology — things that merge toward mystery, where control is relinquished.

    When a church plants trees — or anything — it is a signal of living faith. It is demonstrating a release of control (fertilizer, irrigation, mowing) and acting on trust that the Earth is capable of beauty, growth and grandeur well beyond human design.

    When a church surrounds itself with trees, it is giving time and space to something much larger than itself in an act of faith that God’s good Earth is exactly that — God’s and good.

    Trees are an expression of a tithe, or even jubilee — the idea that land should return to its original owner or state. When trees are present, we put aside ideas of practical use, optimal efficiency, maximum productivity. We content ourselves with a slow unfurling of bounty, which can test our faith and strengthen our trust.

    Deepened trust is good for all of us.


    Aaron Kingsley is director of the City of Goshen’s Department of Environmental Resilience and the city forester. He lives in Goshen with his wife and three children. This article is expanded from an article first published in The Goshen News.



  • Inclusion: breaking barriers, building shalom

    Inclusion: breaking barriers, building shalom

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    This piece comes from the upcoming book, Living that Matters: Honest Conversations for Men of Faith.


    In the classic story Animal Farm, barnyard animals revolt and set out to establish a better social order than what they had under the farmer. After the revolution, they create commandments to reorder their life: No human is above them. No one calls another ‘Master.’ All animals are equal and included in their life together. But in the course of time, pigs take charge and arrange things to their benefit. With their power, pigs reduce the commandments from seven to one: ‘All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.‘ Certain animals regarded as ‘lower animals’ are not allowed to partake of the prosperity of Animal Farm. In their second- class position outside the house, those animals watch pigs inside enjoying what they are denied.

    George Orwell told this ‘fairy story’ based on his observations of human behavior in social orders. He drives home the point that no matter what a group or constitution may say, ‘some are more equal than others.’ Societies may claim otherwise even while treating some as less equal and deserving while giving power, privilege, and goods to others.

    Wherever the animal farm or human group may be, some people tend to be treated as second-class citizens, denied certain benefits and excluded from opportunities others have. This social exclusion is based on skin color, religious beliefs, income, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, intellectual ability, political opinions, and appearance. It ranges from exclusion on the playground to being marginalized in other areas of life where certain individuals are not allowed to fully participate in the economic, social, and political life of their society.

    This also happened in the time of Jesus. The Gospels describe Jesus modeling the way of loving inclusion for all people as God’s beloved children in his responses to the following types of social exclusion:

    • Class-based exclusion—when Jesus called working-class fisherman as his disciples and future church leaders
    • Gender-based exclusion—when Jesus developed close relationships with women and drew them into his circle of disciples
    • Ethnic-based exclusion—when Jesus extended healing to the Syrophoenician’s daughter and the centurion’s servant
    • ‘Purity’-based exclusion—when Jesus made physical contact with individuals considered unclean
    • Conduct-based exclusion—when Jesus let prostitutes in and became known as a ‘friend of sinners’
    • Age-based exclusion—when Jesus called to himself children who were kept aside
    • Party-based exclusion—when Jesus invited both Matthew as a tax collector (supporting Rome) and Peter as a Zealot (resisting Rome) into his circle

    Jesus’s interactions with two socially excluded outsiders—a Samaritan woman and a Syrophoenician woman—are especially interesting. When Jesus relates to the Samaritan woman at the well, he crosses boundaries between men and women, Jews and Samaritans, religious and sinners. The woman is surprised by his inclusive actions (Jn 4:1–30). By contrast, Jesus appears to mistreat the Syrophoenician woman based on her ethnic identity. To his surprise, she confronts his exclusive healing.

    He then extends God’s healing to her daughter as requested (Mk 7:24–30). This Syrophoenician woman had something to teach Jesus!

    Having observed Jesus’s response to outsiders, Paul proclaimed that Jesus had broken down dividing walls to create in himself one new humanity in place of two (Eph 2:14–15). Based on both our common identity as God’s children and what God had accomplished in Christ, Paul wrote that there are no longer distinctions like Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female (Gal 3:28). Extending the way of his brother Jesus, James confronted class-based distinctions practiced even in Christian community (Jas 2:1–6).

