Conference Assembly ’08 Workshops
featuring Partners in Mission
Saturday, November 8
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. workshop choices:
Equipping for the Road: Walking With Our Eyes Closed (Room 601)
Rev. Dr. Dennis R. Edwards of our Partner in Mission, Peace Fellowship Church in Washington, D.C., will lead participants in a Bible study of Luke 24:13 - 35, including a discussion of the passage along with some practical applications coming out of this unique post-resurrection appearance of the Lord Jesus.
“Connecting People for Kingdom Growth” (Room 602)
God brings us into relationship with each other not only for our mutual encouragement and support, but also for Kingdom growth. This workshop will tell stories of how a web of relationships that connect people in Bolivia, Mexico, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania is helping to establish new churches and ministries in these areas and beyond. Come and ponder how your web of relationships is part of God’s mission in the world.
Oxford Circle Mennonite Church (Room 603)
Located in the Oxford Circle section of Philadelphia, this small, multi-cultural congregation has a big vision for how they can impact their neighborhood through the gifts God has provided to them. Come, hear the story and see pictures of this congregation, how they are connecting with Franconia Conference congregations, and experience a taste of their heart, soul, and ministry vision.
Rock Church – Organic Church Planting (Room 604)
Welcome everybody – I’m Ted Moyer, lead pastor of Rock Community Church. Our main areas of ministry include “Organic” church planting, personal evangelism, practical and balanced use of spiritual gifts and doing church services that bridge the gap to the un-churched and disenfranchised. I’m looking forward to interactive discussions that will help sharpen all of us to fulfill our purposes in the earth.
LEAD: Oversight for missional congregations (Room 608)
As Franconia Conference moves forward in our vision of “Equipping Leaders to Empower others to Embrace God’s mission,” the question, “what is appropriate oversight for missional congregations?” emerges. In response to Franconia Conference’s vision, and ongoing conference wide conversations about leadership and authority, comes LEAD (Leading, Equipping, And Discipling leaders in kingdom mission). Over the past few months seven Franconia Conference pastors have been piloting LEAD. Participants in this workshop will learn the background and core convictions of LEAD, hear first hand accounts from the LEAD pilot group, and have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss LEAD’s potential for transforming oversight in Franconia Conference. A representative from each congregation is strongly encouraged to attend this session. (Also available from 2:15-3:15)
What’s on your mind? (Room 610)
Franconia Conference Executive Minister Noel Santiago and Assistant Moderator Randy Heacock are available to answer your questions and talk about any aspects of Franconia Mennonite Conference’s ministry that you would like to discuss. Bring your questions, come, and engage. (Also available from 2:15-3:15)
2:15 – 3:15 p.m. workshop choices:
Chillin in Chile (Room 601)
In June 2002 God sovereignly brought together Charles Ness, pastor of the Perkiomenville Mennonite Church, and pastor Alfredo Navea from the Tabernacle of Christ Church in Vina del Mar, Chile. This meeting resulted in a six-year relationship that has included an exchange of mission teams between the two churches, assistance with church building construction, persons from the US living in Chile for three months, a man from Chile coming to the US for eye surgery, and numerous other projects. The ministry has expanded to also include the Boyertown and Whitehall churches. This workshop will give the history of the relationship, explain the blessings of the relationship, tell of the ongoing ministry and give ways others can join in the partnership.
Church Planting and Evangelism in the 21st Century (Room 602)
We will talk about the heart of God for those who are lost, the need, the rapidly changing world we live in and use examples (stories) from Mexico, Gaithersburg,(Monte Maria to USA) and Italy.
Gereja Kristus Muria Indonesia (Mennonite Church in Indonesia) (Room 603)
How do partnerships and relationships that span the globe affect the life of congregations on the East Coast? Franconia Conference relationships with the GKMI Synod (a member of Mennonite World Conference) have opened up possibilities for ministry that include active peacemaking and evangelism among Indoneisan immigrants and beyond. Conversations will include opportunities to hear about how the church in Indonesia works at issues of persecution and peace-building as well as how neighborhood interactions in Philadelphia might inspire new possibilities and church connections that stretch across the state of Pennsylvania and around the world.
