Mosaic Mennonites

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Congregational Profile: Homestead Mennonite Church

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Editor’s Note: Mosaic Mennonite Conference anticipates welcoming eight Florida congregations (that were formerly part of Southeast Mennonite Conference) at this fall’s conference assembly.  For the next several weeks, we will be sharing the profiles of each of these congregations.

by Rick Lee, Pastor

Homestead (FL) Mennonite Church began in the 1950s by Mennonite Volunteer Service (MVS) workers who were in Homestead, FL working at Redlands Migrant Workers’ Camp. The church has expanded and contracted over the years. The building itself has been built and expanded three times during the life of the congregation. In 2000, the church burned down, by an unknown arsonist, but was rebuilt and expanded. 

Presently, there are few ethnic Mennonites in the congregation.  The majority of the congregation is senior citizens and young adults.  There are a few teens and a few middle-aged families. The group is diverse ethnically, culturally, and economically. Our church worship is in English. 

One goal of our church is to continue to grow and mature in our faith, in order to become more faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Most of the outreach is done through individual efforts and relationships. Members reach out to people in prison, single moms, undocumented immigrants, alcoholics, the poor, senior citizens, and children through tutoring and after school programs.  

Over the years, the church has been connected and helped with many community events.  In 1992, Hurricane Andrew devastated most of the entire city of Homestead, FL. However, the Homestead Mennonite Church building was fortunate to survive this disaster. Many citizens gathered at the church for help and consolation for many months following the hurricane. 

More recently immigrants gather to hear from government officials, officers, and social workers about their rights as immigrants. The congregation values the opportunity to work with the community and its officials in an effort to help promote and keep peace with all people. 

The church building is also offered to others for ministry use, including helping new congregations establish themselves, home schooling groups, senior citizens, mothers of preschoolers, and weight management groups.  Seasonally a local community choir uses the church building to perform their holiday concerts. There have also been times that free health clinics were performed in the church building. 

In the past decade, four or five churches have used our facility to try to start new churches. One Mennonite church has succeeded thus far. One of another denomination has folded. Two other congregations are still trying to establish themselves or save up money for their own building. Therefore, currently three congregations, including our own, share our facility.

Although there are many activities in the church building, the congregation is still working on finding ways to reach out to their neighborhood. Presently we try to connect through Facebook and also by encouraging our church members to love our neighbors as a source of witness. 

Over the past several years, we offered Vacation Bible School. Some years we designed our own curriculum and other years we partnered with other churches of various denominations to provide a witness and activities for children during their summer break.  

During a recent Advent season, an adult member of the congregation wrote reflective public readings on the themes of Advent.  A youth of the congregation used pastel chalk to illustrate the theme on sidewalks and parking lots, while a reader’s group from the church presented the readings in public. Younger children also learned an increasingly complex choreography to the Advent hymn, “O Come Emmanuel,” each week.

School Year

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by Brooke Martin, Community and Youth Formation Coordinator

Brooke Martin with 2 of her siblings on her first day of kindergarten. From left to right: Caleb, Brooke, Jessica.

As a young fearless extrovert, I was giddy with excitement on my first day of kindergarten. I had been watching my older siblings ride on that big yellow bus for five years and wanted to join in the fun. Less than two minutes into my hour-long bus ride, I had compared lunchboxes with another girl and launched into a best-friend relationship that continues strong to this day. 

I never expected my son to have the same experience I did, yet my daydreams also never included him starting school during a pandemic.

Our recollections of our own school experiences did not prepare us for the realities of the 2020-2021 school year.  Decisions may or may not be a household’s to make. In-person, virtual, hybrid, homeschool co-ops or not, the educational experience is different. This COVID-19 time has impacted students, faculty, and staff alike. We see it ripple through how each classroom is set up, what teaching approaches are available, how different learning-styles are addressed, lunchtime, learning to read facial cues behind masks, and more time staring at an electronic screen, and/or more time at home.

Brooke Martin with one of her brothers, Caleb, on her Brooke’s first day of first grade.

This is a call to prayer for all students and faculty for the 2020-2021 school year. Lay our personal viewpoints and agendas down. This is not that prayer time.  

Sit at a shoe rack and pull on any student and/or faculty member’s shoes and mentally prayer walk in them. Not just the first dutiful-mile, but walk that second uncomfortable mile as well.  Then pause … and take note of how your soul is calling out … offer the prayer of your soul before the Lord. The place you are standing is Holy Ground. Yes, Holy Ground, God is present. 

We can and should allow space to grieve the change. Some days will be easier than others. This school year is different and may change its rules 1,000 times, but how are you breathing Life, Hope, and Joy into a student, teacher, school staff, or parent?

