Franconia Conference authors featured in The Mennonite
Stephen Kriss skriss@mosaicmennonites.org
The current issue of The Mennonite is chalked full of Franconia Conference writers on the theme of evangelism. It’s unusual that a single issue of the Mennonite Church USA’s official magazine would feature this many writers from within a single constituency. According to Gordon Houser, associate editor for The Mennonite, the articles were submitted at different times and collected toward the issue’s theme.
The issue includes “Can we embrace evangelism and peace?” which was previously published as a Franconia Conference staff blog by Gay Brunt Miller, Director of Collaborative Ministries. Greg Albright from Whitehall (Pa.) Mennonite Church, who is a student at Swarthmore College in Philadelphia’s Main Line suburbs, tells of his experiment with “Confessional Evangelism” on campus. The third article is from Vic Sensenig, who is currently serving with Mennonite Central Committee in Indonesia and is a member of Souderton (Pa.) Mennonite Church. Sensenig explores the perspectives of new atheism and possible Christian response.
Conference Executive Minister Noel Santiago suggests, “Perhaps the Holy Spirit is re-enlivening part of our historic practice of discipleship with the same radical evangelistic witness that had significant impact in the world of the 16th century Anabaptists.” Santiago also highlights that these three articles come from persons in congregations with active initiatives to cultivate relationships with neighbors, friends and persons not currently professing Christian faith or involved in the life of the church. He asks, “What might this suggest about our missional future?”
To learn more about the experience of Gay Brunt Miller’s congregation, Spring Mount, see “The End of Ethnic Mennonite Life” in this month’s issue of Intersections.
To learn more about Whitehall Mennonite Church’s Ripple Effects, see the lead article in April Intersections or check out www.ripple-allentown.com.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.