Conference News

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.

Franconia and Eastern District conferences are teaming up to again host a lock-in for youth in grades six through eight to be held at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School in Lansdale, Pa, on March 14-15, from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.

The speaker for this year’s gathering is Scott Roth, who is youth leader at New Eden Fellowship in Schwenksville, Pa. Nate Stucky, a student at Princeton Theological Seminary and former youth pastor from Holly Grove Mennonite Church in Westover, Md, will lead music.

The theme is “Be a bucket filler!” and will encourage attendees to fill the buckets of others–and their own–by saying and doing good things for other people.

The schedule for the evening includes everything from karaoke to dodgeball to giant Dutch Blitz. The event will close with breakfast and worship.

Pizza and breakfast foods will be provided.

Sixth- and seventh-graders should bring a snack; eight-graders are asked to bring a bring a two-liter bottle of soda or other drink. Coordinators are also asking that each youth bring children’s vitamins to donate to the MAMA Project in Honduras.

Everyone should bring tennis shoes to use on the gym floor, and table games are welcome. Youth who want to sleep should also bring a sleeping bag. Separate sleeping rooms will be available for boys and girls.

Click here for registration, schedule, and medical release forms. The deadline for registration is February 29 and cost is $15 per person, including youth leaders.