National News

by Laurie Oswald Robinson, Lancaster Mennonite Conference

Going on sabbatical during a multimillion-dollar ministry expansion requires Leonard Dow, pastor of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church in Philadelphia, a Franconia Conference Partner in Mission, to practice the bold faith that comes with knowing God is the ultimate financier.

Dow is lead pastor of the multi-racial congregation and board chair of the Oxford Circle Christian Community Development Association. This joint faith community is seeking to purchase a $3.55 million, 40,000-square-foot commercial building across the street from its current location. The new building will use 10,000 square feet to house larger sanctuary and Sunday school space for the congregation and expand the development association ministries, including conflict resolution, job training and after-school activities. The remaining space will be leased to community service organizations.

To seal the deal, the congregation and association must have $115,000 by September 30 in order to provide a deposit and monies for a feasibility study/inspection. Final purchase date is February 28, 2009. Despite impending deadlines, Dow and other leaders discerned that he should go to Puerto Rico on the long-planned sabbatical. The leaders felt Dow could be absent from August through December as they trusted that God’s presence is moving them forward.

To date, the congregation has raised nearly $25,000 for the down payment, and an additional $25,000 is pledged from the members. Donations and pledges from the wider faith and secular communities are flowing in now, but about $30,000 to $40,000 is still needed to reach the balance of the September 30 payment.

“We’ve known from the start that realizing this vision would be about God’s greatness and not ours – and my sabbatical is perfectly timed for spiritually preparing me for what God has in mind for our future,” said Dow who guides the congregation at Oxford Circle with Associate Pastor Lynn Parks, and Peter Sensenig, interim associate pastor during Dow’s sabbatical.

“We believe this is a total God-thing similar to the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites. No one thought it was the strength of the children of Israel that got them through that. They knew it was God acting. There is no doubt in my mind that when all is said and done, no one will say, ‘Wow, look at what Leonard and Oxford Circle did.’ They will marvel at what God did through some very limited folks in Philadelphia.”

Limitation and commitment are both descriptive of the faith community in the Oxford Circle neighborhood. This is a place where many people work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Approximately one-third of the church family supports their families through the help of public assistance. However, this has not stopped the congregation from believing that God has chosen them to help transform their community into a place where God’s riches reign.

“Our congregation is very enthusiastic about what God is doing, and we’re totally committed to knowing God has called us to stay in this neighborhood,” Parks said. “We are fully invested in establishing God’s reign here in Oxford Circle. But that commitment is fueled by also relying on the generosity and expertise of countless others.”

The time, talent and treasure of the local and wider community – Mennonites and others – are bringing the faith community closer to the purchase. A team is working to raise the needed funds. Many individuals are also offering pro bono services in legal and building-code matters. Individuals and groups from Lancaster and Franconia conferences, as well as other people and churches from across Mennonite Church USA, have come forth.

Most surprising has been the show of support from the secular arena, most significantly the former owner of the building, the Fire, Police and Medical Association. This group lowered its original asking price from $4.25 million to the $3.55 million.

“As I spoke to the association, I felt it nearly impossible to explain our vision to these no-nonsense guys, for whom faith seems to be for the weak,” Dow said. “But as I talked to the guys sitting with arms folded across their bellies, I shared my heart.

“I told them that what we want is no different from what they had sought for many years — building a better community. I said that even though we go about it differently, we wanted the same things as they did — a neighborhood that is peaceful, safe, productive and hopeful for its young people – a neighborhood of ‘shalom.’”

Dow said when he left he felt it was over the top. However, it was exactly what God needed to move heart-strings in these men. “The building representative told me that when he talked to the men after I spoke, they got real ‘soft,’” Dow said. “They started blabbering on about how wonderful it would be to have the legacy of the fire and police continue. He felt it was some kind of freak change of attitude on their part. But I call it a move of the Holy Spirit.”

The church and development association will use 10,000 of the 40,000 square feet to reach out with Christ’s healing, hope and reconciliation within the lower northeast side of Philadelphia. The development association will expand its community services and ministries, including conflict resolution for families and groups, training in job skills and small business development and positive after-school activities.

The congregation will use its portion of square feet to house their new the church home. The growing congregation – of about 100 Sunday morning attendees — is bursting at the seams at its current location. It is currently worshiping in a sanctuary of 1,100 square feet and using the remaining 2,200 square feet for Sunday school rooms and the development association.

