One generation after another of Mennonites in eastern Pennsylvania has been inspired to love and serve God and humanity, to maintain personal devotion, to practice a fellowship of deep caring and accountability and to witness for peace. What experiences and practices have fueled this unique spirituality over many years? Where do we find continuity and diversity in Mennonite spiritual life?
On Saturday, May 31, 2008, the Mennonite Heritage Center will sponsor and host a symposium entitled “Pilgrims on a Journey: Exploring Mennonite Spirituality Past and Present.” The morning session will feature historical presentations from scholars and pastors John Rempel, John Ruth and Dawn Ruth Nelson. Dr. Rempel’s presentation, “European Roots of Mennonite Spirituality: How Did Our Ancestors Pray?” will explore what and how Anabaptists and early Mennonites believed and prayed, looking first at samples of devotional writing by people who had put their lives on the line for the Gospel and were persecuted, then also at how faith and practice changed when Mennonites developed a settled existence.
Dr. John Ruth, well-known storyteller, will speak on early Pennsylvania Mennonite spirituality. His presentation, “Early Pennsylvania Mennonite Spirituality: Hymns, Fraktur and Bishop Jacob Gottschall (1769-1845),” will provide a window into the spiritual expressions of eighteenth and nineteenth century Mennonites in this community. Bishop Jacob Gottschall grew up, taught school, and served as a main spiritual leader among the Mennonites of eastern Pennsylvania. As a young man, he was a sensitive fraktur artist, and his son Samuel was one of the best such artists. The evident seriousness of their art and its explicit verbal expressions are a revealing window into the soul-feelings of this oldest of American Mennonite communities.
Dr. Dawn Ruth Nelson, pastor at Methacton Mennonite Church, will discuss 20th Century Mennonite spirituality in her presentation, “Becoming Like Christ: Two 20th Century Examples.” Dr. Nelson will look at how spirituality was lived out in one eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite woman’s life, her grandmother—Susan Ruth (1909-2005), in complement with the story of several 20th century Mennonite teachers and the development of a spiritual formation curriculum at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. In these stories, we see Mennonite spiritual formation changing from spiritual formation by just living in community to more intentional spiritual formation by contemplative and communal disciplines.
After lunch, several persons will share from their own journey with Mennonite spirituality: Mary Lou Weaver Houser, a spiritual director and retreat leader who was raised in the First Mennonite Church of Norristown Pa., Caleb Franks, a young adult with diverse experiences that include living among Old Order Mennonites and Amish, and Yvonne Platts, current Minister of Youth and Community Outreach at Nueva Vida Norristown (Pa.) New Life Mennonite Church .
Saturday evening there will be a service of “worship in historic mode,” free of charge and open to the public as well as symposium participants. It will be held at historic Klein’s Meetinghouse, located on the campus of Peter Becker Community, Harleysville, Pa. This service will explore and interpret some aspects of historic local Mennonite worship in ritual, song and the spoken word. One of the main sources of spiritual growth for Mennonites of the 18th and 19th centuries was the community’s gathering for worship, and not many today have access to the modes of worship that former generations experienced.
To register please send your name, address, phone number and email address, with a registration fee of $40 to Mennonite Heritage Center. The registration fee includes lunch. Registration deadline is May 15, 2008.
Scholarships are available for emerging leaders from Franconia Conference. Contact the author for more details.
Bethany Birches Camp began in 1965 as a place for Vermont youth, particularly those who couldn’t afford an expensive camp experience and had little experience with church. Over the years, we have learned how to create an exceptionally authentic and exciting camp experience without passing the cost on to our campers.
Volunteers and donors are the two groups of people that make this possible. I want to tell you about two volunteers, Margaret Campbell and Chad Yoder. Margaret attends Bethany Mennonite Church in Bridgewater Corners, Vt. and Chad attends Blooming Glen Mennonite in Blooming Glen, Pa. These two individuals represent a community of passion and love.
