Articles

A Reflection on “Shalom in the Streets”

February 6, 2020 by Conference Office

by Ken Burkholder, Conference Moderator (Deep Run East)

“Shalom in the Streets: Recapturing God’s Vision in Ordinary Places” was the theme for the annual School for Leadership Training (SLT) at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, January 13-15, 2020. I attend SLT every year (I think this is my 17th year), primarily to connect with former seminary colleagues, faculty, and other church leaders across the denomination. For me, these connections are so attractive that if the theme and speakers are good, it’s a bonus!

This year’s theme was meaningful, inspirational, and relevant to church ministry. As the planning committee noted, “The key to thriving in ministry resides not in new answers to large-scale challenges but by truly embracing the very people found in the places where we live and work.” The theme verse was Jeremiah 29:7 – Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.

These final words challenged me to think in a new way. I reflected on how, when the people and community where I minister flourish, I also usually flourish personally, and our congregational life flourishes too. While this could potentially feel overwhelming, one of the keynote speakers reminded us, “Making the world better for one person… makes the world better.”

One particular highlight for me at SLT was hearing Shannan Martin’s key-note presentation. Shannan shared her personal journey about her family (including husband and four children) sensing God’s call to move from the comfortable suburbs into downtown Goshen, Indiana. I was inspired by her stories of how they have intentionally embraced their community by building authentic relationships with many of their neighbors. In fact, one of Shannan’s family’s rules is that they’re not allowed to invite anyone to their church until they’ve first hosted that person/family in their home.

Another significant highlight for me was the 20th anniversary celebration dinner and program for Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at EMS. CPE was one of the most valuable and formative experiences for me during seminary. Several areas of focus in CPE, such as insights toward greater self-awareness in how I function as a person and leader, family-of-origin work, family systems theory, and field experience of serving in hospital and retirement community ministry (including several crisis situations) provided me with invaluable preparation for pastoral ministry and ongoing personal growth. It was a joy being part of the celebration to honor Kenton Derstine, as he is now retiring. Kenton is originally from Franconia Conference, having attended Souderton Mennonite as a child and youth, and has served as the CPE supervisor at EMS for the past twenty years.

Opening Up to God’s Gifts

February 3, 2020 by Conference Office

by Jennifer Svetlik, Salford congregation

“The most rewarding aspect of my job,” says Leadership Minister Aldo Siahaan, “is being with the churches in their joys and their challenges and learning their stories. It is energizing to be able to support them in those challenges.”

Aldo has worked as a Leadership Minister for about five years and currently accompanies Vietnamese Gospel (Allentown), Bethany Elevation (Queens, NY), and Indonesian Light (Philadelphia). “Each of these three churches are small, and they are each unique, but they are all very open, welcoming, and have a passion to bring more souls to Christ,” says Aldo. He connects regularly with their pastors and helps troubleshoot issues.

Recently, one congregation wanted to hold a significant event but was not sure where to host it. Also was able to connect them with a Mennonite camp in their area to host the event at a low cost and he also helped them secure funds to cover event costs. “I am grateful to be a bridge between these churches and the Conference in order to provide ideas and resources,” Aldo shares.

For 15 years, Aldo has served as pastor of Philadelphia Praise Center (PPC), a multi-ethnic congregation in South Philly that joined the conference in 2007. The church is made up primarily of recent immigrants, and so issues around immigration are of utmost importance.

Aldo knows first-hand how it feels to be an immigrant. In 1998, Aldo and his brother immigrated from their home in Jakarta, Indonesia to the US after riots against Christians in his home city left him feeling that it was no longer safe to live there. God opened doors for them to connect with the Indonesian Christian community in New York, and then Aldo became involved with a church planting effort in Philadelphia. After six years, he and some friends felt moved to create a new church community, which became PPC.

Understandably, Aldo has a lot of empathy for the other immigrants he accompanies. “As a Christian in Indonesia, I was the minority. As immigrants here, we are also the minority. God is still teaching me that regardless of someone’s condition as a minority, we are able to help others and make a difference,” Aldo shares.

