Mosaic Mennonites

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Fall Ministerial Update

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Noah Kolb, for the Ministerial Committee

Ubaldo Rodriguez, left, is the newest member of the Ministerial Committee.

The Ministerial Committee met on September 5 and November 7. At our September meeting, we welcomed Ubaldo Rodriguez as a new member of the committee. We took action to approve Kristopher Wint, associate pastor of Finland congregation, for a two-year ministerial license toward ordination and accepted the ordination credentials of John Stoltzfus, conference youth minister and campus pastor at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, from Illinois Conference.

At our November meeting, we approved Franco Salvatori, pastor of Rocky Ridge congregation, for a license toward ordination. The committee took action to change the ordination status of Dennis Detweiler and Bill Brunk from “active’ to “retired.” The policy to assist credentialed leaders with counseling expenses was reviewed and updated.  We invited LEADership Ministers and the Credentials Committee to join us in reviewing the policies that guide who we credential.

MDS volunteers provide help and hope at Thanksgiving

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by Stephen Kriss, Director of Communication at Franconia Mennonite Conference, on assignment with MDS

Staten Island after Hurricane Sandy
Mennonite Disaster Service is anticipating a long-term presence in New York as the cleanup from Hurricane Sandy continues. Photo by Dawn Ranck.

A new normal is emerging in Staten Island’s Midland Beach neighborhood where Mennonite Disaster Service has set up alongside the ministries of Oasis Christian Center, to clean up and rebuild following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. The one-story-high mounds of debris are gone. Traffic signals are working and electricity is back. Most houses have been inspected and are marked with red, green or yellow placards signaling the level of work required for habitation, or condemnation.

The Oasis Christian Center has been a hub of activity in the battered neighborhood. The church sanctuary is now full with donations—clothes, cleaning products, food. Supplies are in order and sorted. A sign out front says, “No More Donations.” The church’s basement has been gutted and new metal studs stand waiting for finishing. But there are still signs of the rolling wave that overtook the neighborhood. Flood damaged cars line the streets. Heavy equipment continues to roll in. There is a visible police presence.

Mennonite Disaster Service day volunteers are working and groups are scheduled into December. An average of 100 volunteers work each week. Long-term coordinators are living in a RV in the church yard next to Oasis. On these days before Thanksgiving, groups of volunteers were coming from the north, south and west: Amish and Mennonites from Lancaster County (Pa.),  diverse teams of Mennonites from Delaware and the Philadelphia area, members of the Bruderhof in the Hudson River Valley.  Teams from Franconia Conference congregations continue to arrive on a weekly basis.

Volunteers are busy with about 50 jobs waiting. Residents are working alongside volunteers. The process of tearing out and cleaning up is dirty, smelly, musty. Even on crisp fall days, the air inside the flooded houses is damp and heavy. The church is still receiving lunch donations. Food just shows up from Staten Island businesses. The overflowing generosity is increasingly better organized. A truckload of quilts and knotted comforters arrived from upstate New York, made with love and gifts of human grace.

Staten Island--Dawn Ranck
Members of Plains, Zion, Salford, Methacton, Perkiomenville and Swamp congregations served with MDS two weeks after Hurricane Sandy.

These days before Thanksgiving, the gratitude is evident. Staten Islanders still tear up quickly alongside volunteers. It’s tough to find temporary housing. It’s tough to imagine getting through this and getting to the other side. It’s tough to sort through belongings and to remember the surprising wave of water that submerged the neighborhood as it never had before. Everyone knows Midland Beach won’t ever be the same or feel the same. There’s a sense of loss alongside a sense of genuine hope.

In these days before Thanksgiving, the efforts seem persistent, patient, generous, unhurried, less frantic. There’s still much to be done. And yet, there’s still much to be thankful for even in the midst of an unthinkable disaster.  Hope and help keep showing up. Thanks be to God.

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MDS accepts monetary donations to support the clean up work in all areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. MDS does not accept donations of food and other items.Monetary donations can be made on the MDS website, mds.mennonite.net, by phone (717) 735-3536, or by mailing a check to MDS, 583 Airport Road, Lititz, PA 17543. To designate the donation for Hurricane Sandy, write “Hurricane Sandy” in the memo line of the check.

MDS responds to disasters in Canada, the United States and their territories. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) responds to disasters in international settings. MCC is responding to the damage from Hurricane Sandy in Haiti. For information on MCC’s work in Haiti, check their website, mcc.org.

Philadelphia Festival raises support and community

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by J. Fred Kauffman, West Philadelphia congregation

The MCC Philly Festival featured a rich variety of foods including Chinese egg rolls, Haitian rice, Indonesian snack foods, Mexican tamales, Vietnamese pho, and traditional PA Dutch fare. Photo by Grant Rissler.

