Aldo Siahaan

Thy Kingdom Come

July 7, 2016 by Conference Office

By Aldo Siaahan

As a part of an annual event of Kingdom Builders network of Philadelphia, the Pentecost Worship service was held at Philadelphia Praise Center on July 2, 2016. The service started with a fellowship over different traditional meals. There was a Vietnamese noodles and meatball dish, traditional tacos, Indonesian empanadas, sushi and much more. We did not expect to have a big crowd because it was a holiday weekend. Yet, to our surprise so many people came and brought food to the point where we were overflowing.

We opened the service at 6:30 pm with a prayer, followed by songs in Creole, Spanish, English, and other languages. We listened to a short message by Chantelle Todman Moore, Philadelphia Program Coordinator at Mennonite Central Committee. The service was divided into 3 sections. The first was, “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, then “Thy Kingdom Come”, and lastly “Thy Will Be Done”. During the service, Fred Kauffman, Methacton Mennonite, and Calenthia Dowdy, Professor and Director of Faith Initiatives at Eastern University, led occasional conversations by throwing a question to discuss in small groups about why our ancestors came to the United States. Some reasons given were “escaping persecution”, “economic opportunities”, “education”, and “slavery”. A big lesson learned was that we are all displaced (desplazados, terlantar, verschoben). We closed the service with a holy communion led by Bernard Sejour, pastor at Eglise Evangelique Solidarite and Harmonie, and Fernando Loyola and Leticia Cortez, co-pastors at Centro de Alabanza.

I am very grateful to be a part of a diverse community in the city of Philadelphia that can give me a little sneak peak of Heaven.

Note: The Kingdom Builders Network is a Mennonite Anabaptist Network around Philadelphia. They have meetings every month on the second Thursday. During the meetings, they read scriptures, discuss the word of God, and pray for each other. They have meetings in different locations although most of the time the meeting is held in Oxford Circle Mennonite Church.

Aldo Siaahan is a LEADership Minister and Pastor at Philadelphia Praise Center.

One of the Hardest Parts of My Ministry

March 17, 2016 by Conference Office

By Aldo Siahaan

Each of us involved in ministry are often faced with serious situations and/or situations that we do not know the answer to. Each person and situation we encounter has different challenges and their own uniqueness. For me there is one situation I often face that I want to share with you, one of the toughest parts of my ministry.

One afternoon, I was enjoying the nice weather in Philadelphia, running errands. I came out of the bank and noticed an Indonesian man I occasionally meet within a stairwell off Broad street. I asked him – What are you doing here?

He told me, “Oh nothing, my feet hurt and I had to sit for a while before I can continue my walk home. I cannot walk too far.”

I ask him why this is so.

The man answered, saying “Probably because I am too tired from work. I have to send money to my children and grandchildren in Indonesia. My son is working but not enough to support his family. So I have to send him money for himself and my grandchildren. I long to be together with them.”

I saw there were tears in his eyes as his longing to be together with his family was deep. I stood with him and listened to him tell stories about his family.

Another time, a woman knocked on my house door to ask me a question. She has been apart from her two daughters for 16 years. She left both her daughters in Indonesia when they were little. For 16 years their grandfather has cared for them. The day the woman came to visit me, her first child had graduated from school and is working, the second is finishing her Bachelor’s degree. 16 years is a long time when we are apart from our families. She asked me, “Aldo, is this the time for me to return to Indonesia?”

A tough question to answer, because I realized that everybody has different needs and different situations. This woman decided to return to Indonesia to be with her daughters.

Both the Indonesian man and woman were dealing with family separation. It is something I can relate to as an immigrant, and a situation I often have to help others walk through as a pastor to fellow immigrants. Very often I hear these kinds of stories in my ministry. For me, this is one of the toughest parts of my ministry as each person and situation is unique. However, I thank God that these people are willing to share their struggle and stories with me. I am grateful, we are all part of the family of God and God is in control for the families here in the United States, in Indonesia, and anywhere were families are separated. May we continue to entrust God with our families, especially when we are apart from one another.

Aldo Siahaan is a LEADership Minister for Franconia Conference, and pastor at Philadelphia Praise Center.