As its leader, Aldo and PPC are always thinking of new ways of serving the community and sharing Christ in the city of Philadelphia. This work has included connecting with immigration-related organizations such as “Know Your Rights” and sharing information about possible ICE raids in the community.

“Being a pastor was never my dream,” Aldo shares. Before coming to the United States, he worked as a radio announcer in Jakarta. When he arrived in Philadelphia, he worked for Pan Asian Radio and as a paralegal for an immigration law firm. But his friends continued to insist that he was the leader of their new church. “We knew that we needed to form this church,” Aldo remembers, “but the question still remained about who would lead it. God used the people around me to call me to become a pastor. I didn’t know I had this calling, but God used other people to tell me. And God has slowly opened up my gifts as a pastor.”

In his free time, Aldo loves to watch comedians and political commentators Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah. “It refreshes me to be able to laugh and hear their commentary on current events,” Aldo says. He also enjoys spending time with his wife, Viviani, and playing with their young son, Eden.

An Update from the December Ministerial Committee Meeting

January 23, 2020 by Conference Office

by Mary Nitzsche, Associate Executive Minister

The Conference Ministerial Committee met in December to finish up some agenda as 2019 drew to a close. In preparation for the combined Ministerial Committee of the new, reconciled Conference, Beth Rauschenberger (Zion congregation) joined the committee after serving many years on the Eastern District Conference Ministerial Committee. We also look forward to Janet Panning’s first meeting in March 2020, as the newly-affirmed Ministerial Committee Chair.

The Ministerial Committee processed the following credentials:

Daniel Tran was approved for a license toward ordination and continues to serve as pastor of Vietnamese Gospel (Allentown, PA).
Charlene Smalls was approved for a license toward ordination and continues to serve on the pastoral team of Ripple (Allentown, PA).
Buddy Hannanto was approved for ordination and continues to serve as pastor of International Worship Church (San Gabriel, CA).
Stephen Zacheus was approved for ordination and continues to serve as associate pastor at JKIA (Sierra Madre, CA).
John Stoltzfus (formerly of Plains congregation, Hatfield, PA) has requested a transfer of his credentials to Virginia Mennonite Conference; this transfer was acknowledged.

The Ministerial Committee also approved revisions to the Record Retention Policy for Credential Files and the Position Statement on Confidential Communication Policy and approved the Sample Congregational Misconduct Policy for Lay Leaders and Congregants. An equipping event is scheduled for February 20 to introduce the sample misconduct policy and discuss how congregations can utilize it if needed.

Members of the Ministerial Committee said farewell to Ken Burkholder (Deep Run East), Mike Clemmer (formerly of Towamencin), and Jim Williams (Nueva Vida Norristown New Life) and thanked them for their years of service and contribution to this committee.

Conflict resolution: We are all beloved by God

January 9, 2020 by Conference Office

(originally printed by MennoniteUSA.org)

By Scott Roth

Scott Roth is a credentialed leader in Franconia Mennonite Conference that is exploring and creating cultural masterpieces through Urban Expression North America and Young Life. Some of his current projects are the reconciliation of Eastern District and Franconia Mennonite Conferences, directing Bike & Sol, a community non-profit bicycle shop, and establishing and growing the ministries of Young Life in the Upper Perkiomen School District. Roth frequently speaks and writes for organizations and publications on youth formation, community development and incarnational ministry.

This post is a reflection from the Conference Ministers’ Gathering, in Banff, Alberta, Canada, December 4-7, 2019.

I am a sinner. I attend a church full of sinners, and Jesus died for my sins. This is a common way of viewing our identity with Christ. I often have been taught and heard these phrases. Yet, I do not hear the fact that we are, first and foremost, beloved. Beloved by our Creator, in whose image we are made. The one who lived and showed us a way to live that is epic compared to our own human condition. The one who died and rose from the grave to create a bridge for us through grace to be with him forever! Why? Because our Creator loves us.

