Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Oxford Circle Christian Community Development Association

Intentional and Insightful Fellowship

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In the light of the racially charged events of the past year, some members of Blooming Glen (PA) Mennonite Church studied Jemar Tisby’s book, How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice.  One of the ways Tisby suggests fighting racism is to visit with and learn from people of color.

Our book study group contacted Katie Gard, Development Director at Oxford Circle Christian Development Association (OCCDA), and asked if a group of us from Blooming Glen could listen and learn from our brothers and sisters of color, share a meal, and worship together. We wanted to embark on a learning trip. 

Members of Oxford Circle and Blooming Glen Mennonite Churches gather to talk and listen about race and prejudice on June 13, 2021. Photo provided by Mike Ford.

On June 13, twenty-one of us from Blooming Glen traveled to Oxford Circle (Philadelphia, PA) Mennonite Church. We spent hours listening, learning, and eating a delicious Colombian meal together. We engaged in intentional conversation to build understanding and gain a new perspective on the difficult topic of racism. We ended our visit by worshiping with the Oxford Circle congregation at their evening service.

Our experience was rich with opportunities to listen, learn, and grow and gave us lots to consider, such as …

  • Would you change your name to make your neighbors feel comfortable? You are a US citizen in the US, but your name is unfamiliar to the people around you. Would you change your name to one that sounds familiar to your environment? A person that we met at Oxford Circle changed their name for our comfort. How important is your name to your identity?
  • One Oxford Circle participant explained that as a child, they learned that there are three reasons why a white person would come into their community – to recruit kids to sell drugs, to use girls for sex, or to buy drugs. How distrustful and fearful of white people one might feel if those were your experiences? What messages or experiences inform our ideas about race? How can we help each other to put aside our fears?
  • If shots were fired in your neighborhood, would you call the police? If yes, how long would it take your local police to respond? For a person living near Oxford Circle, the police did not arrive until the next day. Is that your experience with the police?
  • If you were attacked and stabbed, how likely would it be that the police would interrogate your children? The police questioned a participant’s children, without an adult present, while they waited to be picked up from school and accused them of being part of the attack.  Further, the media misrepresented the facts about the attack. After this terrifying event, the victim reached out to offer forgiveness and reconciliation to the perpetrator’s family. Could you?

We learned how our brothers and sisters are following the way of Christ amidst persecution, prejudice, and violence.

Desiring to learn more about overcoming racism, 21 members from Blooming Glen Mennonite Church traveled to meet with members of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church in Philadelphia, PA. Photo provided by Mike Ford.

Together we courageously discussed the difficult topic of racism. Can Mosaic churches be beacons of Christ’s love amidst all of the division within us and around us? How can we take steps towards one another to build understanding and unity?

One Oxford Circle member shared, “I want you to love my color people as you love your neighbors, as you love yourself. If we loved each other as God asks us to do, we wouldn’t be having the issues we have in this world. Recognize and educate yourself. Spend quality time being part of the solution, and finally, PRAY.”

We are blessed with diversity in Mosaic Conference. Let us seek ways to build on the blessing of our diversity as we witness together.

The Risk of Asking & Answering

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by Maria Hosler Byler, Associate Pastor for Youth and Family Faith Formation

Sometimes it takes great courage to ask a question, especially if you are not sure that you can fulfill the answer. Mary Jane Hershey of Salford Mennonite Church had the courage to ask Katie Gard of the Oxford Circle Christian Community Development Association (OCCCDA) what they needed and Katie had the courage to answer, neither of them knowing what, if anything, might come of it.

Salford Mennonite Church and Advent Lutheran Church share a garden on Salford’s property that, “exists to nurture relationships with one another and with God, cultivating a piece of God’s creation, and growing good food for those who need it most.”  The produce from the garden is donated to individuals in need throughout the community, including to various non-profits. Oxford Circle Christian Community Development Association (OCCCDA) of Philadelphia is one of those non-profits.

At the annual fundraising dinner held at Salford to garner funds for seeds and supplies, Mary Jane Hershey encountered Katie Gard and asked that courageous question: what do you at OCCCDA need? She didn’t know what the response would be, or what it would cost her and her community. She didn’t know if she’d be able to fulfill whatever the answer was. Yet she stepped out and asked.

Katie took a risk, too, as she answered, asking for a visit to the Salford garden for their summer camp. The camp receives produce from the garden and Katie believed the kids would benefit from seeing where the produce comes from, and from being in the country. Katie didn’t know how it might happen. She didn’t know what it might require from Salford or Oxford Circle, but she gave her answer.

Mikaylah Price, Adele Shoup, Aubrey Andrews, and Ila Hackman (left to right) show off the carrots they harvested in the Salford Advent community garden.

That was not the end of the small acts of courage. Through collaboration and coordination, plans came together. When the buses pulled up on July 13, several Salford kids and parents were waiting hesitantly as 72 kids and 18 adults from the summer camp got organized. The summer camp kids didn’t quite know what to expect either, but their capable staff lined them up and we split up into our stations.

Between the garden tour, harvesting carrots, introducing the Oxford Circle campers to Gaga ball, and playing water games, kids from Salford and Northeast Philadelphia started to feel at home together. Teammates cheered each other on and helped each other out. Campers harvested carrots to take home. The next week, when the produce from the garden came to OCCCDA, they knew where it was from!

Asking questions and offering answers both take risk — the vulnerability of submitting one’s idea to the direction of another.  After that first risky question and answer, the questions and answers kept happening: How do we make sure the food we serve is halal? Is it ok to shorten this activity? What games do you like to play at your house? No, they shouldn’t have a second popsicle. Do you want to play with us?

The summer camp kids and adults were taking a risk, asking a question, just by getting on the buses and coming to this predominantly white country church to enjoy our space. Salford families and volunteers needed to respond by accepting the schedule and needs of the well-functioning system that is Oxford Circle Summer Camp. I saw our Salford kids offering welcome in the garden, a familiar space to them, to kids who were seeing it for the first time. I saw them experiencing being welcomed and invited into the games by strangers, needing to depend on the welcome of the summer camp kids. Questions were asked, answers were given, God moved, and the results were abundantly far more than we could have asked or imagined.

Photo: Mikaylah Price, Adele Shoup, Aubrey Andrews, and Ila Hackman (left to right) show off the carrots they harvested in the Salford Advent community garden.