Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

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Uncomfortable and Messy Faith

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(Leer en español)
Hiking in Colombia

“The hardest and most rewarding part of my job is the never-ending learning curve of faith and working with people,” says Marta Castillo, Lead Minister for Intercultural Formation for Franconia Conference. “I love that faith is a journey. We never stop learning, and there are times when our faith is stretched and formed in ways that are uncomfortable and messy. I am a relational person and I love being with, learning from, and working with all kinds of people. Yet I always feel like I am just learning how to relate and work graciously with people from different cultures and backgrounds in ways that are wise and Spirit-led,” she elaborates.

Marta serves as the Lead Minister for four churches (Centro de Alabanza, Nations Worship Center, Garden Chapel, and Mennonite Bible Fellowship) and she is also part of the core group of the Intercultural Team. 

Intercultural encounter has been a part of Marta’s life for as long as she can remember. She was born in Malaysia, and grew up in Vietnam and Indonesia as the daughter of missionary parents, returning to live in the United States when she was 16 years old. Over time, she learned to accept and adapt to the culture of the United States.  

Julio and Marta Castillo

After college and study in the area of elementary and early childhood education, Marta worked for nearly a decade as a teacher and child care center director in various locations. When she moved to Norristown, she also began working part-time at Nueva Vida Norristown New Life (NVNNL) as a church secretary. It was at the church she met and married a man from Colombia, Julio Castillo, and over the last 24 years has been learning and speaking Spanish. Her growing involvement in ministry at NVNNL also moved her gradually into her current pastoral calling. She adds, “My grandfather and father were both pastors and I am happy to be the first woman pastor in my extended family.”

“I love the natural connections with brothers and sisters from other cultures in my work. I continue to be stretched and learn from everyone,” Marta shares. She attended Nueva Vida Norristown New Life for 23 years and served as an Associate Pastor on the pastoral team for 10 of those years until 2017.    

Currently Marta also serves as the interim pastor of Wellspring Church of Skippack, a gem of a congregation that lost their pastor, Mike Meneses, suddenly at the end of 2018. She plans to stay in the position until they are able to call another pastor. She also works in Bilingual Parent Engagement for Norristown Area School District.

Marta with sons Andres & Daniel

Describing her work for the Conference, Marta says each day is different. She connects regularly with pastors by phone or in person, preaches at different churches, meets with leadership groups, plans the intercultural women’s gathering and other intercultural events, helps with pastoral search processes, works at conflict mediation, travels and joins calls to represent the Conference at events and gatherings, writes articles, uses her Spanish and limited Indonesian, collaborates with team members, and attends staff meetings and other meetings.

Marta’s life priorities include time with God, caring for her home and her husband, being a present mother to her sons, Christian, Andres, and Daniel (and granddaughter, Isabel).  In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, swimming and gardening.

Welcoming New Conference Related Ministries

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by Sharon K. Williams, Nueva Vida Norristown New Life

What does Indonesia, India, Honduras, and Allentown have in common? See if you can figure it out!

At our upcoming Conference Assembly (November 1–2), Franconia Conference will welcome four exciting and unique organizations as Conference Related Ministries (CRMs).

Taproot Gap Year is a ministry with post high school young adults who are seeking a different way of living and exploring the world. Students can take a semester or a full year to live in Indonesia with homestay families, learn a new language, go to class, serve in internships, explore new places, and learn tools that help develop one’s faith and identity.

Taproot focuses on guiding students on their journey to understand who they want to be in this world, so what they do is fully professional, hands-on, and rooted in love and their calling. Taproot is a ministry of Philadelphia Praise Center, led by Pastor Aldo Siahaan, Lindy Backues, and staff of young adults who are passionate about supporting the witness of Christian young people in the world.

