Articles

Local Nepalis Respond to Earthquake

May 6, 2015 by Conference Office

Soon after we learned about the earthquake in Nepal, Mennonite Mission Network received word from one of our local partners that they were already delivering emergency assistance.

Mennonite Mission Network’s vision that “people of all cultures are transformed by Jesus Christ” requires that we work closely with partners in each local context. We work in many different ways depending on the local situation, and in this case, one of our partners is the Christian organization, Rescue Network Nepal. In 2014, we were able to help fund this organization as it was expanding its reach, and 10 days ago when the earthquake struck, this Nepali led and staffed organization was immediately active.

The primary purpose of Rescue Network Nepal (RNN) is to train local villagers in remote areas of the country to give emergency aid in case of home, farm and traffic accidents. No one knew that this newly built network would be mobilized, and that every person they trained last year is desperately needed in the current disaster response.

We received an almost immediate post-earthquake message from the RNN director, Mr. Jaya Thapa: “Please pray for funds and resources to continue our rescue mission.” In addition to giving first aid to injured neighbors, they are also distributing much-needed food, clothing, and protection from the elements (tarps and tents) during the first weeks of emergency response. Shelter is especially important in preparation for the monsoon season that will come in June.

Mission Network has determined that any money we receive in response to the disaster in Nepal will be channeled to RNN. Knowing their good work and strategic placement, we want to encourage support for their response to this disaster. Our support will also prepare them for future disasters.

Our workers on the ground in Nepal are safe and their homes and businesses are intact. They are working with their local community on long-range recovery efforts.

To donate, send your check to Mennonite Mission Network, PO Box 370, Elkhart, IN 46515-0370; Memo: Nepal Relief.

Thank you.

Stanley W. Green
Executive Director, Mennonite Mission Network

New Beginnings: Building Spiritual and Academic Hearts and Minds through Christ Jesus

May 6, 2015 by Conference Office

by Sharon Williams

“I am so grateful for the way God is working in the lives of our young people,” say Pastor Jon Moore while reflecting on his 14 years of pastoral ministry at New Beginnings Community Church of Bristol. “It is so amazing to see what God has done through our church, making it a safe haven for the children and youth of Bristol, a place where they could do things they really wanted to do.” Although the congregation held her last worship service in September 2013, the legacy of God’s love lives on.

Pastor Jon recounts several stories of young adults whom he still mentors. A seven-year-old girl who wasn’t learning how to read will graduate from high school this year, due to her mother’s encouragement and the nurturing of a loving church. A boy, who came in contact with the church through a broken window incident and resultant community service, graduated from Temple University and works in sports administration in Los Angeles. A family whose involvement in the church helped them to stay focused on following Jesus, worked hard to buy a home and send their twins to Mansfield University. Jon’s daughter, Felicia, who ministered beside him through her high school and college years, now has a master’s degree in adult education and is a youth pastor’s wife.

Pastor Jon arrived at Bristol in 1986. His home church was Diamond Street Mennonite Church in Philadelphia. His passion for ministering with the young people was infectious. “Near the end of his pastorate, Pastor Ben Bussey told the congregation, ‘Jon Moore loves this church so much, you should call him to be the next pastor,’” recalls Cathy Nyagwegwe, a former leader of the congregation. After a short interim pastorate, Jon was called to be New Beginnings’ pastor in 1999.

