Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

intercultural

What does Franconia Conference do together?

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by Steve Kriss, Philadelphia Praise Center, skriss@mosaicmennonites.org

Lani Prunes worked through Oxford Circle Mennonite Church's summer arts and education initiative that was supported through a Missional Operational Grant.

Franconia Conference: Together. Bersama, Juntos. Cúng Nhau.

This sense of togetherness, of Conference, is a relationship that is sometimes tense and sometimes harmonious, counter to the individualistic and isolationist impulses of our time. We are striving to be held together as congregations, under a common willingness to follow after Jesus, to live in this historic and contemporary Anabaptist stream, to give and receive counsel, to share our gifts and resources, all for the glory of God.

Together. Bersama, Juntos. Cúng Nhau.

Posters with these words were distributed at Conference Assembly 2011. But the question sometimes lingers—what does Conference do?

Equipping congregations

Franconia Conference, in the form of our new LEADership minister, Jenifer Eriksen-Morales, has been helping our ministry enormously these past 11 months. She began with a major review of my pastoral leadership and of the whole congregation that was so helpful in identifying strengths and issues for clarification.

—Dawn Ruth Nelson, Pastor, Methacton congregation

Franconia Conference equips healthy and growing leaders.

Primarily through the credentialing and accountability process for pastors, chaplains and ministers, Conference provides structures for leadership. The conference’s oversight platform—LEAD—is designed to equip and train congregations. Right now, there are over 120 credentialed leaders from the conference community serving in six states and three countries—probably an all-time high as congregations are calling for more pastors and the field of ministry continues to expand beyond traditional settings.

Empowering new congregations

This February, by God’s grace, Georgia Praise Center celebrated our one year anniversary. Throughout this year, Franconia Conference has graciously supported us in so many ways. We are very grateful for the encouragement, guidance, and financial support that have been given to us. We feel strengthened and honored to be a part of one big family of Franconia Conference. We pray that with God’s blessing, our family will grow even more in the years to come. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all of our brothers and sisters in the Conference.

—Yunus Perkasa Tjeng, Pastor, Georgia Praise Center

Pastor Yunus of Georgia Praise Center, Atlanta, prays for congregation members PiPih and Ninis during an outdoor service. Georgia Praise Center received a Missional Operational Grant for their relaunch in February of 2011.

Franconia Conference works diligently to cultivate healthy and growing congregations.

Healthy and growing leaders will likely bring forth healthy and growing communities. While equipping leaders is the conference’s primary task, healthy and growing communities are tended by our relationships together. Conference staff members support congregations through transitions, reviews, and conflict—situations that up to 20% of congregations are facing at any one time! While ensuring ongoing health, Conference relationships provoke congregations toward missional experimentation and calling next generation leadership. This process becomes critical as congregations embody the Good News in our diverse settings from Vermont to Georgia.

Cross Cultural Exchange with Academia Menonita
Students from Philadelphia Mennonite High School went on college exploration, cross-cultural, and intercessory prayer trips, thanks in part to a Missional Operational Grant from Franconia Conference. PMHS Students Rashod (far left) Langston, Aaron, and Darnell (right) are pictured here with students from Academia Menonita.

Franconia Conference invites people into healthy and growing relationships with Jesus Christ.

Conference priorities include ongoing spiritual growth from cradle to grave—priorities evidenced in our congregations but also in our Conference Related Ministries, organizations that serve a cross section of people from both within and beyond our congregations. From schools to ex-offender ministries to senior living communities to service providers for people with disabilities to camps and retreat facilities, Conference Related Ministries extend the Good News alongside congregational discipleship. The formation work of Conference is also especially incarnated through conference staffing intended specifically for youth and young adults.

Through Conference’s endowed funds, Missional Operational Grants are provided to congregations for initiatives to further extend the Good News in their communities. All congregations are eligible for these funds, which are most often used for new missional initiatives that allow the life of the congregation to extend the reign of God both nearby and sometimes globally. In recent years, 10-20 initiatives have received grants annually; $68,000 has been earmarked for 2012 grants. Congregations may apply for funds through conversations with their LEADership ministers.