Margaret Campbell’s involvement includes a visit from her at least once most every week to help with office tasks. During one such visit I asked her to help our board chair, Althea Derstine, scrub some floors. Margaret came dutifully, and she and Althea did a fantastic job. As Margaret wrote in our fall newsletter, she wasn’t only cleaning that day, she was “acting out this prayer given to us by Marian Wright Edelman:”
Lord, let us exile defeat, wrestle despair to the floor, throw apathy to the winds and feed depression to the hogs. Lord, help us to stand up and fight for our children.
Chad Yoder is another example of a person who has seen God moving and he cannot be silent. The past few years Chad has come along with other adults and young adults from Blooming Glen Mennonite Church to help prepare the facility to host 250 kids between the ages of 6–18. This group accomplishes maintenance projects and does necessary repairs. Last spring when he was here, he was somewhat frustrated with the lack of resources available to work with. He decided to find extra resources so that grounds and maintenance work would be more possible. Chad is now raising $25,000 with some help from others so that some new equipment can be bought for the camp.
Our community extends far beyond Margaret and Chad and there are many other individuals and church groups involved. Souderton Mennonite Youth Fellowship (MYF) is one example. This group came to pave the way for two tree houses this past summer. Blooming Glen MYF is another example. They come back to camp continuously to help with many projects. Examples abound, including our Association members that give generously of their time to govern, help raise money through our annual auction and take care of the facility. There is no shortage of people living out their love for God in the wake of this world’s chaos.
What motivates a retired woman with two masters degrees involved in numerous organizations to scrub floors? Where does a family man who is developing a business find time to raise money and volunteer a long weekend to cut grass and fix buildings? What causes a youth group to spend a week of their summer doing hard physical labor or to return time and time again to sleep little and work hard?
I am betting that it’s the same thing that enables a middle-school boy to make friends with another boy who just hit him in the face. This same spirit also allows a sexually abused 11 year-old girl to find comfort and safety. It’s something that is built into our being, this desire to give generously. I think we are motivated to do and be this way because of God’s unrelenting, tireless desire to show us love, to help us feel that we belong, at home with God.
Four mornings a week, Clara Mae Panczyk gets up early, prays that her car will start and journeys across town to Crossroad Gift & Thrift. Half an hour before even the manager arrives, Clara Mae is hard at work. At over 80 years of age, her hands are still nimble as they fly through a marathon of donations each morning. Clara Mae is one of a number of committed volunteers who make the ministry and vocation of Crossroad possible. We are highlighting her story because of her generous decision to sacrifice personal material comfort in order to bless others.
Just like the other 107 Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) thrift stores in Canada and the United States, Crossroad Gift & Thrift exists to serve the local community, keep good merchandise out of landfills and contribute any profit to MCC’s world wide work. As a store, we serve locally to reduce poverty globally. Clara Mae has caught a hold of this vision and works tirelessly at the store for at least ten hours every week.
Once Clara Mae finishes her trek across Norristown, Pa., she may pick up another volunteer, or just stand for a minute outside the store admiring the attractive display before slipping inside the door. Walking past the inviting racks full of handmade comforters, new greeting cards and international crafts, Clara Mae flips on the light switch and heads to the back of the store. In the workroom she finds two boxes of donations placed conveniently in front of her work desk. Before sitting down, Clara Mae starts a pot of fresh coffee brewing. As the aroma of coffee begins floating through the work room, she gets quickly to work examining donated articles of clothing, pricing them and putting them on hangers, or placing them in a box for MCC.
By the time Clara Mae hears John Meage and me opening up the store and arranging an outdoor display, she is nearly done with the two big boxes. Soon John, the International Volunteer from Indonesia through MCC’s International Volunteer Exchange Program, comes back to practice his conversational English skills and help Clara Mae get down a box full of socks donated from the Souderton (Pa.) Care & Share Shoppes.
Clara Mae hardly has time to maneuver through the full racks in the clothing department when Pastor Fred from the Hospitality Center arrives with several boxes of day-old pies, pastries and breads. Clara Mae helps John arrange the baked goods for low income customers while I talk with the first customers of the day. As customers catch up on the local news and make their goodbyes, Clara Mae makes sure they don’t leave without a free loaf of bread or container of cookies.
