Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Ambler Mennonite Church

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant of God

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by Gerald Benner

EDITOR’S NOTE: Paul Long, 86, of Ambler, PA transitioned to his new home in heaven on Jan.14, 2025 at Souderton Mennonite Homes. Read his obituary. A viewing will be held on Sunday, January 26, from 1-3:30 pm at Souderton Mennonite Homes, 207 W. Summit Street, Souderton, PA 18964, followed by a funeral service at 3:30 pm. A private burial will take place at Salford Mennonite Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Liberty Ministries, P.O. Box 87, Schwenksville, PA 19473. 

Paul Long will be remembered at Ambler (PA) Mennonite (AMC) as a servant leader. While he never held an official office in our congregation, his love for Jesus served as a leader’s example for us to follow and his love for others showed the servant mind of Christ.   

Paul was devoted to family, community, and church. In addition to their family of four boys, Paul and Esther’s home was always open to anyone who needed a place to stay. When a family lost their house in a fire, they stayed at the Longs’ home for weeks until they could recover. Many others found a home there, whether for days or several years. 

Paul and Esther were well-known in the Ambler community as people who cared deeply for others. Whether it was a listening ear, a hot meal, transportation, or spiritual counsel, Paul was there to help. Paul made so many friends that if you asked around in Ambler the name of the pastor at AMC, many would have said Paul Long.  

Paul and Esther Long at Camp Hebron, where they led many senior retreats. 

Paul and Esther moved to Ambler as sincere young mission workers in the 1950s. As newlyweds, their apartment functioned as a house church for seven years before the congregation moved to a new building on the corner of Mount Pleasant and North Spring Garden Street in 1962, where it is located today.  

Paul was very active in church life – preaching, worship leader, song leader, youth leader, Vacation Bible School superintendent, Christmas caroling organizer, Bible studies, and always a friend to those in need. After the death of his wife, Paul continued to attend AMC, sharing his faith and friendship, and allowing the congregation to care for him as he had cared for so many others during his lifetime.  

Paul was the director of Vacation Bible School at Ambler Mennonite for many years. 

One of Paul’s passions was for those incarcerated in prison. He took seriously Christ’s words, “I was in prison, and you visited me.” (Matt. 25:36) He was a licensed Prison Chaplain under the Conference-Related Ministry Liberty Ministries (Schwenksville, PA) and went into prisons to conduct Bible studies, preach, and counsel inmates. Paul cared for hundreds of men who had been imprisoned, and many came to Christ through him. Friendships made during these visits existed to the end of Paul’s life.  

Ambler Mennonite would not be what it is today were it not for the quiet leadership of Paul for over 65 years, both in church life and in the community. “Well done, Paul, good and faithful servant of God.” (Matt. 25:23)  

Paul spent most of his adult life sharing hope and good news with men in prison.

Gerald Benner

Gerald Benner is part of the Ambler (PA) Mennonite Ministry Team, is a retired faculty member of Dock Mennonite Academy, and is a lifelong friend of the Long and Cassel families.

Reading Through Mark Together

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Throughout 2021, Ambler (PA) Mennonite Church has been on a journey with Jesus. Over the last 10 months, we’ve read and preached through the entire Gospel of Mark together. To celebrate our completion, we decided to read the whole story aloud, from Mark 1:1, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” to chapter 16, “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

Not only is reading like this fun, it’s also how the early church would have heard the Gospel of Mark. It was written to be read aloud in a society with about 10% literacy. We experienced listening like the very first Christians, hearing the story of Jesus read all at once.

Nine of us gathered on a Saturday evening in the sanctuary. We had sandwiches for dinner because Mark is full of literary sandwiches. In Mark, one story is like the bread. Then it gets interrupted with another story: the metaphorical peanut butter. And then Mark goes back to finish the first story: bread slice #2.

Pastor Jacob Curtis lights a candle for each chapter read in the gospel of Mark at Ambler (PA) Mennonite Church. Photo by Randy Martin.

After our (non-literary) sandwiches were assembled, we sat around a large table and distributed Bibles, paper, and colored pencils for drawing and doodling. And then we took turns reading, chapter by chapter. We lit a candle for each chapter we read, though some of the flames went out before the women found the tomb empty in chapter 16. In less than two hours we’d read the whole book aloud.

Congregants from Ambler (PA) Mennonite Church gather to read and listen to the gospel of Mark, in one sitting. Photo by Randy Martin.

When it was over, we shared what we’d heard. We were struck by how quickly the reading went—our familiarity with the stories made the two hours feel very short. We noticed how Jesus wants to heal people and does so, over and over again. We noticed how often the disciples misunderstood Jesus, how thick they seem in Mark.

