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Previous | Next July 17-23, Guatemala City
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Council Meetings
MWC aims to strengthen its communion
Mennonite World Conference is best known for the massive “assemblies” it hosts every six or seven years. These events attract thousands of “anabaptists” (Mennonites, Mennonite Brethren and Brethren in Christ) from around the world.
Yet, in its 75th year, Mennonite World Conference is no longer only a meeting every six or seven years but a growing partnership – some call it a “communion” – among more than 1 million anabaptists around the world.
During MWC General Council meetings July 17-23, leaders took steps to strengthen their churches’ growing communion. They asked MWC to consider expanding its projects and funding and to consider changing its name to correspond with members’ increased desire for interdependence and partnership.
“We need more than just a conference,” said MWC president Mesach Krisetya of Indonesia. “Perhaps it could be a Federation, or an Alliance, or a Communion. The vision for more interdependence among the global anabaptist Mennonite family members is becoming more of a demand than just an interpretation. The church in the South is no longer the target of mission by the church in the North. They are mature churches. They are longing for partnership. So we need a revised paradigm for our relationship.”
A celebration of the Lord’s Supper symbolized communion in Christ among MWC members. Krisetya broke bread and presented the cup to more than 100 participants from five continents.
They had gathered at Mariapolis Centre in Guatemala City as representatives of the worldwide MWC fellowship of about 90 Mennonite and Brethren in Christ national churches in 50 countries.
The Lord’s Supper concluded the meetings of MWC’s General Council, Peace Council and Faith and Life Council, held halfway between the MWC assemblies of 1997 and 2003.
General Council members responded positively to the goal of broader communion by approving the appointment of an international planning commission to study possible MWC changes. The commission, expected to begin its work in December, will include representatives from each continent. It will determine what member churches expect from MWC and what kind of global organization best responds to those expectations. If changes are desired, the commission will recommend a proposal for action by the General Council in 2003.
Funding
Expanded communion will take expanded resources. The General Council discussed where the funds will come from.
Funding for MWC’s average annual operating budget of about $550,000 includes fair-share dues given by MWC member churches. Fair shares are determined by the World Bank’s gross national product statistics. For example, a fair share in 2001 from the African nation of Burkina Faso – which has 80 members in its national church and a per capita GNP of $240 – would total $1.
A fair share in 2001 from Mennonite Church USA – with about 127,000 members and a per capita GNP of $29,240 – would total about $216,000, or $1.50 per member per year.
Many Council members said each member church needed to give its resources, whether financial or spiritual, in the attitude that it all belongs to God. “We should be talking tithing, not just digging into our pockets and throwing what’s left into the offering,” said Peter Stucky of Colombia. “We should be disciplined about this, and [the fair-share formula] seems like a correct way.”
MWC usually receives about a third of its total fair-share monies annually, said MWC treasurer Paul Quiring. For example, in 2001, the fair-share total should be about $443,000. If patterns of giving continue, MWC will actually receive about $180,000.
“I’m concerned that we set up some realistic expectations,” said Alberto Quintela of the United States. “Perhaps we should set a lower target.”
George Stoltzfus, general secretary of Mennonite Church USA, said the denomination is working on a first-fruits giving plan, which would include its fair-share totals each year.
MWC officers and executive committee plan to develop new fundraising strategies to put in place by next year. “We are working on a fundraising strategy that enables the fair-share system to work as designated and to provide other avenues for individuals and groups to express support for the global community,” Quiring said.
Decisions
In other action, the General Council approved:
- The next phase of the Global Gifts Sharing Project, which involves compiling a detailed account of MWC churches’ resources on each continent. Africa’s inventory is complete, and others will follow.
- Continued oversight of the Global Mennonite History Project, which includes a compilation of oral and written histories of each continent. Latin America’s volume is expected to be published in 2003, and others will follow.
- Starting a Global Young Adult Exchange Program, a cooperative endeavour proposed by MWC and Mennonite Central Committee. Program participants, aged 19 to 30, will study and serve in another country for a year (see “MCC, MWC give birth to new exchange program”, above).
