Report Book Saskatoon July 3-7, Annual Assembly of Mennonite Church Canada. Circle Drive Alliance Church Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Transcription

1 Report Book Saskatoon 2002 Annual Assembly of Mennonite Church Canada July 3-7, 2002 Circle Drive Alliance Church Saskatoon, Saskatchewan I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God s servants, working together; you are God s field, God s building. 1 Corinthians 3: 6 9 (NRSV) Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

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3 Contents Contents... 3 Theme:... 4 How to use this Report Book... 4 Ground rules for delegates... 5 Abbreviations... 6 Thanks Discernment Plan... 7 Word from the Moderator... 8 Joint Executive Committee... 9 Mennonite Publishing House General Secretary General Board Summary Abbotsford Summary of Actions Organization Nominees Mennonite Church British Columbia Mennonite Church Alberta Mennonite Church Saskatchewan Mennonite Church Manitoba Mennonite Church Eastern Canada Before and After Formation Congregational and Ministerial Leadership Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS). 30 Columbia Bible College (CBC) Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) Conrad Grebel University College (CGUC) Mennonite Publishing House (MPH) Witness International Mission Partnership Workers MC Canada Witness International Missional Church Information Sessions Congregational Partnerships National Workers Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Canadian Women in Mission (CWM) Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Mennonite Central Committee Canada (MCC) Support Services Resource Development Communications Finance Committee Finance Summary Mennonite Foundation of Canada (MFC) Canadian Mennonite (CM) Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Resolutions (from Abbotsford 2001) Bylaws - Table of contents Mennonite Church Canada General Bylaws Recommendation on changes to the Bylaws Proposals on Education Inter-Church / Inter-Faith Relations Dialogue Seminar Sampler Schedule (back cover) MENNONITE CHURCH CANADA REPORT 2002 Volume 38 Sessions: July 3-7, 2002 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Editors: Dan Dyck Lynette wiebe Logo design: Gerry Unrau Design & Layout: Lynette Wiebe Proof Reader: Lois Bergen Printed by The Christian Press, Winnipeg Mennonite Church Canada 600 Shaftesbury Blvd Winnipeg MB R3P 0M4 T: F: E: office@mennonitechurch.ca W: Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

4 GENERAL Theme: Tending God s field, forming God s people AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God s servants, working together; you are God s field, God s building. 1 Corinthians 3: 6 9 (NRSV) How to use this Report Book The development of this mark began with a period of time spent in a field staring out at the horizon at the curve of the earth waving grasses poking out of the snow and the soil. Some of the grasses form themselves into a hand reaching up for help, and others reaching down from above. These aspects of partnership, with God, with each other and with the earth speak through the graphic. The concept of partnership leads to a sense of growth and of becoming. Gerry Unrau, graphic designer God s field tending This year s report book is an integrated presentation of information in keeping with our desire to become a more seamless church. In the margins, you will find an at-a-glance roadmap of the proceedings at this year s assembly. This roadmap follows the basic agenda outline for our sessions. The roadmap also attempts to mirror the way we have organized Mennonite Church Canada, by integrating the reports of affiliated national and bi-national entities into related activity areas. Circles highlighted in gold indicate where you are on the roadmap. For example, reports from WITNESS and their related agencies (CWM, CPT, MCC, MDS) appear in the WITNESS section. Reports from schools, Mennonite Publishing House and the Denominational Minister appear in the FORMATION section. The SUPPORT SERVICES section recognizes and represents the important aspect of administration work that under-girds everything, and includes reports from affiliated entities that relate to the support of broader programs and initiatives (e.g. MFC, Canadian Mennonite). The AFFILIATES section includes bodies such as Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite World Conference. Near the back of the book are the MC Canada Bylaws, bylaw changes, resolutions from Abbotsford 2001, recommendations on education, and additional supplementary information. In many of the reports you will notice vignettes of people in the Mennonite Church Canada family. Together, these individual stories join to tell the larger story of God at work in the world as we align ourselves with God s purpose. We hope that you find this report book to be a helpful way of visualizing relationships and getting informed! 4 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

5 Ground rules for delegates forming Welcome to the delegate sessions at Saskatoon This is our third annual delegate assembly as Mennonite Church Canada, and we want to provide the best possible atmosphere for discussion and discernment in the delegate sessions. We have much work to do in a short period of time, while at the same time conducting ourselves in a manner that allows for maximum discussion. We need to use procedures that are fair and open, while not being too complex and cumbersome. The size of our delegate body makes it difficult to make decisions through a process of simple consensus. A brief introduction to some basic rules may help us. As usual, we will have a parliamentarian to assist us in our work. Basic Rules Our overarching interest in a delegate assembly is to make sure that we hear from as many persons as possible. If you wish to speak, you must come to a microphone and be recognized by the moderator. Make sure you identify yourself and your conference or congregation before making your remarks. Please direct your remarks to the moderator and speak for yourself only, unless specifically commissioned to speak for a group. If so, name the group. We urge delegates to listen carefully to the flow of the meeting. Do not speak more than once on any motion in one day until everyone who wants to speak has had an opportunity to do so. Do not speak more than twice on any motion in one day. Make it clear whether you support a motion on the floor or have a different view. Keep your remarks brief to allow others to speak after you. About Motions During a delegate session, you may wish to introduce a motion, raise a question or extend discussion. Please follow these basic principles: A motion or resolution of new or substantive business must first be taken to the Resolutions Committee. The purpose of this committee is to help us complete our business on time by reviewing new motions for clarity and appropriateness before they are brought to the Assembly. The Resolutions Committee will exercise its judgment and is not obligated to recognize all new resolutions. The Resolutions Committee may provide a rationale for a decision to reject a resolution, or offer suggestions on how a resolution may be improved. To amend a motion, limit or extend debate on a motion or lay a motion on the table, you will need to make a motion to that effect while the main motion is still under consideration. To do that, seek recognition from the moderator and then make the motion. To object to consideration of a motion, call for a more precise vote, ask a question of parliamentary procedure or offer information on a question, seek recognition of the moderator and make your comment or motion. This includes a call for a recess, or adjournment. In order to help to facilitate a good process, amendments to resolutions that appear on the agenda should be presented in advance to the moderator or Resolutions Committee before they can be offered to delegates. Any delegate may speak to points of order and other motions of parliamentary procedure, such as a motion on the table. Most motions require a second that someone else also indicates a desire to consider the motion. When the moderator asks for a second to a motion, please raise your hand and seek acknowledgement. The MC Canada Executive Committee may offer an amendment or a new resolution without processing it through the Resolutions Committee (for the purpose of efficient process). Additional Items Many of the proposals being brought for delegate action have been developed through an extensive process of feedback from congregations, area conferences, as well as committees and boards. We encourage vigorous debate on our proposals. We ask delegates to treat each other with respect in Christian love. We ask you not to show your approval or disapproval (for instance by clapping) of any speaker on the floor. God s people We trust that this short summary of our normal procedures will enable our delegate sessions to be genuine times of discernment. Let s prepare to hear God s voice in the midst of our assembly. Ron Sawatsky, Moderator Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

6 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Local Hosting Committee Len Andres Chair Rich & Alice Krahn Tours and Activities Delmar Rempel Guest Services Jake & Betty Banman Facilities Howard & Brenda Willems Hospitality Bill Schofield Transportation Rudy Dyck Treasurer Ron & Sue Schellenberg Registration & Lodging Darlene Martens Food Services OUR VISION God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit to grow as communities of grace, joy and peace so that God s healing and hope flow through us to the world. Abbreviations AMBS... Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary BIC... Brethren in Christ CBC... Columbia Bible College CCC... Canadian Council of Churches CERP... Christian Education Resource Person CFL... Council on Faith & Life CGUC... Conrad Grebel University College CMBC... Canadian Mennonite Bible College CMC... Conference of Mennonites in Canada CMHA... Canadian Mennonite Health Association CMU... Canadian Mennonite University CPT... Christian Peacemaker Teams CWM... Canadian Women in Mission EFC... Evangelical Fellowship of Canada FTE... Full Time Equivalent FYE... Fiscal Year Ending GB... General Board GC... General Conference MBE... Mennonite Board of Education MC... Mennonite Church MCC... Mennonite Central Committee MCBC... Mennonite Church British Columbia MCI... Mennonite Collegiate Institute MCM... Mennonite Church Manitoba MCSask. Mennonite Church Saskatchewan MCA... Mennonite Church Alberta MCA... Mennonite Camping Association MCEC... Mennonite Church Eastern Canada MDS... Mennonite Disaster Service METF... Mennonite Environmental Task Force MEI... Mennonite Educational Institute MFC... Mennonite Foundation of Canada MPS... Mennonite Publishing Service MSCS... Menno Simons Christian School MVS... Mennonite Voluntary Service MWC... Mennonite World Conference NWC... Northwest Mennonite Conference RJC... Rosthern Junior College RMC... Rockway Mennonite Collegiate SCBI... Swift Current Bible Institute WMC... Westgate Mennonite Collegiate WMES... Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary Schools VS... Voluntary Service OUR MISSION As communities of Christian faith, uniting and united under the name Mennonite Church Canada, we desire to express our biblical understanding of faith and life in Jesus Christ within the Canadian context and beyond by extending the invitation to all peoples of our multi-cultured society to follow Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, that together as the people of God, we may worship one Lord in truth and in holiness, minister together through education, evangelism and service, care for God s creation by making peace and practicing stewardship, and provide leadership and resources to facilitate God s mission in the world, so that all people may find healing and hope in all circumstances of life. Thanks... To the three Mennonite elementary schools; Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI), Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary Schools (WMES), and Menno Simons Christian School (MSCS). They have purchased a copy of the book Let s Make a Garden, by Tamara Awad Lobe, for every child registered at this year s children s convention. To Rosthern Junior College for sponsoring temporary tatoos. To Mennonite Foundation of Canada (MFC) and MERITAS for sponsoring totebags for delegates. To our local hosts for planning this immense event! 6 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

7 Discernment Plan (preliminary) In keeping with (and symbolic of) our desire to follow a missional church vision (in the context of Vision: Healing and Hope), reporting times at this year s annual sessions will take on a more integrated approach. As such, Witness, Formation, Support Services (and their respective partners and related institutions) are not separately highlighted in the discernment plan below. A more detailed agenda for the Discernment Plan will be included in delegate registration packets. Tuesday, July 2, 2002 Making Peace with the Land, Osler Mennonite Church Wednesday, July 3 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM Ministers Conference, Osler joined by Making Peace with the Land participants 1:00 7:00 PM Assembly Registration 5:00 7:00 PM Supper 7:00 8:30 PM Worship Profile of Mennonite Church Saskatchewan Speaker Nelson Kraybill 8:30 10:00 PM Interest group gatherings, activities Thursday, July 4 8:00 8:30 AM Guided prayer time 8:30 9:00 AM Morning worship 9:00 10:00 AM Moderator s Address Greetings from partners Presentation of the slate 10:00 10:30 AM Fellowship break 10:30 12:00 We have tended and formed Comprehensive report Financial report 12:00 1:30 PM Lunch 1:30 3:00 PM Seminars 3:00 3:30 PM Fellowship break 3:30 5:00 PM Tending and Forming through our schools Reports from schools Education recommendation discussion Break-out groups 5:30 7:00 PM Supper 7:00 8:30 PM Worship Canadian Women in Mission Anniversary Celebration Speaker Karen Martens Zimmerly 8:30 10:00 PM Interest group gatherings, activities Friday, July 5 8:00 8:30 AM Guided prayer time 8:30 9:00 AM Morning worship 9:00 10:00 AM Discerning the Gospel of Peace through Jesus Christ in the midst of war, terrorism and current events Identifying concerns and strategies Congregational and agency stories Break-out groups 10:00 10:30 AM Fellowship Break 10:30 12:00 Issues from GB - partnerships, MPH Issues from congregations and area conferences (agenda invited in advance) 12:00 1:00 PM Lunch 1:00 7:00 PM Fellowship, learning tours and activities Recreation, tours, athletic events, family activities Supper hosted by Saskatchewan churches 7:00 11:00 PM Prairie Festival Fellowship, bluegrass music; Irvin & Donna Driedger s Farm, Osler Saturday, July 6 8:00 8:30 AM Guided prayer time 8:30 9:00 AM Morning worship 9:00 10:00 AM Making Peace with the Land Reporting and recommendations 10:00 10:30 AM Fellowship break 10:30 12:00 Election (if indicated) We will tend and form Consolidated program and financial projections Discussion in break-out groups 12:00 1:30 PM Lunch 1:30 3:00 PM Seminars 3:00 3:30 PM Fellowship break 3:30 5:00 PM Budget, auditor Bylaw changes Resolutions Committee Listening Committee Moderator s farewell 5:30 7:00 PM Supper 7:00 8:30 PM Worship Commissioning and Communion Speaker Menno H. Epp Sunday, July 7 Worship in local Mennonite Churches Multi-Cultural Consultation, Mt. Royal Mennonite Church, Saskatoon The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose... 1 cor. 3:8 Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

8 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES Word from the Moderator FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. We look forward to the third annual assembly of Mennonite Church Canada scheduled for July in Saskatoon. Last year in Abbotsford, the delegates gave overwhelming approval to proposals intended to reshape our work as a church in Canada and around the world. This Assembly will be our first opportunity to provide you with some fuller reporting on our subsequent progress. Our leadership work since the Abbotsford Assembly has included many of the issues that we expected would confront us as we implemented the new vision. We assumed that this year should be one of consolidation with the new ways of operating. However, our primary work has included addressing two difficult issues that came to us during the year: a significant oversight in the annual budget planning (which is reflected in new budget projections included in this Report Book) and the crisis in the new Mennonite Publishing House. Regarding MPH, we can say simplistically that the prospective financial liabilities are potentially the highest that the Mennonite Church has ever encountered. We continue to take substantial action to bring the business side of MPH down to a level that is financially sustainable. After careful Ron Sawatsky and Joy Kroeger honour Phyllis Wiebe at a retirement dinner celebrating Phyllis consideration, we are also many years of faithful service with Mennonite asking the church in Church Canada. (March, 2002) Canada and USA to contribute a substantial amount of donations over the next several years to eliminate most of the previous publishing debt so that operations can proceed at this new, downsized level. We have also appointed a Transformation Team that is charged with the task of discerning the new vision for a transformed publishing ministry in the Mennonite Church. We welcome your ongoing prayers and contributions as we work through difficult personnel and financial realities. A fuller report follows and up-to-date information will be shared at the Assembly. Our effort to create a good solution in the broad area of church-related education, especially with respect to our relationship with the three Mennonite Church colleges in Canada, has resulted in a proposal for a Canadian Mennonite Education Agency. This process has involved dynamics between at least eleven partners (MC Canada, the six area conferences, the three colleges, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, plus additional institutional relationships). Finding solutions acceptable to all these parties is a challenge. We believe that God s Spirit has been present in this work. We regret the Northwest Mennonite Conference decision to withdraw from the provisional membership status by We continue to maintain open communication and an invitational stance with the Northwest Conference leaders and congregations. Our theme from I Corinthians, Tending God s Field, Forming God s People, reminds that it is not our own efforts that bring growth to the church. We are working together with God to bring change across the street and around the world. Come to Saskatoon this summer. Join us as we celebrate together our fellowship as God s people and help us discern God s leading for the future ministry of Mennonite Church Canada. Ron Sawatsky, Moderator 8 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

9 Joint Executive Committee The executive committees of Mennonite Church Canada s General Board and Mennonite Church USA s Executive Board compose the Joint Executive Committee (JEC). The JEC fosters relationships between MC Canada and MC USA and oversees binational partnership programs. It acts on behalf of its parent boards. To fulfill this mandate, in 2001/02 the JEC held three face-toface meetings together with a number of conference calls. Joint ownership partnerships between MC Canada and MC USA include Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) and Mennonite Publishing House (MPH) both are governed by binational boards. The JEC approves the appointments to the AMBS board on behalf of national bodies. JEC activity on MPH is discussed on the following pages. The JEC also provides more general oversight to other partnership relationships between MC Canada and MC USA programs administered by national program agencies. For example JEC affirmed work by the Joint Missions Transitions Steering Committee on cross border fundraising and constituency relations as new national structures emerged. A list of MC USA and MC Canada partnerships is reviewed annually. Another JEC subcommittee reviewed how assets and liabilities of the former Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church would be distributed under the new relationships. The subcommittee, chaired by Bruno Friesen, continues work on these details. The Joint Executive approved planning for the next quadrennial joint assembly of MC Canada and MC USA planned for 2005 in Toronto. The last was held in St. Louis in /02 produced a heavy workload for the JEC; the prayers of the Church have been welcome. They will also be welcome in 2002/03. Sam Steiner, Secretary, MC Canada Executive Committee Joint Executive Council MC Canada Ron Sawatsky Joy Kroeger Sam Steiner Bruno Friesen Henry Krause MC USA Ervin Stutzman Duane Oswald Jim Harder Roy Williams Ruth Naylor live and learn... learn... and live! CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Staff Dan Nighswander Jim Schrag Ron Byler Ted Stuckey Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary Canadian Mennonite University Columbia Bible College Conrad Grebel University College Mennonite Collegiate Institute Mennonite Educational Institute Menno Simons Christian School Rockway Mennonite Collegiate Rosthern Junior College Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre United Mennonite Educational Institute Westgate Mennonite Collegiate Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary Schools Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

10 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Mennonite Publishing House The Mennonite Publishing House (MPH) is one of two bi-national entities created in the recent denominational merger (the other is Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary). Administrative responsibility for the Publishing House lies with the Joint Executive Committee (JEC) which is made up of the Executive Committees of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA; the JEC appoints the MPH Board. Part of the recent church-wide integration process involved the merger of Faith and Life Press with the old Mennonite Publishing House into a new Mennonite Publishing House to serve both Mennonite Church Canada and USA. This merger became official on February 1, 2001 and the new MPH Board began its work. At that time it was already known that the new MPH was facing acute financial challenges and other viability issues. Both of the previous program entities brought substantial financial liabilities into the newly merged publishing entity, although the old MPH liabilities were more significant. In the past, the publishing agencies had a mandate of not relying on any subsidies or contributions like other church agencies but to be self-sustaining. Unfortunately, this proved unattainable. Those who are closely involved with the continuing effort to rebuild the publishing arm of the church now understand many of the reasons for the problems. Basically, the previous Mennonite Church General Board in its composition and authority was not properly equipped to exercise meaningful oversight over a situation like the one developing slowly in the old MPH. It took about thirty-five years for the debt to reach its peak. Current church leadership has taken on a high level of accountability for the crisis, and is seeking to implement measures that will lay new foundations to make sure that such a scenario is not repeated. Nevertheless, by December of 2001, the JEC, in close communication with the new MPH Board, faced the prospect of closing down MPH at a cost of about $10 million (USD) or alternatively, restructuring and transforming the publishing agency through a $4.5 million (USD) plan that tending involved the US and Canadian church guaranteeing substantial loans to cover the liabilities. This restructuring and transformation plan is being implemented. The restructuring plan called for significant changes throughout MPH. Debts and other liabilities of about $4.5 million were to be reorganized and paid down as soon as possible. This included seeking to repay $2.4 million (USD) in debentures (basically unsecured notes) and a $400,000 loan from Sharing Programs, a fraternal insurance program owned by Lancaster Conference. The plan also called for $340,000 to God s be set aside for funding a defined benefit retirement plan for 18 retirees who were employed by MPH prior to their participation in the Mennonite Retirement Trust (Dec. 31, 1963). In addition, MPH has been self-funding approximately $600,000 in employee severance costs. Also, the Publishing House had stretched out its payments to its vendors and suppliers with resultant high carrying costs; this liability field was about $750,000. The plan called for major changes in the printing and publishing operations including significant reductions in the number of staff. By April of 2002, thirty people had been affected by the downsizing. The financial dynamics intensified in February, 2002, when MPH s bank lender refused to grant a loan of $1 million and discontinued a line of credit to MPH, creating additional pressure for more funds from the church. The former MPH board was placed in a difficult financial position. This also meant that the JEC needed to increasingly be involved in providing advice on the use of those funds, in order to minimize the financial risks to the two church bodies. In March 2002, the JEC recommended that the Mennonite Church Canada General Board and the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board take action to replace the Mennonite Publishing House Board with a new board composed of members of the current Joint Executive Committee, and to appoint a transformation team to help define the future vision for publishing. Both boards unanimously approved these actions. 10 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

