News

A window into the life of some Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonites

September 17, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

from Mennonite Heritage Center

“A first-born and only son, I opened my eyes in a sprawling 122-year-old farmhouse along a pleasant creek in southeastern Pennsylvania,” writes Mennonite historian, John Landis Ruth, in his forthcoming book, Branch: A Memoir with Pictures. As eighty-three year old Ruth tells his story through photos and essays, readers get a rich glimpse of his life but also the Mennonite family and community in which he was raised.

The narrative begins at his birthplace, the 1809 Lower Salford Township farm along the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek to which, at age 57, he returned with wife Roma and two sons’ families. The early tone is set by the 1940’s photography of his father Henry L. Ruth, a Bucks County-born farmer. “Those are the scripture verses that little John L Ruth learned by memory when he was a little boy of 4 years old,” writes John’s maternal grandmother in a diary entry included in one of the book’s intimate and evocative photos.

After attending school in Lower Salford and Lancaster County, Pa., and Virginia, in 1950 at the age of 20 the future historian was chosen to be a Mennonite minister by the casting of lots. Subsequent studies took him to Harvard where he earned a Ph.D. and became a Professor of English at what is now Eastern University, St. Davids, Pa., with a sabbatical as Guest Professor of American Literature at the University of Hamburg, Germany.

Back in Pennsylvania, Ruth accepted a call in his mid-forties to work on themes of Anabaptist-Mennonite heritage in a popular rather than academic mode. His first book, commissioned by Conrad Grebel College, appeared in 1974. Photographs from the following decades of cross-country teaching, film-making, writing, speaking at historical observances and tour-leading are interspersed in the memoir with scenes from family, church, and the author’s changing southeastern Pennsylvania community. “In the end this is a love story—love of family, love of community and church—all anchored in an enduring, classic Mennonite faith,” observes Dick Benner, editor of The Canadian Mennonite.

In small coffee-table-style, each of the 210 two-page spreads opens to a mini-essay paired with a full-page picture. Ruth chose this format “to explore synergy between a lifetime’s collection of pictures and the words they may call forth.”

The 432-page, hard-bound memoir, priced at $25, is scheduled to be released at book-signings at the Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville on November 21 at 7:30 p.m; on November 22 in Lancaster County at Landis Homes at 10:00 a.m., Garden Spot Village at 2:00 p.m., and at a pictorial presentation on “Travel in the Anabaptist Historical Landscape” at the Martindale Reception Center at 7:30 p.m.; on November 23 at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society at 10:00 a.m. The release in Canada is scheduled for Tourmagination’s 45th Anniversary Celebration at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo on November 28.

Copies will be available for purchase from TourMagination, www.tourmagination.com and the Mennonite Heritage Center (215 256 3020), 565 Yoder Road, Harleysville, PA 19438, www.mhep.org.

Youth groups move from charity to justice

September 11, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Angela Moyer, RIPPLE (Allentown, Pa.) & Ben Wideman, Salford (Harleysville, Pa.)

Ben: As Salford prepared to experience Mennonite Church USA’s biannual gathering in Phoenix, AZ we understood that this was going to be a different kind of experience. We knew that there were a whole host of reasons that various churches were in favor of attending and not attending. One of the dramatic factors of a trip to the Southwest was that several of our sister congregations would be unable to afford the travel expenses.

As we began to get a sense of what we could afford, and how much we could offer in support of other youth groups, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Angela share with a group of youth pastors that she was interested in taking a group from their congregation but needed financial assistance. It seemed like perfect timing – not just for financial support, but for deepening relationships with a congregation we knew little about.

Angela: The invitation for RIPPLE youth to join Salford’s youth group on their trip to Phoenix was a hope and a wish come true. It was evidence that all of our talk about sharing power and resources had some feet. And as we began to make plans and think about what it would take in order to make this a healthy and positive experience for both groups, I realized that this was going to be more than a simple act of generosity or charity.

