Mosaic Mennonites
Missional - Intercultural - Formational
Psalm 139:23-24 is a cry for God to search our hearts and “see if there is any offensive way…” in us. Yet, how often, do we make that our prayer? Esther Good from Whitehall Mennonite Church recently reflected on that scripture and her conclusion might surprise some.
Read more about it here: https://themennonite.org/feature/an-offensive-way-in-me/
By Maria Hosler Byler, Associate Pastor for Youth and Family Faith Formation at Salford Mennonite
“The extent to which we are surprised by the results of the election demonstrates the poverty of our relationships. The extent to which we don’t understand the need for immigration reform demonstrates the poverty of our relationships.” As I listened to Dr. Christena Cleveland at Eastern Mennonite Seminary’s School for Leadership Training (SLT), I was struck yet again by a consistent theme: we need each other, in all our differences, to glimpse the power of God and join in the work of God in the world.
One of the things I love about SLT is that it turns people of authority into students for a few days. The ones I’m used to seeing up front at conference and denominational events are sitting and listening, taking notes and asking questions. At SLT, we participants — the majority of us white church leaders with a significant amount of agency in our daily lives — learned from keynote speakers Dr. Cleveland and Drew Hart about race in society. We were called to take our turn “at the foot of the table,” as Dr. Cleveland said. That’s how we really live into Jesus’ upside-down kingdom.
Using illustrations from scripture and their lives, the speakers explored the depth of race’s impact on our society. They explored how our racialized society maintains itself and why it’s so hard for white people to see and confront racism — why we need people with a “view from the underside,” in Hart’s words, to recognize it. They called the largely white audience to recognize how we’ve been socialized into racial bias, and that Jesus never called us to shame but to repentance and new life together. Dr. Cleveland showed us by example how to notice privilege in our own lives. We were being tutored in how to reach beyond ourselves as a demonstration of respect and also of our need.
But it’s not just that we need each other’s perspective, or that we need to learn from one another to understand Jesus’ message. No, we each have a role to play in dismantling racism, wherever we are. When we’re uncomfortable we can benefit by staying at the table and continuing the conversation. In fact, that’s what we were doing at the conference: listening, learning, checking our assumptions and discerning our next steps. One conference attendee asked Drew Hart, “What can I do about racism in my predominantly white community?” and Hart responded, “You’re right at the center of the action!” Throughout the conference I heard calls to learn and act right where we are, building relationships with our literal neighbors. I attended a workshop where we practiced listening to people we disagreed with. In another workshop we discussed what it means to “seek the peace of the city” where you are (Jer. 29:7) and spent some time brainstorming for our own contexts.
I left SLT with a clear sense of my need for others’ perspectives, and also of my ability to make a difference where I am. And I came home with new questions: Who might I need to listen to better in order to gain a fuller understanding of Jesus? Where might my privilege be causing me to miss an important lesson? And how can I stay true to what I’ve learned about power and justice right here in my daily life?
For more of this year’s School for Leadership Training check out Eastern Mennonite Seminary’s article: “School for Leadership Training addresses pastoral responses to a racialized and divided America”
By Steve Kriss, Executive Minister
My first communication received in the new executive minister role came as a text message on Sunday morning before I went to worship on January 1. It came from a Conference board member who told me that his congregation intended to support the work of Danilo Sanchez in Allentown for another year in the partnership between the Conference, Whitehall Mennonite Church, Ripple congregation and Mennonite Central Committee East Coast. It was a welcome communication and a gracious reminder of the Spirit’s work among us. What our board member didn’t know was that this important initiative working with youth (many who are refugees and immigrants) was reaching the end of its funding stream. We had decided late in 2016 in a collaborative conversation between the partners to move forward without funding fully being figured out. This gift will help bridge that gap. I was and am grateful.
It’s these kinds of signs along the way that remind me of the good work that we are called to do together. While political change and tensions surrounds us, we continue in the work that God has called us to do. As executive minister, I will do my best to keep us focused toward the going to the margins mission as affirmed at Conference Assembly in 2015. This includes the ongoing and important work of caring for the refugee, the stranger, the poor, the differently-abled, the young, the aged, the homeless, the hungry, those in prison and those recently released while respecting all people as created in the image of our God regardless of their own religious practice or lack thereof. And it also includes renewed attention on church-planting and gives space for new initiatives that we might not yet have imagined that will help carry the Good News into the next generation.
