In this edition:

• Upcoming ACTS, TRIM and Graduate Classes
• Upcoming Continuing Education Events
• Calling the Called
• Governing Board Members
• Supporting SVMC

Courses for 2021-22 academic year for all training levels through SVMC are scheduled. Registration for Bethany Theological Seminary courses will occur through Bethany. Registration for the TRIM and ACTS courses occur through SVMC. In addition to students training for ministry credentialing, auditors are also welcome to the courses. If you would like to explore courses for personal enrichment, please contact us.  Click Here for list of classes.

SVMC provides a robust continuing education schedule. Click Here for list of Continuing Education Events.

We recognize the need to deepen our calling of individuals to the ministry. The church needs ministers, and people benefit when their skills are named and affirmed.  We need to be observant of gifts for ministry and encourage the person in whom we see those gifts. The Resource and Development committee of the SVMC Governing Board provides a variety of calling resources:

• Call Essays: Persons who have received training through SVMC and many of our current board members share brief essays on their call to ministry. Click Here to read the essays.

• Sermons and Worship Resources: Two recorded sermons focusing on call to ministry and written worship resources are provided. If a congregation needs a visiting preacher when the pastor receives a well-deserved Sunday away, consider using a link to a sermon by Angela Finet or by Joe Detrick. Angela, Pastor of Nokesville COB (Mid-Atlantic) and soon becoming Pastor at Mountville COB (ANE) provides a sermon entitled Change is Hard  based on scripture text of II Kings 2. Joe Detrick, retired district executive and interim pastor, provides a sermon entitled Cornerstones, Living Stones….and Us! Based on Psalm 118: 22-24 and I Peter 2: 4-5. Both Angela and Joe have served as board members for SVMC. Click Here for the sermons and worship resources. You are welcome to use these as a gift from SVMC.

• Call to Ministry Suggestions and Resources: A list of call to ministry suggestions and resources is provided for you. What action can you take? With whom can you share this list? Click Here for these resources.

• Calling the Called Events: The 5-district partnership of SVMC has partnered together to hold two Calling the Called events for persons who may sense a call to ministry or who are invited to explore a call. Our first event was held virtually on May 1. Our second event will be held in person on September 25 at the Chambersburg Church of the Brethren. Click Here for more information.

SVMC is served by a strong Governing Board. We are grateful for the dedicated members who serve on behalf of districts and denominational representatives. Click Here for list of Governing Board members.

At our April meeting, we welcomed two new members: Michael Benner (at-large member) and Brandy Liepelt (ANE District.) We eagerly anticipate working with Mike and Brandy. We recognized members completing service: Miller Davis (completing two terms of service as Bethany Theological Seminary trustee), Angela Finet (relocating from Mid-Atlantic district to ANE district), and Bill Wenger (resigned as Western PA District Executive). We are grateful for the gifts and skill each of these departing board members brought to our ministry.

Support for Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center occurs in several ways including prayer for our ministry, sharing the story of SVMC so that others may know of the opportunities for ministry training, serving on the board or as an instructor, and financial gifts to undergird our ministry.

Options for financial giving are: 

• Register SVMC as the benefactor of a portion of your Amazon purchases through Smile Amazon. Click Here to learn more.
• Send a check to SVMC, One Alpha Drive, Elizabethtown, PA 17022

Your donations help underwrite programing costs so that SVMC can keep tuition and registration costs manageable for participants. 

SVMC is a Church of the Brethren ministry education partner with Bethany Theological Seminary, Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, and the Atlantic Northeast, Mid- Atlantic, Middle Pennsylvania, Southern Pennsylvania, and Western Pennsylvania Districts.

Our mission is to equip leaders for ministry in a regionally based, Christ centered, culturally relevant context in ways that bear witness to the beliefs, heritage, and practices of the Church of the Brethren.

www.etown.edu/svmc

svmc@etown.edu

717-361-1451