Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Conference Assembly

Rediscovering the Center, Together

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by Michelle Curtis

Lately in Mosaic Conference circles, people have been talking a lot about becoming a “centered set” community. It’s an exciting idea, but one I struggle to picture clearly. What would living as a centered-set church look like in practice? We say Jesus is our center, but how much do we agree on what we mean by that? 

Dr. Meghan Larissa Good’s Divine Gravity: Sparking a Movement to Recover a Better Christian Story fleshes out this center. Through eight “rediscoveries,” Good articulates the Jesus-centered story found in Scripture, offering both critique and hope for the church. 

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The first resonates deeply with us Anabaptists: God looks like Jesus and Jesus is the key to understanding the Bible. The second rediscovery examines what we mean by “Jesus saves”; salvation includes God setting everything right “on earth as it is in heaven.” The third is simple: “Jesus is Lord” and he leads us in a whole new way of living. With each concept, Good beautifully describes ways the church has gone wrong and calls us back to the center in Jesus.

The fourth rediscovery made my heart soar and ache in the same breath. Good’s sketch of “a better Christian story” and her vision for how the church might embody it connects to my own deep yearnings for the church. She writes, “God is throwing down the gauntlet with the unseen rulers and powers, saying, ‘You big posers think you’re so clever in the ways you divide. Well, get a load of my church: they belong to every culture, nation, personality, and philosophy; they don’t have a blessed thing in common. But look at how I can make enemies into siblings.’” (114)

This is the church I long for, and in many ways, I’ve experienced this vision in Mosaic Conference. I’ve experienced it at our women’s gatherings, where three languages swirl together and sisters in Christ pray for one another whether or not we understand each other’s languages or theology. I feel it during Mosaic Assembly worship, where it feels like a Revelation vision—“every tribe, tongue, and nation”—is coming to life. I love Mosaic Conference and what the Spirit is doing among us.

And yet, my heart also breaks as a half-dozen congregations have left Mosaic over the last few years, including the one I grew up in. Mosaic’s leadership is recommending discontinuing membership in Mennonite Church USA, the denomination that educated me as a pastor (at the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary), and I don’t know how to make sense of this possible separation. And still somehow it seems that God’s Spirit is doing something new and beautiful in Mosaic Conference, even as we fallible humans keep stumbling.

Rediscovery five reminds us that we are ambassadors of God’s reconciliation, sent into the world with a mission. Rediscovery six centers the work of the Holy Spirit in that mission (often overlooked in some Mennonite circles). Good’s personal stories in this chapter are especially powerful. Rediscovery seven overturns the myth of redemptive violence, reminding us that evil is overcome by the power of sacrificial love. The cross was the shape of God’s power and calls us to reject violence and power-over too. 

Good’s final rediscovery is, “the unity of the church is secured by the center it orbits” (209). This one leaves me praying that God will do what only God can do for the big, messy, beautiful global church.  

Each chapter closes with discussion questions, making Divine Gravity ideal for small groups. One question lingers with me and may be valuable for all of us: “Do you think you can be in close relationship with someone who is wrong about something important without being complicit in their wrongs? Explain your answer in light of Jesus” (221).  

I’m delighted that Meghan Larissa Good will be our speaker at Mosaic Fall Delegate Assembly on Oct. 31 (for the Formation equipping session) and Nov. 1 (during worship). Her book puts flesh on this idea of “centered set church” and what it might look like in practice. If you’re curious about that, Divine Gravity is a must-read—or a must-listen (Good narrates the audiobook herself, and I can confirm she makes a good companion for driving or doing the dishes).  

The first 50 participants at the Friday Night Equipping Event on Oct. 31 to stop by the table will receive a complementary copy of Divine Gravity: Sparking a Movement to Recover a Better Christian Story.

Michelle Curtis

Michelle Christian Curtis is co-pastor of Ambler (PA) Mennonite Church with her husband, Jacob.

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To share your thoughts or send a message to the author(s), contact us at communication@mosaicmennonites.org.   

Building Jesus-Shaped Community in Bristol, PA

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by Gary Alloway

Editor’s Note: Redemption Church of Bristol was approved by Mosaic Conference’s board as a member congregation and will be welcomed at Mosaic’s 2025 Fall Delegate Assembly. 