The vision and the ministry at New Beginnings started with a similar call. Before there was a Mennonite congregation in Bristol, “Brother Wilson Overholt . . . was challenged by Bishop A. O. Histand in 1936 that a Mission should be started in the Lower Bucks area.” This call became clearer in the 1940s, when the Overholts twice provided foster care for a family in Bristol whose mother was struggling with illnesses. In 1947, this unnamed family hosted cottage meetings in their home, and “were baptized and received into the fellowship at Deep Run Mennonite Church”[1] At the same time, a visiting missionary, likely J. D. Graber, preached “every church (should have) a mission”[2] at Deep Run. Convictions were stirred, and the Franconia Conference “Mission Board granted permission to start a work in Bristol.”[3]

Two government housing developments, Terraces I and II, were chosen as the geographic focal point for the ministry in Bristol. Some 600 homes had been built in 1918 to accommodate a large number of shipyard workers during World War I.[4]

Leadership was called forth from Deep Run and other congregations in the conference. Sunday school, worship, open air services, summer Bible schools were conducted at the community center, in tents, and at the public school. In 1954, Howard Rush was ordained as pastor and moved with his family to Bristol. The transition from mission outreach to congregation had begun. After 10 years of ministry, increasing attendance and a great flurry of community outreach, the mission board purchased land and organized the building of the Bristol Mennonite meetinghouse in 1958. The summer Bible school taught 246 children that summer.

The congregation also had a steady flow of interaction with leaders from conference, the denomination, and related ministries and missions. Pastor Rush represented the congregation in interviews about community race relations and with State Parole Board, and in a Liquor Licensing hearing about a proposed bar in the neighborhood.

Delores Long Derstine was a teenager when her father, George Long, was called as pastor with the Bristol congregation (1966–1973). “He had a passion for the youth of the community. He made sure that we had active boys’ and girls’ clubs and a youth fellowship,” Delores recalls. The youth attended Camp Men-o-lan and later, Spruce Lake Retreat. Annie Davis, one of the Bristol students at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School lived with the Long family. Young people and adults sealed their commitments to Christ and the church through baptism.

“My father also built relationships with the African-American pastors in Bristol, and once attended a worship service in one of their churches, which was quite a cross cultural experience for him,” Delores remembers.

The congregation and community experienced many changes in the 1970s. The housing developments were deteriorating and being torn down; this prompted many of the Bristol families to move to other places. Raymond Jackson was the first African-American pastor called to shepherd the Bristol congregation in 1976. Pastors Gary Young (1987–1991), Ben Bussey (1992–1999), and Jon Moore (1999–2013) followed. The congregation chose the name New Beginnings Community Church in 1987. “Of Bristol” was added to the official name in 2008.

“Building spiritual and academic hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” became the congregation’s vision statement. The church started the New Beginning Learning Center of Bristol in 2007, with a library and computer lab for school children. Tutoring and mentoring, sometimes in the late evenings, was worth it—for today, some of those children are productive and committed Christians with careers as nurses, beauticians, business owners, and with various corporations.

“People tend to live in a box of their own culture,” reflects Pastor Jon. “Moving outside the box helps children to grow. We held summer camps and field trips. We visited and hosted Taftsville (VT) Chapel Mennonite Fellowship, which supported our youth programs and helped us with two flooded basement incidents. Our congregation sponsored a Christian hip hop artist concert, and enjoyed camping and retreats at Spruce Lake Retreat and Camp Hebron.

“Our mission was to equip children and their families with a Christian perspective for moving beyond downward life cycles. We held several dedications for individual teens as a way to both call and release them for ministry. As they worked beside us, they were being equipped to be leaders. Everything was done to inspire children and youth grow up to be who God was calling them to be.”

Pastor Jon claims Romans 8:37: “We are more than conquerors through [Christ] who loved us” (NRSV). Today he lives with muscular dystrophy, but he stays in touch with the Bristol community and the young people he continues to mentor. “I do what I need to do, and let the rest go. I want my testimony to encourage others to press on [toward the goal of knowing and living for Christ]” (Philippians 3:7-12). He is grateful to God for the witness of all the persons who ministered faithfully, doing their part to spread and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Bristol.

Sharon K. Williams is a musician, editor and congregational/non-profit consultant. She serves the Lord with the Nueva Vida Norristown New Life congregation as minister of worship.

