Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

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Online Spaces of Refuge and Reflection: 7 Ways, Refuge, and Resplandece 

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by Andrés Castillo

In 2020, the COVID pandemic disrupted the notion that in-person gatherings were the only way to do church, as many congregations began to find virtual avenues for gathering. 

As the virus’s threat lessened, many congregations returned to meeting in-person as their primary gathering style. However, there are three Mosaic Partners in Ministry that thrive online or in a hybrid format: 7 Ways Home Fellowship (Bowie, MD), Refuge (USA), and Resplandece (Pembroke Pines, FL). 

(Left) Amazon packages containing apartment necessities purchased by 7 Ways for a young adult in the community.(Right) 7 Ways’ annual crab feast. Photo by Jaye Lindo.

7 Ways Home Fellowship

7 Ways is a Partner in Ministry that emerged five years ago when Jaye Lindo began a bimonthly discussion group in her home in Maryland. Someone asked her, “why don’t you start a church?” 

They began meeting on Friday nights to discuss scripture, ask questions, learn as a community, and be a space for people who came from other congregations. Many of 7 Ways’ members have ministered before. 

Members check in on each other’s personal lives and discuss a Bible passage. Their discussion acts as the sermon. Without a preacher, everyone is considered a leader. 

“Visitors are welcome, but we are a vulnerable group,” shares Lindo. “All questions are welcomed, and we discuss difficult life topics.” 

COVID brought health issues that complicated in-person meetings. Now, 7 Ways meets online, getting together only for special gatherings during warm months, like their annual crab feast, or other social event opportunities.  

Despite the distance, members often come together in other ways. They have offered support to young adults who are aging out of their adoption process and are moving out on their own. Members often don’t know the person or meet them but help provide things for their apartment such as shower curtains and cooking utensils. 

“It’s hard for me to say we’re a church,” Lindo says, but we all agree that 7 Ways is their church. “We encourage anyone to find a place for themselves, if they need a Sunday gathering and use what they learn on Fridays to bless other Congregations. Start your own 7 Ways! 

Screenshot from Refuge’s Website.

Refuge  

Jessica Shrock-Ringenberg (Kansas City, MO) and Emily Ralph Servant (Baltimore, MD) found themselves longing for a different expression of church, post-COVID. 

They asked themselves, “How can we be Jesus’ people in our neighborhood, and how can we empower others to do the same?” 

They started a group to wrestle with these questions and invited others who were longing for something similar—many of them former pastors — to connect monthly from different parts of the country. They named the group Refuge, and call it a “churching club,” since the focus is not on a weekly gathering but on cultivating lifestyles of “churching” in each member’s neighborhood. 

Their monthly gathering starts with guided meditation and imaginative prayer, and they explore how a story from one of the gospels connects with their lives and neighborhoods. 

“We intentionally keep it simple and lead it in such a way that the people in our group feel like they can start their own group,” shares Shrock-Ringenberg. “Not much preparation goes into our gatherings.” 

They challenge themselves with missional practices intended to shape each participant into a disciple who reflects Jesus in their everyday life. They use the acronym S.M.E.L.L. to remember the practices (a reference to “smelling” like Jesus): 

  • Slow Down: Practicing balance, rest, and saying “no” 
  • Mutuality: Both giving and receiving help, love, and care 
  • Eating: Extending hospitality and being a guest 
  • Listening: to the Holy Spirit through Scripture and prayer 
  • Learning: Practicing curiosity and learning from neighbors 

During their gatherings, they encourage each other and check in on their neighborhood practices, which helps them maintain their community and identity when not gathered. 

They’ve discovered that some missional practices come more naturally than others. “Currently we’re reading Luke, which tells the story about eating with others. It’s the story of Refuge,” says Shrock-Ringenberg. Several members have been very intentional about inviting people from their communities into their homes, while others have cultivated yard space for neighborhood children to come over for play dates. 

“‘Eating with others’ is the idea that you should not eat only with your family or only with Christians. Is there space in your life for other people? My husband Shem and I own a heating and air conditioning business, so we invite our employees to eat with us. We also sometimes go to the local brewhouse, sit at the bar, and connect to the community.” 

Resplandece Mennonite Church 

Josué Gonzalez was part of Encuentro de Renovación, a Mosaic congregation. He began to feel led to work more deeply with the Hispanic Mennonite community and of planting a church in his community in Pembroke Pines, FL.  

