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We Don’t Talk About Bruno

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Can you tell I have a toddler in our house that controls the TV?   Yes, I’m late to the “Encanto”- themed party.

The movie, “Encanto,” is an animated Disney film about a Colombian teenage girl who faces the frustration of being the only member of her family without magical powers. It is a great story about acceptance on many levels.  Although Disney can be controversial, they have done very well at capturing the feelings and emotions of a person who is left out or isolated for one reason or another.   

The story is about a set of triplets, Julieta, Pepa, and Bruno. Bruno’s gift of precognition causes multiple conflicts that lead to the family vilifying him, while Mirabel, Julieta’s youngest daughter, is treated differently for having no gift at all.   

However, we don’t talk about Bruno in this story. We don’t talk about Bruno out of fear. But honestly, we don’t talk about Mirabel either. We don’t talk about Mirabel because of shame.  Spoiler alert: Mirabel had no gift, or so she was told.  

Fear and shame shut down doors. Fear and shame dim people’s light. Often the thing that holds us back is not real – it’s a distorted truth. It’s not the whole story, just the part where we stop.   

We stop at the part of the story where the character that enters the scene is a scene-stealer.  She/he enters the scene of our lives to shut us down. We don’t talk about Bruno! 

But why not???? 

Bruno is misunderstood. Bruno is only shared as a rumor. Nobody waits and listens to the whole truth about Jesus … I mean, Bruno.  

In the business world, I encounter many people whose lives have been stopped because we don’t talk about Jesus.  

We don’t talk about Jesus in a world that needs that him.  Jesus is the necessary healing part of all our stories.  Jesus is the balm that soothes our wounds.  

We need to talk about Jesus more. Many people are hurting because they heard a rumor about God or were told something like, “I’m an authority on God and his word says that he doesn’t like this or that.”  Or they heard, “Until you fix this, you just can’t be one of us.” Fear, shame, and half-truths keep people away.

I’m not an authority on Jesus or the Bible, but God uses me every day. God chose to use me: with flaws, a work in progress and all. Just as I am.  

Sometimes I am used to offer a hug, or a kind word, or a prayer.  Often times it’s just to offer a question: “Do you believe in God?” or, “Do you believe God talks to you?” or, “Do you know Jesus?” I try to listen to the Holy Spirit for the way to approach the question, because everyone is different. We need to listen more than direct the conversations. When we do, the word of God will do the work.  When this happens and relationships are built, then the focus is on Jesus. 

There are many souls out here that are broken, hurting, messy, and flawed. We had better be talking to everyone about Jesus, and discipling people to develop their own relationships with God through open Bible studies – not just guided ones – and not just by inviting them to a service.   

Let’s keep working on discipleship by all means necessary in love, because our whole world needs Jesus.

My Unfinished Puzzle

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For Christmas, my daughter gave me a 1,000-piece puzzle of 120 different birds. I noticed the pieces were irregular and not typically shaped. Like other puzzles, I began putting together the border and sorting the pieces according to color. Soon I realized this method was not working, and I was frustrated with the slow progress. I decided to abandon the border and my standard method for sorting pieces.  

My new sorting method divided the pieces into categories according to the bird’s eyes, bills, wings, feet, and color. With this new strategy, I completed several birds and saw some progress. Not all my problems were solved, and my progress was slow, but this new approach renewed my hope and helped me visualize what at one point seemed impossible. Within a month, more birds were pieced together. Much to my surprise, I found the last pieces of the border near the completion of the puzzle.  

Slow progress on the bird puzzle. Photo by Mary Nitzsche.

My puzzle was nearing completion after weeks of work. But I was scheduled to be away from home for three weeks, and I tried completing the puzzle my last night at home. Again, I was frustrated that the pieces didn’t fall easily into place. I like to finish tasks and check them off my list! Making the choice to leave the puzzle unfinished, rather than sacrifice sleep the night before a long day of travel, was difficult. The next morning, I left my home, and about 24 puzzles pieces waiting to be put in place upon my return. I was at peace with my decision. My husband, Wayne, promised not to finish the puzzle in my absence. 

The puzzle the night before the trip, with 24 pieces to complete. Photo by Mary Nitzsche.

This puzzle is a metaphor for my new phase of life as a semi-retired pastor. I am not eager to complete the puzzle of how to use my extra time. I am not eager to fill my time with additional ministry, activities, or volunteer work. I view this time as an unfinished puzzle.  