Redemption Church of Bristol (PA) was founded in 2009 with a mission to breathe new life into Bristol Borough. Bristol is a historic riverfront community with a history beginning in 1681. By 2009, Bristol had emptied out, with chronic poverty issues and a main street that was 50% vacant.  Redemption was founded not only to create a new church community, but also to be the presence of Christ in the neighborhood and help all of Bristol to flourish again. 

Easter brunch with the Redemption crew. Photo by Susan Alloway.

 
After 16 years, God has done amazing things in Bristol! We have been able to help start a coffee shop and a street festival. We have rebuilt houses and helped church communities come back to life. We have walked with neighbors through trials and celebrated over Little League victories.  

We call ourselves a community of sinners and skeptics and have always tried to make spaces for those on the margins, both economically and spiritually. We have created everything from a tea shop philosophy group (PhilosTea) to a bakery bible study (Donuts & Devotions). Our goal is to build a Jesus-shaped community, where all people can rest and grow in the love of God. 

Easter Sunrise Service on the Delaware River in Bristol. Photo by Gary Alloway.
Fred and Augie share in communion together. Photo by Gary Alloway.

Redemption began moving towards Mosaic in 2021. While we had always had relational connections to other churches, during the pandemic, we began to long for something more formal to belong to. We have always structured ourselves as an Anabaptist community, but during those tumultuous years, the historic foundations of the Mennonite church seemed all the more valuable.   

We also wanted to have relationships with churches and leaders that were different from us. We have learned so much from both the historic congregations of Mosaic and the younger immigrant communities. We appreciate the history, vibrancy, and relational depth of Mosaic Conference. We have loved having a community that is bigger than ourselves.

Scotty leads our Ash Wednesday service at Naked Brewery. Photo by Gary Alloway.
Planting new trees at our meeting space in Bristol. Photo by Gary Alloway.

We covet your prayers as we formally enter into the Conference as a member. Redemption has never been a community that is afraid of risk-taking or missional adventures, and we hope we can share the fruits of these endeavors with the larger Mosaic community.   

We also pray for stability and long-term growth that can help Redemption be grounded for the future. And we hope these two goals never crush each other. What does it mean to follow the Spirit out in new ways, but also build something that can last? We would love your prayers in this tension.  

We long to always uphold the core Anabaptist value of keeping Jesus at the center of all things. We aim to be the aroma of Christ, or as we like to say, “We aim to stink like Jesus together!”  Please pray that we can keep Jesus at the center of all that we do. And pray we can live out our mission to build a Jesus-shaped community, where all people can rest and grow in the love of God. 

Gary Alloway

Gary Alloway is a pastor and church planter of Redemption Church of Bristol (PA), and also serves as a Leadership Minister with Mosaic Conference.

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To share your thoughts or send a message to the author(s), contact us at communication@mosaicmennonites.org.   

Delegate Affirmation Votes for Board and Committee Chairs November 2025

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At the Fall 2025 Mosaic Mennonite Conference Delegate Assembly, delegates will be invited to affirm several Board members and Committee Chairs for three-year terms. 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.

ROY WILLIAMS

College Hill Mennonite (Tampa, FL)

Role: Conference Moderator, beginning Jan. 2026

Since 1985, Roy Williams has served as Pastor of College Hill Mennonite. Williams has served the church in various roles during his career, including Moderator of Mennonite Church USA, Constituency Leadership Council Chair, Vice Chair of Mennonite Education Agency, Moderator of Southeast Mennonite Conference, the Board of Mennonite Publishing, and Urban Ministry Director for Mennonite Mission Network. He has been an evangelist, serving several denominations and independent churches since he was licensed for ministry at age 16 by the Wesleyan Church of Jamaica. Williams has worked as a Senior Vice President of real estate and commercial lending and a Chief Internal Auditor. Roy and his wife, Ruth Leair-Williams, have two children, Sherilee J. Samuel and Rian C. Williams, and four grandchildren. In his free time, Roy enjoys gardening, fishing, and building things.

