Notes to Pastors

Resources Available
There are numerous new copies of Maintaining the Right Fellowship by John Ruth and What Mennonites Believe by J.C. Wenger available at the Mennonite Conference Center. Feel free to stop by and pick up these free copies! They will be available at the conference center front desk until July 20.

Date Correction
“A Day Apart” for pastors and credentialed leaders of Franconia Conference will be held on Wednesday, September 9 instead of September 8 as listed in previous communications. Location and times remain the same. See Notes to Pastors dated June 11 for more information.

“A Day Apart” for Pastors
Pastors and credentialed leaders of Franconia Conference: You are invited to “A Day Apart” planned just for you by Franconia Conference on Wednesday, September 8 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Camp Men-O-Lan. The purpose of the day is to provide a space and time for you to come away and spend time with God in a beautiful, relaxed setting to be refreshed and restored. There will be opportunities for guided prayer, worship, being alone and being in a small group, as well as personal prayer ministry with a prayer team. Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP by Wednesday, September 2 to Sheila Ruth at sruth.menolan@gmail.com or 215-679-5144.

Sharing Prayer Events
Pastors and Prayer Leaders of Franconia conference churches: Is your congregation planning a prayer event to which you could invite others? A prayer vigil, a concert of prayer, equipping in the area of personal and corporate prayer? Please pass this information along to Sandy Landes, Prayer Ministry Coordinator.

MMA invites Pastors to a Webinar
MMA invites you to Moving from Financial Survival to Missional Focus with author Diana Butler Bass and pastor Graham Standish on Wednesday, June 17 from 3 to 4 p.m. The webinar will take place at the MMA Office, 199 Telford Pike, Telford in the Basement Conference Room. For more information, contact Randy Nyce at 267-384-5350 or randy.nyce@mmapartners.org RSVP’s are helpful but not necessary. The webinar is co-sponsored by the Alban Institute and the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving and is part of the series Congregations and the Economic Crisis: Conversation. Perspective. Guidance.

Upcoming Workshop
Come to the Mennonite Conference Center on Thursday, June 11 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. for the workshop Child Sexual Abuse: A Universal Approach to Prevention and Offender Management led by Michael Stinson, Director of Prevention Services at the Joseph J Peters Institute (JJPI). JJPI Prevention Services’ core program is built on a public health model aimed at providing communities and service providers the capacity to recognize the social and behavioral indicators that are present in situations that lead to, or end in, child sexual abuse. This program is designed to shift the primary responsibility of preventing child sexual abuse from children to adults. Within this discussion, we will address issues involving offenders in the community, community safety standards and concerns, and integrating convicted offenders back into a social and community context.

Conference Center hours during Columbus
The Mennonite Conference Center will be open for reduced hours from June 29 – July 3 due to the Mennonite Church USA Convention in Columbus. Office hours will be as follows:
Monday, June 29 – Thursday, July 2 : Open 9 a.m. – noon
Friday, July 3 : CLOSED for the Fourth of July

The June prayer gathering of Franconia Conference will be held on Tuesday, June 16 from 7 – 9 p.m. at the Dayspring Counseling Center of Penn Foundation, Sellersville. Come to learn about the ministry, worship together, connect with one another and prayer-walk on the beautiful campus. Come and be blessed as we pray for this significant ministry in our community!

Reminder of Upcoming LEADership Assemblies
Pastors, congregational leadership chairs, leadership teams and stewardship facilitators or treasurers in all congregations are encouraged to attend one of the following LEADership Assemblies:

Tuesday, April 21, 7 – 9 p.m. at Perkasie Mennonite Church
Monday, April 27, 7 – 9 p.m. at Nueva Vida Norristown New Life
Thursday, April 30, 7 – 9 p.m. at Spring Mount Mennonite Church
Saturday, May 2, 10 a.m. – noon at Steel City Mennonite Church
Date and location in Vermont to be announced

These gatherings will roll out details for LEAD (Leading, Equipping and Discipling), a new direction and platform for missional oversight. The meetings will focus on the LEAD oversight model and are not related to the Corinthian Plan (healthcare access for pastors).

