Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Articles

Strangers at the manger scene: Seeking truth then and now

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This year I have kept the wise men on the other side of the living room through Advent and Christmas. I have moved them closer to the nativity set as Epiphany approached. They reached their spots near the manger on January 6.

The wise men journey across the living room, to the manger scene in the background. Photo provided by Steve Kriss.

The wise men often seem like overdressed extras in the manger scene. Their gifts are seemingly impractical, likely pawned to pay for the escape to Egypt. Yet they are essential to the story of Jesus for us.

The wise men were spiritual seekers and culturally different. They looked for and read signs in the sky. They were somehow ready for our Messiah king, born as a baby.  Their commitment to seeking the truth was so high that they walked for days to a small town in Palestine.  They didn’t let human understanding, privilege, or power stand in the way of seeking out the truth that God had revealed.  

This week we mark Epiphany or Three Kings Day. I’m fascinated by the character of the wise ones, seeking and finding. They are a holy disruption and exemplars of faithful pursuit. Their visit triggers the state apparatus and forewarns Mary and Joseph of the coming killing of the innocents. They are people who read the signs of the times and pursue the truth of the Christ. 

And I want to be like them.

In last week’s ING podcast, sponsored by Mosaic Conference through MennoMedia, Dr. Soong-Chan Rah highlights the difference between possessing truth and pursuing truth. In pursuing truth, Dr. Rah points out that we continue the journey of discipleship and truth-seeking. In that pursuit, we are shaped and reshaped by our encounters with Jesus. This means a vibrant ongoing relationship with Christ that is anything but boring. This pursuit challenges, reforms, and also embraces us.

We are in a time when truth is frequently contested. Admittedly, there is much to mistrust in the principles and powers at work around us.  However, like the wise ones of old, we must be smart as serpents and innocent as doves in our navigation.  Despite, and maybe even because of the cultural complexities around us, we are called to remain undaunted in our pursuit of truth. We are especially called to be vigilant in the pursuit of truth that is incarnate in Christ, born of Mary, who lived, died, and was resurrected.   

This year I’m leaving my manger set out longer, through the marking of MLK Day and past the presidential inauguration, to honor the pursuit of truth. It will also allow the wise ones, who were across the living room all Advent, to linger a bit longer at the creche scene.  I’ll leave it out as a reminder to me, to make their journey and holy pursuit my own.  

I imagine they hugged loved ones and said, 
“We’ll be back soon.” 
And when loved ones said,
“Don’t leave,”
“It’s risky,”
“You don’t even know what you’re chasing,”
I imagine they put lips to foreheads and said, 
“There is a light in the darkness. I must chase that.” . . .⠀⠀⠀

—from Epiphany Poetry by Sarah Are

Conference Related Ministries (CRM) Profile: Peaceful Living

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Peaceful Living is a faith-based, nonprofit organization that identifies and seeks to engage the gifts of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We believe that all individuals deserve to live with a sense of “belonging” within a faith and overall community where they can express their talents, interests, and capabilities.

Peaceful Living individuals serve in the community, such as delivering Meals on Wheels. Photo provided by Peaceful Living.

With careful planning, individual attention, and ongoing education of our staff, we provide services to over 200 families through three programs in a manner in which participants feel loved, respected, and valued in their community. The three programs are: 

• Day Programs: Provides our individuals a program during the workday. 
• Family Services: Provides our individuals home and community-based support. 
• Residential Services: Provides our individuals residential care in 12 family-style community homes. 

Peaceful Living’s Residential Program provides individuals with personalized care in community homes. Photo provided by Peaceful Living.

Peaceful Living is a conference-related ministry of Mosaic Mennonite Conference, a sponsored agency of Mennonite Health Services, and is committed to living its Anabaptist values and beliefs. 

For information on how you can support our mission of creating belonging, including volunteer opportunities, contact info@peacefulliving.org. 

