Articles

by Marta Castillo

Thirteen people were recognized as newly credentialed leaders at the 2024 Mosaic Conference Assembly. They represented seven nations, four continents, five languages, and ten Mosaic congregations. What a beautiful sight! What a wonderful work of God’s Spirit!  

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’”

Revelation 7:9-10, NIV

Salvation belongs to our God! These are the leaders that God has called forth and into Mosaic from the east, the west, the north, and the south. These are the ones whose lives and ministries share the Good News. These are the ones who bring their calling, faith, experiences, culture, and love to share with us. What a powerful experience to be joyfully received and acknowledged by the gathered assembly and immediately empowered to anoint others in that space of hospitality and grace! 

After years and years of receiving predominantly white males as newly credentialed leaders, we began to see white women emerge as leaders alongside the men. Now we are experiencing a significant shift toward a diversity of men and women that reflect the multitude of heaven. It is cause for celebration and will mean a shift in the ways we are “conference” together.   

Do we understand what these shifts mean to our system? Being together is the same and yet different. Prayer is the same and yet different. Worship is the same and yet different. Making decisions is the same and yet different. Time is treated differently, and we flex to be less linear and less concerned with completing tasks and getting to business. We make time to drum together.  

We ALL need to graciously move aside to leave space for others. Our covenants of conversation are necessary to leave more room for Spirit movement and voices that are new and different as well as those who have been around for a long time.   

We are all feeling it; a deep sense of being welcomed and belonging and at certain times feeling out of place and unsure, no matter who we are. When prayers are spoken in only Spanish, Indonesian, or another language and there is no interpretation. As people around us at Assembly greet each other with hugs and excitedly chatting in a language we don’t understand.  

If you are used to understanding everything that is said everywhere you go, it is hard. If you are used to a certain way to process decisions and carefully track time and productivity, it is hard. If you are used to being more focused on the conversation and not watching the clock, it is also hard.  

If you are used to being the only one in the room who doesn’t understand or looks different, it is freeing to hear others speak your language and look like you. In whichever of these experiences, you find yourself, be gentle with yourself and others in the discomfort and in the joy. 

We are learning to be united in diversity. We are being mutually transformed. God is moving quickly before us and we are seeking to be obedient by getting out of our own way to receive the gift of being together in new ways, to see new people in leadership, and to experience being part of the “multitude.” Together we worship God and cry out, “Salvation belongs our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 

Let’s recognize that our experience together is beautiful and complicated as we “embody the reconciling love of Jesus in our broken and beautiful world.” 

by Jennifer Svetlik

Nearly 350 people gathered for Mosaic Mennonite Conference’s annual Assembly on November 2 at Souderton (PA) Mennonite’s meetinghouse. Guided by the theme “Walk Humbly with God,” and the text of Micah 6:8, the day opened with worship and opportunities to fellowship and make connections (a report on all the Assembly’s activities is available here).  

During the morning session, 170 delegates from congregations and Conference-Related Ministries (CRMs) engaged in conversation and shared communion. They welcomed and prayed for three new Mosaic member congregations (Ark of Christ [Westminster, CA], Bethel Worship and Teaching Center [Levittown, PA], and Resplandece Mennonite [Pembroke Pines, FL and Barranquilla, Colombia]) and one Conference-Related Ministry (CRM) (The Worm Project). In the afternoon session, delegates voted on a ballot item focused on Mosaic’s relationship with Mennonite Church USA (MC USA). 

Among the guests that were present were Jon Carlson, Moderator for Mennonite Church USA (MC USA); Glen Guyton, Executive Director of MC USA; Michael Danner, Associate Executive Director for Church Vitality of MC USA; Camille Dager, Chief Communication Officer for MC USA; Wil LaVeist, Senior Executive of Advancement of Mennonite Mission Network; Amy Gingrich, Executive Director of MennoMedia, and Leonard Dow, Vice President of Community and Church Development of Everence. There were guests and delegates from 12 U.S. states, Mexico, and Colombia.  

In the afternoon delegate session, Mosaic Conference’s Associate Executive Minister Marta Castillo and Leadership Minister for Intercultural Transformation Danilo Sanchez shared about Mosaic’s Strategic Plan for 2025-2027, which is the primary outcome of a two-year strategic planning process led by Mosaic’s Pathway Steering Team, and the Vibrant Mosaic Program. Delegates offered verbal and written engagement with the plan within their table groups.  