JANET PANNING

Plains Mennonite (Hatfield, PA)

Role: Assistant Moderator, beginning Jan. 2026

Raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Janet Panning became a Christian at 14 through a Young Life Club. After graduating from Michigan State University, Panning was introduced to Mennonites through the Inter-Menno Program, spending a year in the Netherlands. Janet and her husband Steve spent much of the next 17 years working with MCC in Jamaica and Kentucky and raising two daughters, Megan and Molly. Since 1987, the Pannings have been part of Plains, becoming members in 2004. She has been a member of the Ministerial Committee for many years, with Franconia and Mosaic Conference, and has served as Chair of the committee since 2019. Panning retired in 2024 from the Montgomery County (PA) Office of Public Health and spent 18 years working in refugee resettlement.   

JIM MUSSELMAN

Zion Mennonite (Souderton, PA)

Role: Board Secretary (3rd term)

Jim Musselman was raised in Souderton, PA and worked for Musselman Builders, Inc. from 1979 until his retirement. He served as Moderator of Eastern District Conference from 2016-2019. His wife, Barbara, is a retired Registered Nurse and a certified holistic nurse who worked for 42 years at Abington Hospital in Lansdale, PA. Together they have a son, Matt, a daughter, Kate, and two grandsons, Liam and Gray. Musselman volunteers with Zion’s Table of Plenty and Bean Bag Project, as well as the Conference-Related Ministry Mennonite Heritage Center (Harleysville, PA). He enjoys genealogy, history, traveling, and camping with Barbara in their teardrop camper. 

LUCY HANANTO PARSONO

International Worship Center (San Gabriel, CA)

Role: Member-at-Large (2nd term)

Lucy Hananto Parsono is an elder at International Worship Center. She and her husband Alfred live in Hacienda Heights, CA. They have a daughter and three grandchildren who also live in Southern California. Hananto Parsono was born on the island of Sumatra but grew up in Tangerang, Indonesia near Jakarta. Her parents converted to Christianity from Buddhism, and she grew up in the church. She runs an import/export business with trade between the US and Indonesia. She moved to California in the 1980s. She felt encouraged to say yes to joining the Conference Board by family and mentors who said, “this kind of work is your life.” She loves to serve the church, and the board is a way to serve and learn within Mosaic. She receives strong affirmation for her role from Leadership Ministers Aldo Siahaan and Jeff Wright and her brother, Buddy Hananto, pastor at IWC. 

JENNY FUJITA

Blooming Glen (PA) Mennonite

Role: Member-at-Large (1st term)

Jenny Fujita is a credentialed itinerant preacher and former pastor with Mosaic Conference. She holds a master’s in theology with a focus in Anabaptist studies from Northern Seminary and a Certificate in Theology and Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary. She is a partner with Fujita & Miura Public Relations, Inc., a Hawaii-based strategic communications consulting firm. She is also the Vice President of Friends of Jesus Collective, a relational network of Anabaptist leaders and churches worldwide. She grew up in Bucks County, PA and Puerto Rico and now lives in Coopersburg, PA.   

HAROLDO NUNES  

Resplandece Mennonite (Pembroke Pines, FL, Colombia, and hybrid)

Role: Member-at-Large (1st term)

(Former Chair of the Conference-Related Ministries Committee) 

Haroldo Nunes is an ordained pastor within Mosaic Conference in leadership within Resplandece Mennonite. He graduated from Universidade Federal do Pará in Brazil, from seminary classes at Mennonite Education Agency, and now is in post-graduate studies at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. He is married to Esmirna, who is originally from Bolivia. They have three young adult children. Nunes spent 17 years in Wayne County, Ohio, leading Salem Mennonite in Wooster for 13 years, and as executive director of Open Arms Hispanic Ministries for 17 years. He worked with immigrants from Latin America, accompanying and helping them with material and spiritual needs. The Nunes family moved to Florida in 2023 and currently lives in Sarasota county. 

LINDY BACKUES  

Philadelphia (PA) Praise Center

Role: Conference-Related Ministry Committee Chair (1st term) 

Lindy Backues, PhD, is Associate Professor of Business and Leadership at Eastern Mennonite University. Previously he served for 13 years as Associate Professor of Economic Development at Eastern University and for 18 years in Indonesia as an economic/community development theorist and practitioner. He speaks the Indonesian language fluently. Backues has written extensively in the fields of theology, anthropology, and grassroots development. He is Chair of the Advisory Board for the Christian-Muslim Relations Team (CMRT) of Eastern Mennonite Missions and serves on the editorial board for the anthropological journal “On Knowing Humanity.” He is also an ordained minister of Mosaic Conference.  

