Conference News

Perkiomen Trail Ride to Support MEDA Project

April 9, 2015 by Conference Office

Want to help women in Ghana learn to grow soybeans? Bring your bicycle to Salford Mennonite Church on Saturday, May 2 to join a ride on the Perkiomen Trail, organized by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA). The ride will start at Salford Mennonite Church in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, at 2:00 p.m.

Mary Fehr and Sarah French were interns in Nicaragua and Tanzania, and their bike trip will support a MEDA project.

The ride will be led by Sarah French and Mary Fehr, two Canadians who were interns with MEDA in 2013. After this ride, they will travel by bike across Canada, starting in Victoria, British Columbia, and riding 5,412 miles to St. John’s, New Brunswick. Their trip will take four months to allow for stops along the way to raise awareness about MEDA’s Greater Rural Opportunities for Women (GROW) project. The GROW project started in 2012 and has impacted 20,000 women and their families.

“Teaching women to farm creates economic empowerment, which strengthens women, creating equality,” says Sarah French, “So improving their skills can help bring a community out of poverty and spur economic growth.”

Mary and Sarah’s goal is to raise $150,000 by biking across Canada.

Sarah French and her father take a break during a training ride.

“I want to be a part of this because by teaching [the women] to grow soybeans, they are creating a sustainable livelihood that will allow them to make choices based on the future rather than rash decisions due to necessities,” says Mary.

Mary and Sarah will be sharing about their internship experiences and their upcoming Canadian bike ride at a dinner at Dock Woods Community on April 30. To RSVP to this event email delvalmeda@yahoo.com. This event is sponsored by the Delaware Valley MEDA chapter.

The Perkiomen Trail ride is sponsored by the MEDA chapters of Lancaster and Delaware Valley. Following the ride, there will be an international dinner and program at Salford Mennonite Church. Registration for the ride is $20; RSVP for the ride and dinner by April 16 at Chapters@meda.org or by calling 717-560-6546.

Additionally, Sarah and Mary will be speaking at Blooming Glen Mennonite and Mellinger’s Mennonnite Church the day after the ride.

SisterCare Offered Time to Encounter God in Each Other in Spanish & English

April 9, 2015 by Conference Office

By Marta Castillo, associate pastor Nueva Vida Norristown New Life & Franconia Conference board member

Mirror, mirror, what do you see?
Women made in the image of Thee
Woman, woman, what do you see?
I see You in me.

Rarely do I get a chance to see God orchestrating events in such a way as for the Women’s Gathering this spring “Shattering our Mirrors, Reclaiming Ourselves”. I imagine that the Sister Care planning committee faithfully and purposefully chose the theme, the location, the date, and carefully planned for speakers and program. At some point in the process, the Holy Spirit began nudging them towards attempting to be more inclusive and intercultural. It all began by the simple decision to send out the event information in Spanish.

Intercultural efforts and events have a way of stripping away our illusions of control and allowing us to “let go and let God.” When the flier went out in Spanish, God moved quickly in a new direction and from my viewpoint, the planning committee with some uncertainty yet graciously followed the Spirit’s lead as their well organized plans went sideways. Very quickly over 20 Spanish-speaking women had eagerly signed up but many of them could not attend without the provision of childcare during the event. The committee had decided not to provide childcare during past events or even this year but willingly obedient to the flow of the Spirit, they agreed to try to provide childcare. God provided people who volunteered to help care for the children but now they realized the original space was too small for all the children and a meeting place for the women. Very close to the date of the gathering, the committee had to consider an alternative space that could accommodate everyone.

After a visit and several conversations with me, the Sister Care Committee settled into moving the whole event to Nueva Vida Norristown New Life. I couldn’t have been happier. I could see that God was doing a new thing and I was honored to be a part of it. For several years, I had carried a desire in my heart to see a repeat of the original event, in which Spanish-speaking women participated and had thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I wanted to see an event that I could invite all the sisters of color in my church to participate in.

The nudging of God’s Spirit continued. Since there were as many Spanish-speaking women signed up as English-speaking women, why not make it a fully bilingual event? With translated documents, side-by-side translation, and sharing from everyone in Spanish and in English. Why would more than half of the women sit there with ear buds waiting for the Spanish to come through while the English speakers talked on and on without pause? Kudos to the committee members, speakers, and presenters who said “Yes”, they would be willing to try a new method. Thanks be to God who provided translators! One of the comments on the evaluation sheets expresses the importance of making languages equal. “I liked everything because there were no divisions of languages because we are equal before the eyes of God and thank you for the word.”

