Conference News

The annual Youth Leadership Retreat, held jointly with Franconia Conference, Atlantic Coast Mennonite Conference and Eastern District Mennonite Conference is set for November 16-18, at Spruce Lake Retreat, Canadensis, Pa. Early registrations are due by Friday, November 2.

This year’s theme is Jesus: Heart, Mind and Soul, facilitated by Curt Weaver with worship leading by Nate Stucky. Curt is a former conference youth minister with Lancaster Mennonite Conference, most recently worked with Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary’s !Explore initiative and RAD and now works as a leader for Mennonite Mission Network’s Service Adventure program in Oregon. Nate, originally from Kansas, was a youth pastor at Atlantic Coast Conference’s Holly Grove Mennonite Church in Westover, MD, and is currently a student at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Over 100 high school youth and youth leaders are expected to attend this annual event intended to equip and empower toward embracing God’s mission. Saturday workshop leaders include Sheldon Good (Goshen College), Neil Richer (Mennonite Mission Network), Wayne Speigle (West Swamp Mennonite Church), Elizabeth Clemmer (Souderton Mennonite Church), Yvonne Platts (Philadelphia Urban Ministry Partnership) and Steve Kriss (Franconia Conference).

KATHMANDU, Nepal (Mennonite Mission Network) – Few people connect Nepali cuisine to frozen pizzas and tater tots. Yet when Reena Thapa goes to work, she stands at a counter, smoothing bright red sauce over eight circles of pale pizza dough. Her long dark hair is swept neatly under a hair net and streaks of dusty, white flour smudge her apron.

Thapa works at Top of the World, a small business named in honor of Nepal, whose borders encompass eight of the world’s ten tallest peaks. Her experience has taught her more than how to assemble frozen pizzas or fry aalu chop, a spicy local version of tater tots. Thapa and her fellow employees learn to take responsibility and practice integrity in the workplace.

They also have a chance to discover and explore faith in a safe, non-threatening setting.

When she began working at Top of the World, Thapa, frequently fasted and offered penance as a devout Hindu. Born and raised in the village by an alcoholic father and an indifferent mother, she was treated as a second-class citizen because of her gender and low caste. As a result of her social status, she never received treatment for a correctable hearing problem.

Slicing potatoes alongside Bethsaba Nafziger gave Thapa an opportunity to dissect her faith as well. Nafziger, who serves in Nepal through Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Central Committee, shared openly of her convictions, but did not push her faith. She did, however, use her knowledge as a part-time nurse to arrange the minor operation needed to improve Thapa’s hearing.

As ingredients of faith simmer alongside the sauces, Top of the World’s kitchen provides jobs for local women in a safe, clean environment. In a country where unemployment in the formal sector hovers close to 50 percent, many young Nepali women are lured to neighboring countries by the promise of a job. When they arrive, they discover that the promised job is working in a brothel against their will. In some regions, Nepali women are prized for their lighter skin that brings higher prices from clients.

“It is a national tragedy – that is played out every day, in front of our very eyes,” said Dale Nafziger, Bethsaba’s husband.

Bethsaba Nafziger began running the business out of her home four years ago. Inspired by a United Mission to Nepal frozen French fries project, Nafziger worked with tater tots, which use up the waste portion of the potato not large enough to cut into fries. About one year ago, they began pizza production.

Basic training at Top of the World begins with the rules of personal hygiene for food preparation. Then the employees learn about taking responsibility and how to measure ingredients fairly. Leaders and participants also discuss business concepts, such as how to make a profit ethically.

“By now, the three [current] workers are completely competent and able to carry on in my absence,” Nafziger said with pride.

In June, Top of the World produced 90 frozen pizzas, 150 pounds of frozen French fries and 20 pounds of tater tots and aalu chop. By September, these numbers should double, said Dale Nafziger, citing the summer monsoon season as the reason for slower business.

Since an abundance of vendors already sell traditional treats that many locals enjoy, Top of the World’s products aim at a specific niche market – upper class Nepalis and resident expatriates.

While working at Top of the World, Thapa began probing deeper into questions about God and salvation. About two years ago, she accepted Christ, and soon thereafter married Prakash Thapa, another believer in the community. Today, the Thapas have a 1-year-old daughter and are actively involved in the local church – a newly established congregation of 40 that dedicated their recently-completed building on July 29. Thapa has invited many others to join, including her formerly unsympathetic mother.

“The greatest reward is seeing these women both grow in their own faith and also draw others to faith through the changed lives that these others see,” Bethsaba Nafziger said.

The Nafzigers serve as partners in Nepal with a number of Franconia Mennonite Conference congregations–Doylestown, Vincent, Rockhill and Providence Mennonite churches.

Photographer: Dale Nafziger

Original Article written by Mimi Hollinger Janzen

Quakertown, Pa. Ivan H. Moyer was recently honored for 32 years of service to Quakertown Christian School (QCS). Current QCS board chairman Andrew Brunner presented Moyer with an engraved plaque in recognition of promotion of excellence, faithful leadership and selfless service as an alumnus, parent and board member.