For some of us, this good work seems more challenging under President Trump while for others this seemed more difficult under the leadership of President Obama. Regardless of our political preferences or the regime at hand, we are called to the same hard and good work with respect and prayer: to speak and incarnate the Good News of Christ that heals the wounded, sets the captive free, provides sight to the blind and offers freedom to the oppressed (Luke 4.18). This message changes us and intends to transform the whole world.
Mission to the margins means both speaking and acting. For us as Conference staff, these last few weeks have included finding ways to support when Carlos Romero, Executive Director of Mennonite Education Agency, received a racially harassing phone call. Our response to Christ and the Spirit’s work at Pentecost means we cannot remain silent as witnesses to ethnic intimidation or acts that represent white supremacy. We are the first community to have named an African American pastor in the Mennonite Church and to have an African American lead our conference. We worship in four languages. Almost 20% of our pastors are people of color. This is our story. It’s never been easy work and gets even more challenging when we are able to be more honest with one another about our experiences.
It’s meant a conversation with Congressman Fitzpatrick’s office, who serves much of our constituent community in Pennsylvania’s 8th District, regarding last week’s Executive Orders that has halted for the time begin the processes for refugees entering our country. Many of our congregations have hosted refugees and helped with resettlement, others of us are refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. Many of us descend from those who were those same persons from generations earlier. This is a story we live and know and are continually challenged by through Biblical mandates to welcome the stranger.
Donella Clemens from the Perkasie congregation once advised me to seek out Biblical texts that offer guidance into where to situate ourselves for difficult or transitional times. This week, I’ve settled into Micah 6.8’s invitation to “live justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God.” It’s a challenging invitation for our time even though the words can at times feel overly familiar. It seems exactly where I’m going to need to be awhile after 30 days into the new leadership role. There’s still much to figure out and to learn.
In the meantime, I’ll keep celebrating God’s generosity and Spirit’s provocation among us like I experienced on Day 1. We’ll keep figuring out how to speak and act as mission to the margins is our priority. I invite you to be an ongoing part of those good stories and that sometimes hard but worthy work among us as we live out what it means to embody the Good News with our neighbors near and far and even among those who might be perceived as our enemies. There is still much work but we have great hope.
By Marta Castillo, Franconia Conference LEADership Minister and Pastor at Nueva Vida Norristown New Life
Several years ago we almost lost our church building to a sheriff’s sale (a type of auction on properties that have either been repossessed by a lender or seized to satisfy judgment liens or tax liens). We said to ourselves, “the church is people; the church is not the building.” Thankfully, by God’s grace and support from Franconia Conference, we did not lose our church building . However, as I attended two building-centered events this past weekend, I was paying careful attention to the question, “If the church is people, what is the significance of the church building?”
For churches that have been in existence for 100 years or more, buildings may be a given and are rarely given a second thought, except for repairs and additions. For a congregation just starting out and growing, buildings are more than just a location; they are central to mission, identity, and community.
On Saturday evening, we celebrated with Centro de Alabanza (Center of Praise) in Philadelphia at the dedication of their building. A much-needed larger space in a Spanish neighborhood, this was made possible by Centro de Alabanza’s fundraising efforts include tamale sales and a car raffle, along with generous support from other Franconia Conference congregations. It was a joyful 
event of thanksgiving and praise, renewed covenant, and anointing before the Lord. Families brought forward wooden blocks inscribed with their family’s name to construct a building showing community, committing themselves to build on the foundation that “has already been laid, which is Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 3:9-11).
Pastors Fernando Loyola and Letty Cortes said of their 
new building, “First of all, we feel honored and thankful for the mercy and backing of God in this Hispanic ministry and for us to have a building means to have a place to worship the Lord in freedom and in power concentrating on the mission work of extending the Kingdom of God. It will help us be more responsible in stewardship, and the location is an area where there are many Latino groups. We believe that God has sent us here to be an example and to reach more souls for Christ.”
The following day, Sunday, January 29, members from Bethel Mennonite, Nueva Vida Norristown New Life and Christian Community Baptist came together for a time of celebration and remembrance. Over 29 years ago, Bethel Mennonite and Nueva Vida Norristown New Life joined together, selling the original Bethel building to Christian Community Baptist. Members of all three congregations celebrated together in a time of remembrance and worship in the same building where former Bethel members had put down their spiritual roots. Christian Community Baptist members thanked Nueva Vida Norristown New Life and Franconia Conference for sharing with them a well-cared-for building that was already filled with the Holy Spirit.
