A Letter to Mosaic Conference Delegates

To our Mosaic Mennonite Conference delegates and constituents: 

I recommend voting a respectful RED (No) vote at the Mosaic Mennonite Conference Assembly. 

The Mosaic Mennonite Conference Board and the Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Board have been in very difficult circumstances since the November 2024 Mosaic delegate vote. That vote, which passed with 40% affirmation (and 31% yielding, for a total of 71%), directed the Mosaic Board to establish a partnership with MC USA, while Mosaic is still a member conference. Throughout this past year, MC USA continued to relate to Mosaic as a member conference, and communication was difficult for both entities.  

The Mosaic Board has partially followed through on the directive given by the action of the November 2024 delegates by bringing the proposal to withdraw from MCUSA to this November 2025 assembly. They have not been able to follow through on the directive to establish a robust partnership with MC USA. However, it can be recognized that they tried to do so, and their November 2025 proposal still hopes to establish a partnership. 

Several significant things have occurred since the November 2024 delegate vote which the delegates of the November 2025 assembly can carefully consider: 

1. MC USA Executive Board has offered to engage in mediation with the Mosaic Board. That offer remains open.
2. Leaders at the MC USA Assembly in July 2025 informed us as members of MC USA that we will be engaging in a restructuring process, which is something that the Mosaic board and staff have stated that MC USA needs to do. 

A respectful RED (No) vote: 

1. Is appreciative of the difficult work of the Mosaic Board in the past year.
2. Is appreciative of the difficult weight placed on the Mosaic Board to decide what action to bring to the delegate assembly this November 2025.
3. Frees the Mosaic Board to engage in mediation or not engage in mediation with MC USA. It does not require a timeline for this possible engagement. The Mosaic Board can focus on the work of being Mosaic, which is what they stated in May that they want to do. They can do so without needing to make major transitions to absorb the work that MC USA has been doing for us.
4. Frees us as people who are part of congregations who are part of Mosaic and part of MC USA to participate in both the conference and the denomination. We will continue to be able to: 
   • Relate as a sibling conference with the other 14 conferences of MCUSA. Mosaic members are approximately 1/6th of the membership of MCUSA. We can bless and receive blessings by being part of this wider church together with all the other MC USA members.
   • Send representational delegates to the Mennonite Convention, and whether we are delegates or not, we can enjoy the opportunities for spiritual growth and relationship building through workshops, Bible studies, worship services, and service opportunities for children, youth, and adults.
   • Send leaders to be a part of the Constituency Leadership Council for the purpose of fellowship and support, and to give counsel to the MCUSA executive board, staff, and broader church.
   • Receive resources and collaborate in the making of resources in Mennonite education, Christian life and faith, singing, Hispanic ministries, church planting, women in leadership, undoing racism, and climate justice.
   • Receive the benefits of pastoral search and pastoral transition leadership that MC USA provides.
   • Apply for scholarships for BIPOC students attending Mennonite schools. 
   • Jointly witness for peace with our siblings across the Mennonite Church in the U.S.
   • Support and participate in the restructuring process for MC USA. This is really important – we can be a part of this process.  

A respectful RED (No) vote recognizes that there is an opportunity for reconciliation to take place and invites God’s creative work within the people who have been part of Mosaic and part of MC USA who have experienced brokenness. 

A respectful RED (No) vote is freeing, bringing us to a new place which is not stuck in the same jam that we have been in during the past year. 

I write this with humility, knowing that I do not fully understand all the factors involved for everyone in this situation. This is simply my best analysis of the circumstances that we are in during this time.  

This post is also available in: Español (Spanish) Indonesia (Indonesian)

This post is also available in: Español (Spanish) Indonesia (Indonesian)