I was raised and spiritually formed by Mennonites. God’s call to ministry came to me when I was in my late 20s. It came as a surprise and was disorienting. I do not come from a family of pastors, and I was a single woman. Yet, the spiritual foundation had been laid for me to hear God’s call and respond with faithfulness.
Ministry has been a great joy in my life, but it has also been full of hardships. Like so many in Scripture, I testify to the faithfulness of God, the love of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit amid those hardships.
This has also been the testimony of Mosaic Conference. The birth of Mosaic was filled with hope. It has been an honor to be among its leadership from its beginning. We had work to do to live with integrity into this name, yet the Spirit was among us.
The birth of Mosaic coincided with the unprecedented pandemic. Together we navigated that time, supporting and praying for one another. We chose different ways of being together and “doing church,” but we stayed connected to God and one another.
Last year, our Assembly theme focused on the Hebrew word, chesed, meaning, the loving kindness of God which was given freely to us, even when undeserved. This year, our theme emet builds off of that. In Hebrew, emet means powerful kindness and faithful truth. Psalms 116 and 117 remind us that God’s kindness for us is powerful; the Lord’s truth endures forever.
We began our Pathways Forward process in 2022. During that time, our country, our neighborhoods, our churches, and even our homes have been through a lot. We have had severe weather, widening wealth inequality, episodes of hatred and violence, cultural and political polarization, and even divided family gatherings.
Yet we still declare that God is faithful. There has been space for prayer, fasting, listening, relationship building, and dreaming together. The opportunity to live into the hope of Mosaic Conference remains.
The Mosaic Board recently received a summary report from the Pathways Steering Team and the consultants, reporting on the focus groups’ meetings. Please take time to read this summary report. We will have the opportunity to discuss its implications at our Delegate Preparatory meetings (September 23-28) and Assembly on November 4. There will be lots of conversations to articulate who we are and to name our similarities and differences, and how they inform our missional, formational, and intercultural priorities.
It may feel like learning to ride a bike without training wheels, full of bumps yet worth it. I anticipate needing to remember what it was like when I felt a call to ministry as a single woman; it was hard, and God was with me. Similarly to the disorienting pandemic, God will see us through.
We knew living into the Mosaic name would require us to work at being transformed by one another through God’s power. I am grateful for the scriptures about the chesed and emet of God. It gives us strength to do the reconciling work of following Jesus through the power of the Spirit.
We need not be afraid. We can have the boldness and courage to wait on the Lord as we heard proclaimed in Psalm 27 at Pentecost this year. May our work and lives together reflect the beauty of the quilt that has become a symbol for us and draws us back to chesed and emet, God’s powerful kindness and faithful truth. See you at Assembly on November 4th!
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.