Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Conference Assembly

God@Work: Conference cousins in conversation

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by Warren Tyson, Eastern District Conference Minister, & Ertell Whigham, Franconia Executive Minister

Forum with Eastern DistrictWhen relatives get together who haven’t seen each other in many years, they share their stories of their journeys with each other. They share where they have been, what they have been up to, how they have occupied their time. In some ways, the last couple of years of relationship between Eastern District Conference and Franconia Mennonite Conference have felt somewhat like that.

For the last two years, moderators and conference ministers have been meeting about every two months to share stories and reflect on where God has taken us in the past and where we sense God is taking us forward. It’s been a journey of revealing what we share in common as well as our differences as we become more aware of each other’s conference systems and how they function. In the midst of this journey, we have intentionally invited God to make his presence real guiding our path.

These two conference families split 165 years ago over issues such as taking minutes, organizing Sunday Schools, educating pastors, and urban mission. Today, we are well aware that these particular issues are no longer divisive, yet as we continue to explore shared ministry, we must consider what differences do exist in our separate conference systems that the other should be attentive to.

Historically, Eastern District has had a more limited conference staff composition with greater emphasis on congregational autonomy than Franconia has. In recent years, however, this difference has lessened as Franconia has cut back some of its staff services and Eastern District has added a church plant coach.

Forum with Eastern District
Members from Eastern District and Franconia Conferences met for two forums earlier this year to discuss the conferences’ shared history and the possibility of a shared future.

A year ago, after seeking counsel of our member churches, Eastern District and Franconia Conferences partnered with Christopher Dock Mennonite High School to employ a youth minister. Early this summer, the conferences together engaged the services of a Peace and Justice Minister through the guidance and support of the Peace and Justice Committee, which has included active members from both conferences for well over ten years. Most recently, we have been in conversation around the idea of forming a joint Faith and Life Ministry Team to discern together what the Holy Spirit is saying to us about the real issues our congregations are facing.

The last few years, we have become more aware of congregations working together across conference lines, pastors finding support from one another, and outreach ministries developing as a shared vision in the local community develops.  These stories of God @ Work have invigorated our bi-monthly leadership gatherings, as we continue to seek God’s way in developing a shared vision. What this ongoing work means for our future is yet to be determined.

We look forward to hearing your stories of where you see God @ Work–where God is developing a shared vision your local community.  You will have opportunities to share your stories at this year’s united Conference Assembly, November 10, at Penn View Christian School in Souderton.  You can also share you story online or register for workshops, meals and childcare on our website, assembly.mosaicmennonites.org.

God IS at Work…

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by Sandy Landes, Franconia Prayer Ministry Coordinator

On November 10, Franconia and Eastern District Conferences will gather for our annual assembly, around the theme of “God at Work.”  More information.

How do we live life in such a way that it requires faith? Hebrews 11 says that, “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him, must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

I see God at work building faith in Him in many different ways in our community. In my role as prayer ministry coordinator for Franconia Conference, much of what I do involves seeing people cooperating with God through prayer as they put their faith in a God who invites us to come to the throne of grace with boldness (Hebrews 4:16).

On Wednesday, September 12, twenty-eight pastors and credentialed leaders gathered at Camp Men-O-Lan (Quakertown, Pa.) to spend the day in prayer and fellowship. God was at Work as the pastors listened to what God was saying to them through the Word, through the testimonies of each other, and through creation. I saw faith built as leaders related the ways in which God has been faithful and is providing all they need to continue to follow Jesus and equip the church for ministry.

Salem Mennonite Church (Quakertown, Pa.) was the setting for another example of God at Work, releasing his healing power. Marcella Ruch shared her story of being a “yes” woman for God, even as God called her to a healing ministry after retirement. We may hear the words, “healing ministry” and assume it means only a prayer ministry but there is a duality to the work God is doing through Marcella. Since her retirement 15 years ago, God has used Marcella to start a free clinic for uninsured people in her city of Colorado Springs, to start a medical outreach for the families of Liberia, and to minister his healing power wherever she goes. God blessed Marcella as she shared her testimony and inspired others to also say “yes” to God, even if it doesn’t fit in with their plans. Several persons were touched by God’s love as they received personal prayer ministry by a prayer team.

God's house of promise
God’s House of Promise, on Allentown Road in Souderton, Pa.

