Embracing thePast, ReachingToward the FutureIn 2015, Franconia Conferencecongregations Nueva VidaNorristown New Life (NVNNL),Plains and Towamencin all cele-brated major anniversaries. It wasa time to embrace their past andreach toward their futures. Theyshared more than just anniver-saries this past year as all hold avision for integrating differing cul-tures as congregations in a confer-ence with deeply-rootedPennsylvania Dutch ethnicity.

Since their inception, much haschanged in the communitiesaround these three congregations,yet all have focused on formationand mission, while holding on totheir roots.

Mike Clemmer, lead pastor atTowamencin stated, “We havebeen shaped by our ancestors, butwe had 14 languages representedat our last Pentecost service.”When asked why new peoplewould come to Towamencin,Clemmer replied, “We havelearned to include everyone inworship, and each has opportunityto experience God in worship. Weare rubbing shoulders with others,and we are learning from themeven though we say some thingsthat are offensive.”

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Find more at www.franconiaconference.org

IntersectionsStories from Franconia Mennonite Conference

Winter 2016

NVNNL at their anniversary celebration July 2015

Towamencin Mennonite meetinghouse c. early 1900s

Plains Mennonite Church dedicates the new park November 2006

EditorialChange is a natural course of life.We know that change is alwaystaking place whether it is in ourdaily activities or thinking. Asyou read through this issue youwill see this is happening withinour community as we celebratethe 27+ years of ministry of thefirst woman credentialed withinthe conference, the legacies of ourcongregations, and a host of newlycredentialed leaders and ministryinitiatives. Our God is a God ofchange which is the basic reasonbehind the resurrection story. We as God’s people have theresponsibility to discern God’sSpirit when changes need to bemade. The Bible says inEcclesiastes that there arechanges throughout the seasons.However, change for the sake ofchange can be wasteful as it is notpromoted by God and his Spirit.

Indeed there is nothing new underthe sun so while changes weexperience may sometimes beuncomfortable, whatever changewe make or direction we go Godhas already been there and walksthrough it with us. It is my wishthat we will be at a place verysoon that we can see the possibili-ties for more change towardgreater transformation.

— Ertell Whigham, Executive Minister

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At Plains, the future is not oriented to the past; however, the heritage is valued as seen inthe many artifacts displayed for their anniversary celebration. Along with many historical-ly-familiar names like Alderfer, Rittenhouse, Moyer, etc., there are new faces, suggestinghow Plains is reaching out to families from the Congo, Vietnam, Iraq, India and other non-western countries.

While Nueva Vida Norristown New Life (NVNNL) celebrated 25 years this past July, theircelebration harkened to 1917, when the Franconia Norristown Mission began. This missionled to the development of First Mennonite Church, then largely of Anglo ethnicity. Over theyears there was the birth of Bethel Mennonite under African-American leadership; andlater Iglesia Menonita Hispana Fuentes de Salvación began using space in the FirstMennonite building. In 1990, out of a call to be a greater witness of what it meant to be thechurch in Norristown, all three congregation became what is known today as NVNNL.

While embracing their past, all three Franconia congregations are reaching to expand theirexisting community involvement. As NVNNL celebrated their anniversary under tents intheir parking lot, it was an elaboration of what they do each month during the summer. JimWilliams, a long-time lay leader said, “We canvass the neighborhood, hand out flyersinviting everyone to outdoor worship and a congregational meal.” Marta Castillo, one ofthree pastors, remarked, “From the beginning it was in our DNA, first reaching out toJewish, then African-American, then Spanish.”

The Plains Park draws community persons every day for family meals in the pavilion, achildren’s playground, a professionally laid-out disc golf course, basketball court andplaying fields. “The park is a good reminder that church space is public space,” MichaelDerstine, Plains lead pastor, reminds us.

The Plains meetinghouse is also utilized by various community programs, such as theBangla School for teaching Bengali-American children their native culture, KeystoneOpportunities with civic and ESL classes, girl scouts, Bridge of Hope events, and others.