 “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” (Matthew 5:15, NIV) This school year, with renewed vigor, take the Light out from under the bowl and set it out to light the classroom. Pray the beatitudes from Matthew 5 over educators and students. Send acts of love throughout this school year. 

We have not been promised freedom from hardship, but we have been promised that we will not be alone during hardship. God is with every student, teacher, and staff member. With the Holy Spirit, we are the faith community sharing the burdens and joys of this school year together.

Navigating Hospital Visits During COVID-19

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by Sue Conrad Howes, West Swamp (Quakertown, PA) congregation

Hospital chaplain, Sue Conrad Howes, wears 2 masks and a face shield at work. Photo provided by Sue C. Howes.

Hospital visitation is an important part of pastoral care. However, hospital life, like so many other things, is not business as usual these days.

As a hospital chaplain, I have been asked a lot about hospital visitation. Here are my thoughts regarding caring for your hospitalized congregants during COVID-19.

Each hospital is implementing different visitation policies. Most hospitals are restricting visitors in some capacity. Some are allowing only immediate family. Some are allowing only one visitor at a time. Some are still not allowing visitors (or it depends on what unit the patient is in.)

Be sure to call the hospital to get the specifics before going. Not only are visitor restrictions in place at most hospitals, many have adjusted visiting hours and visitor entrances. Because most hospitals are requiring you to register and get your temperature taken, hospitals have designated only certain entrances for visitors.  

If you are unable or uncomfortable with an in-person visit, phone calls are very welcomed. Check if the patient has a cell phone with them. If not, typically the nurse can get access to a landline in the patient’s room. (Call the hospital and ask for the nurse’s station for that patient.)

If the patient has a cell phone, facetime might be appropriate.  Again, medical staff are typically very accommodating during this time in assisting patients to use technology to connect with others.

Of course, cards can be a great option. Drop them off at the front desk of a hospital if you live nearby and it will be delivered to the patient. You can mail it, but that takes longer and the patient may not be in hospital for long. Cards, balloons, or plants fill a hospital room nicely for a patient and are a constant reminder of your love and support.  

Remember, patients don’t need long visits or phone calls. Most patients just need about 5 minutes to check on them and then to offer prayer. They need rest. 

If you don’t feel capable of visiting the hospital, but feel like the patient would benefit from a pastoral care visit, call the hospital and request to speak to pastoral care or a chaplain. You can put a request in to the pastoral care office and a chaplain on-site will go visit your patient. If you leave your name and contact information, most chaplains will even let the patient know that you were the one who requested the visit. If you are very concerned about the patient, as they may not have any family visiting, you can even kindly ask the chaplain to give you a call back after the visit for an update, if the patient gives permission.

While an in-person visit can be valuable, check in with the family of the patient, if you are able. They perhaps could also use support, as having a loved one in the hospital right now is stressful. A regular check-in with the family might be where pastoral care is most needed.

Hospital visits, like almost everything else, have changed since March. Hospital patients need to be especially protected from viruses and other germs, but they also need prayer, support, and love. Use your best judgement when considering a hospital visit, and be sure to stay at least 6 feet away from the patient, even if you have a mask on. We want to do our best to ensure the safety and well being of all.

Ambler Co-pastor Receives Awards

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Photo credit: Peter Ringenberg

Jacob Elias Curtis participated in the August 22 commencement and commissioning service of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), Elkhart, IN. He graduated from AMBS in May 2020 with a Master of Divinity with a major in Pastoral Ministry. 

Curtis — who names his home communities as Dublin, Ireland; Denver, Colorado; and Goshen/Elkhart, Indiana — also was selected to receive this year’s Award for Excellence in New Testament Exegesis from the seminary’s Bible Department and this year’s Heart of the Community Award. 

In May, Curtis and his wife, Michelle Curtis (MDiv 2018), became co-pastors of Ambler (PA) Mennonite Church, a congregation of Mosaic Mennonite Conference.

Conference Related Ministries (CRM) Profile: Peace Proclamation Ministries

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Supporting the Church in India
by Kendra & Jim Rittenhouse

Peace Proclamation Ministries (PPMI) began in 2011 by Paulus and Sumatha Thalathoti with the blessing of their Plains (Lansdale, PA) congregation. PPMI works primarily with churches in south east India. Christian churches are dotted throughout the countryside, with members who were converted to Christianity one or two generations ago but left alone as islands in a sea of other religions.

The Thalathotis have spent the last nine years in countless late night phone calls and multiple trips to India in order to build a network of support for these isolated churches. The network is sectioned by regions into smaller networks. Pastors who wish to join PPMI are thoroughly vetted with a minimum of one year of discernment for each. Not all pastors are accepted, as some join to seek monetary gain. 