- An MWC-Mennonite Resources Network Sabbatical Exchange for Church Leaders – a joint venture with MWC and the Franconia Mennonite Conference in the United States. In the exchange, the two groups will annually approve a sabbatical in eastern Pennsylvania for a leader from the South.
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– Laurie Oswald, for Meetinghouse
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe tentative site for 2003 assembly
Mennonite World Conference has tentatively set Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, as the site for the 14th MWC assembly in 2003.
The decision, made by the MWC General Council on July 22, is tentative because of recent political unrest in Zimbabwe. MWC officers will visit Zimbabwe in October or November to assess the situation. If uncertainty still remains, MWC officers and staff will look for other sites. The MWC executive committee will make the final decision about the assembly location at its annual meeting next year.
Following the pattern of the 1997 Calcutta, India, assembly, the 2003 event will include Assembly Gathered and Assembly Scattered. Assembly Gathered is the main meeting. Assembly Scattered will include visits to Mennonite and Brethren in Christ communities in Ethiopia and other African countries.
Zimbabwe is home to about 25,000 members of the Brethren in Christ, an Anabaptist denomination affiliated with MWC.
MWC officers had also considered Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as the site for Assembly Gathered, but in August 1999 the executive committee decided to recommend Zimbabwe, based on the adequacy of its facilities and what was then political stability.
The proposed Bulawayo meeting site is the International Exhibition Centre, a large, privately-owned exhibition grounds not far from the centre of the city. It has three large halls, with total seating capacity of about 20,000. There is also an outdoor arena, which is slightly larger than a standard football field. Terraced seating around the arena holds up to 10,000 people. – Laurie Oswald, for Meetinghouse
Councils stress peace, Anabaptist distinctives
The Mennonite World Conference Peace Council and Faith and Life Council tackled such issues as how to practise peace in a violent world and how to infuse 16th-century Anabaptist principles into today’s church. Presentations evoked much response from MWC members, who shared stories of struggling to live out faith in difficulty.
After a Peace Council presentation, Jose Marti Diaz of Puerto Rico said: “Not only is there violence among our people, but violence within our homes and families and in our churches. You can go to the altars and see women pouring out their hearts and souls, because they are expecting help from on high, but what are we doing? We are the eyes and hands of God. Help has to be more practical in our churches.”
Judy Zimmerman Herr, associate secretary for the Peace Council for Mennonite World Conference, and Paulus Widjaja (front row, right), Peace Council secretary, meet with representatives from peace and justice networks in Latin Ameirca and Africa. Back row, from left, are Christopher M. Ndege of Tanzania, Peter Stucky of Colombia, Willi Hugo Perez of Guatemala and Fimbo Ganvunze of Democratic Republic of Congo. |
In a Peace Council presentation, five panelists discussed the biblical and cultural foundations for peace, and concrete practices of peace in their five continents. “There seemed to be an understanding that the Bible and following Jesus are held together; that peace is not just for peace activists, but it belongs at the centre of the church,” said Judy Zimmerman Herr of the United States, Peace Council associate secretary.
In the first Faith and Life Council session, Arnold Snyder of Canada introduced his book From Anabaptist Seed, which outlines the roots of Anabaptist doctrines, practices and discipleship. “Anabaptism is a very important path, but a path that is for walking,” he said. “If we stand there admiring how beautiful the path is, we are not going to get on it and start walking. Anabaptism was not built at once in the 16th century, but rather it’s being built in our midst, day by day, by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Vision discernment teams drafted findings and recommendations from each council, based on their presentations and continental caucus discussions. MWC members approved the findings and recommendations.
Peace Council recommendations included:
- Continuing to send delegations to churches suffering war or oppression, in an effort to express the global church’s solidarity. A recent delegation went to Colombia.
- Strengthening regional peace networks, councils and centres.