Mike Clemmer, lead pastor at Towamencin, is the chaplain for the Towamencin fire compa-ny, which has lead to an annual “community volunteer appreciation Sunday, where peoplecome to our church who would not have come otherwise. Right now we have so many visi-tors on any given Sunday that the pastor can’t meet them all. Many have not been to churchfor years.”

Towamencin members are also part of a regu-lar weekly prayer meeting envisioned by acouple of young lay men. Mike Clemmercited other persons who got involved in thecommunity such as, “Joe Pearson, leading outin disaster service for many years, the visionfor mission represented by Wendell Weaverwho came from Norristown, and Curt Stoudt’slong time service in the canning ministry, andfolks serving at Care and Share.”

These three congregations, all rooted inFranconia culture and history, are quitediverse in the manner in which they are uti-lizing their common roots for contemporaryoutreach and witness. These are occasions forcelebration, whether for 300, or 250, or 25years, as expressed well in Justin Yoder’swords he wrote for the Plains anniversaryhymn, “Oh, let us join the great refrain sus-tained by voice come and gone. Raise to Goda joyful strain and trust that the song willecho on.” — Ricahrd J. Lichty, historian

IntersectionsVolume 80, Issue 1

Franconia Conference1000 Forty Foot Rd.Lansdale, PA 19446

Barbie Fischer,Communication Manager

Dawn Ranck Hower, Design

Intersections is now available inEnglish, Spanish, Indonesian, andVietnamese. For copies, contact office@franconiaconference.org.

@franconiamc#fmclife

FranconiaMC

First Female Credentialed Leader retires after 27+ years of serviceAfter several years in conversation, discernment, and prayer about the question of women in leader-ship, the 1987 assembly delegates of Franconia Conference voted to allow congregations to requestcredentialing for female leaders. The following year the conference credentialed Marty Kolb-Wykoff,making her the first female credentialed leader in the conference. At that time she was serving atTaftsville Mennonite Church in Vermont. Long before that, using her spiritual gifts of faith, gentleness,and patience, Marty Kolb-Wyckoff heard and accepted a call from God to be a minister of the gospel.

In the 1970’s Marty served as a teacher, coach and resident director at Eastern Mennonite HighSchool. She also served as the cook on wheels in Out-Spokin’s bicycling ministry, and hostess at theWashington, DC Guest House. In the early 1980’s she was a voluntary service unit spiritual directorand dove into graduate work at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, culminating in aMasters of Divinity from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana in 1985.Coming back to Franconia Conference gave her the recognition that someone besides God had noticedand welcomed her pastoral gifts; this led to her 9 years in Vermont, followed by service back inIndiana at Waterford Mennonite Church, before returning to Franconia Conference to become the

chaplain at Rockhill Mennonite Community for the past 14 years.

Marty has recently begun another chapter of her life—still welcoming guests, still sharing spiritual direction, still preaching onoccasion, still providing lay leadership at Methacton Mennonite Church, but retired from formal ministry.

She remembers her call to ministry as being unable to ignore “The Hound of Heaven” who pursued her. The process of being cre-dentialed was one of growing into that affirmation from God as well as her wonderful overseers, as she honed the skills needed foreach new position to which she was called.

Some highlights of her tenure as a pastor were: leaning into the role of preaching as a solo pastor, enjoying it more than she expect-ed, and then being on a pastoral team with Joe Miller. At Waterford Mennonite Church, she enjoyed ministry with those in the laststage of life, which made a natural transition into chaplaincy at Rockhill Community.

As Marty begins her retirement the conference welcomed the credentialing of their fist woman of color; an event that might nothave been possible without Marty’s journey. Marty has helped to change our historical reality, our present discernment and thehope of our future. — Sandy Drescher-Lehman, Pastor of Pastoral Care at Souderton Mennonite Church

The year 2015 was one of recognizingnew leaders in Franconia Conference.We saw the first ordination of a millen-nial, and the licensing of our firstwoman of color. Calls have come fromsome of our most historic congregationsand our newest. The churches are rural,suburban and urban. We’re recognizingthe sons and daughters of historicFranconia Conference families, as wellas persons who were drawn toMennonite congregations by conviction,relationships and call.

