Mosaic Mennonites

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anabaptist world

MC USA Executive Board rejects Mosaic proposal

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by Paul Shrag, Anabaptist World

Originally published on May 13, 2025, in Anabaptist World, and reprinted with permission.    

A Mosaic Mennonite Conference proposal to redefine its relationship to the denomination won’t work, the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board decided May 8. 

Mosaic, one of MC USA’s largest conferences, had proposed to become a program entity — an organization that provides services to meet churchwide goals. 

But the Executive Board, meeting concurrently with the Constituency Leaders Council in Wichita, Kan., passed a motion saying the idea “is not viable within our structure.” 

A Pennsylvania-based conference that has expanded nationwide, Mosaic is evaluating its affiliation — seeking a partnership with MC USA rather than membership — and may decide the relationship’s future in November. 

The Executive Board proposed a mediated conversation with the Mosaic board to seek “reconciliation for broken relationships.” 

Mosaic moderators Angela Moyer Walter (left) and Roy Williams (right) at the CLC meeting. Photo by Paul Schrag/AW.

Mosaic moderator Angela Moyer Walter and executive minister Stephen Kriss said the Mosaic board would consider the request. 

Moyer Walter said Mosaic leaders didn’t have other partnership ideas to propose. 

Explaining the Executive Board’s action to the CLC, MC USA moderator Jon Carlson cited “the strangeness of the relationship” that would result from redefining Mosaic as something other than an area conference. 

“We recognize the complexity of a body that continues to act in many ways as an area conference but is not treated as an area conference within our system,” he said. 

He noted that MC USA’s two current program entities — Everence, a financial organization, and Mennonite Health Services Association — do not have member congregations. 

Mosaic has about 7,500 members in 60 congregations. Based in Lansdale, Pa., it was formed in 2019, uniting Franconia and Eastern District conferences. 

During a May 9 joint session of the Executive Board and the CLC — an advisory group of conference and constituency group leaders — Moyer Walter said it was “sad and painful” to hear the Executive Board’s decision. 

“We were hopeful of trying something new that would work for both MC USA and Mosaic, as the status quo was not healthy for us to remain a member conference,” she said. 

“Our churches are doing creative things. . . . It is hard as a conference leader when the things our congregations are bringing to us aren’t always prioritized at the MC USA level. . .  

“We welcome continued conversations. . . . Even when our structures don’t hold, we still care deeply about the church. We are still the same people in ministry. We still want to partner in ways that feel healthy and mutual together.” 

Mosaic is in its third year of discernment about affiliation. Last November, delegates voted to “establish a robust partnership” with MC USA without defining how this would differ from the current relationship. They directed a team to bring proposals for bylaw changes to their 2025 assembly Nov. 1. 

After last year’s assembly, two Mosaic congregations that wanted to disaffiliate from MC USA withdrew from the conference: Vincent in Spring City, Pa., and Salem in Quakertown, Pa. 

After Moyer Walter and Carlson addressed the joint session, Heidi Regier Kreider, conference minister of Western District Conference, said she hoped Mosaic would stay with MC USA and added that some Western District congregations “feel affinity” with Mosaic congregations. 

“We find Mosaic’s presence in MC USA strengthens all of us,” she said. “There is theological diversity, and that does not prevent us from working together.” 

Also at the meeting, the Executive Board recommended resolutions and bylaw changes to delegates at the MC USA biennial convention July 8-12 in Greensboro, N.C. 

One would reaffirm and update a “Churchwide Statement on Immigration” first approved in 2003 and reaffirmed in 2014. 

Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, denominational minister for peace and justice, said the resolution would add new resources and action steps at a time of fear for immigrant communities. 

“This is a critical time for us to acknowledge policies that are impacting our immigrant and asylum-seeking communities and strengthen our commitment to action on behalf of those who are threatened and feeling fearful for their lives here,” she said. 

A second resolution proposes to require all conferences and congregations to use the same set of abuse response and prevention policies for pastors and ministerial leaders. Current policies are voluntary, leading to inconsistent application. 

“Consistency across the system will lead to safer congregations for minors and vulnerable adults,” according to the resolution’s introduction. 

The board and CLC members acknowledged that some might be wary of a mandate from the denominational board. 

Chris Nord, moderator of Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference, said: “Mennonites are suspicious of top-down polity, so I think it’s important to show how this proposal actually, even though it does impose a denominational [mandate], is to remediate against power hoarding and abuse of power.” 

