Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Articles

Healing and hope for our children 

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by Jeannine Adams

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in Leader magazine, Summer 2026, copyright © MennoMedia. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

I am fortunate to have been raised in The Garden Chapel (Victory Gardens, NJ), a Mennonite church that is invested in children. The leaders supported my spiritual growth, and I was surrounded by adults who prayed for me, cared about my success, and were people I could talk to. Those relationships and experiences helped shape the adult I am today and compelled me to serve within the same congregation. My life would not be the same without the individuals who fostered my spiritual and emotional development.

For many of us who grew up in Victory Gardens, New Jersey, The Garden Chapel was a refuge. For many years, our small congregation hosted a low-cost summer day camp that served children from the community, including many who had little or no church exposure. We spent the hot summer days enjoying activities planned by our pastor, counselors, and church members; learning about God, playing sports, taking cooking classes, making crafts, and going on field trips.

Without my church’s camp, many of the children in the community would not have safe summer environment and exposure to spiritual, physical, and cultural activities. During a field trip to American Museum of Natural History, I remember several kids mentioning that this was their first trip to New York City, even though our town is only 40 miles away.

ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES

A 2023 report, “Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines ACEs as potentially circumstances, events, or environmental problems that occur in childhood. These include abuse, neglect, witnessing violence or substance use, and experiencing financial hardship, food insecurity, or family separation. ACEs have a lasting impact on an individual’s physical health, cognitive development, emotional well‑being, and life opportunities. Early adversity is common and affects many children we encounter in our communities and congregations.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that more than two‑thirds of children experience at least one traumatic event by age 16. This includes our neighbors, relatives, church members, and the children who participate in our ministries and activities. While educators and mental health clinicians play an important role, they cannot meet the needs of children alone. Individuals and community organizations can provide protective factors that nurture and support children’s resilience.

A SAFE CHURCH HAS MUCH TO OFFER

In his article “Toward a More Trauma-Informed Church,” Pete Singer notes that many people first seek help within the church. Congregations are uniquely positioned to promote the emotional health of children by offering hope and healing in practical, relational, and spiritual ways. The church can serve as a source of support by creating safe environments, meeting basic needs, responding with understanding, and helping children and families develop healthy ways of coping.

Our churches should be a place where children are physically safe and emotionally secure. This requires clear policies, consistent oversight, and staff and volunteers who understand and follow established standards of conduct. Churches should develop documented guidelines that outline procedures for screening and selecting those who work with children, expectations for appropriate behavior, systems for accountability, clearly defined steps for responding to concerns or reports of harm and strategies for ongoing support and repair should a damaging event occur.

Creating safe environments is not the responsibility of children’s workers alone. This shared commitment involves the entire congregation. Singer recommends that every member should receive basic education on the events, experiences, and effects of trauma, as well as child safety practices, so we all understand our role in recognizing concerns, preventing harm, and supporting the wellbeing of the children in our communities.

ADDRESSING HOLISTIC NEEDS AND TRAUMA

The Gospels tell us that Jesus attended to both physical and spiritual needs. After ministering to and healing the multitude, he also fed them, choosing not to send them away hungry. We should not underestimate the impact of adversities such as food insecurity, housing instability, lack of reliable transportation, limited childcare, and unmet medical needs on the families that we serve. It is difficult for children to grow spiritually or emotionally when their basic needs remain unaddressed. Following Christ’s example, our children’s ministries should take a comprehensive approach by assessing the needs of our community and responding to these problems in ways that foster more meaningful effects.

A direct correlation can often be found between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the behavioral and emotional difficulties children exhibit. What we sometimes interpret as “acting out” or defiant behavior may be signals of unmet needs and significant life stressors. In “Trauma-Informed Children’s Ministry,” Robert Crosby et al. address how childhood trauma can contribute to poor impulse control and affect regulation and inattentiveness. Believers should pause and prayerfully consider what may be happening in a child’s life before making assumptions about behavior. This shift in perspective enables us to respond with empathy, patience, and compassion.