“Good food. Good cause. Nice quilts!” observed Rosalie Rolón Dow, describing the October 27th Festival & Auction to support the work of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Over 300 people attended Philadelphia’s second “MCC Relief Sale,” bidding on 200 items that raised $19,000 for MCC. With over $5,000 spent on foods and small items plus direct project donations, total receipts exceeded $27,000.

The Pennsylvania Relief Sale and Kingdom Builders Anabaptist Network of Greater Philadelphia (KBN) sponsored the festival.  Seven KBN congregations brought a rich variety of food: Chinese egg rolls, Haitian rice and delicacies, Indonesian snack foods, Mexican tamales, Soul Food, Vietnamese pho/soup, fresh fruit, baked yams, and the traditional PA Dutch fare of soups, cookies, pies, and cakes.

When asked, “Why did you come today?” most people began with, “Because I support MCC’s mission.” This mission involves working in disaster relief, sustainable community development and justice & peace building in Philadelphia and around the world.  (See www.mcc.org)

Having voiced support for MCC, further comments varied widely. “We wanted to reconnect with old friends and connect with new friends,” said Cynthia and Loren Snavely from the Fox Hill (NY) Bruderhof community. Dana Espinosa from North Philly smiled and said, “You have good food, and it’s a great Saturday outing for my active children.”

A participant from the Lancaster County Amish community said, “My neighbor helped organize the first MCC Relief Sale in 1948 in Gap, Pa. I’ve been attending the Gap sale for years, but wanted to see this one in Philly.”

MCC Philly Festival 2012
West Philadelphia congregation hosted the festival and quilt auction.  Photo by Grant Rissler.

West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship hosted the festival in the beautiful 107-year-old domed chapel of Calvary United Methodist Church where it worships. Bidders, volunteers, food, and auction items came from international, urban, and rural contexts.

Sale items included: a meal for ten hosted by an Amish family in rural PA; an original etching of the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies; a deep sea fishing trip in NJ; a house concert with viola, harp and flute; handmade corn brooms; an Eric Kratz signed baseball; tickets to the Philadelphia Orchestra; exquisite wood crafts; silk quilts made in a Vietnamese village; and over 20 other quilts and wall hangings.

Bidders also donated $2,730 directly to MCC church-based community development projects in Colombia and Philadelphia.  In Colombia, MCC works with Anabaptist churches in food security and sustainable livelihoods, and in Philadelphia, MCC supports Kingdom Builders Construction to serve among KBN churches.

Recognition is due to the more than 50 volunteers who assisted at the Festival.  Special thanks to Vernon Martin, the primary auctioneer, and to 89-year-old Sanford Alderfer from Alderfer Auction & Appraisal who stepped out of retirement to give Martin a lunch break!

At the Second Mennonite (Philadelphia) food booth, Brenda Holmes said, “This is a time of fellowship and of service.  It’s special that people from outside of Philly come here to join us: usually we go to their home areas.”  Geraldine Abraham agreed. “This festival is a ‘grand affair,’” she said, “and it is a blessing to give back.”

God@work beyond our imagination

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United Conference Assembly 2012

by Krista Showalter Ehst, Bally congregation

Now to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!   Amen.

Ervin Stutzman “kneels before the Father” to pray for the gathered members of Franconia and Eastern District Conferences at last Saturday’s joint assembly. Photo by Andrew Huth.

The passion of Paul himself permeated the auditorium as Ervin Stutzman, Executive Director of Mennonite Church USA, stood from his kneeled position and—hands stretched towards the sky—proclaimed these words from Ephesians 3:20-21. It was a fitting end to his message and an equally fitting end to the United Conference Assembly, in which 175 delegates, credentialed leaders, and other participants gathered to reflect upon and imagine where God has and might be at work amidst Franconia and Eastern District Conferences.

The day-long Assembly provided several opportunities for engaging God’s work through workshops, meal-time fellowship, a large exhibition of agencies, schools, and other ministries, delegate business sessions, and multi-lingual worship. This year’s second united gathering of the conferences was held at Penn View Christian School, Souderton, Pa.

Stutzman reminded participants that Paul wrote this prayer while in prison, a time of great trouble both for the apostle and the churches that looked to him as a leader. It is perhaps during the times of greatest trouble, Stutzman said, that God is working beyond our imagination.

A team of worship leaders from Eastern District and Franconia Conference congregations led multi-lingual worship. Photo by Andrew Huth.

