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Conference News

Gathering around tables, sharing Christ’s body

November 14, 2008 by Conference Office

Lora Steiner, for Franconia Mennonite Conference

For more than 50 years, the churches of Franconia Mennonite Conference have sent missionaries and money to Mexico to plant new churches. This year, a church in Mexico City sent missionaries back.

Husband and wife Linker Sanchez and Luz Maria Vargas, of the Tierra Prometida congregation, were commissioned on Friday night, November at this year’s conference assembly to work with the Spanish-speaking community in Gaithersburg, Md, near Washington, DC.

“The United States has sent missionaries for many years all over the world,” Sanchez told those gathered. “But as you know, God is now sending all the nations of the world to the United States—and we have come here to reach our countrymen in their language and culture.”

“We are from many different nations but we are all children of the same God,” said Vargas.

More than 200 people, including 130 delegates from conference congregations and related-ministries gathered around tables at the Penn View Christian School cafeteria in Souderton, Pa. to worship together, discuss a variety of issues in the conference and celebrate newly credentialed leaders. The theme for the assembly was “Come to the Table: Embracing God in Us.”

Blaine Detwiler, conference moderator and pastor of Lakeview Mennonite Church, wrapped himself in a quilt to welcome participants on Friday night. Detwiler told of the quilt he and his wife had received as a wedding present, and how it had been used over the years.

“The beauty of a quilt is in its use,” he said, and suggested that this is also true of Christians.

Unlike previous years, there was no traditional worship time or sermon on Friday evening. Instead, Detwiler invited everyone to sit at tables and “see and hear the movement of Jesus in the faces around us.”

“There is no sermon, not in the traditional sense, because the sermon is going to be in the Anabaptist sense of community—how we are together with each other,” said executive conference minister Noel Santiago. “And doing that in front of a watching world is how the Anabaptists understood the message. In a way, the message is us… It comes out of all of us, together.”

While those gathered did less business than in the past and spent more time learning from each other, some things did remain the same: several rooms were designated as prayer space, and “prayer ushers” were available to pray at any time during the assembly. Ongoing worship was held in the teacher’s lounge, and an indoor prayer labyrinth with a guided liturgy was set up for anyone wanting to meditate. And while worship was held in English, some songs included verses in Spanish or Bahasa Indonesia, the two most common languages other than English spoken by conference churches.

Early on Saturday morning, participants again gathered at their tables—this time to tell stories of how they had seen God acting and how they were embracing the mission in their own churches.

A number of congregations in the conference have connections to Mexican churches and regularly send financial support and work teams or visit each other.

Urban Byler, who attends Whitehall Mennonite Church near Allentown, Pa., noted that his congregation is sponsoring a Karen Burmese refugee family. It has also supported Ripple Effects, a gathering led by Tom and Carolyn Albright for those who don’t have a church and often don’t want to be involved in a traditional church.

Churches have also been learning that to go out into the neighborhood and make disciples—and that crossing of language barriers, cultural assumptions and socioeconomic lines—can sometimes be uncomfortable or require flexibility.

John Ehst, pastor of Franconia Mennonite Church in Telford, Pa., shared that some of the recent converts in their Spanish-speaking gathering wanted a baptism by immersion, so the church held the service in the afternoon at a neighboring Grace Brethren church.

Several pastors said that while they often preach about following Jesus, sharing that love and joining the work of the Holy Spirit, it can be difficult to be missional and reach out as a congregation—especially for “cradle” or “legacy” Mennonites.

“The challenge we face is just talking about our faith,” said one pastor. “We’re good at doing things but not as much at verbalizing our faith.”

“One of the biggest challenges is that in this community,” said another pastor, “Mennonites hang out with Mennonites. They work for Mennonite businesses and go to Mennonite schools… it’s hard to get outside of that.”

In keeping with the theme of mission, part of Saturday was spent talking about an important inward focus of churches: the faith formation of children.

Mary Benner, pastor of youth and children at Souderton Mennonite Church, said the goal is to help churches and church schools think about “how we help children and youth become radical followers of Jesus Christ—the Jesus of the Sermon on the Mount, the Jesus of perfect love.”

Benner, along with Marlene Frankenfield, conference youth minister, and Sharon Fransen, shared a framework for how families, churches and schools can work together to pass along the faith. The framework was developed in conjunction with regional Mennonite schools, but is intended to help any child whether or not he or she attends a Mennonite school.

“Passing on the faith to the next generation is one of the most important roles of the entire body of Christ,” said Benner. “We want [our children] to develop a costly compassion, and have empathy for a hurting world… We want them to know Jesus so they will keep their hearts soft.”