Equipping leaders: One significant role that Franconia Conference has played in the life of our church has been walking with us during our recent pastoral search process. Noah Kolb, as a Conference representative, was instrumental in providing a list of available candidates. As our team assessed and interviewed candidates, he was available for guidance and wise counsel along each step of the way. [And now] Franconia Conference provides further training and credentialing for this pastor. It is reassuring to us to know they are also part of evaluating and confirming this individual for service.

—Karen Moyer, pastoral search committee chair,Rocky Ridge congregation

Franconia Conference builds healthy and growing connections between congregations and the world.

Missional Operational Grants

February 2011-January 2012
$62,259.91

Boyertown Mennonite Church
Deep Run East Mennonite Church
Doylestown Mennonite Church
Frederick Mennonite Church
Georgia Praise Center
Good Shepherd Community Church
Greensburg Worship Center
Line Lexington Mennonite Church
Nations Worship Center
New Hope Fellowship
Nueva Vida Norristown New Life
Oxford Circle Mennonite Church
Perkiomenville Mennonite Church
Philadelphia Mennonite High School
Providence Mennonite Church
Ripple Allentown
Rock Community Church
Rockhill Mennonite Church
Souderton Mennonite Church
Whitehall Mennonite Church

Historically, Conference has been both a governance body and a mission agency. Franconia Mennonite Mission Board was incorporated into conference structures around the turn of the millennium. This has not always been easy. In recent years, Conference has sought to build relationships with other Anabaptist groups across the world, especially in the UK and Haiti. At times, Conference has picked up relationships and conversation that spans the globe on behalf of congregations in places like Indonesia, Mexico, and Chile. Conference has maintained historic connections to places where mission workers were sent in the 20th Century, specifically Cuba and Mexico.

When Mennonite Church USA was formed over a decade ago, Franconia Conference joined the new national body. Conference is the primary point of connection with the denomination, participating on behalf of its congregations along with 20 other conferences across the country. This means conference staff and board members regularly attend meetings and attend to relationships that are both near and far.

Empowering ministries

Christopher Dock Mennonite High School deeply appreciates the collaborative relationship with Franconia Conference. This year we have worked together to hire and share a campus pastor/conference youth minister. Ertell Whigham and John Goshow have been a wonderful face of Conference attending Dock events such as pastors’ day, and providing counsel throughout the year. Our journey together is energizing and life-giving as we surround our youth with the support needed to prepare them to impact our churches and world.

—Conrad Swartzentruber, Principal, Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Franconia Conference: Together. Bersama, Juntos. Cúng Nhau.

Franconia Conference is a complex organism with partnerships and ministries that span the globe, with a history of over 350 years, older than the United States itself. It’s not easily explained, multi-faceted, and in many ways blessed by years of faithfulness evidenced in risk and caution, generosity and savvy stewardship. Our story is one of togetherness, of trying to stay rightly related in the midst of dramatic changes. Our history, the story of God’s movement through the generations, is ongoing. By the power of the Spirit, may we have the courage to not only preserve but to dream, to not only remain but to go, to not only endure but to flourish.

May our stories abound

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Emily Ralph, Salford, eralphservant@mosaicmennonites.org

"Unexpected hard places will always be with us—may the reaching out stories abound." —Jeff Knightly

Unexpected hard places seem to be more common these days. No matter where we turn, we’re surrounded by hard stories—budget cuts, layoffs, natural disasters, school shootings, illness, and broken dreams. It’s unavoidable.

Yet in the midst of difficulty and trouble, the reaching out stories abound. The overwhelming mutual support of conference congregations who have been blessed by the ministry of Nueva Vida Norristown (Pa) New Life. Missional experiments in gardening and block parties and dance teams and computer labs. Schools and camps that are discipling children to be radical followers of Jesus. New and emerging leaders who have a passion for the way of Jesus, even as they enter ministry in challenging times.

