On December 5 about 50 of us from the larger Souderton area traveled to Philadelphia for the annual Pastors’ Appreciation Breakfast. For several years the pastors from the Kingdom Builders, an association of Anabaptist churches in the city, have been invited to be part of this pre-Christmas event. A year ago it was agreed that in 2006 we would meet in the city. Our breakfast was hosted by the Philadelphia Mennonite High School.

I confess I was somewhat skeptical about the idea of “us” (those who live in Bucks, Montgomery, Berks, Lehigh, and Chester counties) going to the city for this gathering. Would people really attend, or would staff planners be embarrassed by the small attendance? My fears were largely unfounded. While the attendance was less then in previous years, it was significant enough to communicate a sincere interest and desire to be with our Philadelphia brothers and sisters. A yellow school bus transported us to the city to ease the logistics of travel and parking.

What struck me was the enthusiasm with which Barbara Moses, Principle of the PMHS, welcomed us, and the care with which we were hosted. Actually we were incorporated right into the flow of the school schedule. The space where we met also serves as the setting for chapel services. When chapel time came, we simply quieted the conversations and turned our chairs to become participants in the service. Through original poetry, music, and prayer, we were “entertained,” or I should say blessed by this inter-generational contact. Not to mention the message campus pastor Joseph Dugan (licensed by FMC) shared with us inviting us to “continue” in our ministries.

Twenty-five years ago when I lived in Oregon, I experienced what it is like to be distant from the centers of church power (Elkhart/Harrisonburg/Newton). Again and again denominational leaders needed to be reminded that it is as far from Oregon to Indiana as it is from Indiana to Oregon. We seem to forget this simple truism when it comes to attending events outside our familiar environment. Why does it seem far for us in Harleysville to go to Philadelphia, while we assume those who live in the city should not mind traveling to meetings in Souderton?

I suspect old feelings and stereotypes control these decisions more than our brains. Of course we know from here to there is the same distance as there to here. But to venture there pushes us out of our comfort zones and demands time to travel that we sometimes don’t want to take. Let the urban people do the driving. The result is a truncated ecclesiology and some injustice to our urban partners. Church becomes what we know, and the people in the city remain a kind “mission project” but not full-fledged brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. (To be sure the same applies to relationships with our churches and leaders in Vermont and northern PA.)

There is much to unpack around this theme – too much for here. And I don’t even claim to understand all the issues. But I do realize that unless we travel this distance to Philly and other places that demand some time, energy and emotional adjustment on our part, our understandings of church risk distortion. Or to put it more positively, going to be with people outside our comfortable point of reference holds promise for enrichment and growth we could not have otherwise imagined.

On the way home in the bus, one pastor was heard to say, “We ought to do this every three years!” I favor the idea of the majority of us periodically going to be with our urban friends, with the awareness that sometime they might be the majority, and we the minority will then be expected to travel there regularly since that will become the new “center” of church life in this region. It might be a good idea to start getting used to it.

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I have attended many conference assemblies over the past 45 years, most of them actually in other Mennonite conferences. Sometimes I was the moderator, sometimes I waited with bated breath to see if there would be any time for me as a church-wide staff person to report on the denominational work I was employed to do. This time I attended as a part-time staff person, no longer in the leadership loop. I went like most other delegates, not sure what would take place, and to some extent waiting to be proved it was worth my time to be there. To be sure I had a couple of particular responsibilities, so others may find it hard to believe I had any sense of being outside the loop. But too a degree I saw the Assembly from another vantage point. And I came away pleased and positive about the whole experience. Maybe you expected me to say that. But I honestly did not know what to expect.

I appreciate the effort to have urban and international voices lead our worship on the first night, even if it wasn’t especially to my liking. Mostly I applaud the worship for stretching our categories about what it means to worship God. To imagine some dear folks standing on that platform for 24 hours engaging in worship, even into the wee hours of the morning when right-minded people are in bed, really impresses me. So much of our worship is a performance, done with class to impress others. To worship when the only audience is God puts it in a different perspective. It makes a point that hopefully is not lost in our congregations. Not that we lose any sense of doing worship well (I still have that need) but that we do not worship so much for the comfort of those gathered around us, but for the Lord who created and redeemed us and deserves/desires our worship. That is a lesson for me from this Assembly.

