News

Conferences discuss history, consider future in forums

April 5, 2012 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Emily Ralph, eralphservant@mosaicmennonites.org

Jim Musselman and John Ruth — Jim Musselman, left, and John Ruth, unofficial historians for Eastern District and Franconia Conferences share the history of the 1847 split. Photo by Emily Ralph..

Members of Eastern District and Franconia Conferences of Mennonite Church USA met on March 29 at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School in Lansdale, PA, to continue conversations about a shared future. This gathering, the first of two forums planned for Spring 2012, focused on developing a deeper understanding of the 1847 split in Franconia Conference that led to the formation of Eastern District Conference.

Although some people think that the merger between the two conferences is a done deal, that couldn’t be further from the truth, according to Ron White, moderator of Eastern District Conference and member of Church of the Good Samaritan. Conference leadership has been following the delegates’ directive from the 2011 Assembly to move forward in exploring and listening, he said in his welcome.

When White asked how many people from each conference had attended an event or service in a congregation from the other conference, nearly every hand in the room raised. “See, we’ve already been working together,” said White, “we just haven’t called it that.”

Jim Musselman, Zion congregation, and John Ruth, Salford congregation, unofficial historians for the two conferences, shared presentations on the history of the 1847 split, the tensions leading up to it, and the fallout in the years following it. The progressives (a group which broke off to later become Eastern District Conference) were looking for modern administration, freedom in dress and conduct, education for pastors, and the creation of publications, said Musselman, Eastern District historian. The years following the split were tumultuous for the new conference, he said, with further division as differing theological strains emerged.

“Almost every positive thing that the Eastern District leaders wanted eventually came to Franconia Conference,” said Ruth, Franconia Conference historian. “It just took 100 years longer. . . . It would have come sooner to Franconia Conference if they all would have stayed together.” In the end, said Ruth, both sides lost: “There was not much creativity in finding ways of love and respect for each other.”

After the presentations, participants talked around their tables to ask questions and reflect on the history. Photo by Emily Ralph

To this day, remnants of the 19^th-century division remain in attitudes toward one another. Eastern District Conference congregations often accepted into membership people who had been disciplined by Franconia Conference congregations, gaining them a reputation as a conference who will “take anybody,” said Musselman; Franconia congregations worried that this acceptance watered down the purity of the church body.

Following the presentations, the gathering broke into table groups to talk about what they had heard, formulate questions, and discuss together the implications of a shared future. In reporting the highlights of their table conversations with the room, members of both conferences expressed concern about navigating theological differences within conferences and congregations, overcoming generations of “us/them” mentalities, and working through organizational and structural differences.

The group also wondered how there could be healing of the personal wounds that people still carried from the tension between the conferences. “How can we gain empathy for each other’s narratives in moving forward?” asked Marta Castillo, assistant moderator for Franconia Conference and a pastor at Nueva Vida Norristown New Life.

These next steps will be discussed at a second forum, planned for May 24, 7pm, at Christopher Dock. Forum 2 will look at present-day similarities and differences in vision and mission as well as strengths and weaknesses of the two conferences and begin a conversation on future possibilities. A possible third forum may be scheduled if needed.

Sam Claudio, co-pastor of Christ Fellowship, came to the forum to gain further understanding of the histories of the community that he has joined in Mennonite Church USA. “It’s good to see that I’ve become part of something that is in the midst of coming together, not in the midst of tearing apart,” he told the group. “As we leave this place, let us remember that we are ministers—all of us, each of us—of reconciliation. That is our mandate, to be reconciled one to another…. Let us work toward that goal as we leave this place.”

Listen to Forum 1:

[podcast]http://www.mosaicmennonites.org/media-uploads/mp3/Forum 1 (March 2012).mp3[/podcast]

View the photo album

STEP Pastoral Training Expanding

April 3, 2012 by Emily Ralph Servant

_MG_3875 — Pictured: Luc Pham and Khon Tran. Photo provided.

