The MC USA Executive Board has published its updated “Guidelines for Developing Organizational Resolutions and Church Statements in Mennonite Church USA” and appointed a new Resolutions Committee ahead of the Delegate Assembly on July 11-12, 2025, in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The deadline for submitting resolutions is 240 days prior to the Delegate Assembly, which is November 13, 2024, to provide delegates and other constituencies time to process and review proposed actions.
“As an Anabaptist faith community, we have a historic and rich tradition of expressing our convictions and beliefs through statements and resolutions,” said MC USA Executive Director Glen Guyton. “Since the late 1600s, our resolutions and statements have served as a written testament of our understanding of how we join with the reconciling work of God and bear witness to our convictions on critical issues such as peacemaking, poverty, capital punishment, slavery, economic disparity, war, racism and equity,” he added.
“The resolutions process is also a way for all of us in Mennonite Church USA to participate in shaping the future of our denomination,” said Marty Lehman, moderator-elect and chair of the Resolutions Committee. “As followers of Jesus, how can we be communities of grace, joy and peace? Together, we are all invited to discern the voice and spirit of the church. The Resolutions Guidelines were developed to help all of us know how to submit a resolution,” she added. Members of Mennonite Church USA can work through their area conference, congregation or constituency group to submit church statements or other types of resolutions.
Other Resolutions Committee members are:
- Leonard Nolt of Hyde Park Mennonite Fellowship in Boise, Idaho.
- Nathan Luitjens, executive conference minister of Central Plains Mennonite Conference.
- Executive Board member Richard Aguirre of Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship, Goshen, Indiana.
- Executive Board member Rosetta Landis of Lowville (New York) Mennonite Church.
Guyton serves as staff for the committee.
The updated “Guidelines for Developing Organizational Resolutions and Church Statements in Mennonite Church USA” document now asks authors to describe potential downsides of their proposed resolution and how their proposed resolution might be implemented across the denomination. The guidelines are effective immediately and apply to proposed organizational resolutions or church statements submitted for consideration by the 2025 Delegate Assembly.
Any MC USA conference, congregation or constituency group may submit a resolution, using the “Template for Resolutions.” Proposed resolutions must comply with the MC USA bylaws and church policy. Resolutions should be sent to the Resolutions Committee via the Executive Director of Mennonite Church USA at resolutions@mennoniteusa.org.
The Executive Board is empowered not to process any resolution submitted after the Nov. 13 deadline.
Previous church statements and resolutions have resulted in significant, positive denominational changes, such as the “Churchwide Statement on Sexual Abuse” and the “Resolution on Healthcare Access.” Others have inspired the work of the Executive Board staff, conferences and congregations, such as the “Church Statement on Immigration” and the “Creation Care Resolution for Mennonite Church USA,” to name a few.
More information about the 2025 MC USA Delegate Assembly can be found on the Delegate Assembly webpage: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/2025-delegate-assembly-resources/
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 MC USA staff.