[1] Esther Leatherman, “History of Bristol Mennonite Church, 1948-1981,” unpublished, 1981, 1.
[2] Conversation with John Ruth.
[3] Leatherman, 1.
[4] C. Stanley Taylor, “Bristol, America’s Greatest Single Industrial Housing Development” in American Architect, Vol. 113, Part 2, 1918, 599–615.

How Do You Read the Bible? Reflections on Biblical Interpretation Through Anabaptist Eyes

April 30, 2015 by Conference Office

by Verle Brubaker

On Saturday, April 18^th, 86 members of Franconia Mennonite Conference met to reflect together on how we read the Bible: as a rule book, as a recipe book for a good life, or as a love letter/story from God to his people.

Coming out of the event I have a renewed purpose to dive into the Scriptures as the revelation of Jesus, God’s word to us. The Bible is a word that reveals the story of God’s love for humanity, as experienced and written by the saints of old. It is a complex and multi-faceted account of that love, what it looks like, and how it was and is experienced.

Seeing this as a love letter and story from/about the Beloved drives us to read, study, and explore not only the words on the pages but the situations, contexts, and world views that are a part of the telling. It cannot be a flat, just-the-facts reading. I don’t read the letters from those I love that way. I devour and read the intimate nuances of each word and paragraph, seeking to know the beloved better.

If our first desire in coming to Scripture is to know this God who loves beyond all imagination, than we will find a growing and deepening love for this Jesus-looking God, and in seeing him we will see each other in his light.

So I come away from the day with a deeper appreciation and desire to know and follow Jesus better by delving more deeply into the Scriptures.

Dawn Moore, a member of Souderton Mennonite Church’s board, shares: “I gained new insight into traditional Anabaptist values as we discussed how those values relate to our church today. Laura {Brenneman}’s comparison of the church to a choir of voices was the most thought-provoking analogy for me. She encouraged us to listen to all the voices in our midst, including those that are more tentative and quiet. I was left wondering: how do we keep those voices singing in tune? Is it important for them to be reading the same music? I am glad I gave a beautiful spring Saturday to meet with other believers and hear their voices on these topics.”

Laura Brenneman, adjunct professor with Eastern Mennonite University and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, presented an Anabaptist overview of the Bible. Terry Brensinger, vice president of Fresno Pacific University, dean of the Biblical Seminary and professor of pastoral ministries, addressed Anabaptism and the Old Testament. To round out the day, Dennis Edwards, senior pastor with the Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, spoke on Anabaptism and the New Testament. Podcasts of these presentations are available here (click on Events tab).

If you were not present, be sure to listen to the podcasts, read the listening committee’s reflections (upcoming Intersectings article), and/or find persons who were there and ask them to tell you what they heard and experienced.

Verle Brubaker pastors the Swamp Mennonite congregation in Quakertown and is a member of Franconia Conference’s Ministerial Committee.

Standing with brothers and sisters in Nepal

April 30, 2015 by Conference Office

by Barbie Fischer, communications manager & administration coordinator

Top of the World Coffee in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Those living in Nepal still tremble following a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit on Saturday, April 25. It was centered less than 50 miles from Kathmandu.

Dale and Bethsaba Nafzinger, who have ties to Vincent Mennonite Church (Spring City, Pennsylvania), own and operate Top of the World Coffee, a café in Kathmandu. The Nafzigers reported they are all well, with little to no damage to their home and shop. However, the region is severely devastated, including several buildings in their town that crumbled.

Since the initial earthquake, there have been several aftershocks that continue to rock the region, including a 6.7 magnitude quake.

Dale says that growing up towards the end of the Vietnam War, he occasionally heard the term “shell-shocked”; now, he is experiencing it firsthand. Every time a loud jet passes overhead, causing the building to shake, or loud thunder crashes in the distance, he and others find themselves scrambling for safety.

