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Stephen Kriss
skriss@mosaicmennonites.org

Peace is every step. –Thich Nhat Hanh

Love bears all things, believes all things, love never fails.–Paul of Tarsus to the church at Corinth

At Franconia Conference Assembly, we annually commit ourselves to bear witness of nonresistant faith and to waiting for God to appear among us. It’s a ritual that I enjoy, even if at times the words seem a little awkward for my 21st Century mind and voice. I like the connection that brings us back annually to this commitment to witness and watch.

It seems it’s been easier to know how we’d manifest nonresistant witness in the past. We’d live simply, set apart and peaceably. In times of the draft in the 20th Century, we found alternative ways to serve that wouldn’t require us to bear the sword or shoulder a gun. We’ve born the label as a “Historic Peace Church” well but some of us have found this very “peace position” to be a stumbling block to opening our congregations to persons of other ethnicities and experiences. We’ve for some reason found the position of peace to be at odds with sharing the Good News of Christ’s coming into our world.

I think it’s time to call a truce. It’s time for those of us who have supposed either speaking the Good News or living the way of peace to be at odds to find ways to integrate and extend those same calls to witness and waiting. It’s time to turn our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks. It’s time for us to cultivate relationships in the spirit of being the Good News the world is longing to hear by recognizing the possibilities of creating peace, embodying shalom not only for ourselves but even with our enemies. It’s peace that is beyond not going to war. It’s peace, as Jonathan Larson suggests in the Broadway musical Rent, that’s the opposite of war but actually creation.

Greg Boyd, pastor of Woodland Hills Church in Minneapolis, was a presenter at a recent conference at Hesston College and worries that Mennonites are losing their sense of identity by succumbing to both liberal and conservative perspectives that impair our witness and discipleship. He identifies readily with being Mennonite, committed to both active peacemaking and active evangelism. But he’s worried that we aren’t holding these realities in tension or integration effectively and that our identity as a people is at stake.

I agree with Greg. I am also afraid that this Mennonite community that I love, that I found myself planted in after my post-hippie parents sought a faith community that embodied peaceableness and hospitality, won’t survive the pulls of postmodern life. World-renowned Mennonite peace educator John Paul Lederach suggests that building and cultivating peace takes imagination. Los Angeles-based Mennonite bishop Jeff Wright says that to have a future we must re-frame our reality.

At my ordination, my friend Heather Kropf from Pittsburgh sang a song from the 60’s, Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, start to love one another right now. Love is just a song we sing and fear is how we die. You can make the mountains ring or make the angels cry.

We know that the emphasis on peace and love are a hallmark of 60’s and 70’s spiritual and social awakening. But I have been wondering more and more if love isn’t what will move us through this strained relationship of peace and evangelism, of witnessing and watching.

Meister Eckhart suggests that whenever God is doing something, there is an outpouring of compassion, that our souls are stirred toward response. In these pages of Intersections, this Advent season, I see both witness and waiting for God to appear as we work to embody compassion and love.

There’s something creative in building shalom whether it’s in welcoming refugees from lands of political strife to live in the lands that William Penn deeded to us for the same purpose, observing possibilities for peace and hope in the Holy Land, or opening doors to those formerly perceived as enemies in South Philadelphia. We are continuing to bear witness, taking steps and moving toward peace and in peace by putting flesh and bones to the message of the Good News that God has come among us.

Marta Castillo, Norristown New Life
castillos@juno.com

My name is Marta Castillo. The name itself puts me in a box I do not fit. I am not Latina or originally from a Spanish speaking country. Perhaps I should say that my name is Marta (Beidler) Castillo. A few of you may recognize the “Beidler” name. “Beidler” does not, however, elicit images of the bilingual associate pastor that I have recently been called to be at Nueva Vida Norristown New Life Mennonite Church.

God has invited me on an unpredictable journey of twists and turns, rooted deeply in God’s love and faithfulness.

At a young age, 8 or 9, I remember seriously wanting to serve God for the rest of my life as a missionary or mission worker. At that time, our family was living in Indonesia and I knew that my parents’ faith in God was strong enough for them to move their family, learn to live in a new culture, and learn a new language in order to serve God.

Even when we returned to the United States in 1986 (I was 16), my goal was to finish high school, go to college, and return overseas. It was not until after I graduated from college and was almost signed up to go to Egypt with Mennonite Central Committee that I realized God was not calling me overseas at that time. My relationship with God suffered during my college years and I did not find a church that I felt I could relate to during those years or the following three years that I lived in Washington, DC.

