Mosaic Conference celebrates the life of Anthonia Chibuzo Onye (May 18, 1971 to Jan. 12, 2024), who had previously served as assistant pastor, deaconess, and member of LA (CA) Faith Chapel.
More recently Onye had served as a regional minister for Southern California for Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference (PSMC), on the Mennonite Mission Network board of directors, and the founder of “In the Loving Arms Ministries.” (learn more in the article from Mennonite Church USA celebrating Onye’s life)
LA Faith Chapel hosted her homecoming service on Saturday, Feb. 24. Pastor Ertell Whigham was in attendance, and reflected, “It was an honor to represent Mosaic Conference during the Celebration of Life of LA Faith’s Pastor Sister Anthonia Onye. LA Faith Chapel’s celebration of the life and ministry of Pastor Onye was a spectacular witness to the transformative impact of a faithful servant of God.
From the tribute shared by her son Chibike, to the commendations from others, her life and call to ministry in the church, community, and secular profession garnered words of appreciation such as “loving, wise, honorable, faithful, and committed”.
Whigham continued, “The intercultural representation of those present was striking, as was the expressed appreciation for Pastor Onye and LA Faith’s relationship with our Anabaptist community. LA Faith Chapel is a resource for leadership development and community ministry and is a special gift to Mosaic Conference.”
During the service, Whigham offered a resolution which read, in part, “We, the Executive Team of Mosaic Mennonite Conference…express our condolences and respect in memory of our sister in Christ, Anthonia Chibuzo Onye.
We express our love and sympathy to sister Anthonia’s family, Pastor Chuwang Pam and his wife, Pastor Grace Pam, the pastors of LA Faith Chapel, and the brothers and sisters of LA Faith Chapel. We mourn with those who mourn, and we celebrate the life of our sister, whose testimony of a life lived in Christ’s footsteps, impacts the lives of those in this congregation, this community, Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference, Mennonite Church USA, and beyond.
May the testimony of her love for Jesus, commitment to peace, justice, reconciliation and service in the name of Christ continue to ripple out to those who need salvation and bring repentance and transformation in the name of Jesus. May the legacy of love she showed to her family, the church and the larger community continue to challenge us to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, our souls, and our strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
May the community of faith today be encouraged by the words of 2 Corinthians 1:3,4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
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.