Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

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August Board Meeting Sets the Pathway for Mosaic’s Future

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by Jennifer Svetlik

On the evening of August 19, 2024, the Mosaic Board met with a full agenda for their bimonthly meeting. Grounded in Psalm 118:1-4, the Board received a positive net income finance 2023-24 report and a report on the recent Thriving Congregations Initiative grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. Additionally, they set the annual Assembly schedule and prepared to receive three new congregations and one new Conference-Related Ministry (Ark of Christ [Orange County, CA], Bethel [Levittown, PA], Resplandece [Miami, FL and Baranquilla, Colombia], and The Worm Project. These will be introduced in Mosaic News prior to Assembly).

The Board also affirmed and adopted the strategic plan that the Pathways Steering Team has crafted with the support of consultant Grovider.

The strategic plan, which will guide the work of the conference from 2025-2027, includes five pillars: Clarity/Identity, Communication, Leadership Development, Reconciliation, and Relationship-Building. These pillars were based on the key themes that emerged from the listening tour findings and will be interwoven with Mosaic’s missional, formational, and intercultural priority areas.  

The Strategic Plan overview from Grovider is available here. Additional framework for this report will be forthcoming. 

The Pathways Steering Team, made up of 13 individuals from congregations across Mosaic Conference, includes two board and two staff members. The team was charged with a two-year process of overseeing a listening tour, reflecting on the tour’s feedback, aligning the feedback with existing priorities, and creating a three-year strategic plan and a recommendation on the question of Mosaic Conference’s affiliation with Mennonite Church USA (MC USA).

The Pathways team brought to the August 2024 meeting this recommendation for the Mosaic Board:  

We, the Pathways Steering Team, recommend a pathway forward of partnership and collaboration for Mosaic Mennonite Conference’s relationship with MC USA.  

We believe that partnership, rather than membership, allows our diverse conference to focus on our vision, mission, and priorities as we engage with each other and the broader body of Christ in each member’s unique context. 

We believe a partnership can help MC USA and Mosaic congregations and Conference-Related Ministries discover innovative ways to journey together toward healthier relational patterns. We believe Mosaic has much to offer in shaping a new model of relationship. 

We believe a partnership gives space for those who disagree to covenant as one body while we continue to learn and grow together in Christ-centered discipleship and peacemaking. We desire to avoid the schisms of our past and acknowledge that neither this recommendation nor any other will resolve all tension with recent MC USA resolutions and the diversity of belief within Mosaic.  

We thank the Holy Spirit for empowering us as we have worked together in our discernment and decision making. We have sensed the Spirit leading us forward through our times of listening and sharing, agreeing and disagreeing, praying, silence, and Scripture. Partnership was the pathway the majority of the Pathways Team was drawn toward, and where we found consensus. This recommendation comes with a sense of peace, a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and indeed it is a “pleasant place” (Psalm 16). 

After extensive conversation, the Mosaic Conference Board, with strong support, “affirmed the work of the Pathways team and recommends the affiliation proposal to the delegates.” 

“We deeply appreciate the dedicated, faithful discernment process of the Pathways team,” shared Conference Moderator Angela Moyer Walter. “We look forward to who we are becoming as we commit together to do the work of the strategic plan.”  

Moyer Walter continued, “Each piece of our mosaic is valuable and contributes to the whole. There are many perspectives, but God unifies us, even in disagreement. I invite us to surrender to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and recognize the breadth of God’s beauty represented in all of us.” 

Each piece of our mosaic is valuable and contributes to the whole.

angela moyer walter, mosaic moderator

“The Pathways team was very successful in what they were asked to do,” shared Mosaic’s Assistant Moderator Roy Williams. “No one approach will satisfy everyone. We as a board accepted this recommendation as such. We invite the Assembly delegates to wrestle with this recommendation and come together at the delegate preparation meetings to share their feedback. We’ll take all of it under advisement.”  