The STEP pastoral training program looks to grow in 2012 by forming two new cohorts of students simultaneously in both Philadelphia and Lancaster, Pa. for fall semester.

“Starting two cohorts of STEP students in one year signals another adventure for us,” remarked Mark R. Wenger, STEP program director. “We are very pleased to see how STEP is addressing the urgent need for basic high-quality pastoral training of those in congregational leadership.”

The STEP pastoral training program emerged in 2004 in response to the need to provide more flexible, non-traditional Anabaptist ministry preparation. STEP will hold its sixth annual graduation on May 12, 2012 for a cohort of students completing the three-year, part-time program.

The program first expanded from its Lancaster base in 2010 by working together with Anabaptist congregations in Philadelphia. Those congregations are requesting an additional urban cohort.

Daniel Lopez and Lam Nguyen-9 — Pictured: Fernando Loyola, Daniel Lopez, & Lam Nguyen. Photo provided.

The STEP curriculum is designed for adult learners in part-time study. Actual ministry practice, coupled with assignments and teaching by experienced pastors, forms the basis for lively learning in community.

Each of the three years of STEP yields ten undergraduate credits at EMU. Classes meet on Saturdays, once a month. Students drive to class from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Ohio.

STEP is jointly owned by Eastern Mennonite University and Lancaster Mennonite Conference. More information.

On ‘Titanic’ centennial, missionary’s life remembered

April 2, 2012 by Emily Ralph Servant

By Sheldon C. Good, Mennonite World Review

Annie Funk — Funk prepares to ride her bicycle to the girls’ school she started in India in 1908. — Photo provided

HARLEYSVILLE, Pa. — When Annie Clemmer Funk, a Mennonite missionary to India, learned her mother was very ill in Pennsylvania, she quickly packed her bags and caught a train to Bombay. From there she traveled to England, where she learned a coal strike had delayed her ship’s voyage to the U.S.

So she paid a few extra gold pieces for a spot on the Titanic, which set sail two days later.

Funk was one of 1,517 people who died in the “unsinkable” ocean liner’s disaster on April 15, 1912. Just three days earlier she had celebrated her 38th birthday aboard the Titanic.

To mark the centennial of Funk’s death in one of history’s most famous tragedies at sea, filmmaker Jay Ruth is producing a 35-minute video that tells the story of Funk’s faith and witness and describes the nature of Mennonite mission at the time.

A DVD will be available, and two premiere showings are planned. The first will be at 7:30 p.m. April 29 at Zion Mennonite Church in Souderton. The second will be at 7:30 p.m. May 6 at Hereford Mennonite Church in Bally, Funk’s home congregation.

The film, sponsored by Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania, is a production of Jay Ruth’s Branch Valley Productions in Lederach.

A native of Butter Valley in southeastern Pennsylvania, Funk was the first Mennonite woman from Pennsylvania to serve as a missionary in India. Fragments of her story have been known for years, but the film is the first larger project of its kind.

“Here’s a young woman who grew up in rural Pennsylvania, and somehow she was drawn from there to the other side of the world, and then her life ended in this worldwide drama,” said historian John L. Ruth, a consultant for the film. “As a memorably dedicated Christian, she has not been forgotten in India and North America as a hero of our faith family.”

Using momentum from the blockbuster 1997 film Titanic, Charlotte Strouse of Zion Mennonite helped Funk’s story became even more widely known. Strouse recalled Funk’s life more than 100 times in a one-person re-enactment.

Before going to India, Funk took a teachers’ course at West Chester State Normal School, which later became West Chester University. She trained for Christian service at D.L. Moody’s Northfield (Mass.) Seminary for Ladies, then served in Chattanooga, Tenn., and with the Young Women’s Christian Association in Paterson, N.J.

After Mennonite missionaries in India put out an urgent call for an unmarried woman, Funk expressed interest, Jay Ruth said.

According to a story in the Dec. 26, 1985, issue of Mennonite Weekly Review, Funk had written: “Several years ago I promised the Lord that if the way would open to go to the foreign field, I would do my duty… . Now the door is open wide enough for me to do my duty to the extent of being willing to go.”