But Benner also said that Jesus can make us uncomfortable.

“There’s a risk to teaching our children to be followers of Christ, because they will then go and do what we’ve taught them to do,” says Benner, who has two children doing voluntary service. “The reality is, if our kids live the spirit of Jesus, it’s costly. They’re going to be more vulnerable to pain and loneliness, and probably be drawn to the margins of society.”

Benner said that the most important thing churches can do for their children is to pray, be present and pay attention, because even churches appear similar on the surface, they’re all so different that what works in one congregation often can’t be translated into another.

“We feel like when we see another congregation doing something, we think, ‘That’s the answer for us.’ But the most effective thing is just that love relationship—knowing your context, your culture.”

The Saturday morning session covered approval of the 2007 assembly minutes, an update on the Vision and Financial Plan, and nominations for the gifts discernment process. Delegates voted unanimously to approve Randy Heacock, pastor of Doylestown Mennonite Church, as assistant conference moderator and conference board vice chair.

It also included time to welcome everyone who had been credentialed in Franconia Conference in the past year. Those licensed for ministry included Arnold Derstine, of the Franconia congregation; Eva Kratz, for prison ministry; Gay Brunt Miller, conference director of collaborative ministries; Jenifer Erickson Morales, conference minister of transitional ministries; Timothy Moyer, Vincent Mennonite Church; Yunus Perkasa, Nations Worship Center; and Aldo Siahaan, Philadelphia Praise Center. John Brodnicki of Mennonite Bible Fellowship was the only newly ordained person, while transfers of credentials were recognized for Dennis Edwards, Peace Fellowship (Washington, D.C.); Chris Nickels, Spring Mount; Mary Nitzsche, Blooming Glen; Wayne Nitzsche, Perkasie; Jim Ostlund, Blooming Glen; and Wayne Speigle, Bally Mennonite Church.

Throughout the gathering, there was a recognition that churches are working to minister in shifting contexts, and that the conference itself is becoming more diverse each year. Among conference churches, services are held not only in Spanish and Bahasa Indonesia, but also in Vietnamese and with some congregations having growing numbers of persons form varied Asian and African contexts. And while Mennonite conferences have historically been organized by geography, the web of relationships is taking the conference outside of those boundaries, and conference staff are working with churches in Delaware, New Jersey, Arkansas, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.

Amidst shifts and changes in the church, said Noel Santiago, “We want to be proactive, not reactive.”

At the end of the final delegate session, participants who had come from all over the world paused to partake in the re-membering of the body of Christ, and shared communion.

Filed Under: Conference Assembly, News Tagged With: Conference News, Franconia Conference, global, National News

October 17-19 is Homecoming Weekend at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

October 15, 2008 by Conference Office

Activities will be available for the whole community, including a Fall concert Friday evening; campus visits, an art show, a soccer match with Lansdale Catholic and children’s activities, including the live exotic animal show Animal Junction, on Saturday afternoon; and an Open House and Community Hymn Sing on Sunday afternoon.

A complete schedule of activities is included below and can also be found at www.dockhs.org. Call 215-362-2675 for more information.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Conference News

Penn Foundation presents a workshop on "Embracing Diversity" in the workplace

October 14, 2008 by Conference Office

On Saturday, October 28, Penn Foundation will present a workshop entitled Embracing Diversity: The Key to Meeting Your Company’s Complex Needs. This workshop is a part of Penn Foundation’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which provides “state-of-the-art support to meet the unique needs of area business owners.”

Led by Penn Foundation’s EAP Counselor Gigi Farrow, the workshop will address the daunting yet rewarding task of embracing diversity in the business field. As the workshop outlines the key components needed to become a leader in today’s multicultural market participants will explore such topics as inclusivity, fairness, recruiting and training and analyzing a company’s strengths and areas for growth.

The workshop will be held from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm at Penn foundation’s Grundy Auditorium in Sellersville, Pa. The registration fee is $35.00 non-members and $25.00 Penn Foundation EAP Members and includes a continental breakfast at 8:00 am and lunch at Noon. For more information or to register for this event please call 215-257-6556 or email eap@pennfoundation.org. The registration is October 21, 2008.

For more information about the Penn Foundation and the EAP program, please visit our web site at www.pennfoundation.org or call 215-257-6556.

