Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Conference News

Mosaic Board Begins Pathway Process

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At their November 21 meeting, the Mosaic Conference Board developed the next steps in moving on the Pathway that was affirmed at our fall Assembly.  While not the only agenda item for this meeting, the Board discerned the following actions to keep pace with the two-year maximum timeline for strategic planning and affiliation clarification for Mosaic Conference: 

  • The Board affirmed the staff to begin leading our time of prayer and fasting.  Noel Santiago, Leadership Minister for Missional Transformation, will serve as the primary staff person for this process, which will run alongside and integrally with the strategic planning in the coming months.  Noel will begin to introduce a process of praying Scriptures developed in collaboration with other staff and leaders from Faith Chapel (Los Angeles, CA), including Pastor Grace Pam and George and Mukarabbe Makinto.  These prayers will begin our process of praying the text as we listen to the Spirit together. To learn more about praying scriptures, please watch this short video.

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The Board also laid out plans for the strategic planning process itself.  A request for proposals will be developed and shared with numerous consulting options who fit Mosaic’s specific needs of experience with faith-based communities, strategic planning, and intercultural capacity. The Board hopes to name this group at its next meeting in January 2023.   

  • In January, the Mosaic Board will receive nominations from across Mosaic membership to serve on a Steering Team.  The Steering Team (6-12 persons) will be a mix of Board, staff, and Conference members who bring a strong commitment to Mosaic’s missional, formational, and intercultural priorities and our shared vision to embody the reconciling love of Jesus in our broken and beautiful world. 

Here are some important actions for Mosaic delegates and leaders to do now, as we journey on this Pathway together: 

  • Continue to watch, pray, and fast as we seek God’s direction for us together.   
  • Initiate groups to pray with you in your community or individually, as guided by the praying the Scriptures model. (Watch this video now and watch for more information coming in Mosaic News.)
  • Prayerfully discern persons you might nominate for the Steering Team in January. 

The Steadfast Love of God in a Time of Change

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by Stephen Kriss

In June, I wrote a Mosaic response related to the outcomes of the Mennonite Church USA Special Delegate Session at Kansas City.  In a second article, I outlined essentially nothing had changed in our relationships together as Mosaic Conference.  Now we are preparing for our annual Assembly, six months after those denominational meetings, and the waters have not calmed for us as a community.  It has become a difficult time to lead and navigate together. Yet, the steadfast love of God is still present. 

In response to the Kansas City meetings, we planned a series of listening sessions in June. The sessions were well attended, but we needed a more focused and intentional effort to hear across the breadth and width of our conference.  The Mosaic Board approved a Listening Task Force made up of gifted and committed leaders.  I am grateful for their steady work.  They set out to listen to every community and ministry.  Though they didn’t accomplish that fully, some clear themes emerged which give a possible way forward together. 

Meanwhile, some congregations and leaders have become increasingly frustrated. And some days that includes me. I have had numerous people repeat to me, “You have a tough job,” or, “I wouldn’t want your job.”  I’m grateful for the recognition of the difficulty of the work.  However, I am committed to walking us through this time together.  We can do the difficult work, and we can do it while allowing the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control — Galatians 5:22-23) to be cultivated within each of us and our communities. 

We can do the difficult work, and we can do it while allowing the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control — Galatians 5:22-23) to be cultivated within each of us and our communities. 

The Task Force has done important work of taking time to listen and brought significant recommendations back to the Board. There is a sense of urgency within some of us.  We live in a time of quick responses.  We want to be responsive. At the same time, the transforming work of God often has a different sense of timeliness than we might often prefer. 

As staff, we have begun to work in several areas that are highlighted by the Task Force.  We are working on clarifying the information and needs to help us make good decisions.  We do not all have the information we need.  We will work to identify and define these issues in the next weeks and months.   

I have been in conversation with key partners, including Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite World Conference, Everence, Mennonite Mission Network, Mennonite educational institutions, other MC USA Conferences, and leaders of other US-based Anabaptist networks.  We want to be able to make informed decisions about our future together. 