Grace Assembly Network, Haiti (Room 604)
Grace Assembly Network in Haiti consists of 24 congregations, 1 orphanage, and 3 schools. Leadership training and stability are key issues for the future of this vibrant network, located in the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. Decades of political instability have created extreme economic hardships for these capable but unpaid pastors, who are often enticed to leave the country so they can better provide for their families. Franconia Conference and the Hopewell Network of churches are providing coaching to help Grace Assembly leaders begin micro-businesses. Larry Moyer (Rockhill Mennonite Church) has been a key link in this relationship and will share the story, his vision, and ways you can help.
Preparing for Ministry in a Post Christendom World (Room 605)
Why should Franconia Conference invest time, energy, and resources into building a partnership with Anabaptists in the United Kingdom? Well, if our future resembles their present reality, their learnings about how to do ministry in a Post Christendom culture will be invaluable! Franconia Conference Moderator Blaine Detwiler and Director of Collaborative Ministries Gay Brunt Miller will engage workshop participants in conversation about our relationship … and if technology cooperates, they’ll be joined through computer by Tim Foley, a member of the Anabaptist Network in the U.K., and Franconia Conference’s U.K. intern, Krista Ehst.
LEAD: Oversight for missional congregations (Room 608)
Also available from 1:00 - 2:00
What’s on your mind? (Room 610)
Also available from 1:00 to 2:00
Assembly ‘08 Invitation and Reporting
Have you taken time to view the Assembly 08 Invitation yet? (Do so by clicking HERE.) Please remember to use it somehow in your congregational life this week if you have multimedia capabilities–and to invite persons to remember to pray for the event as we gather next week at Penn View Christian School for worship, celebration and discernment together.
There will be no follow-up DVD video this year. However, there will be a multimedia presentation available, similar to the invitation. We’d encourage you to use it as part of your congregational reporting and discerning post-Assembly. The follow-up multimedia presentation will be released by Friday, November 14.
Peter M. Sensenig
Interim Associate Pastor Oxford Circle Mennonite Church
The August 3, 2008, ordination of Lynn Parks at Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, a Franconia Conference Partner in Mission, in Philadelphia is the first official Lancaster Mennonite Conference ordination of a woman. Parks, along with her family, congregation, and the wider church, celebrate a renewed sense of God’s affirmation and calling with this important milestone.
Parks recognized that one of the hardest parts of ministry was taking on the identity of pastor. “For a long time, I would not tell people that I was a pastor but would simply say that I worked at our church,” she said. “Being ordained, for me, is an important part of embracing that identity.”
After a long discernment period the Bishop Board, which oversees all conference credentialing activities, decided in May 2008 to allow diversity within the conference on the ordination of women. Prior to Parks’ ordination bishop Linford King had performed two ordinations in the Lancaster District, Elizabeth Nissley of James Street Mennonite in June 2007 and Janet Breneman of Laurel Street Mennonite in January 2008.
Now Parks joins these women and a growing number of other women being ordained or transferring their ordination credentials from other conferences. They represent the reality of a fresh vision of conference pastoral leadership that includes both women and men.
Philadelphia bishop Freeman Miller officiated over the ordination. “As I have watched her preach, teach, counsel, guide and equip many at Oxford Circle for effective life and witness, my appreciation for her skilled leadership has grown steadily every year. So it seemed only fitting and right, at the request of the congregation, publicly and fully to affirm her gifts in an ordination service,” said Miller.
In his sermon conference moderator Keith Weaver reminded the congregation of their own responsibility to follow God’s leading. Oxford Circle senior pastor Leonard Dow led the service, which included statements of affirmation from fellow ministers and members of the congregation. Church council chair Tim Leaman and Mark Lyndaker-Studer, pastor at Neshaminy-Warwick Presbyterian Church where Parks works part time in pastoral visitation, both affirmed her giftedness. Parks’ husband Vandy, daughter Bethannie, and mother Ann Sawyer also participated in the service.
Dow described Parks as “radical in her patience. In a world today that demands ‘our rights’ now, Pastor Lynn’s love for the church and appreciation for discernment is indeed radical. My prayer is that all within the church can affirm this gift she has given to the church as much as we have at Oxford Circle.”
