Conference Assembly

During the Mosaic Conference 2026 Fall Delegate Assembly worship, we will recognize the credentialed leaders who have died within the past year, those congregations and Conference-Related Ministries who have left, congregations who have joined Mosaic, and the new leaders among us. Below are those who will be recognized on Saturday, Nov. 7.  

Those who have passed:  

• Duane Bishop  
• Hubert Schwarzentruber  

Congregations who have left Mosaic:    

• Deep Run West Mennonite (Perkasie, PA) 
• Iglesia Menonita Peña de Horeb (Philadelphia, PA)  
• Perkiomenville (PA) Mennonite 
• Spring Mount (PA) Mennonite 
• Swamp Mennonite (Quakertown, PA)  

Welcoming new member communities to Mosaic: 

• Destiny’s Daughters, Inc. (Harrisonburg, VA) 
• Hope Chapel (Temecula, CA)
• Iglesia Menonita Casa de Oración (García, Nuevo León, México) 

Recognizing New Leaders 

Approved three-year license toward ordination (LTO) for:  

• Cindy Angela – Philadelphia Praise Center 
• Mark Boorse – Salford Mennonite (Harleysville, PA) 
• Karen Bennett – Bally (PA) Mennonite  
• Henny Vina Krisnadi – Whitehall (PA) Mennonite (church planter) 
• Yesenia Casas (Perez Morales) – Iglesia Evangelica Menonita Shalom (North Tampa, FL) 
• Jacob Wibowo – Philadelphia Praise Center 
• Laura Alderfer – Salford Mennonite (Harleysville, PA) 
• Joeven Mesadieau – College Hill Mennonite and North Tampa Christian Fellowship 
• Dody Atmajaya – Bethany Elevation (Elmhurst, NY) 

Approved ordination for:  

• Joe Paparone – Bethany Mennonite (Bridgewater Corners, Vermont) 
• Beverly Benner Miller – Plains Mennonite (Hatfield, PA) 
• Sherilee Samuel – College Hill Mennonite and North Tampa Christian Fellowship (Tampa, Florida) 
• Dave Moyer – Zion Mennonite (Souderton, PA) 
• Eszter Bjorkman – Neffsville Mennonite (Lancaster, PA) 
• Andrew Zetts – Salford Mennonite (Harleysville, PA) 

Approved transfer into Mosaic Conference:  

• Rigoberto Negron – Iglesia Menonita de Cordero (Brownsville, TX) 
• Maria Alma Solis – Iglesia Menonita Fuente de Agua Viva (Los Fresnos, TX) 
• Jose Alejo Solis – Iglesia Menonita Fuente de Agua Viva (Los Fresnos, TX) 
• John Holsey – Providence Mennonite Church (Collegeville, PA) 

Credentials Reactivated 

• Nicolas Sandoval – Iglesia Evangelica Menonita de Oracion y Adoracion (Philadelphia, PA) 
• Maribeth Benner – Blooming Glen Mennonite (PA) 

1. Delegates should read the docket and other important documents before Assembly. Print out a hard copy (if you want one) or bring an electronic device on which you can read it. We will not be supplying hard copies, though QR codes will be available.  

2. On Saturday, Nov. 7, enter Souderton Mennonite Church through the main carport entrance. There is a parking lot across the street from the meetinghouse, on Chestnut Street, and parking around the building. Parking and getting through the registration line could take 15 minutes. Doors open for registration at 8:30 a.m. Arrive early for community time in the Exhibit Hall with Conference-Related Ministries (CRMs) and other agencies.  

3. Our multilingual worship will begin at 9:30 a.m. Learn more about our worship leaders and speakers. For those not able to participate in person, worship will be streamed on Facebook. Get excited about praising God together by listening to the songs that we will sing:  

• I Love You, Lord  
• I Exalt Thee 
• Muliakanlah 
• For Who You Are / Porque Eres Dios  
• Praise, I Will Praise You Lord (VT 76)  
• Praise to God, Immortal Praise (VT 91) 
• Goodness of God / La Bondad de Dios

4. During the morning delegate session, delegates will be invited to share with their table groups a story about how their congregation or ministry is living out or embodying the Assembly’s theme verse, for example, “We love the Lord because…”  

5. This year we will implement digital voting for delegate affirmations using ElectionBuddy. The communication team has prepared a tutorial video to help you know what to expect during the vote. Paper ballots will still be available for delegates without electronic devices. 