SEEN AND HEARD

Our congregations should provide opportunities for healthy expression. We must reject the adage that “children should be seen and not heard.” Children need spaces where they can express their concerns, feelings, and ideas in healthy, appropriate ways. This requires adults to practice attentive, nonjudgmental listening, and to communicate without becoming dismissive or overly corrective. Pete Singer notes that we must also ensure that our use of scripture is truly edifying and does not unintentionally minimize or invalidate the experiences and views of our youth. Children possess a God-given capacity for leadership, insight, and spiritual understanding (1 Timothy 4:12), and adults should recognize this by providing them with opportunities to develop these gifts with appropriate oversight and support.

BUILDING STRONG CHILDREN

With the stress, societal pressure, and difficulties they face, our children need to learn healthy ways to cope with emotional challenges. Philippians 4:6–7 provides a framework for emotional regulation by encouraging us to identify the emotion (anxiety), pray about it and give thanks. We can teach them to incorporate coping skills such as simple breathing exercises and taking a peaceful pause to help with implementation. Grounding techniques such as spending time outdoors and mindfully observing aspects of God’s creation can help children sense God’s presence and stay present in the moment to avoid dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Developing a gratitude practice fosters emotional stability by shifting attention away from sources of distress and toward God’s provision and blessings, even in difficult times. However, teaching coping skills is not enough; adults must model these practices through our responses to stresses we bear, demonstrating how faith and practical tools work together.

In my work as a licensed clinical social worker, I witness how positive and negative childhood experiences affect adult clients’ wellbeing and sense of self. I’ve worked with many adults who struggle with issues stemming from their foundational years, including low self-concept, feelings of inadequacy, perfectionism, anxiety, and difficulty with establishing and maintaining boundaries. For some, having their needs consistently met, being protected from harm, and a stable environment might have prevented psychological damage. As I hold therapeutic space for my clients during the difficult process of healing, I am reminded of the quote attributed to Frederick Douglass: “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

Jeannine Adams

Jeannine Adams is a member of The Garden Chapel in Victory Gardens, New Jersey, where she serves as church council president. She is a licensed clinical social worker providing mental health services for Rutgers University Behavioral Healthcare and in her private practice.

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.   

How May I Help You?

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by Jaye Lindo

Hospitality, by definition, involves other people. It’s not about you or me; it is about the We of Mosaic. As Mosaic’s Hospitality Coordinator, I love to see the many ways that Mosaic Conference embraces hospitality across our community.

Photo may be AI-generated.

We show hospitality through our actions as we love God and each other. Mosaic’s practices provide us an opportunity to show hospitality – for example, through mutual invitation or circle process in our gatherings. In our events, like the Oasis conference or delegate prep sessions, we have the opportunity to welcome each other across differences. And we’re invited to do so in our equipping and leadership development spaces, like the Ambassadors, or the new Art of Preaching cohorts.

This summer, I got to spend time with some of the Ambassadors at their closing retreat, leading a session on spiritual direction. I was struck by how they didn’t fear the unknown and were willing to share openly with each other. They were willing to go beyond their own communities and comfort zones, and the program is stronger because of it.

I have observed in many of our meetings how space is given for each person to be heard, engage, and grow in relationship with one another – even when our languages and traditions are different. In fact, we are creating new traditions together.

In the Centering Document published last year, I was struck by the encouragement for all of us, in our communities, to offer high expectations and gracious hospitality as we become, love, and live like Jesus. We consider where God is on the move, and if we are being faithful to God’s call as Jesus followers, in all that we do. We are gracious with one another, assuming good intentions, even when we don’t see eye to eye.

This can show up when we host someone in our home, each with our own different expectations about what hospitality looks like. Hosting and being hosted both require us to offer something and receive something. That is mutual hospitality.

It can also show up when we seek to learn each other’s languages, or when we work together, using a translation app, to understand one another. We are invited to challenge ourselves, learn about others’ cultures, and seek first the Kingdom of God.

