Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Conference News

When the Community Shows Up at Your Door

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(reprinted from Ripple-Allentown.com with permission)

by Danilo Sanchez, pastor of Ripple congregation (Allentown)

In recent years there seems to be an increase in the number of churches that have changed their name to include the word “community.” Everyone loves being a “community church” until the community wants to come through their doors. Because it’s one thing to go into the community—you can enter the messiness and leave it behind whenever you want—but it’s entirely different when the community wants to be part of your congregation.

If you claim you want to serve the community, particularly those living on the margins, you have to be ready for when the community shows up at your door and wants to share life with you. Too often the church says, “Okay homeless people, here is your section of the building: don’t touch anything, don’t make a mess, and don’t smoke in the front of the building.  If you break any of our rules, you’re gone. I hope you feel the love of Jesus!”

Putting up barriers and devaluing people can’t be the way Jesus wants the church to behave.

Jesus told the parable of man who held a great banquet and sent out a servant to invite many distinguished guests.  But each guest declined the invitation with more important matters to attend to.  The owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the disabled, and the outcast.”

“Sir,” the servant said, “what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.”

Then the owner told his servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”

God’s kingdom is limitless, abundant, and grace-filled. There is always room for more people to join in the banquet, to experience God’s love and generosity, and to be transformed. In the parable, the invitation to be part of God’s banquet extends beyond the city limits to the roads and country lanes, which were unsafe (talk about a reversal to our thinking that says the city is unsafe!). Jesus is declaring: “My kingdom is so full of goodness that I don’t want anyone to miss out. Everyone is welcome, even the bandits.”

We are not God. We are not the owners of the banquet. We are the servants. We don’t get to decide who is invited. Our role is to invite and welcome everyone into the kingdom of God.

I imagine one of the guests asking Jesus a follow up question: “But Jesus, aren’t you afraid ‘those’ people will ruin your house?! They’re going to eat all your food, steal your toilet paper and dinner plates, and dirty up the house.” Jesus appears not to be threatened by this possibility. He knows the risk and does not qualify his open invitation to enter his father’s house. For when people get a taste of the joy, hope, and grace of God’s kingdom they can’t help but be transformed.

As the church, we must trust in the transforming work and power of Jesus. Will the lying, stealing, and messiness still happen? Yes. Will our boundaries and patience be tested? Yes. But if we stay in relationship with those people, continue to practice generosity, and trust in God, will we see transformation? Absolutely.

At our church and Ripple Community, Inc., time and time again we have found this to be true. We have witnessed lives transformed. We will not let fear stop us from inviting those on the corners, alleys, and tents from being part of our community, sharing our space, and being part of our lives.

Read Danilo’s full blog here and find out more about the ministry of Ripple Allentown and Ripple Community, Inc.

Conferences Gather as One in the Bond of Peace

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Eastern District and Franconia Mennonite Conference again gathered jointly for fall assembly, November 2-3 at Souderton Mennonite Church. Under the theme of “We are one in the Spirit, through the bond of peace,” over 300 persons gathered for a historic reconciliation worship between the two Conferences, who share an origination in the Mennonite settlement of the Philadelphia area, but separated in 1847 over differences in practice.

The worship service was planned as part of a second phase of process leading toward the possible reconciliation of the Conferences in 2020.  With multilingual worship that highlighted the conferences’ linguistic diversity, the Spirit was evident in the fluidity of language and singing together between Indonesian, Spanish and English. 

“Leading a multicultural team gave me a small glimpse of heaven,” said worship leader Tami Good of the Swamp congregation.  “Hearing people lift their voices in their own native tongue reminded me of the beauty of God’s creation and the complexity of His colorful design.”

A reconciliatory action led by Jim Musselman, moderator of Eastern District Conference and John Goshow, moderator of Franconia Conference, offered words of apology and forgiveness symbolically, that the two Conferences might “look well upon each other.”

