Volume 4 , No. 4
December 200 8

It has been a privilege and a learning experience to serve on the planning committee for the Mennonite Church USA convention that will be taking place in Columbus next summer. Part of what I've learned is how much work goes into these gatherings and how significant the conventions are for the way the church moves forward in its identity and its calling. It's the one time when Mennonites around the country have the opportunity to have a collective experience of worship, discussion, service and learning. The messages delivered, decisions made, and relationships formed go a long way in helping shape how individual congregations grow in their own mission and identity. Now is a good time to make sure that week in your summer is reserved for the convention. The convention begins Tuesday evening, June 30, and runs through Sunday morning, July 5. If your work gives you Friday of that week off for the July 4 ^th holiday (which is actually on Saturday) you can make the whole convention with taking only two days off of work. Also, now is the time to register. Registration opened on December 1, and an early registration enables you to reserve the hotel of your choice (the ones right around the convention center are the most popular). Online registration is easiest: www.mennoniteusa.org/convention . This website is also a good place to read up on more features of the convention. It would be great to have as many CMFers attend the convention as possible. If you need more convincing, here are ten good reasons to go to Columbus 2009:

1.       Of all the places it could be held, it's in Ohio ! only two hours up the road, greatly reducing travel costs. If you are to go to only one convention, this will be the most accessible.
2.       Bring the whole family so each member can participate in their own Gathering. For certain blocks of each day, adults, young adults, youth, junior high youth and children all have separate gatherings that are             fully programmed with materials and activities that are appropriate to the age. There is also a nursery.
3.       Hear excellent and challenging speakers . Among the speakers for the adults are Shane Claiborne and Jim Wallis, and among the speakers for the youth are Brenda Matthews (a favorite from past conventions), Leonard Dow , and Shane Claiborne (he gets double duty).
4.       Meet other Mennonites from around the country and connect with those you already know.
5.       Participate in a Servant Project . Sign up for a chance to spend an afternoon with one of the many projects throughout the city that we will be engaged in.
6.       Attend seminars . Seminars in the past have ranged from topics of peacemaking to biblical interpretation to greening your congregation to financial management to sexuality to globalization to parenting.
7.       Listen in on or participate in discussions around issues the denomination is working with. Two issues on the table this year are: working at finalizing a program to see that all pastors in MCUSA are covered by health insurance; and discussing what it means to be a Christian in the 21 ^st century, living in the most powerful nation on earth. What unique calling do we have as peacemakers and followers of Christ?
8.       Get a taste for all the agencies and missions of the Mennonite Church through visiting the large exhibit hall .
9.       Come see many CMFers involved in leadership roles .In Columbus Ed D. will move from being moderator - elect to being moderator (lead lay member of the denomination).  Ron and Linda H.will be involved in Mennonite Education meetings. I will be a worship leader for the adult worship sessions.  Hess will be the choir director.   John B. is drama for the junior high youth gathering, and Nick M. will besign language translator.
10.      Sing hymns with thousands of other Mennonites.you have another reason?

Sitting at the Feet of the Elders
[T]hey found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

On Sunday, December 7, the youth in Pastor Joel's catechism class participated in a unique inter - generational learning experience. This was the second of two Ask - an - Adult events (or youth - adult faith discussions; a catchy name has yet to be adopted) planned by Pastor Joel and modeled on the account of the boy Jesus in the temple in Luke 2. A panel of adults was invited to respond to faith questions posed by Jonna, Elizabeth, Jake, Emma, Brianne, Emily and Ryan. The first discussion on October 19 focused on questions about beliefs and the Bible; the second, on December 7, dealt with questions of personal faith experience and the faith journey. Judy H., Rachel S., Keith L. and John B. were the brave adults who took questions in the first round; John K. and Hal H. joined Judy and Rachel in the ``hot seat'' for round two. Parents and other interested CMFers were invited to listen in.
         At the December event, the panelists were asked to share a favorite Bible story or passage; to describe how baptism had affected their life; to share how their views changed as they got older; to recount experiences that greatly influenced them; and to say why they chose to remain or become Mennonite. The responses reflected the wide variety of backgrounds and faith experiences of the panelists. Judy and Rachel represented non - Mennonite faith traditions, coming from the Episcopalian and Wesleyan churches, respectively; while John and Hal spoke from the perspective of having grown up as Mennonites. All experienced baptism at different ages and viewed the significance of baptism in different ways. The formative experiences that each panelist recounted allowed those in the audience to see connections between those experiences and the beliefs and priorities they now hold. One youth later noted that now she understands why issues of peace and justice are so important to so many at CMF. Hal and John, speaking from the more senior end of the age spectrum, both noted that they hold fewer and fewer certainties as they get older. Rachel noted that one of the reasons she became a Mennonite was the freedom and space to explore these uncertainties within the community of faith.
         Pastor Joel plans to make these youth - adult faith discussions a regular part of the catechism class. This is good news for all who enjoy learning from one another in the faith community. The opportunity for youth to question and learn from the experiences of their elders, the chance for the elders to think about and share their own responses, and the invitation to other adults and children to ``listen in'' were valuable to everyone involved. May the conversation continue!

