intercultural

Recovering catholicity

April 1, 2014 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Steve Kriss, Director of Leadership Cultivation

I still remember the words of my tour guide in St. John Lateran in Rome. She referred to our group’s Protestants with loving disdain. She announced, “For the Protestants here, I want you to remember that this was your ‘Vatican’ — the center of the Western church for centuries before you splintered away. Your faith has come to you through this space.”

I sought to find my own story in the midst of the grand, bright cathedral on Rome’s east side, close to the city wall. In my six months living in Rome, this worship space became significant as I worked to reconcile myself with the “catholicity” of my faith.

Walter Klassen’s book Anabaptism: Neither Protestant nor Catholic was published a year after I was born. His phrasing shaped many of the ways we Anabaptists have understood ourselves within the Christian story — as belonging to neither tradition. Upon reflection later in life, Klassen suggested the book might have been better titled with “both/and” rather than “neither/nor.”

I’d say it is clear that Anabaptists have been Protestants, but we have yet to live into what might be possible if we take our catholicity seriously.

In these days of Mennonite Church USA turmoil, what does it mean to embrace the best of catholicity?

Anabaptists are more than local, temporal communities. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman writes that to flourish in a global era, organizations will need to embrace both their local and global nature. In the church, this suggests both the local and the catholic (global) are essential for identity and decision-making.

While many of us are biased appropriately toward our localities, we cannot ignore our catholicity, our togetherness. Privileging local discernment alone can ignore both the possibility and responsibility of living within and incarnating God’s shalom intended for all of the world.

Localities can be just as toxic, menacing and oppressive as distant and hierarchal systems that don’t understand the local or respect the relational context — where we sit face to face, see eye to eye, in relationship with one another.

Neither our locality nor our temporality alone will effectively shape our discernment and trajectory in a global age. Our faith and movement is undeniably interconnected (even though at times we wish it weren’t) and providential (part of the holy intention of the Spirit to cultivate a peoplehood beyond racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, national boundedness).

Localities can become self-referential and ignore the voice of the other. Our willingness to tell the story of a God who loved the world so much must be tied to a willingness to do likewise across the chasms of difference of experience and interpretation.

Our lifetimes will be filled with relentless questions and complexities presented by the gospel and our cultural contexts. Though it may be easier to disintegrate into 100 million blooming localities, I wonder if the time and the Spirit might not require more of us. I can’t shake the idea that Jesus’ final prayers for us included a plea for “oneness.” I hear this as an invitation to catholicity — a community that goes beyond the local, into the holy intention of mutuality.

Withdrawing into familiar localities is the invitation of the spirit of our age but not the invitation of the Spirit of our Lord. The Spirit and the Word require much more of us.

“Come and See”: Mennonite leaders visit Israel/Palestine

March 25, 2014 by Emily Ralph Servant

Participants in the Mennonite learning tour of Israel/Palestine visit the separation wall in the Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. The wall cuts off the camp from an olive grove where residents used to work and play. (l. to r.) Isaac Villegas, Stanley Green, Ann Graber Hershberger, Mohammad Al-Azzah (Palestinian tour guide), Joy Sutter, Joanna Hiebert Bergen (MCC Jerusalem staff), Ron Byler, Tanya Ortman, Chad Horning, Ed Diller and Duane Oswald. (Photo by Ryan Rodrick Beiler)

by Jenn Carreto for Mennonite Church USA

Fifteen board members and staff representing various Mennonite agencies and organizations traveled to Israel/Palestine Feb. 24–March 4 to take part in a “Come and See” learning tour; participants included Joy Sutter, a member of Mennonite Church USA’s Executive Board from Salford congregation, and Noel Santiago, a member of Mennonite Education Agency’s board and a staff member for Franconia Conference.The tour marked the beginning of a denominational initiative to send 100 Mennonite leaders to the region on similar tours over the next five years.

