Goshen, Ind. — Randy Delp has recently been named as a Mennonite Foundation Representative by MMA. He is now serving families and businesses throughout eastern Pennsylvania in charitable gift planning.
MMA helps people manage resources in ways that honor God through its professional expertise in insurance and financial services. Rooted in the Anabaptist faith tradition, MMA offers practical stewardship education and tools to individuals, congregations, and organizations. To learn more, visit www.MMA-online.org or call (800) 348-7468.
Retirement Celebration Wes Boyer will celebrate 35 years of ministry as he retires from pastoral ministry at Vincent Mennonite Church as of February 29. The congregation will have a farewell service on Sunday, March 2 in the morning and a time of greeting Pastor Wes and Lois in the afternoon. All are invited to a drop-in time from 2 – 5 p.m. at Vincent Mennonite Church on Sunday, March 2 to celebrate with him and wish him well as he moves into his retirement years.
Pastors’ Day March 5 is Pastors’ Day at Christopher Dock High School. Please notify them of your attendance by Wednesday, February 27, at cschmidt@dockhs.org or 215-362-2676 ext.103.
Monthly Pastors’ Breakfast
The March pastors’ breakfast will held on the second Thursday this month, March 13, from 8 – 10 a.m. at the Mennonite Conference Center. The discussion will be led by Julie Prey-Harbaugh, Franconia Conference Trainer in Child Protection and Child Abuse Recovery. Further information will be forthcoming. Please RSVP by Saturday, March 8, by contacting Jessica Walter, jwalter@franconiaconference.org.
Prayer and Worship Celebration
Pastors, you are invited to join with the regional church in a Prayer and Worship celebration for 40 Days of Prayer/Fasting, Friday, March 14, 7 p.m. at Souderton Mennonite Church fellowship hall. Prayer will be the focus of this service, large group, small groups, and at prayer stations. Immediately following this service, you are invited to participate in the 24 Hour Prayer & Worship event being held at Souderton Mennonite Church in their fellowship hall through Saturday, March 15, 8 p.m.
Pastor Seminar
The Lombard Mennonite Peace Center has designed a long-term approach to congregational change grounded in the family systems theory of Dr. Murray Brown. Here I Stand: Leading Change through Self-Differentiation is a three-day event at which pastors will be trained to integrate this approach into their ongoing ministries. The event will be offered on April 8 - 10 at Zion Mennonite Church in Souderton, PA. Additional information is available on the website at www.LMPeaceCenter.org. To register, call 630-627-0507 or email Admin@LMPeaceCenter.org.
Christopher Dock Mennonite High School will hold a “Battle of the Bands” competition on Monday, March 3, at 7 p.m. in Clemens Auditorium. During the competition, there will be a silent auction in the cafeteria to raise funds for peer mediation training for several Dock students and teachers. Teachers, students, and local businesses will donate goods and services for the auction. All are welcome to enjoy good music, food, and fellowship to support the launch of the peer mediation program at Dock. For more information, please call the school office at 215-362-2675 or visit www.dockhs.org.
Karen’s Place, the coffee shop ministry of Doylestown Mennonite Church will continue its 8th Annual Blues-Rock Madness Month on Saturday, March 8 featuring the acoustic Blues-rock band, Heaven Bound. They will also feature a Special Sunday Night performance by acoustic alternative singer-songwriter, Krista Bennie on March 9. For more information, please visit www.karensplace.org or call the church office at 215-345-6377.
All are welcome to Evening Song and Prayer in the Taizé tradition at Perkasie Mennonite Church on Sunday, March 9, from 7 – 8 p.m. Using music from the Taizé community in France, as well as hymns of the church, we gather in a candlelit atmosphere for scripture, song, silence, and prayers for our world, communities, and loved ones. For directions, visit www.perkmenno.org or call 215-257-3117.
