Intersections

Sharon K. Williams, Nueva Vida Norristown New Life
sharonw@designforministry.com

When should I speak and when should I listen? I wrestled with many questions like this as I worked with Native Mennonite Ministries and Poarch Community Church to host 400-500 people for the bi-annual Native Assembly of the Mennonite Church in Atmore, Alabama.

Due to the enormous burden of responding to the needs of Hurricane Katrina survivors in the Gulf Coast region, the on-site planning for Native Assembly was severely delayed. As unmet deadlines passed by, the organizing loomed large for Pastor Steve Cheramie-Risingsun, the host chair. Meanwhile Blooming Glen’s Damascus Road Team was praying for appropriate ways to involve their congregation in Hurricane Katrina recovery. Team members Rick and Barb Gebelein met Pastor Steve at a Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) gathering and began devising a plan to provide administrative assistance and web site development for the Native Assembly. Laura Kanagy from Lancaster Mennonite Conference and I were called to go to Atmore at various times while Blooming Glen members and others provided funds that were matched by Franconia Conference. As July arrived, much work remained and it was discerned that I should return to assist during the Assembly itself.

The coming together of the Native peoples from various tribes in the US and Canada was a wonderful celebration. Leaders and participants shared marvelous testimonies of their faith in Christ and their hopes for the Church through their native languages, stories, music, customs, dress and artwork. As I engaged in the intense cross-cultural experience, many questions arose which I still ponder. How should I show respect for the Poarch congregation and Assembly participants when I am unfamiliar with their cultures? How could I maintain proper perspective when showered with much heartfelt appreciation? How should I respond when the lines of responsibility blur? For a gathering so special as Native Assembly, should I even be here to witness it? As Christians I think we need to wrestle with these kinds of questions as we attempt to cross cultural and ethnic boundaries locally, in the US and abroad.

Claude Good
cgood@mosaicmennonites.org

Elizabeth Stover and her husband Preston who live at Dock Woods Community were out walking on the path in the woods connected to the retirement community. Coming toward them was a young man with his small playful child hanging on to his legs. Insoo Lee introduced himself and said he was the youth pastor of a nearby Korean church. Elizabeth invited Insoo’s family to her home for dinner and to speak with the prayer group that she leads at Dock Community.

At that meeting Insoo found out about the Worm Project and invited Alicia and I to present the project to the young people of his church. We were met with overwhelming enthusiasm. Some students wanted to take the contribution containers to their school classrooms to encourage their classmates to contribute as well.

That small group was able to pull together $1,000.00 in a few months! The Worm Project is able to buy a de-worming pill for just two pennies each when bought by the million. One pill can save enough food from the worms to help a child have, on average, an extra 10 lb. of food every six months. So at two cents each, $1,000.00 will buy enough pills to treat 50,000 children! But it will be even more than that – Insoo says that the youth want to keep the contribution containers to continue raising funds to treat more children around the world.

Insoo’s congregation has recently merged with Hatfield (PA) Church of the Brethren becoming one congregation – Grace/Hatfield Church of the Brethren. They worship in English at 10 a.m. and in Korean at 11:30 a.m. on Sundays. A bilingual worship is in their plans for the near future.

Melissa Landis
mlandis@mosaicmennonites.org

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” For generations, adults have asked children this familiar question and I never had a very good answer. For awhile, my quick response was “teacher” because at eight years old I liked to play “school” with my younger sister. But as I grew, I realized I really didn’t know.

In high school the idea of majoring in communication began to creep into my mind. Specifically I liked the idea of working at a non-profit organization that helped people. I decided to major in Organizational Communication because the blend of communication and business classes seemed like a way to facilitate my lingering desire to work in the non-profit realm. As I went through college I held out hope that my major would allow me to do something worthwhile with my vocation.

On my graduation day at Tabor College in Kansas the question of what I wanted to do when I grew up stared me in the face with ferocity. How was I going to use my gifts, my abilities, and my education in the real world? I made a decision to trust that even though I never had a lightening bolt moment of clarity, God would how me the next step. I believed that the promise of Philippians 1:6 was true for me: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”.

