Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

missional

Disc Golf and Comforters

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Doylestown (PA) Mennonite Church (DMC) started an experiment some years ago by looking “out there.” We assembled a team to explore, ask questions, and identify God’s work that DMC could support. The team began to see fertile soil within us, that God was doing work here within our own souls. We began to see that being missional was our own calling and not something to be hired out.

A major shift happened for me in how I viewed my faith journey. I realized that my faith is to be an integral piece that is a common thread in all the boxes of my life: home, work, church, and play. Jesus is present in all my boxes, encouraging, convicting, and transforming. I began to look for ways to bring these boxes together.

I began inviting people from my different boxes to gather for coffee, football games on TV, and meals. Risk & vulnerability are present when you have your work friends and neighbors meet your church friends. Risk & vulnerability are present when you begin to share your thoughts, dreams, failures, and struggles. I John 1:5-10 invites us to walk in the light, to live an authentic life, to experience forgiveness, and to have fellowship with one another.

Two examples of fellowship that intentionally cross the boundaries of our boxes at DMC are disc golf and knotting comforters.

Lois and Freida Myers have for some time gathered folks from various boxes in their lives to create some interesting mixes of people to knot comforters. We know that when you put people together, fellowship and connection will develop.

Steve Landes plays disc golf any chance he gets and turned it into a missional activity. 

My own story with disc golf began by doing something that I enjoy and inviting others to join me. The fun begins by expanding the group to include random strangers, friends from church and work, and friends of friends. I am a self-proclaimed disc golf evangelist, trying to convert those who don’t play to become those who do play. The Missional Experiment that DMC took on challenged me to invite anyone who would listen to join me in playing disc golf.

Some members of “The Chain Gang” at a recent disc golf outing. 

I created by own vision of this mission in my life. “Build community among a diverse group of people, to create space for trusting relationships to grow and where ministry to one another happens.” My vision became a “fresh expression.”

Fresh Expression is what happens when we move from a missional outlook to a more intentional gathering of listening, loving, and caring. A Fresh Expression is where we experience God and have connection or fellowship with one another: a church, but not one that looks like the traditional church. Fresh Expressions come about by following a passion, building trusting relationships, sharing ourselves authentically, and sharing our faith journey.

Fresh Expression is a movement; it is a thing. It is in dog parks, restaurants, Tattoo parlors, yoga studios, disc golf courses, and living rooms. Fresh Expressions are birthed out of the traditional church, are supported and encouraged by the traditional church, and not surprisingly, are revitalizing the traditional church. Fresh Expressions become a new distinct entity and are not intended to be a new church growth scheme building the church’s roster. The Fresh Expression is church.

New York City, a Laundromat, and Jesus

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In May of 2021, my wife, Sandra, and I visited New York City to celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary. We were returning to the city that received us in the 1970s. We lived in New York City for eleven years and two of our children were born there.

New York City is “a planetary city,” as described by Colombian author Diana Uribe, because it has residents, communities, restaurants, and languages ​​from almost every corner of the world. When we first arrived in New York in the 1970s, we resided in Astoria, Queens, an area of mostly Greek and Italian communities. It was common to see ads in Greek and Italian and to hear these two languages ​​mixed with English. It was rare to find people who spoke Spanish.

Marco Güete and his wife, Sandra, celebrated their 51st anniversary in New York City. Photo by Marco Güete.

Our plan, as part of our anniversary celebration, was to visit some of the places where we lived. We wanted to walk the streets again, travel by train/subway, remember the stations, and identify where the shops, restaurants, and laundromats were. We wanted to go back to the past and live it again for a moment.

Everything had changed, or our minds played tricks on us trying to remember. We went down the stairs of a train station in Astoria, a station that we used several hundred times. We walked a block and to our left we discovered the place where the supermarket was located and where we bought groceries. We arrived at the corner and there in front of us, imposing and dazzling, was the apartment building that we welcomed our children, Zandra and Javier, as newborns, a year apart. What a surprise! To the right of the apartment building was our laundromat.