As I read through the stories in this issue of Intersections, I am struck by our need for one another. Would people like John and Sheryl be leaders today if their families and church friends had not identified and encouraged their leadership gifts? From the individuals, congregations, and businesses that stepped up to join Nueva Vida Norristown’s capital campaign, I heard a motivation to join the Kingdom work that is happening in that setting, as described by Rose Bender, pastor of Whitehall (Pa) congregation.

And why would a church near Allentown want to participate in the work of a congregation that’s over an hour away?

Because we don’t find our identity in our geography, our ethnicities, or our place in the world’s economy—we are God’s people, “a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, [we] can show others the goodness of God, for he called [us] out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” (2 Peter 2:9-10, NLT)

God has formed us into a community. And we need each other.

Earlier this year, Conference board and staff met together to discuss the purpose of Franconia Conference structures and staffing. A growing consensus was that “Conference” is more of a network than an institution, here to connect and train congregations and leaders for God’s mission in the world.

And as a network, it is so important that we share our stories with one another. We cheer when others celebrate, we mourn when others grieve, we give when others are in need. And in our time, we also receive.

In the coming months, you may notice some changes in the communication coming from the conference office:

  • A weekly email newsletter to pastors (also available on our website: mosaicmennonites.org/intersectings) that contains the latest news, blogs, and social media updates from around our conference.
  • A new 4-page format to Intersections that will be published in English, Indonesian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
  • Connections: a new podcast celebrating our connections in Christ through stories and interviews.
  • Continued experimentation with technologies that allow us to connect with one another despite time, distance, and language barriers, using video, podcasting, and social media.

Unexpected hard places will always be with us. But that isn’t the end of the story. There are also unexpected places of joy, understanding, and growth. May our reaching out stories abound!

Does your congregation have a story to share? E-mail stories, photos, videos, or blogs to eralphservant@mosaicmennonites.org. And don’t forget to share meaningful moments from congregational life using #fmclife on Twitter!

Peace Mug Awarded to Dr. Priscilla Benner, MAMA Project

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Becky Felton (right) presents Dr. Benner with the Peace Mug

Feb. 11, 2012 – Dr. Priscilla Benner received this year’s Franconia Conference Peace Mug Award during the Winter Peace Retreat at Spruce Lake.  Dr. Benner has been involved since the early 1980’s in the visioning and creation of the organization named MAMA Project. MAMA, which stands for Mujeres Amigas (Women Friends) Miles Apart, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

MAMA grew out of what Ruth Cole, Dr. Benner’s sister, and others witnessed for themselves during mission trips to Honduras in 1983 and 1984. Her pictures and stories were shared in eight Mennonite Churches in the Franconia and Eastern District Conferences, and with women’s mission groups which then reached out to the Mennonite Women’s Organization of the Honduran Mennonite Church, and a partnership was formed.

Dr. Benner grew up in a community where all the influential people in her life were intensely nationalistic.  She was introduced to the Mennonite peace perspective when she married David Benner, but the horrible things she witnessed in Central America – extreme poverty, war and militarization, fueled by her beloved country – shattered her world view and transformed her life.

From the outset MAMA has focused on families with children living at risk for early death from malnutrition, beginning with the “Superbar” and “Super Cookies” projects. Since then, MAMA has grown significantly, being involved in direct aid with food supplements, nutrition and childcare education, literacy, scholarships; and when crises such as floods occur, rescue, relief, and reconstruction projects. At times, MAMA’s work has included loans, home construction, latrine and water projects, but today most construction is focused on cementing floors in poor homes.

MAMA has also had a significant role to play in the sphere of national health policy and has had influence in Honduras and in other countries by partnering with others and sharing its materials, systems, and perspectives. Dr. Benner says, “We take teams to work in and experience Honduras, and hope and pray that the fire of their own passion for service will be fueled by this experience.”

Peace Mugs, provided by the Peace and Justice Support Network (PJSN) of Mennonite Church USA and awarded by our conference Peace & Justice Committee, honor those among us who demonstrate a lifelong commitment to peace and justice.

