Draft:Mosaic Mennonite Conference
Submission declined on 28 March 2024 by Jamiebuba (talk).
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
|  |
Mosaic Mennonite Conference is a conference of Mennonite Church USA based in Lansdale, PA, with congregations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont, New York, Florida, and California. Mosaic Conference formed in 2020 as a reconciliation of the former Franconia Mennonite Conference and the former Eastern District Conference that split in 1847. Mosaic is a member of Mennonite World Conference through Mennonite Church USA.
Formation[edit]
In November 2019, Franconia Conference and Eastern District Conference voted to reconcile. Even though they had been officially separated for 173 years, the two conferences had been holding their annual assemblies simultaneously for many years and had collaborated on projects since 1986.[1] The creation of Mennonite Church USA, a merger of (Old) Mennonite Church and General Conference congregations in 2002, also brought the Franconia and Eastern District conferences together in new ways. [2]
Franconia Conference delegates voted unanimously for the reconciliation; Eastern District voted almost unanimously in favor for it, with one abstention. Franconia and Eastern District officially reconciled in February 2020 and became Mosaic Mennonite Conference in May 2020. The new conference’s name reflects the cultural and geographic diversity of congregations.
In November 2020, eight congregations, many who worship in Spanish, joined Mosaic from Southeastern Mennonite Conference. As of January 1, 2024, Mosaic had 58 congregations with about 7,000 members. Mosaic had 27 Conference-Related Ministries and 13 Partners in Ministry. Stephen Kriss was the executive minister, and Angela Moyer Walter was conference moderator. She succeeded Ken Burkholder, who was Mosaic’s first moderator.
Numerous immigrant Mennonite churches in Philadelphia, California, and Florida belong to Mosaic Conference. Mosaic News, Mosaic’s weekly online newsletter, features articles in English, Spanish, and Indonesian. Other languages spoken in Mosaic congregations include Mandarin, Vietnamese, Creole, Karen, and Russian. Mosaic’s annual assembly, conducted in English, offers translation into other languages.
Priorities[edit]
In 1971, Franconia Conference established five commissions: Stewardship, Nurture, Mission, Leadership, and Brotherhood. These concerns eventually evolved into stated priorities of the Franconia Conference, which became Missional, Formational, and Intercultural. Mosaic Mennonite Conference, formed in 2020, continues these priorities.
Mosaic offers Missional Operations Grants to congregations to support creative ways of engaging the community. Projects have included support for Vacation Bible Schools, the paving of a walking path with informational panels about peacemakers, and community outreach initiatives.
In 2024, Mosaic launched a formational program to provide support and mentorship for pastors, in addition to its leadership school, Mosaic Institute. Mosaic supports youth ministry through the Youth Formation Team and published resources.
As Mosaic receives many congregations into its fellowship that are not of Pennsylvania German background, intercultural competency becomes increasingly important. An intercultural team provides leadership in examining and undoing racism, sexism, and cultural bias. The team hosts an annual prayer and resourcing gathering for leaders of color called Renewing Nations and Generations. The team also facilitatees intercultural inventories of the Mosaic staff and board, and a caucus for white people to reflect on their antiracism journey.
Early Years[edit]
On February 23, 2020, Mosaic ordained Charlene Smalls to ministry at Ripple Church in Allentown, PA. She was the first African American woman to be ordained by Mosaic, as well as in the former Franconia and Eastern District conferences. Angelia Susanto was the first Asian woman to be credentialed by Mosaic in 2021.
These ordinations built on the foundation of previous ones, including those of white women: Ann Allebach in Eastern District Conference (1911)[3] and Marty Kolb Wyckoff in Franconia Conference (1990).[4] The first woman of color ordained by Franconia Conference was Letty Cortez, who served at Centro de Alabanza de Filadelfia (Philadelphia, PA) in 2017.[5] Hubert Brown was likely the first African American man to be ordained by Eastern District Conference in 1966, and Ertell Whigham was the first African American man ordained by Franconia Conference. Hao Huy Tran, then pastor of Vietnamese Gospel Mennonite Church, was the first Asian man ordained by the Franconia Conference in 1985.
Mosaic Conference formed a few weeks before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic revealed the struggles of many vulnerable congregations and communities within the conference. The conference launched a mutual aid effort called the Shalom Fund, with an initial goal of $50,000. By the time the Shalom Fund closed in 2022, it had raised $217,945.[6] These funds helped congregations and Partners in Ministry in California, Florida, the east coast of the U.S., Honduras, India, and Indonesia.
Intercultural Relationship[edit]
In 2022, the same year that Mennonite World Conference met in Indonesia, Zion Mennonite Church traveled to Philadelphia to worship with three Indonesian churches: Philadelphia Praise Center, Indonesian Light Mennonite Church and Nations Worship Center. They also ate together. Mosaic’s membership is ten percent Asian, with six Indonesian congregations in Pennsylvania and California.[7]
Some of Mosaic’s intercultural relationships are the result of former mission and outreach posts. Franconia Conference sent mission workers to Mexico City in 1958 and maintained a presence there. Eventually the churches planted by Franconia and other Mennonite groups became the Conference of Anabaptist Mennonite Churches of Mexico. In 1995, Salford Mennonite Church began a sister church relationship with the congregation Dios con Nosotros. More than 100 people from Salford visited Dios con Nosotros over the next decade. Today Salford supports the pastoral couple.
Conference-Related Ministries[edit]
Mosaic has relationships with 27 agencies and organizations that extend the mission and witness of the Conference. These Conference-Related Ministries include Christian schools, retirement communities, historical centers, church camps, and community centers based in the U.S., as well as some focused on Christian development work in Central America, Africa, and south Asia.