Saturday morning sessions included joint meetings led by the shared structure and identity task force which represents both Conferences, which focused conversation around tables on eight areas in which each Conference operates somewhat differently.  The meetinghouse’s fellowship hall was full to overflowing, with excellent intergenerational representation across the Conference communities.

Saturday Morning worship again was led by the multilingual team and featured the remembrances of recently deceased credentialed leaders and recognition of newly credentialed persons.  The seven newly credentialed leaders then received a bottle of anointing oil, were prayed for and anointed, and then turned to anoint others in an emotion-filled time and space for Conference leaders. 

“I especially loved the table full of symbols from each congregation,” said Franconia Conference Assistant Moderator Angela Moyer.  “We are a part of something larger than ourselves.  It is good to listen to what God is doing among us and through us.”

Afternoon sessions included more conversation in smaller “Digging Deeper” groups on the areas discussed in morning sessions, which were led by the structure team members.  The teams received extensive feedback which will be used to form a proposal for a reconciled Conference structure at a joint spring assembly to be held May 4, 2019.

Carlos Martinez Garcia

The day ended with each Conference meeting in separate business sessions.  This session for Franconia Conference included recognizing new and re-emerging Partners in Ministry with a greeting from Carlos Martinez Garcia of Mexico City who is moderator of the Counsel of Evangelical/Anabaptist/Mennonite Churches of Mexico.  This association was begun by mission workers from Franconia Conference and will celebrate their 60th anniversary next year.  The Conference also recognized new partner Slate Hill Mennonite Church of Mechanicsburg, who sent representatives for the first time. 

Joshua So

San Francisco Chinese Mennonite Church was welcomed as a new member congregation after a year of relating and exploring the meaning of membership with a Pennsylvania-based Conference while being from California.  Pastor Joshua So along with his wife Anita attended the assembly to represent the congregation.  San Francisco Chinese joins three other communities from Southern California who joined last year, and will be served by Jeff Wright as the California-based leadership minister.

Kiron Mateti of the Plains congregation was affirmed for his first term on the Conference board beginning next year.  Cory Longacre of Souderton congregation also was affirmed for a term though he had been filling in for an unexpired term of another board position.  Angela Moyer of Ripple congregation in Allentown was affirmed as Conference assistant moderator.

We Gather Together

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by Steve Kriss, Executive Minister

The process of gathering started last night with persons coming from California, Indiana and Mexico.  Partners and leaders began to stream toward Souderton Mennonite Church for our historic Assembly that begins tomorrow.  We have gathered together for generations each autumn as the community now known as Franconia Mennonite Conference.  It’s a massive incarnational effort involving lots of details and logistics—name tags, seating assignments, worship practice, PowerPoint slides in multiple languages and thankfully, Longacre’s Ice Cream and lunch from Landis Supermarket. 

These events have certainly changed over the years from intensive discernment among credentialed leaders on the difficult topics of the day, to equipping and celebration inter-culturally and inter-generationally with a sense of family gathering, face to face listening and conversation.  We’ve switched from Pennsylvania Dutch to English to quad-lingual with videos.  It’s a representation of who the 7,000 of us are in less than a 24-hour timeline. 

It’s hard work and it takes resources.  Yet, by gathering together we underscore the importance of the Incarnation, the love of God made manifest in real time and places.  We listen across our differences in culture, practice and even varied Anabaptist theological perspectives.  It’s ultimately a celebration of the holy tie that binds, of commitment centered in Christ that now span the globe and yet have been rooted deeply in the soil of what has become Southeastern Pennsylvania. 

We gather because we say it matters that we hear each other, that we hear the Spirit together:

That we celebrate and pray. 
That we mark the passing of another year of witness, mission, and ministry. 
That God continues to call and we continue to follow.
That God’s dream for us though yet unfulfilled is still unfolding.
Hasta pronto.  Sampai ketemu lagi.  Hẹn sớm gặp lại.  很快见到你

See you soon! 

