Pastor Learning Circles
Pastor Learning Circles 2025
For MCEC Credentialed Pastors | Space is Limited | Register Below
We need each other. It can be tempting in pastoral ministry to go it alone.
Join a circle of fellow Mennonite pastors and follow this call together.
Growing as a Spiritual Leader
with Ruth Boehm
"How can I become an ever growing spiritual leader in helping people listen to God, each other and our community?
What can I do for myself to grow spiritually? What does listening for the leading of the Holy Spirit look like? Group sessions will include a brief listening practice and time for discussion.
This group will meet for 2 hours bi-monthly. Dates and Times to be determined.
Ruth Boehm is a pastor at Faith Mennonite Church and a spiritual director. Married to Barry Bergen, mother of two children, and has two golden doodles. She is passionate to help others cultivate a strong relationship with God. This includes mindful photography, Wild Church and building inter-cultural relationships.
Youth Ministry Collective
with Stephen Kennedy and Carrie Lehn
Youth leaders, you’re not alone! Join our Learning Circle Youth Ministry Collective – a casual, monthly Zoom time where we share ideas, encouragement, and caffeine.
First Wednesday of every month.
9:30am (Zoom)
You’ll find support and ideas from other Youth Pastors, discuss Youth Ministry topics each month, and grow as a Collective of Youth Workers.
Grab your coffee and hop online – let’s build each other up as we pour into the next generation.
Stephen Kennedy is a coffee-addicted, music-loving, amateur cook who currently pastors at Avon Church in Stratford, Ont. He has been serving in Youth Ministry for over 14 years, completed a Masters at Conrad Grebel, was a regular writer of youth culture for Youth Specialties, has enjoyed coaching new Youth-Pastors all across Ontario, but most of all, loves the gift that students bring to God's family. Working with students is a joy. Stephen loves to find creative ways to serve students, loves strategic planning, and believes that God's favorite way to speak to us is through storytelling.
Carrie is originally from Leamington, Ontario, and has been doing youth ministry for the past 12 years, most of that at Ottawa Mennonite Church. She recently graduated with her Master’s from St. Stephen’s University. Carrie is passionate about youth ministry and walking alongside teens as they explore what it means to be a person of faith today. She embraces the challenge of creating a ministry that’s relevant, makes space for doubt and big questions, and reflects a deep commitment to an inclusive church. When she’s not doing church things, she’s likely kayaking, playing volleyball, or spending time with her wife, Sarah.
Watershed Discipleship
with Wendy Janzen
Join Wendy in a Pastoral Learning Circle that will explore themes of watershed discipleship, baptism, and ecclesiology (how we are church together) from an Anabaptist perspective. How do we as Mennonites relate to our watershed as a place of belonging and context for our reading of the bible and doing theology? Wendy encourages participants to spend one hour a month outside in your watershed, with a question for reflection. Then, in our time together we will reflect on that question in addition to creating space to share about our ministry and to pray for one another.
Wendy Janzen is an experienced pastor, serving both Burning Bush Forest Church and Erb Street Mennonite Church (as of fall 2025). She is passionate about lifelong learning and is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry through AMBS focusing on ecospirituality and ecotheology from an Anabaptist perspective. She lives in Kitchener and is married to Chip Bender. They have two teenage sons.
Pastors in Transition
with Melissa Miller
In between-ness. Whether you're stepping into an interim or intentional interim role, finding yourself between charges, discerning a return to ministry, or exploring a new pastoral opportunity, this circle is for you. Pastoral transition can be both sacred and unsettling—full of possibility, ambiguity and listening for the Spirit’s direction, which may or may not be forthcoming. This group will offer space for honest reflection, mutual support, and spiritual grounding for those in seasons of change. Together, we’ll explore paths of discernment, identity, call, gifts, loss and joy. Sessions will include prayer, discussion, and practices that center and sustain us. Meeting time and frequency will be shaped by participants’ availability and needs.
Melissa Miller is a Mennonite pastor in the first year of retirement, a season she is approaching with gratitude and curiosity. She has been privileged to serve the beloved community in a variety of settings – as a counselor, author, pastor and family member. In seasons of transitions, she finds grace and direction with steadfast conversation partners. Current pursuits include kitchen creations, nature walks, on-line word games, receiving Indigenous wisdom, and tending her many relations.