Prayer requests from Peaceful Living

  • That the people whom Peaceful Living serves would experience true belonging in a welcoming community.
  • For protection from the COVID-19 virus.
  • That Peaceful Living would continue to thrive as they seek to serve more people.
  • For strength and good health for our dedicated Direct Care Professionals as they provide essential services and loving support every day.

I Feel as if God Has Given Me a New Name

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“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” says Juliet in William Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet.

Names have meaning because they reveal our identity. Why does the right name matter? Can changing names change your identity? Confucius once said, “The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name.”

In 1967, in Indonesia, the country where I was born, the government suggested all people of Chinese-Indonesian descent change their name to an Indonesian name. Though officially just a suggestion, in reality it was a type of forced assimilation, intended to eliminate ethnic Chinese identity.

Most Indonesian Chinese families have two names even today — one for themselves and their family and another for government identification purposes.

My parents named me Hendy after my grandfathers, Hendrik and Eddy, typically European names. My last name comes from an Ambonesse name, which is my ethnic origin from my father’s side.

There was a time when I was ashamed of my last name. I never used it; it felt too ethnic and different, not as common as Indonesian and European names. Instead I used my middle name, Stevan, which is more European and culturally acceptable.

After I studied more about intercultural work, I felt a need to get in touch with my family name again. I felt that I had a revelation to use my last name. I believe my name has a story, and I want to know more about it.

Cultural assimilation occurs in all parts of the world. But unity is not uniformity. Uniqueness is not division.

Although the dominant culture pressures us to conform, I believe God created us uniquely. We don’t need to conform to any dominant culture but be transformed into God’s image. I believe God is against cultural homogeneity and ethnocentrism. No culture or ethnicity is better than another. We are equally broken and equally beautiful.

God scattered the people who built the tower of Babel because they wanted to make a society in their own image, governed by their own standards. They were proud of it and wanted to make a name for themselves.

It takes the work of Jesus on the cross to redeem the fallen nature of human beings. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to communicate cross-culturally.

In the Old Testament we see the changing of names for the purpose of cultural assimilation. Hananiah, Mishael and Azaria had to change their Hebrew names to Chaldean names: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. In the New Testament it was common for a Jew to have two names, one Hebrew and one Greek. In fact, the Apostle Paul never changed his name: Saul was a Hebrew name; Paul was a Greek name.

As I prepared this article I did some research on the meaning of my last name. Previously I didn’t know what Matahelemual meant. It was not easy to find the answer. I had to check with relatives who know the Ambonesse language. Finally, I got a verifiable answer: Matahelemual means Open Door. I’m grateful to know that, and I feel as if God has given me a new name.

There are names given by humans and names given by God. The name given by God is the name that will lead us to God’s promises. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, Sarai’s to Sarah, Jacob’s to Israel and Simon’s to Peter. Through those names God gave new beginnings, new hopes, new blessings. A name is a prayer. What’s in your name?

A version of this article first appeared in “Anabaptist World” on December 15, 2020.

A Year-end Request

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As we end 2020, please consider a year-end gift to the Shalom Fund. Your gift will multiply blessings of mutual aid and witness to some of the most vulnerable communities in our conference and our ministries. 

Dr. Herman Sagastume, Executive Director of Healthy Niños Honduras, a conference-related Ministry (CRM), shares, “With COVID, things have been very difficult for the remote communities in Honduras. Last month, two hurricanes hit Honduras causing destruction not seen before and affecting around 2 million people.” 

“Thousands and thousands of families are sleeping on the floor in temporary shelters, becoming more vulnerable to COVID due to the lack of social distancing, masks, and personal hygiene,” explains Dr. Sagastume. “Shalom Funds will help us enormously to continue assisting the families with meals, medicines, water, mattresses, and other necessities.” 

Gifts from the Shalom Fund have already touched thousands of lives. Join our conference goal to raise $200,000 to support congregations and ministries across Mosaic Conference in this difficult time.  Your contribution, given in faith, hope and love, is multiplied in communities nearby and around the world through our shared witness together. 

To learn more about the Shalom Fund or to donate, click here.