Blooming Glen Mennonite Church Peace and Justice Film Series will show Wetbacks – The Undocumented Documentary at Blooming Glen Mennonite Church on Thursday, March 13 at 7 p.m. Seen from many different perspectives, this 90 minute film tells the story of illegal immigrants coming to the U.S. For more information, call Sarah Witter at 215-510-2979.
Join with the regional church in a Prayer and Worship celebration for 40 Days of Prayer/Fasting, Friday, March 14, 7 p.m. at Souderton Mennonite Church fellowship hall. Prayer will be the focus of this service, large group, small groups, and at prayer stations. Immediately following this service, you are invited to participate in the 24 Hour Prayer & Worship event being held at Souderton Mennonite Church in their fellowship hall through Saturday, March 15, 8 p.m.
All are invited to a free movie night at Methacton Mennonite Church on Friday, March 14. A NORTH PENN PORTRAIT will be shown. This documentary produced by John and Jay Ruth covers local history in the North Penn and Indian Valley areas from the days of the Lenni Lenape Indians to recent years. If you are interested in local history or just living in the area, this film is a must-see. The show begins at 6:30 p.m. at Methacton Mennonite Church, 3081 Mill Rd. in Fairview Village, Worcester Township. Free popcorn, as always!
The March prayer gathering of Franconia Mennonite Conference will be held on Saturday, March 15 at the Garden Chapel congregation in northern New Jersey. Pastors, intercessors, and prayer teams are invited to this time of equipping, prayer, worship, and encouraging. Carpooling will be arranged from the Mennonite Conference Center in Souderton, leaving at 8 a.m. and returning by 2:30 p.m. Please contact Sandy Landes, Prayer Ministry Coordinator, if interested in attending, slandes@franconiaconference.org or 215-723-5513, ext. 121. Come to be blessed and to be a blessing!
Parents of toddlers – are you looking for an opportunity for your child to grow and learn while having fun? Zion Mennonite Nursery School has been providing a program of kindergarten readiness for children three and four years old for more than 40 years. The 2008-09 school year will offer two 3-year-old classes on Tuesday and Thursday and two 4-year-old classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Openings still remain. Interested parents should contact the church office at 215-723-3592 or Caryn Koffel, Nursery School Chairperson at 215-721-7519.
Souderton Mennonite Homes Library Committee is looking for a volunteer to join their library team. Prior library experience is helpful, but not necessary. If you enjoy books, are organized, and have some basic computer skills, we want to hear from you. Please contact Lynne Allebach, SMH Volunteer Assistant, at 215-723-2182, ext. 289.
Penn View Christian School students are currently taking orders for the Spring Hoagie Sale fundraiser being held this year on Tuesday, March 11. If you would like to order hoagies or Landis Supermarket hoagie coupons, please notify a Penn View student in your congregation TODAY. The delicious hoagies cost $4.00 each and the Landis coupons are being offered at $4.50. Volunteers are needed on Tuesday morning, March 11 on the assembly lines. If you can help, please contact the school office at 215-723-1196. Grandparents are especially welcome! Thank you for your support to help us reach our goal of 10,000 hoagies sold!
Here’s an easy way to support Mennonite Central Committee’s AIDS relief for Orphaned Children! Purchase a coupon booklet at any one of the Care & Share Shoppes or the Ten Thousand Villages store in Souderton for $10. Deeply discounted coupons can be used at any of the shoppes. Your generous donations of gently-used, clean clothing, furniture, and household items will help maintain our stock levels during our slower winter donation months. Thank you for your continued support of the Care & Share Shoppes.
Spruce Lake Retreat is building a new Nature Center. Our goal is to build it with the help of volunteers, under the direction of Merv Zook, who is heading up the project. If you are able to provide labor or a trade skill on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, please contact Steve Ykema, Facilities Director at Spruce Lake, at 800-822-7505. Skills needed vary from week to week. It’s anticipated that the project will continue through the spring. Meals and lodging are provided for volunteers.
