Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Conference News

Celebrating with Aldo and Viviani

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by Lora Steiner, managing editor

Three-and-a-half years after they married, Aldo Siahaan and his wife, Viviani Chandra, are finally living together in Philadelphia. Aldo is the pastor of Philadelphia Praise Center and a LEADership minister with Franconia Mennonite Conference.

Aldo Siahaan and Viviani Chandra
Aldo Siahaan and Viviani Chandra

Aldo and Viviani are both originally from Indonesia, and met in Philadelphia over a decade ago at an Indonesian church in the city. Viviani had come to the United States in 2000, where she applied for asylum on the grounds of religion and race (Viviani is of Chinese ancestry). However, her request was denied and she had to return home.

After Viviani returned, the couple kept in touch, and eventually married in 2010. Knowing that the visa process could take some time, they decided that Viviani would go to Toronto, Canada, where she studied and volunteered at a flower shop. In 2011, Aldo got U.S. citizenship, and they filed for a green card for Viviani. On June 2 of this year, after two-and-a-half years of waiting, the request was approved and Viviani was able to come to the U.S.

The couple is thankful for the prayers and support they received, and assistance from Steve Kriss and Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, which allowed them to build relationships with other Mennonites in Canada.

New IVEP participants join Conference communities

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IVEP Participants 2014
IVEP participants pose for a photo during last week’s orientation. Front: Kim Dyer (MCC East Coast IVEP Coordinator), Solger Kim (Korea), Linlin Wang (China), Crecensia Wasama Mwita (Tanzania), Rubina Budha (Nepal), Sambath Nget (Cambodia).  Back: Luis Torres Diaz (Colombia), Elisante Lulu (Tanzania), Binod Gaire (Nepal), XiaoHua Wen (China), Martha Masilo (Lesotho), Gavi Luna Barguan (Colombia), Musa Manbefor Koreri Wambrauw (Indonesia)

This fall, four young adults from around the globe will use their gifts and time to support various Franconia Conference-related ministries. All four are participants in Mennonite Central Committee’s International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP), a year-long exchange that brings Christian young adults to the United States and Canada. Participants live with host families and volunteer with MCC partner agencies.

This year, local IVEPers include:

Binod Gaire, from Nepal. He will serve at Quakertown Christian School and his host family attends Rocky Ridge Mennonite Church.

Rubina Budha, from Nepal. She will work at the retirement community Living Branches. Her host family for the first part of the year attends Souderton Mennonite Church, and her host family for the second half attends Zion Mennonite.

Ntsena Martha Masilo, from Lesotho. She will be working at Ten Thousand Villages. Her host families attend Plains Mennonite and Zion Mennonite.

Solger Kim, from Korea. She will serve at Lutheran Children & Family Service in Allentown, and will connect with Whitehall Mennonite Church and Ripple Allentown

MCC encourages church members to reach out to IVEP participants and welcome them into the community, and pray for them, that their time in service with MCC proves fruitful and life-giving, as they work and serve in the name of Christ.

Partnership with MCC builds diverse leadership

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by Lora Steiner, managing editor

Mikah
Mikah Ochieng was a Summer Service Worker this year at Philadelphia Praise Center.

When people think “urban,” chances are pretty good that Doylestown, Pennsylvania is not a place that comes to mind. Thirty years ago, it was a traditional farming community; now, it’s a well-off, artsy, suburban Philadelphia town. And yet, one congregation, Doylestown Mennonite, is incorporating a program traditionally geared towards urban congregations—the Mennonite Central Committee Summer Service Worker Program—to also reach out to a radically-changed surrounding community.

For the Doylestown congregation, having an MCC summer service worker is one of a number of initiatives they’ve begun in order to meaningfully connect with people in the community, moves that have at times felt stretching, and even risky. Over the last several years, says Pastor Randy Heacock, the church has opened its doors to various local initiatives, including a community garden and a peace camp, taking place this month. Derrick Garrido, who attends Doylestown Mennonite and is a student at Cairn University, spent the summer connecting with artists in the community, working to create space for artistic expression within the community and connect with those who might not have a faith community.

MCC started the summer service program in the ’80s, with the same focus it has today: To work in urban areas and provide employment and leadership opportunities to people of color. The goal, says program coordinator Danilo Sanchez (Whitehall congregation), is to allow people opportunities to stay in their home communities and churches and make a difference where they’re living now. Participants must be a person of color between the ages of 18 and 30, preferably enrolled in a university or college, and be connected with a constituent church of MCC, such as Mennonite Church USA or Brethren in Christ members. Some participants come through Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite colleges. Generally, a congregation submits a proposal first, and regional MCC coordinators review the application. If it is approved, applicants are then invited to apply to the MCC U.S. program. In the past, both Franconia and Lancaster Mennonite conferences have contributed financial support, and a number of congregations, such as Philadelphia Praise Center, have had someone in the program for the last several years.

