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Women join together to “Come and be Filled”

by

Sandy Landes

“Come and be Filled,” was the theme of the recent “Celebrate, women joining together” event held at Franconia Mennonite Church on Saturday, April 17. An all-day event, it included worship, sharing from the Word by Bonnie Stevenson of Mexico City, pampering stations including neck and shoulder massage as well as being refreshed through fellowship and prayer. A group from Blooming Glen ministered through singing “At the Foot of the Cross,” an echo of the message for the day, laying down our burdens and picking up the joy. We were blessed by the testimony of Luz Maria Vargas, a church planter with her husband in Gaithersburg, MD.

266 women of the region and beyond attended from congregations and communities throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Lancaster as well as from Northern PA and the Washington DC metro area. Planned by nine women from local congregations, the purpose of the day was to help women come to relax, refresh, renew and rejoice as we celebrated the love of Jesus.

The following response to the day by Connie Detwiler, co-pastor of Lakeview Mennonite Church, reviews some of the highlights:

“God’s presence was sensed in many ways. The day was beautifully planned and flowed along wonderfully well. From the moment our group walked into the church we were welcomed. The hospitality of the greeters was warm and helpful in every way. What a heartwarming site as more and more ladies came and to hear the different locations they came from! The ways God draws us to unity is precious!

Bonnie is an amazing speaker. Her spirit is ever so gentle and delightful and yet so strong in who she is and ‘whose’ she is. What a gift we had in her!

Kudos over and over to the worship team! How amazing it was to have a group of women from different churches leading the praise and worship time! The voices, the instruments, and the spirit in each of them was just lovely and inviting.

It was humbling and challenging to be asked to be part of the prayer team and as always, God showed up in amazing ways as we prayed. I really feel many were ministered to through prayers that only God knows the end results.

The prayer rooms offered places of quiet and reflection in many ways, from the visuals to the guided prayers. And, speaking of visuals, the front of the church was a beautiful reminder of “being filled”…many times, over and over.

The ladies giving the massages were ministering to many and the massages were just a special treat, a great way of pampering.

The lunch was delicious and just right for the setting we were in.

It was obvious that much time, many thoughts and fervent prayers went into this time of celebration preparation and many were blessed. I have heard only positive comments from our group that attended and I’m sure if distance weren’t a problem, I’d be hearing more.”

A few other comments captured in passing included the following thoughts gleaned from Bonnie’s teaching:

  • The Lord loves to hear my voice!
  • Keep looking up!
  • Be thirsty!
  • Maranatha – The Lord is coming!
  • Be faithful in the little things
  • Intercession – keep knocking
  • Lay my burden down and pick up joy
  • With forgiveness, comes healing
  • “The message about being wakened in the night and just enjoying the presence of God instead of stewing about not sleeping well, helped me on Saturday night.”

And Kristi Wile, Franconia Mennonite Church, writes, “I couldn’t wait to spend an entire day worshiping and fellowshipping with other women! I knew that God would do an amazing thing. With the worship time, the testimonies, and the speaker, God made His presence perfectly clear. At one point, I was standing down front amidst other women and I was so highly aware that the Holy Spirit was moving right around me and in me. It was awesome! I came away so full and overflowing that it was several days before I could read my Bible again!”

As a way to reach beyond us, the women in attendance were given an opportunity to knot two comforters for distribution in Haiti through Mennonite Central Committee. While “Celebrate” was free for those in attendance, an opportunity was given for donations towards the expenses of the day and any monies received in excess were promised to be forwarded on to Grace Assembly Network in Haiti, a Franconia Conference Partner in Mission. We are thankful to report that $417.00 will be sent to the church in Haiti.

For those who would like to hear the worship and teaching, CD’s are available for purchase at Franconia Mennonite Church for $5. Call the church at 215-723-3220 to confirm availability.

You are invited to join in prayer as God’s leading is sought for any future “Celebrate” events. We look forward to being a part of God’s purposes fulfilled in the lives of women in this region.

Redefining success at the ‘Top of the World’

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Bethsaba & Dale Nafziger
www.topoftheworldcoffee.com

I grew up in Vincent Mennonite Church, Spring City, Pa. I first went to Nepal, the land of Mt. Everest, under Mennonite Central Committee in 1979. Bethsaba, a native of Darjeeling, and I were married there in 1994 – where we currently continue to serve under Mennonite Mission Network. Until 2003 we happily served in various capacities under the United Mission to Nepal. Around that time, however, UMN had a number of entrepreneurial projects that they were looking to “spin off” into small private enterprises. Bethsaba “latched onto” one of those as an opportunity for providing jobs and employment to women living in our village. The opportunity was that of making frozen french fries. Our new company’s name was, appropriately, “Top of the World.”

