Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Articles

Associate Executive Minister Marta Castillo Receives Reflective Leadership Grant

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Mosaic Mennonite Conference’s Associate Executive Minister Marta (Beidler) Castillo has received a $15,000 Reflective Leadership Grant from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School. The grant will support a time of reflecting on how to grow relational capacity and adapt leadership accountability amid conference-wide growth of geographical locations, intercultural diversity, and congregational transitions. 

In 2024, 50 Christian leaders from a variety of faith-based organizations across the U.S. were selected for these grants, which support an opportunity for structured reflection for leaders of Christian organizations that are advancing their mission amid today’s rapidly changing context. The leadership education initiative is based in Durham, NC and funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc.   

“The Reflective Leadership Grant at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity recognizes and supports the faithful, innovative work of lay and ordained Christian leaders who find themselves at a pivotal moment in their ministry,” says Mycal Brickhouse, a director of program and grants at Leadership Education.  

“Using Harvard professor Ron Heifetz’s language, we want to help leaders experience “balcony time,” which allows them to move from the dance floor to the balcony to gain a broader picture of the work, organization, community and trends. We want to encourage grantees to continue to develop their leadership capacities in ways specific to their context and we look forward to learning alongside them and their communities.”

As the daughter of Franconia Conference-rooted mission workers, Castillo has been shaped by four of the linguistic cultures in the Conference, growing up in both Vietnam and Indonesia. Marta has attended Nueva Vida Norristown (PA) New Life for over 30 years and served on the pastoral team from 2007-2017. Marta served five years on the Franconia Conference Board, two of those as Assistant Moderator, and has been employed by the Conference since 2016, beginning as a Leadership Minister. She graduated from Eastern Mennonite University with a major in Elementary Education and has a Certificate of Christian Ministry from Eastern Mennonite Seminary and a Master of Arts from Kairos University.  

In December, Castillo and her husband Julio will move from their home in Norristown, PA to Miami, FL to provide care for Julio’s mother. She will continue to work with Mosaic as a Leadership Minister and as Associate Executive Minister, expanding Mosaic Conference’s staff presence in Florida. 

In January through March, Castillo will have two days per week of “balcony time” for active reflection, coaching, personal retreat, and opportunities to listen for God’s calling within her role at Mosaic Conference and for God’s Spirit leading the Conference in this current stage of development and growth.  

Through the Reflective Leadership program, she will have opportunities to connect in person and virtually with other grant recipients and share reflections and ideas.  

Mosaic Board Paves the Way for Annual Assembly and Beyond

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by Jennifer Svetlik

On September 30, 2024, the Mosaic Board’s agenda focused on actions for the November 2 Annual Assembly and Mosaic’s future. The Board opened with the week’s praying scripture, Heb 13:1-3, and reflected on what it means to keep on loving each other as siblings in this moment.

The Board unanimously approved the membership of Bethel Worship & Teaching Center (Levittown, PA), Ark of Christ (Orange County, CA), Resplandece Mennonite (Miami, FL and Barranquilla, Colombia) as congregations of Mosaic, and The Worm Project as a Conference-Related Ministry. Profiles of these four communities will be released in October in Mosaic News so that they can be introduced prior to being welcomed at Assembly.

“These four ministries represent the diverse languages, cultures, and contexts of Mosaic with both local and global impact,” shared Executive Minister Stephen Kriss. “We are grateful for the opportunity to embrace and recognize each as a new member with their unique gifts and possibilities.” 

The Board also reviewed feedback from the seven delegate preparation sessions that took place throughout September. These sessions were an opportunity to learn more about Mosaic’s strategic plan, the Vibrant Mosaic program, and the Pathway Steering Team (PST)’s recommendation on affiliation with Mennonite Church USA (MC USA), and to respond and ask questions. Delegates were highly engaged in these meetings. Many delegates indicated trust in the PST’s discernment process over the past two years, and desired more understanding of how a partnership, rather than membership, with MC USA might work. 

“There was a lot of gratitude for the work of the PST, the work that God is doing amongst us, and the abundant opportunities that lay before us,” shared Conference Moderator Angela Moyer Walter. “Many delegates also need time to digest and reflect on what the PST had two years to work with.”

In response to delegate feedback, the Board shaped a resolution that gives space and a timeline for a more fully developed plan for partnership with MC USA. 

It reads, “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.” 

On Oct. 2 delegates received the Assembly docket, which includes this resolution and a supplemental document that offers more information about the rationale and implications of the board’s resolution. The resolution does not include a bylaw change at this year’s Assembly. 

