Mosaic Mennonites

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Damascus Road Antiracism Training Returns to Philadelphia

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dr.jpgThe 9th annual Damascus Road Antiracism Analysis Training for the greater Philadelphia region returns to the Campolo School for Social Change, at 10th and Spring Garden Streets, Friday-Sunday, February 22-24.

The training is designed to equip participants with a biblical basis and an analytic framework for dismantling systemic racism in the church.

The School for Leadership Formation is a co-sponsor of the event, which is recommended for all conference, congregational, Conference Related Ministry & Partners In Ministry leaders; it is open to everyone interested in this work. Dismantling systemic racism is an integral part of Franconia Conference’s vision to be missional, intercultural, and transformational in every aspect of ministry.

The training schedule and online registration are available here.

Co-sponsors include the Blooming Glen Mennonite’s Damascus Road Antiracism Team, Nueva Vida Norristown New Life’s Stand Together Ministry Team, and Philadelphia Urban Ministry Partnership (PUMP).

The Damascus Road Process of Mennonite Central Committee US provides antiracism educating, organizing, and consulting through congregational and institutional antiracism teams throughout the United States. Additional training and spiritual retreats are available for new and current teams.

Vision Begins to Become Reality

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Leaders of seven Mennonite Church USA conferences gathered this month in Lancaster, PA, as they have done regularly over the last seven years. The meetings have fostered relationships between representatives of the Allegheny, Atlantic Coast, Eastern District, Franconia, Franklin, Lancaster, Virginia and New York conferences. The gatherings have also grown something else: a shared vision to reach the megalopolis that extends from Boston to Richmond with an Anabaptist witness for Christ.

Over the years, strategies have been suggested to work at this vision, but little has emerged in very concrete terms; this time something different happened. Because leaders from each conference had previously committed to keeping everyone informed of new initiatives that might cross the traditional geographic boundaries of conferences, leaders from Franconia requested agenda time to share new church initiatives that were emerging.

When tested with the broader group, Warren Tyson, Executive Conference Minister for Atlantic Coast and Conference Minister for Eastern District, proposed expanding the agenda to invite all conferences to report on church planting initiatives now taking place. Tyson asked the group to place dots on a map of the eastern United States which represented all initiatives less than three years old and to identify additional localities where conversations of “early discernment with clusters of residents or working with on-site leaders” were happening.

racl_2.jpg“I think it would motivate all of us to see what is already happening in numerous locations across our region,” said Tyson, and he was right. To the amazement of the participants, the dots accumulated as each conference shared its list. When everyone had finished, forty-seven dots, spanning from Maine to Georgia, covered the map. Conference leaders noted that many of these church plants are led by racial/ethnic Mennonites. They also openly acknowledge that these new church initiatives have emerged organically, without strategic planning, studies, or heavy financial investments, but clearly as the movement of God.

Gay Brunt Miller, Director of Collaborative Ministries
Franconia Mennonite Conference

Philadelphia Mennonites Meet With State Representative

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By J. Fred Kauffman jfk@mcc.org

Pennsylvania State Representative Rick Taylor recently invited five Mennonite leaders to his Horsham, Pa. office to talk about ways of reducing the amount of illegal handguns in Pennsylvania’s cities. Representative Taylor, who is an active member of Ambler (PA) Mennonite Church, was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006.

“Our meeting today is an opportunity for us as Anabaptist leaders in Philadelphia to continue moving forward to proclaim the ‘Shalom of the City’ in the marketplace,” said Pastor Leonard Dow of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, who led the delegation. “We understand Shalom [and] peace as a key component of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.”

Dow was joined by Lancaster Mennonite Conference Bishop Freeman Miller; Aldo Siahaan of Philadelphia Praise Center; Messiah College student Amanda Arbour, who is also member of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church; and Mennonite Central Committee Philadelphia Program Coordinator Fred Kauffman.

Taylor said he wanted the Mennonite witness to be “heard in Harrisburg as a part of the discussion on handgun legislation.”

“Speak from the heart,” he urged the group. “There is too much political posturing. We need to hear you address this issue from a clear perspective as followers of Christ.”

Representative Taylor has co-sponsored two bills to reduce illegal handgun trafficking: “One handgun a month” (HB 22) and “Lost and Stolen” (HB 29). The first bill would limit the purchase of handguns–not hunting guns or antique guns–to one per person per month and the second would require gun owners to report a lost or stolen weapon within 24 hours. Both bills would slow the flow of handguns from legal gun shops to illegal gun dealers, who are the source of most weapons used to commit a crime.

Taylor himself grew up in the Minneapolis area. He was raised by a single mother and struggled to stay out of poverty. Taylor became cynical about organized religion and stopped attending church, but in 2000 he moved to Ambler and happened to purchase the home of Ambler Mennonite’s previous pastor, Joe Haines. One of his neighbors was also a member of Ambler Mennonite, and through that friendship, Taylor rediscovered faith and joined the church.