In 1994, I came to a crossroads in my life. I was attending a Quaker meeting on and off but really had made some mistakes in my life. I realized that God was giving me a choice. Move back to Pennsylvania and chose to renew my spiritual life or stay in DC and walk further away. I knew that I had to choose God and I moved back to Pennsylvania.

I began to be involved at Nueva Vida Norristown New Life, and I experienced “church” for the first time. These were people who spoke openly and freely of their shortcomings, gave their testimonies, and accepted each other across cultural, economical, language, and racial lines as brothers and sisters in love.

Accepting one church commitment after another, I grew in the Lord. I learned much diversity of worship and prayer from my Spanish speaking brothers and sisters, as well as having strong mentoring relationships with two pastors, one of whom was my father.

About three years ago, I began to sense a call to pastoral ministry, but being a married woman with small children, I could not see how it would be possible. I expected that the Lord would prepare my husband and I to serve together in ministry as a team. God just kept working and guiding gently and I continued to have opportunities to be stretched in ministry.

In May of 2006, I went on a spiritual retreat and God confirmed to me that I had a calling to pastoral ministry. I was confident in God’s calling but was unsure how God would work it all out. In December of 2006, I quit my part-time job, sensing that 2007 would bring the changes God had planned.

God has encouraged, prepared, and gently led me each step of the way. All God wanted was my willingness. God has and will continue to take care of the equipping, empowering, love, and wisdom needed for pastoring. So here I am, Marta (Beidler) Castillo. God has called me and my congregation has supported me in my calling. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

photo provided by Marta Castillo

Jessica Walter

What if your family had to move to a new town? What would you need in this new area? You’d need a place to live, jobs, a new bank, a new doctor, and new schools for your children. You’d also need a way to get around and a map or kind neighbor to show you where things are. What if you were moving to a foreign country because of fear for the safety of your family, with little more than a suitcase full of some clothing and priceless family memories? What more would you need then? Not only a house, but also furniture and other necessary housewares. Not only schools for your children, but also language classes for yourself. Not only jobs and a new doctor, but also caring people who can help you walk through the fear of settling your family into a new country.

These are the questions being answered and the needs being met by Blooming Glen Mennonite Church, Plains Mennonite Church, and Souderton Mennonite Church. These congregations are assisting three families recently resettled in the Philadelphia area by Lutheran Children and Family Service’s Refugee Resettlement program.

Blooming Glen
Blooming Glen has been helping to resettle refugee families in the United States for around four years. According to Patsy Miller, coordinator for Blooming Glen’s ministry, their first two families were Muslim Meskhetian Turks. Blooming Glen is currently helping a Burmese family who arrived in the United States three months ago.

“Working with these families has certainly been a positive learning experience for all involved,” says Patsy. “It has brought us even closer as a church working together to help this family rebuild their lives here in America.

It has also been a joy watching them blossom in their newfound freedom. The Turkish families are still in touch with many of our church members. The sad part for us this time is seeing the family from Burma leave us for Colorado where they are joining family before we have really had time to establish a long term friendship. We will miss this wonderful family and wish them God’s blessings on their new journey in America.”

Patsy also noted that providing support to a very strict Muslim family has been a struggle; one challenge Blooming Glen faced in resettling that family was finding a job for the father where there was no pork in the building. However, she also expressed Blooming Glen’s joy in being able to share Christ’s love to those of other faiths.

“I think that any time we open ourselves up to sharing and learning about each other’s faith, we build bridges of friendship and peace. It certainly has broadened our worldview, learning about the families’ cultures and experiences of living in a refugee camp or as an outcast people like the Meskhetian Turks.”

Plains
Plains has also participated in resettling refugee families over the years, including a Sudanese family in 2000, and currently is supporting an Iraqi family originally from Baghdad.

from left: The Na family. Sha Mi Na, Ray Ha Na, and Kate Landis play on their scooters. Center photo: The Issa family at Plains Mennonite Church’s retreat in the fall.

Steve Landis coordinates the resettlement efforts at Plains and notes that when the idea of helping to resettle a refugee family was proposed to the congregation, people were immediately interested in participating and supporting the family.