Funk went to Janjgir, India, in 1906, at the age of 32. She served under the General Conference Mennonite Church’s young board of missions.

“At the time, India had famine, leprosy, cholera and extreme heat,” Jay Ruth said. “Annie would not have thought of herself as an important person. She would have thought of herself as being faithful.”

In 1908 Funk started a one-room school for girls, later named Funk Memorial Girls School.

Giving up her seat

Not much is known about Funk’s time on the Titanic. Conflicting stories tell of her experience while the ship was sinking.

According to one account, Funk was already seated in a full lifeboat when she saw a woman and her child (or children) who needed space. So Funk gave up her seat, saying she would probably find a seat in another boat.

Although a newspaper in England was said to have documented Funk’s situation, the story is now mostly oral, Jay Ruth said.

Funk’s friends back home were surprised to see her name listed in newspapers along with the other casualties. They were sure the Annie Funk they knew was to come on the SS Haverford. A letter Funk sent back to India as the Titanic left England explained what she had done.

After her death, several memorial services were held in Pennsylvania and India. Her mother’s health had improved, and she was able to attend one of the services. A plaque was later installed in the chapel of the Northfield school, where she had trained.

In 1913 a monument was dedicated at the Hereford Mennonite Church cemetery. The monument, erected by Eastern District Conference, says: “Her life was one of service in the spirit of the master — ‘not to be ministered unto but to minister.’ ”

Reprinted by permission from Mennonite World Review.

Gathering of “sisters” provides training and care

March 28, 2012 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Emily Ralph

One hundred and thirty women gathered for training and fellowship at Souderton Mennonite Church on March 23-24. The Sister Care seminar, developed by Mennonite Women USA, was sponsored by Eastern District and Franconia Conferences as part of their continuing work to equip and train congregational leaders.

“The depth of the sharing and the tears move, inspire, and teach us that the female characteristics are God-given and that we, as God’s women, have much honesty and healing to bring to the world,” said event planner Anne Yoder, West Philadelphia congregation. “I was most thrilled about the number of women who came from smaller churches and were able to connect with the larger church body.”

Sister Care was born out of a 2006 question to Mennonite women: How can congregations provide better care for women’s needs? After two years of meeting with a focus group, Sister Care materials were developed. Since 2008, Mennonite Women USA has been offering the seminar through conferences all over the country.

“Pastors are overwhelmed. They don’t have time to do one-on-one counseling with individual parishioners,” said Sister Care co-presenter Carolyn Heggan. “Women often have natural gifts of compassion and caregiving. Sister Care, we hope, affirms the gifts they have and have been using and gives them some insights and confidence to see their caring relationships with others as important ministry.”

This empowerment and equipping becomes an important tool for church leaders, Heggan added. “Pastors are thrilled if they are not the only one that people can turn to in the congregation.”

Vicki Cook “collapses” in frustration after Rhoda Keener fails to follow the principles of active listening. Photo by Gay Brunt Miller.

The two-day seminar included times of teaching, dramatic readings, singing, table conversation, individual reflection, congregational brainstorming, and symbolic action. A highlight for many was co-presenter Rhoda Keener’s illustration of active listening by play-acting a conversation with friend Vicki Clark in which she repeatedly got distracted; Clark ended up falling to the ground in frustration.

In addition to teaching skills for listening and offering a healing presence, the seminar emphasized the need for self-care. Without caring for self, people in ministry become run down and unable to help others. “We, as Mennonites, may be more susceptible than others,” said Heggan. “We equate being busy and doing good things with Christian virtue. Sometimes we carry our busy schedules and being harassed with too much to do almost as a badge of courage.”

Souderton’s Sister Care seminar was groundbreaking for Mennonite Women USA—it was the first time they have used materials translated into Spanish; Spanish-speaking participants were also equipped with translation headsets. As a result, the seminar was well-attended by Spanish-speaking members of Philadelphia Praise Center and Nueva Vida Norristown New Life.

