Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

formational

2012 Wednesday Morning Prayers at Conference Center

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Franconia Conference Wednesday morning prayers

Beginning Weds,  Feb. 1 and continuing through Weds. April 11, a group will meet at the conference center, 569 Yoder Road, Harleysville, 9am-10am to pray. Our prayers will be focused on praying for the region which includes the Franconia conference congregations, partners in mission, and conference related ministries. Everyone is invited to join our hearts with the heart of God to seek first his kingdom. Any questions contact Sandy Landes, prayer ministry coordinator.

A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices

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by Tom Albright, Ripple Allentown

Christmas Eve, and Allentown has had its 4th murder in a week. What are people thinking? Is it about money? Passion? Retribution? Evil? Fear? Lack of choices?

It is a hard week full of the usual busyness and expectations that accompany the holiday. Where is the Christmas spirit? Where is the hope? I found myself awake at 3am again. It is not fear, but sadness, futility, and concern.

Then an idea–what if we spent Christmas Eve at the site of the double murder six blocks from our home? What would it be like to light candles and sing carols in the darkness of the alleyway where the shotgun had rung out and the car had run over bodies only a few days before? The thought would not leave me.

Christmas Eve morning I decided to walk and pray as I visited the sobering locations of the recent violence. It was cold and windy and I forgot the address of the first death. I walked up and down the street and realized that God knows.

But where are you, God–why do you not act?

The sun was shining when I started but as I walked the clouds increased and it became colder. I tried greeting people on the street by smiling and saying, “Merry Christmas,” but my heart was not in it. I wandered around past the site of the stabbing, and headed toward the site where a young couple was murdered.

I passed am old Lutheran church that reaches out to the homeless through meals, an overnight shelter, and a parish nurse, and I saw a small sign advertising their Christmas Eve service at 10:30 that evening. I found the house and walked half a block with a lady pulling her laundry cart. I asked if she heard about the killings.  “Of course,” she said.  “My husband woke up and heard the shots–I heard when they got run over by the car. I wanted to get out. This kind of thing shouldn’t be happening. The murdered woman was a crossing guard for the kids.”

The neighbor and I stood between the three memorials that had been created. About thirty tall glass candles covered with pictures of Mary, Jesus, and Saint Michael had all been extinguished by heavy rain. There must have been twenty-four colorful silk tulips laid beside the candles.

I got on my knees in front of the candles and prayed. It felt hard and cold and vulnerable. I thought of the carol,  I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

I got up off the damp concrete and left with a plan. That evening, my family went to the church’s Christmas Eve service. We sang the carols, heard the Christmas story, received communion, and left the sanctuary at a few minutes past midnight Christmas morning, while the organ played the “Hallelujah Chorus.”  We drove around the block, taking our candles from the church service to light as many of the tall candles as we could – pouring the water off, shielding our small flames from the wind. Together we lit over two dozen candles.

And now there was light.

Then we laid a wreath of fragrant cedar boughs and prayed for the family, for the couple’s little girl, for the community, for justice and peace, for education, for new ways of handling disputes, for safety, restoration, and for hope in Jesus when all hope seems lost. We sang:

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!

Looking back at the candles, up at the stars, and at the lights on the windows around us – I was shaking with cold. We wondered how many people might be watching and if the police might be called. As one young man walked towards us down the windy street I felt tired, hopeful, and overwhelmed by it all.

Maybe that is what we need, someone to show us our weary souls and their true worth, and to rejoice on this night of our Savior’s birth–and every night.

I realized how little I truly understood of the pain, hopes, and fears of this place where I live. But I have fallen on my knees and perhaps heard a faint sound of the angels’ voices. I have seen a bit of the manger – that rough, earthy feeding trough where God was laid, so vulnerable out on the streets.  God was there and is there on the streets of Allentown on that Holy Night . . . and tonight.

[Join the Ripple community at 3:15pm on Sunday, January 8, 2012, for prayer and candlelighting at the Peace Pole in Allentown, followed by activities at the church.]