On the day of the event, women came early, with eager hearts and a hunger for time spent in the company of sisters in Christ. From the greeting, to the worship, the meditations, the sharing, and the final prayer of blessings, English and Spanish words flowed back and forth like a beautiful dialogue. Sandy Drescher Lehman talked about her calling as a pastor, shared her story of her beautiful skirt made from her father’s ties, and encouraged us to go down deep but to emerge in a new place. Table groups talked and shared about the things that hinder them from knowing themselves and God and things that help them draw closer to God and know themselves better.

After a shared meal of tostadas, Christine Waanders walked us through a process of better getting to know ourselves and our personalities. The culminating event of washing each others’ hands brought tears, hugs, love, prayer, and laughter to many women as well as the bittersweet feeling that a day of blessing, healing, and sisterhood was about to end.

Afterward, I received a card signed by 20 of our sisters in Philadelphia, thanking the committee again for the invitation, the experience, and expressing thanks to God. “The time we spent together was glorious. Thank you.” As tears of joy sprung again to my eyes, I am amazed how God orchestrated the events as my faithful sisters chose to follow the leading of God’s Spirit.

Part-time Registration for Mennonite World Conference Now Open

April 9, 2015 by Conference Office

by Phyllis Pellman Good

Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is now offering part-time registration for assembly, which will be held July 21-26 at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The daily registration rate for adults is $120 per day, and part-time registrants may join friendship groups, attend afternoon workshops and the art exhibit, participate in the Global Church Village, and other activities. Parking or shuttle service is included in the fee.

Magali Moreno of Paraguay is managing registrations for the gathering.

Tours, service projects, the Anabaptist World Cup, and Assembly Scattered will only be open to those who register for the full assembly. Meals are not included in the adult daily rate, although food can be purchased at the Farm Show Complex.

Registrants who cannot participate in the entire assembly may also share a full-time registration with another person, an option that may appeal to Mennonite organizations or churches who are unable to close down for a full week. Congregations and small groups are encouraged to use this option for participants who wish to attend part of the event.

Registration manager Magali Moreno says there are some drawbacks to such arrangements: “We can offer only a single one-of-a-kind registration bag, outfitted with necktie handles, and filled with our brand new songbook, with each full-time ticket.”

As of mid-March, MWC had received registrations from 64 countries.

“Once you enter the Farm Show Complex, you will be in a global community,” says Moreno. “Your registration is like a passport to the global church!”

For full-time or part-time registration for Pennsylvania 2015, go to www.mwc-cmm.org/pa2015.

Focusing on the well and not the wall

April 8, 2015 by Conference Office

by Josh Meyer, Franconia Mennonite Church

I vividly remember sitting in one of my seminary classes when a classmate asked our professor, “What’s the single most important piece of advice you’d give us as we prepare for ministry in the church?” The professor responded by saying, “Keep the main thing the main thing. Don’t ever allow Christ to become secondary because you’re distracted by other issues, pursuits, or debates. Those other things may have value, but they’re not the center. Jesus is the center. Above all else, keep the main thing the main thing.”

After nearly a decade in ministry, I’ve seen how easy it is to get preoccupied trying to define the parameters and defend the borders of our faith, rather than focusing on Christ. Debates about who’s in and who’s out, who’s right and who’s wrong, who’s one of “us” and who’s one of “them” have a way of distracting us from the main thing.

It’s kind of like a farmer caring for sheep. One way to prevent the sheep from running away is to build a fence. The downside to fences, though, is they require a lot of maintenance. You need to continually make sure that every part of the perimeter is secure, because just a small gap in the fence will allow all the animals to roam free.

Fences require a lot of resources, though. If you’ve got a three-acre property, you can probably afford to build a fence around it. If you’re a rancher with a huge amount of land, it’s not possible fence the whole thing.

The other option is digging wells. Since a well is a source of water, animals will stay relatively close to it. They are free to roam, but won’t wander too far from the well because it is their source of life. In this scenario, you care for the sheep through what you’re drawing them toward, not what you’re restricting them from. The goal of both approaches is the same, but it’s a whole lot easier and more efficient to dig a life-giving well at the center than it is to maintain a bunch of fences along the border.

I believe the same thing is true when it comes to our faith. Some people spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to define and defend the boundaries. Here are the lines we can’t cross, the issues we can’t discuss, the things we can’t do, the words we can’t say, the ways we can’t vote, the people we can’t let in because they believe differently than we do. It’s all about building fences that separate us and erecting walls that distinguish us from everyone else.