A new Prevention and Accountability Resource will replace the current Ministerial Sexual Misconduct and Policy and Procedure Document and be available to all, regardless of whether delegates decide to require all to use it. 

Proposed bylaw changes include revisions related to the integration of Mennonite Education Agency into the Executive Board’s operations — a structural change the Executive Board and MEA board have already approved. MEA has seen its governance role over higher-education institutions greatly diminish over the past 20 years. By Aug. 1, MEA will cease to exist, and its functions will be moved into the work of denominational staff. 

Another proposed bylaw change would give the Executive Board the ability to recommend the removal of an agency’s executive director. The agency’s board would still have the final say. 

Paul Shrag

Paul Schrag is editor of Anabaptist World. He lives in Newton, Kan., attends First Mennonite Church of Newton and is married to Wendy. They have two adult daughters, Abby Koch and Becca Schrag. He was on the staff of Mennonite World Review for 32 years, serving as editor since 1996.

They weren’t helpless. Neither are we.

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by Joe Paparone

Originally published on March 26, 2025, in Anabaptist World, and reprinted with permission.  

On April 27, 1860, in Troy, N.Y., a few minutes’ drive away from where I live, Charles Nalle, a fugitive slave working to bring his family north, was betrayed by a wealthy local and kidnapped by slave catchers.  

There were two things the slave catchers didn’t count on: The abolitionists in Troy were organized and prepared to defend Charles. And the most wanted person in the country, Harriet Tubman, was in town.  

The abolitionists sprang into action. Two thousand people surrounded the police station where Charles was held. Lawyers raced to delay his removal. The crowd offered to purchase his freedom. There were scuffles with pro-slavery toughs in the street. Led by a disguised Harriet (who was inside the police station), the people wrested Charles free from police custody and quickly got him on a boat to cross the Hudson.  

From the riverbanks, they watched, seemingly helpless, as Charles was captured again on the opposite shore.  

But they weren’t helpless.  

The crowd commandeered every boat they could find, crossed the river, surrounded a police station again and broke inside. This time, they secured Charles’ freedom permanently.  

Some friends and I have organized a walking tour in Troy where we retell this story. We start with the details, including stops outside the home of Charles’ employer, another home of Underground Railroad conductors, the police station, and concluding at the edge of the river.  

We add historical analysis to each stop. We consider the pro- and anti- slavery forces of that moment, less than a year before the Civil War began. We discuss questions like: What were the social forces at that time? How were the abolitionists organized? Who made up the group of slave catchers?  

We try to stand in the shoes of this multiracial group of abolitionists to understand how they could do what they did that day and what lessons we can draw for our organizing now.  

We look at the role of religion on all sides of the struggle. We talk about how the slaveholders had their own versions of the Bible, with all references to liberation and freedom for captives excised. It was a very short book! Participants on our tours don’t fail to note similar hypocrisies by White Christian nationalists today.  

We discuss how abolitionist churches, like Liberty St. Presbyterian in Troy, served as bases of operation for the abolitionists. These congregations galvanized the community with a moral fortitude for the struggle and covertly facilitated the movement of runaways on the Underground Railroad.  

We talk about John Brown’s speech to the court before his execution, drawing from the New Testament, how Harriet’s nickname was Moses, and how Frederick Douglass’ speeches are also profound sermons. 

We conclude the tour by reading from Frederick Douglass’ speech after the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision in 1857. In a devastating setback to the abolition movement, the court stated that Black people had no rights that White people were bound to respect.  

Speaking to a demoralized movement, Douglass acknowledged that the enslavers had “the advantage of complete organization,” holding “the pen, the purse and the sword” (the media, the economic system and the political/military system), all aligned against abolition.  

We can only imagine the despair the abolitionists must have felt. In that moment of defeat, they took stock of their position. 

Douglass found hope in the rapid growth of the abolition movement: “From a cloud not bigger than a man’s hand, it has overspread the heavens. It has risen from a grain not bigger than a mustard seed. Yet see the fowls of the air, how they crowd its branches.” 

The abolitionists pursued the slow, patient work of organizing for justice. They continued building a network of individuals and communities to not only bring freedom to captives but to end the system that would hold anyone in such captivity. When the time came to defend their neighbor Charles Nalle, they were ready.   

