Conference News

Incarnation in the suburbs

January 30, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

by KrisAnne Swartley, Doylestown congregation

My fingers and toes are still somewhat numb as I sit down to write this account of the prayer walk in Hilltown Township (Pa.). I also feel somewhat numb on the inside. I wonder how I got here… the associate pastor who was just interviewed by a local news station for walking and praying on a neighborhood street. This is weird.

Then I remember how I got here. I have been asking God to show me what it looks like to incarnate God’s love in the suburbs because it isn’t always obvious to me. My suburbs look beautiful and well-kept and peaceful when you drive around on the streets. What need is there here? It is hidden under the surface.

I got an email last Friday from my children’s school district office saying that there had been a home invasion and murder in my township and that their school would be increasing security. I quickly looked up the news story and read the report. My first instinct was to lock my doors, hunker down and pray. I felt violated and fearful.

My second instinct was to get outside and be present, to stand in the middle of the darkness and bring the light of hope and faith. I had been asking God what it looked like to do incarnational ministry in the suburbs and I felt in this moment that it meant going against any normal instinct to insulate myself or rationalize away what had happened.

A group of us from Line Lexington Mennonite, St. Peter’s Covenant, and Doylestown Mennonite have been meeting to pray once a month. We called an emergency meeting to pray specifically about this tragedy and discern a response. Lowell Delp, the pastor of Line Lexington congregation, Jim Fox, the pastor of St. Peter’s congregation, and Sandy Landes and I from Doylestown congregation decided that walking Swartley Road and praying for our neighbors there would be a faithful and redemptive way to incarnate Jesus. Lowell and Jim visited some of the residents the day before our prayer walk, to let them know what was happening and invite them to join us.

Today, a group of ten of us met in a parking lot on Route 309. One man who joined us there but could not brave the cold walk said, “I want to see our community come together after this. We can’t change anything by ourselves. Our community needs prayer and our churches need prayer.” I was sure I saw the hint of tears in his eyes and heard a tremble in his voice.

We carried candles in glass jars and sang songs of grace and God’s faithfulness. We walked against the freezing wind to “Amazing Grace” and “The Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases.” We prayed for the woman and the teen boys who were traumatized by the violence, for the neighbors whose street was violated by this horrific incident. We prayed for beauty to come from these ashes, for God’s redeeming power to be at work.

I am tempted to look forward and ask “What’s next?” But maybe for now it is enough to be visible. To be present. In a community with no sidewalks and few places to be together as neighbors, maybe even that presence is miraculously transformative. I will keep choosing presence and incarnation over insulation. I will tell my first instincts to step aside in favor of what Jesus is prompting deep inside. And I find I am not numb anymore.

KrisAnne Swartley is pastor for the missional journey at Doylestown (Pa.) Mennonite Church. She wrote this reflection last Thursday (January 24^th). Read the news report.

Christopher Dock seniors step outside classroom

January 15, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

CD senior experience week — Christopher Dock student Jared Hunsinger at the Alderfer Auction Company with founder Sanford Alderfer, left. (The Reporter/Geoff Patton)

by Jennifer Connor, jconnor@journalregister.com
Reposted by permission from The Reporter

On a Thursday afternoon around 10 a.m., Jared Hunsinger, 17, would normally be in class at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School (Lansdale, Pa.). Instead, last Thursday, he stood observing a live auction of estate items at Alderfer Auction Co. in Hatfield, Pa.

Hunsinger got the opportunity as part of Christopher Dock’s “Senior Experiences Week,” which is a component of each senior’s Kingdom Living Class. Each student sets up his or her own opportunity to shadow someone in a vocational field or participate in a week of service.

“I want to go into business and since my dad knows the auctioneer, I thought this might be a good place to see business in action,” Hunsinger said. He spent the morning talking to customers about what they sought to buy, amazed that some came from afar — including North Carolina.

Sanford Alderfer (Salford congregation), who founded Alderfer Auction Co. in 1959, said, “Jared is just one of those kids with a lovely personality and charming smile. We’ve enjoyed having him around.”

Earlier last week Hunsinger observed a financial adviser. “To be honest it was kind of boring,” Hunsinger said with a laugh. But, that’s partly the point of “Senior Experiences Week,” to get students out in the community feeling out what they like and don’t like in the field they intend to study in college.

Students also have the option to participate in a week of service, which is the avenue Taylor Mirarchi (Plains congregation) took.

“I’m a very service oriented person and like doing more hands-on activities,” Mirarchi said.

Mirarchi spent her week volunteering at the Mennonite Resource Center in Souderton, where she volunteers regularly. She completed administrative work and also spent a lot of time in the quilting room.

