Mosaic Mennonites

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Connecting across cultures: Encountering generosity of time and hospitality in Mexico City

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Brandon Kiser, Rockhill
brandonk1017@yahoo.com

vacation bible school classNote from Rockhill Youth Pastor, Angela Moyer: For a week in July, 22 youth and adults from Rockhill Mennonite Church headed to Mexico City, Mexico to serve with four CIEAMM (Mexico Mennonite Conference) churches. The group, split into four different teams, serving the following congregations: Seguidores de Cristo, Pueblo en Transformacion, El Buen Pastor, and Cuatro Vientos.

After months of fundraising, prayer, and preparation, departure day had finally arrived. It was in the early hours of July 14 that our group of 22 packed into vans and left for the airport at Newark, NJ. For the next few hours, we remained in our comfort zones, only anticipating what we would see and do. As soon as we landed though, the entire group walked into a different place; a place that would teach us life lessons and stretch our horizons forever. We arrived in Mexico City and God already had a test in store for us.

We had four groups, and a couple of the groups were informed that they would all be staying in separate host houses. This caught me off guard. All of my excitement from being in a new place turned into fear of leaving the rest of my group. However, as with most of the trials that we were faced with, this turned out to be an enjoyable and stretching challenge.

Another obvious challenge was the language barrier. Once again, God provided for our group in this area. We were gifted with leaders and youth group members who could speak enough Spanish to make communication fairly easy. My smaller group was also blessed with a young US American woman named Hannah serving with MCC who was living at the church we were working at. She was fluent in both Spanish and English, making communication with the church members much easier than anticipated.

Groups were assigned various tasks to accomplish during the week, ranging from painting to teaching Bible School. The kids were such a blessing to us; their smiling faces and constant laughs always brightened the day. The group that I was a part of also painted the stairway and the front of the church called Seguidores de Cristo. We were proud of the work that we accomplished during the week, but the most rewarding part of our week were the many friends we made.

Upon returning home, the group shared one Sunday morning in church. As we shared one common theme appeared: the relationships we made with the Mexican people. Their hospitality, patience, and generosity will not be forgotten. They put their schedules aside for one week in order to accommodate us and all of our needs. They never once showed frustration with us as we stumbled through their language and declined to have the extra spices put on our food.

One of the guys in our group, Evan, had his 16th birthday while we were there. His host family decided to wake him up by coming into his room with a birthday cake while singing “Happy Birthday.” This experience was special for him and left an impression on all of us.

I know that as I grow older many of my experiences in Mexico will become distant memories. The sites, sounds, and tastes will slowly fade away as my busy life continues in Pennsylvania. The one thing that I will always remember though, is the people, their kind hearts, warm smiles, and immeasurable generosity. They will always live in my heart and I pray that one day I can also welcome a traveler and bless them as my Mexican friends have blessed me.

Monica Haas to serve as part of fact-finding team in Colombia

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Monica Haas, a construction worker from Monroe, N.J. will be traveling to Colombia on Wednesday September 26th 2007 as part of a delegation sponsored by Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). She will meet with human rights workers and church leaders in Bogota, then spend several days in the oil-refining port city of Barrancabermeja where CPT’S long-term team is based. Haas is a member of Alpha (NJ) Mennonite Church.

The delegation will then travel to the surrounding river region where the lives of displaced people are threatened by legal and illegal armed groups. She will document the effects of the civil war in Colombia and join long-term CPT workers in accompanying vulnerable individuals.

The delegation–consisting of eight people from across the U.S. and Canada–hopes to gain a better understanding of the situation in Colombia and the effects of US and Canadian policy.

Haas will return on Tuesday October 9th 2007 ready to share what she has learned about the challenges facing the people of Colombia.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of the historic peace churches ( Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers) with support and membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations. CPT send teams of trained peacemakers to places of conflict around the world, with a presence in Colombia since February 2001 For more information about CPT contact the Chicago Office at 773-277-0253; email : peacemakers@cpt.org

Conference Assembly Scattered Meetings Begin in New Jersey

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Approximately 20 persons gathered on the east side of the Delaware River at Alpha (NJ) Mennonite Church on Thursday, September 13, for the first Conference Assembly Scattered meeting. Assembly Scattered meetings have been held for the last several years in preparation for the annual conference assembly to be held at Franconia Mennonite Church in Telford, Pa, on November 9-10.

The agenda for this year’s gatherings is centered around recommendations from the conference’s Vision and Finance Plan Team (VFP). The VFP was established following the Conference Assembly Scattered and Gathered meetings in 2005 and is a part of a broader listening process to help determine how best to use Franconia’s spiritual, human and financial resources.

The gathering at Alpha was opened with a reflection on John 17:1-26 before moving into a discussion on the document prepared by the VFP. The larger question being asked this year is how Franconia Mennonite Conference can align its resources with God’s movement in the world and among its churches, ministries and individuals. One of the smaller–albeit more difficult–questions focuses on what to do with the Indian Creek Road Farm, located near Harleysville, PA. The Conference has owned the farm since 1955. Other topics include credentialing and sustaining leaders, as well as credentialing and supporting church-related ministries and initiatives.

Franconia conference staff led participants through each section, and invited them to share any feedback they had about the recommendations, including questions, concerns or affirmations.