- Continuing to send letters of concern regarding situations of war or conflict that touch member churches. MWC drafted a letter at the meetings that decries the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The letter will be sent to leaders in the Congo, the United Nations, the United States, France and other countries.
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The MWC executive committee will also explore possible cooperation between MWC and Mennonite Central Committee’s United Nations liaison office.
The Faith and Life Council findings identified common core convictions among Anabaptists and recommended future tasks.
How to best nurture discipleship was a key concern: “We are mindful that our tradition has sometimes made discipleship into a legalism that alienates rather than attracts. Yet the practice of discipleship in mission, service and the pursuit of holiness continues to be a Brethren in Christ and Mennonite distinctive.”
The report affirmed Snyder’s work and recommended its wide use in church membership courses, identity-building and ecumenical dialogue.
Future tasks include having each region discuss the common Anabaptist core beliefs identified in their churches and then send these to the Faith and Life Council at the MWC office before 2002. The Faith and Life Council will prepare a statement of contemporary core convictions, to be discussed at the MWC assembly in 2003. – Laurie Oswald, for Meetinghouse
Heisey to be MWC’s first woman president
An African man dreamed one night that a “sister” would be the next president of Mennonite World Conference. His dream will come true in 2003.
The MWC General Council elected Nancy Heisey of Harrisonburg, Va., as MWC president-elect July 21. Heisey, associate professor of biblical studies and church history at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg,
Hancy Heisey |
will be the first woman president in MWC’s 75-year history. She is also the first president-elect, a position created for training purposes.
Heisey will succeed Mesach Krisetya of Indonesia, who currently serves with vice-president Bedru Hussein of Ethiopia. She will become president at MWC’s 2003 assembly, tentatively scheduled for Zimbabwe.
Her election surprised some, but not the African dreamer. He spoke of his dream to MWC leaders several days before the election, said Larry Miller, MWC executive secretary. “He wanted to tell us beforehand, because if you wait to tell the dream after the event happens, then people think you made it up. In Africa, dreams are taken very seriously and are seen as signs from God.”
Immediately after the election, Heisey said: “The work of God is bigger than all of us. Each one of us is a part of that work. It’s a task that none can do by ourselves, but we all can do together.”
Heisey is secretary of MWC’s Theological Education for Five Continents program. She worked with Mennonite Central Committee for 18 years, including serving as associate executive secretary from 1989 to 1992. She was the administrator of MCC’s program in Burkina Faso and an administrator in MCC’s Africa department. Twelve years ago, she and her husband, Paul Longacre, travelled around the globe to get feedback on mission efforts of North American Mennonite mission agencies.
Heisey was elected from a slate of three nominees presented to the General Council by the nominating committee. – Laurie Oswald, for Meetinghouse
MCC, MWC give birth to new exchange program
Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite World Conference approved a plan at the MWC General Council meetings to move forward with a new youth exchange program. The Global Youth Exchange Program could begin as early as mid-2001.
The program, said MCC executive director Ron Mathies, is an opportunity for MCC and MWC to expand their relationship, and to work together to build links between anabaptist churches worldwide. The exchange program would offer Christian youth from across the globe the chance to serve in another culture for one year. For example, a Brazilian youth might travel to Mozambique, or a Taiwanese youth could serve in Bolivia.
Ana Zorrilla, MCC Visitor Exchange Programs director, who presented the exchange program proposal at the MWC General Council meeting, believes the program will benefit participants and the entire church. “Participants will see how other people live and handle some of the same problems they face in their country. And this is a chance to emphasize what church communities can offer. An entire community can benefit from the exchange and find new ways of looking at the world around them.”
MCC currently operates the International Visitor Exchange Program (IVEP) and Serving and Learning Together (SALT). IVEP brings international youth to the United States and Canada. The SALT program sends Canadian and US youth abroad for a one-year service assignment. The Global Youth Exchange Program will not replace IVEP or SALT. However, MCC will have a hand in organizing and running the new program. – MWC/MCC news release
MWC coverage continues on next page
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Last modified October 20, 2000.
© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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