|
|
News archive
Contact: Laurie L. Oswald (316) 283-5100, E-mail: LaurieO@MennoniteUSA.org
|
Charlotte 2005 to help Mennonites share faith stories
with each other, the world |
 |
by Laurie L. Oswald
 |
| Members of the youth and adult planning committees
tour the Charlotte 2005 convention site during a late-summer
planning meeting in Charlotte. From left they are Ron
Byler, associate executive director for Mennonite Church
USA; Shana Boshart, conference youth minister for Central
Plains Conference; Scott Hartman, Convention Planning
staff member; and Anna Rehan, youth ministries facilitator
for Mennonite Church Canada. |
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (MC USA and MC Canada) -- When asked to define
"Can't Keep Quiet" -- the theme for Charlotte 2005
-- no two planners answer alike regarding the joint assemblies
of Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada.
But what joint youth and adult planning committees do agree
on is that God is doing many great things among Mennonites
in Canada and the United States that are worth talking about.
These things are captivating the imaginations of planners
who have met periodically in Charlotte and Winnipeg to plan
the biennial gathering for July 4-9 in the Charlotte Convention
Center.
At their latest joint planning meeting in early fall, youth
and adults from the United States and Canada discovered yet
more ways that assembly participants of all ages may connect
with the theme from Acts 4: 20: "We can't stop telling
about the wonderful things we have seen and heard."
"I hope that the theme of this assembly helps youth be
less afraid to tell their own stories about what God has done
in their lives and teach them some confidence in sharing all
that," said Andrea Ressler, a member of the youth planning
committee and a student at Central Christian School in Kidron,
Ohio.
"Everyone has a story, and it doesn't have to be about
big things all the time. Many of us kids who grew up in the
church might not have a dramatic conversion story to tell,
but we can share about all the countless ways that God has
worked in our lives over the years."
Miles Musselman, member of the youth planning committee and
a student of Christopher Dock Mennonite High School in Lansdale,
Pa., said that Charlotte 2005 may inspire youth to share stories
about their faith journey and solidify anew how the larger
Mennonite faith story shapes that journey.
"I think it's important that we spend time as a big church,
because even if you don't meet everyone there, it can help
you feel a part of something much larger than yourself,"
he said. "Youth can feel like they are such a small minority,
and this will help them not feel so weird about who they are
and their values.
"And this theme is so good, because a lot of kids get
the impression that to be a Mennonite means that we are to
quietly live our faith and not to speak out. But this theme
will help us to learn to both speak about our faith and to
live it."
Other planners agree that the theme invites people to think
of "speaking out" in terms of words, story, lifestyle
and deeds. "This theme isn't about being loud or obnoxious
but about learning not to be quiet, in verbal and non-verbal
ways, about how God has captured our hearts and made a difference
in our whole beings -- just as Peter and the others did in
the Acts passage," said Merv Stoltzfus, conference youth
minister for Atlantic Coast Conference, youth planning committee.
"And it's not about just telling stories about the positive
and great things God has done, but also telling stories about
how God sustains us in difficult times. It's important that
we learn to tell those stories as well, so we can help each
other to have hope and to see how God takes difficult things
and makes them beautiful."
Adult planning committee member Jose Rosa, pastor of Shalom
Mennonite Church in Milton, Pa., believes the theme shows
how God is capturing the heart of each denomination with the
call to reach out to the wider community and the world. For
example, there are no Mennonite congregations in Charlotte.
So the joint assemblies give people in the city an opportunity
to experience how North American Mennonites share Christ's
gospel in word and deed.
"Many adults have been content to remain behind the walls
of our churches, and I think it is time we reach beyond those
walls," Rosa said. "I also think this convention
can empower people to go back to ignite people in their home
congregations."
Part of telling about the good things that God is doing is
sharing common Anabaptist faith heritage with brothers and
sisters from a sister denomination, said Craig Friesen, a
member of the adult planning committee and pastor of Rosthern
(Sask.) Mennonite Church in Canada.