    Unlike the banquet at the end of Animal Farm, where only pigs feed at the table while other animals watch outside, the great banquet Jesus describes includes the poor, blind, lame, and people off the street (Lk 14:15–24). No one is more equal than others. Everyone belongs and fully participates in the community. All are inside together and enjoy God’s abundant life. This is God’s shalom.


    Living that Matters: Honest Conversations for Men of Faith serves as a men’s guide for conversation and reflection and includes 70 topics, like inclusion, for use by individuals or groups. Look for the book’s release from Herald Press in January, 2023.


  • JoinHands grant to provide stability to urban Pennsylvania church

    JoinHands grant to provide stability to urban Pennsylvania church

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    Since its beginning as refuge for those distanced by the church, the group that turned into Ripple Church has kept its focus on caring for its neighborhood and the vulnerable living there. Its community-

    focused approach means Ripple provides a community of support and place of worship for our neighbors of whom many struggle with addiction, mental illness, trauma, and abuse which is often further complicated by isolation, homelessness, and incarceration.


    Ripple has met in five different locations in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania. In each new location, the congregation needed to adjust its rhythms to accommodate the new space and neighborhood. With each move, valuable relationships were lost and leadership development was hindered.


    In 2018 the congregation moved into St. Stephens Outreach Center owned by Christ Lutheran Church (CLC) in Allentown. As the relationship between the two congregations grew, so did the mutual idea of a permanent space to grow roots and become a stable presence in the neighborhood. CLC

    offered ownership of the building for a largely reduced price as a way to support Ripple’s continuing ministry.


    Mennonite Men’s next JoinHands grant will assist Ripple Church, a Mennonite congregation of Mosiac Mennonite Conference, to purchase this building. Ownership of the building will provide stability for this growing congregation and allow them to put down permanent roots in their neighborhood where they currently offer ministries for children and youth, sit down meals each Sunday for those attending, a clothing closet with hygiene/food pantry, to go meals twice a week, a community garden, Bible studies, and a community of belonging for members who are often isolated. Church leaders state, ‘Purchasing this building will give the church a permanent home and provides a safe location downtown for many people who are not welcomed in other areas of the city.’


    To assist this congregation in purchasing this building in Allentown with a JoinHands grant, Mennonite Men needs to raise $40,000. To learn more about JoinHands grants or to make a gift, visit mennonitemen.org/joinhands.


  • My prayer: God save the Earth

    My prayer: God save the Earth

    This article first appeared in the August 26, 2022 issue of Anabaptist World.​


    To cool the planet, plant a tree. Together we can plant a million.


    As a child, I loved being in nature. While I don’t recall what I noticed one day, I remember feeling
    worried. I wrote a message, placed it in a corked bottle and floated it down the creek.

    My message?

    “God save the Earth.”

    As climate change worsens, many people make this prayer. I now realize, however, that God doesn’t answer prayers like this while we stand by and wait. God answers our prayers with our cooperation.

    As St. Teresa of Avila said, “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on Earth but yours.”

    God wants to cooperate with our own actions to answer our prayers. Yes, we may pray, but we must act. And now.

    We see in the news people suffering the loss of their homes, food supply or clean water. All of this is projected to worsen as extreme heat, storms,
    flooding, fires and droughts increase in frequency and intensity with climate change.

    The last report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is disheartening. It finds climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying. These changes will lead to humanitarian crises — food in- security, scarce resources, health issues and other population stresses.

    And, according to last year’s report of the National Security, Military and Intelligence Panel on Climate Change, these conditions will contribute to political insecurity — increasing conflicts, violence and mass migrations.

    As followers of Jesus, we must respond. But we often don’t act until we experience the problem or feel the heat.

    In Indiana, I’m rather insulated from these impacts. What really gets my attention is our grandchild, Lily.

