Breathe and be Filled…
What a time to celebrate! Summertime has come with so many good things to experience. Our life is renewed with every breath. This newsletter is dedicated to sharing some of those wonderful experiences that we've had so far as a congregation.
For instance, The Mennonite Church USA convention, a highlight for many, will be shared through a multileveled crosscut of our church family. Please bring open minds and hearts as you read each of their contributions. I applaud their willingness to share.
You'll also find many other noteworthy events reported in this publication, as well as expected reports of vital activities and submissions from church leaders. Be also on the lookout for a brand new and interesting addition to the newsletter, a place to express oneself creatively.
I hope you enjoy this special summer issue of News from the Pews. Violet S.

Pastor's Perspective by Pastor Joel
As I write, it is the week in between the MC USA Convention in Columbus and the Mennonite World Conference in Paraguay. I'm trying to process some of what went on during the week in Columbus while preparing to soon be with Anabaptist folks from all around the world.
In my estimate, there were 48 of us from CMF, adults, youth and children, who were in Columbus for more than one day of the convention with most of these being there the whole week. On top of that number several came for just the Sunday morning worship. It's hard for me to say how great and exceptional this is! Not that we're in a competition here, but it would be hard for me to imagine that any other congregation had such a high percentage of its members present. We had the unique opportunity of the Convention being in our state and many of you found a way to take the time to be there and experience it.
I would like to suggest that this will have a considerable impact on congregational life. Not that there must be vast changes to how we do church (although, who knows?), but that because of the greater connections we have gained to the life and mission of the broader Mennonite Church our sense of who we are as a local congregation will be enriched in important ways. I did not have a lot of time to have conversations with many of you at Convention, but already I've heard ways that some of you are thinking about how things learned can shape Christian Education, worship, and mission practices. Let's keep these conversations going.
This newsletter and the Sundays following Convention are attempts to put that conversation out there. Let's hear from each other's experiences and what we've learned. What have we gained from Convention? What ideas and dreams have been stirred up? There will be small things we can do better and bigger ways we can continue to grow into our denominational statement of Vision: Healing and Hope ``God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ, and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to grow as communities of grace, joy, and peace, so that God's healing and hope flow through us to the world.''


Council's Corner by Linda H.
Council is pleased to announce that CMF member Violet S . has accepted the position of Office Assistant and began working in the office in early June. Her summer hours at the church office are on Tuesday and Friday. Violet has a wealth of hidden skills and talents which many of us have caught a glimpse of through her creative storytelling during Children's Story. Welcome Violet!
Council has been in conversation with Pastor Josh R . regarding an eventual weekly evening Sunday rental of our church building for an Oakley church plant. This church plant, called New City Presbyterian, is a part of the mission outreach of a congregation in Mason seeking to plant churches in city neighborhoods, with Oakley as the next location. More updates to follow as details are finalized.


Wassup with SLT by Judy VH

This is summertime and some of CMF's committees and programs are quieter at this time of year. Some are preparing for the fall. We are gearing up for the start of the Journey Groups during September. The following is a description of a Journey Group: (Pastor Joel should have the latest copy of this- there may have been a few changes at the last meeting).

Next month we will begin listing the various Journey Groups you are invited to join if you are interested. We are hoping that many of you will find a group that fits your interests and needs.

As a reminder for those new to CMF (and hoping you know what CMF stands for), SLT is an acronym for Spiritual Leadership Team. SLT is comprised of 4 members with the pastor always being one of the 4 members. The job description includes 4 areas as the team tends to the overall spiritual health of the church. These include personal spiritual and
leadership development, pastoral care, pastoral support and visioning.

We have also been exploring other areas of spiritual health within the congregation such as our response to the death of a significant other for a CMF attendee, boundary issues as we provide support and assistance to those within and outside of CMF and ways that urban Anabaptist churches grow both spiritually and numerically.

Please continue to pray for us as we support Pastor Joel and others within the congregation, vision for the future and practice the spiritual disciplines that continue to keep ourselves spiritually healthy.

Joe L . , Pastor Joel , Jane P . , Judy VH


Campout Murmurings by Judy H.
Reflections on the CMF campout 2009
Friday started with warnings of rain.

It was hot and clear when I arrived at 3pm so I decided to postpone the ritual of setting up our tent and its contents until the cool of the evening.
The bike ride had ended a few hours before and about 15 bikes were corralled under a big tree by the house. After talking with a few children and adults I gathered the 15 mile peddle was quite an adventure due to the number of hills and creek crossings.

