formational

MCC International Volunteers: Impacting the World

November 20, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Millie Penner, Mennonite Central Committee East Coast

“We eat together, sing together in both English and Chichewa, go on our nightly walks together, and laugh together like a family of hyenas,” says Eric Bishop of his family’s relationship with Madalitso Kaputa. Eric and Linda Bishop, Souderton congregation, have opened their home to Madalitso, a participant in the International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP). IVEP is a program of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) that brings young adults from other countries to live and work in Canada and the United States for a year. Madalitso is far from his home in Malawi, Africa this year, yet clearly he also has found a family with the Bishops.

During the day Madalitso volunteers at the Dock Woods and Dock Meadows campuses (Lansdale, Pa.) of the Living Branches retirement community. It is clear to his host family and both his supervisors that this work is far more than a short term volunteer assignment. For Madalitso, this work is a part of the calling God has on his life, a calling he works to fulfill with joy and passion. He says, “When I first arrived in the United States, the food, the time change and the people were all new to my life, and I wondered if I would be able to hold on to my sense of mission. But after a month, I feel like I’m at home as my wonderful host family has helped me to remember my mission goal. Through my work at Dock Woods and Dock Meadows, I have come to understand the great call that the church has in taking care of people, especially the elderly. Indeed, this is now the time that the church should be inviting and welcoming all the elderly into her caring and protective service as the salt and light of the world.”

Gerry Moore, who supervises Madalitso at Dock Meadows, agrees that he is focused and effective. “He is eager to visit with each resident and learn their stories. He wants them to know they have a life time of experience to share, a wealth of wisdom and much he can learn from them.”

Dock Meadows and Dock Woods have hosted IVEPers for several years and have seen good fruit from the cross-cultural exchanges that happen through this program. Eileen Burks of Dock Woods says, “A resident just received an email from one of our past IVEPers from Indonesia. They have been in contact for over seven years, and this clearly is one of many great bonds that were formed through this program. Another way that we are enriched is when the IVEPer brings the world to our residents through a cultural class, sharing about their country … family, faith, foods and languages.”

Madalitso will take many gifts with him when he leaves the IVEP program, not the least of which is a better sense of the world community. Linda Bishop, his host mother, says that he already refers to the world as his home, not just Malawi, since he is willing to go wherever God sends him.

And Madalitso will leave just as many gifts with those whose lives he touches here in Pennsylvania. Living Branches residents, his supervisors and his host family will have formed many good memories, relationships and connections that will last a lifetime.

From there to here: a story of community

November 13, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Jenny Duskey, Ambler congregation

I came back from Mennonite Church USA Convention in July feeling challenged and uncomfortable, the kind of feeling that means I need to do something. In Phoenix, I’d prayed about how to respond to a drone center coming to our area. I went to the next protest. Still, I remained uncomfortable.

Then I experienced what turned out to be a blessing, though it didn’t seem so at first. My car was damaged in a parking lot, and the body shop needed it for a few days. My husband and I, both retired, volunteer regularly at different places, all too far to reach on foot. In the Philadelphia area, senior citizens ride trains for eighty-five cents and buses free. I could get where I needed to go without renting a car.

My habit had been to drive anywhere too far to walk, using public transportation only when I couldn’t drive. What an irrational routine: a two-mile exercise walk, a quick stop at home, and a drive to my destination, spewing pollutants into the atmosphere. No wonder I’d felt uncomfortable! When my car returned, I found I couldn’t go back to my old ways. The Holy Spirit has turned my thinking upside down; I now use public transportation whenever possible.

When I drove, my car isolated me. Now, no longer isolated, I relate to others. I’m reducing pollution only a little, but my sense of community is growing a lot. Here are a few illustrations.

After church, I walked to the train. Two teen-aged boys, acting silly, as teens do at times, passed me. At the station I noticed an elderly man with a cane. I began to check email on my phone. A voice said, “Hey, old man, give me all your money, or I’ll beat you up!” I hid my phone away and looked up. Standing by the old man was one of the teens I’d seen. I got my phone out again, thinking of calling 911. Should I try to talk the boy out of it or would that make it worse?