“Our friendship with this family and the support we’ve been able to provide feels like a contribution of peace into a situation where violence and hatred continue to destroy or impact many lives,” reflects Steve. “It’s been a lot of work to set up a household for a family of six and help them work through the many challenges that face strangers to our culture and language. However, it has also been very rewarding to be a part of a group that is committed to sharing God’s love with our neighbors and to feel the emotional connections between our Iraqi friends and the church family. ”

Souderton
When Souderton was asked to help an Iraqi family settle into the area, Pastor Gerry Clemmer asked Dorothy Engstrom to coordinate their efforts. That next Sunday, while sharing about the project and asking for volunteers, Dorothy told her congregation that she agreed to serve as coordinator for several reasons: the history of the Mennonite Church and in particular the congregation’s commitment to peace rather than war; the congregation’s continual prayer for peace in worship services and in private prayers since the beginning of the war; and the fact that “even though one congregation can’t stop the suffering and death of the war, it could help one family and thus live out its commitment to peace.”

In fact, Dorothy was attracted to the Mennonite church partly because of “its vision to bring social justice and peace to those who are in need and suffering.”

Souderton has reached out in this ministry of resettlement for several years and has also helped families from Cambodia, Cuba, and Africa. The congregation is “convinced that participating in this ministry is at the heart of what we understand it means to be followers of Jesus and to live by Sermon on the Mount values,” says Dorothy. “Reaching out to ‘strangers’ and those in need of our help is a witness to our commitment to Jesus as well as being the Church beyond what is familiar and comfortable to us. When we are made aware of needs, how can we not respond? It reflects who we are as God’s people.”

Dorothy has been blessed by the enthusiastic response her congregation has shown in volunteering to take care of the needs of their refugee family. It has also provided “an avenue for persons to work together on various teams who may not have known each other,” due to the size of the congregation and two worship services.

“We are also learning a lot about the resiliency of the human spirit as we get to know our family. They have drawn out of us feelings of love, compassion, and caring. With that resiliency comes the reality that our Iraqi family has extended family still living as refugees in Jordan as well as family still in Iraq. Our joy in relating to the family is tempered by the reality that there are an estimated 2.3 million refugees from this war with only about 170,000 approved for resettlement in all the countries of the world.”

“Globally, even though we are helping just one family of six persons, it is one way of lending our voice against the pain and suffering brought about by the war,” says Dorothy. “In some small way, it is a redemptive act in the face of mass suffering, destruction, horror, and trauma.”

Saja and Israa Joda (Issa) learn to fish with Pastor Dawn Ranck (Plains). Dorothy Engstrom (top left) and the Sahul family visit the Freddy Hill Farm.

photos provided by the congregations featured

Joe Landis, Salford
jlandis@peacefulliving.org

In the 1980’s I began to request volunteers from denominational agencies because I noticed a growing need for human services workers in the area. I had gotten into human services by volunteering myself through Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) PAX program. Specifically, I worked with people with disabilities and was an “orderly” in West Berlin, Germany for two years, instead of going to Vietnam. Having experienced a life-influencing time of voluntary service, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity for someone who might be interested in the field. However, this area was considered too wealthy and, with the concept of voluntary service fading in the US, it was increasingly difficult to find volunteers; as a result units were closing and urban area became the focus.

However, about two years ago I was talking to a representative from Christliche Dienste, a German Mennonite agency which is responsible for sending German volunteers around the world, including Peaceful Living, in collaboration with MCC and Mennonite Mission Network’s Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) program, and discovered that volunteers were not always located in economically depressed urban areas. When I approached MVS this time, they informed me of a new approach, “If a congregation will sponsor a unit, so will we.” They also have a new initiative to integrate urban volunteers in the suburbs, which aligns with our approach.

During this time a member of my small group at Salford Mennonite Church brought a new study guide: “Healing Healthcare: A Study and Action Guide on Healthcare Access in the United States” which is a study guide for congregations, published by the Mennonite Church USA, surrounding key issues of healthcare access. We began to talk about this and spun off in all directions, from the 45 million uninsured to Medicaid cuts and limits in the federal budget. We decided that one area we could make a small difference was to try to find volunteers to respond to some of the unmet health care needs in our own neighborhoods. We then sent a recommendation for a MVS Unit to Salford’s Justice and Peace Ministry Team. They in turn recommended it to the church board. In February of this year the congregation voted to accept the proposal.

There are multiple needs and opportunities for volunteers in our area. Around 1,500 people with developmental disabilities are waiting for services in the Montgomery and Bucks Counties. Hundreds of internationals are moving into our area, some refugees from Iraq, needing language training in order to find work. An agency which teaches English as a Second Language is maxed out with 400 people enrolled in their classes and 500 more on its waiting list. Another local human service agency that provides services for troubled youth and families, told me the majority of their staff live out of the area because there is no affordable housing nearby. We have a chronic staff shortage of human services workers in the Bux-mont area. There is already interest expressed from six local agencies, including Peaceful Living, for volunteers from this unit.