In reflecting on the affiliation recommendation, Executive Minister Steve Kriss shared, “This ‘third way approach’ will require work, patience, and creativity as we discern a possible new pattern of relating with our siblings across Mennonite Church USA. We value the space a new arrangement might give toward both focused and expanded possibilities within the global Anabaptist community.” 

“I feel grateful to be part of the Pathways Steering Team, though our time of prayer and discernment was not easy,” shared Haroldo Nunes (Seguidores de Cristo [Sarasota, FL]), who joined the Pathways Steering Team in January 2024. “We had disagreements, worked on many language changes, and needed to listen to each other well and compromise. We worked with respect and love for each other, knowing that the results will benefit the conference.” 

Also reflecting on her experience on the Pathways Steering Team, Bronwyn Histand (Blooming Glen [PA] Mennonite) offered, “I recognize that our path was difficult; we did not initially know one another, we primarily worked virtually, and our task grew out of a significant conflict. However, with persistent listening, scripture, prayer times, and lots of emails, both the strategic plan and the affiliation recommendation became clear. I particularly felt the Holy Spirit leading us as we grappled directly with the affiliation question. We talked openly, shared perspectives, agreed and disagreed, asked questions, and ultimately came to consensus. I felt a sense of God’s creative spirit flowing like a river as we embraced a ‘third way.’”

Feedback from the delegate preparation meetings in September will help to shape the action that the Conference Board will bring to the annual Assembly. The next meeting of the Conference Board will take place on Sept. 30, 2024.  

Jennifer Svetlik

Jennifer is Editor / Development Coordinator for Mosaic. She also serves as Children’s Faith Formation Director at Salford Mennonite (Harleysville, PA).

Spruce Lake’s Gap Year students talk about its impact 

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by Grace Nolt


The 2023-24 Gap Year students on their last day of classes May 14, 2024, (L-R, Back): Moraya Tellado, program manager; Micky Tellado; Abby Arndt; Connie Wismer, teacher/program manager. (Front): Kathryn Hoover, Maura Heraghty, Isabella (Izzy) Morales. Photo by Bethany Evans.

Renew Gap Year is a program for young adults in its second year at Spruce Lake Ministries, a Mosaic CRM (Conference-Related Ministry). Renew combines hands-on ministry experience with classes taken through Anchor Christian University (with or without credits), plus off-site trip days that include an international trip to Costa Rica. It can be a cost-effective alternative to diving into college immediately after high school. 

How can Renew benefit young adults in the Mosaic community?

Isabella Morales (otherwise known as Izzy) is one of the graduates from the 2023-2024 academic year. “I wouldn’t trade this year for anything!” she said. 

“The Renew Gap Year,” Izzy continued, “is great for young people who just want to find some direction in life; it gives you great experiences with work, school and relationships, and leaves you with experience and memories that you’ll remember…and it is a whole lot of fun!” 

Maura Heraghty, another graduate, agreed. Before coming to Renew, she just hadn’t realized that her interests in the mechanical and missionary fields could actually be combined to serve God. “I’m realizing that I can use all of my skills at the same time; I’m looking to be an engineer missionary now!” 

Micky Tellado’s Renew experience has affirmed his goal of becoming a youth pastor one day. (Micky already has been a Spruce Lake Day Camp counselor since 2021 and a Wilderness Camp Leader-in-Training in 2020.) 

Each semester, four 3-credit classes are offered for a total of eight classes and 24 optional credits, which are transferrable to select universities. Classes taught by qualified Spruce Lake Ministries staff include Dynamics of Discipleship, Apologetics, New Testament Survey, and Personal Finance. 

In the New Testament Survey class, students read the entire New Testament. “This allowed me to have more knowledge of who Christ is, what he taught, and why he said some of the very challenging things he said,” Maura commented. “It was also an environment where I could discuss those things with people without being afraid they’d just brush me off.” 

