 
April 26, 2007Notes to PastorsMarlene Frankenfield’s Ordination If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!  Email This Post
April 24, 2007Bulletin AnnouncementsTonight, Sunday, April 29, there will be a concert by Seasoned Grace at Deep Run Mennonite Church East, at 7 p.m. The concert will feature both vocalists and instrumentalists. Their focus is the music of worship, testimony and praise to the grace of Jesus Christ. Seasoned Grace debuted at a concert in Somerset, PA on the first anniversary of the crash of United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. Admission to the concert is free. A love offering will be taken to support their ministry. For directions, visit the church website at www.deepruneast.org. Join other local Mennonites in praying for peace in our world, with a special emphasis on Iraq and Darfur, at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1, at Zion Mennonite Church in Souderton. Following a brief service of prayer and reflection, participants will light candles as a symbol of peace and walk through Souderton. For more information, call the church office at 215-723-3592. Karen’s Place, the coffee shop ministry of Doylestown Mennonite Church, will be open Saturday, May 5, featuring acoustic folk singer-songwriter Susan Piper. Susan is an accomplished singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She has an amazing story to share of her own life and how God works through the experiences we encounter. For more information, call the church office at 215-345-6377 or visit the website at www.karensplace.org. Bally Mennonite Church, Route 100 in Bally, PA, will be serving a Pancake Breakfast in the church Fellowship Hall on Saturday, May 12, from 7 – 11 a.m. Donations from this breakfast will provide funds for mission support in Columbia. “Practical strategies to build peace and security – in Iraq and the world;†discuss and question with Dr. Lisa Schirch, Sunday, May 20, 2-4 p.m. This seminar will be held in the activity center, Rockhill Mennonite Community, Sellersville. Refreshments will be served. Schirch is assistant professor at Eastern Mennonite University, author, and storyteller, drawing on her experience in Iraq, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Africa, and with the U.S. military. Liberty Ministries will host its Annual Open House on Sunday, May 20, from 3 – 6 p.m. Take a tour of our Prison Aftercare Facility, and meet the men, staff, and Board of Directors. Everyone that registers will have their name entered for a drawing. The first place prize is an Airplane Ride for Two! Food, fun, and fellowship will all be plentiful on this day. For more information, call 610-287-5481. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Email This Post
Bulletin Announcements Practical Strategies to Build Peace & Security — In Iraq and the World Presented in the Activity Center, ~ What can the U.S. do to build security and stability in our fragile world? The entire community is invited to listen and discuss and question! Lite refreshments will be served. Dr. Lisa Schirch, Associate Professor of Peacebuilding, Eastern Mennonite University, is teacher, author of four books, and director of the 3D Initiative. She will tell stories from her work in Iraq, Lebanon, Africa, Sri Lanka and Indonesia where she worked with local leaders to promote peace and security. Currently she promotes alternative security strategies to Members of Congress and the U.S. military. Sponsored by: Pennridge Ministerial Association Call: (215) 536 -9293 www.perkmenno.org If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Email This Post
April 23, 2007Eastern Mennonite Seminary Awards Anabaptist Studies ScholarsMike Metzler has received funding from the Area Conference Leadership Training Fund and is a member of Towamencin Mennonite Church. Laura Lehman Amstutz “Two students from Eastern Mennonite Seminary were awarded the Linden Wenger Anabaptist Studies Award this week. First-year student Samuel Hernandez, of Harrisonburg, VA won the second place prize, $200, with his paper titled, “The Church, Religion and State Through the Eyes of Balthasar Hubmaier and Michael Sattler.†The Linden M. Wenger Anabaptist Studies Award recognizes outstanding student papers integrating Biblical and historical scholarship with pastoral application from an Anabaptist believers church perspective. Both these student’s submitted papers written for Christian Tradition II a required first-year course. Linden Wenger served for many years as a professor on the faculty of EMS and as a leader within the Virginia Mennonite Conference. Original aricle posted on 4/19/07 at http://www.emu.edu/seminary/features/lindenwenger If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Email This Post
April 19, 2007Notes to Pastors“Deep and Wide – Expanding Hospitality in the Faithful Church†Keynote Speakers – Dr. Eddie Gibbs, Fuller Seminary At Franconia Mennonite Church – Telford, PA – Tuesday, May 8 from 8:30 AM to 7:30 PM Workshops: “The First Thirty Seconds†You may choose two from these selections Early Bird Registration - $109 per person Includes two delectable meals again catered by Wegmans! And also a free book just being published entitled Deep and Wide: Hospitality and Assimilation in the Faithful Church. This book speaks to the issue of how to retain and include new attendees in your congregation. For additional information contact New Life Ministries – and talk to Kristen at If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Email This Post
