Anna Liechty Sawatzky Interview

This interview was done by Mennonite Women USA and with their permission we are sharing it on our blog.

Q&A with 

Anna Liechty Sawatzky, 

author of the 2017 Bible Study Guide 

"Live your Call"

by MennoMedia

Posted on August 22, 2017

How did you, working full-time and the mother of four active sons, make time to write Live Your Call?

A lot of my writing and thinking was done in dribs and drabs, here and there. I do a lot of driving for my job so early in the writing process I got John’s Gospel on CD from the library. I listened to that while I was driving and contemplating the theme of mission. After I had selected scriptures and themes, I worked on one text at a time, reading it over and over and then pondering it while driving. The devoted time I spent sitting down to work was much less than the time I spent writing in my head. I find that this is how I work best anyway. I like to work on something for a little while and then give it time to percolate. When I come back to it, thoughts have formed more clearly in my mind. Toward the end of my writing time, I had to have some more devoted time to sit down and write.

What is your experience with Bible study guides?

I don’t have a lot of experience specifically with Bible study guides. What inspired me more was conversations, talks, books, and articles over the years that have given me what I call a “clarifying concept”. I love it when someone gives me a framework or a concept to understand something. A very important example is the one I use in the BSG, the concept of mission as “ministry in the dimension of difference.” The author, Titus Presler, gave me words to understand something and un-muddied the waters for me. I have had many other similar experiences over the years, sometimes in unexpected places. It was this sense of clarity with deep study of scripture that I wanted to bring to the guide.

How does studying the Bible empower women?

One of the things that I loved when working in South Africa was how the Bible was what everyone had in common. We worked with a Bible school for leaders of African Initiated Churches and the majority of the students were women. We came together seven times a year to study the Bible. You didn’t have to have other books, you didn’t need to know what the scholars said, you didn’t even need to be able to read, you just had to be open to reading or hearing deeply to understand what God had for you. It was amazing what understanding we could form when we were all working together on a text. The other thing I love about the Bible is that there is always new meaning to be unearthed. You can read a story over and over again and always get something more from it. This process is open to anyone and can be very empowering.

Why focus on mission and service? How can mission and service be applied to home?

Mission is who we are as the church. As soon as we stop caring about those outside our doors, we have lost ourselves. We are all called to reach outside ourselves with the Good News, but for each of us the call will look different. I wanted the lessons in this guide to equally applicable to those who are called to service as those who are called to evangelism. And there are endless ways of doing mission within each of these broader categories.

Mission can be applied at home. The definition of mission I work with is that it is “ministry in the dimension of difference.” Ministry is that which we do for our own and it is important. When we cross some kind of barrier or wall to offer the Good News, we are doing mission. These barriers are all around us and can be found at home as well as far away.

What is one of your favorite sessions from Live Your Call? Why?

Each of the lessons came out of experience I have had with finding new understanding of scripture and life. I organized the chapters in pairs because our faith is so deeply rooted in paradox—Jesus is the servant leader who died that we might have new life. And so it is equally true that we are called to give as to receive, to engage as to retreat. The other reason it is hard to choose a favorite is that as soon as I was done, I could think of things I would add or do differently. I have already had several invitations to meet with groups and I welcome these opportunities because they help to make the study more dynamic for me. I am sure that in another year, conversations with others will have helped me to grow and I would construct the guide slightly differently. I do pray that through the guide, women will connect more with God and with each other in a way that emboldens them to live the call that God has for them.

Anna Liechty Sawatzky is a home visitor with a child abuse prevention program. She and her husband, Joe, served as missionaries in South Africa with Mennonite Mission Network. Anna, Joe and their four sons currently live in Goshen, Indiana.

Interested in materials for fall study? Click here to purchase the 2017 Bible Study Guide Live Your Call, written by Anna Liechty Sawatzky.

Interview with Marlene Bogard by Elsie Rempel, May 2017

Marlene Bogard, currently living in Salem Oregon after several decades in Kansas, has joined the Salem Mennonite Church. In Kansas, Marlene served Western District Mennonite Conference as Minister of Christian Nurture and Resource Library director; a role in which she collaborated closely with Mennonite Church Canada's Resource department.  Since 2015, she has been the Executive Director of Mennonite Women USA, a role in which she collaborates with MW Canada in the Annual Bible Study Guide (BSG) project.

Elsie: How do you see your faith playing a role in the work that you have chosen?