11 The JEC also based its recommendations, in part, on the outcome of a mediation process between MPH and some of its retirees regarding supplemental health benefits which were discontinued in 1999 due to lack of funds. The mediation committee stated that, while MPH did not have a legal obligation to pay the supplemental health benefits, the larger church had a moral obligation to do so on MPH s behalf. This simply increased the church s liability. Actuaries calculate that the total cost of funding this obligation is between.8 and 1.3 million dollars. In the meantime, church leadership has been working to rebuild strained relationships by forming God s meeting directly with the retirees to seek a resolution to the grievance. The solution appears to be that funds must be raised to cover this obligation, although some retirees are able to cover their own supplemental insurance. A People committee is proposed to prioritize the distribution of funds for those retirees most needy. The new MPH board consists of members from the USA and Canada executive committees. They are Ron Sawatsky, chair; Ervin Stutzman, vice chair; and Jim Harder, secretary/treasurer; Duane Oswald, Ruth Naylor, Roy Williams, Joy Kroeger, Sam Steiner, Bruno Friesen and Henry Krause. This move is temporary in that the JEC is making plans to appoint a new MPH Board once the restructuring plan is sufficiently underway and the financial situation is adequately stabilized and when the Transformation Team has completed its work. A timetable is being developed in response to the evolving circumstances. In addition, the JEC has appointed an eightperson church wide transformation team, including U.S. and Canadian members. They include Dan Nighswander and Jim Schrag, cochairs, Donna Driedger, Sue Steiner, Byron Rempel Burkholder, Ruth Sutter, Norman Shenk and Rose Stutzman. It is understood that transformation gives MPH and the church an opportunity to be as futureoriented as possible and to ask what our churches of tomorrow will need from a publishing agency in order to remain strong and to fulfill their mission to the world. Helping to lead the process of restructuring are Paul Silcox, management consultant, and Norman Shenk, financial advisor hired by Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada. The MPH board will work with Silcox and Shenk, and with other MPH staff who have already begun enabling a publishing future for the church. At the time of writing this report, a major debt reduction project has been launched with the initiative coming from Allegheny Conference of MC USA. Individuals and congregations across the US and Canada are being asked to contribute to bring MPH onto a solid financial footing. The details of progress on the re-structuring and the debt reduction campaign are constantly evolving. They are reported in the Canadian Mennonite, and an up-to-date report will be provided at the Saskatoon Assembly. Closing Comments The situation at MPH is extremely complex. It is one that has been created over the span of more than three decades. It will not be fixed in a month, or even a year. It is not possible to describe its complexity in a few words, and yet, we believe it can be turned around. This may be the worst financial trouble we have encountered as a church in the past 100 years of our life. But we cannot just walk away from the problem. We must fix it in as responsible a way as we can even though the stakes are high. We believe that God s work could move forward without a Mennonite publishing ministry. The church has done so in the past and might be able to do so in the future. But we also believe that the church s ministry would be substantially weakened. We understand that print media can be a tremendously powerful means to develop and articulate our identity and call. All parts of the Canadian and US Mennonite Church would be impoverished in their mission if we did not have the means to present our message in written form. We have inherited a tradition of substantial and significant publications, we have a wealth of gifts to cultivate, and we have many opportunities to engage in God s reconciling work. We believe that failure to bring them together in a creative, responsive and vital publishing ministry would be an act of unfaithfulness to what God has called us. We ask for your close consideration and support as this crisis is addressed. The transformation team, the JEC, and the yet to be appointed MPH successor board all covet your prayers and words of encouragement. Jim Harder and Ron Sawatsky Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

12 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES General Secretary FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. GENERAL BOARD EXECUTIVE: Ron Sawatsky Moderator Joy Kroeger Vice-moderator Sam Steiner Secretary Bruno Friesen Finance Chair Henry Krause Member at Large The year since our last assembly has been marked by the very gratifying activity of implementing the plans that have been in process for several years and that were approved at Abbotsford The reports on the following pages describe the activities until the end of April, At the Assembly we will present oral reports with more details, and if necessary, updated information. My report identifies some general observations on our work and life. End of General Conference and Mennonite Church The end of the bi-national church was marked by our staff and guests at a special time of worship and celebration on February 1, Many congregations observed this transition as well. The transition for Canadians has stretched over the past three years and is not yet fully implemented, but February 1 st did mark a very significant point in our re-alignment. For some it was a sad moment; for others it was very welcome; for most it was bitter-sweet as we think about both the opportunities that lie before us and the diminishment of relationships that have been very important in our past. Staff & related changes The work of hiring and incorporating new staff into our team has taken a lot of energy, but it has also generated a lot of energy for us. I am deeply grateful for the wonderful team of capable, creative and energetic staff with whom God has gifted the church. Although it may look like a large number, it is still smaller than the combined numbers we were supporting through the combined bi-national denominations and CMC. It is also important to note that the staff complement of 59 (proposed at Abbotsford 2001) has not yet been met. Every one of our staff is directly involved in ministry and program delivery. We are delighted to include in our staff several persons new to the Mennonite Church, several persons representing ethnic groups new to the Mennonite Church, and several persons who are working for MC Canada from offices across the country from Montreal to Vancouver. Each one brings new perspective and gifts to our community. There continues to be a willingness to be flexible (e.g., office space allocations) and supportive (e.g., prayer for personal as well as professional concerns). Staff meetings and interactions are bursting with the energy of synergistic relationships and creative initiatives. Northwest Mennonite Conference You will have heard by now that the delegates of Northwest Mennonite Conference have voted to withdraw from MC Canada effective March 31, We are disappointed with this decision, and we want to find ways to continue working with those sisters and brothers in NWC churches in any way we can. Please continue to pray for the leaders and churches of NWC as they discern what other options are open to them. Mennonite Publishing House Finding a way to enable MPH to re-structure and continue to serve the church is a concern for several staff members and for the Executive Committee and General Board. There are substantial financial challenges that, if not managed well, could impinge on our resources for other ministries. There are also very significant re-orientation and transformation challenges that, if managed well, could enable MPH to flourish as a publisher of resources for both MC Canada and MC USA. The church press is covering the developments well, and there is also a report on pages The agenda for our assembly includes time to discuss these issues. Budget You are aware that in the fall of 2001, we discovered a gap in our budgeting for next year. We have revised the budget and checked it closely to avoid any further surprises. The revised budget and a report on last year s finances are attached. The budget we are presenting is both prudent and visionary. Our new accounting procedures and software will make it much easier to track both income and expenses throughout the year, and we intend to take full advantage of that facility to ensure that we are responsible with the commitments we have made and the funds of which we are stewards. 12 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

13 Education The General Board has worked since November on a new initiative toward our educational institutions. Various proposals have been considered and re-considered. Many changes are taking place in each of our schools, and the Board s initiative has already impacted the connection we have with them. You will find a recommendation in this Report Book (p ) and a block of time is allotted to discuss this with delegates at this Assembly. Interchurch and Interfaith Relations Several important inter-church events have occurred in the last year. In early December the Canadian Council of Anabaptist Leaders met jointly with the Council of Moderators and Secretaries of the Mennonite and related churches in the US. Ron Sawatsky and I represented MC Canada. Other groups represented included MC USA; the Canadian, US and bi-national Mennonite Brethren churches; Brethren in Christ; Evangelical Mennonite Conference; Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference; Missionary Church (US); and MCC Canada and bi-national structures. Besides developing personal relationships, the meeting gave us a chance to get an overview of what our closest cousins are doing and thinking. The churches represented at this meeting have a lot of wisdom and resources to share amongst themselves, with the larger Christian community in North America, and with the society and world in which we find ourselves. In October, I attended the annual meeting of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) in Ottawa and was very pleased with the developments and the ethos that were evident there. I have also had conversations with EFC President, Gary Walsh. Changes in the membership structure will make it easier for us to participate fully in the EFC. Nelson Kraybill s recent article in the Canadian Mennonite argues, I believe rightly, that Our Future is Evangelical (Canadian Mennonite, Vol. 6, Number 3, Feb 11, 2002). It is fitting that we consider upgrading our engagement with other churches and ministries in the evangelical stream of the Church. In January, I attended the annual retreat for heads of churches in Canada associated with the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC). About fifteen persons attended this year, representing large and small Protestant churches, the Canadian Council of Catholic Bishops, and four Orthodox churches. I was warmly received because most of the people present have had good relationships with Mennonites, both personally and denominationally. We are being urged to engage more with ecumenical initiatives because our perspective is needed and respected not only in the discussion of peace, but also in being the church in a post-modern, post-constantinian world. At the spring meeting of CCC there will be an extended discussion on the churches response to the changing situation of war in the world, especially in the Middle East. Sam Steiner will represent us at this event. We cannot afford to be disconnected from what is happening in any part of Christ s body in Canada at this time. (A report on Inter-Church and Inter- Faith relations is included in this Report Book, page 67. Conclusion We find many congregations across the country are enthusiast about the direction Mennonite Church Canada is taking. We receive many requests for preaching, teaching, sharing resources and otherwise working with congregations as they get involved with the vision for a missional church. We also find many people who are puzzled, even bewildered, by the terminology, the initiatives and the people who represent the changes that are taking place. We have a lot of work to do in communicating what Mennonite Church Canada is about and what God is doing in us and through us. I urge everyone to stay in touch through the Canadian Mennonite and the MC Canada web site ( In conclusion, it continues to be a privilege to serve the church at this time and in this place. When I reflect on the challenges that face Christians in the Middle East, in Latin America, in Indonesia and in other parts of the world, I recognize how light, in comparison, are the burdens we carry. I end my report with an encouragement that we take note of what far greater things God is doing in the world than what we are a part of, and how great is the need across the street and around the world. Let us continue in prayer for our church, but also for God s people wherever they are, and for all whom God loves. May we be open to hear and to respond to what God calls us to be and to do in light of God s priorities, God s passions, and God s will. Your kingdom come, your will be done Dan Nighswander, General Secretary Staff Dan Nighswander General Secretary Gina Loewen Administrative Assistant Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

14 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION General Board Summary The General Board (GB) met in person in Nov/01, Mar/02 and Apr/02, by telephone Jan/02 and by Mar/02 (one item only). The major decisions of the Board are reported below. More detail or full minutes are available on request from Dan Nighswander. WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. General Board Gerd Bartel, BC John Schellenberg, AB Armin Krahn, SK Bernie Wiebe, MB Andy Reesor McDowell, ON Don Alberts, AB, NWC Van Hoa Chau, MB Kathleen Rempel Boschman, MB Willard Metzger, ON Witness Chair Ruth Friesen, AB Formation Chair Eric Fast, MB Support Services Chair Jeremy Bergen, ON Formation rep Hun Lee, MB Witness rep 1. Purpose Statement Nov/01 CONSENSUS to approve Purpose Statement: The General Board leads Mennonite Church Canada in developing and nurturing its identity and vision. It ensures that MC Canada fulfills its mission statement through directing and coordinating the work of the Councils, engaging in timely strategic planning, and fostering partnerships with and between its area conferences. It also partners with other church bodies both in Canada and internationally. The General Board is the legal representative of Mennonite Church Canada and acts on behalf of its members between the delegate assemblies to which it is accountable. 2. Mennonite Church/General Conference formal statements Nov/01 CONSENSUS to affirm MC Canada as successor owner of MC/GC statements 3. Mennonite World Conference (MWC) a) MWC Fair Share Nov/01 CONSENSUS to allocate 1% of undesignated donations to MWC, beginning FYE2003 CONSENSUS to adjust the amount for FYE2003 to $36,000 Mar/02 b) discussion with MWC representatives on mutual expectations Apr/02 4. Diversity Project Report received Nov/01 extended report received (at Leadership Assembly) Mar/02 5. Canadian Mennonite Directory Nov/01 CONSENSUS to approve proposal for directory 6. Staff Self-care Nov/01 encouraged staff to attend to their own and each other s care 7. Circulation of H. Harder s article on new Mennonite Church logo Nov/01 CONSENSUS to encourage wider circulation; suggested use of logo on bulletin covers 8. Mennonite Publishing House (MPH) a) financial crisis explained Nov/01 b) loan Jan/02, Mar/02 ACTION authorizing GB officers/staff to negotiate/sign loan for up to $1.5 million, in form of 2nd mortgage, borrowed from MFC or other lender approved by Exececutive Commmittee c) MPH Board appointment Mar/02 ACTION to appoint Ron Sawatsky, Joy Kroeger and Sam Steiner to MPH Board 9. Christian Formation a) youth activities in Saskatoon and future youth assemblies Nov/01, Mar/02 CONSENSUS to affirm planning of activities for Saskatoon; Encouraged Formation Council to work with area conference youth leaders for future plans ACTION to approve various youth assembly policies 10. Christian Witness Council a) publicly-used agency name Nov/01 CONSENSUS to welcome recommendation to use Mennonite Church Canada Witness as the public name for that part of MC Canada work b) agency connections Mar/02 CONSENSUS on presumption that council relationships to other agencies does not require vetting by GB unless deemed appropriate CONSENSUS approving MC Canada as CPT sponsoring agency 14 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

15 11. Support Services Nov/01 a) Restricted Contributions Policy approved 12. Financial Issues a) congregational transfer of funding - Nov/01 CONSENSUS urging congregational letter be sent immediately, followed by phone calls by GB members to congregations b) revised budget approved Mar/02 c) cost of living allowance (COLA) Mar/02 ACTION to approve 2.7% for MC Canada staff retroactive 02/01/02; optional for CMBC d) MC Canada s Bequest Fund Policy, Mar/02 ACTION for one time override to balance budget up to Jan e) interim New Initiatives Policy Mar/02 CONSENSUS to approve policy; authorized Exec. Staff to act as interim Grants Committee f) Designated Giving Policy Mar/02 CONSENSUS to approve policy; clarified wording to be discussed at April meetings g) Binational Assembly, 2005 Mar/02 CONSENSUS affirmed Toronto as best location; accepted MC USA staff support offer, indicating wish for 50% CDN representation on volunteer committees h) Budget Nov/01, Mar/02 ACTION to approve for MC Canada budget for FYE 2003, including variance for FYE 2003 and FYE 2004 through increase in designated giving by setting aside bequest endowment fund restrictions; staff instructed to develop backup plan 13. CMBC/CMU a) interim accountability Nov/01 CONSENSUS to request regular written report for GB meetings until new relationships are defined; asked Support Services to provide analysis on property/office space issues b) CMBC Acting President Mar/02 CONSENSUS to appoint John Unger during Gerald Gerbrandt s sabbatical c) repayment schedule for loan Mar/02 ACTION to adjust repayment schedule, with final payment FYE 2006, contingent on MC Canada lender d) at-large CMBC board member, Mar/02 CONSENSUS to appoint Willie Enns as additional at-large member 14. Education Recommendation a) CONSENSUS to approve draft 1 for testing with schools and conferences Nov/01 b) CONSENSUS to circulate draft 2 for further testing Mar/02 c) CONSENSUS to present draft 3 to delegates at Assembly 2002 Apr/ Inter-Church Relations in MC Canada (Evangelical Fellowship of Canda/Canadian Council of Churches affiliation) Mar/02, Apr/02 CONSENSUS to form an Inter-church / Inter-faith relations reference group and to begin discussion with delegates on upgrading our relationship with EFC and CCC 16. Abbotsford Resolution on Health Care Mar/02 CONSENSUS affirming initiative by CMHA for inter-mennonite forum on health care Abbotsford Summary of Actions July 11-14, 2001 MOTION #3 The bylaws for Mennonite Church Canada are approved as presented in the report book. (M/S/ General Board/Albert Durksen) The motion carried with no dissenting votes. MOTION #4 A deviation from the bylaws is approved to accommodate the present appointments to the General Council of Mennonite World Conference by allowing Justina Heese to complete the final two years of her term (and relate to the Christian Formation Council) and Menno Epp to complete the final two years of his term (and relate to the General Board) and appoint Laura Loewen to a two-year term as representative of the Christian Witness Council. (M/S/ General Board/Jake Harms) Carried MOTION #5 The slate of nominees be approved as presented. (M/S/ Nominating Committee/Mildred Roth) Carried MOTION #6 The delegate assembly approves the budget presented in the Report Book for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2002, with the addition of $252,000 for information technology and added salary costs: and, FURTHER the delegate assembly approves the projections for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2003, as outlined in the Stewardship Report with the addition of $163,000 for information technology. (M/S/ General Board/Wally Kroeker) MOTION #7 The delegate assembly appoints KPMG as the auditor for Mennonite Church Canada for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2002 and as the auditor for the Mennonite Church Canada Pension Plan for the fiscal year ending December 31, (M/S/ Bruno Friesen/Al Rempel) Carried See page for Resolutions passed at Abbotsford Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

16 Organization Mennonite Church Canada AREA CHURCHES AND THEIR CONGREGATIONS DELEGATE ASSEMBLY GENERAL BOARD 1 EXECUTIVE FORMATION Youth and Young Adult Ministries Youth ministry Young adult ministry Church schools agency Mennonite Camping Association 3 Canadian Association of Mennonite Schools 3 Congregational and Ministerial Leadership Calling and formation of pastors Pastoral placement Lay leadership training Company of 1000 Faith and Life Seminary and Church Colleges 3 Publishing and Resources Resource Centre Mennonite Heritage Centre and Gallery Der Bote Mennonite Publishing House 3 Christian Education and Nurture Children s ministry Spiritual formation Peace, stewardship & mission education Family-based ministry Seniors ministry WITNESS International ministries Education and leadership Community development Health care and concern Evangelism and Church planting Publication Peace education and conflict resolution Support of partner churches Christian dialogue National ministries Multi-cultural ministry Native ministry Service ministry Peace and justice ministry Outreach and Church planting Congregational Partnerships Constituency connections Missional education and partnership education Mennonite Central Committee 3 Mennonite Disaster Service 3 Canadian Women in Mission Christian Peacemaker Teams 3 New life ministry 1. The General Board is responsible for relationships with Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite World Conference 2,, other Mennonite Churches, Canadian Council of Churches, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and other inter-church relations. Historic relationships with AMBS and CMBC and new relationships with CMU, CGUC, and CBC are evolving and are the responsibility of the General Board. 2. One member of each council is an appointee to Mennonite World Conference. SUPPORT SERVICES Constituency Relations Resource Development Communications Annual Assembly Stewardship (Mennonite Foundation of Canada 2 ) New initiatives Canadian Mennonite 3 Administration Finance Pension Plan Property Management Human Resources Information Technology 3. These ministries are related to Mennonite Church Canada, usually through the appointment of board members, but are shared with other partners. 16 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

17 Nominees Moderator (2yr) Henry Krause Langley Mennonite Fellowship, BC Henry has been pastoring at Langley Mennonite for the past 13 years. His service on the MC Canada General Board, various MCC BC boards, and the MCC Canada Peace and Service committee clearly demonstrate Henry s dedication to the work of the church. Vision: My vision for Mennonite Church Canada is for a Canadian church that is a community of churches, living faithfully under the lordship of Christ. A national church that embraces the diversity of our many churches the variety of cultures, worship styles, languages, gifts and abilities, social involvements, reconciliation initiatives, and ways of being Christ to our neighbours. A national church that can encourage, support and provide resources for our work together as we partner with God, bringing healing and hope to a broken world. CMBC Board (3yr) Grace Funk Zion Mennonite Church, Swift Current, SK A music teacher and church office secretary, Grace is actively involved in Christian Education and Music & Worship at Zion Mennonite. She has taught and served as a board member at the former Swift Current Bible Institute, and has also served on the Camp Elim board and SK Conference Education Committee. Vision: That we be a community of churches who love and accept each other and work together, building the Kingdom of God in Canada today. Together we can do more than each can do alone, such as resourcing, communicating, witnessing to and working in our world. Assistant Moderator (2yr) Joy Kroeger Hanley Mennonite Church, SK A financial management advisor in the healthcare sector, Joy has served as secretary and currently as assistant moderator of MC Canada. She has also been actively involved as treasurer and board member of Rosthern Junior College, Saskatoon Community Mediation Services, and Big Sisters Association of Saskatoon. Vision: That Mennonite Church Canada will be able to partner and fellowship more effectively with the global church, that it will be flexible enough to provide structures, program and resources to benefit all congregations and area conferences, and that we, as a Canadian church, will respond to God s call and proclaim the Good News in word and deed so that God s healing and hope [will] flow through us to the world. CMBC Board (3yr) Harold Hildebrand Schlegel St. Jacobs Mennonite Church, ON Currently pastor of St. Jacobs Mennonite, Harold has had a long time interest in youth and young adult ministry and Christian formation. He has filled various church roles, including youth minister for the Western Ontario Mennonite Conference, Associate Pastor at Hillcrest Mennonite, and Interim Chaplain for Conrad Grebel College. He has also served with the MCEC Gift Discernment Committee and MCC Ontario Peace Committee. Vision: I long to see Mennonite Church Canada renewed in a Nominating Committee Members: Arney Froese, BC Tim Wiebe-Neufeld, AB Renata Klassen, SK Henry Loewen, MB Herb Schultz, ON For we are God s servants, working together. 1Corinthians 3:9 passionate desire to be disciples of Jesus Christ and for our Church to truly become a place of healing and hope for all peoples. I believe our schools and colleges have a vital role to play challenging and nurturing the church today and laying the ground work for the future. I pray that the people of MC Canada will be known for their sustaining spiritual life; their compassion for all people, and their commitment to the way of peace. Thank you... Thank you to the nominees who have volunteered to contribute their gifts to the leadership of the church. Mennonite Church Canada council members are a dedicated body of church workers. They volunteer their time, dedicate countless hours to the work of the church and continually surprise us with their generosity and commitment. Through the efforts of staff and council members, Mennonite Church Canada continues to work at aligning itself with God s purposes from across the street to around the world. Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