The field for our tents had been cleared and a fire ring installed for the late night group.
Coolers full of food and drinks for three meals were neatly stacked in the garage next to the tables of Silent Auction items slowly being added to. Silent Auction items were a Nordic machine, a tray of Impatiens, a rip-stop jacket, yoga bag, asparagus steamer a tray of tools, car top carrier, desk, table saw, jigsaw, a basket of bee products (honey, candles etc), lava light, ¼ of a cow, homemade cookies for a year, desk lamp. Proceeds from the Silent Auction and the Sunday Youth lunch went to support children attending the Mennonite Conference in Columbus, June 30-July 5.
The new placement of the outhouse even seemed to honor the gathering. A few children inquired and decided it would do quite well, after all….there were no spiders, lots of T.P. and it wasn't stinky.
The freshness of Spring was on every leaf and blade. The shade summoned me to the second fire circle, now cluttered with a variety of lawn chairs and marked water bottles. A group of 6 were playing a complex board game.
I moved on to continue watching the continuity of connection between people, animals and nature.
The pond was bursting with wetness much to the delight of row boats-full of boys and girls and fisherboys along its edge. Elizabeth's goats were a curious welcoming group with their sweet friendly faces pushing towards folks who walked up to the fence.
At sundown most of us crawled into our tents and fell asleep to the night sounds of youth hollering to one another. The last sound I heard was of some critter trotting past my side of the tent probably from the den I had spotted in the field next to us.
Sunday morning came in with a stillness of soft dew and the promise of another sun-filled day. A few of us were up looking to fulfill our morning ritual with that first cup of coffee. Worship service was attended by approximately 45 people, 10 goats, and 1 dog. It was one of the sweetest worship services with lots of singing which was ended with a goat bleat (in perfect time).
I seek to see connection or bridges wherever I go and this weekend I saw many from the very start to finish. I confirm that we still are a complex community of people with different religious, education, and ethnic backgrounds who enjoy deep conversation and the simplicity of life.

Word Snapshots by Rosella C.
A week's pilgrimage through Kentucky (it actually began in Indiana):
In St. Meinrad's church sanctuary, the music soars into high, vaulted ceilings. The acoustics perfectly capture the monks' distinctive musical chants. Attended 5:30 and 7:30 (morning!!!) services. During Eucharist, for the first time ever, joined the communal line to receive a blessing from the priest. The sign of the Cross, and a slight brush against my forehead---a very tangible blessing. Later, reading Dan Hess' book and journaling in a gazebo during a downpour of rain. The wind is blowing impressively, but I remain dry, surrounded by a dramatic and circular curtain of water.
At Sisters of Loretto, met Susan Claussen, who spent 20 years with MCC in Latin America. Arriving at SL about 6 years ago, Susan directs spiritual retreats. She's rehabbing several hermitages, after building a small residence with eco-friendly, recycled materials. In the bathroom, large flat rocks form the shower's walls and floor, which remind Susan of river-bathing outdoors. That's the coolest bathroom feature (beautiful, and no grouting to scrub), but not the most significant.
One of the elderly nuns recalled SL's historical highlights, including Mothers General who outwitted their male superiors. After the church was completed, a visiting bishop refused to consecrate it, because it carried debt. The Mother General promised him that it did not. (She had shifted the church debt beforehand to the surrounding buildings.) The bishop performed the consecration. In another instance, the board of directors voted to close the SL school, over the Mother General's objection. They insisted, and she finally said, ``You close the school, you have to take the nuns who work there.'' The school stayed open. Even within a rigid hierarchy where men hold ultimate power, they could still be persuaded/maneuvered into agreement with these resolute and resourceful women. As a female with contrarian---rather than feminist---tendencies, these stories touched a responsive chord.
On our day visit to Gethsemane, (a Trappist monastery made famous by Thomas Merton's residency) we were pilgrims in the truest sense. We had no place, not even a room, to call our own. It stormed much of the day, so we took refuge in the chapel and tour bus to journal, pray, meditate. Took a lovely solo stroll in steady rain, through gently rolling hills of farmland, past fields of new corn. We traveled to Shaker Village at week's end. The Shakers were engineering geniuses in constructing everything from buildings to kitchen utensils. They viewed work as worship, and that's reflected in clean furniture lines, graceful spiral staircases. The Village also hosted a classical music festival, and listening to Beethoven (courtesy of Lincoln Center musicians) in an ancient barn, is a marvelous experience.
An entire week of learning how people devote their lives to worship: you may wonder if it wore thin after a day or two. The answer is no. Aside from the collective activities, we had plenty of time to wander off by ourselves, to journal, pray, and observe nature. I remember thinking at specific points, this ground, this time is sacred . Rediscovered a simple, quiet pleasure of hunting four-leaf clover. In less than two hours (over three days), I found five excellent specimens---two on one stem! One of my fellow pilgrims---she was the 82-year old---advised that peculiar ability was attributable to my being Asian. I'm in no position to challenge: she has been in Korea far longer (with MCC), and has a Korean friend with the same ability. That doesn't entirely prevent the contrarian skepticism.
This week was an adventure in silence and examination, of lighthearted fun and solemn clarity, of learning new facts and delving deeply into old truths. As Susan cautioned, our dependence on God is absolute: what if our very next breath had not yet been created? If you've ever been interested in stepping out of your regular routine, dedicating time to nourish your spirit, and draw closer to your Creator, I highly recommend this pilgrimage path.