Jan and Stan A.
Stan A. considers his a success story despite his layoff from Zumbiel Box, where he spent 18 years in the printing department. Despite the subsequent fall into homelessness. Despite the 24 months of harsh outdoor life in a tent on the tracks in Oakley. Even despite his wife Jan's cervical cancer diagnosis in March of this year. ``Here we are,'' he told me recently, ``cancer - free and off the tracks, and the only thing we did differently was to come to your church.'' In his less rational moments, when he is overcome by the unlikelihood of this turnaround in their luck, he is likely to call it a miracle.
         Stan was born in Cincinnati, and as a 14 - year - old, ran away from home. He joined a traveling carnival company for a short two weeks before the sheriff's department found him and returned him to his mother. Twenty - five years later, telling his runaway story to friends, he learned that one of them had worked in the same carnival and that it was her uncle he had worked for. Whether it was due to this coincidental piece of shared history, or their strong mutual attraction, Jan and Stan soon became man and wife.
         It was while they were living on the tracks that Jan was diagnosed with cancer. Her diagnosis was made by a doctor on the mobile health care van that targets the homeless. Pastor Joel wrote in his Musings of that trip to Over - the - Rhine with Jan and Stan and his gratitude for the network of health care workers and resources that provided a safety net for them.
         When I asked Jan how she was able to remain so strong and focused during her cancer treatment, she said she has known a lot of hardship in her life. She has learned how to look out for herself, but she struggles even now with feelings of being all alone. Without Stan and the support of CMF, she says, she doesn't know what she would do. Stan chimes in that it was her ``lack of having'' that has made her so gracious to others.
         Jan has recently had cataract surgery on one eye and looks forward to having her other eye ``done'' in early December. She is a little worried that with corrected vision, she will no longer be eligible for SSI, which for the moment is her only income. But she has a strong advocate in Judy VH, who is ready to handle some of the red tape of dealing with the SSI bureaucracy.
         ``What do you want CMFers to know about you?'' I asked Stan, thinking he would point to a long career at Zumbiel and his strong work ethic. He thought a minute and said that it has amazed him how much the caring of others can change your life.

Volume 4, No. 4
December 2008

Adult Forum Book Study Asks:
How Much Is Enough?

One of my favorite metaphors for the creative process for imagination is compost. Compost is messy; compost is organic; compost is alive. Compost takes useless, sometimes rotten, waste material and recreates it into something useful and profound, something that encourages more growth, more life, more creativity. Whether the recently concluded book study on Simpler Living, Compassionate Life: A Christian Perspective provided any fuel for the Adult Forum creative composters is a matter of opinion. Certainly, there were fertile conversations in the ten weekly sessions about how to live a simple lifestyle in a complex and affluent society.
         Some of the questions addressed by the group included the nature of simplicity and the definition of ``true abundance,'' defining the limits of ``enough,'' the healthy use of time and money, the ethics of food choices, and the role of community in enhancing our choices in all of these areas. The book provided readings from a variety of sources: ecologist and theologian William Stringfellow, simplicity guru Cecile Andrews, sacred disciplines master Richard Foster, and farmer - poet - philosopher Wendell Berry, among others. We considered how our worldviews are shaped, and how to reshape the areas that exist in conflict with the prophetic edict to ``Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God'' (Micah 6:8).
         Some compelling ideas from the text include this definition of the ``abundant life'' from an essay by Michael Schut:
The abundant life is characterized by freedom: freedom to define our security and well - being in terms of relationship with God rather than the amount of stuff we've accumulatedfreedom to live a theology of enough. It is not the freedom associated with the Western notion of individualism: free to do anything and go anywhere while paying no attention to the consequences. Rather, the abundant life recognizes that the flip side of freedom is responsibility to the community. (30)