As Mosaic, our diversity is a strength and a challenge.  We are being mutually transformed together as a community, yet at the same time we also struggle to fully understand how to listen and discern well in ways that will allow us to make decisions together.  What we learned from Kansas City is that we are not at our best with processes that lead to divided votes resulting in winners and losers rather than inclusive discernment. Voting by ballot is one of the least communal forms of decision-making.  I believe we can work at decision-making differently that is honest, patient, and maybe even joyful Spirit-work.

I believe we can work at decision-making differently that is honest, patient, and maybe even joyful Spirit-work.

We are sharing the recommendations to the Board by the Task Force in preparation for the upcoming Assembly scattered sessions where we will hear more from Task Force members and continue conversations together. It’s excellent work. And it’s incomplete work.  We still have work to do. 

Mosaic Conference was born from our commitment to reconciliation; it has grown through our commitments to becoming missional and intercultural.  We are now being tested in our formation and discipleship, how we make decisions about essential and tough issues together.   

Our Mosaic vision to embody the reconciling love of Jesus in our broken and beautiful world is still unfolding even within us. We will physically gather to embody this for the first time next month in the midst of turmoil. Jesus will be present with us. 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.  His mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning.  (Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV)  

Stephen Kriss

Stephen Kriss is the Executive Minister of Mosaic Conference.

Mosaic Listening Task Force Update

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By Jenny Fujita

The Mosaic Board tasked us, the Mosaic Listening Task Force, with leading a listening process and reviewing Mosaic Conference’s relationships with Mennonite Church USA (MC USA). Specifically, we are to listen to each Mosaic community and ministry and provide direction for further discernment at the upcoming Assembly on November 5 at Souderton (PA) Mennonite Church.

The Mosaic Listening Task Force has met twice so far. The first session focused on sharing general reflections and questions that might be helpful to ask in the days ahead. At the second session, we focused more on reading, processing, and learning. We’ve collected and read letters sent to the Mosaic Board, notes taken from post-MC USA Delegate Assembly Listening sessions, and reflections from Listening Prayer times. These represent a combination of hopes, dreams, needs, and anxieties. 
 
Utilizing a checklist of Mosaic churches and ministries, we are checking off those groups who have shared with us and preparing to reach out to those we haven’t.  We are especially interested in connecting with those who have felt unheard, including some of our multicultural and smaller churches and organizations, as well as others who live, serve, and minister from the margins. 

If you have anything you would like to share about your hopes for Mosaic Conference, particularly in regards to our relationship with MC USA, please email Jenny Fujita at jenny@fmpr.net, and I will ensure that your comments are shared with the entire Task Force. If your church or ministry has not submitted feedback yet, we will be reaching out.  Our Task Force is creating several feedback processes to ensure that all Mosaic groups will be included and recognized by our Assembly on November 5.  Next week we will be announcing dates and locations for further opportunities to share your thoughts and ideas at “Assembly Scattered” meetings in October. 

Already we are beginning to see some themes emerge as we listen, read, and process your input, but we are not yet ready to arrive at any conclusions. We will continue to prayerfully and openly connect and discern.  Our hope is to knit together our mosaic of voices and the Holy Spirit’s leadings in a way that guides us in November and brings Mosaic’s mission and vision to life for and through all of us.

Jenny Fujita

Jenny Fujita is a member of the Mosaic Listening Task Force.  She is also the Pastor of Upper Milford (Zionsville, PA) Mennonite Church.

Mosaic’s Listening Task Force Members Named

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On July 18, the Mosaic Conference Board moved to form a task force to lead a listening process and review of the Conference’s relationships with Mennonite Church USA (MC USA).  Nominations for the task force were gathered from across the Conference. The task force members are:

  • Maria Hosler Byler, Salford (Harleysville, PA)  
  • Herman Sagastume, Perkiomenville (PA), Mosaic Board member 
  • Eden Strunk, Ambler (PA) 
  • Roy Williams, College Hill (Tampa, FL), Mosaic Board member 
  • Nathan Good, Swamp (Quakertown, PA)  
  • Jenny Fujita, Upper Milford (Zionsville, PA) 
  • Jeff Wright, Blooming Glen (PA) & Leadership Minister for California 
  • Sonya Stauffer Kurtz, Zion (Souderton, PA) 
  • Aldo Siahaan, Philadelphia Praise Center (Philadelphia, PA) & Leadership Minister 
  • Mike Derstine, Plains (Hatfield, PA)  
First row (L-R): Maria Hosler Byler, Salford (Harleysville, PA), Herman Sagastume, Perkiomenville (PA), Eden Strunk, Ambler (PA), Roy Williams, College Hill (Tampa, FL), and Nathan Good, Swamp (Quakertown, PA).
Second row (L-R): Jenny Fujita, Upper Milford (Zionsville, PA), Jeff Wright, Blooming Glen (PA), Sonya Stauffer Kurtz, Zion (Souderton, PA), Aldo Siahaan, Philadelphia Praise Center (Philadelphia, PA), and Mike Derstine, Plains (Hatfield, PA).

The task force will meet for its first meeting the week of August 15. The goal of the task force is to listen to each Mosaic community and ministry and to provide direction for further discernment at the upcoming Annual Assembly on November 5 at Souderton (PA) Mennonite Church. 

Conference Update Regarding Pastoral Misconduct Allegation & Process

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The Mosaic Conference Board has called on the Mosaic Ministerial Committee to review conference policy regarding the holding of ministerial credentials for Conference Related Ministries (CRM) leaders.  

In September of 2021, Mosaic Conference committed to developing an internal review process in response to allegations of misconduct at Dock Mennonite Academy (Lansdale, PA). Soon after, an official complaint was filed with Mosaic Conference, accusing Dock Academy’s Superintendent, Conrad Swartzentruber, of failing to protect the children in the school’s care. Swartzentruber has been ordained by Mosaic since 2020 and is a member of Plains Mennonite Church (Hatfield, PA). 

In accordance with Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) policies regarding allegations of misconduct against credentialed leaders, Mosaic Conference responded by placing a hold on internal investigations.  Mosaic Conference then moved forward to contract with external investigators to ascertain whether or not the allegation was founded. According to denominational policies, public communication was paused until the external investigation was completed. 

In early April 2022, the external team presented a confidential report to the Mosaic Ministerial Committee that recommended Swartzentruber be charged.  On April 7, the Ministerial Committee met to discern whether to follow through with this recommendation. The committee considered the evidence that the investigation team had gathered but, in a contested decision, declined to charge Swartzentruber.  

The minutes of the Ministerial Committee then went to the Conference Board on May 16 for affirmation. The Board acknowledged a lack of clarity for the charge and requested additional information from the investigation team.  This additional information was reviewed at the July 18 Board meeting, concluding the external investigation process.   

In considering the conference process, the Board identified some deeper issues within conference polity and structure that need to be addressed. One of the challenges revealed in the external investigation was the potential incompatibility between leadership of a non-profit organization, with its accompanying legal responsibilities, and the commitment that credentialed leaders make with the Giving and Receiving Counsel process, the primary accountability structure for the Conference’s credentialed leaders. In response, the Board has called on the Ministerial Committee to review the Conference policy on holding credentials for CRM leaders. 

Additionally, the report emphasized a weakness in the Conference’s leadership minister structure, which primarily provides accountability to the lead pastor of congregations, leaving potential gaps in support and accountability for credentialed leaders in other roles. This structure was developed by the Leadership Minister Team and will be reviewed and revised in conversation with the Ministerial Committee. 

Finally, the report identified the need for a clearer communication plan around misconduct investigations. The process, developed within the wider denomination, mandates a shutdown of communication during an external investigation, yet this lack of communication can create mistrust among members of the affected community, particularly survivors of abuse. The report suggested that often the institution is protected using the “guise of confidentiality.” Conference staff have committed to working with Mennonite Church USA to develop a new policy that honors confidentiality while also empowering survivors and providing transparency to the process. 

Both Mosaic’s Ministerial Committee and Board agreed that there were significant flaws in the process. “These kind of processes challenge our system and community because of the infrequency of complaints” reflected Mosaic’s Executive Minister, Steve Kriss. “Policies are created for hypothetical scenarios and then, when a complaint is filed, it often doesn’t play out that way in reality,” he said.  “This process was imperfect, and we are challenged now to continue to work at issues of restoration and hope for the many who have been involved and affected.”   