We must remain centered and focused on Jesus, committed to serving God and each other in all that we do. Let Jesus show us that there truly are no differences in him.

3 John 1:5-8 reminds us of the value of hospitality. Read from the MSG Version:

Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible. They’ve made a full report back to the church here, a message about your love. It’s good work you’re doing, helping these travelers on their way, hospitality worthy of God himself! They set out under the banner of the Name and get no help from unbelievers. So they deserve any support we can give them. In providing meals and a bed, we become their companions in spreading the Truth.

Mosaic family, keep modeling this good work!

My mother never met a stranger. I try to embody that same sentiment every time I interact with you, via talking, text, email, or WhatsApp. If you are in need or have a question, I hope to consistently say with a smile:

“Hi, my name is Jaye Lindo, and I am Mosaic’s Hospitality Coordinator. How may I help you?”

And I hope that when I call you, I will hear you say:

“Hi, I am your Mosaic family centered on Jesus Christ. How may I help you?”

It’s the Mosaic way—mutually. Amen.

Jaye Lindo

Jaye Lindo is the Hospitality Coordinator for Mosaic Conference and serves as Pastor of 7 Ways Home Fellowship in Bowie, MD. She provides spiritual companioning relationships with Integer Network.

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

Casa de Oración (House of Prayer) Mennonite Church – Congregational Profile

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by Javier Márquez

Editor’s Note: Iglesia Menonita Casa de Oración was approved by Mosaic’s board as a member congregation and will be welcomed at the 2026 Fall Delegate Assembly

The birth of Iglesia Menonita Casa de Oración (House of Prayer Mennonite Church) is rooted in family, faith, and finding comfort during a time of loss. Following the passing of Pastor Irma Solís’ brother, the family began gathering around faith and God’s Word.

Pastor Irma and her congregation during the celebration of baptisms.

“The ministry began within our family after losing a brother who was already walking in the way of the Lord,” shares Pastor Irma Solís. “We started gathering, and Pastor Alejo Solís shared the plan of salvation with us. That is how the ministry began.”

The congregation was planted through the guidance and outreach of Iglesia Menonita Fuente de Agua Viva in Los Fresnos, Texas, receiving ongoing pastoral mentorship from Pastor José Alejo Solís.

Despite limited financial resources, members demonstrated extraordinary faith and perseverance by constructing their own church building through sacrificial giving and volunteer labor. Today, this facility serves as a place of Sunday worship and a beacon of hope for the surrounding community of García, Nuevo León, México—an area significantly impacted by violence, economic hardship, and social vulnerability.

Casa de Oración stands out for its deep commitment to serving as a light in an environment of high need, extending pastoral care, community outreach, practical assistance, and hope to families in crisis.

“Our mission is to keep preaching the Gospel, and what makes us unique is our love for our Lord Jesus Christ,” reflects Pastor Irma.

Community baptisms.

The congregation continues to grow in its Anabaptist theology, discipleship, peacebuilding, community life, and servant leadership, moving ministry beyond the church walls into the daily life of the neighborhood.

Following a season of prayer, discernment, and congregational dialogue, the members of Casa de Oración unanimously voted to request membership in Mosaic Mennonite Conference. This decision comes from a desire to be aligned with a conference that honors Anabaptist procedures and values.

A time of gathered worship.

“The reason we wish to join Mosaic is because we really appreciate Mosaic’s ways of working and procedures,” Pastor Irma shares.

Through this partnership, the church seeks to strengthen its Christian discipleship, evangelistic mission, and local leadership development to serve its neighbors in Mexico.

The congregation in García remains focused on the saving mission of Jesus Christ and invites the entire Mosaic Conference community to stand with them in prayer, asking the Lord to bring more souls to salvation.

Javier Márquez

Javier Márquez is Associate for Community Cultivation and Leadership Development. He is an Anabaptist Colombian pacifist and poet. He is based in Bogota, Colombia.

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

Do we really need diversity?

