Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Articles

Will They Claim Me? 

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By Danilo Sanchez

I sit down at the table and look at the beautiful mosaic of people around me 
It is an artwork filled with striking shades of mocha, creme, caramel, and peach 
Some of it rough and worn, other parts are smooth and new to the world 
As I peer deeper into the artwork I notice the beauty and the blemishes 
Not everything is symmetrical 
There are different sizes and shapes,  
different groupings that would appear to contrast, 
But when brought together are vibrant and complimentary 

In one voice the mosaic calls out to me: 
< Who are you? Tell us your story > 
In a quiet voice I respond:  
< I am a mix of peach and caramel 
I am both foreign and familiar 
I am both inclusive and shepherding 
For some I may be too revolutionary, for others I am behind the times 
For some I may pose a threat, to others I am safe > 

I await the verdict 
I desire to belong to this mosaic, but is the feeling mutual? 
Will they claim me as their own? 

A cacophony of voices bounces off the walls  
as they deliberate my words 
The mosaic is silenced by a rushing wind that moves among the people 
Passing through bones, flesh, and hearts 
The Great Painter speaks: 
< He is my creation. Like you he is both beautiful and broken. 
I have called him to be part of this mosaic. 
Welcome him. > 

The Mosaic sings in harmony 
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow, 
To you be all honor and glory.” 

The Great Painter is not done the masterpiece 
There is more yet to be completed 
More will come that will want to join us 
Will we claim them? Embrace them? 
Will we hear their story? 
Seeking to find the beauty and brokenness in them, 
The way the Great Painter does 

Danilo Sanchez

Danilo Sanchez is the Leadership Minister for Intercultural Transformation for Mosaic Conference. Danilo Sanchez lives in Allentown with his wife Mary and two daughters. He is a pastor at Ripple and leads in the areas of leadership development, discipleship, and teaching. Danilo also works part-time with the housing program of Ripple Community Inc as the Community Life Director.

Creative Missional Engagement Q&A

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What Churches Do & How They Get the Grant Money

by Eileen Kinch

Q. What is a Missional Operations Grant (MOG)?

A.  Mosaic’s MOGs fund creative ways for Mosaic congregations to do missional activities, both in the immediate community and beyond.  

Q. What does missional mean? (Does this only mean evangelism?)

A. Evangelism is one example of a missional activity. Missional refers to the way congregations participate in the reconciling love of God through Christ. Any activity of the church can be missional.

Q. What is an example of creative missional engagement?

A. Plains Mennonite Church (Hatfield, PA) has a park on its property that is open to the community. Along a path in the park are panels that tell stories about peacemakers and give information about what it means to be a Mennonite. In 2022, Plains Mennonite Church used a MOG to pave its “peace path” so that families with strollers can more easily use it. The paved path also improves mobility for those with physical challenges. 

Plains Mennonite Church used MOG funds to pave their peace park’s path. 
The newly paved path has increased community use. 

Q. What happened after Plains paved the peace path?

A. More people now use the path since it has been paved. Some have expressed gratitude for easier navigation. Families are leaving pedal car toys along the path for other children to use. Families even get together to watch their children race their cars. The paved path allows more people to read about peace, and the path is also building community.

Q. My congregation doesn’t have a peace path. What else can a MOG be used for?

A. Salford Mennonite Church (Harleysville, PA) used the grant to host a “Gardening For Peace” conference in 2022. Over 200 people attended throughout the weekend. John Thomas, a Lenape elder, representatives from Ursinus College, and John Ruth talked about the need for ongoing dialogue with the Lenape community. There were also workshops about various aspects of peace, including one on prison ministry. In the evening, Shane Claiborne and Mike Martin converted a gun into a gardening tool. A video of the event can be found here. 