“Mi grupo de mujeres quedaron muy contentas en su primera experiencia y ya estamos planeando como pober en practica las herramientas que se nis dio en el taller [My group of women were very happy with their first experience and we are already planning how to put into practice the tools that we were given at the seminar],” said Leti Cortes, a pastor at Philadelphia Praise Center. “Estan tan animadas que estamos pensando en un retiro de mujeres y usar algunas dinamicas que nos ayudaron a poder expresar lo que hemos vivido,espero le sirva este mensaje [We were so encouraged that we are thinking about having a women’s retreat and using some of the group activities that help us to express what we have lived].”

For more information on Sister Care, visit Mennonite Women USA’s website.

View the photo album

Haitian pastor, family attacked

March 28, 2012 by Emily Ralph Servant

By Sheldon C. Good, Mennonite World Review

Pastor Lesly and Bernadette Bertrand in the “mother church” of Grace Assembly Network in 2004.

A group of robbers attacked an orphanage in Haiti early on March 19, killing one person and raping another. They injured at least three others, including Mennonite Pastor Lesly Bertrand.

At about 1 a.m., the robbers jumped over the wall surrounding Grace Children Home located in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, eight miles northeast of Port-au-Prince. They shot and killed the security guard and took his keys.

They then tied up three people — Pastor Bertrand; his wife, Bernadette; and the yardboy — and beat them. The robbers raped the Bertrands’ 14-year-old daughter. They took a cellphone, a laptop and some money.

Bernadette Bertrand and the girl were both hospitalized overnight. They are now receiving medical attention at home.

Esaie Bertrand, a son of the family, said in an email March 20 that the orphan children “are doing well.”

In addition to the orphanage, Assemblée de la Grâce (Grace Assembly Network) consists of 25 congregations with about 2,387 members, and seven schools. There are more than 30 pastors.

Pastor Bertrand is bishop of Assemblée de la Grâce, which is a partner in mission of Franconia Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA. He has invited prayers for the situation.

Walter Sawatzky of Hatfield, Pa., a consultant with Wozo, an organization that runs a trauma-healing program in Haiti, said that Garly Michel, executive director of Wozo, planned to meet with Pastor Bertrand.

Wozo is an adaptation of Eastern Mennonite University’s Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience program. The Haitian program began in October 2010 with funds from six denominations and organizations, including Mennonite Central Committee and the Church of the Brethren.

Sawatzky said the Bertrands and the orphanage are victims of a broader trend of violence and insecurity in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

“The pattern I’ve seen is that the robbers will observe when there’s been contact with international people,” he said. “After the visit is done, they assume [the foreigners] left some money or that the Haitians have access to money, so they kidnap people or try to rob them.”

This is not the first time Grace Assembly Network has been targeted. In 2006 several gunmen came into the “mother church” of Grace Assembly Network and shot and killed a church deacon, severely wounded the worship leader and injured several others.

The intruders “promised to come back and kill Pastor Lesly,” Sawatzky said.

At the time, Bertrand and his family lived near the church. They later moved across town.

“Foreigners are given a wide berth when it comes to street violence or even home invasions,” he said. “The sad thing is that the average Haitian is far more vulnerable to this kind of violence, because they lack the foreigners’ greater visibility, and therefore, protection by the global community represented through occupying U.N. security forces deployed in Haiti since 1994.”

Gay Brunt Miller, who relates to Assemblée de la Grâce for Franconia Conference, said at least three conference congregations are taking special offerings for costs associated with the situation, including for the security guard’s funeral. An offering was taken at a Sister Care seminar of Mennonite Women USA held March 23-24 in Souderton, Pa.

“This incident makes me heartsick,” she said. “Please pray for Pastor Lesly and all those impacted by this brutal violation. Pray that God will heal their minds, bodies and souls, and give them courage so that they may continue to shine God’s light in Haiti.”

Gifts can be sent through Franconia Mennonite Conference, 569 Yoder Road, Harleysville, PA 19438. Please mark your check “Haiti.” Article reprinted by permission of Mennonite World Review.