I had no idea what it would be like for RIPPLE youth to experience Convention. I knew that it would be different for them than for youth who grow up in fairly stable, middle class churches and communities but I could not anticipate what their experience would be. What I did know was that they deserved the opportunity to go just as much as other youth, if not more. As we began to make plans for how to make this a positive experience, we soon realized that it would be more than a one week event in Phoenix. Relationships needed to be built prior to a week-long trip together.

Ben: Angela and I were in agreement from the onset that this had to be a shared experience. Salford had supported other churches in the past by simply writing a check, but this time our youth and sponsors wanted to have a deeper connection than that. We knew that this would be challenging; the simple geographic barriers, nuanced cultural contexts, and busy schedules meant that we had to work to get just one or two opportunities on the calendar for the respective youth to connect with each other.

Angela: Relationships between people with very different backgrounds take time and effort to develop. After they’re developed, then true relationships need to be maintained at some level. It’s one thing to receive one or two gifts graciously, but to continue to receive them is hard. And to believe that the non-financial gifts that you have to offer back is just as valuable as money is hard too.

Then, in typical RIPPLE fashion, the needs grew faster than what I could keep up with. Shortly after registering two youth and myself for Convention with Salford’s group, another responsible youth began attending and significantly contributing to RIPPLE. Now what do we do about the youth trip to Convention? Thankfully, in God’s abundance, Deep Run East Mennonite was willing to contribute finances for this third youth to attend Convention.

Ben: It seems obvious now, but looking back, I was unaware of the complexity of planning a trip like this. Families from both churches had life experiences come up that changed their summer plans. Conference registration and payment is challenging enough for 20 people from one church. Add in hotel reservations (and roommate assignments), plane tickets, airport transportation, and youth from a whole other church, and this trip became an interesting logistical challenge.

Angela: But this was just the beginning of being overwhelmed with the gaps to be bridged between the two groups; this is why I think our collaborative effort begins to point towards justice rather than mere generosity. The partnership between RIPPLE and Salford offered opportunity to those who otherwise would not have been able to engage, for both groups to learn from one another. The relationship is ongoing; although one phase is over, much is still unfinished. This collaboration was and continues to be overwhelming on a variety of layers requiring more than what can be anticipated and offered. And yet this is the space where God’s Spirit seems to be moving and providing.

Ben: The relationship between Salford and RIPPLE will continue to be a work in progress. We are two sister congregations, but we are made up of a huge cross-section of families and perspectives. Oftentimes it is uncomfortable to have to work through what it means to be relating to people beyond the walls of our church building, but we trust that there will be a blessing and growth in this process. We hope to continue to build this relationship so that our youth will begin to see themselves as a part of something larger than our respective church family. I hope Salford and RIPPLE (and many other churches too!) will reach a point where relating with people from other contexts is not simply tolerated, but expected and valued.

What’s in a Vacation?

September 5, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

MCC East Coast bike ride — Front row – Ruth Walter (Souderton), Sandy and John Drescher-Lehman (Souderton) Vernon Martin (Salford) Daryl Derstine (Blooming Glenn). Back Row – Len Walter (Souderton) Gene Kropf (Salford) and Steve Histand (Blooming Glenn)

by Sandy Drescher-Lehman, Souderton

Why would these 8 people from three different churches in our conference choose to spend 5 of their lazy days of summer vacation together, being NOT-lazy?

They enjoy making the wheels on a bike go round and round.
They wanted to help raise money to support Mennonite Central Committee’s project of planting trees in Haiti.
Biking is their favorite way to stay in shape.
They enjoy meeting other people from across North America who are making the same vacation choice!.
They’re WILLING to sleep in tents for a week.
They like to eat good food at the beginning and end and in-betweens of a good, hard day of biking.
They know what an incredible gift it is to experience the beauty of God’s world, intersecting with healthy bodies and wholesome fellowship, all wrapped up in a good cause.

When I say that “All of the above” are the true answers, you’re likely asking, “Who WOULDN’T want to use their vacation to do that and how can I join this great endeavor?” Well, know that you, too, are welcome to join this ride the next time around! Read on to learn some of the possible benefits.