         Schut is not the only writer in the book to link community so directly with simplicity and true abundance. William Gibson, in his chapter ``Abundance as Community'' writes:
Consumerism is itself a substitute, a most unsatisfactory, though addictive, substitute for that which makes human life meaningful and fulfillingloving, caring relationships with one another, in which we accept and affirm our dependence on one another, and all the ways in which we may free each other for everything true and good and creative that each of us has in himself or herself to become. In short, consumerism is a substitute for community. (137)

These notions of freedom and community circled in our discussions around what the intentional forms of community espoused in the reading might mean for the CMF community, divided as we are geographically.
         Another appealing idea, concerning the sacredness of time, was expressed by Gerald May, who suggests ``three kinds of spaces in your life:

little moments in the midst of work and play, regular set - aside times each day, and periodic longer times of authentic retreat. In all these, and in the rest of your time as well, I hope you will see the spaciousness of the immediate moment: the spaciousness of presence. In this single moment, here and now, all three kinds of spaciousness come together: form because it is here, time because it is now, and soul because aliveness if birthed in immediacy. (51)

Finding space and time in our lives to be ``mindful'' of the immediate moment is only the beginning of realizing how cluttered our lives sometimes are with noise, consumption, and stuff.
         Simple living is not a new idea. As Mennonites we sometimes flee it, often yearn for it, and usually find it hard to achieve in our urban and suburban settings. In the concluding session of the book study, the group generated som e possible ideas for creative solutions to simplicity and community in Cincinnati. Some ideas are already in progress or have been done by CMF members in the past like Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares and a CMF sharing list. Other simple ideas include a community vow to use public transportation and use ride sharing to get to CMF functions, or to cut down on eating out to save gas and to make better food choices.
         Some bigger ideas included living closer to the church building in intentional community and communally buying property to create a community garden or other areas of green space. These are just a few ideas from the list. If you'd like to see more let me know and I can send you our ideas (lehmankfuse.net). These discussions are not over. Later this year we will be having Adult Forum sessions focused on the cookbook Simply in Season, considering more specifically our food choices.
         Dig deep under the top layer of compost. Smell that living soil. Feel how hot it is, cooking down deep inside? That means the enzymes are doing their work, creating fertilizer, a new layer of topsoil, something to look forward to in the Spring.

Ten Thousand Villages Has an Education Committee!

We aim to increase awareness of our store, tell the artisans' stories and celebrate their artistic spirit, and create awareness of, and involvement with, global economic issues.
         We're looking to connect with high schools and colleges. We already are a ``partner in education'' with Clark Montessori; weexpand our involvement with them. A speaker's bureau, which earlier was begun by Karen D., already has presented to many community groups. These two committees will join together in the New Year.
         CMF members on this committee are Hal H., Joel M., Sheryl NN and Christine S..
         One of the main issues we hope to inform our audience about is fair trade. Many people have no idea what it means. There are four (4) defining characteristics:
·         A living wage is paid to the artisans. Fair trade focuses on the artist. The artist can feed her family and experience less gut - tightening with the security of earning a living wage.
·         The artisans work in cooperatives where they are treated with dignity, honor and respect. 70% of the artisans are women. The cooperatives determine the wages and cost of the products. Living wages are used for food, medicine, education, house upgrades, and digging community wells.
·         Ten Thousand Villages, a non - profit organization, is committed to long - term relationships. Created by the Mennonite Church, it has been doing this for decades. They have built strong relationships with cooperatives. Strong relationships build security and trust. Ten Thousand Villages is also involved in product development.
·         Fair Trade is about engaging in environmentally sustainable practices. Materials are made from local products (paper, wood, glass, fabrics and recycled materials). The ``green seal'' is all over Ten Thousand Villages merchandise.