Pastors’ wives in Kammam, India receive spiritual nourishment and education through PPMI. Photo credit: Kendra Rittenhouse

PPMI has grown from eight to 70 churches. In 2012 the Thalathotis began the first annual pastors’ conference, a 3-day retreat for spiritual enrichment with a Jesus-centered, Anabaptist view. Mennonite pastors, teachers, and lay persons have traveled from Pennsylvania to India for this purpose. Along with biblical enrichment and year-long counsel and support, congregations may also receive monetary assistance when medical needs or church repairs arise. 

Many of the people who attend PPMI congregations live in the poor, rural communities of India. They do not have food reserves or access to food on a regular basis. With the economic effect of COVID-19, these communities in India have been severely affected due to the lack of day labor jobs and cash reserves. 

Recently, PPMI doubled the normal monthly support to our pastors so that they could purchase food for their respective communities and families. Because of established networks for communication and finances, this happened efficiently.

A local homeless man receives food sent for relief from a PPMI pastor in Guntur, India. Photo provided by PPMI

Even though PPMI is typically not in the food distribution business, we used our network to make a difference by reducing the pain caused by the effects of a virus. Sometimes God calls us to action beyond our own comfort zones. Since May this year, it’s been meaningful to be able to provide the next meal for many who live so far away.  

One thing we don’t question is the inner strength and faith in God of the PPMI pastors and spouses. They have seen miracles when there was no hope. When all seems lost, they do not give up. They use everything they have and pray more. They love God deeply. They love others daily. May God continue to give them strength and hope.

Plan B

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by Conrad Martin, Director of Finance 

So how has your Plan A for the year 2020 turned out?  We probably all had great plans for 2020 in January, ruined by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Last month, I heard a sermon on Acts 27, where Paul is on his way to Rome via ship when they encountered bad weather.  Paul warned the ship’s crew that they would be better off waiting for better traveling weather.  The crew ignored Paul and set sail anyway, right into a hurricane.  Paul was forced to implement a Plan B which eventually saved the lives of 276 crew and passengers. 

I started to think about other Plan B’s in the Bible.  There are many biblical stories of people who needed to follow Plan B. Sometimes they rejected Plan A, while other times they were forced to choose Plan B by someone else or by mere circumstances. Regardless, these stories show us how God still uses alternatives to further God’s work.

Here are a few examples: 

  • David was not originally supposed to be the king over Israel, but King Saul chose to reject God.  God brought Plan B, David, a man after God’s own heart.  
  • Jonah’s travels to Ninevah could have gone a lot smoother, had he followed God’s Plan A. God used Plan B to get Jonah to Ninevah, but it wasn’t easy.  (It did perhaps make for a more interesting story, however, as many Plan B’s are.)

I reflected back on my own life and the many Plan B’s that got me to where I am today.   Coming out of high school, I had a Plan A for my life: marriage, children, career.  God had a different plan, one that worked better being single.  I spent more than a decade in ministries in Tanzania and Bangladesh with God’s Plan B.  

One of my assignments with Mennonite Economic Development Associates in Tanzania was to replicate their model of micro-financing across the country.  One week into my assignment, a major fraud was discovered in a field office.  I spent the next four years on Plan B, working to resurrect that project.  

When I first came to work for the Conference, I was told that they had originally planned to hire someone else.  When that plan fell through, my resume just happened to be sitting on the desk of the conference executive at the time.  I became Plan B, and God is still using me in that role.

We learn in Genesis that humankind initially lived in the Garden of Eden. I can only assume that it was meant to be forever.  But that plan didn’t turn out well, as humankind chose another way.  In response to human rebellion and sin, God embarked on a mission to rescue creation that culminated in Jesus. 

How has God used you in the Plan B’s of your life?

A Joint Sunday School Experiment

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by Jordan Luther, Zion (Souderton, PA) congregation

If your congregation is like mine, then you are familiar with the revolving door of Sunday school attendance most summers. This summer, however, the situation was different. With most of our congregation still worshiping from home, we needed to rethink how we do Sunday school—especially for our children.

Pastor Jordan Luther waits for virtual Sunday school to start.

Our youth group has been meeting virtually for youth group and Sunday school throughout the pandemic. One day I floated the idea about meeting as a joint Sunday school class of all ages, K-12. I was clear from the beginning that I could not teach this class alone. I needed help. 

When I asked the youth group if they would be willing to help, I was amazed with their response. Not only did they agree to help, but they agreed to be co-leaders and share responsibilities with me!

The following week at youth group we built our five-week summer Sunday school curriculum from the ground up. The youth were really helpful during the planning process, sharing what they believe is most important for Sunday school from a kid’s perspective. I learned two lessons that I hope never to forget from these sessions.

