Bet Hannon

By Lorie Ham

On Mother’s Day, restaurants are full of families taking Mom out to eat for her special day. However, Father’s Day more often seems to include a special meal made at home, especially for Dad. Some foods associated with Father’s Day are pizza, steaks, seafood, chicken wings, or pretty much anything barbecued. While not all dads love the same food, a lot of people associate meaty and hearty meals with Father’s Day.

If you are planning to make something special for dad this year, the website Ahead of Thyme has 60 different recipes great for Father’s Day. Recipes include ones for grilling, slow cooker ribs, and Greek meatballs. The Food Network website also has some great recipes for Father’s Day, including porterhouse steak and maple bacon cheeseburgers! If your dad happens to be vegan, you can find 31 vegan recipes perfect for Father’s Day in this article on Bustle.

For some recipes you might not find elsewhere, food mysteries can be a great source! Many “cozy” mystery authors give their books a food setting where their main character has some connection to food—being a chef, a caterer, owning a food truck, etc., and they include recipes in the back of the books! Mystery author Leslie Karst writes the Sally Solari culinary mystery series and has a great Father’s Day recipe in the first book in her series, Dying for a Taste. “It makes for the perfect Father’s Day meal, as it’s simple and easy to make, yet elegant and wonderfully delicious!” (Her latest book, The Fragrance of Death, releases on Aug. 2, 2022)

Seared Pork Chops with Apricot Brandy Sauce

(serves 4)

This is a classic à la minute hot line dish, where a piece of meat is seared and then the pan it was cooked in is deglazed with liquid to dissolve all those luscious caramelized bits left behind. Once you’ve done all your prep work (chopping, coating meat with spices), it only takes about fifteen minutes to fry the chops and make the sauce.

Ingredients

6 oz. dried apricots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

½ cup brandy

1 teaspoon dried cumin

1 teaspoon dried ginger

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

4 thick-cut pork chops, excess fat around edges removed

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large red onion, sliced (about 2 cups)

¼ cup beef or chicken stock

4 tablespoons butter

Directions

Place the sliced apricots in a bowl and pour the brandy over to let them soak. The longer they soak the better—two hours minimum, but first thing in the morning or even overnight would be best. Mix the cumin, ginger, black pepper, and salt together in a small bowl and then coat the chops on each side with this dry marinade. Heat a large heavy skillet over med-high heat and then add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, place the pork chops gently in the pan. (Do not crowd the chops; cook them in separate pans or in two batches if necessary.) Fry until golden brown and then turn. Continue cooking until the chops are done to your liking (Gauguin serves them still a little pink in the center). Remove chops to a large plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Dump the sliced onions into the pork chop skillet and sauté over medium heat in the oil left in the pan, stirring occasionally so they don’t burn. When the onions start to brown, add the apricots (saving the brandy they’ve been soaking in for later) and continue to cook until the apricots start to brown.

Add the brandy and chicken stock to the pan and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Add the butter and stir into the sauce once melted.  Plate up the chops and spoon the onions, apricots, and sauce on top.

For a fun Father’s Day dessert, we reached out to mystery author Dana Mentink, who writes a series featuring an ice cream shop owner! Dad will be thrilled with this recipe for Easy Peasy Banana Ice Cream.

Combine 2 cups of skim milk with 1 small package of instant banana pudding mix. Add one can of sweetened condensed milk and 1 tsp vanilla. Mash one ripe banana and stir it into the milk mixture along with 1 cup of crushed vanilla wafers. Chill for several hours. Pour into your ice cream maker and churn for 35 minutes. Freeze for several more hours to ripen. Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite recipe your family enjoys for Father’s Day? Please share it with us on our Facebook page! Happy Father’s Day and happy cooking!

By Lorie Lewis Ham

This year the Mennonite Aid Plan celebrates 100 years in business, and last month we took a look at their first 50 years. This month we are looking at the last 50 years. As mentioned in Part 1, they got their start in 1922 when a small group of Mennonite Church members from Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California united to organize a Pacific Coast organization for property insurance. They originally formed as a way for the brotherhood of believers to care for their own. The motto of Galatians 6:2, “Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the Law of Christ” was adopted and remains the official motto today. 

