By Jenny Duskey, Ambler Mennonite Church
An Exodus Time, a Great Turning, a Watershed Moment – whatever we call it, we are in the midst of crisis. We, children of a free, wild, untamed God, try “to follow Jesus while shackled to Caesar.” “Fast food, cheap oil, chronic debt, and constant pressure are only some of the cultural cages that hold us captive. Bottom line: We’ve been constrained and colonized by corporations,” says the prologue of Rewilding the Way: Breaking Free to Follow an Untamed God by Todd Wynward. Todd was the speaker this year for Franconia and Eastern District Conferences’ Peace Retreat held February 10-12 at St. Mary of Providence Center in Elverson, PA.
A watershed is “a region draining into a river, river system, or other body of water;” or “an event or period marking a turning point in a state of affairs.” The Winter Peace Retreat this year was about embracing this watershed moment, this crisis, and seizing the opportunity to break out of our shackles and live the Golden Rule Jesus teaches us, treating those downstream, both geographically and chronologically, as we would have those upstream treat us. Communities downstream and future generations have no choice but to inherit the consequences of our lifestyle today.
“Taking care of our environment is the most important social justice issue today,” said Todd. He did not, however, discourage any of us from continuing to pursue the various peace and justice activities in which we are engaged. If we are going to minimize the damage resulting from the way we have been undermining water cycles, atmosphere, soil, oceans and thermal balance for the past 200 years of industrial growth, we need to find ways for everyone to have clean water and renewable energy sources. Human society needs to transition from industrial growth for the few to sustenance of life for all. If we keep Jesus at the center of our work locally, in our state and nation, and worldwide, the church can offer the world hope, love and peace as we work for this transition.
Co-intelligence arises when we all share our visions. Todd passed out sticky note pads and asked us to write what we’d experienced in the past six months in five categories: Good News/Grounded Hope, Fresh Insights/Awareness, Examining Our Lives, Calls to Action, and Laments/Despairs. We mounted our notes on newsprint sheets on the walls. When the “Laments/Despairs” newsprint fell off the wall from its heaviness, we shared some much-needed laughter! Todd encouraged us to stay with our laments as long as we need to, going through them instead of around them, to find the hope and motivation that lead to action.
By the end of the final session, we felt highly energized and hopeful. Many of us want to continue this environmental theme for the next five years, at least as part of what we do at Peace Retreat. Some are motivated to form two or three ongoing regional groups within our two Conferences, to get together more often to encourage each other in efforts to care for God’s creation. Any who are interested in being part of that may contact John Stoltzfus who will coordinate the effort. Congregations, groups, or individuals are also encouraged to join the Watershed Way sponsored by the Mennonite Creation Care Network, and/or to accept a voluntary Carbon Tax.
As we continue to work for peace and justice, we must be mindful that our care for the environment is a part of that. As God’s creation provides for us, we must ensure it can continue to do so for everyone now and in the future.
“You shall not pollute the land in which you live…. You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell; for I the LORD dwell among the Israelites.” -Numbers 35:33-34
This year I joined the shared worship at Blooming Glen, jointly planned with Deep Run East and Perkasie congregations. Each of the congregations’ pastoral leaders had a part. I found my eyes becoming full as I watched them mark each other’s foreheads, after finishing marking those who came forward. There was something both beautiful and awful in the fragility of the statement “from dust you’ve been created, and to dust you shall return,” being spoken to pastoral colleagues I know and love.
Last Thursday, we honored the relationships we have with our credentialed leaders in an evening dinner with music. It was a lovely night with good food and fellowship around tables while listening to some Gospel Folk music by The King’s Strings. It felt like an extravagant night out for some of us. A few pastors incredulously and skeptically wondered how the costs had been covered. Two families from our community paid the bill as a gift, to show their appreciation for our credentialed leaders and conference. Our pastors who attended felt honored. It’s one of the ways we honor life’s fragility, through generosity and appreciation. I’m grateful for our donors and our time together.
We were all drawn together on that cold, windy Monday evening, February 13, by the promise of fresh enchiladas and tostadas made by the members of Centro de Alabanza, along with some warm conversation with James Krabill of 
Throughout the the evening, James shared Biblical principles about how the Cross brings reconciliation on a cosmic yet personal scale. He then reminded us that the ministry of reconciliation is God’s highest priority in the cosmos. At this point I leaned in, realizing how often this simple calling gets strangled by the tyranny of the urgent.