His dream became a reality when a support group was formed with Mosaic staff and they identified a pastor, Manuel Garcia, based in Barranquilla, Colombia, who would connect online to minister to a hybrid group, now called Resplandece Mennonite Church.  

On Sundays, Gonzalez hosts the in-person portion of the group at his home in Florida, while Garcia joins on Zoom from Colombia.  

The church members, connecting from Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, and various US states, receive daily devotionals through WhatsApp and meet online for weekly prayer and devotional time. 

“We hope to find a new physical meeting space soon, to expand community outreach in my locale,” says Gonzalez. “The online option is a great way for people to be able to come, but some—including myself—aren’t used to it. Having a home base, a physical presence in the community, would let people in the area know we’re here.” 

Resplandece is also raising funds to be able to compensate Garcia more generously. Interested persons can contact resplandecefinanzas@gmail.com or send a donation addressed to Resplandece Mennonite Church to 11021 N Lakeview Dr., Pembroke Pines, FL 33026. 

Mosaic is a conference that offers space for emerging communities to experiment and follow Jesus in unique and unconventional ways. These communities are offering new ways of being church together.  

Andrés Castillo

Andrés lives in Philadelphia, PA, and currently attends Methacton Mennonite Church. He loves trying new food, learning languages, playing music, and exploring new places.

Growing by grace: From coast to coast, Indonesians diversify, enrich U.S. Anabaptism

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by Eileen Kinch

Originally published on July 3, 2024, in Anabaptist World, and reprinted with permission.  

Pastor Aldo Siahaan prays during a Christmas service at Philadelphia Praise Center in December 2023. Photo by Haris Tjio.

Indonesian Mennonites began coming to the United States in the 1980s, and their numbers increased after 1998. Today 19 Indonesian Mennonite congregations are located on the West and East coasts. 
 
Some of their people were already Mennonite, part of the Anabaptist movement in Indonesia that counts 107,000 members today. Others were not. 
 
One who wasn’t is Aldo Siahaan, pastor of Philadelphia Praise Center. The congregation was independent when Siahaan founded it in 2005. Today, Siahaan is a leader and connector of Indonesian Mennonites in the United States. 

Of the eight Indonesian congregations affiliated with Mosaic Conference of Mennonite Church USA, almost all joined because of a connection with Siahaan. Indonesian churches now make up more than 10% of Mosaic. 
 
Siahaan learned about Mennonites when a member of the church asked if his Mennonite pastor from Indonesia could visit Philadelphia Praise Center for a few weeks. That pastor was Bastian Yosin, a Mennonite pastor from Java. After learning the congregation was unaffiliated, Yosin recommended Siahaan contact Franconia Mennonite Conference (now Mosaic after joining with Eastern District Conference). 
 
Following Yosin’s advice, Siahaan went to the Franconia Conference office. Staff invited him to the next MC USA assembly in San Jose. 

Virgo Handojo, pastor of Jemaat Kristen Indonesia Anugerah (Indonesian Christian Congregation of Grace) in Sierra Madre, Calif., did not know Aldo Siahaan until they met in San Jose in 2007. 

Handojo formed the Indonesian Mennonite Association, which includes Handojo, Siahaan and Beny Krisbianto, pastor of Nations Worship Center in Philadelphia. The association is a member of MC USA’s Racial Ethnic Council, which brings the perspectives of people of color to MC USA leadership and planning. 

But the relationship between Handojo and Siahaan bore other fruit. 

In 2017, Jemaat Kristen Indonesia Anugerah was looking for an affiliation after Pacific Southwest Conference reorganized. Handojo’s congregation, which numbers about 50, could have chosen to join the five Indonesian congregations that remain affiliated with the Jemaat Kristen Indonesia Mennonite synod in Indonesia. Instead, it joined Mosaic, as did two other California congregations: International Worship Church in San Gabriel and Immanuel International Church in Colton. 

When Handojo came to the U.S. to attend Fuller Seminary in 1987, he intended to return to Indonesia after completing his education. Handojo, then a member of the JKI synod in Indonesia, desired formal study to increase his effectiveness as a minister there. But “God closed the door” to his returning to Indonesia, Handojo said in an interview. 

He got involved with Mennonites in the United States after he received a phone call from Mennonite Board of Missions, a predecessor of Mennonite Mission Network. Someone had nominated him to serve on the board of directors. “To this day, I don’t know who nominated me,” he said. 

Sandrie Wahyu, front center, leads worship at Philadelphia Praise Center. Photo by Haris Tjio.