The events of the last few months have highlighted the need for Mosaic Conference to continue to adjust and change to more fully “embody the reconciling love of Jesus in our broken and beautiful world.” The Board hopes that these learnings strengthen commitments to healthy relationships, mutual accountability, and the cultivation of safe spaces for the vulnerable among us.  

Mosaic Conference takes allegations of abuse or misconduct seriously (resources for Safe Churches). If you have information about an instance of child abuse in your ministry context, please report it by calling the child abuse hotline for your state:  

CA: list of phone numbers by county
FL: 1-800-962-2873
MD: list of phone numbers by county
NJ: 1-877-652-2873
NY: 1-800-342-3720
PA: 1-800-932-0313
VT: 1-800-649-5285

Mosaic Conference to Review Relationships with Mennonite Church USA

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On July 18, the Mosaic Conference Board moved to form a task force to lead a listening process and review of the Conference’s relationships with Mennonite Church USA (MC USA).  The task force will be made up of Board members, staff, and nominated members from across the Conference’s diverse constituency. The task force’s goal is to listen to each Mosaic community and ministry and to provide direction for further discernment at the upcoming Annual Assembly on November 4-5.  We welcome your nominations to the task force. (Nomination deadline is Tuesday, August 2.) 

Task Force Nominations are due Tuesday, August 2. 

Nominate Someone

At the July meeting, the Board reviewed numerous letters from Mosaic congregations, pastors, and leaders, urging action in considering the ongoing relationships with MC USA.  For many, the resolutions and decision-making processes at the MC USA Special Delegate Session in May demonstrated a disconnect with the denomination and Mosaic Conference’s formation document and mission.  

Meanwhile, the Board also underscored the significance of prayer in the coming weeks together. Following the Conference’s listening sessions in June, a listening prayer initiative, led by staff, began. The call to prayer is an invitation to hear what the Spirit is saying in the midst of this time of discernment together. Prayer groups have already formed across the Conference, but more are welcome (click here to register). For more information contact Marta Castillo, Associate Executive Minister.  

The Board is committed to a thorough, thoughtful, and timely process of listening and discerning. At this time, the Board expects that the task force will take time to first listen to all Mosaic communities, then follow up with more conversations at Assembly scattered sessions in the early fall. With over 8,000 members in nearly 100 member communities and ministries, spread from coast to coast and working in multiple languages, listening to the Spirit as well as each other will require careful and thoughtful attention. 

“While we recognize the urgency for some of us in reconsidering the relationships with Mennonite Church USA, the reign of God continues to unfold among us” says Stephen Kriss, Executive Minister.  “New pastors continue to be called, new churches continue to form, needs and possibilities are expressed and met. We must continue the good work that God has begun through us as Mosaic in the midst of this process.”   

The Board hopes to have the task force named by mid-August. Because Conference delegates must be notified of any balloting processes a month before the November Assembly, a tight timeline may be required for the task force’s work. The task force will need to be prepared to work diligently and collaboratively.  Watch Mosaic News for updates in the coming weeks.

When Nothing Has Changed, But Everything Seems Different

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Since the Mennonite Church USA Special Delegate Assembly in Kansas City in late May, Mosaic Conference has hosted Listening Sessions for Mosaic Assembly delegates to share with and listen to one another. Nearly 100 delegates participated in the listening sessions that occurred in person and online. (There is one final listening session yet this week with Indonesian speaking leaders and pastors from across our Conference.)  The decisions made at the MC USA Assembly have created some uncertainty in our Conference as we consider our relatedness to one another, our experiences, our understanding of the biblical texts and of our Christian faith. 

A clear request emerged from the Listening Sessions for clarification of Mosaic Conference’s position regarding the narrowly passed A Resolution for Repentance and Transformation at the Kansas City Special Delegate Assembly. (Delegates voted 267-212 in favor of the resolution.)  

We are now living into the reality of feelings about and responses to the vote. I am committed personally to living into this openly, non-anxiously, and with as much clarity as I can offer as Executive Minister.

