Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Homestead

Homestead Mennonite Pentecost Reflections – #MosaicTogether2024

by

by SarahAlice Zimmerly, Homestead Mennonite

When we went to church on May 19, we didn’t know exactly what we’d find. We expected the announced potluck meal with some folks we didn’t know who would speak languages we couldn’t decipher. There would be more of “them” than “us”. What could we do to make them feel welcome? How could we know if they needed something? How do we relate? 

We reminded ourselves that this will be church, the people together to praise God. There are things of faith that we all understand and accept. We sat at tables mixed with people we didn’t know. At my table there were people from Cuba, Guatemala, Brazil, and the USA who were retired teachers, a roofer, a guidance counselor, housekeepers, and a student. Now, I can talk with people like that. The roofer looked surprised when I told him I admired his work because roofing is physically hard, hot, and skilled work. I asked God to give him strength and protection.  

The meeting opened with a warm welcome from our interim pastor, who is Russian. He introduced his family, his Russian friends and those from the Ukraine and Thailand. He introduced a Mennonite Spanish congregation from Miami and their pastor greeted us and prayed for us in Spanish. A man from their group enthusiastically sang a solo. A Spanish-speaking group who uses our building was also there and it was nice to see familiar faces. The people heard how God gave them gifts of witnessing, teaching, sewing prayer reminders, and phone outreach. God is at work among us. 

Four women from Thailand sang a song, accompanied by our pastor and his guitar. The tune was familiar, and we then sang their song with them in whatever language we chose. The rhythm and tune were led by the Spirit. It was beautiful.

We learned that as we prayed together, ate together, shared experiences and concerns together, the differences in language and customs, the apprehensions, and self-consciousness didn’t matter. We had all we needed. The blessing of God’s Spirit rested in our hearts. We will do this again.

Congregational Profile: Homestead Mennonite Church

by

Editor’s Note: Mosaic Mennonite Conference anticipates welcoming eight Florida congregations (that were formerly part of Southeast Mennonite Conference) at this fall’s conference assembly.  For the next several weeks, we will be sharing the profiles of each of these congregations.

by Rick Lee, Pastor

Homestead (FL) Mennonite Church began in the 1950s by Mennonite Volunteer Service (MVS) workers who were in Homestead, FL working at Redlands Migrant Workers’ Camp. The church has expanded and contracted over the years. The building itself has been built and expanded three times during the life of the congregation. In 2000, the church burned down, by an unknown arsonist, but was rebuilt and expanded. 

Presently, there are few ethnic Mennonites in the congregation.  The majority of the congregation is senior citizens and young adults.  There are a few teens and a few middle-aged families. The group is diverse ethnically, culturally, and economically. Our church worship is in English. 

One goal of our church is to continue to grow and mature in our faith, in order to become more faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Most of the outreach is done through individual efforts and relationships. Members reach out to people in prison, single moms, undocumented immigrants, alcoholics, the poor, senior citizens, and children through tutoring and after school programs.  

Over the years, the church has been connected and helped with many community events.  In 1992, Hurricane Andrew devastated most of the entire city of Homestead, FL. However, the Homestead Mennonite Church building was fortunate to survive this disaster. Many citizens gathered at the church for help and consolation for many months following the hurricane. 

More recently immigrants gather to hear from government officials, officers, and social workers about their rights as immigrants. The congregation values the opportunity to work with the community and its officials in an effort to help promote and keep peace with all people. 

The church building is also offered to others for ministry use, including helping new congregations establish themselves, home schooling groups, senior citizens, mothers of preschoolers, and weight management groups.  Seasonally a local community choir uses the church building to perform their holiday concerts. There have also been times that free health clinics were performed in the church building. 

In the past decade, four or five churches have used our facility to try to start new churches. One Mennonite church has succeeded thus far. One of another denomination has folded. Two other congregations are still trying to establish themselves or save up money for their own building. Therefore, currently three congregations, including our own, share our facility.

Although there are many activities in the church building, the congregation is still working on finding ways to reach out to their neighborhood. Presently we try to connect through Facebook and also by encouraging our church members to love our neighbors as a source of witness. 

Over the past several years, we offered Vacation Bible School. Some years we designed our own curriculum and other years we partnered with other churches of various denominations to provide a witness and activities for children during their summer break.  

During a recent Advent season, an adult member of the congregation wrote reflective public readings on the themes of Advent.  A youth of the congregation used pastel chalk to illustrate the theme on sidewalks and parking lots, while a reader’s group from the church presented the readings in public. Younger children also learned an increasingly complex choreography to the Advent hymn, “O Come Emmanuel,” each week.