Peace Proclamation Ministries International (PPMI) is an evangelistic and church planting ministry with those living in India and in the USA. PPMI’s vision is to minister to and serve the unreached with God’s Word, which can lead into a personal encounter and relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. PPMI focuses on training pastors, pastors’ wives, and youth through annual conferences, retreats, and gospel meetings. PPMI also supports the ministry of congregations through eye clinics and borewells, and practical ministry tools such as megaphones, bicycles, and sewing machines.

PPMI is led by Paulus and Sumatha Thalathoti (Plains congregation) and a very enthusiastic board of directors.

Healthy Niños Honduras focuses on helping children and their families beat the ravishes of malnutrition and poverty. The child survival programs include a residential nutrition center, deworming, water filtration systems, medical and construction brigades, and preventive health education. Currently, Healthy Niños works in the San Francisco de Yojoa, Cortes, area of Honduras. 

Healthy Niños is one of the outgrowth ministries of the MAMA Project. Herman Sagastume serves as the executive director, with board members representing several Franconia Conference congregations.

Ripple Community Inc (RCI)  is guided by its vision of Allentown as a community where everyone has a role to play, a diverse network of social support, and a connection to the place they call home. Its programs serve over 150 Allentown residents. RCI’s Community Building Center is the only day center in Allentown that is open to the public. RCI Village is the first permanent, community-supported, affordable housing program in Allentown. RCI uses restorative practices to foster a safe, healthy, and supportive community among its participants.

RCI emerged from the work of Ripple Church, which ministers with people who are on the margins of society in Allentown to restore critical relationships, build community, and address material and relational needs. RCI was founded in 2015 to take the work of Ripple Church into the broader community. Sherri Brokopp Binder serves as executive director, along with staff and board members from Ripple Church and the Allentown community.

These four organizations are manifestations of the growth of God’s kingdom in our midst! Each ministry, in its own way, is sharing the gospel of Christ in an appointed area, as well as building relational bridges with our conference community. Join us at our Conference Assembly (worship on Friday, November 1, 7 p.m., and business sessions on Saturday, November 2, 9 a.m., Souderton Mennonite Church) to celebrate this movement of God among us!

Sacred Conversations

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by Donna Merow, Methacton congregation      

Our Fall Equipping on September 19 began with a reading of Psalm 139 and a discussion about the nature of God, the foundation of the psalmist’s trust in God’s presence and providence.  The responses offered ranged from God’s inescapable scrutiny to a comparison with the pursuing mother in The Runaway Bunny.  Our speaker reminded the gathered clergy that while we are not the only reflection of God in the world, we are powerful representatives, called to reflect the divine character as fully as possible.

Our experienced presenter for this Fall Equipping was the Rev. Dr. Virginia Samuel Cetuk.  Her topic was Sacred Conversations, focused on the vital importance of confidentiality in our pastoral interactions.  A Pennsylvania native, Ginny was ordained in the United Methodist Church 45 years ago and currently serves as the Administrative Pastor at Princeton UMC.  Ginny has also served as an associate dean at Drew University and as a hospital and hospice chaplain (and with the FBI through her husband’s work and connections).  It was her years co-chairing Drew’s Sexual Harassment Committee that shaped her strong convictions about the need for confidentiality and the harm that is done when it is not kept. 

Ginny engaged us in a lively conversation about the meaning, values, expectations and limits of confidentiality, one of the pastoral issues addressed in both the United Methodist Book of Discipline and our own Shared Understanding of Ministerial Leadership.  Etymologically, trust (“fid” in Latin) is at the center of “confidential.”  Ginny used the language of betrayal to capture the internal experience of being exposed when confidantes break one’s trust and share confidences with others. 

The common understanding of confidentiality equates it with role of the parish priest—who tells no one what is shared in the confessional, often at great personal cost.  We struggled with this idea of “absolute confidentiality” and its implications for sharing with our spouses.  