This was the narrative from our time in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Conference ministers from Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) and Mennonite Church Canada retreated to the Canadian Rockies to reflect and engage with Betty Pries, CEO of Credence & Co., Kitchener, Ontario, and Sue Park-Hur, MC USA’s denomination minister for Transformative Peacemaking. They led sessions on dealing with conflict in a variety of ways and scenarios, showing how we can realize our own story and the story of others as they intertwine in conflict. I cannot do the teachings justice by trying to summarize every nuance, but I want to reflect on us, as a denomination, and on what it means to be a people that is beloved.

Conflict resolution starts at the core of recognizing that each person is beloved by God. At our essence, we are children of God – individually and wonderfully made. As we see this, it is our basis for handing any conflicts that arise between us. We start with that foundation and build from there with an attitude of curiosity.

Think of a time in your life when you were at odds with someone. Was it your first instinct to understand and know where the other person was coming from? Or was it to try to defend and debate your side of the story? In other words, are we ok with trying to understand the other person with whom we are in conflict? Do we take the time to really dig deep with them and plunge the depths of their “why” regarding the conflict? It is through this curiosity of understanding that we can begin to build a bridge that leads to a restored relationship.

Many times, this is easier than healing “systems.” Systems get created over time and are reflective of those who have power and authority of the system. I am sure that if you take time, you can name many broken systems. Apply the same principle that those put in authority and power of these systems are beloved by God. In my heart of hearts, I don’t want to hear that about certain systems! I mean, come on, Jesus, can’t you just smite them off the earth, so we don’t have to deal with them?

As I continue to reflect on the Conference Ministers’ Gathering, I think of Jonah. Jonah had this attitude about Nineveh, the capital seat of the Assyrian Empire and a city that took three days to cross. This was a system. Jonah wanted God to smite the whole city. He was so entrenched in his thinking that he was willing to be thrown into the sea to avoid God’s plan. Wow, that is stubborn!

Even dealing in a system situation, we see that having a beloved attitude would have changed what Jonah was looking to do. His approach would have been different, because his heart would have viewed the people of Nineveh differently.

We need to be a people who know we are beloved and seek to show others they are beloved. Over the years, I have watched many people leave faith communities without ever really recognizing that all involved are beloved. Can we start doing this more? Can we see the other person sitting across the table as beloved – no matter what they may think or do? Can we plunge into the depths of their lives with curiosity to know them?

I leave you with this quote from Betty Pries:

“It is not magic that we are talking about here. It is not that we are lost one day and Christ-like the next. Or scoundrels today and saints tomorrow. But slowly, with each day that we awaken to Christ within us, and with each day that we open ourselves to the realization that we are deeply beloved of God, we are transformed into the likeness of the Christ. Slowly but surely, we become what we receive. We become transformed in our personhood. And, as we eat the bread and drink the cup, we find ourselves more able to join Jesus in pouring ourselves out for our loved ones, for our neighbor, for the world and for our enemies. We become the Body of Christ.”

Identity in Christ

December 3, 2019 by Conference Office

by Tim Weaver

Who am I? How do I define myself? As we gathered around tables at the November 2019 Faith & Life gathering, Maria Hosler Byler invited us to think about ourselves and who we are. Are we defined by our roles? Are we defined by our family connections? Are we defined by how others define us? She asked questions and invited us to place ourselves on a continuum – and to see how others placed themselves on the same continuum. Are we eastern PA native or immigrant; introvert or extrovert; male or female; clear-cut and organized or messy and open-ended; in conflict are we direct or non-confrontational; a rule follower or rule challenger?

We spent some time identifying the different roles that we each carry with us: father, husband, friend, aging white male, pastor, educated, privileged, USA citizen, political party, etc. After we identified some of the many roles, we positioned ourselves according to our identity we feel most comfortable discussing; our identity we feel least comfortable discussing; my identity where I feel the most joy; my identity where I have experienced the most pain; my identity that provides me the most privilege; that I am most proud of; that I have to defend the most.