As the first church in Acts met in homes, today, we see that God’s provision of these physical spaces — church buildings — allow “the church” to worship, be together and do mission for God. They provide space where more of us are able to join in fellowship with one another, and often are used to bless our surrounding communities as our doors are open for other groups to utilize the space. We thank God for these physical spaces that allow us — “the church” — to worship and do the work of God’s Kingdom.
As the Conference is in a time of transition, it provides an opportunity for reflection and strategic planning for the coming years. With that, the new Executive Minister, Steve Kriss, and the Conference Executive Committee have provided a six-month transitional period that included bringing on three contracted LEADership Ministers, one of whom will also serve as Interim Director of Congregational Resourcing.
On January 1, 2017, the Conference welcomed Emily Ralph Servant, Randy Heacock, and Wayne Nitzsche into the role of Interim LEADership Minister. Emily will also serve as the Interim Director of Congregational Resourcing. Their willingness to serve in these interim roles ensures that all conference congregations have a dedicated Conference Minister available to serve them. In addition, with Emily stepping in as Interim Director of Congregational Resourcing the Conference can expect continued equipping events available to all Conference members and some geared toward credentialed leaders.
“Interim times are valuable for reconsidering and rethinking staffing configurations,” says Steve Kriss, Conference Executive Minister. “With the departures of Ertell and Jenifer, we have an unusual opportunity to reimagine how to lead and serve at the Conference level. While I don’t anticipate changing our model of LEADership Ministry for accompaniment alongside pastors and congregations, this team of interim LEADership Ministers for six months will provide excellent space while also offering clear contacts for Conference ministry. Emily, Randy and Wayne are skilled leaders who have conference level experience. I’m grateful for their availability and willingness to serve in this time of change. I’m grateful too for the flexibility and trust we have found with our congregations in the willingness to embrace each of them in the interim role. As a conference we have a healthy pool of gifted and capable leaders; Emily, Randy and Wayne are evidence of this in their responsiveness to our invitations to serve together.”
Emily has been credentialed with the Conference since 2010, and a member of the conference since her youth. She has served as a worship leader at Bally Mennonite Church, led worship and taught Sunday School while a member at Salford, and conducted interim ministry work with Swamp and Indonesian Light. She also spent time serving Sunnyside congregation in Lancaster, PA. Emily will also serve a number of Congregations as LEADership Minister while working to provide meaningful equipping events over the next six months.
Looking toward this new role, Emily states, “There is a special spirit in Franconia Conference that feels different from other contexts in which I’ve ministered, one that continues to draw me back! I love the way that we celebrate diversity, passionately partner in different types of mission, and support one another in difficult times. I’m so pleased to minister again as part of the staff during this time of transition, walking alongside some really gifted pastors and congregations!”
Randy Heacock steps in to his role as Interim LEADership Minister while continuing as pastor at Doylestown Mennonite Church. Randy was ordained in 1991 through Virginia Conference transferring to Franconia Conference in 2001 when he accepted the position at Doylestown. Randy has a wealth of pastoral experience spanning the last 35 years and has also served on the Virginia Conference Nurture Committee and as Chairperson of the Virginia Peace Committee. He has been noted for his steady presence and ability to walk with congregations through difficult times, holding space with patience as the Spirit moves making discernment possible.
In regards to his new role as Interim LEADership Minister, Randy says, “I am excited for the opportunity to walk alongside other church leaders as they pursue a Kingdom vision.”
Wayne Nitzsche currently serves as pastor at Perkasie Mennonite Church. He will continue in that role as he joins the Interim LEADership Ministry team. Wayne has been a member of Franconia Conference since accepting the role at Perkasie in 2008. Originally, Wayne was ordained in 1989 through Ohio Conference where he would serve as Regional Pastor for 12 years. Throughout his career, Wayne has served in a number of ministry roles including time under Mennonite Board of Missions, now known as Mennonite Mission Network. Wayne has been noted as having exceptional listening skills and truly strives to model Jesus in his everyday life. He will be working in these next six months with three congregations who face transitions themselves.
