Follow up on San José 2007 Delegate Assembly actions
After the Delegate Assembly in July 2007, staff and boards responded as follows:
Action 4 – Native American Apology
We, the delegates of Mennonite Church USA, gathered in San José, Calif., in July 2007, support the joint U.S. Senate and House bills that “acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the United States government regarding Indian tribes and offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States.” [Michael Smith/S. Roy Kaufman]
Mennonite Church USA has followed up on the Native American resolution in a number of ways. In fall 2007 congregational resources were created with information about the delegate action, how it was introduced, history of white Mennonites and Native Americans, ideas for congregational follow-up including writing letters to legislators and a bulletin for congregational use with a litany.
In April 2008, a congregational handout with recent legislation information, biblical background and recommended action was e-mailed to conferences for distribution to congregations. In June 2008 executive director Jim Schrag signed a letter to the House of Representatives, initiated by Friends Committee on National Legislation, which encouraged the House to move the Indian Health Care bill forward.
Through the MCC Washington Office, we continue to monitor the legislation, as delegates requested. More information is available at http://peace.mennolink.org/nativeamerican.html.
Action 5 – Healthcare Access for Pastors
- That we affirm the Healthcare Access work completed since the Charlotte 2005 Delegate Assembly, including the Stewardship of Health and Public Policy Advocacy resources included and referenced in the following pages of this report.
- That, as a denomination, we are committed in principle to providing basic health insurance for all eligible pastors.
- That we request the Executive Board to oversee the development and implementation of a plan whereby all congregations of Mennonite Church USA participate together in an arrangement that covers all of our pastors with basic health insurance.
[Of 752 ballots cast, 93.4 percent were in favor]
In response to the delegate action regarding health care access for pastors, a plan has been developed and is being implemented for all congregations to have the opportunity to participate together in an arrangement that covers all of our pastors with basic health insurance. This plan is called The Corinthian Plan.
Recognizing that each congregation will need to decide about its participation in the plan, a systematic effort is being made to help each congregation make an informed and deliberate decision about its participation in The Corinthian Plan. A target level of 80 percent participation of Mennonite Church USA congregations has been established. In addition, all of the churchwide agencies (MMA, Mennonite Mission Network, Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership, Mennonite Publishing Network and Mennonite Education Agency (in 2011) have agreed to be part of The Corinthian Plan. It is also anticipated that area conferences will include their employees in the new plan.
A funding mechanism has been developed to spread the cost of The Corinthian Plan across all congregations, area conferences and churchwide agencies. This involves the establishment of a Fair Balance Fund to provide assistance to congregations who do not have the resources to provide insurance for their pastors. This will provide access to basic insurance for pastors who currently do not have health insurance. Current plans will be shared in the Delegate Assembly. For more information, visit www.MennoniteUSA.org/TheCorinthianPlan.
Action 6 – Christian Churches Together in the USA
That Mennonite Church USA join Christian Churches Together in the USA.
[Wayne Hochstetler/Susan Balzer; Vote by show of hands revealed large majority, with a few opposed]
Following action by the delegates at San Jose, Mennonite Church USA applied for membership in Christian Churches Together (CCT) and was warmly welcomed as a full participant at the CCT annual meeting in January 2008. Two Executive Leadership staff members have participated in CCT annual meetings in both 2008 and 2009. In addition, Interchurch Relations Reference Group members and seminary student observers have attended meetings.
Personal relationships cultivated at these meetings have served the work of Mennonite interchurch relationships in many ways. The annual meetings have strengthened relationships with existing interchurch partners such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Sojourners. The 2009 gathering provided an opportunity to join with Christian leaders from many faith traditions to witness to Jesus’ good news for the poor in response to poverty in our nation. Mennonite representatives have also been active participants in CCT conversations about evangelism and sharing faith.
At each CCT meeting Mennonite Church USA staff members have worked with others from the Historic Peace Churches to host a conversation on Christ’s call to be peacemakers. Throughout the meetings, our experiences and perspectives are genuinely welcomed. Membership in CCT continues to be one modest but important way for Mennonite Church USA to be in relationship with the broader body of Christ. It provides an opportunity for us to give and receive gifts as we seek to be faithful to Jesus. More information is available at www.MennoniteUSA.org/interchurch.
Action 7 – National Identity
“We, the delegate body of Mennonite Church USA gathered for San José 2007, have been challenged to consider both the promise and peril of living faithfully as Christians in the USA. As a recently-created national body of Mennonites, we call upon the Executive Board to formulate a process that helps us explore our identity as Mennonites living in what many consider to be the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth. We ask for resources that help us live faithfully in Christ-like ways, sometimes at odds with our national culture, acknowledging that no culture is either completely redeemed or completely fallen.”
[Of 659 ballots cast, 85 percent (564) were in favor]
Following the Delegate Assembly National Identity resolution, the Executive Board appointed a task force of primarily Executive Board and Constituency Leaders Council members to guide the Executive Board’s response on the assembly’s behalf. The task group issued a call to prayer, authorized the development of reader’s theater scripts on national identity, cooperated with The Mennonite to produce the February 3, 2009, special issue, encouraged eastern Ohio leaders to produce a congregational study guide and developed a Web site with many more resources, including a worship service outline, sample sermons, stories about congregations and study resources (check it out at www.MennoniteUSA.org/identity).
This Delegate Assembly will feature conversation about what it means to follow Jesus in a world that is not. All of this work happened because the Delegate Assembly requested it after hearing a powerful sermon about Joseph by Jennifer Davis Sensenig, now pastor of Community Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Va., called Enlisted: Called to Claim God’s Power, wondering what it meant for us as citizens of the United States to live God’s call today. (See Jennifer’s sermon on the Web page above.)