Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

ecumenical

Introducing Bally Mennonite Church

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Bally MennoniteBally Mennonite Meetinghouse was built in the 1730s in the Bally Community, which was settled by German Reformed, Catholics, and Mennonites, who have traditionally worked together. At one time, Bally had a number of industries, but currently has just two major industries: Bally Block and Bally Ribbon.

We are a small congregation of about 100 people. Pastor Klaudia Smucker is our minister. Our leadership consists of the church board, and the ministry council, which includes the chairs of all our committees; worship, finance and administration, outreach, and Christian ed.

Our mission statement is to “Grow in faith, Connect as a Community, and to Serve others.” We have a very diverse congregation which loves Scripture, is committed to Anabaptist theology, and values service both at home and abroad as we seek to articulate the good news of Jesus Christ. Vital ministries of our congregation are the Bally Community Center which serves the youth in our community, a community preschool, and a community garden, which just this past year donated 400 lbs of produce in the local community. We are also known for our delicious pancake breakfasts.

What I spent all my life becoming

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Josh Meyerby Josh Meyer, Franconia

Born into a family with a rich spiritual heritage, I quite literally grew up in the Church.  I was dedicated as an infant at a Baptist church.  A few years later my mom was offered a job as the Director of Christian Education at a Lutheran church in the area.  We worshiped and participated fully in the life of that church for most of my adolescent years.  As I matured in my faith and grew in my relationship with Jesus, I began exploring other faith communities and ultimately attended a non-denominational and then a Brethren in Christ church during my high school years.  While in college I attended a more charismatic Vineyard church, and upon graduation joined the pastoral staff at a United Methodist Church.

I’m grateful for this diverse religious background, particularly because it has taught me one of life and ministry’s most important truths: it’s about Jesus.  Whether it’s a Baptist, Lutheran, non-denominational, Vineyard, United Methodist, or Anabaptist church, what ultimately matters is the death and resurrection of Jesus.  I’ve been influenced by a number of different theological traditions, but most importantly, I’ve been influenced by the person and work of Christ.  It’s this influence, this relationship, that drives and sustains me, that gives me life and hope and meaning and purpose, and that I’m pursuing with everything I have and all that I am.

From a young age, I have been drawn to the life of faith and in my early high school years began articulating a desire to “become a pastor one day.”  Part of me wondered whether these were the naive pipe-dreams of adolescence; however, as my faith grew and relationship with Christ deepened, the desire to pursue full-time ministry intensified.  During my college years, this calling—this vocational clarity—became undeniable.  Eugene Peterson writes about this in his memoir The Pastor, saying that pastor was “not just a job so that I could make a living, but a way of living that was congruent with what I had spent all my life becoming.”  Peterson’s words resonate deeply with my own experience: an inward calling to ministry that makes sense of and is in accordance with all the ways God’s been moving in my life to this point.

In addition to this inward calling, I have also felt an outward affirmation from the community of faith.  I’ve had people speak into my life—peers and mentors, pastors and parents, colleagues and congregants—who have affirmed some variation of the same message: “God’s gifted you for ministry.  You’re wired to be a pastor.”  I was initially uncomfortable with these conversations and unsure how to respond.  Over time, however, I have come to cherish these interactions as one of the ways God is continuing to confirm my call and invite me to pursue vocational ministry.

John Ruth has written that, “The way we do church is the evidence of what we believe.”  I’ve found that to be true.  Our beliefs have a profound influence on the way we do church, and my own Anabaptist convictions eventually led me to pursue ministry in the Mennonite church.  While I’d never actually been part of a Mennonite church, I align so squarely with Mennonite thought and theology that the process has felt very much like a coming home.

Looking back over the past few years, I have to marvel at the way God’s led me to serving in Franconia Conference: a chance meeting with a Mennonite pastor at an ecumenical training event; a late-night conversation with a Conference staff member at a restaurant in rural Vietnam; a meeting with a seminary professor who encouraged me to put my Anabaptist beliefs into practice by filling out the MLI (the first step toward becoming a pastor in Mennonite Church USA); an invitation to join a local Mennonite pastors group despite the fact that I was, at the time, a Methodist pastor.  On the surface, all these random “Mennonite connections” seemed coincidental, comical, and—to be honest—sometimes a bit creepy.  However, I can now see how each of these experiences were part of God’s unique calling, a way of bringing my wife Kim and me to the Mennonite church in a way we never could have imagined.

