I long. Witness. Missional Formation

Transcription

1 A Palestinian peasant sowed some seeds in the ground and went to sleep. After he woke up, he was surprised by the mysterious power that had been at work in the soil and the seed that energized the seed to sprout without him knowing how. This story told by Jesus (Mark 4:26-29) is inspiring. It teaches us about who ultimately is in charge of the mission of God. It also emphasizes that as humans, we have an important role to play in that mission. But we should never get the two roles mixed up. God s Kingdom energy is at work even when the peasant is sleeping. This parable talks about God s work. It also talks about the deserved sleep that the sowers of Gospel seed need. With the dramatic program cut-backs that have occurred in, we seek the assurance that the seeds we have planted will grow mysteriously even in those programs that have been put to rest, that is, those areas of important ministry that we will no longer be able to do. We trust that God s energy will continue to surprise us even as we have been called to sleep. Sowing and sleeping Mennonite Church Canada has had a very productive planting year. And there is abundant evidence that God is energizing growth. Space limits us from providing many details. But we want to share some of the seeds that have been planted and the way in which God is providing growth. Missional Formation Eric Olfert, Norm Dyck, Karen Heidebrecht Thiessen and Al Rempel (back to camera) in discussion at the Missional Leadership Workshop held at Charleswood Mennonite Church in January visits to congregations by MC Canada staff were made in 2002, responding to the interest there is in missional formation, mission partnerships, visioning, and re-alignment of structures. Another 23 visits were made to schools, colleges, and area conferences. We hear dozens of stories from congregations about how new and existing programs are energized by God s Spirit via these seeds that are planted. 54 congregational leaders are enrolled in the Missional Leadership Formation course being offered. We are in the midst of that process now. It is invigorating to see the inter-generational and inter-cultural group grapple with the implications of the missional vision for their congregation and geographic area. How this will eventually impact the life of congregations, only time will tell. God will keep working even when we are sleeping. Christian Council Marvin Baergen, 2003 Abe Buhler, 2005 Florence Duley, 2004 Ernest Epp, 2005 Noe Gonzalia, 2004 Hun Lee, 2003 Laura Loewen, 2003 Willard Metzger, 2004 Jeannette Unger, 2004 Dori Zerbe Cornelsen, 2005 I long 37

2 General Area Churches Formation Support Services Affiliates Bylaws Actions Recommendations Seminars Edmonton Chinese Mennonite Church and Edmonton Vietnamese Mennonite Church were recipients of Tenth Man building grants in Congregational Partnerships About half of MC Canada congregations have chosen to connect with a specific ministry. This is done either by adopting a mission worker, a ministry, or committing to become involved in the development of ministry. There are also a number of initiatives begun by congregations that we are happy to facilitate. There are congregational clusters in MCEC, MCBC and MC Sask. that are organizing for the support of a specific ministry opportunity. There are congregations partnering with our Native Ministries programs in connecting with Native communities. There have been congregations heavily involved in Mennonite Voluntary Service and Service Adventure. There have been congregations involved in ministry trips to other parts of the world. The vision to network and partner has been very strong. Native Ministry Our workers have done an exemplary job in encouraging, empowering, and serving Native communities. Leadership development is encouraged under a new initiative called NAME (Native Anabaptist Missional Education). The first workshops with selected leaders are finished and reports are very positive. Several Native leaders have been involved in the Missional Leadership Formation course as well. Building bridges to Mennonite congregations has been significant. DVBS, Native camping, and multiple ministries have strengthened the communities and churches. Several workshops with Mennonite congregations have created a greater understanding of the struggles for justice and identity experienced by the Native people. Our staff continues to monitor and feed into the governmental decisions and processes dealing with the revisions to the Indian Act and the conversations around governance. Outreach and church planting Area Conferences have been encouraged in their efforts to plant churches. Through OCP, about $150,000 in churchplanting subsidies were provided. Bringing together mission leaders from across the country, and developing a network of cooperation, sharing, and a national strategy for church planting has been important. Our significant connections with the 10 th Man organization (now re-named JoinHands) has generated much support, and we thank the regional representatives who have donated their time and energy to promote these possibilities. These are Jake Harms in Manitoba and Gordon Erb in MCEC. Marvin Baergen, Alberta, will initiate similar work and coordinate the ongoing ministry from Alberta. The Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church plant in Toronto was the recipient of a major grant from OCP to begin and strengthen that church. Christian Service Ministries There has been new and positive energy, as our staff has challenged congregations and potential volunteers to consider a culture of service as a basic framework for their lives. Applications, both from congregations wishing to establish service units and Canadian applicants who wish to serve in the units, have been up significantly. It has been exciting to see the many ways in which the units have helped congregations to reach out in their communities, in service to those in need. Claudette Joseph, MVSer Adam Carter, and Bill Carr work in the Welcome Inn kitchen. for all of you... 38