UN Art Ambassador to visit Ripple Allentown

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On Sunday, January 8, 2012, at 4 PM, Ibiyinka Alao, UN Art Ambassador from Nigeria, will be the guest speaker at Ripple. Ripple meets at Christ Fellowship Church, 12th & Chew Sts., Allentown. Ibiyinka Olufemi Alao is an artist who recently represented his country — Nigeria — and became the first place winner of the prestigious United Nations International Art Competition amongst 61 countries. His entry “Girls and a Greener Environment” chronicles the life of a girl-child from infancy to adulthood and the values she acquires along the paths of life.

In between exhibitions, Ibiyinka finds himself giving open lectures at universities and schools, and setting up workshops in community centers across the country. As Nigeria’s Art Ambassador, Ibiyinka is available for speaking engagements, participation in seminars, panel discussions, workshops and exhibitions. www.ibiyinka.com

Ibiyinka’s presentation at Ripple will be followed by an interactive painting workshop, then dinner in the fellowship hall of the church. Everyone is invited to attend this inspirational, active presentation. For more information, visit www.ripple-allentown.com

Leading without fear: being missional Christians in a fear-filled world

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(adapted from Mark & Kathy Weaver Wenger’s message at the Pastors & Spouses Appreciation Breakfast on December 6, 2011)

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’”  (Luke 2:10)

Kathy and Mark Weaver Wenger speak about leading without fear. Photos by Tim Moyer.

Fear is one of our deepest instinctual responses from the “reptilian” part of the brain.   To live without fear is unrealistic.   Impossible.  We may as well try to live without pain or suffering.

“Be afraid, be very afraid” – The fear-industry is Big Business that sells us lots of things – insurance, weapons, health products, relationships, consumer products.  Fear, dread, worry, concern, anxiety.  It’s a powerful motivator.

“Do not be afraid”  is specifically mentioned 70 times in scripture.  Some examples:

  • The Lord to Abraham – “Do not be afraid, I am your shield, your very great reward.”  (Gen. 15:1)
  • Moses to the Israelites as the Egyptians closed in for the kill – “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.”  (Ex. 14:13)
  • The Lord to Joshua after Moses’ death – “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  (Josh. 1:9)
  • The angel to Joseph—“Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife.” (Matt 1:20)
  • Jesus to his disciples:  “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Fear is usually portrayed negatively.  It’s a bad thing, to be controlled and to be avoided.  We are told to “lead without Fear” and that “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.”  (1 John 4:18)   But a fuller reading of Scripture gives another twist to the language of fear that we don’t pay much attention to:

  • “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10)
  • “Show proper respect to everyone, love your fellow believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:17)

Fear God???  What is going on?  This sounds contradictory and confusing.  Is God an enemy or cheat or torturer or tyrant or bully?

We get a sense of the “fear of God” in The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis – Aslan is a Lion, the Christ-figure.  His roar shakes the mountains.  Aslan is not a “tame lion” Nor is he a “safe lion.”  But above all else, he is good and he is loving.  He’s the King.

What does it mean “to fear God?”  C.S. Lewis says it is to “feel awe and wonder and a certain shrinking.”  It’s mystery.  It is to acknowledge that God is sovereign and recognize and defer to God’s power, love, majesty, and superiority.  It means respecting, reverencing, honoring God as sovereign and Lord.

Maybe this ancient language of “fearing God” provides a CLUE for “Leading without Fear in a Fear-filled World.”  Being in right relationship with God is the key.  To grasp deep in our souls (deeper than reptilian brain) that God is sovereign, God is the “Untamed One,” the “Not-to-be-played-with-Lord,” of the Universe.  And that God is Good, God is Love.

And that God comes close to us at Christmas.

We can be come immobilized or possessed by terror when we forget God’s greatness and goodness to us in Jesus Christ.  “The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.”  (John 1:14)

In the Bible, God’s words of reassurance, “Don’t be afraid,” often preceded a great event.  How many times have we missed God doing something good or great because we were afraid of something or someone, instead of trusting God?  The angel’s reassurance to the shepherds turned them loose to find Jesus and tell the whole neighborhood about God’s good news.

Take a moment and reflect:  What is a fear that gnaws at you?  What anxiety keeps you from venturing into deeper water with God?  What are you afraid of as a pastor, or as a pastor’s spouse?  What are your co-workers and neighbors afraid of?  What keeps them stressed and up at night?

The arrow of Christmas is pointed directly at addressing and shrinking those fears,  putting them into living relation to God, the Lord of Universe.  The One who comes to us in Christ Jesus to save us.  The One who will never leave us.