MICHAEL HOWES

West Swamp Mennonite (Quakertown, PA)

Role: Ministerial Committee Chair (1st term)

Michael Howes grew up in the bayou country of southern Louisiana and studied religion at Baylor University before earning his Master of Divinity in Fort Worth, Texas.   

Since 1991, Michael has been serving as a pastor in a variety of settings—rural, urban, and suburban—across Texas, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and since 2019 at West Swamp. Michael is happily married to Rev. Sue Conrad Howes, who works as a mental health chaplain. Michael has two wonderful young adult children, Michael and Emily. 

EMMANUEL MWAIPOPO

Nueva Vida Norristown (PA) New Life Mennonite

Role: Intercultural Committee Chair (1st term)

(Currently completing a vacated term as Chair) 

Emmanuel Mwaipopo was born in Tanzania. Although his mother was a Mennonite, he was raised in his father’s Roman Catholic tradition. He moved to the US in his 20s to attend Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, where he studied computer information systems. A professor at Temple introduced Mwaipopo to a local Mennonite church in Philadelphia. Later he moved to Norristown, PA where he became involved with Nueva Vida Norristown New Life Mennonite, where he now serves as an elder. Emmanuel is a software engineer and works for Comcast. He and his wife care for four children. In his free time, he plays ultimate frisbee. 

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To share your thoughts or send a message to the author(s), contact us at communication@mosaicmennonites.org.   

Get Ready for Mosaic Mennonite Conference Fall Delegate Assembly

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Saturday, November 1, 2025: 9 AM-4:30 PM   
Registration for delegates will take place from 8:30-9 AM 
at Souderton Mennonite Church (map)  
105 W Chestnut St., Souderton, PA 18964

Delegate Registration

All delegates named by their congregations should have received an email on September 2, 2025, explaining the day-of registration process for delegates and a link to confirm their participation as a delegate. 

If you are coming to Assembly as an attendee (all non-delegates), you are most welcome. To help us plan and prepare, please let us know by signing up here.

If you are coming from a distance, plan your travel and arrange for your lodging. For more information about lodging and transportation, please click here.  

Friday Night Equipping Event

Everyone (delegates and non-delegates) is invited to join us on Friday, October 31 from 4-8pm at Zion Mennonite (Souderton, PA). These sessions will focus on Mosaic’s three priorities: Formational, Missional, and Intercultural Transformation. Dinner is provided.

Delegates should RSVP using the same delegate form they completed to confirm their participation for Assembly. All others (non-delegates) should RSVP using the attendee form, which can be used to register for this event, Assembly, or both. 

Delegate Preparation Meetings

What are Assembly Delegate Preparation Meetings?

Mosaic Conference holds a series of delegate preparation meetings in the weeks leading up to our gathered Assembly. The purpose of these meetings is to help delegates understand the important commitment and specific duties they are responsible for, to prepare them with the latest information on the issues that will be discussed, and to give an opportunity to give feedback and ask questions.  

Delegates are asked to attend one meeting on a date & location that best suits them. Let us know what meeting you are attending so we can plan. 

Please pray for Assembly, Mosaic’s Board, delegates, the Mosaic staff planning it, those attending, and God’s leading in the process.  

The staff team for planning Fall Assembly is Stacey Mansfield (Administrative & Hospitality Collaborator), Jaye Lindo (Hospitality Coordinator), Cindy Angela (Director of Communication), and Sue Conrad Howes (Registrar). The Fall Assembly taskforce also includes Maati Yvonne (Executive Committee), Danilo Sanchez (Leadership Minister for Intercultural Transformation), Stephen Kriss (Executive Minister), Makinto (LA Faith Chapel), and Joel Horst Nofziger (Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania). 

Other Supplemental Documents: 

The 2025 Docket will be released in early October and emailed to delegates. Visit MosaicMennonites.org/assembly for more information.

Assembly 2024: Walking Humbly with God, Together

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by Jennifer Svetlik

Nearly 350 people gathered for Mosaic Mennonite Conference’s Assembly on November 2, 2024. The annual Assembly opened with worship (livestream available here), which included energetic singing led by a worship team from seven Mosaic congregations.  

