Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

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Sharing Joy through Overlapping Passions

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by Jennifer Svetlik, Salford congregation

Sue Conrad Howes and her husband, Michael Howes, live in Quakertown, PA and attend West Swamp Mennonite Church, where Michael is pastor. (photo credit: James L. Conrad)

“I love that my job is to gather articles that others have written about the amazing things going on in the conference, and then to be the conduit to share those things with a broader group of people,” says Sue Conrad Howes, editor for Mosaic Mennonite Conference. “This work has allowed me to get to know the conference at a much deeper level.” 

Sue joined the conference staff in January 2020. Her part-time role primarily involves editing, writing, and overseeing the production of the weekly e-newsletter, Mosaic News. (Though the newsletter is automatically sent to pastors, credentialed leaders, and conference delegates, anyone can sign up here to receive it.)  

Ideas for newsletter and blog articles often originate with conference staff. Sue also reviews bulletins and newsletters from conference congregations and Conference Related Ministries. Through reading these, she learns of events and stories to feature.

Sue grew up in Franconia Conference as part of the Blooming Glen (PA) congregation, but left eastern Pennsylvania for college. After 30 years, she has recently returned to her home area. Her husband, Michael, serves as pastor of West Swamp congregation (Quakertown, PA), where Sue is a member. Although Sue’s primary vocation is a trauma chaplain in two area hospitals, she feels grateful to reconnect with and serve the conference in her role. 

Sue appreciates that her job is flexible and that she can work when she is not at the hospital, or when she gets the inspiration to write. Her role has evolved over time because as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the need for clear communication across the conference has increased.  

An aspect of her role that Sue has particularly enjoyed has been coordinating the translation of the new conference website, as well as polity documents, and other information into five languages (Chinese, Haitian Creole, Indonesian, Spanish, and Vietnamese).

“I greatly appreciate the investment that the conference has made to ensure that documents are available in the many languages spoken in our conference,” Sue says. “And I have enjoyed getting to know people from different cultures who care deeply about the church and are also passionate about ensuring accurate translation,” Sue shares. 

Sue is an ordained pastor in Mennonite Church USA and was a pastor for a number of years in Lancaster County (PA).  Prior to this, she was a professor of communication at Goshen (IN) College. “I’ve had two tracks in my professional life: communication and church. When these two passions overlap, as they do in my current role, it makes me very happy,” Sue says. 

Sue Conrad Howes performs her stand-up comedy routine at a comedy club in Lancaster, PA.  (photo credit: Michael A. Howes)

Another passion in Sue’s life is finding joy and making people laugh. “Laughter is a huge part of my life, because of who I am, but also because my work as a trauma chaplain is intense,” she reflects. “I enjoy watching comedians and figuring out what makes them funny. I also have done some stand up comedy myself. It’s not your everyday hobby.”

Sue enjoys organizing things, whether it is a closet or an event. “I enjoy making things pleasant, joyful, and fun,” she adds. 

She loves interacting with her nieces and nephews, who are a big part of her life. She also enjoys playing and watching sports, especially tennis. One of her life goals is to be a contestant on the game show, Wheel of Fortune, which she grew up watching with her mom and grandma. Don’t be surprised if someday you see her spinning the wheel and sharing her joy with the TV audience.

Conference Related Ministries (CRM) Profile: Care & Share Thrift Shoppes

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In the mid 1970’s, several women and men in their thirties got thinking, “How can we take the Sunday morning message of serving others and put that call into action during the week?” After some brainstorming, Care & Share Thrift Shoppes in Souderton, PA was born. 

Care and Share Thrift Shoppes in Souderton, PA donated over $1 million dollars to the work of Mennonite Central Committee in 2019.

From its very beginning, Care & Share has been in the Souderton (PA) Center on Route 113. Currently, there are 5 shoppes – Furniture, Clothing, Books, Variety, and the Outlet. Care & Share also has an online presence on eBay. We are grateful for the quality and volume of donations we receive from our generous donors. These donations have made us well known for selling “high quality” products. 

The dollars spent at Care & Share impact thousands of lives. In 2019, over 200,000 transactions took place at our registers. Further, we were the first independent, non-profit thrift store in the US or Canada to give over one million dollars to charity in one calendar year (2019).  Since 1975, over 19 million dollars have been given to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) as a result of purchases at our shoppes. 

Care & Share is not only about raising money for MCC. It stands as a place where community is built. We hear from customers and volunteers – Care & Share is “church” for them. 

Volunteers at Care & Share Thrift Shoppes in Souderton, PA gladly display some of the variety of items for sale.

This non-profit business is run by 52 paid employees who bring an enthusiasm for empowering our volunteers who are the heart of Care & Share. It is the volunteer’s gift of time and talent that creates our success. 

