Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Conference News

MC USA Delegate Report

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Approximately 300 delegates from throughout Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) gathered July 7-8, 2023, at the Kansas City (MO) Convention Center to discern together some aspects of the denomination’s future. Many of the attendees had participated in MennoCon ’23, held prior to the delegate assembly.  

Each session of the delegate assembly began with worship music and a Bible study by Rev. Dr. Sarah Bixler. The Bible studies looked at different scenes from the Upper Room before Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion and after his resurrection. 

After the first Bible study, the assembly was convened by MC USA Moderator Linda Dibble. An agenda and rules were adopted and minutes from the 2022 Delegate Assembly were summarized and approved. Then Sue Park-Hur, MC USA Director of Ethnic Engagement, led the delegates in a game of Mennonite bingo to get to know one another. After a break, Glen Guyton, MC USA Executive Director, gave a State of the Church message. After this, there was an introduction to the Agency Governance & Operational Alignment Resolutions being put forward by the Executive Board. 

After lunch and a further time of singing and Bible study, delegates heard a report from the Mennonite Education Association and received and voted to affirm a slate of new members for various denominational boards and committees. Delegates then heard a report from Mennonite Mission Network and a testimony from the pastor of Koinonia Indian Mennonite Church (Clinton, OK) about how they are implementing their Peace and Justice Grant. After a break, Everence and Mennonite Health Services Association (MHS) gave reports about their work. 

Banners line the hallways of the convention center in Kansas City for MennoCon 23. Photo by Marta Castillo.

The delegates then voted on whether or not to modify the denomination by-laws to change the occurrence of delegate assemblies from every two years to every three years. To pass, the resolution needed to receive a two-thirds majority vote for adoption. The resolution failed by a very narrow margin. Many of those who spoke against the resolution cited a concern that youth would not be gathering as frequently and a general desire to meet more rather than less frequently.  

Resolution two, to amend the bylaws to clarify the role of program entities, passed by an overwhelming majority. Before adjourning for day one, delegates began to provide feedback and counsel about resolution three, to change Everence and MHS from agencies to program entities. 

Saturday morning began with singing and the final Bible study segment. Michael Danner, MC USA Associate Executive Director, gave an update on the development of new procedures to prevent and deal with incidents of abuse of various kinds in congregations. This was followed by a report from MennoMedia.  

After a break, delegates moved on to floor discussion and voting on resolution three, to change the status of Everence and MHS from agencies to program entities. This resolution passed with an overwhelmingly positive vote.  

After this, Ivanna Johnson from Boulder (CO) Mennonite Church spoke about how her congregation is using a peace and justice grant to partner with a nearby elementary school to provide resources and support for impoverished students. The MC USA Anti-racism team then gave its report and there was a report from the Corinthian Plan. 

The Transforming Wall at MennoCon 23. Photo by Danilo Sanchez.

To close out the delegate assembly, Jon Carlson, pastor of Forest Hills Mennonite Church (Leola, PA) was installed as the new Moderator of MC USA. Carlson spoke about his desire to focus on three Mennonite values in the next biennium: peace, especially living at peace with one another despite deep differences; simplicity, especially in how we organize our work together; and family, emphasizing the ongoing transfer of leadership to younger generations.  

Line Lexington Leaves Mosaic Conference 

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Line Lexington (PA) congregation has decided to disaffiliate with Mosaic Conference and Mennonite Church USA. The Mosaic Conference Board was recently informed, via a letter, of the results of Line Lexington’s decision.   

In the letter, Line Lexington’s Church Council and Elder Team acknowledged that the decision did not come lightly. “We have always valued the Mennonite principles of peace, justice, and service in Jesus and have found significant meaning in the teachings and traditions. However, as Mosaic has developed, we realize that our beliefs and values are handled differently than those of the Conference.”  

Established in 1752, Line Lexington is one of the oldest Mennonite congregations affiliated with Mosaic Conference prior to this decision. 

“It is sad to see Line Lexington leave Mosaic,” said Randy Heacock, Leadership Minister. “I have deeply appreciated working with the church’s leadership over the past few years.  I appreciated the thoughtful discernment they practiced in reaching their decision.”   

