Constituency Leaders Council considers survey feedback, offers ideas for future of Mennonite Church USA [Español] By Annette Brill Bergstresser for Mennonite Church USA SCHILLER PARK, Ill. (Mennonite Church USA)—In the midst of uncertainty about the future, the presence of a monarch butterfly on the wall was a sign of hope for those gathered at the fall meeting of Mennonite Church USA’s Constituency Leaders... read more →
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Blog Post
Glen Guyton is the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Convention Planning for Mennonite Church USA. I must confess, I love the youth worship experience at our Mennonite Church USA biennial conventions. Being that I was a youth pastor for 17 years before beginning work for the denomination, convention is what energized me about the Mennonites. Wichita 1995 was my first convention as a youth sponsor and I was honored to be youth worship leader in Nashville 2001. I even first met one of my staff members, Hannah Heinzekehr, when she was a teenager on the planning committee for Atlanta... read more →
Blog Post
By Colleen McFarland The recent announcement of the completion of the John Howard Yoder Digital Library, a collaborative project undertaken by the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary Library, the Mennonite Church USA Archives, and the Mennonite Historical Library, provoked strong reactions. Public comment on news releases and private messages to members of the John Howard Yoder discernment group and Mennonite Church USA staff expressed anger and disappointment with the creation of the library. Some respondents suggested that this project seeks to place John Howard Yoder “on a pedestal” and... read more →
Blog Post
By Ervin Stutzman “The church exists as a community of believers in the local congregation, as a community of congregations, and as the worldwide community of faith.” Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, p. 40 Most of us experience “church” on many different levels. For example, we may feel the presence of God’s Spirit where we are gathered in the name of Jesus with one or two others. Or, we often speak of “going to church,” meaning regular worship in a local congregation. Further, as church... read more →
Blog Post
Luke A. Hartman is Vice President for Enrollment at Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.), and a member of the Communities of Hope Team for Mennonite Church USA. In August 2012 he presented a paper at the Mennonite Higher Education Faculty Conference titled, Why ‘diversity’ is not a choice but a gift and responsibility of faithful living as Christians. His paper remains relevant for Mennonite institutions and congregations, especially as trainings on intercultural competency are happening across the country. Due to length, his paper will be presented as a three-part series. This is part one. Find part two here and also part... read more →
Blog Post
These words were offered by Tom Kauffman during an open mic time near the end of the Constituency Leaders Council meeting in North Newton, Kan., March 20 - 22, 2014. A news article gives further background on this meeting. by Tom Kauffman Over the years I have often felt the spring meeting of the Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) as an imposition on my experience of Lent. For me, it has seemed that the work of CLC (while certainly important) often overrules, imposes upon, or... read more →
Series of learning tours planned in response to Kairos Palestine appeal By Jenn Carreto Mennonite Church USA—Fifteen board members and staff representing... read more →
[Español] NORTH NEWTON, Kan. (Mennonite Church USA)—Eighty-four leaders from across Mennonite Church USA gathered for the spring meeting of the Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) at Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., from Thursday, March 20, through Saturday, March 22. The CLC members spent the majority of their time together offering feedback to six... read more →
Blog Post
By Ruth Lapp Guengerich, co-director for Mennonite Women USA This blog post was originally shared March 17, 2014, on Mennonite Women Voices, the blog of Mennonite Women USA. It is almost three weeks since I participated in the Women in Leadership Project (WLP) women doing theology conference at Leesburg, VA, and I continue to evaluate, reflect upon, and struggle to articulate what happened to me while at that conference. While it is difficult to put into words “what happened to me” here is an attempt at that. Over... read more →
Por Sara Álvarez y Wil LaVeist, de la Red Menonita de Misión [English] LEESBURG, Virginia (Red Menonita de Misión/Agencia Menonita de Educación/Iglesia Menonita de EE. UU.)—En la conferencia Esperanza ... para el Futuro III, los líderes de grupos raciales y étnicos invitaron a los menonitas blancos a usar su poder para ser agentes persistentes de la diversidad racial... read more →
By Sara Alvarez and Wil LaVeist of Mennonite Mission Network [Español] LEESBURG, Va. (Mennonite Mission Network/Mennonite Education Agency/Mennonite Church USA)—At the Hope … for the Future III conference, Racial/Ethnic leaders invited white Mennonites to use their power to become persistent agents for increasing Racial/Ethnic diverse leadership if true multiculturalism is to happen within Mennonite institutions. Thirty-five Racial/Ethnic and 10 white leaders... read more →
All You Need Is Love will feature three plenary sessions. The first panel will set the stage for the conference, exploring how we talk about love, diversity and theology. The second and third sessions will feature a panel of three storytellers and one theological responder. The three storytellers will reflect on different aspects of love from their vocational roles and life experience. The theological response will come from a scholar who draws together the stories, reflecting on the theological significance for our lives. Elizabeth Soto Albrecht Coordinator of Field Education at Lancaster Theological Seminary and Moderator for Mennonite Church USA; Lancaster,... read more →
Blog Post
We are glad to share this message from Claire DeBerg, which was originally posted on Mennonite Women Voices, the blog of Mennonite Women USA. ~~~~ The following is a message I, Claire DeBerg, brought to Emmanuel Mennonite Church of Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sunday, November 24, 2013. It is part of the sermon series our church chose to feature from Mennonite Church USA’s Women in Leadership Project which produced resources for leading congregations in taking on the question and charge: “Do You See This Woman: Undoing Patriarchy and Moving Toward Right Relationships.”... read more →
Blog Post
By Ervin Stutzman On August 19 I released a statement announcing a discernment group to guide a denominational response to John Howard Yoder’s (JHY) abuse. The discernment group met for the first time on Sept. 4 and 5, 2013, in Goshen, Indiana. We spent significant time in worship and prayer, and in sharing our personal stories with particular attention to our experiences with sexual abuse—whether involving us personally or our family members, friends or colleagues. We also spent considerable time identifying hoped-for outcomes of the discernment process... read more →
Blog Post
For those who are following the latest discussions related to John Howard Yoder’s sexual abuse of women and its theological and ecclesiological implications, here is a collection of articles that outline the conversation and developments. This is not necessarily comprehensive, so feel free to suggest other articles to add to this digest. [updated periodically] In early June of 2013, responding to a book review written in The Mennonite, Barbra Graber created a Facebook note about John Howard Yoder’s abuses and what the church must do to work towards accountability and healing. A lively discussion ensued and she continues to add to... read more →