Peaceful Living is hosting a Leap Year Pizza Party at Covenant Community Fellowship, 1080 Sumneytown Pike, Lansdale, PA on Friday, February 29 at 7 p.m. Come join us for fun, food and fellowship, and learn about opportunities for ministry and employment. Please RSVP by calling 610-287-1200. To learn more about Peaceful Living, visit www.peacefulliving.org.
Mennonite Education Agency has posted new prayers for Faith and Learning for the month of March. Check it out on the web at www.MennoniteEducation.org/PRAYERS.
All are invited to an evening worship program led by Shining Through, a music ministry team from Bluffton University. The 19-member group will sing a variety of music under the theme of “Embracing the Kingdom.” Audience members are invited to participate in many of the numbers. The group will be at Souderton Mennonite Church on Sunday, March 2 at 7 p.m. and at Zion Mennonite Church on Tuesday, March 4 at 7 p.m.
Germantown Mennonite Church will be holding a Song Service on Sunday, March 9 at 5 p.m. The church is located at 21 West Washington Lane in Philadelphia. For more information and directions, visit www.germantownmennonite.org.
A Beginners Fraktur Drawing class will be held at the Mennonite Heritage Center on Saturday, March 15. Fraktur artist Louise Hutchings will teach this class for beginning and intermediate students. Participants will learn the history of fraktur, practice lettering, and create their own house blessing. A list of materials needed for the class will be provided upon registration. The class fee is $55 ($50 for MHEP members). For additional information and to register, call 215-256-3020 or email info@mhep.org.
Spring Family Weekend will be held at Spruce Lake Retreat May 2 – 4 for fun, fellowship, and spiritual renewal. You and the kids can take part in the annual trout fishing derby, receive inspirational biblical teaching by Drew Alexander, enjoy a concert by Higher Ground . . . and more, all for $299 for a family of four (other packages configured to your family size are available). The concert by Higher Ground is also open to the public Saturday, May 3, at 7 p.m., with tickets $5 in advance or at the door. For more information and registration, call 800-822-7505 or visit www.sprucelake.org.
After decades of partnership, both formal and informal, Andover (Vt.) Community Church and Franconia Mennonite Conference have disengaged. Most recently, the Andover congregation had been considered a Partner in Mission through the credentialing of the congregation’s pastors, Dan and Christine Chapman. After the termination of the Chapman’s leadership of the congregation and upon further consultation, the relationship effectively ended in November of 2007.
Andover’s historic ties to Franconia Conference go back to its beginning as families with connections to conference congregations in Pennsylvania settled in Vermont in the 1960s. In recent years, the relationship had become more tenuous. Now, suggesting that the direction of the Mennonite Church USA was not in alignment with the congregation’s future, congregational members have sought to distance themselves further from the larger bodies that include the conference and the denomination. According to Donella M. Clemens, who serves as Franconia Conference’s liaison to congregations and ministries in Vermont, “In the seven years that I have related to the group at Andover we have enjoyed times of wonderful fellowship together. We wish them the grace and blessing of God as they tell of the good news of Jesus Christ through their congregational life and worship and in their witness to the Andover community.”
Franconia Conference ministries continue in Vermont with the Bethany (Bridgewater Corrners) and Taftsville congregations, Bethany Birches Camp and an emerging congregation in the Gass area.
“While it’s always sad and difficult to see a congregation move in a different direction,” says Franconia Conference Executive Minister Noel Santiago, “We recognize that they are pursuing what is God’s call to them at this point in time. Into the future, we are committed to deepening partnerships and ministries in Vermont. We celebrate the many persons have been faithful throughout the years in the work of Andover Community Church and we are grateful to God and each one.”
MMA recently announced that Landis, along Larry Nikkel and D. Duane Oswald had all been appointed to its board of directors. They joined the twelve-member board in January.
