Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Line Lexington

Line Lexington Leaves Mosaic Conference 

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Line Lexington (PA) congregation has decided to disaffiliate with Mosaic Conference and Mennonite Church USA. The Mosaic Conference Board was recently informed, via a letter, of the results of Line Lexington’s decision.   

In the letter, Line Lexington’s Church Council and Elder Team acknowledged that the decision did not come lightly. “We have always valued the Mennonite principles of peace, justice, and service in Jesus and have found significant meaning in the teachings and traditions. However, as Mosaic has developed, we realize that our beliefs and values are handled differently than those of the Conference.”  

Established in 1752, Line Lexington is one of the oldest Mennonite congregations affiliated with Mosaic Conference prior to this decision. 

“It is sad to see Line Lexington leave Mosaic,” said Randy Heacock, Leadership Minister. “I have deeply appreciated working with the church’s leadership over the past few years.  I appreciated the thoughtful discernment they practiced in reaching their decision.”   

The letter from Line Lexington Mennonite Church closed with well wishes for Mosaic Conference “in its continued work toward peace, justice, and service in Jesus, and we hope that the community will thrive and grow in years to come.”  

What One Question Can Lead To

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by Lisa Stenger

At the 2018 Fall Assembly, Scott Roth, Mosaic Conference Leadership Minister, asked, “What would it look like to become part of a Rooted Networking Church?” Roth encouraged us to think of the opportunities and possibilities if we connected and shared resources with other churches within our Conference.

You don’t have to ask me twice. The branches of networking began to take form in my head before I returned home from that Assembly. There is value in communing as believers in Christ, encouraging one another, and praying together for our volunteer work and workplace.

Roth’s words stuck in my head while I processed, “The key to connecting starts with conversations and creating relationships.” I thought about each place I served: church member, Conference delegate, church librarian, Elder, women’s ministry, youth sponsor, and Office Administrator. I asked myself, “How could I connect with people in these areas to “Be” and “Seek” support, so that we can grow and prosper in God’s purpose together?”

Soon after, I scheduled a time with an Elder from another Conference church for some coffee. Our relationship continues today, four years later, even though we both are no longer serving in the ministry of Elder. We continue to support one another in new areas that God has orchestrated in our lives.

I also was inspired to connect with other Office Administrators and Secretaries from some Mosaic churches located near me. Since February 2019, the Office Administrators and Secretaries from five Mosaic churches (Blooming Glen, Deep Run East, Deep Run West, Line Lexington, and Souderton) have been gathering twice a year. We eat and pray together. We also share about our professional life, share resources, and encourage and support one another. We each take turns hosting and during the pandemic we met through Zoom. It is a delightful building of relationships and valuable resource to encounter. We continue to share and inquire throughout the year even when we are not meeting.

Office Administrators and Secretaries from 5 Mosaic Churches recently gathered. Back row (L-R) Phil Detweiler (Souderton), Gretchen Cook (Blooming Glen), Robyn Hamm (Souderton); Front row (L-R) Lisa Stenger (Deep Run East), Michelle Ahn-Doettger (Blooming Glen), Heidi Murphy (Deep Run West). Not pictured, Carla Ferrier (Line Lexington). Photo provided by Lisa Stenger.

A local community need came to the Deep Run East staff and we were discerning how to respond. It prompted me with a new opportunity to reach out beyond the Conference. I wrote to a number of churches in a group email, introduced myself as the Office Administrator, and shared concern for this community need. I was able to ask for them to share their experiences and suggestions.

From my original email, this resource network has grown to include 56 contacts such as non-profits, law enforcement, and many community churches of different denominations. We share rental forms, internal office resources, names and how we assist, and so much more. Recently several different denominational churches came together to help a family in need due to this networking group. This is what I find to be a global job for Jesus, “To equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” (Ephesians 4:12, NIV)

There are many other wonderful relationships that have blossomed through one person’s words of encouragement. Let’s disciple through our own experiences that inspire questions and conversations to connect the greater church for God’s purpose. Become a Rooted Networking member of God’s church.

For eleven years, Lisa Stenger has been the Office Administrator for Deep Run East Mennonite Church (Perkasie, PA). In addition to her primary job, she serves on the Mosaic Nomination Committee. She is a member of neighboring Deep Run West Mennonite Church. She and her husband, Howard, live in Bedminster, PA. They have two adult sons, a daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter.

