Pleasant Valley Mennonite Church at Harper, KS celebrated the ordination of Kenzie Intemann on Sunday, October 4.  The service was planned by the elders and worship committee and included an account of the search and ordination process, a children’s time, letters of affirmation from former pastors, and presentation of a ceramic platter created by Isaac Shue, a local artist.  Elders Richard Aldis, Brad Shue and Bobbie Hochstetler led the service.  Howard Keim, Regional Conference Minister, brought a meditation and led the ordination ceremony.  A potluck after the service was accompanied by stories and words of wisdom for Kenzie, Mallory and Silas. 

Four pastors who serve rural congregations in South Central Conference have begun to meet quarterly with their Regional Conference Minister to learn from each other.  Josh Patterson (Crystal Springs), Kenzie Intemann (Pleasant Valley), David Roth (Kingman) and Jeff Blackburn (Greensburg) along with Howard Keim comprise this group.  All are located West of Wichita in smaller towns that face a variety of economic and social challenges.  The pastors vary in age and experience and enjoy sharing perspectives and encouragement.  They alternate locations and introduce each other to the unique opportunities in their respective churches and communities.  At the most recent meeting on September 30, David Roth hosted the group at Kingman.  The group typically meets for about three hours beginning at 5:00 and shares the evening meal at a local hot spot.  

Omot and Hanna Aganya moved with their family three years ago and started Eden Life Church in Kansas City, Missouri.  That effort has gone well in reaching refugees who have come to the United States, particularly those who belong to the Anuak language group.  Omot and Eden Life Church have a vision to expand their outreach to a few other cities where large numbers of persons from the Anuak group have settled in the United States.  Omot and Hanna served as missionaries with the Assemblies denomination until 2014 in Ethiopia.  One of Omot’s tasks was to visit and preach in different refugee camps around Ethiopia.  Many of those refugees have resettled in cities such as Rochester, Minnesota.  Omot would like to plan a weekend Bible conference in that city and invite refugees.  Depending on the response of the people, he will see if there would be interest to organize a church fellowship.  He would assist them in choosing leadership and then would mentor those leaders from Kansas City.  Pray that if this is the Lord’s will for an outreach from Eden Life Church that doors will open for this vision.

The youth of the UCIM (Union of Christian Mennonite Churches), met at the Cone Oasis Baptist Retreat in Los Fresnos Texas. This is the second time the group has met here. There was joyous time spent in praising the Lord, Praying and Listening to His Word. Most of the congregations were represented at this event which is done yearly. There were close to one hundred persons in attendance. Many of the pastors and their youth were present and the preaching was done by UCIM Pastors themselves. Despite the rain which was almost constant, there were fun activities like sports and swimming. We are hoping to do something new next year.