Marlene: I live out my discipleship in my job. When I use my gifts of administration, creativity, networking, and humour, I feel like I'm in a place where God has called me, I feel alive, useful, rooted, validated.

Elsie: What are some of your challenges?

Marlene: Because the broader Mennonite church is in transition, we need to be more creative in offering meaningful materials, events, and connections.  A constant challenge is to imagine how we might attract younger generations of women.

Elsie: What are the highlights?

Marlene: I experience joy when I am with women who gather for support, prayer, and earnest conversation. God's spirit is alive and well in these friendships.

Elsie: What's new among MW USA?

Marlene: In 2017 we are celebrating 100 years of MW history, some of which is shared with our sisters north of the border. Our theme is “Fruit from the Vine” taken from John 15:5. We are happy to announce the publication of “Circles of Sisterhood, a history of Mennonite Women's Organizations” by Anita Hooley Yoder, published by MennoMedia.

Elsie: One ministry of your group, which Canadian women have appreciated, is Sister Care. Can you Share a story with us.

Marlene: A favorite story is about Suzette Schreffler of the Northern Cheyenne in Montana. She attended a Sister Care Seminar in Winnipeg with Indigenous Relations and was so inspired that she is  now leading weekly encouragement sessions with young women in detention centers.  She uses parts of the Sister Care materials and finds the women very engaged.  I believe Sister Care addresses the needs of all women’s hearts, across cultures.

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Interviews from CONNECTIONS

As published in our latest newsletter, we have posted the full length interviews of our feature article Women Ministering in Church Music on our web page.  Please CLICK HERE to go to our Stories/Profiles/Interviews page.  Scroll down to the heading Interviews from Connections and click on the article to read it.

If you missed the newsletter you can get to it by clicking on "CONNECTIONS".

WEST meets EAST

This report/interview is LONG overdue and I apologize. 

With the business of summer followed by the final preparations for our annual retreat weekend, I must confess that I forgot to post the full interview here on our blog.

So... to all of you who read the Mennonite Women Canada "Connections" and came here looking for the whole story .... the reason you didn't find it should now be obvious! 

But.... now it's here and I feel much better!

Hope you will enjoy this post and be inspired to participate in your local area Women's Retreat Weekend in the future! God Bless! 

********************
Interview with the women of

Western Hmong Mennonite Church

Sunday, July 21, 2013 at their meeting place – 5:00pm

Hammond United Church

11391 Dartford Street,

Maple Ridge, V2X 1V6

Present: Cheryl Dyck, Rita Siebert and Waltrude Gortzen for MCBC Women’s Ministry

And joining us from the Western Hmong Mennonite Church were:

Left to right:

Back row: Kay Moua (Assistant Women’s group leader and our translator), 

Seng Yang (Pastor’s wife), Song Thao, Lee Yang (Leader of Women’s group) Chia Cha

Front row: Song Thao (Elder’s wife) Mee Lee (Pastor’s mom) 

Mee Thao (Mee Lee’s good friend from Portland, Oregon) 

See Her (Visiting friend from Alaska) Yer Vang

Rita, Cheryl & I had been eagerly anticipating our upcoming visit with our dear Hmong Sisters and in preparation for our visit we sent them some questions to consider and talk about.

During our drive out to Maple Ridge, BC, the 3 of us were wondering how this visit would proceed. How many women could we expect? Would we intimidate them? Would we be able to communicate?

Well... once we arrived it only took a few minutes and we wondered no longer!

We were greeted with hugs, laughter, chatter and smiles!

Introductions were made all around and we were invited to come in and help ourselves to some refreshments and then Seng opened our time together with a prayer in her native Hmong language. 

They were eager to talk and we were eager to listen and learn.

They had obviously talked about the questions we had sent them and were open and willing to share.

********************

Below are their answers to a few of our questions - with ‘minimal’ editing!

   

1. When did your people come to Canada and why?

In 1980, the Hmong people came to Canada because of the Vietnam War. In Canada we live mostly in Ontario and BC.

2. Our home country and our native language:

We came from Laos and our native language is Hmong.

3. How did you learn about Mennonite faith?

We learned about the Mennonite faith from the Mennonite church that had sponsored the First Hmong Mennonite Church community that lives in Ontario.

4. Are there Mennonite Christians in your home country?

In our country there are no Mennonite Christians.

5. Were you allowed to worship freely?

            Before the Vietnam War we were free to worship, but after we were not.