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by Makinto

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in Leader magazine, Summer 2026, copyright ©MennoMedia. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

While studying at Eastern Mennonite University in 2025, I did an internship with Souderton (PA) Mennonite Church (SMC) as an adjunct worship leader and with Mosaic Mennonite Conference as the worship team coordinator for our annual assembly.

DIVERSITY IN THE CONFERENCE

Traditionally, the worship team meets the day before the assembly and rehearses previously planned music. Most of the musicians represent traditional white churches in Mosaic’s heartland.

I chose Nations Worship Center, an Indonesian Mennonite church in Philadelphia, as the base for the worship team. The musicians were from five nations and sang in seven languages. With four rehearsals, we prepared advanced arrangements and even an original song I wrote around the conference theme “Be my witnesses.”

This worship team reflected the true ethnic diversity of the conference and was a witness of what Jesus’ kingdom looks and sounds like: “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9 NRSVue).

In contexts like that, diversity is called for and needs to be manifested, not just in the representation of different cultures, but in participation and direction. Diversity is not just the presence of minority groups that the majority group can present as a token of inclusion. Instead, active participation of all groups is needed, sharing power as a sign of equity and mutual accountability.

But is diversity always called for? Is immediate integration always a good thing?

DIVERSITY IN THE CONGREGATION

I ask this question within a US Mennonite context, and it connects to my second internship assignment. I brought new worship styles to SMC, such as African songs, drumming, movement, and drum processions. The congregation, although initially challenged, was receptive and excited about those worship expressions. Some Mennonite congregations are indeed ready to grow in their embrace of culturally different worship expressions, especially when those cultures are represented in their congregation.

SMC is proactively reaching out to African refugees and asylum seekers in their community, and the church is trying its best to welcome them into all aspects of congregational life. However, this process is not without challenges and can be wrought with cultural misunderstandings.

UNDERSTANDING POWER DYNAMICS

I witnessed a Sunday school class with both traditional Mennonites and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) participants. White people dominated the conversation, while the mostly African attendants contributed very little.

In most African cultures, people don’t speak until called upon and respond with a story rather than with two-word responses or matter-of-fact solutions. In The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb, Eric H. F. Law discusses low- and high-power distance cultures. People from the Global South belong to high-power distance cultures, where authority is not questioned and inequality is accepted as normal reality.

On the other hand, white North Americans, belonging to low-power distance cultures, question authority, assume power dynamics can be changed, and don’t readily acknowledge their positions of power. Even when a white congregation is open to embracing other cultures, the power dynamics are hard to reconcile. Tensions and even failure of the process can result from these cultural misunderstandings.

SMC’s pastor Ken Burkholder was open to suggestions about streamlining the integration process. We started a Sunday school class to encourage the BIPOC participants to express themselves freely within a familiar and culturally safe space and build an identity that they could then offer to the congregation. These meetings were fruitful. People shared their valuable perspectives on biblical passages and confided their often-painful stories to one another. “

I worked with the pastoral staff to enhance their understandings of African cultural specificities. Pastors and staff need to understand the history, cultural particularities, and colonial traumas of the specific countries from which immigrants come, as there are no “Africans” but rather Congolese, Angolans, Burundians, Sudanese—all who have distinct cultures and traditions. The Democratic Republic of Congo has over three hundred ethnic groups. Ethiopians, Congolese and Nigerians, just to name a few, have significant cultural differences. In most African cultures, the pastor has a godlike status and is not criticized, while in white culture the pastor is considered a friend and buddy.

Aiming for integration and diversity in the church is a messy affair. It takes hard work to achieve a power equation that assures free and balanced relationships.

DIVERSITY BUILT ON RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS

The same challenges exist in the wider American and Canadian church. Diverse churches and conferences are often majority-white groups with a few BIPOC elements sprinkled throughout. The power dynamics are solidly established on the white side. That’s why diversity is often not a desired condition from the minority perspective. Diversity often means that the white majority is in charge and may allow the BIPOC members to occasionally manifest their difference in a controlled manner. The principle of diversity is emphasized without forging healthy relationships.

