Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Articles

Giving Back What I Experienced

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by Bev Miller

EDITOR’S NOTE:  As we celebrate Black History Month, we are grateful to Bev Miller and Carrie Noble Duckett for their permission to reprint this 2014 article written by Miller, celebrating Noble Duckett’s life and experiences, including being the first Black person to graduate from Dock Mennonite Academy (formerly Christopher Dock Mennonite High School). We honor this history as we continue to deepen our intercultural capacities and practice of antiracist relationships that validate people’s racial experiences. 

“When we were around Mennonites, we didn’t see black and white,” says Carrie Noble Duckett, the spirited 76-year-old that was the first black person to graduate from Christopher Dock Mennonite High School. 

“John Ruth planted the church in Conshohocken, and he went around the community looking for people to come up to church. We lived two blocks away, down the hill by the railroad tracks and he came down and asked if we wanted to come to the Mennonite church. Oh yeah, I wanted to go and some of the other kids wanted to go, too.” Couples from the church would invite the Conshohocken neighborhood children to their houses for Sunday noon and then take them back to Conshohocken in time for the evening service. “‘Go on…and take your sister!’ my mother would say. “She trusted John.” 

Carrie joined the Mennonite church at age 12 or 13 and spent a lot of time after school at the Ruth home, talking to Roma and John and taking care of their newborn baby, Dawn. “It was something to do and I enjoyed it.” When Roma and John needed to go to Johnstown for a weekend, Carrie, at age 15, was the one that took care of Dawn. 

Soon Carrie began attending high school at the newly constructed Christopher Dock.  She attended with her good friend Mary, but after a year, Mary’s family moved, and she began attending elsewhere. Carrie found the white Mennonite children at CD to be very friendly and not pretentious in any way. “I didn’t see color and didn’t feel prejudice even though I was the only black person that attended the school at that time. I was always very outgoing and maybe that helped.” She admits to sometimes getting in trouble at school. She remembers Pearl Schrack telling her to “stand outside for a while.” Carrie would often stay overnight at Eileen Moyer’s house if she needed to be at evening school events. 

Carrie still recalls the three-quarter length sleeves, dresses twelve inches from the floor, and the head covering she wore while she attended at Dock. “It didn’t bother me because in those days we lived in an apartment building where all of us girls learned to sew in seventh grade and made our own clothing.  We had a fabric store right by us, so it was nothing for us to make our clothes.” Her younger sister even seemed to admire Carrie’s clothing. Although her sister, Pearl, did not attend Dock, she liked Carrie’s clothes and would sometimes claim them as her own, taking what she needed from their wardrobe. 

The only racial tension she experienced (but didn’t know about till a few years ago) occurred on the senior trip to Washington DC. The class advisors, Pearl Schrack and Ben Hess had arranged for a hotel for the class, but when they arrived, the owners of the hotel said they couldn’t stay there due to the presence of one black teenage girl.  So, the plans were changed, and the advisors found another hotel, but her classmates never forgot how they were treated. 

During Carrie’s senior year at Dock, she had to go out at Easter time to look for jobs. “I went to Bell Telephone, and I applied and took the test. Then they called me and told me I passed the test and had to go get a physical. They also asked me ‘When do you graduate?’ and I said June 5th. So Bell Telephone called, and I started on June 12, about a week after graduation. That was in 1957 and I retired with a pension in 1988.” 

When Carrie was 21, she married James Duckett and soon they had two boys, Darrell and Brian. Her mother passed away at a young age, so Carrie took in her sister and younger brother in addition to her own family. Her sister watched her boys while she worked and her husband was in the service. After her husband retired from the military, Carrie made sure he got a job with Ma Bell, and he also worked there for about 20 years. “I’ve traveled a lot all over the US. I went to Spain for a while with Bell Telephone and while Jimmy was in Vietnam, I even met him in Hawaii for some R & R.” 

Carrie Noble Duckett, as a teen, with Dawn Ruth Nelson as a child.  