3 Jooran Kim (deacon at Charleswood Mennonite Church) & Selina Nelson welcome the connections that have grown from the multi-cultural emphasis in their congregation. Multi-Cultural Ministry Samson Lo, our staff person for this ministry, has been very active connecting with the 40 or so non-anglo congregations that are members in MC Canada. The response has been very heartening. The consultation organized last July, in Saskatoon, to consider the perspectives, gifts, and needs of these congregations was highly successful. Leadership training is encouraged both in the Missional Formation course indicated above, but also in a new initiative in MCEC, where 65 congregational leaders from Asian-background churches are gathering to work at pastoral leadership curriculum. It is hoped that this experience can be imported into other Area Conferences. Samson is a bridge-builder, and his encouraging presence is helpful to all of us as we consider how to make our church more hospitable to the many cultural groups that are part of us. International Ministries (IM) Our IM staff successfully met the daunting challenges of organizing a department for international ministry from a Canadian base. This is new for us, and we continue to learn. Very significant, life-shaping and transforming ministry is happening all over the world. Our very significant partners in this effort are our congregations, the Mennonite Mission Network, and the national partners in many countries. Each ministry is an opportunity to nurture the gospel of Jesus Christ in needy but distinct contexts. In the Ukraine, a proposal to bring together what was divided over 100 years ago (developing one Mennonite Conference with former General Conference and Mennonite Brethren) is a significant, symbolic effort. In Thailand, small churches are emerging in an area that has no church. In Vietnam, challenges are emerging in the building of a Mennonite church through the work of the North American Vietnamese Fellowship. In Colombia and Jerusalem, our workers teach an alternative vision of a gospel of peace in waraffected societies. In Germany, we are forging a significant partnership with 8 other groups to serve the Aussiedler populations, and to provide infrastructure so that the gospel can bring continuing and sustained healing and hope to the people there. The Cubans are making use of the Mennonite Confession of Faith to apply for legal and registered status, as pastors continue to be nurtured by this vision and continue to nurture their congregations with it. Major re-structuring of AIMM will re-shape how ministry is done in Africa. New appointees to Botswana are Glynn and Susan Allison Jones from MCEC. They will be working with African Initiated Churches as Bible teachers and helping with the HIV/AIDS ministry there. Self-supporting internship programs are taking place in Korea, Macau, and Chile. Global Mission Fellowship An important new initiative is taking place this August/03 in Bulaweyo, Zimbabwe. Churches and leaders from all over the Mennonite World Conference world, and beyond, will inaugurate the Global Mission Fellowship, a space provided by the MWC to encourage, network, partner and empower mission to be energized from all directions to all directions. This is significant and represents a formal shape for international mission that has been at work for many decades, but now this paradigm is officially and globally recognized. It is truly a new day in the way mission collaboration will be done now and for the future. We are excited that Mennonite Church Canada will sign on as a founding member of this new possibility. with the compassion 39