True diversity is difficult to achieve in a majority white context. However, in a diverse community, the church should reflect its social context in its leadership. SMC recently took a step in the right direction in electing its first African member to the church board.

On the conference and denominational levels, we indeed should strive for diversity, as our communities are increasingly multicultural. We must come together and learn from each other’s cultures and worship expressions.

As a person of African heritage, I enjoy loud, rhythmic praise with a full worship band; nevertheless, I can partake and enjoy calm hymn singing with traditional Mennonite congregations. Leading the worship at the Mosaic assembly, I chose hymns, African songs, contemporary worship music, and gospel songs in many languages. We gathered as one, to the glory of God.

My internship at SMC ended on a high note with the added chorus “Tupe amani,” sung in Swahili, translated from the Latin “Dona nobis pacem“. The One we worship gives us peace and unifies us into a kingdom of joy, justice, and compassion for our neighbor—the perfect basis for diversity in equity, expressed in the love of Jesus!

Makinto

Makinto is the Associate Pastor of Worship and Mission with Los Angeles (CA) Faith Chapel and co-director of Amahoro International (AMI), a Mosaic Conference-Related Ministry promoting peace and development in East Africa.

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.   

Staying at the Table

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by Calenthia S. Dowdy, PhD

Editor’s Note: This reflection is based off a sermon that Dr. Dowdy preached at Philadelphia (PA) Praise Center in September.

Humans don’t simply want love and community; we yearn deeply for love and connection. The human longing for meaningful relationship runs deep. It is shaped by images we carry in our hearts and mind which shape our hopes for radical love, acceptance, and embrace. This longing is a large part of what makes us human.

If this is true, why do relationships end? Why do churches continue to split, families fracture, friendships end, and marriages break up? This question occupies my thinking every day as we exist in the never-ending shake-up that is our church body. People leave. Churches depart. Whole countries walk away.

I imagine a design lab focused on what it takes, and looks like, to practice active love in community with others when I wholeheartedly disagree with some of them. What does it look like to remain in active love and relationship with people and organizations that don’t fully align with me? When do I know if I should stay, or if I should go?

Parker Palmer wrote an insightful essay many years ago that offers a way into these questions. The essay, Staying at the Table: A Spirituality of Community, was required reading when I was teaching first-year college students. Four hundred students were newly entering university life, meeting professors, friends, and roommates who did not all believe exactly what they had been taught to believe. Yes, even though we all professed to be Christian, we did not all think, believe, or behave alike.

In Staying at the Table, Palmer writes that the first image of community is found in Genesis: the Garden. In the garden, we are presented with a scene of harmonious, organic unity; humans, animals, vegetation, and mineral life all living in oneness with the Creator. It was an ecology of grace. “They were naked and unashamed.” The humans were able to let down their barriers, be their true selves, and be fully accepted.

It is the dream of love and embrace: to be vulnerable and without shame in relationship with others. The Garden is a pre-sin era existing outside the realm of human time.

Palmer’s second image of community is found in Revelation: the New Jerusalem. It is the city of God, cleansed and made holy by God’s grace, where “every tear will be wiped away.” There will be no more sorrow, pain, strife, or struggle but only solace and joy. It is a secure city where everyone’s needs are met. The New Jerusalem is a post-sin era, also existing outside the realm of human time.

Both these images, the Garden and the New Jerusalem, resonate deeply within the human soul and draw us toward the dream of community. They profoundly shape what we believe community should look like.

But our experiences right now, in human time, don’t look much like the Garden or the New Jerusalem.

We become disillusioned after the honeymoon period of community ends, and humans reveal their flawed selves. Barriers go up as we protect ourselves from the inevitable pain of community. Palmer suggests that, in this period of disillusionment, we may choose to stay in the community but disengage, withdrawing our hopes and dreams and settling for a lukewarm community. Others will choose to leave the community altogether.

