Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Tami Good

Holy Humor

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by Pastor Tami Good, Swamp Congregation

Associate Pastor Tami Good (Swamp Congregation) records entertaining videos for children (and adults) to connect with her congregation during this time of social distancing. All of her videos are available here.

The Sunday after Easter my sister-in-law sent me a video entitled, “Holy Humor Sunday.” It was a church service filled with funny hymns, jokes, bright clothing, and a thoughtful reflection on the need for laughter today.

My first reaction was, “This is amazing!” However, it also brought me pause. Is this kind of thing really allowed in church? Church is supposed to be a solemn place, right? I was a bit skeptical. So I researched it.

In the early Church, the Sunday after Easter was a day of laughter and joy. Parties were thrown and practical jokes were played. Bright clothing was worn, and everyone joined in on the fun. The custom of “Bright Sunday,” as it was called, was an idea formed by early church theologians who believed that God played a joke on the devil by raising Christ from the dead. The resurrection was God’s ultimate surprise on Death. Over time, this practice was pushed aside and forgotten … until recently.

The importance of joyfulness and gladness has always been part of our tradition. Psalm 100:1-2 (NRSV) says, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord…worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing.” As God’s beloved children we are encouraged to live out the joy and thanksgiving God’s presence brings.

However, God does not only exist to bring us joy.  Does God experience joy and laughter too? Imagine God during Creation, breathing over the waters. Couldn’t a breath be one big burst of joyous laughter?

Jesus was no different. Think about Jesus’ companions: weathered fisherman, party girls, and outcasts, who sorely needed a dose of hope, joy, and laughter. This is one of the reasons the religious people of Jesus’ day hated him so much. He was a friend to “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:34, NRSV). Maybe it was Jesus’ laughter with these people that was so scandalous to the religious leaders.

Remember when Jesus breathes on his disciples (John 20:19-23)? Just as God breathed creation into being, Jesus breathed in a new creation as well. Only this new creation was the power of the Holy Spirit. I can hardly believe this breath of God’s Chosen One was a gentle, fluttering breeze. Instead I picture it as a gregarious eruption of laughter! What pure elation the disciples must have felt as they celebrated the complete defeat of death!

We are currently living in chaotic and stressful times. It is hard to live within the unknown.  I wonder, however, if we might be able to find ways to imitate Jesus’ sense of humor through all of this? I’m sure there were smirks and giggles when Jesus told some of his outlandish parables or crazy ideas: A camel going through the eye of a needle? Feeding 5,000 with a few loaves of bread and fish?

Laughter puts things back into perspective and reminds us to see the good in those around us. It takes the focus off what we cannot control and lets us see our situation in a new light. If Jesus appeared on earth to deliver God’s punchline, how might God long to surprise you in the coming days?

As we continue in this time of being apart, I encourage you to ask God to help you see the humor all around you. Wear bright clothing, sing a silly song, and tell the cheesiest “Dad jokes” you know. How might God long to bring some “Holy Humor” into your life today?

Conference pastors pursue higher education

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by Lora Steiner, managing editor

The Lord works in mysterious ways,  and the Spirit leads in mysterious ways: sometimes to faraway lands, sometimes to stretching local ministries—or sometimes, back to the classroom.

Beth Yoder with her family at her graduation from Drew.
Beth Yoder with her family at her graduation from Drew.

This year, two Franconia Conference pastors finished Doctor of Ministry (D.Min) degrees, while several others are pursuing pastoral studies alongside other fulltime jobs. The advantages to them and their congregations are many: For pastors who’ve been in ministry for many years, it can be a time to refocus and re-tool. For congregations, it’s a chance to develop new practices and to see the Gospel in fresh ways, and a gentle nudge to those in maintenance mode.

Throughout Beth Yoder’s congregational ministry, she has interspersed her work with study: a year at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, coursework at Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield and Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey, and classes at Eastern Mennonite Seminary as well. It was at EMS that Beth re-embraced her passion for worship and preaching—and also at EMS where she remembered her interest in doing a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min) degree at Drew University,  a program that would allow her to focus heavily on those areas.

Yoder, associate pastor of Salford congregation, says her studies were invigorating, and brought a sort of freshness for her and her congregation. D.Min. programs are structured around a project that the student commits to doing in her worship setting; Yoder’s focused on embodied worship—using principles of theater and movement to enrich worship. Many—not all—she reports, were appreciated, but it let her examine a hunch about the significance of embodied worship on spiritual formation. A lot of it, she says, wasn’t brand new—but her studies and assignments carved out that space to try something different.