The danger of this kind of “bounded set mentality” is it elevates and accentuates peripheral issues while minimizing and diminishing the center. This approach to faith breeds a mentality where we’re extremely clear what we’re against–we draw really thick lines around the edges–but the center tends to get neglected.

I believe a far healthier model is to spend less time defending the borders and more time focused on the center. This “centered set mentality” acknowledges there are some lines we shouldn’t cross, but makes our primary objective the well, not the wall. The bulk of our time and energy is spent inviting people to the source of Living Water.

If we’re really clear about that–if we’re passionate and unwavering in introducing people to Jesus–we won’t need to spend as much time arguing about the border because people won’t want to leave the center. Frankly, I think the problem for many Christians and many churches isn’t that the boundaries of our faith is weak, but that the center of our faith is weak. We’ve spent far too much time on secondary issues and not enough time being formed into the likeness of Christ.

Therefore, we’ve tried to be very clear about what we’re committed to as a faith community: we’re committed to Jesus being the Christ, and we’re committed to Jesus being the center. For that reason, we will unapologetically focus more on the well than on the wall.

As a church, we’re far more interested in proclaiming Christ than we are getting into arguments about who’s in and who’s out. More interested in lifting up the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus than we are debating secondary issues that distract us from the main thing. More interested in introducing people to Jesus than we are engaging in culture wars. More interested in seeing people have their lives changed by Christ than we are convincing them of a particular theological position. More interested in opening the doors of faith to anyone who’s interested in Jesus than we are turning people away because they don’t agree with us on every single issue.

In other words, we are far more interested in the center than we are in the boundary. And Jesus is the center, so that’s what we’re going to preach, that’s what we’re going to teach, that’s what we’re going to study, that’s what we’re going to rally around, that’s what we’re going to get passionate about, that’s what we’re going to give our lives to– because Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus is the center. We want to be really, really clear about that.

May we remember and reaffirm the profound truth that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. May we be a church that is deeply committed to the well rather than to frenetically building fences. And may we always, always, always keep the main thing the main thing.

This is an excerpt from Josh’s sermon last Sunday at Franconia Mennonite Church in Telford, Pennsylvania.

Junior High Youth Have Late Night Blast

March 26, 2015 by Conference Office

by John Stoltzfus, Franconia Conference Youth Minister

Whose job description includes this clause: Must be willing to have face covered in shaving cream and decorated with cheese curls? If you answered, “Junior high youth sponsor,” you are correct! Junior high youth sponsors are some of the bravest people in ministry.

At junior high youth events, helmets are sometimes necessary... — At junior high youth events, helmets are sometimes necessary…

If you were at the Late Night Blast on March 13, you would have witnessed such a scene and a lot more crazy fun. Close to 150 junior high youth and adult sponsors representing 18 churches gathered for this annual event sponsored by Franconia Conference and Eastern District Conference. It was hosted by Christopher Dock Mennonite High School.

Last year, the event was an all-night lock-in; this year it morphed into a “Late Night Blast,” ending at 11:15 p.m. While some youth lamented the loss of staying up all night, most responses to the evening were still very enthusiastic.

Part of the purpose of this annual event is to give our youth a positive and memorable experience of worshipping together, playing hard, and catching a glimpse of the larger body of Christ that makes up our conference churches. This event also gives a wonderful opportunity for our youth workers to partner together in ministry.

The evening started off with some mixer gamers led by staff from Spruce Lake and by Brent Camilleri from Deep Run East Mennonite Church. Justin Hange and a band from Calvary Church in Souderton then turned up the noise for the evening and led in a spirited time of singing and worship.

“That was awesome!” remarked one youth following the singing.

Scott Roth, pastor at Perkiomenville Mennonite Church, kept the energy flowing as he shared stories of how he sees God at work in his life and his community bringing hope and healing. He challenged the youth to bring together a knowledge of God’s Word with an active obedience to God’s Word in everyday life.

The rest of the night was full of fun activities to choose from: soccer, basketball, dodge ball, human Dutch Blitz, Wally ball, Gaga Pit ball, Nerf blasters, and more. One of the popular new games introduced this year was Human Hungry Hippos. It’s the classic board game with a much needed upgrade. One of the perks of being a junior high youth sponsor is the freedom to experiment with wild and crazy games. Of course, the policy is always safety first, and helmets were required.

