Mosaic Mennonites

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Conference News

"Is Your Teen Almost Christian?" Part 2

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“Is Your Teen Almost Christian Part 2” – The discussion will continue on the faith of our teens that began last November. Parents and youth workers, teachers and pastors are invited to a night of conversation and practical application led by Nate Stucky (PhD student, Princeton Seminary) on the new book, Almost Christian: What the Faith of our Teenagers is Telling the American Church. Hosted by Zion Mennonite Church on Thursday April 14 @ 7:00pm. Check out the face book site “Is Your Teen Almost Christian?”

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Pastors engage social media's role in church life

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By Sheldon C. Good
Mennonite Weekly Review
(Reposted by permission from Mennonite Weekly Review.)

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HARLEYSVILLE, Pa. — Though online social media should not replace face-to-face interactions, these tools can enhance ministerial leadership.

And social media are nothing more than tools, two consultants told a group of 30 ministry leaders at an educational gathering March 17 at Franconia Mennonite Conference Center.

Most often, social media include Facebook,?Twitter, blogs and online video.

“It’s providing amazing opportunities for pastoral care,” said Scott Hackman, a seminary student and a consultant with MyOhai, LLC.

But people have different views of social media’s functions and effects. The group of pastors described social media as connection, nuisance, virtual community, addicting, time-consuming and a new definition of friends.

Hackman, a former youth minister and salesman, shared how his journey with social media began.

“I was a stay-at-home dad, and I wanted to connect with others who were in a similar context,” he said. “I wanted to see if I could connect with people and actually engage with them.”

So Hackman created Dad Parlor, a Facebook page dedicated to create space for fathers to share and connect.

But a Facebook page — and social media overall — does not replaced the need for face-to-face interaction, he said.

In fact, Hackman believes social media enhance interpersonal relations.

“In Sunday school, someone undoubtedly will say, ‘Hey, I saw this about you on Facebook,’ ” he said.

Hackman acknowledged that “how you lead in person looks different than how you lead on Facebook.”

Hackman and Todd Hiestand, lead pastor at The Well, a church based in Feasterville and a consultant with MyOhai, led the group in an example of crowdsourcing, which taps a group’s collective wisdom by asking people to submit feedback on a question or thought.

Hiestand said he sometimes uses crowdsourcing when preparing for sermons.

“I ask a question via Facebook,” he said, “and people in my community will engage with feedback.”

Hiestand said the way people respond can give him a sense of the pulse of his congregation.

“And sometimes I can then even incorporate that into my sermon,” he said. “It can even get people thinking about a sermon topic before Sunday.”

Hiestand explained some of the available social media tools and a few of his “rules of the tools,” specifically adapted for congregational life.

He acknowledged the misconception that social media offer a quick fix for churches.

“Sometimes people think, well, if I just join social media, my congregation will grow by 400,” Hiestand said. “I actually view it as the opposite. It’s all about building relationships.”

Building connections via social media, he said, is comparable to the long-term, slow process involved in forming interpersonal relationships.

“If you invest the time, you will reap the rewards,” Hiestand said.

He stressed, though, that engagement should be focused on other people, not oneself, as a way to supplement real relationships.

Hiestand described how tools such as Facebook, blogging, video and Twitter all have pros and cons.

“Facebook, for some people, is about sharing that they had macaroni and cheese for dinner,” he said. For others, it’s viewing photos, video and advocating for causes or interests.

No matter how social media are used, Hiestand said, leaders should always remember that even online “you are never detached from your role as a leader.”

Hiestand’s rules also included:

If you wouldn’t say it from the pulpit, don’t say it online.
Don’t be a jerk; rather, be encouraging.
Don’t self-promote.

Hiestand said he constantly reminds himself that “my attitude on social media is going to affect how people interpret my sermon on Sunday.”

Ministry leaders at the gathering use a range of social media and have different opinions about their effectiveness with ministerial leadership.