It is here that Palmer offers a third image of community, found in the Gospels. It is the image of the Table.

The Last Supper is a culmination point for Jesus. He has been pouring his life into these people for three years, bringing them together in friendship, family, and hospitality. Now, at the table, Jesus breaks bread with them. And as he breaks bread, he says, “One of you will betray me.” He tells Peter that he will deny him three times. The disciples argue over who among them is the greatest.

These are some of the very things that make community difficult: disagreement, betrayal, denial, and power struggles.

And what does Jesus do amid the messiness around the table?

He continues to break bread and pass the cup. He stays at the table.

He keeps doing good.

Community happens when we stay at the table, working through harm and disagreement, learning how to be together even when it is difficult. It happens when we commit to keep showing up, to keep listening, to keep loving, and to keep doing good.

Dr. Calenthia Dowdy

Calenthia S Dowdy, PhD is the Director of Collaborative Ministries with Mosaic Conference. She attends Ambler (PA) Mennonite, serves as trustee board president of the Metropolitan Christian Council of Philadelphia, and is active in Philadelphia faith communities.

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To contact Dr. Calenthia Dowdy, please email cdowdy@mosaicmennonites.org.

Destiny’s Daughters, Inc. Cultivates Leadership, Holistic Healing, and Radical Hope

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Conference-Related Ministry Profile

by Javier Márquez

Editor’s Note: Destiny’s Daughters was approved by Mosaic’s board as a Conference-Related Ministry and will be welcomed at the 2026 Fall Delegate Assembly

Destiny’s Daughters Inc., is a therapeutic and spiritual mentoring organization based in Harrisonburg, Virginia.Under the passionate direction of its founder and CEO, Dr. Melody M. Pannell, this ministry combines Anabaptist theology with social work and restorative justice to offer holistic healing to young Black women and their communities. In a world marked by deep social disparities and health inequities, this ministry seeks to transform the lives of young women and girls through faith, justice, and community love.

The roots of Destiny’s Daughters date back to September 1990. After serving as a summer camp counselor for 10- and 11-year-old girls, Dr. Pannell felt a clear calling from God to start something new at her local congregation, Seventh Avenue Mennonite Church in Harlem, New York.

“I felt called to start a ministry to address the social disparities and spiritual formation of young girls in my Harlem community,” shares Dr. Pannell. “We addressed racial discrimination, poverty, and health inequities that were impacting the community, teaching the Gospel from a social justice theological perspective.”

Dr. Pannell, who is a scholar, healthcare administrator, and mental health clinician, has grown this work into other areas, including at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) beginning in 2004, at Virginia Union University (VUU) in 2010, created branches in Harlem, Washington D.C., and upstate New York in 2013-2018, and more recently has incorporated as a non-profit organization.

Since 2020, the organization has expanded to Bridgewater (VA) College, Immanuel Mennonite (Harrisonburg, PA), Far Rockaway (NY), and internationally in Kenya. It is currently reactivating and establishing branches at Hampton University, the University of Virginia (UVA), Philadelphia, and Maryland.

Destiny’s Daughters Inc. envisions its members flourishing as servant leaders equipped to overcome social gaps, build resilient communities, and foster spiritual formation. Its mission is to cultivate courageous women leaders by educating, equipping, and empowering young women and girls to recognize their purpose through liberating love and holistic healing.

Dr. Melody Pannell

“Our mission is unique because it is deeply intergenerational. Our oldest member is 49 years old and our youngest is 15; we even have daughters of the original girls from Harlem who are now part of Destiny’s Daughters,” explains Dr. Pannell.

The ministry operates under a discipleship model where past participants are the leaders of new branches. The work is grounded in Scripture passages such as Jeremiah 29:11-13 (“For I know the plans I have for you…”) and Isaiah 61:1-3 (“…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes…”).