18 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Christian Witness Council (3yr) Dori Zerbe Cornelsen Hope Mennonite Church, Winnipeg MB Dori is the pastor at Hope Mennonite, and is actively involved in conference work, having served on the CMC Ministries Commission, the MC Canada Mission Transition Team, and one year on the Christian Witness Council. An active volunteer in neighbourhood classrooms and special events, Dori also has significant interests in global relationships and peace & justice issues. Vision: I embrace the vision that God is active in our world and invites us to align ourselves with the activity of restoration and redemption in the world, for the earth and all her inhabitants. I hope that as a church we will be moved by this vision to actions of love, justice and peace in discipleship to Jesus Christ. Christian Witness Council (3yr) Ernest J Epp Nutana Park Mennonite Church, Saskatoon, SK Ernest has served on the Christian Witness Council for one year. He is active in Adult Sunday school, volunteer services and a Monday morning study group and is also actively involved in a literacy program in northern Saskatchewan. Vision: That MC Canada s macro vision be focussed on participating in God s work in the world; that the Christian Church manifest a spirit of non-judgemental inclusivity for all persons of all nations; that the national church be a visible witness for peace in our troubled world. Christian Witness Council (3yr) Abe Buhler United Mennonite of Black Creek, BC Abe is currently pastoring at United Mennonite in Black Creek. Having spent 11 years church planting in Brazil, Abe maintains connections with the Brazilian church community, as well as interests in keeping the church aware of the global implications of the gospel. Vision: I would like to see resources structured and channeled to give expression of God s love in word and deed in the international context of the Mennonite church. Our task is one that requires a continuous nurturing of passion which gives heart to the gospel. Christian Formation Council (3yr) Van Hoa Chau Winnipeg Vietnamese Mennonite Church, MB Van Hoa serves as a volunteer assistant pastor of the Vietnamese Mennonite Church in Winnipeg. He is also serving as the treasurer of the North American Vietnamese Mennonite Fellowship. A former member-at-large of the General Board for MC Canada, Van Hoa offers a deep desire for Christian education and church planting in the way of partnership. Vision: Mennonite Church Canada supplies the tools, multicultural groups dig, congregations plant and God harvests. Christian Formation Council (3yr) Veronica Dyck Point Grey Inter- Mennonite Fellowship, Vancouver, BC Veronica is currently employed in a customer service role and serves as secretary for the Point Grey congregation. Veronica has had various church involvements, including worship leader coordinator and committee member at Point Grey, a member of the organizing committee for the 1995 Abbotsford conference, and presenter of Anabaptist Women Doing Theology in Winnipeg, She is a graduate of CMBC and completed a PhD in Religious Social Ethics at McGill University. Vision: To continue to listen to God s leading in the new venture, MC Canada, a place to learn from and be challenged by our various understandings of how we as a church relate to each other and to our wider world. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

19 Christian Formation Council (3yr) Donna Driedger Osler Mennonite Church, SK A recently retired school teacher, Donna has been involved in church education and music activities. She has served on the Christian Education Commission of MC Saskatchewan, as well as CERP for the General Conference for 22 years. Vision: I feel a deep compassion to spread the good news to make the world a better place. I am very interested in how the church seeks to fulfill the mandate of the Bible and Jesus. I would like MC Canada/ Formation Council to be a visionary for the people and with the people. We cannot lead if there are no followers! Christian Formation Council (3yr) Rudy Franz Bergthaler Mennonite Church of Gretna, MB Rudy has served as pastor of Gretna Bergthaler for the past 13 years. He is currently part of the Nominations Committee for MC Manitoba, and has served the former Leadership Commission for MC Canada. Vision: My vision is that we would be a church community, boldly proclaiming Christ as Lord, willing to call forth leaders and nurture them with our prayer, example, teaching and worship experiences. Support Services Council (3yr) Sheila Wiens-Neufeld Zoar Mennonite Church, Langham SK The coordinator of the Health Care Admin. Certificate Program at the U of SK, Sheila is involved in her church as treasurer and executive member of Mennonite Church Saskatchewan, treasurer and worship cttee. member in her home congregation, as well as participant in the ladies group. Vision: that one day all member congregations and individuals would be able to think and act with a missional church mindset, striving to live out God s word in everyday as well as in extraordinary activities, to ensure that the Good News of God s love might be spread both locally and globally, in word and action. Support Services Council (1yr) Bruno Friesen Foothills Mennonite, Calgary AB Bruno has served on the Support Services Council during the past year. His many church/conference involvements include serving on the Mennonite Church Canada finance committee; serving as Foothills Mennonite Church congregational chair person; and as an MCC Alberta program board member. Vision: My vision for MC Canada is that it becomes a church body that is generously funded and well managed; a body that unites and enables persons to do God s work; a body that brings healing and hope to persons in all parts of the world. Nominating Committee (3yr) Glenn Zehr Riverdale Mennonite Church, Millbank ON Having served as pastor at Riverdale Mennonite for 18 years, Glenn is currently an interim pastor anticipating transition. Glenn has been involved in other church work as a member of the Mennonite Church General Board, Canada Country Structures Committee, and various positions on the MCEC Executive Board. He has faithfully attended a majority of the General Assemblies of the Mennonite Church since 1977 and CMC/MC Canada annual meetings in recent years. Vision: My vision for MC Canada is that each congregation will become more missional. I will try to help find persons to serve in the various leadership roles of MC Canada that are visionary, missional and committed to Christ and the church, and that have the gifts that are needed at this time in the life of the new Mennonite Church....neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 1 Cor. 3:7 Note: Christian Formation Council (1yr) Ruth Friesen First Mennonite Church, Edmonton AB Ruth has faithfully served the Resources Commission (now Christian Formation Council) since The General Board recommends that Ruth be appointed to continue for one year as Chair of the Christian Formation Council. Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

20 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. MC BC Staff Henry Kliewer Conference Minister Chris Arney Evangelism and Church Development Director Ellie Loewen Administrative Secretary (until June 8,2002) Camp Squeah Staff: Rudy Kehler Executive Director Rob Tiessen Program Director Dan Friesen Property Manager Eileen Neufeld Food Services Manager La Vern Klassen Admin Assistant Photos: Chris Arney Mennonite Church British Columbia Activity: A provincial area conference that desires to express unity by a passionate allegiance and commitment to Jesus Christ; reflecting and including in our thirty-nine congregations the diversity of languages, ethnic and social backgrounds present in BC. Year-round, Camp Squeah provides a place of refuge in a natural setting where people of all ages can build relationships, grow and be nurtured. In partnership with the Mennonite Brethren Church we support Columbia Bible College as it prepares students for a life of discipleship, service and ministry in the contemporary world. Ministry goals and objectives: We are resolved to sow, grow and reproduce healthy churches and believers within British Columbia. Average Annual Budget: $642,500 (without Camp Squeah) $1,236,300 (with Squeah) Reporting to: We are affiliated with Mennonite Church Canada, accountable to our churches and delegates who represent the churches at our Annual Sessions. Chief Officers: Gerd Bartel, moderator; Doug Epp, vicemoderator; Lorin Bergen, secretary; Jane Andres, treasurer Being Sent... It was a difficult meeting. Turned down by Immigration, they d given him his departure date which had come and gone some days earlier. He said he wanted help (and Churches are supposed to be compassionate). What he wanted was cash. What he needed was a changed life. The congregation would have been glad to walk with him as he straightened out his affairs. They wanted to help him face the consequences of his choices. But it was clear that what he wanted, and what the church thought he needed, were not the same thing. He didn t want anyone to walk with him. He didn t want to alter his lifestyle, or face consequences. He said they weren t Christian, or they would have helped him (given him the money). They said they were trying to help, but he wasn t willing to receive it. He left angry and empty handed. They left sad. planting BC s fellowships meet people every day with a multitude of needs. In the context of Christian communities offering healing and hope, they can often find the help they need. Sometimes they don t. And then again, often, they do... A woman left her homeland because everything she had was already lost. She came to Vancouver to start over. Once she d been a professional, but in Canada they didn t recognize her training or her skills. Once she d been Catholic, but now, in making new beginnings she d shucked that garment too. It hadn t fit her well. But with no job, no home, no friends, she eventually found herself living on the street. Some months ago, she met someone from a one of our congregations. Further talk followed along with coffee, hot meals, and some clothes from the thrift store. Conversation and visits grew. She came to worship, and stayed for the coffee and conversation in her mother tongue. People in the church found her a place to stay. They found useful things for her to do. She d really only planned to visit long enough to get the things she wanted. But for some reason she found herself remaining, and receiving the things she really needed. She met Jesus through that church, and found meaning in that community. She came very much seeking things for the immediate present, but they also helped her find a whole new future. These are just two stories of how MCBC is engaged in God s mission. There are many more that can be told and will yet be told. submitted by MCBC staff 20 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

21 Mennonite Church Alberta Activity: Mennonite Church Alberta seeks to be a community of Anabaptist-Mennonite congregations growing as communities of grace, joy and peace, and together presenting Jesus Christ to the world. This past year has been a significant one for our congregations and our conference. More than a year and a half ago, following times of disruption and fractured relationships, we committed ourselves to a Covenant of Renewal: a renewal of our individual and corporate faith, of commitment to faithful living, of reaffirming and rebuilding relationships between and among individuals and congregations, of renewing our passion for nurturing evangelism and service. Through much prayer and much dedicated effort on the part of our Conference General Council, our pastors, our congregational leaders, and our congregations, we are again becoming a united Conference. For over a year, a Restructuring Committee worked closely in consultation with our congregations to develop a new constitution which would give clearer expression to our faith and convictions, and which would provide a structure and process to help us accomplish our goals. This Committee was chaired by Menno Epp, Saskatoon, [former Moderator of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada], and was composed of Ernie Toews (Foothills - Calgary), Rob Baerg (Rosemary), Linden Willms (Springridge), Kurt Janz (First - Calgary), Ruth Neufeldt (Foothills - Calgary). This group received assistance from a Review and Editing Committee composed of former Moderators of our Conference: Henry Goerzen (Didsbury), Ted Rempel (First - Edmonton), and Dan Klassen (Coaldale). Legal advice and review was provided by Colin Neufeldt (First - Edmonton). All of these groups worked so effectively in consultation with our congregations that at our Annual Assembly in Didsbury in early March, the delegates approved the document by an overwhelming margin in excess of 98%! We are now Mennonite Church Alberta. God be praised! Looking to the Future 1. This will be an exciting year of implementing our new Constitution some new committees, new processes, and new directions. Working to improve communication and relationships between and among our congregations will be high on our agenda. 2. One of the significant provisions of our new constitution invites our pastors to work together more actively to provide spiritual direction and counsel for our congregations and our Conference. 3. Camping Ministry Youth Ministry: We look for dynamic leadership from our new Camp Valaqua directors Don and Tanya Dyck-Steinman of Waterloo. Our Camp Committee is engaged in planning significant up-grades to the facilities including the Vauxhall Cabin specifically for individuals with physical handicaps. 4. Our Conference has approved the creation of a new full-time position, Conference Minister Mission Facilitator. This position will be jointly funded and administered by MCA and MC Canada. We want to be more active and intentional in sharing our faith and our resources. submitted by John Schellenberg MCA Officers John Schellenberg Moderator Lorne Buhr Secretary Linden Willms Vice-Moderator Don Neufeldt Finance Allyson Enns (Edmonton) and Amanda Brown (Didsbury) float with campers down the Little Red Deer River. Photos: Nicky Berg Valaqua counsellors Tyler Regehr (Tofield) and Jeff Friesen (Edmonton) create a moment to remember. Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

22 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES Mennonite Church Saskatchewan FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES Activity A body of thirty-eight congregations seeking to align themselves with God s purposes in the world. Ministry goals and objectives To provide nurture, leadership and assistance to local congregations, through connecting them with each other, the wider church and the global community. Doing together what we can t do as individual congregations. Average Annual Budget $ 422,000 North Saskatchewan River. (from an article by Peter Wilson, agworld, Sept. 8, 1999) The timber framing part of the project went well thanks to the leadership of the Peters brothers from Mitchell, Manitoba. growing Mennonite Church Saskatchewan members were joined by individuals from the Saskatchewan Correctional Centre Urban Camp program, who served part of their sentence working on projects in the community. Urban Camp workers were brought to and from Shekinah by Saskatoon area Mennonite Church volunteers, resulting in over 21,000 kms of driving, and 2500 hours of labour. ACTIONS, ETC. Reporting to Executive / General Council (Armin J. Krahn, moderator; Allan Klassen, vice moderator; Lois Mierau, secretary; Henry Jantzen: finance chair) and the congregations of MC Sask. When funds ran low and spirits dropped, local contractors offered their expertise at little more than cost, individuals came forward with unexpected donations and others did more creative fundraising. Staff Rudy Froese Conference Minister (until summer, 2002) Anna Rehan Conference Youth Minister Wendy Harder Conference Young Adult Minister (until summer, 2002) Shekinah Retreat Centre - Timber Lodge is an outdoor education and recreational centre, providing year round facilities and programming for church retreats, weddings and business conferences. Raising funds Raising beams Raising children Raising dreams! It started as a dream. It grew into an architect s drawing - which led to a building committee - from which the idea to dismantle a grain elevator emerged - to volunteers from many walks of life being invited and challenged to be part of the almost forgotten art of timber frame construction. And the broader community watched, with great anticipation, as the largest timberframed building in Western Canada took shape. The racket of hammers, saws and other miscellaneous construction tools merged with the sweet sounds of laughter as the keen spirit of volunteerism came together in a building bee on the banks of the In the past three years, Mennonite Church Saskatchewan constituents have rubbed shoulders with the wider community in the same way that a prairie fire can race across fields. A dream has taken hold and people have become excited, dedicating time and energy, with no immediate rewards other than the belief that Timber Lodge is a worthwhile project and they want to be part of it. Even though Timber Lodge is not fully completed, it is functional, comfortable and ready for visitors. The Saskatchewan Women in Mission were the first to test out the new beds, feel the warmth of the timber shelter, and wake in the morning to see the incredible view from the Lodge windows. Timber Lodge represents a dream to those that believe in the meaning of the word Shekinah the radiance and presence of God s glory among God s people. It is to be shared and experienced by all who come to Shekinah Retreat Centre. May we seek God s face as we pursue the fruition of this and many other dreams for ministry. submitted by Armin Krahn, moderator, MC Sask. 22 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

23 Mennonite Church Manitoba Activity We are forty-seven congregations with 9,821 members working together in three ministry areas: 1) Evangelism and Service Ministries 2) Education Ministries 3) Leadership Ministries We also work together in the area of Church Relations. Evangelism and Service Ministries includes radio broadcasting in three languages, and special choirs engaged in music ministries both in Manitoba and beyond. Media Services also includes a professional recording studio that serves both MCM and other organizations. Education Ministries includes three camps that operate year-round for a variety of retreats, watering school rentals, children s camps (primarily in summer), and rentals for family reunions, etc. Ministry goals and objectives Our vision is to be a community of congregations unified in Jesus Christ, living a biblical Anabaptist faith, together presenting Jesus Christ to the world. We see ourselves growing in size and faithfulness, and building up our community of churches. Our mission is to resource and empower each other, and to facilitate spiritual growth, service, and evangelism. We have come through a six-year period of restructuring that has involved changing to a new policy governance model which empowers staff to become much more mobile, flexible, and able to respond to church energies and initiatives. Through Reference Groups, Ministry Directors are in touch with regional concerns and goals that help us truly become servants of the churches. Average Annual Budget $1.75 Million Reporting to MCM delegates elect a regionally representative 7-member Board of Directors who have overall responsibility to carry forward the policies which MCM staff implement. Current Board members are Bernie Wiebe (Moderator), Armin Ens, Albert Durksen, Robert Martens, Bob Pauls, Hugo Peters, Bernie Tiessen and Ruth Wiens. MCA reports to congregations through delegate participation at annual conferences. Ministry Experience - a story Loretta Friesen. Loretta was a Bible Instructor at Camp Moose Lake in Loretta grew up in the Covenant Mennonite Church, Winkler, where she got involved in church life. She also attended Camp Moose Lake for 10 years. She revelled in all the activities and felt very loved and accepted, as if camp were her second home. After Grade ten, Loretta became a counsellor in training. That experience helped her to grow and stretch her faith. Loretta continued as a counsellor and an activity leader. In 2001, Camps with Meaning invited Loretta to serve as Bible Instructor. Her decision was the result of a long and prayerful process. It came down to the fact that I couldn t say no to God. Loretta s goal for Bible teaching was that campers experience worship as a holy moment. Loretta surrounded her work with prayer, especially the Thursday Invitation to Faith. I was hoping that the campers would feel the Holy Spirit moving in them at the Invitation to Faith Campfire. Camp Ministry made an impact on campers. One camper ed Loretta to say that her life had changed, and that Loretta s influence was helping her to pursue her relationship with God. Loretta rejoices that she had opportunity to pray with another girl as she gave her life to Christ. Loretta, like many other camp staff, has returned to CMU with her ministry gifts affirmed and her excitement for learning renewed. Loretta s experience is but one story of ministry in action. May God, through us, grant us many more Lorettas. submitted by MCM staff Staff Victor Kliewer Executive Director (until summer, 2002) Area Directors: Norm Voth Evangelism & Service Ministries Bob Wiebe Education Ministries Sig Polle Leadership Ministries (John P. Klassen begins August, 2002) Loretta Friesen getting ready to sail at Camp Moose Lake. Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

24 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Mennonite Church Eastern Canada Activity A body of ninety-two congregations reaching out to our neighbours across the street and around the world. Ministry goals and objectives To provide ministry and leadership resources that empower congregations for ministry in their communities and to connect these same congregations to God s mission in the global church. Average Annual Budget $1.62 million Reporting to Executive Board, congregations of MCEC tending The Lao Community Reaches Out to Newcomers From its beginning, MCEC has embraced many cultures. Our congregations worship in ten different languages. During our Spring Conference Sessions we had the pleasure of welcoming the Toronto United Lao Mennonite Fellowship as an emerging congregation and our third Lao congregation. This fellowship of approximately thirty people grew out of Pastor Boris Sithideth s ministry in Toronto over the past seven years. The congregation is intentional about acknowledging the diversity among the Lao people. In worship, scripture is read in four languages, Lao, Thai, Mandarin and English, with Lao and English being their two official languages. Congregational leaders are concerned that all Lao people feel welcome. Administrative Staff Ester Neufeldt Accountant James Watson Administrative Assistant Elsie Horst Administrative Secretary Lisa Schell Program Secretary Bev Raimbault Mission Secretary God s field Program Staff: Jeff Steckley Giving Project Consultant Coordinator Ilene Bergen Minister of Christian Education Mary Mae Schwartzentruber Minister of Mission J. Laurence Martin Minister of Pastoral Leadership Training Muriel Bechtel Minister of Pastoral Services Chris Buhler Minister of Peace, Justice and Social Concerns Mark Diller Harder Minister of Student and Young Adult Ministries Andy Brubacher Kaethler Minister of Youth Ministries Minister to Conference David Brubacher In interacting with the Lao people, we are reminded of similarities with Mennonite people of various backgrounds. Foremost is the shared story of being a displaced people. Today we find a common meeting place in Jesus and in a new homeland. MCEC board member Lorraine Sawatzky with Pastor Boris Sithedeth As the Lao people embrace Christian faith they have a passion for reaching out to their own people. Many have gone back to their home land with the distinct purpose of sharing the good news of Jesus with their families. In doing so they are indeed reaching out to the neighbour across the street and around the world. submitted by David Brubacher, Minister to Conference 24 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

25 Before and After... An at-a-glance guide to the programs and ministries of Mennonite Church Canada Was... Becomes... (in Canada) Includes... Ministries Commission (Winnipeg) Commission on Overseas Mission (GC, Newton) Mennonite Board of Mission (MC, Elkhart) Commission on Home Ministries (GC, Newton) Mennonite Church Canada Witness International Ministries: Asia & Middle East Europe Latin America Africa National Ministries: Outreach & Church Planting Christian Service Ministry (MVS, Short-term service) Congregational Partnerships Peace & Justice (Shared with Formation) Multi-cultural Ministry Native Ministry Resources Commission (Winnipeg) Leadership Commission (Winnipeg) Ministerial Leadership Office (GC, Newton) Commission on Education (GC, Newton) Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries (MC, Elkhart) Mennonite Board of Education (MC, Elkhart) Mennonite Church Canada Formation Christian Education and Nurture: Peace & Justice (Shared with Witness) Worship & Spiritual Formation Youth & Young Adult Ministry Publishing and Resources Resource Centre Mennonite Heritage Centre and Art Gallery Der Bote Ministerial & Congregational Leadership Denominational Minister Congregational Leadership Division of General Services (GC, Newton) General Board (MC, Elkhart) and administrative support for Mennonite Board of Missions Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries, Conference of Mennonites in Canada Mennonite Church Canada Support Services Finance Human Resources Communications Resource Development Assembly Planning Other Administrative Support Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

