A people of God for all seasons

The man who was willing to accept a position no one else wanted, moderated his last Manitoba MB Conference convention this weekend – at least for now. Neil Janzen stepped into the moderator’s chair four years ago after the Conference went a whole year without a moderator, or, for that matter, any executive member. For this he received a standing ovation of thanks. His two terms complete, he has handed over the position to new moderator Don Petker.

The convention was hosted by Steinbach MB Church. The Friday evening worship and celebration service had a full house. Janzen welcomed the delegation by stating that there would be three parts to this convention: Friday evening worship would be the soul of the Conference; Saturday morning discussion the foundation; and Saturday afternoon the image and impact of the Conference. Herb Kopp, conference minister, continued with the welcome, saying the weekend was a celebration of the presence of God within the church and declaring that the Kingdom of God is alive and well in the world.

Testimonies

Rachel Boyce, director of children’s and youth at Portage Ave. MB Church, Winnipeg, indicated that she had begun by volunteering at the church, and then was asked to come on staff. She loves her ministry and said, “If kids say thanks, I can put up with a lot of things.”

Hildegard Isaak

Cyndie Wiebe, children’s pastor at Westside Community Church, Morden, shared a dream regarding children’s ministry. Seeds of faith are sown through nursery workers and Sunday school teachers, and in families. She showed a poster made by one of the children showing how a mustard seed can grow into a church.

Hildegard Isaak shared her testimony of walking with the Lord for 60 years. When she was 33, she was invited to teach a high school girls Sunday school class. Although she had not had formal Bible training, this became a Bible school for her; she studied, the students questioned, and she prayed and studied some more. The girls grew in their faith and so did she.

Lee Belanger, a CNR train engineer, was addicted to drugs and alcohol 13 years ago. Due to divine intervention, he called a friend and said, “I need help.” Learning about the “Higher Power” in Alcoholics Anonymous led to asking for more help and finding The Meeting Place, a church for the unchurched. He starting taking the Alpha program and found a men’s group that supported him. Last August, he was baptized.

Dave Balzer

David Balzer, associate director of Family Life Network, was the speaker for the evening. Basing his message on 1 Peter 1–2, he stated that 1) We are a holy nation, purified, pointing praise to God. Breaking bread with people can be a symbol of praise to God. Balzer recently asked his wife to bake cinnamon rolls; he wanted to share them with their neighbour, with whom they had only a nodding acquaintance. When he brought the bread, he was able to spend an hour with them. 2) We are a people of God, irrespective of national background. We have received mercy. Balzer illustrated by sharing how he had used other people to feel relevant, but then realized that relevance is measured through the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

The celebration evening also included:

• singing led by the church’s worship team
• a skit by the Steinbach youth group dramatizing Michael W. Smith’s “This is your time”.
• special music by Marvin and Darlene Kehler of Community Christian Fellowship in Newton.
• a communion service led by Connie Epp, River East MB Church, Winnipeg and Keith Poysti, Elmwood MB Church, Winnipeg.

Discussion time

Saturday morning began with Abe Klassen, pastor of Steinbach MB Church, talking about the seasons of farming and how they relate to the church. He gave the example of the seeds that were sown through his church’s clubs program where the kids made borscht, cookies, baby blankets and other gifts to present to Grace Haven Pregnancy Centre. The harvest and reaping will come.

Seminary

The first item on the agenda for the round table discussion groups was the Seminary. The Canadian Conference of MB Churches has asked each provincial conference which has a regional teaching centre of MB Biblical Seminary (B.C. and Manitoba), to also have a regional council to oversee the operation of the centre.

Together with this was a recommendation that the MB Church of Manitoba approve participation in the Evangelical Anabaptist Seminary program and board. This seminary program is being jointly established by MBBS and Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), the Mennonite Church seminary in Elkhart, Ind. This board would then become the regional council for the MBBS regional teaching centre in Manitoba. The regional board is to be composed of representatives from the Chortitzer Mennonite Conference, the Evangelical Mennonite Conference, the Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference, the MB Conference of Manitoba and Mennonite Church Manitoba. The program is to be implemented through MBBS, AMBS, Canadian Mennonite University and Steinbach Bible College.

Phase One of the program has as its goal that up to half a degree (30–45 units) would be offered in Manitoba. Students would then have the opportunity to complete their degree at AMBS, MBBS or a local accredited institution. A diploma course would also be offered.

Phase Two would see the student enrollment increase, and the seminary offer at least one degree by 2008.

This entire proposal is still a “work-in-progress” and will continue to be refined. The delegation heartily approved the plan.

Leadership and gender

The second major issue up for discussion at the round tables was the role of women in ministry. The Manitoba Conference leadership presented the following resolution:

We call our people in the Spirit of Christ to relate to one another in mutual respect as sisters and brothers in Christ.

