Past Meetings
MHF Regional and Student MeetingsPast Meetings
MHF encourages Regional Meetings so Anabaptist healthcare professionals can meet together for mutual encouragement, fellowship, and networking. Meetings are generally held on weekday evenings in locations accessible to a cluster of potential and current MHF members.
Select a toggle box below for information and links to past meetings.
Student Meeting, November 6, 2019, at Goshen College
MHF Student Meeting
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Goshen College Science Building
An MHF Student Meeting was held on November 6, 2019, at the Goshen College Science Building as part of the “Biology Talk” series at GC. Dr. Kris Schmidt, Assistant Professor of the Biology Department at Eastern Mennonite University gave a presentation on the topic, “Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship: Looking for Tomorrow’s Healthcare Leaders.” Local surgeon and MHF member, John Martens, MD, also shared in the presentation. Forty-seven students attended the meeting along with several additional MHF members from the Goshen community.
Kris shared around the central question, “How will I ensure that those things I deeply value will permeate my work, and what obstacles might stand in my way?” He then shared about the goals, structure, and mission of MHF and also referred to an article by MHF Board member and former President, Lyubov Slashcheva, entitled, “A response to the Medical Industrial Complex.”
John Martens then shared about how Anabaptist values contribute to his work in medicine, both locally and overseas, and how MHF has enabled him to achieve balance in his work.
An informal gathering followed with some student/physician contacts arranged for shadowing. Dr. Schmidt also met with several students interested in the Peru trip he is leading next summer.
MHF extends thanks to Dr. Neil Detweiler of the Goshen College Biology faculty for arranging and hosting the meeting.
Meetings in Harrisonburg, Virginia, March 2019
Meetings in Harrisonburg, Virginia
March 20-22, 2019
MHF sponsored a number of activities in Harrisonburg, Virginia during the week.
Forums with Lyubov Slashcheva, Board President
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Eastern Mennonite University and Eastern Mennonite High School
Thank-you Luncheon
Thurs., March 21, 2019, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Park View Mennonite Church
Harrisonburg “Meet and Greet”
Friday, March 22, 2019, 4:30-6:00pm
Eastern Mennonite University
Suter Science Center, Room 104
Regional Meeting & Webinar, February 15, 2018, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Regional Meeting & Webinar – Harrisonburg
The Affordable Care Act under the Trump Administration
Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, JD
Professor Emeritus, Washington and Lee University
Thursday, February 15, 2018 7:00-8:00 pm EST
Eastern Mennonite University, Suter Science Center Room 106
The Affordable Care Act resulted in a significant expansion of health care coverage to working-age Americans. What has happened-and is likely to happen-to this expansion, and to the people whom it helped, under the Trump Administration?
Tim Jost will provide a description of recent suggested and enacted changes in healthcare legislation in the past year. During the second half of this session, participants will be encouraged to engage in a discussion on the ethical considerations that we as Anabaptists have regarding healthcare legislation. There will also be a time for questions.
About the presenter:
Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, J.D., is an Emeritus Professor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law. Jost is a member of the Institute of Medicine and a consumer liaison representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. He is coauthor of a casebook, Health Law, used widely throughout the United States in teaching health law, and of a treatise and hornbook by the same name. He is also the author of Health Care at Risk: A Critique of the Consumer-Driven Movement; Health Care Coverage Determinations: An International Comparative Study; Disentitlement? The Threats Facing our Public Health Care Programs and a Rights-Based Response, and Readings in Comparative Health Law and Bioethics.
Jost is a contributing editor at Health Affairs and has been a frequent contributor to Health Affairs Blog. He has also written numerous articles and book chapters on health care regulation and comparative health law, including monographs on legal issues in health care reform for Georgetown’s O’Neill Center, the Fresh Thinking Project, the National Academy of Social Insurance and National Academy of Public Administration, and the New America Foundation and Urban Institute.
This event is co-sponsored by the EMU Pre-Professional Health Society, EMU Students of Nursing, and Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship.
Download and print this flyer for your church or office. 20180215 Webinar Promo Flyer
See the webinar page for additional information about the webinar.