Reena was one of our first Top of the World employees. She entered this life with “three strikes” against her: first she was a girl, second she was low caste, and third she had a hearing defect. While she worked Reena simply observed us. Then she began to ask questions…questions not at all of the nature one would expect to hear from an “uneducated” village girl. To make a long story short: Reena is now one of the key members of our local congregation.

In 2007 we added frozen pizzas to our product line. During that same year we added on coffee and re-registered our small company under the name “Top of the World Coffee.” A busy year and a half passed between company restructuring and the time we first began selling coffee. This time was occupied learning the coffee business, acquiring the necessary equipment, sourcing coffee, etc. Nepal is a landlocked country so everything either needs to be imported via airfreight, at considerable cost, or via India, at considerable risk. On November 16, 2008 we finally roasted and sold our first bags of coffee. It was a joyous occasion!

Frank A. Clark once said, “If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” That statement nicely summarizes our experiences in practicing “business as mission” here over the past seven years. Nepal is a stunningly beautiful country – given that it contains the highest mountains on earth how could it possibly be otherwise? The people are friendly, the culture is exotic…and the church here is growing at an amazing pace. Economically, however, it is also one of the most rigorous business environments possibly found on the face of planet earth. In addition to the issues that arise from Nepal being land locked, we currently struggle making and selling frozen foods with 12 hours “loadshedding” (daily lack-of-electricity), political instability, and perpetual shortages of essential supplies.

If economic problems alone are not sufficient, however, possibly our greatest area of challenge is that of business ethics. Fortunately, we are not alone in confronting these issues. We are part of a supportive network of national and expatriate Christian business women and men who call ourselves “Great Commission Companies – Nepal.” We meet weekly for prayer and also have regular monthly meetings. Luci Swindoll stated, “In God’s economy you will be hard-pressed to find many examples of successful ‘Lone Rangers.’” Based upon our situation here in Nepal, I couldn’t agree more! One of the issues that we regularly deliberate here is, “How do we define ‘business success?’” If one narrowly defines it on the basis of the teaching found in a traditional MBA…one may as well pack up and go home…or never even come to Nepal in the first place. Looking at success from a Kingdom perspective, however, makes the whole effort worthwhile. Just look at Reena!

Friends and well-wishers occasionally ask how they can access our products – as a way of supporting our efforts. Regrettably, they are not available in the USA…nor will they realistically be available there in the foreseeable future. Something that everyone can do, however, is pray. Beyond that people are most welcome to contribute to our continuing lives and service here under Mennonite Mission Network. Giving fills a very real need. Finally, our Top of the World Coffee does have business goals that I be happy to communicate via personal e-mail correspondence.

We are grateful to you, the churches of the Franconia Mennonite Conference, for your faithfulness in helping us to redefine business success here at the top of the world!

Mennonite convention planners discern response to Arizona immigration bill

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Mennonite Church USA

The location for Mennonite Church USA’s 2013 convention — Phoenix, Ariz. — is being called into question because of Arizona Senate Bill 1070, which passed April 23.

Two weeks before news of the Arizona immigration bill hit national headlines, Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, director of convention planning for Mennonite Church USA, met with the Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau to discuss her disappointment with and concern about the upcoming change in legislation.

“We want all parts of Mennonite Church USA to feel welcome at convention locations,” Swartzendruber Miller said. “Our national convention is meant to be a reunion of Mennonite brothers and sisters from across the country, representing many ethnicities. This bill does not send a welcoming message.”

Arizona Senate Bill 1070 — the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act — declares that it is a crime to reside in Arizona as an illegal immigrant and that law enforcement has the right to demand proof of legal residence from people suspected of having illegal immigrant status. In Arizona, 30 percent of the population is Hispanic. Since the bill passed, demonstrators have lined the streets of downtown Phoenix, protesting that the bill legalizes racial profiling. Phoenix’s mayor, Phil Gordon, released a statement describing the immigration bill as “unconstitutional”

Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership has been in conversation with racial/ethnic leaders within the church to discern the most appropriate course of action regarding the convention location.

“As a church, we intend to stand alongside and support our Hispanic brothers and sisters who are deeply affected by this new law,” said Ervin Stutzman, executive director of Mennonite Church USA.

Yvonne Diaz, executive director for Iglesia Menonita Hispana, shared her disappointment with the Arizona bill in a recent letter to church leaders.