The laundromat near Marco and Sandra’s former home in Queens. 
Photo by Marco Güete.

Many years ago, on one bright, sunny, spring afternoon, my wife arrived at the laundromat. She was pregnant with our second baby. She rolled her laundry cart and our one-month-old daughter in her baby carriage. Until today, I never asked myself the question, how did she manage both?

In the laundromat Sandra met a neighbor and her baby. They two began a conversation, and our neighbor told Sandra that she would like to introduce us to the pastor of the church where she attends. A few days later, our neighbor arrived at our apartment with the pastor, introduced him, and left immediately to take care of her baby, whom had left her alone for a few moments.

That day, with great wisdom, love, and knowledge of the scriptures, the pastor told us about Jesus and invited us to receive him in our hearts and become followers of him. That day my wife and I began the pilgrimage of discovering and knowing how to become followers of Jesus. This has been a wonderful learning process for over 46 years, where our trust and faith in God grows daily.

Flooded Out, Welcomed In

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Editor’s Note: The last names of family members were not used for privacy reasons. 

In early September 2021, the rain from Hurricane Ida soaked the East Coast. In the area around Blooming Glen (PA) Mennonite Church, flash flooding caused widespread damage to homes and businesses. The Pennridge Ministerium of area churches worked together with social service agencies to try and help those that had been flooded out of their homes.

With affordable, short-term, local housing nearly non-existent, at first, many of the displaced families stayed in hotels, sometimes at a great distance from their home community. This solution caused great inconvenience and additional expenses related to job commutes, transporting children to school, and feeding their families (hotels do not have kitchens).

The church participated in an Interfaith Hospitality network in past years, and we have classrooms with an adjacent full bathroom. What could we offer in terms of temporary lodging in our building?

Working with the school district social worker, a family was identified that needed a temporary living space. And that’s how we met Noe and Margarita and their children, Noe (son), Neftaly, and Scarlett, who lived in our church building for nearly three months.

Margarita described the day their rental property got flooded. “Our house is ¼ mile from the creek, so at first, we didn’t think anything would happen when it started raining. We lived 17 years in that house and no floods! But the water kept rising!”

Daughter Neftaly added, “All of a sudden, the road into our house was covered with water. I told mom, we can’t get out!” Water covered the first floor of their house and all of the family’s furniture and bedding was lost.

They spent that first night without a home at their landlord’s house. Then they stayed with friends who opened their home to them. “It was ten people from two families living in a small space,” explained Noe. “We looked but couldn’t find anywhere to move and stay in the school district and near our jobs. Everything we looked at either cost too much or required a long lease.”

“All of a sudden, the road into our house was covered with water. I told mom, we can’t get out!”

After the leadership of Blooming Glen processed the possibility internally, they reached out to the Pennridge School social worker. “Then the school social worker connected us with Blooming Glen,” Noe continued. “I didn’t think that such a thing was possible, that there would be people that don’t even know us, yet would help us.”

With furniture contributions from Care & Share Thrift Shoppes, congregants, and other area churches, several adjacent classrooms were turned into bedrooms. Couches and a coffee table turned a classroom lobby into a living room. The family moved into their temporary home.

The family has joined the congregation for Sunday worship services and fellowship meals, and congregants have gotten to know the family as they’ve brought in evening meals to share together.

“It’s been a good experience living here,” Neftaly commented, “I have made new friends in the youth group.” Neftali has also been preparing to get her driver’s license, and like countless teenagers before her, has practiced driving in the big, empty church parking lot.

“I want to stay here and not move back to our house!” said 7-year-old Scarlett. “I am always excited to go to Sunday school to see my new friends. I took my first Bible to school and was reading it to my friends.”

(from left to right) Noe, Margarita, Scarlett, Noe, and Neftali at Thanksgiving Eve worship service at Blooming Glen Mennonite Church. Photo by Mike Ford.

It’s been a wonderful experience for all involved, and Blooming Glen is considering ongoing possibilities for providing short-term emergency housing.

