Conference News

On April 19, Bob Franke and opening act Wayfarers & Co. will perform folk music at the Perkasie Patchwork Coffeehouse. Bob Franke is at the peak of his considerable craft, brimming with the wise and spiritually generous songs for which he is best known, along with wrenchingly convincing topical songs and sugared with the hilarious. His are the kind of songs that really do have the power to change the world by being taken into the lives of people. Bob’s songs are considered classics, fueled by his deep faith and the real-life lessons taught him by his 30-plus years of playing everywhere from concert halls to street corners. Bob has appeared in concert at coffeehouses, colleges, festivals, bars, streets, homes and churches in the United States, Canada and England. His songs have been sung and recorded by such musicians as Peter, Paul and Mary; John McCutcheon; Sally Rogers; Lui Collins; Garnet Rogers; and June Tabor. Seasoned veterans and novices alike are drawn to the complex, warm-hearted spirituality and captivatingly clear-cut melodies of Franke’s songs. When he isn’t writing or touring, Bob leads workshops in songwriting at music festivals and music camps. He has performed on A Prairie Home Companion, A Mountain State, and Our Front Porch.

Wayfarers and Co. will perform the opening set. The group performs gospel music and old-time songs on traditional instruments such as guitars, hammered and lap dulcimers, fiddle, flute, mandolin, harp and banjo, as well as stirring acappella arrangements of traditional music. They have performed at the Pocono Mountain Arts Council, Pocono Bluegrass Society’s WinterFest, Godfrey Daniel’s, Spruce Lake Retreat, and have done benefits for persons in need.

Perkasie Patchwork Coffeehouse is located in Perkasie Mennonite Church at the intersection of 4th and Chestnut Street in Perkasie, PA. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the performance will begin at 7:30. Tickets are $9 for adults, $4 for students ages 13 and up, and children will be admitted for free. Refreshments will available for purchase. For directions or more information, go to www.perkmenno.org or call 215-723-2010.

Franconia Conference School for Leadership Formation presents:

Managing Holy Restlessness

Calling and Discernment
at any age and in any life situation
Saturday, April 19, 2008
8:30 a.m. to Noon

Mennonite Conference Center
771 Route 113
Souderton, PA 18964 (map)

Registration Fee: $20 per individual

What should I do with my life? Now that I’m retiring what’s next? I feel like I should be making a change but how do do that? Restlessness is something we face in all walks of life whether we are young and trying to figure out our calling or sensing a need for change after years in one path. This workshop will look at discerning and managing the holy restlessness that often stirs in us as we seek to live into the design God has for each person.

This workshop will be led by Debra Franke, MA Counseling, and Walter Sawatzky, Franconia Conference Minister.

Please register for this event by April 15, 2008,
by contacing Jessica Walter, jwalter@mosaicmennonites.org

Debra has eighteen years experience helping individuals assess their strengths and make career and life choices. In her career counseling business, Career Transitions, Debra makes extensive use of SIMA®, the System for Identifying Motivated Abilities, an assessment process which identifies and describes the motivated strengths of individuals. She has conducted the 2-day workshop Discovering My Design, and co-taught courses on career counseling at Biblical Seminary. Debra has a B.S. in Engineering from Northwestern University, and an M.A. in Counseling from Biblical Seminary. She attends Souderton Mennonite Church, and lives in Hatfield, Pa., with her husband John, and son.

For the past thirty years, Walter has been practicing the art of life transitions by re-locating a dozen times and serving as a social worker, service program administrator, pastor, and now, transition coach! He and his wife, Joy, are the parents of two sons, Benjamin and Alexander. Walter’s favorite quote of all time is this from Jesus: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life…and learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”

View more info about School of Leadership Formation

Grant Rissler, Mennonite Central Committee

More than 70 people from churches in Central and Eastern Pa., Ontario and New Jersey gathered Feb. 8-10 to learn more about how to build dialogue between Christians and Muslims at the annual Eastern District/Franconia Conference Winter Peace Retreat, held at Spruce Lake Retreat near Canadensis, Pa.

“My hope for this retreat,” said Evie Shellenberger, former Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) worker in Iran, “is that we can rid ourselves of the blindness we have towards our Iranian neighbors and Muslim neighbors.”