Then the old man spoke, “Where are you going?” The boy answered. The old man said, “Man, you’d better get out of here and cross the tracks.”

“I’ve got time,” the boy laughed. “How’ve you been?”

My heart started beating again; they knew each other. The boy had been joking; as I returned home, I pondered my reactions and assumptions.

Often there are not enough conductors on the trains to punch all the tickets. I don’t want to cheat, so I try to find a conductor on the platform to take my ticket. Once, he refused, saying, “Use it another day.” I responded that with his permission, I guessed I would.

Once, the conductor shortage was potentially more serious. At my stop there was no conductor in sight as I stepped down toward the platform. A blind woman with a dog started up the same stairs. I knew I couldn’t move back in time, so I called out, “I’m coming down.” She backed up. As I walked past her, I said, “It’s clear now.”

A conductor stood motioning for her to move to the next door. She kept walking toward the stairs. “She’s blind,” I told him, “she can’t see you.” He kept gesturing. I called to the woman, “The conductor wants you to move to the next door.” She moved, but not far enough, stopping right in front of the opening between two cars. She lifted her foot to climb onto the first step, but her foot was over the track, which lay a few feet below. Knowing it’s not acceptable to touch a blind person, but afraid she’d fall, I put my hand on her arm. She turned toward me immediately to tell me loudly to stop. My emotions were a jumble. I reacted as I usually do when yelled at, hurting inside, but also felt immensely relieved that she had turned back. Her dog steered her back to the stairs. The conductor no longer gestured as she stepped up. I shed tears of relief as I walked home.

When I was driving most places, I rarely related to anyone on the way. My car isolated me. Now, the trains, the stations, and the buses bring me closer to the people who share this place in which I live. No longer isolated, I see them as the human beings they are, and they see me the same way, picking up my ticket when I’d dropped it, getting up to let me sit down on the bus, and, in one case, asking me if an umbrella on the shelf above me was mine, and when I said it wasn’t, exchanging sympathy for whoever had lost it.

One day, an excited little boy asked his father one question after another about the train, where it went, when it would come, how it stayed on the tracks, what made it move, and so on. He and his family wore Phillies hats or shirts. Someone asked him if he was going to the ball game. He grinned, nodded, and asked if we were going to the game, too. Soon each of us knew the others’ destinations and we all wished each other a safe journey. I expect I was not the only one to board the train with a warm feeling of commonality and a little extra joy.

Gathering and knowing God is still at work

October 31, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

Ertell Whigham — Conference Assembly 2012. Photo by Andrew Huth.

by Ertell M. Whigham, Jr., executive minister

It’s the time of year when we gather to share what God is doing in our lives, our ministries and our communities at Franconia Conference Assembly 2013. It’s a time for us to celebrate what God has done, what God is doing, and what God is going to do.

It’s time to build new relationships and renew longstanding friendships. We’ll travel from Vermont and Georgia, from across town, across suburbs, and drive down country lanes and city streets to meet in Souderton. We’re preparing to translate from English to Indonesian, Spanish, and Vietnamese to better understand the Spirit’s work across our communities.

It’s time for us to dream together and to share our hopes in a space that allows us to listen and to move toward transformation. We’ll bring our stories of hope and challenge. We’ll gather around practicalities and possibilities.

We will choose to gather collaboratively, leaning into the possibilities of our relationships. We will need to settle our hearts and center in Christ to find a way to hear each other over the voices in our own ears and heads. If we come to the delegate tables expecting to waste our time, we make it more difficult for the Spirit to move through strongholds. When we gather in suspicion rather than hope, we are setting ourselves up to leave our time together disappointed and miss the opportunity for transformation. This is surely not how God would intend us to invest our gathered time.

I believe God invites us to gather every year not just to do business but to continue the Spirit’s process of renewing our minds. God is still working with us in all of our excellence and all of our shortcomings. I have seen it, heard it, experienced it, and been renewed by the possibilities and ministry testimonies I’ve heard from across our conference communities and ministries as we’ve prepared for assembly by listening with congregations and leaders. God’s invitation is not just to gather and walk out the door the same as when we came, but for us to gather together and to be transformed. We tell and retell the stories of God at work so that we can all be changed into the image of Christ.