Loving Our Muslim Neighbors

March 2, 2016 by Conference Office

by Esther Good

Following the terrorist attacks in Paris, France in November, and in San Bernardino, California in December, many have struggled with the question of how we should relate to our Muslim neighbors. Tensions have remained high, exacerbated by the election season, and the answer to this question has reared its head in the form of some ugly anti-Islamic sentiment, including harassment and acts of vandalism against mosques in the Philadelphia area and around the country. Several congregations in Franconia Conference have asked this question in a different way: How can we relate to our Muslim neighbors in a way that is Christ-like?

LovingMuslimNeighbors — Photo by Preston Sean Photography, orig. published by Mennonite World Review, Sept. 16, 2013

Philadelphia Praise Center (PPC) is one congregation that has a long history of interacting with its surrounding Muslim community. Shortly after PPC was first started in 2006, Pastor Aldo Siahaan, himself an immigrant from Indonesia, reached out to the Imam of a group of Indonesian Muslims and offered them the use of the church building for evening prayers during Ramadan. They didn’t accept his invitation that year, but called back the following year and asked to use the space, beginning a longstanding friendship between PPC and what is now Masjid Al Falah.

Lindy Backues, an elder at PPC, joined the church when he and his family were deported from Indonesia after living there for 18 years. “I’ve been ‘sent home’. I know what that feels like,” he says in response to national comments against Muslim immigrants. “I don’t want to send Muslims ‘home’. They’re my friends. So at PPC, we’re trying to be different—to reach out to visitors and guests and the sojourner in our midst. In the process of receiving the other, we become who we are, because God received us when we were the other.”

Salford Mennonite Church also has a longstanding relationship with its Muslim neighbors which began when Salford reached out to them in friendship after the events of 9/11. Out of that gesture began a close relationship with a family from Lebanon who lives nearby. And in turn, that family has walked alongside and assisted Salford as it has resettled Muslim refugees from Iraq and Iran.

After recent Islamophobic rhetoric hit national news, Salford contacted the Imam of North Penn Mosque. “We had a meeting to express that as Christians we desire to have a relationship with him and his community,” says Joe Hackman, Lead Pastor. “We want to let them know that we’re there for them to offer support in whatever form they might need. As Anabaptists, we know what it is to be persecuted because of our faith. So it makes sense that we would want to protect other religious minorities who are experiencing persecution.”

For Doylestown Mennonite Church, which has recently become a co-sponsor for a Muslim refugee family from Afghanistan, the decision to reach out was simply an act of love, says KrisAnne Swartley, Minister for the Missional Journey. “This is just a way for us to live out faithfulness to Jesus.”

The Bible is full of verses regarding loving our neighbors. In Mark 12 as Jesus is questioned by the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem they ask what the greatest commandment is, to which Jesus answers in verse 30-31, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” It is great to see Franconia Conference churches living their faith by loving their neighbors.

Esther Good is a member at Whitehall Mennonite Church.

Standing for the Safety of Brothers and Sisters in Philadelphia

January 7, 2016 by Conference Office

By Barbie Fischer

"As a Photojournalist ... I try to freeze the moments so we can look back and see the spirit of freedom and love, the process to be accepted and get a better life. " - Bam Tribuwono — “As a Photojournalist … I try to freeze the moments so we can look back and see the spirit of freedom and love, the process to be accepted and get a better life. ” – Bam Tribuwono

Over the last month Philadelphia has been abuzz with the news that Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter planned to reverse the city’s “sanctuary order” that has been in place since April 2014. The sanctuary order protects Philadelphia residents from deportation by preventing the police from collaborating and sharing information with the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. This news impacts the Conference’s city-based congregations, particularly those with significant numbers of recent immigrants including Centro de Alabanza de Filadelfia, Indonesian Light Church, Nations Worship Center and Philadelphia Praise Center (PPC).

Pastor Aldo Siahaan, Philadelphia Praise Center and Conference LEADership Minister, stated that the reversal of this order “affects the safety of our congregation and community.”

As a largely immigrant congregation, Philadelphia Praise Center became a member of the New Sanctuary Movement in Philadelphia more than five years ago. The New Sanctuary Movement is a faith-based immigrant rights organization whose mission is to “build community across faith, ethnicity, and class in [their] work to end injustices against immigrants regardless of status, express radical welcome for all, and ensure that values of dignity, justice, and hospitality are lived out in practice and upheld in policy.”

Pastor Aldo said, “The New Sanctuary Movement is answering and helping with the needs of PPC in terms of immigration matters.”