Every year for the past 20, Mennonite Central Committee has sponsored a bicycle trip as one of its fund-raisers, alternating routes on the east and west coast. Michigan and Ohio have also run similar trips of their own. This year, during the first week of August, the East Coast MCC ride was in the beautiful hills, under the voluptuously clouded skies, surrounding three of the Finger Lakes in northern New York. The group of 50-some bikers, including members of Souderton, Salford, and Blooming Glen congregations, plus another dozen staff who took care of the trip details of eating, sleeping and getting from place to place, raised over $60,000.00 – an exciting new record! Thank you to each of you who sponsored one of us and to everyone who shares our passion for spreading God’s love throughout the world through the ministries of MCC.

I loved that bikers from 16 to 81 years of age, at all skill levels, could enjoy the same roads, worship in all of our different ways of noticing God’s presence, sing and pray together, and find out about each other’s families and the ministries we were returning to at the end of the week. Uniting around the things we had in common was energizing. Sharing the tasks of camping was fun. Hearing new ways, from each other, of being God’s messengers in the world was inspiring. And pedaling 300+ miles of roads that were hardly ever flat, was downright exciting, often exhausting and occasionally exhilarating!

Goshen College Announces Scholarship in Honor of Becky Felton

September 3, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

Scholarship to benefit Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies students

GOSHEN, Ind. – Becky Felton, Goshen College class of ’76 and a member of Perkasie congregation, was a champion of peace and justice. Even when faced with a terminal illness, she confronted it knowing that she was at peace with God and with others.

Before Becky passed away in November 2012, she and her husband, Jon, had the gift of time to talk about the organizations that were dear to her and where she would like their family support to go upon her death. There were many places where she had worked and volunteered that shared Becky’s vision of working toward a good and just world, and many of those places received memorials in Becky’s name.

But it was Goshen College that held a very special place in her heart. It is there that she went as a young woman from Yoder, Kansas, to begin her journey as a servant of the church. With a degree in religion, she went into the world to advocate and serve as a voice for the marginalized and those in need. She looked to the college as the foundation and catalyst that ignited her passion for peace and social justice.

Jon, with and their children Cody ’09 and Torey, have established the Rebecca Beachy Felton Peace and Social Justice Scholarship as a loving tribute to Becky and her life passions. This endowed scholarship will benefit Goshen College students pursuing a major or minor in Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies, a legacy that will nurture future champions of peace and justice.

“The way Becky wove her passion for peace into her church, family and community commitments represents a way of life that we hope will characterize all our PJCS graduates, so we’re very grateful that the Felton family has chosen to honor Becky’s memory with a scholarship,” said Joe Liechty, Professor and Department Chair, Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies, Goshen College.

Becky was a persistent advocate for peace and justice in her congregation as well as in her community and with the joint Peace & Justice Committee of Franconia and Eastern District Conferences. Wayne Nitzsche, her pastor, described Becky as a congregational peacemaker in many ways. “Perkasie has a worship ritual of lighting a peace lamp as we recite our pledge to be peacemakers. Becky urged us to consider and pray for peace locally and globally,” he said. “But most importantly, Becky modeled the way of Jesus in her relationships in the congregation and beyond.”

Those who knew her well describe Becky as an advocate of peace and justice, at peace with God and at peace with others. Becky served the Peace & Justice Committee as secretary, financial secretary, and registrar for the annual Winter Peace Retreat. Because of her broad understanding of current peace and social justice issues and her character, however, these roles don’t adequately describe her presence and her leadership, both in her congregation and with those on the Peace & Justice Committee. She was aware, compassionate and proactive.

Becky was honored on the day of her funeral by the Franconia and Eastern District Conferences as the recipient of the 2012 Peace Mug Award, recognizing her life-long commitment to peace and justice. Her memory and passions will live on to impact the world through this scholarship.

If you are interested in remembering Becky with a gift to this scholarship, contributions can be sent to: The Rebecca Beachy Felton Peace and Social Justice Scholarship, Goshen College, 1700 South Main Street, Goshen, IN 46526, or online at www.goshen.edu/give and follow the links, designating the scholarship name in the comments section.