It’s an exciting and challenging time for us to be Franconia Conference, both this year and in the years to come. I’ve been encouraged by the process we’ve worked through as your conference leadership in preparation for this gathering. Still, I welcome you to challenge and invite those of us who are leading the Conference to hear the Spirit beyond the voices in our own ears and heads. Encourage us to lead in ways that keep us as a whole community centered in Christ, working together in hope.

I come expecting that it’s not just another meeting, but a time to come together with God to work creatively. Together, we are at our best. Separately we are a shadow of what is God’s purpose for us as a people. God is still at work. I look forward to hearing more about how God’s Spirit continues to stir in our communities of sisters and brothers, doing immeasurably beyond what we can hope, imagine, or even ask.

The Economics of Jesus: Mark Van Steenwyk

October 23, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

Mark Van Steenwyk, founder of the Mennonite Worker, an intentional Christian community in Minneapolis, MN, and author of the book The Unkingdom of God, joined us on October 17 to talk about the economics of Jesus, suggesting a new way of engaging money, stewardship, and community.

[podcast]http://www.mosaicmennonites.org/media-uploads/mp3/Mark Van Steenwyk.mp3[/podcast]

Reflections on the Conversation on Race and the Church

October 3, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

On September 21, Drew Hart and Ben Walter presented a conversation on race and the church at Germantown Historic Meetinghouse in Philadelphia, sponsored by the Franconia and Eastern District Conferences’ Peace & Justice Committee. (Listen to the podcast.) The following are reflections on this conversation from two men in very different walks of life: Mikah, a biracial young adult who is working with students in north Philadelphia, and Firman, a white pastor of over twenty-five years, ministering in a prosperous, rural setting.

“Take daring and bold steps”

by Mikah Ochieng, Philadelphia Praise Center

Few people can present on the topic of race with such knowledgeable comprehension and articulation that it greatly impacts others, possibly for the first time in their lives, to open their eyes and hearts to new and positive perspectives of understanding the people with whom they come in contact everyday. PhD student at Lutheran Seminary, Drew Hart, achieved this very feat at September 21’s conversation on race at Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust.

I, for one, particularly appreciated the intentional usage of official vocabulary and language that tied thoughts, ideas, and experiences to meaningful terms that are often used in the public arena when facilitating dialogue on the topic of race. I took Hart’s usage of terminology to be a great gesture of introduction into historical and trending issues that evolved out of the topic of race. And maybe because talking about race, ethnicity, or cultural background is typically taboo in the public arena, we might need a good refresher to help us not only be conscious people of a racialized society, but active engagers of racial reconciliation.

Hart shared a glimpse into his story of growing up in a racialized society and being the target of micro aggressions, a term used to describe the subtle, non-verbalized, non-conscious marginalizing actions of others towards people of different races and cultures. Hart calls this a sort of ‘silent-killer’ in the arsenal of 21^st century racism. Like the harpoons of institutional racism, which is typically a covert form of marginalization working in the forms of our society’s institutions, micro aggressions work in such subtle ways as to not be considered existing issues in our society, but can over time, if gone unnoticed, cause great pain to its victim.

Hart tells a really great encapsulating story of when he was attending college at a well-to-do suburban Christian school and he would walk down the main path that went through the heart of the campus. Occasionally, as he would notice, when groups of white students would pass him they would walk near the opposite edge of the path, cast their eyes down or to the side and stop talking. As soon as they had crossed paths the students would go back to their conversations, laughing and joking just as casually as before.

It’s a small act that would seemingly deserve a small amount of attention, but as Hart describes, “It’s like getting a paper cut: it’s annoying at first, but when you keep receiving that type of treatment, a thousand paper cuts really adds up.”

As a biracial young person, that I was able to relate my own experience to Hart’s. I took some time to reflect and I’ve come to the undoubted conclusion that certain micro aggressions have made up the narrative of my life at a similar suburban liberal arts Christian university as well, not least of all the experience of walking along the paths of the campus and the interactions (or non-interactions) that develop between myself and white students.

