RELIGION BRIEFS: March 4, 2023

Mar. 4—Maple Grove to host revival service

NEW PARIS — Maple Grove Community Church, 20420 C.R. 46, will host the revival service, "Our Hope has Come" March 19-21 (Sunday through Tuesday).

The schedule includes includes:

March 19 — 10 a.m., Lee Snider on "Hope in the Character and Promises of God" and 6 p.m., Brian Cripe on "Fallen Man."

March 20 — 6:30 p.m., Darin Holsopple on "Hope for the Faking it and the Barely Making it."

March 21 — 6:30 p.m., Natalie Replogle on "Scoot Over, the Savior has Sent You."

For more information, go online to maplegrovechurch.net or call 574-831-4421.

John Roth to speak on Anabaptist historyGOSHEN — Michiana Anabaptist Historians meets Saturday morning, March 11, 9am. "Anabaptism at 500: How to Commemorate a Division?" is the topic for Historian John Roth.

On Jan. 21, 1525, a small group of earnest Christians in the Swiss city of Zurich held a secret worship service. Inspired by their study of Scripture, they defied church and civic authorities by introducing the practice of adult baptism.

That event — denounced by Catholic and Protestant authorities alike — marked the symbolic beginning of the Anabaptists, a renewal movement that became the spiritual foundation for the Amish, Mennonites and Hutterites, as well as other groups in the Free Church tradition.

As the 500th anniversary of Anabaptist beginnings nears, how should we commemorate this story of church division ... and renewal?

The meeting will be held at Townline Mennonite Church, 2165 S. 1000 West, Shipshewana. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the program to start at 9 a.m. The public is invited and there is no cost to attend.

AMBS adds new faces, promotes others

ELKHART — Several new people have joined Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary recently.

Carla Robinson, Goshen, began Feb. 6 as half-time assistant director of Human Resources and Payroll for AMBS.

In her new role, Robinson maintains the seminary's payroll system, manages employee compensation and benefits administration, facilitates and coordinates hiring processes for open positions, and ensures that the seminary maintains compliance with HR regulations.

Robinson brings a wealth of prior HR and administrative experience to her new role. Between 2017 and 2023, she served in HR at Wabash National/Supreme in Goshen and at Godfrey Marine in Elkhart; and as a temporary employee in HR, finance and accounting for various agencies through Creative Financial Staffing in Elkhart County. Prior to that, she was a receptionist for Supreme Corporation in Goshen; development assistant for the Scholarship Foundation of St. Joseph County Inc.; and customer service and inside sales representative for Creative Dimensions in Nappanee.

Additionally, she has worked in arts administration, serving as director of Marketing for Ramada Wagon Wheel Theatre (now Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts) in Warsaw; general manager for the Elkhart County Symphony Orchestra in Elkhart and for Bridgework Theater in Goshen; and marketing manager for the South Bend Symphony Orchestra.

Robinson earned a Master of Arts in Arts Management from the University of Akron (Ohio) and a Bachelor of Science in Arts Administration from Butler University in Indianapolis. She attends Goshen City Church of the Brethren, a congregation of the Northern Indiana District of the Church of the Brethren.

Tapio Rubio

Luis Tapia Rubio, of Valparaiso, Chile, began Nov. 15, 2022, as half-time director of Practical Leadership Training for AMBS

In this new role, Tapia Rubio is overseeing the development and implementation of Practical Leadership Training, a series of learning modules that will help students strengthen their skills in administrative leadership and contextual engagement in congregations and other settings. The modules will serve pastors and leaders seeking continuing education in these topic areas; current AMBS students; and participants in the seminary's Transition to Leadership and Ministry Integrity Circles programs.

Tapia Rubio is currently a PhD student in Theology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He also teaches theology in the SeBAH program (Hispanic Anabaptist Biblical Seminary) and is a Research Fellow with the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism at Goshen College. He graduated from AMBS in May 2021 with a Master of Divinity with a major in Theological Studies: History, Theology and Ethics. He also was selected to receive an Award for Excellence in Theological Studies from the seminary's History, Theology and Ethics Department.

Prior to studying at AMBS, Tapia Rubio was involved in pastoral ministry in Chile and Ecuador and was connected to theological education in both countries. He earned a Master in Philosophy from the University of Chile in Santiago de Chile; a Bachelor in Theology from Baptist Theological Seminary in Santiago de Chile; and a Bachelor in Education and a Bachelor in Philosophy from Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso, Chile.

Norm Cender

Norm Cender, of Elkhart, was promoted to director of Maintenance and Campus Safety of AMBS on Aug. 1, 2022.

Cender first joined AMBS's Maintenance and Campus Security Team in February 2012 and took on the role of assistant director of Maintenance later that year. He was promoted to full-time director following the departure of Jeff Marshall, who retired from the role on July 31, 2022.

In Cender's new position, he is responsible for overseeing the maintenance and upkeep of the seminary's buildings, equipment, systems and grounds, and for supervising other maintenance personnel. He also leads long-range facility planning; assists in fulfilling the seminary's commitment to environmental stewardship; and coordinates campus safety.

Prior to joining AMBS, Cender served as maintenance director at Bethany Christian Schools in Goshen for nine years. He also worked for Cook Heating in Elkhart and as an appliance repair technician in Illinois. He got his start in maintenance work by doing voluntary service in maintenance for Laurelville Retreat Center (formerly Laurelville Mennonite Church Center) in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania.

Cender earned an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts from Hesston (Kansas) College in 1979. He attends Hively Avenue Mennonite Church in Elkhart.

Steve Norton

Steve Norton, of Goshen, is changing roles and taking on new responsibilities at AMBS.

Norton originally joined AMBS in September 2020 as half-time program assistant for the AMBS Church Leadership Center's Thriving in Ministry grant. In February 2021, he added the 0.4 FTE role of assistant director of Human Resources (HR) and Payroll for the seminary. He is ending his time in this role to serve full time as assistant director of the Journey Missional Leadership Development Program and as Church Leadership Center Program Coordinator.

As program assistant for the Thriving in Ministry grant, Norton has been providing administrative support for the Ministry Integrity Circles and Transition to Leadership programs and overseeing the Invite AMBS program, in which seminary faculty and staff serve as presenters or consultants on topics of interest for congregations and organizations. He also has been assisting with the Journey program, Online Short Courses, and the annual Pastors & Leaders conference.

In his expanded role, which began Jan. 1, he is continuing this work and adding leadership responsibilities with the Journey program. He also is providing administrative support for AMBS's new competency-based Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and for Practical Leadership Training, a series of learning modules that are being developed to help students strengthen their skills in administrative leadership and contextual engagement. He will work closely with DMin Program Co-Directors Jewel Gingerich Longenecker and Dan Schrock and with Luis Tapia Rubio, director of Practical Leadership Training.

Norton brings many years of both pastoral and administrative experience to his work at AMBS. From 1994 to 2008, he served with Eastern Mennonite Missions as a church planter in Germany, also launching a short-term mission program in partnership with the Theological Seminary Bienenberg in Liestal, Switzerland. After moving to Goshen, he was pastor of Outreach for eight years for Goshen City Church of the Brethren. He then helped establish the Rise 'n Roll Bakery in Elkhart, serving as general manager for two years.

Norton has a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Goshen College and a Graduate Certificate in Public Management from Indiana University South Bend. He is a member of Walnut Hill Mennonite Church in Goshen.