“The Board discerned that this resolution is the best next step for Mosaic Conference to move forward together and live into our Conference vision and priorities. Partnership allows us to do that best; it does not mean withdrawal from MC USA, nor does it mean the status quo,” explained Kiron Mateti, Board member and PST member (Plains [Hatfield, PA]).  

“So much changed in the last month in terms of public communications that shaped what kind of partnership could be available. This resolution provides more space for clear, healthy discussions between Mosaic staff and MC USA and opportunities to provide more understanding to all about the hard work partnership would entail,” Mateti continued.

“Sometimes it feels like the opportunities that Mosaic has in our new strategic plan to live more deeply into our mission and vision have been overshadowed by the question of affiliation with MC USA, a question that affects some communities more than others,” Moyer Walter added. “There are congregations that have long-standing relationships within MC USA, and others who have much less relationship with MC USA.”  

Responding to the text of the resolution, MC USA Executive Director Glen Guyton shared, “Mosaic Mennonite Conference is a beloved part of MC USA. We value the relationship that we share and will continue to share with the people who comprise Mosaic. The Executive Board and Staff welcome continued dialogue and collaboration with Mosaic leadership as we discern together.”

Mosaic Conference’s Annual Assembly, the third-ever in-person gathering of the delegate body, will feature Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards sharing with groups of leaders on Friday, and preaching on biblical humility during Assembly worship. 

“God has brought us this far and will continue to be with us. I am very excited about the opportunities ahead of us, and what the Spirit will do among us,” Moyer Walter encouraged.  

Jennifer Svetlik

Jennifer Svetlik is the Editor/Development Coordinator for Mosaic.

A Delegate Reflects on the September Preparation Meetings

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by Greg Law

Editors’ Note: Greg Law, a delegate from Frederick (PA) Mennonite, attended the first two September delegate preparation meetings, at the Mosaic office in Lansdale and at Philadelphia Praise Center. The following are some of his reflections and observations.  

Some of my observations during the two recent delegate preparation meetings I participated in, included:

  • There are some within our Conference are just beginning to realize the continued growth of Mosaic since 2020, including outside of the United States.
  • There is some confusion on what the proposal affirmed by the Board about partnership with Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) means for Mosaic Conference congregations in terms of the daily impact, since MC USA seems to be changing their view on the possibility of collaboration and partnership. For the more established white congregations there doesn’t appear to be much impact, but for some of the newer and immigrant congregations, there may be a loss in some grant money.
  • A realization that if we are no longer part of MC USA, we can freely partner and collaborate with any group we choose. 

Some of my takeaways from these two sessions included:  

  • It was good to hear from representatives of the Pathways Steering Team, their honesty about the struggles in their discussions, and how seriously they took their tasks. They did an incredible amount of work in a very short time and represented many viewpoints from across the conference well.
  • It’s easy to forget how diverse Mosaic conference is when you live in the historical footprint of the former Franconia and Eastern District Conferences. And it is surprising how quickly conferences went from being geographical to being theological/ideological.
  • In attending the session at Philadelphia Praise Center, I realized that people connecting via Zoom from California had to participate beginning at 4 p.m. Working across time zones can be challenging. 

My lingering questions and reflections after these sessions include:  

  • What is the importance of Mennonite World Conference to Mosaic conference? I want to understand that more.
  • We will still have some of the same issues to deal with even if we leave MC USA. This will just remove one layer of administration. Separating from MC USA does not remove the tension around other topics being debated within conference congregations and leadership.
  • A lot of the delegate participants see this as a chance for a clean start, without having to fit into a mold that increasingly appears to not work for us. It would be uncharted. But with God’s guidance and dedication from the member congregations and Conference-Related Ministries, we could forge something truly wonderful to spread the Good News of Jesus’ saving grace to our broken and beautiful world. 

Greg Law

Greg grew up in the Franconia, PA area and currently lives in Western Montgomery County near Schwenksville.  He has been part of the Frederick (PA) Mennonite church since 1993 and serves as a songleader and elder. 

A Ministry of Water, Concrete, Corn and Gratitude: Get to Know Healthy Niños Honduras (Part III)

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by Javier Márquez

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of four feature articles on HNH, originally published in Spanish in 2024. All photos by Javier Márquez.

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

In bottom left, a man from the community receiving medical assistance. In the top right, a family that has known the program for many years. In the bottom right, the construction of a concrete floor in a home.

Three of the Conference-Related Ministry Healthy Niños Honduras (HNH)’s key services are represented by water, concrete, and corn. 