Sharing Prayer Requests
Pastors are invited to submit a prayer request for your congregation to Sandy Landes, Prayer Coordinator. Your prayer request will be shared with congregations in Franconia Conference via our weekly bulletin announcements. Let’s pray for each other and encourage one another. Ephesians 4:16 says “Under Christ’s direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

April Pastors’ and Leaders’ Breakfast
On Thursday, April 16 from 8 – 10 a.m. pastors and leaders can gather to learn about Practical Approaches to Engaging and Training Congregational Leaders. Franconia Conference’s School for Leadership Formation has invited pastoral and lay leaders from Souderton Mennonite Church and Church of the Overcomer (Trainer, PA) to present practical approaches that both congregations are using to call out and train leaders from among the pews. Ertell Whigham, Director of Congregational Resourcing and Equipping, will lead the morning’s conversation. The breakfast will be held at the Mennonite Conference Center in Souderton.  A $5 donation will be requested to help cover the cost of the meal.

Save the Date!
Mark the dates for Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship at Hesston College! This year’s series entitled Learning the Bible in Lifegiving Ways: History, Hooks, and Heilsgeschichte is scheduled for October 30 to November 1. Join Marion Bontrager, Michele Hershberger, and special guest Ted Swartz (Ted and Company!) as they teach, laugh, and lead participants through Biblical Literature (Bib. Lit.) as taught at Hesston College. Discover how the Bible’s stories are connected to each other, and how God has worked in history to “solve the sin problem.” Watch for more details to come!

April Pastors’ and Leaders’ Breakfast
On Thursday, April 16 from 8 – 10 a.m. pastors and leaders can gather to learn about Practical Approaches to Engaging and Training Congregational Leaders. Franconia Conference’s School for Leadership Formation has invited pastoral and lay leaders from Souderton Mennonite Church and Church of the Overcomer (Trainer, PA) to present practical approaches that both congregations are using to call out and train leaders from among the pews. Ertell Whigham, Director of Congregational Resourcing and Equipping, will lead the morning’s conversation. The breakfast will be held at the Mennonite Conference Center in Souderton. A $5 donation will be requested to help cover the cost of the meal.

Pastors, lay ministers and chaplains are invited to the Pastoral Care to Seniors Seminar at Dock Woods Community on Wednesday, April 22 from 8:00 – 11:45 a.m. in the Fisher Auditorium. Drs. Carol and G. Peter Schreck will speak on “Aging Well: Recognizing Losses and Opportunities On the Last Stage of Life’s Journey.” The Schrecks are both practicing therapists and teach at Palmer Theological Seminary. They bring a family systems perspective to the topic of senior ministry. The seminar is FREE to those who pre-register by April 17. For more information or to RSVP contact Chaplain Merlin Hedrick at Dock Woods Community at 215-368-4438.

Reminder of Upcoming LEADership Assemblies
Tuesday, April 21, 7 – 9 p.m. at Perkasie Mennonite Church
Monday, April 27, 7 – 9 p.m. at Nueva Vida Norristown New Life
Thursday, April 30, 7 – 9 p.m. at Spring Mount Mennonite Church
Saturday, May 2, 10 a.m. – noon at Steel City Mennonite Church
Date and location in Vermont to be announced

The upcoming spring gatherings will roll out details for LEAD (Leading, Equipping and Discipling), a new direction and platform for missional oversight. The gatherings are intended for pastors, congregational leadership chairs, leadership teams and stewardship facilitators or treasurers in all congregations. LEAD follows the Equipping posture for congregational leadership and aims to cultivate healthy and growing Anabaptist congregations.

Franconia Conference Leadership Assemblies this Spring

Tuesday, April 21, 7 – 9 p.m. at Perkasie Mennonite Church
Monday, April 27, 7 – 9 p.m. at Nueva Vida Norristown New Life
Thursday, April 30, 7 – 9 p.m. at Spring Mount Mennonite Church
Saturday, May 2, 10 a.m. – noon at Steel City Mennonite Church
Date and location in Vermont to be announced

The upcoming spring gatherings will roll out details for LEAD (Leading, Equipping and Discipling), a new direction and platform for missional oversight. The gatherings are intended for pastors, congregational leadership chairs, leadership teams and stewardship facilitators or treasurers in all congregations. LEAD follows the Equipping posture for congregational leadership and aims to cultivate healthy and growing Anabaptist congregations. Plan to attend one of the gatherings with the appropriate lay leaders from your congregation. Come to learn, ask questions and explore the possibilities as we together share God’s healing and hope for all of the world.

A Call to Prayer
Congregations, Partners in Mission, and Conference Related Ministries: We are part of a body and want to support each other in prayer. What would be your prayer request of one or two sentences for the upcoming year of 2009 to share with your brothers and sisters throughout the conference? Each week the prayer requests of one or two congregations, PIMs or CRMs will be shared with congregations through bulletin announcements. Please forward your requests to Sandy Landes, Franconia Conference prayer ministry coordinator. We look forward to how God will use our prayers to empower us to embrace God’s mission.