Western District offers resources for churches

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NORTH NEWTON, Kan.—Perhaps the most important thing a congregation does is nurture the Christian faith and life among people of all ages.

That’s why Western District Conference of Mennonite Church USA has a staff person charged with that very task. WDC—with congregations from southern Nebraska to mid-Texas—is the only conference in Mennonite Church USA with a full-time worker in that area.

Marlene Bogard, WDC’s minister of Christian nurture, has a role not everyone is familiar with. She has been working in the WDC Resource Library since 1990. She was named to her current post in 2001, in addition to directing the library. She has a master’s degree in Christian ministry from Friends University in Wichita, Kan.

She is certified in Christian Relationship Enhancement and Prevention, a program for nurturing healthy marriages, and is one of two certified trainers in Mennonite Church USA in the prevention of clergy misconduct by FaithTrust Institute, based in Seattle.

Bogard wants people to know what she can offer. And her presentations “are adaptable for almost any church or faith-based group,” she says. “They are research-based—part of my job is to keep up with the latest findings and literature, as well as biblical scholarship, in different areas.”

Among the workshop and seminar topics Bogard offers are congregational hospitality, youth-adult mentoring programs, child protection policies, prevention of clergy misconduct, weekend marriage enrichment retreats and use of curricula.—Western District

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