Responses to the recent devastation of Hurricane Sandy testified to the ways God is at work in times of trouble. Andrew Huth, a documentary photographer and associate pastor of Amber congregation, recently traveled to New York City to photograph the aftermath of Sandy. The images he shared revealed immense destruction and heartache, but evidenced God’s love working through Mennonite Disaster Service teams from both conferences, local community members, and residents of the devastated areas. “If we aspire to be the kind of people who, at a moment’s notice, are ready and prepared to do the work of God,” Huth reflected, “then we must come pre-dirty.” The world doesn’t need us to put on a perfect face, Huth added, but they “should know us as followers of Christ from our stench.”

In the Franconia Conference business session, moderator John Goshow (Blooming Glen congregation) and assistant moderator Marta Castillo (Nueva Vida Norristown New Life congregation) acknowledged the challenge of loving one another and remaining in unity—particularly in the midst of disagreement over issues of human sexuality. Recently, the conference board received a letter from the Alpha congregation stating that they have decided to accept into membership persons with a homosexual orientation. The conference board is fully aware of the diversity of perspectives on this issue within Franconia Conference, according to Goshow, and decided that they were unwilling to sever a relationship with the Alpha congregation at this time.  “We acknowledge that further discernment on this subject is needed and desire that disagreeing voices be heard non-judgmentally and with patience and respect,” Goshow said. “We believe that God will be at work as we seek further discernment on this important issue.”

Warren Tyson and Ertell Whigham lead the congregation in a conversation on how partnership between the two conferences could bring God glory. Photo by Andrew Huth.

The ongoing relationship with Eastern District was another key topic of conversation. Franconia’s executive minister Ertell Whigham and Warren Tyson, Conference Minister of Eastern District, conferred with delegates on their responses to this common work; many delegates affirmed the benefits of working together and sharing resources.  There were also some reservations, however, around the risk of the smaller Eastern District being absorbed by the larger Franconia as well as potential theological differences between the two groups.

The desire to share resources speaks to a continued trend of decreased giving to the conference budget.   Whigham and Randy Nyce (Salford congregation), Conference Board Financial Committee Chair, alluded to the decreased financial support that Franconia Conference receives and a likely accompanying decrease in staff. This concerned some delegates, especially credentialed leaders who depend upon the support of their LEADership Ministers.

In the midst of these uncertainties, delegates were reminded of the many ways God has been and is at work throughout the conference community. Stutzman challenged the assembly to look for God “at work in every aspect of our lives” and within sessions and around dinner tables, participants shared of laundromat and garden ministries, appreciation dinners for local firefighters, and other creative, hands-on ways of entering into God’s work.

Members of the Ripple community gather up front during Conference Assembly to be recognized as a new member congregation of Franconia Conference. Photo by Andrew Huth.

Ripple, an emerging Anabaptist community birthed out of Whitehall congregation, brought particular witness to daily participation in God’s work as they were introduced to delegates and accepted into Franconia Conference as a member congregation.  Ripple seeks to respond to needs and possibilities in Allentown by serving their community through food distribution, engaging local children and youth, and living out community with those who have been marginalized.

Overall, the day was a rich one, filled with inspiring witness, tough yet necessary conversation, and much time to connect with persons from across both conferences. In the face of recent storm damage, uncertain economic realities, and the challenging topic of human sexuality, participants were challenged to trust and to take risks out of the knowledge that God can “do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

Watch the highlight video, listen to the podcast, or peruse the photo gallery from Conference Assembly 2012.

MDS settles into Staten Island for recovery

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by Steve Kriss, skriss@mosaicmennonites.org

Two weeks ago Hurricane Sandy pummeled the Northeast Corridor, landing near Atlantic City, NJ with high winds and high tides that pushed water into New York City neighborhoods, reshaped New Jersey’s barrier islands, and caused widespread wind damage and power outages across eastern Pennsylvania.   In the days after the storm, the scope of damage continues to emerge.   The needs in the midst of clean-up and recovery change day-to-day.  But undoubtedly, the recovery is going to take awhile.

Mennonite Disaster Service has established a binational project in Staten Island’s hard hit Midland Beach neighborhood, which, according to the New York Times, contained the highest concentration of deaths from the storm.  Midland Beach is a collection of cottages densely packed together along New York Bay with views of the Verrazano Bridge in the distance.  It’s a tight neighborhood of long-term generations of residents alongside newly arriving immigrants from Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Neighbors were trapped by what some residents call a tsunami wave that rolled in from the bay to the east, through marshes in the north and from a large field that had been an aircraft landing area in the south.   Water poured through the streets, rising rapidly, trapping neighbors in houses for hours.   New York Police evacuated residents stranded on rooftops and in attics by boat while neighbors helped neighbors by evacuating with four wheel drives and canoes.  Some residents died in their sleep as the water rose quickly.  Bodies were still being recovered last week, wedged amongst furniture and debris.