Introducing the New Intercultural Committee

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We need another committee!  

What? 

Said who? 

Said the newly formed Mosaic Mennonite Conference.

With the formation of Mosaic Mennonite Conference, the new by-laws included the inclusion and formation of the Intercultural Committee. This committee shall provide leadership in the areas of undoing racism, sexism, and cultural bias, and in facilitating and supporting mutual transformation in intercultural contexts. This committee will be represented on the conference board by its chair as a non-voting member. 

Photo by Marta Castillo

As a conference located in multiple states and with global connections, we believe God’s design is for all people in all places to flourish and be transformed by loving, mutual relationships with God and one another.  To see this become a reality, by the power of the Spirit, we shape our lives and our work together around missional, intercultural, and formational priorities.

We have this intercultural priority: “As human beings made in the image of God, we acknowledge, own, and celebrate our cultural differences, allowing ourselves to be changed by the relationships we build across cultures while we work together for racial justice.”  

With this priority, we purposely bring people of different cultures and ethnicities alongside one another. However, we are committed to something deeper than that. We strive for more than just a distant appreciation of one another, or other cultures accommodating to the dominant white culture. 

An intercultural commitment means we nurture “a deep understanding and respect for all cultures.” This means we work at deep relationships, even if this means uncomfortable conversations, where “no one is left unchanged because everyone learns from one another and grows together” (see Spring Institute for more).

Photo by Marta Castillo

The work has already begun. In the past 3 years, an intercultural staff team of Chantelle Todman, Marta Castillo, Hendy Matahelemual, Aldo Siahaan, and Danilo Sanchez have been assessing and moving current relationships and communities in an intercultural direction. We have been building connections between communities and leaders of the global majority. We have also been educating and coaching congregations and leaders around the themes of racial justice, cultural differences, and mutual transformation. 

During our first meeting with the intercultural board committee in October 2020, staff shared the work that we have done as a team. We look forward to joining and following the lead of this new committee.

Diverse in geography, culture, gender, and age, this new committee represents experience, passion for intercultural work, and desire to see growth in themselves, their congregations, and in the conference.  We ask for your prayers and your support for this committee and for this intercultural work. 

The Mosaic Intercultural Committee members are:

  • Beny Krisbianto, chair, Nations Worship Center, Philadelphia, PA
  • Roy Williams, College Hill Mennonite Church, Tampa, FL
  • Josue Gonzalez, Encuentro de Renovación, Miami, FL
  • Emmauel Mwaipopo, Nueva Vida Norristown New Life, Norristown, PA
  • Jocelyn Clement, Eglise Evangélique Solidarité et Harmonie, Philadelphia, PA
  • Jenna Villatoro, Philadelphia Praise Center, Philadelphia, PA
  • Steve Zacheus, JKI Anugerah congregation, Sierra Madre, CA 
  • Marta Castillo (conference staff)
  • Danilo Sanchez (conference staff)

For further information and resources, please go to https://mosaicmennonites.org/intercultural/.

It’s Always Winter, But Never Christmas

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This year Mosaic Conference Staff created a Christmas playlist on Spotify. I had fun picking songs that I thought my friends on staff would enjoy. 

One of my favorite bands in high school and college was Relient K. I would blast “Sadie Hawkins Dance” and “Mood Rings” in my 1988 Toyota Tercel while my friends and I sang at the top of our lungs. In 2007, Relient K released a Christmas album, “Let it Snow, Baby…Let it Reindeer,” with some great songs to celebrate the holidays. 

My two favorite songs from the album are, “I Celebrate the Day,” which I included on the Mosaic Christmas playlist, and “In Like a Lion (Always Winter).” Both songs have great melodies and Matthew Thiessen’s voice is awesome as always. 