“We have met lots of nice people here, and we’ve been grateful to receive help,” Margarita explained. “I didn’t think anyone would help us like that in our time of need. But we needed an apartment, and you provided it.”

New Showroom Dedicated to the Glory of God

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On December 7, Ron Bergey, Robert Bergey, and Dale Bergey, owners of Bergey’s Electric (Hatfield, PA), a family-run business, were asked the question, “Do you commit this day to dedicate this showroom for the glory of God on earth as it is in heaven?” All three owners responded, “We do.”

Participants were invited to offer prayers and light electric candles at the dedication service. Photo by Noel Santiago.

“Upon your words of affirmation, in the company of these people, we dedicate Bergey’s Electric Showroom to the glory of God!” was then heard throughout the showroom.

The new showroom, recently opened by Bergey’s Electric, is visibly located along the heavily traveled Route 309 corridor in Hatfield, PA. As a result, new folks are discovering who Bergey’s Electric is. Ron Bergey, CEO and one of the owners, requested that pastors and prayer team members of Mosaic Conference lead the business in a dedication of the showroom.

Standing amidst washers and dryers, freezers and chest freezers, microwaves, wall ovens, cooktops, and other smart appliances, approximately 35 people, including the extended Bergey family, friends, and associates from the community, gathered for the dedication.

Bergey’s Electric invited Mosaic pastors and prayer team members to dedicate their new showroom to God’s glory on December 7. Photo by Noel Santiago.

Bergey’s Electric began in 1936 by founder Willard Bergey, grandfather of Ron, Robert, and Dale. Willard was the neighborhood “go-to” man for electric service needs when he first started the business. Willard was always ready to help families with their electrical needs. As his list of customers grew, he realized that this could be a viable business.

At the dedication, stories were shared about God’s faithfulness over the decades and especially how God’s provision would appear “just-in-time” during difficult economic times.

Pastor Randy Heacock left) and Pastor Scott Roth right) interact with family and friends at the dedication. Photo by Noel Santiago.

Pastor Randy Heacock, of Doylestown (PA) Mennonite Church, offered words of encouragement and challenge, noting that with new visibility will come new opportunities.

The main focal point of the dedication was not the appliances, but a prayer centerpiece that Sandy Landes, Prayer Minister at Doylestown (PA) Mennonite Church, and Jeannette Phillips, Mosaic Conference Intercessor, created together. The climax of the dedication happened around this prayer centerpiece. Those present could offer prayers, symbolized by small electric tea lamps that each person placed at the centerpiece.

The Bergey owners’ symbol was a 1000-watt Metal Halide lamp that was put together as a special piece. This lamp represented their ongoing trust in God for their business as well as their commitment to using their business for God’s glory.

Pastor Scott Roth, of Line Lexington (PA) Mennonite Church, offered the closing, dedicatory prayer. The prayer focused on God’s presence increasingly becoming real to all those who interact with Bergey’s Electric.

The Metal Halide Lamp was lit by the owners of Bergey’s Electric, representing their ongoing trust in God for the business. Photo by Noel Santiago.
Pastor Scott Roth leads in a dedicatory prayer of the new showroom. Photo by Randy Heacock.

Witnessing to God’s Image

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by Noel Santiago, Leadership Minister

Volunteers from Iglesia Nueva Vida Norristown (PA) New Life Church (NVNNL) assist community folks who have expired, lost, or stolen IDs and need assistance in navigating the governmental systems to gain access to a new ID.

Today’s world provides us many opportunities to witness. From sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to serving, giving, and being present, the Holy Spirit empowers us.

Iglesia Nueva Vida Norristown (PA) New Life Church (NVNNL) sees itself as a witness through the work of their Photo ID clinic. NVNNL received a conference Missional Operation Grant to empower their work. Here is their report of the work: 

1. What went well?

Our photo ID clinic in February was hugely successful. Fourteen volunteers assisted 58 persons who were seeking assistance to renew expired photo IDs, replace lost/stolen photo IDs, and obtain birth certificates and Social Security cards necessary to apply for photo IDs. People were grateful and relieved to finally resolve the challenges of their identity documents. 