“I grieve the effects of this law on our Latino congregations and all Latinos in the United States,” Diaz wrote. “At the same time, I also have hope that Mennonite Church USA will rise to the task of supporting immigrant brothers and sisters. Let’s use our creativity to figure out how this can be a teaching moment for the whole church.”

While several binding contracts for the 2013 convention have already been signed — the choice of Phoenix as the site was finalized in January 2009 — Mennonite Church USA’s Executive Committee, Convention Planning and Intercultural Relations will continue to focus on this issue in the coming months, remaining in conversation with the city of Phoenix and racial/ethnic constituents of the church.

“Our hope is to support the racial/ethnic persons of Mennonite Church USA and to give hope to the congregations of Pacific Southwest Conference, specifically those in Arizona who are feeling the brunt of this legislation,” Swartzendruber Miller said.

Regarding next steps for convention planners, Swartzendruber Miller noted, “The question we will be grappling with is, ‘Will we be helping the situation by refusing to meet in Phoenix to show that we are resisting this unjust law? Or, is God calling us to face this injustice by being a present witness of healing and hope in the Phoenix community?’”

Conference review report released; board acts on immediate recommendations

by

Stephen Kriss, skriss@mosaicmennonites.org

Franconia Conference’s Review Steering Committee met with the Franconia Conference Board of Directors on May 4, 2010, to receive the review and recommendations of LaVern Yutzy, consulting associate Mennonite Health Services. Yutzy was commissioned for the review by the Franconia Conference Board in response to questions around decisions related to staffing and proposed vision made earlier this year. He developed the report and recommendations after a process of interviews and consideration of responses from the Conference community. Both the board and the committee received Yutzy’s work as an independent consultant based on the content offered through the listening process. After careful and deliberate conversation, the board moved to receive Yutzy’s report and to follow through with the immediate recommendations as outlined in the review.

The board’s immediate actions include:

  • Receiving the resignations of the moderator and assistant moderator after a reconstituted board is situated this summer.
  • Appointment of a nominating committee comprised of members of the Review Steering Committee who are not currently seated on the board (Donella Clemens of Perkasie congregation, Mike Derstine of Plains congregation, Beny Krisbianto of Nations Worship Center and Joy Sutter of Salford congregation). The nominating committee will receive nominations for additional open board positions—including Conference Moderator, Assistant Moderator and Finance Committee Chairperson.
  • Withdrawal of the plan to lay off all Franconia Conference staff as was outlined in February 2010.
  • Appointment of an interim staff leadership team of Noel Santiago and Ertell Whigham that may serve through July 2011.

The Review Steering Committee will continue in its role through 2010 though Yutzy will not be meeting regularly with the group. The committee will continue to receive feedback and to work to discern a path toward a hopeful future for the Conference community. Yutzy’s report suggests a high-level of engagement across the Conference in response to the review and looks forward to continued engagement with delegates and the broader constituent community. The committee has established the following timeline for the review and implementation of the recommendations.

  • The Review Steering Committee (Donella Clemens, Mike Derstine, Randy Heacock, Beny Krisbianto, Jim Laverty and Joy Sutter) will now receive feedback by email at feedback@mosaicmennonites.org regarding the content and recommendations of the review through May 28, 2010. This feedback may also include nominations for the roles of finance committee chairperson, moderator, assistant moderator and at large members recommended to serve in a reconstituted Board of Directors of Franconia Mennonite Conference. Nominations for those positions will be received until June 30, 2010.
  • The review will be posted immediately on www.review.mosaicmennonites.org additional updates and timeline information will also be posted to the Conference website at www.mosaicmennonites.org
  • A newly constituted board will begin to serve after affirmations of new members by delegates in late summer 2010.

The committee wishes to express appreciation to LaVern Yutzy for patient listening and engagement in the development of the review, report and recommendations, in helping to find a way that Franconia Conference may continue to bear witness of Christ’s way of peace and to extend God’s healing and hope to the world.

Click here to view the Franconia Conference Review and Recommendations prepared by LaVern Yutzy.

Click here to download and view a PDF of the Review Steering Committee’s process for the recommendations.