Meanwhile, Clara Mae has returned to sock matching, connecting and pricing. She welcomes customers to the store with a warm greeting, even when they are smelly and homeless. Lots of people come by the store several times a week just to be at a place where they are treated with respect. Clara Mae has been known to share Grandmotherly advice and even provide transportation to a desperate customer or volunteer.
She will spend the rest of her morning pricing new donations, organizing merchandise and providing personal customer service. Clara Mae is one of several volunteers who come to Crossroad Gift & Thrift four days per week to work to alleviate poverty.
Even though many of these highly committed volunteers do not attend Mennonite churches or make any claim to be Mennonite, they have all caught the infectious Mennonite spirit of service, stewardship and international thoughtfulness.
Instead of working to make money, so she can buy a nicer vehicle or more comfortable lifestyle, Clara Mae gives away a significant portion of her time to the ministry of Crossroad. May each of us be inspired and continue to find similar ways to be a blessing.
What does it mean to live as a thoughtful Christian in a global society? What do I really want to do with the rest of my life? What gifts and talents did God bless me with? What do I feel drawn to? These are significant questions to ask at any stage of life and at Christopher Dock we seek to provide unique experiences that guide our students as they ask these important questions.
One such opportunity occurs each January as our Kingdom Living class launches thoughtful grade 12 students into service or job shadowing. After weeks of being challenged in the classroom to study, think and articulate their beliefs about Jesus, Dock seniors take the initiative to design week-long experiences that relate to their interests and explore life choices.
Students recently shared a few of these experiences in chapel: shadowing a doctor and watching surgery; working in a political office and meeting with a senator; exploring television broadcasting and behind-the-scenes production; living on a goat farm and sharing devotions; and serving with the MAMA project in Honduras, working hard and playing soccer with recovering malnourished children.
I had the privilege of joining the MAMA (Mujeres Amigas Miles Apart) trip with 12 seniors. Lasting memories include the hard work of cementing seven houses, and serving on medical brigades which distributed worm pills and extracted teeth. The students played with the children and practiced their Spanish. I also experienced Dock students teaming together to make everything happen with grace and care. Discussions were poignant and respectful, covering many “hot topics” of church and life. Relationships were valued even more than the significant work projects that they did. We sat together each evening to talk and ask: Where did you see God today?
Life-impacting experiences at Dock extend well beyond the week of senior experiences. Recently a group of three students traveled with Assistant Principle Martin Wiens to Philadelphia Praise Center, home church for two current Dock students, for an evening of youth worship (and ping pong). Sharing in music and prayer, students bridge cultures and find common ground as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Traveling to far-away places to build relationships isn’t always required. Intergenerational opportunities at Christopher Dock continue to expand connections with our friends and neighbors at Dock Woods Community. Shared chapel experiences and Gerontology classes continue to build a sense of unity between the two campuses as we discover new ways to learn from and care for one another. The enthusiasm from these friends and mentors brings new meaning and energy to our goal of encouraging Dock students to develop an attitude of life-long learning.
The margin of difference demonstrated by the Dock seniors on our trip to Honduras was exactly what I was hoping to see and what I continue to see in Dock students! Thoughtful Christian young people who are ready, willing and able to pass on what they can to make a difference. I encourage each of us to join these students in being God’s feet, hands and hearts in the world.
In mid-January, a group of 12 Christopher Dock students, along with Danae Weaver, RN from Towamencin congregation, School Principal Elaine Moyer, Campus Paster Marlene Frankenfield and group leader Dr. Herman Sagastume traveled to Honduras to spend a week of service with the MAMA (Mujeres Amigas Miles Apart) Project. The group spent eight days working and interacting on various levels with the Honduran people. Acquaintances were made, friendships were established, stories were shared and God’s presence was seen throughout the trip.
Our first day began with introductions between the Honduran staff and the Christopher Dock group who would work together throughout the week. The remainder of that day was spent playing soccer with the kids in the surrounding village and the kids in the Nutrition Center, and sorting through the 30 suitcases worth of school kits, baby kits, medical supplies, clothing, etc. donated by various churches and organizations.