“I’ve sorted quilt blocks that are used for quilts sent oversees to refugee camps,” Mirarchi said. “I’m just happy to lend a helping hand.”

On Friday, Mirarchi spent the day at the Mennonite Resource Center in Ephrata, Pa., where all Mennonite donations go to be distributed around the world.

About 85 seniors participated last week, with some venturing much further than the Lansdale area. Linked up with Souderton and Blooming Glen congregations, some students participated in volunteer work in Haiti and Mexico. Other students shadowed congressmen and women in Washington, D.C.

Then, following the week, the entire senior class left for a retreat in Lancaster, where they shared their experiences about what they saw, learned and completed.

“It’s been a really valuable experience for our seniors in the past,” Vice Principal, Martin Wiens said. “We look forward to hearing the tales from this year’s class.”

Worshiping around the table

January 14, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Chris Nickels, Spring Mount

Last summer the members of our worship commission, led by Eileen Viau, were planning for the fall and doing some reflection together. It was less about the monthly details and more of a “big picture” conversation about our identity as a worshiping congregation.

Worship is an expression, and the style of a congregation’s corporate worship can reflect the gifts and talents of the group. Among other things, we asked ourselves, “What are some of the gifts present within the Spring Mount congregation that God might want to use at this time?” And fairly quickly an experiment in doing church began to take shape.

In listening to church members, a sentiment that I heard voiced a number of times was “We should have more fellowship meals.” Those meals have always been a popular event–an atmosphere of comfort and fun. And our congregation is particularly good at facilitating ministry with meals. In the past we created worship and Bible study experiences that included a food element, such as an Anabaptist meal liturgy (with resources from our friend Stuart Murray Williams) and Saturday morning breakfast Bible studies. Every Sunday morning we enjoy an abundance of refreshments for fellowship time, coordinated by our dedicated hospitality team. Stacey Hallahan’s chocolate cake, Lorene Nyce’s monkey bread, and Ruth Reinford’s mango salsa are some of the best culinary treats you can find in the Perkiomen Valley (or anywhere else for that matter). If we were going to experiment with a new kind of ministry, it seemed natural to move in a direction involving food and hospitality.

Our conversation landed on the idea of creating a monthly Sunday morning meal liturgy. I believe Gay Brunt Miller first mentioned the name “Table Church,” which we liked and which certainly fit because this would be “church happening around tables.” Table Church is modeled after Jesus’ table practices and the gatherings of early Christians that we noticed in the New Testament (Acts 2:42). It is a potluck meal (everyone brings a brunch-type food) reminding us that we all participate in the church and each has something of value to share–no matter how big or small the contribution. We sit at round tables, facing one another, in an environment intended for conversation. A simple liturgy was created for this time to guide us as we eat, pray, share, laugh, and reflect on a Bible story together.

There is no sermon at Table Church. Instead, we listen as someone reads the Bible passage aloud and then each table group reflects on it by asking missional questions (adapted from Darrell Guder): What does the passage say about God? About us? What is the Good News in this passage? How does this passage send us out to help in God’s Mission? We may not have a typical sermon at Table Church, but the potential exists for a collective one to emerge as we respond to the Story, to each other, and to the voice of the Spirit. Various people of different ages participate in leading elements of the liturgy, through praying, reading the scripture, and offering a blessing to the group before we depart.

For each Table Church, we print a Spring Mount trivia question in the bulletin as a conversation starter (Example: Name the famous music act that wrote a song about the Perkiomen Creek.*). The questions are a fun way to delve into some of the history of our town. For some of us the answers are new information, while for others they recall memories from the past. It was great to observe one question–about a local park–inspire some reminiscing about the person the park was named for, a friend of a few church members.

It feels like God is doing something among us through Table Church. I think we are continuing to discover the vital ministry of hospitality. We are learning about the place where we meet, the place on whose behalf we are “seeking the peace” (Jer. 29:7). We are further experiencing the value of multi-voiced worship, and how God is present and shapes us as we listen to each other and to God’s Story. We are trying out new recipes and sharing new foods; one table group recently proposed the idea of creating a Table Church cookbook. So far, I think we are discovering that the table can be a fun, meaningful, and even holy place. No wonder Jesus spent so much time there.

*Trivia answer: Hall & Oates

Remembering Becky Felton

January 8, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

from the Peace & Justice Committee of Eastern District and Franconia Conferences

The 2012 Peace Mug Award for Franconia and Eastern District Conferences, announced at the joint fall Conference Assembly, honors Becky Felton, who passed away peacefully on November 2, 2012 after a courageous struggle with cancer.