“We are living in the great country of America and we will work together to make this country even better, and be a blessing to others.” – Bam Tribuwono

On December 11, when Mayor Nutter was to sign the reversal of the sanctuary order, New Sanctuary Movement called on faith leaders to join an action at City Hall to show the disagreement with the reversal of the sanctuary order which organizers of the action said puts families at risk of being torn apart and the language used by the Mayor’s administration about the reversal has perpetuated Islamaphobia that is currently widespread in the country.

Pastor Aldo, along with others from PPC, Fred Kauffman, interim pastor at Methacton congregation and Amy Yoder McLaughlin, pastor at Germantown Mennonite Church, with many others from Philadelphia and the surrounding area, immigrants and non-immigrants, documented and undocumented, answered the call.

Bam Tribuwono, a member of PPC and a photojournalist, was one of those who answered the call to action on December 11^th. He said, “As an immigrant and Christian, I have been in situations where I’ve faced the possibilities of being deported. The immigration system is so broken. For me it’s pretty simple, let’s get back to what Jesus said in Ephesians 2:19-22. Jesus clearly said that we are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens and members of the household of God. We are all family and we have to protect each other. To give sanctuary for those who need protection.”

(Click on thumbnails to see images — all photos courtesy of Bam Tribuwono; used with permission © bambang tribuwono photography)

The action included speakers at a rally in front of City Hall, along with a time of prayer. A few New Sanctuary Movement leaders went into City Hall and requested to speak with Mayor Nutter. At that time, others in the movement blocked the entrances to the building to raise awareness about the possibility of Mayor Nutter signing the reversal of the sanctuary order.

“I’ve been attending a few New Sanctuary Movement rallies,” said Pastor Aldo, “but at this one the police were very harsh and I had never seen this before, how the police pulled on the protestors.”

When asked about his reasons for attending the action, Pastor Aldo said, “As a Christian this is the way that we show our care about foreigners and strangers. From Matthew 25, we are told to welcome strangers and foreigners; maybe we are entertaining angels or Jesus. As a Mennonite and a Christian we need to act the words of God — not just read them and meditate on them. That is why it is important for Christians to support this kind of movement, standing with our immigrant brothers and sisters.”

Fred Kauffman, stated the he had heard of the action being planned at City Hall but had not planned on going until the night before at a Kingdom Builders Network Bible study when he learned of Pastor Aldo’s involvement with the organization coordinating the action. He said, “At that point I knew that I had to go, because this was an important action to Pastor Aldo and the people in his congregation. At the action I was pleased to see Pastor Amy Yoder-McGlaughlin as well as Pastor Aldo and other friends that I knew. I prayed for the protesters risking arrest, ‘May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’”

Mayor Nutter did not sign the reversal on December 11^th, but did do so three days later. Without the sanctuary order, Pastor Aldo says, “we live in fear and live under the radar. We hide. I need to comfort and protect my congregation and make sure they are ok. How can I tell them to be a blessing if they live in fear and hide themselves?”

With a new year, came new hope, and a new mayor. Mayor Jim Kenney took office on Monday, January 4^th and one of his first actions as mayor was to reinstate the sanctuary order. Many rejoiced over this news.

Pastor Aldo has said it is important that those among us who are immigrants feel welcome and supported. This can be done through prayer, fellowship and supporting the efforts of people like the those in the New Sanctuary Movement.

A current campaign of the New Sanctuary Movement that could use support is their efforts to have driver licenses accessible to undocumented people in Pennsylvania. Eleven states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico currently offer driver licenses to those who are undocumented. Not having access to a driver’s license means that a person undocumented risks deportation anytime they drive — whether to go to work, school, to access health care, or to buy groceries.

To learn more about New Sanctuary Movement visit: http://www.sanctuaryphiladelphia.org/. To visit PPC, Indonesian Light Church, Centro de Alabanza or Nations Worship Center, visit the conference directory here for service times and locations; all are willing to translate their services into English as needed.

My Kind of Faith Heroes

December 2, 2015 by Conference Office

by Aldo Siahaan

Every Thursday, I attend a Bible study among pastors and leaders of the Anabaptist Network in Philadelphia, commonly called Kingdom Builders Network. In November, 25 to 30 leaders discussed the scripture from Hebrew 11:32 – 12:3; it talks about faith. One of the questions in the discussion that morning was “who are your faith heroes?” I heard someone say “my mom and my grandma are my faith heroes”; “one of the leaders in my church – he was a quiet person but had a strong faith, regardless of all the struggles he was facing”; “Mother Teresa – I worked with her for a couple of months and I saw her faith “. Someone from the group asked “How about you Aldo? Who are your faith heroes?”