Q. How did “Gardening For Peace” impact others?

A. In one workshop, ex-inmates shared about their experience of returning to society after serving a prison sentence. These individuals stayed for the evening meal during the conference and later remarked that they really enjoyed the food and fellowship. Ex-inmates do not always experience this.  The Gardening for Peace conference also opened the way for future opportunities for dialogue with the Lenape, as well as for continued commitment to Salford’s peace education and programming. 

Q. My congregation has an idea for a project. How do I find out if the project qualifies for a MOG?

A. Criteria for a grant can be found on Mosaic’s website. Examples of other congregations’ projects can also be found there. 

Q. How does my congregation apply for a MOG?

A. Talk to your leadership minister, who will give you an application. If your application is accepted, your congregation will need to submit a report after the funds are used. This report should inspire other congregations to explore creative ways to live into God’s reconciling love.

Eileen Kinch

Eileen Kinch is part of the Mosaic communication team and works with editing and writing. She holds a Master of Divinity degree, with an emphasis in the Ministry of Writing, from Earlham School of Religion.

Mwaipopo Joins Mosaic Board

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Emmanuel Mwaipopo joined the Mosaic Conference Board in January 2023.  Along with his role on the Mosaic Board, Emmanuel will serve as Chair of the Intercultural Committee.

Emmanuel Mwaipopo was born in Tanzania. Although his mother was a Mennonite, he was raised in his father’s Roman Catholic tradition. He moved to the US in his 20s to attend Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, where he studied computer information systems. A professor at Temple introduced Emmanuel to a local Mennonite church in Philadelphia.

Later Emmanuel moved to Norristown, PA where he became involved with Nueva Vida Norristown New Life Mennonite Church, where he now serves as an elder.  Emmanuel is a software engineer and works for Comcast. He and his wife care for four children. In his free time, Emmanuel plays ultimate frisbee. 

Diversity of Gifts, Unity of Spirit

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FAITH AND LIFE GATHERING REPORT

by KrisAnne Swartley

As we gathered on the morning of February 8 at Perkasie (PA) Mennonite Church around tables to read scripture, share, and pray, I was struck by the humanness in the room: some expectant mothers or new parents, some approaching retirement age, some in mid-life juggling the needs of multiple generations as well as congregations. Our humanness means vulnerability.

The table group I participated in brought that vulnerability to the text of Ephesians 4. Whether gifted as apostles or prophets, evangelists, pastors, or teachers, we acknowledged our limitations to exercise these gifts perfectly. There are times when some of these gifts have not been well-cultivated in historically Mennonite churches. We also recognized the limitations of our conferences or denomination to welcome and bless the diversity of these gifts. 

At the same time, we were also able to celebrate that faithful people exercise these gifts, often in positions not formally recognized by church bodies. In doing so, they have built up the church and equipped believers in powerful ways. Sunday school teachers, youth group volunteers, and kitchen and janitorial volunteers sometimes act as evangelists and pastors to people in surprising and faithful ways. 

In this complexity and diversity, there is unity. Right now, unity is a complex word for Mosaic Conference. Perhaps it always has been, but this feels like a unique and difficult moment for us. Our table noted that there is a difference between unity and uniformity. Unity can exist amidst differences in perspective and practice. Uniformity demands same-ness. We did not come up with any easy answers for living with diversity in unity without uniformity, but as we talked honestly from our different stages of life and ministry context, there was clear humility and a desire for loving conversation. In our human limitation, perhaps that is miracle enough. 

Photo from Unsplash

Paul talks of loving conversation as “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).  Someone around the table remarked how that phrase can be used as a weapon instead of cultivating a spirit of humility as Paul meant here. I wondered aloud, if we don’t have love, are we really speaking truth? If God is love and we recognize God as our source of truth, is it even possible to speak truth without love? We probably could have spent the rest of the day wrestling with our definitions of both love and truth! 

Most powerful for me during the morning was our time of prayer. Each of us prayed for someone else around the table and asked God’s blessing on our sister or brother. We had all briefly shared our hopes, fears, and challenges in life and ministry. The genuine prayers for God’s presence and power in the midst of our vulnerability were tender and faith-filled. The morning was a breath of fresh air in the middle of the demands of the week. We left there, still human, but blessed. 