Becky was a persistent advocate for peace and justice in her congregation, Perkasie Mennonite Church, in her community, and with the Peace & Justice Committee. Wayne Nitzsche, her pastor, described Becky as a congregational peacemaker in many ways. “Perkasie has a worship ritual of lighting a peace lamp as we recite our pledge to be peacemakers. Becky urged us to consider and pray for peace locally and globally. She invited the congregation to participate in peace retreats and walks and brought needs for peace to our attention,” he reflected. “But most importantly, Becky modeled the way of Jesus in her relationships in the congregation and beyond.”

Becky organized an intergenerational “Faith in Action” Sunday school class to keep peace and justice issues in front of the congregation. The bi-monthly class has taken.on issues like The DREAM Act, hunger and homelessness, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Becky suggested topics for the class and sometimes recommended or invited guest speakers. Faith in Action is not only about education, but also invites everyone to act. “She made us write letters and make phone calls – to help us speak our own little peace” to situations of oppression and conflict, one friend remembered.

Becky also faced her terminal illness with peace, knowing that she was at peace with God and with others.

Jason Hedrick, Peace and Justice Committee chairperson, described Becky as “a pillar of the committee and a mentor. She created space for me to learn and grow from the time I first started to serve on the committee and even more so when I took over the role as chair. Her life modeled what it meant to work for peace; to consider those who were marginalized, both within our own community and outside; to take the time to listen to those who had differing view points; and to challenge others to grow, to take action. Mostly, though, she was a friend. What better way is there to work towards peace in the world than to be a friend to someone?”

Those who knew her well describe Becky as a champion of peace and justice, at peace with God and at peace with others. Becky served the Peace & Justice Committee as secretary, as financial secretary, and, for the past ten years, as registrar for our annual Winter Peace Retreat. But because of her broad understanding of current peace and social justice issues and her character, these roles don’t adequately describe her presence and her leadership, both in her congregation and with us on the Peace & Justice Committee. She was aware, compassionate, proactive.

peace mug presentation — Jason Hedrick & Samantha Lioi from the Peace & Justice Committee present the peace mug to Becky’s husband Jon and children Cody & Torey. Photo by Kreg D. Ulery.

“We appreciated her sense of humor,” noted Samanthi Lioi, the conferences’ minister of peace and justice, “because it’s really easy, especially for peace people, to take ourselves too seriously. Just by who she was, Becky steered us clear of that. And her pragmatic questions and focus on specific action was indispensable as a balance for the idealism and big ideas of some others of us. It was a fruitful balance – vision shaped by attention to planning and details. Thinking of Becky’s efficiency, and her way of getting huge amounts of work done–while being friendly about it!, I’m humbled…and reminded how deeply we need each other as we go about joining God’s birthing of shalom in the world. While we feel deep gratitude as a committee for Becky’s way of nurturing peace among us, I’m not sure we know how much we’re going miss her.”

Peace Mugs, provided by the Peace and Justice Support Network of Mennonite Church USA, are awarded by our Peace & Justice Committee to honor those among us who demonstrate a life-long commitment to peace and justice. Find out more about the Peace & Justice Committee on their website.

Franconia Conference moves toward a debt free 2013

January 4, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

Franconia Conference is entering the new year debt-free after receiving payment for the sale of the Indian Creek Road Farm’s development rights late last week. The proceeds of the sale were used to pay off around 90% of the mortgage on the Souderton (Pa.) Center on December 27, 2012, according to the conference’s director of finance, Conrad Martin. The remainder of the mortgage was paid using funds from the center’s Capital Improvement Fund.

This marks the fulfillment of a process set in motion in 2007 by the Vision and Finance Plan Team formed by the Franconia Conference Board to align the conference’s resources to the call for contextual and contemporary ministry. The VFP team recommended in 2009 that the conference sell the development rights for the farm (near Harleysville, Pa.) and use the proceeds to pay off the Souderton Center’s ten-year-old mortgage. With the mortgage paid off, this will free over $13,000 per month to replenish the improvement fund and support conference ministry.

The conference is positioned to start 2013 on solid financial footing, said Conference executive minister, Ertell Whigham. “Along with anticipated increased giving from our congregations, this will enable us to invest more financial resources into ministry,” Whigham reflected. “We are grateful for those who had a vision for how the Souderton Center could bless the conference. What a way to start a year and celebrate God’s ongoing provision!”