My journey of Christianity started with my parents. My parents were the ones who introduced Jesus into my life; not only that, they really put
their faith in Jesus. As a family, we would have our regular prayer meetings; my dad had his personal time with God in his room, where my mom always had her time with God at our dinner table. Sometimes I would see my mom’s prayer list that she would put in her Bible. Many times, when our family had difficult situations and struggled, my parents always used their “powerful weapon”: prayer. So, to answer the question, I can say that my parents are my faith heroes.

On the way back home from the Bible Study, God reminded me of another person that I have learned so much about faith from. He’s name is Stefanus and he is incarcerated. During the eight years he has been in prison, if we talk over the phone or meet in the prison, he has a positive attitude most of the time. Not only that, but he has given testimony to me and his cell mates on how God has worked in many situations in his life, especially during his imprisonment. Every day is a busy day for Stefanus. He works taking care of those who are incarcerated and disabled, he does school work for his International Business major from Ohio University, he helps with the church service every Wednesday and Sunday, and helps others with their problems; many young and old cell mates like to share their problems th Stefanus, they feel comfortable with him and trust him. He is also an artist, and keeps busy with the more-than-20 drawing orders he has from others who are incarcerated. Stefanus has shared many stories that encourage my faith. I can say Stefanus Santoso is my faith hero. I will continue to pray for him so that he can be released soon, and if God has another plan, I believe He will strengthen Stefanus for another 12 years.

Our faith heroes come into our lives in many different ways and from many different places. Who are your faith heroes? And are you living out your faith that you may be someone’s faith hero too?

Aldo Siahaan is pastor of Philadelphia Praise Center, and on staff at Franconia Conference as a LEADership Minister.

Getting Ready for “Biblical Interpretation through Anabaptist Eyes”

April 15, 2015 by Conference Office

by Sharon Williams

What will motivate you to get out of bed this Saturday morning?

“I am excited about this event because anytime I have the opportunity to discuss the Scriptures with other people and we are all open to the leading of the Spirit, God always speaks to me,” says Mike Clemmer, pastor of Towamencin Mennonite Church. “So I look forward to the opportunity to hear God’s voice speak into my life.”

Aldo Siahaan pastors Philadelphia Praise Center and is one of the conference’s LEADership ministers, and says, “As a Christian and pastor who is a ‘new’ Anabaptist/Mennonite, I am always eager to learn more about understanding the Bible from an Anabaptist perspective.”

“I am excited about this event,” says Sandy Landes, prayer minister with the Doylestown congregation. “So many voices clamor for attention in our world and the Bible, as a message for our lives today, sometimes gets lost at sea. I look forward to hearing and learning about reading the Bible with faith. I want to grow with my brothers and sisters in our understanding of ways to interpret the Bible that will compel us to dig deeper, ask more questions and to increase our faith in God at the same time. I pray that we can learn to communicate with each other, increasing our trust as we respect the differences we bring to the table.”

Three Anabaptist biblical scholars—Laura Brenneman, Terry Brensinger and Dennis Edwards—will headline the event.

The event, this Saturday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., is free. Registration is required on the conference website or by calling 610-277-1729; donations for lunch will be accepted. Penn View Christian School is located at 420 Godshall Road, Souderton.

Sharon K. Williams is a musician, editor and congregational/non-profit consultant. She serves the Lord with the Nueva Vida Norristown New Life congregation as minister of worship.

Celebrating 10 years of worship, service and connection in South Philly

February 18, 2015 by Conference Office

by Aldo Siahaan

“There are many immigrant like us in this city, why don’t we reach out to them so they can also know Christ?” “We’re immigrants too, so we can serve each other.” “Let us win many souls for Jesus in this city!”

Worshipers blow out the candles on Philadelphia Praise Center's birthday cake. This year marks ten years for the congregation. — Worshipers blow out the candles on Philadelphia Praise Center’s birthday cake. This year marks ten years for the congregation.

This conversation emerged among some Indonesian friends in early 2005 when we started Philadelphia Praise Center. We began recognizing the many immigrants in South Philadelphia and longed to have a House of Prayer for all people.

A year later, Philadelphia Praise Center began to build a relationship with Franconia Mennonite Conference through connections with Mennonite World Conference that reached back to Indonesia. That relationship kept growing until Philadelphia Praise Center officially became part of the conference in 2008.

