Franconia Mennonite Conference Partner in Mission, Grace Assembly Network, felt the personal impact of Hurricane Dean last week. Pastor Lesly Bertrand, church planter and president of Grace Assembly, wrote this week about the hurricane and the opportunity to partner with him in emerging ministry opportunities:Last Sunday evening Hurricane Dean crossed between Haiti and Jamaica, hitting the southern end of our island. According to the Haitian Government report, roughly 10 people died, 450 houses were destroyed, and 3,000 people are homeless. Among those victims are some members of our churches. One of our pastor’s reports that houses around him were destroyed and he lost his entire garden. Some families are currently living in the church building because they lost their houses. It is very possible that famine will result in the coming weeks.Grace Assembly Network consists of 24 congregations, three church plants, seven schools, and 30 pastors. Evangelism and equipping leaders are two central values for this growing and vibrant network of churches. Ministry is challenging in a country hampered by extreme poverty and political instability. Franconia Conference has partnered with Grace Assembly Network over the last several years in leadership development as the congregations have faced threats and addressed possibilities for ministry and hope. Grace Assembly also partners with the Hopewell Network of Churches and is connecting with Mennonite World Conference.
News
Franconia Conference partner Grace Assembly Network impacted by Hurricane Dean in Haiti
Youth Venture Team to share on September 23
The Mennonite Mission Network and Franconia Conference Nazareth Village Youth Venture Team will be sharing on Sunday, September 23rd at Franconia Mennonite Church at 9am and at Rockhill Mennonite Church at 7pm about their recent trip to Israel and Palestine.
Join them as they share what they have learned and stories of people in the region.
A time for questions, conversation and refreshments will be available after the sharing time at Rockhill Mennonite Church.
Journals:
July 24 – Arrival
July 25 – Jesus Grew Up Normal
July 26 – Don’t Worry Be Happy
July 27 – Learning Life Lessons
July 28 – Walking Where He Walked…
July 29 – By the Beautiful Sea
July 30 – Returning to Dreams in the Middle East
July 31 – Jesus Was Ripped
August 1 – Please Read My Post!
August 2 – I didn’t want to deal with stitches
August 3 – Does it really matter?
August 5 – Jurassic Park?
August 6 – Monday Monday
August 8 – Friends make saying goodbye so difficult
Perkiomenville congregation moves to new Christian Life Center
Perkiomenville, PA (August 2007) – The Perkiomenville Mennonite Church celebrated the grand opening of their new church and Christian Life Center on Sunday, August 5, 2007. The new facility is located on Route 29 in Perkiomenville, PA.
Nearly 200 people packed the old church located on Deep Creek Road for a time of praise and thanksgiving. Pastor Charles Ness rehearsed the history of the church, which was founded in 1935, noting how the ministry of the church expanded with each generation until the need for a larger facility became paramount.
The congregation then processed up Deep Creek Road and Route 29 from the old location to the new building. Pastor Ness and Associate Pastor Dennis Detweiler carried a banner proclaiming the theme for the new church: “Advancing God’s Vision.†Other members of the church carried symbols of the ministry and life of the church, including the cedar cross, a pewter pitcher and basin, a music stand, the podium, etc. The congregation then had an opening ceremony and a time of worship in the new facility.
The Christian Life Center has been designed to serve as more than a place for worship on Sunday morning. The goal is for the building to become a vital place in the heart of the Upper Perkiomen Area. The Cedar Grove preschool and daycare center will open in late 2007 or early 2008, and there are long-range plans for youth recreational facilities and events, counseling services, and ministries to those in financial need.
Pastor Ness states the vision of the church clearly, “As the church, our goal is to be part of the community – impacting people at their point of need, helping them heal from the wounds life has inflicted, and giving them a place to grow in the love of God.â€
Media Contact: Charles NessPerkmc@verizon.net
The Perkiomenville Mennonite Church
Tel: 215-234-4011
Bulletin Announcements
As of August 10, MCC Material Resource Center, Harleysville, PA, has shipped 1,500 school kits to Ephrata. Thank you for your cooperation. Many more school kits are still needed. Jordan’s order has not been completed and other countries are awaiting their turn to receive. Can we stretch a little more? Discounts for school supplies are often good until the end of August. For more information, call
215-513-9561.