Serving on a mission board appealed to him. Handojo was influenced by Adi Sutanto of the JKI synod, who believed in “planting a church everywhere in the world,” Handojo said. “After that [phone call], I became deeply involved in Mennonite Church USA.” He served on the board for more than 10 years. 

Not all Indonesian Mennonites in the U.S. share Handojo’s experience. He came to the U.S. for education, but others, including Siahaan, came fleeing riots in 1998. 

The riots began as student protests to economic conditions, but the military incited the looting of Chinese-descended Indonesian businesses and violence against women. Many Chinese-descended Indonesians are also Christians. 

Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country, with Christians comprising 11% of its population. The country’s constitution allows freedom of worship for Christians, but Siahaan is grateful for the freedom he experiences in the U.S. In Indonesia, he was nervous about going to church. “Something could happen,” he said. 

The riots also played a role in the lives of Graciella Odelia’s parents, who moved with Odelia and her sister Marciella to the U.S. in 2011. Amid the violence, their parents were locked inside a building that was about to be burned down. 

Odelia, recently licensed to youth ministry at Nations Worship Center, came to the U.S. when she was 10. Her family made NWC their church home. She went to Dock Mennonite Academy and Eastern Mennonite University and is earning a master’s degree in Christian leadership at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. 

Marta Castillo, associate executive minister of Mosaic Mennonite Conference, anoints and prays for Graciella Odelia, licensed for youth ministry at Nations Worship Center in June. Photo by Joe Byakko Bongs.

When Beny Krisbianto, the pastor of NWC, felt a concern for the next generation, he and his wife and co-pastor, Angelia Susanto, tapped Odelia to help with youth ministry. Odelia now organizes a weekly youth service on Saturday afternoons. The youth service, conducted in English, draws youth from other Indonesian Mennonite congregations nearby and also a few youth who have no church home. 

NWC worships in Indonesian, with interpretation for English speakers, on Sunday morning. But the youth service is in English because most of the youth were born in the U.S. 

“They only speak a few words of Indonesian,” Odelia said. Many youth hear Indonesian spoken at home by their parents. “They still have some practice but [not] complete fluency,” she said. 

Marciella, who helps with the youth service when she is home on break from EMU, added that sometimes youth prefer not to listen if the service is in Indonesian. 

Odelia shared her testimony in Indonesian before being licensed for ministry but found the experience challenging. She volunteers as an interpreter at a health clinic to improve her Indonesian sentence structure and to increase her formal language skills. But she has another tool. “Duolingo helps,” she said with a laugh, referring to a language-learning app and website. 

The youth at Nations Worship Center help to pack grocery bags for the congregation’s service ministry. The bags support members and attenders struggling financially. During COVID-19, many Indonesians lost factory and restaurant jobs, and the grocery distribution reached 90 bags weekly of eggs, noodles, rice and canned goods. Today the situation is more stable, and NWC is preparing only 30 bags. 

But the congregation finds itself helping another wave of Indonesian immigrants. Many are seeking better financial opportunity. Krisbianto said that the pandemic limited immigration and travel, so many are making the choice to come now. 

Siahaan said motivation for current immigration may have a political angle. Indonesia’s newly elected president, Prabowo Subianto, played a major role in the 1998 riots. 

“There is uncertainty,” Siahaan said, explaining that some people want to leave Indonesia “before something bad happens.” Instances of Muslim individuals disrupting church services have occurred in 2023 and 2024. 

Krisbianto, who came to the U.S. in 2001 for education, felt a call to minister to immigrants. His ministry began as social work, since he interpreted for Indonesian patients at a health clinic. One person said to him, “Pastor, where is your church?” Krisbianto replied that he was trying to plant one. Some people at the clinic said they would like to come. 

The church began with nine people in 2006. The offering was $90 — $10 short of the rent. Krisbianto added $10 to make the ends meet. “By the grace of God, [the church] is growing,” he said. Nearly 300 come to worship during three services. 

Nations Worship Center celebrated its 18th anniversary on May 19. From left are Beny Krisbianto, Angelia Susanto, Graciella Odelia and elders Theresia, Nengah and San-San. Courtesy of Beny Krisbianto.

Yet being an immigrant in another country is challenging. Uprooting oneself from family is hard. Legal processes can be slow and difficult, and adjusting to a new language and culture takes time. 

For Siahaan, feeling happy about the move comes in retrospect. 

“After I do my flashback, yes [it is worth it]. My relationship with Jesus is stronger here,” Siahaan said. He has no close family nearby, so he must ­“really depend on God.” But he is satisfied with his life in the U.S.: “God gave me so much.” 

