Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Conference News

The Spirit Moves Within Fear & Trembling

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by Stephen Kriss

I’ve had the bilingual version of Michael W. Smith’s “Agnus Dei” as an ear worm since last Friday’s Conference Assembly.  A small ensemble from Centro de Alabanza led the song as a response to Nate Stucky’s sermon on Friday night, moving smoothly from English to Spanish and back again.  The Alleluia’s were markedly the same words in all three of the languages posted on the screen up front (English, Spanish and Indonesian). The four musicians later told me that they were shaking as they went up front to lead.  This was a large group to lead, close to 200 people.  Shifting back and forth between English and Spanish while you’re nervous is especially challenging.

ca2016-worship2But something seemed to happen to us as we sang.  I heard Indonesians behind me move readily into Spanish; in other parts of the auditorium at Dock Mennonite Academy EC-8 campus, Tanzanians did the same thing.  We were moved to stand together without an invitation to do so.  Some of us raised hands.  There were some tears.  There was some speaking in tongues (and I can verify that the languages were not of our assortment of languages that we normally speak outside of English).

For years, we’ve struggled in conference assembly over worship styles and songs and languages.  We’ve tried hard to incorporate all of our worshipping languages and song preferences.  Some of us fold our hands when hymns aren’t sung.  Others of us feel lost when we’re singing in a language other than our native tongue.  Some of us can’t figure out how to sing the soprano line when we try to break into four parts.  Sometimes we feel the Spirit and sometimes we don’t while others have.

ca2016-worship1This time I felt the Spirit somehow pull us into words meant to mimic those of the eternal city of God in their Agnus Dei, based on a passage from the Book of Revelation. St. John of the Cross called this something that I sensed to be on the brink of something, “I know not what.”  In the seemingly smooth transitions between English and Spanish led by a young group of worship leaders on vocals, keyboard, guitar and drums — who were there in fear and trembling –something quite beautiful emerged.  Maybe that was the key to open us up together; their humility might have made it all possible, inviting others to worship along with them with a sense of nervousness and awe.

After the worship, around ice cream, I noticed this crazy mix of people that we are: refugees, migrants, immigrants, citizens; millionaires and those only a payday away from living on the street again; from the mountains, suburbs, small towns, Allentown, Philadelphia, metro DC and NYC.  While serving regular, sugar free and lactose free ice cream, I noticed who we are.  How beautiful it is, when on one night even 5% of our community of approximately 7000 joins together from across our geographies to gather, sing, listen, pray, and re-group in our shared identity … to feel even a glimpse of Pentecost that binds us within and beyond language, through a group of us who lead with honest fear and trembling.

I’ve been grateful this week to have this song in my head as a reminder beyond the election’s possibilities and fears, that calls me to identify where real citizenship and purpose abides — in the reign of God, among the communion of the saints, by the power of the Spirit who unites us across our differences and languages.  This is who we are called to be, both in the here and now and into all eternity.  Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.  Santo, Santo.  El Senor es Poderoso.  Kudus,Kudus Engkaulah tuhan berkuasa.

Faith and Life Gatherings Commence

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pastors meeting 1At the 2015 Conference Assembly the delegate body affirmed the Faith and Life Church Together Statement that calls for “the conference to reestablish the Faith and Life Commission for the purpose of providing at least quarterly gatherings for pastors to discern and study scripture together.” The first of these Faith and Life gatherings were held this month.

The Faith and Life commission was established the first quarter of 2016 and includes Rose Bender (Whitehall) as chair, Josh Meyer (Franconia) as vice chair, Nathan Good (Swamp), Kris Wint (Finland), Verle Brubaker (Swamp), Penny Naugle (Plains), and the staff liaison is the conference executive minister. The commission has been meeting since May of this year reviewing the Church Together Statement, ministry description, and preparing for the quarterly gatherings.

This month they held their first quarterly gatherings at Plains, Salem, Indonesian Light, and one by Zoom teleconference. 60% of the conference’s credentialed leaders participated. The theme being going to the margins.

A recurring question that came up from the feedback of these gatherings was how do we think together theologically about the issues we are facing?

In September, the conference was reminded about the importance of spiritual practices when living in covenant with one another at the conference-wide gathering with MCUSA moderator-elect, David Boshart. The commission sees learning to hear God together as a spiritual practice and looks forward to the coming faith and life gatherings as a way of engaging this spiritual practice together with other credentialed leaders.