While Mennonites have been involved in relief work, service, witness and peacemaking in the region for more than 65 years, the tour was organized in response to a 2009 appeal from Palestinian Christians called “Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth”

A coalition representing a range of Christians in Palestine—including Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical—issued the open letter to the global body of Christ as “a word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering.” They invited Christian organizations and faith groups to “come and see, in order to understand our reality.”

“The memories of our experiences keep intruding on my everyday thoughts some two weeks after our return,” reflected Chad Horning of Goshen, Ind., Chief Investment Officer of Everence and a member of the learning tour. “I am inspired by the steadfastness of Palestinians and Israelis alike in working for peace in the face of many years of disappointments.”

The learning tour followed the path of Jesus’ life by traveling to Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee and finally, Jerusalem. Along the way, they visited Bethlehem Bible College, Nazareth Village, refugee camps, settlements and community organizations, meeting local activists and villagers in each setting and hearing their stories. In Jerusalem they spent time at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial, and attended a Jewish Sabbath service. The group also connected with people serving with Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite Mission Network and Christian Peacemaker Teams.

Participants were left with much to contemplate and share with their faith communities. Horning said he gained a better understanding of the terms often used to describe life in the region.

“Words like security, wall, border, military, settler, outpost, tear gas, demolition, rubber-coated bullet, and confiscation have more meaning when I tell the stories of people we met and who live in the context of these sterile terms,” he said.

Participants brought with them a range of experience and familiarity with the region. Some had visited or served there, but most were witnessing the realities for the first time.

Madeline Maldonado, associate pastor of Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Arca de Salvación, Fort Myers, Fla., and board chair for Mennonite Mission Network, was a first-time visitor to the region. Before leaving, she shared, “I hope to experience the culture and the conflict. I hope to feel the pain and frustration that are felt there. I pray that I can see God in what seems impossible for my Western and Latina mind to comprehend. I pray that God opens my eyes.”

Isaac Villegas, pastor of Chapel Hill (N.C.) Mennonite Fellowship and Mennonite Church USA Executive Board member, shared reflections four days into the tour: “I’ve seen too much. Towering walls stretching for mile after mile, turning Palestinian cities into open-air prisons. Can I choose not to see … the used tear gas canisters I held in my hand—used against Palestinian youth, bought with my taxes, manufactured by a U.S. company in Pennsylvania?”

In addition to questions about the United States government’s involvement in the region, the group was encouraged the consider questions of faith in new light.

“Our experience gave us new insight into Jesus’ life and ministry, as well as the current situation,” said André Gingerich Stoner, director of holistic witness and interchurch relations for Mennonite Church USA. “We return better prepared to pray and work for God’s peace and blessing for everyone in this land.”

In 2011, Mennonite Church USA Executive Director Ervin Stutzman—in consultation with the Executive Board (EB)—responded to the writers of the Kairos Palestine letter, committing to expand opportunities for Mennonite leaders and members to visit Palestine and learn firsthand about the suffering there. Stutzman and the EB also wrote a letter to members of Mennonite Church USA, asking them to read and discuss the Kairos document, to study Scriptures together on the matter and to consider how their financial lives may be enmeshed in the occupation of Israel.

In 2013, the EB underscored its desire to help the church more fully understand both the Israeli and Palestinian experiences and the role of Christian Zionism in this conflict. A “Come and See” fund was established with initial contributions from Mennonite Central Committee U.S., Mennonite Mission Network and Everence to offer some scholarships for present and future learning tours. Individuals, agencies and local congregations covered the remainder, according to Stoner.

For more reflections from learning tour participants, see: www.mennoniteusa.org/2014/02/26/israel-palestine-learning-tour-travelogue

The next Israel/Palestine learning tour is scheduled for October 2014 and will include participants from Franconia Mennonite Conference, Eastern District Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference. There are limited spots available and some possible financial assistance is available as well. Contact Steve Kriss, skriss@mosaicmennonites.org, to express interest and learn more. To be considered as part of the delegation, you must contact Steve by April 7, 2014. This trip is intended for persons who have not previously traveled to the region.