Throughout the year, Renew participants apply themselves through class days, work days, and trips off site — anywhere from a Broadway show in New York City to picking apples at a local orchard. They also serve with a local church or ministry, meeting twice a month with the ministry leader – another practical way to apply their skills and receive insight into the type of work in store for them. The 10-day Costa Rica trip tends to be a spiritual highlight. 

“I spend a lot more time in the Bible now,” said Micky. “That happened after our Costa Rica trip where each morning we would take an hour to be completely silent and spend time in the Bible and with God.” 

“My biggest transformation,” Izzy said, “has been an increase in confidence. Before, I was really anxious about (trying new things). At Renew, I learned that I can work in the office, I can do food service, I can interact with a customer, and I can grow a relationship with a bunch of people I never met before … it’s made me more willing to take risks and jump into other things in life.” 

Maura knew that she wanted to be in a Christian environment but couldn’t afford college. She registered for Renew when a friend told her about the program at Spruce Lake. “Renew has affected my walk with Christ,” she said. “My mentor really pushed me to grow in spiritual areas; she would kind of give me a nudge in the right direction, then check up on me to see if I actually chose to take those steps.” 

“The Renew Gap Year program,” Maura summarized, “is a place to grow and definitely be stretched — but also to find peace.”

Cultivating Next Generation Leaders 

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by Stephen Kriss

Within the first weeks in my role as executive minister of Franconia Conference, one of the predecessor communities of Mosaic Conference, then-moderator John Goshow (Blooming Glen [PA]) told me to begin to look for my successor. John told me that while I wouldn’t get to choose my successor that I should build a team in such a way that the successor would be nearby. He remarked that within Franconia Conference leadership was usually cultivated within. That had been true in my experience; every person in executive leadership roles had either worked in the Conference before or grown up within a Franconia congregation. 

I thought to myself, “This is how 300-year-old communities keep their legacy alive.” And I began the slow work of constructing a team that includes the diversity of who we are, expanding on that as our Conference has grown and changed to become Mosaic. This invitation gave me permission to seek out young leaders alongside experienced leaders. Currently we have a staff of nearly 25 persons with a mix of strengths, gifts, and backgrounds. I feel privileged to lead alongside them. 

The invitation to cultivate next generation leaders is what initially brought me to Franconia Conference. In 2005, the Conference recognized a need to support next generation leaders (then the millennial generation in their 20s). We listened together, visited colleges, developed initiatives, and laid the groundwork for what would become today’s Ambassadors program. The process opened the doors for next generation pastors and leaders across the Conference.  Never did I imagine that it would also mean I would be leading a community called Mosaic. 

This is some of the church’s most important discipleship work. I am always inspired by young leaders who chose to invest in the church. I value the sometimes-tough questions they ask.  The church both needs and can withstand rigorous questions and doubts. Jesus met Thomas’ doubts with an invitation to engage. My life has been changed by working alongside those millennials who have challenged and inspired me. 

We are now pivoting to the next generations: Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Some of the questions they face are entirely new, spurred on by technology and the interconnected nature of the world around us. Jesus continues to call leaders, sometimes those we don’t expect. 

Our shared work of creating a context where next generations can choose to follow Jesus and respond to the “call within the call” means taking postures of humility and care, alongside creating brave spaces where it’s safe enough to try and do, to sometimes succeed and sometimes fail.  

This summer I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Brendan Sagastume who was shared between Mosaic and his home congregation, Perkiomenville (PA), though the Ambassadors program which wrapped up last week on retreat in Tampa, FL. Brendan’s quiet and efficient steadiness helped me to become a better leader, learning how to listen well, to invite, and to respond.   

Cultivating next generation leaders is essential transformative work. Until the reign of God comes fully, in each generation we must navigate how to embody the reconciling love of Jesus in our broken and beautiful world by calling younger persons to serve and lead alongside of those of us who are more experienced. This is the work of discipleship. And the way is made together toward God’s future. 

Stephen Kriss

Stephen Kriss is the Executive Minister of Mosaic Conference.

