Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Sheldon Good

Pastors engage social media's role in church life

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By Sheldon C. Good
Mennonite Weekly Review
(Reposted by permission from Mennonite Weekly Review.)

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HARLEYSVILLE, Pa. — Though online social media should not replace face-to-face interactions, these tools can enhance ministerial leadership.

And social media are nothing more than tools, two consultants told a group of 30 ministry leaders at an educational gathering March 17 at Franconia Mennonite Conference Center.

Most often, social media include Facebook,?Twitter, blogs and online video.

“It’s providing amazing opportunities for pastoral care,” said Scott Hackman, a seminary student and a consultant with MyOhai, LLC.

But people have different views of social media’s functions and effects. The group of pastors described social media as connection, nuisance, virtual community, addicting, time-consuming and a new definition of friends.

Hackman, a former youth minister and salesman, shared how his journey with social media began.

“I was a stay-at-home dad, and I wanted to connect with others who were in a similar context,” he said. “I wanted to see if I could connect with people and actually engage with them.”

So Hackman created Dad Parlor, a Facebook page dedicated to create space for fathers to share and connect.

But a Facebook page — and social media overall — does not replaced the need for face-to-face interaction, he said.

In fact, Hackman believes social media enhance interpersonal relations.

“In Sunday school, someone undoubtedly will say, ‘Hey, I saw this about you on Facebook,’ ” he said.

Hackman acknowledged that “how you lead in person looks different than how you lead on Facebook.”

Hackman and Todd Hiestand, lead pastor at The Well, a church based in Feasterville and a consultant with MyOhai, led the group in an example of crowdsourcing, which taps a group’s collective wisdom by asking people to submit feedback on a question or thought.

Hiestand said he sometimes uses crowdsourcing when preparing for sermons.

“I ask a question via Facebook,” he said, “and people in my community will engage with feedback.”

Hiestand said the way people respond can give him a sense of the pulse of his congregation.

“And sometimes I can then even incorporate that into my sermon,” he said. “It can even get people thinking about a sermon topic before Sunday.”

Hiestand explained some of the available social media tools and a few of his “rules of the tools,” specifically adapted for congregational life.

He acknowledged the misconception that social media offer a quick fix for churches.

“Sometimes people think, well, if I just join social media, my congregation will grow by 400,” Hiestand said. “I actually view it as the opposite. It’s all about building relationships.”

Building connections via social media, he said, is comparable to the long-term, slow process involved in forming interpersonal relationships.

“If you invest the time, you will reap the rewards,” Hiestand said.

He stressed, though, that engagement should be focused on other people, not oneself, as a way to supplement real relationships.

Hiestand described how tools such as Facebook, blogging, video and Twitter all have pros and cons.

“Facebook, for some people, is about sharing that they had macaroni and cheese for dinner,” he said. For others, it’s viewing photos, video and advocating for causes or interests.

No matter how social media are used, Hiestand said, leaders should always remember that even online “you are never detached from your role as a leader.”

Hiestand’s rules also included:

If you wouldn’t say it from the pulpit, don’t say it online.
Don’t be a jerk; rather, be encouraging.
Don’t self-promote.

Hiestand said he constantly reminds himself that “my attitude on social media is going to affect how people interpret my sermon on Sunday.”

Ministry leaders at the gathering use a range of social media and have different opinions about their effectiveness with ministerial leadership.

Dawn Nelson, lead pastor of Methacton Mennonite Church, has a Facebook page but said she only uses it occasionally.

“I use it to keep up with what people are doing, but I also try to check in with them verbally about what they write, in case it is misleading,” she said.

Nelson started a church Facebook page a few years ago but hadn’t used it until recently. Someone now co-administers the page and shares photos on it.

“I hope it will grow,” Nelson said.

Beny Krisbianto, pastor of Nations Worship Center in Philadelphia, sends updates about church ministry projects and special events using Facebook.

Regarding pastoral care, he said, checking Facebook pages of people in his community “is the best way to know what’s going on in their life in that moment.”

Jim Ostlund, pastor of youth and young adults at Blooming Glen Mennonite Church, uses all four of the social media discussed at the gathering — Facebook, Twitter, blogs and video.