My process is to patiently rest, wait, observe, and sort the pieces according to what captures my attention. I may get invitations or discover new opportunities that I am not yet ready to pursue or accept. There might be times I struggle with not knowing what is next. My strategy or plans may need adjusting. I am content to wait to “complete” the semi-retirement puzzle, trusting that the Spirit will nudge me, and I will know how to respond to invitations I receive or initiate. 

The day after I returned home, it did not take long to complete the puzzle. It was worth the wait! I spent the next week admiring the beauty of the puzzle, learning the names of birds I could not identify, and resisting the temptation to begin a new puzzle too quickly. Patiently waiting, admiring, and expressing gratitude to our Creator God for the beauty and diversity of these 120 birds is a spiritual discipline I value and hold as I live into my new season of life. 

I knew when it was time to take the puzzle apart and put the pieces back in the box … until I am ready to do it again. 

The completed puzzle! Photo by Mary Nitzsche.

Our Mosaic Stretches Around the World 

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Last month I had the privilege of traveling with board members of Healthy Niños Honduras (HNH) to bear witness to the work and outreach of this Conference Related Ministry (CRM). For the HNH board, of whom the majority is from Mosaic congregations, this was an opportunity to re-engage after two years of limited travel and engagement due to COVID.  

Healthy Niños Honduras is one of three CRMs whose work extends beyond the US borders.  (The other two are Peace Proclamation Ministries International in India and Taproot in Indonesia.) With these ministries, our Mosaic stretches around the world.   

(L-R) Herman Sagastume, Steve Kriss, & Randy Nyce with donations of water filtration systems. Photo by Marlene Frankenfield.

Healthy Niños Honduras builds on the legacy of the Mama Project founded by Priscilla Benner of the Methacton congregation. HNH Executive Director Herman Sagastume, is part of our Mosaic Conference Board as Chair of the Conference Related Ministries Committee. Herman is a Honduran-born physician who relinquished his medical practice to lead the growing ministry from Pennsylvania. On this trip, I was reminded of the passions of those who lead our CRMs, like Dr. Sagastume, and of the commitment of board members, from across our Conference, who care deeply and serve generously to ensure the health and witness of these diverse ministries. 

Children at the HNH Nutritional Center. Photo by Rick Kratz.

Honduras is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere (after Haiti) with significant needs for nutrition, housing, and education. Honduras is also violent, with its two largest cities — San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa — often appearing in lists of the most dangerous cities in the world. Though we saw evidence of challenging poverty and were careful with our own security, I also saw Honduras as beautiful, friendly, resilient, and full of possibility.   

I realize that others often think of Philadelphia, where I live, as poor and violent as well.  As I stared at the cityscape of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, I was reminded of how the stories we learn about a place are often narrow.  People and places are complex and are often many different things all at once. (See Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s The Danger of a Single Story.) 

In Honduras, we met with leaders of the Mennonite Church there. They shared about their own expanding network of Church-related ministries. We visited the burgeoning bilingual White Dove Mennonite School. We heard of the new community centers for mature adults. We listened to initiatives of youth and young adults who are pushing into mountainous, rural regions with the message of the good news and discovering the depth of human need in these remote communities. 

Community members receive education about safe water. Photo by Rick Kratz.

Coming back from Honduras, I’m grateful for the work of HNH, along with the work of all our Conference Related Ministries, from schools to camps to community centers and retirement communities, large and small, local and international, well-established and just beginning. Last year we welcomed Midian Leadership Project as our newest CRM.  This year we recognize the 125-year legacy of Frederick Living (our oldest CRM and the first Mennonite-related retirement community).  Our mosaic of Conference Related Ministries extends our peaceable witness of Christ in the broken and beautiful world in creative, dynamic, and hopeful ways. I’m grateful that we have prioritized this work and witness anew within our Mosaic structure.  

As Director of Collaborative Ministries, Margaret Zook leads our Mosaic staff team, working with Randy Heacock to connect with CRMs.  Our CRM Committee is made up of persons with diverse experiences and ministry and nonprofit leadership.   

While there are many challenges to our ministry and witness these days, there is still great opportunity as we learn to continue to bear witness together. By sharing our gifts, our passions, and our questions, together we can respond to real needs in our communities and beyond. 

HNH board members pour a concrete floor in Honduras. Photo by Rick Kratz.

Lent, Anabaptists, and Sausage 

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As a child, our Mennonite church had a few traditions, but Lent was not one of them. Traditionally, Lent was not observed by most Mennonites.    

Of course, we would celebrate the children on Palm Sunday. And, Shrove Tuesday was a glorious feast of yeasty home-made donuts.  It was Ash Wednesday that started the discomfort. What did those ashes made from last year’s palm branches say about my faithfulness or discipleship? 

