Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Sandy Landes

Conference Finance Update (February 2012)

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the garden
Will, Kristin, and Maisley participate in an inter-generational activity at a Garden gathering, drawing a response to the question: Where do you find hope? The Garden received a Missional Operational Grant through Doylestown Mennonite Church. Photo by KrisAnne Swartley

The 2011-12 fiscal year is over and a new year has begun. 2011 was a difficult year for congregations, as evidenced by the decrease in giving to the conference—$80,000 below expectations. This is also reflected in the $75,000 decrease in forecasted giving from congregations for the new year. So, the conference budget continues to tighten its belt for the next year.

A sampling of the various activities of the conference during the months of December and January:

  •  $10,500 in Missional Operational Grants (MOG) was disbursed during this period to Providence, Rockhill, Doylestown, and New Hope Fellowship congregations. $513 in assistance was also granted to Nueva Vida Norristown New Life for the production of a video about the congregation and the financial need they are facing.
  • LEADership Minister Steve Kriss along with LEAD Advisor Donella Clemens led a congregational review of Whitehall in January, as part of the process for strengthening our congregations.
  • Conference Prayer Coordinator Sandy Landes met with prayer leaders and teams from three congregations and continues to lead a weekly prayer gathering at the conference center.
  • In December, the conference jointly hosted the annual pastor appreciation breakfast at West Swamp Mennonite Church along with Eastern District Conference.

Another tidbits:

The conference is in the middle of processing the sale of the development rights to Indian Creek Farm, the proceeds of which will be used to reduce the debt on the Souderton Shopping Center, which in turn will free up some additional funds for subsidizing conference ministries.

Operating Budget, Feb. 2011-Jan. 2012 (unaudited)
Actual Budget Last Year 2012-13
Revenue $791,116 $851,318 $894,712 $817,091
Expenses $841,272 $815,368 $902,030 $788,835
Line of Credit Payment $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 $25,000
Net ($75,156) $10,950 ($32,318) $3,256

Learning to listen . . .

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Sandy Landes, Doylestown

For three Sunday evenings in February, March, and April, pastors, prayer intercessors and persons wanting to learn about prayer intercession came together for times of teaching, worship and prayer. Noel Santiago, Leadership Minister for Spiritual Transformation for Franconia Conference, taught on the Basis for Intercession, the Practice of Intercession, and the Power of Intercession. With an average attendance of 60 persons from churches throughout the region, there was a positive response to the teachings and the opportunity to practice what we were learning.

A team from Salem Mennonite Church helped us experience God’s presence with great joy as they led in worship at the first session in February, held at the conference center. Noel’s teaching focused on the Basis of Intercession, and some of the key points in that teaching included:

  • We are bi-locational, being seated in the heavenly places with Christ (Eph. 2:6) and living on earth. We will reflect the world we are most aware of, heaven or earth.
  • We are like Adam, God’s representatives on earth. (Psalm 8:5-6).
  • We have been given authority by God to pray forth what God wants to see happen here on earth, hence we pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

The second session in March was held at Franconia Mennonite Church due to the wonderful attendance in February. The Practice of Intercession was the focus and we learned:

  • God is always speaking and has a variety of ways of communicating with us. Are we listening?
  • Prayer is finding out what God wants to do and asking God to do it (1 John 5:14).
  • This definition puts our relationship with God at the center and our primary posture in prayer becomes one of listening.
  • One of the challenges is that sometimes we are too quick to pray instead of waiting to hear what is on God’s heart for a person or situation.
  • One of the ways the will of God is accomplished on earth is that it is spoken.

An encouraging part of this evening was taking the time to listen to God and write down the words, thoughts and scriptures we heard. We then turned those words into a crafted prayer, which we were encouraged to keep praying

April 3 was the culminating session of this series and it focused on hearing God for one another, the Power of Intercession. The evening began again with worship and testimonies of how God has answered prayer and changed the way we pray as well as the ways we experience our relationship with God. Some of the main points covered were:

  • Two of the most important factors in our life are what we believe about who God is and who we are.
  • If you are not being shaped by the love of God, you are probably being shaped by your experiences.
  • “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power” (I Cor. 4:20).
  • God’s word has power, and embedded in that word is the power to accomplish it (Isaiah 55:10-11).

We closed the evening with another time of listening to God for each other, writing a prayer and then speaking the words of encouragement to each other. Many were blessed by this exercise of hearing a word for another person and trusting that it was God speaking. The group was remindeded to discern the words given to them with others, to judge the word according to biblical principles, and to pay attention to the character requirements of scripture. Those who attended these sessions came away with new understandings of God and what it means to pray by listening first.