Steve Kriss, Franconia Director or Leadership Cultivation & Congregational Resourcing stated, “The gatherings offered an important time to reflect, to breathe, to share, and to pray together. These times whether face to face or virtual provide important opportunities to strengthen our relationships together and compel our calls to witness of the faith, hope and love that we know through Jesus.”

Future topics will be announced as the dates of the gatherings are announced. Currently, the commission is working on dates for gatherings in February, May, and August of 2017. Stay tuned for more specifics.

 

Parking Wars

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by Aldo Siahaan

“Yo, I am here do not write me a ticket.” I came at the exact time my meter was expiring, I told to the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) member.

parking_ticketLiving in a big city such as Philadelphia has its challenges, namely parking a car. On a daily basis, I spend a large part of my time driving people in need to the hospital, the lawyer, bringing people to the welfare office and many more.  Most of my time is spent in South Philadelphia or Center City. Yet, parking is a problem almost anywhere you go in the city, making your chances to get a ticket pretty high!

Although, about  50% of the members at Philadelphia Praise Center (PPC) walk to the church building, the other 50% who come by car often have to park 4-5 blocks away as that’s the only place they can find parking on a Sunday morning. For me, even though I live in South Philadelphia often I have to circle my block 5 to 7 times just to get a parking space, especially at night. When planning to go out as a group to dinner, usually we are looking for a restaurant that has a parking lot otherwise we could spend a half an hour looking for parking.

Parking for me is one of many stresses I come across. We all have stress in our lives and for various reasons. How do you react when under stress? What would be your reaction, if you find a ticket on your car`s windshield? Silent, angry, screaming or smiling. To be
honest, a lot of times I was silent but angry when receiving the ticket.

Twice in my experience, after receiving a ticket, I wait 2 hours from the scheduled hearing time before being seen. In the court room, other people that came  like me were angry or some form of upset. When my turn was called, the officer did not give me a chance to talk or hear  my explanation. I was very disappointed and annoyed and confused.

As Christians, in times of stress we need to remember to call on the Lord. To lay it in God’s hands. Like the parking situation in the city, a constant issue I have to deal with, we all have stresses that we have to learn to cope with. Let us remember that even if we feel rejected or unheard, like I did in the parking hearing, in contrast, as a believer we are so blessed because we are not just save but heard and accepted by God. That is the power of grace that I learned from parking war.

Franconia Conference's Joy Sutter Nominated as MCUSA Moderator-elect

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joysutterFor the past few months, Joy Sutter of Salford Mennonite Church has been chairing the executive minister search committee for Franconia Conference. This past week it was announced that she is the nominee for moderator-elect of MCUSA. Her name was put forward by the MCUSA executive committee and affirmed by the Constituency Leadership Council (CLC) this past week. If affirmed by the delegates at the 2017 Convention, Joy will serve for two years as moderator-elect and then two years a s moderator.

For more information and to hear why her name was put forward visit: http://mennoniteusa.org/news/sutter-nominated-as-mennonite-church-usa-moderator-elect/.

Ministerial Committee Welcomes Sherri Binder

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sherriIn September the Franconia Conference Ministerial Committee welcomed their newest member, Sherri Binder from Ripple. Sherri brings vast experience of working with communities in crisis, strategic planning, evaluation, and community development.

Three years ago, Sherri moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania with her husband Jeremy from Honolulu, Hawaii. She states, “at the time we were very sad to leave our church (and, yes, the beach). Our church in Honolulu is a unique community that brings together people from all walks of life, including many people who would not be comfortable walking into a traditional church. We doubted we would be able to find a similar church community here, but then someone suggested that we visit Ripple. As soon as we walked through the door, we knew we had found our new church home.”

Sherri holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs from Kennesaw State University (Georgia), graduating in 2001. She obtained her Master’s in Sustainable International Development from The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University (Waltham, MA). She also holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Community & Cultural Psychology from the University of Hawaii (Manoa).

Currently, Sherri is the President, BrokoppBinder Research & Consulting where she conducts research on how communities recover from natural disasters, along with conducting program evaluation. She is also the Director of Ripple Community Inc., the non-profit that formed out of Ripple church, which was formed to take the community building work of Ripple Church out into the neighborhoods of Allentown. Their program –the Community [Building] Center — creates opportunities to strengthen relationships and build community with residents of the city who are traditionally marginalized, and to develop connections across social boundaries with people who live and work in Allentown.