The letter from Line Lexington Mennonite Church closed with well wishes for Mosaic Conference “in its continued work toward peace, justice, and service in Jesus, and we hope that the community will thrive and grow in years to come.”  

Sabbatical Leave for Executive Minister

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The Mosaic Board has approved a sabbatical leave for Steve Kriss, Executive Minister. Steve will begin a 3-month sabbatical on Monday, May 22, 2023.  For the first ten weeks, Steve will be a full-time student in Clinical Pastoral Education through Trinity Health Mid Atlantic. He will spend the remaining time resting, reading, traveling, and enjoying time with family and friends.  

During his sabbatical, Steve’s role will be filled by other Mosaic staff members, most notably, Associate Executive Minister, Marta Castillo.  If you have leadership questions or concerns during this time, please contact Marta.  Steve will return to the Mosaic office on August 30, 2023.   

Please pray for Steve during this time of learning and rejuvenation and for the Mosaic staff as they cover his duties during his time away.  

Powerful Kindness, Faithful Truth

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Assembly 2023 theme

Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise the Lord, all you people of the earth. 
For God’s kindness for us is powerful; the Lord’s truth endures forever. 

Psalm 117

How can all the peoples of the earth praise God together? If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that even families are being torn apart by disagreement and conflict. How can we expect churches, conferences, and denominations, much less the nations of the world, to gather and praise God with one voice? 

Last year’s assembly theme revolved around the Hebrew word chesed: God’s overflowing, constant, steadfast, and faithful love for us. Chesed doesn’t have a simple translation into English: we need many different words to describe what it means. It includes an outpouring of undeserved favor and kindness that comes from the generosity of the giver and not the deeds of the receiver. 

In the Hebrew Bible (what we call our Old Testament), the word chesed is often paired with the Hebrew word emet. Similarly, emet doesn’t have a one-for-one translation but is multifaceted. We see it translated most frequently as truth or faithfulness. 

These two attributes of God—kindness and truth—are fundamental in Hebrew theology and often accompany one another, especially in the Psalms. God’s kindness is powerful and God’s truth is constant and reliable. This is who God is and the very nature of how God acts toward us. 

At the 2022 Assembly, we explored how God’s powerful kindness is the thread that sews us together. As we discern a pathway forward for Mosaic Conference, the 2023 Conference Assembly will explore how God’s faithful truth is woven into the fabric of our relationships. 

In Genesis 47, Jacob begs his son Joseph to bury him in the land of his ancestors. Their family has a long history of jealousy and betrayal, as well as love and forgiveness. Jacob asks Joseph to hold those two realities in tension: “Swear that you will treat me with chesed and emet in honoring this request” (vs 29). Powerful kindness and faithful truth: not denying their past, but allowing it to be named, acknowledged, and resolved in an act of commitment and love. 

What would it look like for us as a conference to do the same? How can our truth-telling be interwoven with gracious kindness so that chesed and emet are embodied in us? Can we acknowledge our fraught past while allowing undeserved favor to move us into new possibilities together? 

While this may seem unrealistic or even impossible to achieve on our own, we remember and rely on Jesus, who comes full of both grace and truth. “He was full of grace and truth…No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God…has revealed God to us” (John 1:14, 18). 

Jesus, the image of God, is the only one capable of fully living both chesed and emet. The rest of us hold those two realities in jars of clay, with humility. Even as we acknowledge that our love for one another is sometimes incomplete, may we choose to extend powerful kindness and faithful truth to each other as we walk together in our broken and beautiful world. 

Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. 
For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever.
Praise the Lord!

PSALM 117

Mosaic Conference Board appoints first California member, Lucy Hannanto Parsono

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CONFERENCE BOARD UPDATES

At the March 20, 2023, hybrid board meeting (Lansdale office-based and Zoom-based) the Mosaic Conference board named Lucy Hannanto Parsono to an unexpired position. She will be filling the vacancy left by Kris Wint, pastor at Finland Mennonite Church.  Wint’s term ended when Finland congregation withdrew from Mosaic in the fall of 2022. 

