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Conference Board Communications Update
January 25, 2010

The Conference Board met in retreat and addressed the following agenda items:

Dwelling in the Word – Seeking to continue the practice of gathering around the word, the Board proposed various scripture for consideration as the text to dwell with for 2010.

Envisioning 2010 – The board talked about the changing context we are living in. Questions that we wrestled with included how to tend to leaders and churches along the 113 corridor in ways that empower a missional vision. As part of this envisioning, the board engaged with staff to hear more details of the ministries, challenges and fruit that is occurring.

Financial budget – With the changing economy, significant cuts had to be made to the budget. 2010 will be a year of ongoing discernment and potentially significant changes in the way the conference is organized and configured. The board wishes to extend deep gratitude to all the congregations, individuals, related ministries and partners who gave generously not only of their finances, but their time, energy and talents as well. Thank you. The board approved a budget for FYE January 2011.

Other items:
• The board tabled for another time the agenda item: Clarifying Living Hope Farm and Conference Board Involvement.

Finally, the Board wishes to communicate the following statement:

As anxiety and discussion continues to stir both in the Mennonite media and locally, we as a conference board thought it may be helpful to communicate the following statement. While it is not an ongoing practice to communicate in this way, the board offers the following:

• We affirm our commitment to the Mennonite Confession of Faith as well as the statements on sexuality.
• We will continue to follow the polity of Mennonite Church USA for credentialing persons for ministry.
• The results of the November 19, 2009 pastors and leaders breakfast regarding the Resolution to Follow Christ growing out of Columbus 2009, was that the majority of pastors and leaders in Franconia Conference are supportive of our current Confession of Faith.
• We are waiting for further resources from Mennonite Church USA and call upon all to wait until further resources are made available to healthily address ongoing conversations and processes.
• We encourage all to be humble and focus attention on following Jesus.
• We pray our churches, Conference Related Ministries, and Partners in Missions will stay focused on the missional journey of inviting others to follow Jesus.
• We have communicated this vision with staff and expect them to be aligned with it.

The above was discussed and passed at the board meeting on January 25, 2010.

Blaine Detwiler
Moderator

Noel Santiago
Executive Minister

Pastors’ and Leaders’ Breakfast

“Pastoral Care for People with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” will be the topic of the next Pastors’ and Leaders’ Breakfast on Friday, February 12, 8 – 10 a.m., at the Mennonite Conference Center. Special guest speaker, Carolyn Heggen will lead in a conversation on examining some of the common spiritual issues and core questions for victims of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Carolyn, a psychotherapist specializing in trauma recovery, is an international trauma consultant and trainer. She is affiliated with the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University as director of the Healing the Wounds of War project and authored the book Sexual Abuse in Christian and Home and Churches. A $5 donation will be requested to cover the cost of the meal.

Luncheon with Dr. Conrad Kanagy

Biblical Seminary and Franconia Mennonite Conference’s School for Leadership Formation invite area Mennonite pastors to join Dr. Conrad Kanagy for lunch and conversation, Wednesday, February 17, 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. at Biblical Seminary, Hatfield. Dr. Kanagy is a professor at Elizabethtown College and author of Road Signs for the Journey: A Profile of Mennonite Church USA. Dr. Kanagy will be leading a course through Biblical Seminary, February 15 – 18, entitled Entering the Missional Conversation.

Urgent Message to Pastors:

Pastors, if you know of people in your congregation who might be open to the following opportunity, please forward the information to them as soon as possible. If possible, it would also be appreciated if you could share this information with your congregation as a verbal or bulletin announcement, as appropriate in your context. Thank you!
Gay Brunt Miller, Franconia Conference Partner in Mission coordinator for Haiti.

Franconia Mennonite Conference has been contacted by Janet Panning (Plains Mennonite Church) who works for Lutheran Children and Family Service. They were contacted by the state refugee coordinator with a request for emergency housing for Haitian medical refugees.

Haitian trauma victims and their escorts will be coming to PA, about 50 per
day. Of the 50, half will be trauma victims and go directly to the
hospital. Half will be escorts who will need housing and resettlement services.

Victims will be of all ages. Some will be coming in under temporary tourist
visas and others will be coming in under humanitarian parole (which means that they are eligible for refugee benefits).

We have very few details but are trying assess interest in helping to provide emergency housing and food for escorts. It is possible that people could begin arriving as early as next week. Those wishing to assist should expect to offer this hospitality for a time period of 90 days (although this number could vary widely either way).