We welcome a wide range of volunteers – ages 8 to over 100 years old. Some join us through the more “traditional” route as they are looking for “something to do” in retirement. Volunteers also join us through a group, such as a youth, work, school, family, or service group. We host those who need to serve hours for court ordered community service. Other individuals are volunteering, with staff support, from 40+ organizations who work with folks with disabilities. They may come for one reason, but they stay because they found a home in the community. 

The Care & Share community is greatly impacted by the pandemic. During the three months that we were closed, we did our very best to stay connected to our “community.” We shared inspiring phone calls, increased the distribution of our e-newsletter, and created a live cooking show on Facebook. Our community greatly missed us, almost as much as we missed them! 

A group of summer volunteers at the Care & Share, which helps support Mennonite Central Committee.

By mid-June, we re-opened two shoppes, with modified hours, run by our paid staff. We are following the state guidelines with masks/face shields, social distancing, and increases in cleaning. These steps have added significant costs to our operation. 

Fortunately, by July, we had enough volunteers to open another shoppe. Only 30% of our 1,000+ volunteer base has returned to serving. We will need many more helping hands, on a regular basis, to reopen all of our shoppes. We do not want our volunteers to return until they are comfortable to do so. We will be patient! 

Please pray for the pandemic to end. Our customers, volunteers, and employees are struggling under the increased anxiety and isolation it is causing. Please pray that Care & Share can continue to be a light in our community. Please refer us as a place to volunteer. We can accommodate larger groups even with social distancing in place.

Please consider making a financial donation to MCC. The loss of donations from thrift shops and relief sales is causing MCC to rely on individual donors more than ever. Care & Share is grateful for your support.

Great (Pastoral) Expectations

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by Randy Heacock, Leadership Minister

Over the past few years, I worked with several congregations as they looked for a new pastor.  I appreciate the opportunity to learn the joys and challenges of a search process with congregations.  I have also had interesting discussions with potential pastors regarding their expectations in a new setting. While we want good sermons, we desire a person who is relatable, the right age, properly educated, and, of course, experienced.

While looking for the right pastor, many questions arise. What do we actually want a pastor to do?  What do we hope pastors accomplish?  Who is it that influences such conversations?    

How we answer these questions, might lead to more questions. How might our pastoral job descriptions and memos of understanding increase the chance for our congregations to become healthy?  Is it possible that a different focus could empower congregations to reach out to others more effectively?  Could greater clarity enable a given pastor to make best use of his/her gifts?  

I encourage congregational leaders and pastors to give these questions more intentional time and energy.  It seems some of our congregational patterns need attention.  

The following are three areas that may benefit both congregations and pastors to develop greater clarity and focus.  

  1. Do we hire pastors to do the work of the church or do we hire pastors to lead and equip individuals to carry out the ministry of the church?  This may seem simple, but many churches hire a pastor believing the pastor is responsible for caring, outreach, growth, spiritual nurture, and more. 

Clarity on this will help determine how we expect a pastor to spend her time. It will also raise expectations for congregational participants. Such clarity will encourage pastors to develop the varied gifts of people God has given a particular congregation. 

  1. Accountability is a crucial area where clarity is needed.  A number of years ago a friend declared, “Seminaries train pastors to be lazy.” Though I strongly disagreed with his opinion, pastors need to be responsible and welcoming of accountability.  Too often, however, I see boards and elders try to work at this by micro-managing the pastor. 

Three keys areas that can create accountability are task completion, accessibility, and
responsiveness.  

Does the pastor get his work done in a timely and thoughtful way? Is the pastor
approachable, both with her time and her spirit of openness to the concerns of
others?  Does a pastor thoughtfully respond to situations and conflict or just react/ignore?    

  1. Finally, are the patterns of communication open and clear so as to develop trust that empowers both pastor and laity?  Well-developed trust can provide freedom and the space to risk. Too often, however, hidden agendas sabotage the development of a trusting relationship. If a pastor feels the freedom to try something different, creativity can lead to spirit-led movement.  At the same time, honest feedback can help a pastor learn and understand context and impact.  

I am certainly grateful for a congregation that has shaped me and contributed to my growth in this way.  Pastors and churches need to find healthy patterns of communication and not just wait for an evaluation or assume silence is golden.

There are many wonderful congregations and potential pastors looking to lead. May we do our work to clarify expectations so we can better serve together!

Conference Related Ministries (CRM) Profile: Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania

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by Mennonite Heritage Center staff

The Mennonite Heritage Center in Harleysville, PA collects, preserves, and shares the Anabaptist/Mennonite story and welcomes visitors to learn and contribute to their collection. Photo credit: Forrest Moyer

The Mennonite Heritage Center (MHC), is a nonprofit museum and historical library located at 565 Yoder Road, Harleysville, PA. It is home to the Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania (MHEP) that were founded in 1974. Our mission is: To educate, inspire and witness to the church and community by collecting, preserving and sharing the Anabaptist/Mennonite story.