Local churches to offer hospitality for 2015 MWC Assembly

February 26, 2014 by Emily Ralph Servant

Mennonite World Conference Staff

Gahira sat on the street, resting from her one-mile walk into the city.

Cheryl (United States) had met Gahira on the plane into Axum, Ethiopia. After using gestures and drawings to get to know one another, Gahira made it clear that she wanted to serve Cheryl coffee, an Ethiopian act of hospitality.

When they had parted at the airport, Cheryl wasn’t sure if she would ever see the Ethiopian woman again. But here Gahira was, a woven basket of injera and a carafe of coffee in hand. Cheryl gathered coffee cups from the hotel and sat on the patio with Gahira and her son, an interpreter, and the other members of Cheryl’s touring party.

“Together we celebrated our presence in this place,” Cheryl reflected later. “This place made holy by the warm, loving gesture of Gahira.” (read the full story)

Cheryl and her companions were just some of the hundreds who participated in Assembly Scattered in 2003, where they encountered the people, ministries, and stories of Anabaptist churches in an urban area or community while traveling to or from the Mennonite World Conference Assembly Gathered in Zimbabwe.

In 2015, Assembly Scattered will take place in communities across North America immediately before and after the Assembly Gathered in Harrisburg, PA, USA on July 21-26, 2015. These visits provide opportunities for Anabaptist brothers and sisters from around the world to get a taste of the church in North America and for hosts to experience the wonderful diversity of the global family of faith.

“After 20-some hours on planes, with my body clock six hours off, I finally arrived in Harare, Zimbabwe, eager for rest and sleep,” remembers Daniel (United States). It was dark when he arrived at his hosts’ home, but the evening meal was ready. “[Canaan and Listei] had me sit down in the living room in front of a coffee table arrayed with food.”

Listei washed his hands in a Zimbabwean gesture of welcome. “She apologized that she couldn’t kneel before me because her knees were stiff,” says Daniel. “We older people understand each other on a subject like this.” (read the full story)

The 2015 Assembly Scattered will open doors for building new relationships with Anabaptists from around the world. Each location will include partnerships among local congregations and ministries to introduce participants to a specific context of Anabaptism in North America. Although the participants are responsible for their own travel arrangements and paying for their own lodging and food for the 1-3 day trip, local communities are encouraged to offer hospitality.

“Despite the additional work involved, it was a great privilege to serve borscht [soup] to so many visitors,” says the main cook at the KM 81 Mennonite Leprosy Hospital in Paraguay, which hosted an Assembly Scattered group in 2009. “I dare say that most enjoyed the food and showed their appreciation by singing beautiful hymns.” (read the full story)

Groups of North American churches are invited to submit applications to host an Assembly Scattered in their community. Go online at www.mwc-cmm.org/pa2015 and click on “Assembly Scattered” for more information and registration forms.

“I’m looking forward to working with North American churches that are eager to extend hospitality to guests in their communities,” says Evanna Hess, the newly appointed Assembly Scattered coordinator from central Pennsylvania. “It will be exciting to see the friendships that develop as a result of their hospitality.”

The deadline for submitting proposals is June 1, 2014.

Won't you be my neighbor?

February 25, 2014 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Brooke Natalie Blough, West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship

As a white woman who somewhat recently moved into an area that is considered to be “gentrifying,” I try to be acutely aware of my impact on my community. Dannette Lambert’s article on “how not to be a gentrifier” was exactly what I needed. I absolutely love my neighborhood and its diversity, so a practical guide on being a positive force in your community for everyone gave me so much to think about and put in action.

The one piece of advice this article gives that I find the most powerful is her recommendation to view everyone you see in your neighborhood as your neighbor. This seems obvious, but it’s so easy to look at people who are different from you or even distasteful to you as not really being a part of your community. The homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks, the women selling their bodies, the young men who look like someone who might rob you: They are all your neighbor.