There are many questions to be answered. Indicating your interest does not
obligate you in any way. If you do have an interest in housing Haitian
trauma victim’s escorts, please email your name, contact information
(email and phone), and physical address to Julia Menzo, Lutheran Disaster Response Coordinator, Liberty Lutheran Services, jmenzo@libertylutheran.org,
215-430-1299 (cell). If you would like more information, feel free to contact Janet Panning at 215-747-7500, Ext. 209.

1/28/10

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) URGENT NEED!

In addition to donations of money, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is asking the public to supply 20,000 relief kits, 10,000 heavy comforters and 10,000 sheets to be sent to Haitian earthquake survivors.

The supplies will help relieve the discomfort and suffering of Haitians who are sleeping on streets and open areas because their homes are destroyed or because they don’t trust the safety of the buildings that remain.

Relief kits include personal hygiene supplies, laundry soap, towels and bandages. MCC asks for complete kits with only the specific items on the list of relief kit supplies. Please see the list of relief kit supplies below or visit mcc.org/kits. Relief kits can be packed in a box or bag. MCC will then repackage the kits in new, five-gallon buckets.

Heavy comforters and sheets are also needed. Comforters must be new and filled with quilt batting or a blanket for extra warmth. Twin-size comforters are preferred, but double/full-size comforters are accepted. New, cotton, light-colored queen or king size sheets, with at least a 300-thread count, may be donated.

Donations of relief kits, comforters and sheets may be taken to MCC Material Resource Center, Harleysville or any other MCC Material Resource Center, by Sunday, February 28.

MCC is grateful for the generous financial gifts that people have given to MCC for the people of Haiti; starting just hours after the 7.0 earthquake devastated the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. MCC is airlifting 70,000 pounds of canned meat and 1,000 water filters into Haiti as soon as possible. Another shipment of at least the same amount of meat will be sent by sea. MCC is also purchasing thousands of tents and tarps.

Monetary contributions to MCC’s response in Haiti are welcome. They should be designated “Haiti Earthquake”. Donations can be made online at www.mcc.org or by telephone, 1-888-563-4676. By mail, donations may be sent to MCC, P.O. Box 500, Akron, PA 17501.

Relief kits
•4 large bars bath soap (leave in wrapping)
•1 plastic bottle shampoo (13 – 24oz; place bottle in a re-sealable plastic bag)
•4 large bars of laundry soap (Fels Naptha, Sunlight or Zote brands)
•1 squeeze-tube toothpaste (minimum 130ml / 6oz; leave in box)
•4 adult-size toothbrushes (leave in packaging)
•4 new bath towels (medium weight, dark or bright colors)
•2 wide-tooth combs (6” to 8” length)
•1 fingernail clipper
•1 box adhesive bandages (minimum 40, assorted)
•1 package sanitary pads (18-24 thin maxi)
Place contents in a box or bag and deliver to one of the drop-off locations in Canada or the U.S. MCC will repack the kits in a new 5-gallon plastic pail with lid.

Comforter specifications
•Use new or nearly new material
•Single/twin-size preferred (60in x 80in). Double/full-size accepted (82in x 90in)
•Winter weight requested (containing quilt batting or a blanket for filler)
•Knotted with crochet cotton (not more than 4” – 8”apart)

Sheet details
•New, double-, queen- or king-size, flat sheets
•300 thread count or higher
•Cotton
•Light colors

Please visit www.mcc.org/kits/dropofflocations to find the MCC drop-off location nearest you.

Transformation 2010
Pastors, prayer leaders, prayer teams and interested persons: You are invited to participate in Transformation 2010, an experience of prayer, fasting, meditation and worship during the upcoming Lenten season, February 17 – April 3, to unite the church in the region. We will seek God for transformation in our homes, churches, communities, nation and world. Joining together with believers from many denominations, you are invited to participate in several ways:
•Reading and meditating on scriptures and daily email devotionals written by pastors and prayer leaders from churches in the region
•Choosing a way to fast during this time in order to foster a growing intimacy with God
•Setting aside time to pray for transformation
•Attending regional prayer and worship events
If you and/or your congregation are interested in participating by receiving the daily emails, receiving a bulletin insert, and other information about regional events, please contact Sandy Landes, Prayer Ministry Coordinator, by Wednesday, January 20. Celebrate Lent in a new way this year by anticipating how God will bring forth transformation in our homes, churches, communities, nation and world.