A parable: When I (Mark) was five, we lived in Ethiopia. Our family went on an evening picnic with several other families along the Awash River. After supper the grown-ups got to talking; we children raced and squealed in a game of tag. The sun set and dusk began to lower over the African landscape. Heedless in my dashing, I ran off the top of a bluff, tumbling about twelve feet to the bottom of a dusty dry creek bed. When I stood up, it was utter darkness. I could see absolutely nothing. I started howling at the top of my lungs, “I’m blind, I’m blind, I’m blind.”  My dad heard my cries and came running. He couldn’t jump off the bluff; it was too high. So he had to take the long way around. He scooped me up, held me, and took me to the river. He washed my dust-coated eyeballs and I could see again.

Leading without Fear is born by calling out to a great God who in fact is reaching out to us.  Leading without fear is undergirded by the character of God, the words of God – Do not be afraid.  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” (Ps. 23)

Gathering on Holy Ground

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by Stephen Kriss, Philadelphia Praise Center

Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards encourages Franconia and Eastern District Conferences to follow the example of Christ. Photo by Stacy Salvatori.

Gwen Groff, pastor at Bethany Mennonite Church in Bridgewater Corners, Vermont, drove the seven hours south for the joint Franconia and Eastern District Conference Assembly on November 11-12 for what she suggests became a “beautiful cacophony.”

Groff and more than 300 others from across both Conference communities along with Mennonite Church USA representatives gathered Friday night at Penn View Christian School in Souderton, Pa, in the first joint worship service for both Conferences since 1999. The opening worship, which featured a combined cross-conference, multi-ethnic and multilingual worship team, kicked off the gathering switching swiftly back and forth between Creole, English, Indonesian, Spanish and Vietnamese—the worshipping languages of the 60 congregations that make up both conferences.

The worship team lead by Emily Ralph gathered for months together in preparation to lead interculturally and multilingually in Creole, English, Indonesian, Spanish and Vietnamese. Photo by Stacy Salvatori.

Groff describes her experience, “I always look forward to the singing at Conference Assembly worship services. Coming from a small congregation, I enjoy the big sound, the full harmony. When I come into an Assembly worship space, if I see that we’ll be using the blue Worship Book hymnals I like to sit in the center of it all to be surrounded by the four part harmony. When I see a screen and projector, instruments and microphones, I usually take a seat on the periphery.

“This year I found myself most moved by the kind of singing I usually hang back from. Singing all together, with some singing in Indonesian, some in Spanish, some in Vietnamese, some in English and some in Creole, was disorienting in a way that was challenging, enlightening and beautiful.

Friday worship. Photo by Stacy Salvatori.

In worship there is often an invitation to sing or pray each in our own language, but this year the multicultural worship team was leading in all the different languages, switching languages between verses, between lines, singing in different languages at the same time. There was no right language to be singing in at any particular moment. We all could experience how it felt to be singing new words and not knowing if we were pronouncing them correctly. We all knew how it felt to be a little off balance. It wasn’t about political correctness (or it was what political correctness should be). It was about leveling the ground as we worshipped together, and it was holy ground.”

While energetic music and multiple languages marked the shape of the worship, Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards, pastor of Peace Fellowship Church in Washington, DC, a Franconia Conference Partner in Mission, focused intensely in an evening message that explored the possibilities of the assembly theme, “Unity and Maturity in Christ” based on Ephesians 4. The whole of the worship gathering was broadcast in five worshipping languages and available online through a live stream. Over a dozen persons from a variety of congregations helped to coordinate technology, translating, and communication for the event.

Saturday joint session. Photo by Emily Ralph

The spirit of gathered worship was framed further through Saturday’s joint delegate session held around tables that considered the further cooperation between both Conferences in a move toward healing the 1847 historic rift between the groups. Overwhelmingly, representatives from both conferences gave permission by raising green cards that suggested a continuation to explore life together more extensively and collaboratively. Considering the future of the conferences, Sam Claudio, Jr., associate pastor at Christ Fellowship in Allentown said in a time of reporting, “Hopefully we’ll be able to be a positive witness [in a way that people will say], look how they came together after this long division in love, in peace, in charity, in grace.”