Selling the development rights to the farm acreage means that the land cannot be further developed and will likely remain in agricultural use. The Vision and Finance Plan also recommended that the Indian Creek Road Farm be leased to an organization that would use the land to develop sustainable creation-care oriented ministries that recognize the nature of the preserved open space. As a result, the property was leased in 2010 to Living Hope Farm, a non-profit sustainable agricultural CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm led by Jill Landes of Blooming Glen congregation. Franconia Conference and Living Hope Farm are currently in conversations about beginning a Conference Related Ministry relationship.

In addition to property proposals, the VFP included recommendations about increasing continuing education expectations for credentialed leaders, creating grants for missional experiments, downsizing and relocating office space, and stabilizing the conference’s annual operating budget. The repayment of the mortgage was the final step in fulfilling the VFP’s recommendations. In early 2012, the conference board and staff acknowledged the fulfillment of the Vision and Financial Plan and moved toward a new set of working priorities (described in detail here). “We are pleased that the mortgage on the Souderton Center is paid off and that Franconia Conference is now debt-free,” said John Goshow, the board chair. “This will allow us to focus even more intently on growing God’s Kingdom.”

Moved by faith … back to school

December 13, 2012 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Maria Byler, Philadelphia Praise Center

In Matthew 17 Jesus tells the disciples that with faith the size of a mustard seed they could move mountains. But at Philadelphia Praise Center/Centro de Alabanza de Filadelfia, something else is being moved by faith: adults are going to school. And I, as site administrator, get to witness the miraculous results.

This fall, 15 members of PPC/CAF started the certificate program of the Anabaptist Biblical Institute (IBA), an adult Christian education program coordinated by the Mennonite Education Agency and the Hispanic Mennonite Church. It consists of eight 12-week courses. Students complete workbook lessons on their own and meet weekly in group tutoring sessions. Tutors are pastors Leticia Cortés and Fernando Loyola. With God’s help the first course, Introduction to Bible Study, was completed in early December.

Each student is in a very different place with their education. One student is completing postdoctoral work, one dropped out of elementary school over 20 years ago. Most have begun to know Jesus within the last five years. But their varied experiences with school and church were overcome by the strength of their faith and their desire to learn more about God.

At the first class when asked about the homework, most of the students raised their eyebrows and shook their heads sadly. “Me cuesta leer tanto,” – “It’s hard for me to read so much” “No entendí todas las preguntas,” “I didn’t understand all the questions.” We struggled through the literary genres in the Bible and the difference between figurative and literal. But we also had great conversations about Hebrew identity, Creation, and even vegetarianism. Week after week I left the class amazed at what God is doing with these humble but eager followers. And the students left the class feeling as though they had merely scratched the surface of knowledge, and ready to deepen their understanding.

More than what God is doing inside each student is what God is doing with us as a community. We are each (including me) growing so much more than if we just read the lessons individually. IBA has become a very human place where we learn from the reading and also from our sisters’ and brothers’ life views. This includes experiences of members of the community during the course. We have had to cancel or rearrange classes because of illness or other church events – and those happenings make it into the class conversation. Students often bring their children, who participate in their own way. It’s giving us all practice in being a community of sharing and support as we learn together how to walk this life as Christians.

At the beginning of the New Year we start on the second course: Anabaptist History and Theology. For more information on what we’re studying, check out the Mennonite Education Agency website. Or, if you’d rather, contact me – I love to talk about this exciting work that God is doing in the church!

Reflections on one day with MDS on Staten Island

December 12, 2012 by Emily Ralph Servant

by James M. Lapp

On November 8, following Superstorm Sandy, I was privileged to participate with one of the early Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) teams to Staten Island. There amidst the front end loaders lifting wet debris from the streets into dump trucks, we encountered a busy community of local people and volunteers like us attempting to be helpful. One thing became immediately clear. MDS and Mennonites did not have a corner on compassion and care.

Along the street in front of the Oasis Christian Center building, men worked over a grill preparing chicken for anyone, including us, to eat for lunch. The church (with partial Mennonite roots) had moved their worship to another setting to make the building available as a center of distribution for clothes and food. In the background we heard the purr of generators providing power for the activities going on in the church. Beside the church, at a makeshift table under a canopy, two people gave direction to the many people milling about who were seeking to be helpful.

Located only a few blocks from the bay, this church, like all the homes in the area, was vulnerable when the high tide and storm surge came roaring down the street. Across the front of the church a distinct waterline indicated the height of the water during the storm—about neck high for an average-sized adult. Basements and the first floor of homes throughout the neighborhood had been flooded. Near to the church were several homes where the residents had drowned.

Inside the church, we sorted clothes and food donated for those in need. “Do you have any hooded sweat shirts?” someone inquired. Such a request was not hard to understand on this cold November day.

“We lost everything,” a woman reported through tears, with deep gratitude for jackets to wear.