“I did not get into politics because of my faith,” says Taylor. “I found faith through my commitment to work for justice in the public realm. My faith is a source of hope and energy to continue working for justice. As long as children go to bed hungry, as long as they do not have health care or good education, and as long as they live in violent neighborhoods—those are my priorities. I want my faith in Christ and my political role to both serve this end.”

At Taylor’s urging, Fred Kauffman participated in the “Speaker’s Symposium on Crime and Violence” which took place in Philadelphia the following day. The event, chaired by Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Dennis O’Brien, brought together twenty-five urban leaders who spoke about ways to reduce violence. Said Kauffman, “Much opposition to rational handgun legislation comes from white men who call themselves Christian. This is not a problem created in North Philly. My plea is that all who claim the name of Jesus recommit themselves to the peace and compassion that Jesus taught and modeled.”

House Bill 22

House Bill 29

Mennonite Leaders Meet in Colorado

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4a.jpgThe Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) of Mennonite Church USA Colorado Springs, Colo. The Constituency Leaders Council met in October. The Constituency Leaders Council is made up of denominational leaders whose task is to help discern with and advise the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA, the biennial convention and the broader church on issues related to the faith and life of the church.

The Constituency Leaders Council, which meets twice a year, is composed of three representatives from each of the 21 area conferences of Mennonite Church USA (including Franconia Conference); and two representatives from the recognized constituency groups (currently these include the
African American Mennonite Association, Iglesia Menonita Hispana, Native Mennonite Ministries, Mennonite Women and Mennonite Men). Ed Diller of Cinncinati, Ohio, is the denominational moderator-elect and chairs the group. Franconia Conference representatives who attended the meeting included Noel Santiago, Executive Minister; Blaine Detwiler, Moderator-Elect; and Gay Brunt Miller, Director of Collaborative Ministries. Miller is also currently serving as the vice chair of the Constituency Leaders Council.

4a.jpgParticipants at the meeting worshiped together and also discussed a number of issues. One area of concern was the gender and racial-ethnic composition of the group; Mennonite Church USA has called the church to recognize the gifts of all people within the church but women accounted for only 20 percent of the attendees at this meeting. The highest percentage of women attending a Constituency Leaders Council gathering was 38 percent in 2005, and most church-related agencies and organizations seek an equal ratio of men and women.

Another agenda item was the formation of a task group to work at issues of racism and recommend concrete actions that the Constituency Leaders Council can take. The Constituency Leaders Council wants to address the hurt and isolation experienced by many churches of color, as well as identify ways in which to help the broader church understand that experience and the role the church has played in it.

The Constituency Leaders Council discussed the Resolution on National Identity which was adopted by delegates at San Jose 2007 this past summerand called for a response from the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board. Delegates at San Jose expressed a desire for guidance as they consider consider both the promise and peril of living faithfully as Christians in the United States. They asked the Executive Board to help congregations explore what it means to live as Mennonites in the wealthiest most powerful nation in the world. The Executive Board requested input from the Constituency Leaders Council which recommended, among other things, that the Mennonite Church in the United States listen to the counsel of Mennonites around the world as it undertakes this issue.

Delegates at San Jose also asked the Executive Board to develop and implement a plan for congregations in Mennonite Church USA to participate in providing basic health insurance for all pastors. The Constituency Leaders Council discussed next steps to be taken in this process.

The Constituency Leaders Council also took time to discuss conference structuring, examining how conferences and churches relate to each other and to Mennonite Church USA.

The next meeting of the Constituency Leaders Council will be held at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center, Mt. Pleasant, Pa. in the spring of 2008.

For more information please see the CLC Meeting Highlights.

Franconia Conference leaders gather at annual assembly

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by Lora Steiner

dinner.jpgWhen lunch was served to the delegates of the oldest Mennonite conference in the Western Hemisphere, the buffet table held Vietnamese egg rolls, fried tofu, peanut sauce, candied yams and fried chicken. Interpreters translated business agenda and updates into three languages. At the Franconia Mennonite Meetinghouse close to Telford, PA, where Franconia Conference began nearly 300 years ago, attendees sang hymns in Spanish and offered prayers in Indonesian.

Representatives from churches and pastors gather each November with conference staff to worship, welcome new pastors and congregations, discern future movements for the conference and learn about the ministries they support together. But for some, the event is also a reminder of how rapidly the face of the Northeast corridor–and Franconia Mennonite Conference with it–is changing. The churches of Franconia Conference range from Vermont to Washington, D.C.; including congregations initiated by waves of Swiss German immigrants who settled along the Skippack and Perkiomen creeks in the late 1600’s to two Indonesian-speaking churches in South Philadelphia filled with recent immigrants who arrived in the United States after riots in Jakarta in the late 90’s.

gilbero.jpgThe gathering opened on Friday evening with worship. Gilberto Flores, who is a denominational minister with Mennonite Church USA, presented the evening message. Speaking on the theme for the event, “Centered in Christ, Embracing God’s Mission,” Gilberto encouraged the audience to consider the mission to which God has called the church, a mission that includes all people from all places.

“Mission has to be embraced, not discussed,” said Flores. “To walk on water, you just have to walk on water.”