Seeking Shalom

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On Sunday, October 28 the following was sent to Franconia Conference pastors as they prepared to gather with our communities. May we continue to live into these statements as a community of Christ’s people:

As people of Christ’s peace, we extend our prayers and sympathies to those whose lives have been touched by the horrific violence at the Tree of Life Synagogue yesterday in Pittsburgh.

As people of the Book, we mourn alongside the Jewish community with the comfort of God who walks with us even through the valley of the shadow of death.

As people of prophetic witness, we stand against the spirit of anti-Semitism that seeks to deny the image of God reflected in the Jewish people.

As people of faith, we commit to the ongoing struggle of realizing God’s dream for all people to live in peace and without fear.

Prayer for Assembly

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by Noel Santiago, Leadership Minister for Missional Transformation

As we come upon our time for Conference Assembly, we are focused on being one in the Spirit in the bond of peace.

I believe Jesus would be looking forward to this weekend with anticipation of his prayer being answered in John 17. 

In this passage, he has prayed for himself, his disciples and then for all those who will believe – this includes you and me. After praying for his disciples Jesus goes on to pray these words, they may be His word for us this weekend:

I’m praying not only for them but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they’ll be as unified and together as we are— I in them and you in me. Then they’ll be mature in this oneness, and give the godless world evidence that you’ve sent me and loved them In the same way you’ve loved me.

– John 17:20- 23 MSG

May we find that Jesus’ prayer continues to be answered as we gather together in the Spirit and in peace.

Keys for Good Financial Communication to Congregations

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by Conrad Martin, Director of Finance

For some, trying to understand a financial report may be difficult or confusing.  Let’s face it, not everyone has that gift.  But congregations need to know the financial position of their church in order to make wise decisions.  So what are some ways church treasurers can improve the communication of financial reports to their congregations?

  1. Make it relevant.

Who will be reading the financial report?  Do they understand financial lingo?  Do you perhaps need to train your readers on what is important on a financial report?  Do they prefer financial reports in spreadsheet form or by a narrative?  It will be helpful to ask the reader what financial information they need to do their job.

Any good accounting program should have the capability to produce a variety of reporting formats.  Giving the church council a 10-page, detailed financial report will probably not be of interest to them, so determine what information you can put into a one-page summary report that will give them what they need.  The finance committee, on the other hand, may want more detail.  If you need to provide a financial report for the general congregation, understand that many of them will not understand a finance report in spreadsheet form, so think about how you can convey the finances of the church in a narrative form.

  1. Make it accurate.

Mistakes do happen, even for a good treasurer; yet if a pattern of needing to correct financial reports develops, you could lose the trust of those needing your financial information for making decisions. Your credibility is on the line every time you present a financial report.

Always double check your work, to ensure that the correct amount has been recorded to the correct account.  Look for expense accounts that are significantly off budget (whether high or low), ensure that they are actually correct and be prepared to explain why they are not on budget.  There may be an easy explanation and having that ready helps build confidence in your reports.  Always remember that your church council may be using your financial report to help determine the direction of the ministry.  That’s why accuracy is so important.

  1. Make it timely.

When financial information is received late, it may be useless to the reader, or even as detrimental as incorrect information.  Determining why a report is not timely will go a long way in correcting that.  What is causing the delay?

Are you waiting for financial statements from banks or investment companies at the end of the month?  A conversation with them about changing the reporting dates may give you statements sooner.  Reconcile these statements with your records as soon as you receive them, so that you have time to make any needed corrections before your reports are due.  Are you waiting for church staff to turn in their expense reimbursement claim forms at the end of the month?  You may need to turn to a higher authority for that one.  Try to be up-to-date as much as possible with your recordings before you go on vacation, so you don’t have so much catch-up to do when you return.  Are you overworked, have a conversation with your church leaders about the expectations for time to be spent on the financial reporting.

Keeping good financial records and communicating them well allows your ministries to run smoothly.