Franconia Conference is blessed tohave credentialed the following individ-uals this year:• Leticia Cortes, licensed toward ordi-

nation, pastor, Centro de Alabanza• Mike Ford, ordained, associate pas-

tor of youth, Blooming Glen• Nathan Good, licensed toward ordi-

nation, associate pastor of worshipand youth, Swamp

• Joe Hackman, ordained, lead pastor,Salford

• Jessica Hedrick, licensed for specif-ic ministry, pastor of children’s min-istry, Souderton

• Samantha Lioi, ordained, associatepastor, East Chestnut Street, calledfrom Whitehall

• Fernando Loyola, licensed towardordination, pastor, Centro deAlabanza

• Josh Meyer, ordained, associate pas-tor, Franconia

• Angela Moyer, ordained, pastor,Ripple

• Penny Naugle, licensed toward ordi-nation, chaplain at RockhillCommunity, called from Plains

• Ubaldo Rodriguez, ordained, on mis-sion in the Philippines, called fromNew Hope Fellowship

• Conrad Swartzentruber, licensedtoward ordination, Superintendent atDock/Penn View, called from Plains

• Kris Wint, ordained, lead pastor,Finland

Conference Related Ministries (CRMs) are organiza-tions that collaborate with Franconia Conference and serve congregations and neighborhoods in the name of Jesus. To see afull list of CRMs, head to franconiaconference.org/directory.

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2015 Newly Credentialed Leaders

2015 Missional Operations GrantsMissional Operations Grants (MOGs) are available to allFranconia Mennonite Conference congregations for creativepartnerships and new possibilities for missional engagementboth distant and nearby. The ministries and projects thathave been funded by Missional Operations Grants are thosethat are building on the Mennonite tradition of faith and wantto try new initiatives to find new and creative ways to engageothers, seeking ways to reach out to their communities or topeople around the globe. To apply for a Mission Operationsgrant go to http://franconiaconference.org/mission/steward-ship/.

In 2015, Franconia Conference awarded 11 MOGs totalingover $40,000, with grants ranging from $900 – $5,000. Hereare the ministries and projects that received an MOG:• Make it Rain! partnership with Souderton Mennonite

Church.• Leadership development mission trip to Cuba with

Norristown New Life.• Bike and Sol/ Project Haven partnership with

Perkiomenville.• Spanish Ministry start-up at Garden Chapel.• Collaborative youth ministry & leadership development in

the Lehigh Valley.• Salem Mennonite Church partnership with other local

churches for cemetery upkeep.• Perkiomenville Cross Cultural minister.• Plains partnership with Peace Proclamation Ministry.• Alpha and Garden Chapel partner for blanket ministry.• NVNNL anniversary celebration.• Plains and Spring Mount for ministry to veterans.

Find out more about each of these MOGs at: http://franconiaconference.org/mission/stewardship/

Conference Financial UpdateJanuary 2016

12 Months (FY 2015-16 unaudited))Operating Budget Actual Budget Last Year

REVENUECongregational contrib. $391,943 $376,264 $376,310Properties Subsidy $348,000 $348,000 $355,992All Other Sources $ 90,582 $ 94,482 $ 79,209

_________ _________ _________Total Revenue (+) $830,525 $818,746 $811,411

EXPENSESMinistries/Programs $588,740 $635,943 $607,409Support Services $172,738 $182,787 $249,963

_________ _________ _________Total Expenses (-) $761,478 $818,730 $857,372

_________ _________ _________NET $ 69,047 $ 16 ($ 45,961)

Left: Make It Rain, solar panel installation for awell pump.

Tony Reyes, cross cultural minister atPerkiomenville Mennonite Church.

To apply for an MOG visit:http://franconiaconference.org/mission/stewardship/

Read the full stories at franconiaconference.org/intersections