Historically, Anabaptists have been reluctant to participate in the rituals of Lent. On the first Sunday of Lent in 1522, in Zurich, Switzerland, a gathering of people seeking church renewal challenged the rules of the Lenten fast by eating smoked sausages.  This action was a symbolic beginning of the Reformation in Zurich and a precursor to the Anabaptist movement.  (To learn more, click here.) 

Today, more Mennonite churches are observing the full liturgical calendar, including Lent. My church is one of them. Why now? Why sacrifice? Why fast as part of the Lent season?   

I like food, potlucks, fellowship meals, and dessert any place, but definitely in church. But maybe now, Anabaptists are hearing a renewed call to seek God. In this seeking of God, we are called to practice the discipline of surrender and sacrifice. And in doing so, we join others on the path to the cross during Lent.   

OK, I can give up donuts.  

But, Randolph Haluza-DeLay says, “Giving up donuts is obviously a superficial example,” even if I think of it as a sacrifice.

Maybe sacrifice and surrender mean opening new space for God to work. For example, a Lenten fast may be a social media fast, or giving up one meal a day to use that time to pray, or avoiding a regular leisure activity and instead spending time with a lonely neighbor.

What if I let the drama of Facebook unfold without my participation for 40 days?  I fast to reduce my attachments and find space for new ways. What if I use that claimed space for spiritual renewal, prayer, meditation?  For me, this is the reason for Lent now.   

Fasting is a personal choice. But I welcome the Lenten season’s focus on the life and death of Jesus as I fast.  I know that Lent doesn’t end at the cross. Easter Sunday is coming – a time for celebration, singing, sunrise services, and Easter cake.     

For we know that – 
God is our only hope, 
Feed us from your mouth, that we may see the poor, 
Listen to the lonely, and nourish our hungry neighbors 
In the strength of your Annointed. 

-from Take our Moments and Our Days: An Anabaptist Prayer Book

Choosing Peace in Solidarity with Ukraine 

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Within a few days of the invasion of Ukraine, someone handed me a check and said, “I trust you’ll figure out what to do with this.” As a person of Slavic descent, I have been painfully aware of the situation in Ukraine. I have heard tales of those who left behind family in what would become the Eastern Bloc. I grew up with the fears of the Cold War. I have pastored alongside Ukrainians. The resistance of Ukrainians citizens quickly gets my attention.

At the same time, it has been difficult to figure out how to support and engage while our media blasts out images of the violence. I attended a prayer vigil at a Ukrainian Catholic congregation near my home. I took them sunflowers. I offered support as a neighbor, a Slavic person, and as a representative of Mosaic Conference.

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is Mosaic’s primary partner for response to the war in Ukraine. We carry within us the story of the martyrdom of Clayton Kratz. Over 100 years ago, Kratz, from the Blooming Glen (PA) congregation, volunteered to serve with MCC in Ukraine. While responding to the humanitarian needs among Mennonites and others in Ukraine, Kratz was arrested and never heard from again.

(Read more about MCC’s current work in Ukraine.)

We encourage continued support of our Conference Related Ministries (CRMs) that support MCC’s work. By donating, volunteering, or purchasing at the Care and Share Thrift Shoppes or serving to meet material needs through Material Resource Center, we believe that MCC’s long-term responses will meet real needs.

Additionally, some of us desire more immediate ways to be involved. Finland (Pennsburg, PA) Mennonite Church and Garden Chapel (Dover, NJ) have established prayer times for Ukraine. (See details on how to join virtually on in person.) Vincent (Spring City, PA) Mennonite Church is supporting initiatives toward refugee response through RescueNet and Pastor Dave Mansfield’s connections in Poland.

In offering support as members of the historical peace tradition, the challenge to differentiate between humanitarian aid and aid that goes to support the resistance in Ukraine is not easy. In these times, we need to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves in commingling with other responses. We want to be part of Christ’s ongoing witness of peace while also empowering those on the ground to respond to real needs.

Join other Mosaic congregations in prayers for peace in Ukraine:

Finland (Pennsburg, PA) Mennonite Church: Sunday evenings at 7:00pm, in person 

This is a cross-generational gathering, ranging from toddlers to seniors, from many different congregations and denominations. We gather for a combination of hymn singing and prayer for Ukraine and Russia. For details or questions, please contact Pastor Kris Wint at kris@finlandmc.org, as gathering dates and times may vary weekly.  

