On November 15, powerful winds swept in from the Bay of Bengal creating a surge of water that rolled up rivers and streams, deep into Bangladesh. Cyclone Sidr was the worst cyclone in more than a decade. Hundreds of thousands of people are homeless, left with nothing but what they could carry as they fled to the safety of shelters. Crops, schools, and roads were destroyed and livestock swept away. According the news reports, the cyclone claimed more than 3,400 lives. TheUnited Nations estimates that more than 273,000 homes have been destroyed and 650,000 damaged in the country.
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) workers Larry Fisher, formerly of Churchville, VA, and Mokhles Rahman, of Bangladesh, visited the southern Bangladeshi districts of Bagerhat and Pirojpur from Nov. 19 to 21 to survey the damage. Larry writes, “We came away with the feeling that the need is indeed very great and that we should respond in a significant way.”
In response to the need for housing and food MCC, along with partners, has promised a response valued at $500,000 that will: provide food immediately for 10,000 families for one month by making local purchases of rice, lentils, oil and salt ($38 provides these items for a family of 5 for one month); and reconstruct up to 1,500 homes ($200 provides material to rebuild one bamboo/slat home). More families are likely to receive food as MCC Bangladesh establishes additional distribution channels.
For information on MCC’s relief efforts on Bangladesh and how you can help please visit www.mcc.org.
The retreat was planned by Curt; Marlene Frankenfield, Franconia Conference Youth Minister; Scott Benner, Eastern District Youth Minister; and a team of local youth pastors and sponsors. The planning committee found inspiration for the theme of dirscenment for the weekend from David F. White’s recent book, “Practicing Discernment With Youth: A Transformative Youth Ministry Approach,” realizing that with all the choices in life, discernment would be a great topic for the leadership weekend.
Curt noted that his challenge for the weekend was to emphasize “the art of discernment without laying out a specific way of discerning.” Using Matthew 22:37, Curt encouraged the youth to think about “what it means for [them] to be loving enough to discern.” One of his goals was to “uncover the Christian impulse to be loving and affirming of differing view points.”
Curt opened the gathering with a call to create an intentional community for the time spent at Spruce Lake. He acknowledged that youth, with their curiosity and tough questions, have the ability to challenge adults to recommit to their faith. During the weekend, Curt used a spiritual type tool published by the Alban Institute entitled “Discover Your Spiritual Type.” It was followed by a case study that revolved around challenging leadership decisions in congregations. The case study involved discerning a request from Britney Spears to be baptized and become a member in one of the group’s congregations. This exercise helped youth better understand the messy side of leadership because of differences that exist in personal and spiritual lives, as well as in youth groups and churches. The youth were asked to think about what it means to lead a group of people with such diverse outlooks on life and faith.
Brittany Kiser, who is a member of Rockhill Mennonite Church and a student at Christopher Dock High School, really appreciated the spiritual type tool because it helped her “see that there is a place for everyone in the church.”
During the closing session, Curt encouraged everyone to practice Christian traditions and rituals that will shape future acts of “Christ-infused” love. Youth groups ended their time writing a blessing or image on each other hands as a way to remind each other to imitate Jesus with all their hearts, minds, souls and to love others as they love themselves.
Participants enjoyed different aspects of the weekend. Emma Nafziger, of Vincent Mennonite Church and a student at Christopher Dock High School, appreciated the time to reflect, worship, and “recover from a stressful week.” Kate Bender, of Rockhill Mennonite Church, is a student at Souderton High School and was concerned that it would be hard to relate to the youth from other schools but she was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and welcoming everyone was.
The weekend included worship led by Nate Stucky, who is currently a student at Princeton Theological Seminary. There were also workshops for youth and sponsors, with topics such as leading worship, choices after high school, discerning God’s will on the “long- haul journey,” recognizing that life is a puzzle and spirituality can be messy, and acknowledging that when it comes to intercultural leadership and communication there is “no right way to fry a chicken.”
Emma, Kate, and Brittany attended two workshops together. They said the workshops were relevant, more interesting than anticipated, and that they had been challenged to think differently about the issues addressed in each session.
The workshop for sponsors was on mentoring youth. Mike Ford, a youth pastor at Franconia Mennonite Church, facilitated a time of sharing mentoring ideas and resources. The sponsors’ forum on Saturday afternoon centered around paying attention to youth transitions, from junior high to high school to post-high school.
This was Marlene Frankenfield’s tenth Youth Leadership Retreat. She enjoys seeing the relationships between youth pastors and sponsors and student leaders strengthened during the gathering, which is a very important part of the retreat for her. She also appreciates the expertise youth sponsors and pastors bring from their different congregational experiences, which they share with each other. Overall, Marlene enjoys the “informal connection and networking around the edges.”
The training is designed to equip participants with a biblical basis and an analytic framework for dismantling systemic racism in the church.