Carrie currently attends Methacton Mennonite Church where the former child she babysat, Dawn Ruth Nelson, was the pastor until recently. She keeps in touch with many people from her 1957 graduating class. “I talked to almost half the persons from my graduating class today. I just had lunch with 2 of them. Out of a class of 27, ten of them showed up at my husband’s funeral a year ago. My schooling helped me to get my job and my job helped me to do all the things in life that I was able to do. But I’ve always been the kind of person to help others in need because I had that type of early influence on my life. [The Mennonites] always gave and didn’t require anything so I try to do the same today.” 

Bev Miller

Beverly Benner Miller is an Associate Pastor at Plains Mennonite Church and taking Clinical Pastoral Education courses from Eastern Mennonite Seminary. She has a Doctorate in Higher Education from Temple University. She wrote this article when she edited a quarterly newsletter, New Horizons from 2003 – 2018. She has 3 children and 2 grandchildren and lives with her husband, Ken, in Harleysville, Pa.

“God With Us” In the Liminal Spaces 

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by Jennifer Svetlik

Catholic priest and writer Richard Rohr talks about the importance of “dwelling together in the liminal space between life and death.” This past Christmas my family and I lived in this liminal space.  

In December, as I traveled to rural central Texas to be with my dad, brothers, and extended family, one of my youngest uncles, who had struggled with heart disease for 15 years, was in the hospital. After the first of two expected heart procedures, he initially improved. Until he didn’t. 

Within days, he was no longer able to live without the medical interventions that were fully supporting his heart. He elected to have the supports removed and knowingly face death. 

The grace with which he faced his fate was moving. As he visited with small groups of family members throughout the day, he regaled us with stories, gave us advice on how to enjoy life, and had his first root beer float in many years. 

Amid the tears, I experienced several surprise glimpses of God’s presence. While filling my water bottle next to a woman cleaning the bathrooms, she encouraged me, in Spanish, to “drink the good water, with ice,” from the machine around the corner. As we started talking about my large extended family that was gathered to say goodbye to my uncle, she showed me where I could get free coffees and sodas, and offered me encouragement from Ephesians 2:6, “For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus” (NLT). Her care and hospitality were a balm. 

Soon after his supports were removed, my uncle went on hospice care. However, he did not die in “minutes to hours” as predicted. So, family members began to keep vigil with him.  

My family returned to my dad’s home in the country and awoke the next morning to another glimpse of God’s presence in the liminal space we found ourselves in. One of my uncle’s heifers – one of dozens of cattle that graze on the prairie land my dad lives on – was pregnant. We thought she had an infection that might take her life and her baby’s. Instead, she successfully gave birth to twins! 

The surprise twin calves being bottle fed on my father’s ranch land near Shiner, TX. Photo provided by Jennifer Svetlik.

The twins were very weak and unable to nurse. They began to bottle feed. Their lives, and my uncle’s, were hanging in the balance. The line between life and death was noticeably thin. 

Two days later, both calves died. Their mother kept watch over them, even after their bodies were moved to the back pasture, as vultures and coyotes moved in to feast.  

As my relatives kept vigil with my uncle at the hospital, the whole herd of cattle moved to the back field and stayed close to the bodies of the calves, until there was nothing left but bones. 

The whole herd of cattle keeps watch as vultures feast on the calves’ bodies. Photo provided by Jennifer Svetlik.

The day after the calves died, so did their would-be caretaker, my uncle. 

Amid the liminal space between life and death, Father Rohr says, is where transformation takes place. “There alone is our old world left behind, though we’re not yet sure of the new existence,” he says. 

“When we embrace liminality, we choose hope over sleepwalking, denial, or despair,” Rohr says. “The world around us becomes again an enchanted universe, something we intuitively understood when we were young and somehow lost touch with as we grew older.” 

The night my uncle died, my family built a bonfire in the yard and allowed the kids to roast marshmallows as we wondered why some live and some die, and how life and death are all wrapped up in the same sacred space. 