During the ‘70s, Mennonite Aid Plan continued to see a lot of changes. Many of the changes that came over the next several decades involved the board and investments. The demand for liability policies was increasing and they decided that it was imperative that they find a way to meet that need. The number of policies was now over 3,000, with a total risk of almost $85 million. With the increase in policies, there was also a plea made to increase their two office staff members from part-time to full-time, and in 1975, the office space was expanded as well. In 1979, they became incorporated as a Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation. With the incorporation, came a change in the board—they merged their boards and went from five to 12 members.

In 1980, the board saw even more change as the Advisory Board became part of the main board and was called the Advisory Committee and had nineteen members. However, the monthly meetings were held by the seven local members. The 1981 conference was held in Fresno. Another change to the board came in 1987 when the members residing in Central California became known as the Management Committee and started meeting monthly with a focus on reviewing claims. A major change in their office happened that year as well when they first started using a computer!

In 1983, the Aid Plan decided to do more than just meet the insurance needs of their community so they decided to start making charitable contributions. The ‘80s also saw an interest in investing in managed accounts at Merrill Lynch. By 1985, a little over $825,000 was invested in bonds and other dividend-producing accounts.

The 1990s saw more changes to their investing as they began to look for a more diverse method of investing their surplus. They started using John Dolan for managing their investments in Stocks and Bonds, and in 1991, they agreed to allow stocks to consist of up to 45% of their investments.

In 1992, California instituted regulations that effectively required appraisers to be licensed insurance agents. The mid-1990s saw some significant changes on the business side of things. Jeff Carter became their CPA and Ron Licata became the general manager.  Ron was authorized to settle and adjust claims. Previously to that, the board and management committee had dealt with all claims. They also pursued forming an agency for one-stop shopping and continued to move more into the computer age by purchasing the Rural computing system for managing policies. In 1999, it was decided they should use a professional appraiser to evaluate farms, churches, and commercial and mobile homes.

The early 2000s saw more property changes. They purchased land next door to their office in Reedley to use as a parking lot and a new sign was installed at the front corner. By March of 2016, they still hadn’t been able to offer a reasonable liability policy, and they felt they were losing clients because of it. After much deliberation and prayer, they decided to hire a lobbyist in Sacramento and were able to present a bill that allowed them to write liability. The bill was passed and signed by the governor, and after almost 65 years of trying, they were finally able to start writing liability in 2018! Sadly, in 2001, they had to stop writing new business in Arizona as they did not conform to Arizona laws.

Like the rest of the world during the last few years, they have had to deal with the challenges of the COVID pandemic, which saw them working from their homes for a time. Some of their staff still work remotely. “At any one time, about half of the office staff are working remotely,” shares their current Chief Executive Officer Jerry Linscheid, who has been with the company since 2009. “For the foreseeable future, we expect that to be the way we operate.”

In 2021, after using the Rural software program for over 25 years, their data was converted over to the BriteCore system which will hopefully serve them for another 25 years.

In 2022, Mennonite Aid now has seven staff members and recently celebrated its 100 years in business with a banquet at Wyndham Garden Hotel at the Fresno Yosemite Airport. They have had a long and interesting history, here’s to another 100 years! If you have a story to share about a special experience with Mennonite Aid (whether as a staff or board member, or a client) we hope you will share it with us on our Facebook page.

Note: The information for this article came from the following articles- From 1922 to 1973 written by board member at the time Earnest Enns, A Report After 73 Years written in 1995 by persons unknown, and Mennonite Aid Plan: 100 Years of Bearing Each Other’s Burdens written by current board member Jim Brandt.

By Lorie Lewis Ham

Once again, it is time for students to apply for the Mennonite Insurance Scholarship. College can be very expensive, so every bit of help can make a difference. Mennonite Insurance believes an education is very important so they decided back in 2011 that they wanted to do their part to help.

This scholarship has been a help to many students through the years. In last year’s article about the scholarship, Mennonite Insurance employee Claudia Fetes, who is in charge of the scholarships, expressed a desire to hear from some of the past recipients to see how they are doing. This year, we had the chance to chat with a few of them.

Randy Reiswig received one of the scholarships in 2019. “Receiving the scholarship was most helpful in keeping my student loan debt to a minimum and was a great encouragement and affirmation of my educational journey.”