Dawn Nelson, lead pastor of Methacton Mennonite Church, has a Facebook page but said she only uses it occasionally.

“I use it to keep up with what people are doing, but I also try to check in with them verbally about what they write, in case it is misleading,” she said.

Nelson started a church Facebook page a few years ago but hadn’t used it until recently. Someone now co-administers the page and shares photos on it.

“I hope it will grow,” Nelson said.

Beny Krisbianto, pastor of Nations Worship Center in Philadelphia, sends updates about church ministry projects and special events using Facebook.

Regarding pastoral care, he said, checking Facebook pages of people in his community “is the best way to know what’s going on in their life in that moment.”

Jim Ostlund, pastor of youth and young adults at Blooming Glen Mennonite Church, uses all four of the social media discussed at the gathering — Facebook, Twitter, blogs and video.

During worship, he’s also used Skype, an online voice and video chat program.

Social media have become valuable tools “in maintaining ongoing contact and building relationships with congregation members, especially young adults and youth,” he said.

Steve Kriss, director of communication and leadership cultivation with Franconia Conference, said that for pastors, social media can blur public and private life.

“The pastor is always a pastor, and a personal opinion is always a pastoral opinion,” he said. “The pastor’s challenge is to find ways to use the technology purposefully, generatively, hopefully.”

Conference announces staff realignment

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Noel Santiago has accepted a position as LEADership Minister for Spiritual Transformation. Executive Minister Ertell Whigham invited Noel into a continuing staff role following his transition from the executive minister responsibilities. According to board chair John Goshow, “We are pleased that Noel will be continuing to offer his significant ministry gifts within the congregations and ministries of Franconia Conference.”

Gay Brunt Miller will assume the role of Director of Administration. Her LEADership Minster responsibilities will be transferred to other Conference staff. Gay will work directly with Ertell Whigham who was named Executive minister earlier this month. This is a familiar role for Gay as she worked with similar responsibilities previously with Franconia Conference.

Both roles are effective immediately. Other staff positions remain unchanged at this time though some continued realignment is projected in the work of LEADership ministers as responsibilities and workloads are adjusted.

An invitation to transformation on the Damascus Road

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Sharon Williams, Nueva Vida Norristown New Life

No matter what you think of the Beatles, drummer Ringo Starr had it right when he sang that peace, trust, and love—“you know, it don’t come easy.” The same thing goes for change.

For several years, Franconia Conference has been on the forefront of change. It’s been a “love-hate” relationship, to say the least. At Fall Assembly we sang, “People from every nation and tongue, from generation to generation” (Israel Houghton, You are good, 2001). People from different cultural backgrounds and generations continue to embrace Jesus, the church, and the Anabaptist vision in both Franconia Conference and Eastern District Conference. God’s Dream is alive among us. So is change.

Since 1997, Franconia Conference has taken some steps toward becoming a multicultural conference. But the root of white Mennonite identity runs deep, and the work of dismantling racism in our conference “system” signaled that necessary change was coming. Predictable resistance and conflict ensued revealing that we have a long way to go.

The Spirit invites us to a new identity that encompasses all our people and congregations. We need to redefine how we engage in mission. We need a different way of dealing with power and leadership issues—a different way of being the people of God together.

I believe that God’s transformation is available for us. The Damascus Road Anti-racism analysis training offers an in-depth analysis of how power and identity shape us as a people and as a church. It opens a whole new way of understanding the God’s reign in the Anabaptist perspective.

Transformation is hard and change can be scary. However, change that honors God and moves the church closer to God’s Kingdom is the most exciting, fulfilling, life-giving transformation we can ever experience. Can we trust God in this process of new learnings, new understandings, new ways of being the Church? For such a time as this?

The 11th annual Damascus Road Anti-racism Analysis Training is Friday–Sunday, February 25-27, at Philadelphia Mennonite High School. Will you come, with leaders of your congregation and our conference, to lay a new foundation and understanding for the transformation that God has for us?

