Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Penn Foundation

Seeing Each Other As Children of God

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by Sue Conrad Howes, Director of Pastoral Services, St. Luke’s Penn Foundation 

Originally published on the St. Luke’s Penn Foundation blog. Reprinted with permission  

When I first began working as a chaplain in mental health, I was anxious. I said to my supervisor, “I’m not really sure this is the place for me to do my chaplaincy as I have never done chaplaincy in this arena before.” My supervisor gently replied, “Do you think you’ll be able to interact with each client as though s/he is a child of God?” I said, “Yes.”  Then he said, “That is all you’ll need to do.” 

I am reminded of those wise words so often in my work. In fact, I try to remind myself of my goal each day, thinking, “God, help me see each person I meet today as your beloved child.” When I remember the guidance that I was given, I can do my work better and not get caught up in the stigmas, diagnoses, or addictions that the people with whom I work face each day. It allows me to see the client, not as a diagnosis or an addict, but rather as a child of God. Suddenly, I know how to interact with this person – I love them, as I should all children of God. 

I share this story as a sort of confession. Even as a chaplain for a mental health facility, I too have struggled, and sometimes still do, with knowing how best to serve, support, and encourage persons with mental health issues and addictions. Also, when I started in mental health, I felt like I needed to do a lot of reading and research on mental health diagnoses, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc.  Again, my wise advisor told me, sure, you can learn about them, but it’s probably best when you first meet a client/patient that you not even know what his/her diagnosis is. “Just treat them as a beloved child of God.” Although learning about different diagnoses has been helpful in better understanding the clients, I have learned that their diagnoses do not define them or how I enter into a relationship with them. Our relationship is already cemented by my belief that we are both children of God, worthy of love and acceptance. 

May is Mental Health Awareness month. I wish we didn’t have to have a special month to promote it, but the stigmas of mental illness are still prevalent today. When I find myself guarded about interacting with a client due to his/her illness, I ask myself, “Would I be treating them this way if they had a diagnosis of diabetes or cancer?” We accept those illnesses and freely want to support those persons, but we still are challenged in accepting mental illnesses. 

I challenge you this month and in the year ahead, as you interact with persons in your congregation, your family, and your community with mental illness, to remember first and foremost that they, like you, are a beloved child of God. Be kind, gentle, and loving to them and yourself. 

Sue Conrad Howes

Sue Conrad Howes is a chaplain at St.Luke’s Penn Foundation and is an ordained pastor in MC USA. She and her husband live in Quakertown, PA and are members at West Swamp Mennonite Church.

What is a Mennonite? Sharing our Roots with Conference-Related Ministries

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by Margaret Zook

I was recently tickled to discover that the question, “what is a Mennonite?” can be answered in a two-minute Youtube video.  

But to understand the practical theology which motivates and shapes today’s Conference-Related Ministries (CRMs) and their work of service requires much more.      

CRM St. Luke’s Penn Foundation (SLPF) cabinet members and President Wayne Mugrauer gathered on a recent Monday morning to enter more deeply into the history of Anabaptist Mennonites.     

CRM SLPF cabinet gathers in the MHEP Meetinghouse. Photo by Margaret Zook.
President Wayne Mugrauer & Pastor Sue Conrad Howes share Q&A time at the “What is a Mennonite?” session. Photo by Margaret Zook.

Since 1955, Penn Foundation has been connected to the Anabaptist community as a CRM, reflecting the faith of their founders and the biblical values that influence the organization. In July 2021, Penn Foundation joined St. Luke’s University Health Network, an institution with Catholic roots, creating a fully integrated health network based on shared values. 

To understand the origins of the Anabaptist faith, there is no better place to enter the story than the exhibits and voices of the Mennonite Heritage Center (Harleysville, PA), another CRM. With stories, humor, and depth, Joel Horst Nofziger, Director of the Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania (MHEP), led the group through an interactive tour. 

MHEP’s Director Joel Horst Nofziger, right, and the Mennonite history displays capture attention of SLPF cabinet members. Photo by Margaret Zook.

With curiosity and interest, the group lingered with questions of clarification exploring the connections and uniqueness of Catholic and Anabaptist values.    

It was a rich morning of connections and relationships. I offer thanks to the organizations who invested time and resources to connect faith, beliefs, and works of service.     

Margaret Zook

Margaret Zook is the Director of Collaborative Ministries for Mosaic Conference. She and husband, Wib, are members of Salford Mennonite Church and live in Harleysville, PA.

