Gay Brunt Miller, Spring Mount
gbmiller@franconiaconference.org

When Krista Ehst leaves for the United Kingdom (UK) in September, Franconia Conference will take another step toward deepening our relationship with the Anabaptist Network in the UK. From seeds planted in 2005, rooted in a relationship of shared vision and values, this Partner In Mission relationship is beginning to grow in ways that intend to strengthen both partners.

Our British “siblings” are establishing Anabaptism freshly where it only existed fleetingly in the late 16th Century and was quickly snuffed out by persecution. In the midst of a post-Christian culture they have fresh opportunities to incarnate Anabaptist theology unattached to any cultural assumptions. They are experimenting and finding ways to follow Jesus and make disciples in a society where the church is generally seen as irrelevant. Franconia Conference leaders know there is much to learn from their experiences.

One way we can learn is by embedding one of “our own” on the ground in the UK to learn alongside our British counterparts. Krista Ehst has been named as a one-year intern to this role.

Ehst, a member of Perkasie (Pa.) Mennonite Church and a 2004 graduate of Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, completed her bachelor’s degree in Bible and Religion with a minor in music at Goshen (In.) College in May.

For the past two summers she has participated in the Ministry and Service Inquiry Programs, spending the summer of 2006 working under the leadership of Pastor Eve MacMaster at Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Gainesville, Fl. The summer of 2007 found her working with Steve Kriss and Jessica Walter at Franconia Conference. Her studies and experiences have fostered in her a deep interest in biblical and religious studies and a growing passion for the life of the church, in particular the Anabaptist and/or Mennonite church.

Krista says that she finds the possibility of interning with the Anabaptist Network in the UK appealing for a variety of reasons. At the most basic level, it gives her the chance to experience and engage with the church and with Anabaptism in a new and different context. She believes that Mennonite Church USA is in a time of change and transition, and the future shape of that broad body and many individual congregations is unclear. More intention than ever is needed in how we practice and enter into church with one another, and part of this intentionality needs to happen through engaging and learning from other church communities around the world.

As Krista looks to ground herself in a Mennonite community that will strive towards faithful discipleship and peacemaking, the opportunity to immerse herself in the Anabaptist Network, which is asking so many questions about these core Anabaptist values, seems invaluable.

She is also fascinated by the state of the church in the UK, as well as in much of the rest of Europe. In an increasingly secularized culture, the Anabaptist Network seems to have provided many churches with the tools to enter into conversations about how the Christian church can continue to be relevant, and also seems to give many resources for living out beliefs and values in practical and meaningful ways. These are conversations and resources churches in the US are in need of as well, and she would value the opportunity to bring some of these back to Franconia Conference.

Krista believes that she would also benefit from learning what it means to work for a broad, ecumenical church network while continuing to develop writing, communication and organizational skills. She believes the experience will push her to further develop and articulate her own sense of faith and belief and her commitment to the Mennonite and Christian church.

Krista will live in East London, a multicultural and mostly under-churched area of the city, where there is a significant Muslim population. There she will divide her time between working with two Urban Expression church plants and working for the Anabaptist Network. Her assignment will include hands-on experience in ministry such as involvement in a spiritual exploration group, teaching children, helping to develop new initiatives, collecting stories of teams moving into urban communities and pioneering relevant expressions of church, as well as providing administrative support for church leaders and the Anabaptist Network.

Franconia Conference leaders are committed to finding ways for the broader conference community to benefit from this partnership and from Krista’s experiences and learnings. We will look for a variety of opportunities for Krista to share her learnings with us while in the UK. As well as upon her return to the states.

The further we walk into this partnership, the more convinced Franconia Conference leaders are of the potential and value of this relationship for our future. We may face a strange new world, but also one replete with opportunities for sharing the Good News and proclaiming the present and coming Kingdom of our living God.

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