by Mennonite Church Executive leadership staff with John Tyson
jtyson@mosaicmennonites.org
AKRON, Pa. — Sixty people from across Mennonite Church USA met last month in Akron, Pa., as part of a consultation focused on the theme Connecting with ‘old’ and ‘new’ Anabaptists. Ched Myers, Elaine Enns and John D. Roth were presenters.
The two-and-a-half-day event was spent reflecting on this theme and on how Mennonite Church USA relates to Christians of other traditions. Participants included pastors, regional conference leaders, denominational leaders, seminary professors and theologians and service and mission agency staff. The consultation was sponsored by Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership and was the third such consultation sponsored since 2004.
Myers and his wife, Elaine Enns, encouraged Mennonite Church USA to build relationships with “new” Anabaptists today. Both work with the Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries initiative based in California. Myers travels widely in a ministry of teaching, writing and organizing to strengthen Biblical literacy and radical discipleship. Enns is a writer, teacher and practitioner of restorative justice. Enns grew up in a Mennonite community. Myers joined a Mennonite congregation this spring. Enns highlighted a variety of Christian communities and networks whose life is focused on discipleship and following Jesus. Some in this “second wave” of discipleship communities are quite isolated and feel like refugees from the church. “Set the table,” Myers suggested, “and invite these folks to talk to each other and to you about their discipleship experience.” It will be mutually rewarding, Enns and Myers promised.
Jessica Walter, Associate for Communication and Leadership Cultivation with Franconia Conference, a presenter during the consultation, has noticed similar trends. “We,” Walters says, “have seen a rapid rise, over the last half century, in people of faith coming together over values and beliefs parallel to Anabaptist theological values, including peace-seeking and creating, good stewardship in all aspects of life and community building. It was encouraging to participate in MC USA‘s search to recognize these growing faith communities and extend a welcoming hand.”
John D. Roth, Goshen College professor, spoke to the group about facing its own history of division and working for healing of relationships within the Anabaptist family. He suggested three guidelines for these encounters: telling our story as confession rather than judgment, extending a vulnerable hospitality and practicing radial patience.
Gay Brunt Miller, Director of Collaborative Ministreis for Franconia Conference, noticed a pivotal change in those in attendance at this latest interchurch consultation, reflecting a more grassroots approach. “It seems that much of the denomination’s past thinking about interchurch relations has been led by academics. This meeting added more practitioners into the mix, which I think was a good idea.”
During the consultation, André Gingerich Stoner, director of Interchurch Relations for Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership, presented a staff report on ongoing interchurch initiatives. Major attention during the past years involved processing membership in Christian Churches Together. Other ongoing involvements include cultivating relationship with the Pentecostal denomination, Church of God Cleveland and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as well as working with Friends and the Church of the Brethren to host a broadly interchurch peace gathering in Philadelphia in January 2009. Staff time for Interchurch Relations has been recently increased to two days a week.
photos provided by Mennonite Church USA
LANCASTER, Pa. – Want to learn more about pastoral care, non-violence or congregational revitalization? 
Pastors Day will kick off the 
Lois Barrett of Wichita, Kan. will lead small group discussions. She is director and associate professor of theology and Anabaptist studies of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary–Great Plains Extension. Barrett pastored Mennonite Church of the Servant in Wichita, Kan. and has served as executive secretary of the Commission on Home Ministries for the General Conference Mennonite Church. With Darrell Guder and other writers, she authored two books with a missional theme: “
The event will create a common table for pastors during the convention week.
Before the meeting began, Lakeview Pastor Blaine Detwiler gave a tour of Lakeview’s scenic location in the hills near the border of Pennsylvania and New York. Pastor Detwiler also shared the rich history of the Lakeview congregation and its current missional vision.
After lunch, the board re-convened for the Conference Leadership Team ministry updates. Noah Kolb shared how there are many able pastors in Franconia Conference who are ready for ministry. Gay Brunt Miller reported on the partnership with Anabaptist leaders in the United Kingdom and their recent and positive visit with the conference. Since Steve Kriss was leading ViaVerano in Spain, John Tyson (a summer ministry intern from the Souderton congregation) reported on his behalf that the leadership cultivation and communications department is vibrantly moving in the right direction with a large number of Ministry Inquiry Program participants and a communications sector ahead of the local market. Conference financial advisor Conrad Martin shared updates on the financial viability within Franconia Conference. And finally, Noel Santiago shared about emerging partnerships and new congregations working alongside Franconia Conference.
“The pastor mentioned that one of the needs that came to their mind right away was their Vacation Bible School, which turned out to be planned for the same week as ours. We offered to incorporate them into our morning VBS, or let them use our building for their evening plans. They chose the latter, so we will both have VBS the first week of August. They also asked for our prayers which we assured them they would have, and added to our corporate prayers on the next two Sundays, the option of a special offering that people could give for their needs. We are also collecting the supplies they’ll need for their VBS activities,” said Associate Pastor Sandy Drescher-Lehman.
Longacre’s congregation,