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anabaptist world

Lenape Asks PA Mennonites for Land to Bury Their Ancestors 

May 25, 2023 by Cindy Angela

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.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: anabaptist world, Eileen Kinch, intercultural

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

November 30, 2022 by Conference Office

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.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Advent, anabaptist world

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