Relationships percolate at Top of the World

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By Wil LaVeist of Mennonite Mission Network

Coffee Shop - front profile
Top of the World Coffee Shop’s primary mission is to be “God-honoring in every aspect.” Photo provided.

Entering the front door of Top of the World Coffee in Nepal, the aroma of fresh roasted brew draws you toward the corner of the café.

Across the brick-colored floor and beyond the black metal chairs and tables, a smiling Dale Nafziger works behind the coffee roasting machine, the source of the aroma.

It’s not Starbucks but even better, particularly for the soul. This coffee shop is the vision of Dale and Bethsaba Nafziger, long-term Mennonite Mission Network workers.

“It’s very different. It’s homey and cozy,” says Bethsaba of Top of the World, which they opened Dec. 11, 2011. “We thought a coffee shop would be a wonderful place to be with the people.”

The Nafzigers are fishers of men and women, only their bait is a blend of steaming cups, caring conversation and business integrity. They share God’s love through their business ventures. From selling frozen French fries, pizza and fruit juice to roasting coffee beans and pulling shots of espresso, they model Anabaptist principles and business ethics as a way of bearing witness to God’s love and power.

The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is in South Asia between India and Tibet. Hindus make up more than 75 percent of the country’s population, while Christians are less than 2 percent. Economic life among Nepal’s 30 million citizens has been improving. While about 25 percent of the population lives on less than the international poverty level of $1.25 per day, or $1,000 annually, a decade ago the rate was 41 percent.

Dale with the Roaster
Dale Nafziger, a long-term mission worker in Nepal, with Top of the World’s coffee roaster. The coffee shop staff roasts all of the coffee the store sells. Photo provided.

Still, conducting business is tough in Nepal, the Nafzigers say. For many business owners—even Christians, unfortunately—paying bribes and avoiding taxes is believed to be as necessary as having customers. Taxes can be as high as paying a worker’s salary, Dale says.

The Nafzigers opened Top of the World (because they are in the Himalaya Mountains) just before Christmas in a residential neighborhood. Patrons have been steadily increasing, they say, but as with any business, it hasn’t all been a piece of coffeecake.

“We had an excellent first day, but after that we quickly confronted the reality of what it means to run a restaurant on a daily basis,” the Nafzigers write in their monthly newsletter update.

Two mission workers, Melissa & Jim*, arrived last September from Texas and from a different agency to join in the venture and handle day-to-day operations. Bethsaba is also a registered nurse and midwife, and both Bethsaba and Dale are leaders in church. Dale preaches and advises church leaders regularly.

Through the coffee shop and other business ventures, the Nafzigers aim to show that integrity is important, even if it costs more. As the deadline approached for completing Jim’s business visa, a bit of “speed money” would have expedited the process, Dale says. Jim and the Nafzigers declined to pay the bribe, and Jim’s visa was completed just 10 minutes before the deadline.

Consulting the staff
The Top of the World Coffee Shop staff is intentionally interfaith—Hindus, Muslims and Christians work side-by-side. Photo provided.

The Nafzigers are intentional about hiring people of different faiths and backgrounds. Three Hindus and three Christians make up the coffee shop’s six-member staff. “We meet the staff every day and pray with them,” says Bethsaba. “We never force them to pray with us, but we see them as being happy to come and pray in the morning.”

Bethsaba recalled an experience that illustrates the type of godly relationships they hope the coffee shop will foster. Before they met and eventually married, Reena and Prakash Thapa were working at the Nafzigers’ home. Particularly Reena witnessed the type of love that Dale and Bethsaba bestowed on their daughters, Shova, 14, and Sushma, 12. Reena Thapa felt devalued by her family, which is the case for many women in the culture.

The love she witnessed and received from the Nafzigers led her to accept Christ. Reena and Prakash, a carpenter, fell in love while meeting at the Nafzigers’ and now have a daughter. They now attend “Tejwasi” (Radiant) Church with the Nafzigers.