In the following days, our group divided into task forces and served in a variety of ways. Some students worked alongside MAMA staff and Honduran volunteers to lay cement floors in the homes of many families in San Francisco de Yojoa. Many children in these families suffer from malnourishment, diseases, insect bites and other ailments due to playing on the dirt floors and living in unsanitary conditions. The cement floors will greatly improve the health of these children. Other students traveled with Dr. Sagastume and Dr. Hugo Navaro (dentist) to set up medical and dental brigades in neighboring villages where medical services were needed. Many families in these villages benefited from the administration of Vitamin A and deworming pills, medical advice and care, and dental extractions. In each area of service, the smiles and gratitude of those served reminded the volunteers of God’s working presence in Honduras.
Our group also delivered late Christmas packages to the children in the Nutrition Center. The packages had been put together and donated by many churches and organizations. It was amazing to see the delight on each child’s face upon receiving a package. Many of these children had never received a gift in their lifetime and some were even hesitant to open their packages at first. The students spent a lot of time playing with the kids and showing them how to work their new toys. It was funny to explain that play dough and glue sticks shouldn’t be eaten, or the difference between Barbie lip gloss and eye shadow, and to hear the children laugh when the students confused their Spanish while explaining.
Another big donation was delivered by the group later in the week. Baby kits were taken to new mothers and their newborns in the maternity ward of the San Pedro Sula hospital. This was an emotional and humbling experience for many students to see how young some of the mothers were, how tired many of them looked and yet how happy they were to receive the gifts.
The week ended with a dinner for the volunteers and MAMA staff. Many of the staff expressed their thanks to the volunteers for the work they did throughout the week and their time spent in Honduras. The Christopher Dock group thanked the staff in return for their hard work, leadership and dedication to the program.
Overall, the trip was a positive and productive experience for all involved. Each group member’s worldview was undoubtedly broadened by the welcoming Honduran culture, opportunity to listen to the stories of those they served and the acknowledgement of God’s working through the MAMA Project.
A seasoned second-hand shopper herself, Sarah Bergin hopes her enthusiasm for a good buy is contagious as she fills her role at the Care and Share Shoppes in Souderton, Pa. She started the year as the new Executive Director for the organization which includes three thrift stores and the Ten Thousand Villages fair trade store. While she gets to know the staff, board of directors and the many volunteers, she is keeping her focus on finding creative ways to entice new shoppers into the stores.
“It will be a challenge to help the next generation recognize what a gem these stores are,” she said. With a constant supply of high quality, reasonably priced items in the clothing, variety and furniture stores, you can always find something to fit your budget, meet your needs or fulfill a fun desire. The best part of the Care and Share shopping experience according to Bergin, “is that the money is used to help so many others in so many meaningful ways.” Out of 50 Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) thrift shops in the United States, the Care and Share Shoppes and Ten Thousand Villages in Souderton combined contributed the largest amount—over $720,000 in 2007 to MCC. Bergin points out that not only do the stores contribute to the worldwide programs supported by MCC, they touch the lives of many local people in positive ways as well.
“The stores really are helping the earth by providing recycling opportunities for the products we sell. We are also a wonderful community network base for the many volunteers who work here,” she explained. Affordable products help many families and individuals stretch their tight budgets a bit further as well.
Bergin feels her work and the mission of the stores are directly linked to the overall mission of the Mennonite church. “We are helping people, as Jesus directed all of us to do, whether they are our local neighbors or brothers and sisters around the world.”
Her connection to MCC has been important throughout her life, so her new position seems a natural fit for Bergin. A member of Perkasie Mennonite Church, she has spent many years helping to coordinate the School Kit collection project there. “I’ve always been impressed with the way MCC works, so I’m excited to be part of that effort on a daily basis.”
Bergin has experience in retail management, has worked for the non-profit Hepatitis B Foundation in Doylestown,Pa., serves as an election judge in Hatfield Township and has been involved in raising medically needy foster children. She enjoys spending time with her family, which includes husband Ian and four children.
With her skills in sales and her heart for service Bergin brings a fresh perspective to her new position and looks forward to developing both professionally and spiritually on the job.