Bulletin AnnouncementsDock Woods Community will host a Health Fair with the theme “Spring Into Healthy Living,†on Wednesday, April 25. Everyone is welcome and admission is free. The fair will be held at the community’s Lansdale campus from 12:30 – 3:30 p.m. For more information, please call 215-368-4438. Everyone is invited to attend the 24 Hour Prayer & Worship beginning Friday, April 27 at 8 p.m. through Saturday, April 28, 8 p.m. Community churches, worship and prayer teams, individuals, musicians, singers, and intercessors will join together lifting their voices in praise and supplication for 24-hours straight. The service will be held at Indian Valley Mennonite Church in Harleysville, PA. For more information, go to www.24hourworship.org or call 215-541-4308. The Harmenaires, a Southern Gospel Group, will be singing at Salem Mennonite Church on Sunday, April 29, at 4 p.m. A light supper will follow the concert. For more information, call the church at Harmony Sound Quartet will be in concert at Franconia Mennonite Church on Sunday, April 29, at 6:30 p.m. Donna Godshall is a member of this Southern Style Gospel group. A freewill offering will be received. Are you over 50? 60? 70? Mennonite Association of Retried Persons (MARP) welcomes new members from all Anabaptist-related churches. Consider joining for extra encouragement and many creative ideas as you move toward or beyond retirement. MARP brings inspiration and joy to many through a yearly fall retreat and as it celebrates fitness and health with the Mennonite Senior Sports Classic. MARP urges older adults to serve “in Jesus’ name†while at home or during periods of travel. Each year hundreds of members serve with SOOP (Service Opportunities for Older People), sharing life skills and friendship in a variety of locations of need throughout the U.S. and Canada. Currently, the quarterly newsletter, PAGES, is mailed to 4500 people in 40-plus states. To join MARP or for more information, call the office at 215-721-7730 or email marp-soop@juno.com. Volunteer/Job Opportunities Mennonite Disaster Service has many urgent volunteer needs. If you have an interest in volunteering for three weeks or more, contact Cathie Kearsley at 717-859-2210. To see details of the short-term and long-term volunteer opportunities, check out the website at www.mds.mennonite.net. Franconia Mennonite Church has an opening for an Administrative Assistant. The applicant must be skilled in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Responsibilities include church calendar, worship planning, facility rental, website, and church publications. For additional information, please contact John Nyce at 215-723-3220. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Email This Post
April 17, 2007Bulletin AnnouncementsDock Woods Community will host a Health Fair with the theme “Spring Into Healthy Living,†on Wednesday, April 25. Everyone is welcome and admission is free. The fair will be held at the community’s Lansdale campus from 12:30 – 3:30 p.m. For more information, please call 215-368-4438. Everyone is invited to attend the 24 Hour Prayer & Worship beginning Friday, April 27 at 8 p.m. through Saturday, April 28, 8 p.m. Community churches, worship and prayer teams, individuals, musicians, singers, and intercessors will join together lifting their voices in praise and supplication for 24-hours straight. The service will be held at Indian Valley Mennonite Church in Harleysville, PA. For more information, go to www.24hourworship.org or call 215-541-4308. The Harmenaires, a Southern Gospel Group, will be singing at Salem Mennonite Church on Sunday, April 29, at 4 p.m. A light supper will follow the concert. For more information, call the church at Harmony Sound Quartet will be in concert at Franconia Mennonite Church on Sunday, April 29, at 6:30 p.m. Donna Godshall is a member of this Southern Style Gospel group. A freewill offering will be received. Are you over 50? 60? 70? Mennonite Association of Retried Persons (MARP) welcomes new members from all Anabaptist-related churches. Consider joining for extra encouragement and many creative ideas as you move toward or beyond retirement. MARP brings inspiration and joy to many through a yearly fall retreat and as it celebrates fitness and health with the Mennonite Senior Sports Classic. MARP urges older adults to serve “in Jesus’ name†while at home or during periods of travel. Each year hundreds of members serve with SOOP (Service Opportunities for Older People), sharing life skills and friendship in a variety of locations of need throughout the U.S. and Canada. Currently, the quarterly newsletter, PAGES, is mailed to 4500 people in 40-plus states. To join MARP or for more information, call the office at 215-721-7730 or email marp-soop@juno.com. Volunteer/Job Opportunities Mennonite Disaster Service has many urgent volunteer needs. If you have an interest in volunteering for three weeks or more, contact Cathie Kearsley at 717-859-2210. To see details of the short-term and long-term volunteer opportunities, check out the website at www.mds.mennonite.net. Franconia Mennonite Church has an opening for an Administrative Assistant. The applicant must be skilled in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Responsibilities include church calendar, worship planning, facility rental, website, and church publications. For additional information, please contact John Nyce at 215-723-3220. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Email This Post