The first lesson the youth taught me is that stories are important. Stories are easier to remember than Bible memory verses. (Sorry Psalms and Romans … maybe another unit!) The youth shared with me about which Bible stories are relatable and memorable to them. 

We took notes on our favorite Bible stories and made a plan. Thankfully, all of the stories the youth chose were featured in Shine On: A Story Bible curriculum which made reading and sharing the story much easier for our younger classmates.

Second, the youth taught me that Sunday school should be a fun experience. “Don’t be boring,” was one youth’s advice to me. “Adults like to talk; kids need action.” This comment made it crystal clear that playing games is important to our faith development too. 

A different youth suggested that we should create original prompts in Quiplash 2 and Drawful 2, two online games that we play regularly together, as a way to have fun while going deeper into the Bible story. The youth and I created the prompts ahead of time after reading the Bible story together. Our prompts were meant to inspire everyone’s imagination and give us permission to wonder about some of the missing details of the story. Think Jewish midrash meets Family Feud. That was our Sunday school environment.

Our joint Sunday school sessions had their hiccups too. Sibling rivalries are just as apparent on screen as they are in-person. Poor wifi connections meant the occasional robot voice and frozen screen. 

Even with these hiccups in mind, I am still grateful for this joint Sunday school experiment. It was a great opportunity for our younger kids to reconnect, our youth to lead and participate in the planning process, and for me to consider fresh approaches to family ministry.

Conference Related Ministries (CRM) Profile: Bethany Birches Camp

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Donated Land Becomes Camp with a Mission
by Bethany Birches Camp Staff

Distanced fireside worship during a pandemic. Photo Credit: Capjoy Photography

Bethany Birches Camp began in 1965 when Lloyd and Alice Moyer gifted land in Plymouth, Vermont to be used as a summer camp for young people. The Moyers had noticed that many area summer camps were very expensive. They wanted a place for children from modest families to have options for constructive summer activities. Nevin Bender, the pastor of nearby Bethany Mennonite Church at that time, became the first camp director, and served, with the help of his wife Lourene, until 1980. 

Bethany Birches had modest beginnings with volunteer staff, tents as the only lodging, and days filled with old fashioned camping fun. Since then the camp has grown both in sophistication, programming, staffing, and facilities while still maintaining its rustic roots and core values.  Today we run summer and winter camps, rent the facilities, and seek financial and volunteer support so we are able to provide our programs affordably.

The core mission of Bethany Birches Camp is to help young people develop their relationship with God by providing them with a Christ-centered camping experience in a natural and nurturing environment. The leadership team assembles summer and winter staff teams who are committed to this mission. 

Cooling off in the mud pit during Messy Monday at Bethany Birches Camp.PC: Capjoy Photography

Each year over 400 children, ages 6-17, attend Bethany Birches Camp and many attend for multiple weeks. True to its original mission of accessibility, about half of the campers can attend because they receive financial assistance. Most campers do not attend church. Only 17% report active engagement in a church, and only 16% feel their faith is strong and supported at home. 

With careful guidance, training, and supervision, we craft programs within our core values of community, fun, nature, and God. We build relationships, care for each other, and live together in family-sized camping groups. Campers and counselors live together in the woods on the Bethany Birches property in the Green Mountains of Vermont during both summer and winter.  

We at Bethany Birches Camp are thrilled to be salt and light as we live in the Way of Jesus among those who may have never read the Bible, heard the gospel, or encountered Jesus.  We have seen growth, transformation, and new life among our campers.

Campers enjoy climbing the pavilion chimney. PC: Capjoy Photography

Bethany Birches Camp is the result of much support and effort from Vermont and Pennsylvania church communities. As Laurene Bender said, “We say ‘with God all things are possible.’ However, it takes people willing to do the sweat work and who have the vision.” 

Each year volunteer groups come for a week to help maintain and improve the property. Mowing, woodcutting, office, and accounting work has been consistently done with the help of volunteers. Help is always needed during the summer and winter in the kitchen as well. Campers are sponsored through the Kids to Camp fund and counselors receive support that the camp matches.  

Anyone interested in investing their time and resources in the lives of children should email camp@bethanybirches.org or call 802-672-5220.  

Please consider joining us for our annual benefit auction (virtually) November 6-8, 2020.  Visit www.bethanybirches.org/benefit-auction/ for more info and to get signed up for emails. 

Prayer request:

  • Help Bethany Birches Camp to utilize the experience they gained from running summer camp during this pandemic. Help them move forward to benefit and love their community this fall and winter.
  • Lord, make yourself visible to the summer campers who shared the difficulties they are experiencing being stuck at home.  Give them hope. 
  • Give strength, creativity, and peace to parents who are struggling to tend to their responsibilities while their children are learning from home.