In the midst of this, the coffee shop re-opened on Wednesday, and so far, response has been far greater than anticipated. When the Nafzigers opened the coffee shop, one of their goals was to offer a space of refuge, with comfort food and a comfortable environment in the middle of a very intense city. They are grateful, they say, to see their vision coming to life in a way they’d never imagined.

As recovery continues, Dale and his family have extended an invitation to the shop staff welcoming them to “both ‘live with us’ and ‘eat with us’ until things reach a state of normality, albeit, a ‘new normal.’”

In other areas, aid workers have struggled to reach several communities, such as those in the district of Gorkha, where the earthquake was centered, due to the mountainous terrain and devastation from the quake. The death toll has now risen to over 5,000, with thousands more injured. There is still hope, though: Not only have the Nafzingers reopened Top of the Mountain Coffee, recently a young man was pulled from the rubble after spending over 80 hours buried under what had been the Kathmandu Hotel.

Many are wishing to offer aid and support to brothers and sisters in Nepal as they tremble in the aftermath of this tragedy. Recovery will be a long process, and as Dale notes, it will be important not only to give immediate humanitarian aid but also invest in long-term initiatives to rebuild communities in the region.

If you would like to support recovery and rebuilding efforts in Nepal you can do so through Mennonite Mission Network’s Earthquake Response in Nepal. If you want to follow the progress of Top of the World Coffee, you can do so on their Facebook page.

Fischer Named as Conference Communication Manager & Administration Coordinator

April 30, 2015 by Conference Office

Lora Steiner

Barbie Fischer has joined Franconia Mennonite Conference staff as communication manager and administration coordinator. Departures by Emily Ralph, associate director of communication, and Gay Brunt Miller, director of administration, paved the way for the new position.

Barbie brings extensive experience in connecting churches to mission and ministries in their communities and globally. She first began working in mission when she was 17, on issues related to child soldiers in Uganda. She continued that work for five years, developing reintegration programs for girl child soldiers, who’d experiences the same training and fighting as the boys, but also had to deal with trafficking and sexual abuse. In that capacity, she connected the nonprofit she helped form with churches in the United States for funding and volunteer support.

She later worked with the Africa Faith and Justice Network in Washington, D.C., a group of Catholic organizations that advocates for policies that will benefit brothers and sisters in Sub-Saharan Africa. While Barbie lived in the D.C. area, she also helped do outreach for an arts-based faith community known as Convergence, running a gallery that was a part of the church building. Part of her role was to find artists whose work, whether explicitly religious or not—provoked conversations about faith and theology. She planned various community events, talkbacks with artists, and documentary screenings.

Barbie was born in Illinois and has lived “a little bit of everywhere” but considers Michigan to be most home; both her parents were raised in Sturgis, Michigan.

Barbie was raised in the Church of Christ, and first recalls encountering Mennonites through trips to Das Essenhaus in Shipshewana, Indiana. She later encountered them again when she was searching for a master’s program in conflict transformation. She found the program at Eastern Mennonite University, which drew her in for its teachings of healing and restoration that she valued from her faith, and a holistic approach she hadn’t found in other contexts.

For Barbie, many aspects of faith she found among Mennonites resonate: she places high value on adult baptism, and the belief that faith is a choice to be made voluntarily. And one of the things she has most valued about her faith journey is community.

“When I read the book of Acts, it wasn’t just a service, it was a community that took care of one another, kind of like a large extended family,” she says.

For several years, while she was in college and living in Lansing, Michigan, she was a part of a house church that for her, embodied that community. She appreciated the way the congregation reached out to the community, partnered with other churches, and the intentionality with which they planned gatherings and worship services.

She also valued being able to wrestle with her own sense of being called to ministry, after growing up in churches that didn’t allow women to lead.

In her work with the Conference, Barbie is looking forward to working with churches to fulfill the mission and vision that Christ has for them. She is most excited, she says, “about helping churches be the best they can be.”