Hannanto Parsono is an elder at International Worship Center in San Gabriel, CA. She and her husband, Alfred, live in Hacienda Heights, CA. They are the parents of a daughter and have three grandchildren who also live in southern California. Lucy was born on the island of Sumatra but grew up in Tangerang, on the island of Java near Jakarta in Indonesia. Lucy’s parents converted to Christianity from Buddhism, though she was raised in the church. She moved to California in the 1980s and now runs an import/export business dealing mostly with trade between the U.S. and Indonesia. 

In her discernment to join the Conference board, she felt encouraged by family and mentors who said, “This kind of work is your life.” Lucy loves to find opportunities to serve in the church and sees this as another way to serve and to learn within the Mosaic community. Lucy receives strong affirmation for her role from Leadership Ministers Aldo Siahaan and Jeff Wright and her brother, Buddy Hannanto, pastor at IWC. 

Mwaipopo Joins Mosaic Board

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Emmanuel Mwaipopo joined the Mosaic Conference Board in January 2023.  Along with his role on the Mosaic Board, Emmanuel will serve as Chair of the Intercultural Committee.

Emmanuel Mwaipopo was born in Tanzania. Although his mother was a Mennonite, he was raised in his father’s Roman Catholic tradition. He moved to the US in his 20s to attend Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, where he studied computer information systems. A professor at Temple introduced Emmanuel to a local Mennonite church in Philadelphia.

Later Emmanuel moved to Norristown, PA where he became involved with Nueva Vida Norristown New Life Mennonite Church, where he now serves as an elder.  Emmanuel is a software engineer and works for Comcast. He and his wife care for four children. In his free time, Emmanuel plays ultimate frisbee. 

Mosaic Moderators Meet with Mennonite Church USA Executive Board

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MC USA Executive Board Responds with Open Letter

By Sue Conrad Howes

On Saturday, January 28, 2023, Mosaic’s Moderator Angela Moyer Walter and Assistant Moderator Roy Williams met virtually with the Mennonite Church USA’s Executive Board, a 15-member volunteer board that guides the denomination and supervises the MC USA Executive Director.

During the meeting, Moyer Walter and Williams shared a timeline of Mosaic Conference since 2007. In that timeline, the MC USA Executive Board learned about the growth of recent-immigrant churches, the addition of California and Florida congregations, reconciliation work between Eastern District and Franconia Mennonite Conferences, Mosaic’s experiences at the MC USA Special Assembly in Kansas City in May 2022, and the development and implementation of the Pathway Forward document in the fall of 2022. 

This meeting was a follow-up to an open letter that the Mosaic Moderators sent to the MC USA Executive Board on November 15, 2022.  After receiving the letter, MC USA’s Executive Board invited the Mosaic Moderators to meet with them face-to-face.  During the course of the meeting, Moyer Walter and Williams read portions of the open letter to the Executive Board. 

“It was good that we read parts of the letter; it was honest and accurate,” said Moyer Walter. “They heard the hurts, the pain, and the frustration.” 

After 20 minutes of presentation, Moyer Walter and Williams invited questions and conversation.  When the 45 minutes of allotted time was over, the Executive Board extended the time by 15 minutes. At the end of the hour, everyone acknowledged that the conversation could have continued for much longer.  

Moyer Walter reported that the Executive Board acknowledged the information gained from the timeline was helpful in their understanding of Mosaic today. They also affirmed Mosaic’s 2-year time frame for the Pathway Forward process.  

Moyer Walter asked the Executive Board, in light of this deeper level of understanding, “Is there room for Mosaic’s diverse perspective within MC USA?”  The Executive Board overwhelmingly responded “yes.” Moyer Walter therefore invited MC USA to more engagement with Mosaic Conference over the next two years. 

Although the time for discussion was limited, Moyer Walter reported that she and Williams felt heard, the Spirit was present, and the response from members of the MC USA Executive Board was kind. At the same time, the conversation needs to continue. “It is very difficult to try to speak as Mosaic in such a short time frame. Mosaic has multiple things to say to MC USA leadership,” said Moyer Walter. “I’m aware that we need to honor all our Mosaic voices, and that can be tricky. I felt like we were able to do that as best we could.”   

