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Newsletter of Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference
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Register for Phoenix2013, an assemblyin our own backyard!
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What’s the scoop?People and eventsin PSMC
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ReconciliAsianpeace center is upand running
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What’s coming up atPSMC’s WinterAssembly in Pasadena
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News you can use:Resources for congregations
array of day/ afternoon hikes. One of the easiest and most rewarding hikes is to take a quick stroll
up to nearby Inspiration Point (IP) where you will be awed by a spec-tacular view of the sunset, and with a little patience, might see moreshooting stars than you can count on two hands! The ever-presentcross at IP, which has survived vandalism, extreme weather, and evena catastrophic forest fire in the early 1990s, reminds us of our Creatorand Savior.
Many of the most memorable and life-changing experiences hap-pen during evening campfires, which can be spiritually challenging,energetic, and always fun, providing spiritual growth and new insightsinto life with Jesus and each other.
Camp Keola uniquely brings together youth and adults alike fromthroughout Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference, to experienceGod and learn how to live together in Christian community. At theirbaptism a year and a half ago, five young people from MennoniteCommunity Church in Fresno talked about how they came to a rela-tionship with Christ and his church.
Continued next page
God’s people,God’s creation: Camp Keola marks
46 years of ministry
in the Pacific Southwest
Forty-six years ago, a small group ofMennonites began a search for a retreat sitewith the goal of establishing a place where
people could further their relationship with Christwhile experiencing his beautiful creation. Soonafter, Camp Keola was purchased in the HighSierras on the shores of Huntington Lake, Calif.Camp Keola has seen many changes since thoseearly years. Dedicated volunteers have turned arustic camp of tent platforms and dirt into a com-fortable, forested campus with 12 permanent cab-ins, a beautiful dining hall and Huntington Lodge,affording guests a comfortable and memorableexperience. Camp Keola’s summer schedule hasgrown from two weeks of use per year to a fullsummer schedule, while still keeping a slow-paced and peaceful environment.
Huntington Lake is truly one of California’shidden gems. Keola’s private waterfront featuresa swim area, fishing, and boating; sailboats,canoes, kayaks and paddleboats. Oh, the crazyfun that happens when kids and water are broughttogether!
And then there are the wacky games you onlycan learn at camp played on the recreation field,along with volleyball, horseshoes, basketball andping-pong. Camp Keola is surrounded by a wide
p a n o r a m aCelebrating with the people and congregations of Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference w i n t e r 2012-13
Camp Keola’s beautiful waterfront on Huntington Lake, in the
High Sierra of Fresno County, includes plenty of equipment to
enjoy the water: sailboats, paddleboats, canoes and kayaks.
P a n o r a m a
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Panoramais a
publication ofPacific Southwest
MennoniteConference, whichunites and serves
congregationsacross Arizona,California and
Nevada.
Does your congre-gation get short
shrift in Panorama?Help get the wordout about what’sgoing on in your
neck of the PacificSouthwest by
adding Panorama toyour email
announcements ornewsletters list, orby letting us know
about yourFacebook page.Short articles,
announcements andphotographs are
also always welcome.
Check out the full-
color version of
Panorama,
available at the
PSMC website,
pacficsouthwest.
org
Write to the editor,Doreen Martens, at:
(905) 829-9640
From page 1
They spoke of the importance of the time spent at CampKeola and the helpful guidance they received while therein developing their commitment to a life with Christ.Jessica Mast, former Youth Pastor at MennoniteCommunity and Program Director at Camp Keola thepast several years, explains the unique experience youngpeople have at Camp Keola: “There is a consistent, stablesense of community. The small camp atmosphere meansthat campers do not come up to be campers withstrangers, but instead to do life with their old friends . . .lifelong relationships have been fostered up at Keola.
“I’ve had the beautiful opportunity to know manycampers for several years, and see them grow in their faithfrom tiny shy 4th graders to blossoming young adultseager to follow Jesus in their adult life. This sense ofcommunity is what I believe to be the most importantaspect that allows campers to go deeper in their relation-ship with Christ –– they are in a place where they feelloved and safe and confident in who they are, and thatfoundation allows God to move them more deeply. Keolaoffers an environment where each camper knows thatthey are a valued human being, and worth God’s love!”
