Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

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A White Pastor on a Quest

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I am a white pastor of an all-white Mosaic congregation. I feel it is essential that I work at promoting racial justice, yet I really struggle to know how to do that. My congregation is trying to navigate how we can be involved in promoting racial justice in our community and nation. 

Screenshot from the Facebook Live interview with Dr. Drew Hart and the Mosaic Intercultural Ministry Team.

As a result, I joined the recent Facebook Live interview with Dr. Drew Hart and the Mosaic Intercultural Ministry Team in hopes that I might receive more guidance on integrating this valuable work with my ministry. 

Marta Castillo, Danilo Sanchez, and Hendy Matahelemual, staff members of the Intercultural Ministry Team, led a virtual interview on January 28 with Dr. Drew Hart about his newest book, “Who Will Be A Witness? Igniting Activism for God’s Justice, Love, and Deliverance.”

The conversation started with a question for Hart about economic apartheid. Economic apartheid looks into why people of color are disproportionately poorer in the US. Many people in the US culture believe that people are poor or rich due to how hard they work. However, this is not true. Hart explained how many US government programs for economic uplift in the 20th century were structured deliberately as government handouts for white people and discriminated against people of color.

Hart illustrated how the story of Zaccheus in Luke 19 provides an example of how both redistribution and reparations are necessary to alleviate poverty. In response to Jesus’ initiative in his life, Zaccheus promises to give half of what he has to the poor (redistribution) and to repay four times over anyone he has cheated (reparations). 

We are so immersed, suggested Hart, in our cultural assumptions about economics that our ears are deaf to the voice of Jesus on economic issues. We need to embrace “teaching the way of Jesus for our economic lives,” encouraged Hart. Our problem is not a lack of knowledge but a failure of will. “Certainly in the church we can do what Jesus wants us to,” emboldened Hart.

Another question asked Hart what he does when people accuse him of reading the Bible through a social justice lens. All through the Bible, Hart responded, God reveals God’s self as being deeply concerned about justice. Both the Exodus and the words of the prophets show that God is concerned to create justice. We also see Jesus’ concern and action for the deliverance of the poor and oppressed. The Bible is a book about justice. 

“There are basic themes in the Bible that if you don’t address them, something is deeply wrong,”  explained Hart. 

Hendy Matahelemual raised the issue of nationalism, describing nationalism as being a force in his native Indonesia as well as the US. In response, Hart talked about the myth of American exceptionalism – the idea that the US is different or better because of our form of government. 

Hart asked, “How should the church navigate the government?” As Mennonites, who have often seen governmental interaction as something to be minimized, this is crucial. Our interaction, encouraged Hart, should be focused on concern for the most vulnerable and promoting communal responsibility.

The conversations were very helpful in my ongoing quest to learn how I can lead my congregation to work for racial justice. To continue my pursuit, I am also going to be joining one of the Mosaic groups studying Hart’s book. I hope you will join me.

Creatively Using Grant Money for FL Youth

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by Laurie Oswald Robinson

Pandemic realities are shifting how Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) is partnering with others. This shift includes sharing $15,000 with Mosaic Conference to support its youth and young adult leadership development.

Mosaic Conference is using the support — the majority of a $20,000 grant MMN received to help form young leaders — to fund the new ministry of Mosaic youth coordinator Michelle Ramirez. She is overseeing Mosaic’s new Forming Youth Leaders program for Florida congregations, eight of which joined Mosaic during its November assembly.

Michelle Ramirez. Photo by Emily Ralph Servant.

Ramirez — who grew up in the Florida faith community, where she held other leadership positions prior to this new appointment — is now helping young people develop their gifts in their local context. She is a member of the Luz y Vida (Light and Life) congregation in Orlando.

“I love to hear each person’s unique story and work together to expand the kingdom of God,” Ramirez said. “I hope to help them see that if we work for God with all our hearts, God is with us every step of the way, no matter how hard things may seem.”

MMN’s Christian Service department periodically applies for grants through Forum for Theological Exploration. In 2020, they received $20,000. MMN has kept $5,000 for further engagement with the conference through shared training opportunities and future travel costs.

Conference leaders, including Executive Minister Stephen Kriss, felt the Spirit moving in this fine-tuning and reshaping. “I’m so grateful for the initiative of Mennonite Mission Network to partner to explore new and more focused ways of service and leadership development with our Florida congregations,” Kriss wrote in an email. 

“While this has been a challenge to launch amid a global pandemic, I appreciate Mission Network’s flexibility and responsiveness to the context and possibilities,” expressed Kriss. “Michelle brings care, passion and strong relational connections to help shape next-generation leaders for the sake of the church and the world, in the way of Christ’s peace.”

Editor’s Note: This is an abbreviated version of an article that originally appeared in Anabaptist World on January 15, 2021. To read the full version, click here. 

