Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Intersections

Reflections from Mexico City: CIEAMM celebrates fifty years

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J. Mark and Emma Frederick

From Emma . . .On a November Sunday morning, J. Mark and I sat in an auditorium in the center of Mexico City surrounded by brothers and sisters, many of whom we hadn’t seen for a long time. It is seven years since we left Mexico. We’ve been back a few times and have been in contact with many of them now and then. But in this setting whole families gathered together and it felt like a family reunion. The children I taught in Sunday School are teenagers and I had to concentrate on their faces to recognize them. The teenagers are now adults and leaders in the church. Young couples have reached middle age, and some gray hairs have snuck in among the black ones. A few more wrinkles tell me that years have passed.

Mexicans are very relational people and I saw the same warmth I always remembered as we greeted one another and rejoiced in God’s goodness to us. The worship of God together was energetic to say the least. Booming voices now and then behind us shouted out ”Gloria a Dios!” or “Aleluya!” There was no doubting that these people were there to celebrate. As they called out the names of churches and their people stood up, everyone cheered. We felt at home!

The day before, we joined pastors and lay leaders as we spent a day reflecting on the struggles of the past, identifying where they are now and looking toward the future. Many questions were asked about what it means in their present reality to be Anabaptist Mennonites in Mexico. Young pastors and leaders, who had been teenagers when we left, now led out with vision and energy with a new wave of enthusiasm demonstrating their hope for the future.

We rejoiced as they glorified Jesus and spoke of new initiatives to reach out to youth and families. There is no doubt that they have encountered Jesus in new ways and God’s Spirit has been working among them. The seeds that had been planted 50 years ago in such an imperfect way were bearing fruit, and God is building the church. All along the way and throughout the years God’s Spirit has been there and Jesus has walked with them to create a new sense of community in that huge metropolitan reality. Much diversity among them and the many difficult realities of the city, such as the distances between the churches, all add to the challenges that face them. We were impressed, however, with the maturity of leadership that is in place to face these challenges and experience the growth of the Kingdom of God in the metropolitan area of Mexico City and Puebla.

From J. Mark . . .We want to thank Swamp Mennonite Church and Franconia Conference for making it possible to attend the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Conferencia de Iglesias Evangélicas Anabautistas Menonitas de México (CIEAMM). We were also pleased to represent both Franconia Conference as well as Mennonite Mission Network in gatherings that took place.

We come back with the certainty that God’s kingdom purposes are being worked out in the Mennonite congreagtions of CIEAMM because of the faithfulness of our brothers and sisters. To God be the glory!

A grandfather’s legacy: Lessons from a milk truck bookstore

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Joseph Hackman, Salford

When I was young I heard much about a milk truck. My grandfather purchased a milk truck in 1947 and converted it to a bookstore on wheels. He traveled the roads of Montgomery, Bucks, and Lehigh counties and sold Bibles, devotionals, and children’s books.

A Christian bookstore on wheels seems a bit antiquated today. If my grandfather were starting out in ministry now, I’m not sure that he would convert a milk truck into a bookstore to communicate Good News. But even though his methods might seem outdated today, stories from the milk truck and the lessons that go with them have informed my own sense of call. And as my licensing now becomes another part of my own story as a pastor, I reflect on how the milk truck will always be part of my journey.

Good News

Traveling the roads of Montgomery, Bucks, and the Lehigh counties, the bookstore on wheels always gave my grandfather opportunities to come in contact with those who never heard the Good News. His method was simple. Park in a neighborhood and knock on doors and invite them to visit the truck. I share my grandfather’s passion to share Christian faith with those who have not grown up in the church. Nothing gives me more joy than sharing Good News with those who have not grown up in the church, or with those who desire to hear it again for the first time.

Ecumenical Relationships

In 1989 my parents bought the bookstore from my grandfather, and my family spent many hours working there. The bookstore gave me an awareness of how small my Mennonite tradition is. My grandparents and parents formed close relationships with Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists of all stripes, and Catholics. Forming these relationships gave me an understanding from an early age of the diversity and beauty of the larger Christian church. The experience of my grandfather, and later my parents, modeling ecumenical relationships has given greater understanding of who I am as an Anabaptist Mennonite, as well as a better understanding for who I am as a part of the larger body of faith.