A second observation arises from the so-called “business session” Saturday morning. To my recollection only one decision was made, and that to update our Conference by-laws. I can anticipate some people wondering if it was worth being together with no hot issues that resulted in divisive debate and strenuous efforts to reach consensus. I well remember the days when Assembly was accorded a high mark for generating lots of heat, if little light. This session was such a contrast. There was focus on important agenda, most of it dealt with the future rather than the past, and was done in a positive spirit. At least that is how I experienced it, and I am aware my stance as a staff person hardly makes me unbiased. I do know where my check comes from! But it is worth noting we have moved from the old paradigm of tedious reports and fruitless debate to focused direction-setting for the future. I for one am glad.

Given the high degree of transition we are in as staff in Franconia Conference, and the occasional rumbles from the churches about where everything is going, I need to say I was impressed with the quality of leadership at the Assembly, and the very positive spirit among the delegates. I missed singing hymns, only one to my count. Others may have had more substantive disappointments. But we are finding our way around the missional emphasis as we navigate into the 21st century and it won’t be like previous Assemblies; maybe never again. But the same God that led us in the past will continue to lead us into the future. And for that I am grateful and want to praise God.

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Last summer (2005) at Charlotte, the delegates to the Mennonite Church USA Assembly agreed that the issue of health care merited study in our congregations. To date less than 100 congregations have given Healing Healthcare any attention. I wonder why?The statistics are that 47 million people in our country lack basic health care coverage in the event of serious illness. But when we recently announced a breakfast for pastors and others to discuss the issue (albeit without a lot of lead time), about a dozen of us gathered, including two FMC staff and a denominational staff person (Dr. Glen Miller) for this conversation. I wonder why?

Glen Miller reports that 18,000 people in the US died last year because they did not have access to health care, and millions of Americans are one illness away from financial disaster. Apparently that is not a crisis in most of our congregations. One FMC pastor reported that health care is a weekly challenge in his congregation. But most of us express interest without alarm about the health care situation in our nation. I wonder why?

We have all this talk about being missional and reaching beyond ourselves as churches. I plead guilty to being one of the spokespersons for this topic. So who are we reaching in our missional efforts? Is it mostly people like us who already have our health care needs well cared for? Congregations can’t be faulted for homogeneous outreach since these represent the most natural relationships for most of us. But what about the larger culture around us and the families that have no access to care? Might these people also become part of our outreach and mission?

I confess too often I have been blasé on this issue. If the truth is known, I have Medicare plus a supplementary plan that makes going to the doctor and the eventually of a hospitalization seem almost “painless,” at least in terms of finances. My wife’s health care is covered by the church where she pastors. My children are covered through employers. So the temptation to relax and assume the world is in good shape is strong. But is everything really well?

I am told we are the only developed nation in the world that does not provide healthcare to all its citizens. And the care we do receive does not rank in the top 20 nations in the world. It costs more than twice as much as the health care costs in other developed countries. What’s wrong with this picture? I realize the healthcare challenge is huge, complex, and often overwhelming. But are we really permitted to sit on the side and not let our voice be heard for those who lack healthcare coverage, even if our system is less than perfect?

I waver between hope and despair on this issue. My hope grows when Glen Miller puts the dilemma into language and stories that I can understand. Beyond optimism, I find hope when church people verbalize concern and intentions to address this large society challenge. I despair when I sense the magnitude of the challenge, how deeply entrenched most of us are in the status quo of our economy and healthcare system, and how out of touch we are with the needs that I suspect are very close home if we only knew.

Personally I wish that many more congregations would choose to make Healing Healthcare: A Study and Action Guide on Healthcare Access in United States a study in their churches, not as a dutiful assignment from the denomination, but as a missional action in behalf of people nearby or distant from us who are outside the loop on healthcare. None of this speaks to the needs of the so-called “third world.” And it doesn’t begin to address how to shift the political environment toward significant change on this issue.

But to start we at least need to begin to talk about the issue. Maybe from such dialogue something will emerge. Theologically communication seems to be God’s thing – coming as The Word. Maybe through our words God will act again in some incarnate way to improve the health of others, even if right now we feel pretty content. Is that too much to hope and pray for?

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