Congregational Profile: Line Lexington Mennonite Church

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by Tom Ruth, elder at Line Lexington

Line Lexington Mennonite Church serves our local community as a place to belong, and a place to become. 

Situated on a hill overlooking the small town of Line Lexington PA, our church is deeply rooted (established in 1752) but has transformed over the years as we have engaged with the surrounding  community in new ways. We are called by God to equip our members in following Jesus Christ in His Kingdom of God work. 

A place to belong:  LLMC is a friendly, welcoming group of believers. We prioritize time on Sunday mornings to greet and converse over coffee with each other and with newcomers. We have a tradition of close mutual support and encouragement in both prayer and tangible bearing of burdens. We desire to welcome one another as Jesus has welcomed us, into a community of peace and reconciliation, to mutually care for each other and our neighbors. Fellowship Breakfasts, church potluck meals, picnics, Community Days, and other activities serve as a means to foster close friendships and invitation opportunities. 

Biker Ministry Sunday worship at Line Lexington MC on September 15, 2019.

A place to become:  We believe that God calls us through Scripture and the Holy Spirit’s direction, to continually grow in discipleship. We teach out of our Mennonite Anabaptist experience that Jesus is the center of our faith, community is the center of our life, and reconciliation is the center of our work (Palmer Becker, 2008.)  We value Scripture as the authoritative and timeless Word of God, and personal relationship with Jesus Christ, as God’s means of transforming us as we join His ongoing kingdom work. We desire to imitate the servant nature of Jesus Christ in humility as we relate to each other and stand with those in need. 

We participate with  various missions and community service groups with an emphasis on supporting those in which our members have direct involvement. Our Associate Pastor Gary Parmer, with Children’s Ministry Director Alicia Hunsberger, direct a strong children and youth program with good engagement by community youth. In addition, we have a 40 year involvement with Hilltown Nursery School which operates out of our church five days per week, strengthening our engagement with local parents and families.  

Biker ministry is an important ministry at Line Lexington Mennonite Church.

A valued ministry serving a group many of us have little opportunity to interact with is Biker Ministry, which attracts motorcyclists to a lively September Biker Sunday music, preaching and testimony service with a pig roast and group rides, and continues the relationship year-round with monthly rides, coordinated by our retired pastor Lowell Delp, with many volunteers assisting. 

The recent retirement of our long-time pastor has brought us into a time of transition, which has served to bring us together in mutual love and determination to seek God’s will for our future. A Catalyst Team is working in guiding us through these changes by Going Higher (in worship), Going Deeper (in discipleship) and Going Wider (in outreach). Interim Pastor Scott Roth has recently joined us as to guide our transition to a new lead pastor. 

In our third century of serving God and neighbor in Line Lexington, we place our trust in God’s loving care as we walk with Him in faith through the exciting changes ahead! 

Line Lexington Congregation Helps Cultivate an Oasis for Trafficking Survivors

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by Lora Steiner

Last year, Josh Meyer, associate pastor at Franconia Mennonite Church, raised a question at a gathering of conference leaders where conversation had heavily focused on seemingly divisive topics: “What are the important matters of justice, mercy, and faithfulness that we can gather around?” asked Meyer. “For example, doesn’t everyone agree that human beings shouldn’t be abused, raped, and sold into slavery?” For some, the question sparked something new; for others, it was a reminder of the importance of work already begun.

Line Lexington Mennonite Church is in the latter group. The congregation seeks to support local ministries—as many churches do—where its members can contribute funds as well as time. Line Lexington is situated just off Route 309, a primary conduit between Philadelphia and Allentown. Within a half mile of the congregation are several adult bookstores, bars, and massage parlors—establishments where victims of sex trafficking are generally more likely to be found. For more than two years, a group from the congregation has been meeting to pray for the community.

Untitled-1In March, Line Lexington hosted a fundraiser for Oasis of Hope, a ministry based in northern Pennsylvania that is a safe home for trafficked children. Its mission is to build awareness about sex trafficking of children in the United States, and restore the lives of survivors in a faith-based environment.

Shared Hope International defines human trafficking as “the buying and selling of people, as if they were store-bought merchandise.” It is, simply put, receiving or paying money for the sexual exploitation of another person.