Wayne states, “God is with all our congregations. Perhaps God’s presence is most keenly experienced in times of pastoral transition. I look forward to walking with Alpha, Bally and Taftsville through their transition. I’m sure I will be enriched by the ways the Spirit is at work in these congregations. I hope to draw on twelve years of conference ministry experience in Ohio Conference, along with present pastoral perspectives from my pastorate at Perkasie Mennonite.”
We welcome these three to their new roles and are grateful for their answer to serve in this capacaity.
To learn more about the new Interim LEADership Ministers check out their full bios at: http://mosaicmennonites.org/directory/staff/
by Emily Ralph Servant, Interim LEADership Minister & Director of Congregational Resourcing
Is pulling weeds “mission?”
I certainly thought so as a teenager, when I spent several summer evenings sitting on the grass, helping my neighbor weed her flower beds and talking about God as she struggled to find her way back to faith. We were quite a picture, the awkward teen and the twenty-something-year-old masseuse.
Those years were exciting for my family — church planters on Philadelphia’s main line — as children from our neighborhood poured into our basement every week to hear stories about Jesus, play games, and receive our love. While we were committed to acts of compassion and mutual aid in the name of Jesus, we were also dedicated to verbal evangelism and church planting as the most visible manifestation of God’s mission.
I cherish those memories, even as time and exposure to different faith expressions have given me more varied experience of what mission could look like: in the last few years alone, missional initiatives in Franconia Conference have included peace camps and community gardens, picnics at the park and Biker Sunday, Sanctuary Churches for immigrants and survivors of sexual abuse, prayer walks, Bible studies at the pool, creation care initiatives, summer camps, disaster relief, refugee resettlement, supporting survivors of sex trafficking, prayer evangelism, working with families in need, a community center, prison ministry, making quilts, veterans ministry, peace poles, an internet café, bicycle ministry, drive-thru coffee and donuts, and church planting.
All of these expressions of mission point to the Good News: through Jesus, we are invited to share in God’s life; out of the overflowing of God’s life and love in us, we work for wholeness in the world around us. That is the meaning of the word shalom: wholeness and health, demonstrated in reconciled relationships with God, others, ourselves, and the earth.
“That is why words like peace, justice, righteousness, and salvation are often used interchangeably in the New Testament,” says James Krabill in Fully Engaged: Missional Church in an Anabaptist Voice. “They are all different aspects of what Jesus came to bring, to be, and to do.” The Church cannot separate witness and work, peace and evangelism. “The faithful church preaches what Jesus practiced and practices what he preached. And in so doing, [the Church] announces the whole gospel of Jesus to the broken world he so loved and for which he died.”
So what does it look like to be an Anabaptist church in mission? According to Krabill, it means “doing what God does, loving the world—all of it—as much as God does, caring deeply for its welfare and working to set right what has gone wrong.” Krabill (senior mission advocate for Mennonite Mission Network) will join Mennonites in eastern Pennsylvania this February for a conversation on mission and shalom. “Celebration of Shalom: Stories of the Church in Mission” will feature stories and insights about mission from Fully Engaged as well as interactive storytelling from congregations in Franconia Conference and beyond, celebrating the diversity of God’s Spirit in sharing the Good News through both word and deed.
As a teenager, I never would have imagined the day two years ago that I participated in an early-morning prayer walk to pray for peace and healing after a murder in my neighborhood. And as a teenager, I might not have recognized the walk as an act of mission. Yet both my experiences—weeding and walking—were witnesses that, in Jesus, God will make all things right. That is Good News indeed.
“Celebration of Shalom: Stories of the Church in Mission” will be held on Monday, February 13, 7pm, at Fischer Auditorium, Dock Woods Community, Lansdale, PA. The event is free and open to all; donations for snacks will support local mission initiatives. For more information, contact Emily (eralphservant@mosaicmennonites.org).
Noel Santago, LEADership Minister with Franconia Conference and Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) Board member, along with the rest of the MEA board, recently were presented with and seized an opportunity for building intercultural competency. At the fall MEA board meeting, Executive Director, Carlos Romero, shared his experience with a hate-filled racial call he received from a graduate of several Mennonite educational institutions. Read more about how the board responded to Romero and the call in The Mennonite’s article, “Mennonite Education Agency board responds to hate call.”