Randy is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Formation and Leadership degree from Portland Seminary in Newberg, Oregon, and will be graduating in December of 2022.  He is currently lead pastor at Shorelife Community Church in Capitola, California. His goal in obtaining the degree was to answer the Lord’s calling on his life and fulfill a personal longing to experience more profound spiritual enlightenment. “Receiving the grant made it possible for me to attend the doctoral program needed to attain the goal of receiving a DMin and further the success of my calling as a pastor. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Scholarship Committee for selecting me to receive their grant, through which my financial burden was greatly diminished and the opportunity for education [that] I believe the Lord had set before me was brought to fruition.”

After serving in ministry with InterVarsity for eight years, Kevin Reifman was a recipient of the scholarship in 2020 and is currently attending Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary’s program for Marriage and Family Therapy. He will graduate in 2024. “One of my hesitations about going back to school was about incurring a lot of student debt really quickly. The Mennonite Insurance Scholarship helped give me some peace of mind, knowing that I had assistance going into the first year. I can’t thank Mennonite insurance enough for the help in kick starting my entry into Fresno Pacific!”

This semester has been very significant for Kevin. He took a counseling children’s lab and part of his work sent him to an elementary school in Orange Cove to meet with a few students each week. “I am learning the basic skills of what it looks like to counsel children through non-directive play therapy. I went in anxious about my lack of experience working with kids, but have found that God’s really met me in the work I have been doing.  I have been able to hold space for kids to process their emotions through play and be a safe container for them. 

“I am finishing up this semester with more confidence than ever that God has called me into a career as a counselor. I am more open and excited about the prospect of working with kids than I ever have been. And I am blessed to know that I am making an impact on the community, however small. The scholarship was hugely helpful in giving me a running start into the program.”

Tatiana Sandoval received the scholarship in the fall of fall of 2017, 2018, and 2019. “The Mennonite insurance Scholarship opened up new possibilities for higher education and enabled me to pursue a degree at my first choice university.”

She graduated from Biola University in Southern California with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing, and minor in Biblical Studies, and just received her first job offer working as a registered nurse in the emergency department at Community Regional Medical Center. “Getting to this point would not have been possible without the generous grants I received during my time in college, including the Mennonite Insurance grant. I am grateful for the help they provided me in pursuing this calling and hope they continue to assist college students in the future.”

The deadline to apply for the scholarship this year is July 1, 2022. To be eligible to apply you must meet the following criteria:

1. A member or regular attender of a Mennonite, Mennonite Brethren, Brethren in Christ or Missionary church in AZ, CA, OR or WA (West Coast)
2. Enrolled in a 4-year college, university or graduate school on the West Coast
3. At least a college junior with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale).

Scholarships of $1,000 will be awarded to up to five applicants each year. Applicants may apply multiple years. Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously received the scholarship. To obtain more information, and to apply, go to mennoniteinsurance.com/scholarships.

If you have received one of these scholarships in the past, Mennonite Insurance would love to hear how your college education helped you in your life. Please consider sharing on their Facebook page. 

By Lorie Lewis Ham

This year the Mennonite Aid Plan celebrates 100 years in business! They got their start in 1922 when a small group of Mennonite Church members from Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California united to sign up for the first $400,000 in risks as a goal to organize a Pacific Coast organization for property insurance. They originally formed as a way for the brotherhood of believers to care for their own. The motto of Galatians 6:2, “Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the Law of Christ” was adopted and remains the official motto today. The group organized by electing a Board and elected Henry Dallke to serve as the General Secretary (Manager) to set up the proper records. Later, J. S. Bergthold was elected to serve as the Treasurer. 

Times were simpler in 1922. The main concern was in assisting an individual when there was a loss or damage to their homestead. The Aid Plan quickly found that it was successful and broadened their coverage to other areas such as barns, sheds, and crops. 

During the first eight years, the business was conducted in the home office of Henry Dallke and he stored documents in the office safe of Reedley Lumber Company. Sadly, due to a fire at the lumber company, records for those early years were destroyed. Attempts were made to restore the early records from some of the early appraisers in other states in an effort to at least preserve some records for that first period.