Executive Minister Stephen Kriss opened the presentation on the Pathway Steering Team’s recommendation of partnership, rather than membership with MC USA. He led with a time of prayer and a recognition that “this has not been an easy time” within the life of Mosaic.

“For some of us, [the relationship with MC USA] is a sacred relationship, for others it is a challenge. For some of us the relationship is new and undefined… For some it represents family, generations, and connections that go beyond this space and this time,” Kriss said.  

When addressing the leaders of MC USA, Kriss said, “I repent of any sense of arrogance in our conversations together,” and regarding what may happen after the vote, regardless of outcome, he said, “We commit to trying to work this out… We will work in good faith and a sense of openness. I will work with a sense of vulnerability.” 

Kriss committed to the delegates a sense of transparency, “to be as clear as we can about the process…We want you to know what is happening and what is true.” Kriss then gave the floor to Carlson and Guyton to address the delegates. 

Carlson acknowledged that for many people, “at times, it feels like to be Mennonite is to spend an awful lot of time explaining ourselves,” and yet we want our church to be a safe place where we can “quit explaining ourselves and just be…When there becomes a need to explain ourselves within church, it’s easier to just separate and create a new space.”  

Carlson added, “My sense is that Mosaic has spent a lot of time needing to explain yourself to those in denominational leadership… your approach to multicultural ministry, your growth pains…and it’s exhausting.”

He continued, “I believe there is space for welcoming and belonging for every part of Mosaic within MC USA if that is where you want to be…I am open to doing the work of figuring out what are the structures that give us life, what are the areas of friction and disagreement, and where current structures aren’t serving us well, how can we update and modify those.”

Guyton shared some of his journey to becoming a Mennonite. “If I can belong in this institution for 31 years, I know that there is a place for anyone. God has called me to this place, and I pray that you find the place God has called you to.”  

The delegates discussed at table groups the grief or challenges that they personally, their congregation or their CRM would experience with a redefined relationship with MC USA, and the signs of hope and life, as they look to the future of Mosaic.

Delegates were then asked to vote on the ballot, which read: “To affirm, with gratitude, the work and recommendation of the Pathway Steering Team to establish a robust partnership with Mennonite Church USA, and to bring recommended bylaw amendments for delegate discernment at the 2025 Mosaic Conference Assembly.”  

The ballot item is a request from the delegates to the Mosaic board, which the board will need to carry out with MC USA during the next year. The voting process used a green-yellow-red system to more effectively hear dissent.

The vote passed with 71% affirmation, which means that Mosaic Conference leadership will be working toward defining a relationship of partnership with MC USA. 

MC USA has previously stated that “conversations related to partnership are ongoing and likely require MC USA delegate approval.” 

“Continued dialogue with MC USA leadership is very important, so that we don’t just splinter and cut each other off,” Moderator-Elect Roy Williams said, reflecting after Assembly. “We are made of many parts – it’s in our name – and how we move forward in exploring partnership will shape us as a Conference moving forward, too. My challenge to MC USA and to Mosaic is how can we improve the relationship that we have.” 

Mosaic Conference materials for delegates provided some information about the concept of partnership with MC USA: “We identify as Mennonites and desire an ongoing relationship with MC USA to help ground us in the Anabaptist story. At the same time, reducing the time spent struggling with MC USA structure and policies will allow Mosaic’s leaders to focus on our strategic plan, conference priorities, and identity work. We acknowledge that this change will not resolve the differences in our congregations around human sexuality and we are committed to discerning our conference posture as an early step in implementing our strategic plan.” 

There were 69 delegates (40%) who voted “I affirm,” 52 (31%) who voted “I affirm with reservation,” 34 (20%) who voted “I do not affirm,” and 15 (8%) who abstained (according to Mosaic Conference bylaws, abstentions are counted as “no” votes). 

Acknowledging the variety of perspectives of delegates, Mosaic Conference Moderator Angela Moyer Walter said, “Some of us are excited, some are confused, sad, or angry, and God is with us in this journey.”  

“There is a clear sense of trust and affirmation from the delegates for the discernment and recommendation of the Pathway Steering Team,” Moyer Walter said, when reflecting on the vote after Assembly. “And yet as we have seen throughout the Pathway process, a breadth of diversity in perspectives and experiences within Mosaic. We are taking all the feedback heard throughout Assembly to the board meeting later this month and it will shape our way forward.”  