In regards to coming on board with the ministerial committee, Sherri said, “I am looking forward to learning about the Conference and working more closely with the people who are at its heart. I’m excited to contribute to the work on the Ministerial Committee in supporting the member churches, so that the member churches can better support their local communities.”

Steve Kriss, Director of Leadership Cultivation and Congregational Resourcing, says, “Sherri brings important skills from her area of study and work with trauma and recovery.  She’s a bridge-builder, someone who seeks to understand diverse communities.  In her work with Ripple Community Inc. she has exposure to the broader issues of urban life possibilities and challenges.   She will contribute value as a professional and a person committed to faith, hope and justice in the way of Jesus.”

334117_10151016877971877_1806336748_oFor fun Sherri enjoys reading, playing the guitar, and doing “as much yoga as I can manage.” She also enjoys spending time with her husband and their dog, Jojo.

Welcome, Sherri Binder, to the Franconia Conference Ministerial Committee.

Visible and Invisible Realms

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By Noel Santiago

Colossians 1:16 (NIV), “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”

noel-photoWhile Colossians 1:16 clearly states that God created the “visible and invisible,” could we say that we in the west rely more on what we see than what we don’t see? Is it fair to say that we don’t always believe nor live as if the spirit world is real? I wonder if this is because we have grown up under the influence of the enlightenment movement, that swept Europe around 300 year ago, claiming if you can’t prove it scientifically, it doesn’t exist.

I appreciate and value much of what science has helped bring forth. Indeed, many of the early scientist themselves where Christians. However, there seems to be many challenges for us in the west when it comes to believing and living as if the spirit is real.

First, the challenge with the scientific method is: how do you prove the existence of say, angels, demons or God for that matter — especially, when they don’t hang around long enough for us to conduct reproducible scientific experiments that yield the same results, which is one of the fundamental requirements of the scientific method.

Another challenge is that while we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, we forget that it is also a Middle Eastern book whose worldview is quite different than the western worldview. In this worldview, the spirit realm is very real and evident in our lives. So as westerners, with a culture where anything not scientifically proven is superstitious or folk tradition, we have a greater challenge to see the spirit realm.

There is also the notion of the “God gap” that exists within in our society. The God gap says that science will eventually be able to answer all questions we don’t have answers to now and consequently we won’t need God or the spirit world to help us understand and explain what we don’t know.

The Bible talks about binding and loosing (Mt 16:19); whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven, etc. This is the interplay between these two realms, the realm of what you can see and touch and the realm of what you cannot see and touch.

The Colossian text tells us that the spirit world is real! It’s as real as the world in which we live, for out of it came all things that exist, into existence! Might we take some time to consider the possibility that the spirit world is just as real as the physical world? What, if any, difference might this make in our lives, our communities of faith and in the world?

Celebrating John Bender

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John BenderOn Sunday, October 9, John Bender, former conference minister with Franconia Conference, beloved brother in Christ, and congregant of Ripple went to meet the Lord after a fierce battle with cancer. John served the church with grace, hope, and compassion.  His ministry will be remembered for a conscientious care for the cities, neighborhoods, congregations and people where he served and led in the way of Jesus.  We were privileged to have John’s last year’s of earthly ministry to be among us in Franconia Conference.   We mourn his untimely death with his family while celebrating his life as one who sought to live justly, to extend mercy and to walk humbly with our God.

The funeral will be held Saturday, October 15 at 10:30 am at Franconia Mennonite Church. To read the obituary visit: http://www.eliasfuneralhome.com/view_obituary.cfm?id=13572

Garden Chapel's Pastor Tim Hart Receives Service Award

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Tim Hart with his wife, Maria, and daughter, Melody.
Tim Hart with his wife, Maria, and daughter, Melody.

The Red Bandanna Service award is given to an individual or group who has shown initiative and dedication in support of children in need. In addition to his work as pastor at Garden Chapel (Dover, NJ), he also works at a local state university and spends his time mentoring youth in the community. He can be found playing basketball with them, just hanging out, even assisting them in finding treatment for addiction and walking with them through court proceedings. We are blessed to have Pastor Tim and Garden Chapel as a part of our Franconia family! Read more about Pastor Tim and the award he received here: http://www.nj.com/messenger-gazette/index.ssf/2016/09/red_bandanna_service_award_to_be_given_to_the_rev_timothy_hart.html .