4 General Area Churches Formation Support Services Affiliates Crisis and possibility As the very successful year of energetic and creative planting was coming to a close, dark financial clouds began to emerge. The looming financial crisis necessitated significant budget adjustments. Much has been said about the cutbacks in ministry experienced by Mennonite Church Canada. The details of that process are given elsewhere in this report book. I would like to focus on what has not been cut. The ministries that are left provide a glimpse into how our elected decision-makers have imagined the essential nature of the church of the future. This is an important picture. According to these decisions, from the perspective of, the future Mennonite Church Canada will reflect the following important characteristics: Bylaws Actions Recommendations Seminars 1) It will be a missional church: capacity to help congregations imagine a missional future is strong. This missional imagination includes being the church locally, regionally, and nationally: from across the street to around the world. We urge congregations to make use of the missional formation resources and processes that are available. 2) It will be a church active in relevant ministry: Anabaptist heritage nurtured by a renewed missional vision point to a relevant and active future for the church. By cutting back local/regional program originating from Winnipeg, decision-makers challenge the imagination for ministry of local/regional missional congregations and area conferences. This can be nurtured by the missional formation affirmed in the new structures and approved by delegates at Abbotsford ) It will be a praying church: The commitment to prayer is growing. We will continue to encourage your commitment to prayer through the PrayerNet. We have experienced the strength of prayer and trust that this ministry will continue to inspire support. 4) It will be a culturally diverse church: The strong support for the Multi-Cultural Ministry Department indicates that the future church is seen to be a culturally diverse church. Our efforts to connect with, learn from, and make space for many cultures and languages are seen as central for the future of our church. 5) It will be a contextually prophetic church: The decision to maintain a Native Ministry Department, although significantly changed, is a signal that as a church we are committed to accompanying our congregations and the Native communities in our/their search for integral justice and wholeness. We understand the potential of our reconciled futures to be as intertwined as the reality of our discordant histories. We will seek this mutual future by encouraging the growth of communities of Christian faith that break down the walls of hostility through the cross of Christ, thus creating peace (Ephesians 2:1-11). 6) It will be a networking and partnering church: In the 21 st century, ministry is networked. major partner is the Mennonite Mission Network of Mennonite Church USA. Congregations are invited to consider engaging ministry via partnership. By maintaining a strong Congregational Partnership Department, is poised to resource and facilitate such partnership for ministry at home and around the world. 7) It will be a globally-connected church: Mennonite Church Canada wants to take its membership in Mennonite World Conference seriously and be available for ministry with partners around the world. The decision to keep our International Ministries Department strong means that should continue to lead the church in making such ministry possible. These ministries, considered essential for Mennonite Church Canada, provide a strong framework for the future relevance of our church. What is available merits the support and participation of our members, congregations, and area conferences. 40

5 Challenges and Issues: Yet, the decisions made also pose critical issues for us as a church and leave us with very important challenges. Let us identify some of these as well: 1) By eliminating our Peace and Justice Department, we are challenged to incorporate our peace witness into all parts of our witness and ministry, in congregations, area conferences, and in related organizations. We know from our history that this has been tried before. We will need to be very intentional if this is to succeed. If we meet the challenge, our church will indeed be strengthened by this decision. If we don t, we will be considerably weakened. We will need to pray for much wisdom and courage to respond to this challenge. 2) Can we imagine new channels to facilitate Christian Service, now that this department has been closed? How will we continue to nourish our understanding that faith needs to be expressed in service to others? The decisionmakers knew that many avenues for service are available in related organizations. What are the implications of disconnecting such opportunities from identity with the national church? These are critical questions that will be clarified only with time. This is, however, a huge challenge to the entire church. 3) While our Native Ministry Department remains, the intimate work of providing front-line pastoral and counseling service to selected Native communities and persons in selected geographical areas does not. How will close relationships be nurtured? What can we offer and receive from an arrangement that is more arms length? Much discernment and creativity will be needed at all levels of the church to continue this relationship in a mutually uplifting way. 4) We understand that the heart of God desires the establishment of new and growing communities of faith. Yet we have eliminated national leadership in coordinating and developing national strategies and facilitating resources for Church Planting. This agenda is now fully on the slate of the congregations and area conferences. Will we lose the momentum in the planting of new churches that is building in area conferences? Do we need to find a continuing role for the national church in this crucial ministry? We trust that God will continue to provide the mysterious growth, both for those ministries that are actively sowing and those that, for the moment, may seem to be sleeping. The church, as the body of Christ, continues its journey of faithful response to the urgings of the Spirit in our midst. We will continue to sow and to sleep. We trust that God will continue to provide the mysterious growth, both for those ministries that are actively sowing and those that, for the moment, may seem to be sleeping. We appreciate your counsel and prayers. We also continue to need your financial support so that we can deliver the ministries that have been deemed to be essential for all. Robert J. Suderman, Executive Secretary, Mennonite Church Canada Witnes Willard Metzger, Chair, Christian Council of Jesus Christ 41