"Many of the stories of the early Anabaptists during
the Reformation are stories of persecution," Friesen
said while leading devotions in the early fall planning session.
"They faced real consequences when they spoke out about
their faith. When they did speak out, they were asked to recant
their views or face death.
"But most continued to share their stories despite that.
... They teach us that we don't have to be extraordinary people
to be bold in our faith. Rather, God asks us for our commitment
and willingness to obey."
Committees help convention staff plan
These perspectives from planning committee members help the
planning staff of Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church
Canada to build on the theme's foundation, said Jorge Vallejos,
director of Convention Planning for Mennonite Church USA,
and Lana Miller, assistant director. The planning committees
- along with youth and adult worship planning committees --
finalize myriads of logistical and content details for the
event at the Charlotte Convention Center.
The planners expect that about 10,000 Mennonites of all ages
from the United States and Canada will attend. The assembly
will include events for young adults and conventions for children,
junior high youth, high school youth and adults.
Activities will include worship, servant projects, seminars,
recreation, delegate sessions, a hymn sing, joint activities
for children, youth and adults.
"I've seen many
miracles, holy moments, in the midst of our planning,"
Vallejos said. "People who come to conventions can have
no idea how many thousands of details we have to hammer out.
These planning sessions are balancing acts in helping all
people strengthen their commitment to Christ."
Miller said, "I compare the process to the biblical account
of Jesus searching for the lost sheep. We need to care about
the needs of that one, while still being hospitable to the
99."
An aspect of this convention that shapes many details but
brings with it advantages is the fact that Charlotte is a
mid-sized city (population 540,000) versus the larger city
of Atlanta, the site of the 2003 biennial gathering, Vallejos
and Miller said. The convention hall has less square feet
than the 2003 convention hall, bringing with it a more "family"
feel.
"In Atlanta, it was easier to go do your own thing and
not bump into others to talk with them - it was just so big
and there was so much space that you could lose each other,"
Miller said. "Here, adults, youth and children will probably
rub shoulders a lot more, as they share more spaces and have
closer proximity to one another."
Surf the Web, register early
Even as some details are not set in stone yet, the staff and
committees have begun to finalize aspects of Charlotte, including
the all-new idea of staging a continuous reading-through-the-Bible
event during all days of the joint assembly.
Other aspects of the assembly will include an intergenerational
festival-type event, joint worship with adults and youth and
a joint adult delegate session with Mennonite Church USA and
Mennonite Church Canada. New this year will also be youth
delegate sessions within the youth convention, where teenagers
will dialogue around their own table groups about issues they
face.
Early registration for Charlotte 2005 will begin online Dec.
6, 2004. Paper registration will begin Jan.1, 2005. The deadline
for registration without a late fee will be April 29, 2005.
For more information contact: Andrew Kauffman at Mennonite
Church USA Convention Planning, P.O. Box 1245, Elkhart, IN
46515-1245; T: 574-523-3045; or email: CharlotteInfo@MennoniteUSA.org.
Laurie L. Oswald is news service
director for Mennonite Church USA.
| |
|
Charlotte 2005 logo helps Mennonites to move into new
season
|
|
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (MC USA) -- Ken Gingerich, art director
for Mennonite Church USA and designer of the Charlotte 2005
logo, believes that Mennonites are moving into a new season.
He hopes the logo shows the transition from being the "quiet
in the land" to not being able to keep quiet.
Gingerich created the logo to convey the Charlotte theme,
Acts 4:20: "We can't stop telling about the wonderful
things that we have seen and heard." Gingerich first
created the image of a trumpet to signify the theme. But
as he and others added more elements, it turned into a human
form.
"We discovered a more human form that replicated the
joy and enthusiasm of the healed lame man [found in the
Acts passage] who was there to testify about Jesus in the
temple court," he said.
