Mennonite Weekly Review

PASADENA, Calif. — While coming from many nations, they had some similarities: culture shock, passion for the gospel and a desire to connect more to Mennonite Church USA.

First-generation immigrant Mennonites gathered in Pasadena, Calif., to share stories and resources. — Photo by Madeline Maldonado/MC USA

About 55 people from first-generation immigrant congregations in the Pacific Southwest, Southeast and Western District conferences of MC USA gathered for a symposium April 24-25 at Pasadena Mennonite Church.

In one activity, table groups drew pictures symbolizing participants’ present and desired future relationship with MC USA.

“At my table, we drew two half circles to symbolize the two different worlds of the first-generation immigrants and the people who have been in the denomination for a long time,”said Madeline Maldonado, a symposium facilitator.

“And then we drew a bridge between these two half circles to show how we desire to have a mutual exchange between these two groups. It symbolized how the flow of ideas needs to go in both directions — to be an even exchange.”

At another table group, the image of fire emerged. Inside the fire, there were many heads, meant to symbolize the various kinds of people in the church.

“The sense about the fire idea was that when fire burns, it unites everything within the flame,” Maldonado said. “The drawing seemed to be saying that we need the fire of God and the passion of the gospel to unify us.”

Maldonado is also co-pastor of Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Arca de Salvación (Ark of Salvation Evangelical Mennonite Church) in Fort Myers, Fla.

“First-generation immigrant congregations have many gifts, such as evangelizing and church-planting and establishing Bible institutes — not only here in the states but also in our homelands,” she said. “But there is often no avenue for us to share these gifts or to receive the strengths from longtime congregations.”

The planners wanted to provide a forum for immigrants to share resources, said Iris de León-Hartshorn, a planner and facilitator of the event.