Plains Turns Fifth Sundays into a Journey Beyond Their Walls

by Beverly Benner Miller

At Plains Mennonite (Hatfield, PA), a simple question sparked a powerful shift: What if the months with five Sundays became more than just a calendar quirk? Instead of following the usual rhythms of worship, leaders saw these occasional Sundays—four this year—as opportunities to step outside their building and experience worship with others.  

In early 2025, the congregation was invited into this vision. Fifth Sundays, leaders explained, could be a time to lay aside familiar routines, cherished rhythms, and spiritual nurturing to be open to new, different, and possibly uncomfortable experiences, with the hope of encountering God in fresh and inspiring ways.   

“I have always thought it is a blessing to get outside of our own church gatherings and have new experiences with other believers,” said Rachel Mateti, Children and Youth Pastor at Plains. She and Heather Gingrich generated the idea of spending fifth Sundays in deeper community engagement and intercultural worship. 

On March 30, 2025, Plains members were invited to visit one of six local, mostly Mosaic Conference congregations: Indonesian Light (Philadelphia, PA), Nations Worship Center (Philadelphia, PA), Philadelphia Praise Center, Nueva Vida Norristown (PA) New Life, Whitehall (PA) Mennonite Church, and Evangelical Center for Revival (a Congolese group that meets at Hatfield (PA) Church of the Brethren).  

“More than 40 friends of Plains took part in these visits and many of them enjoyed a delicious fellowship meal afterwards,” commented Pastor Mike Derstine.  

What followed were rich experiences and lasting impressions. Congregants returned with stories of warmth, hospitality, and new spiritual perspectives: 

• “We were warmly welcomed, and I think it was appreciated that we came to support them in this time of uncertainty with immigration and the current government administration.”
• “It was one of the few bilingual services I ever attended, and I was glad I went.” 
• “We had an enjoyable worship in Whitehall and enjoyed the diversity!” 
• “The worship style is quite different from Plains. They sing all praise music for an extended period at the beginning of the service. They have the words projected, so it’s pretty easy to follow along even if you don’t know the songs. They had translation devices for the sermon so that English speakers could follow along.” 
• “I was glad for my many years of studying Spanish eons ago so I could understand most of the projections of Spanish for all parts of the service-music, sermon, Scripture, prayers, etc.” 
• “I enjoyed the baby dedication. It was encouraging to see so many single young adults participating.”  
• “We had a good time at Philly Praise Center this morning!” 
• “We were met with warm Indonesian hospitality. In a time when many of our brothers and sisters wonder if they are truly welcome in the US, we can do our part to let them know they are siblings in Christ.”  
• “I wish we could have a fellowship meal like that every Sunday at Plains!” 

Many in the congregation felt blessed to try a new way of engaging in Sunday morning worship. Hopefully, fifth Sundays can continue to be a time of growth, exploration, and experiencing what the Holy Spirit is doing in the community and throughout the world.  

The Plains congregation grasped in a unique way Mosaic Conference’s intercultural priority to “acknowledge, own, and celebrate our cultural differences, allowing ourselves to be changed by the relationships we build across cultures while we work together for racial justice.”