More teachings on prayer are being planned, and there will be continuing opportunities to practice what is being taught.
For updates check out prayer.mosaicmennonites.org.

Partners in mission: Gloria a Dios! Praying & praising from the mountaintop

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Sandy Landes, Doylestown

The title of this article reflected the words of our hearts, “Glory to God,” as a group returned from a journey to Mexico last fall. We truly experienced the glory of God in the worship, the teaching, the prayer times and the fellowship with Partner in Mission congregation, Iglesia de la Tierra Prometida (or informally Monte Maria) in Mexico City.

On September 9-13, 2010, a group from Franconia Conference traveled to Monte Maria, the church in Mexico City where Bob and Bonnie Stevenson serve. The group’s members, Don Brunk (Souderton Mennonite), Rick Kratz and Noel Santiago (Blooming Glen Mennonite), Jeanette Phillips (Hopewell Fellowship-Telford) and Steve and Sandy Landes (Doylestown Mennonite) traveled to Monte Maria to participate in the School of Ministry discipleship training held regularly for members of this large and growing congregation. This training is intense, held over a day or two, and involves worship, preaching and teaching on various topics related to living the Christian life: biblical studies and topical studies such as the life of Jesus, redemption and prayer. It was encouraging to see how engaged the students were with the classes as they listened attentively, took notes and shared their thoughts in discussions. Don Brunk and Noel Santiago taught two classes each and were warmly welcomed by the brothers and sisters of Monte Maria.

The focus of these classes is to build up the body of Christ to become strong in their faith and to grow in maturity. In addition to teaching, considerable time was spent each day in worship, seeking to know God through adoration and praise. One day at the end of worship the visiting pastor invited those to come forward who wanted to receive a touch from the Lord—as the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak and her bleeding stopped. As a visiting prayer team, we were invited to minister alongside of our brothers and sisters to persons who came forward, and we sensed God’s presence ministering through us and to us. Even though not all of us on the team spoke Spanish fluently, God helped us to transcend the language barrier through the bond of the Spirit and the willing translators in prayer and worship.

Other opportunities for service included Don Brunk preaching at an outdoor evangelistic service held on Sunday afternoon and a married couples’ Sunday school class that my husband and I led. Noel and Jeanette met with the leaders of their prayer teams for encouragement.

Hospitality and serving the Lord with gladness are two characteristics of the believers at Monte Maria. Every person is expected to serve in some kind of ministry capacity, whether it is as an usher, a member of the worship team, helping to maintain the facilities through cleaning or serving on their food-service team. We noticed and felt the joy that came through their service as we spent most of our time at the church and witnessed so many different gifts being used with gladness. It reminds me of Psalm 100:2, “Serve the Lord with glad-ness.”(NKJV). Julio, a young man of 16 years of age, was an example of the graciousness with which we were served. His attentiveness and ready smile were part of what made our daily meal at the church so enjoyable. We believe God will continue to use him for the kingdom because of his servant attitude. We were privileged to be blessed by their obvious joy in serving Jesus through simple acts of cleaning, cooking, worshiping, and teaching.
While we were there to minister and pray for the ministry of Monte Maria, we also enjoyed the time spent fellowshipping and sharing with Bob and Bonnie Stevenson. Their lives are full with the responsibilities of pastoring a large congregation, family life and nurturing their own walk with the Lord. Continue to uphold them in your prayers as God brings Bob and Bonnie and their children, Roberto and Rebecca, to your mind. The kingdom of God continues to flourish around the world, and we were so blessed as we witnessed the growth and joy in the church at Monte Maria.

Women join together to “Come and be Filled”

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Sandy Landes

“Come and be Filled,” was the theme of the recent “Celebrate, women joining together” event held at Franconia Mennonite Church on Saturday, April 17. An all-day event, it included worship, sharing from the Word by Bonnie Stevenson of Mexico City, pampering stations including neck and shoulder massage as well as being refreshed through fellowship and prayer. A group from Blooming Glen ministered through singing “At the Foot of the Cross,” an echo of the message for the day, laying down our burdens and picking up the joy. We were blessed by the testimony of Luz Maria Vargas, a church planter with her husband in Gaithersburg, MD.

266 women of the region and beyond attended from congregations and communities throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Lancaster as well as from Northern PA and the Washington DC metro area. Planned by nine women from local congregations, the purpose of the day was to help women come to relax, refresh, renew and rejoice as we celebrated the love of Jesus.

The following response to the day by Connie Detwiler, co-pastor of Lakeview Mennonite Church, reviews some of the highlights:

“God’s presence was sensed in many ways. The day was beautifully planned and flowed along wonderfully well. From the moment our group walked into the church we were welcomed. The hospitality of the greeters was warm and helpful in every way. What a heartwarming site as more and more ladies came and to hear the different locations they came from! The ways God draws us to unity is precious!