People say that preaching through the lectionary is a good discipline because you can’t cherry-pick Scriptures you like to preach. I found that preaching straight through the Gospel of Mark was an even better discipline. We agreed not to skip anything—which meant we committed to wrestling with the parts of the Gospel that are most challenging and uncomfortable.

As a preacher, I kept thinking “How did I end up with all the hard stories?” But then I listened to the sermons my co-pastor and husband, Jacob Curtis, preached, and I realized he got stuck with a pile of hard texts too. Jesus’s teaching and living and dying and rising just weren’t as nice and easy as we’d like them to be.

What struck me most as we read through the entire Gospel in one evening was how humbled I am by identifying with Jesus’s 12 disciples. Jesus’s best students and closest friends misunderstand him from beginning to end. They’re constantly shooing children away and fighting with each other for the best seat and pulling Jesus aside for private explanations. Even when Jesus is about to die and begs them to stay awake and pray with him, they just can’t do it.

Though I think I know Jesus so well, I was humbled to realize that, in story after story, I found Jesus’s words and actions unsettling and confusing—just like his first disciples.

What I Think About as I Fall Asleep: Reflections on Being Mosaic

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Editor’s Note: Pastor Jacob Curtis wrote this reflection to his congregation, Ambler (PA) Mennonite Church, on June 30, after attending the candlelight prayer service in South Philadelphia. This is reprinted with his permission.  

On June 29, five of us from Ambler (PA) Mennonite Church made the hour-long trek down I-476/I-76/I-95 to Centro de Alabanza on the corner of 5th and Snyder in South Philly. We were there for a candlelight prayer service in solidarity with Asian Americans who are being targeted for hate crimes.

Photo by Hendy Matahelemual

The service was powerful. I’m still trying to figure out exactly how to describe what happened—in the service and inside me—but here are a few of the things I fell asleep thinking about:

1) It is such an honor to be part of Mosaic Mennonite Conference.

Honestly, I don’t know how a beautiful, fragile thing like our conference can exist in the world, or how we are allowed to be a part of it. But somehow—and I can only assume it is by the grace of God—we find ourselves in community with Swiss-German and Russian Mennonites, and also with everyone who’s been drawn to what they planted here in southeast Pennsylvania.

Our Conference includes churches like Franconia Mennonite, which built its first log meetinghouse in … oh, you know, 1748! … and churches like Nations Worship Center, which purchased its building from a catering business in an Italian neighborhood of South Philly in 2012.

We are Matahelemuals and Krisbiantos and Siahaans, as well as Yoders and Millers and Martins. And because of our Conference, we get to sit outside with all sorts of other Mennonites on the breezy, noisy, sunlit corner of 5th and Snyder, praying in all our languages to the living God.

2) Maybe there’s an opening here?

Ambler Mennonite Church is not (and never will be) Franconia Mennonite Church, with its history and its resources. Nor will we ever be Centro de Alabanza, located right in the middle of a densely-populated, diverse urban neighborhood. But might we become a little bit of both?

Might we grow into an identity as the part-city, part-country church? Might our congregation be black without being all black, brown without being all brown, white without being all white? Might we be the church where conservatives and progressives learn to respect each other and find a way through our cultural and theological gridlock? Might we lean into our particular spot on the map—just north of Philadelphia, just south of the old Mennonite heartland, an in-between place for a bunch of in-between people?

I don’t know. I don’t know exactly what God has in mind for us. And I don’t know what’s possible in the Borough of Ambler as it is now, getting rapidly younger and whiter and wealthier. But these are the things I think about as I fall asleep.

Ambler Co-pastor Receives Awards

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Photo credit: Peter Ringenberg

Jacob Elias Curtis participated in the August 22 commencement and commissioning service of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), Elkhart, IN. He graduated from AMBS in May 2020 with a Master of Divinity with a major in Pastoral Ministry. 

Curtis — who names his home communities as Dublin, Ireland; Denver, Colorado; and Goshen/Elkhart, Indiana — also was selected to receive this year’s Award for Excellence in New Testament Exegesis from the seminary’s Bible Department and this year’s Heart of the Community Award. 

In May, Curtis and his wife, Michelle Curtis (MDiv 2018), became co-pastors of Ambler (PA) Mennonite Church, a congregation of Mosaic Mennonite Conference.

Congregational Profile: Ambler Mennonite Church

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by Dorcas Lehman, Interim Pastor 

90 E Mt Pleasant Ave, Ambler. Photo by Randy Martin

Ambler Mennonite Church is located on the corner of Mt Pleasant Avenue and N. Spring Garden Street in the borough of Ambler, Montgomery County, PA, 15 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

We want our neighbors, near or far, to know that when you join us for Sunday morning worship, you will find a small congregation that loves to sing, listen to scripture, share concerns and joys, pray for each other and the world, and inspire one another in the way of Jesus. As part of a historic peace church, we hope to share that much-needed perspective, and to live it ourselves.