As anyone who has been to Keola knows it is a veryunique and special place. There are many ways you canbe a part of Keola this summer:
• Work at Keola this summer or during weekends thisfall. We are looking for summer and fall managers,cooks, maintenance staff and lifeguards. Find availablepositions and a job application at www.campkeola.org
Camp KeolaFostering fun, friendship and faith in the great outdoors
• Come to camp!
•The Junior/Junior High Camp is July 14-20 • High School Camp is July 21-28. • As a family or single adult, you can spend some quali-
ty time at Vacation or Family Camp. • Volunteer and have some fun, too, at one of our workweekend camps – Memorial Day or the third weekend inOctober. • Be a camp counselor, lead crafts, share your gift ofmusic! Keola is a place where all of God’s people canminister and be ministered to.If you would like to register for camp or learn more aboutCamp Keola, visit the website at www.campkeola.org.
–– By Galen Quenzer
Now’s the time to sign up for Phoenix 2013, the Mennonite ChurchUSA convention to be held July 1-6 on the theme “Citizens ofGod’s Kingdom: Healed in Hope.” If you’ve never had the
chance to attend a churchwide assembly before, this is a great opportunity.Not only is this assembly being held in our own backyard, making it muchless expensive to attend, you get two assemblies in one, since a briefer ver-sion of PSMC’s Summer Assembly will be held in conjunction with thebig event. Registration for the convention and hotel bookings at conven-tion rates are now open.
The youth assembly held simultaneously is a not-to-be-missed experi-ence for PSMC teens, and lends an exciting energy to the whole event.Among the speakers for the youth convention is Hal Shrader, pastor atTrinity Mennonite Church in Glendale, Ariz. There are also special activi-ties planned all week for junior youth and younger children, with outingsto fun places around Phoenix.
In addition to business sessions and a raft of workshops and seminars,speakers at the main assembly include Elizabeth Soto Albrecht, modera-tor-elect; Methodist Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, a pastor nationally rec-ognized for her work in immigration reform; Albany (Ore.) MennonitePastor Meghan Good, a passionate preacher, storyteller and speaker onsubjects such as hermeneutics, integrative worship and the church’s gener-
Your invitation to Phoenix 2013
Hardy young souls warm up at the campfire after an
early-morning “polar bear swim” in the lake.
ation gap; and Richard Twiss, a memberof the Lakota people in South Dakotaand speaker, activist, educator, authorand networker among innovativethinkers within the global Indigenouscommunity.
For complete information about theassembly and how to register, includinglodging, please visit: convention.mennoniteusa.org.
P a n o r a m a
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Agnes Chigoji
What’s the scoop?People and events
Donations and volunteers from other churchescame to the aid of All Souls Christian Center
recently, to help the church repair its property.The building is now in good enough shape to allow forsome rentals, which provides a much-needed source ofrevenue to the largely immigrant congregation in LosAngeles. “Praise God for this gift,” says ConferenceMinister Dick Davis, who had encouraged other congre-gations to pitch in over the fall.
More and more churches are making caring forCreation an important part of their witness and prac-
tice. The “climate change action team” at Pasadena
Mennonite Church came up with a practical way tochallenge the whole community to get involved: They’reasking members to take one day on the first weekend ofeach month to “either educate yourself about climatechange or take steps to change your lifestyle.” Throughthe year, there will be a whiteboard set up in the churchfoyer where people can share their ideas and information.
Youth Venture 2013 locations are now posted. Ifyou’re a young person aged 14 to 22 and would like
to spend one to three weeks learning through service thissummer, you’re eligible. You could serve with localChristians in Colombia, South Africa, or Spain or inAlaska, Texas or Florida. Go to MennoniteMission.net/Serve for more info and click on Youth Venture.