Bonnie is an amazing speaker. Her spirit is ever so gentle and delightful and yet so strong in who she is and ‘whose’ she is. What a gift we had in her!

Kudos over and over to the worship team! How amazing it was to have a group of women from different churches leading the praise and worship time! The voices, the instruments, and the spirit in each of them was just lovely and inviting.

It was humbling and challenging to be asked to be part of the prayer team and as always, God showed up in amazing ways as we prayed. I really feel many were ministered to through prayers that only God knows the end results.

The prayer rooms offered places of quiet and reflection in many ways, from the visuals to the guided prayers. And, speaking of visuals, the front of the church was a beautiful reminder of “being filled”…many times, over and over.

The ladies giving the massages were ministering to many and the massages were just a special treat, a great way of pampering.

The lunch was delicious and just right for the setting we were in.

It was obvious that much time, many thoughts and fervent prayers went into this time of celebration preparation and many were blessed. I have heard only positive comments from our group that attended and I’m sure if distance weren’t a problem, I’d be hearing more.”

A few other comments captured in passing included the following thoughts gleaned from Bonnie’s teaching:

  • The Lord loves to hear my voice!
  • Keep looking up!
  • Be thirsty!
  • Maranatha – The Lord is coming!
  • Be faithful in the little things
  • Intercession – keep knocking
  • Lay my burden down and pick up joy
  • With forgiveness, comes healing
  • “The message about being wakened in the night and just enjoying the presence of God instead of stewing about not sleeping well, helped me on Saturday night.”

And Kristi Wile, Franconia Mennonite Church, writes, “I couldn’t wait to spend an entire day worshiping and fellowshipping with other women! I knew that God would do an amazing thing. With the worship time, the testimonies, and the speaker, God made His presence perfectly clear. At one point, I was standing down front amidst other women and I was so highly aware that the Holy Spirit was moving right around me and in me. It was awesome! I came away so full and overflowing that it was several days before I could read my Bible again!”

As a way to reach beyond us, the women in attendance were given an opportunity to knot two comforters for distribution in Haiti through Mennonite Central Committee. While “Celebrate” was free for those in attendance, an opportunity was given for donations towards the expenses of the day and any monies received in excess were promised to be forwarded on to Grace Assembly Network in Haiti, a Franconia Conference Partner in Mission. We are thankful to report that $417.00 will be sent to the church in Haiti.

For those who would like to hear the worship and teaching, CD’s are available for purchase at Franconia Mennonite Church for $5. Call the church at 215-723-3220 to confirm availability.

You are invited to join in prayer as God’s leading is sought for any future “Celebrate” events. We look forward to being a part of God’s purposes fulfilled in the lives of women in this region.

Coming Closer to God through Fasting

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Sandy Landes

prayer.jpgFor many of us, the word fasting conjures up images of going without food, depriving ourselves of needed nourishment so that we can spend more time in prayer. It is not always a positive image, the idea of giving up something that is so important to life and we wonder what difference it makes when we pray? Jesus assumed his disciples would fast. In Matthew 6:16-18, he uses the word, “when”, before he gives his followers instructions about fasting.

I propose that our experience with fasting could become much more positive if we begin to view it in a different light. Jesus actually taught his disciples to anticipate it with joy by washing their faces and putting oil on their heads, an act reserved for joyous occasions. Is it possible that fasting is a way of entering into God’s presence unlike any other? Does giving to God the time and attention that we usually reserve for food or another activity change us in such a way that we can “hear” God better?

Fasting is usually associated with giving up of food, but there may be other fasts that are helpful as well. When Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days, he went away by himself, thereby eliminating distractions of the world in which he lived. I wonder if fasting from some of the many activities in our world today, namely the media, might be a valuable fast for us living in 2008.

Rather than seeing fasting just as a denial of ones physical needs, we might begin to see it as an opportunity to enter into a closer relationship with God, an invitation to experience the graciousness of our God. Joel 2:12 helps us to see fasting in the light of our relationship with God,

“Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.”

Franconia Mennonite Conference is inviting all churches to join with the regional southeastern PA church in 40 Days of prayer and fasting during Lent, February 6 – March 21, 2008.

The purpose of this fast is threefold:

  • Deepen our love for God
  • Deepen our love for our neighbors
  • Seek reform in the Church and revival in our communities

For more information about the 40 Days of prayer and fasting, contact Sandy Landes, Prayer Ministry Coordinator.

God is always inviting us, the church, the bride of Christ, into a closer relationship. Fasting is one of the ways we can eliminate the distractions that keep us from being close to God. You are invited to come close!