The School for Leadership Formation is a co-sponsor of the event, which is recommended for all conference, congregational, Conference Related Ministry & Partners In Ministry leaders; it is open to everyone interested in this work. Dismantling systemic racism is an integral part of Franconia Conference’s vision to be missional, intercultural, and transformational in every aspect of ministry.
The training schedule and online registration are available here.
The Damascus Road Process (www.mcc.org/damascusroad) of Mennonite Central Committee US provides antiracism educating, organizing, and consulting through congregational and institutional antiracism teams throughout the United States. Additional training and spiritual retreats are available for new and current teams.
On January 21, 1525, the first Anabaptist baptism took place in Zurich, Switzerland. For some years, our global faith family has observed World Fellowship Sunday on a Sunday close to January 21, usually the fourth Sunday in January, remembering our common roots and celebrating our worldwide koinonia. We invite you to join your brothers and sisters in five continental regions in marking World Fellowship Sunday on January 27, 2008.
Each year, Mennonites from different continental regions prepare material for this celebration. The theme chosen this year is “Worship and serve the Lord your God.”
Please visit the MWC home page (www.mwc-cmm.org) to find materials including suggestions for worship, prayer requests from around the world, a map, and sermon prompts. We hope these materials will help you plan World Fellowship Sunday in your own national conference and local churches and that they will provide a way of entering more fully into fellowship, intercession, and thanksgiving with and for your global faith family.
All are invited to a Christmas Song Service at Franconia Mennonite Church (Fellowship Hall), December 2, at 6:30 p.m. The congregation will have opportunity to give selections from the Mennonite Hymnal and Donna Godshall will share special music. A time of refreshments will follow the service.
Penn View Christian School’s annual Christmas Benefit Concert will be held on Friday, December 7, at 7:30 p.m. at Franconia Mennonite Church. The concert will feature the Third Grade Choir, General Choir, Select Choir, Middle School Band, Jazz Band, Middle School Strings, and the Eighth Grade Handbell ensemble. A freewill offering will be matched by generous donors. For more information, please call 215-723-1196.
Treat yourself to a time of quiet for Advent. Join us for an hour of candlelight, scripture, song, and silence at our monthly Evening Song and Prayer Service on December 9, 7 p.m. at Perkasie Mennonite Church. For directions, visit our church website at www.perkmenno.org or call
215-257-3117.
Blooming Glen Mennonite Church’s Peace and Justice Committee will be hosting the movie, No End in Sight on Thursday, December 13 at 7 p.m. in the church Fellowship Hall. This movie chronicles the reasons behind Iraq’s descent into guerilla war. There are interviews with many key political and government figures. The movie lasts 1 hour and 40 minutes. Admission is free. For more information, call Sarah Witter at 215-510-2979.
The December prayer gathering of Franconia Mennonite Conference will be held on Saturday, December 15, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the conference center in Souderton. We will share together in worship and fellowship, but our priority as we gather will be to pray specifically for each congregation in the conference. Come to pray together with brothers and sisters as we seek God for the body of Christ in this region. For more information, contact Sandy Landes, Prayer Ministry, 215-723-5513, x121 or slandes@franconiaconference.org
Karen’s Place, the coffee shop ministry of Doylestown Mennonite Church, will be open on Saturday, December 15 featuring the acoustic rock Dan Harney Band. There is no admission charge. For more information, call the church office at 215-345-6377 or visit the web site at www.karensplace.org.
The November Newsletter from the Peace and Justice Committee of the Eastern District and Franconia Conferences can be found at http://www.easterndistrict.org/pjn0711.pdf. This issue highlights some stories shared by long time members of Christian Peacemaker Teams, Art and Peggy Gish. Monica Haas and Erin Odgers, two recent delegation participants, also share of their experiences with CPT.
Are you in need of a family or Sunday School project for Christmas? It’s the season for caroling, shopping, and spreading the Christmas spirit. As the season rolls around, we’d like to remind you of the need for Mennonite Central Committee’s health kits. While shopping this Christmas, don’t forget to pick up the few items needed to create a health kit:
1 tooth brush (adult size, leave in wrapper)
1 large squeeze-tube of toothpaste (at least 6 oz.)
1 bar soap (4-5 oz. in wrapper)
1 fingernail clipper
1 hand towel (larger than fingertip, any color but white)
Kit bags are available at the MCC Resource Center in Harleysville.
Job Opportunity
Souderton Mennonite Church is seeking qualified candidates for a part-time (10 hrs/week) position of Church Accountant. This position is responsible for performing all accounting functions and financial reporting for the church. A Bachelors degree and experience in accounting and knowledge of QuickBooks accounting software is required. For more information, contact the church office at
215-723-3088, ext. 13.
