Mosaic Mennonites

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Notes to Pastors – January 9

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Funds to send congregational delegates to San Jose:
Pastors, please note that grants are available to send congregational delegates to the Mennonite Church USA Convention in San Jose, California in July.  Franconia Mennonite Conference leaders strongly encourage each congregation to send at least one delegate per congregation.  If costs might make it prohibitive for your congregation to be represented, please contact Conrad Martin (215-723-5513, ext. 142 or ccmartin@mosaicmennonites.org) by February 2, to inquire about financial assistance.
 

Congregational Leaders and Pastors Address Pornography Together
A seminar to address the insidious nature of pornography in our society and its implications for pastors and lay leaders will be held Thursday evening, March 29 and Friday morning,
March 30.  The Thursday evening session will include lay leaders and pastors, and the Friday morning seminar will be only for credentialed leaders.  Brenda Martin Hurst, professor of practical theology at Eastern Mennonite Seminary has been invited to serve as resource leader for this event.  Brenda has been leading similar seminars in other conferences.  The seminar will be held in the Fellowship Hall at the Souderton Mennonite Church.   All active credentialed leaders in the FMC will be expected to be present at both the Thursday evening and Friday morning sessions.  More details will follow in a few weeks.   Questions can be addressed to JMLapp@Franconiaconference.org or by calling 215-723-5513. 
 

Notes to Pastors – January 2

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Last Chance to Register!
GPS 2012:  Pastors Initiatives over breakfast regarding Christ-Centered Mennonite Education, Tuesday, January 9, 8-10 a.m. at the Mennonite Conference Center in Souderton
 Come to brainstorm as part of the unfolding GPS 2012 (Globally Positioned Students), a plan of the three schools: Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, Penn View Christian School, and Quakertown Christian School along with both Eastern District and Franconia conferences.  This initiative reflects part of the presentation offered at Conference Assembly in November and intersects with Franconia Mennonite Conference’s mission of Equipping Leaders to Empower Others to Embrace God’s Mission.  This is part of the essential efforts of leadership transformation toward nurturing and making disciples of Jesus Christ from cradle to grave.  This time will be led by Christina Drouin, Executive Director of the Center for Strategic Planning from Boca Raton, FL. who has been leading the three schools, FMC, and EDC in this shared process.
 
To register for the breakfast, please email office@mosaicmennonites.org or call
215-723-5513, ext. 110.  A contribution of $5 will be invited for the cost of the breakfast.  Please register by Wednesday, January 3.


Pastors’ Family Weekend at Spruce Lake Retreat, March 16 – 18. 
Dr. Loren E. Swartzendruber, president of Eastern Mennonite University, and Jep Hostetler, author of The Joy Factor (being published by Mennonite Publishing House), will lead this refreshing retreat especially for pastors and their families.  Call 800-822-7505 for reservations.
 

Congregational Leaders and Pastors Address Pornography Together
A seminar to address the insidious nature of pornography in our society and its implications for pastors and lay leaders will be held Thursday evening, March 29 and Friday morning,
March 30.  The Thursday evening session will include lay leaders and pastors, and the Friday morning seminar will be only for credentialed leaders.  Brenda Martin Hurst, professor of practical theology at Eastern Mennonite Seminary has been invited to serve as resource leader for this event.  Brenda has been leading similar seminars in other conferences.  The seminar will be held in the Fellowship Hall at the Souderton Mennonite Church.   All active credentialed leaders in the FMC will be expected to be present at both the Thursday evening and Friday morning sessions.  More details will follow in a few weeks.   Questions can be addressed to JMLapp@Franconiaconference.org or by calling 215-723-5513. 

MennoLife, December 2006

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Staff Sightings, Pastoral Transitions, Credentials, and Conference Board Transitions

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Staff Sightings

Phil Bergey is currently reading The End of Religion: an Introduction to the Subversive Spirituality of Jesus by Bruxy Cavey. He has also begun to organize his learnings from the past decade of transformation within FMC which will serve as the basis for his writing in the first half of 2007.

Gay Brunt Miller visited several congregations this fall including New Beginnings Community and Frederick Mennonite. She spent the first week of November in the United Kingdom exploring partnership opportunities with The Anabaptist Network. Gay also visited Germantown Mennonite Church for the ordination of the congregation’s pastor Mark Schlotterbeck. Finally, Gay attended the Missional Team meeting in Chicago and the Constituency Leaders Council.

Marlene Frankenfield attended the regional conference youth ministry gathering in New Jersey with Atlantic Coast Conference and Allegheny Conference. She has been offering support to the Blooming Glen and Franconia churches as they are in youth ministry transition and also paritcipated in Brad Alderfer’s commissioning at Salford. Marlene is assisting with Convention Worship Planning in San Jose. Finally, she conducted the annual youth Leadership Retreat where 19 congregations were represented.

Claude Good is currently writing to the many international students with whom we have had contact in the past 15 or so years. He recently ordered two million de-worming pills. One million will be going to Nicaragua for the fourth distribution. The other million will be going to a group that is distributing the capsules along with food supplements among the poor across the world.