I also see God at Work in a new ministry beginning this week in the little stone building on Allentown Road just below Lower Road in Souderton, Pa.  God’s House of Promise is an ecumenical ministry with the purposes of uniting the body of Christ and transforming our community through the continuous reading of God’s Word aloud on a daily basis, offering a place to pray for personal, community, and worldwide needs, and uniting our community in monthly worship.

The kick-off event for God’s House of Promise was held on Saturday, Sept 22 at Souderton (Pa.) Mennonite Church. Seeing worshipers from many different denominations praying together is an example of God at Work answering the prayers of Jesus in John 17, “that they would all be one.”

It is encouraging to see God at work in so many different ways in our community, in the church and outside. As I have been prayer-walking with a close friend in my neighborhood, we have been drawn to stop in at a local bar and to connect with and bless the new friends we are making there. It requires faith that God is at work as we share stories and build connections on a personal level. Through God’s nudging we have prayed for healing, for provision of jobs, and for blessing on the families of the employees. It requires faith to believe that the kingdom of God is present as we enter in to an unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable environment, but we trust that God is at work because we believe, as it says in Ephesians 3:20, that “He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

How have you seen God at work in your congregation, community, and conference?  Share your story (in a sentence or several paragraphs—up to you!) here.

Eastern District and Franconia gather on “holy ground”

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by Stephen Kriss, skriss@mosaicmennonites.org

Gwen Groff, pastor at Bethany Mennonite Church in Bridgewater Corners, Vermont, drove the seven hours south for the joint Franconia and Eastern District Conference Assembly on November 11-12 for what she suggests became a “beautiful cacophony.”

Groff and more than 300 others from across both Conference communities along with Mennonite Church USA representatives gathered Friday night at Penn View Christian School in Souderton, Pa, in the first joint worship service for both Conferences since 1999.   The opening worship, which featured a combined cross-conference, multi-ethnic and multilingual worship team, kicked off the gathering switching swiftly back and forth between Creole, English, Indonesian, Spanish and Vietnamese—the worshipping languages of the 60 congregations that make up both conferences.

Groff describes her experience, “I always look forward to the singing at Conference Assembly worship services.  Coming from a small congregation, I enjoy the big sound, the full harmony. When I come into an Assembly worship space, if I see that we’ll be using the blue Worship Book hymnals I like to sit in the center of it all to be surrounded by the four part harmony. When I see a screen and projector, instruments and microphones, I usually take a seat on the periphery.

“This year I found myself most moved by the kind of singing I usually hang back from. Singing all together, with some singing in Indonesian, some in Spanish, some in Vietnamese, some in English and some in Creole, was disorienting in a way that was challenging, enlightening and beautiful. In worship there is often an invitation to sing or pray each in our own language, but this year the multicultural worship team was leading in all the different languages, switching languages between verses, between lines, singing in different languages at the same time. There was no right language to be singing in at any particular moment. We all could experience how it felt to be singing new words and not knowing if we were pronouncing them correctly. We all knew how it felt to be a little off balance.  It wasn’t about political correctness (or it was what political correctness should be). It was about leveling the ground as we worshipped together, and it was holy ground.”

While energetic music and multiple languages marked the shape of the worship, Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards, pastor of Peace Fellowship Church in Washington, DC, a Franconia Conference Partner in Mission, focused intensely in an evening message that explored the possibilities of the assembly theme, “Unity and Maturity in Christ” based on Ephesians 4.   The whole of the worship gathering was broadcast in five worshipping languages and available online through a live stream.   Over a dozen persons from a variety of congregations helped to coordinate technology, translating, and communication for the event.

The spirit of gathered worship was framed further through Saturday’s joint delegate session held around tables that considered the further cooperation between both Conferences in a move toward healing the 1847 historic rift between the groups.  Overwhelmingly, representatives from both conferences gave permission by raising green cards that suggested a continuation to explore life together more extensively and collaboratively.  Considering the future of the conferences, Sam Claudio, Jr., associate pastor at Christ Fellowship in Allentown said in a time of reporting, “Hopefully we’ll be able to be a positive witness [in a way that people will say], look how they came together after this long division in love, in peace, in charity, in grace.”

After recognizing the affirming move, Dave Hersh, moderator of Eastern District Conference responded, “I’m really excited about what we’ve accomplished. Your direction to us is loud and clear.  We’re going to continue working together.”