26 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES Formation tending Mandate: The purpose of the programs, ministries and agencies of the Christian Formation Council of Mennonite Church Canada is, in partnership with area conferences and their congregations to lead, motivate, and offer resources to the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world, through ministries of Christian formation, in our walk with God and each other. Provide Ministry goals and objectives It is with gratitude to God and to the congregations of Mennonite Church Canada, that Mennonite Church Canada Formation embraces ministries that energize the church for doing God s work in the world. Mennonite Church Canada Formation is thankful for the heritage of bi-national church programs and anticipates creativity and energy for new and ongoing programs. AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Christian Formation Council Ruth Friesen, AB Chair Paul Bergen, AB Walter Paetkau, BC Jeremy Bergen, ON GB rep Don Rempel Boschman, MB Sue Steiner, ON Ken Dueck, MB Elsie Rempel, MB Kuaying Teng, ON Gary Martens, MB Reporting to Christian Formation Council Discernment: The missional church is shaped by its worship, nurture, leadership and community life. support The Christian Formation Council has discerned that congregations and area conferences call us to initiate and/or continue the following formation ministries: To emphasize that witness and formation belong together. As we are formed in God s likeness, we give witness to God s work in the emphasize world. As we engage in witness, we are transformed to be more Christ like. Together with area conferences, Mennonite Church Canada Formation seeks to provide resources and leadership that will lead to holistic formation and recognize witness. To recognize more fully the 40 plus newer Mennonite congregations (congregations whose language of worship is neither English nor German), that relate to Mennonite Church Canada. We are encouraged to create and translate resources for these emerging congregations. We are beginning to explore ways in which these congregations inform the work of Mennonite Church Canada and constituency. To ensure that youth have opportunity to relate to the church in meaningful ways, by providing leadership and resources. To invite youth to teach us how to be the church in this age in ensure which they are fully immersed. To support the ministry of young adults, by providing leadership and resources. To provide resources for those in pastoral and lay leadership in congregations. expand To continue and expand our Biblical understanding of peace and justice in relation to our world. To link peace, justice, and witness in a holistic way. give gather Kaeul Kim checks out the brochures at Mennonite Church Canada. Kaeul s parents, Nak-sun and Key, came from Korea to study at CMU. Nak-sun completed his studies in spring discern To discern the publishing needs of our denomination and work in cooperation with Mennonite Publishing House to make publishing decisions. To give careful attention to worship by creating, suggesting, critiquing and distributing resources to congregations. To continue to publish quality devotional reading, information for readers and information publish about MC Canada and related organizations, to the German reading constituency, by publishing Der Bote. To continue to gather and preserve archival materials of national interest and make these available to constituents and researchers. To offer a space for exploring the relationship between the visual arts and spirituality and preserve worship. To search for ways in which the visual arts can become part of witness, service and worship. offer Justina M. Heese, Executive Secretary Mennonite Church Canada Formation 26 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

27 13 Ways to participate: Use and promote Anabaptist resources in your congregation and home. Connect to an emerging newer ethnic congregation. Worship together. Pray for each other. Consider calling someone in your congregation to pastoral ministry. Provide resources to make preparation for ministry possible. Contribute to the Company of 1000 to make funds available for pastoral leadership training. Share your worship resources with other Mennonite Church Canada congregations and beyond. Send an to the Director of Worship and Spiritual Formation or the Resource Centre of Mennonite Church Canada. Pray for Mennonite schools, elementary, high schools, colleges, university and seminary. Subscribe to Der Bote for members in your congregation whose first language is German. Encourage musicians and artists in our congregations and beyond to reflect on the spiritual significance of their gifts and have them share this with the congregation. Discern how your gifts and abilities can be used to do God s work in the world. Include the formation needs of Mennonite World Conference congregations in your prayers and gifts. Include children, youth and young adults in your worship planning and/or committee appointments. Research the story of God s faithfulness through historical records. Record and pass on the story of God s activity in the life of the church and his people. Contribute time and money for the work of Mennonite Church Canada Formation. Young musicians serve at Charleswood Mennonite, Winnipeg. Dylan and Brett Zacharias with Resource Centre puppet. Contact the Resource Centre for puppet ministry Resources. Multi-cultural prayer during Abbotsford 2001, worship service. Mennonite Heritage Centre and Gallery continues to attract and build relationships. Der Bote continues to connect and nurture the German-speaking community of Mennonite Church Canada. and Staff Justina Heese andformation forming Executive Secretary Henry Paetkau Denominational Minister Maurice Martin Director of Congregational Leadership Development Marilyn Houser Hamm Director, Worship and Spirituality Isbrand Hiebert Editor, Der Bote Lois Bergen Administrative Assistant Andrea Dick Typesetter, Der Bote Alf Redekopp Director, Mennonite Heritage Centre Ray Dirks Curator, Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery Connie Wiebe Administrative Assistant, Mennonite Heritage Centre & Gallery Conrad Stoesz Archivist, Mennonite Heritage Centre Connie Loeppky Co-manager, Resource Centre Kathy Giesbrecht Co-manager, Resource Centre Anne Campion, Director, Youth Ministries Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

28 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Formation Partners: Mennonite Camping Association (MCA), (relating to Mennonite Church Canada) serves several key functions. It provides an opportunity for pastoral fellowship when camp staff gather for annual conventions and provides a setting for articulating mission for Mennonite camping: seeking God s face in creation, receiving God s love in Christ, and radiating God s Spirit to the world. The MCA values the support and the opportunity to provide linkage and dialogue with Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA through representation by denominational staff on the MCA Board. submitted by Bob Wiebe, Mennonite Church Manitoba Canadian Association of Mennonite Schools has been established with the primary purpose to enable each member school to serve its supporting constituency and its student body more effectively through its school programs. It is assumed that greater cooperation among Mennonite schools, as well as among the supporting churches of those schools, will result in a strengthening of Christian education and in a greater understanding of an appreciation for the task of Christian education with the broader Mennonite faith community. submitted by Paul Kroeker, CAMS Chairman Mennonite Environmental Task Force (METF) Created in 1989 by Mennonite Church Assembly and General Conference Triennial Session, the METF s mandate is to promote awareness among Mennonite constituents and church organizations that our Christian commitment encompasses concern for God s creation. Mennonite Church Canada s commitment is to: Confirm the lead staff person who is the point of contact between the Mennonite Environmental Task Force and Mennonite Church Canada. Appoint Canadian Mennonites to the Task Force (recommended number is three). Provide funding ($2000 suggested). submitted by David Neufeld, Task Force member for Canada Mennonite Heritage Centre and Gallery 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M An inter-mennonite facility serving the community through: Research assistance Russian Mennonite studies Publications Microfilming Seminars Archives (records preservation) Genealogy (family studies) Heritage displays Art gallery Exhibitions from Canada and around the world, classes, workshops archives/ Dietrich Bartel, Associate Professor of Music at CMU viewing the medieval chant book housed in the Heritage Centre vault with Assistant Professor Irma Fast Dueck s worship class. Photo: Conrad Stoesz Adam and Eve by Pamungkas Gardjito, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 28 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

29 Congregational and Ministerial Leadership (Formation) Activity Calling, equipping and placing pastoral leaders and nurturing lay leadership in MC Canada congregations. Ministry goals and objectives Attending to the spiritual life of the denomination. Reporting to Christian Formation Council and General Board On the road... It s been a journey filled with surprises! That s how Pauline Steinmann describes the path that brought her to Wildwood Mennonite Church in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan as pastor last September. I ve taken it one step at a time, she explains, and that led me first to seminary, and then into the ministry. But if you d have told me five years ago that this is where I d be today, I d never have believed it! Having spent many years working in a variety of people-related fields, Pauline found herself searching for new avenues of service. Friends encouraged her to take some time for seminary studies, a longstanding interest of hers. With the encouragement and financial support of her home congregation in Ontario, Pauline decided to spend a year at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, IN to prepare for the next phase of life. But definitely not for pastoral ministry, she declared with conviction. Things began to change once she got to seminary, however. I discovered that I loved it! she confesses. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And so one year became two, and then three, enabling Pauline to complete her MDiv. degree. Financial support from a variety of sources, including the Company of 1000, the Study Reserve Fund of Mennonite Church Canada which offers forgivable loans to seminary students and pastors continuing their education, helped to see her through. The affirmation and encouragement of ministry partners at the AMBS community also helped. (See AMBS report on page 30.) That s where she found herself growing into a new calling, where she heard God s voice calling her into pastoral ministry. The combination of academic studies and practical ministry experience helped her grow in her personal spiritual life, and prepared her for a congregational ministry that nurtures the faith and life of others. At Wildwood Mennonite, Pauline finds herself embraced by another community. They ve been so hospitable and gracious, she says, and they ve given me the space to be who I am as pastor. And the knowledge that God has been faithful each step of the way sustains me. And so this surprising journey continues one step at a time. Henry Paetkau Company of 1000, the Study Reserve Fund of Mennonite Church Canada offers forgivable loans to seminary students and pastors in continuing education. Join! You ll find yourself in good company! Staff Henry Paetkau Denominational Minister Maurice Martin Director of Congregational Leadership Development FORMING Gina Loewen Admin Assistant Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

30 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. J. Nelson Kraybill President Loren L. Johns Dean Mark Weidner Vice President Virgil Claassen Director of Business and Finance Eileen K. Saner Director of Educational Resources Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) working Activity Preparing men and women to be pastors, missionaries, teachers, evangelists, and other church leaders. Ministry goals and objectives At AMBS, the next generation of pastors and other ministers for the church will learn practices of Bible study, leadership, mission and peacemaking for a lifetime of service. Drawing on strengths of the Anabaptist tradition, AMBS will help make it possible for every Mennonite pastor to receive excellent theological and pastoral formation. Average Annual Budget $3.2 million (US) Reporting to AMBS Board of Directors, five representing Mennonite Church Canada and ten representing Mennonite Church USA Canadian Students thrive at AMBS Pauline is gifted in relating to church members. That is how a member of Wildwood Mennonite Church in Saskatoon, Sask., described Pauline Steinmann after her installation as pastor last September. The search committee chair said, She is a new graduate from AMBS, but she comes with a lot of maturity. She has an awareness and connection with a wide spectrum of society and a sense of compassion for those who are hurting. (See Congregational and Ministeral Leadership report, page 29.) Pauline graduated from AMBS in May 2001 with a Master of Divinity degree. She, like more than half of AMBS graduates in the last five years, is serving in pastoral ministry which includes pastors, pastoral counselors and spiritual mentors. Another third of AMBS graduates from the last five years are in other ministries, such as with mission boards and church-related organizations. Students from Canada find several benefits at AMBS. We offer both a half-century tradition and a future of inter-mennonite cooperation in preparing church leaders. We offer at par both tuition and exchanges of up to $2,400 each year and give grants of up to 50 percent of tuition. Pauline Steinmann Pauline said the greatest benefit for her was that here I found space to nurture my inner life and was given tools to do that. I enjoyed the Bible courses, and how I was encouraged to dig into the context of the scriptures. I learned how to take that story and fit my story into it, and to bring that story into the context of the twentyfirst century. It works both ways. My story is particular, and the universal biblical story must have relevance in our lives today. submitted by Mary Klassen I was given tools! 30 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

31 Columbia Bible College (CBC) Activity A four-year Bible College located in Abbotsford, BC offering spiritual formation and ministry preparation programs with majors in Biblical studies, Early Childhood Education, Caregiving and Counseling, Church Ministries, Outdoor Recreational Leadership, Worship Arts, and Youth Work. Ministry goals and objectives To prepare people for a life of discipleship, service and ministry. Average Annual Budget $4 million Reporting to CBC Board of Directors; BC Mennonite Brethren Conference and Mennonite Church BC. following Acting in Faith Christa Hendy is a third year CBC student from the West Abbotsford Mennonite Church, in the Caregiving and Counseling degree. Recently, Christa learned that her father had been diagnosed with a life-threatening kidney disease. She questioned why this was happening to someone that meant so much to her. During devotions, she was struck with the idea of donating a kidney to her father. Although she struggled with the idea, she also sensed God urging to act in faith and trust Him with the decision. After studying a transplant information packet, she decided to start the initial blood tests. Unsure of her parent s reaction, she pursued this on her own, confiding only in a few friends. Christa found that semester particularly stressful because the process could end at any time if even one of the tests came back negative. She is especially thankful for her friends on campus who supported her during this time. Christa wondered what God was putting her through and whether she could make it until the end of the semester. After three surgery date changes, Christa arrived at the Vancouver General Hospital on August 15 th, 2001 knowing that this would be the day. The surgery was successful. While life for Christa has returned to normal and her father has been able to return to work, she is quick to point out that the procedure was only a treatment, not a cure. Alongside all of the courses in Bible and Caregiving, Christa has faced a huge learning opportunity, really testing her readiness to care sacrificially. We stand in awe of Christa s courage and example! Life for our 500 students and approximately 75 faculty and staff brings many opportunities alongside the formal studies. It is challenging and exciting to find invitations to step out in faith like that faced by Christa. Our goal is to help each of us grow more ready to follow Jesus wherever His call may lead us. submitted by Ron Penner Ron Penner & Merv Boschman Interim Presidential Team Paul Wartman President-elect Ron Penner Academic Dean George Schmidt Dean of Students Merv Boschman Director of Development Teri Jones Controller Through a prayer meeting with friends at Columbia, Christa received encouragement to continue with tests. After going through the tests in October, Christa decided to tell her family about the decision she had made. While her family was concerned about her well-being, they too trusted God s leading. Christa Hendy Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

32 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Gerald Gerbrandt CMBC President John Unger Concord President Dean Peachey Menno Simons President CMBC Board Gordon Driedger, MB Ken Froese, AB George Ens, MB Grace Funk, SK Walter Bergen, BC Ester Neufeldt, ON John Sawatzky, BC Bruce Baergen, AB Michael Neufeld, SK Willie Enns, MB Moni Pries-Klassen, ON Jake Harms, MB Natasha Hnydyuk (Ukraine) in traditional dress Activity A Christian university with the following program divisions: Main Campus, offering degrees in Arts, Church Music, Musical Arts, Christian Ministries, Theology; Menno Simons College, affiliated with the University of Winnipeg, offering programs in International Development and Conflict Resolution; School of Discipleship, offering discipleship training in a North American retreat setting, and cross-cultural education and witness and service opportunity in Guatemala and South Africa; A seminary program as part of the Winnipeg Theological Consortium. Ministry goals and objectives To encourage and prepare students: To become active participants in the life and mission of the church, both when the church is gathered in worship, and when it is scattered; To contribute directly to the church s mission to be an instrument of God s blessing in the world, by presenting the claims of Christ to all, by promoting the biblical message of peace, service and justice; and by participating in public debate as careful, competent advocates of a Christian approach to life; To act as a resource for the church, by preparing leaders for the church, and by providing resources for the church as it deals with issues of faith and life. Average Annual Budget $9 million preparing Enrolment 1,249 students (715 full time equivalent). Of the 327 students studying full time at the main campus in , 148 came from MC Canada congregations. Reporting to The CMU Board of Governors consists of the boards of CMBC, Concord College and Menno Simons College meeting together. Each of the three boards has its own accountability relationship with a further body: CMBC with Mennonite Church Canada, Concord College with the Mennonite Brethren Church, and Menno Simons with the Friends of Menno Simons. From Ukraine to CMU Natasha Hnydyuk is a child of Ukraine, the land in which many Mennonites prospered, suffered and ultimately fled. But until a few years ago, she had never heard of Mennonites, even though she grew up in the city of Kiev, not far from the former Mennonite settlements. She had the privilege of accepting an international exchange scholarship from the United States government, allowing her to complete high school in St. Francis, Minnesota. After high school she returned home, and took three years of economics at Kiev National Economic University. Her experience in the U.S. made her want to return, so she researched the Internet for a North American school where she could continue her studies in Economics in a Christian context. One of the schools the search engine revealed was Canadian Mennonite Bible College. The Baptist pastor she had come to know in Minnesota persuaded her that Mennonites were not a cult, and that it would be okay to study with them. With that encouragement, she arrived in Winnipeg in September, CMBC now has joined with two other colleges to form Canadian Mennonite University, and Natasha is completing a 4-year Bachelor of Arts with a major in Economics. During her time at CMU she has come to know Mennonites, she has served as translator for a Mennonite delegation visiting Canada from Ukraine, and she has spent a summer at Toronto United Mennonite Church as a pastoral intern. This past summer her parents and one brother, nominally part of the Orthodox church, were baptized into the Baptist church. CMU has become a family, she says, a place that has shaped her faith, introduced her to pacifism and non-violence, and helped prepare her for the future as she plans for graduate studies in Economics. submitted by Gerald Gerbrandt, CMBC president 32 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

33 Conrad Grebel University College (CGUC) Activity Post-secondary and graduate theological education. college. Still, it somehow felt right. Besides, procrastination left me with only two more days to find anything else. Ministry goals and objectives Conrad Grebel University College is a Christian educational institution informed by the vision and values of the Mennonite tradition and dedicated to serving students, the university community, the church, and society. Average Annual Budget $3.4 million Reporting to Board of Governors, Conrad Grebel University College A Welcoming Place As the course of life takes us from adolescent arrogance into the genuine quest for one s identity and place in our world, the most meaningful answers can sometimes emerge from the most unlikely circumstances. Such has been my personal journey in which a chance encounter with Conrad Grebel University College changed me forever. It was during my first year of studies at the University of Waterloo, pursuing a career in Mathematics. My first job placement within the university s Co-operative Education program allowed me to stay in Waterloo between academic terms, sparing me the burden of moving between cities, but leaving me the task of finding alternate accommodations in town during the work term. After seeing the run-down condition of the available student housing, it seemed like good fortune when I happened upon a poster advertising empty beds for the upcoming term at Grebel, and having more than just casual fears about the responsibilities of living off-campus, the prospect of living in another residence immediately excited me. But having chosen atheism at an early age due to personally unsatisfying church experiences, I also had many reservations about living in a church-sponsored My first weeks of living at Grebel exceeded any of my expectations and quickly allayed any fears or doubts I might have had. I was welcomed into a community of such warmth and openness that I could not help but be swept off my feet. Throughout my first term, I finally developed those meaningful personal relationships that had been so absent in my life before. I found deep, philosophical discussions late into the night. I became intrigued with the Mennonite faith on which the college was founded. But most importantly, I rediscovered the faith within myself that I thought lost so many years ago, and embraced Christianity with new understanding and new vigour. I continued to live at Grebel for many more terms, and although I now live off-campus, I have always remained close to my home away from home through Grebel s associate student program. Each new year brings scores of new students with the same wide-eyed naivety that I showed in my first year. Showing them the warm welcome and openness of Grebel is only one of the ways I give back to the community which has fostered so much of my adult growth. submitted by John E. Toews, Conrad Grebel University College President, story by Donny Cheung. Donny Cheung, Winnipeg, Manitoba, BA in Pure Math and Combinatorics and Optimization, MA in Math in Combinatorics and Optimization welcoming Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

34 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES Mennonite Publishing House (MPH) FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Byron Rempel Burkholder, now settled in his Winnipeg office, displays copies of Rejoice! Activity Publisher for Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA. Ministry goals and objectives To create and distribute resources that instruct, inspire, and challenge the church and the world to follow Christ. New editorial office We now have a Winnipeg editorial office. Byron Rempel Burkholder now edits Rejoice!, Adult Bible Study, and other Mennonite Publishing House projects, from his office at 600 Shaftesbury. Providing Resources for Ministry Storytelling of how God has worked in past and present generations is essential for the health and faith of congregations, says Mary Mae Schwartzentruber, Minister of Missions for Mennonite Church Eastern Canada. She mentions excellent storytelling resources for her preaching: I Heard Good News Today, Peace Be with You, and Walking with Jesus. For years I have used them for both adults and children. Adults listen just as keenly. I would commend these holy stories to each education department, to each library, and to each pastor or worship committee in the missional church. Laurence Martin, Pastor of Breslau Mennonite in Ontario, offers these ideas for discipling new believers. Hymnal: A Worship Book has a wonderful worship resource section that can be used for personal devotions. Two new adult believers I am helping prepare for baptism were encouraged to include some of the prayers and responsive readings in their daily prayer discipline. By sometimes changing the plural pronouns to personal pronouns one is drawn into the message of the prayer in meaningful ways. submitted by Rose Stutzman New on the shelf... Fierce, flawed and favored, by Jeremy Bergen, a Good Ground Bible study on the book of Judges. Friends Forever, by Julie Ellison White, a Fast Lane Bible study on friendship. Singing: A Mennonite Voice, by Marlene Kropf and Kenneth Nafziger, is a collection of stories and reflections gathered from Mennonite worshipers throughout North America. Companion recording, Singing: Treasures from Mennonite Worship Where Was God on September 11? Seeds of Faith and Hope, by Donald B. Kraybill and Linda Gehman Peachey, went for reprints after its first month on the market. Making Peace with Enemies. This small pamphlet shares basic Christian peace teaching. Mission-Focused Congregations, a Bible study for the missional church. Threatened with Resurrection. Jim S. Amstutz examines key biblical texts for anyone who wants to understand more fully Christ s alternative way of peace. Parent Trek, by Jeanne Zimmerly Jantzi, is a resour\ce to help raise children who are more creative, generous, peacemaking, and joyful in today s society. Hymnal Subscription Service Packet 9, offers Scripture resources for worship. Congregations who subscribe may make copies based on their quantity of Hymnal: A Worship Book. Bulletins for Advent 2001 and Lent 2002, coordinated with the worship materials found in Builder. 34 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