During worship, he’s also used Skype, an online voice and video chat program.

Social media have become valuable tools “in maintaining ongoing contact and building relationships with congregation members, especially young adults and youth,” he said.

Steve Kriss, director of communication and leadership cultivation with Franconia Conference, said that for pastors, social media can blur public and private life.

“The pastor is always a pastor, and a personal opinion is always a pastoral opinion,” he said. “The pastor’s challenge is to find ways to use the technology purposefully, generatively, hopefully.”

At Leaders Forum, groups give differing advice on 2013 Phoenix convention

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By Sheldon C. Good for Mennonite Weekly Review

PITTSBURGH—Whether or not Mennonite Church USA has a convention in Phoenix in 2013, church leaders are committed to show their support for immigrants.

Though various opinions were shared Sept. 23-25 during a Leaders’ Forum—including differing statements from two church groups—leaders said they will discern God’s will together.

More than 200 leaders representing MC USA, churchwide organizations and area conferences gathered together for the first time outside a convention to worship, fellowship, tell stories and discuss topics such as whether to move the 2013 convention from Phoenix due to Arizona’s controversial immigration law.

“Our Hispanic constituency is feeling the burden of this decision,” said Glen Guyton, MC USA associate executive director for constituent resources, the staff person who relates with Racial/Ethnic groups. “The Phoenix decision is only a symbol of much bigger challenges we face as MC USA, such as viewing Racial/Ethnic congregations as missions projects and not as valuable contributors.”

Guyton is part of MC USA’s Intercultural Relations Reference Committee, or IRRC, a group that works on Racial/Ethnic issues. The IRRC includes representatives from the three official MC USA Racial/Ethnic groups—Iglesia Menonita Hispana (Hispanic Mennonite Church), African-American Mennonite Association and Native Mennonite Ministries—as well as from churches that primarily work with immigrants from Africa and Asia.

Arizona’s SB 1070, which makes it illegal for an immigrant to be in the state without documents, has “a disproportionate impact” on Racial/Ethnic groups, the IRRC said in a statement presented by Guyton at the Leaders Forum.

The statement recommends holding the 2013 convention in Phoenix, “although we understand that some in our Racial/Ethnic constituency may not agree,” Guyton said.

The IRRC statement also references systemic issues that are problematic within Mennonite Church USA. It says that conventions and other MC USA gatherings “are not welcoming to Racial/Ethnic people as a whole because of culture, cost, travel requirements and language barriers.”

The statement calls the church to 12 steps of racial inclusion and equality. Those steps include making the churchwide priority of anti-racism a more prominent part of conventions and offering support to “recent immigrants in our communities without making judgment.”

The IRRC includes two representatives of Iglesia Menonita Hispana, which wrote a letter in April asking denominational leaders to “rethink” the Phoenix convention. Yvonne Diaz, executive director of Iglesia Menonita Hispana and an IRRC member, said the Hispanic church’s position has not changed.

“There’s a hostile environment [in Arizona],” Diaz said. “It’s very detrimental to our Latino brothers and sisters. We’ve got lots of ideas. Let’s be creative about this opportunity. We’re in pain.”

Diaz said she hopes the church can demonstrate Rev. 7:9, which describes people from every tribe and language standing before the throne of the Lord with palm branches.

Representatives from Iglesia Menonita Hispana and IRRC were not alone in their differing views.

Malinda Berry, Mennonite Education Agency board member, said the Phoenix decision is morally ambiguous.

“There is no clear right or wrong answer,” Berry said. She wondered whether MC USA would sanction acts of civil disobedience if the convention is held in Phoenix.

Chuck Neufeld, a member of the Constituency Leaders Council, said pastors in Illinois Conference came to a strong consensus. “Unless IMH is asking us to meet in Phoenix, we can’t,” he said.

Kenneth Thompson, a member of MC USA’s Executive Board and the IRRC, said there’s a difference between uniformity and unity.

“In the Scriptures, presence, not absence, makes the difference,” Thompson said. “For those who choose to go, go fully dressed in the armor of God. If you go, go with a purpose.”