Whether you arrive by walking, driving, or public transit, you will notice a Monarch butterfly station, a little free library, and a rain garden, reflecting our enjoyment of neighbors, care for the earth, and desire to add beauty to our block.

Our mission statement says: “We are a diverse community of believers following Jesus in building relationships by serving those among and around us with love, and offering the good news of peace, hope, and healing.”

AMC in front of the rain garden. Photo by Glenn Lehman

As a church that began as a mission with ministries to children and youth, we may have thought, “When we serve others, they may want to be part of us.” But now we think, “We want to provide opportunities for people who want to serve God and contribute to the community, whether or not they become part of the congregation.”

During the past year, we’ve become stronger by honestly facing questions of sustainability, and discovering a wide range of ideas for renewal. Now we’re ready to discern collective vision, and to grow beyond the current number of 45 or so congregants, which reflects a decline from earlier decades.

We come from a variety of backgrounds in culture, ethnicity, education, and lifestyles, and we come together as a worshiping community with Jesus at the center. Some of us live in the borough, and others commute.  Intergenerational relationships are strong. You will especially sense this if you visit on the day of a monthly potluck meal, where you will hear lively conversations rise around good food.

Sylvie and Lena packing Boxes of Love. Photo by Randy Martin

We share a desire for an increased presence in the neighborhood, and renewed connection with other Mennonite congregations nearby. During the Lent-Easter season, we hold joint services with Church of the Brethren, Lutheran, and United Church of Christ congregations. In May, we provide meals and overnight volunteers for the Interfaith Hospitality Network’s emergency shelter program. We fill Boxes of Love with food supplies and support the Wissahickon Valley Boys and Girls Club.

This spring, during Lent, we are following the initiative of Mennonite Church USA’s Creation Care Network to learn, pray, and act in relation to climate injustice. Through Sunday school and worship, we’re noticing the ways that caring for God’s creation is an act of discipleship.

We view ourselves as having a history of capable leadership and gifted laity. We are rooted in a mission initiative that began in 1952, when young adults from larger congregations in Franconia Conference began Sunday school classes in the borough. From that beginning, Summer Bible School was added, then came house church, and the building of the current meetinghouse in 1961.

Pastors Michelle and Jacob Curtis. Photo by Randy Martin

We honor that history, and value the older generation’s wisdom, energy, and resources, even as we transfer leadership and prepare to renew our children and youth ministries.

We are happy to introduce our new co-pastors, Michelle and Jacob Curtis, who will begin their ministry with us in May 2020.

Prayer requests:

  • for Michelle and Jacob Curtis as co-pastors, and our church, as we begin our journey in mutual ministry
  • for wisdom and insight as we discern a collective vision, and move through generational change
  • for creativity and resilience of spirit as we, along with other churches, find ways to practice social solidarity even as we practice social distancing, due to the viral pandemic

Good Neighbors Through the Rain

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By Karen Kingma, Ambler Mennonite Church Ministry Team Administrator

Ambler Mennonite Church (AMC) sits on a beautiful, large corner lot in the borough of Ambler, Pennsylvania.  Environmental stewardship of that property is important to the congregation, and in September, we took a big step towards improving our green infrastructure with the installation of a large rain garden.

Previously, storm water runoff from our parking lot and yard made its way to the lowest corner of the property, making it soggy, muddy, and generally unattractive. This runoff also contributed to downstream flooding of the Wissahickon Creek that occasionally caused flooding for our neighbors. In an effort to be good neighbors and good stewards, AMC reached out to Ambler’s Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) for assistance and expertise, knowing that they had initiated the installation of dozens of rain gardens on private and public property throughout the borough.

The EAC was excited to collaborate with us.  They brought in Red Tail Land Restoration & Land Management to do the soil remediation and Tannery Run Brew Works to provide volunteer labor and financial support.  We all saw the potential in this soggy corner for a garden that would filter pollutants, have better drainage, reduce downstream flooding of the Wissahickon Creek, and be a source of beauty and enjoyment for the congregation and the neighborhood.  Due to the visibility of our property, the EAC also saw opportunities for using the garden to educate the community about storm water management, rain gardens, native plants, and environmental stewardship.

AMC and community members dug deep (literally) in their own gardens to supply a variety of plants and shrubs.  On a crisp fall morning in late September, dozens of church and community volunteers came together to plant the new rain garden.  Local business donated coffee and pastries to keep the volunteers energized.

Working all together was a tremendous blessing, as connections with neighbors and new friends were made.  The end result is a beautiful space that arose from neighbors who care for each other and the environment.