Garden Chapel (Dover, NJ): Sunday, March 20, 7:30ET, via zoom 

All are welcome to join for a virtual candlelight service to honor those who have perished in Ukraine and to pray for the hand of Christ to move about the nations. For zoom link and other information, please click here.  

For questions, please call/text Pastor Tim (973) 495-9219 or Maria Hart (973) 932-9993 or email thegardenchapel@gmail.com.  

While considering responses to Ukraine, it’s important to remember that there are many armed conflicts also occurring that are just outside of our media views. The conflict in Ukraine is likely viewed differently than other conflicts because we see it more in real time through the media, while our biases and connectivity have put Ukraine in the foreground. Meanwhile, other conflicts have continued in place without the same level of attention, at times even supported by our own US government as aggressor.

Hands, Hand, Together, Prayer, Community, Creative

Pastorally, I’d like to encourage each of us to respond in solidarity with Ukrainians nearby to us. There are Ukrainian communities throughout PA and concentrated in the New York City metro areas. Sometimes, our prayer presence of solidarity will be welcomed if we reach out to these neighboring communities with support, love, and prayer. For many Russian immigrants, this is also a difficult time as well.

The young priest, Father Oslap, who led the emotional prayer vigil I attended, translated his passionate homily to me in a few words afterward: We must resist. But we must not allow this incursion to teach us to hate.

As followers of Jesus, committed to Christ’s peace, we must also not allow this resistance to justify violence in anyway. We must continue to pray for both Ukraine and Russia and our own nation’s response.

A Californian Comes East…and Learns a Thing (or 2 or 3)

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God has a sense of humor. After 35 years of cross-cultural and urban ministry in southern California, my wife, Debbie, and I recently loaded up our SUV and drove across the country for me to invest this year as the intentional interim Lead Pastor at Blooming Glen (PA) Mennonite Church. As an urban missiologist, this year will be a deep dive into a new sort of cross-cultural ministry.

The SUV is loaded for the cross-country trip. Photo by Debbie Wright.

In the 2 ½ weeks we have been in Bucks County, PA, I have learned some important lessons:

1. Everyone seems to be related to everyone else in the church. Now, this is not a bad thing. Family is an important dimension of the kingdom of God. People at Blooming Glen have formed a resilient community of faithful disciples by being family together.

Being family, however, has some inherent challenges, such as being transparent in communication. It’s hard to be transparent with family members. But it is also sometimes difficult to be transparent in communication among cultural groups where one should not lose face. I’m learning that being bluntly transparent doesn’t work at Blooming Glen any more than it works among the new immigrant congregations in California.

2. In the church, food can be a powerful tool to unite us. COVID has wreaked havoc on our capacity to sit at the table and fellowship with each other. And it shows. The frayed edges of community require time invested around coffee and funny cake at Blooming Glen…or puff balls and tea at Los Angeles Faith Chapel.

After 2 ½ weeks, I’m even more convinced than ever that the church that eats together will begin to pray together and then will heal together. Food, of course can challenge us…vegan or vegetarian? Gluten-free or not? At the end of the day, what matters is that we sit together and digest our relationships.

3. People in the church “are not afraid of change, they are afraid of loss.” Dr Tod Bolsinger, in his book, Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory (IVP Books, 2015) suggests that change is not what makes us fearful. Rather it is our sense of loss. Loss of control. Loss of the familiar.

For much of the past 35 years, I’ve worked with congregations and pastors who have lost their sense of home and their privilege in their cultures. Most times, these pastors find a new resiliency by collaborating with a conference of churches, like Mosaic Conference. In times of instability and loss (like the last two years), it is our life together as a Conference that brings together diversity and helps us all see change, not as loss, but as opportunity.

Jeff Wright packs up files for his new pastoral role in PA. Photo by Debbie Wright.

God has a sense of humor. As I continue to minister with my friends and colleagues in California, I am learning how to better minister by spending some time looking out over the rural landscape of Upper Bucks County, PA, and walking with good, honest, holy, and faithful Christians here.

Yep. I’m grateful. For family histories grounded generationally to the land. For tables of fellowship rich with coffee and laughter. For change in the midst of these days reframed as opportunity rather than loss. It’s good to be out east…

For awhile.

Feeling “Seen” as a (Sometimes Frazzled) Mom

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When was the last time you felt seen in church, not in an exposed, vulnerable way, but in a way that brought comfort and care?  Recently, during a sermon on sabbath, I felt seen. There was a deliberate pause in the sermon flow, and I was seen.  

Me. A parent of young children. 