She has set high goals for herself and the thrift shoppes as she lays plans to add to the number of volunteers, expand the product donor base and increase the store sales. Of course she plans to do a bit of shopping in her spare time.
photo by Marilyn Nolt
In 1961 Ken Bauhof, an eager young teenager, and a friend were on their way from Southeastern Pennsylvania to spend their summer in Fairbanks, Alaska. Ken spent the summer volunteering at a Bible camp and working to earn money to go back to college. The trip turned out to be a much bigger event in Ken’s life then he ever could have imagined.
The day they arrived they went to an evening church service, and there, Ken met a young woman named Shirley Major. Ken was smitten; he wrote to his mother and told her, “I think I met the girl I’m going to marry.” Ken chuckles as he relates how his mother wrote back and told him he had better come home; at the time Ken was only 19 years old and Shirley was 15.
Ken was immediately drawn to Shirley’s smile, her big, brown eyes and the mystique of her Native American facial features inherited from her mother. Ken learned to know her better during the summer because she served as a volunteer counselor at the same Bible camp as Ken.
As he learned to know her, he came to appreciate her sense of humor, Christian character and love for the Lord. She was the oldest of eight children and Ken was impressed with the way she handled a significant amount of family responsibility. One example was her efforts Sunday morning; her parents were not churchgoers and Shirley would always make sure her younger siblings were dressed, fed and ready for Sunday School when their ride came.
After that summer Ken returned to Temple University for his second year of college, but all he could think about was Shirley in Alaska. He returned to Fairbanks after his sophomore year and enrolled in the University of Alaska, majoring in electrical engineering. He spent four years finishing his degree while working full-time at NASA’s satellite tracking stations nearby. Ken and Shirley were married the year after he returned to Alaska.
In 1966 just before their first child was born Ken and Shirley moved back to Pennsylvania. Ken got a job working as an electrical engineer. Ken’s job was very satisfying to him; he enjoyed his work, he was good at it, and he had opportunities to travel and see the world. Ken’s work life was as good as one could hope for.
During this time Ken and Shirley had three girls. Shirley was a stay-at-home mom; she enjoyed volunteering at Plumstead Christian School where the girls attended. She loved to entertain guests; she was good at organizing and preparing a nice meal. She hosted and participated in Bible studies and was active in her church.
But in the early 1990’s some dark clouds began to appear on the horizon of the Bauhof family. Shirley was finding it increasingly difficult to make decisions, to follow through and finish things she agreed to do. This woman for whom hospitality was second nature, who was always capable and organized, was having trouble getting dinner together. Sometimes she could; sometimes she couldn’t. Something was wrong. They made innumerable visits to doctors and she went through countless medical tests, but the medical community seemed as baffled as they were.
About this same time Ken and Shirley began to search for information about Shirley’s biological dad. She essentially knew nothing about him. He had left the family when Shirley was two years old. Eventually they tracked down a cousin in Nevada and learned that Huntington’s Disease existed among her father’s relatives. After only reading a short paragraph describing the symptoms of the disease, Ken recounts, “My heart sank, because I knew Shirley had it.”
With this family history the medical community soon concurred that she did indeed have Huntington’s Disease . Huntington’s Disease is a relatively rare inherited progressive disorder of the brain that leads to uncontrolled movements, emotional instability and loss of intellectual capabilities. One can only imagine the range of emotions Shirley experienced at this time. In working through her pain and anger, she reasoned, “I could die from the disease; but I can also live with it.” Shirley decided to live with it. And Ken has faithfully and caringly walked the journey with her.
Soon afterward the company Ken worked for was bought out, and while the new owners invited him to continue working for them, it was a difficult time for the company and toward the end of 1997 Ken lost his job of 30 years. At this point Ken was well into middle age. What would he do, how would he pay the medical bills, the costs of care, as well as general living expenses?
Ken and Shirley’s story is a reminder that when God is part of the picture, events and situations like Ken and Shirley faced are not the end of the story. With a big smile Ken recalls how his firing came just in time to enable him to spend one whole week deer hunting. But more importantly he was soon offered at job at Solar Atmospheres. This business is located less than five minutes from Rockhill Mennonite Community, a detail that became important eight years later.