The evening ended with a shower of giveaways from Mennonite colleges and camps. Thank you to everyone that helped to plan and carry out all the activities and a special thank you to all the youth leaders that commit themselves to serving with their youth. Their commitment was exemplified by one sponsor giving up her shoes to a youth who needed more appropriate athletic shoes to participate in the games.

A Call to Trust, to Lead, to be Collegial, to Seek the Spirit: A Response to the Mennonite Church USA Survey

March 26, 2015 by Conference Office

by James M. Lapp

On March 14, 2015, about 40 Franconia Mennonite Conference leaders gathered to discuss the response of credentialed leaders in our conference to the Mennonite Church USA survey on issues related to people in same-gender relationship in the church. Conrad Kanagy, a sociologist and pastor from Elizabethtown, Pennyslvania, who compiled the results of the survey, provided interpretation of the results with particular reference to its meaning for our conference.

In a nutshell, we learned the credentialed leaders in Franconia Conference (and six other Mennonite Church USA conferences) are fairly evenly divided in their response to people with same-gender attraction. Perhaps that is not a surprise to most people. Kanagy observed that these responses offer a “proxy” for deeper themes that contribute to our current tensions. In other words, when we discuss our different responses to homosexuality, there are other themes that feed these differences, like how we understand Scripture, Jesus, mission and the church.

We are left with the question of what we do with our differences. As Kanagy reported, these convictions run deep and are not easily changed; for a variety of reasons, we will likely always disagree on this and other important questions. Is that unlike the New Testament church where Paul addressed questions on which they strongly disagreed? Of course our issues always seems different and more serious than their issues—but are our disagreements more substantial than Acts 15 and the inclusion or exclusion of Gentiles in a Jewish church?

We hear reports of those who think they must break ties with the Mennonite Church USA over this issue of same-gender relationships. That is a common response when we disagree–to separate and form a new alliance of like-minded people on this issue. The body of Christ, including Mennonites, reflects a great assortment of people who claim to follow Jesus but disagree on some point of doctrine or practice. To divide reinforces our sense of faithfulness and purity, but does it honor Christ and the unity Jesus prayed for in John 17?

In our “third way” church, might there not a third way response on this issue? What if our focus shifted from boundary maintenance to the “center” we all claim to have in Jesus Christ? How might that focus cast our disagreements in a different light? Might the tone of the conversation soften and we discover more grace for one another? We can still debate and argue and exhort one another on our understanding of Scripture, while still extending to one another the respect and love in keeping with the first and greatest commandment incumbent on us all. What holds the body together is our common allegiance to Jesus, not theories of inspiration, atonement, details on being peacemakers, or our views on same-gender people. Must our disagreements break relationships in the body of Christ?

God seems to have created us to be different. Paul makes clear in I Corinthians 12 that our diversity is not an accident, but God’s design for the church. It becomes our laboratory for learning to love even when we disagree. The New Testament letters repeatedly urge, indeed command us to love one another, extend kindness and grace toward each other, forgive quickly, and respect our brothers and sisters with our different personalities, convictions, and styles of living out our discipleship.

Some years ago I recall reading a statement by John Esau, a sage in the field of pastoral leadership, who said that churches do not leave conferences. Pastors lead congregations away from their conference or denominational connections. The way congregations respond in this season of high tension and stress will often reflect the tone and character of us as pastoral leaders. Does our own anxiety spread to those we serve? Do we plant seeds that undermine trust in relationships or do we engender hope and generosity? Do we emphasize boundaries and who is in and who is out, or do we call the people to a magnanimous love and grace toward others, as Conrad Kanagy invited us to exhibit, when discussing contentious topics like sexuality? Leaders make a powerful difference in the direction a church takes.

We need not minimize the importance of sexuality. But neither dare we abdicate our leadership role in providing pastoral direction on these hard questions that often quickly become polarized. The Holy Spirit of God has come to provide inner clarity and wisdom to leaders (John 16:12-13). May we be attentive to the Spirit and not allow the forces of society and the strong voices around us to determine our direction.

This survey was only a tool to greater awareness. Let’s allow these survey results serve as the impetus for collegially reaching out to each other as pastors in mutual support as we seek to discern and carry out the will of Jesus, the Lord of the church, on this and other important challenges we face.

James M. Lapp serves with his wife Miriam Book as interim pastors at Zion Mennonite Church in Souderton, Pennsylvania. He is a credentialed pastoral leader in Franconia Conference.