The focus text for the Assembly’s theme, Walk Humbly with God, Micah 6:8, was read in eight worshiping languages of the conference, Cantonese, Creole, English, Indonesian, Karen, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Posters of bibles depicting the scripture in each language, were colored by guests of the Conference-Related Ministry (CRM) Ripple Community, Inc. The youth dance group from Whitehall (PA) Mennonite honored the Humble King.

The worship team had seven Mosaic congregations represented.

Keynote speaker Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards preached on reclaiming humility as a marker of Christian identity, which he defines as “a way of life rooted in submission to God and demonstrated in actions that foster mutuality rather than competition.” 

He believes that the U.S. church will “have a stronger witness, more fruitful influence, and increasingly more Christ-like reputation if we recover what humility is meant to be,” which is neither a “self-help strategy” nor “something we can turn off and on.”  

Pointing out the various ways that humility is described in the scriptures, he said, “Humility has a trajectory. It starts out as submission to God, and then moves out like a projectile to influence others.” 

The theme scripture, Micah 6:8, was read in eight Mosaic worshipping languages. The bibles were colored by guests of Ripple Community, Inc., a Mosaic CRM. 

The time of worship included a prayer in three languages for Mosaic’s discernment around relating the MC USA, and for discernment in the upcoming U.S. elections, and a prayer for the thousands of employees, volunteers, and people impacted within the Mosaic Conference-Related Ministries (CRMs). 

Those gathered honored two credentialed leaders who had died in the past year and Boyertown (PA) Mennonite, which has closed. Thirteen new Mosaic leaders (newly credentialed or transferring credentials) were anointed and then offered anointing for all who wished to receive it. 

Thirteen credentialed leaders, who were credentialed or transferred their credentials over the past year, were anointed and then anointed anyone who wished to receive a blessing.  

Following worship was the morning session, where 170 delegates committed to a table covenant, engaged in relationship building, and reflected on what from worship would inform their work for the day. Communion was shared in the table groups, and the three new Mosaic member congregations and one new CRM were welcomed: Ark of Christ (Westminster, CA), Bethel Worship and Teaching Center (Levittown, PA), and Resplandece Mennonite (Pembroke Pines, FL and Barranquilla, Colombia) and The Worm Project (Lansdale, PA).  

Time for lunch, fellowship, and visiting with the leaders of Mosaic’s CRMs and other agencies followed the morning session.

In the afternoon delegate session, Mosaic Conference’s Associate Executive Minister Marta Castillo and Leadership Minister for Intercultural Transformation Danilo Sanchez shared about Mosaic’s Strategic Plan for 2025-2027, which is the primary outcome of a two-year strategic planning process led by Mosaic’s Pathway Steering Team, and the Vibrant Mosaic Program.    

The plan is centered around five pillars: Clarity/Identity, Communication, Leadership Development, Relationship Building, and Reconciliation, and some of the proposed activities include: study groups for history and theology, expanding the Ambassadors young leaders program and Nations and Generations gathering, a Mosaic cookbook, training in peace circles for resolving conflict, and mechanisms for more two-way communication. Delegates shared feedback on how they envision their congregations and CRMs participating in the work, and what challenges they anticipate.   

Makinto and Mukarabe Makinto, Associate Pastors of LA (CA) Faith Chapel and Directors of CRM Amahoro International, led the group in a powerful peacebuilding and drumming ritual, guided by Micah 6:8. 

Makinto and Murakabe Makinto led those gathered in a peacebuilding drumming ritual, guided by Micah 6:8 and related scriptures.

“Our time spent drumming is us being Mosaic,” Mosaic Conference Moderator Angela Moyer Walter reflected after Assembly. “When we drum, we are having fun together, soaking in scripture, listening to one another and our different rhythms, and making a beautiful song for God.” 

The afternoon included discernment on redefining Mosaic’s relationship with MC USA. Read more about the delegate sessions and the vote on partnership with MC USA. 

After the vote, the Philadelphia (PA) Praise Center youth worship team led the gathered body in songs of praise. Leadership Minister for Formation Rose Bender Cook led a body prayer of surrender, reminding those gathered that “humility is a posture of the heart.” 

Philadelphia (PA) Praise Center youth worship team led the gathered body in songs of praise.