6. From 12:30-1:50 pm, the Exhibit Hall and a luncheon from Crocodile Catering (Mediterranean cuisine) will be available. Plan to spend time in both places! Childcare is available during worship and the delegate sessions, but there is no childcare during lunch. The sanctuary will be available all day for prayer and reflection. 

7. Speakers and presenters adjust their pace to allow interpreters to work. Interpreters are an integral part of the Assembly presentation team. We invite you to pray for them and to support them by affirming their work and speaking slowly and in short phrases in spaces where interpretation is being provided.  

8. Make sure to reserve your spot in an afternoon breakout conversation because space will be limited. More information is available here, under the “Afternoon Delegate Session” tab. 

9. Delegates will be seated at round tables to foster healthy conversation, with diverse representation of Mosaic at each table. Seating is available toward the back of the hall for guests. Everyone is asked to keep their voices low during the delegate sessions, allowing delegates to hear one another during table discussions.  

10. In addition to the mid-day luncheon, light snacks, coffee, and tea are provided. The coffee served at Assembly comes from Nazca K-Fé, a Peruvian family-owned business from Iglesia Menonita Ebenezer (Souderton, PA).  

Bonus: Our Assembly Support Fund remains open for online giving and also through a collection basket at lunch. Your gifts offset the travel costs for delegates coming from a distance (FL, CA, TX, VT). If travel isn’t a barrier for you, please help remove it for someone else. 

We look forward to seeing everyone on November 7! Need more information? Visit the Assembly Webpage. 

by Stephen Kriss, Executive Minister

Over the past year, when I have represented Mosaic in spaces with other Mennonites, I have encountered a variety of responses to Mosaic’s new alignment, which embraces both autonomy and collaboration with other Anabaptist and Mennonite groups.

Some have welcomed the change; others have been confused by it. Some conversations have been awkward. At times, people have read their own theological and sociopolitical perspectives into our discernment (as most of us tend to do).

This fall, however, someone I trust, who has been watching the process from a distance, said to me: “It looks like you’re attempting to allow a variety of Anabaptist expressions to emerge and flourish.”

To be honest, this is what I had hoped others might see: a multiplicity of expressions, with space to hold relationships noncoercively, and an expansive Anabaptism that allows people to find their place yet holds tension and diversity of viewpoints.

As we gather this week for our annual Assembly, we enter a new chapter in Mosaic’s life. With no major controversial agenda items beyond naming board members, we will have space to embody the autonomous, collaborative community we discerned becoming last year. We will also recognize the outcome of that discernment, including the release of congregations and communities that have chosen other alignments. This part has been difficult. We will bless those moving to Mennonite Church USA-affiliated conferences, LMC, or becoming autonomous themselves.

We are also beginning to build our identity without some of the restrictions that some of us felt hindered our trajectory. This weekend, we will celebrate the first congregation from outside the United States to join Mosaic: Iglesia Menonita Casa de Oración (House of Prayer Mennonite Church), in Nuevo León, Mexico. Their relationship with a Texas congregation that joined us last year through South Central Conference reminds us that national borders may shape political identities and complicate relationships, but they do not sever them.

This is part of an emerging Mosaic reality: becoming a more intentionally global and local (glocal) community of communities, emphasizing relationships that cross nation/state boundaries and the significance of the neighborhoods and places where we are planted.

We will continue working to define our identity not by what we are against but by who we are and where we are headed. The Clarifying Our Center document will again be part of our conversation. Drawing on the work of Paul Hiebert and Mark Baker, both Mennonite Brethren shaped by cross-cultural work, this framework invites us to consider how the peaceable way of Jesus, grounded in Anabaptist identity, continues to transform communities interculturally.

We will also continue reviewing the Church Together Statements, which originated in Franconia Conference and became part of Mosaic through our reconciliation process with Eastern District and Franconia, but may not adequately represent current practices and policy. This review is outlined in our strategic plan and was recommended by the Pathways group for completion in the next year. Revisiting them together will give us time to recalibrate and consider how we might move forward in response to who we are and the Spirit’s invitation to us now.

