A Sketched Portait
Roots and Rising
Charlottesville Mennonite Church emerges from a rich Anabaptist heritage where community, peace-building, and Christ-centeredness prevail. Read about our basic beliefs in the Mennonite Confession of Faith.
Founded in 1958, CMC has been shaped by committed leaders and fellow worshippers for almost a half-century. Among its historical highlights, CMC was instrumental in forming a bi-national Mennonite mission service for women (Women’s Missionary and Service Commission). Charlottesville Mennonite is part of a larger denominational structure. For more on the broader Mennonite Church USA, people and history, visit http://www.mennoniteusa.org/.
If you're interested in learning about the strong tradition of volunteerism among Mennonites, visit www.mcc.org. Finally, Third Way Café is an online source for current perspectives and topics in the Mennonite community around the world – click on www.thirdway.com.
Ken and Ruth Heatwole
Ken and Ruth Heatwole were instrumental in the formation of Charlottesville Mennonite Church – first as a small group meeting in private homes, then moving to several rental properties, and finally church ownership in our present location. Ken and Ruth anchored our church family for many years in many ways. They both taught Sunday School, Ruth led singing, and Ken was affectionately known as "The Candy Man" by children. Most visitors and newcomers to church were welcomed into the Heatwoles' home for a meal. They graciously provided lodging and meals for many out-of-town travelers, as well as family and friends of patients in UVA Hospital.
Ken and Ruth were active in community work. Ruth read regularly for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, and Ken spent countless hours volunteering for Love, INC, both as a Board member and as the contact person for our church. We miss their leadership and friendship but wish them well as they enjoy their retirement at the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, VA.
Here and Now
Charlottesville Mennonite folks, in several respects, are a motley crew. While we're rooted in a city context, many members come from the surrounding countryside. While the University of Virginia has drawn many academic and professional types, we are also comprised of business people, social workers, artists and teachers. We come from diverse backgrounds: rich and poor, conservative and liberal, Mennonite and other denominational traditions, local to international. All of this and more provides for spicy conversation around the uniting power of Christ.
Shared Leadership
With the arrival of our current co-pastors in 1999, we celebrate the strength of shared leadership. Together, Roy and Maren Hange bring a persuasive sermon style, a knack for nurture, and generous invitations to dinner around their table. (Tip: Hold out for the Indian food.) Roy Hange also oversees the 14 churches of the Harrisonburg District of Virginia Mennonite Conference and teaches a course on Faith Based Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute http://www.emu.edu/cjp/pti/spi/.
Roy and Maren lived in Syria and Iran during the 1990s. From their experiences there they bring powerful messages of hope, healing and transformations through God's love. The following is a link to an article by Roy in which he shares reflections relevant to the current crisis in the Middle East.
Roy has also written on the life-giving and transformative nature of prayer. This essay was published in Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology (Volume 7, Number 2, Fall 2006).
A Word from the Pastors
Are you looking for Christian community? Support in a new setting? In our family of faith we are drawn together in Christian worship, study, fellowship and service to the community.
As a Christian community we strive to realize God's vision, healing and hope for our lives, our community and the world. We seek this vision together through support for each other, acts of witness and service in our community and calls for more peaceable and just ways of relating in our world.
We welcome you to join us in the joy of being a community with a vision of healing and hope.
- Roy Hange and Maren Tyedmers Hange
Co-Pastors, Charlottesville Mennonite Church