The clinics are a wonderful opportunity to share God’s love and bounty with folks who are struggling in poverty and the harsh realities of illnesses and homelessness. Our church continues to be an example of “true evangelical faith” as we engage with our community. 

2. What new opportunities did you discover?

The COVID-19 shutdown affected our plans for a clinic in May because state offices were closed and we could not host a large group of people. We continued to serve a few people on a case-by-case basis.

Members of Iglesia Nueva Vida Norristown (PA) New Life Church provided assistance to 58 community members seeking assistance at their Photo ID Clinic in February. 

Meanwhile, conversations earlier in the year with the director of the Hospitality Center (a day shelter for persons experiencing homelessness in Norristown and a ministry of the Norristown Ministerium) began to bear fruit. This summer, we formed a new partnership with the Hospitality Center to host our next two clinics outdoors in a way that battles both poverty and the coronavirus. We do not want to miss the blessing of sharing with our neighbors in need.

3. Share a story that inspired you. 

One man was so thrilled to finally be able to get an updated photo ID. He had fallen on some hard times and spent some time in prison. He is trained as a restaurant cook and had a job waiting for him if he could just get his ID. When NVNNL hosts fellowship meals again, he wants to come and cook for us. 

Most of us have no idea of the difficulties faced by not having a plastic card with our picture and personal information on it. Having a state-issued photo ID unlocks so many doors. It is a tremendous relief for those who cannot afford the fees or figure out how to navigate the system. 

Many of our clients recognize this as a gift from God and our church. We often encourage people to explore their relationship with God, and invitations to engage with our congregation are always given.

Jesus was once asked if the people should pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus asked for a coin and was given a denarius. He then asked whose image was on it? They responded, “Caesar’s.” Jesus then stated, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (Mark 12:15-17, NIV)

The next question that could have been asked is, “What belongs to God?” A further question would be, “Whose image is on you?”

As NVNNL works at providing “a plastic card with their picture and personal information on it,” we are all called to remember that it is the image and likeness of God that is imprinted on each human and therefore worthy of dignity and respect.

May we continue to bear witness to this truth so that our communities and world will know and experience the good news of God’s love in Jesus.

Jesus Love and Sourdough

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by Dawn Moore, Souderton congregation

Dawn Moore, Souderton (PA) Mennonite Church board chair, with a loaf of imperfect, but tasty, sourdough bread and a blob of bubbly starter.
Photo provided by Dawn Moore

There’s been a shortage of yeast across the USA during this pandemic. Like some people hoarded toilet paper, bakers bought up this key ingredient. Without yeast on hand, I called my friend, Tyler Kratz, to ask for a bit of his sourdough starter.  Tyler gladly handed over the blob, but was quite cryptic about what I should do.  “Feed it” in a few hours, he said, and then asked if I owned a kitchen scale. Huh?

The naturally-occuring yeast in sourdough starter eats ordinary flour like nobody’s business, yielding exponential growth that demands immediate baking.  It’s as ravenous as it is limitless.  Tyler gave me that first blob eight weeks ago. I have yet to master the art of sourdough baking, but have done well enough.  I’ve also given away bits of starter, with the same cryptic questions: Do you have a kitchen scale? Do you understand how to feed this blob?

Life as a whole felt quite cryptic when Montgomery County, PA abruptly went under stay-at-home orders on March 13. We at Souderton Mennonite Church had no idea what was ahead. Two things seemed certain: the crisis was just beginning and needs in our community could grow exponentially. Our response must be effective and sustainable for the long haul. We needed to learn how to “feed” our community of needs with little preparation or expertise.

A brainstorming group was formed under the direction of Pastor Jenifer Eriksen-Morales. Any idea for extending “Jesus Love” was fair game.  Immediately, some purchased and delivered food to families in need. We also donated funds and assisted in packing food for families with our friends at Emmanuel Lutheran and Zion Mennonite.  Meanwhile a thoughtful church member organized online tutoring to help frazzled parents who were now educating children at home. 