Penn View students take science competition by storm

March 26, 2012 by Emily Ralph Servant

Students from Penn View Christian School in Souderton, Pa, participated in the Montgomery County Science Research Competition last week, taking home twenty-five awards and sending fifteen projects on to the regional science fair.

The 55th Montgomery County Science Research Competition (MCSRC) was held March 15-18 on the main campus of Montgomery County Community College. Five-hundred and eighty-two junior and senior high school students from all over Montgomery County participated in this year’s event. Students choose topics of scientific research, design and carry out experiments, and then prepare speeches and poster presentations to share with the 122 judges representing a diverse population of scientists, engineers, medical doctors, and science teachers. They are entered into one of 14 categories ranging from the Behavioral and Social Sciences to Biochemistry, Mathematics, Engineering, Chemistry, Zoology and Botany. First and second place winners in the high school divisions and first, second, and third place winners in the middle school divisions go onto the Delaware Valley Regional Science Fair which includes 8 Pennsylvania counties, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Penn View Christian School did very well in E Division (middle school), taking 6 first place awards in the 12 categories that students were entered. In addition, 6 students won second place awards and 3 came in third. Penn View students also “swept” the Biochemistry category, taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd out of the 23 students entered. Ten students were awarded honorable mentions. When all the points were added Penn View won the Richard A. Close award (named after a teacher and former director of MCSRC).

Penn View Christian School is a Conference Related Ministry of Franconia Conference.

PV science Awards — Middle school students from Penn View Christian School participating in the Montgomery County Research Science Competiton.

–UPDATE: Results from the Delaware Valley Science Fair with Penn View Christian Students–

Megan Swintosky

Ist Place Biochemistry
Parenteral Drug Assn. Award ($1000)
Janssen Biotechnology Award ($150)
Broadcom MASTERS Award

Jimmy Olsen

3^rd Place Biochemistry
DuPont Excellence award ($50 and a day at the DuPont Labs in Delaware)
Broadcom MASTERS award

Madison Buiting

2^nd Place Botany
Broadcom MASTERS award

Colin Bernd

3^rd Place in Mathematics
Broadcom MASTERS award

Jessica Chung

DuPont Excellence award ($50 and a day at the DuPont Labs in Delaware)

Sharon Curtis / Maddison Landis

HM in Team Category

Laura Olsen

HM in Chemistry

Addie Olsen

HM in Mathematics

Maxwell Howald

HM in Biochemistry

Historic forums planned for inter-conference dialogue

March 22, 2012 by Emily Ralph Servant

Emily Ralph, eralphservant@mosaicmennonites.org

IMG_2674B — Delegates from Eastern District and Franconia conferences approve continued conversations on a shared future at the joint assembly in 2011. Photo by Emily Ralph

Eastern District and Franconia conference leaders have planned two delegate forums this spring to continue the exploration of a shared future. The forums will be held on March 29 and May 24 at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School in Lansdale, PA and will include presentations from conference historians and conversations about the nature of each conference and possible next steps.

At the joint assembly in 2011, delegates of both Conferences expressed a strong desire to more fully understand the events that led to the 1847 split in Franconia Conference and the eventual formation of Eastern District Conference. There was overwhelming support for continuing conversation as well as concern that these conversations be done with care and integrity, said Eastern District moderator Ron White, from Church of the Good Samaritan, in a letter to delegates.

Continuing to maintain two separate conferences, side by side, is the expression of an unhealed break in the Body of Christ, according to historian John Ruth, Salford congregation, who will be presenting at the March forum. “It’s a statement that needs to be explained (or defended) to the current generation of church members . . . and the neighbors to whom we witness,” he said.

Beth Rauschenberger, associate pastor at Zion congregation, understands the need for these forums. She didn’t grow up within the Mennonite church and has always found the historic rift between the conferences puzzling, she said in a recent round table. “You have to hear those personal stories; you have to hear the hurt,” she explained. “I don’t understand the hurt, so I want to hear the hurt that some people have gone through.”