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The Nafzigers are supported by Franconia Conference congregations including Vincent, Providence, Doylestown, Plains, and Towamencin. Vincent is Dale’s home congregation and he still has family that attend there.  He will be at the June Pastors and Leaders Breakfast talking about what he learned through his business at Top of the World.

*Names changed

Long Haul Hope: Ash Wednesday Thoughts

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Ash Wednesday thoughts on wilderness, identifying with Jesus, and the tenacity of a few Colombian human rights workers

by Samantha E. Lioi

(This blog has been edited for length.  Download the full article here.)

Driven by the Holy Spirit, Jesus is in the wilderness with a lot of people these days.  It’s crowded, and the scarcity of resources keenly felt.  Even so, it is a place of surprising and dogged hope.

Last July I traveled to Colombia for two weeks on a Christian Peacemaker Teams delegation.  A truly international group of us – from Massachusetts, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ethiopia, India, and Illinois – became a team who would learn from, accompany, and support the CPT Colombia team and their partners, especially leaders of peasant-farmer or campesino organizations struggling to remain on their land or return to it.

Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness.

More than 5 million Colombians have been driven from their homes by armed men paid by international companies who will strip the land of resources until it is barren, then move on to take more.  Colombians who have done small-scale mining on their ancestral land for generations have been driven into a wilderness of displacement, into life as refugees in their own country.  They have organized to advocate for themselves, their communities and their livelihoods, continuing day after day, month after month into years to call for what is right, to demand that their land, their dignity, and their lives be respected.

Since July, I haven’t found very many words to speak about my time in Colombia.  But when I remembered Lent was coming, one of the Ash Wednesday texts from the second letter to the Corinthians reminded me of the Colombian human rights workers.  And it’s also talking to us.

Now is the time to be reconciled, it says – to God, yes, and to each other.  Now is the day of salvation, that is, holistic well-being and abundant life, peace between parent and child and man and woman and paramilitary and campesino, and peace between peoples and nations.  This is the hope of our faith.

So about hope.

Here in the U.S., especially among Anglos, despair is a very different choice than it is in Colombia.  If we give up hope, if we are no longer able or willing to care, if we become paralyzed by the horror and injustice of the truth of so many people’s lives, and if we become overwhelmed by the weight of evil in the world, nothing happens to our homes or our livelihoods.  Something happens to the kind of people we are – our character, our integrity – but we do not, in choosing apathy or hopelessness, immediately put our lives at risk.

It’s not that I never experienced fear while I was in Colombia. But my experience of being vulnerable to violence felt so minor compared to the fear of our Colombian partners that it mainly served to help me understand my U.S. passport-privilege more deeply.  Unlike some of our partners, I have no idea what it feels like to receive threats to my life and the lives of my family members, season after season, because I am telling the truth and calling for justice. Recently, the high-profile community of Las Pavas, whose people have returned to their land, has been accused of never having lived there to begin with, and are being prosecuted for invading and occupying private land – victims and survivors turned into criminals.  No wonder one finds Jesus among them.

When I came back home and resumed my day to day U.S. life, I asked myself a lot of questions: Why do this work explicitly as a Christian, when Christians are failing to act like Jesus left and right?  Do I really believe the kingdom of God is coming?  It seems far away.  The wolf lying down with the lamb and not eating it?  Really?  Every tear wiped away from our eyes, and no more death? Really?  The end of death?

The end of death?

But as these next 40 days of Lent stretch out in front of us, I still come back, hauling my doubt and cynicism, desiring to follow Jesus into the desert again.  I must believe this craziness.  The Bible itself–crazy and beautiful and comforting and deeply challenging to status-quos everywhere.  A God who brings life out of death.  A God who receives our most disordered, dysfunctional parts and gets them singing.

Almost as unbelievably, our partners in Colombia keep going.  With a faith and hope I wonder at and don’t quite understand, they keep struggling.  They keep imagining a time of justice, living their belief that people are created with the capacity to treat each other with dignity.  How can I quit if they haven’t quit?  What keeps me from being as bold and persistent as they are?