Future Assembly Scattered meetings will be held at Plains Mennonite Church, Hatfield, Pa. on Sept. 18; Perkiomenville (Pa.) Mennonite Church, on Sept. 20; Nueva Vida Norristown (Pa.) New Life, on Sept. 27; Rocky Ridge Mennonite Church, Quakertown, Pa. on Oct. 2; Perkins Restaurant, Bloomsburg, Pa. on Oct. 4, and Taftsville (Vt.) Chapel Mennonite Church, on Oct. 13 at 4:00 p.m. All meetings will be held at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted, and everyone is welcome to join, whether or not they are a conference delegate.

“It is important, essential, for Franconia Conference to meet on location,” said Steve Kriss, who is the Director of Communication and Leadership Cultivation for the Conference and has worked closely with the VFP process. “The best discernment happens when we meet face-to-face in our communities.”

MMA awards scholarships to Franconia Conference students

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Goshen, Ind. – MMA recently announced the recipients of the MMA College Scholarship, a program that encourages young people to explore the concept of biblical stewardship, while helping them to continue forward on their educational journey. To be considered for the awards, 135 students from across the country submitted essays on holistic stewardship and how it impacts them today.

Three of the recipients are members of Franconia Mennonite Conference churches. Stephanie Freed of Plains Mennonite Church in Hatfield, Pa., Sheldon Good of Salford Mennonite Church in Harleysville, Pa. and Amy Histand of Souderton (Pa) Mennonite Church. All received $500 scholarships for the 2007-2008 school year. Freed and Good are students at Goshen College, while Histand attends Eastern Mennonite University.

“Access to basic health care and cleaning up the environment for the future are challenges that are obvious for this group of students. They are taking responsibility to make sure these issues are healed for the next generations to come,” said Phyllis Mishler, administrator of the scholarship program. “They understand the problems and are actively striving to make a difference in their local communities and in the world.”

The recipients come from a range of denominations served by MMA and many are attending Anabaptist educational institutions. 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.

MCC names new Executive Director

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AKRON, Pa. — Arli Klassen has been chosen as the next executive director of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), taking leadership of the organization’s relief, development and peace-building work in more than 50 countries.

Klassen comes to the position after serving for the past eight years as the executive director of MCC Ontario. She will be the first woman to serve as the executive director of MCC in the organization’s 87- year history.

“I’m very excited for MCC with the hiring of Arli,” said Ron Dueck, MCC’s board chair. “Her work in Ontario has shown her to be an
excellent administrator, forging strong links with the churches and developing leadership in visioning and guiding MCC in its mission.”

Klassen’s appointment follows 16 years of service with MCC in Africa, the United States and Canada. She first served with MCC in Lesotho and was MCC’s country representative there from 1991 to 1994. She then worked in MCC’s Akron office as a connecting peoples resource person and an assistant director of Africa programs before becoming executive director of MCC Ontario.

Klassen and her husband Keith Regehr are members of Breslau Mennonite Church in Breslau, Ontario. They have two daughters who are both university students in Ontario.

Klassen earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Religious Studies from her studies at Mennonite Brethren Bible College and the University of Winnipeg.

As a candidate for executive director, Klassen emphasized the importance of MCC’s relationship to its constituency of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches.

“My vision for MCC is that we remain focused on our identity as a Mennonite/BIC ministry, while inviting others in to support and partner with us in whatever work the churches are asking us to do,” Klassen wrote in a letter to the search committee.

After accepting the executive director position, Klassen said, “MCC is a strong ministry facing new changes and challenges, and I am eagerly anticipating walking with the whole of MCC — all the churches locally and globally, partners, donors, volunteers and staff — in moving into the future.”

Dueck announced Klassen’s selection today to MCC staff members in the United States and Canada. She is expected to replace Bert Lobe, MCC’s
interim executive director, by next spring.

Goshen College student studying in Peru

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GOSHEN, Ind. — A Franconia Conference native is participating in the Goshen (Ind.) College Study-Service Term (SST) in Peru during this fall, along with 15 other students.

Katharine E. Derstine, daughter of John and Sheryl Derstine, is majoring in business. She is a 2005 graduate of Christopher Dock Mennonite High School and attends Blooming Glen Mennonite Church. The SST is being led by Duane Stoltzfus, associate professor of communication, and his wife, Karen Sherer Stoltzfus. The group will return at the end of November.

Web updates and photos from the group are available from Goshen College’s SST Web site at: www.goshen.edu/sst/perufall07. Stoltzfus is also keeping a blog about his observations at dstoltzfus.wordpress.com.

Located in South America along the Pacific Ocean, just south of the equator, Peru is a country of contrasts. It is home to the Andes Mountains, the Amazon rainforest, a desert blanketing the coast and a wealthy capital surrounded by shantytowns. Indigenous people make up 60 percent of the country’s population.

Students will spend the first six weeks studying Spanish and learning about Incan history, the 1980s civil war and the women’s movement in Peru. During the second half of their stay, students will spread out across the country to live with families and volunteer at service assignments.

Since SST began in 1968, more than 6,500 students and 230 faculty leaders have traveled to 20 countries; the college currently organizes SSTunits to study and serve in China, Germany, Cambodia, Senegal, Peru, Jamaica and Nicaragua. Goshen established an SST unit in Peru in 1995.

Photo by: Eric Kennel