KrisAnne Swartley

KrisAnne Swartley currently serves as Pastor of Worship and Administration at Doylestown (PA) Mennonite Church. She has served there in various roles since 2011. KrisAnne and her husband, Jon, have two children, Heidi and Ben. She enjoys being out in nature, coloring books, a strong cup of coffee, and hanging out with her cat and dog.

Following My Call from the Wilderness for More Than 40 Years

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By Marco Güete

This past weekend, I was honored as one of the denomination’s elders at Mennonite Church USA’s Hope for the Future 2023, a gathering of people of color, in Atlanta, GA. When I was asked to share a few words during the ceremony, the following came to mind:  

Seven “elders” were honored during the gala night, one of them being Mosaic’s Leadership Minister, Marco Güete. Photo by Cindy Angela.

More than forty years ago, at the Body of Christ Hispanic Mennonite Church in Queens, NY, a church leader approached me and called me out of my wilderness of ministry disorientation and my cave of confusion regarding my call to God’s service. The call I heard from that leader was clear, definite, and emphatic. “You must go to Goshen College (IN) and then to seminary.” I came out of my wilderness and my cave, in search of my place in the world for church service, which happened to be in the Mennonite Church.  

1st call.  Not a year had passed at Goshen College when I received a call to a specific ministry. I was called to be the coordinator of the newly formed Hispanic Ministries office of General Conference Mennonite Church. This was in 1982, and I was the only person of color on staff of the denomination. Although there was a coordinator of the Mennonite Indian Leaders Council (MILC), this person was white.   

A short time later, I was appointed as the first Director of the newly founded office of Hispanic Ministries. At the time, there were fewer than five Hispanic churches and no leaders in training for ministry. My mission was to discover, train, call, and send leaders to start new churches in the United States and Canada. I served in this position for 14 years.  

2nd call.  After serving as Director of Hispanic Ministries, I was sent for four years as a missionary along with my wife, Sandra, to Bogotá, Colombia to serve at the Colombian Mennonite Church.   

3rd and 4th called together.  While I was in Colombia, preparing to return to the US, I received the third call. Western District Conference called me to serve as an Associate Conference Minister and Church Planting Coordinator. South Central Conference called on me to serve them at the same time. I was the first person of color in these roles. I served in these positions for nine years. 

5th call.  Southeast Mennonite Conference called me to serve as Conference Minister in Florida. I was the first person of color in this position, serving for eight years.  

6th call.  Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) calls me to be the Director of the Hispanic Ministry Education Program, which I have been leading for the past eight years and continue to lead.  

7th call.  (The number 7 is very significant in the Bible, and for me.) The seventh calling in my life has been to Mosaic Conference. I currently serve as a Leadership Minister for the Mosaic churches in Florida.  

I clearly understand that God has had a purpose with my life and that He used someone to call me. I surely believe that part of our mission and God’s command is to call and send others into Christ’s mission.  I am immensely grateful to God for calling me to this ministry for over 40 years.  

And how will they preach if they are not sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15, NLT)

Marco Güete

Marco Güete is the Leadership Minister for Florida for Mosaic Conference.

Mosaic Moderators Meet with Mennonite Church USA Executive Board

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MC USA Executive Board Responds with Open Letter

By Sue Conrad Howes

On Saturday, January 28, 2023, Mosaic’s Moderator Angela Moyer Walter and Assistant Moderator Roy Williams met virtually with the Mennonite Church USA’s Executive Board, a 15-member volunteer board that guides the denomination and supervises the MC USA Executive Director.