6. What is the size, age range and makeup of your group of women and what are some of your activities as a group?

         In the Western Hmong Mennonite Church, we have 14 women. 

            We have meetings or gatherings 4  times a year, and women’s group is any ages. 

            Our Church meets every Tuesday night @ 7:00pm for Bible Studies and every
            Saturday evening we have song and band practice to prepare for Sunday service.

7. What encourages you to keep participating in MCBC's Women's Ministry?

To encourage our women's group to participate within MCBC grows our faith; gives us more experience of praying to God. Also get to know MCBC women better through fellowship.

8. What advice do you have for us as a committee to better connect with our Ethnic sisters?

Make more connections and keep in touch through events and non-events.

   

********************

Obviously, we talked about much more than just the questions we had sent them and I've since learned that these wonderful Christian Sisters are so committed to attending the annual Fall Women`s Retreat that they go and pick blueberries during the summer in order to raise funds to help pay for their retreat participation. 

In the hot summer sun, a group of 19, including husbands, picked over 1600 pounds of blueberries – about 64 buckets full and they raised $800.00. 

In the blueberry fields: Seng Yang & Kay Moua

Other topics we talked about... now that they live in Canada.... do they still adhere to their ethnic traditions when it comes to weddings and other life events? They told us that the more ‘Canadian’ young people prefer to be more modern. Frequently, the traditional Hmong Celebration is followed by a Western style celebration.

Clothing...

Nowadays, mostly Western style but on special occasions like our 2012 Fall Women’s Retreat – the finery was out on display. 

Left to right: Kay Moua, Kia Xiong and Seng Yang.

Food...
A combination of East and West

These ladies are looking to get involved! Their hope is to participate at this year’s BC MCC Festival September 6 and 7 by providing the masses with their delectable spring-rolls that they treated us with at the 2013 Spring Inspirational Day.

When the women were done, no spring-rolls were left!   

FYI - We are happy to inform you that they did actually participate in the Food Fair at the MCC Festival and their spring-rolls were a huge success! 

One last group picture before going home!

It was a most enjoyable visit!

Thank you, ladies, for spending your time with us!

Written by Waltrude Gortzen

MCBC Women`s Ministry Rep.

Ingrid Schultz - A Courageous Woman

Thought that this interview would be a good post after promoting the 

"Courageous Women of the Bible" 

Bible Study Guide. 

Allow me to introduce you to 

Ingrid Schultz... 

 ...my friend and a Sister-in-Christ!

We attended the same high-school and graduated together.

We were in youth group together at Sherbrooke Mennonite Church in Vancouver, BC.

Our paths separated but now after many years, 

we find ourselves attending the same church once again since we both found 

a new spiritual home at Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Abbotsford, BC.

Hope that this interview will inspire you as much as it did me! 

Interview with Chaplain/Pastor Ingrid Schultz  – March 22, 2013

1.  How long have you been in the Ministry?

I began as pastor of Comunidad de Fe, a Hispanic Mennonite Congregation in Chicago, in 1992.  I was doing an internship there through the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education (SCUPE) of which AMBS is a consortium member.  I chose to work in a Hispanic congregation because I thought I might be returning to Bolivia where I had worked for 7 years with MCC.  However during my internship pastors Gamaliel and Amanda Falla announced they were leaving to start a church plant in Florida.  The church asked if I would stay on as their pastor.   I eventually said yes.

One of my concerns was how the men of this Hispanic congregation would feel about having a Anglo woman as their pastor.  When I was ordained at Comunidad de Fe on October 15, 1995 the men of the congregation all stood up, each with a carnation in their hand, and in response to my initial concern about how the men would feel about having a woman pastor, talked about a gift they had received through my ministry.  In a moving moment of the service Ruben, a 79 year old Colombian man, who had recently taken a step of faith, said “Pastor Ingrid has been like a mother to me”.       

I was pastor of Comunidad de Fe for 7 years and then moved back to BC.  In March of 1999 I became a pastor at the First United Mennonite Church in Vancouver.   I was an associate pastor at FUMC for 3 years and then lead pastor for 10 years.  I enjoyed working in this congregation of diverse generations and cultures.     