Ginny offered case studies from her ministry context for discussion and invited us to do the same.  Participation was both wide and deep as we shared our stories and posed questions without easy answers.  One pastor spoke of the discomfort of keeping a confidence that was not extended to the sharer’s own family members, a decision he honored despite his disagreement.

Another pastor asked about generational shifts.  Our older members maintain a trust in their pastors that may not be true of the Boomers and beyond.  In an age of widespread therapy, struggles are often acknowledged and addressed elsewhere.  The very public life that social media affords also raised questions about our youngest members’ reality.

What are the assumptions and expectations of those who share intimacies with us?  If they don’t say, “Keep this confidential,” are we at liberty to add them to the prayer list or to announce them at church?  We were encouraged to engage with the mutual understanding that “If you are telling me, then you are telling me.”  Several pastors reported learning the hard way of the need to assume a private conversation and to ask for permission before sharing its contents wider. 

Does the disclosure come with expectations that we will do something?  One pastor cautioned that we need to be aware which of our many hats we are wearing to respond appropriately. 

Ginny affirmed that she wanted to leave us with many questions.  In this regard, her presentation was a resounding success!

Listen to the podcast on our Audio Gallery page!

Enjoy and Relax

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by Aldo Siahaan, Leadership Minister

At the beginning of October, I returned to Jakarta, Indonesia with my wife Viviani and my son Eden. It had been almost three years since my last visit.  It was a short visit, but I knew I would love to see the location of my parents’ new grave. Originally, both my parents were buried in the Pondok Rangon Cemetery, but two years ago, their graves were moved to a new place called the San Diego Hill Cemetery. The distance to the San Diego Hill Cemetery was only 40 miles.

Aldo and family, visiting his parents’ gravesite

On the appointed day, Vivi, Eden, and I were joined by two of my nieces and three of my siblings; my sister Lita drove us. Before leaving, Lita had warned us: “Get ready—this will be a long journey. San Diego Hill Cemetery is in a suburb of Jakarta and we may get caught in traffic jams.”

On the way there, the journey to San Diego Hill Cemetery took only 90 minutes! Those who knew the traffic jams in Jakarta said, with joy, “Wow, our trip was very fast this morning!” After visiting my parents’ new grave, we returned to the car to go home.      

Coming out of the cemetery complex, we were immediately confronted with traffic.  When we checked the GPS, it said it would take 2.5 hours to get home. In the end, we had to travel 4 hours for the 40-mile distance.

What is interesting for me is how my sister Lita, the driver, stayed calm. No matter how many times other family members or I complained about the length of the trip or the traffic jams that didn’t move, Lita always said, “Just enjoy it” or “All passengers just relax!” How many times did Lita share stories or engage us in conversation so that we wouldn’t focus on the traffic? She made jokes or asked us to sing, reminding us to “just enjoy.”  There was nothing we could do to get out of the 4-hour traffic jam—it was a tough test for someone as impatient as me.

In today’s world, people want everything to be instant. The word patience is easy to speak but hard to live. Many people don’t want to be matured by God. What would have happened if Noah had been impatient or disobedient to what God had told him to do? What would have happened if Joseph had been impatient waiting for God’s promises through his dreams? Or Abraham, David, and others?

Maybe these heroes in the Bible said to themselves, “Just enjoy, just relax, engage in the process.” Yes, God wants me to learn to be patient, enjoy this life journey, and not run away from the process. I will say to myself, “Aldo, just enjoy the problem you have, relax, and engage in the process.”

“[It is] better to be patient than a warrior, and better to have self-control than to capture a city.” (Proverbs 16:32, CEB)

Appreciate Your Pastor

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(reprinted with permission from Mennonite World Review)

by Stephen Kriss, Executive Minister

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. While one month is not enough to show appreciation to pastors, it’s an opportunity to focus on the work, ministry and difficulty of being a pastor.

I was called to a pastor role in my 20s. I threw my young energy into the life of the congregation. I wasn’t paid for full-time work. But that didn’t keep needs from arising at all hours of the day and night.