Our gathering will also reflect the realities facing our communities. Some of our immigrant leaders will participate online because of concerns about current immigration enforcement, even among those with complete documentation. We have honored their decisions and will accommodate their participation. We will also continue discerning how best to accompany and advocate for immigrant communities through an afternoon conversation about our recent Pastoral Letter.

We will celebrate 20 newly credentialed leaders—nearly 15 percent of our active credentialed body. We will worship multilingually and hear voices from within Mosaic: Brent Camilieri of Deep Run East Mennonite (Perkasie, PA), Grace Pam of Los Angeles Faith Chapel, and Marco Güete of Mosaic staff and Resplandece Mennonite (Pembroke Pines, FL). Greetings from Nelson Okanye of Mennonite World Conference will remind us of our “glocality.” We will also connect with partners across the Anabaptist world and leaders from our nearly 30 conference-related ministries.

As we gather, let us receive one another with the spirit of Bonhoeffer’s invitation to welcome “whoever God gives us.” Our life together is not something we have designed or can control. It is something we receive: the people, communities, relationships, and possibilities God brings among us.

We are setting out on the next stretch of this journey, continuing to seek ways to walk with others as we embody the reconciling love of Jesus. May God be glorified as we gather, talk, eat, sing, pray, listen, and discern together this weekend in Souderton.

Stephen Kriss

Stephen Kriss is the Executive Minister of Mosaic Mennonite Conference.

At the Fall 2026 Mosaic Mennonite Conference Delegate Assembly, delegates will be invited to affirm several Board members and Committee Chairs for three-year terms beginning in January 2027. Get to know each of these leaders and their roles below.

The Conference Board supervises the business of the conference, provides leadership to conference committees, and engages in strategic planning to ensure that the conference stays aligned with its vision and responds to the Spirit’s leading into areas of growth and change.

The Nominating Committee ensures that those who fill these roles reflect the gender, racial, cultural, geographic, and historic diversity of the Conference, while also embodying a high level of intercultural competency and diverse giftings.

JANET PANNING

Plains Mennonite (Hatfield, PA)

Role: Moderator

Raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Janet Panning became a Christian at age 14. After graduating from Michigan State University, she was introduced to the Mennonite church through the Inter-Menno Program, and spent a year in the Netherlands. Janet and her husband Steve served with Mennonite Central Committee for nine years in Jamaica and three years in Kentucky. After returning from service, Janet spent 18 years helping resettle refugees through a Lutheran social service agency. She later worked for the Montgomery County Health Department, including serving as interim director during the COVID pandemic. She now works with the PA Lead-Free Promise Project, which seeks to reduce the impact of lead poisoning on Pennsylvania’s children. Janet and Steve have two adult daughters and three grandsons. The Pannings have been part of Plains Mennonite Church since 1987 and became members in 2004.

JESSICA CLOPTON ROBINSON

College Hill Mennonite (Tampa, FL)

Role: Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair

Jessica Clopton-Robinson has served as Worship Leader at College Hill Mennonite Church in Tampa, Florida since 2017. Music has been an important part of her life for more than 30 years, and she enjoys creating spaces where people can experience God through worship. She also serves as a member of her church’s Council, contributing to the leadership, discernment, and overall life of the congregation. Professionally, Jessica brings more than 17 years of experience in the finance and insurance industry, with a background in claims, leadership, problem-solving, and helping people navigate difficult moments. She has served on the Mosaic Mennonite Conference Finance Committee since July 2023. She views stewardship as faithfully and transparently caring for what God has entrusted to us. Through music, leadership, fitness, and ministry, Jessica seeks to serve others, build authentic relationships, and use her gifts to strengthen the church and wider community.

WAYNE NITZCHE

Plains Mennonite (Hatfield, PA)

Role: Ministerial Committee Chair

Wayne Nitzsche’s roots are in the fertile soil of NE Nebraska. He keeps his connection to the land by returning to help with the fall corn harvest. He was baptized at age thirteen in the family-oriented Beemer Mennonite Church. After Hesston College, he spent two years in development work in Ghana. He completed an undergraduate degree at Goshen College and an MDiv at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Wayne has served in three Mennonite conferences in youth and conference ministry. His heart is in being a pastor, having served churches in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, retiring from Perkasie (PA) Mennonite after sixteen years. He recently completed a wonderful year as Bridge Pastor at Salford (PA) Mennonite. Wayne is married to Mary, former Associate Executive Minister, in Franconia and Mosaic Conferences. They have two adult daughters and two grandchildren.

