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Ontario MB Conference Convention, Feb. 15-16, Waterloo, Ontario
Feel the heartbeat; catch the vision


As athletes from around the world continued their quest for medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, delegates to the 71st convention of the Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches were on a quest of their own. While the convention was not a sporting event, parallels to the Games could be drawn.


Instead of winter sports, the activities at the convention included worship, singing, prayer, dedication of new churches, affirmation of a new conference minister, and plenty of discussion. In place of an arena, the venue was the comfortable meeting place of Waterloo MB Church.

Scott Ferguson

No medals were handed out during the weekend of February 15-16, but there was recognition for Conference leaders who had long terms of service and churches that had worked hard at serving others. Under the convention theme “Feel the Heartbeat; Catch the Vision”, delegates were challenged – in the same way that athletes monitor their pulses and set goals – to feel the heartbeat of Jesus and catch the vision for the Conference ministries. Moderator Henry Wiebe acted like a referee, dutifully facilitating the proceedings despite suffering the loss of his centenarian mother just the day before. And then there was the Task Force led by facilitator Scott Ferguson, who acted like a coach trying to come up with a winning formula for the Conference and the churches to work together as a team.

Ed Willms

Opening ceremonies

Friday night’s opening ceremonies consisted of the pastors and representatives from the 10 new churches that have been added to the Conference since 1995 parading onto the podium. Outgoing Board of Church Extension chair Ed Willms gave brief reports on the achievements of these congregations.

• The church at Stoney Creek (Mountview MB Church) closed in November and has now restarted with a new pastor couple and a new name. Don and Sandee Craw began Hope Community Church on January 11. (See Personalia.) The couple hopes to reach the Stoney Creek-Hamilton area for Jesus.
• Zane and Marcia Grant are working at forming New Harvest Fellowship, a new congregation in the Cambridge area. It is scheduled to begin holding its worship services on Easter Sunday. Absent from the stage was a team of dedicated individuals who were busy phoning 20,000 people in the area to invite them to the new church. Also, a letter campaign has begun. The Grants report that people are searching for answers.
• Former Conference moderator Peter Durksen is part of the steering committee for Grace MB Church. A group of 40 family units – mostly from Waterloo MB Church – began meeting last fall in the chapel at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary on the campus of Wilfrid Laurier University. They are currently seeking an interim pastor.
• Dan and Carol Sileshi are pastoring Koinonia Worship Centre in the Toronto-Don Valley area. This fledgling congregation reaches out to a variety of cultural groups and has established an Ethiopian congregation with its own pastor.
• Ed and Karin Willms, along with Brent and Carmen Esau, are pastoring Gateway Christian Fellowship in St. Catharines.
• K.J. and Charlene Weinberger are pastoring a “multi-economic” group at The Dwelling Place in Waterloo.
• Brad and Diane Wilson are pastoring South Point Community Church, a church plant in Leamington.
• Jim and Daniela Evans are helping “people find direction in their lives” through the ministry at Meadows Community Church in Mississauga.
• Vidya Narimalla and Walter Kelly are co-pastoring New Life Christian Fellowship in Toronto-Scarborough. The church is the result of a merger between New Covenant Christian Fellowship, a Mennonite Brethren congregation, and Bridlewood, a Brethren in Christ church. Narimalla called Kelly “my partner in good things”. Kelly spoke about the struggle the two congregations have had to overcome in order to work together. He compared the merger to a marriage, adding, “The honeymoon is over.” (See “A historic uniting of MB and BIC congregations”.)
• Delegates were asked to pray for Evans and Genetie Laryea of Ghana who are still waiting for visas to come to Canada to do a church plant as part of the Love Toronto Key Cities Initiative, a joint venture of the Ontario and Canadian MB Conferences.

The Koinonia and Grace churches were accepted into the Conference. Special mention was made that this was Willms’s last convention as chair of the BOCE, and that church extension director Clinton Bell recently turned 75. Coming forward to the platform, Bell exclaimed of those behind him, “These are my children.”

Paul J. Fast, currently interim pastor at Scott Street MB Church in St. Catharines, offered a prayer for the newer congregations. Fast, a former church extension board chair in British Columbia, said he is amazed at the number of new churches that have begun in Ontario in a short time and gave God the credit.

New Conference Minister

Mark Johnson, who was appointed Conference Minister by the Conference in the fall (see MBH, People, Sept. 14), was affirmed by delegates.