Becky also left a generous financial gift to Mennonite Central Committee to pursue peace and justice through the work of relief, development and peacebuilding. Donations in her honor can be made via mail to Mennonite Central Committee, 21 S. 12^th Street, PO Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500 or over the phone at 1-888-563-4676. Please note this gift is in memory of Becky Felton.

Intercultural ministry threatened by foreclosure

August 28, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

NORRISTOWN, Pennsylvania – Nueva Vida Norristown New Life Mennonite Church recently celebrated 23 years as an intercultural, multi-lingual congregation of 16 cultures of origin. The church’s witness in Norristown and beyond has grown. But the economic downturn of 2007–08 continues to threaten God’s vision and mission for the congregation.

A 2010 public value study of the church’s local outreach ministries alone was valued at $247,000/ year—what it would cost the city of Norristown to replace the shared space with a child care center, a community Internet café, housing ministry for single women, and involvement with collaborative ministries—a homeless shelter, thrift store, and the local ministerium’s anti-violence ministries. Members also provide leadership for mission work in Cuba, Mexico, Honduras, and Great Britain.

With the meetinghouse in full use, the congregation launched a major expansion and renovation strategy in 2007, including the purchase of an adjacent office building for expanding outreach to the community. But the difficult economy impeded the generation of rental income to fully cover the mortgage. A mutual aid effort by Franconia Conference congregations and friends gave Norristown New Life a much-needed breather in 2011–12, and one tenant was acquired.

To date, Univest, the mortgage lender, has not been open to lower the 2007 interest rate of 7.25%. The office building and meetinghouse are held as collateral. A foreclosure process is underway.

“If the congregation was to lose its home base for ministry, the spiritual and economic fallout in our “working poor” and immigrant community would be a tsunami,” said Ertell Whigham, one of three on the intercultural pastoral team. The child care center is a “beloved community” for 65 children from 35-40 families. The Internet café bridges the digital divide for community residents with Internet service, computer training, and a Christian witness. Single women needing some living assistance thrive in a shared, Christian environment.

The impact of ASSETS Montco’s microenterprise training program can still be found in successful small businesses around town—and in the number of calls for training since the program, a former tenant in the office building, lost funding and closed in 2010.

The church continues to seek solutions to this crisis, including new tenants, refinancing, and financial support of partners who affirm the intercultural vision and mission God has given the congregation.

For more information, contact Ertell Whigham, 610-636-1772, or Jim Williams, 610-277-1729.

Seeing God around every corner in South Philly

August 20, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

Summer Service Stories from Mennonite Central Committee

Last summer, Ardi Hermawan took MCC grocery bags, which are filled with non-perishable food and given to Anabaptist churches in Philadelphia to share in their communities, to the near-by Walgreen’s and handed them out to people who could use some food and appreciated talking to someone. It went well and so over spring break this year, Hermawan arranged to do it again with a group of his fellow students from Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) who came to Philadelphia to spend their week. Hermawan is part of Philadelphia Praise Center (PPC), a multi-ethnic congregation whose members speak Indonesian, English, and Spanish.

Just a couple months ago, Hermawan returned home to Indonesia for a month-long visit. It was his first visit back since leaving for the U.S seven years ago when he was eighteen years old. Knowing there are many health needs in his home community, and that as a fourth year nursing student at EMU he has some knowledge about health issues, he set up a clinic in his house. For four weeks, people lined up in front of his family’s home at 6:30 in the morning to receive free screenings for things like high blood pressure and blood sugar levels. This was a service he could provide for those who didn’t have money to pay for these screenings elsewhere. In the evenings, he would give health lessons about diabetes, high blood pressure, and prenatal care.

Now, this summer Hermawan is a MCC Summer Service Worker with his church, Philadelphia Praise Center, and in his neighborhood. You can just imagine all the different things that he is doing. PPC recently finished their 3-week peace camp for 7-13 year-olds in the neighborhood. Hermawan was right in the middle of it all, teaching and sharing his understanding of faith, love, and hope, in very practical terms. He is also accompanying his neighbors throughout the day and throughout the events of their lives, whether that is taking someone to the emergency room, teaching people newly arrived from Indonesian how health insurance and hospital bills work in the U.S., or interpreting between a person and their doctor. Right now, he checks on a woman each day who recently had surgery and he is changing the bandages during this period of postoperative days.