Many Indonesian Mennonites gravitate toward Anabaptism’s Christ-centered message and its reconciling work. Krisbianto said Indonesians did not receive a warm welcome from some neighborhoods in Philadelphia. But the Mennonites in Franconia Conference were different. 

“They’re very nice, calm, simple, humble. And they’re very welcoming,” Krisbianto said. “We feel like we are part of their families.” 

Stephen Kriss, Mosaic Conference’s executive minister, appreciates what the Indonesian congregations bring to the conference. 

“The vibrancy of worship while holding together mutual care, evangelism and justice-seeking that occur within Indonesian context continues to influence our Mosaic community broadly,” he said. 

Of the 19 Indonesian Mennonite congregations in the U.S., eight are affiliated with Mosaic. Six remain ­with a Mennonite synod in Indonesia, and others joined conferences such as Pacific Southwest and LMC. 

Eileen Kinch

Eileen Kinch is digital editor at Anabaptist World. She holds a Master of Divinity degree, with an emphasis in the Ministry of Writing, from Earlham School of Religion. She and her husband, Joel Nofziger, who serves as director of the Mennonite Heritage Center in Harleysville, live near Tylersport, PA. They attend Methacton Mennonite Church. Eileen is also a member of Keystone Fellowship Friends Meeting in Lancaster County.

Ambassadors We’re Learning from This Summer

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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 six Ambassadors. 

Brendan Sagastume, 19, is a member of Perkiomenville (PA) Mennonite. Through the Ambassador Program this summer, he is working with both Mosaic Conference and Perkiomenville. At Mosaic, he works with the communication team, especially on the website and social media. He has had the opportunity to visit and interview some of the other Ambassadors and travel to their worksites. At Perkiomenville, he works with the worship team, youth group, and on other administrative tasks.  

Sagastume has led worship on a few Sunday mornings at Perkiomenville and created the announcement and countdown loop to play at the beginning of services. The experience this summer as an Ambassador has helped him with public speaking, administrative skills, and confidence, all while worshiping the Lord.  

“Learning what happens behind the scenes administratively in different organizations has been one of my takeaways,” Sagastume reflects. “I’ve been invited to think more critically about different experiences in my life and engage in discussion.” 

The largest impact that the Ambassadors program has had in Sagastume’s life has been his willingness to try new things and be more outgoing. He is grateful for this opportunity to work and learn more about what goes on behind the scenes at Mosaic and at his congregation. 

Nicholas Wiyono, 19, is a member of Philadelphia Praise Center (PPC). Through the Ambassadors program he is serving with PPC’s summer peace camp, where he assisted with about 20 children.  

Wiyono built on his skills and experiences as a Sunday School leader and helper at PPC. Throughout the summer, he has grown in his leadership ability, public speaking, and ability to be outgoing.  

Growing up at PPC, he had previously seen some of the work that Mosaic does, but now is able to see it more firsthand. He has really enjoyed seeing how both PPC’s summer peace camp and the Ambassador program can help people to grow individually and as a group in all areas of life. He is grateful for all the support he has received and for the opportunity to grow. 

(Ei Ya, pictured on the left)

Ei Ya, 18, is a member of Whitehall (PA) Mennonite. During his time in the Ambassador program this summer, he has created the slides for Sunday worship, helped to rebuild and maintain the church website, and provided upkeep with the church gardens at a community park. He also spends time at Ripple Community, Inc., a Conference-Related Ministry in nearby Allentown. 

One of the biggest impacts the Ambassadors program has had on Ya is an increase in his ability to be outgoing. He initially had fears about having to interact with many different people in this program, but he found that, “people are easy to connect with. Attempting to be inviting with a smile sure goes a long way.”  

Ya was invited to the Ambassadors program by his pastor and has been so thankful for the experience. He says that this summer has been filled with great people and fun. It has taught him many new skills that will serve him well as he starts college this fall. 

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.

Workshop on Discernment Available for Mosaic Congregations and Ministries

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by Jennifer Svetlik

During the June Mosaic board retreat, Leadership Ministers Rose Bender Cook and Noel Santiago offered a two-hour interactive equipping workshop to help create more shared language within Mosaic around discernment work.  

In July, Mosaic staff and Pathways Steering Team members, along with board members who were not present at the retreat, joined virtually to participate in this discernment training.  