Then we read Colossians 2:6-12 from several different translations. With all the identities we named: pastor, friend, husband, father, aging white male, activist, etc. – where and how does Christ fit? How does Christ interact with our identities? Is Christ simply one of many identities we carry around with us daily? Paul reminds us that in our baptism we have buried the old and become new. We have had an encounter with God’s love that shapes our identity. We reflected on how that is at the core of who we are ‘In Christ’. It also births within us a new vision of a world made whole, where all are important, and where peace reigns. Our identity ‘In Christ’ is meant to be lived out through all the various roles we have. ‘In Christ’ is not a theological debate discussed in abstract terms about certain roles in our lives. Rather, it is Christ permeating each of our identities. Growth, maturity, and depth occur as we acknowledge our identities which are most difficult to allow Christ to permeate.

The Old Has Passed Away

November 20, 2019 by Conference Office

by Emily Ralph Servant, Director of Communication

Way back in 2012, Franconia Conference’s communication was all over the place.

Our website was set up to automatically send out a new article anytime it was posted (sometimes it notified people when a small change to the website was made!) and we sent a separate email for every announcement, event reminder, or broader-church blurb. This meant that, some weeks, our subscriber list was receiving an email every day and, some weeks, none at all.

We knew it was time to try something different.

Enter “Intersectings” (it was a play on words from our quarterly paper newsletter, “Intersections”), a weekly digest for connecting congregations, pastors, and delegates across the conference. Intersectings’ original tagline was “where our stories meet,” and we included news articles, blogs, social media posts, announcements, and event information—everything together in one place. We hoped that the predictability of this new publication would make it easier for our pastors and delegates to stay up-to-date on what was happening without getting lost in an avalanche of emails.

The going was rocky at first—it was hard work to find enough content to fill the newsletter each week and we sometimes got complaints from people that they weren’t being kept informed of what was happening. But as our communication team got used to the rhythms of the newsletter and as members of the conference consistently began opening and reading it, we found that our communication improved. It was working.

It’s now almost eight years later, and we’ve decided that, once again, it’s time for a change.

This issue is our last Intersectings. Early in 2020, we’ll roll out something new that reflects the values and needs of our New Conference.

Earlier this year, we began sharing “Bridges,” an email newsletter to keep members of both Franconia and Eastern District Conferences up-to-date on what was happening during the reconciliation process and to help us get to know each another better. Beginning next week, Bridges will continue weekly through the rest of this year and into the next. For the time being, watch Bridges for event information, announcements, congregational profiles, and other important information related to the reconciliation process.

Then, once our New Conference has launched, be on the lookout for our new email newsletter. This newsletter will automatically be distributed to anyone who has subscribed to either Intersectings or Bridges (although you can always unsubscribe if you’re not a credentialed leader or delegate!). This new newsletter will include the best of both of our email newsletters—news articles, blogs, announcements and event notifications, and getting-to-know-you articles and profiles—as well as new content that reflects our changing times and contexts.

As we prepare for this change, we’ll be laying low for a couple of months, focusing on all the work that goes into building something new—a new website, a new paper newsletter, a new email newsletter, a new social media presence. We’d appreciate your feedback and suggestions: What have you liked about our communication in the past that you’d like to see continue? What new elements would you like to see includeed? What changes do you think would make our communication more effective? E-mail me at eralphservant@mosaicmennonites.org.

We work hard to bring you interesting and informative content that will help you stay connected to others in our Conference and to the work of our Conference staff, board, and committees. But we know the secret to good communication lies with you—all this work is for nothing if you don’t read it.

So thanks for reading Intersectings all these years. The old has passed away, but—behold! Something new is coming.

Let’s Worship Together!

November 20, 2019 by Conference Office

by Marta Castillo, Leadership Minister of Intercultural Formation

All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name. Psalm 86:9

Friday Night worship – Conference Assembly 2019. Photo by Javier Marquez

At our annual assembly we worshipped the Lord in song in several different languages and styles. I wonder if anyone whispered to the person beside them like someone whispered behind me many years ago, “Why do we have to sing in these different languages? Why can’t we just sing in English?” I wonder if those at the assembly worship felt comfortable and engaged in the worship songs. Were they able to enter into the intercultural space of worshipping God in ways and styles and languages that were not their own? Did it fill them with joy to worship the Lord and bring glory to God’s name with other nations that God has made, even if it was different than what they were used to?