Risk Taking

We may not see milk trucks on wheels serving as bookstores today. But when my grandfather first started the ministry, he was looking for ways to be culturally relevant that would meet people’s needs. In the 1940s, there were few Christian bookstores, and even fewer mobile Christian bookstores. My grandfather wasn’t afraid to take creative risks, in business or in ministry, to communicate the Gospel. This creative risk taking is something that informs my own call to ministry. The church has often held a posture of resistance to culture. Going forward, I hope to discern with congregations when to resist and when to engage culture.

In my office I have a picture of my grandfather standing next to his milk truck. Wherever I go in ministry, I hope to keep the picture close. It reminds me of my grandfather and his life in Allentown. But it also reminds me of my own calling to ministry. It reminds me of my calling to share the Good News, especially to those who have not heard it. It reminds me of the importance of building relationships with Christians from all backgrounds. And it reminds me to take risks in efforts to communicate the Gospel. I’m blessed to have the example of my grandfather be part of my own call to ministry, and I’m hopeful for the ways this story will continue to inform my future journey as a pastor.

A long distance out of the way: Decades of living life lead to a call to pastor

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Donna Merow, Ambler

Edward Albee wrote, “Sometimes it’s necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly.” This describes my journey to pastoral ministry.

In the seventh grade an aptitude test indicated “nun” as a suitable career choice. This is not what most adolescent girls dream of becoming, especially if they are Protestant. It took me decades to realize that there were few other options available in 1970 to young women with a decidedly religious bent and even longer to answer the call to pastor. I went to college, dropped out, got married, raised two daughters, finished my bachelor’s degree, was diagnosed with early stage cancer, began a teaching career, earned a graduate degree in education and became a grandmother.

All the while I was actively involved in churches—Methodist, Baptist, Mennonite (where I was rebaptized thirty years ago), Episcopalian, Presbyterian—and the communities they served. Many people along the way encouraged me to consider seminary (none more persistently than former Ambler pastor Mel Thomas), but I always had a ready excuse.

For twenty years I was a stay-at-home mom with an incomplete degree and lots of time to invest in the lives of young people through the scouting and Odyssey of the Mind programs. By the time I finished my undergraduate work, my firstborn was beginning her’s; her sister was four years behind. As a first generation college graduate, I wanted this to be the best possible experience for my girls.

Although I had been collecting catalogues from area seminaries, the timing did not seem right. After our youngest graduated, I was able to spend several months trying on a pastoral role when Sharon Wyse Miller was granted a sabbatical. I wanted to see what it was like to prepare and deliver a message each week before I could seriously entertain the idea of attending seminary full-time. It was a wonderfully rich summer for me as I applied many of the pedagogical techniques I had practiced in the classroom to Jesus’ teaching through parables. At its conclusion, I wrestled with God about seminary.

I learned two important lessons from my undergraduate experience that informed my decision. The first was that I could not study in isolation; I needed to have one foot in the “real” world. The other was my desire for face-to-face interaction. I am an introvert by nature, so while distance education was comfortable and rewarding, it did not afford the opportunities for growth that I needed.

I found a good fit with Biblical’s LEAD MDiv degree. An alternative program designed for working adults, this allowed me to continue teaching and to build relationships with the members of cohort 12 with whom I have all of my courses.

I am old enough to be my classmates’ parent, but we enjoy a symbiotic relationship. I have the life experience and they have the tech savvy. It has proved to be a winning combination. With only a year of seminary completed, I did not expect to be looking for a position in a church for several years, but God had other plans. Sharon announced her planned retirement at the end of August at our January congregational meeting. Her announcement prompted me to complete the necessary paperwork to be considered as a candidate.

A month later, I learned that I would not have a job come September. The economic downturn made it necessary to cut my position at school. Unemployment made it necessary for me to trust God’s providence and possible to see the search process through to completion. It also freed me to do many things grading papers never allowed time for—a week at camp with special needs adults, putting siding on a Habitat house, helping to build a playground.