Noah Kolb recently conducted the ordinations for Bill Kull at Methacton and Don McDonough at Spring Mount. He also attended the ordination of Michael Bishop at Blooming Glen. He met with several congregations in pastoral transition including Rocky Ridge and Vincent. Noah attended the pastors appreciation breakfast at Philadelphia Mennonite High School and the annual Conference Ministers’ gathering in Pittsburgh.

Pastoral Transitions

David F. Derstine, long-time minister in the conference, passed away December 15.

Credentials

Hien Truong was approved for ordination as a pastor at Vietnamese Gospel on December 6.

Conference Board Transistions

Rita Hoover and Roy Yoder finish their terms as Board members on December 31. Rita was also a member of the Executive Committee. Both have served with the Board for six years.

Jim Laverty (Souderton) and Vina Krisnadi (Philadelphia Praise Center) will begin three year terms with Conference Board on January 1.

Carolyn Egli, Jerry Musselman, and Ray Yoder will begin three year terms with the Conference Board Minsterial Committee on January 2.

Special Invitation

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New Beginnings Community Church is inviting all FMC staff, Board Members, and delegates to a special showing of the movie Akeelah and the Bee. Pastor Jon E. Moore was so inspired by this underground hit, which addresses issues of leadership cultivation and encouragement, that he bought a copy for all his members. Now Pastor Moore and New Beginnings would like to share this inspirational story with you. Refreshments will be provided.

Friday, January 12, 2007 at 6:30 p.m.

New Beginnings Community Church
5201 Lloyd Street
Bristol, PA 19007-3302

RSVP by January 5, 2007 by email at newbeginningscommunitychurch@verizon.net; or call 215-785-2233

Perceiving Our Present and Our Future

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Noel Santiago
nsantiago@mosaicmennonites.org

This picture was taken during Franconia Conference Assembly at Salford Mennonite Church. These three persons, who formed part of the intercultural praise band that led singing at the Assembly, represent in part, who Franconia Conference is becoming.

What I want to observe however is the wall behind the them. The stones of this wall came from a mill and a local mason put it together where it now beautifully adorns the front of the sanctuary at Salford Mennonite Church. This wall speaks to the history as well as the quality of workmanship and commitment of the people who both built and preserved these stones. We thank God for them.

What strikes me about this image is that both past and present are captured in a single photo. History continues to sing today in what that wall represents. History continues the melody in the faces of those joining the peoplehood of God and singing a new song.

Is it possible that God is continuing to ‘build his church’ in Franconia Mennonite Conference by communicating to us through such a picture? Are we living in the present with our past as a reference and the future as our preference?

As I reflect on who was present this night, it seems to me that God brought together this faithful people, old and new, who have journeyed and continue to journey, into the same room – a sanctuary.

However, does being in the same room at the same time with different connections, understanding and history, make us one in heart and mind? Our Assistant Moderator Blaine Detwiler noted, we are seeking to learn to speak a new language. This is not a one way process, but a mutual one.

God is indeed doing a new thing in our midst. The biblical question the prophet raised was “do you not perceive it?” The question I want to raise is “how do you perceive it?”

New Staff at FMC: Following the Call to Prayer

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Sandy Landes

Editor’s Note: Sandy Landes recently joined the FMC staff as a contracted Prayer Ministry Coordinator. She will be coordinating and connecting prayer support throughout the conference. Sandy is also Prayer Minister at Doylestown Mennonite Church.

Does our faith journey ever take us where we expect? About five years ago I felt God leading me to begin a prayer time during our Sunday School hour at my home congregation of Doylestown Mennonite Church. Out of that prayer time grew a prayer ministry involving many people as we opened our hearts to the incredible gift of prayer. My congregation has encouraged me in so many ways as we are learning together what it means to be a house of prayer. God has been gracious in leading us to develop a prayer room, to begin an intercessory prayer ministry during our Sunday morning worship service, and to initiate an active email prayer chain. Eventually I joined the staff of Doylestown as a prayer minister. I find my ministry fulfilling and challenging.

In the past year, while continuing to seek God’s leading on my faith journey, I felt led to take another step of working to help people pray. God is already at work building houses of prayer around Franconia Mennonite Conference as congregations are developing active prayer ministries. While Noel Santiago and Jeannette Phillips have worked at encouraging the intercessors, Noel felt the need to have someone on staff at FMC to encourage and connect the prayer ministries of the different congregations. In November I began a new position as Prayer Ministry Coordinator of Franconia Mennonite Conference. I plan to work at coordinating prayer coverage for the leadership of and within Franconia Mennonite Conference. I want to be available to provide resources and encouragement for those involved in the many different aspects of prayer ministry in congregations and conference related organizations.

It is a journey of faith, one in which I am unsure of the direction it will go, but I do know the promises of God’s word. As a conference of congregations we are all being led on a journey which sometimes leads us in unexpected places. The exciting thing about this trip is not where we are going but the One who is leading us. God is faithful and will do all that he has promised. My hope and prayer is that we will continue to grow in prayer and understanding God’s heart for us as a body. I look forward to the journey!