The Bahoufs were able to manage Shirley’s care at home for some years, but due to increasing care needs, they were forced to look for long-term care. Ken was familiar with Rockhill Mennonite Community, having visited persons from their church who were residents there. Shirley became a resident in Rockhill Mennonite Community’s Healthcare facility in July, 2005. And while faithfully visiting Shirley, Ken began an important relationship with the broader Rockhill Mennonite community.
Since Ken’s work is only five minutes distance from Rockhill Mennonite Community he stops by frequently. His employer allows him lots of flexibility in his work schedule, so he can come over to see Shirley most any time, often coming over to have lunch with her. But Ken’s deep faith, his warm personality and his interest in others led him to see beyond Shirley, and over time he developed relationships with other residents.
One day he approached me as Chaplain, and volunteered to visit several residents on a regular basis. I was delighted because I was currently developing a volunteer pastoral care ministry. Ken enjoys the interaction and sees it as giving back to the community in a small way. I see Ken’s ministry as a significant contribution enhancing pastoral care in our community.
Ken is a very warm, out-going and joy-filled person. I asked him if he ever gets down or depressed and he admitted that the disease is overwhelming and there is much about which one could get down. He worries, “What does the future hold for Shirley? And what about my daughters? Each of them has a 50-50 chance of getting the disease as well.” But his prayer is, “Lord, you have to handle this disease. Help me to be the husband and father I need to be.”
“The Lord has brought us this far,” he testifies, “He’s not going to let us down now. When we are half way through eternity, whatever that means, this time in our life will be nothing more than a blip on the screen; it isn’t going to matter.”
Ken lives fully each day as it is given, and yet he is able to live with a long view, recognizing that in the midst of all the uncertainties, God is good and he and his family are blessed. And because of that he is able to be a blessing to so many others.
For more information on Huntington’s Disease visit hdsa.org
I really didn’t want to move to the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pa. I’d lived in West Philly ever since I was a Nonprofit Management grad student at Eastern University back in 1997, and frankly, those six miles might as well have been across the state to me. But when the rental my soon-to-be husband and I had arranged fell through, we took a second look at the apartment listing Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust had posted to our church’s listserve. I guess God knew our combined belongings would never have fit in that tiny West Philly place.
I sure had no idea how many records, CDs and sound equipment items a professional jazz musician would own! Ed had moved to Philadelphia from New Orleans, La., on the tail of Hurricane Katrina, recently engaged to me. We got married in New Orleans in October, 2006, in a tribute to the decade he spent there, our mutual love of the city, and a gesture of economic support for the recovering town.
So the campus of the Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust has become our first home as newlyweds, and the historic 1770 Meetinghouse and burial ground have become a part of our everyday lives. It is a serene and beautiful place, with an amazing and peaceful timelessness that is a striking contrast to the cacophony of noise that is Germantown Avenue almost 24/7. Picture high school kids swaggering and swearing on their way home from school. Families bustling in and out of the neon yellow FOODLAND corner market. Random sirens screaming and work trucks bouncing over the cobblestones and trolley tracks. The perpetual ice cream truck jingle in the air and the questionable drug corner a block away.
When Randy Nyce, my friend and the former Executive Director here, told me he’d be leaving Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust, I offered my help if they needed “someone to hold it together” for awhile. Sure enough, the call came, and I’ve been serving as Interim Executive Director since September 2007.
Absorbing the history and roots of the first Mennonite community in America, in combination with actually living on this site, has been a profound experience for me. As I learn more, I am very inspired by the stories of those first families who stepped out in faith in 1683, leaving behind everything they knew in Germany to pursue their desire to worship freely. This place is an amazing touchstone of significance to almost anyone in North America with Mennonite roots, as most of the early Mennonite immigrants passed through here on their way west.
This year we are celebrating the 300th anniversary of several historic “firsts” in Germantown: the construction of the first Mennonite meetinghouse and the first Mennonite baptisms and communion in America. I’m looking forward to the historic conference we’ll hold on October 17-18, with talks by John Ruth and James Juhnke and a worship service in the Meetinghouse. We’ll also be featuring “Colonial Germantown Mennonites”, a new book by Leonard Gross and Jan Gleysteen.