What I liked about the Convention by Hannah B.
My favorite thing at Convention was when the children helped lead singing at the joint adult-youth worship service Thursday evening. We sang "When the Spirit says sing, you gotta sing right along" and "God is So Good". It was sort of scary and sort of fun - I was frightened when we first got on stage in front of all the people, but then Pastor Joel helped cheer me on, and I wasn't scared anymore.

My next favorite thing was putting on a play about Dr. Suess' book, "The Sneetches". My 1st grade group at the children's convention performed this play for the parents. Some of the Sneetches had stars on their bellies, but other Sneetches "had none upon thars" The Sneetches with stars got to roast hot dogs and marshmallows, but the no-star Sneetches weren't allowed to, and that wasn't fair.

I also enjoyed the singing with Ken Medema at the Friday evening worship. He was blind but was very good at singing and playing the piano. He had us sing "Rise Up!" while we stood, and we had to keeprising up, then sit again. We got our exercise on that song!

I met several new friends in my group at Children's convention - Haley, Savannah and Jasmine, and I have their addresses to write to them.We went to the zoo one day and saw tigers, crocodiles, kangaroos, monkeys, and a bear.

I also played with my cousin Anna, and got to see my older second cousins - Austin, Alyse, Natalie, David and Jeremy - at dinner one night.

Convention was the best kind of camp I've gone to. I loved it!

My Highlights of Convention by Elizabeth NN
Brianne, Emma, Jake, Luke, and I (Elizabeth), all went up to Columbus for the whole week. We had a great time making new friends, playing in the recreation room, worshipping, participating in workshops, picking up trash at a Somali community for our servant project, and spending time as a youth group, hanging out and getting to know the city a little. A few of my highlights are:
1. I was happily surprised how much I enjoyed the worship services. I don't like loud, rock, music very much, but found the singing time very powerful anyway. It is pretty amazing to be in a darkened arena and with around 4,000 other Mennonite youth, singing and worshiping together. It made me really realize, there are lots of Mennonite youth out there. It makes it seem much more real to be with so many of them! We had lots of really good speakers, who gave engaging, motivating, and thoughtful sermons.
2. I had looked at the workshops that were being offered ahead of time, and knew that I would not get to do all of the ones I wanted to. Some of my favorites were: Speak Up I Can't Hear Your Life , a skit presented by Ted and Co; Empowering Women Against Violence , a look at some ways that women can protect themselves against physical abuse; Solders Speak , two former soldiers talked about why they joined the military, and why they are now pacifist; and Doing it God's Way Without Going Crazy , looking at how we might figure out what Gods will is when making decisions.
3. Each youth group was asked to send up to two youth to a session called Speak Up. I was the CMF delegate. We talked about community and discussed questions such as what is community, where do we experience community, and how do we see technology affecting community? We met each day for an hour and a half, and then on Friday got to sit in on the adults delegate session, and give our input on national allegiance. I enjoyed meeting kids who were willing to share what they thought and learning about other youth's opinions on the questions we discussed. I missed the Friday meeting with the adults because we had our servant project that day.
I think all of the youth who got to go to Columbus are already looking towards Pittsburg 2011, and thinking about going!

My View of Convention 2009 by Greg K.
As a product of the Goshen Mennonite pipeline (College Mennonite
Church, Bethany Christian High School, Goshen College, and finally
MVS), I've recently found myself thinking what would have previously
seemed laughable: being a young adult in the Mennonite church can be a
bit lonely! The recent MCUSA membership profile, a key point of which
was that we're getting much older, did not help assuage these
feelings. Contrary my own experiences and these sociological data, I
found this year's convention an incredibly hopeful experience,
especially concerning young adults and the church.