This year, Mikah Ochieng worked at Philadelphia Praise Center, under the supervision of pastor Aldo Siahaan. Ochieng says he’s grateful for the opportunity to have been both a learner and a teacher in a community that has been so hospitable to him, and the one he calls home. When asked about challenges, Ochieng said that of course there had been obstacles, such as a small number of volunteers, but his experience has been that “what we lack in such resources we make up in our commitment to serve one another.”

“It’s a quality-over-quantity type of thing.”

IMAG0306
Derrick Garrido kneels beside soccer camp participant Ben Swartley.

New Hope Fellowship, in Alexandria, Virginia, has also participated in MCC’s Summer Service Program for many years. This year, Alex Torres worked with the church’s kid’s club, helped a friend of the congregation with a hip hop school, and assisted the Spanish-speaking community in a variety of ways.

Torres says he’d known others from the congregation who had participated in the summer service worker program, and wanted to make an impact in his community. He says his favorite part was working with the kids, and that he wanted to show them a different, more positive route than the one that’s laid out for many children in his community.

“Where I come from, there’s always a lot of not-so-good things happening… I pay a lot of attention to the youth around here.”

Over the last seven years, summer service worker participants at New Hope have chosen different areas: One worked in a homeless shelter, in part because that’s where he lived. Others who are bilingual have helped people navigate the system.

For New Hope’s pastor, Kirk Hanger, the one of the many benefits of the program is that thepeace camp 2 young adults are from the congregation—they know the context, the congregation and the community, and when it’s done, they stay.

“We get to continue to walk with these young adults and mentor them… and experience more of the fruit of what they’ve learned and done.”

Heacock says that his congregation has worked hard to figure out what it means to be missional—both in the community with relationships that already exist, but also, as he puts it, “How do we not just preserve it for us, but also use our space to be an outpost for the kingdom?”

“If the goal is to learn what God has for us in the midst of it, I really think there’s very little failure.”

Philadelphia Mennonite High School merges: Update from Dr. Barbara Moses

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Barbara Mosesby Dr. Barbara Moses, Philadelphia Mennonite High School

It is a joy for me to announce that Philadelphia Mennonite High School has merged with The City School. The City School is a Kindergarten-12 Christian school in the heart of Philadelphia, committed to making a Jesus-honoring, college-preparatory education accessible to families in the city. Our mission is to train students’ minds, disciple their hearts, and bring light to the city—one child at a time. You can see that we are natural partners in ministry; In fact, PMHS and The City School have been serving together since we opened our doors in 1998. We have exchanged best practices, pursued dual-enrollment opportunities together, learned alongside one another at professional development conferences, and prayerfully helped each other through seasons of difficulty. This year it became clear that we could honor God and serve his people better together than we ever did apart. So, after months of prayer, discussion, debate, and careful deliberation, we are pleased to announce to you that PMHS is now The City School.

As we grow, our Mennonite heritage will be honored and will continue to guide our mission. We will continue to cultivate relationships in the Mennonite community and draw inspiration from the rich social and theological distinctives of the Mennonite church. As always, our first love and priority is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As The City School, we have adopted five core commitments: to Jesus, the city, shalom, excellence and accessibility. Our commitment to shalom, in particular, is inspired by our Mennonite heritage. The great theme of peacemaking, which was central to our identity as PMHS, lives on in this commitment. Shalom means peace, but it means so much more: harmony, wholeness, justice, unity, and completeness. With these commitments guiding the practical, day-to-day decisions we must make as educators, I believe our school will continue to honor the Mennonite tradition as strongly as it ever has, in new, creative, far-reaching ways.

As The City School, we have been received as members of the Mennonite Education Agency (MEA). In addition to strengthening our relationships in the Mennonite community, MEA’s senior director Elaine Moyer is working closely with us to pilot a program that will allow us to better serve students with learning difficulties. We have hired a full-time learning support coordinator, whose passion for serving students with learning challenges was a driving force in this decision. Through this program we will make an excellent Christian education accessible to more children who have historically not had access to good educational options. This is new territory for us, and it is a testament to the blessings that follow our decision to grow and merge.