Free Narcan Available to Congregations 

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by Ryan Schweiger 

In 2021, there were 107,622 drug overdose-related deaths in the United States. This translates to 294 lives lost to an overdose every day. Every one of these lives was worth saving. The people who lose their lives are our friends, neighbors, co-workers, children, spouses, parents, extended family members, and even church members.

A group of Mosaic pastors and youth leaders visited St. Luke’s Penn Foundation, a Conference Related Ministry, in March. I was honored to host them and talk more about the substance use prevention/recovery education that we provide annually to thousands of youths throughout Bucks and Montgomery counties. An important part of this visit was learning about Narcan (Naloxone), an opioid overdose reversal medication.    

In my work, I regularly see people struggling and families facing confusion, crushed hearts, and overdoses that sometimes result in death. I also get to see people and families who engage in treatment and find recovery—maybe for the first time or for the tenth time. It’s important for individuals and families to have that chance.  

Narcan is available to community organizations, free of charge, to have on hand. This life-saving medication comes in a small box with two doses (nasal spray devices). In the box, there are simple instructions for use as well as instructions on how to spot a possible overdose and to respond to the emergency with Narcan.

One of the benefits of Narcan, in addition to reversing overdoses, is that it isn’t harmful to anyone. For example, if the medicine is used on persons who do not have opioids in their bodies, nothing will happen; the medicine has no effect. It would be like spraying salt water into your nose. 

You may not know who takes a prescribed opioid, who struggles with addiction, or who experiments with substances that could be laced with powerful synthetic opioids. The individual may not even know. Overdoses can be accidental, which is why Narcan is so important and should be available everywhere, just like a first aid kit. 

If your congregation is interested in obtaining Narcan and/or receiving a brief instructional training on how to use it, please feel free to reach out to me at Ryan.Schweiger@sluhn.org. It would be my pleasure to help provide you with this important resource so that you are able to save a life. 

Ryan Schweiger

Ryan Schweiger CPS, CRS, CPRP is employed by St.Luke’s Penn Foundation as their Behavioral Health Community Outreach Liaison. In this role, Ryan serves as a bridge between St.Luke’s Penn Foundation and the community by providing resources and information, as well as education on behavioral health topics. Ryan is also a person in long-term recovery from a substance use disorder and shares his lived experience in that journey to instill hope, inspire change, and build community.

For the Caregiver: Returning to School After COVID

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This article was originally published in St. Luke’s Penn Foundation’s August 2021 newsletter and is reprinted with permission. Penn Foundation is a Mosaic Conference Related Ministry.

Over the last year-and-a-half, families have had to adjust to online learning. But as a new school year approaches, families must shift gears once again back to in-person learning. While many students will feel excitement, relief, and joy, others may feel nervous and overwhelmed. Socializing with peers, meeting teachers’ expectations, tests, and projects are just a few examples of what may cause anxiety for returning students.

As you consider how to support your children as they prepare to return to school this fall, keep in mind their resilience as they faced the challenges of COVID-19. They did it! Help your children identify their feelings about returning to school and validate those feelings. Explore and model healthy coping skills such adequate sleep, a healthy diet, time outside, and daily exercise. Maintain a flexible routine that allows for some down time and connection with you. Be playful and have fun with your children, creating memories and making the most of these summer days.

If your children is feeling anxious, remember that anxiety often stems from fear of the unknown and that anxiety is a normal emotion during any change, even a positive or preferred one.  Here are a few suggestions of open-ended questions to help start a conversation with your children to explore the unknown, their thoughts and feelings about returning to school, and ways you can support them.

  • What do you think it will be like going back to school this year?
  • What will be different about this school year?
  • What are you most excited about?
  • What are you most worried about?
  • What are your goals for this year?
  • How can I support you at the start of this new year?

Helping your children identify their thoughts and feelings will help you create a game plan together to ease this transition and embrace this new beginning of another school year.

Penn Foundation Joins St. Luke’s

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The Loux Center of St. Luke’s Penn Foundation, a CRM.
Photo provided by Penn Foundation.

Penn Foundation, a Mosaic Conference Related Ministry (CRM), and St. Luke’s University Health Network are pleased to announce the completion of their merger, effective July 1, 2021. Penn Foundation is now part of St. Luke’s University Health Network.

