Workshops
Immigrant Learning Tour - (pre-registration required)
Sam Nickels, NewBridges Immigrant Resource Center
Friday, July 29, 1:30-6:30 pm including dinner
Vans leave from the half circle drive at the main entrance at 1:30 pm.
Who are the immigrants and refugees living in our communities? Where do they come from and why? What has been their experience in the Shenandoah Valley? How have area churches responded to 6,000 refugees coming to Harrisonburg over 28 years? Join us for an “Immigrant Learning Tour” hosted by the NewBridges Immigrant Resource Center. We will tour immigrant areas of Harrisonburg, hear personal stories from immigrants, and finish with dinner at a local ethnic restaurant. Lots of time for Q&A with our guests too!
Session one, 1:30-3:00 pm
The Future of Missional Education and Practice
Loren Horst, President, VMMissions and Lonnie Yoder, Associate Dean,
Eastern Mennonite Seminary
Room 115
There has been cause for concern about future of the Mennonite church in our North American context. Still, we believe the question is not whether God’s church will prevail, but what it will look like. What is the shape of the church emerging? From the perspective of missional education and mission practice, this workshop will attempt to discern the basic outlines of a missional Mennonite church as we see it emerging in the 21st century. We will share some ways that Eastern Mennonite Seminary and Virginia Mennonite Missions are cooperating with this movement of God.
Mercy, Not Sacrifice: Care for the Poor as Essential to the Way
Ron Copeland, Director, Our Community Place and Pastor, Early Church
Room 116
Ron believes that care for the poor is a fundamental part of what it means to follow Jesus as the people of God. Beginning with a survey of key Biblical texts, and drawing from his extensive experiences in ministry with the poor in Harrisonburg, VA, Ron will attempt to articulate a theology of care for the poor. His presentation will be fleshed out with examples from his imaginary non-existent book, “An Incomplete List of 100 Reasons Why Jesus Sends Us to the Poor,” with particular emphasis on the complexities of American poverty and the role of the church to reveal the love of Jesus to the spiritually wounded and
traumatized.
Effectively Leading Conversation on Difficult Topics
Barbara Robbins, Congregational Consultant, Virginia Baptist Conflict Transformation Network
Room 160
Helping communities have meaningful conversations is at the heart of the peacebuilding field. For congregations, dialogue around difficult topics can be challenging, leading to increased anxiety, avoidance and breakdown in relationships. However, open, respectful dialogue around difficult topics also holds the potential for personal growth and transformed relationships. This workshop will demonstrate the use of space, guidelines and tools, such as circle process, that will help strengthen your capacity to foster open conversation on difficult issues.
Session two, 3:15-4:45 pm
The Future of Anabaptism as a Global Movement: Passing on the Faith in Zimbabwe
Danisa Ndlovu, President, Mennonite World Conference
Room 115
The future of our faith depends upon our ability to share our faith with the next generation. How does the church accomplish this task in its various contexts? Participants will be introduced to how parents in Zimbabwe have over the years endeavored to pass their faith to their children and young people of the next generation. Through group discussions, we will explore meaningful ways of passing on our faith to our own children. We will hopefully encourage each other to be deliberate and purposeful in carrying out this ministry.
Jesus, our Role Model for God’s Mission
Skip and Carol Tobin, Global Ministry Associates, VMMissions
Room 116
In this workshop we will reflect on what it means to take Jesus as our role model as we move together in being God’s church. Skip and Carol have explored this question through diverse experiences in ministry and church planting, from prison ministry in the United States to sharing Jesus with Buddhist rice farmers in Northeast Thailand who had never heard the gospel, let alone met a follower of Jesus, or seen a worshipping community of believers. Through story-telling and reflection on these experiences, Skip and Carol will help us explore bottom line practices in being church that can apply to all of us, anywhere and anytime.
Pursuing Christ’s Peace Through Prayer
Bruce Hankee, Pastor, Greenmonte Mennonite Church
Room 160
Participants will be introduced to an approach to prayer that encourages
persons to discover and expose what they believe that is false, and then
encourages them to have an encounter with Jesus Christ through prayer that allows theLord to reveal His truth to the person’s heart and mind, bringing peace that passes all understanding.
Contact Virginia Mennonite Conference:
Tel: (540) 434-9727 Fax: (540) 434-7627
901 Parkwood Dr., Harrisonburg , VA 22802
info@vmconf.org