Somehow underneath my temptations to despair and give up, I do believe that all creatures, all that was made, all the universe, was created from love and for love.  That this love is underneath everything, that there is plenty of it.  That there is a pull, a wind, the Spirit of Jesus whispering among us, and perhaps shouting above the din, “Come with me and be awake to your hope and your fear.”  Beneath the sounds of killing and anxious constant motion, and in the spaces of clarity and quiet within us, the voice of a poor Nazarene teacher pulling us into the new things that are coming.

Now is the day of salvation – wholesale healing.  Now is the time to choose life, to choose a practice, something simple that will enable us, at the very least, to be aware of our own resistance to following Jesus.  To return to our God, or at least to admit we don’t know how, for that is a step toward a wilderness that could teach us something.  God, with a great sense of humor, trusts us.

Remarkable.

Hope for the duration, for the long haul – modeled for us by people who could have given up long ago.

Read a more detailed update on the Las Pavas community

Download a pdf of the full article.

Conference board and staff review vision & finance goals

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by Emily Ralph

board and staff discuss vision
Staff members listen intently as board members take turns in the “fishbowl,” discussing the VFP.  Pictured here are board members (L to R, inside) Rina Rampogu, Beny Krisbianto, Nelson Shenk, and Randy Nyce and staff members (L to R, outside) Steve Kriss, Noah Kolb, and Conrad Martin.  Photo by Emily Ralph.

Franconia Conference board and staff decided last month to phase out the conference’s Vision and Finance Plan.  The two groups gathered at Wellspring Church of Skippack (Pa.) on January 30 for a day-long retreat to discuss vision for the next five years.

Board and staff members reviewed and discussed the conference’s “E-3” vision (Equipping Leaders to Empower Others to Embrace God’s Mission), priorities (formational, missional, and intercultural), and the Vision and Finance Plan (VFP).  The group moved to consensus that the VFP, which was created in 2007 to give recommendations for decision-making about properties, staffing, and the implementation of the “E-3” Vision, had served an important function but had reached the end of its helpfulness.  The VFP was due for review this year.

The VFP worked to align vision with conference resources and was adopted by delegates at the 2007 Conference Assembly, according to board member Joe Hackman, Salford congregation, an original member of the VFP team.  “The plan was intended to frame the work of conference staff – to give a better picture of what conference is doing, why they are doing it, and how they are doing it,” he said.

Some of the specific goals of the VFP have been accomplished: development rights for the Indian Creek Farm are being sold with plans to pay off a portion of the mortgage on the conference’s Souderton Center property; the conference office was relocated and downsized; new modes of continuing education for credentialed leaders have been implemented.

Other goals remain important and ongoing, specifically the emphasis on healthy and growing churches, leaders, and connections.  “This is what I believe,” said Noah Kolb, pastor of ministerial leadership, as he reflected on the E-3 vision. “God is looking for communities of believers who are able to follow Jesus as he followed God, who are able to read the signs . . . and respond in specific ministries. But who leads [the disciples] with a sense of knowing where to go and what to do and how to listen? . . . It is well equipped leaders.”

The board and staff agreed that the main role of conference structures and staff was to equip, resource, and connect congregations, conference related ministries, and leaders.  To do this, the VFP will be phased out with new immediate, short-term, and longer range priorities established.  Conference Board will develop these priorities to be reviewed and implemented by staff.

“The church is the primary vehicle for God’s expression in the world,” said board member Jim Longacre, Bally congregation, as others nodded in agreement, “not individuals, but a community.”  The role of the conference, he suggested, is to do only what congregations can’t do alone.

And, added assistant moderator Marta Castillo. Nueva Vida Norristown New Life, to focus on God’s mission. “As we pray for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, we know that the church is only an instrument in God’s hand and our work is to be a part of missio Dei [mission of God],” she said.  “At this time, for Franconia Conference, it means that we have to change.”

Even in a time of change and movement, some things will remain the same, said Ertell M. Whigham Jr., executive minister.  “The ageless goals are . . . equipping healthy and growing leaders.  That doesn’t change—it doesn’t matter how many years have passed.”