Questions from Iglesia Menonita Hispana’s April letter to MC USA were discussed, including how churches have engaged with the denomination’s 2003 Statement on Immigration and how the church will demonstrate its solidarity with immigrants whether or not there is a Phoenix convention.

Elizabeth Soto Albrecht, Executive Board member, asked the Executive Board to make a decision before January, when they will meet next.

The Racial Healing Task Group, which includes representatives from the “dominant culture,” presented a skit with four vignettes on how the dominant culture experiences power and privilege in relationships.

The racial healing group is directly accountable to the Intercultural Relations Reference Committee, or IRRC.

Questions were raised after the skit, such as how race impacts where people live, where institutions are built, where meetings are held and whether there’s a gap between denominational and congregational vision for multiculturalism.

“How can we move away from something that begins and ends, to a process that is ongoing?” said D.J. McFadden, Mennonite Mutual Aid board member.

Leaders also considered a proposal regarding resolutions during conventions. The executive committee of the Executive Board proposed an “Experiment in Corporate Discernment at Pittsburgh,” suggesting a delegate assembly without resolutions adopting church statements.

Duane Oswald, MMA board member, said leaders needed to trust each other during decision-making. “That happens at the table groups,” he said. “If we are not making decisions, then why should we come?”

Thomas Kauffman, conference minister for Ohio Conference, asked, “Is this a way to avoid the difficult topics that we know are out there?”

Ervin Stutzman, executive director of MC USA, proposed a plan, “Investing in Hope,” an “effort to align our actions with our theological commitments. “Although the plan includes the “Joining Together, Investing in Hope” building campaign, it is more about planning how we will move forward as a church than finances,” he said.

“In the past, we’ve used wishful thinking instead of purposeful planning,” Stutzman said. The plan will be tested with church leaders during 2010 and with delegates at Pittsburgh 2011.

The three-day event culminated as church leaders took communion. “Oftentimes when we worship, we gather together with veiled faces,” Stutzman said, referencing God’s new covenant. “If you take the veil off, the Lord’s light penetrates your face and shines. Covenants are an investment in hope.”

Connecting our past to our future: Growing faith and community alongside food

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Sheldon C. Good, Salford
shelds3@gmail.com

In 1999, Kenny Chesney sang about why “she thinks my tractor’s sexy.” During the past decade, we’ve expanded Chesney’s claim – because now, farming is sexy.

Country music aside, Facebook, the Obama family, and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution all contribute to the recent popularity of farming. For many people, life doesn’t involve dirty fingernails, overalls, and an almanac. But for an increasing number, farming is cool again (though some have always thought so). Whether or not one actually digs in the dirt, something about rediscovering the spiritual value of God’s abundant earth stimulates heart, mind, body, and soul.

Years ago, people worked the fields from dusk till dawn. Now the closest many get to dirt is by playing Farmville on Facebook (long ago, we played SimFarm). But Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign is bringing healthy, local food back, with plans to eradicate childhood obesity. She recently described her “mission as first lady” as creating ways for families to make “manageable changes that fit with their schedules, their budgets, and their needs and tastes.”

Like Obama, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution TV series on ABC documents how a grassroots campaign to curb obesity starts with getting families excited about local farming. Though a classroom of first-graders can’t tell the difference between a tomato and a potato, they can all identify French fries. But days later, after a dose of the food revolution, the six-year olds can all identify an eggplant when they see one.

Part of the reason why our children can’t identify produce is because, over time, farming has become industrialized. As author Bill McKibben says, efficiency and growth have taken over our food system. “Our affluence isolates us ever more,” McKibben says in his book Deep Economy. “What ties are left to cut? We change religions, spouses, towns, professions with ease.” But at Living Hope Farm in Harleysville, Pa., my family is busy putting some of these ties back together.

I was recently led in an exercise to reclaim my personal heritage. I often think about my ancestral lineage in linear terms (birthdates, jobs, etc.) – data I basically memorized as an adolescent for my seemingly irrelevant school projects. However, I don’t usually consider how strands of my ancestral history are woven together, or how they intersect with other people’s strands. So as our country focuses on jobs, jobs, jobs – I too began reflecting on jobs, on the vocational history of my family.