Oasis of Hope, run by Debbie Colton, is a safe house for girls aged 12-19 who have been victims of sex trafficking. (The average age of recruitment into sex trafficking is 13.) Services are free, and range from music and art therapy, to counseling, to life skills and medical care. Oasis of Hope also offers home schooling and GED courses, as well as college preparation and support to attend trade school—things, as Colton puts it—that give the girls hope, and a future.

Oasis of Hope receives no government funding, and operates entirely from donations.  Live-in staff come as missionaries and are asked to commit to one year of service. The organization does not preach to the girls; staff are trained to focus on love, to show unconditional love—which is how God speaks to them.

Colton spends much of her time on the road, speaking at schools, universities, and churches to raise awareness about sex trafficking. Colton says that not only can the victims be anyone, the buyers can, too. The last she’d heard, the top three buyers of sex are pastors, policemen, and lawyers.

Pornography, she says, feeds the problem.

“Please do not judge people if they come to you,” she asked the audience at the Saturday evening event, speaking of those dealing with addictions to pornography. “They need your help and they need your love… If you are involved with pornography, please get help.”

Colton also encouraged the audience to talk to their children and grandchildren because young children are vulnerable. She told the story of a 24-year-old man who posed as an 18-year-old and joined a church youth group, and started dating a girl in the group eventually leading her into a complicated relationship and two years of life as a trafficked person.  “This stuff can happen, and it can happen to anyone’s child.”

Colton says the biggest thing that people can do to support the work of Oasis of Hope is to pray: “Pray for our ministry and pray for our staff and pray for our girls.”

“We are walking on the front lines and Satan does not like it at all… We need prayer.”

Over the weekend in March, Line Lexington raised about $5000 for Oasis of Hope.

 

Incarnation in the suburbs

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Hilltown prayer walkby KrisAnne Swartley, Doylestown congregation

My fingers and toes are still somewhat numb as I sit down to write this account of the prayer walk in Hilltown Township (Pa.). I also feel somewhat numb on the inside. I wonder how I got here… the associate pastor who was just interviewed by a local news station for walking and praying on a neighborhood street. This is weird.

Then I remember how I got here. I have been asking God to show me what it looks like to incarnate God’s love in the suburbs because it isn’t always obvious to me. My suburbs look beautiful and well-kept and peaceful when you drive around on the streets. What need is there here? It is hidden under the surface.

I got an email last Friday from my children’s school district office saying that there had been a home invasion and murder in my township and that their school would be increasing security. I quickly looked up the news story and read the report. My first instinct was to lock my doors, hunker down and pray. I felt violated and fearful.

My second instinct was to get outside and be present, to stand in the middle of the darkness and bring the light of hope and faith. I had been asking God what it looked like to do incarnational ministry in the suburbs and I felt in this moment that it meant going against any normal instinct to insulate myself or rationalize away what had happened.

A group of us from Line Lexington Mennonite, St. Peter’s Covenant, and Doylestown Mennonite have been meeting to pray once a month. We called an emergency meeting to pray specifically about this tragedy and discern a response. Lowell Delp, the pastor of Line Lexington congregation, Jim Fox, the pastor of St. Peter’s congregation, and Sandy Landes and I from Doylestown congregation decided that walking Swartley Road and praying for our neighbors there would be a faithful and redemptive way to incarnate Jesus. Lowell and Jim visited some of the residents the day before our prayer walk, to let them know what was happening and invite them to join us.

Today, a group of ten of us met in a parking lot on Route 309. One man who joined us there but could not brave the cold walk said, “I want to see our community come together after this. We can’t change anything by ourselves. Our community needs prayer and our churches need prayer.” I was sure I saw the hint of tears in his eyes and heard a tremble in his voice.

We carried candles in glass jars and sang songs of grace and God’s faithfulness. We walked against the freezing wind to “Amazing Grace” and “The Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases.” We prayed for the woman and the teen boys who were traumatized by the violence, for the neighbors whose street was violated by this horrific incident. We prayed for beauty to come from these ashes, for God’s redeeming power to be at work.

I am tempted to look forward and ask “What’s next?” But maybe for now it is enough to be visible. To be present.  In a community with no sidewalks and few places to be together as neighbors, maybe even that presence is miraculously transformative.  I will keep choosing presence and incarnation over insulation. I will tell my first instincts to step aside in favor of what Jesus is prompting deep inside. And I find I am not numb anymore.

KrisAnne Swartley is pastor for the missional journey at Doylestown (Pa.) Mennonite Church.  She wrote this reflection last Thursday (January 24th).  Read the news report.