Today we face a system of interlocking oppressions that may seem just as invincible as slavery might have seemed to abolitionists in 1860. To confront these oppressions, we must be driven by a faith that justice and freedom are not distant, spiritual futures that we can only hope for after death. Rather, justice and freedom are possible now. We can be inspired by the bravery and heroism of historic movements and leaders, but we must also study their methods, practices and mistakes. Anything less would be a betrayal of their faith and an indictment of our own.   

Joe Paparone

Joe Paparone is an organizer with the Nonviolent Medicaid Army, National Union of the Homeless, and Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. He is also a credentialed leader of Mosaic Mennonite Conference at Bethany Mennonite Church (VT). Joe earned a B.S. in Music Education from the College of Saint Rose in 2004 and a Master of Arts in Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2012. Joe lives in Albany, NY with his wife, Lesley, and their dogs, Artax and Nym. He plays saxophone in the Victory Soul Orchestra and The Abyssmals, and enjoys finding vegetarian restaurants and exploring the Adirondacks via foot, bike, or canoe. 

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To share your thoughts or send a message to the author(s), contact us at communication@mosaicmennonites.org.    

Digging Through the Roof

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By Laura Leatherman Alderfer, Salford (Harleysville, PA) and Methacton (Norristown, PA) congregations

This article was originally published by Anabaptist World and is reprinted with permission.  

Illustration by Kate Cosgrove from The Peace Table. © Shine curriculum, published by MennoMedia and Brethren Press. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The story of the man lowered through the roof to see Jesus is often told in the context of Jesus’ miraculous healings. 

We may not have thought of it as a story about inclusion, disability and accessibility. But as we look more closely at Mark 2:1-12, there is much to learn about ourselves, how Jesus views people with disabilities, and true accessibility and inclusion.

A house with no door

Imagine you’ve been invited to a party. You show up to the house, make your way to the spot where the front door should be and find — nothing. There is a place for a doorway. There is even a doormat that says, “Welcome, friends.” 

You knock on the window, but no one hears. You look for another entrance, but no one notices you are outside. 

Have we considered the people among us who feel invited but invisible? Are we aware of those looking for the front door? 

The paralyzed man and his friends created an opening to get inside the building where, for him, there was no door. How can we do the same (preferably without digging literal holes through the roof)? 

Three perspectives from Mark 2 offer a starting point. 

The first perspective is that of the man who was lowered through the roof. 

The text doesn’t say why he felt the need to be near Jesus. We often assume he and his friends wanted Jesus to cure his paralysis and make him walk again. But the passage doesn’t say that. 

Consider this man’s faith, the boldness, the vulnerability, as he allowed himself to be let down on a mat through a hole in the roof, presumably to the floor — and then looked up to see the face of Jesus. 

What does Jesus say to him? 

First, “Son.” Jesus affirms that this man is a child of God, an important part of the family. He belongs. That is the man’s identity, and Jesus names it. 

Second, “Your sins are forgiven.” Jesus does not immediately focus on what’s “wrong” with the man’s body. He simply sees a precious person who needs connection to God and removes the barrier of sin that separates him. It is only after certain religious people in the room question Jesus’ authority to forgive sins that he cures the man’s paralysis. 

We must not look at inclusion and accessibility as rooted in a problem with the physical bodies or brains of people with disabilities. We must see one another the way God sees us: as whole and in need of belonging, forgiveness and community. 

The second perspective is that of the paralyzed man’s friends who recognized the importance of bringing their friend to Jesus. 

According to Mark, these friends “dug through” the roof to make an opening. You can almost feel their gritty determination and sweaty effort, united in their resolve to get their friend inside. 

If you are a caregiver or friend to someone with a disability, you probably identify with these friends. You see your precious friend as fully loved and fully worthy. You feel the heartbreak of your friend’s loneliness, the frustration at the barriers and the feelings of being unseen. You might feel those things, too. 

Remember the caregivers in your midst. These people are already near to the precious children of God who must be included in all places and spaces. 

The final perspective is that of a person who isn’t mentioned: the one who owned the house. 

What about this person, who was just trying to provide a place for ­Jesus to teach and preach? He was left to deal with a hole in the roof and debris on the floor. Was he upset? 

Or did this encounter with Jesus, and with spiritual and physical healing, somehow change the homeowner? Perhaps the cost of roof repair was a small price to pay for experiencing God working a healing miracle through Jesus in his living room. 

