Jess Engle, pastor of Hesston Mennonite Church, prays a blessing over Marty Lehman and Todd Lehman. (Photo by Cami Dager.)
The MC USA Delegate Assembly installed Marty Lehman as the moderator for the new biennium and provided unanimous affirmation for a slate of new Executive Board members and other nominees, including incoming Moderator-elect Todd Lehman (no relation).
Marty Lehman, who completed her term as moderator-elect for the 2023-2025 biennium, is a former associate executive director for Churchwide Operations for MC USA. She also served as the director of admissions and, later, as an adjunct faculty member for Goshen College in Indiana. In the late 1990s, Lehman was named as the interim president of the Mennonite Board of Missions and served as the senior executive for advancement for its soon-to-be successor organization, MC USA’s Mennonite Mission Network. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in public affairs from Indiana University in South Bend, Indiana.
Todd Lehman has served on the MC USA Executive Board since 2019 and is a member of the Executive Committee, finance committee and antiracism task force. Lehman is the executive director of Offender/ Victim Ministries, Inc., a Kansas-based non-profit focused on community-based restorative justice. Lehman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Culture, Religion and Missions from Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and a master’s degree in Christian Ministry from Friends University, Wichita. He also has earned a certificate in Faith-based Peacemaking from Eastern Mennonite University and has studied at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana.
Delegates also affirmed a slate of nominees for reappointment to the MC USA Executive Board and agency boards for 2025-2029. These include:
- Richard Aguirre: Reappointment for 2025-2029 on the MC USA Executive Board.
- Randall Justice: Reappointment for 2025-2029 on the Mennonite Mission Network Board.
- Kelsey Hochstetler: Reappointment for 2025-2029 on the Mennonite Mission Network Board.
- Horace McMillon: Reappointment for 2025-2029 on the Mennonite Mission Network Board.
- Nelson Okanya: Reappointment for 2025-2029 on the MennoMedia Board.
Fernando Ramos, pastor of Casa de Oración Emanuel, is also joining the MC USA Executive Board as an Executive Board appointee representing Iglesia Menonita Hispana.
Three other Executive Board members were reappointed by the Executive Board for a second term. These are: Susan Hart, Mitch Kingsley and Karen Zehr.
Outgoing Moderator Jon Carlson, pastor of Forest Hills Mennonite Church, will continue serving on the Executive Board for two more years as past moderator.
Guyton thanked Carlson for his service during his term as moderator and presented him a custom pastor’s stole featuring the MC USA peace dove.
Delegates raising a hand in prayer for newly affirmed leaders. (Photo by Cami Dager.)
Delegates extended a hand in a symbolic laying on of hands, while they prayed for Marty Lehman and Todd Lehman in their new leadership roles.
Marty Lehman then addressed the Delegate Assembly.
“I am hopeful as I am often reminded that Mennonite Church USA is not my church or our church, it’s God’s church. The church is always changing and being renewed,” she said.
Reflecting on the quincentennial of Anabaptism, she said, “Five hundred years of doing justice, showing mercy and working at peace gives me hope.”
Moderator Marty Lehman. (Photo by Cami Dager.)
“During this next biennium, I invite all of us to be hopeful,” Lehman said. “Let’s find ways to bring hope into our communities, our bodies, our families and our congregations.”
See the complete list of delegate-affirmed Executive Board members and nominees here.
The MC USA Leadership Discernment Committee rigorously vets nominees for the Executive Board and other board positions. Committee members for the 2023-2025 committee were Stan Shantz, chair, Doug Basinger, Joanne Gallardo, Sandra Montes-Martinez, Melissa Stoner and Isaac Villegas.
The Delegate Assembly will meet again at the 2027 national convention in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Mennonite Church USA is an Anabaptist Christian denomination, founded in 2002 by the merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church. Members of this historic peace church seek to follow Jesus by rejecting violence and resisting injustice. MC USA’s Renewed Commitments state the following shared commitments among its diverse body of believers: to follow Jesus, witness to God’s peace and experience the transformation of the Holy Spirit. Mennoniteusa.org
Written by Camille Dager.