In reality, nothing has changed for Mosaic Conference.  Denominational resolutions are non-binding for area conferences. A denominational resolution sets the trajectory for MC USA policy about how denominational staff time is spent and how denominational resources may be distributed; however, it does not override any conference policy, posture, or position. All of our Conference formation documents continue to stand and guide us, including our Church Together Statements of Going to the Margins, Faith and Life, and Grace and Truth.   Our formation document that binds our reconciled Conference together is rooted in Harold S. Bender’s The Anabaptist Vision and Palmer Becker’s Anabaptist Essentials (here is a helpful summary of Becker’s work) continues to stand.  We continue to abide by the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective. We also recognize our global connections through Mennonite World Conference’s Shared Convictions. Our specific Conference vision and mission statement remain the same.

So while nothing in our Conference has changed, for some of us, our relationship with Mennonite Church USA has been called into question.  For some, A Resolution for Repentance and Transformation represents a significant departure from the 2,000-year history and practice of Christian tradition. There are calls within our Conference for immediate distancing from the denomination.  Some congregations and leaders feel the relationship is untenable. Others desire more time to listen, reflect, and discern. 

I believe in the work of the Spirit that drew Mosaic Conference together. The possibility of our shared witness is far greater than we have yet lived into. We have strong local histories and global connections. We are a network of committed leaders, ministries, and congregations. I believe in us, and I am committed to our navigating this turbulence together. 

We need to be patient and allow time for all of us within Mosaic Conference to be able to understand and discern. Our missional, formational, and intercultural commitments as a Conference mean that our discernment work together must include space to hear diversity of perspective and experience and take account of our cultural and linguistic differences.  We also have strong relationships with the global church, which is also asking about our future posture as Mosaic Conference in relation to Mennonite Church USA. 

Although nothing has changed, it can feel like everything has changed.  We are in a time of uncertainty. But we are also participating in a movement of communities that are in God’s care, part of God’s long story of redemption and reconciliation.  While the way ahead is not clear to me, God’s faithfulness is clear. God is with us, individually and communally.  Our denomination, Conference, communities, ministries, history, present, and future all belong to God. 

I invite each of us, as communities and individuals, to rest in what we know and in the things that have not changed that remain clear for us as a Conference community. Let us then lean into trusting each other and the work of the Spirit as we discern our path forward, holding onto the things that we know endure: faith, hope and love (I Corinthians 13:13). 

Clergy Housing Allowance & Inflation: Can You Change it Mid-year?

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With rising inflation, all of us have experienced prices rising on most everything over the past few months, including housing expenses (rent, mortgage rates, utilities, furniture, etc.) Credentialed leaders are afforded a clergy housing allowance through the federal government which allows them to exclude housing expenses from their gross income.  These allowances are set annually by your congregation or governing board.  With the current financial climate, you may be asking, can I change my Housing Allowance to reflect the current increases in my housing costs?   

The answer is yes, with the following rules: 

  1. Changes may be made to a Clergy Housing Allowance for the remainder of 2022.  You cannot change the Housing Allowance for any period already past, but you can change it for the rest of the year. 
  2. The same authority (e.g. Church board) that set the Housing Allowance at the beginning of the year needs to be the same authority that changes it. 
  3. The change needs to be duly recorded in the minutes of that authority’s meeting when the change was approved. 

Some churches establish a maximum amount that their credentialed leaders may utilize as a Housing Allowance for a given year.  If the credentialed person decides to increase the amount of their housing allowance for the remainder of the year (and it is less than the approved maximum amount), the person may change it without further approval. 

For more information regarding a Clergy Housing Allowance, please see this article, “Did you Know?” on the Mosaic website. For further questions, we encourage you to contact an accountant familiar with the IRS’s Clergy Housing Allowance.  

Increase in IRS Mileage Rate

Due to recent gas prices, the IRS recently announced an increase to the business mileage rate, beginning July 1, 2022.  As of July 1, the mileage rate for business travel will be 62.5 cents per mile, up 4 cents from the rate effective at the start of the year.  For more details, please see the IRS website.