35 Mennonite Publishing House Is Mennonite Publishing House a ministry of Mennonite Church? Yes, we are a ministry of the church and we work in cooperation with Mennonite Church Canada programs. MPH serves both the US and Canada. We are governed by a board drawn from both sides of the border. Can you help us become a missional church? Yes. Discerning the heart and mind of God is at the very center of becoming a missional church. We believe strongly in the teaching ministry of Jesus and provide many resources for congregational discipleship. Here are some examples: Worship materials like Hymnal: A Worship Book, Hymnal Subscription Service, and church bulletins Elective Studies like Mission-Focused Congregations Anabaptist books and peace teaching like Where Was God on September 11? and Threatened with Resurrection, and the Believers Church Bible Commentary series Curricula like Then & Now Vacation Bible School, Jubilee, Good Ground, Adult Bible Study, and Generation Why Periodicals like Story Friends, On the Line, With, Builder, Rejoice, Christian Living, and Purpose Do you publish either The Canadian Mennonite or The Mennonite? No. Mennonite Publishing House publishes neither of these church magazines. The Canadian Mennonite is published by Mennonite Publishing Service, Waterloo, Ontario and supported by Mennonite Church Canada. How do you balance Canadian and United States concerns? We have board members from both countries. We have editors in both countries, and we network with agencies in both denominations. We use educational consultants, writers, and illustrators from both Canada and the USA. Serving Mennonite congregations in both countries is an opportunity and a great responsibility. Where are you located? Lots of places. We have offices in Waterloo, Ontario; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Newton, Kansas; and Scottdale, Pennsylvania. We also have an editorial office in Goshen, Indiana. Where do we send donations if we want to support this ministry? We are both a ministry and a business. The development of some key resources needs to be funded from contributions. Contributions may be sent to Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Publishing House, 600 Shaftsbury Blvd, Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Let s talk... about... RESOURCE CENTRE equipping ourselves for ministry creating worship services that include everyone charting new maps for congregational life carrying out community ministry Call or Visit our website stewardship small people can make a big difference! KidsPak (an annual Sunday School kit to help children foster a sense of stewardship and mission) In the past 5 years Sunday School kids have raised over $90,000 for projects across the street and around the world. Get involved! Connie Loeppky & Kathy Giesbrecht: Co-Managers Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

36 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Robert J. Suderman Executive Secretary Kathy Fast Executive Assistant International Ministries Janet Plenert Executive Director, International Ministries & Mission Partnership Facilitator for Latin America Peter Rempel Mission Partnership Facilitator for Europe and Africa Gordon Janzen Mission Partnership Facilitator, Asia & Middle East; Coordinator, Pastoral Care Sheldon Sawatzky Field Administrator for Asia Ana Isabel Administrative Assistant, International Ministries Witness engage share join tending God s Mandate The purpose of Mennonite Church Canada Witness is to lead, mobilize and resource the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Ministry goals and objectives Every congregation and all parts of the church will be fully engaged in God s mission, reaching from across the street to around the world. Reporting to Christian Witness Council Chief Officers Willard Metzger CWC chair Robert J. Suderman, Executive Secretary Gratitude, Patience, & Updates The first word of this report must be one of gratitude to God. We have come through merger, integration, envisioning partnership, transforming program, program transition, implementing program, and now finally to actual administration of Mennonite Church Canada Witness as an arm of the church. We are grateful. Also important is a word of gratitude to our congregations, area conferences, and delegates to the Assembly. You have been patient in the process. You have asked questions we could not answer. You have given counsel and have prayed for us. You have expressed your support and have trusted leadership when answers could not yet be clear. Thank you. Finally, the good news. We now have the answers. All the questions about how mission would be structured, who would administer what, how COM/MBM/CHM programs would continue into the future, how partnerships would take shape between Canada and the USA - have answers. We now able to provide clear answers to the questions you have asked for the last two years. volunteer field Program Mennonite Church Canada congregational dollars are at work overseas in 42countries, supporting 117 workers, and many in partnership with the Mennonite Mission Network of Mennonite Church USA. In North America there are an additional 14 persons in Native Ministries and 26 Christian Service workers whose ministries are either in Canada or represent Canadians working in the USA. In addition to these important outreach ministries, we have nine staff persons dedicated to working with our congregations, making partnership connections, encouraging mission initiatives, providing missional church information sessions, and helping in congregational processes. This demonstrates our commitment to energize the being of the church as we also invite our church into more active doing of God s mission.mennonite Church Canada is becoming an intentional missional Church, secure in its purpose, energized by its vocation, and effective in its ministry. Robert J. Suderman, Executive Secretary, Witness Look at what s happening in MC Canada WITNESS! (Curtis Wiebe, Lauren Clarke & Rosemary Hogue on the road with Mennonite Voluntary Service.) 36 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

37 Impact Our efforts are making a difference in the lives of people across the street and around the world. Cuba Gamaliel Dupont, President of the Missionary Church of Cuba writes: We are grateful to Mennonite Church Canada for coming over to our Macedonia. The Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective has become the primary text for leadership in our church. Thailand Colombia Korea Ukraine In Ukraine, there are now three Mennonite churches where 8 years ago there was none. In each one, people are responding to Jesus call to build alternative communities in a broken world. In Thailand, there are three Christian communities in a tribal region where before there was none. There is significant interest and response to Jesus call to follow him and to live according to God s reign. Vietnam In Vietnam, we support the North American Vietnamese Fellowship in their ambitious vision for church planting. Many persons are responding to God s call through the workers and the congregations being established there. The Colombian Mennonite Church is grateful for the new opportunities in theological education that are possible through the presence of Rudy and Helen Baergen, the program of visiting professors, and the support to the infrastructure of the church. Many of the persons displaced by the violence of that society are experiencing pastoral guidance, health care, and biblical education with the help of Mennonite Church Canada Witness. In Korea, the Anabaptist vision is being nurtured through the work of the Korean Anabaptist Centre and communities are being formed around this vision. This work is expanding to include pastoral accompaniment and Anabaptist curriculum development in the alternative school run by the Jesus Village church. In Hong Kong, Mennonite churches are growing and more people are experiencing the embrace of God that comes through Christian community and commitment to Jesus. Hong Kong Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T Israel Peace education and dialogues are taking place in some of the most conflict-ridden areas of the world through our support. Our peace witness is present in Israel, and other parts of our broken world, pointing to the nonviolent way of Jesus as good news for those troubled regions. Burkina Faso In Burkina Faso, more persons are encountering the biblical message through the work of translators and mission workers, and are thus able to respond to the invitation of God for salvation. In Chile, orphan children and abused women are receiving care and love through our workers and their endeavors. Macau Germany Chile In Germany, the Aussiedler, displaced from their homes, language, and culture in the former Soviet Union, are finding acceptance, community, and spiritual care through our workers in Niedergoersdorf. In Macau, a Christian community is slowly taking shape, where persons are finding meaning and direction in commitment to Jesus and to his community. The secular culture of Macau has been resistant to the new possibilities that Christ s body, the church, could offer to that society. In Canada... The Lethbridge Mennonite Church, with the help of its Service Adventure unit, is now reaching the needs of its community in a way they previously could not. Pastoral care, community solidarity, and guidance for Christian Canada living are appreciated by the Native communities in Manitoba and BC where our workers are present. The many language groups in Mennonite Church Canada have a first ever opportunity to get together, to share experiences, and to determine common strategies for leadership development, church growth, and needed resources. National Ministries Walter Franz Director, Native Ministry Donovan Jacobs Facilitator, Constituency Education, Native Ministry Ingrid Miller Administrative Assistant, National Ministry Jean-Jacques Goulet Director, Outreach and Church Planting Samson Lo Director, Multicultural Ministry Shirley Redekop Director, Christian Service Ministry Raul Bogoya Associate Director, Shortterm ministry Brad Reimer Associate Director, Christian Service Ministry Monika Selluski Administrative Assistant, Service Ministry Congregational Partnerships Marilyn Houser Hamm Executive Director, Congregational Partnerships Steve Plenert Constituency Connections Coordinator Norman Voth Manitoba Mission Partnership & Education Facilitator Vicki Friesen Administrative Assistant In addition to the staff listed, Mennonite Church Canada has the lead responsibility for fourteen off-site Native Ministry workers, fourteen MVS and short-term workers, and relates to 117 International mission partnership workers. 37

38 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Christian Witness Council Willard Metzger, ON Chair Jeanette Unger, ON Noe Gonzolia, ON Florence Duley, AB Laura Loewen, BC MWC rep Marvin Baergen, AB Hun Lee, MB GB rep Florence Driedger, SK Dori Zerbe Cornelsen, MB Ernest J. Epp, SK Mennonite Church Canada congregations are being energized as they connect more intentionally with partners in mission. Mennonite Church Canada area conferences are supporting 24 new church planting initiatives with the help of our outreach office. Canada Canada New bridges are being built between Canadian Aboriginal communities and Mennonite congregations through the work of our Native Ministries department. Our constituency is responding to a new invitation to prayer through the Witness Prayer Net. Through the Outreach and Church planting office, area conferences are developing a joint strategy for church development and church planting. Our congregations are finding new energy and clarity of purpose in the understandings of how to become more missional in our identity. Local initiatives for short-term service are being nourished, coordinated, and facilitated by our short-term ministries office. Five of our congregations are ministering in their communities with the help of Mennonite Voluntary Service units. Another five are considering more active community outreach by hosting an MVS unit in their congregations. Members of our congregations and donors to our program are using the gifts they have in promoting God s kingdom all over the world. There is satisfaction and fulfillment in knowing that God is able to use our gifts to transform the lives of many people, from across the street to around the world. In Thailand, Rad and Pat Houmphan encourage women s Bible study. Mennonite Church Canada is becoming an intentional missional Church, secure in its purpose, energized by its vocation, and effective in its ministry. Volunteers from Montana stand in front of a workshop in Manigotagan, Manitoba, sponsored through a KidsPak Sunday school project. Curtis Wiebe, Adam Carter, Rosemary Hogue, Raphael Barahona, Lauren Clarke on MVS itineration to Hamilton 38 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

39 10 Ways to participate: Join the Witness Prayer Net, as individuals, as congregational committees, as congregations. God s mission and our response to it starts with discerning prayer. Become a Mission Partner with one or more of the Witness workers in North America or around the world. Adopt one of the mission programs of Witness, as the special focus for your congregation. Consider a congregation to congregation or congregation to-mission link either within Canada or internationally. Witness will help to facilitate this. Engage in missional reflection in your congregation. We can help your congregation develop a missional identity, analyze its opportunities, create a vision, set priorities and goals. Train to be a missional mentor to your or other congregations. Engage with other congregations around a specific mission interest. Suggest a creative new mission initiative that draws in others. Share financial resources to help Witness ministries. Volunteer time and get involved. Was... Becomes... Includes... CONFERENCE of MENNONITES in CANADA Ministries Commission International Ministries GENERAL CONFERENCE MENNONITE CHURCH Commission on Overseas Mission (COM) Commission on Home Ministries (CHM) Mennonite Church Canada National Ministries Witness MENNONITE CHURCH Mennonite Board of Missions Congregational Partnerships Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

40 Baergen, Rudy & Helen Colombia Bergen, Lynell & Dyck, Brian South Africa Bergen, Phillip & Carol Burkina Faso Beyler, Mary Japan Blough, Janie & Neal France Buhler, Tim & Cindy Hong Kong Byler, Dennis & Connie Spain Cortes-Gaibur, Omar & Ester Chile Denlinger, Garry & Ruth Israel Dirks, Rudy & Sharon Botswana Dueck, Cliff & Natasha Ukraine Dyck Hilty, Heidi & Eric Burkina Faso Enomoto, Kaz & Lois Japan Entz, Loren & Donna Burkina Faso Falla, Gamaliel & Amanda Colombia Friesen, Bonnie Ukraine Froese, Tim & Karen South Korea Frose, Rudy & Elsie Brazil Geiser, Alfred & Gladys Afghanistan Goetz, Ewald & Kaethe Paraguay Haas, Lillian Burkina Faso Handoyo, Petrus & Yulianna Mongolia Hanes, Jim & Paula Senegal Hanson, Todd & Jeanette China Hirschler, Richard & Jean Nepal Hochstetler, Otis & Betty Brazil Hostetler, Michael & Virginia Israel Houmphan, Pat & Rad Thailand Johnson, Daryl China Klassen, Bonnie Colombia Kompaore, Anne Garber Burkina Faso Krantz, Miriam Nepal Lantz, June China Lee, Robert & Nancy Japan Leuz, Chris & Lois China Liechty, Joe & Linda Ireland Liem, Shirley Macau Lindell Detweiler, Philip & Christine Benin Martin, Steven & Sheryl Afghanistan Mininger, James & Virginia Lithuania Mwunvaneza, Edmond & Bonita Ethiopia Nafziger, Dale & Bethsaba Nepal Nation, Mark & Mary Thiessen England Neufeld, Gerald Japan Oyer, Linda France Ramsay, Marlow & Vicky Mongolia Roberts, Dave & Sandy Zambia Robinson, Drew & Mary Ellen Mongolia Sayer, Melvin & Priscilla Ukraine Schellenberg, James & Henriette Germany Schlabach, Laura Mongolia Sherrill, Mike & Teresa Japan Short, Kelly China Siemens, Abram Mexico Suderman, Rod & Kathi China Unger, Eric & Laura Kenya Unrau, Jake & Dorothy Ukraine Veith, George & Tobia Macau Wade, Andrew & Susan Hong Kong Wiebe-Johnson, Steve & Dorothy Ivory Coast Wiens, Erwin & Marian South Korea Wiens, Rudy & Anna Eritrea Wiens, Werner & Adelia Neufeld Kenya Witmer, Glenn Israel Yoder, Bill & Mary Jane Mongolia Yoder, Bruce & Nancy Frey Benin (April, 2002) GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. International Mission Partnership Workers Tending Tending Tending Tending Tending forming 40 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

41 Mennonite Church Canada Witness International... at work in 42 countries! GREENLAND Mexico NORTH AMERICA $ Ireland England France Spain Lithuania $ Russia Germany EUROPE Ukraine ASIA Israel Afghanistan $ Cuba Senegal Eritrea AFRICA Mongolia Nepal India China South Korea Hong Kong Colombia SOUTH AMERICA $ Bolivia Paraguay Brazil Liberia $ Benin $ Nigeria Ivory Coast Burkina Faso $ Ghana $ Togo Botswana Congo$ Zambia Ethiopia Kenya Vietnam $ Chile South Africa $ Lesotho ANTARCTICA COUNTRIES WITH MISSION PARTNERSHIP WORKERS AND PROGRAMS $ FINANCIAL SUPPORT MINISTRY WITHOUT PERSONNEL JAPAN Macau Thailand AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

42 GENERAL Missional Church Information Sessions AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Short-term workers, Petitcodiac, New Brunswick Photo: Raul Bogoya Does your congregation want to explore the implications of missional church perspectives for its life, ministries, and priorities? Mennonite Church Canada Witness offers many ways to engage your congregation with significant opportunities for missional reflection and planning. God gave 1) Inspire, Motivate, and Clarify: (1-2 hour opportunity) Witness can provide dynamic speakers and resource persons to facilitate your congregation s interaction with missional understandings. This process is directed at the entire congregation. 2) Deepen understandings, explore implications: (6 hour opportunity) Witness can provide opportunities to deepen the biblical, theological, and historical foundations of the missional church perspectives. This is done through interactive and participatory group processes. These opportunities are directed at key leadership groups in your congregation who are willing to devote the necessary time to participate in this opportunity. 3) Analyzing, visioning, priority setting, program planning: (5 hour opportunity) Witness can help your leaders understand your congregational culture, analyze strengths, identify opportunities as well as weaknesses and obstacles faced by your congregation in planning for future ministry. Included is a process that helps envision your preferred future and ways to get on the road to implement it. By clarifying vision and purpose, priorities and program energy are also focused. This process is directed at key leaders and decision makers of the congregation. 4) Congregational Story-telling: (opportunities to listen and to share experiences) Witness believes that it is good for congregations to share their stories of visioning, planning, priority setting, and program planning with each other. Witness will engage congregations by encouraging venues where this can happen on a regular basis. This process is directed at all members of congregations. 5) Leadership/Mentor Training: ( hours) Witness offers significant opportunities to educate key mentors in each area conference. Through a carefully planned process of multiple workshops, leaders will be deeply engaged in conceptual, practical, and interactive processes to prepare them to become multiplier/mentors for congregations in their region. This process is directed at leaders willing to dedicate significant time and energy to explore and understand missional implications for church life. Itipnini Health Clinic, South Africa. Photo: Lynell Bergen Villagers eating together, Thailand. Photo: Pat Houmphan Congregational Partnerships Does your congregation want to explore the implications of a mission partnership in Canada or around the world? We encourage your congregation to participate in the missional education processes while taking on these opportunities for partnership. Mennonite Church Canada Witness offers many ways to engage your congregation with significant opportunities for mission partnerships. Ask about the following opportunities: 1) Prayer Net partner Become part of a global network of dedicated people praying for the Church, its workers, and its ministries. Call to join. 2) Supporter Your congregation is invited to support Witness ministries. This is done by praying, encouraging our workers, becoming informed and knowledgeable, participating in delegate assemblies where discernment and decisionmaking is done, supporting the unified budget of Mennonite Church Canada, part of which supports the ministries of Witness, and designating funds for specific ministries. 42 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

43 3) Worker Sponsor: Your congregation is invited to sponsor one or more of the Witness workers, in Canada or overseas. By sponsoring such workers, your congregation provides a valuable ministry link. Our workers are supported and your congregation is energized. Personal relationships and connections are developed. This involvement requires a minimum of a 3 year commitment on the part of your congregation. A written agreement is encouraged. 4) Ministry Partner: a) Your congregation is invited to sponsor one or more of the Witness ministries or projects, in Canada or overseas. By sponsoring such ministries, your congregation provides a valuable ministry link. Witness ministries are supported and your congregation is energized. Personal relationships and connections are developed. growth Ministry goes in two directions: you give and receive. This involvement requires a minimum of a 5 year commitment on the part of your congregation. A written agreement is encouraged. b) Your congregation is invited to develop a relational connection with another congregation or ministry. Such sister-to-sister relationships build the body of Christ throughout the world. National Workers CANADA We encourage congregations to think of a minimum 6 year commitment for this involvement. 5) Participating Partner: Your congregation is invited to commit itself to the level of participating partnership with a chosen ministry of Witness. This means that you will be invited to participate in forums and/or reference groups where discernment is carried on. You will participate with others in shaping the ministry you are supporting. This involvement requires a minimum 7 year commitment on the part of your congregation. A written agreement would be required. 6) Initiating Partner: Your congregation is invited to initiate a ministry that does not yet exist. To initiate such a ministry, it is assumed that your congregation, or a cluster of congregations, will devise, organize, and administer a new ministry initiative. Witness will help to focus, network, and connect initiatives in a healthy and wholesome way with partners across the street and around the world. Such an initiative to form a partnership circle would require a minimum 8 year commitment on the part of your congregation. A written agreement is required. Mennonite Voluntary Service Units Edmonton Winnipeg Riverton Hamilton Montreal Native Ministry sites Service Adventure Unit (Lethbridge AB) For more information about missional church information sessions and congregational partnerships... contact Marilyn Houser Hamm, Director, Congregational Partnerships Native Ministry Staff Vic & Norma Funk Manigotagan, MB Willy Guenther Winnipeg, MB Herman & Violet McKay Cross Lake, MB Henry & Elna Neufeld Winnipeg-based John & Pat Pankratz Winnipeg-based (Neufelds and Pankratzs relate to: Bloodvein, Cross Lake, Hole River, Little Grand Rapids, and Pauingassi) Neill & Edith von Gunten Riverton, MB (also Matheson Island and Pine Dock.) Vincent & Alicia Bono Quesnel, BC (serving Carrier communities of Lhoosk uz Lake, Nazko, and Quesnel.) Assoc. Volunteer Staff Martin Cross Saskatoon, SK Alvin Lepp Rosemary, AB, (serves Siksika First Nations community on a Blackfoot Reserve south of Calgary.) Murray & Ruth Martin Wanipigow, MB Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

44 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Doug Pritchard Canada Coordinator Activity CPT places teams of trained, disciplined Christians in situations of high conflict. Ministry goals and objectives To reduce violence in partnership with local peacemakers. Average Annual Budget $700,000 Reporting to Steering Committee represented by sponsoring denominations. Trial by Fire This year CPT placed a team in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, at the invitation of the Colombian Mennonite Church. One day CPT members came upon heavily armed members of a paramilitary group who had just burned several homes in the area. After witnessing the damage, CPTer Lisa Martens, from Brandon MB, wrote: The sun burns. They say this is the hottest place in Colombia, and the metal seat on our motorized canoe burns me you know where. We re on that boat a great deal because it is our job to accompany non-violent farmers who are threatened by armed groups and who live where the highway is the river. We swim to cool off. The water s not very polluted because we work (and swim) upstream of the oil refineries. Those oil refinery towers burn continuously. The wealth they represent captures the attention of local armed groups as well as armed nations like the United States and Canada. We discovered men with guns burning up houses near the lake. The houses belonged to families who had fled their homes to escape men with guns. The families are living in town and planning their return. Why were those men burning up houses? We don t know. Because they want to maintain their control over the oil rich area ahead of another armed group? Because they want to build new houses for the people so that the people will be indebted to them? Five houses made by the hands of their own families. Forty foot flames. Burnt also has a special meaning here. For local unarmed friends of ours to be burnt means that they are under threat from an armed group. It may mean that their names are on lists of those to be tortured, killed and dismembered. Why? Perhaps they were forced at gunpoint to feed a member of an opposing armed group, and are thus seen as collaborators...there are countless possibilities. I have accompanied these normal, beautiful, burnt people, or their relatives, who wanted to visit their parents for Christmas, or who wanted to go to a meeting about economic development. We also accompany an entire zone where many burnt people live. They call this area Tierra caliente or the hot lands. The wind is whipping up all these ashes. Who is going to taste the ashes? submitted by Doug Pritchard CPTer Lisa Martens (Brandon MB) and Colombian friends watch as the names of people under threat are symbolically destroyed. 44 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