Joint Youth Group Service Project Honors God and Creation

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By Abby Nyce, Souderton (PA) congregation

For years as part of its community service and creation care, Zion Mennonite (Souderton, PA) has annually cleaned litter out of West Street Park in Souderton. Since the park is a block from Souderton Mennonite, and Zion wanted to cooperate with other churches in some of its initiatives, for the last two years, Zion and Souderton have worked together to pick up litter in the park on a Saturday morning in May. 

Participants from Zion and Souderton who participated in the Chestnut Park Street cleanup, with the trash that they gathered. Photo by Ned Leight. 

As someone who enjoys community service, I found that picking up trash with the youth group of another Mosaic congregation, Zion, benefited both the park and the participants. Serving the community, even in something as small as picking up trash, allows for God to influence that community by motivating us, His children, to act rightly. We are called to serve through Him and care for others as He has cared for us, reflecting that care to the public.  

I committed to more than 30 hours of community service during my junior year of high school, and I have gone on multiple mission trips with the Souderton youth group. Community service is a way for me to serve the Lord in ways that have great impact over time, and to represent the Lord in the community.  

Removing trash from a park is an act that seems small, but it preserves the creation that our good God created for His people. By doing so, we worship Him and respect the planet we call our home.  

Photo by Jess McQuade
Photo by Jess McQuade
Photo by Jess McQuade

Abby Nyce

Abby Nyce is entering her senior year at Souderton Area High School. She’s involved in the high school’s Interact Club and National Honor Society, both involving community service. 

Carried by God, in Love

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by Nathan Good

The following is an adaptation of reflections shared by Dana and Nathan Good at the funeral of their son, Amos Rhett Good. To hear their full reflections, please click here. 

We didn’t have long with Amos, but he left a lifelong impression. Our journey with Amos began unexpectedly. Having taken surgical means to not have children, Dana and I were surprised by her pregnancy in late 2023.  

Then the next twist in the journey came. We discovered over halfway through the pregnancy that he had Trisomy 18, a severe genetic disorder. 

Amos was born on May 28, 2024 and lived for five hours. Many from our family were able to come to be with him and us. Those hours were filled with unconditional love.  

God was never far away. Even though most of his life on earth was spent in the womb, God was holding him close even then. The evidence of God and his people are all over the story of our son, Amos, and as his parents, we couldn’t want for a better legacy for him. 

The name Amos means “carried by God.” The prophet Amos was a simple shepherd called by God to deliver a powerful message: “Worship without justice is idolatry.” I feel a kindred spirit with the prophet. 

Nathan and Dana Good with their newborn son, Amos Rhett. 

I didn’t set out to be a pastor. I told God I would go anywhere and do anything for Him. I imagined a place of poverty, caring for people burdened by post-colonial globalism. Instead, God sent me to my own community with a simple message: “Worship without justice is idolatry.” 

Dana chose the name Amos for our son. Together we decided this was a way of naming him after me.  

As followers of Jesus, we claim to worship the one true God, the God of love and justice. 

The Apostle John reminds us: 

“This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 

“Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” 

I wonder what the world looked like from Amos’s perspective. For the entire time he was alive, Amos had his eyes open. I have never seen a newborn taking in their world the way Amos did. And I believe what he saw was love. 

Imagine if we discovered an animal species that developed an additional sense, knowing if one of their young would die prematurely. Rather than distancing themselves, they poured extra care upon the mother and the child. 

Imagine they created tools to provide oxygen to the baby, allowing the family to gather to hug, hold, and kiss the child before they passed away. If we found this in nature, we would hold it up as one of the greatest expressions of love. 

That was Amos’s life. 

I can’t help but think of those around us, walking through tragedy without a support system like this. I hope that the love we have experienced inspires all of us to feel the same love towards others. 

Love towards the 70 to 90 children in Quakertown School District without a house to call their own.  

Love towards the mother wrestling with a surprise pregnancy without family or anything that feels like a reasonable option other than terminating the baby 

Love towards the hundreds of thousands of babies who are aborted every year. 