Penn Foundation will retain its affiliation with Mosaic Conference as a Conference Related Ministry (CRM). This connection to its Anabaptist faith heritage will continue to shape the ministry of Penn Foundation as it grows in its role and reach in partnership with St. Luke’s.

Headquartered in Sellersville, PA, Penn Foundation is a nonprofit, community-based behavioral health provider with 25 behavioral health and substance use treatment programs that serve approximately 20,000 individuals annually. St. Luke’s is a regional health network with 12 hospital campuses and more than 300 outpatient sites serving 11 counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Wayne A. Mugrauer, who will remain President of St. Luke’s Penn Foundation, said, “Penn Foundation is fortunate to be well-positioned to make this strategic change for the future health of our community. Joining St. Luke’s University Health Network assures continued regional access to high-quality behavioral healthcare that is fully integrated with general medicine.”

The St. Luke’s Penn Foundation partnership was unanimously approved last fall by the Board of Directors of Penn Foundation and the Board of Trustees of St. Luke’s. Securing regulatory approval from various agencies followed the votes and was completed this spring.

Now that Penn Foundation is part of St. Luke’s, St. Luke’s operates the largest nonprofit network of inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services in eastern Pennsylvania. The Network’s combined services establish a comprehensive continuum of care to treat patients with behavioral health and substance use disorders.

“Mosaic Conference is grateful for the good work Penn Foundation has done since 1955,” says Margaret Zook, Director of Collaborative Ministries at Mosaic Conference. “Penn Foundation ‘quietly shone a light’ as a faith-based leader in creative initiatives as it pioneered responsive and innovative approaches in behavioral health. We trust that this new partnership will empower Penn Foundation in its support of local congregations, pastors, and their communities.”

Penn Foundation’s merger with St. Luke’s comes at a time when the demand for behavioral health services is rapidly rising. Rates of depression, anxiety, suicide and substance use disorder have surged because of the global pandemic.

Chaplain Carl Yusavitz Retires

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Photo Credit: theforgivenesslab.com

If you had asked Carl Yusavitz at age 25, where he would be in 50 years when he retired, he would have said, “Serving at the Vatican in Rome.”  He never would have guessed God had other plans for him. 

Instead, Yusavitz retired from Penn Foundation (Sellersville, PA), a conference-related ministry, on October 16, 2020, after 20 years as director of pastoral services and Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) supervisor.

Yusavitz studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy after college.  He served the Catholic Church in active ministry as a priest for ten years before beginning graduate studies at the Rochester (NY) Institute of Technology.  After deciding not to return to ministry in the Catholic Church, he married his wife, Mary, and together they served with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Sudan for three years.  Both of their children were born in Africa.  

Upon his return to the US, Yusavitz joined the Mennonite Church and served Germantown (PA) Mennonite Church as an associate pastor. He later trained for chaplaincy and as a clinical pastoral educator at the University of Pennsylvania.  Prior to Penn Foundation, he worked as a chaplain at Easton (PA) Hospital.  

In 2000, Yusavitz accepted the director of pastoral services position at Penn Foundation and started a unique Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program that included pastoral care in a behavioral health setting.  This hands-on chaplain training requires 400 hours of supervised ministry.  It includes regular meetings with peers who offer support and additional perspective as each student considers how to fully engage with God and others in a pastoral role.  Yusavitz deeply impacted the lives and ministries of over 180 students in his CPE supervisor role at Penn Foundation, Easton Hospital, and Penn Health System.  

Yusavitz’s role over the past 20 years has been multi-faceted. In addition to leading the CPE program, he served Penn Foundation clients and staff as chaplain.  He offered annual spiritual care trainings for lay ministers in the community.  He resourced local faith communities on topics such as spirituality, mental health, and addictions. Yusavitz also provided oversight to the Grand View Hospital (Sellersville, PA) pastoral care program and was involved on the national level of the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE), the certifying body for professional chaplains.  

During his time at Penn Foundation, Yusavitz joined the Anabaptist Chaplain group, started by Franconia Conference, to support its licensed chaplains.  In the early 1990s, Clayton Swartzentruber hosted and led the group in his home.  Later, Dave Derstine assumed leadership, followed by Charlotte Rosenberger, Walter Sawatzky, and then Gay Brunt Miller.  Mary Nitzsche, Mosaic associate executive minister, picked up the leadership in 2017. 

