Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

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Notes to Pastors

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Assembly ‘08 Invitation and Reporting
Have you taken time to view the Assembly 08 Invitation yet? (Do so by clicking HERE.) Please remember to use it somehow in your congregational life this week if you have multimedia capabilities–and to invite persons to remember to pray for the event as we gather next week at Penn View Christian School for worship, celebration and discernment together.

There will be no follow-up DVD video this year. However, there will be a multimedia presentation available, similar to the invitation. We’d encourage you to use it as part of your congregational reporting and discerning post-Assembly. The follow-up multimedia presentation will be released by Friday, November 14.

Notes to Pastors

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Conference Assembly ‘08 Preview Video
A Conference Assembly Invitation and Preview video is now available at mosaicmennonites.org. (Click here to view!) The video is designed for use in worship. Download it directly from the website or contact the conference office at 215-723-5513 ext.123 to receive a copy on CD. We encourage pastors to view the video and share it with your congregations in worship.

2009 Missional Leaders Meeting
Mark your calendar now to attend the 2009 Missional Leaders meeting, May 2 – 4 in Denver, Colorado. Leading by Example is the theme of the 2009 meeting. Components of the time together will include dwelling in the Word, practical applications, case studies and worship in local congregations on Sunday morning. The meeting is open to area conference leaders, congregational leaders and others with a heart for Missional Church. Contact Becky Tyson at BeckyT@MennoniteMission.net or call 574-523-3076 (toll-free 1-866-866-2872). Registration is available online in 2009 at www.MennoniteMission.net.

Urgent Request
A young family needs a home for the winter. Mom is 32; children are 13 and 10. Please contact Pastor Luke Beidler (610-270-0636) or Pastor Bill Kull (215-699-5663) if you know of an apartment for rent or a house that needs house-sitting.

Notes to Pastors

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Penn Foundation Presents Workshop on “Embracing Diversity” in the Workplace
On Tuesday, October 28, Penn Foundation will present a workshop entitled Embracing Diversity: The Key to Meeting Your Company’s Complex Needs as a part of it’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Led by Penn Foundation’s EAP Counselor Gigi Farrow, the workshop will address the daunting yet rewarding task of embracing diversity in the business field. As the workshop outlines the key components needed to become a leader in today’s multicultural market, participants will explore such topics as inclusivity, fairness, recruiting and training and analyzing a company’s strengths and areas for growth. The workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Penn Foundation’s Grundy Auditorium in Sellersville, PA. The registration fee, which includes a continental breakfast at 8 a.m. and lunch at noon, is $35 for non-members and $25 for Penn Foundation EAP Members. For more information or to register, call 215-257-6556, email eap@pennfoundation.org or visit www.pennfoundation.org. Registration deadline is October 21.

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October Pastors and Leaders Breakfast
Remember to RSVP for the upcoming Pastors and Leaders Breakfast on Thursday, October 16 from 8 – 10 a.m. at the Mennonite Conference Center. For more information on the breakfast entitled The Faith Walk of a Child: An Intentional Journey click here.  A $5 donation is appreciated towards this hot breakfast.

Opportunity to Support Haiti
The recent hurricane season has left the people of Haiti devastated. Tens of thousands have been left dead or homeless and without a way to provide for their families. In addition to support through prayer, churches who want to do more can collect money, non-perishable food, summer clothing, heath kits and school kits. The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Material Resource Center of Harleysville has agreed to serve as a collection point for these items and will prepare them for shipment. Items should be marked for Grace Assembly Network and delivered to the MCC warehouse at 461C Indian Creek Road, Harleysville, PA.

Day of Renewal at the Brooklyn Tabernacle
Pastors, prayer leaders and students are invited to a day of renewal at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, NYC, on Tuesday, October 21. Speaking will be Pastor Jim Cymbala and Daniel Henderson of Strategic Renewal Ministries. The day will include morning and afternoon sessions, lunch and the evening prayer meeting at the Tabernacle. Dinner is on your own during a break in the late afternoon. The cost of the registration is $65 plus transportation costs and dinner. To register for this event and to learn more about the day of renewal, please check the website for Strategic Renewal International at www.strategicrenewal.com/brooklyn-tabernacle.aspx.

There will be a group traveling from this area, which will plan to leave by 6:30 am and will return home after the prayer meeting which is scheduled to end at 9 pm.

Partners in Mission available to speak
With the emphasis on Partners in Mission at Conference Assembly this year, a number of our partners would be available to speak in congregations on Sunday, November 7.

https://mosaicmennonites.org/2008/10/09/1856/

Notes to Pastors

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Peace and Justice Committee Conversation
The Peace and Justice Committee of the Franconia and Eastern District Conferences invites you to a conversation on “Keeping Faithful to the Biblical Vision and the ‘Politics of Jesus’ without being Politically Partisan.” This conversation will take place on Tuesday, October 7 from 9:30 – 10:45 a.m. at the Mennonite Conference Center. The Committee hopes that such a conversation among pastors and others interested will help all of us constructively navigate in the midst of competing, and at times conflicting, opinions and feelings in our nation, communities and congregations. James C. Longacre will moderate the conversation.