The deep level of poverty in the mountains of Honduras creates conditions where people must live in precarious houses, with dirt floors and without clean water. When babies crawl and take their first steps on dirt floors, the bacteria and insects present start a cycle of gastrointestinal illnesses, which make children vulnerable to diseases that threaten their development.

Without a potable water system, families build rainwater storage wells, which are holes in the ground filled with water that they use for bathing, drinking, and washing boots and dishes. Honduras faces diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, which are transmitted by mosquitoes that breed and dwell in these water wells.

To address these problems, HNH offers to build cement floors, which are donated to families and built by the brigades. Over the years, hundreds of these floors have blessed families and provided safer places for children to grow.

HNH also donates small, simple water filtration systems that protect everyone, especially children, from diseases that can come from consuming contaminated water. 

At the Nutrition Center

Norma Gutiérrez and her daughters at the Nutrition Center. 

HNH maintains a digital record of everyone it has served and offers professional follow-ups on each case. The families of children who are below the healthy nutrition line are invited to go to the Nutrition Center. 

The Nutrition Center is a beautiful place that resembles a small village with colorful houses, a small school, a park, and a kitchen. Surrounded by bean, cassava, soybean, papaya, and plenty of corn fields, families who accept the invitation come here to help their children recover over several months. 

The Nutrition Center becomes a small community where mothers work together to cook tortillas and coffee each morning, clean the center daily, and take care of their babies in a place where there is enough food to eat.

Hundreds of children have been rescued at this center. It is a place where families receive nourishment for their stomachs and their hearts. Parents who have saved their children by admitting them to this center have become community leaders who invite other families to come. Some, like Don Félix, have even ended up working on staff with Healthy Niños. 

Freddy brings avocados from his plot to thank the brigade for helping him build the floor of his house. That day, his daughter Celestin was celebrating her first birthday: “She is the apple of my eyes,” he said.
Mrs. Blanca Isabelle prepares coffee for the brigade. Sadly, her eldest son passed away suddenly a year ago. For her, he will always live on in her memory.

Growing into a Mosaic with Antiracism Training 

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by Janet Panning

Editors Note: The anti-oppression training that Mosaic leaders received is one of the first activities of the Vibrant Mosaic Program.    

In early September, I participated in an Antiracism Analysis Training led by the nonprofit organization Roots of Justice. Our training took place at the new Philadelphia Praise Center (PPC) building on South 18th Street in Philadelphia. Our tasty Indonesian meals were catered by members of PPC, and Pastor Aldo joined us for the two-and-a-half day training. Around half of the participants were white and half were persons of color. Most of us were connected to Mosaic Conference, as board, staff, committee members, pastors or other leaders.  

We started on Thursday evening by adding to drawings of giant icebergs scattered around the room. The icebergs represented periods of the history of the United States, from the 1600s to the present. The iceberg, our trainers explained, is a metaphor for racism. A small part can be seen while much takes place out of sight. The out-of-sight part includes the systems and structures that perpetuate racism.  

Participants view the icebergs upon which they had written acts of racism and resistance within various time periods of U.S. history. 

Our opening task was to remember U.S. history and write actions of oppression on the inside of the iceberg and actions of resistance on the outside. We filled the icebergs with notes about slavery, red-lining, destruction of Black business districts, Jim Crow, family separations, segregated schools, the Indian Removal Act and Trails of Tears, Indian boarding Schools, and more. The acts of resistance included the underground railroad; the development and flourishing of Black institutions such as mutual assistance associations, universities and colleges, business centers and banks; civil rights actions, and more.  

The realities of racism and oppression that our small group was able to identify in such a short time saddened me. It is a depressing reminder of our history of depravity as a country and too often as a culture, particularly as we see instances in our own time, and sometimes within ourselves. The pairing of acts of resistance in the same historic period, however, is a reminder that there has been resistance to racism and oppression from the beginning. Our task today is to continue the work.  

Through exercises and caucuses, we looked at examples of systems and structures that support the entrenchment of racial injustice today and we talked about our roles in maintaining or dismantling systems of racism. We talked about the benefits that our current system allocates to persons who are white and the barriers and harm our current systems create for persons of color.  

As a white person, for instance, I have never had to give my children “the talk” of how to keep safe from persons in authority that might view them as a threat. My husband and I don’t think about getting pulled over in our cars when we drive at night. I have confidence when I go to the doctor that I will be heard. Prior to 2022, if I had chronic kidney disease and needed a kidney transplant, the risk scale used to assess my need would put me ahead of the black woman who had the exact same condition. 