During the meeting, Moyer Walter and Williams shared a timeline of Mosaic Conference since 2007. In that timeline, the MC USA Executive Board learned about the growth of recent-immigrant churches, the addition of California and Florida congregations, reconciliation work between Eastern District and Franconia Mennonite Conferences, Mosaic’s experiences at the MC USA Special Assembly in Kansas City in May 2022, and the development and implementation of the Pathway Forward document in the fall of 2022. 

This meeting was a follow-up to an open letter that the Mosaic Moderators sent to the MC USA Executive Board on November 15, 2022.  After receiving the letter, MC USA’s Executive Board invited the Mosaic Moderators to meet with them face-to-face.  During the course of the meeting, Moyer Walter and Williams read portions of the open letter to the Executive Board. 

“It was good that we read parts of the letter; it was honest and accurate,” said Moyer Walter. “They heard the hurts, the pain, and the frustration.” 

After 20 minutes of presentation, Moyer Walter and Williams invited questions and conversation.  When the 45 minutes of allotted time was over, the Executive Board extended the time by 15 minutes. At the end of the hour, everyone acknowledged that the conversation could have continued for much longer.  

Moyer Walter reported that the Executive Board acknowledged the information gained from the timeline was helpful in their understanding of Mosaic today. They also affirmed Mosaic’s 2-year time frame for the Pathway Forward process.  

Moyer Walter asked the Executive Board, in light of this deeper level of understanding, “Is there room for Mosaic’s diverse perspective within MC USA?”  The Executive Board overwhelmingly responded “yes.” Moyer Walter therefore invited MC USA to more engagement with Mosaic Conference over the next two years. 

Although the time for discussion was limited, Moyer Walter reported that she and Williams felt heard, the Spirit was present, and the response from members of the MC USA Executive Board was kind. At the same time, the conversation needs to continue. “It is very difficult to try to speak as Mosaic in such a short time frame. Mosaic has multiple things to say to MC USA leadership,” said Moyer Walter. “I’m aware that we need to honor all our Mosaic voices, and that can be tricky. I felt like we were able to do that as best we could.”   

Moyer Walter knows that some members of Mosaic Conference desired for her to express their anger to MC USA leaders. She is willing to share that anger, but wants to work at understanding what is underneath the anger, to articulate the complicated layers of frustration and hurt. “We want to be a people of peace and reconciliation and to bear witness to the good news of Jesus,” shared Moyer Walter.  “We bear witness to Jesus by how we manage conflict. That does not mean that we are weak or spineless but that we are honest and take time to listen and honor each other.”  

In reflecting on the time spent with MC USA’s Executive Board, Williams said, “We are family. We may not always get along, but we are still family.  We do not hide from conflict, but we commit to working with each other for better understanding in the future.” 

After the meeting, MC USA’s Executive Board formally responded to Mosaic’s open letter by publishing an open letter of their own (also available in Spanish, Indonesian and Vietnamese).

Sue Conrad Howes

Sue Conrad Howes is part of the communication team for Mosaic Mennonite Conference. She is an ordained pastor in MC USA and is a chaplain at St.Luke’s Penn Foundation. She and her husband live in Quakertown, PA and are members at West Swamp Mennonite Church.

The Power of Handwriting

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By Sue Conrad Howes 

You could count on it like the rising of the sun. From the week I left for college in 1988 to her death in 2008, my grandmother wrote me a weekly letter.  It was one of the most reliable things in my ever-changing life.  Based on rough calculations, Grandma wrote me well over 1000 letters on her lacy stationery with her fancy penmanship.  

My relationship with my grandma had always been strong, even before the letter writing, but it grew stronger as a result of the letters. Ignoring the advent of email during this time, I also hand wrote letters to Grandma. I was, perhaps, not quite as dedicated as she was, but we had a wonderful correspondence that crossed generations, theological differences, and geographical distances. I became a better person because of these letters, learning from her wisdom, but also knowing how to express my changing self to someone who had always been so present in my life.  

A letter from Grandma under a letter from Sue in 2006. Photo provided by Sue Conrad Howes.