Paired with micro aggressions are micro affirmations. That is, the reverse of a micro aggression, a subtle acknowledging action of another’s personal value to the other. One might make space for the other through an affirming smile or nod during a conversation that gives the other a sense of value and self-worth.

I take away from this discussion that there is hope for the Church, particularly our Anabaptist tradition, of becoming not only more racially aware, but active in reaffirmation and racial reconciliation. It is my hope, and I know from discussion with others after the event that it is the hope of many others, that the Church would take daring and bold steps to make racial reconciliation a reality in concrete steps.

Just as Hart and his conversation partner Ben Walter emphasized, reconciliation looks like being active listeners and partnering collaborators with those who share different viewpoints and experiences from our own in situations where power is concerned. A particularly pertinent issue might surround the authority of the Church and how it delegates its finances. Here, then, would be required the shared stewardship of resources across racial boundaries so that all represented peoples in the Church have a slice of dignity. It’s a hard bit to accomplish, but we at least have to try.

“The radical nature of hope”

by Firman Gingerich, Blooming Glen

I am glad I attended the “Conversation on Race and the Church” held last week at the historic Germantown Meetinghouse.

Drew Hart’s comments have had me thinking a lot about my Anabaptist theological underpinnings and how they intersect with theological perspectives of people of color.

Drew reminded us that much of Black Theology comes from the perspective of people on the margins. He correctly reminded us that much of Jesus ministry was birthed and expressed among folks who were oppressed and on the margins. The Kingdom of God Jesus was calling people to participate in was a kingdom much at odds with the kingdom of the occupying and brutal Roman government.

Drew suggested that if we want to recover vital Anabaptist faith values, it will need to come through stories of people on the margins. I think he is on to something that we should pay attention to. Our Anabaptist parents were often marginalized by persecution or rejection. Life on the margins taught us much about trusting God and the community to uphold us. Anabaptism from the margins measured faithfulness by how we followed Jesus’ teachings. Anabaptists were often bold in offering a prophetic witness to the culture that did not know Christ.

For many years I have felt growing tension over this in preaching. Settled-in people don’t want faithfulness measured by how well we live the Sermon on the Mount. We white folks often project that our faithfulness is connected to how we fulfill the American dream. I’m reminded of what Scott Hutchinson, a pastor friend, told our staff several years ago as he was unpacking a Jesus parable to us: “There is no church in North America that would have Jesus of Nazareth as their pastor today.” Jesus offered hope, new life, and courage to those on the margins of society and saved much of his criticism for those settled in, the religious and political leaders.

With a fresher perspective I’m wondering again how people on the margins can teach me, a white pastor, about the radical nature of hope that Jesus preached to the masses of the Galilean villages.

Several themes from Drew and Ben Walter’s conversation were helpful for again naming perspectives. I found it valuable to ponder my white guilt, knowing that I believe deeply in the biblical themes that all of us are created in God’s image. It was also helpful to be reminded that many people of color do not have the same privileges as I do. I wondered about ways to model the kind of reflecting conversation between Drew and Ben in our churches.

One thing I have little to wonder about is our future. The Germantown historic meetinghouse was filled, and mostly with folks much younger than me. The willingness of younger leaders to have this conversation will only help us move more boldly toward the biblical themes that “we are all one In Christ Jesus.” May we all help grow John’s dream in Revelation 7 where there is a gathered multitude worshipping at the heavenly throne made up of people from all tribes, peoples, and languages.

Worshiping our way into God's future

October 1, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

James Krabill from Mennonite Mission Network stopped by our Pastors and CRM Leaders Breakfast on September 26 to guide our leaders in imagining an intercultural future, beginning with the way we worship. You can pick up a copy of his book at the Conference Center and listen to the podcast below–he used these handouts.

[podcast]http://www.mosaicmennonites.org/media-uploads/mp3/James Krabill (low).mp3[/podcast]

Youth groups move from charity to justice

September 11, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Angela Moyer, RIPPLE (Allentown, Pa.) & Ben Wideman, Salford (Harleysville, Pa.)

Ben: As Salford prepared to experience Mennonite Church USA’s biannual gathering in Phoenix, AZ we understood that this was going to be a different kind of experience. We knew that there were a whole host of reasons that various churches were in favor of attending and not attending. One of the dramatic factors of a trip to the Southwest was that several of our sister congregations would be unable to afford the travel expenses.