That word is so heavy. Neighbor. It shows up all over the Bible. Old Testament laws command us to show our neighbors dignity and justice. When Jesus is asked, “What’s the most important commandment?” he answers that we must love God with everything we’ve got and to love our neighbor as ourselves. And when asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus tells us the parable of the Good Samaritan, teaching us that anyone could be our neighbor, we just have to accept them as part of our community and our lives.

Since I walk about half an hour to work every day, I see a lot of people. And Philadelphia is not New York — you are not just an anonymous and ignored person, invisibly walking down the sidewalk. In Philadelphia (and especially West Philly) you see and are seen by most everyone who walks past. Over the last few weeks, I have been intentionally thinking to myself as I approach each new person, “This is my neighbor.” Often, this has no effect on the way I treat that person; but sometimes when I see someone who is different from me or even distasteful to me, I can feel something in my attitude change when I think “This is my neighbor.”

That teenager who just dropped their trash on the ground is my neighbor.
That man who leered at me is my neighbor.
That mother who just screamed at her child is my neighbor.
That homeless person who just asked me for money is my neighbor.
That angry-looking person who didn’t return my smile is my neighbor.

Jesus didn’t tell us what set number of people we are to consider our neighbors, but showed us that anyone we encounter can be our neighbor if we open ourselves up to the responsibility of claiming them as part of our community. If I have a right to be a part of this community, so do they. If I am deserving of grace, so are they.

Jesus didn’t just ask us to love our neighbor, he asked us to love our neighbor as ourselves. That change in attitude can best be summed up as me asking myself, “How would I want to be treated if I were them?” Looking at my daily interactions through this lens has helped me tap into a well of compassion and empathy I didn’t know I had. The practice of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is humbling.

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” — Gal. 5:14

Brooke Natalie Blough lives in Philadelphia, Pa., and works at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a regular attender of West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship and writes at Now Faith, where this blog first appeared.

Shaped locally, connected widely

February 19, 2014 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Steve Kriss, Director of Leadership Cultivation
(reposted from Mennonite World Review)

I attended my first binational conference ministers gathering in December. This meeting happens annually with conference leaders from Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA.

It’s a closed meeting where leaders from coast to coast share the burdens and joys of their work. Conference work is lonely and difficult these days. The forces of postmodernity menace our fragile unions, which cross theological, economic, cultural and geographic boundaries.

Conference ministers gather in these times for prayer and frank conversation. As the new guy in the room, I noticed the high levels of commitment and the near impossibility of the tasks these dedicated men and women are called to do.

I wondered why in the world anyone would want to do this kind of work. I wondered whether I have the faith and fortitude it requires.

In MC USA and MC Canada, the role of conferences is increasingly pinched. Due to economics and sociopolitics, conference systems can struggle to find senses of purpose and voice. It can be hard to speak and act coherently in the midst of near constant discernment. This makes it difficult to be a conference and a cohesive denomination.

Our systems were constructed for different times — before the Internet changed how we organize and relate, before we advocated a missional framework that can encourage congregations and communities to take their contexts so seriously that the voices of the neighborhood play as loud as the voices of the denomination.

As a conference leader, I find myself situated at a perfectly impossible intersection. I work in a voluntary system with mostly decreasing financial resources to do a job that requires an ever-increasing amount of relational investment, coordination and sensitivity.

As we take the call to mission more seriously, what it means to be Mennonite is increasingly shaped locally. Bridging the gap between these localities and the conference is a task filled with tension and interpretation.

I’m writing this article at the airport in Atlanta on my way back from a congregational visit with Georgia Praise Center. It’s a Franconia Conference Indonesian-speaking congregation that meets just north of Atlanta’s Chinatown. It has strong connections to the Philadelphia Indonesian Mennonite community.

