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Anabaptism at 500: What Anabaptism Means to Me – July 2025

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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

Pastor Melkysedek Tirtasaputra (Whitehall [PA] Mennonite) 

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”- Romans 8:9  

This verse is painfully clear—something I cannot soften: without the Spirit of Christ, I do not belong to Him. 

That truth should sober me and also free me. It removes all illusion that the Christian life can be lived in my own strength or through cultural identity. It forces me to face this question: 

“Is the Spirit of Christ truly dwelling in me?” 

This was the burning center of the Anabaptist soul. 

They lived in a time of lifeless Christianity—religion without transformation, sacraments without surrender, baptisms without the Spirit. And they said no. Not with rebellion, but with holy hunger. 

They believed Romans 8:9 was not poetry. It was a “dividing line.” 

To be “Christian” meant more than confession. It meant possession: “being wholly possessed by the Spirit of Christ”. 

They didn’t die for theological debates. They died because they refused to pretend. 

They couldn’t walk in the flesh and claim to be alive in the Spirit. 

They longed for a church filled with those who had truly died to self— who had risen again, not just into new ideas, but into a new nature. 

Today, I am invited into that same radical simplicity: 

No Spirit, no Christ. No surrender, no life. No cross, no resurrection. 

This reflection cuts deeply:  

Where am I still living in the flesh—making choices rooted in fear, pride, or self-preservation? 

Where have I mistaken busyness for obedience, and religious memory for present surrender? 

Do I bear the fragrance of Christ—or only the vocabulary? 

The Anabaptists remind me that baptism in water means nothing without baptism in fire. 

And that to belong to Christ means to be shaped daily by His Spirit, until even my silence speaks of Him. 

May I not just carry the name of Jesus, but be carried by His Spirit, moment by moment. 

And when the world looks for Christ, may they not need to search far— 

because He lives and walks and speaks through me. 

Submission from

Javier Márquez, Associate for Communication and Community Engagement for Colombia 

Esta reflexión es un extracto de una más extensa, que puedes leer aquí. 
This reflection is excerpted from a longer one, which you can read here.

No soy anabautista desde mi nacimiento, más bien, me encontré con esta extraña manera de comprender la fe en el Señor y de vivir la iglesia, en el lugar menos pensado. Fue en una pequeña iglesia que se sostenía en la esquina de una de las cuadras más humildes del barrio donde crecí, y sin saberlo, en este lugar cotidiano y físicamente poco destacable, se anidaba una pequeña comunidad en donde realizaban servicios durante los viernes en horas de la tarde y no en los domingos -extraño-, sin embargo, a diario cumplían un servicio comunitario a través de un comedor donde llegaban a comer los niños más pobres de la comunidad.  

Puede que suene irónico, pero esa sencillez tan contundente fue la que me convenció, porque allí no me encontré con un gran discurso ni mucho menos con una doctrina reveladora, aunque eso sucedería después, únicamente me encontré con la transparencia que tanto venía buscando. 

Pienso -en ocasiones, deseo sobre todo- que el anabautismo significa poder encontrarnos con nosotros mismos a la par de que Dios viene a nuestro encuentro. Básicamente, la historia fundacional de nuestra fe se basa en que Dios vino a nuestro encuentro hace 2000 años y esto tiene mucho que decirnos y que significar. Y al dar la bienvenida a este encuentro, es claro que nuestra fe se convierte en un diálogo entre todo lo que nos hace lo que somos: nuestra familia, nuestra educación, el lugar del mundo donde nacimos, el momento de la historia en que vivimos, la sociedad en la que hacemos parte… y el Reino de Dios. 

English Translation:

I was not born into the Anabaptist tradition. Rather, I encountered this strange way of understanding faith in the Lord and living out church life in the most unexpected place. It happened in a small church located on the corner of one of the most humble blocks in the neighborhood where I grew up. In this ordinary and physically unremarkable place, there was a small community holding services on Friday afternoons instead of Sundays—strange indeed. However, every day they ran a community kitchen where the poorest children from the area came to eat. 

It might sound ironic, but it was that very simplicity—so striking in its honesty—that convinced me. There were no grand sermons or revelatory doctrines—though those would come later. What I found instead was the transparency I had been seeking for so long. 

I believe—and often hope most of all—that Anabaptism means the chance to encounter ourselves just as God comes to meet us. At its core, the foundational story of our faith is that God came to meet us 2,000 years ago—and that still speaks to us and holds deep meaning. 