2.  How did you come to have an interest in chaplaincy?

One of the parts of pastoring that I have always enjoyed most is doing visitation and pastoral care.  We had a lot of elders at FUMC and I loved hearing their stories and learning from their life of faith.  I had many opportunities to visit care homes, hospitals and hospice centres and I wanted to learn more about caring for those who are ill and dying.   So the church graciously let me work half time for 8 months while I took Clinical Pastoral Education at Vancouver General Hospital.   CPE challenged me to listen from the heart and got me thinking more about chaplaincy.

In June of 2011 my father died and my mother needed more support at home.  I learned that Menno Home in Abbotsford was looking for a chaplain and, after consulting with my community, I decided to apply.  I was grateful to be invited to the position and to be able to care for my mother. I have been working as chaplain of Menno Home for almost a year and I love my work there.

3.  What are some of your challenges?

An area of learning for me has been providing spiritual care for people with dementia.  Before I started at Menno Home I visited with Chaplain Mary Catherine Fortuna, of the Purdy Pavilion, a long term care facility at UBC.  Mary Catherine told me that when a person’s cognitive ability diminishes their spiritual connection expands.  I watched her in action leading a service for a group of residents and saw how she sparked memory by incorporated the 5 senses, by using familiar rituals, and, of course, through music.  I have tried to do the same in the services I lead at Menno Home; for example having bread baking when we talked about the Lord’s Prayer “give us this day our daily bread”, perfume when we reflected on Mary anointing Jesus feet, and warm face clothes for a hand washing ritual when we talked about footwashing.   We pray the Lord’s Prayer at each service and this is a place of deep connection for residents who have forgotten so much but still know the powerful words of this prayer.

I’m learning that dementia is something akin to the experience of exile of the Children of Israel.  There is a longing for home, and for connection with lost family members and some days one asks “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”  I see my role as chaplain as facilitating moments of connection, with God and others, for residents and their families who find themselves in the foreign land of dementia. 

4.  What are the high lights?

Highlights for me are those times when connection occurs.  For example, after a communion service, when a resident with dementia suddenly looked up and said: “Jesus is here”, or when a new family member at our Family and Friends Group is encouraged by someone who has walked the caregiver journey for longer, or when a group of residents start singing “Jesus loves me” and Anna points to me and sings: “Yes, Jesus loves you”!

 A Bible school intern told me that he was hesitant to volunteer with elders at Menno Home.  He wondered if he shouldn’t rather do what he considered “front line work” in God’s Kingdom.  However, after working at Menno Home some weeks he said he discovered that Menno Home was, in fact, at the heart of God’s kingdom.  He spoke eloquently seeing God’s face in a community that mirrors both the vulnerability and the power of Jesus suffering love.  I’m humbled by the way residents, care staff and volunteers mirror that love each day.

5.  Compare being a Senior Pastor to being a Chaplain.

As a lead pastor I enjoyed being a part of a community of diverse ages and cultures who brought their gifts together for the task of being God’s people in mission.  The same is true as chaplain.  I enjoy being a part of an integrated team of care aides, nurses, social workers, housekeeping staff, recreation workers and volunteers who come together to care for residents and model a community that cares for each other.  As lead pastor I enjoyed naming gifts in the congregation.  I also enjoy doing this at Menno Home with staff, residents and volunteers. I think that care homes are a wonderful place to learn about life, faith, gratitude and letting go. I get excited when I see people discovering gifts for service at every age.

6.  What are some of the joys and challenges of being a woman Chaplain/Pastor?

A number of women were my predecessors as chaplains at Menno Home. They did an excellent job. Chaplaincy is an area of ministry that has been open to women for some time. That was not the case for women as lead pastors in Mennonite Church BC. To learn more about the joys and challenges of being a women pastor I’d encourage you to watch the videos related to Women in Ministry that are part of MCBC’s Pilgrimage Project (www.pilgrimageprojec.com ). In them Pastor Helmut Isaac and I tell FUMC’s story.  After I left FUMC to become chaplain at Menno Home the church invited another woman to become their lead pastor.  Lydia Cruttwell is a gifted preacher, teacher and care giver who was a member of FUMC and did her pastoral internship there.  I had read a statistic that churches who hire a woman pastor usually go back to hiring a man as their next pastor. I’m pleased that this was not the case at FUMC.  

Join the Tour! - Elsie Rempel - "Please Pass the Faith"

Naomi Unger recently interviewed Elsie Rempel, Formation Consultant for Mennonite Church Canada.  Elsie holds a master degree in theology with a focus on Mennonites, children and communion, an education degree, has taught primary school in a Christian setting for 40 years, and is a grandparent of four youngsters.  Her new book PleasePass the Faith: The Art of Spiritual Grandparenting is a treasure trove of practical ideas and tips for grandparents wanting to pass on their faith to their grandchildren.  (from the MennoniteChurch Canada Resource Centre)

Naomi:   Tell us a bit about your work as Formation Consultant for Mennonite Church Canada.  What are some of the highlights and challenges of your work?

Elsie:  First of all, I should include a word about my current ministry title. I have worked with Mennonite Church Canada since 2002 under several titles. I began as Director of Christian Education and Nurture. After some years we sought a shortening of the title and thought that Christian Nurture captured the essence of my ministry. When my work was reduced to half time and ministry with and for seniors was added, we felt that the term Consultant reflected the more limited role, and Formation reflected the whole life journey of Christians as they are being formed by Christ. Such a formation consultant, one who helps Christ take form in others, is what I strive to be and do as I gather, develop, and share on a wide variety of faith forming topics for our denomination and beyond.

The greatest highlights of my work are:

     ~ Hearing that resources we have produced or promoted have had a positive faith forming impact in our congregations, or in people’s personal lives. I’ve experienced this numerous times with my book, Please Pass the Faith and it has been deeply rewarding. Writing the book  was a particularly intensive and extensive project, so it’s good to know it’s been worth it.     

     ~ Meeting with dedicated and gifted church leaders in Canadian writing teams to prepare worship resources for Leader magazine.  We immerse ourselves diligently in the seasonal scripture texts and our contexts for faithfulness, but it always feels like we’re on a spiritual mountaintop as we arrive at new themes and worship outlines.    

Naomi:  Over the years, you have written and edited numerous resources for children, such as Lent and Advent family devotions, Lectionary-based children's stories, and Vacation Bible School curricula. You've helped shape; you’ve introduced, and worked with Sunday School curricula. What motivated you to write resources for children of the church?

Elsie:  Whenever I work with children directly, I am inspired by their child faith and their insights into living God’s way. They are eager for stories and messages that help them name and claim God’s role in our individual and corporate lives. On the other hand, our current society exposes children to many competing sources of identity formation, many of which can dim their sense of being created in God’s image to be joyful and loving members of God’s bigger family. This combination of opportunity and need, plus my immense enjoyment of children, motivate my ministry of producing and promoting good resources for the church’s children.

Naomi:   Alongside of writing for children, you’ve also provided christian nurture workshops, and written, and edited faith forming resources for adults, such as Prayer Journeys with Children, Many Gifts: Calling and Growing Congregational Leaders,  Leader Worship Resources, and Special Sunday worship resources. How do you navigate writing for children and adults?

Elsie:  The distance is short between writing for children and writing for adults so that they can work more effectively with children. Because I think like an adult it is easier to shift from writing for children to writing for adults, than the other way around, especially on the topic of children which has been my core focus.  However, I also live, work and worship regularly with adults, so working with other adults to create worship resources is stimulating and enjoyable. Because my theological studies focused on children’s faith nurture I sometimes need to do extra background reading.  For instance, as I accepted the mandate to work on ministry with and for seniors, I did a lot of extra reading and interviewed older seniors to add insight to the experience I was gaining as a young senior.  

Naomi:  Your recent book, Please Pass the Faith: The Art of Spiritual Grandparenting, is a very helpful tool for older adults in encouraging/guiding children and youth in their faith journey. But in a delightful flip, the book also tells how children and youth can shape the faith of their elders.  Please say a bit about this intergenerational flow of faith that goes both directions. How can older people be open to learning from their grandchildren?

Elsie:  Wherever we are on the journey of life and faith, God has a place for us. By spending a good chunk of my professional career working with children, and now enjoying being a hands-on Omi, I’ve experienced how much we can learn from and be blessed by children.  That intergenerational flow of faith was natural for many people through most of church history. About 50 years ago,  we began to specialize and develop age-specific curricula. During that time, the church lost many of the blessings of  intergenerational learning, even as children and youth received age appropriate content.  Now, we need to relearn how to worship and follow Jesus as an intergenerational family again.  To do so will involve learning to enjoy and accept children, their child faith, and their child behaviour as unique reflections of the image of God.

Please Pass the Faith: The Art of Spiritual Grandparenting is available from Mennonite Church Canada Resource Centre.  For more information on the author or to follow her blog, please visit http://elsiehannahruth.wordpress.com/