


Love Has No Borders: Summer Fest 2025
By Becky Helmuth, incoming conference moderator
At the center of this year’s Summer Fest was not a new strategic initiative, a denominational debate, or even a set of polished proposals. It was a table.
Not a metaphorical table, but an actual one – set in the sanctuary of Waterford Mennonite Church, Goshen, as we gathered from across Indiana and Michigan to remember, to reflect, and to be re-formed together. On Saturday evening, as bread was broken and the cup lifted, we embodied the very theme that had carried us through two days of worship, discernment, and joyful connection: Love has no borders.
The weekend began, as so much good church life does, with song. On Friday evening, voices rose in harmony as we sang Come Away from Rush and Hurry and May You Be Rooted and Grounded in Love. These were not simply hymns but gentle imperatives – a call to slow our pace, to let go of agendas, and to make space for the Spirit.
Quinn Brenneke’s sermon, Crossing Borders, Seeing Jesus, invited us to consider the incarnation as a crossing – God choosing to move toward us in vulnerability. Using Ephesians 2 as a guide, we were reminded that the dismantling of dividing walls is the ongoing work of Christ’s body. It is also the work of our conference.
That incarnational work continued Saturday morning during worship shaped by stories from the South Texas borderlands. As Cindy Voth, Katie Misz, and J.E. Misz reflected on their experiences with a Borderlands Tour through Mennonite Mission Network and the painful clarity that came with proximity, we were asked to reconsider what it means to be a community shaped by mercy, not security.


Discerning in Community through our delegate sessions was not a detour from this worshipful rhythm – it was its natural extension. Moderator Steve Slagel led us through a full agenda with both clarity and humor, reminding us that good governance is not at odds with joy. Reports were received. A spending plan was approved. The conference affirmed the slate of leaders presented by the Gifts Development Team with near unanimity.
There were questions, of course. About investment draw rates and denominational accountability fees. About giving patterns and fundraising expectations. These questions, asked in good faith, were reminders that stewardship is one of the ways we love our community. That budgets are theological documents, too.



And in the middle of it all, arms were extended in blessing: over Simon and Lucy Muange as they shared an update on their ministry in Detroit and beyond; over new pastors beginning work in congregations across our conference. We prayed with our bodies – hands open, arms raised, hearts soft.
At the close of our discernment session, we entered a time of generative conversation – each table asked to reflect on what season they are in as a congregation. Some spoke of weariness, others of new energy. Around the room, people named the interwoven nature of our stories – how one church’s grief might be another’s prayer, how joy in one congregation can strengthen the others.
The afternoon offered time to move and rest: a wetlands walk, a hymn sing, puzzles and comforters and pickleball in the parking lot. Each activity its own kind of prayer.



And then we returned to the sanctuary one final time. In closing worship, we sang Kombo na Yesu and Sizohamba naye, carrying with us the language and rhythms of the global church. Sharon Yoder’s sermon, rooted in 1 Corinthians 13, reminded us that the deepest kind of love is not polite affection but persistent, border-breaking solidarity. A love that risks. A love that remembers. A love that sees.


We ended where we began – with the table. And as the bread was broken and the cup lifted, we knew again what we often forget: that we are part of a body that reaches beyond buildings and counties and categories. A body that walks together. A body still being made whole. May this be our shared confession and our collective imagination:
That love has no borders.
And neither does the Spirit who binds us together.
Ministry Transitions




Suella Gerber ended as
interim pastor at First
Mennonite on June 8.
She began as interim
pastor at College Mennonite
on June 22.
Ndunge Sefu ended as interim pastor at Kalamazoo Mennonite Fellowship on March 31.
He began as co-pastor at First Mennonite on July 3.
Phil Waite ended as lead pastor at College Mennonite on June 1.
Becky Helmuth ended as interim pastor at East Goshen Mennonite on June 30. She continues as lead pastor at North Goshen Mennonite Church.

Sharon Yoder, IMMC Conference Co-Minister, reflects on learning from Jesus to stretch our borders.
Love has no borders. As I was engaging this theme in preparation for Summer Fest ’25, I realized that there are, in fact, many borders around us. I have lots. And society is constantly inviting me to create more. It’s easy to justify borders. Some keep me from danger or harm. Some support me emotionally, spiritually, and/or physically. Some, however, block me from experiencing God’s fullness in my life. And some cause harm to other people. So, I want to pay attention to my borders. Which borders do I need to embrace for my own well-being? Which can I allow to be stretched?
I long to be centered on Jesus, learning from the ways Jesus encountered meaningful relationships at the borders. With the Samaritan woman at the well, with the tax collectors who connived with leaders of the empire, and with many who were challenged physically or emotionally. Jesus initiated conversation and relationship with these folks on the margins of society. He loved them by listening deeply, by sharing meals, and by healing physical and emotional pain. Jesus loved beyond borders. And Jesus invites us into this love. Everyday.
I long for deeper encounters with this borderless love. Encounters with God’s never-ending love changes me. They invite me to, in turn, share God’s endless and unconditional love with others beyond social, racial, political, and theological borders.
1 Corinthians 13:7-8a states: “Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen.” Love has no borders. Thanks be to God!
Why I Give to IMMC

In the times we live in, where the core human values of generosity and helping those in need are being lost or overshadowed by other issues, we need a strong church that invites and inspires new generations into service on behalf of the poor and those in need. IMMC is centered on these core values of our faith, and supports congregations and pastors such that they can continue delivering the message that matters most.
To me, it is simple—congregations cannot survive on their own, and giving to IMMC is my way of supporting a core need in the community. Join me in giving! Together we can make a huge difference that extends through generations.
– Jim Alvarez, chair of Stewardship Team

Financial Report
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Visit im.mennonite.net/give to find out how you can contribute to the work and ministry of Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference.
Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference (IMMC) is a conference of Mennonite Church USA.
Gospel Evangel Editor: Andrea Dean, Administrative Coordinator.
Contact Information: PO Box 702, Goshen, IN 46526; imoffice@im.mennonite.net; (574) 534-4006.
Missional Leadership Team: Rebecca Helmuth, moderator; Derrick Ramer, moderator-elect; Steve Slagel, post-moderator; Jeshua Franklin; David B. Miller; Meredith Sommers; Rolando Sosa Granados.
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