The groups were invited to reflect on questions such as:  

  1. How would you describe the difference between discernment and decision making? 
  2. What do you think is needed to have a good corporate decision-making process?  What are unhealthy practices that prevent good discernment? 

Quoting from Henri Nouwen, Director of Collaborative Ministries Margaret Zook (Salford [Harleysville, PA]) shared, “As discerning people, we sift through our impulses, motives, and options to discover which ones lead us closer to divine love… Discernment reveals new priorities, directions, and gifts from God.” 

Gary Alloway (Redemption Church of Bristol [PA]) shared, “Discernment assumes I don’t yet have what I need and must be open to imagination and creativity.”  

Others reflected on the importance of setting group ground rules; listening well; asking the right questions; offering enough time for learning, listening, and reflection; finding courage to and having a safe space to speak up; and doing inner spiritual work to listen to God, prior to engaging in the group process.  

“All voices need to be at the table, not just for listening but to be empowered to speak up and be a part of the process,” encouraged board member Maati Yvonne Platts (Nueva Vida Norristown [PA] New Life).  

A communal storytelling of John 9 was also a central piece of the session, to help the group think together about the barriers to discernment or seeing God at work among us or in others. There was individual and group reflection on which of the story’s characters are most relatable, the emotions, motives, and power dynamics present, and how this story speaks into each’s leader’s discernment approaches and challenges.  

Bender Cook and Santiago drew on the book Pursuing God’s Will Together by Ruth Haley Barton to share about healthy group discernment practices. They offered several resources for continued individual and group reflection and processes.  

“The reflection on John 9 was a good springboard for discussion on spiritual vision,” shared Barbara Musselman (Zion [Souderton, PA]), who participated in the board equipping session in Vermont, with her spouse Jim Musselman, who is on the board.  

“I had many takeaways. One of them was that discernment is breaking out of our usual binary of either/or thinking to find a new way of moving forward as co-conspirators in God’s Kingdom.” After the session, Musselman asked Bender Cook and Santiago if they would be willing to lead a similar session with the board and spiritual council at Zion.  

“I look forward to wrestling with this and putting it into practice with my congregation,” she says. 

Bender Cook and Santiago are also open to leading a session for your congregation or Conference-Related Ministry. The workshop can be offered in person or on Zoom and interpretation is available. Bender Cook and Santiago are also available to preach on discernment with the John 9 text. Please reach out to them if interested in these possibilities.  

“Ultimately, we can attend discernment workshops, but the real work begins in how we live into those practices both individually and corporately,” encourages Bender Cook. 

Jennifer Svetlik

Jennifer is Editor / Development Coordinator 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. 

Mosaic Conference Receives Grant for Thriving Congregations Program 

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Published:  July 25, 2024

LANSDALE, Pennsylvania– Mosaic Mennonite Conference has received a $1,250,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. to provide learning communities and coaching for congregational leaders and their congregations; funding for congregational learning experiences and missional experiments; and targeted supports for Mosaic’s growing community of leaders of color. 

The project is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The aim of the initiative is to encourage the flourishing of congregations by helping them deepen their relationships with God, enhance their connections with each other, and contribute to the vitality of their communities and the world. 

The five-year project, titled “The Vibrant Mosaic Program,” is designed to integrate the Conference’s missional, formational, and intercultural priorities into congregational life. It seeks to build resilience among Mosaic congregations through spiritual practices, deepening relationships, common mission, and a sense of belonging. 

The Vibrant Mosaic Program includes three components:  

  • Learning communities of congregational leaders who participate in up to two years of classes and travel, along with targeted coaching as they implement what they’ve learned on a congregational level.
  • Congregational missional experiments and learning experiences funded by $5,000 microgrants and focused on each congregation’s growth edge.
  • Specialized support and gatherings for leaders of color to learn, build relationships, and cast vision. 

“We believe that vibrant, thriving Mosaic congregations are missional, intercultural, and formational, embodying the reconciling love of Jesus in our broken and beautiful world,” shares Vibrant Mosaic’s codirector, Rev. Dr. Emily Ralph Servant, Mosaic’s Leadership Minister for Strategic Priorities.  

Ministers and leaders gathered for a Mosaic Institute course in May 2023.
The Introduction to Mosaic class at Fern Rock Retreat in 2022.

“The Vibrant Mosaic Program will provide congregations and congregational leaders with opportunities to strengthen their rootedness in our tradition while also increasing their missional, intercultural, and formational capacity through education, on-site communal experiences, spiritual practices, and relationship-building.” 