In an intercultural community, all are transformed because everyone learns from one another and grows together. In intercultural worship, we learn to choose to continue to worship God in the styles and languages of others. For me, what began as a discipline and continues to be a choice is now also a joy as I have incorporated intercultural worship as part of who I am with the help of the Holy Spirit. John 4:23 – Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

Several weeks ago, I attended a service at Nations Worship Center where we sang songs that had repeating lines. I appreciated the repetition while singing in a language in which I am not fluent. The repetition helped me to better understand the song and enter deeply into the spirit of worship. However, I must admit that I have not always appreciated songs with a lot of repetition. What I have learned to do is to go with the repetition rather than fight it. I can worship God in song as I repeat the same phrase over and over and meditate on the truth, just like I can pray or meditate on a phrase of Scripture.

Lynne Rush (West Swamp congregation) leads a hymn at Conference Assembly 2019. Photo by Javier Marquez

Last weekend I attended a women’s retreat where we had a hymn sing. We sang hymn after hymn in a group of talented and passionate singers. It was beautiful. I was struck by the multitude of beautiful thoughts and word pictures that hymns contain and express in worship to God. But I had to choose to engage my mind and process the thoughts in worship to God as I sang complex music. I enjoyed the repetition of the choruses.

Matthew Westerholm, on the Desiring God website, suggests that often “our discomfort also comes from where we live, if you live in the Western world. Western culture treasures the novelty of words. It might feel like singing many words per minute is a worldwide Christian preference. But it’s not. It’s a Western oddity. If you were to listen to indigenous music from almost anywhere else in the world, you might describe it as “rhythmic, danceable, and repetitive. It may feel strange to discover that our personal preferences are a cultural anomaly. It is humbling to discover that we have something to learn from others, but not surprising. And it is the sort of humbling that, if we are willing to accept it, will bless us greatly in worship.”

Let us worship the Lord in unity, seeking to honor the worship of the nations as our own!

Together Once More

November 13, 2019 by Conference Office

by Sue Conrad Howes, Eastern District Conference (West Swamp congregation), with Emily Ralph Servant, Franconia Conference (Director of Communication)

It was a potentially historic day for two Mennonite conferences that split over 170 years ago.

On November 2, 2019, delegates from Franconia Mennonite Conference and Eastern District Conference met together at Souderton (PA) Mennonite Church to determine if reconciliation, which seemed unattainable in 1847, would now be possible.

It was hard to imagine that these two groups had been divided at all, as animated conversations and joyful reunions happened throughout the crowded fellowship hall as the delegates arrived. There was even an audible groan when it was announced that the Eastern District Conference delegates needed to move to another gathering room for their morning delegate session. And so, for the morning, the two groups met separately, with the possibility of reconciliation on the afternoon horizon.

During Eastern District’s morning delegate session, leaders facilitated a discussion over the future and publicly recognized that the vote toward reconciliation was just the beginning of a new journey. They thanked everyone who had helped to bring them to this point and then led in a time of sharing stories about where delegates were seeing God working in their congregations and ministries.

Franconia’s morning delegate session included affirming Rose Bender Cook (Whitehall congregation) for a third term and KrisAnne Swartley (Doylestown congregation) for a second term on the Credentials Committee. Chris Nickels (Spring Mount congregation) was affirmed for a third term and Janet Panning (Plains congregation) for a first term on the Ministerial Committee. Swartley and Panning will serve as committee chairs. John Goshow (Blooming Glen congregation) and Beny Krisbianto (Nations Worship Center) were thanked for their nine years of service on the Conference Board.

Franconia also welcomed four new Conference Related Ministries: Peace Proclamation Ministries International (out of Plains congregation), Healthy Niños Honduras (birthed out of MAMA Project), Ripple Community Inc (out of Ripple congregation), and Taproot Gap Year (out of Philadelphia Praise Center). The delegates welcomed a new congregation, Iglesia Menonita Ebenezer (Souderton, PA) and released West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship to transfer to Allegheny Conference.