And in welcoming that encounter, it becomes clear that our faith turns into a dialogue between everything that makes us who we are—our families, our education, where in the world we were born, the moment in history we live in, the society we are part of… and the Kingdom of God. 

Submission from

Pastor Eszter Bjorkman, Neffsville (PA) Mennonite 

I didn’t grow up in a Mennonite church, but I was raised as a missionary kid by Anabaptist parents. They raised me with the values of this tradition, and I thought those were what every Christian believed. It wasn’t until I learned about Anabaptism later that I realized this is the faith tradition to which I belong. Its values have shaped what I understand Christianity to be, and who I am today as a pastor and as a Child of God.

I love that I don’t need anything but the Bible and the Holy Spirit to be a Christian. This simplicity in both my spiritual and material life has stayed with me. I’ve also always been a pacifist. This value of another’s life before my own informs how I treat those around me and has taught me the duty to spread God’s love through authentic relationships. Lastly, I remain committed to the body of Christ, made up of those who have willingly chosen to give their lives to Jesus. To me, being a Christian means believing and living into these things. With God’s help, I will keep Christ and these values at the center of my life. 

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To share your thoughts or send a message to the author(s), contact us at communication@mosaicmennonites.org.   

Two Congregations Leave Mosaic Conference

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In 2025, there have been two congregations that have left Mosaic Conference.  

Vincent Mennonite (Spring City, PA) voted on December 8, 2024, to leave the Conference. The vote passed by 77% and disaffiliation was pending a vote to amend the congregation’s constitution in January. A constitution amendment passed on January 26, 2025, to reflect the December vote to disaffiliate from Mosaic Conference.  

Mosaic Conference continues to hold the credentials of Pastor Dave Mansfield.  

Salem Mennonite (Quakertown, PA) voted on February 23, 2025, by a 92% majority to withdraw from Mosaic Conference. In a letter dated March 9, their leadership team wrote, “This decision stems from theological differences, which we initially outlined in a letter sent to the Conference Board in July 2022.”  

As Salem seeks affiliation with another conference, their leadership said they would remain in touch with their Leadership Minister Noel Santiago. Mosaic will maintain the credentials of Bruce Eglinton-Woods and Bob Helverson for up to a year.  

“I deeply appreciate the leaders and members at Salem and their dedication to God’s kingdom work in Quakertown and beyond,” reflected Santiago. “I’m also grateful for how they’ve kept Mosaic Conference leadership involved and allowed this process to unfold to this point. I sincerely desire God’s best for them as they follow their calling and ministry.”  

Swamp Mennonite (Quakertown, PA), which voted last fall to end its affiliation with Mosaic Conference, has not determined a departure date as it discerns its affiliation with a different conference.  

Executive Minister Stephen Kriss shared, “We lament these decisions of changed relationships with sibling communities. We celebrate what God has done through our shared ministry together and we release them to pursue the Spirit’s call for their communities. And we continue to trust the reconciling love of Jesus.” 

Creating Spaces for Ministry: Glenn Nemath Joins Mosaic as Director of Real Estate

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by Brendan Sagastume

“I believe real estate is more than just managing properties, it’s about creating spaces that allow ministries to flourish and communities to grow,” shares Glenn Nemath (Blooming Glen [PA]), who serves as the Director of Real Estate for the FMC Properties Board of Mosaic Mennonite Conference (the property-holding company of the Conference). 

In this role, Nemath helps steward Mosaic’s properties, ensuring they serve the needs of congregations both now and for future generations. “This position allows me to use my gifts in real estate and business while supporting my calling to walk with Jesus Christ,” he reflects. “It also feeds my conviction to serve others.” 

Nemath has been engaged with Mosaic Conference for more than two decades, offering his expertise in various capacities since 2001. Over the years, he has supported congregations, served on the Properties Board, and participated in search committees, always seeking ways to help faith communities thrive.  

Recently, Nemath was chair of the FMC Properties Board, and Conrad Martin served as Director of Finance and Director of FMC’s Properties Board. Martin retired from his roles with Mosaic Conference in October 2024. After Nemath moved into the role of Director of Real Estate, Bryan Hunsberger (Souderton [PA] Mennonite) became the chair of the FMC Properties Board. 

A natural problem solver, Nemath thrives on finding creative solutions—whether in real estate, business, or everyday challenges. “I think outside the box and look at challenges as opportunities to create something better,” he shares. 