Parks first felt a call in 1999 as she became increasingly involved in teaching adults during Dow’s first year as pastor. She was praying for God to bring an associate to the church. Her husband Vandy had been the interim pastor the previous year, and she recognized the pressure that Dow was under as the only pastor. “God used all that to increase my interest in becoming more involved in ministry,” said Parks. “And then one day I clearly heard God speak to me that God wanted me to be associate pastor. I ignored that thought for a few weeks but it wouldn’t go away, so I talked to my husband Vandy and he affirmed it immediately. Within a week pastor Leonard Dow also affirmed it and we began the process of discernment with bishop Freeman Miller, our extended family, church council and finally the congregation.”
In eight years of ministry at Oxford Circle, Parks has seen the multi-racial congregation double in size and become increasingly involved in community outreach. The Oxford Circle Christian Community Development Association (OCCCDA), the nonprofit affiliated with the church, is currently in the midst of a major fundraising campaign along with the church to purchase a building that will house a rapidly growing community center doing holistic ministry, as well as a larger meeting space for worship. “Pastor Lynn enthusiastically shares our congregation’s strong passion to combine evangelism and social ministry to transform broken lives,” said Ron Sider, board member of OCCCDA and member of Oxford Circle.
Parks values the role that education plays in equipping for ministry, having recently completed the Master of Divinity degree from Regent University. “Finding time to complete an M.Div. while pastoring was a constant challenge,” said Parks. “I was greatly helped by support from my husband, my extended family, and the congregation. The studying and ministry practice went hand in hand, and I saw my time at seminary as a benefit to the congregation. It is a constant balancing act in trying to prioritize family time, ministry responsibilities and study.”
Parks is much appreciated at Oxford Circle for her leadership training through a program called the Discovery Class and its follow-up two year mentoring program. Practicing what she preaches, Parks continues in a co-mentoring relationship with two women in the church who also gave words of blessing at her ordination. Anita Lyndaker-Studer, executive director of OCCCDA, said of Parks, “Her skills in leadership development and discipleship stand out as a blessing to our congregation. The Discovery Series that Pastor Lynn led has been instrumental for me personally in terms of finding and following God’s call on my life.” Arbutus Sider said of the ordination, “We are grateful that we are celebrating Pastor’s Lynn’s ordination, not on the basis of her gender, but because of her giftedness, calling and affirmation.”
“God has called and equipped me to be a pastor,” Parks said. “Now that is fully affirmed by the church that I serve and that helps me to embrace my pastoral identity and to minister more effectively.” The congregation, the conference and the church continue to rejoice that God is faithful in calling and equipping leaders like Lynn Parks for effective service in God’s mission in the world.
To extend healing and hope in the Oxford Circle community believing that God’s purpose of reconciling all people to Jesus leads us to minister on spiritual, physical, social & economic levels.
by Susan Mark Landis, Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership
On what criteria do Christians base their voting decisions? Life experiences? Sunday school or small group discussions? Common sense? The Bible?
Christians who vote based on their understanding of the whole Bible might evaluate a candidate through the lenses of the Christian principles below, outlined in October 2004 by Leo Hartshorn, Minister of Peace and Justice for Mennonite Mission Network:
1. The earth is God’s good creation (Genesis 1). We are stewards of creation.
2. God has created humanity in the divine image (Genesis 1:27). We are to foster the dignity and rights of all peoples and the sanctity of life.
3. The state was created to serve human welfare (Romans 13:4). We are to call upon the state to serve its more noble purposes.
4. In Jesus Christ, God has revealed a way of peace, nonviolence, justice and reconciliation (Matthew 5). We are to live in the way of peace and justice.
5. All human reality has “fallen” from God’s purpose (Romans 8:22-23). We are to live in that creative tension of being “in” the world, but not “of” the world.
6. The church, as a signpost of God’s reign, is the primary arena for Christian “politics” (1 Peter 2:9). We are to be the church, an alternative community or polis.
7. God’s mission is for and within the world (John 3:16). We are to engage the world reflecting God’s compassion.
8. God has compassion for the most vulnerable in the world (Proverbs 31:8-9). We are to welcome the stranger and seek economic justice for the poor and the marginalized in society.