Moyer is co-owner of Moyer’s Chicks, a 15,000 square foot facility located in Richland Township, Bucks County, PA. The company, founded in 1946 by Moyer’s father, Ernest Moyer, is one of the few independent chicken hatcheries remaining within the United States. Moyer, along with his siblings Leon and Eileen and brother-in-law Jerry Knechel, continue a commitment to the local community with an agricultural-based business that ships chicks across the United States and Canada.

Moyer has also carried on another family commitment: Moyer’s father helped to establish Rocky Ridge Mennonite School (now Quakertown Christian School) in 1951. Moyer’s passion for Christian education has led him to serve as chair of the school board as well as a member of various committees. He was instrumental in the construction of the school’s new campus, located on Paletown Road. Moyer strongly supports preserving the history and beginnings of the school so that future generations will be able to know and appreciate its foundation of faith.

Moyer has served in as the chair for the finance committee of Franconia Mennonite Conference and currently serves as a board member for Christopher Dock Mennonite High School. Moyer and his wife, Evelyn, have three children and seven grandchildren. He and his family are members of Rocky Ridge Mennonite Church.

When Philadelphia pastor Leonard Dow was invited to participate in a dialogue between U.S. and Canadian religious leaders and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he accepted because he felt that the gathering had implications for his own work.

“What’s going in Iran affects Philadelphia,” says Dow.

The event was convened by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and supported by a number of organizations including the American Friends Service Committee, Mennonite Church USA and the Church of the Brethren General Board.

More than 100 people gathered in New York at the the Church Center for the United Nations to listen to President Ahmadinejad and ask questions on topics ranging from the Holocaust to Iran’s nuclear program.

The September 2007 meeting is a part of an on-going effort by MCC to facilitate discussion between Christians in the United States and the people and government of Iran. MCC began its work in Iran in 1991, following an earthquake in the region.

Dow, who was invited to participate by Mennonite Church USA, says that the dialogue helped him to better understand the issues surrounding U.S. foreign policy as well as Christian-Muslim relations, issues which relate to his neighborhood. Dow is African-American and pastors a multiracial congregation, and notes that the numbers of Arab Muslims as well as African-American Muslims is growing in cities across the United States. He says that religious diversity is increasing all around the city– in west Philadelphia, Germantown, and even at the corner of Howell and Landgon, where Oxford Circle Mennonite Church (a Franconia Conference Partner in Mission congregation) is located. Imams and mosques can now be seen in the community working on housing, food programs and other justice initiatives traditionally served primarily by churches.

“The Muslim community here is keeping a close eye on how we interact with those they would affirm as their brothers,” says Dow. With the rumors of war and U.S. intervention in Iran comes another concern: the possibility of a military draft. Dow has a number of teenagers in his congregation and wonders what would happen to them if there were another war.

“I hope that we won’t go to war,” he says. “That another life will not have to be lost . . . That our young people in our community who do not even know who the president of Iran is, will not be placed in a position where they’ll be called to kill.”

For Dow, having a better understanding of these issues “is very beneficial” but that doesn’t mean that he agrees on all points.

“I don’t think that just because one is in dialogue, one is in agreement,” he says. Dow wants to make it clear that participation in these discussions is not an affirmation of any of Iran’s policies, but hopes instead that such meetings might help to reduce the possibility of war.

“If we are interacting, if we are conversing, there’s hope. I believe the church, not the state, has the ultimate responsibility of moving towards that hope.”

“We really do have to try to reduce the lunacy of a war,” he adds. “Those conversations are a piece of the puzzle that would reduce the likelihood of the U.S. and Iran entering into a conflict.”

Dow says that given his limited interaction with President Ahmadinejad–a four-hour event–he can’t speak with certainty to the charges leveled against the man, but says that he’s not a lunatic. But the event did allow participants to ask very pointed, strong questions and raise criticisms related to the Holocaust, the damaging language Ahmadinejad uses to refer to Israel, nuclear proliferation and human rights violations.

Prior to attending the meeting, Dow was concerned about how his presence at the meeting might be interpreted, and how easily it could be misunderstood. But he hopes there will be more opportunities for people to sit and talk about international issues, issues that are being played out in the streets of Philadelphia and other cities around the United States.
“We can’t just wait to do what’s popular, we have to be there standing in the gap. We’re a peace church; if we’re not there, who else is going to be there? If not us, who? If not now, when?”

photos by Melissa Engle/MCC

The Mennonite Mission Network and Franconia Conference Nazareth Village Youth Venture Team will be sharing on Sunday, September 23rd at Franconia Mennonite Church at 9am and at Rockhill Mennonite Church at 7pm about their recent trip to Israel and Palestine.

Join them as they share what they have learned and stories of people in the region.

A time for questions, conversation and refreshments will be available after the sharing time at Rockhill Mennonite Church.

