DownloadFeb. 8 issue
Report advances MC USA alignment
Consultant suggests more integral place for area conferences
By Mennonite Church USA staffPage:
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A consultant for Mennonite Church USA has called for giving greater prominence to area conferences. LaVern Yutzy spent a year studying how the denomination operates.
Now he has made suggestions to improve its witness in 15 areas of church organization.
Noting area conferences’ “significant frustration” at feeling marginalized, Yutzy said the role of denominational-level activity should be supporting the 21 conferences rather than congregations. Serving congregations should then be the conferences’ responsibility, he said.
“In order to identify resources that will facilitate the work of conferences, conferences themselves must be integrally involved in this ongoing conversation,” Yutzy said.
One way to do that, he proposes, is reconfiguring the Executive Board to include five representatives from area conferences as well as one representative from each recognized racial/ethnic group in MC USA.
Other recommendations include the following:
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Executive Leadership and the four churchwide program agencies sharing support services as much as possible.
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Adding Mennonite Health Services Alliance as a fifth agency.
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Identifying and implementing strategies to address each of the four churchwide priorities.
As he prepared his report, Yutzy spoke with 142 individuals and participated in meetings at the conference and denominational levels.
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