Although not overwhelming in numbers, the presence of my peers was
very visible throughout our week in Columbus. Whether it was the hymn-
singing members of the PinkMenno campaign, church delegates or
volunteers, convention showed that many young adults still have a
vested interest in the future of the Mennonite church. Seeing the
bright-pink block of young and old singers in the middle of Nationwide
arena during the hymn sing was particularly powerful. PinkMenno's
presence at the hymn sing seems like an apt metaphor for young adults
in the church at large: our lack of numbers won't prevent those that
remain from having a highly visible impact on the Church. It was
obvious my peers take seriously the baptismal vow to be active in the
life of the church; and that, I think, is incredibly hopeful.

Convention. By The Numbers. By Anne H.
In M-Press , the official daily newspaper for the Mennonite USA Convention, there was a regular column called ``By the Numbers,'' in which the editors shared interesting figures relating to the convention. I decided I would try to do the same as a way of recapping my first Convention experience. The numbers, then, by my count …

Number of H . -L .' s at Convention 4
Number of H . -L .' s going to Convention for the first time 3
Number of CMFers at Convention about 40
Number of former CMFers at Convention at least 7
Number of people at Convention close to 8,000 (about 2,500 adults, 4,200 youth, and 550 junior youth and children)
Number of adult seminars offered 77 (I felt like I was pretty diligent, but still only made it to about 10%)
Number of choir practices 3
Number of slightly panicked second sopranos from CMF 3 (thanks to Hal, we all rose to the occasion)
Number of worship leaders in adult worship 2 (good job, Joel)
Number of beach balls in adult worship zero (beach balls did figure prominently in youth worship, however)
Number of people contributing to music in adult worship 6 (with several special guests)
Number of instruments used in adult worship 14 (guitar, piano, violin, djembe drum, banjo, mandolin, bass, accordion, xylophone, recorder, bassoon, soprano sax, washboard and trash can)
Number of goose bump moments countless.

And if you're wondering, number of H . -L .' s heading to Pittsburgh 2011 4

A Delegate's Point of View by Jim M.
MCUSA 2009 was the first church wide conference that I have attended as a delegate. I was fully braced for four days of hairsplitting discussions and nitpicking mind numbing clarifications. What actually happened, however, was something entirely different. Wednesday started off with finding the correct delegate table, (imagine there being only one James M . at this conference) and meeting the fellow delegates around the table.
Each morning session had a period of Bible study, Dwelling in the Word, led by Ervin Stutzman. Delegates were introduced to the leaders of the denomination and invited church wide guests. What followed over the next three days was an overview of the Executive Board, its report and project goals, and reports from the various church agencies. There was an affirmation of the moderator-elect. There were several resolutions presented to the delegates to be considered and approved.
The first: ``Statement Against Human Trafficking, Modern Day Slavery'' , a statement for the record and an encouragement to action.
The second: ``Resolution on Healthcare Access: Next Step'' char 0x9d =--> , focused on the issue of human sexuality. It noted the variance in congregational responses, the pain and the frustration, this issue has produced. It also offered a confession as to the lack of offering a safe and healing environment in which to have dialogue.
It urges, as action, to call upon the Executive Board to provide and encourage the use of resources which will assist conferences and congregations to engage in discernment. ``Our hope is for a broad range of resources that help us live faithfully, extending hospitality to all of God's people. May the Holy Spirit guide us through this time''.
The `Corinthian Plan' , which I was all prepared to vote for, was presented in a way that was different from my expectation; It will be up to the churches to sign on to the plan by a given date, or sign on in a ''placeholder'' fashion. Eighty percent of the churches must sign on for the proposal to work. Failure to achieve this will mean failure for this particular form of Mission. Saturday afternoon the gavel was passed to the new moderator, our own Ed Diller. I was thrilled and encouraged with the strength of the leadership that was demonstrated at the sessions. There seemed to be a very receptive listening component, both listening to the constituents via the delegates, and listening to the Spirit of God at work in MCUSA. I felt moved, frequently, as I realized that the body of Christ really is at work, here, now.

Poetry Corner

Creator Glimpsed in Creation

the patient's clearly delusional, I concur,
claims to see God,
all the time, everywhere,
twenty-three sightings today so far.

are you seeing God right now? goes my query.
with eyes locking mine,
``oh yes,'' the reply.
note we're alone in the room.

opinion unchanged: a poor prognosis,
hallucinations,
a case that's hopeless,
sees God's image in us all.