Congregational Participation in Installation Service
Congregations of Mennonite Church USA are invited to participate in the installation service for Ervin Stutzman, the new executive director for Mennonite Church USA, by sending a prayer of hope for the worship service. The installation is set for March 7 at Park View Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Va. The worship theme will be from John 15:1-5, where Jesus says to his disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” Three elements of this image—roots, branches and fruit—represent God’s faithfulness in the past, present and future, both in Ervin’s life and in the church. Your congregation is invited to express its hopes and dreams for Mennonite Church USA in the form of a single prayer. Please write the prayer on a leaf (click here for sample) or make your own. Return the leaf by February 15 to Prayers, Park View Mennonite Church, 1600 College Ave. , Harrisonburg , VA 22802 . Your prayer, along with prayers from other Mennonite Church USA congregations, will be physically attached to a “vine and branches” constructed at the front of the sanctuary and, on behalf of the church, offered in prayer to God. We are praying that this will be a meaningful exercise for your congregation as it works to articulate a prayer for the future fruitfulness of Mennonite Church USA under Ervin Stutzman’s leadership. You may want to ask all of your congregation’s members to suggest what should be included; you may choose to ask your congregation’s leaders to create the prayer; or you and your pastoral team may choose to create the prayer. However you choose to capture your congregation’s hopes and dreams for the wider church, we ask for a single prayer from your congregation as a whole. If you wish, make your congregation’s leaf uniquely your own—decorating it, adding details that represent your congregation or even making a different leaf altogether. The congregations in Mennonite Church USA come in many shapes, sizes and color.

Gateway Course offered in Spring 2010

Ananbaptist Leadership, Polity & Effectiveness is the next Gateway course being offered by Eastern Mennonite University in collaboration with Mennonite Conferences in southeastern Pennsylvania. Stephen Kriss, director of communication and leadership cultivation for Franconia Mennonite Conference and Donella Clemens, a regional and national Mennonite church leader, will lead the course. The course goals are to provide a foundation for self-care of congregational leaders, develop an understanding of possibilities for Anabaptist leadership within the Northeast Corridor, and cultivating a general familiarity with denominational polity. Dates for the course are February 5 – 6 at the Discipleship Training Center, Norristown, PA and March 5 – 6 at Sunnyside Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA. For more information and registration, visit www.emu.edu/lancaster/seminary/gateway.

Building Ministry Alliances That Benefit Each Other

You are cordially invited to a conference at Frederick Mennonite Community on Thursday, February 11 entitled, “Building Ministry Alliances That Benefit Each Other.” The conference is designed to build more effective working relationships among congregations, conferences, and conference related ministries. The facilitators for the day will be Keith Stuckey, CEO of Anabaptist Provider Group, and John Hendrickson, CEO of Frederick Mennonite Community. The event is hosted by Eastern District Mennonite and Franconia Mennonite Conferences, and Frederick Mennonite Community. More details will be available soon. Questions may be directed to Brad Mellon at 610-754-7878, ext. 229. We hope you will plan to attend.

January Prayer Gathering

A prayer gathering for equipping, encouragement, prayer and worship will be held on Saturday, January 9, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the Mennonite Conference Center’s new location, 569 Yoder Road, Harleysville. Noel Santiago, Franconia Conference Executive Minister, will be teaching. Pastors, intercessors, prayer team members and interested persons are invited to come and receive a blessing. For more information, visit www.mosaicmennonites.org/prayer.

Conference Center Holiday Hours

The Mennonite Conference Center (569 Yoder Road, Harleysville) will be closed for the holidays from Thursday, December 24 through Friday, January 1. The office will reopen on Monday, January 4.

Christmas Open House
You are cordially invited to a Christmas Open House at the Mennonite Conference Center’s new location, 569 Yoder Road, Harleysville, Monday, December 14, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. The Mennonite Conference Center is home to the offices of Franconia and Eastern District Mennonite Conferences. Everyone is welcome to visit the new location and meet the staff at this joyous celebration of the season.

Sunday School Teacher Seminar
A seminar for Sunday School Teachers will be held on Saturday, January 16, 8:15 – 11:15 a.m. at Plains Mennonite Church. Come enjoy a morning of workshops addressing the needs of many Sunday School teachers. Seminars will be offered on the following topics: nurturing the faith of children, managing and engaging every student in the classroom, teaching tweens and teens, and creative ways to use the Gather ‘Round curriculum. All participants will be able to choose two of the four seminars offered. Registration is FREE. For more information on the event and how to register your Sunday School leaders contact Ruth Yoder at 215-249-3011 or rhy@verizon.net.