For more info on the School of Leadership Formation click here

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Conference News

Stucky featured at annual Youth Leadership Retreat

October 5, 2008 by Conference Office

The annual Youth Leadership Retreat, sponsored by Franconia Conference with Eastern District and Atlantic Coast Conferences is set for November 21-23 at Spruce Lake Retreat, Canadensis, Pa. Nate Stucky, current intern with Franconia Conference and student at Princeton (NJ) Theological Seminary, is the featured presenter. Nate served as a youth pastor with Holly Grove Mennonite Church, Westover, Md. (an Atlantic Coast Conference congregation) and interned this summer at Zion Mennonite Church in Souderton, Pa (an Eastern District Conference congregation). The theme for the year is LOOK.

The Youth Leadership Retreat draws high school youth leaders along with youth pastors and congregational youth volunteer leaders to the Poconos for equipping and conversation. This year’s event also features a workshop by Julie Prey-Harbaugh on child/youth protection, Jeremy Kempf from Mennonite Mission Network leading worship and numerous seminars intended to nurture and cultivate youth leadership gifts and skills. Saturday seminars for youth will be led by Jon Heinly, Lancaster Mennonite Conference Minister for Youth, Ron Hertzler, teacher at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School and Laura Rush who works with the Community Service Foundation.

For more info click HERE!

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Conference News

Urban Anabaptist courses commence at Eastern University

September 27, 2008 by Conference Office

Since the Fall of 2004 Palmer Theological Seminary, has been offering courses with an emphasis in Urban Anabaptism. Recognizing that it was the only regional seminary available to Mennonite pastors seeking a hands-on urban ministry focus, Palmer drafted an agreement with Eastern Mennonite Seminary to work together to provide a “more cohesive, authentic education in their tradition” to Mennonite seminarians attending Palmer.

Courses have engaged such topics as the socio-political genesis of the Anabaptist movement to Anabaptist theology in the urban context. This Fall two Ubran Anabaptist Emphasis courses are being offered. “The Bible, Pacifism and Just War” will be taught by Dr. Ron Sider and “Leadership, Learning, and Nonviolence: How can we build toward peace in and increasingly connected and violent world?” will be taught by Franconia Conference staff member, Stephen Kriss.

According to Dr. Sider, Palmer currently has a number of students who are Mennonite or who share an Anabaptist perspective. “Palmer wants to serve those students and also offer all its students the opportunity to better understand the Anabaptist perspective (which at several crucial points is shared by Baptists).” notes Sider. “I am personally happy to have Palmer offering Anabaptist courses because I am both the longest-serving faculty member at Palmer and also an Anabaptist.”

“The urban Anabaptist focus at Palmer is unique, bringing Anabaptist theologies to bear both in practice and theory with the diversity of students in Philadelphia. It’s an opportunity to explore the Good News from a Radical Reformation perspective in a context where students are deepening their abilities and perspectives on cultivating a sense of shalom within and beyond their communities,” says Steve Kriss, who began teaching at Palmer this semester.

For more information on Palmer Theological Seminary and the Urban Anabaptist Emphasis courses visit www.palmerseminary.edu

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Conference News

Fall brings staff transitions at Franconia Conference

September 26, 2008 by Conference Office

This fall has brought a handful of transitions to the staff at Franconia Conference.

In mid-August Karen Burkholder and Lora Steiner resigned from their roles with the conference. Karen, who was a receptionist for the conference, began a position in Christopher Dock Mennonite High School’s Development office. Lora, formerly a Communication Associate for the conference, is an MDiv student at Drew University and is now participating in her pastoral internship at James Street Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pa.

While the end of summer brought goodbyes for conference staff the beginning of the school year brought two interns on staff. Joe Hackman, an MDiv student with Eastern Mennonite Seminary, has joined Franconia Conference staff as an associate for leadership cultivation and Nate Stucky, an MDiv student at Princeton Theological Seminary, has joined Franconia Conference staff as an intern in youth ministry.

Joe will focus primarily on young adults and providing pastoral care to college students. He’ll be working with Franconia students at Mennonite schools, as well as Messiah, Temple, Philadelphia Biblical University and Eastern University, with a particular emphasis on students who, for whatever reason, aren’t well-connected with the congregations in which they were raised. Joe will also be recruiting students for the Ministry Inquiry Program and other conference/congregational-based opportunities.

Joe says he hopes to create more space for conversations with college students-conversations about the conference itself as well as issues related to the broader Mennonite church. Students sometimes have these spaces at school, says Joe, but he’s looking for a way to “foster conversation with students within the conference.”

Joe, who has been working for the past three years as a history teacher at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, returned to full-time seminary studies this fall through Eastern Mennonite Seminary’s Lancaster program. He’ll be taking classes in Lancaster as well as at Biblical Seminary in Hatfield, Pa. and is hoping to better connect the conference with Mennonite and Anabaptist-minded students at Biblical.