On October 4, the congregation that I have called “home” for a decade called me as its next pastor. It has been a long and convoluted path to pastoral ministry, but my installation service on November 8 confirmed that this is where I belong. I am excited by the possibilities before us as we live out the Gospel and respond to Christ’s missional call here in Ambler and beyond. Thanks be to God!

Reflection from MVS in DC: Unexpected and life-giving opportunities

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Emily Derstine, Plains

Upon arriving in Washington, D.C. to begin a year of Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS), I had little idea what to expect. Sure, I had been to D.C. in the past for school field trips, church day trips, service opportunities, and had even spent a semester in D.C. with EMU’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center program during college. I knew a bit about the city. But my anticipation of living and working in D.C. for a year would be a whole new experience—especially delving into work at an immigration organization, dealing solely with detained immigrants and entering into the legal sphere.

I had to question myself in the weeks leading up to the move. I knew nothing about the law or the organization with which I would work, much less Spanish than I was comfortable with, and little about the people with whom I would live for an entire year. Why did I think this would be a good idea? Amid my uncertainty and doubt, my mind pulled out a poignant idea that I heard quoted this past summer: “The more certain you are, the less likely it’s God working.” So I figured God must be working overdrive in this endeavor.

And I certainly found that to be true. My experience in D.C. has proven to be more than I could have ever hoped for or imagined. This year is bringing great meaning to my life, and excitement for the future. The opportunities I have working as a Legal Assistant at the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition are invaluable. Through conducting intakes with immigration detainees in the detention facilities, evaluating cases with our legal team during intake review in the office conference room, following-up with the immigrants’ family members and friends, attending immigration court, and relating in both English and Spanish, I am learning the complexities of immigration law and the plight of so many people worldwide.

The work is stimulating and challenging, exciting and intimidating, disheartening and energizing. Despite the frustrations of a harsh, flawed system, I see hope amidst the heavy stories and unfortunate circumstances. From the people with whom I work, I have learned about the preciousness and beauty of freedom. In speaking with a recently-released detainee—a thrilling reality that we witness too-infrequently—I realize that many of us fail to see the joys of certain every-day aspects of life: feeling the warmth of the sun, breathing fresh air, hugging a friend, working and living where we choose. Although countless individuals experience captivity in one form or another, taking freedom for granted is highly common.

In addition to my job, I am learning the joys of city living, using public transportation as a main means of getting around and living on a small volunteer stipend. Networking and connection-building common to the urban environment is a welcomed opportunity as well. Through my experiences, work and daily life, I am increasingly finding both that injustice enrages me and singing refreshes me and revives my spirit.

Despite my initial apprehension, my Spanish skills are improving, I am slowly learning the legal jargon, am becoming relatively proficient in what forms of relief from deportation exist for detained immigrants and am benefitting from delving into the intricacies of immigration law. The clients with whom we work are diverse and each has had different life experiences. I especially appreciate hearing their unique stories, and am intrigued by their varied histories. Often, I find myself wanting to help these immigrants more than I am able to in this context, and become fascinated by researching country conditions and case law. Desiring justice, I am particularly drawn to asylum-seekers, women and those who have undergone persecution and discrimination in the past or have a possibility of experiencing harm in the future.

Through this work, I am increasingly passionate about human rights and empowering people. I am thoroughly enjoying my work and experiences in the liveliness and excitement of D.C. and the CAIR Coalition. Learning quite a great deal in the process—about the city, my work and myself—I feel both blessed and grateful to have this opportunity.