While we are waiting for approval from Mennonite Mission Network for this specific MVS unit a committee of members from Salford has formed to begin planning. We have decided to call this the Greater Philadelphia MVS house and aim to attract volunteers from both the US and abroad. The unit will recruit volunteers from six different sources, including Mennonite, Catholic, and Muslim agencies. We want our community to model our Anabaptist values of service and loving reconciliation. The Lord has already blessed us with a gifted committee, prayerful support, and several necessary resources. We hope for continued support as the project moves forward.

photo provided
by Peaceful Living

Nate Clemmer, Souderton
nate.clemmer@thproperties.com

I know all of the written and unwritten rules of being a Mennonite. I know what to say and when to say it. I know when it is appropriate to clap in church and even when it is permissible to say “Amen” without causing the entire congregation to turn around.

I have an “acceptable Mennonite” last name. In fact I have Clemmer blood on both sides of my genetic makeup. Thanks to the financial sacrifices made by my parents I have been blessed to have been educated for seventeen years at Penn View Christian School, Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, and Eastern Mennonite University. These three schools have been referred to as the “Triple Crown” of Mennonite education.

In short, I am like most of you. The rhythm of my song and the language of my story should sound strikingly familiar. However, I am finding all too often that these things are where the similarities end.

During many of the formative years of my life I placed a stronger emphasis on being a “Good Mennonite” then I did on being a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. I appreciate the tradition of the Franconia Conference and enjoy the comfort that comes from knowing I am among friends. But I am learning that comfort can be controlling. I find myself in a constant battle between playing it safe and stepping out in faith, wrestling with the tension between who I am and who I should be, how it is and how it could be.

I am discovering that for many of us church has become a place we come to reconnect with friends and be fed. It has become more about what we can get as opposed to what we can give back. Stewardship has become something that we teach as opposed to an outflow of gratitude that we feel. Outreach and evangelism has become something we leave to the experts. The kingdom of heaven has become a place we seek to go when our time on earth is done as opposed to living out our existence in a manner that strives to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. As a result, I feel that Jesus Christ is being lost in a religion bearing his name.

Please allow me to be clear in saying that if there is any blame to be assigned it should be directed at me, because I am the biggest part of the problem. I have been blessed with the opportunity and ability to influence change and make a difference, but for the majority of my life I have chosen to sit on the sidelines and play it safe. Why rock the boat when you know how to play the game and can play it well. Let me also be clear in saying that I can no longer rationalize with that still small voice and with great fear and trepidation I am attempting to step into the skin I was created to fill.

This is my story and this is my song, but I am convinced that I am not alone. My desire is to use the platform of Delaware Valley MEDA to galvanize those who share a similar passion to see the church restored to the original vehicle Jesus intended it to be. Over the course of the next year our dinner programs will spotlight individuals in the business and professional arena who are battling against the tension of the world and seeking to utilize their God-given talents for the glory of the kingdom. Our hope is that the stories of others will serve to fuel the fire to dig deeper within ourselves.

photo provided
by Nate Clemmer

Wanda Lindsay
with Jennifer Smith

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9

One evening ten years ago, I got tired of reading stories about crime and mental illness. Where were the positive, happy stories? I said to God, “There must be fairness for people with mental illness.” God asked me, “What are you going to do about it?” I replied, “Tell my story.”

Together We Strive
Wanda Lindsay is a woman on a mission. Eleven years ago, she founded “Together We Strive”, an organization with the mission of de-stigmatizing mental illness. Through presentations to area groups, written articles and editorials, and participation in community events, Wanda continually spreads her message of hope with passion and conviction.

I approached Lu Mauro, Director of Penn Foundation’s Wellspring Clubhouse with my idea. With her help, I wrote a grant and the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (Harrisburg, PA) gave me money to begin my work as a mental health community advocate and educator. I’ve shared my story to numerous groups such as churches, schools, and service and civic clubs.

Learning to Trust
Wanda was diagnosed with Schizo-Affective Disorder at the age of 24. A few years prior to her diagnosis, Wanda had lost both her mother and grandmother in the same year. This resulted in her having to move, and she began to drink on the weekends and then at home during the week. Wanda also began to hear voices.