Zion’s Bean Bag Program Receives Grant

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Everence Stewardship Consultant, Randy Nyce, presents a check to Donna Halteman, founder and coordinator of the Zion Bean Bag Food Program. Photo provided by Everence.

Zion (Souderton, PA) Mennonite Church launched the Bean Bag Food Program in 2016 to offer a steady supply of food for students who rely on school lunches. The program has grown to serve students at ten schools.  Recently, the program received a $3,500 Everence Financial® chapter grant to help provide local students food to take home on weekends.

The Everence chapter grant program supports organizations that help people with basic needs such as food, housing and health care. The grants are made possible when members purchase many Everence products.

“We’re happy to encourage a program that we know is so important to many local families,” said Randy Delp, Managing Director for Everence in Souderton.

Anyone interested in helping to provide meals for kids to take home may contact Zion Mennonite Church, 149 Cherry Lane, Souderton, PA 18964. Please make checks out to Zion Mennonite Church with memo: BBFP.

What Can I Learn From a Zoom Conference?

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Reflections of Eastern Mennonite Seminary School for Leadership Training

Mosaic Conference was represented by a number of pastors at the annual Eastern Mennonite Seminary School for Leadership Training, held January 11-15 via Zoom. 

The virtual platform had its pros and cons. Ken Burkholder, pastor of Deep Run East (Perkasie, PA), debated whether to participate in a virtual conference, but did, despite missing connecting in person with friends and colleagues. 

Rodger Schmell, pastor of Deep Run West (Perkasie, PA), liked the virtual format because “[it] allowed me to participate without the hassle of travel and COVID precautions.” However, Schmell agreed with Burkholder, “There is a greater depth of interaction and energy with a speaker when meeting face to face.” 

Sandy Drescher-Lehman, pastor of Methacton (Norristown, PA) Mennonite, and Wayne Nitzsche, pastor of Perkasie (PA) Mennonite, reported that they were more easily distracted with home or church life interruptions, making it harder to stay attentive and connected. Overall, all of us agreed that the overall theme, speakers, and topics exceeded our expectations, despite the drawbacks.

Dr. Meghan Larissa Good was the keynote speaker for this year’s School of Leadership Training through Eastern Mennonite Seminary.  

The theme of the week was “From Surviving to Thriving…God Breathes Fresh Hope.” Meghan Larissa Good, teaching pastor of Trinity Mennonite (Glendale, AZ), presented the  keynote titled, “Leadership in Desert Places: Stories from the Wilderness.”  

Good recounted Moses’ response to God’s call in Exodus 3.  Moses wasn’t sure he was up for the challenge of leading the people saying, “Who Am I?”  But, God assures Moses by saying, “I Am…” affirming the presence and power of God in the moment and in God’s past guidance and actions.  

Burkholder related Good’s reflections to the current challenge of leading during this time of uncertainty observing, “This was a timely word of grace and encouragement to me.” Drescher-Lehman added, “Maybe the wilderness for the Israelites was about learning to trust God so they would be ready, eventually, to build God’s kingdom.” She wondered whether we are using the wilderness of COVID-19 to build our trust in God and discern God’s call. 

Schmell appreciated Good’s seminar, Introducing Communities to the Work of the Spirit. Good’s challenge, “You can’t live a Christ-centered life without the Spirit and you can’t live a Spirit-filled life without Jesus,” inspired Rodger to preach a sermon series on the Spirit.  

Schmell was also challenged in a seminar on anger and reconciliation by Michael Gulker, President of the Colossians Forum. As a person who does not enjoy conflict, Schmell was nudged to see conflict as a “gift rather than a wedge.” Gulker encouraged, “What if we could harness the energy around conflict and use it as combustion for God’s people?”

Wayne Nitzsche appreciated the input of David Fitch, Pastor of Life on the Vine Christian Community in Chicago.  Fitch explained that our personal beliefs lock us into positions. In those locked positions, we no longer hear each other or can be in a relationship because we don’t share the same beliefs. Rather than debate and try to convince others of our point of view, we do well to listen and focus on building relationships. 

Drescher-Lehman appreciated, Ministry in a Post-COVID World, led by Amy Gingrich and Joe Hackman, both of Menno Media. The pandemic has accelerated the shifts and trends already impacting the church. Some of these shifts include intergenerational education, cooperation with other churches, partnerships with organizations that are doing their one thing well, welcoming occasional or online-only people rather than assuming everyone will stay so we can count them in our membership. Drescher-Lehman was encouraged that Methacton is already making changes to live into this next phase of Christendom.  