45 Canadian Women in Mission (CWM) Activity Activities vary among women s groups affiliated with each of the Provincial Women s Conferences across Canada. Activities include Bible study and prayer, quilting, crafts, service projects in the community and in the church, creating friendships and enjoying Christian fellowship. Ministry goals and objectives CWM encourages women to be personally reconciled and committed to Christ and seeks to call forth the variety of gifts given by the Holy Spirit to build the church of Jesus Christ:. Promote spiritual growth through Bible study, prayer, other Christian disciplines and fellowship. Discern and nurture women s gifts and skills for leadership and service in the local church, the I I I I I planted community and the world. Build relationships and networks for support, affirmation, discernment, witness, service and celebration. Support and strengthen the mission of Mennonite Church Canada. training in job skills and food preservation, counseling and Bible study for displaced people who are new to life in a Colombian city. Each of these women recognized a need for seminary education, feeling unqualified in their Bible knowledge to adequately provide Bible study to their clients. How did CWM link with these Colombian women? The Christian Witness Council has a relationship with the Mennonite church and seminary in Colombia and was able to link CWM to this Seminary project. Our gift of $845 US assisted these women in their studies at the seminary. Lorna Rogalski President Dodie Lepp President Elect Ingrid Janzen Lamp Secretary Treasurer Anna Mary Brubacher WMCEC Pat Gerber-Pauls MB WM Esther Patkau SK WM Beth Moyer AB WM Helga Rempel BC WM Average Annual Budget $48,500 Reporting to Christian Witness Council, Mennonite Church Canada Officers We operate as an executive, with a President, Secretary Treasurer and the President of each Provincial Women s Conference ( BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Eastern Canada). A President-elect is elected one year prior to the president completing her position. Continuing our missional journey Every congregation and all parts of the church will be fully engaged in God s mission, reaching from across the street to around the world. Several Colombian Mennonite women (Cecilia Murcia, Gloria Saavedra, Luz Carmen Castro, Esperanza Franco and Cesar Hurtado) offer Photo: Luz Carmen Castro, Esperanza Franco, Claudia Villamil, Gloria Saavedra, Marta Toscano, Jenifer Manrique, Cecilia Murcia, Claudia Carioza (seminary students supported by CWM funds) Alix Lozano Forero, Director of the Seminary, was a recipient of the International Women s Fund by Mennonite Women, of which CWM is a part, when she attended the Latin American Biblical University in San Jose, Costa Rica several years ago. Alix is familiar with support from North America and welcomed our connection with her students. This has been a great opportunity and a privilege for Canadian women and is just one of numerous projects we supported through Mennonite Church Canada. submitted by Lorna Rogalski, CWM President Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

46 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Behind every volunteer is a story A young couple joins MDS in alternative service to the military. A single woman leaves a hectic work environment to spend a year serving others. A youth group holds a fundraiser before traveling to North Carolina. A retired couple share their life-long skills with people in need. SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Nathan Koslosky MDS Administrative Coordinator Tom Smucker MDS Executive Coordinator Gordon Friesen MDS Region V Director Activity MDS is a channel through which various constituencies of the Anabaptist churches can respond to those affected by disasters in North America. Ministry goals and objectives To connect volunteers and disaster survivors in the name of Christ. Reporting to Board of Directors and Delegate Body representative of North American Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren in Christ conferences. Binational Budget $442,000 How does the value of volunteer labour factor into the financial report? In the year 2001, MDS supporting activities connected 2,493 volunteers with disaster survivors in need. The value of that volunteer labour, estimated at $1.8 million is not reported in revenues, but could be considered as a contribution. When volunteers serve with MDS, their stories come together to form a community of living legends. Tales of life with MDS spread from project to project and are told to both clients and donors. Stories are sometimes exaggerated, but rarely forgotten. And the sharing continues long after volunteers return to their home communities. This report tells the story of MDS binational projects in numbers, charts and common graphs. These are the statistics that stand beside the living story of volunteers and clients connecting in the name of Christ. Tom Smucker, MDS executive director Restoring hope The events of September 11, 2001, changed the face of disaster response forever. With experience at connecting those who wish to help with those who are in need, MDS was called upon by supporters to develop new programs that would address the unique needs in New York and Washington DC. In consultation with city pastors and leaders, MDS opened the Restoring Hope Project, a direct response to the emotional, economic and community damage in the city. A project manager was hired to oversee program development and more than $300,000 flowed in. The project may run into submitted by Nathan Koslosky 46 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

47 Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada Activity MCC is a relief, service, community development and peace organization of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in North America. Ministry goals and objectives To share experiences, resources and our faith in Jesus Christ. There seemed to be no halting the torrent of pent-up feelings the son had borne through the years. Emotions ran high and tears flowed freely. When it came time for Denton to tell his story, he began a recital of self-denunciation and guilt. He told his victim facing him that he had often longed for this meeting just so that he could confess to him and ask to be forgiven. Don Peters Executive Director MCC Canada 2000/2001 Budget $24.3 million Reporting to Board of Directors and Delegate Body representative of Mennonite conferences and the Brethren in Christ church in Canada. Restorative Justice Incarcerated for 18 years, Denton (not his real name), was growing old in prison. Once, he had known a better life. He still remembered the thrill of romance when, at middle age, he met Kaye (not purpose her real name), charming and intelligent. They fell in love and settled for a marriage in common law. It seemed as though time stood still in that room during the moments that followed embraces, words of sorrow, petitions for forgiveness, assurances of forgiveness, more hugs, tears, sounds of re-established love, kisses, and finally just happy smiles through tears. It s what restorative justice is all about, says Tom Snowdon, director of MCC Canada programs in Eastern Canada. Restorative justice seeks to pay attention to the real harm done by a criminal act, to pay attention to the needs of the victim and hold the offender responsible to restore what has been stolen, hurt or damaged. submitted by Don Peters Kaye had already lived through one marriage and two children had been born of that union. They came with their mother to live with Denton and a strong bond developed between them and their new Dad. And then Denton discovered that Kaye was addicted to drugs. The relationship began a downward slide and during an angry confrontation, Denton went to phone the RCMP. Kaye sprinted to the kitchen for a knife to stop him. She died in the attempt. Denton pleaded guilty and received a life sentence for first degree murder. Nearly 20 years later a face-to-face mediation process was held in a board room within a Canadian penitentiary, between the offender and the youngest boy, now a grown man. He requested the mediation. Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

48 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION Support Services God s Mandate To undergird Christian Formation and Christian Witness with the necessary administrative services to enable these programs of the church to do their work efficiently and effectively. WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Support Services Council Eric Fast, MB Chair Jon Nofziger, BC Joanne Peters, AB Brice Balmer, ON Sheila Wiens-Neufeld, SK Bruno Friesen, AB GB rep Ministry goals and objectives If Witness and Formation are the hands and feet of Mennonite Church Canada, Support Services is the backbone, or maybe even the entire central nervous system! The staff and volunteer council members of Support Services communicate the stories of MC Canada s participation in God s mission, mobilize MC Canada s financial resources, provide stewardship of its financial affairs, coordinate its human resources, keep its office building and equipment clean and functional, and make it possible for our MC Canada family to gather for inspiration and decision-making at our annual assembly! These tasks are so fundamental to MC Canada s effectiveness that it may seem that nothing new could or would happen in Support Services. Au contraire! The transfer of programs from the bi-national church offices to MC Canada, and the re-examination of routines that happens in such a major transition, has created a whole new set of tasks and adjustments for Support Services staff. Here are a few of the things we are working on: Developing an on-line and print Canadian Mennonite directory to replace the bi-national directory previously published by Mennonite Publishing House. Creating strategies and guiding principles for our new resource development staff, who work on behalf of both MC Canada and our area conferences. Establishing policies and procedures to facilitate our new, direct connection with international mission partners and mission partnership workers. Continuing our review of the MC Canada Pension Plan to ensure it best meets the needs of pastors and other church staff across the country. Implementing new software for our accounting and donor relationship functions. Beginning preparations for a joint assembly to be held with MC USA in Toronto in The important work of Support Services is also accomplished through our partnership with 2 related organizations,mennonite Foundation of Canada, and Mennonite Publishing Service (publisher of the Canadian Mennonite). Please see their reports on page 52 and 53, respectively. The gift of administration is one of many spiritual gifts necessary for our church to be an effective witness to God s ongoing work across the street and around the world. Thanks be to God for the individuals blessed with this gift who use it to strengthen Mennonite Church Canada! Eric Fast, Support Services Council Chair & Pam Peters-Pries, Executive Secretary, Support Services Support Services Staff Pam Peters-Pries Executive Secretary Al Rempel Director, Resource Development Gerd Bartel Western Director, Resource Development Dan Dyck Director, Communications Lynette Wiebe Coordinator, Communications Dan Rempel Webmaster Newswriter Kirsten Schroeder Director, Human Resources Adam Robinson Coordinator, Human Resources Paul Klassen Acting Treasurer Lorna Friesen Assistant Treasurer Laura Zacharias Assistant Treasurer Karen Peters Administrative Assistant Debbie Loewen Finance Clerk Dianne Schmidt Receptionist 48 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

49 Resource Development What should Christian fundraising look like? We believe that it should be different than other charities. While we share the same high standards of integrity, we believe that giving should lead to a deeper faith experience. Servants Our team is honoured to share with you the many stories of ministry and opportunities for giving that are at the same time expressions and celebrations of our faith. We want to work in a manner that will encourage individuals to grow spiritually even as they increase their passion Communications Marian Franz, a twenty-year peace tax advocate in Washington DC and speaker at a recent Council on Church and the Media conference said, Communications in the context of the church isn t just something you do; it s something you GET to do. What a gift her message is! Franz s workshop (Marketing Unpopular Ideas) spoke directly to the issues that confront the church today. In our world, the Gospel of peace and a focus on living in God s way all seem to be unpopular messages that get lost in the popular media maelstrom and Visit the MC Canada web site often for news and updates. Participate in a talk-a-bout, or your encouragement, questions or concerns. Read the Canadian Mennonite regularly. Share your story ideas, or write a letter to the editor. MC Canada supports the every-home subscription plan. Ask about yours! Invite an MC Canada resource development staff person or a Mennonite Foundation of Canada stewardship consultant to participate in a worship service, fellowship group meeting, or other event. 7 Ways to get involved: and commitment to the witness of Jesus Christ through Mennonite Church Canada. This focus will guide all of what we do from how we ask for your support, how we account for your support, to how we acknowledge both financial and other forms of support. Each of you is a gift from God; you are a key ingredient in a recipe that witnesses to Christ s teaching and God s love; together we can change lives. Thank-you for the many invitations already extended, and yet to come, that allow us to share the vision of Mennonite Church Canada with you. Al Rempel threaten Godly living in our culture. Yet the opportunities are great! In communications we GET to be different from the world. We GET to write inspiring news stories about changed lives; we GET to create brochures, multi-media presentations, web site content, newsletters, booklets, guides all in the name of encouraging each other to live faithfully. We GET to deliver a never-ending message of hope! What a gift indeed. Dan Dyck Make a gift of financial resources to the general budget of MC Canada. Volunteer your time to stuff envelopes, update mailing lists, or assist in planning the next MC Canada Assembly in your area. Pray for the staff and volunteers in the back offices of MC Canada, ministering to other staff and the church as a whole through the administrative and support services they provide. Tell us what YOU need to know to feel invited, informed, inspired and involved in the work of your national church! Mennonite Church Canada Visit us at... Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

50 GENERAL Finance Committee AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Bruno Friesen Finance Chair Paul Klassen Acting Treasurer Pam Peters-Pries Executive Secretary, Support Services The financial summary on the following page presents the work of Mennonite Church Canada in the past year in dollars and cents. These numbers are important, but cannot adequately communicate the impact of God s work through MC Canada that is possible through your generosity. On behalf of the many who have benefited through your gifts, thank you for your continued support of MC Canada A comparison of this year s results in congregational, individual and bequest donations to the budget and to last year s results is summarized below: Congregations Corporate & Individual Bequest Fund Principle Bequest Fund Interest TOTAL Actual 1,320, ,248 43,666 7,332 1,493,186 As can be seen, we fell short of the budget by approximately 5.5% ($86,814). Congregational giving continued the downward trend we have observed for several years, and individual giving was also down this year. At the Leadership Assembly in March, the General Board approved a Support Services Council recommendation to address this revenue shortfall. Approximately $100,000 of bequest income that would normally have been invested and spent over 10 years was recognized as income in the fiscal year. This action accomplished two objectives: It enabled MC Canada to report an excess of revenue over expenses for the fiscal year. With the exception of CMBC, it enabled us to bring all of the commissions accumulated surpluses or deficits to zero. In this way, we were able to proceed with a clean slate into the new year and new financial and program structures. CMBC s surplus of $67,585 was preserved, as this surplus must be available to forward to CMBC upon their request. Elsewhere in this Reportbook, you will see a recommendation to change the name of the Finance Committee to the Financial Policy and Audit Committee, and to make this a committee of the General Board rather than the Support Services Council. This recommendation began with counsel from our auditor, and will ensure that the General Board is well equipped to carry out its responsibility for the financial health of MC Canada Budget 1,378, ,000 43,000 29,000 1,580, Annual 1,355, ,257 48,517 44,274 1,579,422 Our financial reports will look very different next year, as they will reflect our new program structure and the absence of the old Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church. With a very eventful year behind us, we continue to work hard to ensure good stewardship of the financial resources of MC Canada. Please pray for wisdom and tenacity for this task. Pam Peters-Pries, Executive Secretary, Support Services 50 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

51 MC Canada Financial Summary Fiscal year ended January 31, 2002 Revenues General Budget Revised Actual Actual Budget General Board 376, , ,650 CMBC 520, , ,671 Ministries 651, , ,798 Resources 872,900 1,014, ,242 Leadership 90, , ,341 All boards 2,512,007 2,889,882 2,911,702 Expenses General Board 424, , ,744 CMBC 520, , ,750 Ministries 644, , ,871 Resources 877, , ,947 Leadership 96, , ,230 All boards 2,563,492 2,880,812 2,953,542 Transfers (to) from Reserves General Board 23,000 26,639 33,691 CMBC 0 4,453 (1,483) Ministries 0 (1,077) 810 Resources 10,000 (9,745) 8,837 Leadership All boards 33,000 20,270 41,855 Unrestricted Accumulated Surplus (Deficit) General Board (12,005) 0 13,096 CMBC 60,077 67,585 60,077 Ministries (32,905) 0 (40,007) Resources (8,503) 0 (14,053) Leadership 13, ,132 All boards at Jan. 31, ,760 67,585 38,245 More detailed financial reporting and audited financial statements will be available at the Assembly in Saskatoon. Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

52 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Robert Veitch General Manager our mission: Mennonite Foundation of Canada (MFC) God is the owner, we are managers. This is a theme that MFC stewardship consultants often used in over 150 sermons, Sunday schools and seminars they have presented across Canada in MFC closely identifies with the theme from 1 Corinthians 3:6-9. It is these stewardship seeds we sow and water that will grow and bear fruit according to God s grace. Another clear indication of harvesting past seeds sown is the more than $3.6-million that was transferred to charities through MFC in The Foundation grew in charitable assets under management by more than $2.7-million; processed over $1.87-million of charitable share transfers; and, granted over $50,000 to Mennonite churches and related institutions through MFC directed grant programs. The practice of mutual aid is also active at MFC, with just under $20-million of our assets being loaned out to Mennonite conferences, churches and related institutions. Our will rebate service for constituents who use our will counseling services remains popular with $12,000 in will rebates being given to more than 180 couples and individuals. Stewardship education and service from an Anabaptist perspective. MFC recently created the Spirit of Generosity Award to encourage generosity among our youth and young adults. Beginning in 2002, this annual award will be given to a student in each of our eleven Mennonite secondary and post secondary schools who demonstrates a generous spirit among his/her peers and in the community. In another new venture, MFC has signed a twoyear associate partnership with the Brethren in Christ (BIC) denomination. MFC and the BIC anticipate that this interim partnership will lead to full membership. Last fall, MFC called together and hosted elevenmennonite agencies to discuss common issues and opportunities including: stewardship education, joint marketing, sharing distribution networks/channels, client/supplier relationships, and new joint ventures. Stewardship education continues to be a primary activity for MFC. This past year staff reworked and redesigned the MFC Estate Planning Guide. This new guide has been acclaimed by lawyers and financial planners as one of the best estate planning resources available in Canada. Our Money Management and Financial Planning book is also undergoing revision and redesign and will be ready by mid MFC has recently developed a presentation on allowances, to help parents teach their children about the 3 S s of Money saving and sharing, and spending. Our Sunday school study series, Managing God s Good Gifts, also complements our teaching and preaching ministry to provide an important stewardship emphasis in our churches. It is a privilege to serve with you in stewardship ministry. We continue to solicit your support and prayers as we attempt to fulfill our mission: Stewardship education and service from an Anabaptist perspective. submitted by Robert Veitch, general manager, along with your MFC representatives and our stewardship consultants. 52 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

53 Canadian Mennonite (CM) Activity Publication of a bi-weekly magazine. Ministry goals and objectives To provide a communication ministry offering: accurate and fair information, inspirational/ educational materials, news and analyses of issues facing the church, a forum for discussion and discernment. After studying all the survey responses, a consultant who had helped with the survey concluded: Take comfort... You re getting pretty good marks overall; the satisfaction rating is quite high; you have committed and tolerant readers and 40% of them read more than they used to. Ron Rempel Editor Publisher Ron Loeppky Board Chair Average annual budget $550,000 Reporting to Mennonite Publishing Service (a 12-member board which includes representatives from Take care. Survey Says... The following are sample responses from a reader survey sent to a random sample of readers last year: * We depend upon the Canadian Mennonite for information about what we are doing. Communication between those who are actively engaged in church work, and those in the pews is difficult and so every avenue that contributes to the process is to be encouraged. From my perspective, Canadian Mennonite is the best church paper I have access to. Take care... Some regions are more satisfied than others. Your readers are aging. Keep a balance between the conference as customer and the reader as audience. Take courage! Readers are engaged with you. Readers have a primary, not a mediated, relationship with Canadian Mennonite. Canadian Mennonite may be the conference or denomination to many. The path ahead is tricky and calls for discernment, intentional connection with those of non-mennonite background and maintaining the interest and enthusiasm of current readers. submitted by Ron Rempel, Editor, Canadian Mennonite * Keep the paper alive and current, full of controversy and excitement. Stimulation is the key. There seems to be a tendency to be too middle-of-the-road. Your mission to promote covenantal relationship perhaps is not your duty. Your first duty should be to explore all aspects of an issue, to tell both sides of the story. Before true unity can come, first the differences have to be addressed. Bonita Kliewer checks out the latest Canadian Mennonite in the pit at CMU. * I enjoy the whole magazine. It s informative, entertaining, thought provoking, an insight into what Mennonites in Canada are up to. Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

54 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES Mennonite Church USA FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Greetings and blessings from your sister church, Mennonite Church USA (MC USA). Though we are now separate church bodies, we still share vital work and common interests in many areas, particularly in joint publishing work and in the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. We are a church of about 116,000 members in over 1,000 congregations in 21 conferences. Our four program agencies reflect ministry through schools (Mennonite Education Agency), stewardship (Mennonite Mutual Aid), mission (Mennonite Mission Network) and publishing (Mennonite Publishing House joint with MC Canada). The Executive Board, in addition to the Executive Director s office, offers six ministry offices for Administration, Congregational Life, Communications, Convention Planning, Cross- Cultural Relations and Ministerial Leadership. The Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) is an advisory body of about 80 leaders from the 21 conferences and 5 constituency groups Mennonite Men, Mennonite Women, African American Mennonite Association, Iglesia Menonita Hispana, and United Native Ministries. Through the work of these executive board ministry offices, program agencies, the CLC, and the historical committee, three churchwide ends will Jim Schrag, Mennonite Church be implemented 1) God s call USA,Executive Director, speaking to the Abbotsford 2001 assembly. to be a missional church, 2) calling and training leaders, 3) establishing church-to-church relationships with other country churches through Mennonite World Conference. Among our core values, anti-racism is now held prominently. We intend to systematically implement policies and actions that fully incorporate all parts of the church s membership into our leadership structures and ministry. working A new First Fruits Funding system is providing a clear spiritual and theological basis for everyone to be both givers and receivers. It provides a method of managing both congregational and churchwide resources, gives a new role to area conferences in stewardship, and builds a new platform to build collaborative ministry relationships across all parts of the church. Networking and collaboration among all parts of the church is the cornerstone we received from the transformation philosophy and process. To this end, two permanent roundtables have been established to implement the missional church and the calling and training of leaders. Atlanta 2003, July 3-7, will gather under the theme of God s Table Y All Come! (Luke 13:29). It will be our first churchwide biennial gathering as a new church for adults, youth and children. Our new delegate body will meet, composed 90% of delegates from congregations, 10% from conferences and groups. Our business will focus on the ends named above. You are cordially invited to attend! May the spirit of God continue to direct and bless the work of Mennonite Church Canada. submitted by Jim Schrag, Executive Director Executive Board, Mennonite Church USA 54 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

