Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Board Updates

August 2025 Board Meeting Summary

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On August 2, 2025, the Mosaic Mennonite Conference Board met in person in Lansdale, PA and online. Board member Kiron Mateti led a devotion around 1 John 4:15-19, a text which inspired the theme of “The Courage to Love”.

“Scripture gives us a simple truth—God is love, and perfect love casts out fear,” Mateti shared. “Like in my work as a software engineer, the simplest solution is often best. But we tend to complicate what could be clear and powerful.” 

As part of their reflection, the board read excerpts of an interview from Mennonite World Conference General Secretary César García titled “The Courage to Love,” and discussed three guiding questions:  

  • What do we mean by unity?
  • How is The Courage to Love guiding and shaping our thinking?
  • How can we recognize our weaknesses in the midst of an uncertain future? 

Strategic Plan and Program Updates  

The board reviewed feedback from the June and July Board and Delegate conversations, and reviewed updates on multiple initiatives tied to Mosaic’s strategic plan: 

“As we live into the strategic plan, we are finding more clarity in how we become, love, and live like Jesus together as Mosaic,” shared Conference Moderator Angela Moyer Walter.

“We are being mutually transformed by one another. This can be disorienting at times, and yet Jesus continues to faithfully lead and form us when we are faithful to the Spirit’s work amongst us.” 

Fall Delegate Assembly Preparation

The board reviewed the overall schedule for the Fall Delegate Assembly:  

  • Delegate Equipping Event: October 31, 2025, at Zion Mennonite Church (Souderton, PA)
  • Delegate Assembly: November 1, 2025, at Souderton Mennonite Church (PA)  

The board also approved a hybrid participation model for the Fall Delegate Assembly. Congregations and Conference-Related Ministries with a mailing address that is 300 or more miles from the Mosaic office in Lansdale, PA and who have named delegates that both the congregation and their lead minister have determined are unable to travel in person to the Mosaic Delegate Assembly on November 1, 2025 are permitted to participate in worship and delegate sessions fully. 

The board also shared updates and a time of prayer related to membership with Mennonite Church USA.

Welcoming New Congregations

Additionally, the board unanimously approved the request to receive three new congregations for membership with Mosaic Conference. They will be introduced in Mosaic News prior to the Fall Delegate Assembly:  

  • Iglesia Menonita del Cordero (Mennonite Church of the Lamb) of Brownsville, TX
  • Iglesia Menonita Fuente de Agua Viva (Fountain of Living Water Mennonite Church) of Los Fresnos, TX
  • Redemption Church of Bristol (PA)   

Board members who have visited these congregations shared their experiences and the relationships being built. 

Board Transitions and Committee Appointments

The board affirmed that Jim Musselman will serve a third term, which will begin in January 2026, as board secretary. 

Newly approved members of the Credentials Committee are:  

  • Tomás Ramírez (Iglesia Menonita Luz y Vida [Orlando, FL]) – moving from Ministerial
  • Kevin Opett (Church of the Good Samaritans [Holland, PA])
  • Hilda Vinces (Iglesia Menonita Ebenezer [Souderton, PA])
  • Viviana Ávila (Resplandece Mennonite [Pembroke Pines, FL, Colombia, and hybrid])  

“The board took a number of historic and seemingly ordinary actions that represent the changing realities of what it means to be Mosaic,” reflected Executive Conference Minister Stephen Kriss.  

“These include ensuring that there are enough Spanish-speaking committee members to work with our credentialing processes, creating guidelines for virtual participation in our fifth Mosaic Delegate Assembly, and granting membership to two Texas congregations and a Bucks County (PA) congregation. The decisions represent who we are and who we are becoming as a mosaic of people and communities in the way of Christ’s grace, justice and peace.” 

Looking Ahead 

The next board meeting is scheduled for September 15. Following that meeting, more details will be shared about the Fall Delegate Assembly. The board invites continued prayers for wisdom in discernment during this time.  

Following the Sept. 15 board meeting, delegates will be asked to attend the delegate preparation sessions. Stay tuned for dates and locations that will be released soon! 

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To contact the author(s) of this article, please email communication@mosaicmennonites.org.

Summer Board and Delegate Conversations Shape Mosaic’s Future with MC USA

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Amid tension and trust, around 100 delegates and leaders from across Mosaic Mennonite Conference gathered in June and July for board and delegate conversations. With Mosaic’s relationship to Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) at a crossroads, these meetings served as a space for prayerful dialogue, two-way communication, and opportunities to give and receive counsel about next steps.  

A snapshot from one of the Zoom gatherings

The sessions focused on providing a historical overview of the communication between Mosaic Conference and MC USA and an invitation for feedback. The meetings opened with prayer and a devotional on Ephesians 4:1-6. Board members then provided, in most meetings, a summary chronology of communications over the last three years, including the letter to the MC USA Executive Board that Mosaic Conference moderators sent in 2022, expressing concerns that had arisen since the reconciliation of the Franconia and Eastern District conferences in 2019 as well as more recent concerns about the MC USA special delegate session in 2022. The letter announced the start of the two-year Pathway Process, affirmed at the November 2022 Mosaic Delegate Assembly.  