Leasing the remaining 30,000 square feet (four parties are currently renting and an additional party will be sought) will supply the monthly mortgage. That will enable the church and development association to pay off the principal of the building within fifteen years. The total cost – including $600,000 needed to renovate sanctuary space– is $4.25 million. When the principal is paid off, rental income from tenants will further expand ministry outreach.

Open house will be next Saturday, November 1 from 5-7:30 pm at 5600 Langdon Street, Philadelphia, PA 19124. It will take place at the new property the congregation is in the process of purchasing. Please join us to see the space, architectural plans, and hear what God is doing in our community! Please RSVP to the contact info listed below.

For more information please contact Anita Lyndaker-Studer.

by Laura Lehman Amstutz, Eastern Mennonite Seminary

Eastern Mennonite Seminary’s (EMS) extension site in Lancaster, Pa., has received approval to offer a fully-accredited, three-year master of divinity degree. This achievement culminates more than two years of work and offers new possibilities for students preparing for pastoral work or other areas of Christian ministry.

In spring 2006, EMS applied to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for approval to offer two graduate certificates and the MDiv. degree. EMS also petitioned the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) national accrediting agency. This culminated in site visits in the spring of 2008 of delegations from the Department of Education and ATS.

In their separate approval processes, both organizations commended EMS for “the quality of its program, instructors and students.”

“A growing number of students from Mennonite and other churches in southeastern Pennsylvania have expressed interest in earning a graduate certificate or MDiv. degree from EMS,” said Mark R. Wenger, director of pastoral studies at the Lancaster branch. “However, many students find it not viable to move or commute to the main campus in Virginia.”

For the MDiv degree program, EMS in Pennsylvania has negotiated cooperative arrangements with accredited seminaries in the area, including Lancaster Theological Seminary; Evangelical Theological Seminary, Myerstown, Pa.; and Biblical Seminary, Hatfield, Pa. EMS students can take seminary courses at these seminaries and receive credit at EMS.

The official notification letter by Dr. Gerald Zahorchak of the Pennsylvania Department of Education stated, “I wish you success with the degree programs and the certificate programs and know that they will be administered to reflect the high academic quality which is the standard of Eastern Mennonite University.”

When she heard the news, EMS student Misty Wintsch, associate pastor at Mechanic Grove Church of the Brethren, Quarryville, Pa., responded, “A great big YEEHA! I couldn’t be more thrilled.”

Student Julie Dunst from Reading, Pa., wrote: “Congratulations! It is well earned. I am eager to see what your offerings are in the future.”

EMS in Pennsylvania currently offers two or three graduate-level seminary courses each semester in addition to other pastoral training programs. Students can earn a graduate certificate, which requires 24 credit hours, in about two years. Certificates in Biblical Studies and Theological Studies are now offered in addition to the MDiv. degree.

Seminary Dean Ervin R. Stutzman said, “I am very grateful for the dedicated and cooperative workers at the Lancaster extension,” EMS dean Ervin R. Stutzman said. “I offer my congratulations to everyone on completing the difficult tasks necessary for this approval.”

By June Galle Krehbiel for Mennonite Church USA

Mennonite Church USA and other historic peace churches are inviting U.S. Christian leaders to participate in Heeding God’s Call: A Gathering on Peace, Jan. 13 to 17 in Philadelphia, Pa.

Mennonite Church USA, the Church of the Brethren and the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) are co-sponsoring this peace gathering. All U.S. member churches that are part of Mennonite World Conference, including Conservative Mennonite Conference, Mennonite Brethren and Brethren in Christ, as well as other Anabaptist groups have been invited to send representatives. Franconia Conference Director of Congregational Resourcing and Equipping, Ertell Whigham and Aldo Siahaan, pastor of Philadelphia Praise Center will represent Franconia Conference at this gathering. Siahaan attended a similar gathering held in Indonesia last year.

“The Philadelphia gathering is for Christian leaders to discern God’s leading regarding our witness for peace during a time of escalating violence,” says J. Fred Kauffman, who works for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) East Coast and represents Mennonite Church USA on the peace gathering’s executive committee.