    Around the time of her birth, I read in The New Yorker: “If you’re younger than 60, you have a good chance of witnessing the radical destabilization of life on Earth — massive crop failures, apocalyptic fires, imploding economies, epic flooding, hundreds of millions of refugees fleeing regions made uninhabitable by extreme heat or permanent drought. If you’re under 30, you’re all but guaranteed to witness it.”

    I worry about our grandchildren and all God’s creatures. I imagine our grandchildren asking two questions about climate change: “Did you know? What did you do?” I hope to answer with, “Yes, I knew about global warming, and here’s what we did about it…”

    I’m worried, but hopeful enough to act.

    What can we do? We must use less fossil fuel, turn to renewable energy and adjust our diet, to name a few ac- tions. Protecting forests and planting trees are also among the most critical actions we must take.

    As the best means to sequester carbon dioxide, trees are the most essential natural solution to mitigate global warming. With their unparalleled capacity to capture and store carbon, protecting and increasing tree cover are front-line actions to mitigate catastrophic climate change.

    And yet, global tree-cover loss continues at a rate of 11.6 million acres per year, adding to the 46% loss of the Earth’s tree cover since humans began clearing land and logging.

    Annual per capita wood consump- tion in the United States is 640 pounds — equal to a white pine tree 43 feet tall, one foot in diameter. With decreasing forest cover and increasing carbon emissions, rising temperatures will continue to create greater crises.

    Mennonite Men, the men’s organization of Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada, is responding to this global crisis with our JoinTrees campaign to plant one million trees.

    The campaign is rooted in biblical wisdom and scientific knowledge, with the aim to restore the Earth.

    The first and last chapters of the Bible feature trees of life, revealing their importance in God’s design for the Earth. The woodland garden of Eden in Genesis represents what its Creator intended on Earth: beauty, biodiversity and abundance, where trees give life with God. The last chapter of Revelation presents the tree of life again as a central part of the new Earth for healing.

    In Genesis 2:15 we read that God put the human creature in the garden to serve and protect it as its steward. This stewardship includes planting, tending and protecting trees so they may serve their critical role in the ecology of God’s creation.

    A Jewish midrash (ancient commentary on Scripture) says that after God made the first human, God led him around all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said, “See my works, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are. Be careful not to spoil or destroy my world, for if you do, there will be nobody after you to repair it.”

    Ancient wisdom recognized the importance of trees, as does modern science. Trees have benefits far beyond beauty, shade, wood and food.

    Trees capture and store carbon, cool the planet and moderate the climate. Trees improve water and air quality and stabilize soil. Trees support biodiversity, which is endangered, by providing food and shelter.

    Trees reduce storm water runoff, cool urban heat centers and curb energy use. Trees promote commu- nity interaction and reduce aggres- sion and crime. Trees have personal health benefits.

    Trees provide a great return on investment. According to iTree (based on USDA Forest Service research), each $1 invested in urban trees returns $3.93 in Goshen, Ind., $6.09 in Indianapolis and $5.80 in New York City.

    While all these benefits are significant, our JoinTrees campaign focuses on establishing trees as a natural solution to mitigate global warming. The campaign involves planting trees on private, business and church properties, marginal farmland set aside for afforestation, public rights-of-way and interna- tional projects.

    We especially focus on large-scale tree planting and agroforestry in the Global South, where trees have the greatest impact to cool the planet, restore degraded land and support vulnerable populations.

    We call on communities of faith to participate in JoinTrees. People can:
    • Plant trees and report these to us.
    • Devote land for afforestation projects.
    • Help with planting and caring for trees.
    • Provide financial support for planting trees.
    • Make carbon-offset contributions to JoinTrees.
    People are looking for ways to be carbon-neutral or carbon-positive for the good of God’s Earth and future generations. Individuals, churches, schools and businesses can calculate their carbon use with the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions’ Carbon Tax Calculator (sustainableclimatesolutions.org/carbon-tax-calculator-full) and submit carbon-offset contributions for large-scale tree projects to JoinTrees. For this and to participate in this campaign, go to mennonitemen.org/jointrees.