Our high school has been a place of joyful learning for 16 years, and I can tell you with full confidence that our students will continue to thrive in The City School community. Our current students will join their City School peers this fall at our Rittenhouse campus, in the heart of Center City Philadelphia. Many of our teachers and administrators will join them in this exciting transition, and I will be serving alongside them as an advisor and community liaison. Our beautiful PMHS building is being transformed into The City School’s second elementary school campus and will house our very first preschool class. Pooling our resources together, we have taken everything excellent about our schools and, in unity, submitted it to our faithful Lord, who continues to bless our mission.

Thank you to our friends at the Franconia Mennonite Conference and everyone who has prayed for and partnered with Philadelphia Mennonite High School over the years. I hope your generosity and faithfulness will follow us into new terrain as The City School. Now, more than ever, we have the opportunity to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth, to our city—one child at a time.

Everence awards scholarships to three conference students

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Three students from Franconia Conference were named recipients of Everence college scholarships for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Everence, a financial, insurance and banking services organization rooted in faith and values, offers its scholarship program each year as a means of encouraging young people to explore the integration of faith and finances while helping them on their educational journeys.

This year’s $500 scholarship recipients include Abigail Anderson, Jacob Ford, and Sarah Nafziger. The essay topic was, “Describe a person who has modeled the concept of stewardship for you. How did his or her example influence your life choices?

JacobFord
Ford

Jacob Ford, of Franconia congregation in Telford (Pa.), pursuing a degree at New York University, wrote about  William Temple Hornaday, Smithsonian Museum conservationist:

“It is not impossible that the most responsible thing to do with one’s wealth is to give it all away.  It’s not impossible that a comfortable life is a weakness and not a strength, a sign of habits overdue for upheaval.  Stewardship is, and must remain, responsibility, and Hornaday’s example in not an excuse to make deliberately bad decisions.  Yet stewardship must not prohibit the preposterous.”

SarahNafziger
Nafziger

Sarah Nafziger, of Vincent congregation in Spring City (Pa.), pursuing a degree at Penn State, wrote about her father: “Both Dad and I are stewards of the Gospel. I have learned from Dad how to take care of things well. The Gospel is different than resources, my body, or my family–with those there is only so much I can invest and give. The Gospel is a treasure that God has entrusted me with that I can give freely and still keep.”

AbigailAnderson
Anderson

The third local recipient was Abigail Anderson, of Covenant Community Fellowship in Harleysville, (Pa.).  She is pursuing a degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  In her essay, Abigail said, “My parents have taught me to be generous with everything with which God has blessed us.”

These students are among 42 recipients of Everence college scholarships for the 2014-2015 academic year. About 200 students from across the country applied for scholarships – a benefit of being an Everence member – for the coming academic year. Recipients were chosen based on academics, leadership, community involvement and responses to an essay question.

“We look for students who succeed in school but go beyond that to get involved in their communities,” said Phyllis Mishler, member benefits manager for Everence.

One student received a $3,000 scholarship, three received $2,000 scholarships and 38 others received $500 scholarships for the upcoming school year. Visit everence.com for a complete list of scholarship recipients and their photos.

Everence offers banking, insurance and financial services with community benefits and stewardship education. Everence is a ministry of Mennonite Church USA and other churches. To learn more, visit www.everence.com/souderton or call 215-703-0111.

Police attack Mennonite church gathering in Vietnam

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by Luke Martin, Vietnamese Gospel Mennonite Church

In June, security police attacked a Mennonite church gathering in Vietnam, where pastors and theological students were gathered for a conference and graduation ceremony. The event took place north of Ho Chi Minh City, at the Evangelical Mennonite Church, a congregation not officially registered in Vietnam. This past week, members of that church arrived as refugees in Allentown.

Luke Martin (left) and Vietnamese Mennonite pastor Nguyen Quang Trung at the November 2012 celebration of the Vietnam Mennonite Church.
Luke Martin (left) and Vietnamese Mennonite Pastor Nguyen Quang Trung at the November 2012 celebration of the Vietnam Mennonite Church.

Police arrived at the church at 11 p.m. local time, after attendees were asleep on mats laid out on the floor. Police called for two people to open the door for an “administrative investigation,” and a few minutes later, they broke down the door, turned on the lights, and stormed the building, assaulting students and church leaders. Those attending—76 in total—were led to waiting trucks, taken to the local police station, and booked, though no arrest warrants were produced nor any reason given for the beatings and arrests.  Police searched the premises, destroying some property in the process, and there are reports that police incited onlookers to throw stones at the church, breaking windows and roof tiles. Church leaders estimated the size of the crowd was around 300 people.