-Anonymous

Breathe and be Filled…
What a time to celebrate! Summertime has come with so many good things to experience. Our life is renewed with every breath. This newsletter is dedicated to sharing some of those wonderful experiences that we've had so far as a congregation.
For instance, The Mennonite Church USA convention, a highlight for many, will be shared through a multileveled crosscut of our church family. Please bring open minds and hearts as you read each of their contributions. I applaud their willingness to share.
You'll also find many other noteworthy events reported in this publication, as well as expected reports of vital activities and submissions from church leaders. Be also on the lookout for a brand new and interesting addition to the newsletter, a place to express oneself creatively.
I hope you enjoy this special summer issue of News from the Pews. Violet S.

Pastor's Perspective by Pastor Joel
As I write, it is the week in between the MC USA Convention in Columbus and the Mennonite World Conference in Paraguay. I'm trying to process some of what went on during the week in Columbus while preparing to soon be with Anabaptist folks from all around the world.
In my estimate, there were 48 of us from CMF, adults, youth and children, who were in Columbus for more than one day of the convention with most of these being there the whole week. On top of that number several came for just the Sunday morning worship. It's hard for me to say how great and exceptional this is! Not that we're in a competition here, but it would be hard for me to imagine that any other congregation had such a high percentage of its members present. We had the unique opportunity of the Convention being in our state and many of you found a way to take the time to be there and experience it.
I would like to suggest that this will have a considerable impact on congregational life. Not that there must be vast changes to how we do church (although, who knows?), but that because of the greater connections we have gained to the life and mission of the broader Mennonite Church our sense of who we are as a local congregation will be enriched in important ways. I did not have a lot of time to have conversations with many of you at Convention, but already I've heard ways that some of you are thinking about how things learned can shape Christian Education, worship, and mission practices. Let's keep these conversations going.
This newsletter and the Sundays following Convention are attempts to put that conversation out there. Let's hear from each other's experiences and what we've learned. What have we gained from Convention? What ideas and dreams have been stirred up? There will be small things we can do better and bigger ways we can continue to grow into our denominational statement of Vision: Healing and Hope ``God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ, and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to grow as communities of grace, joy, and peace, so that God's healing and hope flow through us to the world.''


Council's Corner by Linda H.
Council is pleased to announce that CMF member Violet S . has accepted the position of Office Assistant and began working in the office in early June. Her summer hours at the church office are on Tuesday and Friday. Violet has a wealth of hidden skills and talents which many of us have caught a glimpse of through her creative storytelling during Children's Story. Welcome Violet!
Council has been in conversation with Pastor Josh R . regarding an eventual weekly evening Sunday rental of our church building for an Oakley church plant. This church plant, called New City Presbyterian, is a part of the mission outreach of a congregation in Mason seeking to plant churches in city neighborhoods, with Oakley as the next location. More updates to follow as details are finalized.


Wassup with SLT by Judy VH

This is summertime and some of CMF's committees and programs are quieter at this time of year. Some are preparing for the fall. We are gearing up for the start of the Journey Groups during September. The following is a description of a Journey Group: (Pastor Joel should have the latest copy of this- there may have been a few changes at the last meeting).

Next month we will begin listing the various Journey Groups you are invited to join if you are interested. We are hoping that many of you will find a group that fits your interests and needs.

As a reminder for those new to CMF (and hoping you know what CMF stands for), SLT is an acronym for Spiritual Leadership Team. SLT is comprised of 4 members with the pastor always being one of the 4 members. The job description includes 4 areas as the team tends to the overall spiritual health of the church. These include personal spiritual and
leadership development, pastoral care, pastoral support and visioning.

We have also been exploring other areas of spiritual health within the congregation such as our response to the death of a significant other for a CMF attendee, boundary issues as we provide support and assistance to those within and outside of CMF and ways that urban Anabaptist churches grow both spiritually and numerically.

Please continue to pray for us as we support Pastor Joel and others within the congregation, vision for the future and practice the spiritual disciplines that continue to keep ourselves spiritually healthy.

Joe L . , Pastor Joel , Jane P . , Judy VH


Campout Murmurings by Judy H.
Reflections on the CMF campout 2009
Friday started with warnings of rain.

It was hot and clear when I arrived at 3pm so I decided to postpone the ritual of setting up our tent and its contents until the cool of the evening.
The bike ride had ended a few hours before and about 15 bikes were corralled under a big tree by the house. After talking with a few children and adults I gathered the 15 mile peddle was quite an adventure due to the number of hills and creek crossings.

