Unseen host brings harmony in diversity to delegate floor
by Laurie L. Oswald

ATLANTA (MC USA) – The unseen host at the tables of the Mennonite Church USA delegate assembly was no surprise to those who prayed for harmony during the churchwide biennial gathering at Atlanta 2003.

A volunteer prayer team led by Les Horning of Richmond, Va., for the adult convention at the Georgia World Congress Center gave prayer coverage for each delegate session held from July 3-8. The team prayed that the Holy Spirit would help the 1,100 registered delegates from congregations and area conferences to decide on whether to adopt churchwide statements focusing on health care access, immigration and abortion.

By the end of the convention, delegates had adopted the three statements – even though the abortion statement elicited much debate before passing by 81 percent on a vote that needed a two-thirds majority. With 847 ballots cast, 687 delegates voted for the statement, 160 voted against and 13 abstained. The other two statements received wide but not quite unanimous support.

Horning, of First Mennonite Church in Richmond, believes that answered prayers helped delegates to discuss issues candidly but lovingly around the 115 table groups spread across the auditorium, he said. He joined Joanne Dietzel and Roy Williams -- Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) members who daily provided meditations and prayers – in facilitating prayerful work. Dietzel is coordinator of Lancaster Mennonite Conference, and Williams is incoming moderator-elect of Mennonite Church USA, to serve with incoming moderator D. Duane Oswald of Fresno, Calif., in the next biennium.

“One of the functions of our team was to give this prayer coverage for the delegate sessions,” Horning said. “One person would be backstage praying, while two or three others stood in the back of the auditorium. …

“But as far as the delegate sessions go, we are not praying that the vote goes one way or the other. We just want people to feel God’s presence no matter what is going on and those who are leading up front to sense God’s spirit guiding them. We ask God to help them to plan but to know when to step outside that plan.”

Not all delegate business brought voting responsibilities. Delegates also heard reports from teams consisting of representatives from congregations, conferences and agency representatives about churchwide priorities. Those priorities are developing the missional church, calling new leaders and strengthening global relationships.

The team members spoke about how they’ve formed partnerships and networks across the church to cast vision in these areas. Staff and boards of churchwide agencies – Mennonite Mission Network, Mennonite Publishing Network, Mennonite Education Agency and MMA – also gave reports.

And Jim Schrag, executive director for Mennonite Church USA, discussed how much the area conferences and congregations are growing in their capacities to deal with membership issues. Much of that growth has come as a result of a thorough process and mutual trust.

Many delegates affirmed the developing missional vision of the denomination and also said they feel that the process for dealing with membership issues is working. They expressed joy at of seeing how the new church is moving from a heavy focus on membership concerns to more missional excitement.

“We are really excited and feel a lot of anticipation at our table about the missional component of our new denomination,” said delegate Jim Ralph, pastor of Bally (Pa.) Mennonite a delegate at table two.

Delegate Kevin Goertzen of Goessel, Kan., representing table 85, said, “Our table is very pleased with the process of how the membership guidelines are being implemented. Even though some of us may not always be pleased with the outcome of the process, we realize that it is difficult and time-consuming and believe that because people are willing to undergo the process, the future of our church will be stronger because relationships and trust are stronger.”

Ervin Stutzman, outgoing moderator for Mennonite Church USA, had opportunities during delegate sessions to help strengthen trust among people who hold differing convictions on such issues as abortion. The church’s statement promotes the sacredness of life but calls for a compassionate response to those who face complex issues surrounding abortion. A delegate vote failed to pass on amending the statement by deleting language that discourages anti-abortion legislation.

Leah Ann Alcazar of Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference was part of a CLC committee that helped revise the statement that underwent more than a dozen drafts before it came to the delegate floor, she said. The committee worked with George Stoltzfus, former staff person of the Anabaptist Center for Health Care Ethics (ACHE), who is primary writer of the document. He created the new statement from former abortion statements held by the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church.

“Where our government takes human lives in our name through war or capital punishment, abortion is an individual choice,” Alcazar said. “Our decision to leave that section in is also based on the fact that as Mennonites, we advocate positions on justice and ethical concerns. Illegalizing abortions places burdens on women who are poor. … Those with greater needs and lesser resources will suffer the most.”

By contrast, delegate Dave Ettestad of Westside Mennonite Church in Buffalo, N.Y., representing table 80, said he was in favor of the amendment. “If we use the argument that if we make laws people will break them, then why should we have laws against drugs?” he said. “People still do drugs but we still make laws against it.”

Compared to the abortion discussion, the statements on access to health care and immigration were less impassioned but equally as serious. The comments made at the open microphone time on the immigration statement had more to do with tone than substance. In many instances, delegates asked for revisions to soften the tone toward the United States’ shortcomings and to use more positive language.

In response to Hispanic groups, Susan Mark Landis, peace advocate for the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board, worked with racial/ethnic groups, Mennonite Central Committee and other agencies to draft the document. Bethany Spicher, of the MCC Washington Office desk for immigration, was the primary writer. The statement asks the church to “commit to act with and on behalf of immigrant brothers and sisters no matter what their legal status.”

The statement on access to health care came to the delegate assembly through ACHE. The resolution calls for a process to develop a new churchwide statement and for the authorization of Access Initiative, a project to demonstrate our commitment to the universal access to health care by developing methods that focus on helping congregations deal with these problems.

Laurie L. Oswald is news service director for Mennonite Church USA.