Mennonite Weekly Review

Mennonites find many ways to practice mutual aid. Some congregations have sharing funds to support members in financial difficulty. Organizations such as Mennonite Mutual Aid and MutualAid eXchange provide health insurance, church grants and other services.

Yet rarely does mutual aid mean to our congregations today what it meant to early Christians and early Anabaptists. Rarely are our economic lives as interlaced as were those of believers before us. Now the current economic downturn provides an opportunity to strengthen the practice of mutual aid in our churches.

In Mennonite Church USA, one huge step we can take is by having our congregations join the Corinthian Plan, which would provide health insurance for all pastors and other eligible church workers. Executive Leadership estimates 80 to 100 MC USA pastors do not have health insurance.

The plan aims to have at least 80 percent participation from MC USA congregations. Enrollment is open until Oct. 1. After that, existing congregations can’t receive guaranteed coverage. So it is crucial that each congregation carefully consider whether to join. Some may choose not to enroll, but it would be unfortunate if any did so lacking full information or without giving the plan’s creators a chance to respond to concerns.

The MC USA assembly June 30-July 5 in Columbus, Ohio, will allow congregational delegates to learn more about the plan. There will be three seminars on the plan, assistance with the enrollment process and a report to delegates.

People who can’t attend the Columbus assembly can contact MC USA leaders directly, or the plan’s ambassadors, specially trained people who can explain the plan and how to enroll. Copious information about the plan — including how to locate ambassadors — is available online.

One of the assembly’s main speakers, Juanita Núñez, moderator of Iglesia Menonita Hispana (Hispanic Mennonite Church), is one of those uninsured pastors. One way in which we in MC USA can show that we value leaders such as Núñez is by enrolling in the Corinthian Plan.

The plan has three components: insurance, sharing costs of guaranteed coverage and subsidizing congregations that can’t afford insurance for staff.

Not all congregations will pay for all three components. Congregations whose pastors and church workers are covered by a plan other than individual insurance can still join the Corinthian Plan and pay the second and third components to support other churches. The minimum cost is $10 per year for each person who regularly attends a congregation, to provide the subsidies, added to $250 a year for the mutual aid component of guaranteed coverage.

No plan such as this is perfect. But through this effort we can show we are truly part of a larger body in which all members are valued.

Mennonites of various denominations can share ideas for strengthening mutual aid locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. We can inspire and support each other’s efforts as part of the same family of faith.

In these tough economic times, we in the church need each other more than ever. From a solid foundation of mutual aid within our church bodies, we can better reach out to care for needs outside our churches as well.