Tuesday evening’s opening adult worship focused on the theme “Gathered in God’s Spirit.” Juana Nuñez told the gathering that the same Spirit that was present at creation and in Jesus’ life and ministry is the same Spirit present with us today.

Nuñez, a certified part-time chaplain with Marketplace Chaplains USA and moderator of Iglesia Menonita Hispana, presented her message in Spanish, while her daughter Alexandra Bucher translated.

In Jesus’ ministry, Nuñez said, the Spirit rested on Jesus; acknowledged Jesus as the authentic Son of God; and was present in Jesus’ daily life and in his sacrifice, death and resurrection. “The same Holy Spirit that worked in Jesus’ ministry works among us today.”

When Jesus came among the disciples after his resurrection (John 20:19b-21), his presence calmed their fears, and he breathed on them. Then at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-11), the Spirit came in fire and wind upon the newborn church. “The same Spirit that initiated Jesus’ mission,” she said, “is the same Spirit that initiated the mission of the church.”

With the power of that same Spirit, the church today is called to practice mission, Nuñez  said. “Mennonite Church USA has been greatly blessed, and we are to bless others,” she said. The method used by God to change the world has not changed, she said. The key is to spread the good news of Jesus.

Nuñez, the first woman to be elected as moderator of Iglesia Menonita Hispana, is also co-pastor of Iglesia Cristiana Ebenezer in Apopka, Fla., with her husband, Eligio. Nuñez was born in the Dominican Republic, while her daughter was born in the United States.

Meeting in Columbus, Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009 is hosted by two area conferences, Ohio and Central District. Conference ministers Tom Kauffman (Ohio) and Lois Kauffman (Central District), who are not married to each other, welcomed participants.

The worship leaders, Regina Shands Stoltzfus and Joel Miller, went on to welcome the span of people from various backgrounds as well as interchurch guests from Mennonite Church Canada, Conservative Mennonite Conference, Brethren in Christ Church of North America, Church of the Brethren, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) and Christian Churches Together.

Stoltzfus and Miller invited a representative from each of the 21 area conferences in Mennonite Church USA to bring a vessel of oil and pour some of it into a single vessel at the front, where an oil lamp burned. Miller called the lamp a reminder of the one Spirit in the church.

Talashia Keim Yoder did an interpretive dance during a reading about the Spirit’s work in creation and in Jesus’ life. Ted and Co. (Ted Shwartz and Trent Wagler) performed a drama about Peter and John meeting Jesus after he was resurrected.