The MHC keeps the records of the Mennonite communities in Eastern PA who began immigrating from Europe in 1683. For centuries, these primarily Pennsylvania German congregations lived quiet lives, separated from other communities, maintaining their own schools until the mid-19th century, and speaking the Pennsylvania German dialect until the mid-20th century.     

The MHC historical library has volumes relating to Mennonite and local history, faith, and life and an archive that includes rare books, manuscripts, and other printed materials. Manuscript collections vary from farming records to personal diaries and photographs. Many of the local congregations and Mosaic Mennonite Conference have chosen us to preserve their records.   We invite people to use the library to do genealogical research. 

One of the most significant museum collections is the fraktur collection.  Fraktur is a kind of colorful illuminated manuscript. It is called fraktur because of the broken or fractured style of German lettering.  The artifact collection also includes quilts, coverlets, samplers, clothing, furniture, farm implements, housewares and musical instruments.  

Collections Manager Joel Alderfer stands with a display of early Bibles in the Mennonite Heritage Center in Harleysville, PA. Photo provided by MHC.

Because of the pandemic, we were closed from March 12 until July 1 and have been featuring posts on our website (mhep.org), our Facebook page, and the Pa Dutch at Home Companion blog, a joint project of the MHC and the Goschenhoppen Historians Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center.

In a more typical year, the MHC features exhibits and programs on Anabaptist and local history topics. Saturday workshop participants enjoy learning traditional crafts such as basket weaving, paper marbling, and fraktur drawing. The Whack & Roll Croquet Tournament that usually happens in spring, is now scheduled for Saturday, August 29 and is a fun competition with teams from area nonprofit organizations vying for cash prizes. 

The annual Apple Butter Frolic, our fall harvest festival, will not be held this year but we are working on an event which will include pick-up sales of delicious traditional foods. The MHC will be sharing a portion of the proceeds from this revised October event with the Conference Shalom Fund to be used for food insecurity needs. Watch for information about this fall food celebration!    

Our board and staff are thinking about our role as a place for Mennonites and the broader community to learn about the Mennonite heritage.  We want to become more reflective of the growing diversity of the local Mennonite community today. We especially encourage people and congregations of color to visit the Mennonite Heritage Center, and contribute your family and faith stories to our collections, exhibits, and programming. Items can also be submitted for the archives digitally. We welcome volunteers to host in the museum and help with events and projects such as installing exhibits or archival sorting.  You can also support the MHC with an annual membership. Memberships begin at $55/$45 annually and members receive our quarterly publication and discounts on workshops/purchases. Please contact us at 215-256-3020 or info@mhep.org for information on volunteering or becoming a member.

Being Together by Staying Apart

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by Mackenzie Miller

(The following profile is part of a larger project, working to highlight diverse voices within the conference during this unprecedented time of COVID-19.)

Ashley Moyer, dressed in PPE due to COVID-19, is a nurse in Philadelphia. Ashley attends Franconia Mennonite Church

As a nurse at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Ashley Moyer (Franconia congregation) is witnessing COVID-19 firsthand.

“It’s taking a toll on all of us,” Moyer said. “Our world has been flipped upside down.”

When the pandemic arrived in early spring, Moyer had recently graduated with her nursing practitioner license and was looking to transition away from her job at the cancer center, but the virus changed the health of her community as well as the job market.

Moyer now finds herself heading into work three to four days a week, splitting her time between the cancer center and the nearby Jeanes Hospital, where she crosses the connecting bridge and enters a COVID-19 positive environment, treating patients in need of care.

“We don’t know if what we’re doing is actually helping,” Moyer said, in regard to medical treatment.

But Moyer’s role as a nurse has expanded during this time, as family members of patients are limited in their visiting hours. Some choose not to take the risk of coming into the hospital at all.

“Taking care of these patients is emotional because you are the only person they see in a day,” Moyer said. “We are that person’s only support.”

Sixteen years as a nurse and Moyer has never witnessed anything like this, both inside and outside of the hospital. When she isn’t at work, she spends time with her three-year-old daughter at her parent’s home, where they have chosen to quarantine together.

“We are not the population that’s been hit hardest,” Moyer said. “But I really feel strongly that we need to be apart right now.”

Though Moyer has remained an active member of Franconia Mennonite Church, she continues to encourage those around her to stay at home. 

“From a medical standpoint we’re no better off than we were 12 weeks ago,” she said.

“I really just try and protect as many people as I can,” she said. “Especially for Mennonites, it [community] is family and closeness and making meals for others. But that’s not the answer right now.”

Moyer continues to try and find balance in her life during this time by spending time outdoors and with her daughter. She anticipates an end that will bring a return to normalcy.