A “Little Free Pantry” was born under our carport, allowing neighbors to anonymously “give what you can and take what you need.” This place of Jesus Love is used daily, often hourly, as neighbors tangibly care for one another.  One recipient recently shared, “I prayed on my way here that I would find baby supplies. I’m so glad they are stocked as I didn’t know what I would do. Thank you!”  

The Little Free Pantry is a self-sustaining initiative located under the carport at Souderton (PA) Mennonite Church. Photo credit: Dawn Moore

As I learned how to care for and share my sourdough starter, our congregation also shared their ingredients of love, compassion, desire, and care with our broader community. We have been amazed at the way our starters have multiplied, creating more than we ever imagined. 

We also saw a need in caring for frontline workers, such as the ER doctor who has lived in a hotel to protect his family from COVID-19,  the hospice nurse who lovingly accompanies patients in their final holy moments without beloved family members, or the high school student who delivers food trays to residents in a local care facility, offering a kind word to these isolated seniors. How might we show appreciation for their sacrifices? The idea we settled on, Pay-it-Forward Frontline, has the added advantage of supporting our local economy. 

A loaf of finished sourdough bread from the novice baker. Photo credit: Dawn moore

Pay-It-Forward Frontline invites you to donate funds in any amount to local restaurants to be used as “thank you meals” for frontline workers. SMC has seeded four Souderton/Telford area establishments, with the hope that others will join locally and in other communities. 

I’ve learned to keep my sourdough in the fridge for longer stretches, bringing it to life only when time allows.  What would happen if we allowed the sourdough of Jesus Love to grow unhindered, sharing it lavishly, and growing it exponentially in our communities and beyond?

Click here to read more about the Pay it Forward frontline campaign.

Through the Valley of Shadows

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Give to the
Shalom Mutual Aid Fund*


Steve Kriss

by Steve Kriss, Executive Minister

My last article was about 10 days ago. We were beginning to glimpse the seriousness of the coronavirus.  We slowly began to reconsider and reschedule events.

To be honest, I wasn’t prepared for the rapid change in the situation that would mean that nearly all our member congregations, from California to Vermont, wouldn’t physically gather. Then, I wrote that I’d still get tacos and pho and go to the gym.  For now, those of us who live in Philadelphia can still get take-out, but, with non-essential businesses closed, I’m doing my workouts in the basement at home.

Leadership is tested in changing situations.  We continue to prioritize localized decision-making across our Conference that is responsive to the needs of the community, emphasizing love of God and love of neighbor.  Pennsylvania Governor Wolf said that our commonwealth has not seen this kind of disruption since the Civil War.  Yet God is with us and the Spirit empowers us to be and share the Good News, even when the best thing we can do is to remain in our homes as much as possible.

In the meantime, nearly all our energy is going into bracing for what might come, honoring our government’s suggestions on best practices around gathering and distancing.  Financial needs have emerged quickly among vulnerable individuals and communities in our Conference.  We will need to act together to share our resources well in the weeks and months ahead.

Across our Conference, we are still meeting.  Many congregations are finding ways to use new technology (like Zoom and Facebook) as well as renewing older technology (like phone calls) to stay connected.  We really do need each other in this time, both to make it through and to maintain hope that there will be life after the crisis.  Conference staff are gathering pastors virtually to dialogue together in English, Spanish, and Indonesian.  We are gathering for prayer weekly and are offering online equipping as well.  We are in this struggle together.

Yet Asian American neighbors are experiencing acts of aggression and racism in this time.  We cannot be people of fear but rather people of love who speak and act in ways that don’t allow racism to flourish in our midst.  I am committed to ongoing accompaniment and advocacy for the Asian American members and communities across our Conference: the peace of our land is dependent on the recognition of God’s imprint on each person.    I encourage all of us to choose our words and actions wisely and sensitively so that we are people of healing and hope.