Politics and Pastoral Care
with Matthew Bailey-Dick
What does it mean to be a political pastor, or what are the blessings of politics-free Sunday mornings? How does Christian-Mennonite theology orient us as Canadian citizens during these present times? What is the relationship between activism and pastoral care? Join this learning circle to explore a variety of perspectives on what happens when the pastoral bumps up against the political. Join this learning circle to encounter both familiar and unfamiliar approaches to political spirituality. As peers, we will pray, listen, get radical, and offer each other lots of grace.
Matthew Bailey-Dick (he/him) is a pastor at Wellesley Mennonite Church. In prior years, Matthew worked as an educator, hospice volunteer, funeral officiant, and pastor in several other Mennonite churches. In relation to the political theme of this Learning Circle, he served as a part-time reservist with Christian Peacemaker Teams and participated in a variety of social justice movements. He wonders about how we can resist violence and injustice through the powers of prayer, interfaith collective action, the written word, coordinated silence, and unruly singing.
Congregations in Transition
with Wanda Amstutz
What does it mean to pastor a congregation in transition? Many congregations are going through times of transition; whether that is with leadership, with diminishing membership, or discerning next steps. Pastoring in these "foggy" and liminal spaces can be exhausting and demanding as well as energizing and joyful. In this pastor circle we will support one another as pastors working with congregations in transition, brainstorm strategies together and also spend time reflecting on our own biases and triggers so we can lead with integrity and honesty. Meeting time and frequency will depend on the wishes of the group.
Wanda is currently serving as pastor at W-K United Mennonite Church, a vibrant congregation in the midst of meaningful change. She finds deep joy in walking alongside communities in transition—because, truthfully, every church is navigating transition in this moment of history. With over 30 years of ministry experience, Wanda’s journey has included a Mennonite Central Committee assignment in Ethiopia, as well as ongoing work in pastoral leadership, spiritual direction, and life coaching. She holds a Master of Divinity from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and is trained in both spiritual direction and coaching. At the heart of her life is her family: husband Doug and three adult daughters and their partners, who continue to be her greatest joy and inspiration.
Orienting Ministry Around God’s Mission in the World
with Steve Drudge
What if we focus primarily on God’s mission for the church rather than on its survival? Reflect together on short readings sent ahead of time and engage with stories from 3 or 4 MCEC pastors who have spent over a decade intentionally facilitating congregations' engagement with God’s mission in their context. Each time begins with reflecting on a Scripture text and ends with prayer for one another. Meet about seven or eight times for 1.5 - 2 hours. Zoom and/or in person, TBD.
After 38 years pastoring in two communities, Steve retired in July 2023. He and Lynelle like to spend time with their four children and seven grandchildren, volunteer with MCC material resources in New Hamburg, lead a ‘home church’ and enjoy travel. He likes to read, hike, bike, garden and work on DIY projects.
Cercle de Pasteurs francophones ; l’essentiel anabaptiste
avec Nancy Frey
Je vous invite de me joindre tous les deux mois pour une conversation autour du thème « qu’est-ce un Chrétien Anabaptiste ? » dans le but d’approfondir votre connaissance des aspects particuliers de la foi Chrétienne Anabaptiste. Le livre L'essentiel anabaptiste: Dix signes d'une foi chrétienne unique servira de guide, alors il serait bon de procurer une copie auprès de Common Word. Je vous fournirai de plus de détails à notre première rencontre.
Je m’appelle Nancy Frey; actuellement, je suis pasteur de l’église Mennonite de Listowel, à Listowel, Ontario où je sers depuis septembre 2019. Avant cela, j’étais missionnaire avec mon mari, Bruce Yoder, d’abord au Bénin et ensuite au Burkina Faso. Nous avons servi le Mennonite Mission Network de 1999 au 2019. Je suis mère d’un garçon et d’une fille qui sont jeunes adultes.
In the circle you will be:
- supported prayerfully in your ministry
- strengthened in your call to ministry
- inspired through sharing ideas about ministry
- encouraged by God with hope, resilience, and openness to possibilities
Each Learning Circle
- Meets online at least 4 times for a one year commitment
- Is limited to 6 participants
- Is facilitated by committed fellow Mennonite pastors
- Focuses on a topic relevant to your ministry