"It's important to realize that we are not trumpeting
our own horn. We are giving witness to the healing and transforming
power of God. As we move from becoming the quiet in the
land to the bold - let's stay focused on praising, worshipping
and giving testimony to the healing love of our creator."
During his own process in creating the logo, Gingerich said
it was important that he connect with the past as well as
the present and the future. "Our history has taught
us that speaking out can be costly," he said. "Historically,
we withdrew into the relative safety of small towns and
farms, becoming more comfortable with simply living out
our faith than with explaining why we lived a certain way.
"In some ways our witness has experienced the crippling
effects of being too quiet for too long. Our 'quietness'
has also been a sort of prison -- although it has given
us a perspective on some of the ways the message and power
of Jesus' reconciling love should be shared."
Gingerich believes the logo can help set Mennonites free
to be bold in Christ-like ways. "As we Mennonites emerge
from a long period of introspection, we may be surprised
by the energy we receive as our words and actions increasingly
contribute to the brokenness in our world," he said.
"We are being filled with boldness -- not harshness.
We are being filled with the power and love of God, not
our own power. We are messengers, ambassadors for Christ.
We are no longer motivated by fear, pride or a need to preserve
the established order of our lives.
"We are ready to proclaim Christ with louder voices,
and we 'can't keep quiet!'"
-- Ken Gingerich with Laurie
L. Oswald
| |
|
|
Charlotte 2005 to be a "family reunion" with
sister denominations. |
|
 |
| From left, Carol Epp, staff member of Convention Planning
for Mennonite Church USA, discusses details regarding
Charlotte 2005 with Pam Peters-Pries, executive secretary
for support services for Mennonite Church Canada. Charlotte
2005 will include the joint assemblies of Mennonite
Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada, to be held July
4-9, 2005, in Charlotte, N.C. |
by Laurie L. Oswald
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (MC USA and MC Canada) -- Charlotte 2005 is
a much-awaited "family reunion," since it will be
the first time that Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church
Canada have met together since the transformation in 2002
of the former General Conference Mennonite Church and the
former Mennonite Church.
The former denominations were binational and the two new denominations
were formed along national boundaries. The two former churches
held their last joint gathering in St. Louis, Mo., in 1999,
so it's time to connect again but in a brand new way, said
Charlotte 2005 adult and youth planning committee members.
"This is the first-ever event in which the two new denominations
have met together, and so that's really exciting," said
Pam Peters-Pries, executive secretary of support services
for Mennonite Church Canada. "We made commitments to
each other at St. Louis '99 about meeting together, and I
think it's really important that we honor those commitments.
"Even though each denomination has its own structures
and concerns, we still share a lot of history and shared ministries
with Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary and Mennonite
Publishing Network. ... The best way to keep these relationships
alive is at a shared assembly."
Ron Byler, associate executive director for Mennonite Church
USA, agrees that the assembly helps strengthen relationships.
"We look forward to renewing relationships and celebrating
our common foundation found in the Confession of Faith in
a Mennonite Perspective and the Vision, Healing and Hope statement
we share," he said.
Honoring commitments, strengthening relationships
Honoring commitments to stay connected will strengthen the
relationships that those commitments represent, said Craig
Friesen, pastor of Rosthern (Sask.) Mennonite Church. "A
big part of assemblies are the relationships we've established
over the years with people, such as all the friends I made
at AMBS," he said. "I look forward to reconnecting
and worshipping with all the people that I don't have the
opportunity to see very often in other settings."
Mildred Roth of New Hamburg, Ont., said she hopes Charlotte
2005 will be a backdrop for giving people a bigger perspective
of the Mennonite Church throughout North America.
"I hope many Canadians will come to this assembly to
experience being Mennonite means beyond their local context,"
she said. "It can serve as a good family reunion does.
All people, no matter where they are from, can come together
to foster good relationships and be on equal footing with
each other. I also look forward to the joint worship. There's
just nothing like singing and praying with hundreds of other
Mennonites."