The conferences divided for business sessions, but re-gathered for lunch and a commissioning worship that recognized each person’s role and contribution in both conference communities.  In general business, Eastern District Conference marked the transition of Ron White of Church of the Good Samaritan (Holland, Pa) into the moderator role succeeding Hersh of Grace Mennonite Church (Lansdale, Pa).   Marta Castillo of Nueva Vida Norristown (Pa) Mennonite Church was affirmed as assistant moderator for Franconia Conference for a special one year term.

First time Franconia Conference delegate Derek Cooper of the Doylestown (Pa) congregation said, “I appreciated the worshipful tone. Beginning and ending the assembly in worship united the community and guided our interaction throughout the weekend.  I also appreciated the prayer ministry. It created a Spirit-led presence that saturated the building.”

View the photo album

An invitation to Conference Assembly

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David Hersh – Moderator, Eastern District Conference
John Goshow – Moderator, Franconia Conference

For the first time since 1999 Eastern District Conference and Franconia Conference will hold their annual assemblies together at Penn View Christian School on November 11 and 12. We want to extend our personal invitation to all members of both conferences to attend Assembly 2011.  On Friday evening at 7 PM we will join together in worship with Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards from Peace Fellowship in Washington D.C.  Dr. Edwards is known widely for his energetic preaching style and his gifted teaching of the Word.  On Saturday we will meet both jointly and individually to do the business of our respective conferences.

In 2001 the General Conference Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Church joined together to form one denomination, Mennonite Church USA.  Now, all of the congregations affiliated with Eastern District Conference and Franconia Conference are members of MCUSA.  Our two conferences send delegates to the MCUSA’s biannual convention, we participate together in the Constituency Leadership Council (CLC), and we collaborate together with other MCUSA conferences on the east coast through Atlantic Northeast Conferences (ANEC) in outreach and church planting efforts.  As moderators we have been blessed and inspired by the many ways our two conferences work together locally as well as with MCUSA.  Recently we announced that our two conferences and Christopher Dock Mennonite High School have collaborated to hire a full time Youth Pastor. In the past we have partnered with Frederick Mennonite Home and Mennonite Health Services to offer a training opportunity for Conference Related Ministries.  And our conferences share office space which provides many opportunities to work together.

In the past year we have met a number of times with Ron White, Eastern District Moderator-Elect and our Conference Ministers, Ertell Whigham (Franconia) and Warren Tyson (Eastern District) to think about how we can work together to do God’s Kingdom work.  We believe that this collaboration is good and that it will add value to both of our conferences; we look forward to finding many ways to work together in the future.

So, we think this year’s assembly symbolizes our growing desire to continue to find ways of working together to do God’s work and to do this in such a way that the rich histories of each conference are respected and appreciated.  We are open to the leading of God as we continue to be faithful to discover how we can advance the Kingdom together.

It is our hope that the chapel at Penn View Christian School will be filled on Friday evening with members of our two conferences worshiping God together, united in the desire to do God’s work.

Meet Dennis Edwards, speaker for Conference Assembly

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by Randy Heacock, Doylestown Mennonite Church

Franconia Conference Annual Assembly focuses this year on Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ, from Ephesians 4.  As we gather together on Friday, November 11, we will worship in song, through story and in listening to the word of God communicated in a fresh and compelling way through Dennis Edwards, pastor of Peace Fellowship Church in Washington, DC, a Partner in Mission of Franconia Conference.

Dennis is credentialed as a Mennonite minister through Franconia Conference.  He is married to Susan and together they have four adult children.  Dennis plays several instruments and enjoys the sax the most.  If you follow Dennis on Facebook, you’ll know that he regularly checks-in at Gold’s Gym.  Originally from Queens, NYC, he is a faithful fan of the New York Jets.

Dennis is a Biblical scholar: he received a master’s degree and doctorate in New Testament Studies from Catholic University and holds a Masters of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  (He has a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell, by the way).    Dennis has taught for Eastern Mennonite Seminary along with other schools of higher education, and currently serves as adjunct professor at The Ecumenical Institute of Theology and Bethel Seminary of the East.   Even with his busy schedule, Dennis still finds time to serve with community pastors, coordinate meetings with local Mennonite workers, and write.