55 Mennonite World Conference Number of Member Congregations 87 national churches (conferences) from 48 countries on five continents. This membership represents 75% of worldwide Anabaptist- Mennonite members and associates. Mission Mennonite World Conference (MWC) exists to help Anabaptist-related churches worldwide work together on common projects, communicate across national boundaries and achieve greater international communion in order to advance the work of the church in all places. together Activities Organize world assembly gathered and scattered in Organize other worldwide common projects, such as Global Anabaptist Missions Consultation; Faith and Life Council, Peace Council. MWC representatives visit national churches, especially those under duress. Publish Courier/Correo in English, Spanish and French. Publish a directory bi-annually. Relate to other world churches. Manage Global Church Sharing Fund and implement Global Gift Sharing Project. Oversee Global Mennonite History Project, facilitate Global Anabaptist Peace and Justice Network. Co-sponsor, establish and cooperate with a variety of global programs. Reporting to Member churches Mesach Krisetya, MWC President The way of peace How can pastors tend God s field and form God s people when they deal with those who experience violence, trauma and loss? Mesach Krisetya, president of Mennonite World Conference, presented a workshop for pastors who minister in precisely such conditions. The workshop was held in January, 2002, in Tentena, Indonesia, with pastors who work with some 6,000 Christian refugees who have fled to Tentena from Poso in central Sulawesi, Indonesia. These refugees had experienced renewed violence from Jihad forces who burned hundreds of homes, churches, (including four Mennonite churches) and killed several dozen people. There was an intense atmosphere as pastors wrote about their own anger around the attacks. The pastors shared how God helps them cope with the problems they face. Mesach was amazed that the pastors expressed belief in forgiveness and that revenge is in the hand of God. Their eagerness to learn and their strong spirit encouraged Mesach as his workshop equipped the pastors with new methods of tackling the problems they were facing. Mesach had the opportunity to preach a sermon on the power of forgiveness. The way of peace seems to be the most appropriate way to solve conflict, Mesach concluded. Mennonite World Conference has member churches in a number of conflict areas around the world. Some churches are asking for help in dealing with violence they experience. Some member churches are located in countries that have declared war on terrorism. The question is relevant, How do we tend God s field and form God s people, in a climate of revenge and retaliation? The workshop that Krisetya conducted, modeled one way to respond. Assembly 14, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe At the time of writing this report, (March 21, 2002) Mennonite World Conference is continuing to plan Assembly 14 in Zimbabwe. There is concern about the economy, the drought as well as the political circumstances that impact this Assembly. Mennonite Church Canada congregations and delegates are invited to pray for our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe. Further updates will be released. Justina M. Heese, Executive Committee Member, MWC Mesach Krisetya President Larry Miller Executive Secretary Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

56 GENERAL Resolutions (from Abbotsford 2001) AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Resolution #1 Colombia Resolution (sponsored by Resources Commission) WHEREAS the delegate body of Mennonite Church Canada passed the resolution during the July 21-25, 2000 Assembly in support of the Colombian Mennonite Church s call for solidarity and opposition to the vast monetary sums appropriated for military use in Colombia by the United States, and tending WHEREAS the delegate body of Mennonite Church Canada passed, at the same Assembly, a resolution urging the Canadian government to stop all sale of arms, munitions and implements of war to foreign countries, whether allies, members of NATO, or others, WHEREAS the delegate body of Mennonite Church Canada, at the same Assembly, called for the Government of Canada to review its own foreign policies and Canadian investments in Colombia and how they may contribute to social unrest and injustice in Colombia, NOW BE IT RESOLVED that the delegate assembly of Mennonite Church Canada 2001 re-affirm its commitment to the Lethbridge 2000 Resolutions and the Colombian church through: 1. Committing ourselves to learning about the Colombian context and praying for our Mennonite sisters and brothers in Colombia. God s 2. Participating in the Sanctuary Sister Church proposal by the Colombian Mennonite Church which cultivates relationships of mutuality between Colombian churches and churches abroad to share in prayer and action. 3. Calling the Canadian Government to accountability in its $18.2 million (US) loan from Canada s Export Development Corporation (EDC) for the URRA DAM multinational hydroelectric megaproject that has brought devastation upon the Embera Katio indigenous people. field 4. Condemning the sale of 33 military helicopters by the Canadian Department of National Defense to the United States as part of the $1.3 billion aid plan entitled Plan Colombia. 5. Calling the Government of Canada to close the loophole which restricts the export of military equipment from Canada to governments engaged in armed conflict or gross human rights violations, yet has no restrictions on the sale of such equipment to the US regardless of the end-user of military equipment. 6. Urging the Government of Canada to make a clear pronouncement condemning further military aid as the answer to the conflict in Colombia, and to place its energies in the enactment of the Canadian Plan Colombia and its peace-building efforts. 7. Working in partnership with MCC Canada to investigate opportunities for peacemaking and peacebuilding efforts in Colombia which include exploring access to funds made available by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Canada Plan Colombia. (M/S/ Resources Commission/Jeremy Bergen) Carried Resolution #2 Health Care Jesus engaged in the ministry of healing those who were suffering from illness and reintegrating them into the life of their community. Mennonites have always taken an active role in walking with those who need health care. The health care system is one of the first places to which people turn for healing and hope in times of illness and crisis. As a Church, we desire an active voice in health care ethics. The health care system in Canada is under stress and review. An opportunity exists for Mennonite Church Canada to engage other Mennonite conferences and assemblies, Mennoniterelated health care providers, Mennonite insurance and aid societies and other faithbased health care providers in a dialogue, which might result in faith-based, ethical and not for profit solutions being offered as a partial remedy to the ongoing distress in health care. 56 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

57 Therefore, be it resolved that: 1. Mennonite Church Canada consider health care ministry as an important part of its work by facilitating and nurturing partnerships of Mennonite and other faith-based health care agencies and providers within Canada and internationally. 2. The General Board be empowered to call forth a consultation of Mennonite-related health care providers and agencies on health care in Canada at its earliest convenience. 3. The General Board initiate action (as enabled under Bylaw 18) to include health care issues and concerns within the mandates of Part X - Ministries of MC Canada and report its progress to the next Assembly. (M/S/ Resolutions Committee/Ernie Epp) Carried Resolution #5 Northwest Conference Having noted the absence of official Northwest Conference representation at this Assembly, we encourage our Executive to continue all avenues of dialogue and discussion to facilitate our brothers and sisters becoming full MC Canada members. (M/S/ Resolutions Committee/Ted Rempel) Carried forming Florence Duley (Northwest Conference) noted that the Northwest Conference did have representation, though no one was present from the Northwest Executive Board. The Holyrood Mennonite Church located in Edmonton also had persons present. God s Resolution #3 Appreciation for Leadership During this Assembly, the leadership of MC Canada revealed to us the unfolding dynamics within their respective roles and ministries. We have been encouraged and challenged by their reports of what God is doing in the world. We are inspired by the new vision suggested by new structures and focus for MC Canada. We acknowledge that your efforts required great skill, knowledge, creativity, energy, flexibility, and patience. Therefore, we want to express our appreciation to the leadership of MC Canada; for their willingness to make regular pilgrimages up the mountain, endeavouring to align their ways with God s ways, and for seeking to extend God s healing and hope to the world through the ministries of MC Canada. We resolve to support the ongoing and newly formed leadership along with their respective ministries in prayer. (M/S/ Resolutions Committee/Barb Neufeld) Carried (with applause) Resolution #4 Blessing for Staff Since our staff have gone well beyond the call of duty in helping us get to this point, and since that can create significant stress in personal and family lives, and since the transition will continue to create stress, be it resolved that the General Board ensure that extra and deliberate attention be given to the personal well-being of staff during the coming year. (M/S/ Resolutions Committee/Luanna Dueck) Carried Resolution #6 Financial Reports Assembly financial reports are often confusing and frustrating for many delegates People and their local congregational members. Therefore, we ask our Leadership, in addition to using detailed reports, to seek a simplified summary of MC Canada financial reporting which is more understandable, user-friendly, and is consistent from year to year. (M/S/ Resolutions Committee/David Neufeld) Carried Resolution #7 Local Hosts Recognizing the magnitude of the task of hosting a Mennonite Church Canada Assembly, the hours of planning, and endless efforts of many dedicated volunteers; we would like to thank all the host churches for their welcome and hospitality, including the shuttle service, meals, billets, and all the other logistics that made this Assembly successful. Thank you and may God bless you. (M/S/ Resolutions Committee/Delegate applause) Carried Abbotsford 2001Ministers Conference Photo: Dan Dyck Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

58 GENERAL Bylaws - Table of contents AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. I Definitions 1 Definition of Terms II Membership 2 Eligibility for Membership 3 Rights and Privileges of Members 4 Expectations of Members 5 Provisional Membership 6 Removal of Members lll Delegate Assemblies 7 Representation at Delegate Assemblies 8 Duties and Powers of Voting Delegates 9 Delegate Assemblies 10 Notice of Delegate Assemblies 11 Voting at Delegate Assemblies lv Nominations, Elections, Terms of Office and Vacancies 12 Qualifications for Elected Positions 13 Nominating Committee 14 Election Procedures 15 Terms of office 16 Vacancies V General Board 17 Composition of the General Board 18 Duties and Powers of the General Board 19 General Board Governance VI Officers 20 Officers 21 Duties of the officers VII General Secretary 22 Appointment 23 Duties of the General Secretary VIII Executive Committee 24 Composition of the Executive Committee 25 Duties and Powers of the Executive Committee IX Joint Executive Committee 26 Composition of the Joint Executive Committee 27 Duties of the Joint Executive Committee X Ministries of MC Canada 28 Christian Witness Council 29 Christian Formation Council 30 Support Services Council 31 Council Governance XI Operational Matters 32 Fiscal year 33 Corporate seal 34 Indemnities XII Amendments of Bylaws 35 Amendments to the bylaws 36 Coming into force Mennonite Church Canada General Bylaws Definition of Terms PART I - DEFINITIONS 1 In these bylaws: (a) Act means The Act of Incorporation of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada as amended by... (b) area conference means a body of constituent congregations visibly grouped in a region of Canada not necessarily bounded by provincial borders; (c) congregation means a body of persons who have responded to the call of Christ in repentance and in faith, who symbolize their unity through the practice of baptism and communion, and who are visibly grouped for the express purpose of implementing their obedience to Christ as head of the church; (d) congregational member means a person who is a member of a constituent congregation; (e) constituent congregation means a congregation which is a member of an area conference; (f) MC Canada means Mennonite Church Canada; and (g) MC USA means Mennonite Church USA. 58 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

59 PART II - MEMBERSHIP 2 Eligibility for Membership (1) An area conference in Canada which accepts the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, supports the mission statement of MC Canada and accepts these bylaws is eligible to become a member of MC Canada. (2) Any area conference that wishes to become a member of MC Canada is invited to submit a request in writing to the General Secretary, who will submit it to the General Board which will, in turn, present the request and a recommendation to a delegate assembly. (3) A constituent congregation is a member of MC Canada as long as the area conference to which it belongs is a member of MC Canada. 3 Rights and Privileges of Members (1) Membership in MC Canada entitles area conferences to: (a) send delegates to a delegate assembly, as specified elsewhere in these bylaws, with the right to vote; (b) representation on the General Board, as specified elsewhere in these bylaws; and (c) participate in programs and receive services from MC Canada. (2) Membership in MC Canada entitles constituent congregations to: (a) send delegates to a delegate assembly, as specified elsewhere in these bylaws, with the right to vote; (b) have their congregational members serve on the General Board or stand for election to any elected positions except as otherwise provided in these bylaws; and (c) participate in programs and receive services from MC Canada. 4 Expectations of Members Area conferences and constituent congregations are expected to: (a) give faithful attention to the Scriptures; (b) accept the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective; (c) uphold statements of Christian faith and life made by MC Canada from time to time; (d) respond to the invitation to become engaged in mission and service; (e) participate in the church s life and mission through generous contributions of time and personal resources all in commitment to Jesus Christ in response to the grace of God and in loving service to the church in which the Holy Spirit lives and works; and (f) assume all duties as defined in these bylaws. 5 Provisional Membership (1) Provisional membership is open to any area conference which: (a) meets the eligibility requirement in bylaw 2(1); (b) is not ready for full membership; but which (c) wishes to evaluate the meaning of full membership for itself. (2) Provisional membership: (a) may be requested in writing to the General Secretary, and the process set out in bylaw 2(2) shall apply; (b) is restricted to a maximum of five years; (c) carries with it the expectations listed in bylaw 4; (d) provides all the rights and privileges of membership listed in bylaw 3 except that: (i) their delegates are not entitled to vote at delegate assemblies; Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T (ii) their congregational members may be elected to a Council, but may not serve on the General Board; and (iii) participation in programs and services from MC Canada, and the costs associated with them, will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis. (3) A constituent congregation is a provisional member of MC Canada as long as the area conference to which it belongs is a provisional member of MC Canada. 6 Removal of Members An area conference may be removed from membership in MC Canada only on the recommendation of the General Board, and such recommendation may only be made after the General Board has followed procedures defined in Guidelines for Building Faithful Relationships in the Church (1998) and Agreeing and Disagreeing in Love (1995) to try to resolve matters with the area conference in a way that would avert the need for such a recommendation. PART III - DELEGATE ASSEMBLIES 7 Representation at Delegate Assemblies (1) Area conferences and constituent congregations may be represented at delegate assemblies as follows: (a) delegates appointed by constituent congregations: (i) in the ratio of one delegate for every 50 congregational members or a portion thereof; but (ii) not less than two per constituent congregation; and (b) delegates appointed by the area conferences: (i) in the ratio of one delegate for every 1,000 congregational members, or portion thereof, of their constituent congregations; but (ii) not less than six and not more than 12 delegates per area conference. (2) Each delegate may represent only one of either an area conference, or a constituent congregation, but not both simultaneously. (3) Delegates must be congregational members. There are no other restrictions on who may be a delegate. 8 Duties and Powers of Voting Delegates The delegates entitled to vote and present at a delegate assembly shall: (a) have the authority to act on behalf of MC Canada; (b) discern MC Canada s participation in God s work as reflected in its mission statement; (c) debate issues facing the church and, from time to time, issue statements, including, but not limited to, statements pertaining to faith and life, position statements, and statements to governments; (d) review the work and ministry of MC Canada and of its mission agencies; (e) approve the budgets of MC Canada; (f) receive the General Board s recommendation on the appointment of an auditor to hold office until the close of the next regular delegate assembly, and accept or reject such recommendation; (g) consider and accept or reject the financial statements of MC Canada and the auditor s report; (h) receive the General Board s recommendation and accept, reject or remove area conferences as members or as provisional members; 59

60 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. (i) elect MC Canada s officers, members of the Councils and members of the Nominating Committee; and (j) make the bylaws of MC Canada, amend bylaws as deemed appropriate, and monitor adherence to those bylaws. 9 Delegate Assemblies (1) Regular delegate assemblies shall be held: (a) annually, beginning normally during the first two weeks of July, (b) at a place determined by the General Board. (2) Elections shall be held at regular delegate assemblies except where the General Board determines that it is necessary to hold elections at a special delegate assembly. The General Board and all Councils shall provide written reports of their activities, plans and relevant financial statements for consideration by delegates at regular delegate assemblies. (3) A special delegate assembly may be called from time to time by the General Board at a time and place it may determine. 10 Notice of Delegate Assemblies (1) The date and place of the next regular delegate assembly shall be announced at the conclusion of each regular delegate assembly. (2) Notice of a special delegate assembly shall be given to area conferences and to constituent congregations not less than 21 days in advance. 11 Voting at Delegate Assemblies (1) The quorum for a delegate assembly shall be one half the total number eligible voting delegates from the area conferences plus 200 voting delegates from constituent congregations. (2) The business of a delegate assembly may be conducted: (a) by consensus without a formal vote; (b) by a show of hands at the discretion of the chair or on the request of a voting delegate; or (c) by ballot vote when directed by the chair, or when a motion to require a ballot vote is passed by a majority of votes cast on such motion. (3) Unless otherwise provided in these bylaws, or if a motion to require a larger number is passed by a majority of votes cast on such motion, a simple majority of the votes cast is sufficient to carry a resolution. (4) In the event of a ballot vote, the votes shall be counted by tellers who have been appointed in advance. PART IV NOMINATIONS, ELECTIONS, TERMS OF OFFICE AND VACANCIES 12 Qualifications for Elected Positions (1) Each person nominated for an elected position must be a congregational member. However, congregational members of provisional constituent congregations are not eligible for election to the General Board. (2) In the event that an elected person ceases to be a congregational member, that person s term shall be deemed to have expired at that point. (3) No person may hold more than one elected position at the same time. Where a person who holds an elected position is elected to another elected position, that person is deemed to have resigned from the previously held elected position. (4) Staff of MC Canada are not eligible for election to an elected position in MC Canada. (5) Any question of eligibility for election shall be resolved by the General Board. 13 Nominating Committee (1) Each area conference shall nominate one person to the Nominating Committee for election at a delegate assembly. (2) The Nominating Committee shall: (a) in advance of a delegate assembly where elections are to be held, use its best efforts to prepare a slate of nominees consisting of one nominee for each elected position that needs to be filled; (b) recommend, upon the request of a Council, persons to serve on its committees; and (c) on request, suggest to the General Secretary names of candidates for vacant staff positions. 14 Election Procedures (1) The Nominating Committee will receive further nominations at a delegate assembly if: (a) it is endorsed by five voting delegates; (b) the nominee has agreed to stand for the elected position; and (c) it is presented to the Nominating Committee at least 24 hours before the scheduled election. (2) Twenty-four hours before the scheduled election, the Nominating Committee shall present its slate of nominees, including those nominated in accordance with 14(1) above, to the delegate assembly. (3) Where only one person has been nominated for a given elected position, that nominee shall be declared elected by acclamation. (4) Where multiple nominations have been received for any elected position, there shall be a ballot vote. 15 Terms of Office (1) The terms of office: (a) for the officers and the two General Board members at large not serving as appointees to the General Council of Mennonite World Conference: (i) shall be two years; and (ii) they shall be eligible to serve for up to three consecutive terms; 60 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

61 (b) for members of the Christian Witness and Christian Formation Councils and General Board who serve as appointees to the General Council of Mennonite World Conference: (i) shall be six years; and (ii) they shall not be eligible to serve consecutive terms; (c) for all other members of the Councils: (i) shall be three years; and (ii) they shall be eligible to serve for up to three consecutive terms. (2) A person s term shall begin at the end of the delegate assembly at which the person was elected. 16 Vacancies (1) Where a vacancy occurs in any elected position between regular delegate assemblies, such vacancy may be filled by the General Board, at its discretion, until the next regular delegate assembly. (2) Where a person has been appointed to fill a vacancy, the time spent completing that vacant term of office shall not be considered as a portion of any succeeding term. PART V - GENERAL BOARD 17 Composition of the General Board The General Board shall consist of: (a) the officers; (b) the moderator or a designate of each area conference; (c) the following from the Councils: (i) the chair of the Christian Witness Council and one other named by the Council; (ii) the chair of the Christian Formation Council and one other named by the Council; and (iii) the chair of the Support Services Council; and (d) three members at large appointed by the General Board and confirmed by the delegate assembly, one of whom will be appointed by the General Board to the General Council of Mennonite World Conference. 18 Duties and Powers of the General Board The General Board shall: (a) act on behalf of MC Canada between delegate assemblies; (b) act as the legal representative of MC Canada, authorize such of its officers to sign contracts, cheques and other documents on behalf of MC Canada as the General Board may consider advisable, and prescribe the limits, if any, of such authority; (c) report to, and be accountable to, its members at delegate assemblies; (d) between delegate assemblies, continue the process of discerning MC Canada s participation in God s work as reflected in the Mission Statement; (e) lead MC Canada in developing its identity and vision; (f) create forums for interaction among the leaders of the area conferences; (g) direct and coordinate the work of the Councils; (h) review financial statements and direct the preparation of budgets; (i) make recommendations at regular delegate assemblies on the appointment of auditors for MC Canada; (j) appoint the General Secretary; (k) at its discretion, fill vacancies in elected positions that occur between regular delegate assemblies; (l) process issues of membership in MC Canada and make recommendations thereon at regular or special delegate assemblies; (m) foster relationships with other church bodies, including appointments as appropriate to: (i) MC USA; (ii) Mennonite World Conference; (iii) other Mennonite church bodies; (iv) Canadian Council of Churches; and (v) Evangelical Fellowship of Canada; (n) oversee the work of Canadian Mennonite Bible College within Canadian Mennonite University; (o) in partnership with MC USA, oversee the work of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary; and (p) do any other thing which is likely to support and promote the mission of MC Canada. 19 General Board Governance The General Board shall formulate and adopt rules of procedure and governance under which it shall operate. PART VI - OFFICERS 20 Officers (1) The officers of MC Canada shall be the: (a) Moderator; (b) Assistant Moderator; (c) Secretary; and (d) Chair of the Finance Committee. (2) The officers shall be elected at a regular delegate assembly. 21 Duties of the Officers (1) The Moderator shall: (a) preside at all delegate assemblies; (b) chair all meetings of the General Board and the Executive Committee; and (c) act as the official representative of and spokesperson for MC Canada. (2) The Assistant Moderator shall: (a) assume the duties of the Moderator: (i) in the absence or incapacity of the Moderator; or (ii) at the request of the Moderator or of the Executive Committee. (3) The Secretary shall be responsible for recording all minutes of delegate assemblies and meetings of the General Board and the Executive Committee. (4) The Chair of the Finance Committee shall oversee the Finance Committee established by the Support Services Council. PART VII GENERAL SECRETARY 22 Appointment The General Secretary shall be appointed by the General Board. 23 Duties of the General Secretary The General Secretary shall: (a) coordinate the total program of MC Canada; (b) hire and supervise the MC Canada staff; (c) participate, without a vote, in meetings of the Executive Committee and the General Board; (d) receive and record the credentials of all voting delegates prior to each delegate assembly; and (e) publish proceedings of each delegate assembly. Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

