June 14, 2010 issue
Elkhart building part of a network
By Ervin R. StutzmanPage:
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On June 15, Mennonite Church USA is scheduled to have a ground blessing in preparation for a new building to house more than 80 staff who work in various office settings in the Goshen-Elkhart, Ind., area.
Some are asking why we should build a new facility at this time. In response, I will give a brief background for the decision to build a new facility next to the campus of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary.
In 2001, as part of the plan to merge the Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church, delegates at Nashville, Tenn., received a report of the Denominational Offices Committee. This team had researched the many possibilities for office space in an attempt to balance “various considerations and (at times competing) values” for office facilities.
The committee recommended there be offices in four regions of the United States — East, Central, Midwest and West — including the possibility of remaining in Newton, Kan., and Elkhart. Committee members also set forth the possibility of locating the Elkhart staff in a new building constructed on the campus at AMBS.
Over the next several years, several boards considered these recommendations and sought feedback from church leaders, especially in the eastern and western regions. As a result, they decided to maintain only two official offices, along with dispersed staff in other parts of the country.
The boards concluded that this plan would best facilitate the Nashville 2001 plan for continued development of MC USA, which has set for itself the core strategies of:
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Growing in both numbers and strength of conviction.
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Reaching out to the world around us through mission and service.
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Strengthening our communities of faith and achieving greater unity in our diversity.
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Becoming a more anti-racist church, accessible to all.
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