Sharing ideas across the border
The joint planning process also helps the two denominations
to share ideas that have worked within each group to build
up the entire North American Mennonite family. Canadian planning
committee members said their use of table groups for the first
time during the summer assembly in Winkler, Man., was a huge
success. The Canadians gleaned the idea from Mennonite Church
USA, which has used table groups in the last two biennial
assembly delegate sessions and other settings.
"The use of table groups went over extremely well,"
Peters-Pries said. "Participants were very excited about
the way smaller tables help people really talk together face-to-face."
During Charlotte 2005 planning sessions in early fall, she
shared the idea of a faith family festival that Mennonite
Church Canada hosted in Winkler. Planners are using that idea
to help them develop a carnival-festival one afternoon. "What
Mennonite Church Canada did with this idea has a lot of appeal,"
said Jorge Vallejos, director of Convention Planning for Mennonite
Church USA. "We want to do something intergenerational
that draws in people of all ages."
Two churches, one Spirit
Charlotte 2005 also has the potential to strengthen bonds
between people of many different backgrounds, as unity with
the Spirit of God can build bridges across national and theological
boundaries, Vallejos said.
"Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA constituencies
represent the entire theological spectrum, with some people
calling themselves 'conservative' and others are not,"
he said. "But people all along the spectrum can embrace
the focus of Charlotte. Our group work in planning this joint
assembly is very rich. That is a very good sign and shows
that God is involved."
Laurie L. Oswald is news service
director for Mennonite Church USA.
| |
|
|
Young adult sees Charlotte 2005 as prime place to pass
on Anabaptist identity. |
|
by Laurie L. Oswald
 |
| Tonya Keim Bartel (left), Overland Park, Kan., a member
of the adult planning committee for Charlotte 2005,
tours the convention site during a planning meeting
regarding the joint assemblies of Mennonite Church USA
and Mennonite Church Canada, to be held July 4-9 in
Charlotte, N.C. Those joining her are; Ron Byler, associate
executive director for Mennonite Church USA; Scott Hartman,
a staff member of Convention Planning for Mennonite
Church USA; and Carol Grieser, coordinator of the children's
convention in Charlotte |
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (MC USA) -- For Tonya Keim Bartel, a member
of the adult planning committee for Charlotte 2005, the assembly
will provide a backdrop where young adults can absorb some
of the identity they're seeking.
Bartel, a 25-year-old teacher in Overland Park, Kan., said
planners must realize what a prime opportunity the July 4-9
event can be for passing on Anabaptist identity and values
to new generations.
"I see a lot of excitement among people in their 20s
and 30s about what is happening in the church," said
Bartel, who attends Rainbow Mennonite Church in Kansas City,
with her husband, Ryan, also a teacher.
"This age group experiences so many challenges -- mainly
the one of finding out what we want to be as adults, and it's
a real tough journey at times. ... But a lot of mentoring
can happen in fellowship and worship, and younger people like
me can be really inspired by older adults."
Young adults can also absorb values to guide their journey
toward mature adulthood, Bartel said. One way this happens
is through the young adult delegate program -- first introduced
in Atlanta 2003 -- that enables congregations to send young
adults with mentors to the adult delegate assembly.
"People my age are about finding ourselves and that includes
wanting to be forgiven some of our mistakes, while at the
same time still being heard for some of our views,"
she said. "The young adult delegate program can be a
big part of that journey. It helps us learn how the church
works and helps us gain confidence in using our own voice."
For example, she feels that she and some other young adults
view the "Can't Keep Quiet" theme in subtle terms.
For her, it doesn't mean handing out tracts on street corners
as much as it does sharing stories of faith in intergenerational
groups inside the church.
"During this time of my life, it's really important for
me to begin understanding how God has worked in my life and
to take risks in sharing that among our larger church family,"
she said. "I gain strength in my own faith when I hear
the stories of how older people have made it through, and
that helps me learn so much about how I can, too."