Regional Meeting, April 16, 2015, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Spring 2015 Regional Meeting in Harrisonburg
People First: Negotiating the Interplay of Healthcare, Spirituality, and Disability
Dave Gullman
Pastor at Pleasant View, Inc.
Thursday, April 16, 2015, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Park View Mennonite Church Fellowship Hall
1600 College Avenue, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22802
Dave Gullman is Pastor at Pleasant View, Inc., a local organization that provides nurturing support for persons with intellectual disabilities through residential and day support services.
Dave shared personal experiences and explored the ways in which healthcare providers can enrich the care they provide for people with disabilities and their families.
Regional Meeting, October 14, 2014, Landisville, Pennsylvania
Lancaster Regional Meeting!
Live Life Fully, Prepare to Die Well
Glen E. Miller, MD, MATS
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
7:00 p.m.
Landisville Mennonite Church
Landisville, PA 17538
Dr. Glen Miller, author of Living Thoughtfully, Dying Well shared his unique perspective to approximately 45 persons on October 14, 2014 at Landisville Mennonite Church. Discussion, refreshments, and fellowship followed.
Regional Meeting, November 13, 2014, Goshen, Indiana
Michiana Regional Meeting
Global Health: Awareness and Compassion
Global Health: Awareness and Compassion was the topic for a Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship’s Michiana Regional Meeting held on Thursday evening, November 13, 2014 at College Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana.
Vicky Kirkton, a member of the Goshen College nursing faculty and the MHF Board moderated the evening meeting which featured two presentations on global health issues.
Elisabeth Beels, RN, reported on the collaborative learning experience between Goshen College Nursing students and their counterparts in Nepal during May 2014. She emphasized the medical, cultural, and ethical learning that took place in both groups of students. Two student participants also shared their perspectives.
Dan Nafziger, MD, MHF member, infectious disease specialist, and Elkhart County health officer, gave perspective and an update on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and its implications for North American Mennonites.
Approximately 90 persons ranging in age from high school and college students to retired healthcare professionals, attended the meeting. Refreshments and fellowship followed.
For more information about the Michiana Regional Meeting, please contact the MHF Office.
Regional Meeting, October 23, 2014, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Fall 2014 Regional Meeting in Harrisonburg
Live Life Fully, Prepare to Die Well
Glen E. Miller, MD, MATS
Thursday, October 23, 2014, 7:00 p.m.
Eastern Mennonite High School, Harrisonburg, VA
Dr. Glen Miller, author of the book Living Thoughtfully, Dying Well shared his unique perspective to about 125 people on Thursday evening, October 23, 2014 in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Kenton Derstine moderated the meeting and Laura Yoder and Harvey Yoder offered responses. Joe Longacher shared about the work of MHF and several books were given away as door prizes. Refreshments were served following the presentation.
Regional Meeting, March 29, 2014, Dalton, Ohio
Regional Meeting in Eastern Ohio
Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship (MHF) held its first Regional Meeting in the Kidron, Ohio area on Saturday evening, March 29, 2014, at the Das Dutch Kitchen in Dalton. Almost 50 persons enjoyed a delicious meal funded by local MHF members.
The featured speakers for the after-dinner program were Nathan & Rochele Beachy, physicians in the Cleveland area, speaking about “Empowering Patients: New Paradigms for the Urban Underserved” (See article based on Nathan’s remarks in the May 2014 issue of Mennonite Health Journal.)
Shorter informative reports were given by Dr. Olivia Wenger of New Leaf Clinic for Special Children and Mark Leinbach, Director of SpringHaven Counseling Center in nearby Mount Eaton.
MHF Board members were also present, having had their meeting during the day at Kidron Mennonite Church. Vice-president Eric Lehman welcomed the group gathered who came from a variety of disciplines. Paul Leichty, Executive Director of Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship rounded out the evening by encouraging attendees to join MHF and come to the Annual Gathering in June.
Special thanks goes to Elton Lehman and his committee for planning a unique Regional Meeting!
Regional Meeting, March 9, 2014, Newton, Kansas
First MHF Regional Meeting in Kansas!
Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship (MHF) held its first Regional Meeting in Kansas on Sunday afternoon, March 9, 2014 at Shalom Mennonite Church, in Newton.