In her free time, Barbie likes to paint and be outside. She is also passionate about issues of prison reform and incarceration, and facilitates victim-offender dialogues for the Pennsylvania Office of Victim Advocates.

She lives in Northwest Philadelphia and has been connecting with Ambler Mennonite Church.

Bike to GROW: Former MEDA interns cycle for a cause

April 29, 2015 by Conference Office

by MEDA staff

Sarah French and Mary Fehr aren’t your typical 20-somethings and their upcoming adventure is no different. Both were recently part of the intern program at Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA): Sarah worked on an agriculture project in Nicaragua, Mary on a health project in Tanzania.

Sarah French and Mary Fehr kicked off the speaking part of their tour with an event in Leamington, Ontario on April 13.

After seeing the impact of MEDA’s work helping women to get out of poverty and live healthier lives, they wanted to get more involved. In May, the pair will embark on a four-month bike ride across Canada to raise $150,000 for MEDA’s GROW (Greater Rural Opportunities for Women) project in Ghana.

“The GROW project is assisting 20,000 women farmers and their families to sustainably emerge from poverty. Mary and I wanted to support a project that focused on women because we saw the gender inequalities while on our own internships,” said French. “It couldn’t be more symbolic: Two women cycling across Canada representing independent, self-sufficient women.”

Bike to GROW will begin May 18 in Victoria, British Columbia, and conclude September 5 in Leamington, Ontario. On the way, Sarah and Mary will stop at MEDA chapters, churches and community centers to speak with locals about MEDA, the GROW project, and their experiences.

“I love to take on a challenge and prove to myself that absolutely anything is possible with willpower and determination,” Fehr said. “Sarah and I cannot fail, especially with the amazing support we’ve received. We’re no longer just biking for ourselves but for all of MEDA, MEDA’s supporters and of course, the women and families in Ghana.”

“It’s really inspiring to see Sarah and Mary’s passion for how MEDA works and their determination to succeed for women in Ghana,” said Ethan Eshbach, coordinator of engagement initiatives. “Bike to GROW has encouraged many people to join us in our mission to create business solutions to poverty. Anyone can help by offering financial support, a place to sleep or by organizing a local event.”

GROW is helping women soybean farmers in Northern Ghana increase agricultural production, strengthen their links to markets, diversify the food they produce and understand more about nutrition. Funded by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), this six-year project will improve the incomes and food security of 20,000 women and their families.

“We”re so blessed and honored that women like Sarah and Mary want to support our efforts to empower women as entrepreneurs here in Ghana,” Catherine Sobrevega, GROW country project manager. “These women work hard and persevere every day to provide for their families. You can see their smiles when they learn new things, produce a good harvest and have income because of our support. It’s exciting to know their life-changing stories are going to be shared across Canada. Our team will include both of them in our prayers. May they remain strong and safe throughout this memorable journey for GROW.”

“It only feels right to use this ride as a chance to give back to the wonderful work MEDA does every day,” say Sarah and Mary.

Stand Up. Use Your Voice. Move Your Feet.

April 22, 2015 by Conference Office

by Liza Heavener

Liza Heavener with Congressman John Lewis of Georgia

This year marks 50 years since “Blood Sunday,” an event that gripped the nation, and reminds us of the injustices faced by black Americans in Alabama and across the South. On the 50th anniversary, I returned to Selma, Alabama to bear witness to this historic event.

This year was my sixth journey to Selma, each trip bringing fresh pain, restored hope and reminders of the power of reconciliation. It was on this trip that I was moved by something Congressman John Lewis said in his distinctive slow, deep cadence: “Move your feet.” When injustice is happening in this world, don’t just pray about it. When our brothers and sisters are being ostracized, told they are not equal, stand up. Use your voice. Move your feet. This message challenges me as I look around my world at issues of injustice.

Every other year, a nonpartisan delegation of U.S. members of Congress join John Lewis to walk through the history of the civil rights movement with those who led the efforts in the 1960s. This year, over 100 members of Congress attended, a record number.