Much of passing on the baton of faith can happen as the young
adults and adults share the planning of worship and other
activities, she said. Unlike Nashville 2001 and Atlanta 2003,
planners decided not to create a separate young adult convention
but to integrate their worship with adults while still planning
some exclusive young adult events.
"As neat as it has been for young adults to have their
own thing, I think there's a lot of value in doing it differently
for Charlotte," she said. "I think it's important
for me and my peers not to be cloistered off in our own little
spot but to be involved in planning worship and other activities
that we will share with adults.
"Throughout each aspect of the assembly -- worship, delegate
sessions, coffee shops, and music and drama performances --
we'll rub shoulders with adults. In a hundred informal ways,
we'll share our stories and our hopes and dreams for the church
and inspire each other to move forward and to grow."
Laurie L. Oswald is news service
director for Mennonite Church USA.
| |
|
|
Young Pennsylvania couple moves off farm into city to
follow God's call. |
|
by Laurie L. Oswald
 |
| Jen and Doug Lehman of Chambersburg, Pa., moved off
their three-acre farm into a lower-income neighborhood
in Chambersburg to follow God's call to live a missional
lifestyle. |
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. (MC USA) -- Friends and family marveled
that Doug and Jen Lehman moved off their three-acre farm,
took their small son from security to uncertainty and sacrificed
living on three acres of land for living in a former drug
house.
But their move wasn't all that dramatic, the couple humbly
admits. They simply answered God's call to live among people
in the multiethnic and lower-income neighborhood in Chambersburg,
Pa., next door to Cedar Street Mennonite Church.
But for all its simplicity, their reasoning sounded risky.
The Lehmans moved in 2001, after being married 51/2 years
and raising their first child, Shiloh, who was 18 months old
when they moved into town. He now has a baby brother, Elijah.
The couple sold the three acres near the dairy farm of Doug's
folks -- Harry and Kathy Lehman -- with whom Doug still farms.
In doing so, the young couple hoped to bridge the gap between
serenity of the farm for the more on-the-edge inner city.
They wanted to explore beyond their familiar cocoon and test
whether the oft-illusive word "missional" could
indeed become a way of life, they say.
"As much as we had a passion to come into the city and
saw clearly that God wanted us here, it was still a struggle
to move off the farm," Jen says. "If it weren't
for the sense that God really had his hand in this, we might
have pulled and fought more.
"We didn't want to hurt our families in making this move,
and we were thankful for their blessing. But we've had to
explain why we did this. ... Some people questioned our bringing
a toddler here. ... And we've stepped out of the status quo
of our circle, with many of our friends buying homes in more
middle-class neighborhoods."
Doug says: "Many Mennonite congregations are Anglo, and
their families have gone to the same congregation for generations.
Jen and I loved relating to people in this neighborhood through
friendship evangelism and wanted to find out what it would
be like to live among them as neighbors.
"The word 'missional' can be an empty buzzword. We as
Mennonites are good at talking about what it means and hearing
sermons about it. And we are told we are a people of peace,
a missional people. But in the end, Jen and I needed to risk
being it to make it real."
Houses and homes, strangers and friends: Cedar Street embraced
the young couple's risk and redeemed a drug house slated for
demolition by investing $10,000 to make it a duplex. The Lehmans
moved into one side. Another young couple -- Eric and Valerie
Roth -- live in the other.
Doug and Jen say they weren't seeking just to turn a house
into a home but also to turn strangers into friends. In this
move they've learned not to push relationships too hard, to
do hip-hop in youth group and hang out in backyard picnics.
They've felt the sadness of watching fathers go to prison,
families disintegrate, youth take drugs. But they've also
felt the joy of watching walls of defense drop as friendships
take root in the hundred tiny interactions that create community.
They listen and love, offering the most visible face of Jesus
-- themselves. The most formal ministry they do is a Bible
study for about 10 neighborhood youth once a week. Otherwise
they simply rub shoulders and hearts with neighbors, one person
at a time.