With 56 years as a Mennonite, Dr. Pannell has dedicated over two decades to racial healing, reconciliation, and cultural awareness in the church and academia. The decision to join Mosaic reflects a deep alignment of values:

“I am drawn to join Mosaic because its priorities of being missional, intercultural, and formational strongly align with my own,” affirms Dr. Pannell. “I see Mosaic Conference’s commitment to embrace the uniqueness of our cultures and empower every person to be their authentic self. It is my desire to be in fellowship with the body of Christ and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.”

As an evangelical, interdisciplinary ministry present in schools, universities, churches, and community centers, Dr. Pannell asks for the prayerful support of the community:

“We ask Mosaic to pray for our leaders, our members, and the environments where we hold our activities,” requests Dr. Pannell.

“We ask for protection for every participant, provision for the resources to implement our programs, and the passion to effectively carry out our mission. We ask you to pray that God brings a sense of healing and hope to the social inequities troubling the communities we serve, and that God be glorified in every step of Destiny’s Daughters, Inc.”

Javier Márquez

Javier Márquez is Associate for Community Cultivation and Leadership Development. He is an Anabaptist Colombian pacifist and poet. He is based in Bogota, Colombia.

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 Javier, contact him at jmarquez@mosaicmennonites.org.

Learning to Lead and to Be Led

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by Demarcus Daniels & Turan Rush

Editor’s Note: This reflection has been edited for length and clarity and reprinted with permission from Conference-Related Ministry Midian Leadership Project, Inc. (Charleston, West Virginia).

As part of Mosaic’s Summer Ambassadors initiative, Demarcus Daniels and Turan Rush traveled to Cartagena, Colombia, this summer for leadership equipping and cross-cultural learning. Their experiences offered opportunities to listen, share, receive, and learn from people whose lives and communities are different from their own.

The authors with children they accompanied as part of the Summer Ambassadors retreat in Cartagena.

Demarcus Daniels: Finding New Perspectives

One of the most meaningful parts of the trip for me was seeing young people worship together. They had a deep love for Jesus and were growing together in community.

It gave me a new perspective. No one’s life is perfect, but in the Midian community, have places to worship and many resources available to us. The neighborhood we visited in Cartagena had many fewer resources, but the kids had smiles on their faces. Seeing that was powerful. There’s a lot of life there.

The trip was also a culture shock for me in many ways. I had never been in a situation where people didn’t understand me and I didn’t understand them. That was different! It was fun to experience the culture and see how people live and move through everyday life.

Spending time with leaders in their community was another highlight. Hearing how they work and share the gospel gave me new ideas for ways to reach young people back home. It also gave me new relationships. If I need ideas, encouragement, or motivation, I now know people doing similar work in other countries.

One of the activities we did was to choose an object that represented our leadership style. I chose a pen that clicks to pop out and back in.

What someone writes or shares can affect other people’s lives. But the pen also must know when to click back in. Leadership isn’t always about being the one out front. Sometimes leaders must step back, listen, let someone else lead, and learn new skills.

Turan Rush: Learning to Dwell in Intercultural Community

Joining my friends from Mosaic Mennonite Conference in Cartagena was one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had in learning what it means to be intercultural.

During our stay, we didn’t simply coexist. We shared ideas, values, and habits. I learned how to build active connections with people from different cultures, and I had the chance to dwell in unity with people from Colombia, Mexico, and the United States.

Our host leader, Javier, showed us around Cartagena, and shared some Afro-Colombian history. One of my favorite experiences was learning about the Palenqueras, women known for their vibrant red dresses and beautiful head wraps. They skillfully balance baskets filled with tropical fruit or homemade sweets to sell in the market.

Javier also taught us about Cartagena’s history as one of the largest ports for the transatlantic slave trade in Latin America. To learn about what Afro-Colombian communities have overcome while continuing to preserve and celebrate their culture was inspiring.

Traveling with my friend Demarcus was also a meaningful part of the experience. His wisdom and ability to uplift those around him were gifts throughout the trip. We studied Luke 24 and the story of the road to Emmaus. I was reminded that Jesus meets us in our sorrow and difficult moments. During our time together, we were reminded to slow down and recognize that God is present along the journey.