Mennonite Disaster Service teams began arriving in Staten Island from Followers of Jesus Mennonite Church in Brooklyn a few days after the storm.   Within the first week an assessment team from Mennonite Disaster Service New York came to survey storm damage in Staten Island and Queens.  The team quickly recognized the extent of damage and bumped up responsibility to the binational office.  A week after the storm, teams from Pennsylvania began arriving at Midland Beach’s Oasis Christian Center.

Oasis was formed from the merger of two congregations, one of which had been a member of Lancaster Mennonite Conference.  A member of the church whose house had been damaged had served on a MDS team in Arizona a decade ago.  The church buzzed with activity as they received donations from various sources and reached quickly into the neighborhood by offering food, clothing, and guidance.  Pastor Tim McIntyre made sure that the space could be used as an aid center.  The church’s sanctuary was turned into a makeshift warehouse with weekly worship moved off-site.  Food was cooked outside in the church’s courtyard.  Bottled water and cleaning supplies overflowed onto the church’s porch.

Mennonite Disaster Service followed the lead of New Yorkers in lending a hand, including NYC Mennonites.  A group from United Revival Mennonite Church responded to needs in Coney Island a few days after the storm.  Volunteers from Followers of Jesus Church went to work in Staten Island, helping with cleanup and organizing the cleanup efforts.   After initial surveys, MDS sought to establish an operation center in Staten Island, bringing in volunteers from upstate New York along with Ray Zimmerman, Region 1 coordinator and Mel Roes from Lowville, New York who leads MDS New York.  Isaac Zehr and Vernon Long have moved south to organize the operations.

Meanwhile, volunteers began to trickle in from Southeastern Pennsylvania, coming from Allentown, Lancaster, and Philadelphia regions for long days of travel and work.  Lodging options on Staten Island are limited.  Many persons affected by the disaster are bunking with other family members.   MDS efforts are beginning with a focus on families in the neighborhood near the church building and with families involved in Oasis Christian Center itself.

MDS expects to be in the neighborhood awhile; they pulled in a RV for temporary lodging and made some negotiations for housing for long-term volunteers in the neighborhood angling toward some possible facilities for week-long workers as well.   The devastation across the city is extensive.  Many families expect to be displaced for months.  Some homes have been condemned.  Other families aren’t sure they want to return to their once-flooded homes as they recognize their beautifully-situated neighborhood will always be vulnerable.

Staten Island is one of New York City’s five boroughs.  With a population of nearly a half million people, its only connection to the rest of the city is by the Verrazono Bridge and the Staten Island Ferry.  Its bridge crossings to New Jersey provide easy access to groups coming from the south or west.  To schedule a day of volunteering in Staten Island, call (800) 241-8111.  There are no options for longterm volunteers at this point beyond day trips.

Hurricane Sandy update from Mennonite Disaster Service

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Update from Rick Kratz at Mennonite Disaster Service–call him with questions, 267-372-4637.

Locally

We have been in touch with Montgomery County and have some people to follow up with about basement clean outs and such.

New York and New Jersey

I don’t have anything for New Jersey at this time but as things unfold we will pass that on.

Mennonite Disaster Service is investigating New York City with the Mennonite Churches of New York City to see how best we can be of service.  As we get more information and request for assistance I will pass that on to you.  At this time we are keeping a list of names of those who contact us about going up to help. Please provide me with any names and contact information of people interested in helping locally or up in New York City.  As we receive requests from New York we will put groups together and respond as requested.

Many people or organizations are asking about donations.  If people or organizations would like to donate to MDS we ask that they do so financially.

Donations can be sent to our local unit:

MDS of Eastern PA/NJ
P.O. Box 64794
Souderton, PA 18964

MDS photos from Staten Island

Hurricane Sandy leaves destruction and opportunity

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by Emily Ralph, eralphservant@mosaicmennonites.org

Three days after Hurricane Sandy swept through south-eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, members of Franconia Conference are still cleaning up from massive flooding, downed trees and power lines, and extensive power outages.

Communication has been challenging and reports are trickling in–entire communities are still without power, dealing with road closures, and running short on supplies as gas stations and grocery stores are also without electricity.