At Mosaic Conference, we have a God-given opportunity to live in to our intercultural commitment as we continue to grow. This richness gives us an opportunity to share in each other’s gifts, experiences, perspectives, and burdens. This work will include listening to each other and listening for opportunities to support God’s work in diverse communities, including working for a more just and equitable country. 

Participants and trainers were hosted by Philadelphia Praise Center. 

Janet Panning

Janet Panning serves on the Mosaic Board and is the Ministerial Committee Chair. Janet is actively involved at Plains (Hatfield, PA) Mennonite Church where she serves as an elder. She is employed by Montgomery County’s Office of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health. Janet is married to Steve and they have two daughters, Megan & Molly.

Starting to Shell the Corn: Get to Know Healthy Niños Honduras (Part II)

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by Javier Márquez

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of four feature articles on HNH, originally published in Spanish in 2024. All photos by Javier Márquez.

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

In the top left, we can see one of the communities waiting for a medical brigade. Top right, one of the registration stations. Bottom left, a dentist and child, after performing a dental cleaning. Bottom left, a child with donations to take home.

The Brigades

Every morning, after breakfast, four vehicles leave from the main facilities of the Conference-Related Ministry Healthy Niños Honduras (HNH) toward a local community that has been previously selected and prepared by the staff. Among these vehicles are a team of volunteers and medical staff, along with the medical brigade equipment. When they arrive, there are nine stations organized: registration, vital signs and vitamins, deworming, height and weight, donations, medical consultation, pharmacy, dentistry, and construction. 
 

To reach the communities, one must drive to pick up the doctors working with HNH, then travel a path surrounded by cornfields, cross rivers, and climb mountains. When the brigade arrives, the community is always organized, either at the town’s school or church. Sometimes they have prepared signs that read “WELCOME,” and community leaders are always ready, some with lists in hand and a team prepared to help unload the truck and set up each of the stations.

Each brigade serves around 120 people per community, most of whom are children. The brigades provide families with donations such as clothing and toys, medically attend to the entire community, build floors in the poorest houses, and donate water filters. Undoubtedly the most important goal, though, is to identify children suffering from malnutrition, based on height and weight assessments. Once identified, the families—which often exceed 60% of those present—are invited to take their children to the Nutrition Center, a place designed for children to recover.

Children from a local community; top left, a typical house in the rural area of Honduras; and top right, a child whose family is receiving a concrete floor for their home.

The Volunteers

The volunteer teams are a key part of this ministry. On each visit, a group from a Mennonite congregation in the U.S. volunteer for a week along with the medical team. Many of these congregations are part of Mosaic Conference. Last year, 56 teams from congregations volunteered.

The teams are diverse. At least twice a month, people of all ages, genders, and professions arrive. They are students, pastors, entrepreneurs, and retired people, some who are here for the first time and others have been serving with HNH for years. Many have developed friendships with people from HNH or the community.

They arrive enthusiastic, ready to lend a hand at one of the nine stations, prepared to learn and ask questions, to pray every morning before heading out to the brigades, and to pray and reflect with the Bible every night when they return.

The Communities and the Medical Team

It is amazing, even in areas where there aren’t many houses, how many people come to the school or church where the brigade will take place. That is how villages and mountains are throughout much of Latin America. Rural communities that, despite growing some crops, have a high level of malnutrition and poverty. Families who have been waiting for the brigade for months arrive clean and smiling. The brigade also strengthens community leadership and is a gathering time for locals. 

The volunteers arrive alongside highly qualified doctors, nurses, interpreters, engineers, and community leaders. A staff person coordinates the brigade, including oversight of registering medical information, reviewing patients’ medical histories, attending to families, cleaning or extracting teeth, building floors, or encouraging families to go to the Nutrition Center. 

August 2024 Faith and Life Gathering

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by Andrew Zetts

The Faith and Life Commission of Mosaic Conference provides space for pastors and credentialed leaders to build ties of friendship and support. We convene quarterly to discuss scripture and listen to how we might interpret and apply those scriptures. We pray for each other and our congregations in light of our reflections. We seek to develop relationships of mutual trust and accountability, deepening our convictions and  involvement in the congregations we lead. 

It is common for congregants and community members to ask questions of pastors. So, what happens when pastors get together? Who asks the questions? It turns out, they all do.  

At the most recent in-person Faith and Life Gathering that was hosted on August 28 at Swamp (Quakertown, PA) Mennonite, seven Mosaic pastors from different ministry contexts gathered to be formed by scripture and community with each other. The discussion centered around Matthew 16:13-20 and the foundations of the Church.  

While the discussion and interpretation moved in a variety of directions, it was rooted in an important revelation in the text: Jesus is the Son of Man, God among us. 