The experience was also good for my soul. After taking part in a CCDA cohort in Virginia earlier this summer, I have been practicing purposeful Sabbath. Going into the Colombia trip, I wasn’t sure what my role would be. Usually, I’m one leads or finds a way to serve others.

Yet this time, I was able to be poured into by my friends who were part of the Mosaic Summer Ambassadors. I also had the opportunity to learn from Danilo Sanchez, Mosaic’s Leadership Minister for Intercultural Transformation, and Jennifer Svetlik, Director of Community Engagement.

I learned that there is a difference between being around another person’s culture and purposely entering it—learning from people, sharing life with them and learning how to love them like Jesus would.

Giving myself time to be poured into helps my leadership grow. I need to continue learning and developing so that I can return home and better lead and serve young people in Charleston, West Virginia.

I’m grateful to Mosaic for making this experience possible and to all of Midian’s friends who continue to share this journey with us.

Demarcus Daniels

Demarcus Daniels has served as a Mosaic Summer Ambassador for two years and is a football player at Fairmont State University. He grew up coming to Midian’s Safe Haven and has served in summer youth work programs with Midian.

Turan Rush

Turan De’Angelo Rush is the founding Chief Operations Officer of the Midian Leadership Project. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D in Sports Psychology from Kairos University, where his research focuses on sports and trauma-healing.

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.   

Learning to Walk Together

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by Marco Güete

After 36 hours of travel, three flights, and a train ride from Lisbon, we arrived in Porto physically tired but filled with anticipation. We had not even begun walking, yet we were already learning our first spiritual lesson: the Camino requires patience before it asks us for strength.

We began our pilgrimage in Labruge. We soon discovered that the distance would be 247 kilometers—seventeen more than we had calculated. During the first stage, we also took a wrong turn: we walked two kilometers in the wrong direction and then another two to return. Those four extra kilometers taught us that not every effort moves us forward, but even detours can become teachers.

Marco Güete and his wife, Sandra, on the Camino. Photos provided by Marco Güete.

Since then, Sandra and I have crossed beaches, forests, mountains, ancient streets, and modern cities. We have experienced scorching sun, fog, strong breezes, and cold. Our backpacks are already faded by the sun and somewhat worn, as if they too were making their own Camino. Almost every day, when we arrive tired at our lodging, we still have the task of washing our clothes waiting for us. Our bodies ask for a bed, but our clothes ask for water and soap. The pilgrim’s life also has its domestic liturgies.

Our feet have grown tired, and our legs have protested, but we have learned to respect each other’s pace. Walking as a couple does not mean always moving at the same speed; it means waiting, accompanying, encouraging, and recognizing when the other person needs to rest.

We have also discovered that love is expressed through simple gestures: sharing water, adjusting a backpack, offering a word of encouragement, or placing a wildflower in Sandra’s hat. On the Camino, marriage becomes a pilgrimage within another pilgrimage.

God has also spoken to us through strangers. Pilgrims from different countries have shared their stories with us. Some local residents have shown us the way when the yellow arrows disappeared. As we were leaving Vigo, a man walked four blocks beside us to make sure we returned to the correct trail. His gesture reminded us that God’s providence often has the face of someone who chooses to stop and accompany us.

We have crossed the Miño River in a small boat, rested our legs in the cold waters of the Atlantic, and embraced trees while giving thanks for their shade. We have also laughed at our mistakes, because the spirituality of the Camino is not separate from a good sense of humor.

Now we are drawing closer to our goal of reaching Santiago de Compostela. We are walking to support Hispanic Ministries, but also to allow God to continue working in us. We are deeply grateful to those who have been praying for our well-being and for this mission. Their prayers are also traveling the Camino with us, reminding us that we need God, that we need one another, and that we need those who choose to walk alongside us.

Marco Güete

Marco Güete is the Leadership Minister for Florida for Mosaic Conference.

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