Jennifer Svetlik

Jennifer is Communication Associate/Editor for Mosaic. She was born near Houston, TX and spent a decade living in an 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. 

Neffsville Affiliates with Mosaic Conference

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by Jennifer Svetlik

On January 7, 2024, Neffsville Mennonite (Lancaster, PA) marked its transition from being a member of Atlantic Coast Conference to affiliating with Mosaic Conference. 

Joanne Dietzel, Executive Minister of Atlantic Coast Conference, and Steve Kriss, Executive Minister of Mosaic, were both present for worship at Neffsville to mark and pray for this transition.  

Neffsville has asked Mosaic to hold the credentials of Neffsville’s pastors, Lead Pastor Hunter Hess and Associate Pastor of Youth Ministries Eszter Bjorkman, in this relationship of affiliation. Neffsville will join other Partners in Mission of Mosaic, which includes Mosaic funded-church plants, congregations, and networks both domestically and globally. Partners in Ministry are organizations or congregations that are not members of Mosaic Conference but share our values and a vision for Anabaptist witness in their communities. 

Kriss encouraged the Neffsville congregation, “I want to invite you to build relationships strongly, to step into these spaces and ask good questions.” He described Mosaic as, “A relational conference, and we also have strategy.”  

“We look forward to this relationship together, and to deepening relationships,” Kriss continued. In fact, there are several prior relationships that already exist among the Neffsville pastors and Mosaic congregations, as well as Mosaic leaders and staff with the Neffsville congregation.  

Pastor Hunter Hess welcomes the opportunity to build these relationships further. “We see Mosaic as recognizing the movement of the Holy Spirit in the global church and the Conference’s desire to learn from and lean into that movement. Evidence of that leaning is the focus on multicultural churches,” Hess said. “Neffsville may not be there yet, but we also desire to find the wind of the Spirit and hitch a ride.” 

Neffsville has approximately 400 members, with a thriving group of members over the age of 90. Neffsville is the first congregation from Lancaster to partner with Mosaic.  

“The alignment of Neffsville Mennonite into a relationship with Mosaic is an expression of hope that congregations within Mennonite Church USA can participate in strong and vigorous partnerships in fulfilling God’s mission,” shares Jeff Wright, Leadership Minister for Neffsville. “It is also an opportunity for Mosaic Conference to learn from our sisters and brothers in Lancaster County. I look forward to walking with Pastor Hunter, the staff, and the elders of Neffsville as we find fresh ways to engage in fruitful mission.” 

Reflecting on the decision, Kriss added, “The leadership team of Neffsville has been diligent, careful, and open-handed in their discernment of affiliation with Mosaic. They have shown openness to receiving the gifts of what it means to be Mosaic, to engaging with Mosaic’s priorities, and asking good questions.”  

Jennifer Svetlik

Jennifer is Communication Associate/Editor for Mosaic. She was born near Houston, TX and spent a decade living in an 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. 

Celebrating God’s Presence in the New Year

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by Elina Ciptadi, Mennonite World Conference

Five tips for reducing anxiety  

From wars to climate disasters and slower-than-expected economic recovery post-pandemic, 2023 has been a challenging year. As we navigate through these world events and ponder their impact on our lives, we look toward the new year. How do we celebrate when the world around us seems to be crumbling? How do we express gratitude for salvation when death and destruction constantly play out on our screens?  

“The past year has brought a multitude of stressors,” notes Virgo Handojo, pastor of Jemaat Kristen Indonesia (JKI) Anugerah (Sierra Madre, CA), and a psychology professor at California Baptist University. “Stressors can be perceived as threats, neutral events or opportunities for growth – a challenge. They become overwhelming when viewed as threats to our existence, causing us to lose perspective on what truly matters.”  

To alleviate the anxiety caused by stressors, Handojo shares five tips:  

Virgo Handojo

1. Distinguish between what we can and cannot control, then formulate actionable items. 

Prioritize and make changes to the things you can control, while adjusting expectations for factors beyond your control. Although halting climate disasters may be beyond our reach, making a positive impact on our microenvironment – our households, neighborhoods or even contacting elected officials – is within our grasp.  