Leaders of seven Mennonite Church USA conferences gathered this month in Lancaster, PA, as they have done regularly over the last seven years. The meetings have fostered relationships between representatives of the Allegheny, Atlantic Coast, Eastern District, Franconia, Franklin, Lancaster, Virginia and New York conferences. The gatherings have also grown something else: a shared vision to reach the megalopolis that extends from Boston to Richmond with an Anabaptist witness for Christ.
Over the years, strategies have been suggested to work at this vision, but little has emerged in very concrete terms; this time something different happened. Because leaders from each conference had previously committed to keeping everyone informed of new initiatives that might cross the traditional geographic boundaries of conferences, leaders from Franconia requested agenda time to share new church initiatives that were emerging.
When tested with the broader group, Warren Tyson, Executive Conference Minister for Atlantic Coast and Conference Minister for Eastern District, proposed expanding the agenda to invite all conferences to report on church planting initiatives now taking place. Tyson asked the group to place dots on a map of the eastern United States which represented all initiatives less than three years old and to identify additional localities where conversations of “early discernment with clusters of residents or working with on-site leaders” were happening.
“I think it would motivate all of us to see what is already happening in numerous locations across our region,” said Tyson, and he was right. To the amazement of the participants, the dots accumulated as each conference shared its list. When everyone had finished, forty-seven dots, spanning from Maine to Georgia, covered the map. Conference leaders noted that many of these church plants are led by racial/ethnic Mennonites. They also openly acknowledge that these new church initiatives have emerged organically, without strategic planning, studies, or heavy financial investments, but clearly as the movement of God.
Pennsylvania State Representative Rick Taylor recently invited five Mennonite leaders to his Horsham, Pa. office to talk about ways of reducing the amount of illegal handguns in Pennsylvania’s cities. Representative Taylor, who is an active member of Ambler (PA) Mennonite Church, was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006.
“Our meeting today is an opportunity for us as Anabaptist leaders in Philadelphia to continue moving forward to proclaim the ‘Shalom of the City’ in the marketplace,” said Pastor Leonard Dow of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, who led the delegation. “We understand Shalom [and] peace as a key component of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.”
Dow was joined by Lancaster Mennonite Conference Bishop Freeman Miller; Aldo Siahaan of Philadelphia Praise Center; Messiah College student Amanda Arbour, who is also member of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church; and Mennonite Central Committee Philadelphia Program Coordinator Fred Kauffman.
Taylor said he wanted the Mennonite witness to be “heard in Harrisburg as a part of the discussion on handgun legislation.”
“Speak from the heart,” he urged the group. “There is too much political posturing. We need to hear you address this issue from a clear perspective as followers of Christ.”
Representative Taylor has co-sponsored two bills to reduce illegal handgun trafficking: “One handgun a month” (HB 22) and “Lost and Stolen” (HB 29). The first bill would limit the purchase of handguns–not hunting guns or antique guns–to one per person per month and the second would require gun owners to report a lost or stolen weapon within 24 hours. Both bills would slow the flow of handguns from legal gun shops to illegal gun dealers, who are the source of most weapons used to commit a crime.
Taylor himself grew up in the Minneapolis area. He was raised by a single mother and struggled to stay out of poverty. Taylor became cynical about organized religion and stopped attending church, but in 2000 he moved to Ambler and happened to purchase the home of Ambler Mennonite’s previous pastor, Joe Haines. One of his neighbors was also a member of Ambler Mennonite, and through that friendship, Taylor rediscovered faith and joined the church.
“I did not get into politics because of my faith,” says Taylor. “I found faith through my commitment to work for justice in the public realm. My faith is a source of hope and energy to continue working for justice. As long as children go to bed hungry, as long as they do not have health care or good education, and as long as they live in violent neighborhoods—those are my priorities. I want my faith in Christ and my political role to both serve this end.”
At Taylor’s urging, Fred Kauffman participated in the “Speaker’s Symposium on Crime and Violence” which took place in Philadelphia the following day. The event, chaired by Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Dennis O’Brien, brought together twenty-five urban leaders who spoke about ways to reduce violence. Said Kauffman, “Much opposition to rational handgun legislation comes from white men who call themselves Christian. This is not a problem created in North Philly. My plea is that all who claim the name of Jesus recommit themselves to the peace and compassion that Jesus taught and modeled.”
The Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) of Mennonite Church USA Colorado Springs, Colo. The Constituency Leaders Council met in October. The Constituency Leaders Council is made up of denominational leaders whose task is to help discern with and advise the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA, the biennial convention and the broader church on issues related to the faith and life of the church.