After recognizing the affirming move, Dave Hersh, moderator of Eastern District Conference responded, “I’m really excited about what we’ve accomplished. Your direction to us is loud and clear. We’re going to continue working together.” The conferences divided for business sessions, but re-gathered for lunch and a commissioning worship that recognized each person’s role and contribution in both conference communities.

Brent Camilleri, Deep Run East, and Derek Cooper, Doylestown, enjoy Friday’s ice cream social. Photo by Stacy Salvatori.

In general business, Eastern District Conference marked the transition of Ron White of Church of the Good Samaritan (Holland, Pa) into the moderator role succeeding Hersh of Grace Mennonite Church (Lansdale, Pa). Marta Castillo of Nueva Vida Norristown (Pa) Mennonite Church was affirmed as assistant moderator for Franconia Conference for a special one year term.

First time Franconia Conference delegate Derek Cooper of the Doylestown (Pa) congregation said, “I appreciated the worshipful tone. Beginning and ending the assembly in worship united the community and guided our interaction throughout the weekend. I also appreciated the prayer ministry. It created a Spirit-led presence that saturated the building.”

Reflections on Conference Assembly 2011:

Mary Martin (left), shown preparing to lead worship with fellow worship leaders and church friends Tuy Tran and Hoai Huynh from Vietnamese Gospel. Photo by Stacy Salvatori.

“I enjoyed singing with young people in several languages. I was inspired in (the) bringing together (of) a group of singers and instrumentalists with limited preparation time.” —Mary Martin,  Vietnamese Gospel

I thank God for what felt like a renewed sense of vision, energy and hope among our Conference body. Worshiping our Lord together in several languages was inspirational! God is preparing us for heaven, where followers of Jesus “from every tribe and language and people and nation” will bow down before the Lamb in worship. (Rev. 5:9) — Steve Landis, Franconia

For me the recognition, acknowledging, and welcoming of the different leaders was very inspiring; I believe the greatest asset of any organization is people. As someone from the global South, I still feel that we have a long way to go in order to have some of our leaders in higher leadership positions. — Ubaldo Rodriguez, New Hope Fellowship, Baltimore

Friday worship. Photo by Stacy Salvatori

It was particularly touching to see elements of my parent’s homeland incorporated in the assembly. When I asked my mother afterwards on Saturday what she had thought, she smiled and said the celebrating, unity, and sense of community made her feel warm inside. —  Theresa Nguyen, Plains

Assembly was a welcome opportunity to share space across our cultural diversity. Especially Saturday morning, moving in the direction of healing the long time division between Eastern District Conference and Franconia Conference. — Bob Walden, West Swamp

I think that Friday and Saturday was just a glimpse of what the kingdom of heaven will look like and that is a certain hope that God puts in us. The longing to just worship God regardless of our differences. I appreciate the fact that the Holy Spirit is moving around and uniting people from different languages. — Adrian Suryajaya, Philadelphia Praise Center

Thank you to:

  • Penn View Christian School for the use of facilities and the support of janitors, staff, and audio/visual personnel.
  • Dancers from Nueva Vida Norristown New Life for sharing your gifts as we gathered for Friday night worship.
  • Worship Planners and Worship Team Members for the time and energy you invested into planning, practicing, and leading our congregation in worship.
    • Saturday delegate session. Photo by Emily Ralph
  • Translators for helping us to understand one another.
  • Everence for sponsoring Friday night’s ice cream social and Bally Mennonite Church for providing and serving the ice cream.
  • One Village Coffee for donating coffee for the weekend.
  • Perkasie Mennonite Church for providing snacks and serving coffee on Saturday morning.
  • Zion Mennonite Church for use of your hymnals
  • Salford Mennonite Church for providing and serving lunch.
  • Franconia and Eastern District Board and Committee Members for supplying baked goods and deserts.
  • Litany Writers for your creative energy in tying everything together.
  • Prayer Ministry Participants for covering the gathered assembly in prayer.
  • Technology assistants who insured that the glitches were managed and that the flow of the worship was enriched and participation enhanced through our use of the web.

 

Editorial: Working together to forward the Reign of God

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by John Goshow & Ron White, Moderators, Franconia & Eastern District Conferences

The Mennonite Church is a church of peace and reconciliation, yet we hold the record for splits, said historian John Ruth in the video produced for our last Conference Assembly. The 1847 split between Franconia and Eastern District Conferences was a defining moment in the history of Mennonites living in eastern Pennsylvania. The question for our conferences now is whether we should continue to walk different roads.