FALL SENIORS RETREAT is happening September 10-12, at Spruce Lake Retreat. Wholesome fellowship, genuine fun, and spiritual refreshment can be yours for coming! Retreat speaker Larry Moyer, pastor of Rockhill Mennonite Church, will bring heartfelt insights into God’s message for our time. The retreat package is $153.80/person, starting with dinner Monday evening and closing with lunch Wednesday. To make your reservations, please call 800-822-7505.
Only 21 days left! REGISTER TODAY for Deep Run Mennonite Church East’s Strides for Mission 5k Race/Family Mission Walk on Saturday, September 8. A fun time for the whole family, the event consists of a 5k Race for runners, as well as a shorter distance option for walkers and young children. All proceeds from the 5k Race will directly support MAMA Project, Inc. A MAMA Resources Drive will be held the day of the 5k Race as well. Volunteers will collect materials to send directly to MAMA Project, Inc. Some of the essential materials being collected the day of the race include: children and adult vitamins, Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen, children’s shoes (new/very good condition), and baby kits (cloth diapers, shirts, washcloths, etc.) For more information on the MAMA Resources Drive or to REGISTER for the 5k Race, visit www.deepruneast.org/5k or email stridesformission@deepruneast.org.
“What is Missional Anyway?†is the theme for the North American Young Adult Fellowship Retreat which will be held September 28 – 30, at Drift Creek Camp, Lincoln City, Oregon. This retreat for young adults (ages 18-30) will help provide tools for thriving in a diverse society so that each person feels welcomed into the Christian community of faith. For more information, call or email Scott Harman at
574-523-3049 or scotth@mennoniteusa.org.
Doylestown Mennonite Church seeks an energetic person with a passion for youth to provide leadership for the spiritual nurture of junior and senior high youth. This person will seek to expand the existing program and equip/develop both current and new leaders. The goal is to have the youth program participate in the overall vision for the church to be missional and reach into the community. This is a part-time position. For more information, contact the church office at 215-345-6377 or randy.heacock@doylestownmc.org by September 20.
A nickel and a healthy diet can change the world
Sheldon Good
scgood@mosaicmennonites.org
For just a nickel, you can free a child of intestinal worms for six months.
For years, Franconia Mennonite Conference has sponsored an initiative named the Worm Project, which “strives to relieve the suffering of millions of children.” The program’s main goal is to distribute worm pills around the world.
For Worm Project coordinator Claude Good, the underlying issue is the way the world’s resources are distributed. “The number of malnourished, overfed people in the world recently equaled the number of malnourished, underfed people at 1.1 billion people.”
According to Good, the combination of a warm climate and significant amounts of impoverished persons creates a breeding ground for worms. “Studies in Ecuador have shown that in the mountain areas about 80% of the children are affected,” Good said. “In Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, the infection rate is above 99%.”
The parasitic worms enter the body in various ways – through the feet, mouth, or childbirth.
Fortunately, there is a drug – Albendazole – that can help to clear these infestations. If taken every six months, the pill will cause the infectious worms to be passed in a person’s stool or vomit, or through one’s mouth.
Good said the worms tend to eat away the host’s food that is most nourishing, especially the food with vitamins — food that is essential to a person’s diet. “That leaves their bodies depleted of those essential nutrients and their recovery is slowed down as a result.”
Good encourages people to eat foods similar to those who live in areas where disease is widespread. “It is our responsibility to eat in a way that is simple yet healthy, and avoids the harmful aspects of the typical American diet, which leads to diseases of affluence. We should also use foods that are less costly, giving the opportunity to contribute one’s savings to programs that feed the world’s hungry.”
Recipes for responsible eating are available on the Worm Project website, which has recently been released at www.wormproject.org. There is also a link to donate online to the Worm Project, along with instructions on how to donate by writing a personal check.
A story with connections to the Worm Project is now scheduled to premiere on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Thursday, September 13. AC360 airs from 10p-12a EST. The story is scheduled to air all day Tuesday, September 18 and all day Saturday, September 22 on CNN and Headline News. Once it premieres on AC360, it will also be viewable on the CNN Heroes website www.cnn.com/heroes under “Medical Marvel” for the most updated programming information.
Photos provided by the Worm Project. The two photos of a woman and her child portray “before and after” using worm pills.
Friends Make Saying Goodbye So Difficult….