I don’t know how long I’ll be called to stay with Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust. But I can tell you what a wonderful privilege it has been to learn about the Mennonite legacy here in this place and glimpse the future that this Board of Directors has begun to imagine. I am convinced of the special relevance the early Mennonite story holds for today, and not just for Mennonites: I truly believe that the strength of the Mennonite peace witness has a special relevance for this specific community, where violence, poverty and injustice are woven into the fabric of so many people’s lives. If you or your group have never been here or if you’ve been here a thousand times, I hope you’ll come and visit soon!
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) strives to respond to urgent needs around the globe and at home. Each prayer and gift is offered to bring healing and hope “in the name of Christ.”
Approximately five years ago, MCC in Akron, Pa., contacted Abe Landes, of Zion Mennonite Church in Souderton, Pa., and myself about the possibility of opening a satellite in the Franconia area for more local involvement and clearer communication. During that time I learned that a building on Indian Creek Road in Harleysville, Pa., owned by Franconia Conference, was available. With only minor renovations, the building was ready to be used for MCC’s Harleysville Material Resource Center.
In 2006, a nine acre piece of land located along Souder Road was donated by Nelson Souder. We are currently working on plans for a new building which will house the activities of quilting, knotting comforters, gathering and checking kits, collecting books for Book Savers (an on-going project where textbooks and story books are collected to be used locally for schools in need or sent to the mission field), a small office for Mennonite Disaster Service and their vans, a repair shop for Care and Share Shoppes and space for the operation of the MCC meat canner. We are hoping to be open in 2008.
This past year, more than 7,906 school kits, 1,702 quilts and comforters, 214 relief kits, 441 newborn kits, and miscellaneous items were shipped from our facility to Ephrata, Pa., to be distributed locally or shipped abroad. We also are involved with cutting used cotton materials and wrapping them in five pound mesh bags for industrial use. These are also available in one pound packages at Care and Share Shoppes in Souderton, Pa., along with items such as comforters and quilts. The sale of these materials bring us a small amount of revenue which allows us to meet MCC’s requirement to be self-supporting. We appreciate the generosity of the Care and Share Shoppes for assisting us in this way.
There are many upcoming activities and opportunities to get involved at the Harelysville MCC Material Resource Center.
Quilters from all churches can join our sewing circle at any time. Quilts and comforters are set up regularly and several patch-cutting parties will happen over the winter months as well as special events like the “Quilt-as-you-go” table runner project with Connie Landes this past January. “Kids in Mission” continues to be an active outreach at the Material Resource Center. Groups from Indian Valley and Perkiomenville Mennonite churches come on a monthly basis to check kits, work on color squares for comforters, knot, sew and do other various tasks. Currently, we are coordinating with MCC to use the “Penny Power” bottles to collect money for providing pure water to those in need. The MCC traveling meat canner will be at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School in March and hopes to achieve a goal of 15,000 cans of meat.
We hope and encourage individuals and groups to come and learn more about us and participate in these activities.
In the 1980’s I began to request volunteers from denominational agencies because I noticed a growing need for human services workers in the area. I had gotten into human services by volunteering myself through Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) PAX program. Specifically, I worked with people with disabilities and was an “orderly” in West Berlin, Germany for two years, instead of going to Vietnam. Having experienced a life-influencing time of voluntary service, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity for someone who might be interested in the field. However, this area was considered too wealthy and, with the concept of voluntary service fading in the US, it was increasingly difficult to find volunteers; as a result units were closing and urban area became the focus.
However, about two years ago I was talking to a representative from Christliche Dienste, a German Mennonite agency which is responsible for sending German volunteers around the world, including Peaceful Living, in collaboration with MCC and Mennonite Mission Network’s Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) program, and discovered that volunteers were not always located in economically depressed urban areas. When I approached MVS this time, they informed me of a new approach, “If a congregation will sponsor a unit, so will we.” They also have a new initiative to integrate urban volunteers in the suburbs, which aligns with our approach.