I’m here to celebrate the congregation’s third anniversary, which lands intentionally at the onset of Lunar New Year. This year Franconia adjusted a meeting date, recognizing that 10 percent of our congregations celebrate Lunar New Year. It’s these kind of realities that make the role of conferences and conference leadership tricky.

The anniversary celebration featured Chinese dance, a sermon in Indonesian from Franconia’s first Indonesian pastor and solos by high school students with music that plays on Atlanta’s contemporary Christian radio stations. Georgia Praise takes a lot of cues from Jakarta Praise, a Mennonite megachurch in Indonesia.

My job as a conference minister is to be here to bless, celebrate and live alongside the beauty at the intersection of three identities: Mennonite, Sino-Indonesian and Atlantan. For me it’s both overwhelming and invigorating.

What I’ve glimpsed in my work is that our hope is tied up with these points of intersection. It’s the unexpected juxtaposing that offers signs of the Spirit at work. We’re moving into space where God’s Good News can flourish.

My work is sustained by the Spirit in these moments. I trust that in the midst of my own lack of faith and fortitude, the reign of God still comes near.

I have the holy and seemingly impossible opportunity to notice and proclaim the intentions of the Creator. And I remember the words of Jesus, that with God even the impossible can be a reality.

MCC U.S. Summer Service Program going strong

February 18, 2014 by Emily Ralph Servant

Summer Service worker Mya Ray demonstrates to Joanne Dietzel, conference coordinator for Lancaster (Pa.) Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA, a way of weaving as done by Burmese women. Ray, who immigrated to the U.S. from Thailand after fleeing Myanmar, the southeast Asian nation also known as Burma, served with her home congregation, Habecker Mennonite Church in Lancaster, in 2011 and 2012. (MCC photo/Kim Dyer) — Summer Service worker Mya Ray demonstrates to Joanne Dietzel, conference coordinator for Lancaster (Pa.) Mennonite Conference, a way of weaving as done by Burmese women. Ray, who immigrated to the U.S. from Thailand after fleeing Myanmar, the southeast Asian nation also known as Burma, served with her home congregation, Habecker Mennonite Church in Lancaster, in 2011 and 2012. (MCC photo/Kim Dyer)

by Ed Nyce, Mennonite Central Committee

AKRON, Pa. – For years Keshia Kay Littlebear of Billings, Mont., was certain where her path would take her when she was older and the summers rolled around. She was going to be an MCC U.S. Summer Service worker.

From 2002 to 2005 she was just that – spending 10 weeks of her summers serving at White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church in Busby, Mont. She worked with recreational activities and as youth ministry coordinator.

Eventually she supervised the church’s Summer Service program while honing leadership skills that, she said, she uses to this day as a board member of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Central States and other service in her church and denomination.

The Summer Service program is a short-term MCC U.S. initiative that supports young people of color in their development of leadership skills through working with their local churches or communities. The program partners with churches that are members of MCC U.S.’ supporting denominations and related organizations. Since the program’s 1982 inception, 1,387 people have participated. (Franconia Conference’s Philadelphia Praise Center has been a participating congregation on more than one occasion.)

A 2013 review of the Summer Service program led by MCC U.S. Anti-oppression Coordinator Ewuare Osayande elicited feedback from participant churches, former and current Summer Service workers, and MCC staff and board members.

Danilo Sanchez, seen here leading worship at Franconia’s 2008 Conference Assembly, will begin work as the MCC Summer Service national coordinator in late February.

Survey participants consistently affirmed the program for providing service and leadership development opportunities for youth of color. As a result, the U.S. board increased funding for the program and expanded the position of national coordinator to half time. Danilo Sanchez, Whitehall congregation, will start in that position in late February.

Sarah Thompson was a Summer Service worker for nearly three months in 2004 at Prairie Street Mennonite Church, Elkhart, Ind., where she is a member. She worked with children’s programs and as a community organizer.

“I had just taken a community organizing course at Spelman College,” said Thompson. “Meanwhile, MCC Summer Service was about developing leadership in home communities. So it was a perfect fit.