Mosaic Mennonite Conference is a community of congregations and non-profit organizations that stretches from Vermont to Florida and from New Jersey to California, with global connections in Mexico, Colombia, India, and England. The conference was birthed in the early 18th century in southeastern Pennsylvania, split in the mid-19th century into two distinct conferences, and experienced a reconciliation and merger in 2019 that blossomed into Mosaic Conference the following year. Since that time, the conference has integrated several networks of congregations and experienced a wave of emerging communities from across the country, shifting the demographics of the conference, as well as creating an influx of members that do not share a common history.  

“In the midst of the disorientation that often comes with rapid growth, Mosaic Conference has been exploring how to ground our congregations in our rich theological and communal tradition while also remaining open to transformation through relationships with new brothers and sisters among us,” shares Executive Minister Rev. Dr. Stephen Kriss. “Our desire for the Vibrant Mosaic Program is to cultivate resilient congregations who, together, recognize God in our changing reality and respond with courage and creativity.” 

The implementation of the Vibrant Mosaic Program has already begun. This summer and fall, program staff are making plans for an anti-oppression training for staff and board members (scheduled for September 5-7); a summer intercultural competency training for course instructors, program staff, and interpreters/ facilitators; and the first wave of course revisions with coaching from The Kaleidoscope Institute’s founder, Eric Law.  

Beginning in January 2025, Vibrant Mosaic will launch its first cohort. Five congregations will be added each year. Congregations who are interested in participating should talk with their leadership minister.  

Vibrant Mosaic’s grant funding will support the program through June 2029, with a plan in place to integrate it into the conference operating budget so that the program is fully sustainable by 2033. 

Mosaic Mennonite Conference is one of 238 organizations that have received implementation grants through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. Reflecting a wide variety of Christian traditions, the organizations represent mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox, peace church and Pentecostal faith communities. 

“Congregations play an essential role in deepening the faith of individuals and contributing to the vitality of communities,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s Vice President for Religion. “We hope that these programs will nurture the vibrancy and spark the creativity of congregations, helping them imagine new ways to share God’s love in their communities and across the globe.” 

About Lilly Endowment Inc. 

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr., and his sons, Eli and J.K., Jr., through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe. 

Conference-Related Ministries, Together 

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by Margaret Zook

Mosaic’s Conference-Related Ministries (CRMs) serve their communities through nurture, formation, witness, care and discipling. They are led by individual boards, and are in relationship with each other through Mosaic Conference, grounded in shared Anabaptist values. Mosaic’s CRMs are geographically disbursed, vary in size and scope, and offer a wide variety of ministries.  

The “CRM Together” trips that have taken place over the past year have sought to “create a village” through visiting each other’s spaces, sharing stories, listening to the needs in our communities, learning and praying. These trips have invited CRM leaders to reflect on questions such as, “where can we help each other? What resources and gifts do we possess that can maximize the thriving of our communities?”  

Leaders of CRM Midian Leadership Project (Charleston, WV) with Margaret Zook, right, visit the Mosaic office and Dock Mennonite Academy (Lansdale, PA). 
Leaders of CRM Midian Leadership Project (Charleston, WV) with Margaret Zook, right, visit the Mosaic office and Dock Mennonite Academy (Lansdale, PA). 
CRM leaders, from left, visit Ripple Community, Inc.: Wayne Mugrauer, President, St. Luke’s Penn Foundation; Sarah Bergin, Director, MCC Care and Share Thrift Shoppes (Souderton, PA); Margaret Zook, Mosaic Staff; Ed Brubaker, President & CEO, Living Branches (Souderton PA).
CRM leaders, from left: Dean Stoesz, CEO of Indian Creek Foundation (Souderton, PA); Rich Whitekettle, Board member of Liberty Ministries (Schwenksville, PA); Wayne Mugrauer, President, Saint Luke’s Penn Foundation (Sellersville, PA); with Roy Williams, Mosaic Assistant Moderator. 

During Conference-Related Ministry Together Trips to Bike & Sol (East Greenville, PA), Mennonite Central Committee Material Resource Center (Harleysville, PA), Ripple Community, Inc. (Allentown, PA), a learning trip with Mennonite Historians of Eastern PA (Harleysville), a gathering at North Penn Commons (Lansdale, PA), and a Board & CEO luncheon with Assistant Moderator Roy Williams (North Tampa [FL] Christian Fellowship), CRM Together trips offered a place for sharing organizational beginnings, dreams for the future, and hopes for collective ministry opportunities.   