2. Establish a routine. 

Uncertainty adds stress and can lead to anxiety. Developing regular patterns – such as consistent mealtimes, regular work or school schedules, daily exercise with the same group, family prayer times and weekly Bible study – helps regain a sense of control.  

3. Specify the stressors.  

Anxiety stems from irrational thoughts; an anticipation that lacks clarity, specificity and reality makes it overwhelming. By assigning a name to the stressor, such as identifying a concreate aspect of a macroeconomic condition (e.g., an increase in interest rates), we can begin to strategize and find solutions.  

4. Turn down the volume of the world.   

This may involve turning off the TV, taking a social media break, or setting boundaries with individuals who contribute to your worries – at least until you’ve developed better coping mechanisms. Be in touch with your inner thoughts, here and now.   

5. Seek help.   

Talking to a trusted individual can be immensely helpful. Simply being heard may reassure us that we are not alone. If sharing burdens among friends doesn’t provide relief, it’s an indication that professional help may be necessary to prevent anxiety from taking over our lives and joy.   

“Living in this world means experiencing both positive and negative emotions,” says Handojo. “We will not know happiness without having experienced sadness, or comfort without pain. What we must remember is that we can surrender our minds and thoughts to God’s hand, trusting that God is in control.”   

“We also have promises that God knows our needs, will take care of them and will be with us in both good and bad days. Matthew 6:25-34, which addresses worry and anxiety, emphasizes seeking first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, with the assurance that all other things will be provided as well.”  

God’s presence and guidance, in both good and bad times, are the heavenly gifts for which we can be thankful for this new year.  

A Christmas-themed version of this Mennonite World Conference article originally appeared on December 15. Used with permission. 

You Have Never Traveled This Way Before

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by Noel Santiago

“Since you have never traveled this way before…” – Joshua 3:4a (NLT)

Assembled on the Plains of Moab, Israel received the Mosaic laws outlined in Deuteronomy and mourned the loss of their leader, Moses. Now Joshua is to lead the people of Israel. A generation before, the people did not want to enter the land God had promised Abraham, so they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. They had crossed the Red (Reed) Sea and experienced the Lord’s deliverance from Egypt’s might. 

Now this generation, under new leadership, finds themselves on a similar path. They were to cross the Jordan River by following the Ark of the Covenant, the place of God’s presence as noted in Joshua 3:3-4: “When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them.”  

The instructions to the people continue in Joshua 3, “Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about a half mile behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.” (NLT) 

In the wilderness, God had used a pillar of cloud and pillar of fire to lead, protect, and provide for the people. That generation was accustomed to experiencing God’s presence and leading in these pillars. Now the new generation is being instructed to follow the Ark of the Covenant. What happened to the pillars? 

All these sojourns and symbols point to and climax in Jesus. From pillars of fire, the Ark of the Covenant, and New Testament imagery like ascending on a cloud and tongues of fire descending on disciples, there is a coherent connectedness through which God’s story flows from one generation to the next.  

How might we understand our story in this larger narrative of God’s story? What pathways are we on? What rivers or seas do we need to cross? What mountains are we invited to climb? What are ways of knowing and following God’s Holy Spirit that might be different than previous generations?

Noel Santiago

Noel Santiago is the Leadership Minister for Missional Transformation for Mosaic Conference.

My Hopes and Prayers for 2024

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by Angela Moyer Walter

It is with great hope and anticipation that I greet you, Mosaic Conference, as your Conference Moderator, in this new year of 2024. What might God do among us this year? What surprises will come our way? What joy might we experience together?  