Are you sending your high school teens to the Phoenix
2013 Youth Assembly? Many congregations havefound fun ways to raise money to give their youth thispotentially life-shaping experience. Mennonite
Community in Fresno came up with one slightly alarm-ing method: Stage a mock “kidnapping” of their brandnew pastor, Gordon Smith, and seek a ransom in theform of donations to the youth convention fund. Below ishow that one got announced. What’s your fundraiser?
Send Panorama a note and maybe a picture at [email protected], and we’ll feature it inthe spring issue.
Mennonite Mission Network’s Service Adventure
program is looking for people aged 24 and up tocommit to a two-year term (beginning August 2013) asunit leaders. As a leader, you live in a unit house with asmall group of 17- to 20-year-olds and offer guidance andsupport as they serve and live in community. For moreinformation contact Diana Cook at [email protected] or visit mennonitemission.net/serve/sa/Pages/Home.aspx
Have you heard about the DREAMer fund? It’smoney available through Mennonite Church USA
to help undocumented young people connected withMennonite congregations pay the fee required to apply fora deferment. Each person who qualifies for funding willneed to sign a covenant along with their supporting con-gregation. If you are interested in applying or know some-one who is, check out the Immigration page on theMennonite Church USA website:mennoniteusa.org/executive-board/immigration
Educational opportunity: Hesston College has pro-posed to PSMC a “Weekend Event for Conference
Leaders” for late spring or early summer of 2013. Thepurpose is to nurture potential leaders of the MennoniteChurch by exposing them to quality teaching on impor-tant theological issues and introducing them to thePastoral Ministries Program at Hesston College, a pro-gram designed to develop new leaders. The event wouldbe a three-day weekend featuring an introductoryoverview of a Hesston college class and the PastoralMinistries Program. Much of the expense of the weekendwill be underwritten so the cost to participants will be low.The location is yet to be determined but the area thatshows most interest could be chosen to host the event, soa quick response is important. Class options includeAnabaptist History and Thought, Peacemaking andJustice, and Introduction to Biblical Literature. Theseclasses are not offered for college credit. If this interestsyou, send a note with your preference for one of the threeclasses to Conference Minister Dick Davis at [email protected].
The friendly new voice you’ll hear on the other end ofthe line when you call the PSMC conference office is
that of Agnieszka (Agnes) Chigoji, who recently beganduties as PSMC’s new Conference Administrator. Sheand her family live in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Agnes earned a PhD in Linguistics from the Universityof Southern California. She is a volunteer at the localMCC Thrift Store and a Sunday School teacher, educa-tion coordinator and member of the church council atFirst Mennonite Upland, where she’s a member. She alsovolunteers as a Good News Teacher at the UplandElementary School.
In gratefully announcing her appointment, ConferenceMinister Dick Davis also expressed appreciation toNancy Ellis, who graciously served as the interim admin-istrator for several months.
Contact information for PSMC is found on the backcover of Panorama.
Jan. 31PSMC Elder Training,
Pasadena
Feb. 1-2
PSMC Winter
Assembly
Pasadena MennoniteChurch, Pasadena
March 2 & 16Anabaptist Theology
class
Church for Others,Temple City, Calif.
April 5-6West Coast
Mennonite Relief
Sale & Auction
Fresno
April 12-14
Sister Care
women’s retreat
Yucaipa, Calif.
May 17-18Southern California
Festival & Sale
Upland
July 1-6‘Citizens of God’s
Kingdom’
Mennonite ChurchUSA Assembly,Phoenix(PSMC SummerAssembly to be held inconjunction)
Don’t be alarmed: It’s a fundraising joke!
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ReconciliAsian, the exciting new peace center min-istry begun in the Los Angeles area by Hyun Hurand Sue Hur last spring, is officially off the
ground. The Hurs planned a special launch service on Jan. 21
in Los Angeles featuring as main speaker Don Mosley,co-founder of Habitat for Humanity and founder ofJubilee Partners, who has worked for years toward build-ing homes in North Korea as an act of peacebuilding inthe Korean Peninsula.
But the work of ReconciliAsian –– sharing the theolo-gy and tools of reconciliation and conflict transformationwith immigrant churches –– started well before that cere-monial beginning.
