visit on: June 23, 2019
- Their website is here. Check out their links tab for information on donations and everything Mennonite!
- They serve their community by sponsoring and contributing to the a local organization, Twin Valley Food Pantry (TVFP)
- Click here for their Women's ministry meeting Tuesday mornings.
- Their vision is God's vision: equipping, sending and supporting missions locally and internationally. See who is involved here.
- CMC's well-written heritage story.
"Our Living HIStory Mission: Joyfully Living Christ's Story to Benefit Others"
Tim, Rachel Mast, hubby and Sadie, Pastor Bob Petersheim, and me
Conestoga's sanctuary and musicians
Introduction:
Loving how well my husband supports me in all the visitations I’ve been doing. You see, Tim has a difficult time paying full price for things. He especially dislikes paying for tolls. But,he was running late to meet me at Conestoga Mennonite for the service, so he took the turnpike to meet me on time!! Yes, I am blessed with his unwavering support and love through my seminary journey. :)
Reflections
To describe my experience with one word: Intentionality
Being intentional about almost everything that was done was my experience at Conestoga this morning. From the hymns we sang and the scripture we read together aloud while standing, to the wording in the bulletin, the sharing time and sermon. As they do church together, I sense a focused, purposeful and passionate attitude. It was refreshing for me to see how well thought through each detail seemed to be.
My prayer for this congregation: May God guide the congregation to be a priesthood of all believers to impact the world and be less of an individual congregation impacting one another. Take their faces in your hands Lord, to turn them to look outward at the community, and the world to love and serve. Amen.
Welcome
Perfect timing when I entered the building at 9:20 Sunday morning. I had the door held for me (I do love this tradition!) and a bulletin was gently placed in my hand, I turned to see my friend, and recently ordained Youth Pastor, Rachel Mast pull up. She and I connected in seminary class and are serving on the ACC Youth Ministry Team together. She has a new baby… only 4 months old! I was delighted to see how well her family is taking care of them and meet their new little girl.
Sunday School Classes
An Adult Bible Study was offered with a focus on Living in Covenant with God. Colossians 2:1-15 Rooted and built upon Him. But I chose to sit in with the MYF this time.
Rachel led the MYF Sunday School class. It was good to see this youth group again and reconnect. (For last year’s ACC Retreat, our youth groups (Akron and Conestoga) joined together for the weekend and got to know each other well.) As we were catching up on events and happenings from the week, a highlight universally shared was their progressive meal they participated in the night before.
[A Progressive meal - as a group, move from place to place for every course of a meal. Certain church members opened their homes and served the youth - one home for appetizers, another home for salad, another for the main course and yet another for dessert.]
At each home, the youth would share a favorite Bible verse of theirs and what it meant to them to invite conversation. For class, we began by sharing about how to begin our days with thankfulness end the day with gratefulness. The sharing from the youth was meaningful and thought provoking. They were thankful for siblings, birthdays and Bible times in the evening with their family. One spoke of how well they know they are loved by others by the way he is spoken to and about. Another was grateful for their opportunities to compete in shows and performances with her farm animals. It encourages her to try hard to do well. I’ve said this before… sometimes I learn more from the youth than they do from me!
Worship
Led by a worship band of eight musicians and singers. The music was alive, upbeat and energetic. The sanctuary was an inviting space. I felt valued as a guest, to see my name in print in their bulletin and verbally welcomed during introductions! :)
For the “Moment in Mission” a young missionary, Josiah Stoltzfus, shared his most recent international experience. His spoke with a new conviction about his Mennonite anabaptist christian beliefs, sharing honestly how conversations with the natives and new christians shaped and strengthened his faith.
Lois Boyer shared a story for their “2019 Theme: Testimony “Fruit from Sharing Jesus”. By sharing her relationship with Christ, she impacted another to become newly engaged with Christ as well. This congregation is gifted in missions both locally and internationally.
The title for the congregational prayer impressed upon me the focus on God in our lives. The title of the prayer is Our Living HiStory Prayer. HiStory = His Story … in our lives… beautiful. It showed me where their missional focus begins, inwardly.
We read scripture together while standing. I experienced this to be a powerful expression of the text.
Sermon
Pastor Bob enthusiastically preached on Galatians 3:23-25, 5:13-14. “Freed by Faith - Governed by Love”. He spoke about the freedom available to us in our faith in God. Acknowledging the fact that some things need restraining. Rules Define how to get along. Don’t use your freedom to indulge your sinful nature. Use it to fall in love with God. Are we afraid of freedom? Isn’t it easier to have boundaries? Example of ‘Red’ - a character in the book/movie Shawshank Redemption. Freedom is a gift bought by Christ. We do not need to earn it. Leave behind the age of law. Live into the age of faith. He referenced and recommended the book Book: “Heading for Damaged Devotions”
[The Meditations and Letters in this publication help those of us who have been damaged emotionally by life in the world in which we live to come to understand that God's Love is always available to help us heal from these hurts. Find it here:
Challenge
Trust Christ enough to know we have nothing to prove. We are free because we are loved by God. I’m challenged today, to live into the freedom Christ has gifted to me. No boundaries with how I trust in Him.
Takeaway
What interested me most was the conversation leadership was welcoming about the diversity in the role of Pastoral Ministry! One point to ponder is how are Churches facing inward vs. churches facing outward. Are we looking too closely at who we are as an individual congregation impacting one another, or a priesthood of all believers impacting the world?
Final Thoughts
After the service, Tim and I were engaged in conversation with a few congregants about Conestoga’s relationship with ACC. Through a brief conversation with a church member and lay leader I learned: “The conference is visible to us.” A lifelong member of the church, and a third-generation mennonite shared honestly how he knew of ACC and their purpose, but only because of his history and heritage. In his opinion, new members to Conestoga Mennonite might not be familiar with ACC. In order to learn about ACC, one would need to intentionally ask about it. The knowledge is not easily learned or accessed. Another congregant expressed appreciation for the wisdom and guidance given to the congregation’s leadership and that is relevant to the direction of the church today. Even though ACC is somewhere else (physically) it is very much a part of The Conestoga Mennonite church family.
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