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Below are the notes that we received from several congregations in the Central District Conference on March 7, 2009.
Blessings, Milwaukee Mennonite Church from Columbus Mennonite Church, Columbus, Ohio!
We send love and prayers from our fellowship to yours at Milwaukee Mennonite Church. May you be the body of Christ together and the hands of Jesus in your community.
From your brothers and sisters at Assembly Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana:
Welcome to Central District Conference! We have found Central District to be a place of life and laughter, spiritual growth and challenge. We pray that the same will be true for you, and look forward to learning to know you.
To Milwaukee Mennonite:
Shalom Mennonite in Harrisonburg wants to welcome you to Central District! As relative newcomers to the conference we hope you experience the tremendous hospitality that we have so far. As you continue to put down roots in your neighborhood in Milwaukee may they be nourished by the fellowship with the support of the conference. We look forward to getting to know you and being part of your larger Mennonite community.
To Milwaukee Mennonite, from your friends in East Lansing, Pastor Carol Ricketts and Michigan State University Mennonite Fellowship:
May you be rooted and grounded in God's love and through the communal bonds of our conference and district, and may the Risen Christ guide you in embodying His mission in your community by God's grace and the Spirit's empowerment.
Blessing for Milwaukee Mennonite Church from Eight Street Mennonite Church:
You are a congregation who willingly creates and enters into worship.
Your desire to engage with God, to be shaped by Christ, through the power of the Spirit speaks of transformation that is happening to you and through you.
Receive now this divine blessing: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you." (John 14:27)
You are a congregation awake to all of life. You have found ways to share with each other your doubts and your affirmations; your joys and your concerns.
This speaks of your belief that you cannot go where God is not.
Receive now this divine blessing: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
You are a congregation who are good stewards of financial resources.
This reveals both joyful giving and trust that there is enough.
Your trust declares God's radical economy is for all the world.
Receive now this divine blessing: "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending its roots into the stream... it does not cease to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:1-8)
You are a congregation with eyes to see God's activity in this community of faith and beyond this community of faith.
Through your work, your volunteering, your hospitality, you join God's activity no matter where you find it.
Receive this divine blessing: "So if [Jesus], your Lord and Teacher, has washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master... if you know these things, you are indeed blessed when you do them." (John 13:13-14)
You are a congregation who blesses. You intentionally gather Sunday after Sunday to embody the living Christ to each other, to Milwaukee, and to the world. Receive now this divine blessing: "You are my beloved daughters and sons. With you I am well pleased." (Mark 1:11)
From First Mennonite Church of Wadsworth, Ohio:
Sisters and brothers of Milwaukee Mennonite, welcome to the Central District family. May God bless you and guide you in your ministry in Milwaukee. Grace and peace.
From Rev. Lin Sylvester and Trenton Mennonite Church
Greetings! Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. We want you to know that those of us here in Trenton, Ohio, are thinking of you and praying for you. We cordially welcome you and ask God to bless you richly!
From Joel Miller, Pastor, Cincinnati Mennonite Fellowship
Milwaukee friends, it's good to hear that you are joining the CDC family. We are geographically far flung, eclectic, serious about following Jesus, and thankful to welcome a new member. I look forward to building relationships with your people. We welcome your gifts, your fellowship, your counsel, and your prayers. God's blessing to you during this exciting time in the life of your congregation.
Blessings from members at Madison Mennonite:
May they be blessed with a supportive community with one another centered on Christ.
May God's face shine upon you as you seek to be a faithful people of God. May your doors be wide open to all people who strive to live the Jesus way. May you feel the support and love of other Christians as you joyfully serve.
May you be rooted and grounded in God's expansive and life-changing love, becoming more and more aware of the fullness of God in your lives and in the world.
Blessing for Milwaukee from First Mennonite Church, Sugarcreek, Ohio
From your more eastern sisters and brothers in the rural hills of Ohio, many blessings upon you as your body begins this journey of walking with the larger body of Central District Conference. We pray that God's grace be ever filling you with surprising joy. Welcome.
Blessing to Milwaukee Mennonite Church
From Faith Mennonite Church
May God grant you the blessing
of peace
of joy
of love
As you live as Christ's light
in the city of Milwaukee
in your communities
in your workplaces
and in your homes.
From James Rissler, Pastor,
Atlanta Mennonite Fellowship
May God's love shine upon Milwaukee Mennonite, and shine through the people of your congregation upon all those with whom you interact. May your community be richly blessed by the fellowship you share in Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit always be present where ever you gather, and when ever you must be apart. May Central District Conference likewise be blessed by our fellowship with you, and the bonds of love that we share as family and friends in Christ. Welcome!
A Prayer & Blessing for Milwaukee Mennonite Church,
From Chicago Community Mennonite Church,
Adapted from our Communion Liturgy, "Coming To The Table" (adapted from Brian Wren):
We thank and praise you,
Source of all life, Lover of Creation
whose Wisdom gave birth to all things
and cradled the earth.
We thank you that we are not our own,
but are woven into the web of living things.
You have created us, and called us in this life
to be one with you
and to be your people here on earth.
You fill us with worth,
call us to account,
and promise us life eternal.
God of hope,
send your Spirit upon Milwaukee Mennonite Church,
that they may be for the world the body of Christ.
Make them one with Christ,
one with each other,
and one in ministry to all the world.
Dear Milwaukee Mennonite,
Welcome to the Central District Conference.
We are looking forward to getting to know you as a new sibling in fellowship.
A blessing of Peace for Milwaukee Mennonite from Southside Fellowship in Elkhart, Indiana.
Peace upon you.
Peace before you.
Peace to guide you.
Peace into all things through you.
Peace of God.
Peace between us.
Peace between friends.
Peace to bind us.
Peace of Christ.
Peace that quickens you.
Peace that fills you.
Peace quiets you.
Peace of the Holy Spirit.
(Written by David Moser / Paster of Southside Fellowship)
Milwaukee Mennonite Church
Blessings to you,
From Paoli Mennonite Fellowship in Paoli Indiana we welcome you to Central District Conference. We look forward to working and worshiping together and are excited to have your witness and energy serving God in your community.
Shalom,
Ted Larrison
Conference Delegate
Paoli Mennonite Fellowship
To the Milwaukee Mennonite Church:
The First Mennonite Church in Bluffton, Ohio, welcomes youto Central Disitrict Conference. We are delighted that you are joining us in fellowship, worship and learning together how God is calling us be faithful followers of Jesus Christ. It was wonderful to hear your story last summer in Wheaton at the Central District Conference meetings there.
Two years ago we celebrated our centennial year. So we could be considered your older sibling. We welcome you as our companion on the journey and look forward to the blessings that you will bring to CDC and to our congregation. We travel this road of faith with you and value your insights as a young and vibrant urban congregation.
God's blessings to you,
Grace and peace,
Steven Toder, pastor
Louise Wideman, associate pastor
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