The field for our tents had been cleared and a fire ring installed for the late night group.
Coolers full of food and drinks for three meals were neatly stacked in the garage next to the tables of Silent Auction items slowly being added to. Silent Auction items were a Nordic machine, a tray of Impatiens, a rip-stop jacket, yoga bag, asparagus steamer a tray of tools, car top carrier, desk, table saw, jigsaw, a basket of bee products (honey, candles etc), lava light, ¼ of a cow, homemade cookies for a year, desk lamp. Proceeds from the Silent Auction and the Sunday Youth lunch went to support children attending the Mennonite Conference in Columbus, June 30-July 5.
The new placement of the outhouse even seemed to honor the gathering. A few children inquired and decided it would do quite well, after all….there were no spiders, lots of T.P. and it wasn't stinky.
The freshness of Spring was on every leaf and blade. The shade summoned me to the second fire circle, now cluttered with a variety of lawn chairs and marked water bottles. A group of 6 were playing a complex board game.
I moved on to continue watching the continuity of connection between people, animals and nature.
The pond was bursting with wetness much to the delight of row boats-full of boys and girls and fisherboys along its edge. Elizabeth's goats were a curious welcoming group with their sweet friendly faces pushing towards folks who walked up to the fence.
At sundown most of us crawled into our tents and fell asleep to the night sounds of youth hollering to one another. The last sound I heard was of some critter trotting past my side of the tent probably from the den I had spotted in the field next to us.
Sunday morning came in with a stillness of soft dew and the promise of another sun-filled day. A few of us were up looking to fulfill our morning ritual with that first cup of coffee. Worship service was attended by approximately 45 people, 10 goats, and 1 dog. It was one of the sweetest worship services with lots of singing which was ended with a goat bleat (in perfect time).
I seek to see connection or bridges wherever I go and this weekend I saw many from the very start to finish. I confirm that we still are a complex community of people with different religious, education, and ethnic backgrounds who enjoy deep conversation and the simplicity of life.

Word Snapshots by Rosella C.
A week's pilgrimage through Kentucky (it actually began in Indiana):
In St. Meinrad's church sanctuary, the music soars into high, vaulted ceilings. The acoustics perfectly capture the monks' distinctive musical chants. Attended 5:30 and 7:30 (morning!!!) services. During Eucharist, for the first time ever, joined the communal line to receive a blessing from the priest. The sign of the Cross, and a slight brush against my forehead---a very tangible blessing. Later, reading Dan Hess' book and journaling in a gazebo during a downpour of rain. The wind is blowing impressively, but I remain dry, surrounded by a dramatic and circular curtain of water.
At Sisters of Loretto, met Susan Claussen, who spent 20 years with MCC in Latin America. Arriving at SL about 6 years ago, Susan directs spiritual retreats. She's rehabbing several hermitages, after building a small residence with eco-friendly, recycled materials. In the bathroom, large flat rocks form the shower's walls and floor, which remind Susan of river-bathing outdoors. That's the coolest bathroom feature (beautiful, and no grouting to scrub), but not the most significant.
One of the elderly nuns recalled SL's historical highlights, including Mothers General who outwitted their male superiors. After the church was completed, a visiting bishop refused to consecrate it, because it carried debt. The Mother General promised him that it did not. (She had shifted the church debt beforehand to the surrounding buildings.) The bishop performed the consecration. In another instance, the board of directors voted to close the SL school, over the Mother General's objection. They insisted, and she finally said, ``You close the school, you have to take the nuns who work there.'' The school stayed open. Even within a rigid hierarchy where men hold ultimate power, they could still be persuaded/maneuvered into agreement with these resolute and resourceful women. As a female with contrarian---rather than feminist---tendencies, these stories touched a responsive chord.
On our day visit to Gethsemane, (a Trappist monastery made famous by Thomas Merton's residency) we were pilgrims in the truest sense. We had no place, not even a room, to call our own. It stormed much of the day, so we took refuge in the chapel and tour bus to journal, pray, meditate. Took a lovely solo stroll in steady rain, through gently rolling hills of farmland, past fields of new corn. We traveled to Shaker Village at week's end. The Shakers were engineering geniuses in constructing everything from buildings to kitchen utensils. They viewed work as worship, and that's reflected in clean furniture lines, graceful spiral staircases. The Village also hosted a classical music festival, and listening to Beethoven (courtesy of Lincoln Center musicians) in an ancient barn, is a marvelous experience.
An entire week of learning how people devote their lives to worship: you may wonder if it wore thin after a day or two. The answer is no. Aside from the collective activities, we had plenty of time to wander off by ourselves, to journal, pray, and observe nature. I remember thinking at specific points, this ground, this time is sacred . Rediscovered a simple, quiet pleasure of hunting four-leaf clover. In less than two hours (over three days), I found five excellent specimens---two on one stem! One of my fellow pilgrims---she was the 82-year old---advised that peculiar ability was attributable to my being Asian. I'm in no position to challenge: she has been in Korea far longer (with MCC), and has a Korean friend with the same ability. That doesn't entirely prevent the contrarian skepticism.
This week was an adventure in silence and examination, of lighthearted fun and solemn clarity, of learning new facts and delving deeply into old truths. As Susan cautioned, our dependence on God is absolute: what if our very next breath had not yet been created? If you've ever been interested in stepping out of your regular routine, dedicating time to nourish your spirit, and draw closer to your Creator, I highly recommend this pilgrimage path.