February 22 (Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent) has been set aside as a day of prayer and discernment for conference board and staff as they continue to seek God’s vision for the conference together.  Please continue to be in prayer for conference leaders; contact Sandy Landes, prayer coordinator, for more information on how you can support this day in prayer.

MWC executive secretary preaches in Philadelphia

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by Adrian Suryajaya, adrian_190192@hotmail.com

[singlepic id=3024 w=320 h=240 float=right]”There is not one culture that fully knows who Jesus is. That is why we need another culture to complete the character of Jesus.” That is the heart of the message Mennonite World Conference’s new executive secretary Cesar Garcia gave the congregation at Philadelphia Praise Center (PPC).

On January 29, Garcia made his Franconia Conference debut at PPC–a growing multiethnic and multilingual congregation in South Philadelphia that worships in English, Indonesian and Spanish.   “I am amused to see the little print on the bulletin that says ‘Multiethnic Church’,” said Garcia. “By being a multicultural church, you can be an example to other churches in North America.”

His message, affirming the call of multiethnic congregations, became a form of confirmation for the congregation according to Aldo Siahaan, PPC’s lead pastor. “As a pastor of a multiethnic church, I felt that Pastor Garcia’s message was an affirmation of what the church has been doing and it will always be a vision of Philadelphia Praise Center,” he said. “It is not easy and each culture needs to learn from one another. However, this will not become a hindrance because we believe that this is God’s plan for the church.”

Garcia offered God’s vision in Revelation 7:16-17 about what could happen if the church heeds God’s calling and remains faithful. “We will find consolation and satisfaction in God,” he said. “There will be no more emptiness in our life as long as we are faithful to heed his calling.”

Lindy Backues, a member of the congregation’s elder team, also felt the resonance of God’s plan for Philadelphia Praise Center through Pastor Garcia’s message. “I am very, very, very enthusiastic about the message!” Backues said. “Cross-cultural congregations are very rare [and] relevant today because it forces us out of our comfort zone. . . . It is easy to love people from the same culture. However, if we can reach out and love our brothers and sisters from other cultures, then the love that Jesus speaks about is fulfilled.”

Garcia, born in Colombia, is the first executive secretary for Mennonite World Conference who is a native of the 2/3rds world.  He began this position this spring and recently completed graduate studies in California.  Garcia and his family, along with the main offices of Mennonite World Conference, are now relocating to Bogata.

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Allentown Mennonites gather for Tet worship celebration

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[singlepic id=3001 w=320 h=240 float=right]The Mennonite Church USA congregations in Pennsylvania’s third largest city hadn’t to anyone’s recollection gathered for worship together until Sunday, January 29, at the Vietnamese Gospel Mennonite Church.  The four diverse communities—Vietnamese Gospel Mennonite Church, Whitehall Mennonite Church and Ripple all associated with Franconia Conference and Christ Fellowship, an Eastern District Conference congregation—met together to celebrate Tet (Vietnamese New Year) through an eclectic multilingual worship that featured singing in three languages, Scripture reading in six languages, and storytelling from each congregation on the theme of God’s abundance in a time of scarcity.

Vietnamese Gospel Mennonite Church pastor Hien Truong welcomed those gathered, explaining, “Vietnamese New Year is a marking of springtime.  It’s a time of new growth and a special time of asking forgiveness and moving into new ways of building relationships.”  While planned by a team from the four congregations, the gathered worship took on a Vietnamese flair with scripture blessings distributed to adults and traditional li xi gifts ($2 bills in red envelopes) for children.  Afterward, the congregations enjoyed a carry-in meal that was held together around Vietnamese New Year foods.

According to Rose Bender, pastor at Whitehall Mennonite who also helped plan the gathered worship, “The worship service was such a joyous occasion for me because of the great diversity of God’s kingdom that was represented.  It was a foreshadowing of heaven—all nations, all tribes—declaring God’s glory! . . .  I am so excited to see what God is doing in the Lehigh Valley—and encouraged by four small congregations coming together and proclaiming God’s bounty as we face a new year.”

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