Matthew Schmidt, LSCSW, Executive Director of Health Ministries Clinic, was the featured speaker on the subject of “Integrated Health Care: One Mind, One Body, One Patient.”
Health Ministries Clinic, a Federally-Qualified Health Center, has instituted a model of integrated care that involves multiple health care providers working together with a patient-centered focus, often bringing several disciplines together into a single patient encounter, with the goal of capturing the patient in their current visit. Schmidt detailed the benefits of the integrated model, and several of his staff members also commented on how it is being implemented at Health Ministries Clinic, which is in Newton. Several dozen attendees from a variety of disciplines showed keen interest in the model which involves the ongoing collaboration between behavioral health, medical, and dental services.
Paul Leichty, MHF Executive Director, also shared briefly about MHF’s mission to be an interdisciplinary community of Anabaptist health professionals. Refreshments were served following the presentation.
Regional Meeting, September 29, 2012, Wauseon, Ohio
MHF held its first Regional Meeting in Northwest Ohio at West Clinton Mennonite Church, in Wauseon, Ohio on the evening of September 29, 2012 following the MHF Board meeting during the day.
The speaker was Ross Kauffman from Bluffton University’s Public Health Department who gave a very interesting presentation on why and how Mennonites are involved in public health. Board member, Eric Lehman, served as host for the meeting.
Regional Meeting, March 5, 2014, Iowa City, Iowa
First MHF Regional Meeting in Iowa!
Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship (MHF) held its first Regional Meeting in Iowa on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at the home of Nyle and Lauralee Kauffman near Iowa City. Ten persons gathered for a delicious home-cooked dinner and heard Paul Leichty, MHF Executive Director, share about the work of MHF. Participants in the meeting also shared briefly about their own work.
Regional Meeting, February 25, 2013, Souderton Pennsylvania
February 25, 2013 in Souderton Pennsylvania
A Regional Meeting for the Southeastern Pennsylvania area was held on the evening of February 25, 2013 at Main St. Java, in Souderton Pennsylvania. About 20 area healthcare professionals were present for food, fellowship and two short presentations:
- “Improving Behavioral and Physical Healthcare Coordination” by Angela Hackman, MSW, director of an integrated mental health program at Penn Foundation
- “Integrated Healthcare From A Physician’s Perspective” by Rebecca Nice, DO.
The contact person for Southeastern Pennsylvania is Joanne Brenneman Speigle, MD.
Regional Meeting, August 3, 2013, St. Paul, Minnesota
Minnesota Regional Meeting
A small group of interested persons gathered Saturday, August 3, 2013 at the home of Joan Kreider in St. Paul, Minnesota. Most of the group had some international service experience and shared about those experiences with the others present.
Paul Leichty, MHF Executive Director, was also visiting the area and gave an overview of the work of Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship. A simple healthy meal followed and allowed time for further conversation and fellowship.
The following day, Sunday, August 4, Paul Leichty preached at Faith Mennonite Church in Minneapolis on the subject “Salvation: Therapy, cure, and health.”
Regional Meeting, January 26, 2013, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Regional Meeting
A Philadelphia Regional Meeting was held on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 5 p.m. at the new Hunting Park Site of Esperanza Health Center, 4417 N. 6th St. Philadelphia, PA, 19140.
Around 20 Anabaptist healthcare professionals in the Philadelphia gathered for dinner, fellowship and the opportunity to hear stories from Dr. Tim Leaman about the ministry at Esperanza Health Center, a Christian health care ministry in North Philadelphia / Kensington. Also present was Paul Leichty, Executive Director of Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship.
Regional Meetings, 2012, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2012 Philadelphia Area Regional Meetings
On the evenings of April 13, 2012 and July 14, 2012, Philadelphia health professionals gathered in the home of a hosting MHF member for a time of socializing and fellowship with a turnout of about fifteen attendees at each event.
After a discussion of the group’s direction at the initial event, the second gathering featured two reflections on the theme of maintaining spiritual vitality in practice. Ana Lapp, RN, clinical care coordinator and administrator of the HIV program at Esperanza Health Center, and Lam Nguyen, a medical student at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, who is part of the Vietnamese Mennonite Fellowship, shared.