Just Put One Foot in Front of the Other

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Reflections from the Mosaic Conference Board

To say we have experienced change in the past year is a tremendous understatement. It was a year that brought change globally, nationally, locally, and personally. Some changes were welcomed and celebrated; others were lamented. Whether positive or negative, change is disorienting and often requires adjustments.

Take, for example, a scene from the movie, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. In the movie, a character known as the Winter Warlock is transformed by a gesture of love from Kris Kringle. The Warlock’s frozen demeanor is melted away into a gentle, loving grandfather-figure who asks to be called, “Winter.” 

Winter Warlock and Kris Kringle from Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Bass, J. & Rankin, A. (directors), 1970). No copyright infringement is intended.

After experiencing change, and, in this case, a really positive one, “Winter” wonders how to navigate forward. Kris Kringle simply responds, “Just put one foot in front of the other.” Though disoriented by the change, “Winter” learns to walk in this new identity, stumbling a little at first, but moving forward nonetheless. 

I was reminded of the words of the psalmist, “The Lord makes firm the steps of the ones who delight in him; though we may stumble, we will not fall, for the Lord upholds us with his hand” (Psalm 37:23-24, NIV). This seems like a helpful posture for us all as we consider the changes we have experienced and what it means to move forward together. 

We had many changes in the creation of our new Mosaic Conference. This was a positive change worth celebrating to be sure, yet it will still create some aspects of change that may be disorienting. 

As a Board we recently wrestled through one of these changes. We considered what Conference Assemblies will look like moving forward. What is the best way to meet as a conference with members so geographically dispersed? What role does technology play? At what level can technology assist in providing meaningful, sustainable, and cost-effective gatherings? 

These are not questions that will be answered overnight. In fact, they are more likely to be discovered as we keep our focus where it belongs: delighting together in Christ, focusing our eyes on Him, and then placing one foot in front of the other. We are sure to stumble from time to time but when we do, the LORD will uphold us with his hand and keep us moving forward.

Transforming My Limited Perspective

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Besides being one of my favorite movies, White Man Can’t Jump accurately describes my reality.  Throughout my life, I have known what it is to be leaping-impaired. When I see people who can leap, hang, and glide, as if floating in air, I certainly know their reality is far different than my own. 

In a similar way, I have learned that others who do not share my skin color often experience a different reality than me in school, work, faith community, and the world at large.  

Might from the Margins Cover © Herald Press

In his book, Might from the Margins, Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards invites people of all races to embrace the gospel’s power to transform humanity.  From the very first page, Edwards shares openly about his experience of being marginalized and treated unjustly, yet prophetically proclaims that God’s power is made known out of such experiences.   

In some ways, Jesus began his life as a marginalized person born to unimpressive parents, who identified with people under the yoke of Roman oppression, hung out and ate with social outcasts, and died at the hands of the keepers of societal status quo.  Yet the movement Jesus began, with marginalized people and a unique understanding of power, transformed an empire.  

Edwards rightly calls all people to live this robust Gospel as a way to both experience and share the salvation given in Jesus.  There is no need to wait for permission or support.  Jesus has already commanded and empowered his followers to hunger and thirst for righteousness.  

Edwards’ chapter on the power of anger was especially insightful. I was raised in what I would consider a rather typical white evangelical home. While I am forever grateful for this upbringing, I learned a strong bias against the idea of anger having any redeemable qualities. Christians should control their emotions at all times. Doubt, fear, and especially anger were tools of the devil. People who expressed anger in any way were discounted as being less-than-Christian and certainly not worthy of us listening to their concerns.  

When it came to questions of justice, I found it easy, due to my training, to dismiss people whose tone had any sense of anger. It took years of unlearning and gaining a realistic understanding of Jesus’ own anger before I could see how anger can fuel an appropriate Christian response.  The apostle Paul certainly teaches and models this very approach.  

Although each chapter in Edwards’ book is worthwhile, the chapter on the power of worship is especially valuable. Edwards articulates a needed correction to the goal and purpose of worship.  He proclaims that worship is a way of life, not an event.  Based on Romans 12, Edwards declares, “Worship is about following Jesus in order to understand and practice love for God and love for other people” (p. 133).  It is only when we see worship as a way of life, and not an event, that we begin to allow the Gospel to penetrate our entire being.  

Might from the Margins is an invitation to discipleship. With a strong biblical foundation and a breadth of personal wisdom, Dr. Edwards shares his pastoral heart for all people to more closely follow Jesus Christ. With rich historical context and examples from lesser-known writers, this book exposed this limited white man to many more things than just my poor leaping ability … all while extending an invitation to a fuller, more hopeful future. For this, I am incredibly grateful.   

Editor’s Note: There is a study guide, published by Herald Press, that accompanies Might from the Margins, available for free. 