Hermawan talks about how he is “so passionate” about connecting with other people; helping them, serving them, because he loves them. Simple as that. With a heart so wide open and a faith that follows where God leads, Hermawan is touching the lives of many people and is also being blessed by them. He watches and listens to his mentor, Pastor Aldo Siahaan of PPC, who, Hermawan shares, is so giving to the people around him, answering calls any time of day or night from people who are in need. Siahaan teaches that “we are to be there for people 100%, not 75%, not 50%,” Hermawan says.

As Hermawan accompanies people and shares life with them, he sees how he has been accompanied by others who love and guide him. He lost his father at an early age and years later came to the U.S. on his own. All along the way, there have been male mentors who have fathered Hermawan, from his cousin to Pastor Siahaan to Steve Kriss, a member of the PPC community and a staff member of Franconia Mennonite Conference. He shares that God is always there when Hermawan takes a step out in faith. This is what he is learning throughout his life and during this summer as he lives and works in his community as a MCC Summer Service Worker.

So, what is next? With four weeks left before Hermawan returns for his final year at EMU, he is helping PPC organize English classes for newly arrived refugee children in the neighborhood, making some space at PPC that is more kid-friendly, and interpreting between people and their doctors. Asked where he has seen God this summer, he replies, “Oh yes, God is around every corner.”

Lois Gunden Clemens named Righteous Among the Nations

August 14, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

Lois Gunden Clemens was involved with leadership at Plains congregation in Hatfield, Pa. and on the Franconia Conference Nurture Commission, as well as the Franconia Conference chapter of Women’s Missionary & Service Commission of the Mennonite Church, editing their national publication “Voice” for some years. She gave the 1970 Conrad Grebel lectures on “Who Is Woman?” and published the lectures in book form in 1971 through Herald Press under the title “Woman Liberated,” along with a study guide. –Forrest Moyer, Mennonite Heritage Center

“Lois’s contribution was of such real quality that many of our local people only fairly realized it in retrospect. She could speak effectively both [inside and outside of the community], to both the traditional and the forward-looking members of our spiritual community, with unself-promoting dignity.” –John Ruth, Salford congregation

*****************

July 18, 2013: Press Release from Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem recently recognized Lois Gunden, an American Mennonite who helped save Jewish children while in France during the Holocaust, as Righteous Among the Nations.

Gunden will be posthumously honored in a ceremony that will take place in the United States, in which her niece, Mary Jean Gunden will accept the medal and certificate of honor on her behalf.

Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, was established in 1953. Located in Jerusalem, it is dedicated to Holocaust remembrance, documentation, research and education.

According to a Goshen (Ind.) College press release, Gunden Clemens was a 1936 Goshen College graduate and a French professor at the college from 1939-1941 and 1944-1958.

In 1941, twenty-six year old Lois Gunden, a French teacher from Goshen, Indiana, accepted the call to serve with the Mennonite Central Committee in southern France.

Gunden joined the Mennonite organization Secours Mennonite aux Enfants in Lyon, and was sent to establish a children’s home in Canet Plage, located on the seaside of the Mediterranean.

The children’s center became a safe haven for the children of Spanish refugees as well as for Jewish children, many of whom were smuggled out of the nearby internment camp of Rivesaltes.

One of the Jewish children sheltered there was Ginette (Drucker) Kalish who was born in 1930. Her family lived in Paris until July 1942 when Ginette’s father was deported to Auschwitz. Managing to hide from the police, Ginette and her mother fled to the south of France but were caught on the train and eventually taken to Rivesaltes.

It was there that Lois Gunden approached Ginette’s mother and pleaded with her to let her take the child out of the camp. While hesitant at first, Gunden managed to convince her that Ginette would be safer under her care, and Ginette’s mother decided to part from her child.