    Thanks to strong participation and support, since our campaign began in 2020, nearly 90,000 trees have been planted or funded. And we have pro- posals to plant at least 34,000 more trees in our next grant cycle.
    Let’s take action with God to answer prayers to save the Earth. Let’s do our part for a healthy, thriving planet.


    Steve Thomas is the U.S. director for Mennonite Men. A certified arborist and graduate student in urban forestry, he is coordinating the JoinTrees campaign to plant one million trees with the larger church.



  • Angolan Church Completes Roof Project

    Angolan Church Completes Roof Project

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    Construction work on a new Angolan Mennonite-Brethren church building was recently finished, giving the congregation a permanant meeting space for the first time. The Galilee Parish of Calunga, part of the Igreja Evangélica Irmãos Mennonitas em Angola (Evangelical Church of Mennonite Brethren in Angola) had been meeting in an airport hanger while during construction. A recent JoinHands grant of $10,000 from Mennonite Men assisted the congregation in constructing a roof for their unfinished building.


    The IEIMA, along with several other Mennontie Brethren Church groups in the country, resulted from the interaction of Angolan refugees in Congo with Mennonite ministries in that country following conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1980s.




    In a recent letter to Mennonite Men, the pastor, Maiala Kibango, writes that, ‘The conclusion of this work brought much joy and is a great benefit for the community in general and this congregation in particular…[We give] thanks to you for all your efforts, and sacrifice in having helped us financially to accomplish this work, which seemed difficult but today has become a reality. Our gratitude to all the AIMM (Africa Inter Mennonite Mission) team and to all international partners who have thought of IEIMA and of the Mennonites of Angola in general.’


    The JoinHands Mennonite Church Building Program, we provide grants to help new congregations acquire their first church building. Mennonite Men has given over 2 million dollars to new congregations for this purpose. We invite individuals and congregations to give to JoinHands. We especially ask churches pursuing building projects to give as a way of sharing resources and serving ‘fair balance’ with congregations in need.


    Paul wrote in his appeal to churches,’I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance (2 Corinthians 8:13-15).’

    Help us accomplish this fair balance. We can extend grants only as donors give to this program. Find more information at https://mennonitemen.org/joinhands.




  • New Life at Living Light of Peace

    New Life at Living Light of Peace

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    An idea germinated within our congregation when we received a newsletter from Mennonite Men highlighting their JoinTrees campaign with a goal of planting 1 million trees by 2030. That spring challenge came about the same time that our congregation began our annual search for someone to mow our 1.5 acres consisting of mostly weeds. And it came as the reality of climate change hit closer to home with increasing temperatures and wildfires consuming entire neighborhoods in nearby cities. We wondered if our congregation could use our small plot of land to benefit our community.


    Our pastor reached out for more information from the US Coordinator of Mennonite Men, Steve Thomas. Steve encouraged us to be in contact with local experts to determine what trees would grow best in our Colorado climate. He suggested also planting a variety of climate-appropriate shrubs and flowers. And he reminded us that volunteers from the community are often available to help with a new project.


    We began to envision how our 1.5 acres could be an oasis in our Denver suburb of Arvada. We used our monthly potlucks as forums for brainstorming: planting trees, wildflowers and herbs, installing beehives, expanding our current community garden, creating walkways, maybe even developing a solar farm. Instead of an annual headache, our yard became a source of dreams.


    Of course there were voices of caution. We’re a small, older congregation. Do we have the energy to take on an ambitious project? Who will do the initial work and who will provide continuing care? As it turned out, the experts and the volunteers we needed were already onsite!