Toiletries, clothes, and food of every kind appeared. Twice during the day a U-Haul truck pulled up to the curb with contributions gathered around the city for distribution. Others in our group worked at restoring electrical systems destroyed by the water, or in removing drywall so that the interior of the walls could dry without mildew.

The residents of this Staten Island community have lived near the water all of their lives. Never has anything of this sort happened before. How quickly the fury of the storm shattered the lives of these otherwise stable middle-class families! It was hard for them and for me to make sense of such devastation. I could almost hear in the background the taunting voices the Psalmist experienced in the wake of such a personal tragedy: “Now where is your God?” (Psalm 42:3)

About dark we began our journey back to Lansdale, Pa., and to the safety of our homes. The team was united in gratitude for being able to participate in such a day of service to others. But beneath the reward of having been privileged to serve, I sensed an unspoken sober awareness of the fragility of life, and the reality that natural disasters such as we witnessed were seemingly becoming more frequent. At least that is what some of our public figures suggest. What might that mean for our nation, for us? That question, plus the inexplicable destruction we had just witnessed in this Staten Island community remained for us to ponder as we returned home that evening.

Jim Lapp is a retired Franconia Conference pastor who has served broadly in congregational, conference and denominational roles. He and his wife Mim Book have returned to Southeastern Pennsylvania this fall after serving in an interim pastoral role in Nebraska.

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Individuals and teams from many Franconia Conference congregations have served with Mennonite Disaster Service since Superstorm Sandy, including Salford, Plains, Philadelphia Praise Center, Doylestown, Salem, Blooming Glen, and Ambler. If you have served in this way and have reflections to share, email your thoughts to Emily.

Thanksgiving at the beach … and other tales, part 2

December 6, 2012 by Emily Ralph Servant

Thanksgiving dinner at the firehouse
by KrisAnne Swartley, Doylestown

After Hurricane Sandy, our congregation held “storm kitchens,” where we gathered to cook for those without power. After the initial crisis passed, we asked ourselves as a missional mentoring group, “What’s next?” One of the young women suggested thanking our local fire fighters. For many in our group, cooking and serving food is our passion and gift, a way that we express love and care for others. So on November 27th and 29th, we served Thanksgiving dinner at two firehouses in Roslyn and Hilltown (Pa).

It is important to us as a missional group to bless those who help our community thrive, and these volunteers (can you believe this is still done on a VOLUNTEER basis??) do just that. We wanted to bless them from our faith perspective, while recognizing they may not share our beliefs or practices. They were very open to that and were genuinely appreciative of the prayer of blessing we gave them and the time we spent with them that night… as well as the food, of course!

I served at the Hilltown firehouse. Although the meal was outside of our comfort zone, we soon discovered that humor unites. Within moments of arriving with my big roasting pans and all the food, they were teasing me gently and I gave it right back to them. The joking created a comfort level that made us all feel safe in each other’s presence.

It took conscious effort for those of us from Doylestown to not just talk to each other, but to break out of our “clique” and begin to visit with the firefighters and their families. Once we did that, however, we made connections and shared stories and the conversation flowed freely.

Jenni Garrido, who organized the dinner at Roslyn, said the folks at the firehouse couldn’t believe someone from their neighborhood would take the time and effort to bring them a meal… they were floored by the generosity.

This felt like only a beginning. The firefighters are looking for connections and relationships within the community and are very open to more conversation and time together. A few of us are gathering to pray there on Friday morning. Who knows what more may come?!

PPC Thanksgiving — Members of Philadelphia Praise Center lead worship at Quakertown Christian School on Thanksgiving. Photo by Octavianus Asoka.

A Thanksgiving Retreat
by Aldo Siahaan, Philadelphia Praise Center

On a beautiful Thursday morning around 8 o’clock sounds of laughter and excitement could be heard from Philadelphia Praise Center’s building in South Philly. About 100 congregation members were anxious to depart for Quakertown Christian School, where we held a one-day Thanksgiving Retreat filled with sermons, games, fellowship, and other fun activities.

At this year’s retreat, PPC was fortunate to host not one, but two special guests from Indonesia. The guest speaker was Rev. Daniel Alexander, a well-known preacher in Indonesia who has been ministering in Nabire, Papua since the 1980s. In addition, Rev. Alexander also brought along Stevano Wowiling, one of the finalists from a recent Indonesian Idol, who led the congregation in ardent worship sessions.

Halfway through the day, members of Nations Worship Center joined us after spending Thanksgiving morning at Salford Mennonite Church. The Thanksgiving Retreat ended with dinner at a nearby Chinese buffet.

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