Beyond the main event, the weekend included a brunch at the Dock campus of CRM Living Branches (Lansdale, PA) with Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards for CRM and BIPOC leaders, the annual Nations and Generations Gathering for BIPOC leaders at the CRM Mennonite Heritage Center (Harleysville, PA), and Sunday pulpit swaps and visits by Mosaic leaders.  

Jennifer Svetlik

Jennifer is Editor & Development Coordinator for Mosaic. She grew up near Houston, TX and spent a decade living in intentional community in Washington DC, before moving to Lansdale, PA with her spouse, Sheldon Good. She is a graduate of the University of Texas and Washington Theological Seminary. She serves as Children’s Faith Formation Director at Salford Mennonite (Harleysville, PA). Jenn has two elementary-school-aged children and loves biking, camping, gardening, and vermicomposting with her family. 

Assembly 2023: Gathering to Worship God’s Faithful Truth

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by Jennifer Svetlik

Around 250 people gathered for worship during Mosaic’s Assembly on November 4, centered on the theme of emet, God’s faithful truth. Songs and scriptures were proclaimed in the languages of Mosaic congregations, prayers were offered, and newly credentialed leaders were anointed and offered anointing to all present who wished to receive it.  

There was a time of remembering the seven credentialed leaders that had died over the past year, one who had retired, as well as a congregation that had closed, and three congregations who had left Mosaic.  

As representatives from Line Lexington (PA) and Towamencin (Kulpsville, PA) congregations came forward for prayer, Mosaic representatives laid hands on them, and Executive Minister Steve Kriss offered a prayer. 

“We have the privilege today to do something that Mennonites have not often done well… These communities are still our neighbors, our siblings,” said Kriss. “We pray for the three congregations who have left Mosaic to flourish…and may we overextend our greetings of peace, embrace of love, and shared joy.”   

In her sermon, Hyacinth Stevens, Executive Director of Mennonite Central Committee East Coast, offered guidance for the rest of the day, “Let us not prioritize schedules over the practice of presence.”  

Morning and afternoon delegate sessions followed worship. Read more about the delegate sessions here.

Jennifer Svetlik

Jennifer is a member of the communication team, helping with editing, writing, and content creation. She was born near Houston, TX and spent a decade living in an intentional community in Washington DC, before moving to Lansdale, PA with her spouse, Sheldon Good. She is a graduate of the University of Texas and Washington Theological Seminary. She serves as Children’s Faith Formation Director at Salford Mennonite (Harleysville, PA). Jenn has two elementary-school-aged children and loves biking, camping, gardening, and vermicomposting with her family.

Mosaic Assembly 2023 Report: Bound Together, Sharing Differences 

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by Jennifer Svetlik

Hyacinth Stevens, Executive Director of Mennonite Central Committee East Coast, was the speaker during Mosaic Assembly Worship.

To read more about the worship service, click here.

“Bind us together with cords that cannot be broken, bind us together, Lord, with love,” prayed Hyacinth Stevens, Executive Director of Mennonite Central Committee East Coast, in her sermon during Mosaic Assembly Worship on November 4. In subsequent delegate sessions, more than 300 persons gathered would reflect on the question, “What binds us together as Mosaic?”  

This was just the second time that Mosaic Conference gathered in-person for Assembly, bringing together delegates from California, Florida, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania to Souderton (PA) Mennonite Church.  

After a transformational worship service that centered on Psalm 116 & 117 and the theme of emet, God’s faithful truth, delegates called on the Holy Spirit as they gathered to give feedback during the delegate sessions.  

The morning delegate session, led by Angela Moyer Walter, Conference Moderator, began with an introduction of the Mosaic moderators, Board, staff, and committees, greetings from Jon Carlson, MC USA Moderator, and a prayer from Roy Williams, Assistant Conference Moderator. Delegates got acquainted using an identity chart as a tool to help “bring your whole self to the meeting,” explained Gwen Groff, Mosaic Board member and Pastor of Bethany (VT).  

At the beginning of the morning delegate session, Angela Moyer Walter introduced Mosaic’s boards, committees and staff members.

After table discussion, a communion service in Spanish, Indonesian, and English invited everyone to “bring to Christ in communion all the beautiful and broken parts of us.” 