Love towards refugees and immigrants who have traveled thousands of miles out of sheer desperation to provide for their children.  

Children without parents, parents without spouses, immigrants miles from home: orphans, widows, and foreigners. This is who God has called us to love throughout history and it seems just as difficult today as it was three thousand years ago. 

14 Seek good, not evil, 
    that you may live. 
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, 
    just as you say he is. 
15 Hate evil, love good; 
    maintain justice in the courts. 
Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy 
    on the remnant of [his people]. 

Amos 5:14-15

Nathan Good

Nathan Good is the Pastor of Swamp (Quakertown, PA) congregation.

Care & Share Thrift Shoppes Partners with St. Luke’s Penn Foundation for Narcan Training and Distribution

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Maggie Herrity, Care & Share Volunteer Manager and Ryan Schweiger, Community Outreach Specialist for St. Luke’s Penn Foundation, with one of the Overdose Emergency Kits. Photo provided by Care & Share Thrift Shoppes. 

Conference-Related Ministry (CRM) Care & Share Thrift Shoppes (Souderton, PA) is responding to community needs by taking steps to help prevent drug overdoses and reduce stigma for individuals living with substance use disorder.

Care & Share partnered with CRM St. Luke’s Penn Foundation and the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission to install two Overdose Emergency Kits in its shoppes in April. 

Each kit is temperature-controlled and located in a publicly accessible space. They contain 4-6 doses of Narcan, CPR mask shields, and other resources.

“By installing these kits within our Shoppes, we are increasing access to a tool that can help prevent deaths by drug overdoses.” says Sarah Bergin, Executive Director of the Care & Share Thrift Shoppes.

Ryan Schweiger, Community Outreach Specialist for St. Luke’s Penn Foundation provided an educational training on Narcan to the Care & Share staff. “An overdose can happen to someone using drugs illicitly, and it can also happen to someone who is prescribed opioid pain medications for medical purposes,” Schweiger said. “Many factors play into the risk for overdose, and Care & Share is in a position in the community to care for the community.”

In March 2023, youth pastors from the Lansdale, PA Mosaic Youth Formation cluster also met at Penn Foundation to learn more about responding to community needs to prevent drug overdoses. 

Ambassadors We’re Learning from This Summer (Part 2)

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by Brendan Sagastume

Editor’s Note: This summer, nine young adult Ambassadors are serving in congregations and ministries across Mosaic Conference. This article highlights three of these Ambassadors, and in the coming weeks, you will be introduced to the other Ambassadors. 

Calvin Wilder, 25, has been working in the Ambassador program with Midian Leadership Project. This summer some of his work included, coaching basketball, training and mentoring both kids and adults, assisting with Bible studies, and more.  

Wilder says that one takeaway from this summer is to “stay locked in.” Especially when working with others, it is easy to lose sight on what your goals are, and the reason why are you doing that work. To complete the work to the best of your ability and to continue to be accountable, you must stay focused. 

He was eager to join this program as it helped him continue his journey of giving back and leading people to the right paths, all while surrounding himself around others who are on the same mission as him. He is very grateful for the opportunity to meet people from many different places with many different backgrounds, but all share a common goal to spread the Word of God. 

Isaac Ramirez, 23, is a member of Luz y Vida Mennonite Church. Throughout his time in the Ambassador program, he has gained an understanding of what it means to be a true leader in addition to starting his ministry in worship.  

Something that he has felt God putting on his heart is that He requires us to not only give our all but be our best that we possibly can be when serving Him. Especially when serving in front of others, he has felt the importance of working his hardest, “to remain as pure as possible for His glory.” 

As someone who has been called to be a pastor, he felt that his program would give valuable insight and experience as to what goes on behind the scenes at his church. He is excited to use everything learned this summer to continue serving at Luz y Vida while studying to get his associate’s degree. 

Josh on the right.