On Saturday morning of our joint assembly, Warren Tyson, Eastern District Conference Minister, and Ertell Whigham, Franconia Conference Executive Minister explored this question with the delegates of both conferences. They pointed out the numerous ways that we share a similar vision. Both place value on maintaining an Anabaptist/Mennonite peace witness. Both share Christ’s message of peace with God and fellow humans through nurturing vital congregations, which in turn plant new churches. Both embrace an intercultural identity that clearly identifies cultural bias and racism as sin and works to populate healthy, dynamic, intercultural congregations. Both provide accountability, connection, and resources for our pastors and church leaders. Both are working to develop intercultural systems that welcome new language groups and embrace development of culturally diverse congregations of one body; we continue to grow what it means for dominant people groups to let go of
established patterns of how churches function and what are acceptable expressions of music and faith.

The table group conferring and reporting that followed this presentation clearly indicated a desire for Franconia and Eastern District Conferences to continue to work together cooperatively. Conference leadership will now take this strong affirmation to engage in dialogue on developing further ways of working together to forward the Reign of God.

Conference Assembly 2011 found many ways of modeling the values of both conferences. Our conferences worshiped together on Friday evening and heard an inspiring message on Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ by Dennis Edwards, pastor of Peace Fellowship Church in Washington D.C. The assembly planning team consisted of members of both conferences. The worship teams included individuals from both conferences and represented the diverse languages of our conferences including English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Creole. The Peace and Justice Committee presented Walking in the Way of Peace 2012, a year-long emphasis on the Gospel of Peace that includes Bible study, bridging intercultural boundaries and teaching on becoming salt and light through peace witness. The Ministerial Committees of our two conferences introduced individuals who were credentialed for ministry in the past year. The Saturday afternoon service integrated worship and business in a seamless and inspiring way.

Luke and Dorothy Beidler received the Everence National Journey award, which was presented by Randy Nyce, an Everence Church Relations Representative and a member of the Franconia Conference Board. This issue of Intersections includes an article that celebrates Luke and Dot’s life-long commitment to serve Jesus in whatever way he leads.

Assembly 2011 provided the first opportunity since 1999 for Eastern District Conference and Franconia Conference to come together for business and worship. The blending together of two conferences, different cultures and five languages was both inspiring and energizing. Someone suggested that this experience may be a small glimpse of what Heaven will be like:
After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. (Rev. 7:9)

Delegates from both conferences overwhelmingly support continued conversation on partnership between Eastern District Conference and Franconia Conference. Photo by Emily Ralph

Enter into life with all your heart

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by Emily Ralph, Swamp Mennonite

Luke and Dot Beidler were recognized for their lives of ministry, service, and stewardship at the joint Franconia and Eastern District Conference Assembly on November 11. Everence representative, Randy Nyce, presented Luke and Dot with the organization’s National Journey Award for excellent stewardship of time, money, and service.

“We’d like to return that honor and praise to God,” Luke responded. Dot agreed.  “My heart is really warmed by a God that provides paths for us to go on,” she shared. “And as we say yes to the opportunities we have in life, we find God is all-sufficient. . . . Even if what we have doesn’t seem like enough, God makes it enough.”

From a young age, Luke and Dot experienced the sufficiency of God. As children, they moved with their families to Haycock Township (Pa.) to join a mission effort that led to the planting of Franconia Conference congregations like Rocky Ridge, Salem, and Steel City.

High school sweethearts, Luke and Dot married after graduating from Eastern Mennonite College in 1965. They wanted to participate in mission and enthusiastically accepted an inivitation to serve as missionaries in Vietnam with Eastern Mennonite Missions.

In Vietnam, they saw the reality of war up close. Some friends and fellow missionaries didn’t make it home. Luke and Dot struggled with their need to depend on a government to airlift them out when the fighting intensified and their children’s lives became endangered. How should a pacifist respond?

Back in the states, Luke returned to school, this time at the University of Pittsburgh to study anthropology and international education. In that university environment, he and Dot discovered that their Vietnam experience made them particularly sensitive to the anti-war crowd. “We were as hippy as you could be,” Luke recently told a class of seminary students. Then he laughed. “On the inside.”