Today was a high emotional day for me. I have been running on adrenaline for the last couple of days. Going to bed at Midnight and waking up with the call to prayer some time between 5 and 5:30 Am has really caught up with me. The culture and lifestyle here is so different than I’ve been use to. People stop you in the middle of the street and take you into their stores to drink tea and coffee. Everyone is extremely friendly and nice. This morning, Maoz took us on a tour of Old City Nazareth. We visited a few churches as well as walked through the market place. At one of the churches we visited, the English translation on the sign said that this is the church where Jesus ate a stone. Needless to say we all started laughing. As we exited and more people read the sign, one of the other people on the tour asked me, “Is that in the Bible.” I smiled and said no, that story is not in the bible. Looking back, it really makes you wonder what else is out there and what people are being taught.
After the tour, we went to Nazareth Village to volunteer in the afternoon. By this point we were all exhausted, and really had no desire to do a lot of hard work, today. (The weekend was a blast, but very tireing.) Â Which kinda worked to our benefit. The girls and Dave sewed for a while, until Evon came in and told us it was good but wrong. Khallas!!!!!!!!!!(finished in arabic). We were done at that point.
Then we were all called into the conference room, where Bethany and our group were thanked for all the hard work that we had done. After that we went back to Janelle’s and cooked Bethany her last meal in Israel for a while. “Maklubee” (which means Upside down). It was so good. (Rosemary thanks for the recipe.)Â
As we left Janelle’s and said good-bye to Bethany, I realized that tomorrow we would be leaving at 1:30 friday morning. As I realized this I felt the tears welling. I really do not want to leave this place or this culture. There is something refreshing about the hospitality that is displayed here in Israel and Palestine. Whether it was meeting people at our hostel like our friend Erik from Switzerland, or going to our host families in Bethlehem and having them treat us as family from the second we walked in, it all affected my life.
In the end I know that I will be back to this part of the world someday. Whether it is for another short term trip, a summer trip, or more substantial period of time. I have truly been blessed by the culture, by the sites, and by the people we have met along the way. God is truly amazing.
As this trip comes to a close, I am grateful for the new friends I have made. These friendships are across the united states and across the world. I am grateful for the challenges that God has given me, so that I could grow personally and spiritually. This trip has been packed with many challenging experiences, and I think that it will be weeks and maybe even months before I know exactly how this trip has fully changed my life. So as we prepare to leave, and say Goodbye to the friends we have met and will be leaving behind, I know it’s not forever, it’s only for a while.
Ashley Moyer
monday monday
Today was a long day. It began with saying goodbye to our host families. Staying with them was such a blessing. I was more effected by the situation in Palestine from our conversations with them, than I ever could have imagined. So saying goodbye was bittersweet. We had an amazing breakfast followed by a cup of coffee on the back porch before we headed out. (Ben had two cups…)
After meeting together with the group, we shopped around Bethlehem for about an hour. Ben and I found a wine store run by two 8 year olds, LOTS of souvenir shops, desperate shopkeepers, the market… and in the market, a vendor stopped us and invited us in to his shop for a quick cup of coffee. We accepted, knowing full well that this was my 2nd, and Ben’s 3rd cup (more like shot) of coffee in an hour. A “cup of coffee” here is what Americans consider to be an espresso shot. The vendor, Bags, didn’t want us to pay for the coffee, just to hear a bit of our story, and perhaps to bring us to purchase something else. Either way, it was a nice gesture.
After our shopping spree, Aiman took us as far as he could along the wall to the checkpoint where we passed through with great ease. There were many other people there with us, Palestinians I assumed. Where we simply had to show our passports through the glass as we passed through, these other people had to have special permits, their passports, and give their finger prints in order to pass through. I can’t get over how much privilege and responsibility we, as Americans, have in traveling to this area of the world. I can’t let that go to waste…
A quick shopping spree in Jerusalem, filled with walking and haggling for a full hour led into my first, and probably last, visit to the Dome of the Rock. Standing up there looking at this HUGE mosque inside walls and very secured entrace ways made me think of a big club house. There were a lot of Muslims and tourists, a lots of kids running around playing soccer outside of the mosque. I liked them. It’s neat that on this such highly religious and fought-over piece of land, children still run around and play wherever they like. They don’t have a care about it.
Then we went to the Holocaust museum. The complete opposite of what we had encountered in Palestine. It still disturbs me to see those images, but it’s even harder after spending time in a Palestinian community that has been literally walled-in in order to keep them under Israeli control. Makes me think where this situation is heading…
The group got one last 6 shekel falafel and we caught the taxi home. Finally back in good ol’ Fauzi Azar, we talk about our experience for a few hours and also about what we can do with our knowledge. I think we all are completely confused about the situation still, but we know we must share these stories. We must.
I’m a little worn out from being exposed to so much in one weekend. But there’s still hope.
Karah D