These keys were expanded on and drawn from the article “Three Keys for Communicating Financial Information” by Vonna Laue in ChurchFinanceToday. Volume 26. Number 10. October 2018

A Community of Sisters for the Journey

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(leer en español)

By Marta Castillo, Leadership Minister of Intercultural Formation

She thought for a moment then pulled off her bright pink scarf and laid it down in the rough form of a cross on the narrow space between the beds.  Then she instructed one of us to go outside and get some dirt to place by the cross.  The two symbols, the bright pink cross and the dirt lay there together as a powerful visual of life, death, salvation, and freedom.  We began to pray, attentive to the Spirit and to our sister, as she talked, wept, and prayed through a process letting go of the crippling guilt she carried after her father’s death five years before.  We anointed her with oil and with our prayers of blessings, believing that the power of Jesus would bring transformation and freedom in her life and walk with God.  I suppose we could have listened to her story and prayed for her without the symbols but there was power in the visual and physical additions to the accompaniment of her sisters. This is one story of many from a powerful weekend of sisters walking alongside one another. 

During the weekend of the Cuidandonos Entre Mujeres (Sister Care) Retreat attended by 72 women from 15 congregations, Pastor Ofelia Garcia filled our hearts and minds with powerful teaching through shared activities and symbols.  We walked in each other’s’ shoes, determined the boundaries of our personal space, and committed ourselves to caring for each other in the safety, wisdom and confidentiality of the red tent (a symbolic place of sisterhood and caring for each other we used throughout the weekend).  On Saturday night, we dressed up, celebrated our beauty as women, decorated crowns, and then gave our uniquely created crown to a sister in Christ with words of affirmation and blessing.  Then on Sunday morning, we celebrated communion together and in a ceremony of blessing we blessed one another.  I was reminded of how Jesus used parables, symbols, and ceremony to deeply root the truth in people’s hearts and minds.  The holistic ministry of teaching and practice using our spirit, mind, and body will leave an impact greater than teaching alone. 

This was the first all-Spanish SisterCare Retreat held in the United States. It was more than we had hoped for, a true experience of the joy of seeing God’s Spirit going above and beyond what we could have hoped for or imagined.  Since our own training in Sister Care (in Spanish) with Mennonite Women USA last year, Pastor Letty Castro of Centro de Alabanza de Filadelfia, and I had dreamed of an event where Spanish-speaking women in Franconia and Eastern District could come, relax, share their stories, pray together, and receive teaching about healing and self-care.  It was truly a team effort.  Pastor Ofelia Garcia agreed to come from Mexico City to be the speaker since she helped develop and present Sister Care materials in many places. Franconia Conference agreed to support our efforts to reach women within the churches of the conference and Eastern District.  Congregations like Zion, Salford, Doylestown, Centro de Alabanza, and Nueva Vida Norristown New Life supported us with scholarships for women to attend.  Pastors helped to get the word out to their Spanish speaking members.  A group from Centro de Alabanza worked hard to bring the program and details together.  Staff from Spruce Lake Retreat Center supported us through the registration process and retreat planning. 

Within hours of being together, women from over fifteen different churches and at least ten different countries were sharing with a depth that took us by surprise.  When we shared in small groups, we heard stories of parental and spousal abandonment, verbal, physical, sexual abuse, marriage difficulties, un-forgiveness, anger, loss of a child, and so much more.  We heard faith stories of God’s grace and love reaching down to bring forgiveness, freedom, healing, hope, love, and a future.   We cried, we smiled, we laughed, we hugged, and we listened.  We were encouraged not to give counsel or advice unless it was asked for specifically so we listened some more and we prayed for ourselves and for each other.  The space felt safe and we surrendered ourselves to the experience and the community.

The invitation was extended and the women came.  We enjoyed the beauty of the mountains, trees, and God’s creation.  We stepped away from our work, homes, families, and responsibilities to care for ourselves and others women like us.  We shared deeply and encouraged each other.  As we left and went home, we will continue to invite each other to “Come, walk with us. The journey is long.” 