The initial vision for this event came from the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting which invited Brethren and Mennonites to co-sponsor the gathering. The stated purpose is “strengthening our witness and work for peace in the world by inspiring hope, raising voices, taking action.”

Planners expect around 600 registrants, half of them from the three sponsoring denominations. The other 300 will represent various Christian traditions. Those invited include member bodies of the National Council of Churches, other denominations with membership over 100,000 as well as denominational peace fellowships and several ecumenical peace/justice organizations.

The gathering will include morning worship, plenary sessions, panel discussions, workshops and small groups as well as written summaries of the meetings’ common concerns.

“Pray that, as Christians from many backgrounds and persuasions meet, we indeed hear Jesus’ call to peacemaking. We need to find public ways to speak to our time and challenge the idolatry of nation-worship and its violence,” Kauffman says. “My personal hope is that participants will be open to the movement of God’s Spirit, lift up Jesus as Savior and Lord and issue a ringing call for local and global peacemaking to the church in the United States.”

The late Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision for peace lies at the heart of the mid-January gathering. The national holiday on Jan. 19, 2009, marks King’s birth and commemorates his role as spokesperson for the nonviolent civil rights movement. King colleague and historian Vincent Harding from Denver, Colo., who worked with his wife, Rosemarie, in representing the Mennonite church in the civil rights movement, will serve as elder for the gathering.

Registrants will gather Saturday, Jan. 17, to worship in a public place with local congregations and participate in a peace action to speak out against handgun violence. Organizing the Saturday public witness is Church of God in Christ leader Elisha Morris of the Philadelphia Anti-Drug/Anti-Violence Network.

“Mennonites have brought to the planning process a passion to address not only international peace but also peace on the streets,” Kauffman says. “We live in the midst of fear and violence in our nation and our own communities. Christ calls us to confront this culture of violence with the peace that he promised, a peace that is not like the ‘peace’ of this world.”

Besides Kauffman, Mennonites on committees to plan the gathering include: Michelle Armster of Conciliation Services; Bertha Beachy of Mennonite Central Committee U.S.Assembly Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind.; Drick Boyd and Andy Peifer of West Philadelphia (Pa.) Mennonite Fellowship; Leo Hartshorn of Mennonite Mission Network; Susan Mark Landis, Mennonite Church USA Peace Advocate; Hubert Schwartzendruber of Plains Mennonite Church, Hatfield, Pa.; and Ruth Wenger of North Bronx (N.Y.) Mennonite Church.

–Andrea Ressler, Bluffton University

“Everything is changing,” said Steve Kriss, director of communication and leadership cultivation for the Franconia Conference of Mennonite Church USA, to Bluffton University students and community members during the institution’s weekly Forum series on Sept. 16. “You’ll be in a web of relationships and connected like no generations before you. You’ll rethink how you understand families, lives, actions and behaviors. Your whole life will be redefined.” Learning to embrace uncomfortable moments, as well as resulting change in the church was the basis for Kriss’ presentation, “Stumbling Toward and Glimpsing a Real Future in the Present Moment.”

As director of communication and leadership cultivation, Kriss works with Mennonite churches to develop individuals’ leadership potential and multiethnic faith communities. In working with multiethnic churches and settings which he acknowledges it can be challenging, as language barriers and ethnocentrism factors in. “Individuals need to recognize that their given nationality and tongue isn’t better than another’s, rather it is different,” said Kriss. “De-centering and recognizing the needs of others is an important part of the growth process of both individuals and churches.”

As Christians, Kriss said individuals are called to follow Jesus—a calling that can be uncomfortable. “One’s faith, life and ability to love are what bring Christians into reality,” he said. “If Christians can not break the barriers between what is going on in the world and what is happening to us on a personal level, then we will not be able to figure out the way in the church in a new day,” said Kriss. A shift toward multiethnic churches forces members to rethink how they have always done things. Kriss reminded the audience that the gospel calls Christians to be teachers, students and servants all at once and all the time.

Kriss spoke about the Philadelphia Praise Center, in Philadelphia, Pa., a church that incorporates Spanish, English, Mandarin and Indonesian languages during its services. This church experience requires growth by the individuals speaking and those listening, as all are reliant upon translation at some point. What is important is that individuals be willing and able to represent the Good News to others, even if the manners in which they are sharing are new and different.