Mark Johnson

Formerly pastor of Glencairn MB Church, Kitchener, Johnson preached at the convention on Friday evening. Drawing attention to his newly shaved head, he explained that he did it for the Glencairn youth, who then responded with cheers and applause from the back of the sanctuary. Johnson spoke on the theme of surrendering our will to God. Using Mark 10:17-31, Johnson explained how God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Control, he said, not pride, was the original sin. Jesus wants us to surrender the thing that we think makes us happy. That could be power, money, expectations, etc. When the Japanese surrendered at the end of World War II, the Japanese admiral offered his hand as a gesture of peace to General Douglas MacArthur. But MacArthur said, “Your sword first, please.” Jesus is asking us to surrender our swords first. “What do you consider essential for happiness?” asked Johnson. “That is your sword.” We have to be willing to surrender our personal agenda for God’s. “We must not just be willing to do it, but just do it,” he said.

Jim Evans

Saturday’s sermon

After enjoying breakfast, delegates listened to Jim Evans, pastor of Meadows Community Church in Mississauga. Using as his title “Calling out leaders”, Evans spoke about servant leadership. He cited former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who was recently knighted for his leadership during the Sept. 11 crisis, as an example of a servant leader. Evans said that God is not looking for leaders, but servants, whom He makes into leaders. In Luke 22:24-27, Jesus modelled servanthood by washing His disciples’ feet and then had to correct a false notion of leadership. Becoming leaders didn’t mean the disciples had graduated from being servants, Evans said. Jesus was in still in charge. Jesus showed what it means to be a servant by choosing thorns for a crown and a wash basin and a towel for a sceptre.

Erwin Penner, Henry Wiebe, Mark Johnson and Grant Gordon

Task Force

Saturday’s marathon then began with an intense workout in which delegates were asked to review the findings of a task force that was set up in 2000 in order to revisit the role of the Conference. Scott Ferguson was hired as facilitator to interview church leaders and members and lead “groundswell workshops” in various MB churches in the province. Now, delegates had a chance to examine the results of the task force’s findings.

Gathering in groups of six, delegates discussed the findings and then reported back to the convention. Time for this activity was limited to the morning, and the coffee break was reduced to “grabbing a cup of coffee” on the run.

Small group discussion

The findings were presented as “11 directions” that delegates discussed:

Spirituality Creating a strong, loving community of healthy churches Achieving a balance of uniformity among churches that is faithful to the gospel and Anabaptist-Mennonite values, and yet welcomes and meets diverse needs Supporting our pastors Strong leadership and leadership development Engaging youth Strong boards Successful conventions The review of new potential activities Making the best use of resources Effective communication

 
Delegates commented that “spirituality” was too generic and should be replaced by statements that include “God-centred”, “Christ-focused” and “biblically based”.

David Wiebe

Communication was seen as important but needed to go both ways. There should be unity as a body among the churches. There was a lack of understanding about Anabaptist values. Core values needed to be defined.

Delegates prioritized the “action plans” that the task force had assembled. Time for reporting on these was limited to about 30 seconds for each group, and a delegate was charged with the responsibility of keeping the group reporters to the time limit.

David Wiebe, executive director of the Canadian MB Conference, said he supported the Ontario Conference in its efforts and explained how the national Conference is working at creating healthy churches, not just in Ontario, but in all provinces.

Mark Johnson closed the morning session by commenting on the importance of having positive values. Some of these values have been part of the Conference from the start, he said, and that is why ministries such as Camp Crossroads, Eden High School, Tabor Manor and Bethesda were begun.

Board reports

In the afternoon, delegates heard from the various ministries sponsored by the Conference. While Camp Crossroads is supported entirely by the Conference and churches, other ministries receive most of their funding from the Ontario government. Eden High School in St. Catharines receives funding from the Conference and churches only for its religious education component; Tabor Manor, Pleasant Manor and Bethesda receive Conference funding for their chaplaincy programs.

Camp Crossroads: Camp director Joyce Schimpky introduced two campers and Paul McIlwraith, community care pastor at Waterloo MB Church, who each gave testimonies about their experiences at Camp. McIlwraith, who has been guest speaker during the summer, said that campers are finding Christ but need the churches to walk with them and mentor them “because these kids go into a world we don’t know about”.

The Camp has had a number of staff changes. Carolyn “Goose” Goossen has resigned as assistant camp director; she works full-time in the Spiritual Life Department at Eden High School. Replacing her are Amanda Baese and Jamie Reimer. George and Shirley Klassen are the new caretaking couple, replacing Kaye and Phil Baese.

Board chair Jack Willms reported that most of the children’s summer camps are full and many campers have been placed on a waiting list. The camp is planning to renovate its chapel in the fall; $61,000 of the $65,000 needed for the construction has been raised. The Board also hopes to build onsite housing for staff in the future.