Mike Derstine, pastor of Plains congregation, recently finished a D.Min. at Palmer Theological Seminary in King of Prussia, Pa. He’d always thought about pursuing the degree but with commitments to family and church, the timing never seemed right. When his congregation gave him a three-month sabbatical, it was the encouragement he needed to enter the program.

Mike Derstine with his family at graduation from Palmer.
Mike Derstine with his family at graduation from Palmer.

Palmer’s program focuses on transformational leadership, the missional church, and congregational renewal. Derstine says it’s just what he was looking for, a “key area for congregational pastors who need to think about what the changing context means for ministry.”

Derstine says he’d become so preoccupied with the needs and demands of the day-to-day life of a congregation that he found he wasn’t taking enough time for personal or professional renewal. Programs like this, he says, allow pastors  space to cultivate a “deeper spirituality, as well as more disciplined  and intentional approach to what we do.”

Beny Krisbianto, pastor of Nations Worship Center in south Philadelphia, is finishing a degree at the Eastern Mennonite Seminary campus in Lancaster. Like many other pastors in Franconia Conference, he takes one or two courses a semester—that’s all he has time for—and appreciates how he is able to daily use what he is studying: “I can balance between learning the principles and theology and applying it to my context.”

Krisbianto says one thing he learned from seminary is how to care for himself.

“Before I went to seminary I didn’t know about teaching and discipline. After beginning seminary, I grew a lot,” he says. “I know my strength, I know my weakness, I know when to say no, I know when to say stop.”

Krisbianto has two classes left and will graduate in 2015. This week also saw the graduations of Tami Good, Souderton congregation, and Kris Wint, Finland congregation, with M.Divs. from Biblical Seminary in Hatfield, Pa.

Although it may seem impossible while in the midst of classroom demands, life continues after graduation: Derstine took time after he finished his studies to replace the mufflers and exhaust system on his old car, and started seeds for his garden, continuing the balance of daily life and renewal. Both Derstine and Yoder continue in their same congregations.

“I think both formal and informal pastor education are important for pastors and congregational leaders,” says Yoder, “because it gives people an opportunity to engage new material, to learn with new people, and also gives leaders a space to say ‘I don’t have all of the answers,’ when sometimes leadership roles can get us into the practice of feeling like we have to have all the answers.”

“Going back into the classroom invites you to become a learner, to engage humbly, to rethink your own leadership from a different perspective.”

Franconia Conference gathers to celebrate, pray, confer, listen

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Garden Chapel Children's Choir
Garden Chapel’s children’s choir led a rousing rendition of “Our God” at Conference Assembly 2013. Photo by Bam Tribuwono.

Franconia Conference delegates and leaders gathered November 2 at Penn View Christian School in Souderton, Pa. to celebrate God still at work.   With a packed auditorium for a third united assembly with Eastern District Conference, representatives gathered to listen and pray, to celebrate newly credentialed and ordained pastoral leaders, and to work alongside one another after an over 150-year rift created two separate Mennonite entities.  The theme “God still @ work” was an extension of the 2012 theme, “God @ work.”

With singing in Indonesian, Spanish, and English led by Samantha Lioi (Peace and Justice Minister for both conferences) and Bobby Wibowo (Philadelphia Praise Center) and translation into Franconia Conference’s worshipping languages, delegates and representatives from nearly all of the Conference’s congregations from Georgia to Vermont gathered to confer around a board-crafted statement on the Conference’s increasing diversity in ethnicity, experiences, faith practice, and expression.   The gathering was punctuated with points of celebration including testimony from Peaceful Living led by Joe Landis and Louis Cowell from Salford congregation, a youth choir from the revitalizing Garden Chapel in Victory Gardens, NJ, and a moment to mark the upcoming November retirement of Franconia Conference Pastor of Ministerial Leadership Noah Kolb after 45 years of ministry, which was met with rousing applause and a standing ovation.

Noah blessing 2013
Noah Kolb was recognized and blessed for 45 years of ministry. He will retire in November. Photo by Bam Tribuwono.

In a shortened one-day event, delegates spent the morning together around tables with Eastern District Conference to continue to deepen relationships across conference lines.  Business sessions were separate, and Franconia’s included a significant amount of time in conversations among table groups, conferring over the board statement and then reporting on those conversations to the whole body.  Delegates and representatives were encouraged to mix across congregational lines to better hear and experience the diversity of conference relationships.

For many, including Tami Good, Souderton (Pa.) congregation’s Pastor of Music & Worship, who was attending Conference Assembly for the first time, the table conversations were holy spaces.  Each person at her table was from a different congregation.   “I saw God at work in the gracious listening, especially in the time when we talked about the conferring statement,” Good reflected. “There were disagreements, but everyone was graciously listening and hearing.  Everyone actually wanted to hear each other.  It was a beautiful time.”