I have known Dennis for 15 years as a friend and colleague and, while some may appropriately be impressed with his academic achievement, his keen intellect, or his musical giftedness, I can easily say above all else he is a gift to us as a faith community.    As a scholar both of the Bible and culture, Dennis is able to provide keen insights about what it means to be a follower of Jesus today.    Dennis has a distinctly Anabaptist perspective both in his teaching and practice of Christian faith.    He continually communicates and demonstrates a desire for people both individually and corporately to experience more fully the kingdom and presence of God.

Though a powerful preacher, Dennis is a gentle and loving man.   His love for God is easily witnessed in his love for people.   My wife and I both noticed this when first getting to know Dennis and his family.   The way he interacted with his family and in turn the respect and kindness that his two sons extended to their two younger sisters spoke clearly that love was the foundation of their family.   I have had the privilege of watching that love flourish in his children, his faith community, and in all his interactions.

If you want to meet and hear from someone who follows Jesus, is a Biblical scholar, and is able to encourage others on their own path in following Jesus, I suggest you attend the worship service during Conference Assembly on Friday, November 11, 7pm at Penn View Christian School in Souderton (or streaming online at mosaicmennonites.org).   Please join me in beginning to pray for Dennis as he comes to share and for our hearts and minds to be open to what God has for us.   I am sure God will show up!

Franconia Conference and Eastern District Conference announce joint assembly

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By Emily Ralph, eralphservant@mosaicmennonites.org

Franconia Conference and Eastern District Conference of Mennonite Church USA will hold a joint conference assembly this November.

“We felt that this is an exciting opportunity resulting from a long standing conversation about what it means to work together for God’s purpose and ministry in our region from Georgia to Vermont,” says Ertell Whigham, Franconia Conference’s executive minister.

The annual gathering, which will be held November 11-12 at Penn View Christian School in Souderton, Pa., will be planned by a team consisting of members from both conferences.  Although some details are still in process, the event is already scheduled to include a joint worship service on Friday evening and then separate delegate sessions on Saturday.

The purpose of this joint event, says Eastern District executive minister Warren Tyson, is to strengthen the unity of the two conferences and continue to move forward in common work in this region.  Added benefits would include costs savings and increased value for Conference Related Ministries, who would only have to set up booths at one event instead of two.

This is not the first partnership between Franconia and Eastern District Conferences: they already share office space and staff and are in the process of hiring a joint conference-wide Youth Minister.  The conferences also share resources and training events, so the joint conference assembly is a logical next step.

“It feels natural and timely,” says Whigham.  “We are excited about the possibilities of what it will mean for our future together.”

Conference Assembly 2010 Reflections

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Franconia Conference Assembly 2010 kicked off with the music of James Crumbly of Tampa, FL, along with a multiethnic worship team and multilingual worship to help celebrate the life of the conference community. Featuring input from Mennonite Church USA Executive Director, Ervin Stutzman, the highlight of the first night included welcoming a new congregation–Greensburg (Pa) Worship Center–into membership of the conference and Mennonite Church USA.

Saturday’s sessions included conversation around key issues for the ongoing life of Franconia Conference together as well as an invitation to dream of a future together. Congregational leaders told stories of how the LEAD platform for congregational oversight continues to emerge and shape the life of conference churches. New leaders were recognized and introduced to the assembly as well, including persons credentialed for ministry in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Georgia. Executive Minister Noel Santiago led a process of introducing and blessing new Conference-Related Ministries’ leaders.

Moderators John Goshow and Mim Book invited those gathered to continue toward a healing journey and hopeful future for the conference in the midst of a difficult time. Melissa Landis was recognized for her ongoing work in shaping Conference Assembly over the four last years. Randy Nyce, finance committee chair, opened the floor for questions around conference funding and responded as he was able, admitting that not all questions would be answered but that further responses would be developed by the conference board finance committee and shared with delegates in coming days.

Assembly 2010 Photos

Assembly Highlight Video

 

Conference Assembly 2010 from Tim Moyer on Vimeo.

Greensburg Worship Center Profile Video

Greensburg Worship Center Profile from Tim Moyer Media on Vimeo.» Access online docket materials

Conference Assembly 2010 Children's Ministry

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As a service to Franconia Conference families, children’s activities (ages 3yrs – 8yrs) will be offered for delegates or those who would like to attend the Friday evening worship service (7 p.m. – 9 p.m.) and/or the Saturday delegate sessions.

Please bring a bag lunch on Saturday if your child will be attending all day. Registration is required—email office@mosaicmennonites.org with your name, number of children attending, and their ages. Space is limited!