    For many years there has been a community garden managed by Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) on a portion of our land. We learned that they were eager to expand that garden with their Food Forest Initiative.** Staff members facilitated a neighborhood meeting, complete with a translator, for our mostly Russian and Ukrainian neighbors. Many of these families already have plots in our community garden. We learned that they especially wanted sour cherry trees. Last spring DUG volunteers planted twenty trees and assorted bushes adjacent to the garden. They are providing the initial care for the trees and have identified volunteers in the neighborhood for continuing care. In a few years our orchard will provide our neighbors with apples, peaches, pears, and hazelnuts in addition to sour cherries. Any extra produce will be donated to the local food bank and a nearby day shelter.


    We are happy to add our first twenty trees to the 90,000 that Mennonite Men will have planted by the end of this year, on their way to 1 million by 2030. And this is only the beginning of our land transformation! We still have room for wildflowers, herbs, beehives, and more trees. Hopefully, each year will bring an expansion of climate-friendly uses.


    For more information about the JoinTrees program of Mennonite Men, visit https://mennonitemen.org/jointrees.


  • After two years, grant provides energy, connection

    After two years, grant provides energy, connection

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    Two years after a JoinMen grant helped purchase their first church building, African Community Church of Lancaster (ACCL) is thriving with a renewed sense of vision and connection to the broader Mennonite Church.

    After nearly 15 years of saving and praying, the congregation purchased its first building in Manheim, Pennsylvania in 2020. A $40,000 grant from Mennonite Men’s JoinHands program helped complete the long journey towards the dream of ownership at a critical time in the congregation’s story. ‘We were in a desperate mood,’ recalled Sam Wanjau, pastor of ACCL. Having just purchased the new building, ‘we learned that the parking lot was not drivable and the boiler nearly dead.’ The JoinHands grant, along with two other private gifts, helped the congregation purchase the building without debt and took care of these two major projects. ACCL finally had a home of its own after years of prayer and preparation.

    The financial assistance gave the small congregation a sense of belonging within the broader Mennonite community. As a congregation made up of primarily East African immigrants, many questioned whether they were a valued part of the local faith community. ‘We felt very isolated and some of us wondered whether we made the right choice in coming to the United States,’ said Pastor Wanjau. ‘Having a friend who could support us with no expectations, who we could turn to in desperation, showed us that maybe the cultural and relational barriers aren’t so great as we feared.’

    Church ownership has also given a boost to ACCL’s sense of mission and purpose. A new energy and commitment to their various projects followed their move and resulted in a new level of financial flexibility and freedom to creatively explore new ministry. ACCL now supports four church plants and their associated ministries in East Africa along with their local commitments to organizations like Water Street Rescue Mission. They also serve as a soft landing place for other East African immigrants who arrive in Lancaster before transitioning to other parts of the country.

    Support from Mennonite Men and other groups and individuals within Mennonite Church USA and Atlantic Coast Conference helped bridge a feeling of isolation felt by the immigrant congregation and contributed to their thriving and growing ministry in their community and beyond.

    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.


  • Mennonite Men to release guide for healthy conversation

    Mennonite Men to release guide for healthy conversation


    Mennonite Men has released a new book with Herald Press, Living that Matters: Honest Conversations for Men of Faith.

    The book was written by Steve Thomas and Don Neufeld, Coordinators for Mennonite Men USA and Canada, respectively, as a guide for men. It can be used by individuals or groups, but is intended to lead conversation and reflection on 70 topics mapped into seven sections: male formation, human needs, personal challenges, sexual wholeness, social practices, conflict tools, and life roles. These short reflections pose over 300 questions for conversation to help take men to new levels of relating and reflecting.


    Steve Thomas, US Coordinator for Mennonite Men and coauthor of the new book, has learned through working with men’s groups that ‘men are looking for a good, practical guidebook to jump start discussions to deepen their relationships. Our new book is meant to meet this need. Its unique, user-friendly format with short, two-page spreads and discussion questions provide an easy way to hold meaningful conversations with one another about the stuff of life from an Anabaptist faith perspective.’


    After originally seeking to self-publish the book as Strong, Loving, and Wise this year, Mennonite Men instead invited collaboration with Herald Press which will publish the book under the new name. Said Thomas of the project’s timeframe, ‘While we regret the delay, we are grateful that Herald Press will publish this and extend our reach with our practical handbook for men and groups.’ Look for samples from the book and more details in the coming months.