For two nearly two years, the Pathway Steering Team listened to the depth and breadth of Conference members and partners, discerned, and worked to develop a five-year strategic plan for Mosaic Conference. In August 2024, the Pathway Steering Team made their recommendation of “a pathway forward of partnership (rather than membership) and collaboration” with MC USA, which received 71% affirmation by the delegates at the 2024 Mosaic Delegate Assembly.  

In 2025, the board has been tasked with carrying out this recommendation with MC USA. In February, the Mosaic board proposed that Mosaic Conference become a program entity of MC USA (a designation already in MC USA’s bylaws) to facilitate ministry partnership. At MC USA’s request, the Mosaic board responded to four questions in writing in April, which directly name the challenges that Mosaic Conference has faced with MC USA. 

In May, MC USA’s executive board unanimously voted to deny Mosaic’s proposal to become a program entity of MC USA, and later that month, the Mosaic board declined the board-to-board mediation process offered by MC USA at this time.  

Following this update, most meetings included a time of silence, prayer, and agreement to respectful communication guidelines. Participants were invited to ask questions, and then to share counsel with the board. 

“In our delegate listening sessions, I deeply valued the time to grieve and be frustrated together around difficulties with MC USA while simultaneously being grateful for the meaningful relationships within Mosaic and excitement for our witness together in the future,” shared Conference Moderator Angela Moyer Walter. “We are listening more deeply to one another, seeking understanding rather than uniformity, and trusting God to direct our path.” 

Amongst the four June/July board and delegate conversations offered in three languages, the questions and the counsel were varied. Here are some examples, which include both direct quotes and summaries of questions and themes that emerged from the counsel:  

  • Affirmation for Mosaic’s leadership, and sorrow for the pain caused by this process. 
  • A call to ensure that Mosaic’s vision, mission, and priorities remain central and are not diminished by devoting extensive energy to this process. One participant cautioned: “Don’t allow “Mosaic’s wings to get clipped.”
  • Recognition that the unanimous vote to reject Mosaic’s proposal feels significant.  
  • A question of whether “there is any space with MC USA for mutual, respectful conversation about the ‘rules of engagement’?”
  • Noted parallels between some Mosaic congregations seeking structural change for the full inclusion of LGBTQ persons, and Mosaic’s desire for structural change within MC USA. 
  • Acknowledgment that theological differences—particularly around the welcome of LGBTQ persons—must be addressed in environments of high trust, empathy, and care. 
  • Expressions of deep frustration and alienation from MC USA among some participants, along with a desire to disengage. 
  • Immigrant congregations noting that we do not have the same privileges as other congregations that have already left Mosaic due to frustrations with MC USA. 
  • A belief that outside of MC USA, Mosaic will attract more congregations and be better positioned as a partner. 
  • A suggestion to slow the process with a “holy pause” to allow for additional discernment. 
  • A request for the Delegate Assembly to offer more time for discernment earlier in the day. 
  • Questions about how Mosaic leaders can be better supported in advocating for structural change within MC USA. 
  • A desire for clearer communication of the process’s complexity, with an emphasis on increasing understanding and capacity for ambiguity among congregants. 
  • Curiosity about what would be required to pursue mediation as a future option. 

The meetings closed with a request of prayer for the board as they discern the next faithful steps for Mosaic Mennonite Conference. The next Mosaic board meeting will take place on August 2, and the Fall Delegate Assembly will take place on November 1.  

“We appreciate the investment by our delegates in Mosaic and concerns, though varied, about our relationship with Mennonite Church USA,” shared Executive Minister Stephen Kriss. “The board will need to continue to work diligently to discern what recommendations and postures the delegates will discuss in November.”  

Kriss continued, “What is increasingly important to me within Mosaic is that we hear the variety of concerns, and that we maintain our clarity of focus on our own vision and mission while responding empathetically to one another. I am drawn back to the idea of extending Chesed, which we considered in 2022 at our first in-person gathering.  While the Spirit holds our diversity together with the tensions that emerge from within and beyond us, we remain people committed to extending God’s grace, justice and peace.” 

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.         

March 2025 Mosaic Conference Board Report

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Mosaic Conference Moderator Angela Moyer Walter and Assistant Moderator Roy Williams report on the March 26, 2025 board meeting, including updates on the strategic plan, Spring Assembly gatherings throughout April, continued conversation with MC USA on ministry partnership, the dates for the Fall Assembly, and announcing the next Conference Assistant Moderator.

Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To interact with this article, please email communication@mosaicmennonites.org.

Mosaic Conference Board Update – January 2025

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The Conference Board supervises the business of the conference, including conference committees, and does strategic planning to ensure that the conference is maintaining alignment with its vision and following the lead of the Spirit into areas of growth and change. 

Report from the January 27, 2025, Board Meeting 

The board welcomed Haroldo Nunes (Seguidores de Cristo [Sarasota, FL]), the new Chair for the Conference-Related Ministry Committee, to the board.

Board member Maati Yvonne Platts (Nueva Vida Norristown [PA] New Life) opened the meeting with prayer and centering devotions around Romans 12: 9-16.

