Congregations who would like to report briefly on events in their congregation should send a descriptive paragraph and a high resolution picture to smartin@LMCchurches.org
Motley Dinner Church was birthed from the New Danville District out of a need to reach people who don’t fit into a traditional church format. Twenty to thirty people gather each Tuesday evening at HUB450 around the dinner table. Together, they are learning about Jesus through discussion rather than lecture.
Supervisor Samuel Lopez, Bishop Omar Guzman and Pastor Tom Eshelman, LMC Global Delegate, traveled to Cuba on January 18-25, 2023.The mission trip was to participate in the CIES-Cuba annual assembly and to visit the churches in the area of Bauta. The purpose for the assembly, besides worship and reports, focused on teaching Anabaptist history and theology.
Throughout last year, MyNeighbor cardholders earned donations for LMC with every purchase made with their MyNeighbor credit cards from Everence Federal Credit Union. Lynette Morales who serves as a Everence Stewardship Consultant in the Central Penn region presented the LMC Bishop Elders Team with a check for $1,886 donation. To learn more visit evererence.com/MyNeighbor or call 800-451-5719.
Supervisor Samuel Lopez, Pastor Hugo Garcia, and Pastor Hector Mejía traveled to Tijuana, B.C., Mexico on February 3 -6, 2023 to visit Monte Horeb and Pan de Vida churches. They baptized Jose Rostro, age 90, a man who almost died a week before the baptism. Two children were presented during a dedication ceremony. They also visited Casa de Misericordia (House of Mercy) where Juana Cruz has a ministry to the elderly who have been abandoned by their families. [picture]
Abayneh Anjulo, National Missions Director of Meserete Kristos Church (MKC), traveled to the States in February 2023. In addition to bringing blessings from MKC to the LMC Board of Bishops, brother Abayneh spoke at the EMM chapel and met with LMC staff. LMC Bishops hosted Abayneh for a tour of Mennonite and Amish history and the contemporary story of the original Lancaster settlement. Meserete Kristos Church is a Mennonite denomination in Ethiopia with 350,000+ baptized members. MKC plans to send twenty-five missionary couples to neighboring countries in the next few years. [picture]
The annual week of prayer and fasting was held on January 3-6, 2023. Missionaries, staff, and friends gathered virtually and in person to meditate on Ephesians 3:14-21. Prayers were offered daily at 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. for Spirit-led movements to Jesus in our homes, communities, and regions worldwide. Prayer participants broke the four-day fast by sharing communion and a simple meal on Friday, January 6. [picture]
On Thursday January 19, 2023 a resourcing day was held for LMC’s International Partner Delegates and others from EMM and LMC involved in engagement with the global church. It was a day of learning, praying, encouraging and envisioning together in the renewed collaboration the Holy Spirit is stirring between mission and church. The International Partner Delegate (IPD) program began five years ago for the purpose of tending the relationships LMC stewards with churches that have a historic, apostolic connection with LMC through the mission efforts of EMM.
LMC SEED participants tour the Tabernacle replica at the Mennonite Information Center in Lancaster, PA, as part of their Old Testament Survey study with Instructor Jim Leaman. Pictured l-r back: Dilshod Niyozov (Cambridge Mennonite Church, Honeybrook), Pema Tamang (Bhutanese Nepali Church Lancaster), Kham Sing (Lancaster Zomi Christian Church), Andy Hostetter (Hayat), Jim Leaman (SEED Instructor), Jean Baptiste (Stumptown Mennonite Church), Esther Maina (Stumptown Mennonite Church), Sherzod Ayubov (Hayat) Pictured l-r front: Rhoda Yost (SEED Instructor) and husband Art, Lu Dee (Habecker Mennonite Church), May Htoo (Habecker Mennonite Church). SEED is designed to equip second-language, cross-cultural leaders who are serving the church in the United States. [picture]