  • Local farmers participate in huge reforestation project in Guatemala

    Local farmers participate in huge reforestation project in Guatemala

    ​Don Antonio and Doña Hermelinda are farmers from the village of Patzocon, in Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. Antonio, 45 years old, and his wife Hermelinda, 37 years old, have created a farm` growing a wide diversity of crops which gives them food for their daily consumption. They are the father and mother of 5 children for whom they have been able to provide care through their hard work. Their goal has been that their children do not grow up in the same conditions of scarcity in which they lived years ago.


    Don Antonio is the oldest of his siblings. He only remembers growing up with his mother, since his father died when he was just four years old. He remembers that his mother did not have the economic resources to allow him to go to school, although his greatest desire when he was a child was to study.


    At the age of 7, he helped with the chores around the house, and on some days he worked as a day laborer in the corn fields of the neighbors’ farms near his home. When Antonio reached the age of 9 years, he had to begin migrating to work in the coffee plantations of the south coast of Guatemala to be able to help support his mother and younger siblings. His job consisted of using a machete to cut the weeds around the coffee trees, and in the months of the coffee harvest he picked coffee. In addition, he was entrusted with other jobs such as fertilizing the coffee trees and cutting pacaya (an edible palm). For 10 years he made regular trips to the coffee plantations, his only company being the group of day laborers from his own community. He mentions with a discouraged voice ‘going to the coffee plantations was good because one got to know other places, but at the same time, one hardly earned anything, one always ate very little and we didn’t sleep well…. The salary was not fair, because the plantation owners only paid what they wanted to pay you’. However, Antonio is more encouraged now because he and his wife can work their own improved farm growing a diversity of crops. This has permitted them to be able to experiment with the planting of a wide variety of vegetables, grains and fruits which has improved the profitability for their family farm. Additionally, because he doesn’t need to migrate to the plantations for work, he has more time to be with his family.


    However, Don Antonio and Doña Hermelinda face a problem that plagues their community: the deforestation of the forests that surround their village of Patzocón. For several years, the commercialization of wood has been a means of subsistence for many local families, who have no other cash income for their necessities. However, the logging problem increased drastically when a new access road was built, which made illegal logging by companies much easier. Antonio and Hermelinda expressed concern that they see that the streams where there used to be sufficient water have now diminished considerably, to the point that in the dry season, some water sources have dried up completely. This situation has affected many of the crops on their farm, including the corn and beans, because they used the water from these streams for a miniirrigation system. Antonio continues to grow some sugar cane to make panela, using a traditional method taught him by his grandfather. It is a special brown sugar used to sweeten coffee and other drinks. For years they have used the streams of the village to supply water to the sugarcane. However, now he is planting less sugarcane due to the lack of water. Selling the various sweets that they made from sugarcane in the local markets has been a source of cash income for the family.


    In early 2022, Don ‘Tono’, as he is affectionately called in his village, together with Doña Hermelinda and their children, created a forest tree nursery to replant the deforested areas surrounding their community. This year they intended to plant 5,000 forest trees of different varieties, among them: cypress, jacaranda, cuje, and pine. With the participation of their neighbors, the technical assistance of the Baja Verapaz Program, and the collaboration of EPIC and Mennonite Men, they are working to achieve their goal of rebuilding the plant life and ecosystem of their village. They state that the fruit of what they are now cultivating will be seen in the future, benefiting their children and grandchildren who will be able to take advantage of the effort they are making today.


    The work of Don Antonio and Doña Hermelinda is only part of the reforestation project being organized by EPIC and the Baja Verapaz Sustainable Agriculture Health Education Program. Their goal for this year was to plant 20,000 trees with assistance from a JoinTrees grant from Mennonite Men. Epic recently reported that they were able to greatly exceed this goal by planting 35,385 trees this year, with the help of local communities and families.