Recently I began looking at the possibility of working with Franconia Conference as Administrative Services Manager. The position brought together several of my interests and in supporting the staff I could support the conference’s mission of “equipping leaders to empower others to embrace God’s mission”. At just the right time a new step in my life was revealed, one that will challenge and stretch me. Most importantly, I know God will continue to work in my life, growing me into the person I was meant to be.

Melissa began her new role in January. She is married to Isaac Landis and attends Franconia Mennonite Church. A graduate of both Hesston and Tabor Colleges in Kansas, Melissa grew up in Nebraska.

Gay Brunt Miller

In early July, all roads lead to San Jose, California,the site of the 2007 Mennonite Church USA
Convention. Here are a few reasons why you should seriously consider going:

1. To experience being part of something bigger: Nearly 110,000 members comprise
Mennonite Church USA. Come and meet your brothers and sisters, discover our diversity, and
experience this group to which you belong!

2. To hear the heart of our denominational leaders: Do you ever wonder who the people are that are providing leadership to our denomination? Meet them in person and hear their passion
for Christ and the Church.

3. To participate in inspiring worship: The impact of worshipping together can feel like a foretaste of heaven. Come to collectively offer our worship to our amazing God!

4. To learn: With dozens of seminars and workshops
to choose from you are bound to be better equipped for ministry in your community.

5. To discern: If you come as a delegate, you can help to discern issues of how we live out our faith in this world as Mennonite Church USA.

6. To listen: Hear of churches of recent immigrants growing in Southern California. Talk to those from the Gulf States about how they are fairing as they continue to rebuild in the aftermath
of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Learn how God is moving. Listen to their stories.

7. To speak: Encourage others with your stories. Tell how God is moving in your life and your congregation.

8. To witness God at work among our youth: Youth convention is often a powerful time in the lives of our youth. Come experience their energy and joy as they encounter God.

9. To meet God: Come prepared and open to experiencing God in a fresh way in your own life! This year’s theme is “Live the Call! ¡Viva El Llamado!” based on Ephesians 4:1-6.

10. To see California! Take the opportunity to see a slice of the West Coast. Build in vacationbefore or after the convention to venture even further than San Jose. It’s a beautiful place!

Franconia Conference encourages each congregation to send a delegate and your youth to this important experience.Can’t go? Maybe you can help someone else from your congregation attend. The Convention is planned with activities for the whole family!

Rose Bender
rosieb30@aol.com

I was going to learn about living simply. I was going to learn about living in community. I was going to experience what it was like to live among the poor. I was trading in my safe, warm, suburban Philadelphia apartment for a rambling, drafty, old house in Kernville. I was trading in easy access to the beach for a mountain view outside my front door. I would no longer have papers to grade, old friends to visit or a regular paycheck to deposit. Life would be different, but I trusted that God was directing me to lead a Service Adventure unit in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for the next two years.

I had certain expectations before I even came here. I had enough short-term mission experience that I knew the basics. I knew I was to come with the attitude that God was already working here and I was going to participate with that initiated endeavor. I knew I would be given far more by those I was serving than I could give in return. And I knew that I should suspend judgment about people and programs already in place. I trusted that I would be the one who was transformed. But I still had a lot to learn.

Johnstown is an interesting city, like no other that I have seen. It has the friendly atmosphere of a small town—but with inner city problems. For the size, there are an overwhelming number of homeless, disabled, and mentally ill people. There is a pervasive sense of hopelessness, or at least a definite acceptance of the status quo. I think it is more than just that Johnstown is economically depressed. There is a poverty of the spirit. Even those who have money in Johnstown don’t seem to spend it here—they travel to Pittsburgh or Altoona or Greensburg to shop. When people find out that I moved here from the Philadelphia area, they ask in disbelief, “Why would you ever move to Johnstown?”

Though I am mystified by this city whose identity seems to be in the many disasters that have occurred, I do like living here. God has given me a genuine compassion and concern for those for and with whom I work. Walking to my job each day helps. It certainly gives me a vastly different experience than my old commute on I-95 into New Jersey. I stop and talk to my neighbor Darlene, wheel-chair bound, chain-smoking, and often complaining. I notice the skies and the mountains and the trees. I have time to pray as I pass by boarded-up houses and laughing children at the tiny neighborhood playground. Mostly, I am engaged with my environment in a way I never could be when I was driving in my car. The three participants in the program have also found this to be true. Whether it’s the children at Head Start, the YMCA, or the community center, or whether it’s the older folks at church—all three of them are becoming attached to this community.