Landis is a senior accountant, Baum, Smith & Clemens. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting from Delaware Valley College and is a certified public accountant. Landis and her husband Christopher are members of Franconia Mennonite Church (Telford, Pa).
Larry Nikkel, Hillsboro, Kan., recently finished his tenure as president of Tabor College where he served since 1998. He is a former president and CEO of Mennonite Health Services. Nikkel holds a bachelor’s degree from Tabor and a master’s from the University of North Carolina. He and his wife Elaine are members of Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church.
D. Duane Oswald, Fresno, Calif., is president and CEO of Avante Health. His career has focused on health care administration, and over the past 15 years, in the insurance sector of health care. He is a past moderator of Mennonite Church USA and currently serves on the board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Fresno County. Oswald holds a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College and a master’s from George Washington University. He and his wife Kathi are members of Mennonite Community Church.
MMA offers financial and insurance services, as well as stewardship resources, to Anabaptist congregations and individuals. It is based in Goshen, In. and works regionally through offices in Telford, Pa, Lancaster, Pa and Harrisonburg, Va.
Death of Curtis Bergey Curtis Bergey, pastor and bishop in Franconia Conference died on February 4, 2008 at the Souderton Mennonite Home. Brother Curtis was 91 and was preceded in death by his wife Esther in 2003. Curtis was ordained in 1958 as a pastor in the
Franconia Mennonite Church where he served until 1987. He was ordained a
Bishop for Franconia Conference in 1961. He served 10 years as chair of the
Leadership Commission of Franconia Conference and served on the Board of Directors of
Christopher Dock. He will be remembered by many for his big smile and gentle
spirit. He was an encourager to people young and old. His
funeral service was held on Saturday, February 9, at Franconia Mennonite Church.
Third Thursday Pastors’ Breakfast
The February breakfast will be held on Thursday, February 21 from 8 – 10 a.m. at the Mennonite Conference Center, hosted by the Faith and Life Advisory Council. The subject will be “Leadership and Authority: How do we claim it?” Come for a conversation on claiming and exercising authority as pastors and leaders in our congregations. In preparation for the event please read the following article from the most recent edition of Growing Leaders, “A Nervous Embrace…Cultivating Leadership and Authority.” This article can be found on the franconiaconference.org website under the “Publications” tab. Please register for this event by Saturday, February 16, by contacting Jessica Walter, jwalter@franconiaconference.org. A $5 donation is appreciated towards this hot breakfast.
The Meaning and Practice of Servant Leadership Seminar
Atlantic Coast and Lancaster Mennonite Conferences invite pastors and CEO’s of conference-related ministries to a training seminar scheduled for Friday, February 22 at Garden Spot Village in New Holland, PA from 8:15 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Larry Spears, from the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership, will speak on the topic of The Meaning and Practice of Servant Leadership. Click on the following website for more information about the Greenleaf Center: http://www.greenleaf.org/leadership/servant-leadership/What-is-Servant-Leadership.html.
The registration fee (includes breakfast and lunch) for pastors is $60. To pre-register, please contact Keith Wilson, ACC administrative assistant at keithw@frontiernet.net or call
717-355-0550, or 800-238-0126.
For a brochure with more information and registration form for this event, go to the Lancaster Conference web site: http://www.lancasterconference.org/. Click on menu bar on the left side of the screen, click on:
Calendar/Events
Resource Packet
December 2007 (center of screen)
The Meaning & Practice of Servant Leadership
Every Pastor A Coach: Enhancing Your Effectiveness and Impact in Ministry training is designed to equip leaders with basic coaching skills that can be integrated and incorporated into the day-to-day ministry setting. This is ideal for pastors, ministry leaders, local church leaders, and small group leaders. Training presenter J. Val Hastings is the President and Founder of Coaching4Clergy, which works to empower today’s spiritual leaders through coaching, consulting, and coach training. This event will be held at Mennonite Mutual Aid’s 2008 Stewardship University at Lancaster Mennonite High School on Saturday, March 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information and to register, visit www.stewardshipuniversity.org or contact Walter Sawatzky at 267-664-5542 or water.sawatzky@verizon.net.