The Constituency Leaders Council, which meets twice a year, is composed of three representatives from each of the 21 area conferences of Mennonite Church USA (including Franconia Conference); and two representatives from the recognized constituency groups (currently these include the African American Mennonite Association, Iglesia Menonita Hispana, Native Mennonite Ministries, Mennonite Women and Mennonite Men). Ed Diller of Cinncinati, Ohio, is the denominational moderator-elect and chairs the group. Franconia Conference representatives who attended the meeting included Noel Santiago, Executive Minister; Blaine Detwiler, Moderator-Elect; and Gay Brunt Miller, Director of Collaborative Ministries. Miller is also currently serving as the vice chair of the Constituency Leaders Council.
Participants at the meeting worshiped together and also discussed a number of issues. One area of concern was the gender and racial-ethnic composition of the group; Mennonite Church USA has called the church to recognize the gifts of all people within the church but women accounted for only 20 percent of the attendees at this meeting. The highest percentage of women attending a Constituency Leaders Council gathering was 38 percent in 2005, and most church-related agencies and organizations seek an equal ratio of men and women.
Another agenda item was the formation of a task group to work at issues of racism and recommend concrete actions that the Constituency Leaders Council can take. The Constituency Leaders Council wants to address the hurt and isolation experienced by many churches of color, as well as identify ways in which to help the broader church understand that experience and the role the church has played in it.
The Constituency Leaders Council discussed the Resolution on National Identity which was adopted by delegates at San Jose 2007 this past summerand called for a response from the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board. Delegates at San Jose expressed a desire for guidance as they consider consider both the promise and peril of living faithfully as Christians in the United States. They asked the Executive Board to help congregations explore what it means to live as Mennonites in the wealthiest most powerful nation in the world. The Executive Board requested input from the Constituency Leaders Council which recommended, among other things, that the Mennonite Church in the United States listen to the counsel of Mennonites around the world as it undertakes this issue.
Delegates at San Jose also asked the Executive Board to develop and implement a plan for congregations in Mennonite Church USA to participate in providing basic health insurance for all pastors. The Constituency Leaders Council discussed next steps to be taken in this process.
The Constituency Leaders Council also took time to discuss conference structuring, examining how conferences and churches relate to each other and to Mennonite Church USA.
The next meeting of the Constituency Leaders Council will be held at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center, Mt. Pleasant, Pa. in the spring of 2008.
This is a reminder to RSVP for the Pastor Appreciation Breakfast at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School by Tuesday, November 27! The breakfast is scheduled for Tuesday, December 4 from 8 – 10 a.m., co-sponsored by the Eastern District and Franconia Conferences of Mennonite Church USA. RSVP by emailing office@franconiaconference.org or calling 215-723-5513.
Many in Franconia Conference remember Henry Paul and Mildred Yoder. Last week Mildred passed away following a short illness. There will be a memorial service for family and friends here in the East on Sunday, November 25 at Boyertown Mennonite Church at 4:00 p.m.
Prayers and Petitions: A Call for Advent Prayer and Action From Susan Mark Landis, Mennonite Church USA peace advocate and Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach, director, MCC Washington Office
“Our hearts ache as we continue to long for peace. Whether you are reminded of this longing by listening to news of increasing violence in our world or the approaching Advent of Christ, let us join together in praying and acting for peace this Christmas. Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office invite you to make visible your yearning for peace by joining with Mennonite Church USA congregations across the country, praying and petitioning for peace on Dec. 2, 2007.”
Visit www.MennoniteUSA.org/peace to find a letter with more complete information, a congregational litany, and a petition for peace between the United States and Iran.
On November 15, powerful winds swept in from the Bay of Bengal creating a surge of water that rolled up rivers and streams, deep into Bangladesh. Cyclone Sidr was the worst cyclone in more than a decade. Hundreds of thousands of people are homeless, left with nothing but what they could carry as they fled to the safety of shelters. Crops, schools, and roads were destroyed and livestock swept away. According the news reports, the cyclone claimed more than 3,400 lives. The United Nations estimates that more than 273,000 homes have been destroyed and 650,000 damaged in the country.
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Leaders of seven 
“I think it would motivate all of us to see what is already happening in numerous locations across our region,” said Tyson, and he was right. To the amazement of the participants, the dots accumulated as each conference shared its list. When everyone had finished, forty-seven dots, spanning from Maine to Georgia, covered the map. Conference leaders noted that many of these church plants are led by racial/ethnic Mennonites. They also openly acknowledge that these new church initiatives have emerged organically, without strategic planning, studies, or heavy financial investments, but clearly as the movement of God.
Youth Leadership Retreat Album
Conference Assembly Highlights Video
The Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) of 
Participants at the meeting worshiped together and also discussed a number of issues. One area of concern was the gender and racial-ethnic composition of the group; Mennonite Church USA has called the church to recognize the gifts of all people within the church but women accounted for only 20 percent of the attendees at this meeting. The highest percentage of women attending a Constituency Leaders Council gathering was 38 percent in 2005, and most church-related agencies and organizations seek an equal ratio of men and women.