         We welcome any suggestions about possible speaking engagements!

Volume 4, No. 4
December 2008

Council Corner
October brings the annual transition of old committee members to new.to the many members who have agreed to serve on committees to help CMF run smoothly and move forward in new activities, projects and goals for the upcoming year.serving Church Council this year are Rebecca B. (Treasurer), Beth B., Rosella C., Linda H. (Chair), John K. and Jim M..  Many thanks to outgoing Council members Greta H. and Steve H..  Greta as Council Chair oversaw installation of a new sign, the sanctuary renovation, a stairway removal, and the resolution of a difficult rental issue.  Steve as treasurer always kept us informed and up - to - date on the financial health of CMF as he unselfishly spent many hours each month dealing with the monetary matters of the church.  Our new Council looks forward to serving you and can be contacted either through email or by phone.

Advent 2008
Advent approaches, and this year the theme for our Advent worship is ``Let Your Face Shine.'' We will be following the materials prepared by the Advent 2008 writing team, which was from the Ohio Conference and included Pastor Joel and Abbie M.. Abbie's input was primarily in the children's story area.
         In introducing the Advent theme, the team wrote, ``Like eager children waiting for the arrival of expected guests, we long to see God's face in Advent season. We yearn to experience God's fullness in our lives. As we worship during these weeks, we will catch glimpses of God's face in the scriptures around which we gather. In the songs we sing and the prayers we offer, we will respond to the God we meet, the God who is even more amazing than we can imagine.''
         The structure of the services will be familiar: Gathering, Confessing, Praising, Hearing God's Word, Responding and Sending; what will be new in Advent is the theme, ``Let Your Face Shine.'' The team felt that this focus has a double meaning: ``It is not only our plea to God, but a call for us to become part of the shining transformation of our world. Our faces can reflect the light of God as we welcome the Divine to dwell among us, embrace the way of Jesus, work for justice, and open our arms to include all whom God welcomes. Righteousness and peace are united in our world when God's people join in God's mission to reconcile and restore all things.''
         In both the sermon and children's story, worshipers will consider faces in the world around them and how they reflect God's face.
         The Advent writing team posed the following questions for weekly reflection:
·         November 30     
         As we begin the Advent season we are invited to repentance, to turn, to take a posture of yielded openness to God. Does God feel hidden from us? Do we yearn to live in God's truth? Or would we rather remain hidden from God?
·         December 7      
         As people of faith, we live in the paradox of God bringing comfort to the brokenhearted while also upsetting those who are comfortable with the status quo. Where in our lives are we content with the status quo? In what ways is God pushing us beyond our ``comfort zone?'' Can we trust God with ourselves?
·         December 14     
         The texts for this week invite us to both actively prepare and wait for God's coming. In what ways are we actively involved with God's arrival? Can we say we are ``pregnant and waiting'' like an expectant mother preparing for the baby's arrival?
·         December 21     
         We celebrate the arrival of Immanuel, of God with us! Have we made room for the baby? Are we making room for God to dwell in our lives and hearts?
·         December 28     
         We are reflecting the face of God to those around us as we celebrate this new baby! How are we letting our faces shine with joy?
·         Epiphany, January 4
         The magi show us the welcoming face of God. Do we believe there is more than enough of God's light, grace and mercy for all people?

Volume 4, No. 4
December 2008

Adult Forum Schedule

November 16 January 25
Book study (Jim M., facilitator)
Road Signs for the Journey: A Profile of Mennonite Church USA

February 1 22
End of life issues (Healthcare Access Taskforce, facilitators)

March
TBA

April 5 May 17
Simply in Season (Carol M. and Jeanne B., facilitators)

Pastor's Perspective (cont.)

Online Registration Soars
for Convention 2009

Have you registered for Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009? More than 2,600 people registered within 24 hours of the opening of online registration for the July 2009 event, reports Marathana Prothro of Mennonite Church USA. It took a month for registration numbers to soar this high for the 2007 convention in San José. By 8:05 a.m. Eastern time on Monday, December 1, 100 people had completed registration forms online. By 9 a.m. the same day, that number rose to 1,292 and the first hotel was sold out.

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