Pastor Seminar
The Lombard Mennonite Peace Center has designed a long-term approach to congregational change grounded in the family systems theory of Dr. Murray Brown. Here I Stand: Leading Change through Self-Differentiation is a three-day event at which pastors will be trained to integrate this approach into their ongoing ministries. The event will be offered on April 8 - 10 at Zion Mennonite Church in Souderton, PA. Additional information is available on the website at www.LMPeaceCenter.org. To register, call 630-627-0507 or email Admin@LMPeaceCenter.org.
Everyone is invited to be part of 24-Hour Worship on Friday, February 22 beginning at 8 p.m. through Saturday, February 23 at 8 p.m. at the Mennonite Conference Center in Souderton, PA. Come worship and intercede – seek the Lord uninhibited for 24-hours straight. For more information, visit www.24hourworship.org.
Penn View Christian School students are currently taking orders for the Spring Hoagie Sale fundraiser being held this year on Tuesday, March 11. If you would like to order hoagies or Landis Supermarket hoagie coupons, please notify a Penn View student in your congregation by February 24. The delicious hoagies cost $4.00 each and the Landis coupons are being offered at $4.50. Volunteers are needed on Tuesday morning, March 11 on the assembly lines. If you can help, please contact the school office at 215-723-1196. Thank you for your support to help us reach our goal of 10,000 hoagies sold!
Everyone is invited to a worship event featuring spiritual music from many cultures on Monday, February 25, at Blooming Glen Mennonite Church at 7:30 p.m. The Goshen College Women’s World Music will highlight the role of women in many cultures, celebrating the unique spirit, faith, and energy that women bring to the world. During the program, the women share stories of God’s wisdom, sing barefoot, and wear fabrics from around the world to affirm their connection to God’s creation and their solidarity with women from all cultures. Come experience the power, energy, and faith of this 50 voice women’s choir.
Karen’s Place, the coffee shop ministry of Doylestown Mennonite Church, will kick off its 8th Annual Blues-Rock Madness Month on March 1, featuring the Connecticut-based Blues-Rock band, Raging Grace. Karen’s Place will be open the first 3 Saturday nights during the month of March. For more information, call the church office at 215-345-6377 or visit the website at www.karensplace.org.
Shining Through, a music ministry team from Bluffton University will lead worship at Upper Milford Mennonite Church on Sunday, March 2 beginning at 10:15 a.m. The congregation is asking for additional persons to help with lodging for the group Saturday, March 1. If you are available to be a host, please call Rose Graber at 267-923-8163 or email her at rosegraber@yahoo.com.
All women are invited – “Women in Conversation: Daring to Let Your Spirits Soar” retreat. Join speaker Carolyn Holderread Heggen for a retreat designed especially for women to explore “women’s unique way of experiencing the Divine.” The weekend includes workshops, worship, pampering, and fellowship. The retreats are co-sponsored by Mennonite Women USA and Laurelville Mennonite Church Center. Choose from two locations: April 11-13 at Laurelville; or April 18-20 at the Wichita Airport Hilton. To register, email info@Laurelville.org, call 800-839-1021 or visit www.Laurelville.org. Register early by March 1, for a $10 discount. The final registration deadline is March 28.
Goshen, Ind. — Randy Delp has recently been named as a Mennonite Foundation Representative by MMA. He is now serving families and businesses throughout eastern Pennsylvania in charitable gift planning.
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After decades of partnership, both formal and informal, Andover (Vt.) Community Church and Franconia Mennonite Conference have disengaged. Most recently, the Andover congregation had been considered a Partner in Mission through the credentialing of the congregation’s pastors, Dan and Christine Chapman. After the termination of the Chapman’s leadership of the congregation and upon further consultation, the relationship effectively ended in November of 2007.
