by Marta Castillo
“O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
– Romans 11:33-36, NIV
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
‘Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?’
‘Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?’
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.”
When our children are young, we limit their choices. We say, “Do you want the red cup or the yellow cup?” As their world expands, they realize that there are blue cups, green cups, and all kinds of cups to choose from. Having many choices can be lifegiving and can be overwhelming.
When Mosaic’s Pathways Steering Team was charged with developing a strategic plan and bringing a recommendation of affiliation with MC USA, I went in with a two-path mentality. In Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken”, he suggests that there are two roads and that we can choose only one of them. The less-traveled road would lead to another, and it is unlikely we could go back.
Pathway Process Steering Committee Members
- Brandon Bergey – Bethany (Bridgewater Corners, VT)
- Brent Camilleri – Deep Run East (Perkasie, PA)
- Bronwyn Histand – Blooming Glen (PA)
- Cherokee Webb – Faith Chapel (Los Angeles, CA)
- Danilo Sanchez – Ripple (Allentown, PA), Mosaic Staff
- Jenny Fujita – Upper Milford (Zionsville, PA)
- Jim Musselman – Zion (Souderton, PA), Mosaic Board
- Haroldo Nunes – Seguidores de Cristo (Sarasota, FL)
- Kiron Mateti – Plains (Hatfield, PA)
- Mark Reiff – Doylestown (PA)
- Marta Castillo – Nueva Vida Norristown (PA) New Life, Mosaic Staff
- Regina Valensia – Philadelphia (PA) Praise Center
That may be true. However, when a group like our diverse Pathways Team works together, the choices of pathways become much more complex and roundabout. There are not just two paths but a city with miles of streets. It’s possible to turn right, left, or go around the block to return to the same place. There are some one-way streets we can’t enter, and we must go around the block and choose another way.
Our team knew that finding a path forward would be difficult and would mean committing to God, one another, and the journey. We believed our desire to seek God’s will would please God, and that God would be faithful to show us the way. We kept saying to one another, “If our group can come to agreement on the way forward, then there is hope for the conference to come to agreement.”
Our team was asked to focus first on the strategic plan and our identity as Mosaic, and then consider our recommendation for affiliation with MC USA. We were asked to consider but decenter the LGBTQIA conversation and instead center on our identity as a conference, our vision, mission, and priorities.
The focus areas that emerged were clarity/identity, communication, relationship building, leadership development, and reconciliation. When we learned of the probability of receiving the Vibrant Mosaic Program grant, we incorporated those activities into the plan. Many of us felt excited about all that could happen over the next three years.
After turning the strategic plan over to our consultants for refinement, we turned to discernment on our recommendation for affiliation with MC USA. It was a disconcerting moment, and we asked ourselves, “How do we decide? What process do we use?”
We gathered information and had direct and deeper conversations with groups in Mosaic around the three options that had emerged – independence, renewed commitment, or partnership and collaboration. We considered the implications of each option.
From our conversations, we heard that a split to independence was supported by only a few, a renewed commitment to MC USA was encouraged by a higher percentage, and the option to leave as a member but continue as a partner brought the most energy and felt mostly lifegiving by a wide margin.
After processing the feedback, our last step was to discern and decide which recommendation we would make to the Board. In a meeting, each team member presented and explained their recommendation, from their own areas of influence and connections within the conference. There was a clear majority recommending collaboration and partnership, with several advocating for continued commitment, so we decided to take additional time for discernment.
Two weeks later, we met and received a more detailed list of ways we might be able to collaborate with MC USA, and each team member again shared their recommendation. That evening we came to consensus to recommend collaboration and partnership with MC USA.
For me, it was a joyful culmination of the work the Holy Spirit had done in our group. We had committed to each other and to the work, even in disagreements. Each person’s gifts were used, and each person remained engaged throughout the almost two-year process. The ebb and flow of the process showed us who we can be in community. Together we wrote our final recommendation and rationale.
We offer it to you as a labor of love, representing many hours of prayer, conversation, and discernment. To the delegates, it is now your choice!
“For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”
Romans 11:35, NIV
Marta Castillo
Marta Castillo is the Associate Executive Minister for Mosaic Conference. Marta lives in Norristown, PA, with her husband, Julio, and has three sons, Christian, Andres and Daniel and one granddaughter, Isabel.
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.
This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)
This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)