From 1930 to 1940, business was conducted in the office of Citizens Lumber Company (the former Western Lumber Company) in Reedley. In 1934, they asked if they could use the lumber company’s fireproof vault for their records to help ensure there wouldn’t be any further loses. From 1940 to 1959, business was conducted in the home office of General Manager August Schroeter.  

In the 1940s, the California Department of Insurance started to take an interest in their organization. They didn’t quite know what to do with them because they were a religious organization that was offering what looked to CDI like insurance. In 1949, at the suggestion of the insurance commissioner, the board consulted an attorney to look into requirements for forming a mutual insurance company.  

The 1950s saw a lot of change for Mennonite Aid Plan. It became apparent that an interim board was necessary to provide direction between the conferences (the conferences were taking place every three years). The seven members of the continuing board were called the executive board. They met 12 to 14 times a year and decided the outcome of claims. The executive board looked to the interim board and to the conference for policy decisions.

Also during this decade, there was a continuing concern that they operate properly within the law, but the law was vague concerning religious organizations and the insurance commissioner often didn’t have any answers for the group. So in 1954, the Aid Plan sponsored legislation to define them as a religious organization. It was adopted into the Department of Insurance Code and they began operating under this code. 

By 1960, they had grown to the point where it no longer worked for them to be based out of someone’s home office, or the offices of other businesses—they needed their own office building. One was constructed and dedicated on September 17, 1960. At about the same time, the executive Board was renamed the Board of Directors and the Interim Board was renamed the Interim Advisory Board. The Board of Directors were given authorization to invest funds and perform all business and legal matters during the interim. By the late 1960s, the conference reorganized so that only trained appraisers would serve as delegates. The conference also changed to meeting every other year rather than every three years.

In 1966, decisions were made to expand services into Alaska and Arizona since the California Department of Insurance had no objections, however the expansion into Alaska never ended up coming together.

In 1973, the Mennonite Aid Plan celebrated 50 years of service with a banquet and special speakers. Those first 50 years of “bearing one another’s burdens” saw a lot of changes as the business continued to change and grow. Much more change was to come over the next 50 years! Keep an eye out for part 2 of their story! In the meantime, we would love to hear stories from you about how Mennonite Aid/Mennonite Insurance has helped you over the past 100 years! Please share with us on our Facebook page.

Note: The information for this article came from the following articles- From 1922 to 1973 written by board member at the time Earnest Enns, A Report After 73 Years written in 1995 by persons unknown, and Mennonite Aid Plan: 100 Years of Bearing Each Other’s Burdens written by current board member Jim Brandt.

By Lorie Ham

There are many traditions connected with the celebration of Easter—from Sunrise Church services on Easter Sunday, to Easter egg hunts and Easter baskets. Food is also something usually associated with most of the holidays that we celebrate, including Easter.

In the United States, Easter is often associated with chocolate eggs, ham, and hot cross buns. According to the website GoodtoKnow, chocolate eggs were first created in the 19^th century, and the real developments in the creation came with the experiments made by the Cadbury Brothers in the 1870s. Another food tradition that I wasn’t aware of is that of making Simnel cake. According to GoodtoKnow, there is some debate about the origins of the cake, but it is traditionally made with a layer of marzipan in the middle and on top, and has 11 marzipan balls to represent the apostles – with Judas left out because of his betrayal. GoodtoKnow also has many other Easter recipes listed, together with their history.

According to GermanFoods.org, a traditional German Easter meal consists of lamb, which represents innocence and humility, accompanied by potatoes and fresh vegetables. Festive cakes are also a staple ingredient for an Easter Sunday afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen. You can find recipes for some of these cakes, including the Bee Sting cake, on their website, along with many more delicious German Easter recipes.

Lamb is also a part of Greek Easter traditions. My GreekDish.com has several different Easter lamb recipes, including Greek lamb stew and crispy lamb meatballs. There are also a multitude of yummy Greek breads made for Easter such as Tsoureki and Lazarakia (Greek Lazarus breads).