Everyone can do something to ensure accessibility and inclusion. Yes, there is a place for planning and raising funds to make our homes and houses of worship more disability friendly. But God also may call us to open the roof in unconventional ways to let all God’s children inside. 

Questions for reflection 

Ask yourself the following questions to develop your awareness of those who are looking for the door but cannot find it: 

  • Are we willing to assume the financial costs of accessibility? 
  • Are we willing to do the relational work of learning how to connect with others who are different and open to the transformation that comes with it? 
  • Are we willing to examine our ideas about health, ability and what makes another person valuable? 
  • Are we open to breaking barriers so that every person — every body — can be welcomed in to experience healing and restoration through the power of Jesus? 

Yes, there are challenges and costs. There is destruction of inaccessible structures and old ways of thinking. 

But there is also much joy and beauty. 

And there is much love, belonging and healing when we draw near to Jesus. 

Let’s dig some holes to welcome all his friends inside. 

Laura Leatherman Alderfer

Laura Leatherman Alderfer of Telford, Pa., leads the Accessibility Ministry Team at Salford Mennonite Church, Harleysville, Pa. This article was adapted from a sermon preached at Plains Mennonite Church, Hatfield, Pa.

Lenape Asks PA Mennonites for Land to Bury Their Ancestors 

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by Eileen Kinch

The Mennonite Heritage Center, a Conference Related Ministry (CRM) in Harleysville, PA, welcomed the Lenape (Delaware) tribe of Bartlesville, OK, on April 12. After a potluck supper with local Mennonites, Chief Brad KillsCrow, tribal elder John Thomas, and tribal historic preservation officer Susan Bachor presented their request: land to bury their ancestors. 

Since 1990, the Native American Graves and Protection and Repatriation Act has required that museums and universities return Indigenous human remains and funerary items after consulting with descendants and tribal organizations. As Indigenous groups receive the bones of their ancestors, however, some tribes face the next question: where to bury them. 

Mennonites arrived in southeastern Pennsylvania in 1683 and many now live on the Lenape ancestral homeland, which encompasses greater Philadelphia, New Jersey, and parts of New York. 

“We have no presence in our homeland,” KillsCrow said. “How do we put our ancestors back in the ground?” 

The Lenape have already worked with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to bury about 200 ancestors at Pennsbury Manor, William Penn’s country estate in Morrisville, in 2022. But thousands still need burial space. 

Addressing the crowd of 120 gathered in the Mennonite Heritage Center barn, KillsCrow said, “Our ancestors helped you. Your ancestors helped us. I humbly ask if there is anything you can do.” He suggested a few acres, preferably an open meadow in a remote location. The Lenape would like to bury their ancestors with traditional ceremonies. 

The Lenape had considered burying their ancestors in Oklahoma, KillsCrow said, but tribal elders pointed out these ancestors never lived in Oklahoma. The Lenape settled there in the 1860s after gradual displacement from Pennsylvania by European expansion and then forced removal by the US government. The Lenape want to honor their ancestors, whose bones have been kept in museums and other institutions, by bringing them home. 

The event took place after a year of conversation between John Thomas, a Lenape tribal elder, and John L. Ruth, a noted historian of Mennonites in eastern Pennsylvania. The two men first met in 2022 at the Perkiomen Valley School District’s dedication of the Lenape Arboretum. The southeastern Pennsylvania school district partners with Ursinus College on the Welcome Home Project, which honors the history and culture of the Lenape people. 

As Ruth and Thomas talked, they discovered they had common roots in southeastern Pennsylvania. Ruth’s Mennonite family has lived in the area since the early 1700s. Thomas’ ancestors lived on the same land for thousands of years before that. Eventually, Ruth said, “My people have been living on your land for 300 years. We didn’t run you off or kill you. We prospered here. We have freedom. What can we do to help you?” 

Thomas responded, “We need a place to bury our ancestors.” 

Ruth began to lay groundwork with Mosaic Mennonites. In November, Ruth introduced Thomas and his wife, Faye, to about 80 people gathered at the Salford (Harleysville, PA) Mennonite meetinghouse. Ruth also gave a talk at the Mennonite Heritage Center about his own journey with Lenape history. 