In November, the Hurs organized a workshop gearedto Korean pastors on conflict resolution in congregations,led by Duane Ruth-Heffelbower, head of the FresnoPacific University peace program. The idea was toencourage pastors to see resolving conflict “as a founda-tional tool they should have while ministering,” says Sue.
On Dec. 8, another gathering on restorative justice,geared more broadly to Korean Christians, was led by JaeYoung Lee, an Anabaptist pioneer of restorative justicein Korea who leads the Northeast Asia RegionalPeacebuilding Institute, which trains participants fromvarious countries in the region (whose people often have ahistory of hostility) in peacebuilding skills.
“We were happy to welcome participants who cameto our previous workshops, but we also saw new faceswho were eagerly soaking in all the information,” theHurs write of the December workshop on the center’swebsite, www.reconciliasian.com. “Many remarked thatthey were deeply encouraged to see that mediation skillsare not only important concepts, but a life-transformingtool in the Korean society as shown in the numerous lifeexamples shared by Jae Young.”
The Hurs, who planted Church for Others in TempleCity –– one of only two Korean-language Mennonite
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MennoMedia is
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Visit www.
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Participants in the restorative justice workshop held in December for Korean Christians in the L.A. area.
churches in the United States –– were especially encour-aged in November to be awarded a $15,000 grant fromthe Schowalter Foundation. The grant will focus on thethree aims of the Conflict Transformation for the KoreanImmigrant Church Project: drawing on and adaptingAnabaptist resources for peacemaking and conflict resolu-tion to develop programs to serve Korean immigrantchurches ; building relationships between leaders, practi-tioners and scholars across Mennonite Church USA andextending that network as a resource to Korean churches;and developing a library of translated materials and newresources to help those congregations in the ministry ofpeacemaking.
The Hurs are visiting local PSMC churches to seeksupport for their unique vision for peacemaking in LosAngeles, a multicultural region they see as ripe for theAnabaptist peace message.
For more information, visit their website, www.rec-onciliasian.com, or speak with Conference Minister DickDavis about having the Hurs visit your congregation.
ReconciliAsian peace center launched
Jubilee Partners founder Don Mosley with Hyun Hur.
‘Many People Becoming God’s People’ is thesweeping theme of Pacific SouthwestMennonite Conference’s Winter
Assembly, to be held at Pasadena Mennonite, Feb. 1-2. With their blend of lively multicultural music, story-
telling, and “worshipful work,” PSMC’s assemblies are agreat way to learn more about the diverse and growingMennonite church in the Southwest, capture a vision totake back to your home congregation, and get to knowsome really amazing people.
Churches are, of course, encouraged to send delegates,but you don’t have to be an official delegate to take part inall or part of the event, which begins 7 p.m. Friday atPasadena Mennonite Church and continues from 9 a.m.to 4:15 p.m. Saturday, allowing plenty of time to gethome for your usual Sunday activities.
As to the theme: When it comes to thinking aboutbuilding bridges between cultures, you could hardly dobetter than keynote speaker Iris de León-Hartshorn,Director of Transformative Peacemaking for MennoniteChurch USA.
The focus of de León-Hartshorn’s work is immigra-tion, undoing racism and building bridges between cul-tures toward a transformed, inter-cultural church. Sheholds a master’s degree from the Center for Justice andPeacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University inHarrisonburg, Va. She was ordained in 1994 by WesternDistrict Conference and South Central Conference, whileserving as a chaplain with Northwest Hospice in Humble,Texas. De León-Hartshorn was part of a volunteer
P a n o r a m a
5
Help withmoney
Are you on the church
finance committee? Do you
know a treasurer looking for
helpful resources? Look no
further than the Treasurers
Handbook, which can be
found at the Mennnonite
Church USA website:
mennoniteusa.org/resources/
treasurers-and-finance/
This resource includes
budgeting tips, sample poli-
cies and procedures and
suggestions for churchwide
giving. You’ll also find a
Congregational Budget
Packet, in English or
Spanish, at the same web
page.
antiracism team for Western District Conference in themid-1990s and later became a trainer for MennoniteCentral Committee’s Damascus Road Anti-RacismProcess. She also served as co-pastor of HoustonMennonite Church with her spouse, Leo Hartshorn,before accepting the position of Director of Peace andJustice Ministries with MCC U.S. in Akron, Pa., in 1996.In this role, which she held until 2007, she worked onissues related to immigration, women’s concerns, peaceadvocacy and antiracism. Since then she has served as thedenomination’s Director for Intercultural Relations andmore recently as executive conference minister forPacific Northwest Mennonite Conference.