An extended time for lunch and fellowship preceded the afternoon delegate session, in which the Pathway Steering Team provided context on the feedback gathered over the past year.   

Members of the Pathway Steering Team provided background information for the afternoon delegate session.

Pathway Steering Team member Mark Reiff explained, “The newness of Mosaic Conference means we need to ask, ‘Who are we?’ before we ask, ‘With whom do we affiliate?’” Reiff continued, “There is a lot of breadth in how each of our congregations come to Mosaic’s missional, formational, and intercultural priorities and articulating that helps us as we dream about what God is calling us to.”  

In table groups, delegates shared feedback on the Pathway Strategic Planning listening tour summary and named what goals they would have for Mosaic’s three priorities and how to achieve the goals.  Themes that emerged from the large group sharing time were the desire for more opportunities for fellowship and deeper relationships, more connection and communication between congregations, and a greater emphasis on antiracism. Some felt impatient with the Pathway process, and others recognized the difficulty of communicating across differences.  

After hearing the large group feedback, Marta Castillo, Associate Executive Minister responded, “We ask you to continue to pray, and to trust that we love and care for the Conference as much as you do, to trust that we are taking time to do this with as much integrity as we can. Thank you for your participation in this process.”  

A highlight of the afternoon was a session on peacebuilding and reconciliation through drumming, led by George and Mukarabe Makinto, Associate Pastors of LA Faith Chapel. The room was divided into parts, each given a phrase from Ephesians 4:1-6, to offer repeatedly with a rhythmic instrument or beating of hands on the tables. “Each rhythm is different, just like life, and when it comes together, builds a beautiful mosaic of rhythm,” Makinto shared.  

Drum circle led by George and Mukarabe Makinto, Associate Pastors of LA Faith Chapel.

Later in the afternoon, delegates reflected on which biblical stories and personal experiences shape their understanding of what it means to be a Spirit-led Mosaic Conference.  

To close the day, Assembly participants sang a song written for Mosaic Conference by Makinto and Leadership Minister Emily Ralph Servant, which represented the cries of so many gathered, to remain bound together, sharing across differences: “Let your faithful truth abound… Spirit heal us, Spirit lead us over hills and deepest valleys, prepare ye a way.”

Jennifer Svetlik

Jennifer is a member of the communication team, helping with editing, writing, and content creation. She was born near Houston, TX and spent a decade living in an intentional community in Washington DC, before moving to Lansdale, PA with her spouse, Sheldon Good. She is a graduate of the University of Texas and Washington Theological Seminary. She serves as Children’s Faith Formation Director at Salford Mennonite (Harleysville, PA). Jenn has two elementary-school-aged children and loves biking, camping, gardening, and vermicomposting with her family.

10 Things to Know Before Assembly

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1. Take time to read the documents in your docket and other important documents before Assembly. Print out a hard copy (if you want one) of the Assembly docket or bring an electronic device on which you can read a copy. We will not be supplying hard copies for everyone.

2. Enter Souderton Mennonite Church through the main carport entrance. There is a parking lot across the street from Souderton, on Chestnut Street, and parking around the building.

3. Doors open for registration at 9:00 am. Arrive early to avoid a line! Worship will begin at 9:30 am. 

4. Lunch will be offered 12:30-2:00 pm. During the morning and afternoon community connecting time, a light snack, coffee, and tea will be provided. Childcare is available. There is no childcare during lunch.

5. Please bring a handheld rhythm instrument, such as a tambourine, drumsticks, or a shaker egg. We will use these during our afternoon session. If you don’t bring something, hands work great too!

6. 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, VT).

7. A prayer room is located next to the sanctuary from 9:30 am-4 pm. It is available for anyone to pray or receive prayer.

8. Plan to spend some time connecting with others in the Exhibit Hall, where our Conference Related Ministries (CRMs) and other agencies will have tables. The exhibit hall will be open 9-9:30 am, 11-11:30 am, and 12:30-2 pm.

9. Those who attend as guests will have the opportunity to converse at tables with other non-delegates during the delegate sessions.

10. Our Conference has members who speak many languages. Be prepared to greet others in a language other than yours. Here are a few simple greetings to learn:

We look forward to seeing everyone on November 4! Need more information? Visit the Assembly Webpage.