CRM CEOs and board members gather at the Mennonite Heritage Center (Harleysville, PA) for a talk on faith and culture. From left: Dr. Ron Souder, board chair, St. Luke’s Penn Foundation; Wayne Mugrauer, President, St. Luke’s Penn Foundation; Herman Sagastume, Executive Director, Healthy Ninos Honduras and Mosaic Board member.

“I find it inspirational to learn how members of our faith community are serving and supporting other CRMs in our community,” shared Sarah Bergin, Executive Director, Care & Share Thrift Shoppes (Souderton, PA). “These opportunities provide me with ideas and encouragement in my leadership role.”  

Mukarabe and George Makinto, co-directors of Amahoro International, lead worship during chapel at Dock Academy.    
Ed Brubaker, President & CEO, Living Branches; Edie Landes, board member of MCC Material Resources Center and of Mennonite Historians of Eastern PA.

The last stop on the tour was to North Penn Commons, a vibrant public center that houses four local nonprofit organizations that provide affordable housing, senior services, health and wellness services, job training, and food for those in need.  

Sheldon Good (Salford [Harleysville, PA]), director of Development and Strategic Direction, at Manna on Main Street, one of the four nonprofit organizations co-located at North Penn Commons, shared with the group of CRM leaders gathered, “The collective power of the faith community is both so strong and so underleveraged.”  

The CRM Together trips have sought to harness that collective power to develop deeper relationships across ministries, support one another, and seek to creatively continue to serve needs in our various communities.  

“These visits have reminded us of the diversity, importance, and connection of our community work,” reflected Wayne Mugrauer, President, St. Luke’s Penn Foundation. 

“We have all been inspired by this experience and the opportunity to learn, share, and grow.”  

Assistant Moderator Roy Williams, left, and Scott Roth, director of CRM Bike and Sol.   

Margaret Zook

Margaret Zook is the Director of Collaborative Ministries for Mosaic Conference. She and husband, Wib, are members of Salford Mennonite Church and live in Harleysville, PA.

Resourcing Our Pastors and Leaders for Holistic Wellness

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by Stephen Kriss

This spring a group of Mosaic pastors and leaders gathered to watch a session on the annual Barna Report at our conference offices. Barna does research on the Protestant world in the U.S. context. The most striking thing in this year’s report was the challenge of mental health for pastors. Pastoring has never been an easy calling. However, in recent years in the U.S., it has become even more precarious, with nearly one in five pastors reporting having suicidal thoughts. We are not immune to this in Mosaic. 

The pastoral calling can be isolating. It is lived within community; however, part of the call is to be set apart from the community. Pastors carry special burdens with their families and their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. I’ve struggled with some of these areas myself, not finding easy rhythms when there is always work to be done. Though the work can be taxing, it is meaningful and with people I sincerely love. 

Everence initiatives through the Lilly Foundation have sought to provide places and pathways for pastors to maintain their own wellness, including grants and financial counseling programs.  This spring Everence helped Mosaic sponsor a day away for our pastors. It was notable to me how many pastors signed up for the 15-minute massage sessions offered. Our bodies are carrying both primary and secondary trauma. We also offered time for personal, intentional prayer for pastors, from a team of pray-ers. All these sessions filled too.  

Mosaic leaders from California, Florida, and Pennsylvania participated in a “Mosaic Leadership Day Away” in scenic Lambertville, NJ along the Delaware River.  

Our Conference maintains a special fund to assist pastors with counseling, spiritual direction, and other needed resources of support. It is well-used, and we have relied on extra funds we received during the pandemic to strengthen this resource. We have nearly 150 active credentialed persons who serve in a variety of contexts. Some have access to wellness resources more readily than others. We want to make sure that all our credentialed leaders can have the care they need. 

Our leadership ministers regularly check in with lead pastors. We have regular learning communities and support groups for specific pastoral contexts. Our goal is that every pastor has at least two places of support from Mosaic Conference:  a direct line of accountability and accompaniment, and a peer group for sharing and resourcing. This is a goal yet to be achieved. We hope all our pastors have a friendship beyond their family in which they can process and feel support, whether that is a formalized mentor, trusted friend, spiritual director, or counselor. 

Our pastors serve diverse needs and communities. In some congregations, the pastor is called upon to lead the community in ways that an executive director would lead a non-profit. In other settings, the pastor is akin to a social worker, responding to various needs and identifying access to resources. In some settings, pastors are community workers serving neighborhoods and small towns. In many congregations, pastors must serve in almost every kind of role, from janitorial to preaching. We have pastors who serve as chaplains and organizational leaders, with their own sets of needs and challenges. Many of our pastors are bi-vocational. 