Journals:
July 24 – Arrival
July 25 – Jesus Grew Up Normal
July 26 – Don’t Worry Be Happy
July 27 – Learning Life Lessons
July 28 – Walking Where He Walked…
July 29 – By the Beautiful Sea
July 30 – Returning to Dreams in the Middle East
July 31 – Jesus Was Ripped
August 1 – Please Read My Post!
August 2 – I didn’t want to deal with stitches
August 3 – Does it really matter?
August 5 – Jurassic Park?
August 6 – Monday Monday
August 8 – Friends make saying goodbye so difficult

View photos

Perkiomenville, PA (August 2007) – The Perkiomenville Mennonite Church celebrated the grand opening of their new church and Christian Life Center on Sunday, August 5, 2007. The new facility is located on Route 29 in Perkiomenville, PA.

Nearly 200 people packed the old church located on Deep Creek Road for a time of praise and thanksgiving. Pastor Charles Ness rehearsed the history of the church, which was founded in 1935, noting how the ministry of the church expanded with each generation until the need for a larger facility became paramount.

The congregation then processed up Deep Creek Road and Route 29 from the old location to the new building. Pastor Ness and Associate Pastor Dennis Detweiler carried a banner proclaiming the theme for the new church: “Advancing God’s Vision.” Other members of the church carried symbols of the ministry and life of the church, including the cedar cross, a pewter pitcher and basin, a music stand, the podium, etc. The congregation then had an opening ceremony and a time of worship in the new facility.

The Christian Life Center has been designed to serve as more than a place for worship on Sunday morning. The goal is for the building to become a vital place in the heart of the Upper Perkiomen Area. The Cedar Grove preschool and daycare center will open in late 2007 or early 2008, and there are long-range plans for youth recreational facilities and events, counseling services, and ministries to those in financial need.

Pastor Ness states the vision of the church clearly, “As the church, our goal is to be part of the community – impacting people at their point of need, helping them heal from the wounds life has inflicted, and giving them a place to grow in the love of God.”

Media Contact: Charles NessPerkmc@verizon.net
The Perkiomenville Mennonite Church
Tel: 215-234-4011

Sheldon Good
scgood@mosaicmennonites.org

Congregations often go through transitions and shifts in leadership and churches reimagine their visions. Franconia Mennonite Conference has recognized this ebb-and-flow, inviting Jenifer Eriksen Morales has to join the conference ministry as the Minister of Transitional Ministries, a forward-leaning position for a conference that has recently revised its mission.

Eriksen Morales will help church leaders develop practices that enable congregations to cope in the midst of shifts and contextual changes. As the Minister of Transitional Ministries, Eriksen Morales will be responsible for serving on the conference ministry team as a resource and support person for congregations in transition. She will also develop practices that enable congregations to cope in the midst of change and serve as a interim minister as needed with these congregations.

Noel Santiago, Executive Conference Minister, is encouraged by her passion and thankful that she has answered the call to ministry. “Jenifer is both a fulfillment and a beginning; she is a fulfillment in the sense of the vision Conference Minister Donella Clemens moved us toward by calling us to bring on staff another female Conference Minister,” Santiago said. “She is a beginning in the sense of her now being available, along with all the other staff, as a tremendous gift.”

Eriksen Morales is already inspired by the stories she has heard of Jesus’ presence in area congregations. “I look forward to ministering with and in the congregations of Franconia Conference because I sense a dedication to both following God’s call and the continual process of learning and growth along with the vision, passion, grace, and courage required to do so,” said the conference’s newest staff member. “I am attracted to Franconia’s rich history, ever-increasing diversity, commitment to cultivating young leaders and the mission to ‘equip leaders to empower others to embrace God’s mission.’”

A Phillipsburg, NJ, native who grew up worshiping at the Alpha (NJ) Mennonite congregation, Eriksen Morales is at home in Franconia Conference. In an upcoming article to be published the conference´s Intersections, she wrote: “Because I was blessed to be raised in a home dedicated to the Christian faith and a Mennonite church, my journey in life and faith are interrelated.”

Through years of serving a Lehigh Valley interfaith organization through a process of transition, which culminated in program growth, Eriksen Morales is equipped with experience and an understanding of ministerial leadership.

Eriksen Morales developed her leadership skills while working as the Coordinator of Language and Literacy Programs at ProJeCt for People, Easton, PA. “I found the process of visioning, developing, and implementing mission-driven practices, and continual evaluation, which led to targeted professional and program development, to be challenging and exciting work,” she said. ProJeCt for People is a grassroots, interfaith organization whose mission is a holistic approach to helping adults and families along the path to self-sufficiency by providing emergency services as well as educational opportunities through adult basic education, ESL, GED, family literacy, parenting, and pre-school learning opportunities.

Eriksen Morales graduated from Eastern Mennonite University with a major in History and Social Science and minors in Mission and Teaching English as a Second Language. She most recently completed her Masters of Divinity at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in May 2007. Erisken Morales was able to balance her roles of wife and mother while being a full-time student, as she received AMBS’s Church Leadership Award, an annual scholarship given to two students who enroll in a Master’s program. Eriksen Morales is married to Victor Morales and mother of two young boys, Nicolas and Jonathan, who are being raised bilingually.

Photos provided by Jenifer Eriksen Morales