Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Nations and Generations

Sharing and Dreaming

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Editor’s Note: Nations & Generations Gatherings are a component of our annual Assembly gathering. These gatherings, are held for the leaders of the Global Majority (the leaders of color) in Mosaic Conference. Three gatherings, November 15 (English), November 18 (Indonesian), and November 20 (Spanish), were held via zoom this year.

I was grateful to lead the Nations and Generations group in Spanish on November 20. It felt like a gathering of family. In the same way that not enough people know the history of Black Mennonites, not enough people know the history of Latino Mennonites connected to our Conference.  

One of the things I love about these types of gatherings is that it’s a chance to share our stories and see how we are connected by faith and faithful people. We are a people shaped by story, the biblical faith story, but also the story of our culture and people. I was fascinated to learn about new connections and people.  

We spent time most of our time reflecting on the scripture and theme from Assembly, Romans 12:1-8 and mutual transformation. We noted ways that we all need each other and are all being transformed into the image of Christ.  

We concluded our time with sharing our hopes and dreams for Mosaic Conference. There were some great practical things that we as Mosaic can be working on, but two dreams stood out to me.  

First was the desire to have more Latinas on Mosaic staff. There is a large group of Latinas in South Philly and the growing mission in Tijuana, Mexico. They desire support, resources, and representation in leadership. The situation was compared to the story in Acts 6 and the words, “Pay attention to the unattended” were declared.  

The second dream was that these gatherings would one day no longer be needed. We dream of the day that Mosaic Conference would be so united as the body of Christ that we would only see “we” and “us.”  

We dream of the day that Mosaic Conference would be so united as the body of Christ that we would only see “we” and “us.”

As all of Mosaic Conference works to be mutually transformed, may it be so. 

Gathering at the Table

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Editor’s Note: Nations & Generations Gatherings are a component of our annual Assembly gathering. These gatherings, are held for the leaders of the Global Majority (the leaders of color) in Mosaic Conference. Three gatherings, November 15 (English), November 18 (Indonesian), and November 20 (Spanish), were held via zoom this year.

I am a firm believer in God’s intentionality. On November 15, I had the pleasure of gathering with a small, diverse group of people from our Mosaic Conference for a gathering entitled, Nations and Generations. Not clear with our purpose at first, I quickly realized this was transformational work in progress.

It is my belief, that by divine appointment, those who were there for this session are those that were meant to be there. There was some pain at the table and a clear need for healing. Healing from seeing and experiencing racial injustice in sacred spaces. There was sorrow and regret at the table. Sorrow and regret that was birthed out of guilt by association. Bitterness had a seat at the table. Bitterness that had grown out of years of past hurt.

There were those who wanted to forget and those who wanted to remember. Those who felt like insiders and those who felt like outsiders. There were those who had a deep desire for transparency, trust, and truth.

But most importantly, Hope was at the table. Hope … that one day we would sit at a unified table where power, resources, and decision-making are evenly distributed. Where there is no them and us. Just one nation under God for generations to come.

The Generations that make up Mosaic Conference, with all its broken pieces, need to be at the table. For the ones who want to forget, let the elders help them remember. Remember the good for its value and the bad so it is not repeated.

Needs that were identified by this Nations & Generations Gathering:

  • Shoulder tapping to gather the nations and Generations together.
  • A realization of a different language, but a unified heart.
  • Sharing of power, resources, decision-making.
  • Realization that there is a History of Black Mennonites.
  • Recognition of all the history being built within the Conference.
  • Be the change that we are talking about.
  • We must engage in honest conversations that lead to forgiveness, not sweeping it under the rug.
  • We want to learn to live the example of Jesus who invites all to the table. Meeting them where they are in their language. Jesus knew he could not reconcile with people if He looked down on them, was condescending, or patronizing. Instead, Jesus desired to know them in their context.
  • We must look at our Conference in its entirety. Those who have been around a long time, both white people and people of color, have thoughts of a truly mosaic conference. Those who have paved the way in the Mennonite faith, we need you at the table. You have valuable wisdom and knowledge to share. You bring history. All of the nuances bring life.

Celebrating Nations and Generations in South Philly

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by Aldo Siahaan, Leadership Minister, with Chantelle Todman Moore, Intercultural Coach

We walked silently through the streets of South Philadelphia.

Pastors and leaders gather after the prayer walk.

Pastor Joshua and Anita So from San Francisco and I focused on praying for the people and for the city. No interruption of cell phones.  No chatting. We built our relationship with one another through our prayer.  It was a dream come true for me.

A couple of years ago, when I was representing Franconia Conference on the board of Mennonite Central Committee, we held a gathering where the people of color who served on the board could talk and share our thoughts.

After this wonderful experience, I dreamed that we could do something similar for leaders of color in Franconia Conference to strengthen our relationships with one another and think together about how we could participate and experience inclusion more in the life of the conference.  On November 1, 2018, this dream became reality.

Hendy Stevan, pastor at Indonesian Light Church, and Chantelle Todman Moore, Franconia Conference Intercultural Leadership Coach

The Renewing Nations & Generations gathering met at Nations Worship Center (NWC) in Philadelphia for an afternoon and evening of prayer, worship, visioning, and connecting a diverse group of ministers, some of whom identify as Chinese, Indonesian, Mexican, Black, and persons of color within Franconia Conference.  For the first time, ministers of color in Franconia Conference had a space to hear from each other as we listened to the Holy Spirit together.

Beny Krisbianto (NWC), Kiron Mateti (Plains Mennonite Church), Marina Stevan (Indonesian Light Church), and Emmanuel Villatoro (Philadelphia Praise Center) took turns leading worship in English, Indonesian, and Spanish.  It was a taste of heaven as people from different nations sang together in different tongues.

We played together, laughing as we tried to draw portraits of one another.  We connected over Indonesian and Mexican foods.  Those of us who arrived feeling tentative or shy found courage as we made new friends and discovered that this was a safe space to be honest about our experiences in the past and our desires for the future.

We spent time in small groups, discussing our hopes, dreams, and fears.  What makes us excited about the future of the Church and our conference?  What are our dreams for our communities, our congregations, and our conference?  What do we lament?  How could our conference invest in young millennial leaders and credentialed ministers of color?  Our conversations were only the beginning, but it was a good start for ministers of color to get to know each other and dream together.

We ended the day with a hope that this could become an annual event and a commitment to value one another across generational differences: seeing and honoring our elders as we love and respect emerging leaders, co-laboring together, with God, in the mission of the Church.

As we continue our ministry in Franconia Conference in the days and months to come, I hope that all of our brothers and sisters will see that the presence of ministers of color and ethnic churches are a gift from God.  These gifts are deeply needed to complete the work that God is doing in our conference and in our world.