A highlight of the weekend happened on the steps of the statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Peggy Wallace Kennedy, the daughter of George Wallace, who was the governor of Alabama during the civil rights movement, reflected on her life as a small child during that time. She spoke of her father who was strongly opposed to giving blacks voting rights and is most known for saying “segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” As she spoke, I reflected on her life’s journey, the challenges she must have faced coming to understand who her father was and how to move beyond that heritage. She shared a story about when her son, the grandson of Governor Wallace, first realized who his grandfather was. Her son asked her, “Why did “Paw-Paw do those things to other people?” She answered him saying her father “never told her why he did those things but that they were wrong, and it would be up to us to help make things right.”

This led me to give thought to the civil rights issues of today. Will our children look back at the heritage we are leaving them with pride? Are we standing on the right side of history with the current issues at hand? What are the areas of our lives and areas in the church that still have segregation? Are we moving our feet?

As the weekend carried on, we visited the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham where four young girls were killed in a KKK led bombing in 1963. We attended a riveting church service at the First Baptist Church where John Lewis had been trapped inside for hours concerned for his safety, until John F. Kennedy sent troops to escort him and others from the church. There were stories and history lessons we heard over the weekend that were heartbreaking and made me question if we have come far enough with civil rights.

But then we arrived in Selma. The delegation waited at the base of the Edmund Pettus Bridge as the presidential motorcade crossed, with the usual fanfare and “Hail to the Chief” playing.

Then, John Lewis walked to the podium and introduced the first black president of the United States. As they embraced, I felt an enormous sense of pride. Race relations in this country are certainly not perfect and there is work yet to be done. Even during the president’s speech there were people protesting recent events in Ferguson. But 50 years ago on “Bloody Sunday,” John Lewis never expected to introduce a crowd of over 21,000 people to the nation’s first black president.

The fight against discrimination is not over. We have come far but must still stand up against racism and all forms of discrimination and segregation. It is my ongoing prayer that our churches can be a true sanctuary, a home and safe haven to all. As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” I hope the Mennonite church can move toward a place where we confront the discrimination that currently exists and chose to be on the right side of history, to move our feet and welcome every one of God’s children.

Liza Heavener grew up attending Blooming Glen Mennonite Church, and now lives in the Washington DC area.

Franconia and Eastern District Conferences to hold Child Protection Seminars

April 22, 2015 by Conference Office

It is a given that all of us want our church communities to be safe spaces for our children and youth. In light of the new legislation passed in Pennsylvania regarding protection of children, we as a church have an obligation and an opportunity to strengthen our child protection policies and culture. Some churches are already moving ahead with changes to address the new law while others are still trying to determine how to best implement the new requirements.

This new legislation impacts both volunteers and paid staff responsible for caring for children in regularly scheduled program, activity, or service including Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, Christian Education leaders, pastors, church staff, nursery staff, and Christian nurture leaders. Churches are encouraged to send a team of persons to this training including both staff and volunteers.

Franconia Mennonite Conference and Eastern District Conference are joining with Bucks County NOVA to offer a crucial training for churches – “Child Protective Services Training”. This training seminar will be held twice: Wednesday, May 13, 9:30-12:00 noon and Wednesday, May 20, 7-9:30 pm. We will meet at Towamencin Mennonite Church, 1980 Sumneytown Pike, Kulpsville. Register at http://mosaicmennonites.org/rsvp/.

This training will:

Increase knowledge of who is classified as a mandated reporter and what those responsibilities are under Child Protective Services Law.
Increase probability of suspecting child abuse when there is “reasonable cause.”
Increase knowledge of procedure for reporting of child abuse to child protective services.
Include conversation with other churches regarding best practices.
Educate and prepare our communities to deal with and prevent child sexual abuse.
Teach the steps to help prevent abuse, recognize warning signs, and react responsibly when abuse occurs.

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