Credentialed Leaders Gather to Discuss MCUSA Survey

March 26, 2015 by Conference Office

by Lisa Rand, Bally Mennonite Church

Last year, Mennonite Church USA surveyed credentialed leaders on a variety of issues and questions, covering demographics, conferences, the denomination, and the currently difficult issue of attitudes toward homosexuality and the status in the church of individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ). The research, led by Last year, Mennonite Church USA surveyed credentialed leaders on a variety of issues and questions … Conrad Kanagy of Elizabethtown College, offered a glimpse into the perspectives of leaders from coast to coast.

Franconia Conference contracted with Kanagy to provide additional analysis of his material for our conference community. On Saturday, March 14, Kanagy delved more deeply into the data with about three dozen conference pastors at Covenant Community Fellowship in Lansdale.

The morning’s work began with prayerful worship, with music led by Marilyn Bender (of Ripple Allentown) and Samantha Lioi (Whitehall congregation). John Bender, interim associate pastor at Franconia Mennonite Church, led a guiding reflection. He referred to Romans 14:3, where followers of Jesus are advised not to pass judgment on the servant of another: “Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them.” Bender asked leaders to consider what might result from a daily prayer for oneness, and a concerted effort to see each person as a sister or brother in Christ.

To begin his presentation, Conrad Kanagy invited leaders to consider the wisdom of Paul in Colossians 3:1-15, highlighting Paul’s emphasis on magnanimity, charity, and generosity in relationship with one another. These spiritual values were lifted up throughout the presentation.

“This morning is about understanding what has shaped our differences, the implications of those differences, and where we can go in the future,” said Kanagy. With frankness, he said he was “not even suggesting we can keep living together,” but asserting that we can be kind and gracious.

Leaders recognized this conversation as a beginning, an opening. Even while thanking Kanagy for his time and effort on data analysis, several leaders suggested it might be helpful to invite additional interpretations of the data.

“Surveys are imperfect,” Kanagy acknowledged, “but they bring us around the table together.”

Conference board member Jim Laverty expressed gratitude for Kanagy’s honesty about the cultural differences that separate us.

“He helped me to better appreciate the different worldviews represented in the survey results so that I might better appreciate just how profound these cultural differences are. I felt, overall, that the meeting drew together credentialed leaders from across the spectrum of worldviews and that as we met around round tables that we genuinely desired to listen and understand each other. I was grateful that at my table I could express my concern about how these differences will impact local congregations and how we choose to use or not use our power and influence as leaders to sway the opinion of others,” said Laverty.

Though no specific solutions were proposed, many leaders wondered about Conrad Kanagy’s questions: “What if the Holy Spirit is dismantling the church? What if the structures we have put in place are getting in the way? How can we work with the Holy Spirit?”

Despite the differences among conference leaders, there is critical common ground in the belief that God is active present is in our midst, even in the turmoil caused by feelings of disunity. As we move forward, Laverty suggested “that we equip and train our conference staff especially as they walk with churches who represent a diversity of perspectives. I would also suggest that despite our differences we explore ways to continue to collaborate on our call as a people to participate in God’s mission in the world.”

Franconia Conference & Eastern District Women Gather

March 19, 2015 by Conference Office

by Doris Diener

On the morning of Saturday, March 7, approximately fifty women joined together at Nueva Vida Norristown New Life congregation to “set the day apart” for worship, learning, and fellowship. The theme of the day was “Shattering Our Mirrors,” releasing the false image we see and embracing the image God sees when our Creator looks at us. Sandra Dresher-Lehman shared that God’s creativity in His creation of women may not always fit the mold the community has prepared for us and encouraged each to be authentic followers of Jesus. Christine Waanders challenged each to own her personality and to see positive possibilities in what may considered our downsides.

Other speakers included Kristi Wile, Donna Merow, and Ana Giron. Thanks to Marta Castillo and Karisa Barlow who translated, everyone was able to understand. During the time together, the women learned to know new friends, made origami boats, sang, discussed, prayed, looked inside themselves and were challenged on their journeys of faith, washed hands together, and blessed each other. The women enjoyed a delicious lunch, provided by the congregation, over lots of chatter and laughter. What a refreshing, insightful, delightful day!

The conference Sistering Committee is made up of Anne Yoder (chairperson), Donna Merow, Bobby Smisko, Kristi Wile, and Doris Diener. This event was the fourth Franconia/Eastern District Conference Women’s gathering since the 2012 Sister Care event.

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