Training details and registration are available here.

Worship Leader Training Sparks Interest

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Deadline extended for local worship leader training event.

Swamp Mennonite Church will host “Sunday Morning Spark,” a day-long worship leader training seminar on February 19, 2011. The event will feature workshops led by respected pastors and leaders on topics covering the spectrum of worship leading activities, including corporate prayer, Scripture- reading, story-telling, effective liturgy, and creative congregational involvement.

“This event was birthed from our own need as a church,” says Emily Ralph, Swamp’s Minister of Worship. “We were looking for a resource for our own worship leaders, something that could empower and inspire them on Sunday mornings.”

After an unsuccessful search for existing resources, Swamp’s Worship Planning Team decided to plan their own seminar, gathering talented presenters on the most pressing topics for today’s congregations.

“And now we’re just too excited to keep this great event to ourselves,” Ralph says. “This is a need many
congregations have, so we want to help provide these resources for other churches as well.”

Although the seminar is labeled as a worship leader training, the workshops would also benefit pastors, song leaders, worship teams, Sunday School or Bible study leaders, or even children’s storytellers, Ralph
adds.

The day will consist of five workshops and a lunch from 10am to 3pm, with a bonus session at 3pm that will offer registrants an opportunity to share stories and reflect on the workshops. Workshop leaders include Sue Conrad, a worship leader for the 2011 Mennonite Church USA convention in Pittsburgh, worship pastor Sandy Drescher-Lehman, prayer coordinator Sandy Landes, pastor Blaine Detwiler, and Franconia Mennonite Conference’s director of communication, Steve Kriss.

Throughout the seminar, Swamp Mennonite will be partnering with Hackman’s Bible Bookstore of Allentown to provide worship resources at discounted prices. In addition, Hackman’s will be giving away a free copy of Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals (Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson- Hartgrove) to each church that attends. Owner Joe Hackman, who is also a worship leader at Swamp, feels that this seminar will be invaluable to the churches his store serves. He is pleased to support it in any way he can, noting that the workshop schedule is “very, very impressive!”

As a result of increased demand, the registration deadline has been extended to February 12. Registration is free and donations will be received to cover the cost of lunch. Nursery care is available
but children must be preregistered.

Swamp Mennonite Church is located on Rosedale Road in Quakertown, Pa. For the most updated information or to register, visit the church website, JustSwamp.com, e-mail Emily Ralph, Minister of Music (Emily@justswamp.com) or call the church office (215-536-7928).

Whigham named Executive Minister

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Harleysville, Pa., February 4 2011—John Goshow, Moderator of Franconia Mennonite Conference, today announced that Ertell M. Whigham Jr. has accepted the position of Executive Minister of the Conference for an initial two year period effective February 3, 2011. Ertell succeeds Noel Santiago who has served in various ministries with the Franconia Mennonite Conference the past fourteen years and more recently as Executive Minister.

The Conference Board and its Executive Committee have met frequently over the past several months to discern the leadership needed to help Franconia Conference achieve its mission, which is to equip leaders to empower others to embrace God’s mission. The review process included consultation with current leadership, Mennonite Church USA and resources outside the church.

“Ertell brings a strong background in church leadership, vision cultivation and collaborative management to Franconia Conference,” said Goshow. “Ertell did not ask for this role, but through prayerful discernment, much discussion and listening by the Conference Board, we came to the decision that his gifts and skills meet the needs of Franconia Conference at this time. We are thankful that God’s marvelous Spirit worked in advance to prepare Ertell for this invitation.”

Ertell noted, “I appreciate the confidence the Conference Board has shown by appointing me to this position. My work in Franconia Conference for more than 10 years has been very satisfying and I look forward to the increased responsibility this position will offer. I am very grateful for the service provided by Noel Santiago for the past fourteen years and will be in communication with him about a continuing role on the Franconia Conference staff”.

