Mennonite Weekly Review

HAMPTON, Va. — Last summer Mennonite Church USA delegates directed the Executive Board to ask conferences what they needed to address conflict over human sexuality statements.

Natalie Francisco leads Executive Board members on a tour of Calvary Community Church in Hampton, Va. — Photo by Anna Groff/The Mennonite

Board members discussed the results of that research at meetings Feb. 18-20 at Calvary Community Church. While they continue to process this response from conferences, they have drafted a letter to the Constituency Leaders Council asking for its input on resources and ways to address the conflict.

Board member Janeen Bertsche Johnson presented a compilation of responses from conferences. This is the first time this kind of research has been conducted.

“We need to keep all these voices in front of us,” she said.

Several board members mentioned the need to clarify MC USA polity, which says, “Area conferences are the body … that determines [congregational] membership, and the Executive Board’s role is to lead the church in living out its missional future. It works at this by aligning all parts of the church to support the area conferences as they work with congregations.”

Board members Tina Begay of Native Mennonite Ministries and Juanita Nunez of Iglesia Menonita Hispana (Hispanic Mennonite Church) said that inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, people is not a major issue for the underrepresented racial-ethnic groups. Board member Kim Vu Friesen agreed but added that many young adult voices call for inclusion.

Board member Terry Shue said the delegate’s resolution addresses conflict in general, not simply the conflict surrounding inclusion of LGBT people.

Prior to this discussion, David Brubaker of Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va., presented his findings on church conflict. His research found that the degree of contention in a denomination and the relatively recent ordination of women predict a higher intensity of conflict.

He said he advocates for denominations working to stay intact and made the following suggestions: strengthen the center; clarify where authority lies and avoid power struggles; develop healthy dialogue processes as well as not forcing anyone to participate in dialogue.

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