Furthermore, We invite men and women to exercise leadership on Conference boards, in pastoral staff positions and in our congregations, institutions and agencies. We ask them to minister as gifted, called and affirmed.

And finally, We call the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba to be increasingly alert to the gifts of women and men, and to become more active in calling and blessing them to minister in all areas of church life.

It was noted that the resolution was consistent with the resolution brought to the General MB Conference convention in 1993, which would have allowed women to become senior pastors at the discretion of the local church, but which was defeated. While the resolution presented at this 2003 Manitoba convention would not change the practice in Manitoba in the immediate future, the results would be passed on to the Board of Faith and Life of the Canadian MB Conference for their deliberation.

A number of people spoke in favour of the resolution because of the experiences in their own homes and families. Gifted and called women have left the Conference because there was no place for them. Others spoke against the resolution stating that not enough study had gone into it. Grace Klassen, Cornerstone MB Church, Winnipeg asked for more clarity and more boldness in breaking the glass ceiling.

This discussion was continued in the plenary session. Henry Bergen, North Kildonan MB Church, Winnipeg, gave the example of Moses being told by God to change the laws of inheritance when the daughters of Zelophehad came to him asking that they should not be excluded from inheriting land just because there were no sons.

Allan Labun stated, “Some questions will not go away until there are answered right.” When the resolution came to a vote, it was accepted by a 79% majority.

Decision making

A recommendation was brought forward to help clarify principles governing the relationship between Conference and its agencies (Family Life Network, MB Collegiate Institute and Concord College/Canadian Mennonite University). The recommendation suggests that the mission statement of each agency, its strategic operating principles, the appointment of board members and the bylaws that govern the agency would all have to be approved by the Manitoba Conference convention. The recommendation that was passed was a preliminary one. The matter will be further discussed by the Conference Executive, with the Board of Management and the mission agencies; a final recommendation will be brought to next year’s convention. The bottom line would be clarity on which decisions need to be brought to the Conference convention and which can be made at the board level.

Canadian Mennonite University

Here, too, a governance issue was discussed. Herta Janzen, chair of the Concord College Board, one of the partners in Canadian Mennonite University, introduced the recommendation. In effect, CMU will have a two-level governance structure. The CMU Council will be composed of 15 members each from MB conferences; Mennonite Church Canada conferences; and Friends of Menno Simons College. Up to 15 additional members will be appointed by fraternal organizations. The second level is the Board of Governors, composed of one member each appointed by Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba, faculty and students; 10 elected from the CMU council, again with representation from each of the three owning bodies; and two members at large.

Janzen also introduced the new president of Canadian Mennonite University, Gerald Gerbrandt. Gerbrandt stated that his vision was to make CMU a university of the church for the world. The new governance structure was approved by a wide margin.

Other business items

MB Collegiate Institute, the secondary school in Winnipeg, is planning to expand their campus, taking up the space formerly occupied by the CA DeFehr residence on the former Concord College campus. Their hope is to have one room for each teacher and a 1:25 teacher/student ratio.

Barry Dyck, chair of the Board of Congregational Ministries, reported about the internship program offered by the Conference.

The Constitution Committee has revised the constitution to reflect current realities in how boards and committees are named and governed.

The Personnel Committee has continued to update the abuse policy for churches.

More celebration

Herta Janzen and John Unger

A standing ovation was given to John Unger for the work he has done for the last number of years as president of Concord College and as interim president of Canadian Mennonite Bible College.

Norbert Bargen, principal of MBCI, related stories of students who were being positively impacted by the school

Pastor couple Dale and Marge Warkentin rejoiced that the building purchased by the Flin Flon MB Church in 1991 is paid for, and that the leaking roof was recently repaired by the Winkler MB Church in a work bee.

Missions and Church Extension church planting staff Cal Bergen and Mary Reimer rejoiced that a children’s worker had been found for their ministry at FaithWorks, a new congregation in Winnipeg but also requested prayer that the local school board would allow them to use a facility in their area of the city; Mario Buscio reported that the ministry to French-speaking people in Winnipeg was being enlarged to include a group of African people who had been praying for someone to come to them to preach.

Family Life Network introduced Marshall Zacharias as its new music producer, and gave tribute to the work George Ewert had done at FLN. George passed away Nov. 30.

Gerry and Nora Harms of Justice MB Church rejoiced in their new facility, which signals to the community that they are there to stay.

Nine new pastors were welcomed into the Manitoba Conference.

Budget

John Krahn, chair of the Board of Management, gave a brief summary of last year’s spending, and indicated that some of the agencies were able to achieve a modest surplus in their budgets. He announced a budget of $1,072,244 for the coming year. This works out to $181 per member.

—sbb