In this role, Nemath looks forward to collaborating with others to ensure Mosaic’s properties are well-managed and continue to bless the communities they serve. “I want to help create spaces that support ministry and bring people together in meaningful ways,” he says. 

Originally from Horsham, PA, Nemath now resides in Doylestown, PA. Outside of his work with Mosaic, he enjoys real estate investing, boating, biking, and exploring great food. He also makes time for live performances, whether concerts, theater, or other events. 

Brendan Sagastume

Brendan Sagastume is an Intercultural Communication Associate for Mosaic Conference.

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To contact Brendan Sagastume, please email bsagastume@mosaicmennonites.org.

Surrendering Our Desires, Becoming Fully Mosaic

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by Danilo Sanchez

September 14 was the start of the series of the 2024 delegate preparation meetings for Assembly delegates to have conversations regarding Mosaic’s Strategic Plan, Pathways Recommendation on Affiliation, and learn about the Vibrant Mosaic Program. Prior to and in these meetings there is a lot of information to absorb.  

In working with our consultant, Grovider, the Pathways Steering Team (PST) created a strategic plan that would guide the work of Mosaic for the next three years. The strategic plan was borne out of the listening tour and Grovider compiled the data from that listening and gave the PST five clear themes which we used to develop the Pillar Statements for the Strategic Plan. Those five pillars are Reconciliation, Relationship Building, Clarity and Identity, Leadership Development, and Communication.  

The PST devoted several months to crafting objectives and activities aligned with them. It was hard to imagine what Mosaic could look like in three years and what was necessary to reach those goals. We recognized that as a conference we are conflict avoidant, so we listed activities that support communication and conflict resolution skills. For clarity and identity, we devised ways to live into our three priorities and help everyone in the conference understand them. We wanted to move the conference to a more “centered-set” model rather than a “bounded-set,” so we included reviewing our conference documents and statements. For leadership development, we included elements of the Vibrant Mosaic Program, trusting that we would receive grant funding to do so.  

Our hardest work was on the recommendation for affiliation. We spent a lot of time hearing from one another and discerning together. Ultimately, we decided “partnership, rather than membership” was the best approach for affiliation with MC USA. As stated in the rationale, our recommendation gives space for those who disagree to covenant as one body, while maintaining some level of relationship. Some congregations in Mosaic want to remove themselves from MC USA because of the Repentance and Transformation Resolution, while others affirmed the resolution and are excited about being members of MC USA. As a newly reconciled conference, it felt most important to figure out how to live into our name “Mosaic” and find space for each of those groups to belong.  

Another dynamic in our recommendation is that as Mosaic has worked at its missional and formational priorities, new global, Spirit-led relationships have emerged naturally. Mosaic Conference has a history of being experimental and entrepreneurial. Being a member of MC USA has posed a challenge to us that limits establishing those new relationships. As members, we would not be able to credential those leaders or have those communities join our conference. Being a partner with MC USA would let us live out our priorities and form deeper local and global relationships. 

I recognize that being on the PST has allowed me to process this recommendation and my emotions about it before others in the conference. I entered this process wanting very strongly to remain members of MC USA. I was going to fight for it. I value the relationships, networking, and resources the denomination provides. I have positive memories of attending various events and Convention.  

My stance changed during this process as I learned to practice “holy indifference” which calls us to set aside our own will and desired outcome and allow the Holy Spirit to transform in ways we need to be transformed. I heard concerns from affirming pastors and traditional pastors about the direction of our conference and how we should affiliate with MC USA. On the PST, I had to wrestle with different viewpoints and concerns of my teammates. In the end, the Holy Spirit took over the Pathways process. We all surrendered our desired outcomes to discern what was best for us as a conference and our pathway forward.   

We are excited about the strategic plan and how it will transform us as a conference. We are excited about the Vibrant Mosaic Program and the new opportunities it will create. And we are hopeful about the recommendation that it will shape new models for relating in institutions and allow us to be fully Mosaic. 

Danilo Sanchez

Danilo Sanchez is the Leadership Minister for Intercultural Transformation for Mosaic Conference. Danilo Sanchez lives in Allentown with his wife Mary and two daughters. He is a pastor at Ripple and leads in the areas of leadership development, discipleship, and teaching. Danilo also works part-time with the housing program of Ripple Community Inc as the Community Life Director.

Redemption and Bethel Pentecost 2024 – #MosaicTogether2024

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by Susan Alloway, Director of Media & Worship for Redemption Church of Bristol (PA) 

Whenever you go into someone else’s space, there is always anxiety. Will we be received? Will we offend? Will we be too insistent on our own traditions or blind to our own habits and come across as invaders?   

