Franconia Conference Board
March 3, 2010
The Conference Board is deeply saddened with the confusion that has been created in parts of the Franconia Conference Community and beyond. We take responsibility for not communicating quickly enough and with clarity.
- The news has gone out that Franconia Conference Board has made a decision to dismiss all the staff.
- The reality is that the staff has been informed that in the coming year the direction the Board is calling for requires a mid-course correction, to come into a greater alignment of fulfilling our mission to Equip Leaders to Empower Others to Embrace God’s Mission.
- A smaller Conference staff to include LEADership Ministers, will continue, but will be narrowly focused on equipping congregations to becoming missional.
- We lament the deep pain and suffering that this decision has caused staff and others by not including the staff directly in the decision-making process.
- We will work towards a healthy ending process and seek to build upon the hard work and creativity by which the staff has carried out their work to date.
The Conference Board will be facilitating public meetings to engage in further dialogue regarding all that has transpired. The following times and dates have been set as follows:
- Monday, March 8, 2010 from 7-9 pm at Towamencin Mennonite Church for all Credentialed Leaders of Franconia Mennonite Conference;
- A second meeting will happen on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 from 9-11 am at the Mennonite Conference Center.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.
As a former pastor in the Conference, I have to wonder about these changes. In some ways, they seem to me to be a total repudiation of the previous long history of the Conference. Jim Longacre told me once when I was in the process leading to my license, the Conference is not a Baptist association. This seems to be the direction these changes are leading. Dismissing staff seems contrary to the vision of equipping leaders. When I was a pastor at Vincent, we depended on Conference staff to supply resources and guidance in various matters. So, I wonder why the changes need to be made.
The announcement from the Conference board acknowledges that staff were not included in the discussions and planning. This is a grave oversight which Conference leaders need to confess and seek forgiveness. This kind of decision was not made in the best understandings of leadership in the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition and is not consistent with the meaning of Conference as that has been understood. My Mennonite contacts seem to think that the whole truth is not being told in this matter. The actions of the board would seem to support this suspicion. If so, that also runs contrary to good church leadership.