From what I can gather, nearly all of my ancestors were farmers. Up until my grandparents, both sides of my family – whether living in Pennsylvania or Virginia – farmed small plots of land, which supplied them with much of their food and income. But then both of my grandfathers, Emory Good and Marvin Clemmer, traded in their tractors for automobiles and hit the road as businessmen. In 1947, Emory started a plumbing company. And after spending years selling produce and meat in Philadelphia, Marvin switched mid-course to join a direct-selling company. My extended family became successful entrepreneurs at the expense of being grounded in our backyards; we have benefited greatly.
So the generational story goes for many families living among the farmlands of Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Shenandoah Valley. As the “Greatest Generation” (my grandparents) left farming, “Baby Boomers” (my parents) were raised with new vocational possibilities, and Millenials (me) haven’t looked back. Over the years, many of us have enjoyed the benefits of grocery stores, agribusiness, and Sunday afternoon shopping.

Until now.

Farming activists come in all varieties: an ignoramus addict of Facebook’s Farmville game; a twinkle-eyed Obama supporter; a dedicated vegetarian; or something in between. No matter where one lives, this nation is noticeably rediscovering its farming roots. Because after 500 years of rushed technological innovation, people are noticing that we’re standing on what author Bill McKibben calls “the shard ridge between the human past and the posthuman future.” Living Hope Farm is here to help reverse this trend, by growing faith, food, and community.

Over the past few months at the farm, a greenhouse and hoop house have both been installed. Jill Landes, the lead farmer, is currently working alongside her full-time interns, planting for an 80-member CSA. In addition, they are also growing for two families in the Bridge of Hope Program and making connections with the Germantown area of Philadelphia. Several regular volunteers have even graciously contributed countless hours to this mission.

Though it certainly exists on Indian Creek Road in Harleysville, Living Hope Farm is more than an earthly phenomenon. The farm is an opportunity for people to put faith into action. Farming can be spiritual. It’s a chance to rediscover values of corporate faith, local food, and loving community. And for many of us, it’s an opportunity to realize what it means to be living testimonies to our ancestral heritage of farming and entrepreneurship.

Ultimately, the best farming (including at Living Hope Farm) shifts our economy – and our relationships – away from hyper-individuality and towards each other. McKibben says this way of living requires us to “reorient your personal compass” and “live with a stronger sense of community in mind.”

There’s interest in growing food, faith, and community, so let’s get involved. May we all consider what it means to reconnect with our food, our families, and our farms.

photos provided by Living Hope Farrn

525,600 opportunities to love and 525,600 moments to live the call

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Sheldon Good
sheldoncg@goshen.edu

How do you measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights? In cups of coffee, in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife?

These are the lyrics from Seasons of Love, a song from Jonathan Larson’s Broadway musical-turned-motion-picture, RENT. Larson reminds us that there are 525,600 minutes in a year. How do we measure a year in the life?

People naturally measure accomplishments, experiences, and well, life, in various ways. Jonathan knows that, and thoughtfully concludes his piece by saying that the only proper measure of a year of human life is love.

Just last night I heard a story from pastor – and now, innovator – Aldo Siahaan of Philadelphia Praise Center (PPC). Aldo and some of his friends from PPC wandered into a Home Depot the other week to purchase a door. When asked how large the door was that they needed, Aldo pulled a rope out of his pocket. A bit unconventional, yet surprisingly effective.

So we can measure doors with ropes, and according to Larson, we can measure a year with love. But how do we measure the church? Is this even possible?

One of the latest catchphrases I’ve come across asks us to rethink and reimagine how we “do church.” Two buzzwords that seem simple yet are surprisingly substantial.

As the death toll rose to nine on Sunday evening, my thoughts turned to the recent events along Interstate 35W in Minneapolis. What most don’t know is that there is a small Mennonite community that gathers just blocks from where the 35W bridge collapsed. This emergent community is called Missio-Dei.