In our community of nearly 8000 people, the unique calling of pastor is carried by about two percent of our constituency. We rely on the contributions of our congregations, individuals, foundations, and our investments to ensure resources are available to cultivate healthy leaders and vibrant communities. 

With the reality of the Barna report in mind, we continue to invest in caring for our credentialed congregational and emerging leaders. We ask congregations to continue to recognize the significant calling their pastors carry and allow time for sabbath and connection with family and friends, for retooling and learning. Congregations and communities thrive when pastors and leaders thrive. 

I pray our ongoing support can allow our credentialed leaders to live out their sense of calling, knowing that they are worthy of God’s love, surrounded by honest and real networks of care. 

Stephen Kriss

Stephen Kriss is the Executive Minister of Mosaic Conference.

The Real Deal

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by Jordan Luther

On a humid Saturday night, a few hundred people gather in grandstands at the Fall Leaf Family Memorial Pow Wow Grounds in Copan, Oklahoma. A center drum with a dozen players pounds a steady heartbeat. The head singer starts a song and a dozen voices respond to him, their voices soaring higher than eagles. A hundred dancers move in a circle around the center drum, stomping and shuffling their feet to the center drum’s heartbeat. 

“This is the real deal,” says Jermey Johnson, the Cultural Education Director of the Delaware Tribe of Indians in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. “My ancestors have been dancing for millennia. People think we [Delawares/Lenape] have gone away. But we’re still here; we’re still dancing.” 

Some members of the faith-based delegation from southeastern PA, including Mosaic staff member Danilo Sanchez, left, Jordan Luther (Methacton [PA]), second from right, and Chief Brad KillsCrow of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, right. Photo provided by Jordan Luther.

I had the honor of being one of the people in the grandstands that night. I was there with a small group from Pennsylvania called the Friends of Delaware Tribe. The Friends of Delaware Tribe is an ecumenical network of congregations committed to building relationships of mutuality and trust with our Lenape neighbors, and several southeastern PA Mosaic congregations are a part of this group.  

Our group started last year in response to an impassioned request from tribal member John Thomas and Chief Brad KillsCrow at the Mennonite Heritage Center in Harleysville, PA. They are looking for friends to walk alongside them as they rebury the bones and artifacts of their ancestors currently stored in museums across the East Coast. 

Our trip to Oklahoma was 12 months in the making. It was an opportunity to reciprocate travel and visit with our partners in Oklahoma. The annual Delaware Pow Wow is a social gathering where many tribal members gather to camp, socialize, and share their cultural traditions. 

What I experienced at the Delaware Pow Wow was a miracle of resiliency. I heard stories of grief about loss of homeland, and I saw three and four generations of families laughing and spending time with one another. I heard their legal and financial obstacles for tribal sovereignty, and I saw a community that prioritizes affordable housing for elders on their tribal campus. Amazingly, I also heard youth and adults speaking the Lenape language, a language that nearly went extinct a generation ago had it not been for the commitment from elders like Nora Thompson Dean.  

A member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians dances in the annual Pow-Wow near Bartlesville, OK. Photo by David Miller.
Delaware tribe youth prepare to dance. Photo by Dick Detweiler.

I experienced a people who have many gifts to offer to our Mosaic. Our story as a people is interwoven with their story as a people through Lenapehoking, the land where Mennonites first settled and worshiped in North America. It is in the heartbeat of center drum where I felt the heartbeat of one of Jesus’ core teachings. Love your neighbor as yourself. 

This is the real deal. Our Lenape neighbors are still dancing, and Jesus’ call to love our neighbor still stands. 

The Friends of the Delaware Tribe is hosting a Right Relationship Training with the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery on Friday, Aug. 2 (evening) and Saturday, Aug. 3. This interactive training will help participants become better allies to indigenous peoples and will take place at Conference-Related Ministry the Mennonite Heritage Center (Harleysville, PA) and virtually. Coalition director, author, and Tewa descendent Sarah Augustine will be present virtually for the training. Information and registration is available here.  

Jordan Luther

Jordan Luther is a member at Methacton Mennonite Church in Worcester, PA. He volunteers with the Mosaic Intercultural Committee and leads the committee’s White Caucus. Jordan lives in Souderton, PA with his wife Sarah and their daughter.