All of those arrested were released by the next morning, but attacks on the building—throwing bricks, stones and rotten eggs—continued for several days, and those coming to the center were searched and had property confiscated.  Electricity and water were cut in the area, affecting other neighbors as well. One pastor was charged with resisting administrative investigation and local disorderly conduct.

Church leaders are petitioning authorities and have laid five charges against the local police.

Incidents like this were more common in Vietnam as recently as ten years ago, but Vietnam’s government, wanting better international relations, has improved its record on human rights and religious freedom. One of the two groups that make up Vietnam’s Mennonite community was granted official status in 2008; it became an official member of Mennonite World Conference in 2009. Both groups have around 5,000 members each and have adopted the Mennonite Confession of Faith.

Still, stories of arrests, beatings, destruction of property, and other violence against Mennonites have been common. In 2004, one pastor was arrested and convicted on charges of preventing a police office from carrying out activities, a common charge used against religious leaders. That pastor was sentenced to three years in prison bur released after 14 months after an international appeal for his release.

And receiving official status as a church in Vietnam isn’t easy: churches must have been in existence for 20 years before they can request legal status, meaning churches must function illegally for some time. New congregations can request permission from local authorities to meet; sometimes they get it, sometimes not. When local authorities aren’t pleased with leaders or the activities of churches—whether registered or unregistered—they often resort to harassment.

The family that came to Allentown has been recognized as refugees by the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees. Nhan Thanh Nguyen, his wife Ngoc Ha Than and their daughter, who celebrated her sixth birthday last week, are members of the Evangelical Mennonite Church, where Nhan Thanh Nguyen took courses on the Bible and theology, led the youth group, and preached. He was repeatedly arrested and harassed, and he and his family fled to Thailand in 2011 where they were granted refugee status, and where Nhan Thanh Nguyen  continued to minister and preach to Christian refugees in Bangkok.

Pastor Hien Truong, of Vietnamese Gospel Mennonite Church in Allentown, sponsored the family to come to the United States, through Lutheran Children & Family Services of Allentown.

Parts of this article were first published by Mennonite World Conference, and you can read the full article here. Reposted with permission. 

Nations Worship celebrates new space, all invited

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by Samantha Lioi, minister of peace & justice, Franconia Mennonite Conference

Pastor Beny Krisbianto and other leaders of Nations Worship Center in Philadelphia are celebrating a milestone in their long journey toward a new space for worship.

Since the congregation purchased a building a few years ago in an historic Italian neighborhood in South Philly, renovation has been slow and relationships with their new neighbors challenging. Now, Pastor Beny has moved in to the renovated apartment above what will become the congregation’s new worship space, and the tone of interactions in the neighborhood has shifted. On July 19, they will celebrate this next step with a parsonage warming in the new space! Brothers and sisters of Franconia Conference are invited to come tour the building, see the parsonage apartment, and eat and worship  with Nations Worship Center. Tours start at 5:00 p.m., and a light meal and worship will follow.

Members of Nations Worship Center and Salford Mennonite Church share food and worship on Thanksgiving Day, 2012.
Members of Nations Worship Center and Salford Mennonite Church share food and worship on Thanksgiving Day, 2012.

Beny took some time—just after moving in—to talk with me about the changes, hope, and opportunities the congregation is seeing.

Samantha Lioi (S): I hear you’ve moved into your new living space, the “parsonage” section of your new building. How does that affect you, the congregation, and your ministry?

Beny (B): I did move last week; it finally happened, and the congregation is excited. We’ve been waiting and praying for this. We waited longer than we expected, but God always has a perfect time for us. When we moved to the new parsonage, I connected with some nice people in the neighborhood. [Now that I’m living here] I have the chance to know more people and more families—so those are good things that have been happening.

S: Some folks may remember that your neighbors were not excited to welcome you at first. Can you talk a little more about this relationship with your neighbors and how that’s going?

B: We have a saying in Indonesian: “If you don’t know them, you will never love them.” Once the people got to know us—that we are good people, that we are Mennonite, Christian people, then people started responding nicely to us. When we first came, people had false information, or maybe they were just uncomfortable with new people coming to their community. Eventually, people came to us and wanted to know us. Now that they’ve gotten to know us, everything is better.

S: How you have seen God moving throughout this experience?

B: He is faithful. One-and-a-half years ago we were facing a very difficult situation—discrimination, injustice, rejection. But God is faithful when we respond to rejection the right way: we didn’t get mad, we didn’t scream, we just prayed and loved them and showed up and showed them we are good people, not doing anything wrong (and of course we fulfilled all the city codes for the property and construction).  And God opened up the door for us move.