After a meaningful joint worship in the morning, when credentialed leaders of both conferences who had passed away during the past year were remembered and newly credentialed leaders were introduced, anointed, and then commissioned to anoint others, the two conferences joined together for the afternoon session. Joy Sutter, moderator of Mennonite Church USA (Salford congregation), expressed gratitude to the delegates for demonstrating the path of reconciliation. “You are modeling a new and inspiring path for the future. As you move forward…, may you be blessed,” said Sutter.

The three-year process toward reconciliation, led almost exclusively by conference volunteers, was introduced by the Structure and Identity Task Force. Sherri Brokopp Binder (Ripple congregation) & Rina Rampogu (Plains congregation) explained the process, the changes proposed, and the next steps, if the delegates voted affirmatively for reconciliation.

The task force had done its work, as few delegates posed questions or expressed any sense of hesitation with the proposal. The two conferences divided, for the last time, to discern and vote.

With the delegates reunited after the vote, John Goshow, Franconia Conference moderator, and Jim Musselman, Eastern District moderator (Zion congregation), shared the results of the historic vote: together, the conferences had voted unanimously for reconciliation.

Spontaneous applause and cheers of affirmation from the delegates erupted while leaders from both conferences shared hugs and broad smiles. Together, the enthusiastic group sang, “Hosanna, Let Jesus be Lifted Up” and “Praise God from Whom” with gusto and gratitude.

Scott Roth (L) and Steve Kriss (R) lead the Conferences into a time of communion. Photo by Cindy Angela

Following the singing, Steve Kriss, Franconia Conference executive minister, and Scott Roth, Eastern District conference minister, spoke. “I am rarely speechless,” Kriss admitted. “But we are about to do something that could not happen 150 years ago. We are about to sit together and take communion. For some of you, this split divided families, for some of you this split divided congregations. Today we celebrate the ministry of reconciliation that has been and will continue to be our life’s work.”

Roth reminisced about being charged with the ministry of reconciliation as a youth by adult leaders who knew that the reality of such a merger would be through the work of future generations. Roth shared his joy that the dream he had heard about as a youth was now being realized. “Remember,” Roth said; “although the paperwork is not completed, we are one in the Spirit and we are one in Jesus’ blood.”

Jessica Miller (Perkasie congregation). Photo by Cindy Angela

In the front of the fellowship hall, a pile of rocks had sat all morning, without mention. This column was reminiscent of the Old Testament practice of raising an Ebenezer, commemorating God’s help or celebrating memorable events. This rock structure was not to remain, however. Instead, each church was instructed to take a rock home, paint it, and return with it to next year’s first assembly as a new conference. The rocks will then be formed into a fountain, representing the new conference, flowing with life.

Conference moderators, John Goshow (Franconia) and Jim Musselman (Eastern District) prepare to celebrate the reconciliation! Photo by Cindy Angela

The day’s events closed with a traditional action, which has been spoken by Franconia delegates to conclude their assemblies for more than a hundred years. On this day, however, delegates of both Franconia and Eastern District made the commitment together, as one gathered body:

“We affirm our desire to continue in and witness to the nonresistant and simple faith in Christ, looking for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

“Kami menegaskani keinginan untuk terus ikut dan menjadi saksi kesederhanaan iman dalam Kristus dan menjadi pembawa damai, terus mencari kepada berkat pengharapan serta memperlihatkan kemuliaan dari kebesaran Tuhan dan juru selamat kami, Yesus Kristus.”

“Afirmamos nuestro deseo de seguir testificando con la fe de no resistencia y sencilla en Cristo, mirando a la esperanza bendita y la venida gloriosa de nuestro gran Dios y nuestro Salvador Jesucristo.”

“Chúng tôi xin xác nhận nguyện-vọng của chúng tôi là tiếp tục và làm chứng cho giải pháp ôn-hòa và đức-tin chân thật trong Ðấng Christ, tiềm kiếm sự hy-vọng hạnh phước, và sự vinh quang của Ðức Chúa Trời đại quyền hiện ra và Ðấng Cứu Chuộc của chúng tôi là Ðức Chúa Giê-xu Christ.”

”我們重申我們的意願是繼續以和平及純正信仰去見證基督的生命，懷著美好的盼望，等候我們偉大的神及救主耶穌基督的榮耀顯現。”

Articles

Footer