As we began to get a sense of what we could afford, and how much we could offer in support of other youth groups, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Angela share with a group of youth pastors that she was interested in taking a group from their congregation but needed financial assistance. It seemed like perfect timing – not just for financial support, but for deepening relationships with a congregation we knew little about.

Angela: The invitation for RIPPLE youth to join Salford’s youth group on their trip to Phoenix was a hope and a wish come true. It was evidence that all of our talk about sharing power and resources had some feet. And as we began to make plans and think about what it would take in order to make this a healthy and positive experience for both groups, I realized that this was going to be more than a simple act of generosity or charity.

I had no idea what it would be like for RIPPLE youth to experience Convention. I knew that it would be different for them than for youth who grow up in fairly stable, middle class churches and communities but I could not anticipate what their experience would be. What I did know was that they deserved the opportunity to go just as much as other youth, if not more. As we began to make plans for how to make this a positive experience, we soon realized that it would be more than a one week event in Phoenix. Relationships needed to be built prior to a week-long trip together.

Ben: Angela and I were in agreement from the onset that this had to be a shared experience. Salford had supported other churches in the past by simply writing a check, but this time our youth and sponsors wanted to have a deeper connection than that. We knew that this would be challenging; the simple geographic barriers, nuanced cultural contexts, and busy schedules meant that we had to work to get just one or two opportunities on the calendar for the respective youth to connect with each other.

Angela: Relationships between people with very different backgrounds take time and effort to develop. After they’re developed, then true relationships need to be maintained at some level. It’s one thing to receive one or two gifts graciously, but to continue to receive them is hard. And to believe that the non-financial gifts that you have to offer back is just as valuable as money is hard too.

Then, in typical RIPPLE fashion, the needs grew faster than what I could keep up with. Shortly after registering two youth and myself for Convention with Salford’s group, another responsible youth began attending and significantly contributing to RIPPLE. Now what do we do about the youth trip to Convention? Thankfully, in God’s abundance, Deep Run East Mennonite was willing to contribute finances for this third youth to attend Convention.

Ben: It seems obvious now, but looking back, I was unaware of the complexity of planning a trip like this. Families from both churches had life experiences come up that changed their summer plans. Conference registration and payment is challenging enough for 20 people from one church. Add in hotel reservations (and roommate assignments), plane tickets, airport transportation, and youth from a whole other church, and this trip became an interesting logistical challenge.

Angela: But this was just the beginning of being overwhelmed with the gaps to be bridged between the two groups; this is why I think our collaborative effort begins to point towards justice rather than mere generosity. The partnership between RIPPLE and Salford offered opportunity to those who otherwise would not have been able to engage, for both groups to learn from one another. The relationship is ongoing; although one phase is over, much is still unfinished. This collaboration was and continues to be overwhelming on a variety of layers requiring more than what can be anticipated and offered. And yet this is the space where God’s Spirit seems to be moving and providing.

Ben: The relationship between Salford and RIPPLE will continue to be a work in progress. We are two sister congregations, but we are made up of a huge cross-section of families and perspectives. Oftentimes it is uncomfortable to have to work through what it means to be relating to people beyond the walls of our church building, but we trust that there will be a blessing and growth in this process. We hope to continue to build this relationship so that our youth will begin to see themselves as a part of something larger than our respective church family. I hope Salford and RIPPLE (and many other churches too!) will reach a point where relating with people from other contexts is not simply tolerated, but expected and valued.

Gathering with Elizabeth Soto Albrecht

August 29, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

Elizabeth Soto Albrecht, the new moderator of Mennonite Church USA, recently completed a 3-week journey around the United States visiting Mennonite Church USA congregations. Elizabeth joined pastors and Conference Related Ministry leaders on August 23 to share her learnings and challenges from that journey and hopes for the future of the church and to listen to stories and answer questions from Franconia and Eastern District leaders.

[podcast]http://www.mosaicmennonites.org/media-uploads/mp3/Elizabeth Soto Albrecht.mp3[/podcast]

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