April 13, 2007Intersections, April 2007
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La Paz: A ready message for the worldDavid Landis The road winds up and over, through a quarry littered with trash into a small settlement of primitive houses made of cement, plastic and pieces of wood. Upon arriving at La Joya, Lupita Flores and her three sons unload guitars, posters with song lyrics, and coloring books and we walk together into one of the houses to meet glowing children, their mothers, and a mop-like dog for This weekly gathering of women and children at La Joya began two months ago when the Flores family began visiting the community to explore the possibility of starting a church. The family comes from Iglesia Cristiana de La Paz, an Anabaptist congregation on the southeast corner of Mexico City that has a vision to minister and disciple to the needs of the world. Lupita continually reminds us in a faithful tone, “If God wants to start a church here, it will happen.†ORIGINS OF LA PAZ After Kirk had served as pastor at Methacton Mennonite Church in Norristown, Pa, for nine years, he and Marilyn moved to Mexico City in 1993 as missionaries from Franconia Mennonite Conference and Mennonite Board of Missions. “It was tough going initially,†says Kirk, “and we were almost willing to quit a few times.†There were power struggles with local leaders. Some even threatened to deport Kirk, accusing him and the church of stealing kids from the community and selling their organs to the United States. After two years, things began to settle and the church grew to more than 50 people, requiring a larger meeting space than the Hangers’ patio.In 1999, Blooming Glen Mennonite Church, along with other contributors, helped to purchase property. Soon after, the congregation was able to construct their current meeting location of La Paz with the help of local paid workers and occasional volunteer groups from the states.When Bolivian pastor Ruben Mercado assumed leadership of La Paz in 2003, Kirk returned to the United States to plant Nueva Esperanza/ New Hope, a bilingual congregation on the outskirts of another capitol city, Washington DC. The network based in Mexico continued to expand, stretching to over 15 churches, missions A TEAM OF DIVERSE LEADERS LaPaz’s pastor in Mexico City, Ruben Mercado, is visionary and compassionate with an unending quota of energy to expand the church. Coming from a family profoundly involved with witchcraft, Ruben grew up deeply and personally involved with drug trafficking, alcoholism, gang violence and abuse. An encounter with God transformed Ruben’s life and he began the Christian walk, later directing him into pastoral ministry. One of his dreams for the La Paz area is to build a drug rehab center, a desparate need for many persons in the community. David Casana comes to the pastoral team at La Paz after working as an economic consultant to the Argentinean Senate in Buenos Aires to reduce national debt. Through connections to Anabaptists in Argentina, he changed vocations and began working with the church. He has since served as the president of Faith Biblical Seminary, expanding this network to eight locations in Mexico to train church leaders. Victor Zaragoza, the former leader of a Mexico City gang of over 400 members, is the only native Mexican on the pastoral team. He and his wife Julie have started two ministries, one called Pescadores de Hombres (Fishers of Men) which is a roaming evangelical medical clinic that visits nearby villages. The other is their home, Refugee Ranch, expanded so they are able to take in abandoned and neglected children. Julie says, “Even if we have 48 kids, we’re going to church on Sunday. I don’t care if we need a bus…†Each pastor brings different leadership gifts, whether as an evangelist, a visionary, an administrator or with pastoral care. Together they sort out their cultural differences, knowing that they share the same vision—to give people evangelical encounters with Christ. NETWORKING MODELS FROM THE EARLY CHURCH The churches in the La Paz network translate into a variety of shapes and forms in their emerging contexts. In some locations, traditional church structures are used for gathering, but in others, it’s a former tortilleria, the rooftop of a public building, or the apartments of developing leaders. Coming from a reality where resources need to be utilized responsibly, the Mexican church shows it’s resourcefulness and creativity in how it gathers for worship. Energy and resources seem to be directed towards moving persons between various parts of the ecclesial network, investing in keeping persons connected even after they leave the geographic center. For example, one of the young leaders of the church, David Flores, who is involved with the La Joya community, will spend the next year working with youth in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, through Mennonite World Conference’s YAMEN program and Pastor Ruben’s connections. The church in Mexico will stay connected with David by sending others back and forth, hoping to use his presence in Bolivia for transformative growth with the churches in Mexico and developing the network. Pastor Ruben, states, “We are learning to develop this network from the Apostle Paul and how he worked. Starting churches is natural. When we see opportunities for growth, we should take advantage of it. When we see fruit, we will support its continuation.†The network model shows its value by bringing in a greater diversity of persons and connections with which to learn and grow. The network has been most successful when it functions freely as a grassroots movement without the rules and paperwork that larger church institutions usually require to stay organized and secure. Pastor Ruben feels that the most authentic church model is one where the church’s energy is free to multiply as the early church did throughout the Mediterranean and into the world. BEING ANABAPTIST IN MEXICO