Mosaic Conference is called to embody the reconciling love of Jesus to our communities, and we do this in a myriad of ways. 2024 is pregnant with opportunities and hopes. I hope that we bear witness to the powerful Spirit of Christ, beyond our own desires. I also hope we gather to celebrate and rejoice, as well as support one another in times of grief, loss, and hardship. My prayer for us is that we tune our hearts and minds to hear God’s voice amidst all the joys and hardships, even when that voice is a quiet whisper, and the path isn’t clear. May we trust in God’s faithfulness to us amidst the twists and turns we may experience.   

Many of us wonder how our congregation or Conference-Related Ministry fits into the larger mosaic of our Conference. We may ask, “Is my piece valued by the whole? Are some pieces bigger than others?”  

My hope is that we are reminded of Jesus’ words to his disciples when they were quarreling about who was more important.

Jesus said, “You know that…officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant.” (Matthew 20:25-26, NLT). May we all see ourselves as vital parts in the body of Christ; whether we are the digestive, circulatory, or excretory system, all are important. We need not fight over who is most important or best, but rather work together to build one another up to function as one body, the body of Christ as God has created us to be.  

God has gifted us all and through baptism, we have been grafted into this body of Christ that we call Mosaic Conference. This beautiful mosaic is not the same without each particular piece. My hope in 2024 is that we each find our place in the mosaic, while also valuing the other pieces that are different from us. 

At our Mosaic Annual Assemblies, we have celebrated God’s Chesed and Emet, powerful kindness and faithful truth. Pastor Hyacinth Stevens encouraged us at this past Assembly to take bold risks because we have the promise of God’s faithful Chesed and Emet with us. Jesus told the disciples to not put new wine into old wineskins. So, in 2024, may we embrace the new wineskins that God has faithfully provided.  

Stay tuned for the next stage of the strategic plan, which will be coming out in the next few weeks, for specific ways in which we can bear witness to Christ’s call to us. And may we listen to the ways God is speaking to us like in our drumming at Assembly to, ‘Listen to one another and play your part!” 

Angela Moyer Walter

Angela Moyer Walter is Moderator of Mosaic Conference, Co-pastor at Ripple Church in Allentown, PA, and an occupational therapist at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation. She enjoys long summer evenings with family and friends and watching the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Confrontational Fire of MLK 

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by Jordan Luther

On Monday, the US will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It is a federal holiday that honors the life and legacy of one of the great Christian pastors, orators, and civil rights icons in US history. 

If you are like me and were born after 1986, MLK Day has always been a federal holiday. My earliest lessons of Martin Luther King Jr. were about how Dr. King was a man who advocated for equality among the races. Soundbites from his famous “I Have a Dream” speech were often read in class and commented on to paint the picture of a nice, Black man who longs for everyone to get along. I have since learned that there is more confrontational fire to Martin Luther King Jr. than our nation likes to remember. 

In a 2014 chapel sermon, Eastern Mennonite Seminary professor David Evans called the popular public narrative around Dr. King as a “domesticated King.” Sometimes we memorialize prophets as a way to smooth out their rough edges that make the status quo feel uncomfortable. As a historian, Evans reminds us that up until his death, Dr. King had a knack for confronting oppressive powers and making enemies. 

Dr. King made many enemies in his lifetime. He was critical of racial segregation in the Jim Crow South and the subject of hatred for segregationist politicians and White mobs. He also was an enemy of the rich for fighting for jobs and fair pay for low-wage workers. Dr. King was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War and militarism. King made many enemies because he tirelessly made the nation uncomfortable in his pursuit of justice. 

It is well documented through King’s sermons and books that he experienced anger. He regularly called himself “discontent” and expressed his anger at both the powers of government and the church.  

Perhaps King’s anger was no more apparent than with the White church and its leadership. Much of King’s frustration with the White church came from its lack of support during the Birmingham boycotts. King had hoped the White church and its leadership would show moral outrage and speak out against the city’s Jim Crow policies. King was hoping to receive love and solidarity from his fellow Christians. Instead, King and other organizers from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference were met with rebuke and scolded for spending time in jail and asked to “wait” for their freedom to come eventually.  