“Prairie Street created my Summer Service position because of a pressing need in the community to organize to resist city hall’s decision to destroy a local school building rather than renovate it,” said Thompson. Since the decision was made without the input of local residents, Thompson’s job empowered her to canvass the neighborhood and discover what the community wanted. At the end of the summer the community reported the findings to city hall, which “initially halted the wrecking ball,” she said.

The work catalyzed the next few years of community organizing that made it possible for the building to be saved; it is now on the state historical register. In addition, the project brought together members of the community from diverse backgrounds to work collaboratively, she said. Today the building serves as housing and an active community center.

As a college student, working with her home church and community in the summer helped her to stay grounded even during the school year, she said. That connection continues today for Thompson, who has stayed involved with MCC in numerous ways since Summer Service and was recently appointed executive director of Christian Peacemaker Teams. She lives in Chicago.

Last year, Hannah Nursalim, of Los Angeles, served with her church, Maranatha Christian Fellowship, in Northridge, Calif., and with Christian Legal Aid of Los Angeles (CLA-LA), based in Inglewood. At church, she performed support tasks related to worship and a fundraising event. Nursalim studies at University of Washington in Seattle.

Seeing CLA-LA colleagues assist people needing legal advice on immigration, crime-related matters and more “definitely made me want to pursue a career in helping people,” she said.

Lani Prunés was a Summer Service worker for three summers at Oxford Circle Christian Community Development Association (OCCCDA) in Philadelphia, a ministry of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, her home congregation. Prunés is a senior at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Prunés was co-director in 2009 and 2010 and sole director in 2011 of OCCCDA’s Summer Art and Enrichment Program, a day camp for children. She supervised campers and counselors, assisted in hiring and facilitated conflict resolution among campers. In addition, she contacted parents when necessary, helped set curriculum and schedules and created pamphlets.

“I think being in Summer Service showed me ways to use the gifts God gave me – even before I realized I had them,” she said. Prunés added that she can see how God used her to do good, but also used others to provide spiritual guidance to her that set her along her current paths.

“Summer Service was … crucial to the summer camp’s development,” she said. “The camp really needed leaders who could put the time into all the work that it takes, and being a service worker meant being able to commit fully and entirely to projects and more importantly, to the campers.”

Churches too benefit from Summer Service, said Kim Dyer of MCC East Coast, former national coordinator of the program. “Through the grant support of MCC, churches are able to further their dreams for ministry and outreach by utilizing the skills and gifts of a young adult from their congregation.”

Prunés recommended the Summer Service program, with one helpful hint. “Absolutely,” said Prunés when asked, “but only to those who are willing to be vulnerable and commit themselves to the people they encounter and the mission they hope to fulfill.”

Nursalim agreed. “In the summer months, it’s easy to be home, hanging out with friends, but Summer Service allows you to do something meaningful with your time.”

Pittsburgh congregation closes as economy improves

February 12, 2014 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Emily Ralph, associate director of communication

Greensburg Worship Center has closed its doors as of December 2013. Greensburg, which joined the conference in 2010, was a predominantly Indonesian congregation located in the suburbs of Pittsburgh.

“Greensburg closed for similar reasons that it opened—the economic migration of Indonesian immigrants due to employment opportunities elsewhere,” explained Steve Kriss, Greensburg’s LEADership Minister. “The congregation grew at the height of the economic downturn, when there were more employment opportunities in Pittsburgh than in other areas. As the economy recovered, individuals moved back to larger Indonesian communities on the east coast.”

Many of the people who were part of Greensburg congregation moved to Philadelphia and are actively participating in Nations Worship Center, a sister congregation.

It may be difficult for some in a conference community that includes established, centuries-old congregations to grasp the kind of fluidity that leads a congregation to close after only four years, but for congregations working mostly with individuals who have recently immigrated, the forces of the economy are felt more intensely. “It’s possible these kinds of stories will become less unusual,” said Kriss. “We celebrate the conference Indonesian community’s responsiveness to the increased presence of Indonesian immigrants in Pittsburgh and in facilitating transitions back to Philadelphia.”