At the April 12 meeting, Bachor, the tribal historic preservation officer, said it is not appropriate for ancestors to be buried in Mennonite church graveyards. She also requested Mennonites not offer land with a known history. “We also have to look out for everybody’s historic preservation,” she said. Archaeological research is more expensive for lands with known histories. 

The evening ended with John Ruth leading the group in singing “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds.” At a follow-up discussion on April 25 at the Mennonite Heritage Center, attendees reflected on the conversation with the Lenape and discussed possible ways to continue Lenape-Mennonite dialogue and to respond to the land request. 

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Anabaptist World on April 20, 2023 and is reprinted here with permission. To view the original article, click here.  

Eileen Kinch

Eileen Kinch is a writer and editor for the Mosaic communication team. She holds a Master of Divinity degree, with an emphasis in the Ministry of Writing, from Earlham School of Religion. She and her husband, Joel Nofziger, who serves as director of the Mennonite Heritage Center in Harleysville, live near Tylersport, PA. They attend Methacton Mennonite Church. Eileen is also a member of Keystone Fellowship Friends Meeting in Lancaster County.

This Advent, I’ll Take a Look Across the Street

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By Hendy Matahelemual

Growing up in a Christian family in Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country, I didn’t often see Christmas decorations. But we always knew where we could find a Christmas display. It was at a car dealership in a corner of the city. The owner must have been Christian.    

Every year at the end of November, my family and I were excited to find out what kind of Christmas exhibit the owner would put up: Santa and his sleigh, a snowman, a nativity scene. Each year was different.  

He also put up colorful lights, so at night it was wonderful to see — sacred and secular Christmas decorations, including symbols of cold weather and snow, in a tropical climate.  

As the years passed, the car dealership moved and there were no more Christmas exhibits on that corner. But the colorful lights and snowmen will stand forever in my Christmas childhood memories.    

Not quite satisfied with a mental picture from memory, I opened up Google Maps to see what that corner of Bandung looks like right now. As I scrolled the surroundings, something came up. I realized that right across the street stands one of the city’s Great Mosques.   

As a child, I never noticed the mosque. It did not matter to me. But now it does.  

As followers of Jesus, we need to change our attitude toward people with different beliefs.   

In his ministry, Jesus interacted with people of diverse backgrounds: Romans who believed in multiple gods, Canaanites who worshiped Baal, Samaritans who worshiped Yahweh at Mount Gerizim rather than at the Temple in Jerusalem.    

Jesus didn’t try to convince people to join his religion. He healed the sick, delivered the demonically oppressed, told people to tell others what God had done for them, praised people for their faith, and announced they would feast in heaven with the prophets.   

Jesus simply loved them, praised the good in them and answered the questions they were asking — sometimes by pointing them toward finding the answers for themselves.   

Mesach Krisetya, an Indonesian Mennonite leader who died earlier this year, said Christian missionaries in Indonesia often posed a conquering strategy. It is common for Christians to feel threatened by Islam and for Muslims to feel offended by former colonial powers, politics, and cultural arrogance. Krisetya urged pluralist sensitivity, aware that neither Muslims nor Christians lose identity through a careful exchange.   

Recently we invited a Jewish rabbi to speak at our Mosaic staff meeting. Her congregation is just two blocks around the corner from my congregation in South Philadelphia.    

We invited her to share her knowledge of chesed, a Hebrew word meaning God’s steadfast love, in light of our fall Assembly. As she explained the love of God and the practice of chesed, I was amazed by her insights on the Old Testament. She invited us to their Shabbat dinner, which I’m very interested to experience.    

During Advent this year, I will try to be aware of my surroundings. I will try to find God in other people and in every corner of my life. I will try to love even when it hurts. I will try to extend grace to everyone, regardless of their actions, beliefs, status, politics or nationality.   

“Praise the Lord, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples! For great is his steadfast love (chesed) toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 117).  

I believe one thing unites us as humans: God’s constant, steadfast, faithful love.   

Let us show the world that we are Jesus’ followers, not by how many Christmas decorations we put up, but by how much we love strangers as well as friends.  

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Anabaptist World on Nov. 18 and is used here by permission. To read the original article, please click here.  

Hendy Matahelemual

Hendy Matahelemual is the Associate Minister for Community Engagement for Mosaic Conference. Hendy Matahelemual was born and grew up in the city of Bandung, Indonesia. Hendy lives in Philadelphia with his wife Marina and their three boys, Judah, Levi and Asher.