Now I feel the congregation has more energy to finish up the worship space of the building. We have felt God with us the last few months, and that same strength, that same grace will be with us to continue the work.

Last Sunday the congregation was so excited because we moved into the new parsonage, so they were more ready to pledge and give toward finishing the project. We do believe that God will not leave us in the middle of the journey.

S: I know you still have a lot of renovating to do. What are your hopes and dreams for the new space, and what stands in your way at this point?

B: Our dream is to celebrate Christmas in the new space. We want to see more souls come to know Christ. Now we are only able to gather for worship on Sunday morning, but in the new space, we can have youth worship, music practice, midday prayer—many possibilities during the week.

We want to reach out to the neighbors. We have already opened our building for free on Saturdays for music lessons for the local kids—and we have plans to host dancing lessons as well.

S: How did that happen?

B: Three of our youth went to music school, and they found out that their teacher lived a half block away from our building—so we had some conversations about having them use our facility without charge for music lessons. So we can be a blessing to the community as well.

S: And as for what stands in your way…

B: We’re using Kingdom Builders Construction, which is connected with Mennonite Central Committee, for the renovation. They estimate we need an additional $120,000 to finish the worship space. So we have to raise that money.

S: Is there anything else you would like brothers and sisters in Franconia Conference to know or pray about as they think of you and others in Philadelphia? 

B: Please pray for us that God will give us provision in trying to finish. If they have the desire or heart to support us, they could send people, send youth to work in our building—they are very welcome. This summer we hope to be busy with construction—so the more volunteers we have, the more it will help us stick to our budget.

Lots of people from Asia and other parts of the world have come to Philadelphia. Many different nations have come to the city—pray they will come to worship and come to know Christ. That’s why we called ourselves Nations Worship.

You’re invited!

  • What: Tours of Nations Worship’s new space, a light meal and worship service.
  • When: Saturday, July 19, 2014. Tours start at 5, and a light meal and worship service will follow.
  • Where: Nations Worship Center, 1506 Ritner St., Philadelphia

Mennonite Church USA Executive Board announces action steps: Franconia Conference stays focused on building healthy relationships

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All members of the Executive Board, with their prayer lamp centerpiece for the weekend, as well as Stella, the official Mennonite Church USA convention dove.
All members of the Executive Board, with their prayer lamp centerpiece for the weekend, as well as Stella, the official Mennonite Church USA convention dove.

by Emily Ralph, associate director of communication

The Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA met last week to review the recommendations of a task force appointed to respond to Mountain States Mennonite Conference’s decision to license Theda Good, a woman in a same-sex covenanted relationship.  The Executive Board approved eight action steps that will be taken to the Constituency Leaders Council in October.  At the same time, the board emphasized ongoing support for the foundational documents that formed Mennonite Church USA including the Confession of Faith, the Vision:  Healing and Hope statement, A Mennonite Polity for Ministerial Leadership, the denomination’s membership guidelines and bylaws, the Agreeing and Disagreeing in Love document and the more recently crafted Purposeful Plan.

The Executive Board highlighted that Mountain States did not honor its covenanted relationship with the other conferences that comprise Mennonite Church USA in the decision to license Good.  Since ordination is transferable to other conferences, the board requested that Mountain States Conference refrain from ordaining Good at this time.  The board requested that other conferences resist licensing individuals in same-sex relationships as further licensings compromise the denomination’s polity and conference membership agreements.

“I was pleased to read that the denominational leaders have come to a place that holds us accountable to our stated understanding of membership and ministry,” observed Ertell Whigham, Franconia Conference executive minister.  “I think that this does give us some sense of direction, though it still leaves some ambiguity.  They left room for conversation and some interpretation, but they definitely call for accountability.”

The Executive Board also committed to developing new processes and/or structures for the denomination “that will strive to find healthy ways to promote unity in Christ in the midst of diverse expressions of faith.”  One of the first steps toward this exploratory process will be a “survey of all credentialed ministers in preparation for a time of discernment at [Kansas City] convention in July 2015.”

The decision of the Executive Board does not change much for Franconia Conference, said Whigham.  He further elaborated a desire to stay focused on Conference priorities while the denomination tends to the conversation on sexuality.  “We will continue to prepare ourselves for open, honest, and realistic conversation in line with our objectives for strengthening relationships and building trust.”  Whigham believes that by building healthy relationships and trust, Franconia Conference leaders and communities will be better prepared to navigate difficult conversations regarding human sexuality.

Also see these related documents: