We go to Church among Mennonite Hmong

Hmong Mennonite Community Church, Fresno, California

Pastor Nou Shoua Moua introduced us to Ping and suggested he could sit between Mindy and me. Not to translate the whole service, but just to give us an idea of what was going on. For our second week in a row of worshipping in a Hmong church, we had no expectation of understanding much of what we heard, even though there was some English mixed in.

For instance, before he sat with us, Ping made an announcement. We heard the words “fundraising,” “barbeque,” and “you know, future youth stuff.” After the service, Ping told me that he’s the leader for the youth group. It’s mainly high schoolers, he told us, about ten kids. On Monday nights they get together to work on music, but they often do things after church (though not on this day -- Father’s Day.) Many of the parents want their kids to be involved in church where they’ll continue to hear and speak Hmong. It’s a concern that the kids are losing their connection to the language and the culture.

There were a number of young children in church as well. We first sat across the aisle from a toddler who was was intent on engaging in a staring contest with me, but after we moved to the next row to make room for another family, I guess the toddler won.

In the bulletin, the songs were listed by number. The first (#1) had the tune called Old Hundredth, which we’ve often heard sung as the Doxology, though this morning the song had at least five verses.

I was curious, because a number of people were singing from hymnals, but all the hymnals in the chair in front of me were in English. I asked Ping, and he told me a lot of people bring their own hymnals.

Because it was Father’s Day, the women were leading the music. A group of ladies led that first song and another, then more women come forward to sing an anthem in honor of the fathers.

Before the service started, several men had worked to get a screen and speakers set up in front of the sanctuary. Then there were… technical difficulties. I’m old enough that I’ve seen film and slide projectors malfunction, VCRs act up. Now, even with computers and Powerpoint, it is still not a perfect world. There was quite a bit of scrambling at the computer. (The desktop projected on the screen had the soundtrack for Twilight: Breaking Dawn at the top of the library. Some smart aleck called out, “Just play Twilight!”)

Eventually, the slideshow began, alternating pictures of fathers in the church with inspiring quotes about fatherhood (such as “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society” from Billy Graham, and “Anyone can be a father but it takes a real man to be a dad” by someone or other.)

All of the fathers were called to the front of the sanctuary, so at Ping’s urging, I went to the front as well. If it had been a police lineup, the witness might have been able to pick me out of the crowd. Pastor Moua prayed for us (I assume -- there wasn’t much English in the prayer).

Then the women went to the back of the sanctuary and picked up the Father’s Day gifts. Mindy brought the mug filled with candy to me. The man next to me received his mug from a very small girl standing next to a woman. Another man teased him, “You’re supposed to get your gift from your honey!” I assume those had been the instructions in Hmong.

Pastor Moua then said (according to Ping) that because of the slideshow mishap there wasn’t time for a sermon, so he closed in prayer after inviting everyone to go into the kitchen for baked goodies (donuts and sesame balls among the treats).

I asked Pastor Moua after the service what he had planned to preach on; he told me he was going to preach on the family, from Ephesians.  When I asked his history with the church, he said he’d founded the congregation back in 1990. He and his wife moved to Colorado, but came back about ten years ago.

I spoke with Chang, a church officer, and asked him about strengths of the church. He told me their pastor was very good about reaching the community. He has a radio ministry, which provides great opportunities to reach the Hmong community through the medium. He said the church runs workshops that minister to the community, and their pastor does, at times, make trips to the Hmong ministries that the church sponsors in Thailand.

I talked to another man, Daniel, about what he believed were the strengths of the church. He spoke of the strong leadership and the good family values the church provided.  We also talked with Kao, Pastor Moua’s niece. She said that her uncle preached love, and whenever people faced trouble, the church came together to meet people’s needs.

When we arrived, many people welcomed us, and when we left, many people asked us to come again. It would be a pleasure to return, even knowing I wouldn’t receive the great Father’s Day swag I got on this visit. (And about my mug, which reads, “Best Dad Ever.” The other mugs can’t possibly read that as well, can they? You can’t lie to everyone else like that.)

Statistics

Service Length: 1 hour 30 minutes

Sermon Length: no sermon

Visitor Treatment: The pastor and Chang, the church officer, greeted us when we arrived, and the pastor’s wife greeted both of us as well. We signed the guest book just inside the sanctuary.

Followup by Tuesday Morning:

Our Rough Count: 68

Probable Ushers’ Count: 75

Snacks: water bottles, orange juice, apple juice, donuts, and sesame balls

Musicians: piano (man)

Vocals (6 women, and 6 more joined them for the Father’s Day song)

Songs: “Old Hundredth” (tune; we don’t know what the words were)

“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” (probably)

“Father’s Day song”
Distance to Church: 6.5 miles

Open WiFi: locked guest wifi
Tie/Suit Count: about half the men (and many of the women) wore suits of one kind or another

Church Website: http://mennocom.org/

Fun and flames in Camp Hill

Hilltop Fun Fest

Slate Hill Mennonite Church, Camp Hill

When I was a kid, PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) would give away comics at our school featuring characters like Rocky and Bullwinkle. These comics were really disguised lectures on the importance of kite safety and why we needed to keep our strings clear of power lines. What would those incarnations of Moose and Squirrel think if they saw the folks at Slate Hill launching Sky Lanterns (paper aflame) into the air? I don’t know, but I sure thought it was cool. Especially since the launch was accompanied by a cappella hymns by a graveyard.

This was the final activity in a wonderful event Slate Hill Mennonite Church threw for their neighborhood. They’ve been holding Fun Fest annually for the last three years, and it just keeps growing. Though the church’s first Meeting House was built on the site in 1816, the congregation is  still finding ways to introduce themselves to the ever changing community. This annual party seems to be doing just that.

We found out about the event in a Transport for Christ newspaper (all the best events, we find, are advertised at truck stops). As we arrived, we noticed signs for a chicken dinner, which we would have been happy to pay for, but it was free. As the hot dogs were free. And the popcorn and the fruit and everything else.

For the kids, there was a bounce house, tractor train rides, and a Mario Kart Tournament (okay, maybe the video games weren’t just for the kids).  You could take a tour of the cemetery, enjoy the music and dancers, and/or a cappuccino at the cafe (which was a new and very popular element this year).

We were very impressed to see other local ministries and services that were invited to have tables and booths at the event -- everything from low income housing services to Wycliffe Bible Translators to a Christian motorcycle club.

On the tram ride back to our car (another local church provided overflow parking), I filled out an evaluation survey for the event. It asked whether I would come again next year, and since I have no idea where we’lll be in a year, I checked “No.” I want the good people at Slate Hill Mennonite to know I would really have liked to check “Yes.”

6 Things I Love about Pennsylvania

1. The state flower is the mountain laurel, and the state insect is the firefly (I haven't seen the fireflies yet, but I'll keep watching). Regional foods include cheesesteak, stromboli, and hoagie sandwiches; soft pretzels; Italian water ice (kind of like a soft sorbet); Irish potato candy; scrapple (a kind of fried mush made from pork scraps); and Tastycake.

2. Approximately 75% of the state's population was born in Pennsylvania.

3. Pennsylvania German is the first language for Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonite people, especially in the Lancaster County area.

4. Pennsylvania, along with Rhode Island, had the most secure religious freedom of all the American colonies, leading to great religious diversity among the people of the state. Although much of the historic character of Pennsylvania is rooted in Quaker ideology, practicing Quakers are now a small minority in the state.

5. Pennsylvania began offering a tax credit for film productions in 2004, stimulating the state's film industry. Much of the 1993 movie Gettysburg was, not surprisingly, filmed in and around Gettysburg National Military Park.

6. Among the state's many agricultural products, mushrooms rank first, followed by apples, then Christmas trees and laying chickens. Pennsylvania leads the nation in the production of pretzels and potato chips, and the U.S. chocolate industry is centered in Hershey, with Godiva, Mars, and Wilbur chocolate companies nearby.

Whitestone Mennonite Church, Hesston, Kansas

After the sermon at Whitestone Mennonite Church in Hesston, Kansas, during the transition to a time of prayer, Mindy's friend, a classmate from Taylor University, introduced us to the congregation as a couple visiting a church in every state. A few minutes later, when a microphone was passed for prayer requests, a gentleman stood, took the mic and said, "I can't get my mind off the couple visiting a church in every state. I assume that's by location, but if not..." He did have a point.

We began this project with the goal of writing not just about churches in every state, but also the state of the Church. We've talked to people who are quite concerned about the Church; particularly in the United States. Often they've been concerned with their particular denomination. This last week we talked with a few people who were concerned about the health of the Mennonites as a denomination.

The Mennonites trace their history to the Anabaptist movement in Europe, which followed the Reformation. One of the distinguishing features of that early movement was the belief in believer's baptism; teaching that even adults baptized as infants needed to be baptized again to express their faith (the term "Anabaptist" means "rebaptizer"). This led to persecution from both Catholics and other Protestants. The Mennonite branch of the Anabaptists formed around the writings of Menno Simons, who taught about the importance of living out the example of the life of Jesus (way before the W.W.J.D. bracelet).

The Mennonites stress that the Christian life is not simply a set of intellectually held beliefs but also practiced beliefs. Central to their faith is the importance of service, even to one's enemies.  Mennonites are known for their pacifism, refusing to use coercion or violence. Mennonites have long been committed to issues of social justice and economic need. Whitestone Mennonite Church is affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA and the Mennonite World Conference.

I had an opportunity to talk with James, a retired Mennonite church planter, who expressed concerns about the denomination. In the United States, there have been increasing divisions over a variety of issues. James referred to same-sex marriage as a "presenting issue," a hot spot of controversy that represents many areas of conflict. The Mennonite Church has divisions between "Evangelicals" and "Liberals" as well as "Modern" and "Plain" (not as extreme as the Amish, but shunning some modern conveniences).

Those concerns for the Mennonite movement as a whole are understandable, but Mindy and I were impressed with this expression of the faith in Hesston. We came to the community because Marilyn, Mindy's college classmate, lives in the area with her husband, Kevin, who teaches at Hesston College. They made sure we knew about the church's Saturday night service and the nearby Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum.

So on Saturday night, we attended a worship service held in the community room of an apartment complex in Hesston. A dozen people gathered for singing and a Bible study, led by Ron Moyo. He's a graduate of Hesston College and a refugee of political opression in his home country of Zimbabwe. It was a good meeting, but Ron said much of his ministry takes place before the meeting, when he goes door to door in the complex, meeting with residents  and offering prayer and council. He said many of those residents don't show up on Saturday night, but come to him when they are in need.

We also attended the early worship service Sunday morning (there's a second morning service, with Sunday School in between). Everyone was encouraged to wear a name tag, by the messages on the screen and spoken announcements. The pastor expressed his pleasure at seeing young  and older people at the service, "I know getting up this early is a deal." There was then an announcement for the "Souper Bowl" lunch after the second service, a fundraiser for college students in need at Hesston College. (People could vote with their money for chili or potato soup in the big battle of the bowls.)

There was also an announcement about an upcoming combined Sunday service with the other Mennonite Church in town to hear Shane Claiborne, a Christian activist and leading figure in the New Monasticism movement.

The children in the service were called forward for a children's sermon, in which the woman speaking, Beth, referred to Jesus' assurance that good parents give their children what they need, but one kid was having none of it. So Beth sent the kids out to receive good gifts from the congregation: coins and candy. (Mindy happened to have some foreign money, which she contributed.)  Beth pointed out that if people in the congregation were willing to give on the spur of the moment, surely God will answer our requests. (I believe the coins were added to the coin offering later in the service for the "My Coins Count" program of the Mennonite Central Committee.)

The emphasis on prayer continued into the sermon from Jill Weaver, the Visitation Pastor. She first urged people to silently consider a moment of joy in their lives. She later asked us to consider that the act of joyful meditation itself was a prayer if we consider the source of that joy.

She quoted the Christian mystic, Meister Eckhart, who said, "God is not found in the soul by adding anything but by the practice of subtraction." She stressed that the most important thing was to desire God. And if we don't desire God, ask God for that desire.

It was clear from the time we spent with folks at Whitestone that they had been given a desire for God and His service. What's happening in THE CHURCH is less of a worry when you see good things God is doing through even one of His churches.

Statistics:

Service Length: 1 hour 6 minutes

Sermon Length: 22 minutes

Visitor Treatment: We were greeted by many people as we came in. A sign directed us to the coffee table in the lobby, where we were given nametags and an informational packet about the church (which contained a slip for visitors to fill out and put in the offering plate. We didn't see it in time and turned it in to the office before the second service). There was an attendance sheet that was passed during the offering time, which we also filled out. Our friends introduced us during the service as well, which seemed to be the usual thing for guests.

Followup by Tuesday Morning: none

Our Rough Count: 68

Probable Ushers' Count: 75

Snacks: coffee and hot water for tea or hot chocolate

Musicians: piano (woman), song leader (woman), flute soloist (woman)

Songs: "God is here among us"

"Breathe on me, breath of God"

"Abide with me" (vss 1,3,5)

"Spirit of God, descend upon my heart"

Miles to church: 1

Miles from start: 5,111

Total 2016 Miles: 3,156

Church website: whitestonemc.com