Like others, I am a fan of quick texts, even email … but I still love the old-fashioned approach to relationships through the hand-written word of a card, letter, or note. Recently I spent the week with my 16-year-old niece while her parents were away. One day, I tucked a small card in her lunch bag. At lunch, she snapped a photo of the card and sent me a text, thanking me for it. I later learned that she shared that same photo on her Instagram account. What was it about the card that made a teenager want to share it with her world?   

The photo of the note in Sue’s niece’s lunch. Photo provided by Sue Conrad Howes.

We know that a portion of the New Testament is formed of letters (called “epistles”), written from one person to another.  These letters have become our holy Scriptures. We have been able to use them as our guide, despite the fact that they were letters written over 2000 years ago. Did Paul have any idea his letters would have such staying power?  What is it about the epistles that makes us want to share them with the world? 

I wonder how many drafts Paul took to write his letters. Did he wish for white-out or an eraser, or did he take the time to think through his words before putting them on parchment? What does it mean when we take the time to think clearly about our words to another person, and then hand write them on paper? I always take more time when I write a card or letter, usually re-reading it before mailing it, than any text or even email that I write. Imagine if we all took a little bit more time in our communication: hand-written, spoken, or typed. Would it make it to someone’s Instagram account? 

If you’re looking to experience the epistles as they were originally heard or written, join Mosaic Institute’s “Formed by Scripture” class this spring.  You’ll dig more deeply into the stories behind the Bible, explore the experiences that shape how we interpret Scripture, and practice interacting with the Bible in ways that can change us—like writing out one of its books by hand! 

Sue Conrad Howes

Sue Conrad Howes is part of the communication team for Mosaic Mennonite Conference. She is an ordained pastor in MC USA and is a chaplain at St.Luke’s Penn Foundation. She and her husband live in Quakertown, PA and are members at West Swamp Mennonite Church.

Franconia Congregation Leaves Mosaic Conference

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Franconia congregation (Telford, PA) has voted to disaffiliate with Mosaic Conference. The Mosaic Conference Board was recently informed, via a letter, of the results of Franconia’s congregational vote.  In the letter, David Mellinger, Franconia’s Board Chair, acknowledged years of discernment around how the congregation would respond to the theological and organizational changes in Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) and Mosaic Conference.  

On November 8, 2022, the Franconia Board put forth the following recommendation for a congregational vote: “After a period of discernment, the Franconia Mennonite Church Board recommends that the congregation disaffiliate with Mosaic Mennonite Conference effective immediately, and seek affiliation with other Mennonite congregations and/or conferences.”  

The congregation voted on November 20 and, on November 27, the results of the vote were shared with the congregation. Of their 409 church members, 83% participated in the vote: 94% affirmed the recommendation to disaffiliate with Mosaic Conference, effective immediately.  
 
“This decision was not a knee-jerk reaction to one specific event or decision that either the denomination or Conference has made. Rather, the Franconia Church Board has been in a discernment process for several years regarding their affiliation with MC USA and more recently with Mosaic,” said Mike Clemmer, who serves as Mosaic’s Leadership Minister for the Franconia congregation. “We have appreciated their clear communication and dialogue throughout this journey and we pray that their continued commitment to extending God’s kingdom and to pointing people towards Jesus would be blessed.” 

For many years, Franconia congregation was the largest congregation in what used to be Franconia Conference (now Mosaic); from 1769 until the late 20th century Franconia hosted conference assemblies in its building. “Our hearts will hold a special bond to the conference which we hosted in our meetinghouse for the better part of the past three hundred years,” wrote Mellinger in the letter.  The congregation is discerning next steps and intends to seek affiliation with other Mennonite congregations and/or conferences, rather than becoming unaffiliated or an “independent church.” 

“We know we have a lot of work ahead of us,” said Mellinger.   “We covet your prayers during this time. We acknowledge the sadness, but we are confident in the Hope that we have, King Jesus.”