“At the time I was 12 years old and certainly scared,” Ginette Kalish told Yad Vashem, “but Lois Gunden was quite kind and passionately determined to take me and these other Jewish children out of Rivesaltes to protect them from harm … I remember Lois Gunden being kind and generous and she made a special effort to blend us in with the other children. None of the other children were told that we were Jewish.”

Far from her home, Gunden would show great courage, ingenuity and intuitiveness, as she rescued children of a different nationality, religion and background.

One morning while the children were out for a walk, a policeman arrived at the center in order to arrest three of the Jewish children, Louis, Armand and Monique Landesmann.

Gunden told the police that the children were out and would not return until noon. At noon the policeman appeared again and ordered her to pack the children’s belongings and prepare them for travel.

This time Gunden told him that their clothing was still being laundered and would not be dry until the late afternoon.

Gunden testified that throughout that day and evening she prayed for wisdom, guidance, and the safety of the three children. The officer never returned and the children were saved. During this time Gunden kept a diary, describing in it her experiences and daily activities.

In November 1942, the Germans occupied southern France. Although Gunden was considered an enemy alien after the United States entered the war, she continued to run the children’s center.

In January 1943, Gunden was detained by the Germans until she was finally released in 1944 in a prisoner exchange, later returning to her home in Indiana. In 1958 she married a widower, Ernest Clemens.

While she did not have any children of her own, Gunden gained a stepdaughter through her marriage. In addition to teaching French at Goshen College and Temple University, she also ministered in the Mennonite Church. Gunden passed away in 2005.

On Feb. 27 Yad Vashem recognized Lois Gunden as Righteous Among the Nations.

Lois Gunden is one of four Americans to be recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations alongside Varian Fry and Waitstill and Martha Sharp.

The Shepherd's Village reaches out to Kenya

August 6, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Bob Keeler, Towamencin

The people of Olkeri, Narok County in Kenya don’t have electricity, but thanks to a solar-powered well pump installed earlier this year, they now have a well they can use.

“It’s the first of its kind in that area,” said James Sankan, founder and president of The Shepherd’s Village and member of Towamencin congregation. “Prior to the well, the people were relying on two rivers for their water and the rivers were highly polluted.”

Along with that health risk, the people had to share the rivers with animals and faced dangers such as getting mauled by a leopard or trampled by an elephant.

It’s been 17 years since James, then nine, and his family came from their native Kenya to the United States. After graduating with a law degree and going to work at a law firm, “I got this call from God to do something for the Kenyan people back home,” James said.

Although newly-formed, The Shepherd’s Village continues the missionary work of his grandparents and his parents William and Christine Sankan to the Maasai people, attempting to meet both spiritual and physical needs.

Vacation Bible School in 2012 and other collections from Towamencin Mennonite Church helped provide the water pump. Lowell Bergey, another member of the Towamencin congregation who has been involved in previous well projects in Haiti, is The Shepherd’s Village treasurer and helps with technical advice.

James’ father William, also a Shepherd’s Village board member, installed the pumps and solar panels. An ordained minister, he preached in Kenya during his January through April 2013 trip.

The well was drilled 10 years ago, William said, but, without electricity, there wasn’t a way to pump the water. The well will now serve about 500 families and, although it is now being used, there’s still additional work to be done, including making it more accessible.

“Right now, we’re only depending on the sun, so we’re not getting enough water,” William acknowledged. Adding batteries to the solar-powered system would make it possible to pump more water.

The Kenyan government is planning to bring electricity to the area, but that could take years, according to James. “The schools don’t have running water or electricity,” he said. “The main thing we want to do is pipe the water to those schools.”

There’s also a need for more water storage so it will be available when needed, William added. “Right now, there’s only 10,000 liters, which is not enough for the community. We are trying to get a 100,000 liter reservoir,” he said. “The 100,000 will help the community get enough.”

“It has been a pleasure partnering with The Shepherd’s Village in their wonderful project,” noted Towamencin pastor Mike Clemmer. We have learned so much from them about needs in the world and how we can help.”

The Shepherd’s Village also has plans for medical services through a village clinic. Information is available at www.theshepherdsvillage.org.

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