*This article was updated on 11/7/24 to reflect the language written on the cards used for the vote. 

by Stephen Kriss

Two years ago, amid a lot of emotions, we gathered in person at Assembly for the first time “as Mosaic” at Souderton (PA) Mennonite. It was hard and holy. It felt different. Our theme focused on God’s chesed, or lovingkindness and pre-existent grace, which I’m still convinced will be essential for Mosaic to thrive, along with yieldedness and the ability to go the second mile (c.f. Matthew 5:41).  

This week, we will gather again to mark the conclusion of the Pathway process and recognize our ongoing growth and challenges. We discerned to keep our meeting date ahead of a contentious US presidential election, knowing that it could bring additional emotions into the space. We continue to experience growing pains. After two years together, the Pathway team has given us a new strategic plan, already approved by the Board, with priorities that include relationship building and clarifying our identity. 

Amid all of this, I am coming to Assembly grateful. Over the past number of weeks, the majority of Mosaic delegates have been engaged in listening and discerning. This is a hard time to do church across difference. We have language, culture, and geographic differences on top of our theological, social, and political ones. I’m grateful for each person who has given time, energy, prayer, and sometimes restless sleep to this process thus far. It is evident that we care about our future together, even when we disagree about what that future could look like. 

Nearly 200 delegates will take their places at the Assembly table groups, to encounter God together, bringing their own experiences and wisdom of their communities to the table. We will use the method of red, yellow, and green colors as a way to avoid up/down decisions. This approach allows us to hear dissent and move toward yieldedness.  

We will vote to affirm the Pathway Team’s recommendation to establish a healthy partnership with MC USA. This is a vote to keep the process moving for another year so that we can clarify what partnership means, with bylaw adjustment options coming in 2025. It extends chesed so that we can have better clarifying conversations about our relationships with Mennonite Church USA and allow those of us who had griefs and concerns to be heard and to listen as well. In the year ahead, we will learn more together to be able to make more informed decisions, deepened and broadened by our engagement with each other and MC USA leaders. 

In some ways, this process keeps us in what can feel like the wilderness (c.f. Exodus 15-16). We cannot move forward, and we cannot go back. The wilderness was a time of learning new behaviors and of distraction and complaining. There was manna and quail. There was a golden calf and broken tablets. 

Being together in a wilderness can help us learn about God’s provision. It gives space for praise led by worship leaders like Miriam. It gives time for young adults like Joshua and Caleb to grow into their leadership skills. It’s also a place of becoming a people redefined no longer by enslavement but by a new identity that emerges as both beautiful and broken. 

I’m grateful God has brought us this far. We know it’s by grace. And as we gather with a bustling group that bursts the seams of Souderton Mennonite’s meetinghouse, we know the Spirit will show up. I humbly and expectantly look forward to experiencing the Spirit’s leading us, together. 

1. Read the docket and other important documents before Assembly. Print out a hard copy (if you want one) or bring an electronic device on which you can read it. We will not be supplying hard copies. 
 
2. Ahead of time, review the FAQ document to understand how the voting will work (including red, yellow, and green colors) for delegates regarding the partnership recommendation with MC USA. 

3. On Saturday, Nov. 2, enter Souderton Mennonite Church through the main carport entrance. There is a parking lot across the street from the meetinghouse, on Chestnut Street, and parking around the building. Plan that parking and getting through the registration line could take 15 minutes.  

4. Doors open for registration at 8:50 am. Arrive early for community time in the Fellowship (Exhibit) Hall where Conference-Related Ministries (CRMs) and other agencies will be available to connect. Worship will begin at 9:30 am.  

5. From 12:30-2 pm, both the Exhibit Hall and lunch will be available. Be sure to plan time to visit both!   

6. Marta Castillo will be available during lunch in the lunchroom to meet with credentialed leaders who still need to complete items to renew their credentials. Stop by to ask questions or to verify what you still need in order to renew. 

7. Please bring a handheld rhythm instrument, such as drumsticks, for the peacemaking and drumming time during our afternoon session. If you don’t bring something, your hands work great too! 

8. Our Assembly Support Fund remains open for online giving and also through a collection basket at lunch. Your gifts offset the travel costs for delegates coming from a distance (FL, CA, VT). 

9. A prayer room is located next to the delegate session room, off the coffee area, from 9:30 am-4:30 pm. It is available for anyone to pray or receive prayer. 

10. In addition to the mid-day luncheon, light snacks (including PA Dutch and Mexican pastries), coffee, and tea are provided throughout the day. Childcare is available. There is no childcare during lunch. 

We look forward to seeing everyone on November 2! Need more information? Visit the Assembly Webpage.