“In Like a Lion (Always Winter)” was inspired by the book, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. In the book, Mr. Tumnus says to Lucy, “It is winter in Narnia and has been for ever so long…. always winter, but never Christmas.” From that line, the chorus of the song goes:

It’s always winter, but never Christmas
It seems this curse just can’t be lifted
Yet in the midst of all this ice and snow
Our hearts stay warm cause they are filled with hope

With the COVID-19 pandemic, many families did not gather for Christmas. This feels like another huge loss to grieve. How can we celebrate the joy of Christmas without eating together and opening presents in the same room? We wonder, when will the curse of coronavirus be lifted?  Always winter. Never Christmas.

Across the board, our lives have been changed during 2020. As pastors and leaders, lately it feels hard to preach the ‘now-but-not-yet’ message of the kin-dom of God when there’s a lot more ‘not yet’ than ‘now.’” Natural disasters, racism and sexism, broken relationships, unemployment, health issues, addictions, death, and a global pandemic to top it all off. Despite all that, like the song suggests, our hearts are filled with hope—hope in Jesus. 

The final chorus of “In Like a Lion” says,

‘Cause when it’s always winter, but never Christmas
Sometimes it feels like you’re not with us
But deep inside our hearts we know
That you are here and we will not lose hope

Even in the dead of winter, amidst all the ice and snow, hope grows. Hope grows because we know Emmanuel has come to be with us. The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world has come. True righteousness and justice have come through Jesus. No more let sins and sorrows grow nor thorns infest the ground because Emmanuel has come to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found. 

I will hold on to this hope, even in 2020. We may not have been able to celebrate Christmas the way we wanted to this year, but winter will not last forever. This virus will not last forever. 

Jesus the Messiah has come, and is coming, and I am longing for his grace and truth to cover all of us as we prepare for a new year. We don’t know what 2021 will have for us, but we can trust in Emmanuel, the light of the world, to shine bright and guide us through it. 

May the very presence of Christ himself, warm your hearts this winter. 

May you not lose hope.

May the Holy Spirit reveal to you the new thing that is about to take place.

Yoder recognized with Journey Award

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David D. Yoder received the 2020 Everence Journey Award. Photo provided by Everence.

David D. Yoder, of Salford (Harleysville, PA) congregation, is this year’s recipient of the Regional Journey Award from the Everence Financial® office in Souderton, PA.  

The award recognizes Yoder for his stewardship related to his years of service to organizations including Quakertown (PA) Christian School and Virginia Mennonite Missions. 

Created in 2001, the Journey Award highlights what people of faith are doing as stewards of their God-given gifts.

“David’s life and career have represented stewardship not only of resources but also his time,” said Anita K. Souder, Director of Advancement for Quakertown Christian School (QCS). “With a heart to serve others and using his gifts of development and genuine care for people, he prepared QCS for the future by creating a family of endowments.”

Randy Delp, Everence Managing Director, said, “People who’ve worked with David point with great respect to his efforts to establish Anabaptist communities in Mexico, as well as his work to strengthen partnerships in other parts of the world, including Europe and the Caribbean.”

Yoder was presented with this award by Randy Nyce, Stewardship Consultant for Everence, at the Mosaic delegate assembly in November.

Introducing Mosaic Institute

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You are invited to join one of the first classes of our new Mosaic Institute!

  • Partners in Leadership is a mentor-model learning experience offered by Mosaic Institute, January 30 – June 26, 2021.  An experienced leader and less-experienced leader pair-up to meet twice a month.  Partners engage monthly topics and resources; they read Scripture and practice spiritual disciplines; they also attend three plenary gatherings.  The purpose is discipleship: in character, content, and craft of leadership.  Instructors: Rose Bender, Nathan Good, & Mark Wenger. Cost: $75 per person.
  • Understanding and Interpreting the Bible: In this interactive class, you’ll consider how someone’s identity, life experiences, and worldview shape the way they interpret the Bible.  Alongside Bible scholars, theologians, and practitioners, you’ll explore tools for reading and teaching the Bible, foster your biblical imagination, and dig deeper into God’s love story with the world. Held on Zoom, four weekends in February-April 2021.

View the brochure here, or find more information and register now at MosaicMennonites.org/Institute.