Learning Community Opportunity
The learning community called “Deepening the Spiritual Lives of Congregations and Leaders” will meet on Wednesday, October 8 from 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. at Nueva Vida New Life Plaza, 25 East Marshall Street, Norristown. This office building is located right next to the church, with a walled-in parking lot. Everyone is invited to come and learn how to “be” instead of just “do”. Bring members of your congregations. Below is the schedule for the morning:

8:30 a.m. Coffee and refreshments
8:45 a.m. 45 minutes of lectio divina or “Dwelling in the Word”
9:30 a.m. Barbara Shisler will talk about her journey into listening prayer.
10:00 a.m. End with some discussion of further plans and next steps for the learning community

October Prayer Gathering
You are invited to the October prayer gathering of Franconia Mennonite Conference at Rockhill Mennonite Community’s Activity Center on Saturday, October 25, 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. The focus will be the role of forgiveness in prayer and prayer ministry. Speaking will be Ray Yoder, who has a heart for seeing the healing power of God released through the church today—healing of mind, body and spirit. Come and be blessed through worshiping, learning, praying and fellowshipping together.

Volunteer with MDS
Mennonite Disaster Service invites pastors to get involved with MDS projects! Through a generous grant, MDS is offering travel cost reimbursement to constituent pastors volunteering at an MDS project site for a week or more. For more details call Lois at 866-261-1274.

Intersections Fall 2008

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Partners in Mission Invigorate Franconia Conference

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Gay Brunt Miller, Spring Mount

Dictionary.com defines the words “partner” and “mission” as follows:

Partner [pahrt-ner] noun: a person who shares or is associated with another in some action or endeavor; sharer; associate; a player on the same side or team as another.

Mission [mish-uhn] noun: a group of persons sent by a church to carry on religious work, esp. evangelization in foreign lands, and often to establish schools, hospitals, etc.; an establishment of missionaries in a foreign land; a missionary church or station.

Historically the model of mission featured EuroAmericans going, often internationally, and serving people in need in some way. As the definition above suggests, missions often implied establishing schools, hospitals or other institutions in the name of Christ.

In the last decade the whole concept of missions has been changing. Many countries where we used to “go” and “do” are now sending missionaries, sometimes to the United States.

More recently the word “missional” has crept into our vocabulary. While it comes from the same root, the idea is about realizing that our mission field is here all around us, not an ocean away. We’ve begun to wrestle with what it means to get on board with what God is already doing and reach out to our neighbors who need the hope and Good News of the gospel.

When combined with the word, “partners,” you get a very different connotation. Partners do things together, not for or to one another.

So how did this Partner in Mission (PIM) relationship become part of Franconia Conference?
The concept originally emerged from conversations between the Conference Board Executive Committee and staff as they considered the implications of being a missional conference. With a core value that God’s Spirit “blows where it will,” and wanting to flow with the Spirit wherever and however it happens, the idea was that developing relationships with partners who were different, yet shared some core similarities with us, would enhance our conference life in mission. We were looking for partners where God’s Spirit and movement was clearly evident. It was a “holy experiment,” recognizing that if we truly wanted to be a missional conference, we needed to shape our conference life and activities around what would make us more dynamic and ready to reach beyond our comfort zone.

It was envisioned that Partner in Mission relationships might open new vistas of mission for Franconia Conference, expand our connections and increase our opportunities for ministry in new areas. We may be enriched by discovering the gift of Christian unity that exceeds the usual boundaries that divide God’s people. Conversely, it was suggested that our partners might increase missional vitality from Franconia Mennonite Conference’s rich Anabaptist history and faith, including our holistic view of mission that combines evangelism, service and peacemaking. They might also benefit from certain resources we have to offer, and the relationship may provide the stimulus to further clarify their own congregation’s identity.

Early in 2001, Franconia Conference leaders first shared the concept of developing Partner in Mission relationships with conference congregations, and it was the subject of conferring at the year’s Conference Assembly. While there were lots of questions about whether we would lose our Mennonite distinctives by engaging in these relationships, and whether there would be appropriate accountability for the partners, delegates acted in the spring of 2002 “to affirm Partners in Mission as a positive expression of the missional character of Franconia Mennonite Conference and to ask conference leaders to bring a proposal for formal action to the November 2002 Assembly.” Delegates then took action to approve implementation of the plan for three years, after which an evaluation and a report was to be given to the delegates.

The following value and learnings from these developing relationships were reported in the three-year review of 2005:

Value: We have helped make God’s love in Christ for all people visible as Franconia Conference has worked together with other ministries toward a common project or purpose. These relationships have more adequately revealed the reality of Christ’s Body and witnessed to the gospel of peace. These PIM relationships have enhanced Franconia Conference’s Anabaptist theology by giving us opportunities to share our image of the world and of God. God has been more fully revealed especially through Franconia Conference’s demonstrated partnerships within the Northeast corridor region.

Learnings: Some of the challenges we have experienced include relational challenges like cultural differences, differences in expectations and priorities, difficulties in communication, inadequate time to develop trust and disparities in wealth. Through the publicized moral failure of a Partner In Mission leader we have become acutely aware that our mutual trust in one another’s organizational and personal integrity is vulnerable to human weaknesses.

Delegates affirmed “the continuing ministry between Franconia Mennonite Conference and Partners in Mission into the future, based on our experience over the last three years.”

Partners in Mission are increasingly becoming a vibrant part of our conference and congregational life. If you want to taste and see for yourself the good fruit of these relationships, come and meet many of our partners at this year’s Conference Assembly!