As winter is setting in and the air is much colder, I am acutely aware of those folks around me without shelter and food. I walk by a soup kitchen just as people are gathering to go inside. One man in particular has caught my eye. His nose is misshapen and discolored—like it has been frostbitten. He is very friendly, but never asks for money. I often wonder where he sleeps. I have also noticed more community people coming into First Mennonite of Johnstown for Sunday evening worship. It is warm inside and there is a fellowship meal after the service. Last night, a new family kept talking to me after worship. They looked strange, smelled badly, and what they said did not make sense. I had to remind myself to look them in the eye, to treat them with dignity. But if the amount of times they hugged me was any indication—they surely enjoyed themselves. I have to admit, I was uncomfortable and blessed all at the same time.

However being here is still a challenge. All of my years of romanticized, philosophical musings about living in community among the poor and the powerless are smashing up against reality. After living by myself, living in community with 19-year olds is challenging. Mentoring takes patience and energy that I do not always have. It is hard to walk to work when it is cold and windy and my feet hurt. I get frustrated by the surrounding poverty and my inability to attack the root causes. Working part-time for minimum wage is personally challenging. I was a professional. I have a degree. Mostly, I hate not having money. And I hate that it is hard for me, because I know that I have chosen to live this way: others in my neighborhood have not.

As I enter into my fourth month here, I know the greatest lesson God is teaching me is the discipline of waiting. This is also particularly challenging for the young adults in the program. They want immediate results. So, together we are learning to wait. We wait to purchase needed items until money is donated. We wait on the world’s slowest computer. We wait on friendships to form. We wait on lives to be changed. We wait on God to provide. And while we wait, we find that we are being transformed, individually and as a community. We are learning to worship together. We are learning to look out for the interest of the other. We are learning to trust and to walk in obedience to God’s Word. We rely on the manna that God provides us for today, expecting that fresh manna will be there for tomorrow. And we share together in the surprise of getting more than we ever expected.

Rose Bender, formerly of Ambler Mennonite Church, is the Director of the Mennonite Mission Network’s Service Adventure House in Johnstown, PA. The three participants are Nikki Diehl (Perkasie, PA) from Rocky Ridge Mennonite Church, Aaron Gingerich (Kalona, IA) from Lower Deer Creek Mennonite Church, and Manuela Foerderer from Germany.

FMC Young Adults Entering Voluntary Service

Nicole Diehl, Perkasie, PA, began a Service Adventure assignment in August in Johnstown, PA. Diehl is a 2006 graduate of Pennridge High School, the daughter of Linda and Mark Diehl, and attends Rocky Ridge Mennonite Church.

Jessica Goshow, Perkasie, PA, began a one-year term of Mennonite Voluntary Service in August in Bethesda, MD. Goshow is serving as a legal and policy associate with D.C. Employment Justice Center. She is a 2006 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University, VA, daughter of Janet and John Goshow, and attends Blooming Glen Mennonite Church.

Matthew Ruth, Harleysville, PA, began a one-year term in September of Mennonite Voluntary Service in Fresno, CA, as a youth worker with Valley Teen Ranch. A 2006 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University, Ruth is the son of Sharon and Marlin Ruth and attends Salford Mennonite Church.

Katie Souder, Green Lane, PA, also began a one-year term of Mennonite Voluntary Service on August 14, 2006 in Bethesda, MD. Souder is serving as a caseworker with Samaritan Ministry. Souder is a 2006 graduate of Saint Olaf College, MN, the daughter of Susan and Ronald Souder, and attends Salford Mennonite Church.

Janelle Freed, Collegeville, PA, served in Youth Venture June 27-July 17, 2006 in Colombia. She is the daughter of Debbie and Ron Freed and attends Blooming Glen Mennonite Church.

Information provided by Bethany Keener, Assistant News Editor of Mennonite Mission Network (MMN), the mission agency of MC USA. MMN envisions all parts of the church fully engaged in God’s mission sharing all of Christ with all creation. More information about Youth Venture, Service Adventure, and Mennonite Voluntary Service is available online at mennonitemission.net.