Profile: Mennonite Central Committee

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Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a worldwide ministry of Anabaptist churches, shares God’s love and compassion for all in the name of Christ by responding to basic human needs and working for peace and justice. MCC envisions worldwide communities in right relationship with God, one another, and creation.

Staff and volunteers of Heart2Heart in southern Florida sort MCC humanitarian aid supplies for distribution to older adults.
(Heart2Heart photo/Stefany Gallo)

Our work is built on the foundational support of the church. Over the decades and still today, MCC gathers people across differences to work together to share God’s love and compassion for all in the name of Christ. Some have been MCC volunteers internationally, some have been active in MCC relief sales, some have volunteered at MCC Material Resources Centers and MCC Thrift shops, some have made financial gifts to MCC’s work.

As we read in 1 Corinthians 12:4, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.” That variety of gifts in the church has been blessing communities around the world in the name of Christ through MCC’s ministries for more than 100 years. And those gifts have life breathed into them by God’s Spirit—the one Spirit which binds all of God’s children together.

Whether in Miami or India, the desire of God’s heart is that all may experience the abundant life which Jesus claimed as his reason for coming—so that all of God’s children may live lives of dignity in thriving communities.

MCC’s partner Institute of Social Action and Research Activities (ISARA) installed a spring water harvest system in communities in Odisha state in 2014. (ISARA photo/Jajati Pandit)

Thank you for following God’s call on your life to bless a hurting world in partnership with MCC. Thank you for being part of MCC’s century-old story and part of the MCC family.

Prayer Requests

  • Pray for MCC representatives Derrick and Rebekah Good Charles and local church partners in Honduras and Nicaragua who continue to offer support after two devastating hurricanes in November 2020.
  • Give thanks for MCC supporters who have demonstrated amazing creativity, tenacity, and passion in finding ways to continue to bless the world in partnership with MCC. 
  • Pray for God’s wisdom as MCC discerns the most appropriate ways forward in MCC spaces where people gather during the time of COVID-19, including Material Resources Centers, Thrift shops and relief sales.
  • Give thanks for MCC’s Peace Clubs, started by Issa Ebombolo in 2006. The model has expanded to curriculum implemented in churches, schools, prisons and refugee camps on three continents.
  • Please pray for MCC peacebuilding work in the U.S., Canada, and internationally, which includes facilitating interfaith dialogue and relationship-building across cultural, racial, and ethnic divides.

Healthy Niños of Honduras Shares Food and Mattresses with Victims of Storms of Dread ETA and IOTA

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This article is translated to English by Andrés Castillo. Original article appears in Mosaic News En Español: Healthy Niños de Honduras Comparte su Comida y Colchones a Afectados Por Las Tormentas de Espanto ETA y IOTA por Javier Marquez

A few months ago I spoke with Herman Sagastume of the project Healthy Niños (“Healthy Children”). Along with getting to know about Healthy Niños, we discussed the Shalom Fund created by Mosaic Conference to deal with money shortages in communities in Honduras with which it works, in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Photo from the official Healthy Niños Facebook Page

A Small Sprout of Light

This time I spoke with him to ask about a similar topic: the situation of these communities after Honduras received two hurricanes, ETA and IOTA, in November. The outlook is not always uplifting; but in the gloom, it has always been possible to see a small sprout of light. 

Storm of Dread

Chaos is inexplicable. First it was ETA, which, coming from the south, reached Honduras with less fury than when it passed through neighboring countries. Either way, it produced losses and grave complications like floods and minor landslides. After the never-ending rain, during the days where people had time to readjust and repair the damages, IOTA arrived as a storm of dread. It painted the landscapes with images of plains where there used to be houses, lakes where there used to be fields of crops, lines of people seeking refuge, roofs of houses floating like canoes, paths crossed by fallen tree trunks, and trees crushed by the weight of the rain or destroyed by the strong winds.

With IOTA, it is estimated that the injury count surpasses 2 million

The northern part of Honduras was the most affected, and what makes this situation worse is that the country depends on the productivity of this area for between some 60-65% of its economy. A few months ago, we narrated the difficulties which, in these countries, took the form of a sanitary crisis during the pandemic due to their shortcomings in the health system and of the distribution of money. In the same way today, complications for this hurricane arise due to the unstable infrastructure that the country possesses. 

Herman explained all of this for the knowledge of all the churches of Mosaic Conference. He has lived many years in the state of Virginia, is Honduran, and his work with Healthy Niños is objectively focused on his country of origin. He tells us that he has never before seen so much destruction in Honduras, including when hurricane Mitch passed through the country in 1998. With IOTA, it is estimated that the number of affected persons surpasses 2 million. 

The poor are the most affected

In Arepo, an area where Healthy Niños does its work with basic education and malnutrition, given that people who live there are too poor and have seen themselves forced to construct their houses in places with high risk, the danger reaches critical levels for the project.