What I liked about the Convention by Hannah B.
My favorite thing at Convention was when the children helped lead singing at the joint adult-youth worship service Thursday evening. We sang "When the Spirit says sing, you gotta sing right along" and "God is So Good". It was sort of scary and sort of fun - I was frightened when we first got on stage in front of all the people, but then Pastor Joel helped cheer me on, and I wasn't scared anymore.

My next favorite thing was putting on a play about Dr. Suess' book, "The Sneetches". My 1st grade group at the children's convention performed this play for the parents. Some of the Sneetches had stars on their bellies, but other Sneetches "had none upon thars" The Sneetches with stars got to roast hot dogs and marshmallows, but the no-star Sneetches weren't allowed to, and that wasn't fair.

I also enjoyed the singing with Ken Medema at the Friday evening worship. He was blind but was very good at singing and playing the piano. He had us sing "Rise Up!" while we stood, and we had to keeprising up, then sit again. We got our exercise on that song!

I met several new friends in my group at Children's convention - Haley, Savannah and Jasmine, and I have their addresses to write to them.We went to the zoo one day and saw tigers, crocodiles, kangaroos, monkeys, and a bear.

I also played with my cousin Anna, and got to see my older second cousins - Austin, Alyse, Natalie, David and Jeremy - at dinner one night.

Convention was the best kind of camp I've gone to. I loved it!

My Highlights of Convention by Elizabeth NN
Brianne, Emma, Jake, Luke, and I (Elizabeth), all went up to Columbus for the whole week. We had a great time making new friends, playing in the recreation room, worshipping, participating in workshops, picking up trash at a Somali community for our servant project, and spending time as a youth group, hanging out and getting to know the city a little. A few of my highlights are:
1. I was happily surprised how much I enjoyed the worship services. I don't like loud, rock, music very much, but found the singing time very powerful anyway. It is pretty amazing to be in a darkened arena and with around 4,000 other Mennonite youth, singing and worshiping together. It made me really realize, there are lots of Mennonite youth out there. It makes it seem much more real to be with so many of them! We had lots of really good speakers, who gave engaging, motivating, and thoughtful sermons.
2. I had looked at the workshops that were being offered ahead of time, and knew that I would not get to do all of the ones I wanted to. Some of my favorites were: Speak Up I Can't Hear Your Life , a skit presented by Ted and Co; Empowering Women Against Violence , a look at some ways that women can protect themselves against physical abuse; Solders Speak , two former soldiers talked about why they joined the military, and why they are now pacifist; and Doing it God's Way Without Going Crazy , looking at how we might figure out what Gods will is when making decisions.
3. Each youth group was asked to send up to two youth to a session called Speak Up. I was the CMF delegate. We talked about community and discussed questions such as what is community, where do we experience community, and how do we see technology affecting community? We met each day for an hour and a half, and then on Friday got to sit in on the adults delegate session, and give our input on national allegiance. I enjoyed meeting kids who were willing to share what they thought and learning about other youth's opinions on the questions we discussed. I missed the Friday meeting with the adults because we had our servant project that day.
I think all of the youth who got to go to Columbus are already looking towards Pittsburg 2011, and thinking about going!

My View of Convention 2009 by Greg K.
As a product of the Goshen Mennonite pipeline (College Mennonite
Church, Bethany Christian High School, Goshen College, and finally
MVS), I've recently found myself thinking what would have previously
seemed laughable: being a young adult in the Mennonite church can be a
bit lonely! The recent MCUSA membership profile, a key point of which
was that we're getting much older, did not help assuage these
feelings. Contrary my own experiences and these sociological data, I
found this year's convention an incredibly hopeful experience,
especially concerning young adults and the church.