Review Steering Committee develops process, expresses appreciation, invites prayer

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Stephen Kriss, skriss@mosaicmennonites.org

The Franconia Conference Review Steering Committee met April 28, 2010, at the Mennonite Conference Center in Harleysville, Pa., to continue to develop a path for discernment and communication for the upcoming Conference Review report and recommendations. The review, being performed by LaVern Yutzy, consulting associate Mennonite Health Services Alliance, is scheduled to be released in mid-May to delegates and constituents. Review Steering Committee members include Donella Clemens (Perkasie congregation), Mike Derstine (Plains congregation), Randy Heacock (Doylestown congregation), Beny Krisbianto (Nations Worship Center), Jim Laverty (Souderton congregation), Karen Moyer (Rocky Ridge congregation) and Joy Sutter (Salford congregation).

The steering committee wishes to express appreciation for the response and high-level of engagement around the review over the last weeks. While the review and recommendations are being constructed by Yutzy, the committee considered themes and recommendations from the report at this week’s meeting. Yutzy is set to present a draft to the steering committee this weekend with a scheduled release to Franconia Conference’s board of directors at a joint meeting with the board and committee on May 4, 2010.

On Monday, May 3, the steering committee will meet again at Harleysville to continue to develop a path for considering the recommendations that come from Yutzy’s review and further development of a venue for the conference community to consider and offer input into the review’s recommendations and forward process. The review is not intended to answer all questions around recent decisions regarding staffing, but rather to navigate together toward a hopeful future. The review will be available at www.mosaicmennonites.org upon public release in mid-May.

The steering committee calls the Conference to continue in prayer—both communally and individually—as we prepare to move together, to receive and process the review recommendations. The review and recommendations are intended to provide a path forward for Franconia Conference that together we will continue to proclaim and incarnate Christ’s way of peace, healing and hope.

Review Steering Committee names co-chairs and calls the conference to prayer

by

Stephen Kriss, skriss@mosaicmennonites.org

The newly configured Franconia Conference Review Steering Committee met for the first time on April 21, 2010, at the Mennonite Conference Center in Harleysville, Pa., to continue to set a course for the review scheduled for release in mid-May 2010. The review, performed by LaVern Yutzy, consulting associate with Mennonite Health Services Alliance, is intended to offer recommendations and set a direction for the Conference toward a hopeful future. The committee’s next meeting is April 28, 2010, with additional meetings scheduled over the following months to guide processes on decision-making and communication.

In this week’s meeting, the committee named Mike Derstine, pastor of Plains Mennonite Church, Hatfield, Pa., and Joy Sutter, Executive Director, Bux-Mont Oncology Hematology Medical Associates and member of Salford Mennonite Church, as co-chairpersons. The committee reported a positive response to opportunities to provide information by email, postcard and through personal contact with LaVern Yutzy and recommended an extension of consulting hours to fully process and consider the volume of responses. Along with Sutter and Derstine, team members include Donella Clemens (Perkasie congregation), Randy Heacock (Doylestown congregation), Beny Krisbianto (Nations Worship Center, Philadelphia), Jim Laverty (Souderton congregation) and Karen Moyer (Rocky Ridge congregation at Quakertown, Pa.).

With the deadline for responses set for April 24, 2010, the committee and Franconia Conference Board of Directors will meet together on May 4, 2010, to consider the review and the situation going forward. The review is not intended to answer all questions about the recent events regarding staffing decisions, but is focused on finding a path forward together. The report will be crafted by Yutzy upon completion of all interviews and consideration of comments submitted by email and postcard. The committee’s intent is to provide guidance for establishing patterns of communication, discernment and decision-making for the upcoming report and recommendations that will be posted at www.mosaicmennonites.org in mid-May 2010.

The committee continues to call the conference to prayer—communally in the worship life of congregations as well as individually that together we might continue to proclaim and incarnate Christ’s way of peace, healing and hope.

New book discusses the 'bare essentials' of a radical faith

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by John Longhurst

What does a naked Anabaptist look like? That’s what Stuart Murray wanted to know.

“Anabaptism has been around for almost 500 years, and for much of that time it has been clothed in Mennonite, Hutterite and Amish traditions and culture,” says Murray, who helps direct the Anabaptist Network in Great Britain and Ireland.

“But what does Anabaptism look like without that clothing? And do people have to become Mennonite to be an Anabaptist?”

His quest for answers to those and other questions led him to write The Naked Anabaptist: The Bare Essentials of a Radical Faith (Herald Press).

“More and more people in Great Britain are seeing Anabaptism as an exciting way to live out their faith,” he says. “They want to know: ‘Where did Anabaptism come from? What are its core convictions?’ And, ‘Do I have to give up my own church tradition to become one?’ The Naked Anabaptist is my effort to provide some answers.”

For Murray, there are seven bare essentials, or core convictions, that make up Anabaptism.