Joe is also working as a pastoral intern in the Salford congregation, where he and his wife Angela are members. Joe plans on pastoring when he finishes his studies, but isn’t sure where. He says the decision to move back the area where he was raised was intentional, and he’s interested in seeing how the suburban context and dynamics of wealth and poverty affect how Christianity is lived out. “I’m pretty fascinated with suburban spirituality . . . I’m interested in how to express Christianity and Anabaptism in a suburban context.”

“I am excited about working with Joe, in continuing to cultivate his questions, his creativity and his gifts while he brings a sense of continued catalytic care to young adults and college students from Franconia Conference,” says Steve Kriss, director of communication and leadership cultivation. Joe joins the leadership cultivation and communication team for his time with the conference.

Nate will work alongside Conference Youth Minister Marlene Frankenfield participating in campus pastor responsibilities such as chapel planning and conference responsibilities like the fall youth leadership retreat.

When Nate began to plan for his internship requirements for his studies he said, “I sought out Marlene as someone to work with because of my previous experience with her, and my interest in campus and conference level youth ministry. I have great admiration for Marlene, and I owe a great deal of my own sense of call to Merv Stoltzfus, who is also a conference youth pastor (Atlantic Coast Conference). I love the challenge of working with teenagers, and I find great joy in relating to other youth workers. I hope to give and receive a great deal as I partner with Franconia Conference and Christopher Dock.”

Marlene was ready to offer Nate ample experiences in both of her roles. “I hope to connect Nate with as much hands on experience as possible,” she says. “In my Franconia Confernece and Dock combination role I hope to connect him with a variety of ministry experiences. Resourcing and soul care for youth pastors and volunteer youth leaders. Working with student leaders planning chapel, leading worship and mentoring. Learning about Mennonite Church USA youth ministry and the ways Franconia Conference connects. Nate has already helped with planning the leadership retreat for November and we are looking forward to Nate being the keynote speaker at retreat. I hope to connect him with some congregations to meet youth leaders and lead a youth bible study.”

“I am looking forward to learning from Nate,” continues Marlene, “he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in youth ministry to this internship. I hope to learn more about what he is learning at Princeton Seminary and from our informal conversations around what he notices about campus life and Conference youth ministry. I am incredibly blessed and looking forward to this year working with Nate.”

Nate and his wife of nine years, Janel, have two children, Joshua and Jenna. Nate is a native of Kansas and a graduate of Bethel College. Before his studies at Princeton, Nate served as a youth pastor with an Atlantic Coast Mennonite Conference congregation in Maryland for six years and farmed in Kansas for two.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Conference News

Spend "A Day Away for Spiritual Retreat" with Whitehall Mennonite Church

September 19, 2008 by Conference Office

On Saturday, October 11 Whitehall Mennonite Church will sponsor “A Day Away for Spiritual Retreat” at the Mary Immaculate Center on Cherryville Road in Northampton, Pa.

This day-long retreat, led by Tom and Carolyn Albright, will teach a creative response to celebrating the harvests in our lives based on the teachings of Jesus in John 7:1-19 and the Jewish celebration of Succoth, highlighted in Exodus 23:16, “Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the first fruits of the crops you sow in your life.”

Beginning at 8:30 am and ending at 3:00 pm, the retreat will include a time to reflect in silence, fellowship with a small group, relax, evaluate and rejoice in the blessings of life. The cost for the retreat is $20. While drinks will be provided, participants are asked to bring a bagged lunch and wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes. Registration deadline is October 1, please register by contacting Tom Albright at 612-767-6052 or 610-462-1075.

for more info on the School of Leadership Formation click here

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Conference News

The Faith Walk of a Child An Intentional Journey

September 19, 2008 by Conference Office

Franconia Conference School for Leadership Formation presents

October Pastors and Leaders Breakfast

The Faith Walk of a Child
An Intentional Journey

Thursday, October 16, 2008
8:00 am to 10:00 am
Franconia Mennonite Conference Center
771 Route 113
Souderton, PA 18964 (map)

Several years ago, Franconia Conference began thinking about spiritual formation from cradle to grave for each of its 7,000 members and their neighbors. Recently, as part of a joint strategic plan, Quakertown Christian School, Penn View Christian School and Christopher Dock Mennonite High School developed a spiritual formation framework. This framework, entitled Passing on the Faith: A Community Work, asks the question, how do we as families, churches and schools work together to encourage and guide the faith formation of children and youth so they become radical followers of Jesus Christ?

Marlene Frankenfield, Sharon Fransen and Mary Benner will share this framework with you.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Conference News

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