When I came to Grand View Hospital, I believed that I only had one week to live. I left the hospital in 1987 and met Christine Shannon, Director of Residential Services at Penn Foundation. After speaking with Christine, I entered Penn Foundation’s Community Residential Rehabilitation Program. I always credit Chris with the start of my recovery. I learned to trust Penn Foundation, that they would help me, and I needed them to help me understand my illness. They were instrumental in that process.

Power of Hope and Possibility of Recovery
Penn Foundation strongly believes that every individual who comes through its doors has the potential to recover and live a fulfilling life. Mental illness does not have to mean a life sentence of hospitalizations, medications, and being alone. Today, mental illness can empower rather than hinder. To that end, the agency offers numerous rehabilitation programs to help individuals like Wanda live independent, purposeful lives.

The Wellspring Clubhouse, of which Wanda is a member, was started in 1994 to provide social, educational, and vocational opportunities to adults with mental illness and adults with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse issues. Members work side-by-side with staff in three work units – Kitchen & Housekeeping, Member Services & Administration, Employment & Education – to learn basic living skills and accomplish the tasks needed to keep the Clubhouse open and operational.

Call It Life, Call It a Reason to Live
My struggle with mental illness led me to discover my purpose in life – to educate people about mental illness, to help them to realize that mental illness is just like any other illness, to make them understand that people can live “normal” lives despite a mental illness. Five things that truly helped me in my recovery were 1) Faith in God, 2) Trust in myself and others, 3) Friends and family support, 4) Wanting to get better, and 5) Taking responsibility.

Never once at Penn Foundation did I hear, “Wanda, you can’t do this or that because you have a mental illness.” Rather, I heard, “How can we support you? How can we help?” Today, in addition to my work as a speaker on mental illness, I work at the Apple Orchard Café at Souderton Mennonite Home.

The greatest lesson I have learned has been the importance of having purpose, self-esteem, and self-confidence. I received these things through people who believed in me and gave me chances. My greatest hope is that people will continue to help and support me in giving a voice to mental illness.

photo provided by Wanda Lindsay

Lora Steiner
lsteiner@mosaicmennonites.org

Church buildings come in many shapes and sizes, but their purpose is always the same: to provide a space for worship, prayer, and gatherings. This fall, Philadelphia Praise Center used its space to build a bridge. The church, located in South Philadelphia, opened its doors to the local Indonesian Muslim community during Ramadan and shared a feast.

Philadelphia Praise Center (PPC) is a young congregation, just two years old, but it has always had an interest in connecting with the local community. Congregational leader Aldo Siahaan, who coordinated the event, says the church has a desire to reach out to “all nations represented here in Philadelphia.”

Aware that the Indonesian Muslim community had no mosque or space of its own large enough for the holiday gathering, Siahaan originally offered PPC’s building to the group in the fall of 2006, but nothing came of it. This past September, he was contacted by Muslim leaders who asked if they could use the building in October, during Ramadan.

Siahaan shared the request with members of the church, many of whom are Indonesian immigrants themselves. The congregation was supportive, and on the day of the gathering, church members prepared food, helped with the sound system, and even directed people to bathrooms. About 30 Christians and 100 Muslims shared the meal.

For PPC member Andrew Liemon, the event was remarkable because it would have been nearly impossible to have such a gathering in Indonesia.

About 90 percent of Indonesians are Muslim and there’s a long history of conflict between the two groups. Many Indonesian Christians, including about half of the Indonesian community in South Philly, have migrated to the United States because of religious persecution.

For Siahaan, that history makes it all the more important to reach out. “We want to show them Jesus’ love,” he said. “We believe that can affect people in so many different ways.”

Andrew Liemon agreed. “We’re just trying to show our love to them,” said Liemon. “They might have thought that Christians and Muslims would never get along and we just want to break that pattern and let them know that we are here for them.”

Tim Moyer, who attends PPC while he’s at university, was invited to take photos at the gathering. Moyer says he was encouraged to see the church interact with people from another faith.

“It wasn’t necessarily people they agreed with, but they used their space [to show hospitality],” said Moyer, who noted that crossing those barriers can be threatening. “If Christ is inside of us,” he added, “We don’t have to have fear.”

Siahaan says he hopes there will be more opportunities for interaction in the future. “When we become friends, it’s easier for us to show the love of God, it’s easier for us to share the love of Jesus,” he said.

“We just want to do our part,” says Andrew Liemon, “And we pray that God will do his part. There’s nothing more or less than that.”

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