Blooming Glen wants to be a Christ-like presence and blessing in our community.
Blooming Glen
“Where in the world?”: a glimpse into the work of a conference minister
You’ll need a map of the east coast of the United States to trace Steve’s travels …
Thanking God for new offices, my Mac and Skype
“Franconia Conference keeps changing and moving. It’s not just our desks and cabinets, but it’s how we’re following the Spirit.”
Blooming Glen holds annual harvest festival
by Lora Steiner, managing editor Every year, members of Blooming Glen Mennonite Church throw a party. It’s got all the necessary elements of a good celebration: games, food, music, and […]
Passing the keys
by Ron Landes, Blooming Glen congregation I knew that it was going to happen. I’ve seen it happen to others many times. I wasn’t really dreading it. But, even though […]
Surprised by the call
by Phil Bergey, interim lead pastor at Blooming Glen Mennonite Church My work as an executive coach and process consultant requires me to travel around the country as I work […]
Three congregations credential new leaders on Pentecost
by Sheldon C. Good Many Christian congregations commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday, and three Franconia Conference congregations in particular acknowledged the Spirit’s movement through the […]
Kenneth Hochstetler named as next president of Everence
The Everence board of directors has named Kenneth D. Hochstetler as the organization’s next president and CEO. Hochstetler will assume the role upon the retirement of President and CEO Larry D. Miller […]
Worship event to foster connection among youth
by Sheldon C. Good HARLEYSVILLE, Pa. – Franconia and Eastern District Conferences are hosting junior and senior high youth this June at an event that will feature elements very similar […]
Paul Lederach: A Spiritual Oak on our Horizon
The passing of Paul Mensch Lederach (1925-2014) on Monday morning, January 6, brings to an earthly close one of the most admirable, valuable and lengthy life-stories in the three-century history of the Franconia Mennonite Conference. Not only Paul’s wife Mary (Slagell) and their children and grandchildren, but the Dock retirement community, the conference, and the Mennonite Church USA are now saying farewell to a far-reaching presence and influence.
Franconia Conference gathers to celebrate, pray, confer, listen
Franconia Conference delegates and leaders gathered November 2 at Penn View Christian School in Souderton, Pa. to celebrate God still at work. With a packed auditorium for a third united assembly with Eastern District Conference, representatives gathered to listen and pray, to celebrate newly credentialed and ordained pastoral leaders, and to work alongside one another after an over 150-year rift created two separate Mennonite entities. The theme “God still @ work” was an extension of the 2012 theme, “God @ work.”
Ministerial report (September 2013)
A report from the September 4 meeting of the ministerial committee.
Reflections on the Conversation on Race and the Church
On September 21, Drew Hart and Ben Walter presented a conversation on race and the church at Germantown Historic Meetinghouse in Philadelphia, sponsored by the Franconia and Eastern District Conferences’ Peace & Justice Committee. (Listen to the podcast here.) The following are reflections on this conversation from two men in very different walks of life: Mikah, a biracial young adult who is working with students in north Philadelphia, and Firman, a white pastor of over twenty-five years, ministering in a prosperous, rural setting.