De León-Hartshorn will offer the keynote Fridayevening. Saturday morning will be devoted partly toreflecting on the conference’s story –– how it has grownand changed from 1994 to the present, featuring some ofthe individuals who have been part of PSMC’s formationand growth –– as well as people who now have church-wide roles but have been closely associated with PSMC,such as Stanley Green, executive director of MennoniteMission Network, and Terry Shue, director of leadershipdevelopment for Mennonite Church USA.
Saturday afternoon will be devoted to thinking ahead toPSMC’s future and how we can prepare for the next 20years of ministry as an area conference.
Brochures and registration information for the assem-bly have been sent to all member churches. This informa-tion as well as online registration are available at thePSMC website, pacificsouthwest.org.
By Pastor Sunoko Lin
Ervin Stutzman, the executive director ofMennonite Church USA, and I had the opportuni-ty to travel together to Indonesia for 14 days, Aug.
30 to Sept 14, 2012. The purpose of the trip was a learning tour for Ervin, as
MC USA Representative, to gain a deeper understandingof our JKI Synod and to engage in conversation to discussa possible partnership in these areas of ministry: educa-tion, missions, and church planting.
We visited several cities and rural areas on the island ofJava. Ervin preached and taught in a number of venues,including congregational worship services, pastoral gath-erings, and a seminary training event. We had the oppor-tunity to meet with the leadership of three very largeMennonite congregations of JKI Synod to learn abouttheir evangelistic activities and community involvement:JKI Injil Kerajaan (the Holy Stadium Church) inSemarang, Jakarta Praise Community Church in Jakarta,and JKI Maranatha in Ungaran.
We had some memorable highlights from the trip.First, we witnessed an enthusiastic response to Ervin’slectures from the group of 150 young people at JKI Biblecollege, Sangkakala in Kopeng. Second, we experiencedvibrant worship in every teaching ministry we attended.Especially, the young people worshipped God with great
enthusiasm. Third, we learned much about faithfulnessfrom Indonesian believers. While in a very challengingcontext, they actively proclaim the Gospel to non-Christians through preaching and community involve-ment such as providing free medical care and education.
It is my prayer that this visit will open the pathway forMC USA and JKI Synod to explore global partnership inthe areas of education, missions, and church planting.Both churches have much to contribute to the global bodyof Christ.
–– reprinted from PSMC e-Update
Join PSMC in Pasadena for Winter Assembly
Learning tour forges church ties with Indonesia’s JKI
Below, Mennonite
Church USA Executive
Director Ervin Stutzman
and Maranatha
Christian Fellowship
(Northridge) Pastor
Sunoko Lin worship
with students at the
Sangkakala seminary.
voiced church revitalizes Christian life. They see its rootsin the New Testament church: its learning, worship, com-munity-building and decision-making. The writersbelieve Jesus’s ministry and the Day of Pentecost indicateGod’s intention for the church, “an expression of the newcovenant and a foretaste of the heavenly kingdom.”
“Our conviction is that the [church’s] future lies pri-marily with smaller, more organic and relational commu-nities, which are by nature and design multivoiced,” theywrite, describing how multivoiced churches equip theirmembers, shaping mature disciples of Jesus who are lessdependent on programs and professionals, and who haveskills for effective mission and ministry in the world.With courage and persistence, the Murray Williamsessay, change toward participation can come in churcheswhere Christians have been passive consumers more thanactive participants. The Power of All is available throughMennoMedia.org.
