Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship is marking its 80th anniversary at its annual gathering Sept. 27-29 at Laurelville Retreat Center in Mt. Pleasant, Pa.

The Mennonite Nurses Association formed in the early 1940s to support Anabaptist and Mennonite nurses through their education and service. The Mennonite Medical Association formed separately for Mennonites pursuing medical school. Both groups held their first gatherings in 1943-44.

After nearly 70 years of being two organizations meeting frequently together, they merged in 2011 to form MHF, which has been serving healthcare workers around the globe integrate their faith into their professional lives.

With the theme “Living an Anabaptist Healthcare Ethic,” the gathering will celebrate the organizations’ history and look to the future.

The theme is connected to MHF’s Five Life Standards project, which re-envisions Doris Janzen Longacre’s Five Life Standards from her book More with Less as ethical and faith standards for healthcare.

Keynote speakers include Joe Kotva, who will address climate change as a determinant of health, and Brandra Srof, who will share insights on peacebuilding in the context of nursing. Wayne Speigle of Nazareth Project and Dodanim Vasquez Campos of Global Anabaptist Health Network will speak on the meaning of Christian service in health and healthcare from a global perspective. MHF Executive Director Emeritus Paul Leichty will share research on ways MHF has explored Anabaptist ethics over the years.

Registration is at mennohealth.org/annual-gathering-2024.