While many of our Conference Related Ministries have shut down, our human service providers are experiencing higher degrees of need.  Our retirement communities are especially vulnerable and operating at high levels of vigilance.  We will do well to remember Frederick Living, Living Branches, and the Community at Rockhill in prayer.   Ripple Community Inc in Allentown has committed to remaining open and accessible to those people who need food and accompaniment; they’re looking for partners to prepare sandwiches and to help supplement the sudden influx of needs in the community center there.  Crossroads Community Center in Philadelphia has also seen an increase in needs, particularly for food.  As a long-term ministry presence in the Fairhill neighborhood, Crossroads has credibility to provide resources during this time. Together as a conference community, we’ll look for ways to support both of these urban ministries in the coming weeks.

The familiar words of Psalm 23 have become a guide for me in these days: “Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil …. Surely goodness and love will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  We trust in God’s care, even in this overwhelming time, and we look for ways to express our trust in God while extending God’s love and care for our neighbors.

Watch the video of Executive Minister Steve Kriss on Facebook Live Tuesday, March 24, talking about living our formational, missional, and intercultural priorities in a time of crisis.

*The Shalom Fund supports pastors, congregations and ministries in direct response to the Coronavirus and the ensuing economic crisis.   We will seek to respond to the most vulnerable within our membership and neighborhoods by empowering local ministries to meet real needs with Christ’s love and generosity in a time of fear and anxiety.

It’s Time to Plant a Garden

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by Emily Ralph Servant, Leadership Minister & Director of Communication

Just this morning, the president of our Baltimore city neighborhood association posted in our local gardeners’ group on Facebook.  She encouraged us to take advantage of the early spring to start planting our container gardens with vegetables.

In the midst of the constant barrage of news about COVID-19 (coronavirus), I doubt she was aware of how much her words resonated with those of another prophet, thousands of years ago.

God’s people were in exile, in a world they no longer recognized, and they had been crying out to God to send them home.  God responded that rescue would come—eventually.  But, in the meantime, God’s people were to settle in … because it was gonna be a while.

Build homes, the prophet Jeremiah encouraged them, foster relationships, plant gardens.  Pray and work for the well-being of the cities where you live.

This cheerleading feels timely this week, as we face a growing awareness that the coronavirus isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.  In my association president’s words and in Jeremiah’s plea, I hear God’s invitation to settle in.  It’s gonna be a while.

The thing about working in the garden (or going for a walk around the block), is that we can encounter our neighbors in safe space and at a leisurely pace.  It’s amazing how many meaningful conversations can happen across fences or between the sidewalk and the stoop.

Those of us on the east coast have been experiencing an early spring—a gift from God for such a time as this.  The unusually warm weather allows us to get out of our houses and be the Church in our neighborhoods: checking in on neighbors and handing out our phone numbers to those who don’t already have them; extending and accepting help with yard work, trash cleanup, or grocery pickup; visiting with new and old friends as we commiserate together.

And if you haven’t already joined neighborhood groups on social media, now is a perfect time to do so.  Many of these groups—formed around shared geography, hobbies, the “gift economy,” and local advocacy—are increasing their connection to community right about now.  They are creating spreadsheets of vulnerable neighbors who need help, offering to pick up food on trips to the grocery store, sharing information about school lunches, medical care, and the latest in neighborhood closings.  This is community at its best.

Jeremiah reminds us that our well-being is tied up with the well-being of our neighborhoods.  We can pray and work and advocate for our government leaders to make wise and just decisions.  We can pray and work and advocate for neighbors who are at risk.  We are called to pray diligently, even as we build, plant, and make new friends.

[Join a Conference-wide online prayer meeting this Wednesday at 12pm EST/9am PST. RSVP by emailing Noel Santiago.]

Tomorrow morning, you are invited to login to your virtual church service, interact with your congregation on Facebook, read your email devotional (whatever ways of participating in corporate worship that your hardworking pastor has been creating for you!) … and then join your neighbors in the streets and on the sidewalks of your community.  Together we will pray for an end to this pandemic.  And, together, we will settle in for the long haul.