Luke 10:27 (NIV)  He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Partnerships Embodying Christ’s Way of Redemptive Peace

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by Mary Nitzsche, Associate Executive Minister

The slogan, “Doing together what we cannot do alone,” was put into action on Friday evening, September 28, when three Franconia Conference congregations partnered in mission to assemble relief kits. After hearing about Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) plea to send 10,000 relief kits around the world this year, Blooming Glen Mennonite Church invited Deep Run East Mennonite Church and Perkasie Mennonite Church to join them in collecting money to purchase supplies and assemble the relief kits. Initially, the hope was to donate enough money to assemble 300 kits, but more than $9,000 was contributed, enough to buy supplies for 610 kits.

Approximately 90 people of all ages, ranging from 3 to over 80 years old, gathered to share a meal and fellowship around tables. Following the meal, each table group relocated to another table to assemble kits which included rolling and tying over 2,000 towels, packaging shampoo in plastic bags, placing an MCC sticker on the bucket, or securing the bucket lids. After nearly 1 ½ hours of this multi-generational, cooperative, “worker bee” effort, 610 buckets were loaded into trailers. The evening ended with a group picture and prayer of blessing that these kits share God’s compassion, healing, and hope to people suffering the devastation of disaster or war.

Throughout the Franconia Conference website we are reminded of partnerships that span the globe providing opportunities to learn and share resources to embody and extend Christ’s way of redemptive peace. The relief kit partnership prompted me to explore how other Franconia Conference congregations are pooling money, skills, or resources to worship together, host community forums or events, or provide ministry in their communities. Many of these events are multi-generational, cross cultural, or cross denominational, reflecting the expansiveness of God’s way of peace. Some of these local partnerships have been highlighted in Intersectings articles over the past year. Others I learned about recently and will briefly describe.

Several congregations partnered with organizations and people in their broader communities to foster awareness and understanding, promote justice, and take action to address issues. Garden Chapel partnered with their community in Morris County, New Jersey, to host a forum on opioids and addiction providing education and prevention strategies for addressing the problem. Salem, Rocky Ridge, and Swamp Mennonite congregations are partnering with community non-profit organizations and the Quakertown Borough to address the opioid crisis in their community. A meeting place is provided for adults and “directionless” youth to build relationships and engage in meaningful activities. Perkasie Mennonite partnered with trained conflict facilitators to host a community event encouraging civil and respectful conversations about gun policies.

Participants from Blooming Glen, Deep Run East and Perkasie gather together, after assembling over 600 MCC relief kits.

Other congregations planned celebrations and invited the community to participate. Plains Mennonite and Evangelical Center for Revival hosted a community Fourth of July Commemoration to celebrate and embrace diversity. Methacton Mennonite hosted a block party featuring a variety of food and music along a local dance/drum group. Ripple Church uses the sanctuary space of the St. Stephens Lutheran Community Center for worship services and shares several activities with the Christ Lutheran congregation. These activities include a Pesto Festival at the end of the summer using basil from their community garden, and a “Trunk or Treat” event in October to pass out treats from car trunks to the neighborhood children. Ripple also partners with Whitehall Mennonite to provide a Summer Bible School in the park.

Salford Mennonite and Advent Lutheran have partnered in sharing a community garden and providing food to those in their community; hosting educational events on anti-racism and other issues; worshipping together at an annual Thanksgiving service and taking an offering to support local and global ministry.

Several congregations planned joint worship services and opportunities for fellowship this summer. Nations Worship Center traveled to Deep Run East for worship and an intercultural fellowship meal. Centro de Alabanza and Towamencin Mennonite met for a joint baptism service followed by an intercultural fellowship meal. Our California congregations annually gather for worship, fellowship, and resourcing.

Some partnership stories have yet to be told, imagined, or planned. May these brief stories continue to encourage local and global opportunities to learn and share resources in our communities and beyond as we seek to embody and extend Christ’s way of redemptive peace.