Ertell has been a valued member of Conference staff since 2000 and has recently provided significant staff leadership and management. He was born and raised in north Philadelphia, and attended the Center for Urban Theological Studies where he majored in Human Resource Management. Ertell served on the pastoral teams of Diamond Street Church of Philadelphia and Bethel Mennonite Church of Norristown, Pa. In 1990 he helped to establish Nueva Vida Norristown New Life, where he is currently an associate pastor. In addition to his ministry experience, Ertell also brings substantial business experience to his new role, having worked for Ehrlich Pest Control for 27 years as a District Manager. He and his wife, Patricia, have three children and five grandchildren.

Franconia Mennonite Conference, one of 21 conferences that comprise Mennonite Church USA, is a network of congregations, ministries, partnerships and initiatives continuing to emerge out of over 300 years of Anabaptist witness and faith in the Western Hemisphere that began in Philadelphia. The Conference is made up of 43 member congregations along with 22 conference-related ministries situated from Atlanta to Vermont. The Franconia Mennonite Conference Board is comprised of the following members: John Goshow, Chair; Miriam Book, Vice Chair; Marta Castillo; Joe Hackman; Jim King; Beny Krisbianto; Jim Laverty; James Longacre Jr.; Randy Nyce; Rina Rampogu; and Nelson Shenk.

Eastern Mennonite Seminary sets Pennsylvania and online courses

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Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Pennsylvania, an extension of Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Harrisonburg, Va., is offering three evening classes and three online courses during the spring semester, 2011.

  • John M. Miller, author of a recent book on Revelation, will teach
    “Revelation: Making Sense of its Message,” Tuesdays, 6:30-9:30 p.m.,
    January 17-May 2. This class will be held at the Lancaster campus facilities.
  • Steve Kriss, director of communication and leadership development for
    Franconia Mennonite Conference, will teach “Religious Imagination in
    Contemporary Culture,” Mondays, 6:30-9:30 p.m., January 31-May 2. This class will be held in the Philadelphia area.

    • Seminary online courses are:

  • “Christ in a Communication Culture: Communicating in Today’s Global,
    Digital, Relational World,” led by Julie Gochenour, adjunct instructor;
  • “Ethics and Nonviolence: Sermon on the Mount” led by N. Gerald Shenk,
    adjunct instructor;
  • “Anabaptism Today,” led by Mark Thiessen Nation, professor of theology.

    • These courses begin January 10 and end April 29 and may be taken for
    academic credit.

    For more information, contact Mark Wenger at
    717-397-5190 or email wengermr@emu.edu. More information is also available
    on the EMS Lancaster website www.emu.edu/lancaster/seminary.

    Youth in the city: Rooted in the future

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    Young leaders retreat into Philadelphia for a new kind of leadership formation

    –Kayla Benner, Ambler Mennonite Church

    “I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:5-7)On November 20, 2010, I attended the Youth Leadership Retreat along with youth from churches and ministries across Eastern District and Franconia Mennonite Conference. We were all chosen to attend this “retreat” because of leadership qualities that adults have already seen within us. As this busy and spiritually charged day went by I learned many things about my peers, myself, and most importantly the power of Christ and his people.

    As the opening worship session began I was struck by the incredible amount of passion and joy that the people leading possessed. Their passion and excitement helped to wake me up and to get me ready to learn and grow throughout the rest of the day. After we were welcomed to Philadelphia Mennonite High School we were instructed to participate in the often awkward, and always dreaded “ice breaker.” This activity confirmed my worst fears that I had pushed myself too far past the boundaries of my comfort zone. After having short, one minute conversations with about five people the activity was over and I retreated back to the my familiar comfort zone. I was not able to remain there for long because we were then dismissed to our workshops which brought on even more chances to push myself.Out of the two short morning sessions the one that impacted me the most was the one titled, “Rooted in Diversity.” This workshop was entirely about the life and ministry of Philadelphia Praise Center (PPC). PPC is a new congregation that worships in a somewhat unorthodox way that requires intense perseverance and faith in the Lord. PPC is a congregation that serves to provide the needs of its surrounding community, primarily by providing worship services in three different languages: Indonesian, Spanish, and English. Many of the members of the church are undocumented immigrants who live in constant fear of being uprooted and deported from the United States. After the workshop I heard an incredible story from a girl how has had to live through things I couldn’t even imaging having to deal with and she’s exactly the same age as I am. As I was listening to her heartbreaking story I was struck by the incredible strength and faith she has. Though she has every right to give up she continues to have hope and faith in her Creator. As I became more familiar with her story I realized that not only her, but many other members of the congregation have to deal with the same problems.