Some of the reports we have heard:

  • Power is still out at Deep Run East (Perkasie, Pa.), Doylestown (Pa.), Swamp (Quakertown, Pa.), Methacton (Norristown, Pa.) and Garden Chapel (Dover, NJ) facilities.
  • Most of the Garden Chapel congregation is without power, although there have been no reports of damage to homes or the church building.
  • Methacton had and continues to have flooding in their basement/fellowship hall.  Without electricity, they are unable to pump the water out.
  • Many members of congregations along the Rte. 113 corridor around Souderton, Pa., are without power, as are the Conference Center offices and the Souderton Center, which is owned by Franconia Conference.  Penn View Christian School—the site of next weekend’s Conference Assembly—is also without electricity.   These power outages extend as far north as Allentown and as far east as the Delaware River.
  • Despite reports of wider damage in Philadelphia, Franconia congregations in the city survived the hurricane mostly unscathed.
Zume after Hurricane Sandy
Ben Walter, Ripple (right), and his housemates at the Zume House intentional community in Allentown, hosted their “power-less” neighbors for dinner the night after the hurricane. Luke Martin, Vietnamese Gospel, was among the guests.

In the midst of such wide-spread destruction, conference congregations are finding opportunities to minister to one another and their communities:

  • A young mother at Doylestown congregation made meals and delivered them to members of her congregation who were without power.
  • Salford (Harleysville, Pa.) congregation, once their own electricity was restored, opened their facilities to anyone in the community who needed heat, bathrooms, clean water, or a place to plug in their electronic devices.  They also expanded their weekly Community Meal to include those who needed a hot dinner.
  • Individuals throughout the region have opened their homes to friends and neighbors without power, delivered supplies to those who are stuck at home because of blocked roads, and brought their chainsaws to aid in the cleanup.
  • Members of Ripple Allentown (Pa.) who were without power met at their pastors’ home for a meal and to “warm up a bit,” reported Carolyn Albright. “It was a holy, blessed time together.”

Noah Kolb, Pastor of Ministerial Leadership for Franconia Conference, received two emails from conference congregations encouraging members to share their resources with others in their congregation and neighborhoods.  “Often we try to get beyond these things to get to the work of church,” Kolb reflected, “but this IS church.  This is really the stuff of church.”

Because of the challenges of communication, conference staff has not been able to contact all conference congregations to learn of current conditions, needs, and relief efforts.  If you have any information, please report it to your LEADership Minister or any member of conference staff—don’t assume that the staff already know about it.

If your congregation and neighborhood has made it through relatively unscathed, please check in with other congregations in your region to see how you can help; also consider how your congregation’s facility or aid can help the greater community.

If you are aware of relief efforts or needs, please report these to conference staff so that they can connect needs with resources.  The conference email and phones are up and running.

On Monday, as the hurricane was approaching, Michael King, a member of Salford and the dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary (Harrisonburg, Va.), sent out an email to seminary students and staff.  “I don’t know precisely how we theologize at a time like this,” King wrote.  “Jesus teaches that the rain falls on the just and the unjust and that tragedies are not signs that we’re out of God’s favor. The Bible is also rich with images of God’s care, of God as the mother who shelters us under tender wings.  My loved ones, your loved ones, and all of us are in my heart and prayers amid the yearnings for God’s shelter.”

Conference young adults serving with Mennonite Missions

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ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Mission Network) – Emma Nafziger, of Pottstown, Pa., began a one year service term with the Service Adventure program in August 2012. Nafziger will be living in community with other young adults in a unit house in Raleigh, NC.

A 2010 graduate of Christopher Dock Mennonite High School (Lansdale, Pa.), Nafziger is the daughter of Robin and Dean Nafziger and a member of Vincent Mennonite Church in Spring City, Pa..

In this program of Mennonite Mission Network, young adults, ages 17-20, live in a household community, with a leader, for 10 months in cities and towns across the United States. Since 1989, Service Adventure participants have served in medical clinics, tutored children, worked with senior citizens, assisted in building homes, and helped meet additional needs across North America. They’ve become part of new communities; experienced and learned from different people and cultures; and grown in their faith.

Joseph BatesJoe Bates, of Red Hill, Pa., began a one year service term with the Radical Journey program in August 2012. Bates will be serving with a team in England.

A 2011 graduate of Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, Bates is the son of Randee Bates and attends Perkiomenville (Pa.) Mennonite Church.

Radical Journey is a Mennonite Mission Network program for young adults that emphasizes faith formation, service and cross-cultural learning.  Participants spend 10 days in orientation, 10 months in an international service location and another month in re-orientation with their home congregations.

Mennonite Mission Network is the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA and exists to lead, mobilize and equip the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Mission Network envisions every congregation and all parts of the world being fully engaged in mission.