Mexico takes celebrating the season to a whole other level by having festivals and celebrating the two weeks leading up to Easter. According to Gourmetpedia, Capirotada is a typical dessert of northwestern Mexico that traditionally is prepared on Good Friday for Easter. It is a bread pudding made with bread, dry fruits (raisins, apricots, dried plums), fresh fruits (banana, orange, apple, pineapple), nuts (pine nuts, slivered almonds or chopped walnuts), peanuts, “piloncillo” (raw sugar cane), tortillas, butter, and fresh cheese. As with many lent and Easter foods, it is filled with deep symbolism—the bread represents the Body of Christ and the syrup Christ’s blood. The cinnamon sticks are also reminders of the wooden cross and the raisins its nails.

Journey Latin America lists many Easter food traditions in Latin America. A traditional dish in Ecuador during Holy Week is Franesca, a soup made of twelve different beans and/or grains, representing Jesus’ twelve disciples, salt cod, eggs, slices of banana, fried bread, cheese, and peanuts.

According to Slow Italy, Easter is a very important holiday in Italy. Their food traditions include lamb (lamb seems to be a reoccurring theme across the world) and eggs—either as part of the Easter lunch or as gifts (chocolate Easter eggs). Another traditional food served in Italy around Easter is Columba, which is a dove-shaped Italian cake that symbolizes peace. They also have a salt pie called Torta Pasqualina that is made of 33 layers of phyllo sheets (the number of years of the life of Christ) following an ancient recipe from Genoa. It is stuffed with artichokes, eggs, and seasoned with marjoram and other herbs.

Easter food traditions are as varied by culture and individuals as those for Christmas, and it can be a lot of fun to try new ones! We would love to hear from you on our Facebook page about your Easter food traditions, and be sure to let us know if you try any of these new recipes for Easter this year.

By Lorie Lewis Ham

People have been trying to trick people out of their money for as long as money has existed, and out of their property for longer than that. There have always been those in the world who make scamming others their life’s “work.” Sadly, as time passes even more ways become available for people like that to take advantage of others.

We have all received scam emails, texts, letters, and phone calls, and now they even use social media to reach out and try to take your money and your identity. Some are obvious, such as calls about your student loan debt when you don’t have any, but many are far sneakier. Because most of us spend so much time on our phones, text scams have become much more common in the last few years as well.

During this time of year, IRS scams are particularly common. Nerdwallet lists some of the latest scams in a February 2022 article and provides some tips on how to spot them. This type of scam often uses fear tactics, and generally tries to convince you that they are with the IRS—which of course they are not. Included on Nerdwallet’s list are:

1. This is the Bureau of Tax Enforcement, and we’re putting a lien or levy on your assets (this bureau does not exist)
2. If you don’t call us back, you’ll be arrested
3. We’ll cancel your social security number

They can also appeal to our desire for more money:

1. Click here to see some details about your tax refund
2. We recalculated your tax refund and you need to fill out this form

Something important to remember when dealing with this type of scam is that the IRS does not initiate contact via email, text message, or social media channels and they do not demand, make threats, or ask people for personal financial information. Each year the IRS alerts people to the latest versions of these scams. According to eFile, the IRS puts out a “Dirty Dozen” list. The 2021 list was released in June of 2021 and includes scams targeting taxpayers, targeting tax preparers, soliciting form W-2 information from payroll and human resources professionals, fraudsters posing as a Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, and email, phishing and malware schemes.

AARP has a Fraud Watch Network and their team of fraud fighters provides real-world tips and tools to help you protect yourselves and your family. You can look up and report a scam in your area and sign up for free “Watchdog Alerts.” They even have a phone number that you can call if you suspect a scam 877-908-3360.

The Federal Trade Commission also has information on avoiding and reporting scams, as does USAgov. Consumer Fraud Reporting.org has a list of the most common scams in 2022, which include fake Facebook friend scams, online dating, and casting agent scams. There are even ones targeting website owners and businesses, including one that claims that you are using photos of theirs without their permission and they are going to sue you.

Sadly, even though scams have existed forever, the ways in which people can be scammed continues to increase and the scammers are getting more inventive. Our best defense is to stay informed and be careful—we need to be smarter than the scammers!

Do you have a story to share about a scam you have come across? Please share it with us on our Facebook page. You may be able to help someone else avoid it, or maybe you have one to share that is so crazy we can all enjoy a laugh. Stay careful and vigilant out there!