Ten pastors attended a Pastor’s Academy at Merry Lea’s Farmstead Site, September 21, 2016. The gathering invited them to interact with ideas that leaders of Goshen College’s three research institutes grapple with and relate them to their own ministries.
Merry Lea’s Institute for Ecological Regeneration aims to bring renewal and vitality to ecosystems through research and education. Goshen College is also home to the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism and the Institute for Latino Educational Achievement.
The group raised a variety of interesting questions during discussion times. Steve Heatwole, pastor of Lockport Mennonite Church, Stryker, Ohio, reflected on the challenges Northern Ohio farmers face in light of recent water quality issues in Lake Erie.
“My role is pastoral care,” observed Jan Rheimheimer, pastor at Lombard Mennonite Church, Lombard, Ill. “As a pastoral care person, my job is to bring hope and healing to those already hurting. How do you bring disruptive issues into the midst of pain?”
“The Church has power. Religious leaders have power. Are we using it well?” asked Haraldo Sergio Nunes, pastor of Salem Mennonite Church, Wooster, Ohio.
Luke Gascho, Merry Lea’s executive director, served as moderator for the event. He observed that climate change is an issue that brings together themes from all three of the institutes, as it affects so many people around the world.