    Philadelphia Praise Center is a family to its members and they seem to have a bond that not many other Mennonite churches have. I think what draws people to church, especially a Mennonite church, is the sense of stability, which is something the members of PPC do not have. At any moment a family or a member of a family may be deported and the church must gather together and deal with that. I think in knowing that at any moment a church member may have to leave gives the congregation the ability to outwardly show their love more easily. They must give everything today because it could all be gone tomorrow. This is a valuable lesson we could all learn from the congregation of Philadelphia Praise Center.I spent a good part of my afternoon participating in a workshop called, “Rooted in Service”. I chose to participate in this particular workshop because I believe service is a fantastic way to spread the love of Christ. You can tell people about Christ and his teachings all you want, but they won’t believe you until you actually show them through your actions and the way you live your life. I was given the unique opportunity to spend this afternoon workshop talking with Dan Umstead. Dan uses his gifts to spread his ministry through Kingdom Builders Construction. As he was telling me a little about his ministry I was struck by the sacrifices he has made in order to live his faith outwardly. Through my afternoon of service I learned two major things. First I saw how little things can make a big difference and it is important that we do them. By taking the time to rake leaves in a few people’s yards our service group was able to make a handful of people happy. We provided them with the ability to have their yard clean again and hopefully they were able to see the light of Christ through our actions. The second thing I learned was through a conversation with Dan. He explained to me that giving and receiving requires a two-way relationship. If just one person is giving but not receiving, or vice versa, that relationship will not last. Only through the balance of give and take will a relationship be lasting.Before I knew it the day was being wrapped up in a closing worship service. We were all gathered together again to listen, sing, and praise God one last time that day. During the service I found myself reflecting on the impactful events of the day, the lessons I learned, and most of all the people I met.

    I learned that leadership qualities can be found in anyone, It doesn’t take a specific type of person to emerge as a leader. I believe that introverts possess one of the most important qualities of a leader: the ability to lead by example. It is important to sacrifice ourselves for the benefit of others, to give and receive so that our relationships with others may stay alive. God may also throw things at us that we struggle with, but through the love and care of our brothers and sisters we can continue to have hope and faith.Together, as leaders, we crossed borders, we pushed ourselves, we inspired others, we grew, and we “fanned into flame the spiritual gifts God gave us. At the end of our event there was a table with many lit candles on it and one larger candle in the center. Marlene Frankenfield closed our event with the following words and as she spoke these words she raised up the largest candle into the air and blew it out. This was used as a symbol of our faith and how we should be as a flame by spreading our faith. May Marlene’s words be a challenge for all of us–“The light of God is not extinguished for it is in you.”Kayla Benner was part of the planning team for the special one-day youth retreat in Philadelphia, planned collaboratively by members a team of Philadelphia Anabaptist leaders along with Franconia Conference and Eastern District Conference including Barbara Moses (Philadelphia Mennonite High School), Dan Umstead (Kingdom Builders Construction), Joe Hackman (Salford Mennonite Church), Scott Benner (Eastern District Conference), Marlene Frankenfield (Franconia Conference), Andrew Huth (Ambler Mennonite Church), Maria Byler and Adrian Suryajaya (Philadelphia Praise Center). In the city, the youth worked with various churches and partnerships including Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, Philadelphia Mennonite High School, Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust.

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