by Stephen Kriss
Editor’s note: Executive Minister Stephen Kriss began a sabbatical on May 22. He will return to his Mosaic role on August 30. He wrote this article before he left on sabbatical.
In mid-May, Rose Bender and I taught an intensive “Introduction to Mosaic” class. This Mosaic Institute class is for recently credentialed Mosaic leaders or those who are exploring credentialed ministry in our Conference. It’s a quick immersion into Anabaptist theology, intercultural practice, Mennonite history and polity, and our Mosaic story.
In this class, students shared their life stories with each other. Because of the diversity of this group, the contexts took us from Africa to Argentina, California to New York. Listening to each other’s stories requires calmness, attentiveness, and curiosity. There were stories of trauma and hope, of hurt and healing. I continue to be amazed by the depth of faith that new leaders in our Conference bring to our community.
This past Sunday we celebrated Pentecost, which also marks the third anniversary of naming ourselves “Mosaic Conference.” Pentecost seems full of possibility. I’ve often thought that Pentecost is about sharing and expressing, receiving and speaking. But it is also about listening. It is about hearing in a language that is familiar but not to all. It’s about the Good News being expressed in multiple ways (see Acts 2).
He Qi © 2021 All rights Reserved
The hard work of Pentecost is listening. We imagine the vigor of tongues of fire, the forceful rush of wind, the murmur of words spoken in our preferred language. But it also required attending our minds to listen to the words in the midst of it all.
We are now in our third year of being Mosaic, and it is hard work. We have experienced shared joys and traumas. We face the risks of both secularism and Christian nationalism, which in very different ways, can make authentic, Jesus-centered witness controversial and difficult. In this last year, we lived into our brokenness more than I would have hoped and have been challenged by differences in decision-making and disagreements.
Yet, I strongly believe in the possibility of Mosaic, and I believe that it is Good News of reconciliation and welcome. We are now in the work of the fruit of the Spirit of Pentecost. That fruit consists of listening, discerning, and understanding how to be together across cultural, language, political, economic, geographical, and theological differences. For some of us, this can seem like a lot to bear, for others, it’s ongoing joy. It can be both.
It takes concerted effort to not jump to conclusions but to allow stories to unfold and to hear perspectives that are usually more complicated than we originally imagined. The hard work of listening allows those who are wounded to also find ways to speak, to be heard.
The hard work of Pentecost is welcoming holy hope and curiosity in wondering what the Spirit is doing in bringing and binding us together. May we continue to be transformed by the Spirit of Pentecost.
Don’t miss the Conference-wide Pentecost Worship Service!
Sunday, June 11, 2023
7:30 PM ET / 4:30 PM PT
Organized by Mosaic Worship Cohort
Stephen Kriss
Stephen Kriss is the Executive Minister of Mosaic Conference.
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.