"I struggled with building a relationship with my neighbor
lady next door," Jen says. "I wasn't sure how much
to share with her about Jesus. ...But it finally dawned on
me that what it means to share Christ with her is to simply
show her I care. Recently I began meeting with her for Bible
study.
"Reaching out isn't as hard or scary as we thought it
would be. It's a matter of building relationships. In doing
that, God opens the doors. We don't have to force doors open."
Doug has found many open doors with the men and boys in the
neighborhood while shoveling snow in the narrow neighborhood
streets in winter and walking alongside struggling families
through the narrow passages of conflict.
"Lee, a neighbor across the street, has been a recluse,"
Doug says. "But recently we've seen a real change in
him. One of his daughters came to our door and talked to us
about how her dad, with whom she struggled, is changing.
"He was going for counseling and was easier to relate
with, the daughter told us. She thought it was because of
our befriending him. That tells us a lot about the value of
just being neighbors and friends, even though it can take
a lot of time to build that."
Modeling a missional way of life: Their own families of origin
and Mennonite background laid the foundation for their ability
to build solid relationships, they say. In their youth, they
both attended Shalom Christian Academy, an Anabaptist elementary
and high school in Chambersburg sponsored by Franklin Conference.
Then Doug went to Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg,
Va., to prepare for youth ministry.
'My parents modeled a lot for me as a boy," Doug says.
"We were heavily involved in this community, where I
began to love these people and desire this kind of ministry,
and [that's] why I probably had no fear in coming back here.
"It's no big deal for me to go knock on someone's door
here, day or night, because my dad taught me how that can
be a natural part of life. Loving people was just what we
did. It was just who we were."
Jen says her folks, Jeryl and Glenda Martin, also reached
out to many people and often invited them into their home.
Youth Evangelism Service also broadened her horizons. "One
of the biggest struggles for our team was learning what it
meant to live out Isaiah 61 -- binding up the brokenhearted
and turning beauty into ashes. ... Living here has given Doug
and me an excellent opportunity to see what that means for
us and our family."
Doug and Jen -- who now also relate to World Harvest Outreach,
an interdenominational fellowship in the area -- say that
developing a missional lifestyle in North America is challenging.
The abundance of material comforts, social schedules and family
ties can fill up one's life, leaving scant time for building
new relationships.
"In some ways, it might be harder to be a missionary
here in the States than it would be in Africa, where one would
live far away from one's usual circle of family and friends,"
Jen says. "Don't get me wrong, those are all good obligations,
and we struggle to find a balance.
"People who don't live in this community have a lot of
misconceptions about what people are like. But these friends
make great neighbors."
Doug says, "We just want to be part of the church that
is working to rediscover the original vision of the Anabaptists,
which was to follow Jesus and share him wherever they lived."
Laurie L. Oswald is News Service
director for Mennonite Church USA.
| |
|
|
We are not what we buy but what Christ makes us |
|
GOSHEN, Ind. (MC USA) -- Lynn Miller says the American Dream
is not the Christian's call, and he strives to help people
dream God's dreams.
In his work as stewardship theologian for MMA, the stewardship
agency of Mennonite Church USA, he helps people such as Doug
and Jen Lehman (see related story) give themselves away as
God's gift to their communities and the world.
That means helping people see that all parts of their lives
-- time, money, talent and health -- are wrapped up as one
gift package.
"In leading seminars on holistic stewardship, I ask people
what happens to their offering on Sunday morning," he
says. "They say, 'It gets spent.' Precisely. I tell them
God wants to spend them, that they need to give their entire
lives to God as an offering."
"Our North American culture tells us we are what we buy,
and the amount of our salary is the amount of our worth. In
God's kingdom, that is not true. In this kingdom, we are what
Christ makes us, and our worth is meant to be used for nurturing
the worth of others."
MMA helps people -- through education, financial planning
and other services -- to connect faith with all parts of their
lives. Those interested in developing a lifestyle based on
holistic stewardship can start with MMA educational resources
at www.mma-online.org.
-- Laurie L. Oswald
|