Martin Luther King’s life reminds us that sometimes the hardest enemies to love are the folks with whom we share the most in common. It angered Dr. King that White Christians were turning a blind eye towards the injustice of their Black neighbors—many of whom were also Christian. In King’s famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King implored these White church leaders to see social issues as integrated concerns for the gospel. King worried that if the church fails to practice the “sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity…and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club.”

So on this upcoming MLK Day, we would be wise not to smooth out the rough edges of his prophetic voice. May King’s holy discontentment invite us to challenge the status quo and seek transformation through Jesus Christ. 

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.

A Love Letter for 50 Years 

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by Sharon Williams

Nueva Vida Norristown (PA) New Life (NVNNL) recently celebrated Pastor Ertell Whigham for his 50 years of ministry with a gala and dinner. Friends, family, and ministry associates from the Norristown community, Mosaic Conference, and beyond joined the congregation with tributes and stories to share. A highlight of the evening was a jazz concert led by Pastor Ertell, given as a “musical love letter” for all of us. The offering was designated by Pastor Ertell for the congregation’s capital campaign, Enlarging Our Place in God’s World. 

(L-R) Pastor Ertell Whigham & Leadership Minister Noel Santiago  Photo credit: Jeff Harvey.

In December, Pastor Ertell completed 33 years of ministry as one of the three founding Associate Pastors at NVNNL.  

After coming to faith in Jesus Christ in 1970, Ertell began ministering as a lay leader in visitation and youth outreach. When he and his family moved to Reading, PA, a neighbor introduced them to Buttonwood Mennonite Church and Lancaster Mennonite Conference. The congregation called him into ministry by lot and credentialed him as a bi-vocational pastor.  

A job transfer relocated the Whigham family to Pastor Ertell’s home neighborhood in North Philadelphia in 1980, where he was called to join the ministry team at Diamond Street Mennonite Church.  

One Sunday in 1985, Pastor Ertell was invited to preach at Bethel Mennonite Church in Norristown, PA. After the service, the Church Council Chair handed him a key to the front door of the church and urged him to become Bethel’s pastor. He accepted the call, and his wife Pat developed the children’s ministry. By God’s grace, they were able to provide stability and vision for the congregation. 

In 1988, God was raising a vision for a different kind of Anabaptist witness in Norristown. Pastor Ertell was instrumental in discerning and leading the vision with Pastor Paul Leichty (First Mennonite) and Pastor Henry Ortiz (Fuente de Salvación). The three Mennonite congregations came together to form Nueva Vida Norristown New Life (NVNNL) Mennonite Church in 1990.  

NVNNL elders Adamino Ortiz, Marta Castillo, and Emmanuel Mwaipopo present gifts to Pastor Ertell and Sister Pat Whigham. Photo credit: Jeff Harvey.

NVNNL became one of the nation’s first intercultural, bilingual Anabaptist congregations. The three ministers formed an intercultural pastoral team and became Associate Pastors—a model that NVNNL continues to embrace. Sister Pat Whigham’s emphasis on children grew into Precious Life Ministries, a Christian childcare center based in the NVNNL meetinghouse.  

Whigham served as a Conference Minister and Executive Minister/CEO of Franconia Mennonite Conference from 2000–2016. He also served as the Board Director of Mennonite Health Services from 2012–2016. In 2007, Pastor Ertell received Mennonite Mission Network’s Urban Leader Award. 

Currently, Whigham is an interim Leadership Minister with Mosaic Conference, a senior consultant with Manna Visions LLC, and a post leader/peace advocate with Pointman International Ministries, a healing ministry for military veterans. 

Pastor Ertell and Sister Pat are blessed to have three adult children, six grandchildren, and Ertell’s energetic, independent, 102-year-old mother, who lives nearby. They also provide a “forever home” for rescued Rottweilers. Whigham spends his leisure time leading a gospel jazz band in which he plays alto saxophone.  

Sharon Williams

Sharon K. Williams is the Minister of Worship at Nueva Vida Norristown New Life in Norristown, PA.