Luke and Dot Beidler with their son Ken and daughter Marta when they were serving in Indonesia.

But their heart was still for mission and in 1976 the Beidlers joined Mennonite Central Committee in a partnership with local missionaries in Indonesia. Their years on the island of Borneo shaped their identities as they learned about true simplicity: living without electricity, washing clothes and bathing in the river, and eating whatever food was available.

When their children reached high school age, Luke and Dot returned the family to Pennsylvania where the teens enrolled in Christopher Dock Mennonite High School. Luke served as the Missions Secretary for Franconia Conference while Dot taught at Penn View Christian School.

After ten years of serving in the conference, Luke and Dot were ready to move back to the fringe. Luke was invited to serve as an associate pastor of Nueva Vida Norristown New Life in 1995 and, one year later, he and Dot purchased a home next door to the church building. It had been converted into apartments by a former missionary to provide low-income housing. The Beidlers felt called to continue this mission.

For the last 15 years, they have lived alongside their residents and they have come to love their home as well as their neighbors. Luke tends the gardens around their building and the church property. “We feel safe in community with a household,” Dot believes. “Urban issues have taken on faces as we live in this place. We hope to grow old here. “

Dot has worked for 15 years in a before- and after-school program in Norristown.  Luke continued in his pastoral role at Nueva Vida until 2007 while also serving at Methacton beginning in 2003. Although he formally retired in March, he and Dot continue to worship at Methacton. Ministry, for them, is a life-long calling.

“Get involved in a local congregation, serve in every way you can, take opportunities to cross cultures and learn from others at home and abroad,” they encourage young leaders. “Enter into life and faith with all your hearts.”

God’s “acolyte” in youth ministry

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by Scott Franciscus, Covenant Community

From an early age, church has played an important part in my life. Growing up in the Episcopal Church, which followed a consistent liturgy, and very rarely missing the early morning worship each Sunday, I sought to become as involved with the church service as possible. As soon as I was able after being confirmed, I became an acolyte (which means “helper” or “attendant” in Greek), also known as “altar-boy”. The role of the acolyte is to assist in the worship service by carrying a processional cross, lighting candles, helping to set up and clean up the altar for communion, holding the Gospel Book that the priest read from, swinging incense, and holding the collection plates after the offering was taken.

Throughout my years in middle school and high school, I continued to take on more responsibilities as an acolyte including reading the Old or New Testament liturgy or administering the shared communion cup during the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Even though my family was proud of my involvement in the church and occasionally someone from the church would comment on my “future” in the church, I did not ever see myself “called” to formal ministry. While I stayed connected to the church during my high school and college years, it was done more out of obligation than desire.

When I started attending Messiah College—in part because it was close to home— ministry was not in my plans. I entered Messiah College as a declared accounting major. Since I enjoyed accounting and did well in my accounting classes in high school, it seemed like the perfect fit for me, especially since it seemed like the perfect profession so I could get the most out of life and accomplish my dreams. Little did I know at the time that it wasn’t about my dreams and what I wanted out of life.

While at Messiah, I became involved with a group called “I’m Worth Waiting For” which offered abstinence-presentations to health classes and church youth groups. During this time, God began instilling a passion in my heart to work with young people. At the time, the church I grew up in didn’t have a ministry to youth outside of Sunday School where I could go to talk with someone about faith or struggles, or even just to hang out.

The more opportunities I had connecting with youth, the more God called me to change who I was living my life for. Although I enjoyed working with youth and taking the Bible classes at Messiah, the last place I saw myself was in ministry. I made the decision that, regardless of how I felt God leading me, regardless of his gentle persistence, going into ministry was not an option.

It took almost failing out of college for me to realize that it wasn’t about what I wanted out of life. I can still see myself walking around the bases of a baseball field as the snow was gently falling, wrestling with God on why I was not the right person. I tried to convince him there were better people to be in ministry and explain why he didn’t need to call me.

God showed me that the call wasn’t about my goodness but his, that my decisions weren’t the best but his were, that it wasn’t about my goals but his call.  He showed me that no matter how far I tried to run, he would be there waiting for me.

It was then that I decided to follow his path and listen to Christ’s voice. It was then that I realized the abundant life Jesus Christ offers. What a joy it has been being God’s “acolyte” in youth ministry ever since!