Although not overwhelming in numbers, the presence of my peers was
very visible throughout our week in Columbus. Whether it was the hymn-
singing members of the PinkMenno campaign, church delegates or
volunteers, convention showed that many young adults still have a
vested interest in the future of the Mennonite church. Seeing the
bright-pink block of young and old singers in the middle of Nationwide
arena during the hymn sing was particularly powerful. PinkMenno's
presence at the hymn sing seems like an apt metaphor for young adults
in the church at large: our lack of numbers won't prevent those that
remain from having a highly visible impact on the Church. It was
obvious my peers take seriously the baptismal vow to be active in the
life of the church; and that, I think, is incredibly hopeful.

Convention. By The Numbers. By Anne H.
In M-Press , the official daily newspaper for the Mennonite USA Convention, there was a regular column called ``By the Numbers,'' in which the editors shared interesting figures relating to the convention. I decided I would try to do the same as a way of recapping my first Convention experience. The numbers, then, by my count …

Number of H . -L .' s at Convention 4
Number of H . -L .' s going to Convention for the first time 3
Number of CMFers at Convention about 40
Number of former CMFers at Convention at least 7
Number of people at Convention close to 8,000 (about 2,500 adults, 4,200 youth, and 550 junior youth and children)
Number of adult seminars offered 77 (I felt like I was pretty diligent, but still only made it to about 10%)
Number of choir practices 3
Number of slightly panicked second sopranos from CMF 3 (thanks to Hal, we all rose to the occasion)
Number of worship leaders in adult worship 2 (good job, Joel)
Number of beach balls in adult worship zero (beach balls did figure prominently in youth worship, however)
Number of people contributing to music in adult worship 6 (with several special guests)
Number of instruments used in adult worship 14 (guitar, piano, violin, djembe drum, banjo, mandolin, bass, accordion, xylophone, recorder, bassoon, soprano sax, washboard and trash can)
Number of goose bump moments countless.

And if you're wondering, number of H . -L .' s heading to Pittsburgh 2011 4

A Delegate's Point of View by Jim M.
MCUSA 2009 was the first church wide conference that I have attended as a delegate. I was fully braced for four days of hairsplitting discussions and nitpicking mind numbing clarifications. What actually happened, however, was something entirely different. Wednesday started off with finding the correct delegate table, (imagine there being only one James M . at this conference) and meeting the fellow delegates around the table.
Each morning session had a period of Bible study, Dwelling in the Word, led by Ervin Stutzman. Delegates were introduced to the leaders of the denomination and invited church wide guests. What followed over the next three days was an overview of the Executive Board, its report and project goals, and reports from the various church agencies. There was an affirmation of the moderator-elect. There were several resolutions presented to the delegates to be considered and approved.
The first: ``Statement Against Human Trafficking, Modern Day Slavery'' , a statement for the record and an encouragement to action.
The second: ``Resolution on Healthcare Access: Next Step'' char 0x9d =--> , focused on the issue of human sexuality. It noted the variance in congregational responses, the pain and the frustration, this issue has produced. It also offered a confession as to the lack of offering a safe and healing environment in which to have dialogue.
It urges, as action, to call upon the Executive Board to provide and encourage the use of resources which will assist conferences and congregations to engage in discernment. ``Our hope is for a broad range of resources that help us live faithfully, extending hospitality to all of God's people. May the Holy Spirit guide us through this time''.
The `Corinthian Plan' , which I was all prepared to vote for, was presented in a way that was different from my expectation; It will be up to the churches to sign on to the plan by a given date, or sign on in a ''placeholder'' fashion. Eighty percent of the churches must sign on for the proposal to work. Failure to achieve this will mean failure for this particular form of Mission. Saturday afternoon the gavel was passed to the new moderator, our own Ed Diller. I was thrilled and encouraged with the strength of the leadership that was demonstrated at the sessions. There seemed to be a very receptive listening component, both listening to the constituents via the delegates, and listening to the Spirit of God at work in MCUSA. I felt moved, frequently, as I realized that the body of Christ really is at work, here, now.

Poetry Corner

Creator Glimpsed in Creation

the patient's clearly delusional, I concur,
claims to see God,
all the time, everywhere,
twenty-three sightings today so far.

are you seeing God right now? goes my query.
with eyes locking mine,
``oh yes,'' the reply.
note we're alone in the room.

opinion unchanged: a poor prognosis,
hallucinations,
a case that's hopeless,
sees God's image in us all.

-Anonymous