At this point, we changed tables to meet someone new and to share about our experiments and obstacles encountered in mission. I had the privilege of sitting with Lynne Allebach, the lay pastor from Arise Community Outreach, and Fernando Loyola, pastor of Centro de Alabanza. We reminisced about our own unexpected appointments, and commented on the unique shape of the ministry of reconciliation in our different settings. At the end of the evening, James offered a few final remarks, namely that Christianity comprises about one third of our planet, and that Islam comprises about one fourth of our planet. This is paramount to the ministry of reconciliation. We must recognize the task before us now, for the life of the world!
When Steve Kriss, Conference Executive Minister, invited me to consider being a LEADership Minister, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. I have a LEADership minister and I have been in the conference long enough to remember the early conversations of the role of a LEADership Minister. However, one of my first interactions, a phone call from an elder of a congregation I now serve as a LEADership Minster, caught me by surprise. Steve never warned me of such a call, nor was it listed in the memo of understanding I signed. I attended the training on mandatory reporting; Barbie Fischer, Conference Communication Manager, provided some guidelines for communication protocol so that confidentiality is maintained. I was ready to go, so I thought.
To not have history repeat itself it is important for both people of color and the white culture, to be intentional about inviting and retaining people of color. Hope for the Future allows space for discussion on how various things impact people in different ways. This year, discussions focused on what it means to be a peace church in consideration of the lived reality of people of color in this country, how to monitor and change when policies are being implemented inconsistently, and visioning for Hope for the Future.
its winter beauty, a dazzling display. Sunday afternoon when I’d plan to return home, four inches of new snow blanketed our vehicles. Vermonters for whom that is no big deal,
My change of plans was a minor inconvenience. But other situations feel more major. Heather Wolfe, member of the Taftsville Transition Team reflected on a piece of their four year pastoral search process. At one point, two pastoral candidates seemed to be real possibilities. However, both people withdrew their names from consideration. Dorcas Lehman, who was an interim pastor at that time, reminded the Team that Moses wandered in the wilderness for forty years before reaching the Promised Land. Surely Moses felt much disorientation, and disappointment. Heather remarked that they hoped it didn’t take 34 more years to get to their Promised Land of finding a pastor!
Krista began with her own story of disoriented following. She was about to graduate from seminary. A congregation inquired about her openness to a pastoral call. While on a silent retreat she sensed the Spirit validating her call to pastoral ministry. Soon there were multiple long-distance Skype interviews with a search committee resulting in a call to candidate at that church. Krista purchased plane tickets but then suddenly questions began to emerge from the search committee and the offer to be the pastoral candidate was withdrawn. Krista was obviously disoriented and devastated. Questions about that experience remain, but she testifies that it led to growth and new opportunities.
Psalm 139:23-24 is a cry for God to search our hearts and “see if there is any offensive way…” in us. Yet, how often, do we make that our prayer? Esther Good from Whitehall Mennonite Church recently reflected on that scripture and her conclusion might surprise some.
“The extent to which we are surprised by the results of the election demonstrates the poverty of our relationships. The extent to which we don’t understand the need for immigration reform demonstrates the poverty of our relationships.” As I listened to 
One of the things I love about SLT is that it turns people of authority into students for a few days. The ones I’m used to seeing up front at conference and denominational events are sitting and listening, taking notes and asking questions. At SLT, we participants — the majority of us white church leaders with a significant amount of agency in our daily lives — learned from keynote speakers Dr. Cleveland and 
Using illustrations from scripture and their lives, the speakers explored the depth of race’s impact on our society. They explored how our racialized society maintains itself and why it’s so hard for white people to see and confront racism — why we need people with a “view from the underside,” in Hart’s words, to recognize it. They called the largely white audience to recognize how we’ve been socialized into racial bias, and that Jesus never called us to shame but to repentance and new life together. Dr. Cleveland showed us by example how to notice privilege in our own lives. We were being tutored in how to reach beyond ourselves as a demonstration of respect and also of our need.
But it’s not just that we need each other’s perspective, or that we need to learn from one another to understand Jesus’ message. No, we each have a role to play in dismantling racism, wherever we are. When we’re uncomfortable we can benefit by staying at the table and continuing the conversation. In fact, that’s what we were doing at the conference: listening, learning, checking our assumptions and discerning our next steps. One conference attendee asked Drew Hart, “What can I do about racism in my predominantly white community?” and Hart responded, “You’re right at the center of the action!” Throughout the conference I heard calls to learn and act right where we are, building relationships with our literal neighbors. I attended a workshop where we practiced listening to people we disagreed with. In another workshop we discussed what it means to “seek the peace of the city” where you are (Jer. 29:7) and spent some time brainstorming for our own contexts.