Missio-Dei is made up of around ten persons who are committed to “following Jesus’ way of peace, simplicity, prayer, and radical hospitality.” They strive to embody the presence of Jesus in their local community known as the West Bank. I visited Missio-Dei this past May, and learned first-hand what it means to live out the Jesus Manifesto in one’s daily life. I can only imagine how they are living out their convictions in lieu of the this tragedy.

We mustn’t measure church in numbers of people or a spacious building, and we can’t just “do church” on Sunday mornings.

Also in May, I had the opportunity to hang out in the “Quadrangle” of Yale Divinity School and attend a conference for pastors sponsored of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture – a division of the Divinity School directed by Christian theologian Miroslav Volf.

I was privileged enough to participate in a seminar led by Executive Director Dr. David W. Miller titled, “Business Ethics: Succeeding without Selling your Soul.” I had a hard time sitting through this hour and a half. As the only Anabaptist – I think – in the room, I felt like Miller’s words were common knowledge to me, something I live without thinking.

Granted, I am a communication and business student at Goshen College and understand the need for ethics in the workplace. As an Anabaptist Mennonite, I understand – more correctly, am continuing to understand – the duality of faith and work. “Christians should not just gather on Sunday and scatter on Monday. We must develop a hermeneutic of the marketplace,” Miller said in his seminar. Miller’s words seemed poignant yet second nature, answers to questions I’m not really asking.

We can’t just “do church” on Sunday, and then casually “do work” on Monday. And we can’t measure church in how sensible our theologians are.

Living in Srok-Khmer (Cambodia) for three months as part of my Study/Service Term at Goshen College taught me a lot. As I worshiped and lived with my Christian host family within a mostly Buddhist nation, I learned how church is an extension of our being. Rarely did I have the chance to see my host brothers and sister from 5-9pm, because they were always at church.

They have the “church during the week” thing down. I will admit, their leadership committee is not as organized as I’d like it to be. For them, church is a way to connect with their neighbors, a safe space to hang out after dark, a place to learn English from a native speaker, and a melting pot for American, Khmer, and international fine arts.

We can’t just “do church” through strong sermons and effective worship sessions. And to measure church by the effectiveness of our committees would be slightly irrational.

I am trying not to get caught up in figuring out the best or most relevant way to “do church,” or how to “measure” it between four walls. Frankly, I wish we’d spend less time wondering how to “do church” and more time living – and loving – as the body of Christ we say that we are. My high school tennis coach, Scott Landis, used to tell me: Tennis is life, life is tennis. It makes me think: Church is life, life is church.

The only way to measure the church is in love. The only way to do church is to live the call.

There are 525,600 minutes in a year. That’s 525,600 opportunities to love. And 525,600 occasions to live the call.

Sheldon Good of Telford, PA, served as an intern with Franconia Conference for the second summer in a row this year. He attends Goshen College as a double major in business and communication and is a member of Salford Mennonite Church.
Cambodia Study-Service Term photo provided by Keith Graber Miller

A nickel and a healthy diet can change the world

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Sheldon Good
scgood@mosaicmennonites.org

For just a nickel, you can free a child of intestinal worms for six months.

For years, Franconia Mennonite Conference has sponsored an initiative named the Worm Project, which “strives to relieve the suffering of millions of children.” The program’s main goal is to distribute worm pills around the world.

For Worm Project coordinator Claude Good, the underlying issue is the way the world’s resources are distributed. “The number of malnourished, overfed people in the world recently equaled the number of malnourished, underfed people at 1.1 billion people.”

According to Good, the combination of a warm climate and significant amounts of impoverished persons creates a breeding ground for worms. “Studies in Ecuador have shown that in the mountain areas about 80% of the children are affected,” Good said. “In Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, the infection rate is above 99%.”

The parasitic worms enter the body in various ways – through the feet, mouth, or childbirth.

Fortunately, there is a drug – Albendazole – that can help to clear these infestations. If taken every six months, the pill will cause the infectious worms to be passed in a person’s stool or vomit, or through one’s mouth.

Good said the worms tend to eat away the host’s food that is most nourishing, especially the food with vitamins — food that is essential to a person’s diet. “That leaves their bodies depleted of those essential nutrients and their recovery is slowed down as a result.”