Josh De La Rosa, 17, is a member of Luz y Vida Mennonite Church. Some of his bigger projects through the Ambassador program have included leading the youth through youth camp and other events. In addition to that, he has served on the worship team and assisted with the sound system.  

A lesson he learned throughout his experiences this summer was that things will not always go the way you intend them to and not be discouraged by that. De La Rosa says, “it’s easy to give up when you feel like nothing you do is working, but if it’s for God’s glory there’s always value in your actions” 

When he first saw this program, he immediately saw the value that it can provide as he can connect and learn from others about what leadership means to them. This experience has provided a positive impact that he can continue to show in all areas as he finishes this program and moves onto his next plans, which involve possibly releasing music with his band. 

Brendan Sagastume

Brendan is a member of Perkiomenville (PA) Mennonite. Through the Ambassador Program this summer, he is working with both Mosaic Conference and Perkiomenville.

Helping Mosaic Connect with What God Is Doing in Colombia

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by Jennifer Svetlik

Javier Márquez first became connected to Mosaic Mennonite Conference in 2019, through Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC’s) International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP), a year-long work and cultural exchange opportunity for young adults. His placement was to work with the Conference communication team and record immigrant stories.  

Upon returning to Bogotá, Colombia after finishing the IVEP program, Márquez stayed connected to Mennonites in the U.S., most notably as a writer for the MC USA MenoTicias digital Spanish-language magazine.  

As Mosaic’s connections in Colombia have grown, most notably with the Anabaptist Community in Medellin becoming a Partner in Mission and the pastor of the hybrid Resplandece community located in Barranquilla, it became clear that having a Mosaic staff person in Colombia would be beneficial.  

In July 2024, Márquez was asked to become the Communications Coordinator for Mosaico Colombia, as a Spanish-language writer and to provide some support and coordination for Mosaic’s partners in Colombia.  

“I’m happy to reconnect directly with Mosaic,” shares Márquez. “I feel that God is doing important things in Colombia, and I believe I can contribute to that work in this role.”  

Márquez looks forward to helping Mosaic connect with what God is doing in Colombia and Latin America, and reconnecting with the Hispanic church in the U.S.  

Javi in front of a favorite coffee shop, the sign reads: OCD: Obsessive Coffee Disorder. 

Growing up in Suacha, a city in the center of Colombia with an indingeous history, Márquez developed a special sensitivity for indigenous communities and intercultural relationships. He now lives in Bogotá, the capital. He has four siblings and his family is large, “like most Latin families,” Márquez says. He is part of the Anabaptist Community of Medellin, and he is proud of his community because they take very seriously the call to be peacemakers. 

Márquez has also taken this call seriously; he refused Colombia’s obligatory military conscription for young men, which led him through a two-year legal process.  
With the support of the Mennonite church in Colombia and the nonprofit organization Justapaz, Márquez finally won his case as a conscientious objector.  

“I believe that the nonviolent path of Jesus goes beyond refusing to be a part of wars and violence but also to work for peace with passion and commitment,” Márquez reflects. 

“Colombia is the land of coffee, salsa and Vallenato music, orchids and emeralds, traditional dishes litke sancocho (soup), aguapanela (hot sugary drink), arepas (cheese and corn flour cake), ajiaco (chicken, potatoes, and corn on the cob) and bandeja paisa (fried pork belly, red beans, plantains, and more),” Márquez says.   

Outside of his role with Mosaic, Márquez works with indigenous communities around Colombia. He roasts his own coffee and sells a little of it. He also has a cat. He loves to dance salsa, read, spend time with his family, and sleep like a bear. 

Jennifer Svetlik

Jennifer is Communication Associate/Editor for Mosaic. She grew up near Houston, TX and spent a decade living in intentional community in Washington DC, before moving to Lansdale, PA with her spouse, Sheldon Good. She is a graduate of the University of Texas and Washington Theological Seminary. She serves as Children’s Faith Formation Director at Salford Mennonite (Harleysville, PA). Jenn has two elementary-school-aged children and loves biking, camping, gardening, and vermicomposting with her family.