The conferring time, along with an afternoon workshop led by the Franconia Conference board, focused on prayer and visioning for the Conference into the future.   Conference board members Jim Longacre (Bally congregation), Rina Rampogu (Plains congregation), Jim Laverty (Souderton congregation), and Klaudia Smucker (Bally congregation) served as a listening committee for the daylong event.  They reported seven themes of consistent and continued conversation: engagement, diversity, shared convictions, authority, polity, the role of conference, and the reality of changing relationships and engagement.  Board members noted that there is much response work to do to continue the conversation and discernment process.

Bruce Eglinton-Woods, pastor of Salem congregation (Quakertown, Pa.), said, “The challenge is speaking clearly on what we believe and where we are at, which is often a challenge for Mennonite leaders. My hope and prayer is that we can trust God and release the idea of keeping it all together. We need to let God do the holding together.”

Franconia Conference delegates spent time conferring and praying together. Photo by Bam Tribuwono.
Franconia Conference delegates spent time conferring and praying together. Photo by Bam Tribuwono.

According to Rampogu, one of the longest standing Conference board members, “the hardest part about this kind of meeting is that there isn’t enough time. We want to share and to talk together,” she said.  “That is a positive sign.  People want to connect.  My hope and prayer is that we keep our goal in mind, keeping our mission focused on equipping leaders to empower others to embrace God’s mission, with Christ in the center and churches focused on missional activity.”

In business sessions, delegates selected a number of positions by 97% affirmation including a 2nd term for conference moderator John Goshow (Blooming Glen congregation) along with board member Beny Krisbianto (Nations Worship Center), as well as ministerial and credentialing committee members Rose Bender (Whitehall congregation), Ken Burkholder (Deep Run East congregation), Mike Clemmer (Towamencin congregation) and Chris Nickels (Spring Mount congregation).   Randy Nyce (Salford congregation) who is completing a term as finance committee chair and board member reported on Conference finances, noting an 11% decrease in financial contributions from congregations.

“I was surprised and pleased that the attendance at Assembly 2013 was so strong; seeing the room filled to capacity was an affirmation of how much the delegates and guests in attendance care for our conference,” Goshow noted.  “Franconia Conference is all of us who are members of our 42 churches and our Conference Related Ministries.  It is my hope and prayer that together we chart a course that will advance God’s Kingdom in exciting and wonderful ways.”

Listen to the podcast.

Conference Assembly 2013 Highlight Video from Franconia Conference on Vimeo.

Responding to my call … for my daughter

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Tami Goodby Tami Good, Souderton

I have always had a sense of what it means to be called into service.  My parents and grandparents modeled for me the importance of living out our faith through seeking God’s purpose for our lives.  As my grandfather always said, “You don’t come to church to warm the benches.”  Through his example and others I came to understand that walking with Christ is lived out daily as one shares her gifts with those around her.  We are all ministers of the gospel as we build relationships and reach out as Christ’s hands and feet.

About three years ago God gave me the word “prepare.”  At first I did not understand what that meant, but as my husband and I began to pray about it, I realized that part of my “preparing” would involve going back to school.  Through my studies at Biblical Seminary and the counseling and affirmation of others, I felt led to step out of the educational field and pursue a call in ministry.

As I grew into the idea, it was my daughter who compelled me to move forward in my calling.  Looking at her, I realized I wanted her to grow up knowing that God could ask her to do anything.   I firmly believe God calls both women and men into pastoral roles.  It is important to hear the many voices God has placed within our churches and conference settings.  Our young adults need to know that they can be used in whatever situation God calls them, regardless of their gender or ethnicity.  Including all our brothers and sisters in leadership roles allows all of us to fully use the gifts God has placed in each of our lives.

Ministerial report (September 2013)

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The Ministerial Committee met on September 4:

  • We took action to grant a specific license to Tim Hart to serve as pastor of revitalization for Garden Chapel.
  • We approved ordination for Emily Ralph from the Salford congregation who has been called to an associate pastor position at Sunnyside in Lancaster.
  • We granted a license toward ordination to Tami Good who is serving as minister of worship and music at Souderton.
  • Arnold Derstine and Mike Ford have resigned from the pastoral team at Franconia.
  • Blooming Glen has hired Mike Ford as youth pastor.
  • Frederick and Lakeview are seeking interim pastoral leadership.
  • Perkiomenville is seeking an associate pastor and Alpha and Taftsville congregations are looking for pastoral leadership.