The Anabaptist Chaplain Group met virtually on October 8 to offer well wishes to Carl Yusavitz on his retirement. Photo by Sue Howes.

The group primarily supports area Mennonite chaplains but includes non-Anabaptist chaplains serving at Mennonite-affiliated organizations.  Participants include hospice, hospital, and prison chaplains.  About half of the group serve as chaplains to local continuing care retirement communities.  The group meets every six to eight weeks. 

At the October 8 meeting, the group took some time to honor Yusavitz’s years of ministry and the ways many have been blessed by his gifts and calling.  A majority of the group have had the opportunity to train under Yusavitz, through CPE, or work with him and appreciate his approachability, insights, and passion for pastoral care.  We are grateful that Yusavitz allowed God to lead him to us and the many ways he offered his gifts and passion for pastoral care to our community over the years.  

Psychiatrist Vernon Kratz, MD, Retires After 47 Years of Service

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On July 31, 2020, senior psychiatrist Vernon Kratz, MD, 84, retired after 47 years of service at Penn Foundation, a Conference Related Ministry (CRM) of Mosaic Conference. Dr. Kratz is the only person in the organization’s 65-year history to hold the roles of Medical Director, CEO, and Board Member. He is a member of Ambler (PA) Mennonite Church.

Dr. Kratz is a man of strong faith, incredible integrity, great kindness, and immense optimism. One of his most special gifts is his ability to relate to others. Penn Foundation will always be in awe of the amazing man, doctor, and friend he is. He modeled for all of us how to serve with acceptance, compassion, integrity, and respect.

“I believe that part of the care for a patient is listening and taking time and trying to put the story together and just being there. Remember, sometimes you are the medicine a person needs.” ~ Dr. Vernon Kratz

Creating Helpful and Spirit-Filled Community

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by Jennifer Svetlik, Salford (Harleysville, PA) congregation

Margaret Zook

“How lifegiving it is to recognize that our congregations are not just alive on Sunday morning,” shares Margaret Zook, Director of Collaborative Ministries for Mosaic Conference. This new part-time role serves as the team leader for accompaniment relationships with Conference Related Ministries (CRMs).  

“There is such a richness in our CRMs,” reflects Zook. “They each have a unique origin and focus on meeting a particular community need.”  Zook anticipates assisting congregations and CRMs to bring their skills and knowledge together more intentionally in order to create a more helpful, just, and Spirit-filled community.

Zook brings a wealth of experience to this new role, having worked for and leading several CRMs in southeastern Pennsylvania. For over 20 years she served as Executive Director of Souderton Mennonite Homes, a CRM that was created in 1917. Then five years ago, after Souderton Mennonite Homes merged to become part of Living Branches, Zook was called back to serve as Director of Church and Community Relations. She has also served on numerous boards of community organizations, including 10 years on the board of Penn Foundation, another CRM.

Wib and Margaret Zook celebrate their anniversary COVID-style.
Photo provided by Margaret Zook

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with CRMs through my professional life and board work,” shares Zook. “These experiences have made me see the value of being connected to and supported by the conference.” 

In her role Zook will visit the CRMs and relate to their boards and leadership. She will listen to and share the stories of their missions, successes, and needs across the conference. “I am delighted to have the opportunity to walk along the existing and new and emerging CRMs,” Zook explains. “Hearing, seeing, and sharing the transforming work that is being done is such an honor.” 

Zook knows the value of a conference network for these organizations. “A foundation of faith and a connection to church sets CRMs apart from other nonprofit organizations,” she shares. “It gives a sense of accountability that is a stabilizing force for an organization.” 

Margaret Zook and some of her grandchildren.
Photo provided by Margaret Zook

Most of Zook’s life has been in southeastern Pennsylvania, both intentionally as well as by birth. “I have loved my congregation [Salford] and my community,” Zook reflects.  She has a fairly large extended family, which includes ten grandchildren. She enjoys visiting her family in Florida and Colorado and staying in touch with them however she can. 

Zook and her husband value walking together, and currently have a goal to walk the entire Perkiomen Trail, in sections. She is an avid reader and is a member of two book clubs. She enjoys gardening and friendships.  

Professionally and personally, Zook identifies her faith as a motivating factor for life. “My faith drives me in a way I can’t put fully into words,” she explains. “It is who I am and what I do, and it leads me to service. I believe God has placed us here to make this earth a better place, to serve the beautiful earth and its people.”