I worked other jobs. I went to grad school. What our young team lacked in experience we made up for in passion, care and long hours. Truth be told, I am not sure I have ever worked so hard and so long as those six years at Carpenter Park Mennonite Church in Davidsville, Pa. Now, in my conference-level role, there are rarely emergency calls at midnight or odd times.

Pastoring congregations in Anabaptist settings is not for the faint-hearted. Because of our understanding of the shared priesthood of all believers, we’re quick to share opinions and responses. To pastor and preach is to put your thoughts and actions to the test for public commentary on a weekly basis. Communities share feedback about the cars we drive, the clothes we wear, our haircuts and weight gain or loss.

But there are privileges in pastoral work. The schedule is often flexible. We get glimpses into people’s hopes and dreams, intimate moments of life’s critical passings. We carry the goodness and the best of community.

There are pitfalls. Demanding schedules disrupt family life and rhythm. Salaries are often unsustainable without second jobs. The cultural conflict that rips through our congregations often puts pastors on defense. It can be lonely and exhausting.

At the same tine, recent research indicates the pastoral role’s significance is on decline. There’s an erosion of trust due to abuses of the role and changes in our sociopolitical reality. The work of making those abuses public is essential for clergy to have any respect, but it can further erode trust. The humanity and fallibility of clergy can become all too real.

With all of that on the table, how might we appreciate pastors? Each pastor is his or her own person. But as I listen to pastors who feel close to burnout, sustainable salaries and expectations help. Acts of appreciation that go above and beyond expectation underscore value. Cutting back on criticism and heightening words of honest encouragement matter.

Let’s allow pastors to live into their role, to speak the words they feel the Spirit has given them, even when it makes us uncomfortable. Treat pastors as people with valid training and experience who can’t be debunked by a Google search or something we read on Facebook.

Let’s share honestly with pastors in our life struggles and experiences. This has been some of the most holy work for me. It requires pastors to settle ourselves enough to listen to the wildness of the soul — and depends on church members to be brave enough to bring forth more than “Good sermon, pastor.”

Whether or not your congregation marks this month, I hope we can extend appreciation for pastors. When we can’t figure out the right words or actions, there’s chocolate, coffee, plants, beef jerky, simple expressions to acknowledge the hard work.

Taking care of pastors extends the Good News, because leadership longevity contributes to the growth of faith communities.

Stephen Kriss is a teacher, writer, pastor and follower of Jesus living in Philadelphia.

A New Conference, A New Creation

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by Mary Nitzsche, Franconia Conference Associate Executive Minister

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-18).

Eastern District Conference and Franconia Mennonite Conference are on the verge of becoming something new, a new conference with a new name and structure. Since our joint Assembly meetings last November and May, our journey of becoming a new, reconciled conference has been a work in progress.

Over the summer months, four committees were formed—Business of the Conference, Implementation, Conference Related Ministries, and Naming committees—to give more definition and detail to the Structure and Identity Taskforce recommendations.

As a staff member, I was appointed to the Implementation Committee, charged with creating bylaws for the new conference. The rest of the committee members included Sherri Brokopp Binder, Scott Roth, Charlotte Hunsberger, Ken Burkholder and Danilo Sanchez. Our committee met seven times over the past five months.

Working on bylaws is tedious and time-consuming. Much of the current Franconia Conference bylaws content remains in the new bylaws with minor revisions. Some sections in the current bylaws were deleted, since they contained outdated information or unnecessary detail. Some sections were added to reflect the Structure and Identity Taskforce recommendations.

Input of delegates, staff, boards, or the three other committees was gathered. Since the May Assembly, many opinions were given voice and consideration; conversations were engaging and sometimes intense.  Focus groups offered feedback on a name for the new conference.  The four committees and the Structure and Identity Taskforce shared information and exchanged suggestions.