9. Security is in God (Psalm 146:1-6). We are to place our ultimate trust in God.
10. God’s reign transcends peoples and nations (Revelation 7:9). We are first and foremost citizens of God’s rule.
Studying and prayerfully evaluating candidates and their views on a wide variety of topics is time consuming. However, it doesn’t take long to realize that no candidate will bring about God’s kingdom on earth. That’s not the job of government - that’s God’s job. The church is here to proclaim that some government laws and policies - and the candidates and politicians who pass them - bring more justice and peace and some bring much less. That’s the goal of voting in a democratic society.
Here are resources to help you gather biblical voting information:
Thank you for your prayer support of Mennonite education. The Mennonite Education Agency has posted new Prayers for Faith and Learning for the upcoming month of November at www.MennoniteEducation.org/PRAYERS.
A young family needs a home for the winter. Mom is 32; children are 13 and 10. Please contact Pastor Dawn Nelson (215-256-9606), Pastor Luke Beidler (610-270-0636) or Pastor Bill Kull (215-699-5663) at Methacton Mennonite Church if you know of an apartment for rent or a house that needs house-sitting.
All are welcome to Evening Song and Prayer in the Taizé tradition at Perkasie Mennonite Church on November 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.
Tickets are now on sale for Christopher Dock’s performance of the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof. Performances are Thursday through Saturday, November 13, 14, and 15 at 7:30 p.m. This beloved American classic looks at village life in turn-of-the-century Russia and explores how prejudice and violence, hope, tradition and change all influence lives in a tight-knit community. The production features one of Dock’s largest casts ever, with more than 70 cast and crew members. Tickets can be purchased at the school at $5 for students, $8 for adults. Also, senior citizens receive free admission at the dress rehearsal performance on Wednesday, November 12 at 1 p.m. Call 215-362-2675 for more information.
Quakertown Christian School is partnering with Joni & Friends for the second annual Joint Talent Show on Friday, November 14 at 7 p.m. This evening is an incredible testimony to our Heavenly Father who is truly the giver of all gifts and talents. Come and celebrate His wonderful blessings! QCS is located on 50 East Paletown Road in Quakertown. For more information, please call 215-536-6970 or visit www.quakertownchristian.org.
Karen’s Place, the coffee shop ministry of Doylestown Mennonite Church, will be open on Saturday, November 15 from 7:00 – 10 :30 p.m. featuring the alternative folk-rock duo The Jox. Admission is free. Donations collected will go to Mennonite Disaster Service to benefit hurricane victims in the Gulf area. Join this great time of Christian fellowship and music in a laid-back coffee-shop setting. For more information, please call the church office at 215-345-6377 or visit www.karensplace.org.
Conference Assembly ‘08 Preview Video
A Conference Assembly Invitation and Preview video is now available at franconiaconference.org. (Click here to view!) The video is designed for use in worship. Download it directly from the website or contact the conference office at 215-723-5513 ext.123 to receive a copy on CD. We encourage pastors to view the video and share it with your congregations in worship.
2009 Missional Leaders Meeting
Mark your calendar now to attend the 2009 Missional Leaders meeting, May 2 – 4 in Denver, Colorado. Leading by Example is the theme of the 2009 meeting. Components of the time together will include dwelling in the Word, practical applications, case studies and worship in local congregations on Sunday morning. The meeting is open to area conference leaders, congregational leaders and others with a heart for Missional Church. Contact Becky Tyson at BeckyT@MennoniteMission.net or call 574-523-3076 (toll-free 1-866-866-2872). Registration is available online in 2009 at www.MennoniteMission.net.
Urgent Request
A young family needs a home for the winter. Mom is 32; children are 13 and 10. Please contact Pastor Luke Beidler (610-270-0636) or Pastor Bill Kull (215-699-5663) if you know of an apartment for rent or a house that needs house-sitting.
The Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009 is far removed from when Jesus breathed his Spirit on the first disciples. But the planning committees for Mennonite Church USA’s convention next July are risking the theme on the belief he’ll do it again with huge crowds of Mennonites.
In a bold move that is bringing a deeper focus on the Holy Spirit than in past conventions, the adult and youth planning committees chose the theme, “Breathe and be filled,” based on John 20:21-22. It’s when Jesus reminds his disciples that as his father sent him, so he was sending them. To empower them to go, he breathed his spirit upon them, and they were filled.
