Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

News

Welcome Center at Care and Share

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The ribbon-cutting ceremony at The Care and Share Thrift Shoppes in Souderton, PA in July to celebrate their new Welcome Center. Photo provided by Care and Share.

The Care & Share Thrift Shoppes, a Mosaic Conference Related Ministry (CRM), recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially launch their Welcome Center.  Located in the middle of the Souderton (PA) Shopping Center, the new location is easily accessed by potential volunteers. In attendance at the open house was The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Montgomery County, Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, and the Mayor of Souderton, PA, Dan Yocum.

In addition, the Care & Share’s Variety Shoppe recently expanded by over 2,000 sq. feet.  It now has a larger selection of toys, housewares, holiday items, linens, and an expanded Auction Department.  The auctions can be viewed by downloading the Care & Share Auction App.  

Since 1975, Care & Share Thrift Shoppes has been a volunteer-driven organization, serving the local community. The five individual shoppes located in one shopping center are centrally located. Local shoppers benefit from the availability of low-cost, high-quality items. Donors contribute to the recycling and conservation efforts that affect the broader community in positive ways. Volunteers become part of a special community that embraces service above self.  The funds raised for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) provide resources and aid for those in need, in North America and around the world.   

Care & Share welcomes individuals and groups to join our volunteer team!  Contact Maggie Herrity, mherrity@careandshareshoppes.org or 215-723-0315.

A Mosaic Reflection on the Siege of the Capitol Building

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As people who seek to be formed into the image of Jesus, we acknowledge that we have often idolized our nation, our government, and even democracy itself.  Our cries of “How could this happen here?” make clear our tendencies to consider ourselves better than others, which does not reflect the mind of Christ.

For the sin of American exceptionalism, we repent.  We stand in solidarity with sisters and brothers around the world who live with political upheaval and violence every day.

As people committed to mutual transformation through intercultural relationships, we acknowledge the racism that fueled yesterday’s rally and siege of the Capitol.  We grieve the continued power that white racial narratives hold over us as a nation and, particularly, as followers of Jesus.

For the sin of white supremacy, we repent.  We recommit to pursuing biblical justice and right relatedness in our lives, communities, and country so that all people may experience God’s abundant life.

As people called to join Jesus in healing what has been broken in our relationships, neighborhoods, and the world, we acknowledge that too many of us find our identity in our national citizenship or political party. At the same time, others of us are quick to look the other way in the face of evil in order to maintain a superficial peace that harms rather than heals.

For the sin of complicity, we repent. We accept our identity as the Body of Jesus–the way, the truth, and the life—as we join God’s work of making all things new.

What Does it Take to Prepare for a Virtual Assembly?

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by Brooke Martin, Conference Assembly Coordinator

Phone calls, emails, Zoom meetings, processing, testing, writing, texting, researching, discussing, and more is happening in preparation for Mosaic Conference Assembly weekend on November 7-8, 2020. With virtual Zoom delegate sessions on Saturday the 7th and live-stream, conference-wide worship on Sunday, November 8, there is much to do.   

The conference board is preparing for the delegate gathering to take place in the space of a few hours through Zoom on Saturday, November 7,  instead of through the traditional in-person sessions for an entire day. 

Our Sunday worship planning includes both live and pre-recorded multilingual elements. César García, president of Mennonite World Conference, will bring the morning message. Sunday’s worship will offer a glimpse of the depth and breadth of the Mosaic Mennonite Community, who worships and lives for Jesus. 

The communications team is carrying a much heavier load this year with a lot of coordination and detailed planning around Saturday’s large group Zoom sessions.  Simultaneous interpretation is needed and being prepared for in Vietnamese, Cantonese, Indonesian, Haitian Creole, and Spanish. 

How can you prepare and help?  

  • Read and watch for weekly updates about the assembly in Mosaic News.
  • Write the assembly weekend dates (November 7-8) on your calendar now. 
  • Delegates, please read your emails. 
  • Encourage your congregation to join in the conference-wide worship on Sunday, November 8 at 11am (EST)/8am (PST).    
  • Contribute to Sunday’s worship by sending in a recording of you (or someone in your congregation) reading the Lord’s Prayer in the language of your choice (click here for more information).
  • Pray for all 2020 delegates, the Mosaic Conference Board,the conference-wide worship service on November 8, and for the assembly planning team as preparations continue. 