The evening service included a time to officially welcome two new congregations, Nations Worship Center of Philadelphia and Peace Mennonite Church of East Greenville, PA, while newly credentialed pastors were introduced on Saturday morning. Items on Saturday’s agenda also included to in-depth discussion and affirmation of Vision and Financial Plan Team recommendations. Blaine Detwiler, pastor of Lakeview Mennonite Church in Susquehanna, PA, was affirmed by vote as the new conference moderator; he will replace Merrill Moyer of Souderton, PA. in January.

While those who gathered for the assembly recognized that with increasing diversity comes increasing challenges, they also found it to be a hopeful thing.

“There are a number of challenges, living in a traditional kind of church community which has long deep values,” says Noah Kolb, Conference Pastor of Ministerial Leadership “And trying to value them while we open ourselves up to new ways of experiencing God’s grace and God’s mission among us–there’s tension in that.” Kolb highlights that church leaders now come from many different places–not just from other Mennonite churches or institutions, but often from different cultures and countries.

“I think a lot of the hope that I find comes just from relating to these people and seeing God at work within them, and the desire to work together because there’s some common mission that we’re all wanting to move towards.”

Marta Castillo, an associate pastor at Nueva Vida Norristown (PA) New Life Mennonite Church, shares that hope.

prayer.jpg“I see hope, as a new leader, in Franconia Conference, in our church, in the way God is working,” says Castillo. “God is the hope for me, because the things I expect will happen don’t always happen, but all these unexpected things I didn’t know God was already working on beginning to happen. There’s so much hope in the fact that God is bringing more and more people in the Conference that are not like us. In the Bible it talks a lot about ‘the others,’ the unexpected people that God used in miraculous and wonderful ways . . . Sometimes it is ‘the others’ that God needs in this place and in this time.”

“It’s all about trust in God,” says Yvonne Platts, who serves on the Conference board. “It’s all about listening, discerning and really trying to hear what messages God is saying for our church–and understanding that it’s not about us. Anything new can be uncomfortable. Unfamiliar territory can make us afraid. But if we just trust and lean on Jesus, he will guide us.”

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view highlights video

view Vision and Financial Plan Document

Jeffrey Godshall named MMA Trust Representative

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mma.jpg Telford, Pa. — Jeffrey Godshall has recently been named trust representative by MMA. Working in the Telford, PA, office he is now serving individuals and institutions throughout eastern Pennsylvania with trust and investment services. Before joining MMA, Godshall worked as controller for Richard B. Souder Masonry, Inc., Telford, Pa., for nine years.

He graduated Suma Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a pre-MBA minor from Philadelphia University. Godshall received the Sara Tyler Wister Award for excellence in scholarship. Living in Harleysville, Godshall and his wife Donna attend Franconia Mennonite Church. He serves on the board of directors of Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania as treasurer and is past secretary of Mennonite Disaster Service of Southeastern Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

About MMA
MMA helps people manage resources in ways that honor God through its professional expertise in insurance and financial services. Rooted in the Anabaptist faith tradition, MMA offers practical stewardship education and tools to individuals, congregations, and organizations. To learn more, visit www.MMA-online.org or call (800) 348-7468.

Mexico City Mennonite leader denied visa for Conference Assembly

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Marathana Prothro with Lora Steiner

This weekend, representatives from the congregations, partners and ministries that make up Franconia Mennonite Conference will gather for the 2007 Fall Conference Assembly, but the president of the Mexico Mennonite Conference will not be among them. Ofelia García’s application for a visa to travel to the United States was denied last month.

García, who lives in Mexico City, had planned on traveling to the United States to participate in a gathering for women of color called “Encountering the Face of God,” which was held at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary of Elkhart, Ind. in October. After the conference, García was to travel to Pennsylvania for more meetings and the Franconia annual assembly.

García said she was frustrated because the consulate asked for information it had never needed before and did not read the invitation letter she had been given by Mennonite Central Committee, which helped to organize the conference. And García said that while she’s grateful for the concern of her brothers and sisters in the United States, her experience is a common problem for Mexicans. She says it’s infuriating to see the way in which families, women and the elderly are treated at the U.S. embassy. The visa request of Sidonie Swana Falanga of Kinshasa, Congo was also denied.

In response to the denied visas, Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership, MCC U.S. and others have been writing letters of protest to the State Department expressing concern over the situation. Iris de León-Hartshorn, director of Intercultural Relations for Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership, says the letters also will help Garcia and Falanga feel the support of their sisters and brothers in the United States.

The U.S. State Department cited a lack of assets as a key reason for denying the visas, says de León-Hartshorn. “Apparently,” she said “the government does not see their work, churches, communities and families as assets” that would bring them back to their home countries.

Franconia Conference has long-term partnerships with the congregations in Mexico City. This is not the first time that visa complications have made visits difficult. According to Steve Kriss who serves as the Conference’s primary liaison with the Mexico City congregations, “We lament that Ofelia is unable to join us this year as a representation of our relationships with the congregations in Mexico City and even more lament the ongoing situation and fear-based policies that prohibit the free movement of global church leaders into our midst.”