The ongoing gun violence that plagues our streets ––and sometimes, our schools and movie theaters ––
reveals both the depth of human sin and the failure ofpoliticians to address the problem. Sojourners’ resourceguide Putting Down Stones: A Faithful Response toUrban Violence is a tool to help people set down theirweapons and lay the foundation for initiatives that lead topeace. For Christians and other people of conscience, thisresource offers encouragement and guidance to use ourgifts and skills to bring about reconciliation and justice.Available for download at $9.95, at store.sojo.net.
A new Bible study guide spon-sored by Mennonite Women
highlights issues of justice aroundthemes from the book of Amos. LetJustice Roll Down: WomenEngaging the World is a flexible 12-session study by Rebecca Seiling,guiding participants through Amoswith suggestions for reflection andactive response. Topics include the prophetic voice, thechurch’s witness in the world, consumption and generosi-ty, and the relationship between worship and justice. LetJustice Roll Down joins a collection of studies geared towomen’s groups and individuals, including recent titlesWonderfully Made: Women, Faith, and Self-Care, andSeek Peace and Pursue It: Women, Faith, and FamilyCare. It’s available from MennoMedia, 800-245-7894 oronline at www.mennomedia.org.
Over the years, Christianshave often used the bookof Joshua to justify war-
fare, conquest, colonialism, andeven ethnic cleansing. So whatwould a Bible commentary from apublisher in the pacifist traditionhave to say about this book?
First, there are fresh new waysto look at this age-old and oftenmisunderstood book, says GordonMatties, the commentary’s author and a professor of bib-lical studies at Canadian Mennonite University. And sec-ond, the reader must engage in “a difficult conversation,even an argument, with the text.”
Joshua (Herald Press, $29.99) is the 25th volume in theBelievers Church Bible Commentary series.
“This commentary imagines the book of Joshua as aparticipant in an intra-biblical conversation in whichJoshua interprets other texts, and other texts interpretJoshua,” says Matties. “Viewed that way, the Bible itselfbears witness to a lively, if painful, debate about the rela-tionship between violence and the identity and mission ofGod’s people.”
Matties cautions Christians about hearing what theywant to hear when they read Joshua and other difficultsections of the Bible. This includes those who believeJoshua justifies war as well as those who reject war. “Wedo well to foster an openness to the unexpected,” he says.Reading Joshua carefully will push Christians not to settlefor easy answers or to give up too soon, says Matties.“This commentary is a plea to pay attention to a difficulttext, a text we might well call a ‘text of terror,’” he added.“In a time of religious justification for terrorism andcounter-terrorism, Joshua may be a book for our time.”
The Believers Church Bible Commentary is a cooper-ative project of Mennonite Church USA and several otherAnabaptist bodies. The set to date can be purchased atwww.MennoMedia.org/store, or by calling 800-245-7894 and can also be downloaded from Logos BibleSoftware at www.Logos.com.
In most Christian renewal movementsin history, say Sian and Stuart Murray
Williams (author of The NakedAnabaptist), believers have turned backto what they call a “multivoiced” modelof church, in which the whole commu-nity, not just a few select individuals, is“gifted, called, empowered, and expect-ed to be involved in all aspects of churchlife.” In The Power of All: Building a Multivoiced Church(Herald Press, $15.99), the authors examine how a multi-
PSMC contacts
ModeratorBrian Fry
BrianFry@
pacificsouthwest.org
Conference MinisterDick Davis
dickdavis@
pacificsouthwest.org
214-608-6334
Resource Advocate
Barbara Ewy
Conference Office379 N. Campus Ave.
Upland, CA 91786
Administrator:
Agnes Chigoji
agneschigoji@
pacificsouthwest.org
909-243-5003
Office Hours: 9 -11 a.m.
Tuesday & by appointment
Web site: www.pacificsouthwest.org
News you can use: Resources for congregations
Support for PSMCPacific Southwest Mennonite Conference
gathers California, Arizona and Nevada
churches in partnership for leadership,
mission and congregational renewal.
Giving by congregations and individuals
ensures that conference ministers are
funded, mission activities flourish, and
resources are available for church nurture.
Donations may be sent to:
PSMC, 379 N. Campus Ave., Upland, CA 91786
P a n o r a m a
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Pacific Southwest
Mennonite
Conference