By the beginning of September, the work of the committees was entrusted to the Structure and Identity Taskforce for final review and revision. The Scattered meetings this month were intended to inform delegates of the refining work of the four committees and invite clarifying questions or suggestions before the Fall Assembly affirmation to be one reconciled conference.

As two conferences come together in a spirit of reconciliation, this process of birthing a new conference has been one of prayerful, discerning, and compromising work.  The new structure represents a more congregational model of relating and sharing together in a common mission rather than a hierarchal structure where the staff and board dictate.  As congregations join the new conference, we commit to building relationships with other member congregations and its people: hearing and valuing one another’s stories (I hope you are reading congregational profiles) and discerning together what is best for the whole. This relational and congregational model takes more time and requires listening, humility, flexibility, and openness to mutual transformation to be a conference reflecting the diversity that God’s Spirit is continuing to call and form.

Many of us will not be able to affirm every detail of the new structure and bylaws. May we all come to Assembly in a spirit of openness, humility, trust, and commitment to the new thing God’s Spirit has been doing among us. The “old conferences” are passing away and a new conference is being created as a sign of God’s ongoing reconciliation ministry in the way of Jesus.

Called as (Youth) Leaders

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by Heidi Swartley, Doylestown congregation, and Kate Hockman, Deep Run East congregation

Over the first weekend of September, we had the wonderful opportunity to attend  Franconia & Eastern District Conference’s youth leadership retreat. During this retreat we learned many lessons and met many people who we probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. It was a fantastic feeling to spend time with other people from separate churches in our conference who had the same willingness to lead. The weekend included a wonderful speaker, awesome team building exercises, and an overall feeling of excitement to learn and lead.

One of the first things we recognized on our retreat is just how hard leadership is. Showing up, being present, putting yourself out there, and trying with all of who you are, is taking a huge risk. Our doubt and fear will convince us that it is not a risk worth taking, and we are not the right people for the job. This doubt is a part of life. Our speaker for the weekend, Pastor Joe Hackman (Salford congregation), assured us that all leaders experience doubt—a reality we don’t often name or recognize. But as leaders, we do not stand alone, relying on our own strength.

Our theme for the weekend, “I Am Called”, grounded us in the confidence that we have been called: He will never leave us nor forsake us, and He will go with us as we work for the glory of His kingdom.

Scripture. As Pastor Joe talked to us about how we stay grounded in our faith in the midst of our doubt, he turned us to Scripture. The Bible tells the stories of many great spiritual leaders, who all grappled with doubt the same way we do today. Our theme verse from the weekend was 1 Timothy 4:12, in which Paul comforts Timothy in the midst of doubt over his young age. Timothy also had struggles with his family and his health, which likely contributed to the doubt. Jeremiah, in the Old Testament, tells the story of God using people, even in their doubt. God calls Jeremiah, and Jeremiah retreats into doubt saying: “I don’t know how…” and “I’m only….” Scripture not only tells us about the doubt of past leaders, but also provides verses of comfort and instruction in what to do with our doubt.

Values. Everybody has them, but sometimes it’s hard to tell what they are. Joe suggested saying the following statement. “If I took away___ from ___, they would cease to exist.” For example, If I took away empathy from Kate or love from Heidi, they would cease to exist. Identifying and knowing what your core values are is another way to handle our doubt. In order to identify our core values as leaders, we were given small cards with different values on them, values such as freedom, empathy, and helpfulness. After Pastor Joe told us to split our cards into different groups based on their importance, he asked us to pick three to five core values that were important to us. We realized that if we were ever experiencing doubt, we could fall back on the values that we picked. 

Community. Community is one of the most powerful ways to cope with doubt, and as Pastor Joe told us, “fear fears community.” In order to be a successful leader, we need to realize that somebody is always on our side. Our church community is always there to support us in any way they can, especially in times of doubt; they’re right there, cheering us on from the sidelines. Community helps to root us in the truth, in how truly loved, supported, and valued we are. Community is patient with us, in our fear, brokenness, and weakness. Seeing Christ’s love reflected in another’s love for us is a powerful thing. 