Good encourages people to eat foods similar to those who live in areas where disease is widespread. “It is our responsibility to eat in a way that is simple yet healthy, and avoids the harmful aspects of the typical American diet, which leads to diseases of affluence. We should also use foods that are less costly, giving the opportunity to contribute one’s savings to programs that feed the world’s hungry.”

Recipes for responsible eating are available on the Worm Project website, which has recently been released at www.wormproject.org. There is also a link to donate online to the Worm Project, along with instructions on how to donate by writing a personal check.

A story with connections to the Worm Project is now scheduled to premiere on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Thursday, September 13. AC360 airs from 10p-12a EST. The story is scheduled to air all day Tuesday, September 18 and all day Saturday, September 22 on CNN and Headline News. Once it premieres on AC360, it will also be viewable on the CNN Heroes website www.cnn.com/heroes under “Medical Marvel” for the most updated programming information.

Photos provided by the Worm Project. The two photos of a woman and her child portray “before and after” using worm pills.

Life in the Woods: sitting, thinking, wrestling, and discovering

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Jordan Good
philip.good@emu.edu

My life’s been a little different in the past few months. And it’s kind of weird saying that now — that it’s different. But it really is. In a lot of ways, so many ways that I don’t think I could really begin to explain it all. I guess I just needed to get away. I needed to go somewhere and think about things, to distance myself from all that I’ve known and force myself into a new place, both literally and figuratively.

Now I’m in Indiana. It’s as far west as I’ve ever been. No, I don’t get out much. I’ve discovered that when you do travel west, you see some pretty weird stuff. Like flat land. And I mean really flat. And the sun doesn’t set until 10:00PM. And high school kids are really into marching band. It’s all weird.

Yet this weird place has become a sort of sanctuary for me. It’s a little oasis in the ever-growing desert of the everyday. Instead of charging through life at the normal pace, I’m sitting down to step back and look at things to address matters of the heart and the like. I’m taking time to read and write and play piano for hours on end and have no reason to stop. There’s time to just sit and think.

That’s what I’ve seen this experience more than anything else. There’s been time to think about things. I’m not sure if resolve is the word I want to use. It’s more like sort through, or deal with, or kick around. Maybe wrestle with. Or more this illustration of sitting down with my problems and talking about things with them. Over dinner or something like that. It’s as if I am extending my hand and making an effort to get to know them.

I’ve also compared it to waking up alone in the woods and having no idea where to go. Yes, that sounds a little scary. And it is. I don’t see how it wouldn’t be. But when you slow down and purposely push everything out of the way that distances you from pain, suffering, emptiness and meaninglessness that seems to weasel its way into every aspect of life, that’s what it feels like. It feels like you’ve just woken up and looked around and realized that you have no idea where you are. And that you don’t even know how long it will take ’til you get to somewhere familiar.

But I happen to like the woods. I like that feeling of exploring, going wherever you think you need to go. It doesn’t really even matter where you end up. There’s no right way, no right place to arrive at, just the idea of being there and going somewhere. It’s observing the beautiful trees and plants and colors of the fallen leaves all around you.

I realize that’s a pretty different way to think about it. It’s a little bizarre, actually. But that’s okay. I’ve been finding out that my ever-changing views on things are a little different than normal — but what is normal, anyway? And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, then please ignore it. Thank God that you’re not completely off-the-wall like me.

What I’ve been discovering is that it’s more about having a bigger perspective on things, becoming fond of questions rather than answers. It’s about opening yourself up to the experience that is life and learning from all it has to offer.

Since I’ve come to the Walnut Hill congregation here in Goshen, I’ve had nothing but this amazing experience revolving around amazing people. Time and time again I’ve tried to retreat back into my own little world of me, I, and me. Time and time again God thrusts more and more of the neatest people into my life. People that convince me there’s still so much good in the world, “and that it’s worth fighting for.”

Why yes, I did just quote the Lord of the Rings. And like Samwise and Mr. Frodo, we’re all on our own little adventures. But we have to remember that those adventures don’t exist within ourselves. Life is everywhere and truth is all around us — especially in our relationships with others. And it seems the more I come to realize that, the more things just seem to fall into place. Work themselves out. Just like that.