Planners envision this theme will give center stage to the Spirit to renew the church’s missional drama by refreshing vision for next steps of call. They hope the theme integrates the stillness of waiting upon, listening to and receiving from the Spirit and the “sent-ness” into a broken world that is a response to this infilling and strengthening.
“We worried some constituents may feel this theme will encourage us to have a big feel-good party in God, and foster a me-and-Jesus mentality that forgets we are a called and sent community,” said Regina Shands Stoltzfus, adult planner and a longtime Mennonite leader who will co-lead adult convention worship with Joel Miller, pastor of Cincinnati Mennonite Church.
“But we believe the theme encourages us to receive the breath of Christ that releases us to go and do the works God calls us to do. We are called by Christ to go out in his name through the empowerment of his fire and breath and energy — not on our own brain power and strength.”
Miller agrees now — though he wasn’t sure at first. He came to planning sessions hoping the theme would focus on identity-building for the church as Christ followers in North America. At San José 2007, delegates agreed Mennonite Church USA in the next few years would focus on identity building. Some months down the road, he believes this theme is more integrative than he initially thought.
“This theme allows us to integrate the two components of our faith — the Spirit who sends us and who we are as the sent ones in this world,” Miller said. “Our spirituality is all of who we are — the peace Christ gives us within and the peace we advocate in the world.
“The Holy Spirit is named an ‘advocate’ in the Scriptures, and that is what Christ’s infilling is preparing us to be — advocates in the world for those who are most in need.”
Even as this theme is integrative and communal, it also invites participants to connect intimately with God by renewing their sense of personal call, said Anna Gomez, youth planner who will be co-leader of youth worship with Peter Eberly, youth planner and youth pastor at Harrisonburg (Va.) Mennonite Church.
“As their worship leader, I want to impart to them a sense that the Holy Spirit isn’t something they have to strive to get,” said Gomez. “If they are believers in Christ, then they already have his Spirit within them. I also want to reassure them adults will walk alongside them on their journey, but that we can’t do it for them.”
Gideon Dunster, a senior at Central Christian School in Kidron, Ohio, and a youth planner, helped shape the theme. He is very excited that the Holy Spirit is getting some top billing.
“I think Mennonites focus a lot on Jesus in the New Testament, and that’s good, because he is our savior and our example,” Dunster said. “But I think we could focus a little more on the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t get a whole lot of recognition, and after all, the Spirit is the one guiding our actions when are striving to be more like Jesus.”
Like Dunster, some staff of Mennonite Church USA’s Executive Leadership — charged with guiding the convention — feel it’s time to give the Holy Spirit freedom to move in fresh ways.
“It really impacted me to sense how the Spirit was moving amongst us, and how people were opening themselves up to that movement,” said Marathana Prothro, communication director for Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership. “We worked and prayed hard, but in the end, the theme evolved in a pure and natural way. It was refreshing to be a part of something so genuine.”
The theme is genuine — but that doesn’t erase the risk planners felt in following the Spirit’s lead to finalize it, said Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, associate director of Convention Planning. It’s a risk they were willing to take to allow Christ to breathe new life into the church in a new time.
“We felt God calling us to invite Mennonites — usually so active — to take some time to breathe in and breathe out and to stop and listen to the Lord,” she said. “In striving to be a faithful church in the 21st century, we are experiencing anxiety and new questions are cropping up about our identity and who we are supposed to be now as a church.
“Some people may feel that it’s selfish to stop and listen, because it means spending too much time focusing on ourselves. But perhaps it will give us the stillness we need to ask the most important identity question of all — who is God in all this and where is God taking us next?”
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The August 3, 2008, ordination of Lynn Parks at
Christians who vote based on their understanding of the whole Bible might evaluate a candidate through the lenses of the Christian principles below, outlined in October 2004 by Leo Hartshorn, Minister of Peace and Justice for 
In a bold move that is bringing a deeper focus on the Holy Spirit than in past conventions, the adult and youth planning committees chose the theme, “Breathe and be filled,” based on John 20:21-22. It’s when Jesus reminds his disciples that as his father sent him, so he was sending them. To empower them to go, he breathed his spirit upon them, and they were filled.