As Mosaic Mennonite Conference commemorates the 500th Anniversary of Anabaptism in 2025, each month we will share a variety of Mosaic voices reflecting on the question, “What does Anabaptism mean to me?”
Submission from
Joel Horst Nofziger, Methacton (PA) congregation and Executive Director of Conference-Related Ministry Mennonite Historians of Eastern PA
There are many markers that people have used to describe and define Anabaptism. None of them is unique, but together they form a distinctive constellation of values, beliefs, and practices. Anabaptism describes an understanding of what it means to faithfully follow Jesus, individually and as a community of faith. It is the milieu in which I have lived, it is the tradition I study, and it is the order by which I live my life. Two intertwined ideals are central to this order, with the understanding that we cannot faithfully follow Christ alone.
First, we are to live lives conformed to Christ. We are not bound to the patterns of the world but transformed by the Holy Spirit’s renewal of our minds so that our lives are pure and acceptable before God. If Christ cannot be seen visibly lived in our everyday life, then we are failing in our discipleship.
Second is the understanding that all violence is outside of Christ’s perfection. The world in fear says that we need to protect ourselves, our property, our resources, our nation. Christ reminds us that death is not our end and that our call is radical hospitality, even unto those who would do us harm.
Submission from
Carolyn Albright, Ripple (Allentown, PA) congregation and Refuge
My journey to embracing Anabaptism has been a circuitous one, and some of the most meaningful parts of my journey have been:
- Belonging, love, and acceptance
- Lived out faith with a Jesus lens
- Ministry
- Meals
- Music
My first encounter with Anabaptists was during the year after I graduated from college. I was a member of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, and our household hung out with the Mennonite Voluntary Service household in Washington, DC. Someone gifted me The More-with-Less cookbook, and I became endlessly curious about Mennonites.
Later, Whitehall (PA) Mennonite congregation accepted and loved my family, modeled practical faith in Jesus, and taught us to view Scripture through the lens of Jesus. Urbane and Janet Byler were important mentors in our faith journey (I have wonderful memories of trips to Honduras and time helping on their farm) and they helped me discern my call to licensing and ordination.
Leaving Whitehall to begin Ripple Church, moving to inner-city Allentown, starting the Conference-Related Ministry Ripple Community, Inc. were all infused with community discernment and dedicated ministry.
While living in Allentown, monthly meals with our community there (Zume House, which included Rose Bender, Angela Moyer, and Ben Walter) were relaxed places where we could ponder and puzzle together, as we served Jesus.
Music was always interwoven in our gatherings, and Mennonites singing in four-part a capella harmony helps me envision what heaven will be like!
Submission from
Rev. Dr. Calenthia Dowdy, Ambler (PA)
Rev. Dr. Calenthia Dowdy, Ambler (PA) congregation shares her earliest encounters with Anabaptism and the Anabaptist values that draw her.
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.