Shellenberger, along with her husband Wally, provided primary input for the weekend, sharing a range of stories showing how their MCC assignment in a student exchange program in Qom, Iran gave them a chance to live a life of dialog with Muslims in that region.

Noting that in three years of living and traveling in Iran no one ever expressed hatred towards them because of their U.S. citizenship, Wally shared that they had a “strong sense that everywhere we went, God had preceded us.”

Through story, Evie shared several lessons she had learned during those years about dialogue, including one from an Iranian professor who told them not to let their Christian faith weaken. “The stronger you are in your faith,” the professor said, “the better our dialogue will be.”

The Shellenbergers suggested that though most Christians in the U.S. do not have the same first-hand experiences, they can counteract hatred between Christians and Muslims if they don’t “feed into conversations that are negative and degrading” towards Muslims as a group.

Also, Evie noted that there are many opportunities in the U.S. to develop relationships with Muslims here at home.

Aldo Siahaan and Muhammed Imam of Philadelphia Praise Center shared a concrete example of how the congregation reached out to Indonesian Muslim community in Philadelphia by opening up their church for Muslims to pray during the holy month of Ramadan. About 80 Muslims accepted the invitation and more relationships were formed when 30 members of the congregation joined their Muslim guests in a meal in the evening.

“This is the way we show our love,” said Siahaan. He shared that one of the Muslim leaders told him that “if we had this type of relationship in Indonesia, we wouldn’t have a problem” referring to outbreaks of violence between Christians and Muslims there.

When a local TV station did a story on the church opening its doors to Muslims, Siahaan said he received angry calls from other Christian pastors who told him it was wrong to allow Muslims “to step on the holy ground” of the church.

Siahaan said that some Muslims have come back to the church since then and worshipped with the congregation.

Twenty youth also attended the retreat and with leadership from Scott Hutchinson, pastor at St. Andrew’s United Church of Christ in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, focused their discussions on the topic “Living with Diversity.”

The annual retreat is organized by The Eastern District/Franconia Conference Peace and Justice Committee. The focus of next year’s retreat will be restorative justice. For more information about other events, please check out the committee website at http://efpjc.ppjr.org/.

Goshen, Ind. — Randy Delp has recently been named as a Mennonite Foundation Representative by MMA. He is now serving families and businesses throughout eastern Pennsylvania in charitable gift planning.

Before joining MMA, Delp worked as development director for Philadelphia Mennonite High School for five years.

Delp holds a bachelor’s degree from Millersville University of Pennsylvania in business administration. He and his wife Brenda and their three children live in Telford, Pa., and they attend Plains Mennonite Church where he serves as an elder.

About MMA

MMA helps people manage resources in ways that honor God through its professional expertise in insurance and financial services. Rooted in the Anabaptist faith tradition, MMA offers practical stewardship education and tools to individuals, congregations, and organizations. To learn more, visit www.MMA-online.org or call (800) 348-7468.

Jennifer Landis of Souderton has begun a four-year term as a board member of Mennonite Mutual Aid (MMA).

MMA recently announced that Landis, along Larry Nikkel and D. Duane Oswald had all been appointed to its board of directors. They joined the twelve-member board in January.

Landis is a senior accountant, Baum, Smith & Clemens. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting from Delaware Valley College and is a certified public accountant. Landis and her husband Christopher are members of Franconia Mennonite Church (Telford, Pa).

Larry Nikkel, Hillsboro, Kan., recently finished his tenure as president of Tabor College where he served since 1998. He is a former president and CEO of Mennonite Health Services. Nikkel holds a bachelor’s degree from Tabor and a master’s from the University of North Carolina. He and his wife Elaine are members of Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church.

D. Duane Oswald, Fresno, Calif., is president and CEO of Avante Health. His career has focused on health care administration, and over the past 15 years, in the insurance sector of health care. He is a past moderator of Mennonite Church USA and currently serves on the board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Fresno County. Oswald holds a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College and a master’s from George Washington University. He and his wife Kathi are members of Mennonite Community Church.

MMA offers financial and insurance services, as well as stewardship resources, to Anabaptist congregations and individuals. It is based in Goshen, In. and works regionally through offices in Telford, Pa, Lancaster, Pa and Harrisonburg, Va.