GEORGETTE KOUTTJIE-PEREZ

Ark of Christ Church (Westminster, CA)

Role: Member-at-Large, 1st term

Georgette Kouttjie-Perez serves at Ark of Christ in Westminster, California. She and her husband, Larry, live in Mission Viejo and have both spent nearly 30 years teaching mathematics in Southern California public schools. Having grown up in Indonesia, Australia, and the United States, Georgette brings a deep appreciation for cultural diversity and Christian community. Faith and ministry have been central to her life, including serving in music ministry at GKII Zion (affiliated with Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference), where her father was pastor. She looks forward to bringing her experiences in education, multicultural communities, worship, and ministry to her service on the Conference Board.

RON WHITE

Church of the Good Samaritans (Holland, PA)

Role: Member-at-Large, 1st term

Ron White was born in Jackson, Michigan and is a graduate from Purdue University. He has worked several jobs on the East Coast in test engineering and systems engineering and currently works in Mt. Laurel, NJ as an Engineering Technologist for BAE System. Ron was the Eastern District Conference Moderator from 2011 to 2013. He is an Elder, Sunday School Superintendent, Sunday school teacher, and the Everence Advocate at the Church of the Good Samaritans in Holland, PA.

Ron is married to Janet White, a retired Registered Nurse who worked at Germantown Hospital for 13 years and worked as a consultant in support and installation of medical software for 24 years.

At Assembly, the Nominating Committee will also make forms available for nominations for the role of Assistant Moderator, along with all Mosaic committees. All are invited to share their nominations with the committee at any time.

by Javier Márquez

The Fall Delegate Assembly is the time of year when much of Mosaic Conference comes together in the same place. Delegates, pastors, ministry leaders, and friends from different congregations and communities gather for worship, conversation, discernment, and fellowship.

Sometimes the most meaningful moments happen outside the scheduled program.

This year, we want to encourage everyone attending Assembly to make room for those moments. Take time on Friday or Saturday to meet someone you do not know well. Sit with someone new during a meal. Invite a friend—or someone who is becoming a friend—to go out for dinner after Assembly concludes on Saturday.

As new communities continue to join Mosaic, we have an opportunity to learn from one another’s experiences, cultures, and contexts. Assembly gives us a chance to do that because so many of us are in the same place at the same time.

Jaye Lindo, Mosaic’s Hospitality Coordinator, sees hospitality as an important part of what makes Assembly special.

“Once a year Mosaic gives Delegates chosen by their congregations an opportunity to embrace and feel the love of our entire eclectic community,” Lindo says. “The only way we will truly be able to grow together is when barriers are broken down, allowing Jesus to be the connector.”

She continues, “What a better way to connect than over a meal? We all have to eat!”

“Time, distance, and language challenges all go away over a meal,” she says. “We get to hear a voice, see a smile, hear a prayer, and are able to recognize that we are not as different as it seems.”

A meal gives us time to slow down. Conversations that might not happen during a busy Assembly schedule can begin naturally around a table. We hear someone’s story, discover something we have in common, or simply enjoy being together.

Pastor Chidi Ihezuoh offers another simple encouragement for the weekend: “Listen to each other intentionally.”

That may be one of the most important invitations we can offer. Assembly is not only a place to hear presentations or participate in decisions. It is also a place to listen: to the person sitting beside us, to a congregation with a different story, to a pastor we have not seen in a while, or to someone who is attending for the first time.

Some of us may have met others through Mosaic Institute, at the Oasis retreat, or another conference gathering. Assembly can be a chance to reconnect and continue conversations. For those who are new, Assembly can be a chance to see one’s place within the larger Mosaic community.

To make things a little easier, Southeastern Pennsylvania Leadership Ministers have shared some of their favorite local restaurants. Their recommendations have been gathered into a list available here. Use it as an excuse to invite someone to dinner after Assembly on Saturday.

Maybe it will be someone you already know. Perhaps someone whose name you’ve only seen in an email, or maybe it will be someone you’ve never met.

Make room for the conversation.
Make room for the laughter.
Make room at the table.
Make a friend at Delegate Assembly 2026.

Javier Márquez

Javier Márquez is Associate for Community Cultivation and Leadership Development. He is an Anabaptist Colombian pacifist and poet. He is based in Bogota, Colombia.