In a room of well-trained, highly experienced pastors, there was an air of humility and openness at our gathering. Pastors are famous for being verbose and ready to engage an audience. This wasn’t that kind of meeting.  

Rather, it was a room full of questions, curiosity, and vulnerability. Throughout our hour and a half together, I heard things like: “I don’t know, what do you think?”, “What’s it like for you and your congregation?”, “I used to think about it this way, but my years of ministry have led me to think differently…”, and “I’m not really sure, how has your church handled it?”  

At first, I was hesitant to attend. Life in ministry is busy, and the gathering was one of many color-coded rectangles on my Outlook calendar. I confess, I even arrived late.   

But I left the gathering refreshed and renewed. Something transformative happens when we are in each other’s company, open ourselves up to the Spirit and each other, and prepare to be moved. My peers’ posture toward questions rather than certitude made mutual transformation even more likely.  

In divisive times, gathering is essential. One of the participants reflected at the end of our meeting, “I’m glad I came today; this was a really humanizing experience.”  

I’m grateful that Mosaic makes these Faith and Life gatherings possible, and I hope to do my own part in supporting the effort. I hope to be at the next one on November 6 in person or November 7, 2024, on Zoom. See you there! 

Andrew Zetts

Andrew Zetts is Associate Pastor at Salford Mennonite (Harleysville, PA).

Reflections on Seven Years with Mosaic Conference

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by Mary Nitzche

In the spring of 2017, I was invited to serve as Associate Executive Minister beginning July 1. For nearly five years I served in this role until my successor, Marta Castillo, began in February 2022. Since then, I have been gradually letting go of some responsibilities while assuming new roles. February 2022, I began a two-year administrative role with the Mosaic Board and Executive Committee. In January 2024, I was invited to a one-year interim Leadership Minister role with Hendy Matahelemual for our three Indonesian congregations in California. One role I continued throughout my tenure with Mosaic was serving as Leadership Minister for the Alpha, Fairfield, and Taftsville congregations. At the end of September, I will be fully retiring. (No more asks, Steve!)

As I reflect on my seven years with Mosaic Conference, relationships that formed brought me gratitude, joy, and challenge. 

Gratitude

I am so grateful for the team of colleagues I worked alongside. I value the comradery, and unique gifts, perspectives, and wisdom they each bring to our team.  

Each time I was ready to release responsibilities, one of our staff members was prepared and willing to assume the role. I am so grateful for competent, committed, and younger leaders who are serving well as I let go. The vision for developing younger leaders is bearing much fruit. 

I am grateful for our conference priorities, particularly nurturing intercultural connections. The diversity of our staff and member congregations reflects our intentionality and hard work of welcoming and becoming more culturally sensitive. 

Joys

Relationships with colleagues, pastors, conference and congregational leaders, and leaders within Mennonite Church USA (Conference Ministers and Constituency Leader Council members) has been an invaluable gift. 

Leading two groups, women pastors and leaders and chaplains has been gratifying.  I witnessed the care, support, and encouragement given to each other as they faced opportunities, challenges, and transitions in their ministry settings. 

Assisting new leaders through the credential process was tedious and inspiring, especially hearing their stories of call to ministry. Participating in or attending their licensing and ordination services, reminded me of the Holy Spirit’s mysterious and holy activity in calling, preparing, and empowering leaders to serve in a variety of ministry roles and settings. 

Interviewing women who were first to be credentialed in our conference (Franconia, Eastern District, and Mosaic) and representing different cultural groups has been another holy experience.  

Challenges/laments

As the credentialing process became more complex given the nuances of our growing cultural diversity, I realized it was time for me to make room for someone more gifted and experienced.  

Conflict over theological differences was also beginning to wear on me even though, from our origins as Anabaptists, this has been an ongoing struggle. 

While I cherish all the relationships, new understandings gained, and rich experiences of the last seven years, it is time to retire. In each step of my long discernment process toward retirement, I recognized my priorities were shifting. The demands of the work physically, emotionally, intellectually, and interculturally were beginning to stretch me in body, mind, and spirit. 

Thank you, Mosaic Conference for the privilege of serving in a variety of roles with your trust and support each step of the way. 

Mary Nitzsche

Mary Nitzsche is a Leadership Minister for Mosaic Conference. She and her husband, Wayne, are Midwest natives. They have two adult daughters, Alison and Megan, sons-in-law, Michael and David, and two delightful grandchildren, William and Audrey. Mary enjoys spending time with family and friends, walking, knitting, sewing, and cooking.