Although Pittsburgh is beyond the geographic boundaries usually associated with Franconia Conference, the conference has a history of flexibility when it comes to church planting, equipping and supporting church plants by Franconia Conference members who have migrated elsewhere—even as far away as Mexico or Hawaii. “Franconia Conference has a tradition of extending its ministry to where its people have gone,” said Kriss. “It’s part of our missional, entrepreneurial, and pastoral DNA as a community.”

Racial-ethnic leaders want expanded leadership pool

February 4, 2014 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Anna Groff, The Mennonite (reposted by permission)

Forty-five participants gathered in Leesburg, Va., Jan. 30-Feb. 2, for the third installment of Hope for the Future.

Hope for the Future is a gathering for Mennonite leaders of color and other Mennonite leaders to work on finding solutions for culturally appropriate leadership development.

The first meeting was held Jan. 9-11, 2011, in Tampa, Fla., and the second was held Jan. 25-27, 2013, also in Leesburg.

The first two meetings were open only to members of under-represented racial/ethnic groups (Africans, African Americans, Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans).

This year was the first time members of the dominant culture were invited to join for part of the meeting. About 10 white leaders joined the gathering.

On the final day, the participants named three areas of focus that came out of the previous day’s work.

The three areas include more networking opportunities, expanding the pool of leaders and intentionality by “credible” leaders to ensure access to resources for leaders of color.

Regarding the need to expand the pool of leaders, Ertell Whigham, executive minister of Franconia Mennonite Conference, said, “There’s a small pool of people that get overexposed.”

Several participants mentioned concrete ways to expand this pool—especially for leaders of color.

These ideas include cultivating leaders as young as high school age, keeping in touch with leaders as they transition to college and throughout their life, being sensitive to gender issues and offering networking opportunities for young people of color.

Another theme that emerged throughout the gathering was access to the “invisible playbook”—the unwritten rules in a culture that those new to the dominant culture feel pressure to learn.

Mentors and credible leaders of the dominant culture must offer insights into this playbook to minority leaders.

Iris De León-Hartshorn, director of transformative peacemaking, also pointed out the significance of “being in relationship.”

She said she hears agencies ask, “Why don’t these [minority groups] come to our events or use our material?”

De León-Hartshorn challenged the agency representatives to visit the communities and gatherings of people of color first.

“Relationships have to be intentional,” she said.

She provided several upcoming opportunities this year: the Native Assembly in Winnipeg July 28-31 and the Iglesia Menonite Hispana and African-American Mennonite Associate conferences in August.

On Feb. 1, Luke Hartman called on the members of the dominant culture to move beyond acting as allies or advocates. The term ally, in particular is “overutilized, played out, tired,” he said.

Allies demonstrate support to those in the minority group, and advocates voice their responsibility to bring social change, said Hartman, who is vice president for enrollment at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va.

However, he asked the white leaders present to work as “agents of change” that have the “power to act to create change.”

“It’s more than a social relationship,” he said. “[Agents] engage in strategic action designed to bring about ongoing organizational improvement.”

The gathering also included times of worship led by Moniqua Acosta. Isaac Villagas, pastor of Chapel Hill (N.C.) Mennonite Fellowship, and Stanley Green, executive director of Mennonite Mission Network, offered the messages.

Villegas spoke about recognizing God in the strangers among us as well the power in Communion.

“Jesus turns the table on ‘host’ and ‘guest’ in Communion and reminds us we are guests in God’s house,” he said on Feb. 2.

On Feb. 1, Green—referring to Acts 13—said that the cosmopolitan and diverse nature of the church in Antioch demonstrates God’s “design for the church.”

The next Hope for the Future gathering is scheduled for Jan. 22-25, 2015, with the location to be decided.

intercultural

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