I am so thankful for the Mosaic Conference Assembly Team of staff and volunteers who are giving their time and energy into preparing for this time together. Thank you Cindy Angela, Tami Good, Kristine McClain, Emily Ralph Servant, Hendy Stevan Matahelemual, and Scott Roth for your prayers, energy, and time.

The theme for the fall assembly, “On earth as it is in heaven,”  is based on the Lord’s Prayer. As we prepare for our virtual gathering,  let us pray (Matthew 6: 9b-13, ESV):

“Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
   on earth as it is in heaven.

 Give us this day our daily bread.
 And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.” 

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. 

Amen.

Sisters from Vincent Congregation Receive Scholarships

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Alyssa (l.) and Megan (r.) Breidigan of Vincent Mennonite Church are Everence College Scholarship recipients for 2020-2021. They will be a sophomore and senior, respectively, at Eastern Mennonite University this fall.

Megan and Alyssa Breidigan of Vincent Mennonite Church (Spring City, PA) have received Everence Financial® scholarships of $1,000 each to pursue degrees at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA. “I believe this is the first time we have had sisters that have been chosen as our Souderton office’s college scholarship recipients,” reported Leah Ludwig of Everence.

The sisters were among 45 recipients of Everence college scholarships for the 2020-2021 academic year. The scholarship program encourages young people to explore the integration of faith and finances while helping them on their educational journeys.

About 210 students from across the country applied for scholarships for 2020-2021. Recipients were chosen based on participation and leadership in school-related activities and community activities, along with responses to an essay question.

“Everence recognizes these students for their academic achievements, as well as their service to their communities,” said Kenda Mishler, Member Benefits Manager. “A college degree provides a wider range of career options but attending college also can help students learn valuable skills that benefit them throughout their lives.”One student received a $3,000 scholarship, two received $2,000 scholarships and 42 others received $1,000 scholarships for the upcoming school year. For a complete list of scholarship recipients and their photos, visit everence.com.

Pentecost Worship 2020

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The service will be available beginning at 10:55am Eastern, 7:55am Pacific on May 31, 2020. Please refresh your screen if you can’t see the feed.

Interpretation:

    • Creole: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85341443179 OR +16465588656,,85341443179#
    • Chinese: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85699296947 OR +19292056099,,3027581930#
    • Vietnamese: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89692315167 OR +16465588656,,89692315167#
    • Spanish:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3025033364  OR +19292056099,,3025033364#
    • Indonesian: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6057262403?pwd=WFIyU3phZVpnYU1HQTJNd1U3TkpSZz09 OR +1312626679 (Meeting ID: 605 726 2403; Password: 139233)

Give to the Shalom Fund!




Virtual Choir (Pentecost 2020)

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For our Virtual Conference-Wide Pentecost Worship Service on May 31st, all are warmly invited to add their voices to a special virtual choir! Kristine McClain will be collecting and combining video recordings from anyone who would like to contribute to the singing “Spirit of God” by the Walking Roots Band. Though we may be physically distant from one another, this video will allow us to hear our voices joined together. NOTE: SUBMISSIONS CLOSED

Using your smartphone, a camera, or your computer, we invite you to film yourself (individually, or with those with whom you are in quarantine) singing along to a recording of “Spirit of God”.

Here are a few tips for the filming/recording process:

  1. If you have headphones, you are encouraged to use them! You may get the best results listening to the video through your headphones while you sing (or if you prefer, one ear on, one ear off works well, too, so you can more easily hear yourself). This will help keep the music track from bleeding into your recording, for when we go to edit all our voices together. But headphones are not a requirement! Just do your best to make sure your voice comes through louder than the sound of the accompaniment track.
  2. If you have a separate microphone that you can record with, that’s great! If not, the built-in microphone of whatever device you are using to film will work just fine.
  3. If using your smartphone, try turning the phone horizontally to film; the result may be easier to use that way.
  4. Take a moment to make sure your shot looks the way you want it to before recording. Think about framing yourself so you’re neither too close nor too far away (the YouTube video is a good approximate reference). Find somewhere that is well-lit (either naturally or artificially); light sources should ideally be in front of you (facing you), not behind you.
  5. It may take a few tries to feel comfortable singing along with the track. We would like to have this song sung in as many languages as possible. The recording is done in English with a break for humming or singing in a different language. Please record yourself singing in another language other than English during the humming part or, if you don’t know another language, you can hum. Also…PLEASE ADD HARMONIES! 😊
  6. After you have recorded, go back and listen to yourself, just to make sure everything is coming through loud and clear, without any unexpected background noises.