Intersections September-October 2009

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  • Not meeting together: Inspired to do church ‘outside of the house’ ~ Blaine Detwiler
  • Temperatures rise and fall: Focused on the good work that has been started ~ Noel Santiago
  • Anabaptist vision series: The vision lives ~ John L. Ruth
  • Atlanta church moves toward membership ~ Stephen Kriss
  • Reflections from a long internship: Four summers, one title, diverse experiences ~ Sheldon Good
  • Stories of faith: Experiences that change what we care about ~ Maria Byler
  • Franconia Conference Summer 2009 Class of Interns
  • Reflections from Paraguay: Discovering the purpose of a useless vase ~ Peter Brubaker
  • Reflections from Paraguay: Coming together in the way of Christ ~ Charlotte Rosenberger
  • Helping others to stand tall and sink their roots: Local author follows call to share her story ~ Paula Marolewski
  • How to deal: Handling stress in a stressful time ~ Kathleen McCafferty
  • Lighting a fire: New principal ignites a passion for learning ~ Jay Gordon

    • Click here to download a PDF of the newsletter.

    Not meeting together: Inspired to do church ‘outside of the house’

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    Blaine Detwiler, Lakeview

    This summer, we at Lakeview decided to do something we had never done in our 50 year history as a congregation. We decided not to meet together. For one Sunday in June we decided not meet at our meetinghouse. While there have been times when snow made this decision for us, this time we made the decision not to meet. Therefore, on Sunday morning, June 28th, I posted a note on our front door that read: “We are ‘not in the house’ today.”

    Where the inspiration to do a “Church Day Out” came from we are not entirely sure.

    Gilberto Flores (former Mennonite Church USA denominational minister) may have had something to do with it. At our 2007 Franconia Conference Assembly Gilberto told us the chairs in our meetinghouses ought to face the doors because that is where the church “goes.” He told us that when he showed up to church on his first Sunday at first assignment as a pastor no one was there to hear him preach. Church members were in the streets and he had to go there to find his congregation. I think Gilberto is an undercover agent of the Holy Spirit.

    Jeff Wright is another culprit. Hired by Franconia Conference as a consultant for the Vision and Finance Plan Team meetings, he kept pulling his devotional material from the book of Acts. In the book of Acts the church is constantly on the move…and it began to seem as though we were not moving much. I think Jeff may be an instigator of the Holy Spirit.

    And then there is Krista Ehst who kept sending us these Post-Christendom reports from her internship in East London. In her blog she wrote that her church took one Sunday a month, one Sunday every month, to be “helping about” and “connecting with” the neighborhood. I think of Krista as a Holy Spirit spy. So let the record show that on June 28, 2009 Lakeview Mennonite Church did not meet.

    However a group did gather at the gazebo in the center of New Milford. From there they dispersed in “twos” walking about, praying silently with their eyes open.

    Another group traveled to our local skilled nursing facility in Susquehanna to sing and pray and visit. One resident excused his usual Sunday ride with his family and stayed for worship with our visiting group. Another resident wondered if the group will come again.

    A young mother with a theory decided to take her family, with three small children, to visit Harford Village Apartments. She was correct, seniors “perk up” when the energy of small children arrives.

    After discovering that a local woman who is losing the use of her hands needed some firewood cut into very small pieces, a group of four men went to the woods with chainsaws and donuts. They piled two pick-up truck-sized loads of small pieces next to her door.

    A woman prepared a meal and took it to her reclusive neighbor. In our area there are people who simply will not come out. Whether it be fear, hurt, poverty or the accumulation of loneliness and sadness, hermit-types seldom come out of their houses. This woman took a meal to the hard-of-hearing John and yelled conversation with him for two hours.

    Another family escorted an elderly woman to her church.

    Another woman, who admitted to being pushed far outside of her comfort zone, asked the most challenging woman she knew out to lunch.

    A group of Lakeview people decided to fast for the entire day and send off the money they saved on meals to the Worm Project. One man, who fasted from Saturday evening through Monday morning said, “I still have the choice of when to begin and break my fast…but those going hungry are denied even that choice…so with my choices, I am well off.”

    These are the stories, the report, from our “Church Day Out” at Lakeview.

    We admit these are baby steps in our understanding of mission in the kingdom. Jesus once said the kingdom of God is like yeast in a loaf of bread. I think what we have learned so far is that you do have to add the yeast!