Connections and relationship to broader Anabaptism[edit]
In 2022, Mennonite Church USA held a special delegate assembly in Kansas City, Kansas, and narrowly passed “Resolution for Repentance and Transformation.” The resolution called for the full inclusion of LGBTQIA persons into the life of the church.
The resolution caused significant controversy within the conference (although tension regarding sexuality preceded Mosaic Conference). In 2022, the Mosaic assembly delegates approved a Pathway Forward process in which the conference would discern its relationship to Mennonite Church USA. The two-year process will conclude at the assembly to be held in November 2024.
Mosaic Conference sent representatives to the Mennonite World Conference in Indonesia in 2022. The Conference also made a significant donation to the Mennonite World Conference from the Shalom Fund, Mosaic’s mutual aid effort during the pandemic.
List of Congregations[edit]
| Congregation | City | State |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha Mennonite Church | Alpha | New Jersey |
| Ambler Mennonite Church | Ambler | Pennsylvania |
| Bally Mennonite Church | Bally | Pennsylvania |
| Bethany Elevation Community Church | New York | New York |
| Bethany Mennonite Church | Bridgewater Corners | Vermont |
| Blooming Glen Mennonite Church | Blooming Glen | Pennsylvania |
| Boyertown Mennonite Church | Boyertown | Pennsylvania |
| Centro de Alabanza de Filadelfia | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
| Christ Fellowship | Allentown | Pennsylvania |
| Church of the Good Samaritans | Holland | Pennsylvania |
| College Hill Mennonite Church | Tampa | Florida |
| Covenant Community Fellowship | Harleysville | Pennsylvania |
| Deep Run East Mennonite Church | Perkasie | Pennsylvania |
| Deep Run West Mennonite Church | Perkasie | Pennsylvania |
| Doylestown Mennonite Church | Doylestown | Pennsylvania |
| Fairfield Mennonite Church | Fairfield | Pennsylvania |
| Franconia Mennonite Church | Telford | Pennsylvania |
| Frederick Mennonite Church | Frederick | Pennsylvania |
| Garden Chapel | Victory Gardens | New Jersey |
| Homestead Mennonite Church | Homestead | Florida |
| Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Shalom | Tampa | Florida |
| Iglesia Menonita Ebenezer | Souderton | Pennsylvania |
| Iglesia Menonita Encuentro de Renovación | Miami | Florida |
| Iglesia Menonita Luz y Verdad | Lakeland | Florida |
| Iglesia Menonita Luz y Vida | Orlando | Florida |
| Iglesia Seguidores de Cristo | Sarasota | Florida |
| Indonesian Community Christian Fellowship | Colton | California |
| Indonesian Light Church | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
| International Worship Church | San Gabriel | California |
| Jemaat Kristen Indonesian Anugerah | Sierra Madre | California |
| Lakeview Mennonite Church | Susquehanna | Pennsylvania |
| Mennonite Bible Fellowship | Morris | Pennsylvania |
| Methacton Mennonite Church | Norristown | Pennsylvania |
| Nations Worship Center | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
| North Tampa Christian Fellowship | Tampa | Florida |
| Nueva Vida Norristown New Life Mennonite Church | Norristown | Pennsylvania |
| Perkasie Mennonite Church | Perkasie | Pennsylvania |
| Perkiomenville Mennonite Church | Perkiomenvlle | Pennsylvania |
| Philadelphia Praise Center | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
| Plains Mennonite Church | Hatfield | Pennsylvania |
| Providence Mennonite Church | Collegeville | Pennsylvania |
| Ripple | Allentown | Pennsylvania |
| Salem Mennonite Church | Quakertown | Pennsylvania |
| Salford Mennonite Church | Harleysville | Pennsylvania |
| San Francisco Chinese Mennonite Church | San Francisco | California |
| Solidarity and Harmony Church | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
| Souderton Mennonite Church | Souderton | Pennsylvania |
| Spring Mount Mennonite Church | Schwenksville | Pennsylvania |
| Swamp Mennonite Church | Quakertown | Pennsylvania |
| Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Fellowship | Taftsville | Vermont |
| Upper Milford Mennonite Church | Old Zionsville | Pennsylvania |
| Vietnamese Gospel Mennonite Church | Allentown | Pennsylvania |
| Vincent Mennonite Church | Spring City | Pennsylvania |
| Wellspring Church of Skippack | Skippack | Pennsylvania |
| West Swamp Mennonite Church | Quakertown | Pennsylvania |
| Whitehall Mennonite Church | Whitehall | Pennsylvania |
| Zion Mennonite Church | Souderton | Pennsylvania |
References[edit]
- ^ “Eastern District Mennonite Church,” GAMEO. Accessed 10/25/2023.
- ^ Mosaic Mennonite Conference,” GAMEO. Accessed 10/25/2023.
- ^ “A Woman Parson Who Really Ministers,” www.mosaicmennonites.org
- ^ “Following Her Call, Despite Discouragement,” www.mosaicmennonites.org
- ^ Kriss, Stephen. “Alpha and Omega Moments,” Mosaic News, March 17, 2020.
- ^ Kinch, Eileen. “Shalom fund ends in extreme generosity,” Mosaic News, October 13, 2022.
- ^ Kinch, Eileen. “How Mosaic Became 10% Asian,” Mosaic News, May 18, 2023.
- in-depth (not just passing mentions about the subject)
- reliable
- secondary
- independent of the subject
Make sure you add references that meet these criteria before resubmitting. Learn about mistakes to avoid when addressing this issue. If no additional references exist, the subject is not suitable for Wikipedia.