Overall, this experience taught us so much, and we are grateful we had the opportunity to go to this retreat. We learned so much about God and what it means to be a leader.

Expanding the Vision at Pinebrook

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by Grace Nolt, Spruce Lake Retreat

On October 17, 2018, Spruce Lake took over stewardship of Pinebrook Bible Conference to refine and rededicate the ministry around its founding purpose of “Pointing People Toward Christ.”

The vision now, as then, might seem crazy at the start. Dare we believe that God is not done with Pinebrook, and wants even more people to see Christ through this property?

Young people gather in front of the sign for Pinebrook’s newly established “Church of the Air” Bible Conference. Circa 1933.

Percy Crawford, the charismatic pioneer radio and TV evangelist of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, founded Pinebrook Bible Conference in 1933 to strengthen the reach of his radio ministry, “The Young People’s Church of the Air.”

The property, located at what is now 5339 Pinebrook Road, East Stroudsburg, PA, was just what Percy and his team were searching for. “We must have it,” Percy said to the real estate man. Never mind that they wanted too much money.

Furthermore, the bank would not even consider a deal without cash, and other buyers were closing in. But the bank conceded, giving them about four weeks to raise the money. This turned out to be rough as banks were closing right and left.

“Immediately I went to good Christian friends and explained my plight, “said Percy. “The day the money was due, I walked in and placed it in the bank’s hands.” Pinebrook had been acquired for God, and for the young people of the Pocono Mountains. Immediately they dedicated the place to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Percy brought the nation’s leading Bible teachers and musicians to Pinebrook – Billy Graham, George Beverly Shea, Cliff Barrows, Jack Wyrtzen and many others. He directed Pinebrook’s ministries for the next 28 years.

In 1968, the Bible Fellowship Church became the next stewards of Pinebrook, continuing it as a retreat and conference center with a “mission to the world.” Ongoing programs offered special ministry to the Bible Fellowship Church.

Representing PA Senator Mario Scavello, Jonathan Allotey (center) presented Mark and Jackie Swartley an award of recognition for investing in the community by revitalizing Pinebrook.

Then, on a day filled with bright sunshine and wind, over 200 people gathered at the open house service June 30, 2019, to witness the uniting of Pinebrook and Spruce Lake as one, refounding Pinebrook for “this day and this age.”

“I cannot tell you,” spoke Executive Director Mark Swartley, “how many people have stopped me since we have gotten involved with Pinebrook and said things like: I love that place!  I accepted Christ on those grounds.  I found my spouse at Pinebrook.  Those hills sing to me when I walk on the grounds.”

Pinebrook has had an amazing impact for Christ. As Billy Graham once said, Pinebrook is “where so many hundreds and thousands of young lives have been touched, and people are now around the world who were led to Christ and dedicated their lives to Christ at Pinebrook.”

Several hundred youth attended SnoGlo weekends in January at Pinebrook, programmed by the Bible Fellowship Church.

So, this is the day to carry forward the vision to reach more people for Christ through Pinebrook!

What might this look like? Spruce Lake is planning to:

  • Serve the Bible Fellowship Church and its members through its retreat ministries.
  • Invite churches in the surrounding local area and nearby states to retreat and seek a deeper relationship with Christ. As many as 13,000 new and returning people are expected through 2019.
  • Start a children’s Day Camp ministry the summer of 2021 to allow us to share Christ with Stroudsburg area children day after day.
  • Restore a ministry in this community so that it is fully flourishing – giving all glory to God for His provision and grace!

We will trust God and see where He leads as Spruce Lake continues “Pointing People Toward Christ” in the future at Pinebrook.

To this purpose we dedicate this property, O Lord!

For more information on the history of Pinebrook, visit pinebrook.org.