All of this was certainly going through my head as I created the service slides in both English and Haitian Creole in preparation for our joint service with Bethel Church in Levittown, PA. Our church, Redemption, meets only 15 minutes away in Bristol. But none of us speak a word of Creole and we had only just met a few folks from Bethel weeks earlier. We would be going to their meeting space, bringing our preferences, our understanding of punctuality, and our style of dress. How would it go? 

On Pentecost Sunday, we had a beautiful service filled with laughter, graciousness, and generosity. I learned how lovely and enjoyable it is to sing in Haitian Creole. We all learned that a Celtic image for the Holy Spirit is “the wild goose,” which Bethel translated as “zwa savage” (the savage swan), and now my husband Gary and I will call geese “zwa savage” for the rest of time. We all accidentally rubbed hand soap instead of sanitizer into our hands before communion because everyone was too bashful to say anything until Bethel’s pastor, Sam, who was last in line, pointed it out (and we all had a good laugh). We ate wonderful, abundant Haitian food. And some of the kids from both churches got into a pillow dodging competition, and then asked if we could keep meeting together each week.   

But what was most meaningful to me was when a man from Bethel sat with my family for lunch and told us a story. He said: “I once went to Niger, and I had my shirt tucked in because that is what is seen as the good thing in Haiti. But there, an old man told me that I should untuck my shirt because that was seen as the good thing in Niger, never tuck in. So, I came to understand that a lot of things don’t matter. Neither was actually wrong.”   

On Pentecost, two very different churches came together and laughed, sang, ate, talked, and played. Yes, we are different people with different ways of doing church, but if neither is actually wrong, then it’s possible that in Christ there doesn’t have to be anything that keeps us apart. 

Homestead Mennonite Pentecost Reflections – #MosaicTogether2024

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by SarahAlice Zimmerly, Homestead Mennonite

When we went to church on May 19, we didn’t know exactly what we’d find. We expected the announced potluck meal with some folks we didn’t know who would speak languages we couldn’t decipher. There would be more of “them” than “us”. What could we do to make them feel welcome? How could we know if they needed something? How do we relate? 

We reminded ourselves that this will be church, the people together to praise God. There are things of faith that we all understand and accept. We sat at tables mixed with people we didn’t know. At my table there were people from Cuba, Guatemala, Brazil, and the USA who were retired teachers, a roofer, a guidance counselor, housekeepers, and a student. Now, I can talk with people like that. The roofer looked surprised when I told him I admired his work because roofing is physically hard, hot, and skilled work. I asked God to give him strength and protection.  

The meeting opened with a warm welcome from our interim pastor, who is Russian. He introduced his family, his Russian friends and those from the Ukraine and Thailand. He introduced a Mennonite Spanish congregation from Miami and their pastor greeted us and prayed for us in Spanish. A man from their group enthusiastically sang a solo. A Spanish-speaking group who uses our building was also there and it was nice to see familiar faces. The people heard how God gave them gifts of witnessing, teaching, sewing prayer reminders, and phone outreach. God is at work among us. 

Four women from Thailand sang a song, accompanied by our pastor and his guitar. The tune was familiar, and we then sang their song with them in whatever language we chose. The rhythm and tune were led by the Spirit. It was beautiful.

We learned that as we prayed together, ate together, shared experiences and concerns together, the differences in language and customs, the apprehensions, and self-consciousness didn’t matter. We had all we needed. The blessing of God’s Spirit rested in our hearts. We will do this again.

Intercultural Lunch in the City

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(posted April 26) REGISTER to join the intercultural and missional teams for an intentional city experience of food, walking, and missional conversation.

We will gather at Centro de Alabanza at 11:30AM for brief instruction, followed by a period of walking and eating. A conversation of reflection will follow at 2PM.
440 SNYDER AVE, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19148

Nurturing Accessible Family Ministry

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(posted Jan. 2) Join congregational leaders within Mosaic for a workshop facilitated by the Anabaptist Disability Network on welcoming families impacted by disability and neurodiversity. Topics will include how to proactively welcome families facing barriers to church participation, relating to families, care plans for children in Christian education, and nurturing community care.
Saturday, January 27 9am-12pm ET
In-person at the Mosaic Conference Office and on Zoom
Register here: https://forms.gle/9a7bbMi6A4Jz68Ls8