62 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. PART VIII - EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 24 Composition of the Executive Committee The Executive Committee shall consist of: (a) the officers; and (b) one member at large of the General Board appointed by the General Board from among its members. 25 Duties and Powers of the Executive Committee The Executive Committee shall: (a) act on behalf of the General Board between its meetings; (b) report its activities to the General Board; and (c) between meetings of the General Board, continue the process of discerning MC Canada s participation in God s work as contained in the Mission Statement. PART IX - JOINT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 26 Composition of the Joint Executive Committee The Joint Executive Committee shall consist of: (a) the Executive Committee of MC Canada; and (b) the Executive Committee of MC USA. 27 Duties of the Joint Executive Committee The Joint Executive Committee shall meet at least annually to: (a) foster relationships between MC Canada and MC USA; and (b) oversee binational partnership programs. PART X - MINISTRIES OF MC CANADA 28 Christian Witness Council (1) The core activities of the Christian Witness Council shall focus on carrying out mission work together with area conferences and their constituent congregations including, but not limited to: (a) evangelism and church planting; (b) international missions; (c) multicultural ministries; (d) Native ministries; (e) peace and justice advocacy; and (f) service ministries. (2) The Christian Witness Council shall consist of 10 people, namely: (a) a chairperson elected at a regular delegate assembly; (b) one member elected at a regular delegate assembly to serve as an appointee to the General Council of Mennonite World Conference; and (c) eight other persons elected at a regular delegate assembly. (3) The Christian Witness Council shall have authority to: (a) select any other officers from among its members that it deems desirable; (b) hire staff to oversee its programs; (c) modify the organization of its programs to adapt to the needs of MC Canada and the availability of resources; (d) oversee its programs, staff and budgets; (e) delegate parts of its authority to various committees; and (f) appoint representatives to related organizations. (4) The Christian Witness Council shall prepare financial statements, with assistance from the Finance Committee, and reports for presentation at regular delegate assemblies, covering their activities since the last regular delegate assembly, and shall prepare and provide to the General Board such other statements or reports as the General Board may request. (5) The Christian Witness Council shall, on behalf of MC Canada, relate to: (a) Mennonite Central Committee (b) Canadian Women in Mission (c) Christian Peacemaker Teams; and (d) any other organization or group assigned to it by the General Board. 29 Christian Formation Council (1) The core activities of the Christian Formation Council shall focus on providing leadership and resources to enable area conferences and their constituent congregations to promote the Christian formation of their members including, but not limited to: (a) congregational and ministerial leadership; (b) youth and young adult ministry; (c) Christian education and nurture; and (d) resources and publishing. (2) The Christian Formation Council shall consist of 10 persons, namely: (a) a chairperson elected at a regular delegate assembly; (b) one member elected at a regular delegate assembly to serve as an appointee to the General Council of Mennonite World Conference; and (c) eight other persons elected at a regular delegate assembly. (3) The Christian Formation Council shall have authority to: (a) select any other officers from among its members that it deems desirable; (b) hire staff to oversee its programs; (c) modify the organization of its programs to adapt to the needs of MC Canada and the availability of resources; (d) oversee its programs, staff and budgets; (e) delegate parts of its authority to various committees; and 62 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

63 (f) appoint representatives to related organizations. (4) The Christian Formation Council shall prepare financial statements, with assistance from the Finance Committee, and reports for presentation at regular delegate assemblies, covering their activities since the last regular delegate assembly, and shall prepare and provide to the General Board such other statements or reports as the General Board may request. (5) The Christian Formation Council shall, on behalf of MC Canada, relate to: (a) Mennonite Publishing House; (b) Mennonite Camping Association; and (c) any other organization or group assigned to it by the General Board. 30 Support Services Council (1) The activities of the Support Services Council shall focus on structures and staff to provide support services to MC Canada including, but not limited to: (a) planning delegate assemblies; (b) communication; (c) information technology; (d) finance; (e) human resources management; (f) pension plan; (g) property management; and (h) development and constituency relations. (2) The Support Services Council shall consist of six persons, namely: (a) a chairperson elected at a regular delegate assembly; (b) the chairperson of the Finance Committee; and (c) four other persons elected at a regular delegate assembly. (3) The Support Services Council shall have authority to: (a) select any other officers from among its members that it deems desirable; (b) hire staff to oversee its activities; (c) modify the organization of its programs to adapt to the needs of MC Canada and the availability of resources; (d) oversee its programs, staff and budgets; (e) delegate parts of its authority to various committees; and (f) appoint representatives to related organizations. (4) The Support Services Council shall prepare financial statements, with assistance from the Finance Committee, and reports for presentation at regular delegate assemblies, covering their activities since the last regular delegate assembly, and shall prepare and provide to the General Board such other statements or reports as the General Board may request. (5) The Support Services Council shall create a Finance Committee which shall be responsible for setting financial policies and procedures, preparing financial statements or causing them to be prepared, giving direction to the treasurer and generally overseeing the management of all financial matters of MC Canada. The Finance Committee shall consist of the Chair of the Finance Committee, elected as provided elsewhere in these bylaws, and such other number of persons appointed by the Council from among congregational members as the Council may consider necessary or advisable. (6) The Support Services Council shall, on behalf of MC Canada, relate to: (a) Mennonite Foundation of Canada; (b) Mennonite Publishing Service; and (c) any other organization or group assigned to it by the General Board. 31 Council Governance Each Council shall formulate and adopt rules of procedure and governance under which the Council shall operate. PART XI OPERATIONAL MATTERS 32 Fiscal Year MC Canada s fiscal year shall end on the 31 st day of January in each year. 33 Corporate Seal The Corporate seal shall: (a) have inscribed thereon Mennonite Church Canada; and (b) be affixed to such signed documents as the General Board considers necessary or advisable. 34 Indemnities Every officer, member of the General Board and member of a Council of MC Canada, and their heirs, executors and administrators shall at all times be indemnified and saved harmless, out of the funds of MC Canada, from and against (a) all costs, charges and expenses whatsoever which such officer or member sustains or incurs as a result of any claim, demand or proceedings made or brought against him or her for anything done, or omitted or permitted to be done, in the course of carrying out his or her responsibilities as an officer or member, except for any costs, charges and expenses sustained or incurred by the officer or member because of the wilful neglect of such officer or member; and (b) all reasonable costs, charges and expenses incurred by such officer or member in the course of carrying out his or her responsibilities as an officer or member. PART XII AMENDMENTS OF BYLAWS 35 Amendments to the bylaws (1) These bylaws may be amended at any regular or special delegate assembly; provided that the proposed amendments have been sent to the member area conferences and their constituent congregations at least two months in advance. (2) In order to pass, bylaw amendments require a two-thirds majority of the votes cast. 36 Coming into force (1) These bylaws come into force at the conclusion of the delegate assembly at which they are adopted. (2) Any subsequent amendments to these bylaws come into force at the conclusion of the delegate assembly at which they are adopted. Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

64 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Recommendation on changes to the Bylaws Purpose: to eliminate confusion about the role of the Finance Committee and to ensure that the General Board has adequate counsel to fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities, the General Board, with the support of the Support Services Council, recommends that the Finance Committee (a committee of Support Services) be replaced by a Financial Policy and Audit Committee (a committee of the General Board). To accomplish this the following changes to the Bylaws are recommended. 1. Delete section 30, paragraph 5 The Support Services Council shall create a Finance Committee which shall be responsible for setting financial policies and procedures, preparing financial statements or causing them to be prepared, giving direction to the treasurer and generally overseeing the management of all financial matters of MC Canada. The Finance Committee shall consist of the Chair of the Finance Committee, elected as provided elsewhere in these bylaws, and such other number of persons appointed by the Council from among congregational members as the Council may consider necessary or advisable. 2. Change all references to Chair of Finance Committee to Treasurer (20, 1, d; 21,4; 30 [new 32], 2,b) 3. Change all references to Finance Committee to Financial Policy and Audit Committee (21,4; 21,5; 28[30],4; 29[31],4; 30[32],4) 4. Insert new Part X Financial Policy and Audit Committee as follows: PART X FINANCIAL POLICY AND AUDIT COMMITTEE Composition of the Financial Policy and Audit Committee 28 The Financial Policy and Audit Committee shall consist of 3 people, namely: (a) the Treasurer, as chairperson; and (b) two other persons appointed by the General Board whose terms shall be three years; and who shall be eligible to serve for up to three consecutive terms. Duties of the Financial Policy and Audit Committee 29 The Financial Policy and Audit Committee shall meet in person at least once annually and otherwise by teleconferencing as required to: (a) Review the financial statements (YTD) prepared by the Treasurer and report to the General Board. (b) Recommend financial policies and procedures as needed. (c) Recommend investment policies and procedures as needed. (d) Ensure that MC Canada has implemented appropriate systems to identify, monitor and mitigate significant business risks. (e) Monitor the review of senior management s expense claims. (f) Provide initial recommendations regarding the budgeting process for the upcoming year. (g) Act as an audit committee with the following responsibilities: (i.) Review and recommend the appointment of the external auditor. (ii.) Review annually the audit plan and fees presented by the external auditor. (iii.) Review the annual audited financial statements prior to submission to the General Board for their approval. (iv.) In camera meeting with the auditor. (v.) Review and report to the General Board the results of the external auditor s annual audit including the management letter and significant issues encountered during the audit and how they were resolved. (vi.)review with management and the external auditors MC Canada s systems of internal control to ensure compliance with legal, ethical, regulatory and financial reporting requirements and report to the General Board as required. 5. Change subsequent numbering to accommodate this insertion. Recommended by General Board 64 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

65 Proposals on Education Background The elementary and secondary schools related to MC Canada (and some Mennonite schools not related to MC Canada) have developed a structure for cooperation and mutual encouragement called the Canadian Association of Mennonite Schools (CAMS). Several attempts have been made in the past to develop a similar structure for the colleges related to MC Canada s predecessor, the Conference of Mennonites in Canada. In November 2000 the General Board approved the following action: The General Board add a day at the beginning of its November 2001 General Board meeting in which institutional representatives (likely the board chair and President) of CMBC, CGC and CBC be invited to make presentations on their vision for Canadian Mennonite higher education and its relationship to Mennonite Church Canada, followed by General Board discussion with these representatives. During an in camera meeting on Saturday afternoon the General Board will then try to come to consensus on a direction on the governance/ accountability issues. [AMBS was later added to the conversation.] A subsequent motion anticipated a recommendation on higher education to the July 2002 MC Canada delegate assembly. A Task Force on Higher Education earlier appointed by the Canada Program Transformation Team ceased its work at that time. The consultation was held November 16-17, 2001 in Calgary at the Foothills Mennonite Church. On Friday afternoon, the presidents and board chairs of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), Canadian Mennonite Bible College/ Canadian Mennonite University (CMBC/CMU), Columbia Bible College (CBC) and Conrad Grebel University College (CGUC) participated in a conversation with the General Board. Prior to the conversation, each institution and area conference submitted background and vision statements to provide shape and context. On Saturday, the General Board met in an in camera session and developed a draft of recommendations. These recommendations have been tested with the schools and the area conferences. A second draft was tested and refined by the General Board meeting on March 7, 2002 for a further round of testing. Draft 3 was tested by the General Board meeting on April 26, 2002 and revised to draft 4, which is now presented to the Delegate Assembly meeting in Saskatoon on July 3-7, This recommendation addresses the place and relationship of educational institutions in MC Canada s mission and strategic plan, including a role for primary and secondary schools, but with an emphasis on post-secondary schools. Recommendations A. Vision Statement Mennonite Church Canada believes that the missional identity and ministry of the church is strengthened through educational institutions and programs that invite people to faith, develop that faith in a direction consistent with Anabaptist convictions and equip the people of God for service and leadership in the church and beyond to facilitate God s mission in the world, so that all people may find healing and hope in all circumstances of life. MC Canada desires that such educational opportunities be available to as many people as possible across Canada. B. MC Canada Education Agency 1. Mandate The Education Agency and its staff will implement MC Canada s education vision. They will: a) negotiate an understanding of the relationship with each member school or federation of schools; Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

66 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. b) identify expectations of member schools or federations of schools, including processes for evaluating and recommending how each school participates in the mission of MC Canada; c) provide equal visibility of the schools within MC Canada; d) coordinate and facilitate the work of individual schools and programs, but will not administer programs; e) encourage and support programs for training pastoral leaders; f) network with the Denominational Minister in reference to pastoral education issues; g) network with MC Canada and area conference staff whose responsibilities intersect with its own (e.g., youth ministers, young adult ministers, camp staff, Christian Education staff); h) facilitate desirable connections (e.g., meetings of Presidents, Deans, admissions staff); i) encourage cooperative programming (e.g., distance education, shared resources [including staff]); j) encourage accessibility to schools (e.g., bursaries, joint publicity and recruitment); k) encourage and facilitate relationships between MC Canada schools and schools that are affiliated with Mennonite World Conference member churches in other parts of the world; l) develop criteria for distribution of grant funds; m)make appointments as outlined in Governance/Accountability below. 2. Initial Priority The initial emphasis will be on encouraging and supporting programs for training pastoral leaders, which is identified as an urgent need within the church. 3. Composition The Education Agency membership will consist of seven members appointed by the Christian Formation Council in consultation with the area conferences; one board member appointed by each of the following: Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Canadian Mennonite University, Columbia Bible College, Conrad Grebel University College; one representative from Canadian Association of Mennonite Schools. 1 The Christian Formation Council may choose to appoint one or more of its members as members of the Education Agency. The presidents, principals or other staff of the institutions may attend meetings as non-voting participants/observers. A Grants Committee within the Agency will be responsible for distribution of grants (see 3 a iii, below). The Grants Committee will consist of all members of the Agency who are appointed by the Christian Formation Council. 4. Accountability The Agency will be accountable to the Christian Formation Council. The General Board will receive reports from Christian Formation Council on the work of the Education Agency. 5. Staff We anticipate that (part-time) staff may be needed, but that will be determined by the Agency in consultation with the Christian Formation Council. 6. Funding The funding for the Agency, including meetings and staff will be from the MC Canada budget. Details need to be developed. C. Governance/Accountability 1. Principle MC Canada and its area conferences own four post-secondary schools, namely Canadian Mennonite University, 2 Columbia Bible College, 3 Conrad Grebel University College and Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, 4 and various elementary and secondary schools, all of which are separately incorporated institutions with their own boards of governance. They each bring their own gifts and strengths to MC Canada s educational vision. 2. Property For the present, MC Canada will maintain its ownership of the 600 Shaftesbury property and its ½ ownership of the 500 Shaftesbury property. It will lease space and facilities to CMU for its use, and existing obligations and undertakings regarding use of this property, mortgages etc. will be honoured. 66 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

67 3. Financial Support a) Assumptions: i) It is the goal of MC Canada and its area conferences that all its schools should be financially secure. As the founding and supporting bodies, MCBC has a special responsibility toward the financial security of CBC and MCEC has a special responsibility toward CGUC. As the founding and sponsoring body of CMBC, MC Canada has a special responsibility toward the financial security of CMU, and as a successor to Mennonite Church and General Conference, MC Canada has a special responsibility toward the financial security of AMBS. Elementary and secondary schools have special funding relationships with their constituencies. ii) The total level of funding for education by MC Canada will be maintained approximately at its present level, proportionate to the total budget of MC Canada. iii) MC Canada will use its financial resources to support education programs that serve its goals and needs. A portion (to be determined) of MC Canada s education budget will be distributed in the form of grants to programs of the post-secondary schools or to new educational initiatives that will address MC Canada s educational priorities. iv) Adjustments to the funding pattern will be made toward a more equitable sharing of support for post-secondary schools. v) The change in funding will take place over a period of five years, starting in February b) Funding Formula: [This is being developed and tested with the schools and other stakeholders. A proposal may be brought to the 2002 Assembly for testing.] 4. Canadian Mennonite University Board MC Canada is participating with the CMU member colleges and their owners in a process to design a new structure for the CMU Board. 5. Accountability Relationships to MC Canada As negotiated with the governing boards of the following schools, the Education Agency will make the following appointments on behalf of MC Canada: a) 1 member to the CBC board (in conjunction with MCBC, utilizing one of their seats on the CBC board) b) 1 member to the CGUC board (in conjunction with MCEC, utilizing one of their seats on the board) c) the appropriate number of members to the CMU board (as determined by the new structure for the CMU Board). These will be predominantly, but not exclusively, from the Prairie Provinces. d) 5 members to the AMBS board (in cooperation with the MC Canada Executive Committee as it fulfils its role as part of the binational Joint Executive Committee) An accountability relationship with CAMS will be negotiated. D. Review All the above arrangements will be reviewed after July 2006 and before July Meeting Dates: November 17, 2001; March 7, 2002; April 26, 2002 Footnotes 1 The members of the Education Agency will be members of MC Canada congregations. 2 In partnership with Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches of Manitoba and Friends of Menno Simons College. 3 In partnership with Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches of British Columbia. 4 In partnership with Mennonite Church USA. Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T

68 GENERAL AREA CHURCHES FORMATION WITNESS SUPPORT SERVICES AFFILIATES ACTIONS, ETC. Inter-Church / Inter-Faith Relations Dialogue Current Status: Mennonite Church Canada has inherited from the Conference of Mennonites in Canada a relationship with both the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) and the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC). After vigorous discussion in the two previous conferences and behind the scenes exploration over the previous decade it was decided at the annual meeting in 1987 that CMC would participate in both of these bodies as an observer. The delegates at the 1990 Conference voted that CMC retain observer status with both the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and the Canadian Council of Churches. That status has been maintained through nominal annual contributions and somewhat sporadic attendance at meetings. During the last few years when the integration/ transformation agenda has predominated, little energy has been invested in interchurch relationships beyond that with MC USA and Mennonite World Conference. Recent Developments: Several recent developments and initiatives create opportunities and momentum toward greater involvement in Inter-Church and Inter-Faith (IC/IF) relationships. 1. Our maturing as Mennonite Church Canada and the termination of the previous bi-national church bodies presses us to take our rightful role and responsibility as a Canadian church or denomination. On the negative side, the GC-MC Interchurch Relations Committee no longer serves our needs. (It could be argued that it never did, since its conversation partners were all US-based denominations.) with an affiliation structure. In this new organization the Board of EFC will be selfperpetuating and the General Council will serve in an advisory capacity and as a forum for interaction between the affiliated denominations and ministries. EFC is also changing as it broadens its list of affiliates. The Anglican and Presbyterian churches, both with substantial numbers of evangelically-minded members, have requested observer status in EFC. EFC and CCC are working together on an increasing number of programs and recognizing each other s legitimacy. EFC s Centre for Faith and Public Life has worked closely with the MCC Ottawa office on a number of projects and a number of EFC staff have warm personal relationships with our churches and people. 3. The CCC is changing - see its web site at As with the World Council of Churches (and the National Council of Churches in the US), CCC defines itself as a forum for conversation between churches. (Note the similarity to the MWC concept of itself as a space for coming together.) As a forum, CCC does not issue statements on behalf of its members, but facilitates conversation and sharing of resources and helps with the preparation of statements that member churches can choose to sign or not to sign. Mennonites participate in several of the CCC programs, especially Project Peacemakers and Kairos: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives. The CCC and EFC are working together on an increasing number of programs and recognizing each other s legitimacy. 4. Pastors, congregations, academics and members are engaged in local IC/IF activities. Until recently the focus has been on inter-church activities (worship, service, witness, education), but especially since Sept. 11, 2001 the inter-faith agenda has received growing attention. 2. The EFC is changing (see its web site at index.asp). At a meeting in Ottawa in October, 2001, the EFC decided to end its membership structure and replace it 5. Helmut Harder, at our request, attended a meeting in October 2001 to discuss the possibility, need and agenda for a second Conference on Faith and Order (the first having been held in 1957). Helmut s report 68 Mennonite Church Canada - Saskatoon 2002

69 concludes with the following recommendation: I would recommend that the Executive of Mennonite Church Canada should follow closely the developments of this new initiative, and that a representative group of persons from our midst should be chosen to engage in helping to shape and possibly implement the new initiative that appears to be emerging on the ecumenical horizon. 6. Helmut Harder, at the request of MWC, has participated in a dialogue between Mennonites and Catholics, now entering its fifth and final year. Helmut has reported on those meetings and, as a result of this experience, has initiated a local Mennonite- Catholic dialogue in Winnipeg. Next Steps: The General Board has endorsed three initiatives and invites delegate discussion of them. 1. That we establish a reference group to work with the General Secretary on IC/IF relationships. This would consist of several persons appointed by the General Secretary. The reference group members may be asked to attend various IC/IF meetings, monitor IC/ IF conversations, moderate an internet discussion group or otherwise participate in the IC/IF work. The cost of this initiative will be limited to travel and meeting costs. Ecumenism is about what God is trying to say to us through our differences. How can our differences be vehicles for healing? It s not about trying to force everyone into the same mould. Simon Barrow, assistant general secretary of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, and executive secretary of Churchs Commission on Mission (London, England, speaking at the Council on Church and the Media Conference, Washington D.C., April, 2002.) 2. That we begin a process which we hope will culminate at the Assembly in 2003 with a recommendation to be an affiliated denomination in EFC and upgrade our relationship with CCC to full participation in forums. 3. That we commit to participation in the proposed Conference on Faith and Order. The initial step would be to appoint several persons to follow developments and to make plans for introducing and interpreting this initiative to our members. Peace Demonstration, April 2002 Washington, D.C. Mennonite C M C Church R E Canada P O R- Saskatoon T