I look forward to listening to, learning from, and leading in the Mennonite church.  More than anything, I can’t wait to see how God continues to draw us into inspiring stories, using them to disrupt our complacency and remove our fear so that we might strive after Jesus together.

“God is profoundly at work” in Hatfield

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by Emily Ralph, eralphservant@mosaicmennonites.org

Joint service Plains and Grace
Musicians from both Plains Mennonite and Grace Lutheran lead singing at the joint service. Pictured, from Grace: Lori Pluda, baritone, William Shaffer, trumpet, and Betty Murray, vocalist; from Plains: Dawn Derstine, songleader, and Janet Panning, piano. Photo by Emily Ralph

The story of Jesus calming the storm had special significance for Stacie Dougherty, interim pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, as she shared her message on Sunday during a joint service with Plains Mennonite, Hatfield.  “In our lives, too, storms will come along—forces out of our control,” she said.  “Things like … a devastating fire.”

This past New Year’s Eve, Grace experienced just that—a fire that destroyed the church’s educational building and left their Stepping Stones Nursery School without a facility.  When their proposed new facility fell through, they were left frantically looking for an alternative.

Meanwhile, at Plains, members of the congregation approached the pastoral team. “‘They were saying, ‘We have to do something about this’ and ‘What are we going to do?’” said Dawn Ranck, the congregation’s associate pastor.  For her, it was obvious.  “[We have Plains Park] because we want to be good stewards of our land and this is another way—we have the space.  It’s what God calls us to do.”  So the nursery school moved in.

Eight months later, the school is preparing to move out of their temporary space at Plains into a larger facility, the building which used to house the St. Maria Goretti School in Hatfield.  The two congregations gathered at Plains for worship and a picnic to celebrate.

Sometimes God uses people to bring calm in the storm, Dougherty said in her sermon.  “You, our sisters and brothers here at Plains Mennonite, took the concern and burden for the preschool from us when you so graciously offered your space. . . .  And by doing this, you lifted one of the worries caused by the fire and helped us on our way to peace and healing.”

Mike Derstine with Menno and Luther
Mike Derstine, Plains congregation, shares paintings of reformers Martin Luther and Menno Simons with the children during the joint service with Grace Lutheran. Photo by Emily Ralph

The partnership between Lutherans and Mennonites has not always been so easy.  The rift between the two denominations has existed since the 16th century, when followers of reformers Martin Luther and Menno Simons did not always see eye to eye on matters of life and theology.  In recent years, efforts have been made at reconciliation between the two denominations on local, national, and even global levels.

“You know what’s a good thing to do. . . when you’re trying to make peace with somebody?” asked Mike Derstine, pastor at Plains, as he showed paintings of Simons and Luther to children from Grace and Plains.  “To find out something about that person that you like.”

Both reformers brought important ideas to the church, Derstine said.  Simons urged the church to show their faith by helping others and Luther reminded the church that God’s love and salvation are free gifts—these are important ideas to keep in balance, Derstine told the children.

In the same way, even though Plains shared their resources with Grace, the gift was not one-sided, according to Ranck.  “It gave us a chance to be a part of something bigger than Plains, something bigger than ‘Mennonite,’” she said.

And she’s going to miss having the children around.  “I can’t imagine them not being here,” she said with a sigh.  “A couple of the kids, when I talked to them about leaving and I said, ‘I won’t be going,’ they’re like, ‘But there are offices over there!’”

Although Mennonites had been known for centuries as a people-group who kept to themselves, a growing ecumenical emphasis on Christian engagement with their community—which is manifested in programs like Plains Park and Stepping Stones—allows congregations to move past differences, according to Derstine.  “I think it’s easier for us [now] because we have a [new] outlook on the world that shapes our relationships across some of these barriers,” he reflected.  “We’re united in the same mission.”

Plains and Grace picnic
Joyce and Tom Salter from Grace Lutheran visit with Richard Lichty from Plains Mennonite at the post-service picnic at Plains Park. Photo by Emily Ralph

“When the people of Plains invited us to share in the [worship service and picnic], my first reaction was ‘Absolutely, we need to do this,’” said Frank Stone, congregation president at Grace.  “It was such a joy for us to worship with and to meet other believers in our community, especially those who so unselfishly reached out to us in our time of need.”

The joint worship, including a shared Eucharist, was significant for both congregations, added Derstine.  “I think our Communion today was a reminder that God is profoundly at work in bringing us together across our differences.”