Once You are Done Recording:

When you have finished recording, file share your recording with Kristine McClain at office@mosaicmennonites.org. Please DO NOT email the recording as it will be too large to send.

We recommend using a free file transfer service, such as Dropbox, Google Drive or WeTransfer. (To use WeTransfer, simply go to WeTransfer.com, follow the instructions, add your video file, and be sure to put office@mosaicmennonites.org where it says “Email to.”)

Any questions or concerns may be directed to Tami Good (tami@justswamp.com) or Kristine McClain (office@mosaicmennonites.org ). Thank you for considering lending your voice to our worship in this way!

Here is the sheet music for “Spirit of God,” which includes written harmonies.  Feel free to sing these or add your own harmonies!

If you can’t read music, here are the lyrics in English:

Spirit of God, grow in us
That we may learn to love like Jesus.
Spirit of God, go with us
That we may share the love that frees us.

Practice singing along to the accompaniment video, below, or on Youtube.

Do you want to sing in Indonesian?

Watch the Indonesian version of the song below (or on Youtube) to learn the words and then record yourself using the accompaniment video above.

Roh Tuhan (Spirit of God)

Roh Tuhan tumbuh di dalamku
Biarku mencintai seperti Yesus
Roh Tuhan bersertaku
Biarku berbagi kasih yang membebaskan

Do you want to sing in Spanish?

Listen to this audio recording to learn the words and then sing along with the accompaniment version above.

Espíritu de Dios

Espíritu de Dios, crece en nosotros
Para amar como Cristo
Espíritu de Dios, ven con nosotros
Para compartir tus palabras

Do you want to sing in Mandarin?

Listen to this audio recording to learn the words and sing along with the accompaniment video above.

Do you want to sing in another language?

Feel free to translate Spirit of God into the language of your choice and record it using the accompaniment video above.  Let us know what language you’re singing in!

Be a Part of History!

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by Joel D. Alderfer, Mennonite Heritage Center, Collections Manager

At the Mennonite Heritage Center, we want to collect and preserve stories from this time of health crisis in which we find ourselves.

We’re inviting persons from our Mennonite communities to help with this by responding to our Coronavirus Crisis Survey at mhep.org/coronavirus-crisis-survey.  No need to answer all questions.  Just type your responses and click “submit” at the end.  From the responses received, we will create a digital archival collection at the Mennonite Heritage Center, which will be available to future researchers.

Melky Tirtasaputra, Associate Pastor at Nations Worship Center (Philadelphia, PA), and his wife, Alvina Krisnadi, transport eggs, rice, and potatoes to Whitehall Mennonite Church (Whitehall, PA) via motorcycle and trailer to help those who are without work and food during the pandemic. (Photo Credit: Melky Tirtasaputra)

We also invite congregations and ministries to share a few good photos (no more than five) that document life during COVID-19 – showing congregational and community life, in all its new, creative, and restricted forms! If you submit photos, please briefly describe them, and email (preferably as jpgs) to: alderferjoel@mhep.org.

Thank you for considering this invitation!  We encourage you to include the following brief paragraph about this survey to include in your church’s newsletter or online bulletin:

Mennonite Heritage Center is inviting persons from our Mennonite communities to help preserve stories of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. All persons are invited to participate. Please respond by taking the Coronavirus Crisis Survey at: https://mhep.org/coronavirus-crisis-survey/.  No need to answer all questions.  Just type your responses and click “submit” at the end.  From the responses received, they will create a digital archival collection at the Mennonite Heritage Center, which will be available to future researchers. 

A Note from Conrad Martin, Director of Finance

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Many of us feel incredibly helpless as we watch the news. We want to help. We want to find medical supplies for the health workers who are caring for patients. We know of so many who are unemployed or struggling financially due to COVID-19. There are so many requests these days for financial assistance as charities across the nation face a decline in giving. Where to begin? Should we start with those with which we have a personal connection?  Some of the charities in need are just down the street; our congregations have a personal connection with many of these and have even already supported them financially.

One thing that has become very evident over the past two weeks is that our churches are more than bricks and mortar.  Our churches are people; they are us. As I read and watch what local congregations are doing during this “crisis”, it is apparent that the church staff are putting in overtime to serve isolated congregations. In many churches, staffing is the largest percentage of a church’s budget. Given that staff are working extra hard during this pandemic, we as an isolated community should put in a little extra effort to support our congregations financially, even if we aren’t meeting in a building. Not only will our church staff be supported financially, but the broader ministry of the church will be enabled to continue as many others need the church now, more than ever.