And that’s different. But a very nice kind of different.

Jordan Good is a junior at Eastern Mennonite University serving through the Ministry Inquiry Program at Walnut Hill Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana. He’s a member of Bally Mennonite Church and looking forward to his cross-cultural learning this fall through EMU in South Africa.

Photos of Jordan’s experiences during his time with MIP have been provided

Examples of love and curiosity from those living out an everyday child-like faith

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Felicia Moore
fmoore@mosaicmennonites.org

New Beginnings Community Church is in its third year of holding a children’s summer program. Members of the congregation have noticed the lack of activities for the children in their community and set out to make a difference. They set out to have a day camp, providing lunch, bible lessons, and plenty of arts and crafts. I have been truly blessed to have been a part of this ministry for the past three years, through the ups and the downs.

One of my favorite experiences over the past three years occurred this summer. A small girl named Precious gets picked up by her dad everyday. One day, as the children were all sitting at the table ready to go home, her dad opened the door like a knight-in-shinning-armor coming to rescue her. She looked up at him and began to smile as she shouted, “Daddy!” By now anyone could see how much of a daddy’s girl she really was. He stepped into the room and gave her a big hug. She then quickly gathered her things and got ready to go. I watched them as they held hands and went out the door. Just before they left my sight, I could hear her say, “We had fun today at camp.” It was then that I realized why her name is Precious. And it was then that I realized why I got out of bed that morning.

Working or volunteering in children’s ministry is not always easy. The days begin to seem longer. Sometimes, I missed out on all the arts and crafts, and always end up eating last. In fact, sometimes I’ve wanted just to stay home and sleep in. It is on these days when I am often reminded of the boys and girls who depend on me to have camp. Who will take time out to play, listen, and give attention to them if I don’t?

Unlike last summer, I encountered more and more off-the-cuff questions, which often catch me off guard. I wonder if they save them just for me to answer.

The first question came care of Krista Ehst, who was volunteering for the day and wanted to eat a bowl of cereal instead of — the planned — chicken nuggets for lunch. It never occurred to me that a volunteer may have certain dietary needs. None of our meals were planned for vegetarians. I used this opportunity to have her explain what a vegetarian is and about her choice to become one. Most of the children accepted her answer and responded by saying that they had never met anyone who was a vegetarian before. They even wondered if any of our other volunteers were vegetarians.

The very next day, a ten-year-old asked me why we call God a male and could “He” actually be a female? I paused and allowed another counselor to answer. Even though the child could not focus his attention long enough for the answer, he was given one.

Then another question popped up a week later when someone asked if we can be friends with Muslims or people of different religions. Now it was my turn to answer. Honestly, I answered, it can be hard but it is possible. The only response I could share was through my own personal experience. I told the 12 year old that one of the most important things to do is pray for her friend. The next thing is to be a good example of a Christian for her. There will be times were both of you will disagree, but one must continue to be strong in what one’s believe.

It is in sharing our situations and questions that we all benefit from the answers. It could be something that I have gone through already that may help my brother or sister sitting next to me. To begin this type of communication I must be available to listen. In the end, I’m glad that they feel comfortable in asking and challenging me with their questions, whether or not they always wait for an answer. Most of all, being there to give them an answer back makes me joyful and keeps me on my toes.

Felicia Moore is a member of New Beginnings Community Church in Bristol, PA. She’s a junior at Indiana University of Pennsylvania serving through the Ministry Inquiry Program at her home church funded partially by a grant from Eastern Mennonite Seminary.

Photos by Krista Ehst

Obliged to live the call: Considering why we met together at San Jose

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Karisa Martin, Ambler
karisa@att.net

As I am writing this article and reflecting on the Mennonite Youth Convention in San Jose, I am turning a small polished rock over and over in my hands. Inspired by a song in the musical Godspell, during which a character puts a pebble in his shoe at the start of a journey, my youth leader instructed everyone in our group to chose a rock to accompany us to San Jose. Though we kept our rocks in our pockets instead of in our shoes, they were nonetheless notable traveling companions. Individually and together, we assigned meaning to our rocks throughout the trip.