Eden High School: Spiritual Life director Ed Heinrichs spoke passionately about the ministry to 500 students. The new chapel has been a welcomed addition to the school, and Gateway Christian Fellowship uses it on Sundays. Christian students at Eden are mixing with students at Lakeport Secondary School, a regular secondary school sharing the facilities with Eden. Heinrichs and his team use seven avenues that help students “to learn of Christ, to live for Christ” – daily chapels, a grade 9 Bible program, one-on-one support, grade level retreats, the Take Flight program, internships, and the Life outreach program. The Take Flight program is a cross-cultural missions trip to Uruguay with Operation Mobilization. Heading the Take Flight program this year is Brandon Thiessen, who is serving an internship at Eden. Youth for Christ worker Jeff Jantzi is building bridges to other youth through the Life outreach program. A graduate of Eden, Jantzi previously engaged in destructive behaviours in grade 11, but now has a passion for reaching teens on the fringe.

Tabor Manor/Pleasant Manor: The Ontario Conference operates two seniors’ facilities and hopes to establish a third one.

Ben Wohlgemut, administrator of Tabor Manor in St. Catharines, spoke about the shift he experienced from college administration to a seniors’ facility administration.

Small group session

He said he could relate to Peter, who was asked by Jesus to walk on water. Wohlgemut said he has been impressed by the stalwarts of faith at the Manor.

Tim Siemens, administrator of Pleasant Manor in Virgil, talked about one resident, a retired farmer, who re-experienced farm life through a Farm Day when farm animals were brought to the Manor. Siemens also spoke of a resident who was helped by the chaplain to overcome disturbing dreams at night. The Board hopes to begin construction of an addition at Pleasant Manor once deposits for 45 units have been collected.

Plans to construct a facility for seniors in St. Jacobs, a Mennonite community north of Kitchener/Waterloo, have moved slowly.

Bethesda: Bethesda works with people with developmental disabilities. Walter Esau, chair of the Bethesda Board, spoke about building a home for the “hard to serve”. The chaplaincy program reaches out to the disabled who are grieving. A drama program has been presented to a number of churches in the Niagara area.

Budget

Delegates considered the financial statement and budget presented by Conference treasurer Bob Thiessen. After amendments were made, the budget passed. The Conference’s budget income for 2002, including pledges from the churches, is $253,100. Budgeted expenses for 2002 are $324,514, leaving a budgeted operating deficit of $71,414 for 2002. The Conference had an accumulated surplus (as of Jan. 1, 2002) of $277,858; would reduce the accumulated surplus to $206,414 by the end of year.

Elections

The elections resulted in few changes. Henry Wiebe continues as moderator, Victor Thiessen as assistant moderator, Peter Klassen as secretary and Bob Thiessen as treasurer. Gerry Dyck of Waterloo MB Church was elected to a three-year position as BOCE chair, replacing Ed Willms. Peter Warkentin of Fairview-Louth Community Church, St. Catharines, was elected chair of the Board of Directors for Tabor Manor/Pleasant Manor. Richard Martens will serve another term as Board of Faith and Life chair. Jack Willms will serve another term as chair of the Board of Camping Ministries. Wally Reimer will serve another term as chair of the nominating committee. Doug Peters of Community Bible Church, St. Catharines, was elected chair of the Eden Advisory Board.

Recommendations

A total of 25 recommendations were processed late Saturday afternoon. The main ones were:

• All archival materials, with the exception of certain necessary items, will be transferred to the Canadian MB Conference’s Centre for MB Studies in Winnipeg for permanent storage. (They had previously been kept in a storage room at Tabor Manor.)
  
  
• Corrections to the letters patent (the legal document containing the name of the Conference) will be made. Apparently, when the founding fathers of the Ontario Conference filed the name in 1932, it appeared in the letters patent as “The Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches”. The Constitution Committee recommended that the misspelling of “Brethren” be changed. It also recommended that the address for the Conference’s head office be stated in the bylaws instead of in the letters patent, making it easier to change the address if the Conference so desires. Further, the Constitution Committee recommended that the Constitution include a statement that the Conference has the authority to ordain pastors and spiritual leaders.
  
  
• Both the Board of Management and the Board of Church Ministries were disbanded. However, the Ontario Youth Network, previously under the BCM, will continue; Randy Dueck of Port Rowan and Andrew Hiebert of Vineland will continue in their positions with their youth ministry.
  
  
• The Conference will fund Bethesda’s chaplaincy program to the amount of $30,000; this was originally set at $15,000 but was increased through an amendment.

Closing ceremonies

The hard work of the Conference’s Leadership Council was acknowledged, especially Henry Wiebe. Herman Plett, pastor at Niagara Falls Christian Fellowship, who recently moved back to Ontario from Lethbridge, Alta., said it was good to be home again. He invited delegates to Niagara Falls for next year’s convention, and then closed the convention with a prayer for Wiebe and the grieving family.

 – pjw

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Last modified April 12, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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