“The first and foremost conviction is about following Jesus,” he says. “He is our example, teacher, friend, redeemer and Lord.”

Other core convictions include seeing Jesus as the focal point of God’s revelation; belief in the separation of church and state; being committed to finding ways to be “good news to the poor, powerless and persecuted”; a commitment to discipleship and mission; and seeking to live more simply.

Seeing peace as central to the gospel is also a bare essential, he says, but it is not “the center of the gospel—Jesus is the center. As followers of Jesus, we are committed to finding nonviolent alternatives to violence in our world.”

Although the book was written for people in Great Britain who are interested in Anabaptism, Murray hopes it will inspire people in North America, too—including Mennonites.

“It seems to be those of us who didn’t grow up as Mennonites who are far more excited about the Anabaptist tradition than traditional Mennonites,” he observes, noting that he has been “amazed by the lack of interest in Anabaptism that I find among many North American Mennonites today. Maybe this book can help change that a bit.”

In the end, though, his goal is not to “promote Anabaptism for its own sake. My interest is in promoting a way of living that helps people to become more faithful followers of Jesus . . . I am interested in the Anabaptist tradition only as a means to an end, and that end is to point us to Jesus as the one we are to follow and worship.”

MCC to help build infrastructure in rural Haiti

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by Linda Espenshade

Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) response to Haiti’s devastating earthquake will gradually shift from the capital city of Port-au-Prince to rural communities that are expected to play an integral role in rebuilding the country.

By 2011, MCC’s work will center in the Artibonite Valley, about 1½ hours north of Port-au-Prince. Eight MCC staff members live in Desarmes, a town in the Artibonite Valley, where MCC already has program.

The Haitian government estimates that 162,500 of the 600,000 people that fled Port-au-Prince after the earthquake sought shelter in the Artibonite Department, where the Artibonite Valley is located. The movement of displaced persons to the rural areas puts an economic strain on those communities, but it also presents an opportunity to change some of the underlying problems that made the earthquake so devastating.

MCC Haiti staff and international program development leaders embraced the decentralization approach when they met in Haiti in late March to develop a long-term plan for MCC’s earthquake response. They were acting on the advice of MCC’s partners, MCC Haiti national staff and international workers and Haitian political leaders.

“The majority of our work needs to be outside the city,” said Virgil Troyer, an MCC regional disaster management coordinator, “so the rural areas can have the infrastructure to support the people migrating there and to keep people from moving back into the city.”

Decentralization is a concept espoused by the Haitian government and many international aid organizations, Troyer said. According to The Miami Herald, Haitian President René Préval told President Barack Obama in a March meeting that Haiti needs to adopt decentralization by offering healthcare, education and jobs across the country to avoid overcrowding in Port-au-Prince.

The infrastructure in Port-au-Prince was never set up to handle the population that was living there, Troyer said. Even before the earthquake, the systems for water, electricity, roads and housing could not handle demand. People built houses in ravines and hillsides and on top of each other, which resulted in massive damage during the earthquake, he said.

Yet the capital city has been the center around which the country revolves, Troyer said. It’s the primary place Haitians go to conduct government business, attend universities and good secondary schools and get care at respected hospitals.

As a result, the essential services kept enticing people to move to the capital — until the earthquake. Then about 600,000 people fled the city to find shelter in the country, the Haitian government estimates.

“What the provinces lack is the services of the state,” said Garly Michel, an MCC worker who is from Haiti and works in Port-au-Prince. “If they can get roads, health centers and schools, people could stay there.”

To encourage people to stay there, the government is appealing to international governments and nongovernmental organizations to help establish that infrastructure.

Yoline Jules, a resident of Desarmes, lost three daughters in the earthquake because they were in Port-au-Prince for education.

“There must be decentralization in each region, in each neighborhood so the youth that are still here… can go to school and at least find something to learn about so they don’t leave home,” Jules said in an MCC video interview. “If this was done already, many people that died wouldn’t have died,” she said.

The provinces already have resources for work, said Michel, who is always called Garly. They have water, land and a labor force.

However, in recent years production has dwindled because trade agreements have made imported food cheaper to buy than food grown in Haiti. MCC is focusing some earthquake response money toward increasing profitable production and encouraging local production and consumption.

“For the long vision, there must be a development plan that allows for more food in the provinces,” said Jean Remy Azor, an MCC staff member in Desarmes. “If there is no such vision to augment local production, there will come a time when we depend too much on imports…. Our stomachs will be in the hands of foreign countries.”