The trip to San Jose had a rocky start, and that wasn’t because everyone in the youth group had a rock in their pocket. Thanks to thunderstorms in Atlanta, our flight plans became quite convoluted. The inclement weather tacked on hours of waiting at the Philadelphia airport and caused us to miss our connecting flight. Arriving in Atlanta in the wee hours of the morning, we were forced to hunker down for the night on the airport’s incredibly plush benches.

After long awaited warm showers and changes of clothes, our youth group was ready to soak up what convention had to offer. Early on we realized we would be spending lots of time at the convention center . Since we were staying near the airport, there would be no discreet sneaking away to our hotel rooms for naps. We were pushed to engage. I may have sacrificed sleep, but I gained so much more through new connections and thoughtful conversations.

I hoped that engaging in convention would bring me some peace of mind about all the uncertainty that the future holds. What I found instead was discomfort of the most wonderful kind. My youth groups’ rocks were fitting metaphors for this. As river rocks, they were polished by bumping and scraping against many other rocks. Though San Jose was my third convention, I was not able to coast through the week on my familiarity. My faith journey bumped and scraped against the large group dynamics, hearing from my peers, and the challenges that the speakers offered. The process may not always feel pleasant, but as a river rock becomes beautifully polished, I know discomfort is a part of being polished into the person God is calling me to be.

Besides wrestling with my own calling, I witnessed the larger church struggle with its calling during convention. I’ve enjoyed looking at how the three conventions I’ve attended have built on each other. From being a welcoming body, to speaking up about our faith, the Mennonite church has grown to this theme of living the call. Living the call happens inside of every believer, in the body of Christ, and it overflows into our communities and the world.

I’ve also enjoyed how my traveling companions to convention have changed. I sneaked into the Atlanta convention with a friend from church as a part of a youth group we’d never attended. Two years later, a group of four of us from Ambler congregation tagged along with another youth group. What a joy it was this year to have a full fledged seven person crew from Ambler! Our small group discussions could rise out of the needs of our church and community. Plus, we already had a foundation of trust and openness. Every time we met, we placed our rocks in a circle. These rocks served as a powerful symbol of unity and of what we each contributed to our group times. Throughout the week in our discussions we explored how our rocks, our words, and our actions could, instead of building walls, build up the church.

More than any other convention, this one has been about the journey. It has affirmed that living faithfully means being on a winding spiritual road. We can encounter God all along the road, not just inside the San Jose convention center. Our youth group got to feel this reality a bit sooner than others. God was in the airport gate as we planned a Sunday worship service about convention. God was at Ambler Mennonite Church as we passionately shared our convention experiences and God will go with us as we discover ways to live the call.

In my more cynical moods I question why I went to convention. I wonder about the hundreds of dollars and the hours spent fundraising that could have gone to needs right at home or in anywhere around the globe. Did I really need to be flying cross country, eating in delicious ethnic restaurants, and sleeping on a wonderfully plush bed? Well, no. Convention leaves a lot to be desired as far as stewardship of resources goes, but convention is invaluable for the way it unites the Mennonite Church. Gathering pools our resources, energizes us for our daily Christian walk, and gives us a better picture of the body of Christ. Convention gives us a sense of who we are, who we’d like to become in Christ, and how Christ can work through us for that transformation to occur.

All that transformation can be quite uncomfortable. It doesn’t feel good to know that I probably play a part, even in my silence, for people not feeling included in this community of faith. It doesn’t feel good to see ways I fall short of integrity. And it doesn’t feel good to hear about people my age checking out of the church. There is so much brokenness in me, in my peers, and in our church. But there is also great capacity to love, heal, and hope. I felt that work begin at convention, and it will continue at our home congregations and communities.

I left convention examining how am I to respond to being chosen by God. In what ways am I broken? How I can take what I’ve been blessed with to bless others? What does it mean to put on the full armor of God? Being a child of God comes with great expectation. I am reminded of this each time I pick up my rock that I carried throughout convention. As light reflects off my polished rock, I’m encouraged to make my life a reflection of God’s love. The time is now to joyfully fulfill my obligation to live the call! Will you join me?

Photos provided by Karisa Martin and David Landis