During this time a member of my small group at Salford Mennonite Church brought a new study guide: “Healing Healthcare: A Study and Action Guide on Healthcare Access in the United States” which is a study guide for congregations, published by the Mennonite Church USA, surrounding key issues of healthcare access. We began to talk about this and spun off in all directions, from the 45 million uninsured to Medicaid cuts and limits in the federal budget. We decided that one area we could make a small difference was to try to find volunteers to respond to some of the unmet health care needs in our own neighborhoods. We then sent a recommendation for a MVS Unit to Salford’s Justice and Peace Ministry Team. They in turn recommended it to the church board. In February of this year the congregation voted to accept the proposal.
There are multiple needs and opportunities for volunteers in our area. Around 1,500 people with developmental disabilities are waiting for services in the Montgomery and Bucks Counties. Hundreds of internationals are moving into our area, some refugees from Iraq, needing language training in order to find work. An agency which teaches English as a Second Language is maxed out with 400 people enrolled in their classes and 500 more on its waiting list. Another local human service agency that provides services for troubled youth and families, told me the majority of their staff live out of the area because there is no affordable housing nearby. We have a chronic staff shortage of human services workers in the Bux-mont area. There is already interest expressed from six local agencies, including Peaceful Living, for volunteers from this unit.
While we are waiting for approval from Mennonite Mission Network for this specific MVS unit a committee of members from Salford has formed to begin planning. We have decided to call this the Greater Philadelphia MVS house and aim to attract volunteers from both the US and abroad. The unit will recruit volunteers from six different sources, including Mennonite, Catholic, and Muslim agencies. We want our community to model our Anabaptist values of service and loving reconciliation. The Lord has already blessed us with a gifted committee, prayerful support, and several necessary resources. We hope for continued support as the project moves forward.
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What motivates a retired woman with two masters degrees involved in numerous organizations to scrub floors? Where does a family man who is developing a business find time to raise money and volunteer a long weekend to cut grass and fix buildings? What causes a youth group to spend a week of their summer doing hard physical labor or to return time and time again to sleep little and work hard?
Four mornings a week, Clara Mae Panczyk gets up early, prays that her car will start and journeys across town to Crossroad Gift & Thrift. Half an hour before even the manager arrives, Clara Mae is hard at work. At over 80 years of age, her hands are still nimble as they fly through a marathon of donations each morning. Clara Mae is one of a number of committed volunteers who make the ministry and vocation of Crossroad possible. We are highlighting her story because of her generous decision to sacrifice personal material comfort in order to bless others.
What does it mean to live as a thoughtful Christian in a global society? What do I really want to do with the rest of my life? What gifts and talents did God bless me with? What do I feel drawn to? These are significant questions to ask at any stage of life and at 
The margin of difference demonstrated by the Dock seniors on our trip to Honduras was exactly what I was hoping to see and what I continue to see in Dock students! Thoughtful Christian young people who are ready, willing and able to pass on what they can to make a difference. I encourage each of us to join these students in being God’s feet, hands and hearts in the world.
In mid-January, a group of 12 Christopher Dock students, along with Danae Weaver, RN from Towamencin congregation, School Principal Elaine Moyer, Campus Paster Marlene Frankenfield and group leader Dr. Herman Sagastume traveled to Honduras to spend a week of service with the 
A seasoned second-hand shopper herself, Sarah Bergin hopes her enthusiasm for a good buy is contagious as she fills her role at the 
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With her skills in sales and her heart for service Bergin brings a fresh perspective to her new position and looks forward to developing both professionally and spiritually on the job.
About this same time Ken and Shirley began to search for information about Shirley’s biological dad. She essentially knew nothing about him. He had left the family when Shirley was two years old. Eventually they tracked down a cousin in Nevada and learned that Huntington’s Disease existed among her father’s relatives. After only reading a short paragraph describing the symptoms of the disease, Ken recounts, “My heart sank, because I knew Shirley had it.”
One day he approached me as Chaplain, and volunteered to visit several residents on a regular basis. I was delighted because I was currently developing a volunteer pastoral care ministry. Ken enjoys the interaction and sees it as giving back to the community in a small way. I see Ken’s ministry as a significant contribution enhancing pastoral care in our community.
I really didn’t want to move to the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pa. I’d lived in West Philly ever since I was a Nonprofit Management grad student at 
In the 1980’s I began to request volunteers from denominational agencies because I noticed a growing need for human services workers in the area. I had gotten into human services by volunteering myself through 