Pastor Dave Greiser of Salford Mennonite Church (Harleysville, PA), preached these words (44:10-47:49): 

 “There is a whole group of people who have experienced little-to-no rest, in two years. First, there is full time work. Second, there is full time child rearing.  Very often both of those things are going on simultaneously. So that basically there’s two conditions in life: sleeping and work. Seven days a week, and that’s it. For those of us who have been in that experience, there is a sense in which sabbath is largely a dream, or a theory, and I cannot tell you this morning when you are going to get and feel a real sabbath…” 

Pastor Dave did not try to hand me a well-packaged solution, sweep my experience aside, nor over-estimate our similarities. Instead, I was seen and held in support, and that is what I needed. 

As the pandemic continues to impact social structures, child-rearing can be exhausting. Many options for young children to engage outside the home have ended or are less accessible or consistent. I am now mom AND playmate, educator, and energizer bunny.  

Due to polarization and the worn-down stamina of society, it feels risky to have conversation with other parents, as each interaction allows the possibility of unsolicited judgement. When such conversation is initiated, will it be a healthy connecting point or a space of judgement because of my family’s choices (work/life balance choices, masking, vaccine status, activity participation, etc.)? Even if the conversation is positive, I still need to navigate the constantly shifting dynamics of households and our community’s continually shifting guidelines.  

As a result, I need to do intentional work on my self-care and balance, because an imbalanced mom directly impacts the lives of her children. They are the ones who suffer from a worn out, frazzled mom … mom with a short fuse … mom who just wants quiet to sort my thoughts … mom who can’t play or read a story because I am joining another Zoom call. When I am weary and unbalanced from it all, I am unable to be the mom that I thrive being, the mom I really am and deeply want to be.

Pastor Dave’s sermon continued, “Perhaps the best thing I can do for you this morning is to offer you words that I think, possibly, Jesus might say to you: Whatever it is that you are giving to your job, whatever it is that you are giving to your family, whatever it is that you are giving to your children, it is enough…” 

I am thankful for the spaces of healthy conversation, community, and comradery that I have. I give thanks for places where my family is supported, not weighed on a balancing scale. I am grateful for friends with whom I can share frustration and the many joys of this stage of our kids’ lives and our parenting journey.  

The pandemic will continue to change, but our kids (and we) will not get this stage of life back, and we all are being shaped by this season. 

To other caregivers, may healthy conversation be present for you, and please know: I see you, I hold space for you. May you be well.  

Preparing for a Bigger Tent 

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My family and I love to go camping. Over the years, as our children grew, we needed a bigger tent. There were times when friends were invited along, and we needed more tents to accommodate extra people. Both required extra space, longer, more numerous cords, and stronger stakes and hammers to secure the tents. Although we had to adjust for the increases and for the growth, we were most happy to do just that.

This past week, I started in my new role as Associate Executive Minister of Mosaic Conference. When I said “yes” to this new role, I knew that I would have to step up my game. I recalled Cindy Angela’s staff blog a few weeks ago, when she wrote about being stretched out and the discomfort that stretching may bring, based on Isaiah 54.

Recently I returned to the familiar verses of Isaiah 54 to pray and prepare: Enlarge the site of your tent and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes (Isa. 54: 2, NRSV).

The “site of my tent” is going to be enlarged by my new role. I have to adjust to being stretched out and fully engage with my new responsibilities and a number of new relationships. If I did not believe that God had called me to serve in this capacity, I would not have accepted this position. I would have held back and stayed, content with where I was.

Photo by Julio Castillo.

“Lengthening cords” and “strengthening stakes” sounds like challenging work. However, I strongly believe that God will always give us what we need to fulfill what God is calling us to do. In addition, most of the new spaces God calls us into are exciting and seemingly beyond our capacities. If they were exciting, safe, and perfectly reasonable, we would not look to God for strength or seek the power of the Holy Spirit to move forward into them.

Photo by Marta Castillo

Lengthening the cords is to go further in effort and reach, to extend ourselves as Jesus did through cycles of ministry, times with friends, prayer, and rest. It means serving in ways that stretch us and help us to grow. It also increases our capacity to work with greater precision under the guidance of the Spirit.

Strengthening your stakes involves the development of a deeper capacity to seek and know the presence of God. Our depth of relationship in Christ enables us to deal with the circumstances and conflicts that will come and mistakes that we will make. It also allows us to feel the rock beneath our feet through the storms and to draw strength from the living waters in our roots during the heat of the day or times of drought.

Enlarging the site of our tents is what God does. It is the way that God’s Kingdom grows. Allow the curtains of your habitations to be stretched out, do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. Pray for me, and I will pray for you.