Kriss suggested that “being the church” involves trying to figure out the “complex issues to following Jesus in a complex world.” “Languages are complex,” he said, “and pushing yourself to embrace them is pushing yourself to expand the kingdom of God.”

In closing, Kriss said that Christians are invited to experience God in ways that are different from their own. “We are invited to do the unfolding of the reign of God in this time,” said Kriss. “We are invited to be uncomfortable and to figure out what it means to be in the church; to be in the place of the real and now.”

Laura Leaman Amstutz, Eastern Mennonite Seminary

“It is impossible to follow Christ while fulfilling the demands of the American dream,” said Leonard Dow, pastor at Oxford Circle Mennonite Church in Philadelphia, Pa. He addressed students, faculty and staff at Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Spiritual life Week services, Sept. 23-25. Oxford Circle is a partner in mission congregation with Franconia Conference.

“All upward mobility is resistant to the way of Christ,” said Dow in the opening chapel service. He described his upbringing in North Philadelphia and the temptations he faced to follow the values of the television show, “The Jeffersons,” and keep “moving on up” in society.

Using a translation of John 1:14 from “The Message” by Eugene Peterson, Dow described how this is exactly opposite to the way of Christ: “’The message’ says, ‘The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.’” He described Christ’s downward mobility and the way Christ continually reached out to the disenfranchised around him.

“Jesus’ call to discipleship is not about being a little bit Christ-like,” Dow said. “Jesus called us individually and as a body to be living Christs.”

In a special chapel titled “The Selfless Way of Christ- the Temptation to be Relevant,” Dow preached from Luke 4:1-14, the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. He described Jesus being tempted to turn rocks into bread as an enticement to be relevant, to do something productive.

“The world would have us believe that achievements are the most important aspect of who we are,” said Dow. “But not in God’s eyes.

“There is a temptation to run our churches like a business,” he continued, “because we want to be relevant and be able to measure our success.”

“Our primary goal is not to be relevant,” said Dow. “Our goal is to be significant.”

Dow concluded the series by speaking on “The Selfless Way of Christ – the Temptation of Excess,” focusing on the temptation to be powerful and the temptation to be spectacular.

“We like the spectacular,” said Dow. “We desire God to be spectacular but we lose sight of God in the ordinary. We need God to dwell with us in the ordinary.”

Dow also cited the temptation to seek power.

“We say to Christ, ‘I want to be more like you, except the difficult parts,’” Dow said. “As followers of Jesus, I want you to allow the Lord to reign in your lives. It isn’t enough to imitate Jesus or to be inspired by Jesus. To confess Jesus we are to be living Christs here and now, in our time.”

Dow is a 1987 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University. His chapel messages are available online as podcasts at https://emu.edu/blog/podcast/2008.

Spiritual Life Week is an annual event at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. In addition to hearing a guest speaker, students and faculty participate in a Wednesday afternoon retreat to discuss the theme for the week.

Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States, will speak at Salford Mennonite Church, in Harlesville, Pa., on October 11 and 12.

Prejean is internationally known as an anti-death penalty activist. A Louisiana native, Prejean joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille in 1957 and began her prison ministry in New Orleans in 1981. Dead Man Walking was inspired by her experience as spiritual adviser for the first inmate whose execution she witnessed.

“The realization that came to me was that people are never going to see this. Executions are a secret ritual, so people don’t have any close-up experience and they never will. I help people navigate across the poles, and I give them a few pertinent facts about how the death penalty is actually practiced.”

The U.S. has executed 1,099 people since the U.S. Supreme Court reauthorized the death penalty in 1976. 14 states currently have bans on the death penalty. Pennsylvania’s Death Row is the fourth largest in the nation.

Nominated for a 1993 Pulitzer Prize, translated into ten languages, and topping the New York Best Seller List for 31 weeks, Dead Man Walking was adapted for the Oscar-winning movie of the same title released in 1996 and starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn.

Prejean gives between 120 to 140 lectures worldwide each year. She will speak at Salford Mennonite Church on Saturday evening, Oct. 11, at 7:00 p.m., and on Sunday morning, Oct. 12, for the 9:00 a.m. worship service. For further information, contact Pastor James Lapp at 215-256-0778, Salford Mennonite Church, 480 Groff’s Mill Road, Harleysville, PA 19438. Website: www.salfordmc.org; Phone: 215-256-0778;