Although all delegates are asked to attend, the forums are also open to anyone interested in learning more about the joint history of the conferences or participating in conversation about future possibilities.

In preparation for the forums, Franconia Conference has made available digital copies of three chapters of Maintaining the Right Fellowship, Ruth’s history of Franconia and Eastern District conferences. These chapters describe the circumstances leading up to the 1847 split and the aftermath of the conflict.

These forums are historic, said Ruth, “because there has never been a serious, deliberate dialogue between the two conferences on this problem.” The current dialogue, he added, could be transformative “because the core of the Gospel we profess is reconciliation.”

Forum One (March 29, 7-9 pm): In this forum, Franconia Conference historian John Ruth and Eastern District Conference historian Jim Musselman will explore the differences that led to the 1847 split and the birth of the Eastern District. A time for questions and conferring will be structured into the forum where participants will be invited to consider how this split has impacted our two conferences for the past 165 years.

Forum Two (May 24, 7-9pm): This Forum will focus on the current realities of our conferences. What are the present-day similarities and differences in the vision and mission of our conferences? What are the strengths and weakness of our two conferences? Are there ways the 1847 split continues to cause tension between our conferences? What have we learned from each other? What are the next steps for our continuing dialogue?

Fire Marshal Visits Bethany Birches Camp

March 21, 2012 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Brandon Bergey, Executive Director at Bethany Birches Camp

This post is about a sad story. It’s the story of the BBC Cabin the day the fire marshal came to visit.

Quick Tangent – if you didn’t know, the cabin is our only year-round use building. It’s where we host winter camps. It’s where skiers stay while they ski surrounding mountains and that provides us some extra revenue. Possibly most importantly, it’s where our non-counseling staff and volunteers stay during summer camp! And, summer is rapidly approaching.

Back to the story – Bruce and Jay were friendly and clear. They have concerns about how quickly people could get out of the building in case of fire. They gave us a conditional permit, which ends April 1, 2012! After that, no one can sleep in the building until it’s amended to meet Vermont Life Safety Code.

How big of a deal can 8 violations really be? Apparently a big enough deal to cost $20-$30K (incomplete estimate) – YIKES! And, at our board meeting we recently decided to add $10K to that number (probably out of our own savings) to accomplish a Master Plan item that will not only make the building much better by including proper bathrooms but will also take care of the two exits we need to add to the loft sleeping areas.

For more info on the report and the list of violations, see this blog post. Our need is great. If you are able to help, we would be so thankful, and so will the kids of Central VT (did I mention one of our campers recently made a $10 donation online – don’t worry, he’s 17 with a job).

HERE ARE A FEW WAYS TO HELP:

Give money! Just the materials are going to cost over $10K. Send a check or give online and give to general operations or where needed most.
Give time: we’ll need volunteers to do most of the work. Consider getting a small crew of experienced people together and come up for a weekend. A few experienced laborers can make a big dent in just two days. Call the office or email me. Signing up for blog posts or liking our Facebook page will keep you in the know on this project also.
Give material: perhaps you own or have influence in a supply chain that could get us sheet rock, lighting, paint, etc. If it’s in the above list, we need it.

And so the story of an old camp, that’s doing the best it can, continues. We have always been provided for by those that care about Bethany Birches’ Mission. God continues to use people in special ways to do this work of helping young people develop their relationship with him as we provide them with a Christ-centered camping experience.

Praise God for the two hour emotional cycle I experienced after the fire marshal’s visit. At first I was frustrated and annoyed. Then, humility kicked in. So often, when I receive correction, direction, instruction, if I am able to release my frustration, I begin to sense God at work.

Join me in praying… God, join us in this endeavor and in all of our endeavors. I pray that you will bring the resources and people needed to accomplish this change and that it will not distract from the bigger things ahead.

This post is about a sad story. It’s the story of the BBC Cabin the day the fire marshal came to visit.

News

–UPDATE: Results from the Delaware Valley Science Fair with Penn View Christian Students–

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