Strategic Plan Updates

The board reviewed the ongoing work on the strategic plan, including updates on the first Vibrant Mosaic cohort; the May Oasis Nations and Generations Retreat; and the core priority guides that staff are working on.

2025 Budget

The board unanimously approved the 2025 budget of $1.425M, pending modifications that more clearly display the Vibrant Mosaic program funds.

2025 Spring Assembly  

The board unanimously approved a 2025 Spring Assembly. The format will be similar to the delegate prep meetings, with multiple regional gatherings in multiple languages.  

The disbursed gatherings will be for equipping delegates on centered-set church models and the core priority guides as part of the strategic plan’s clarity and identity work. These gatherings are being held in response to the expressed need for more face-to-face dialogue and relationship building across the Conference. There will be no delegate decision making at the Spring Assembly.

These gatherings will take place in April and early May (more information will be coming soon in Mosaic News and to delegates). Though intended for 2024 and 2025 delegates, anyone is welcome to attend.  

Intercultural Committee Update 

The intercultural committee shared a recommendation for ongoing equipping on intercultural practices, as well as antiracism and intercultural development inventory onboarding for new board members, committee members, and staff, in addition to ongoing training. 

MC USA-Mosaic Partnership Update 

The Mosaic Conference Moderators have been in conversation with and have meetings planned with other area conference moderators as well as the MC USA moderators and executive board and will bring updates for the March Mosaic Board meeting.  

Affirmation of Committee Minutes 

The board affirmed the minutes of numerous recent committee meetings, including the Ministerial Committee minutes, which included a recommendation that restores Beth Yoder’s credentials to active as of December 4, 2024, after a two-year probation following the process outlined in the Giving and Receiving Council document.  

Board reorganizes, sets budget and affirms new positions at January meeting

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BOARD UPDATES

Mosaic Conference Board met on January 30 in a hybrid session with members joining from the Lansdale (PA) offices as well as on Zoom from Vermont, Florida and California. The first meeting of the new year often includes some elements of reorganization. The board meets on a bi-monthly basis usually in a hybrid format with some members on Zoom while others are present together. 

This was the first board meeting for Emmanuel Mwaipopo from Nueva Vida Norristown New Life congregation, who now serves as the Intercultural Committee chairperson. Angela Moyer Walter (Ripple congregation, Allentown, PA) began her term as moderator following Ken Burkholder’s term (Souderton congregation). Roy Williams (College Hill congregation, Tampa, FL) moved from his role as intercultural committee chair to assistant moderator. Moyer Walter and Williams were both affirmed in their roles at the Mosaic Annual Assembly in November 2022.   

The board affirmed the addition of Rose Bender Cook from Whitehall congregation in Allentown, PA to the Ministerial Committee. 

The board approved a budget of over $1.084 million for 2023-24, balancing increased contributions from properties, partners, and individual donors with decreased congregational giving. Staff adjustments include increased time for the pathway process and for Spanish language capacity, along with young adult leadership formation initiatives. This represents a slight increase from the $1.070 million budgeted for 2022-23.

The board acknowledged the decision of Mennonite Bible Fellowship of Morris, PA to suspend membership in Mennonite Church USA while remaining a full member of Mosaic Conference. 

Mosaic Annual Assembly was set for November 4, 2023, at Souderton (PA) Mennonite Church.  More details will be available soon, including theme and speaker for our annual gathering time together.   

The next board meeting is set for March 20, 2023. 

Conference Board Update: September 2021

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The Mosaic Conference Board met September 20, 2021 to prepare for the annual Assembly and to review a process for conversation with Dock Mennonite Academy in response to allegations of misconduct in March 2021. The Conference board meets bimonthly. Most meetings are a hybrid combination of virtual and in-person attendance, so that members can attend across the Conference’s wide geography.

Process with Dock Academy

The Board reviewed a process prepared by the Ministerial Committee and the Conference Related Ministries (CRM) Committee for further conversation with the leadership of Dock Mennonite Academy. The Board affirmed the proposed process to move forward, rooted in the Conference’s agreement with CRMs (of Community and Accountability) and the Giving and Receiving Counsel document for credentialed leaders.

Conference leaders will be meeting with leaders from Dock Academy in October to review the process. More information will be available in the coming weeks as this process continues.

New member congregations and ministries

In preparation for Assembly, the Board affirmed Iglesia Menonita Pena de Horeb (Philadelphia, PA) and Faith Chapel (Los Angeles, CA) as new member congregations and The Midian Project (Charleston, WV) as a new Conference Related Ministry (CRM). These memberships will be officially affirmed and blessed in the annual delegate session in November. Information to introduce these congregations and ministries to the Conference will soon be available through the Mosaic Newsletter and website.

Annual Assembly pivot to online

The Board approved a change from in-person to virtual Assembly participation with localized watch parties due to the current COVID conditions, our geographic spread, and our diverse constituency. The delegate sessions will be held on Zoom from 1-3pm Eastern/10am-12pm Pacific on Saturday, November 6. The annual worship will be broadcast from a central location with watch parties for delegates across the Conference community at 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific. More information regarding opportunities to gather as small groups for Conference worship will be coming in the next few weeks.