As David Flores prepares to leave for Bolivia, he says Anabaptism means being born again to faith and entering a new family. As Pastor Ruben facilitates movement within the ever-expanding network, Anabaptism means that the church integrates the social and spiritual needs of the community, keeping equilibrium with the Bible and the world. For Lupita Flores, it means ministering to women and their children in La Joya. Anabaptismincludes the freedom to cut her hair and not wear skirts down to her ankles while being a part of the family of God. Each person says that it means that the movement of God’s spirit is free to flow through the community, reaching out to bring new life to connected relationships around the world. It seems to be Anabaptist in a global age may require that we need change the way we call ourselves to build relational networks with those we care about. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Email This Post
Culturally half-bred Mennonite: Theologically completely AnabaptistJessica Walter Ever since my days at Eastern Mennonite University I have been keenly aware that my last name, being from an area not readily associated with Mennonites, and not having gone to a Mennonite high school set me on the outside of the world I thought I grew up in. In an attempt to join a system I cannot beat I jokingly call myself a half-breed Mennonite. Two years ago I made the conscious decision to remain Mennonite. It was a decision tempered by exclusion from people who were supposed to be like me. People who grew up in Mennonite churches, know what Whoopie pies and Relief Sales are, can identify different coverings, and chose to go to a Mennonite college like myself. I walked onto the campus of EMU and walked into a world I had not been aware of before. I met peers who were far more developed in their theology yet underdeveloped in their patience and understanding for those of us who had not been submerged in the Mennonite world. I felt looked down upon for my still developing understanding of Anabaptist history and theology. Many of my classmates had little patience for my newly expanding world view. It seemed that none of us had learned in our prior church and school experiences that there is a difference between the culture of our denomination and the theology. It was assumed that because we were all Mennonites we would not only understand that not all of us are plain-dressing but that we would also all be on the same page in theological praxis. Truthfully, beyond the cultural differences, knowing I was pacifist, and a vague knowledge of the Martyrs Mirrors, I had no real clue what was different about being Mennonite compared to the variously denominated Christian friends I grew up with. Interacting with my less than patient Mennonite peers led me to question my allegiance to the denomination. I started to identify myself as Christian but not Mennonite and became friends with EMU classmates who were either a lot like me in their Mennonite status or not Mennonite at all. It wasn’t until after college, when I participated in a service-learning program, Mennocorps PULSE, that allowed me to live with people who were not Mennonite but excited about our theology that I began to learn and embrace what it means to be theologically Anabaptist. This issue of Intersections is filled with stories of and encounters with Mennonite brothers and sisters who are culturally different yet theologically the same. In his reflection on La Paz, David Landis notes the cultural problem Mexican Mennonites have in simply identifying themselves as Mennonite; they are “confused with the plain-dressing German colony Mennonites who are publicly known for their cheese-making skills.†Instead they have embraced the broader term Anabaptist (Anabautista in Spanish) which encompasses their theology but not the cultural entrapments from which the movement has emerged. The truth is that our sisters and brothers need not be attached to our cultural practice in order to embrace Anabaptist theology. It is encouraging to know that Anabaptism transcends cultural differences and is relevant to those who are not descendants of the original Anabaptists. In the stories of Ivan and Martene Histand, Ryan Badorf, and Devon Levengood, it is beautiful to witness how our theological praxis opens doors for us to not only reach out to others who are culturally different but to have those we serve change our lives in the process. As the Mennonite World Conference’s latest edition of Courier notes there are nearly 1.5 million Mennonites around the world. These brothers and sisters abroad and in our congregations may not look alike, eat the same foods, dress alike, or even speak the same languages but we share a bond that goes beyond all these cultural norms and more…an Anabaptist faith. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Email This Post
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