When asked what message she continues to share with those around her, influenced by her close interaction with COVID-19, Moyer said, “being together by staying apart.”

Conference Nominating Committee Formed

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The new Nominating Committee for Mosaic Mennonite Conference is fully formed and has been meeting virtually this spring and early summer. The members of this group are:

  • Angela Moyer, Assistant Moderator, and chair of the Nominating Committee (Ripple)
  • Janet Panning, Chair of Ministerial Committee (Plains)
  • Beny Krisbianto, Chair of Intercultural Committee (Nations Worship)
  • Marco Güete, member at large (Covenant Mennonite Fellowship)
  • Lisa Stenger, member at large (Deep Run West)
  • Mary Nitzsche, Associate Executive Minister, ex-officio non-voting member (Perkasie)

The Nominating Committee is responsible for vetting and discerning potential new Conference Board members and Committee members. This includes ensuring that the Conference Board and Committees are balanced in terms of the gender, racial, cultural, geographic, and historic diversity of the Conference, reflect the diverse giftings represented in the Conference, and exhibit a high level of intercultural capacity.

Let’s Just Save Some

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by Emily Ralph Servant, Leadership Minister

My toddlers copy everything I do.  If I splash water on my daughter’s head, pick flowers, or spit food onto my plate, so do they.

They don’t know that I’m trying to get sand out of their hair, removing dead blooms, or spitting out spoiled food.  They just do what Mommy does!  And they should—it’s an important part of child development.

Even as adults we continue taking our cues from the people around us, some of us more than others. The threshold model of collective behavior suggests that people with high thresholds will change their behavior if they see a lot of other people doing something, even if they think it’s wrong, while people with low thresholds will do what they want, regardless of what others are doing.

The Apostle Paul seems to encourage Jesus-followers to be low-threshold people: don’t give in to the peer pressure of the world but stand strong and let your mind and behavior be shaped by God’s way of living (Romans 12:2).  Do the right thing, no matter what anyone else is doing.

At the same time, in 1 Corinthians Paul also seems to encourage Jesus-followers to be a force of change in society by using peer pressure itself.  Knowing that many people will look to see what everyone else is doing, Paul reminded the early Church to be a good example for those around them: yes, you are free, Paul declares, but use your freedom wisely (9:10); don’t just think about yourself but think about others (10:24).

Since I know my toddlers are watching, sometimes I need to modify my behavior.  I shouldn’t drag a chair into the kitchen to get things off the top shelf while they’re in the room.  I shouldn’t climb over the deck railing to pick something off the ground.  I have every right to do those things and I don’t modify my behavior because I’m smarter or better than them.  I do it because I know I influence them, and I love them too much to risk their safety for my rights.

We face a similar situation in our contexts today.  Yes, we have a right to worship together in our buildings.  We have a right to not wear masks, to give hugs, to have Bible studies or pool parties.  But maybe someone else isn’t as ready to meet their Maker as we are.  Maybe someone else isn’t as mindful of keeping a safe distance or doesn’t have as strong an immune system.

Maybe someone else is more likely to do something if they see everyone else doing it, even if it wouldn’t be safe for them.  Maybe they’d feel silly if they were the only one not going, the only one not wearing a mask, the only one who seems to be afraid, the only one who seems to be less confident in the Spirit’s protection.

We indeed have rights, Paul acknowledges, but not everything is beneficial or constructive (1 Corinthians 10:23).  Don’t let anything you do “hinder the gospel” (9:12).  You don’t have to win everyone, he says; Paul was willing to give up his rights if it might even save some (9:22).

Paul summed it up simply: “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble—whether outside or inside of the church. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved” (1 Corinthians 10:32-33, NIV adapted).

Conference Offices Update

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Next month construction is set to begin on new offices for Mosaic Mennonite Conference. The new space will be located on the high school campus of Dock Academy, in the Longacre Center, close to Detweiler Road. The new six-office suite will include a conference center and a larger classroom space with up-to-date technology.

The new offices will be bright, professional space designed for collaboration and the changing work environment.  Remaining on Dock’s campus continues to strengthen the relationship between Mennonite education and the Conference while also providing easy access to major regional transportation networks.  While many staff are working disbursed and from home, especially during the pandemic, the need for a hub for office staff, materials, and gathering remains critical.

Meanwhile, Dock Academy will begin classroom renovations in the space where the Conference offices are currently located in Dock Academy’s Rosenberger Center.  During this transition time, offices will temporarily relocate beginning July 30 until at least December 1 to 115 East Broad Street in Hatfield.  Reduced numbers of staff will work from this location with most staff continuing from other locations until the new offices are completed later this year.

Mail will be forwarded from the 1000 Forty Foot Road, Lansdale address to the Hatfield location during this time. Phone numbers will remain the same. Church mailboxes will not be available at this location.  Temporary open office hours are yet to be determined.