    Temperatures rise and fall: Focused on the good work that has been started

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    Noel Santiago, Blooming Glen

    Like the change of seasons, ministry happens at different temperatures throughout the year. However, unlike the cycle of seasons, we can’t always know what to expect at any given moment. While we can expect it to be cold in winter, there are winters that are milder than others. Even more amazing is that on any given day the temperature during the winter season could rise to 83 degrees as it did on December 6, 2001. I remember this because our youngest son was born December 3rd. We brought him home that day and took a picture of the family in front of our home with all of us in short sleeves and shorts.

    While we might enjoy these breaks in the midst of cold or heat, we might also wonder what this unusually warm weather pattern means.

    Ministry also runs these types of patterns and extremes. When the life of ministry runs at a spring-like temperatures of 72 degrees, life is good! Then, we experience that extraordinary moment in time where the temperature doesn’t quite line up with where it should be. It gets too hot or too cold and we wonder what’s going on.

    This year Franconia Conference has experienced very good weather and some days where we all wondered, “What is going on?” There’s been a shift in the questions we have been hearing. Earlier in the year it was “what does conference do?” Now the question seems to be “where is conference going?”

    In part, it seems this first question was connected to the emerging, but not yet clear, oversight pattern after the change in the Conference Minister structure. While the first signs of our new oversight platform have begun to emerge and grow with LEADership Ministers and advisors getting into place, we’ve shifted to a team-based approach to oversight that includes lay leadership. This is a significant shift in oversight work.

    This summer’s biannual Mennonite Church USA convention at Columbus provided great experiences for many; but some of us experienced anxiety, pain, and frustration. There was a great diversity of thought, opinion, and belief expressed. A group advocating for inclusion of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) persons into the Mennonite Church known as “PinkMennos,” organized themselves to be a presence at the proceedings in Columbus. For the most part the week went along fine. Then something happened that people experienced in very different ways.

    The resolutions started pouring in regarding membership and the inclusion of all persons regardless of sexual-orientation. Many experienced this as a mounting storm with thunder, lightening, and hail pouring out. Others experienced it as a clearing of the storm clouds with bright sunny skies being revealed. The resolutions committee decided to put both sides of these perspectives aside and create a new resolution passed by the delegate body—On following Christ and growing together as communities even in conflict.

    After convention, young leaders from within our own congregations penned an Open Letter to Franconia Conference inviting signatures from persons who are part of our congregations and schools, ages 15-29, calling for continued dialogue around this topic and for more openness in our congregations. Again, some experience this as storm clouds, others as clearing skies.

    All of this, no doubt coupled with other things such as the economic downturn, loss of jobs, eroding financial security, and changing relationships have created even more stress and pressure. Out of the uncertainties facing us it seems the question of where Franconia Conference is going has emerged.

    Without going into many details here, let me simply say that Franconia Conference leaders will continue to follow the vision, mission and financial plan the delegate body has discerned as God’s call to us. Our primary mission will continue to be focused on: “Equipping Leaders to Empower Others to Embrace God’s Mission” in the world. This means that our primary energies, resources, personnel, and focus will remain singularly focused around this mission. While not disattending to the concerns, anxieties, pain, and frustration that are present in our midst, we believe that the primary call is to remain focused on the good work that has been started.

    We are committed to and act in accordance to the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective as our theological underpinning and belief in all we do. We are committed to participating with Mennonite Church USA in the follow up of the resolutions from the Columbus gathering as well. Therefore, I offer the following for your consideration and discernment…

    In any discussion surrounding this topic, we invite you to not begin with membership and who is in or out. Instead, can we enter into a conversation that is first and foremost centered around our commitment to following Christ? What does that mean for our day and age? When people are following Christ authentically and holistically, what does that look like? What are the beliefs we have in common and where do we differ? These types of questions might indeed help all of us reexamine and recommit again to the understandings that have shaped and formed us while offering a deeper possibility into the future without compromising the Gospel.

    As the seasons and temperatures continue to fluctuate and change, may this season of ministry find us being healthy and growing leaders, disciples and congregations so that God’s healing and hope flow through us to the world.

    “To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)