The weather this past Sunday morning was very cold with strong winds, but many different people showed up for our anniversary worship service: Latinos, Vietnamese, Burmese, Korean, Malaysian, and Indonesians, who have the same purpose: to celebrate God’s work through Philadelphia Praise Center over the last 10 years.

A decade went so fast. There are many things that God has done, but most noticeable are the relationships with Christians who come from different nations and ethnicities. In one part of worship led by Bobby Wibowo, we sang in Indonesian, Spanish, Mandarin, and English. Similarly, when blowing out the birthday candles on our celebratory cake, representatives of the different countries that worship with Philadelphia Praise Center all came forward to blow out the candles together. We are different backgrounds but one goal. Yes, we come from different nations with different languages, but we are worshiping the same Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

“To God be the glory, to God be the glory, to God be the glory, for the things He has done”—This is the song that we sang to end the worship celebration at PPC. We believe in the next 10 years, God will reveal even more amazing work

Aldo Siahaan is a Franconia Conference LEADership minister and pastor at Philadelphia Praise Center.

On the road with LEADership ministers

February 3, 2015 by Conference Office

by Sharon Williams

What comes to mind when you imagine Franconia Conference LEADership ministers and the work they do? You may be surprised to know that the new conference office at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School is probably not the place to find them, although a phone call there will certainly get you connected.

Steve Kriss, Jenifer Eriksen Morales, Aldo Siahaan, John Bender, Noel Santiago, and Ertell Whigham are always on the go. Each one connects with anywhere from three to 12 congregations in Vermont, northern Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley, southeastern Pennsylvania, and Georgia. They give much time and energy to congregations in transition and emerging congregations. An estimated 50 percent of conference congregations are in the midst of transition and/or growth.

Pastoral leadership is a common transition. Some congregations choose to work with an intentional interim pastor who stands in the gap and prepares the congregation to receive a new pastor. The LEAD ministers provide guidance for both search processes, and support elders and lay leaders in managing the congregation’s current and future priorities.

Jenifer Eriksen Morales, minister of transitional ministries, also works with other Mennonite Church USA (MCUSA) conferences on the east coast to train intentional interim pastors, and serves on the MCUSA task force for interim pastoral ministries.

Emerging and growing congregations are another focus. These congregations are high maintenance, but in a very good way. LEAD ministers help to address staffing needs, work with pastors who are new to the Anabaptist faith, and build relationships—in essence, anything that propels the missional vision forward.

The work of the LEAD ministers sometimes crisscrosses when their congregations work together. The Lehigh Valley youth ministry partnership is shared by the Whitehall, Ripple and Vietnamese Gospel congregations and led by Danilo Sanchez. Vietnamese Gospel Church in Allentown and Philadelphia Praise Center are partnering in a joint worship and outreach ministry with the Vietnamese community in south Philly. The LEAD ministers must also nurture their relationships with each other so their collaborations are fluid and fruitful.

Last summer, Aldo Siahaan and Steve Kriss received a “Macedonia call” (Acts 16:9-10). Could they meet with a Mara (Burmese) church during their visit with Georgia Praise Center leaders? This congregation in Atlanta is part of a network of Mara churches in Indianapolis, Indiana, Baltimore, Maryland, and Charlotte, North Carolina. The network is reaching out to Mennonite conferences on the east coast for assistance in establishing pastoral leadership. The exploratory relationship has many possibilities.

“As an immigrant pastor myself, it’s exciting to walk with the Mara Christians, to see them reach their destiny as a people, a church in this country,” says Aldo. “If they choose to join Mennonite Church USA, how will we receive each other and grow in ministry together?”

Each LEAD minister offers her or his unique gifts to their congregations. Noel enjoys helping pastors, elders and lay leaders experience the values and practices of intercessory prayer. Jenifer weaves in a missional focus with unchurched neighbors, adapted from the Kairos in Chaos ministry she’s involved with in Souderton. Aldo enjoys a natural affinity with the Mara church through their similar languages of Indonesian and Malay. Steve and Ertell always bring best practices of intercultural competencies to the mix.

Looking for your congregation’s LEAD minister? She or he may be in a meeting, consulting with pastors or elders in a coffee shop, or in a car on the way to your church.

Sharon K. Williams is a musician, editor and congregational/non-profit consultant. She serves the Lord with the Nueva Vida Norristown New Life congregation as the minister of worship.

Aldo Siahaan

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