Moyer Walter knows that some members of Mosaic Conference desired for her to express their anger to MC USA leaders. She is willing to share that anger, but wants to work at understanding what is underneath the anger, to articulate the complicated layers of frustration and hurt. “We want to be a people of peace and reconciliation and to bear witness to the good news of Jesus,” shared Moyer Walter.  “We bear witness to Jesus by how we manage conflict. That does not mean that we are weak or spineless but that we are honest and take time to listen and honor each other.”  

In reflecting on the time spent with MC USA’s Executive Board, Williams said, “We are family. We may not always get along, but we are still family.  We do not hide from conflict, but we commit to working with each other for better understanding in the future.” 

After the meeting, MC USA’s Executive Board formally responded to Mosaic’s open letter by publishing an open letter of their own (also available in Spanish, Indonesian and Vietnamese).

Sue Conrad Howes

Sue Conrad Howes is part of the communication team for Mosaic Mennonite Conference. She is an ordained pastor in MC USA and is a chaplain at St.Luke’s Penn Foundation. She and her husband live in Quakertown, PA and are members at West Swamp Mennonite Church.

Burkholder Finishes and Reflects on Moderator Role

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By Eileen Kinch

On December 31, 2022, Ken Burkholder concluded his three-year term as Mosaic Conference moderator. In this role, Burkholder gave leadership to the Executive Board, the Executive Committee, and the Conference Assembly.

Prior to being moderator, Burkholder served on the former Franconia Conference Board. “Ken has steadily and graciously led us through our reconciliation process and through a global pandemic, in the midst of complicated denominational relationships,” said Steve Kriss, Executive Minister of Mosaic Conference.  

COVID-19 has defined Burkholder’s time as moderator. His term began in January of 2020, and the lockdown came in March. The Mosaic Executive Board quickly switched from in-person meetings to meetings over Zoom.  Two of the three Conference Assemblies that Burkholder led also took place virtually. “Leadership is about planning and setting a clear vision,” Burkholder pointed out, “but it also requires flexibility to adjust to unexpected situations, such as a pandemic.” 

Mosaic continues to experience the wide-ranging effects of COVID-19. Burkholder observed that current tensions in Mosaic Conference are not new; the same tensions were already present in the former Franconia Conference. Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) actions and COVID-19, however, accelerated these tensions. The polarized, divided atmosphere “raised the temperature and level of anxiety,” and the lack of face-to-face communication made the tensions harder for people to handle. “We need to be talking together, taking communion, and praying together,” Burkholder said. Mosaic needs to heal from the disruption of fellowship. 

We need to be talking together, taking communion, and praying together

KEN BURKHOLDER

Yet there were joys and accomplishments for Burkholder amid the challenges. The Shalom Fund, a mutual aid effort during the pandemic that raised $217,945, was a “terrific testimony to the community … [and to] God’s faithfulness.” The Board was also able to meet in person, but outside, at Spruce Lake Retreat in July 2020 to form Mosaic’s mission and vision statement, as well as to affirm that Mosaic was to be missional, formational, and intercultural. Burkholder was glad that the Board affirmed these biblical and Anabaptist values. 

Ken leads with a tangible love for God and the Church…

ANGELA MOYER WALTER

“Ken leads with a tangible love for God and the Church,” said Angela Moyer Walter, Mosaic’s incoming moderator. “He listens well, laughs readily, and understands the complexities of church leadership. During difficult times, he is humble, honest, and open to the leading of the Spirit.” 

Although Mosaic faces challenges, Burkholder remains hopeful in what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do. He hopes that Mosaic Conference will focus on where it is united, which is in its vision to embody the reconciling love of Jesus in a beautiful and broken world. He looks forward to focusing primarily on his pastoral team role at Souderton (PA) Mennonite Church.  

Mosaic Conference extends it sincerest thanks to Ken Burkholder for his work and trusts that God will be working through him in his future endeavors. 

Eileen Kinch

Eileen Kinch is part of the Mosaic communication team and works with editing and writing. She holds a Master of Divinity degree, with an emphasis in the Ministry of Writing, from Earlham School of Religion.