6 General Area Churches Formation Support Services Affiliates Bylaws Actions Recommendations Seminars Canadian Women in Mission (CWM) Activity: (CWM) - organizes an annual meeting as part of the Mennonite Church Canada Assembly - publishes a newsletter, Bible study guide, and periodical (Timbrel) CWM contributes to projects of the broader church through: - Spiritual Growth assistance fund - Scholarships and bursaries for women - CMU Service and Internship program - Der Bote women s page editor - Other projects that arise as needs are discerned Ministry goals and objectives: Women in Mission (CWM) provides the means by which women and women s groups are strengthened and remain connected to one another. Average Annual Budget: $50,000 Reporting to: Christian Council, Mennonite Church Canada Canadian Women in Mission Dodie Lepp, President Ingrid Janzen Lamp, Secretary Treasurer WMCEC Anna Mary Brubacher 2003 MB WM Pat Gerber- Pauls 2003 SK WM Esther Patkau 2003 AB WM Beth Moyer 2003 BC WM Vice-President Veronica Thiessen Photo: Todd & Jeanette Hanson, mission partnership workers in China. CWM In 2002, approximately 2000 women met in 126 groups across Canada. Some of the forms these meetings took were: Bible study and prayer, sewing and mission projects, group and community service, mom s groups, support groups, craft groups, church leadership groups, coffee/ breakfast/lunch sharing gatherings and book clubs. Besides the many ways these groups continue to challenge and nurture participants, they have also reported creating 6566 comforters/ quilts, 256 baby blankets, 1060 health kits, 945 school kits and 807 layettes. School children in Nanchong receiving MCC school kits. CWM provided 945 school kits for distribution around the world. 50 Years As CWM celebrated and reflected on fifty years of service in 2002, we were challenged to discern how we as women can best do what Philippians 1:9-10 asks of us. What is the role for women in the missional church? How can we continue to be sensitive to issues in the family and church both here and abroad? Encouraging women Over the years we have given bursaries to many women who have felt the call of God to serve. One of those recipients, Wendy Janzen, writes, Although I only spent a year and a half studying full-time at AMBS, my time there gave me the Wendy Janzen at tools to pull together and AMBS Grad, 2002 reflect on the different experiences that contributed to my call to ministry. Studying at AMBS was a rich experience. Each one of my classes stretched me and provided opportunities for me to reflect anew on my faith and on the Bible. I am especially grateful to the professors who encouraged and affirmed me in so many ways through classes, spiritual direction, chapels, and friendships. Thank you to CWM for helping to make my studies there possible. 42

7 Mennonite Central Committee 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. MCC Canada 2001/2002 Budget: $27 million Reporting to: Board of Directors and Delegate Body representative of Mennonite conferences and the Brethren in Christ church in Canada. Don Peters Executive Director Hope & help for refugees Enrique and Miriam Torres knew they wouldn t be returning to Colombia as they and their twoyear-old daughter stepped onto a plane in Bogota in December Their lives were being threatened and they were leaving for Canada as refugees with help from the Mennonite church in Colombia and a Mennonite church in Winnipeg. There are many things that run through your mind and it doesn t take long before those feelings of emptiness start to set in, says Enrique Torres (not his real name) through an interpreter. It was so good to see people ready to greet us in Winnipeg with smiles and open arms. Torres had never agreed to participate, or choose sides, in the conflict that has roiled in Colombia for decades. In the end, it was his choice to work as a pastor and community leader that made him a threat. Colombians who refuse to take part in the conflict often flee their homes to avoid assassination. Enrique had been serving first as a pastor and then community leader when threats were made on his life. He had returned home in early June 2002 after a few days away to find a note slipped under the front door. It was a message from one of the most violent units of FARC a left wing guerilla organization in Colombia saying he was now at the top of their hit list. We kept moving around but the FARC kept following us and leaving messages on our phones, he says. They killed the wife of a municipal leader one month after we left San Vincente. It was then I knew that my family would not be safe. In 2002, 10 Colombian families (or approximately 30 refugees) were placed in cities including Winnipeg, Calgary, Toronto, Kitchener. MCC has set a goal of helping 100 Colombian refugees in The Torres daughter is helped with a winter parka by Katie Thiessen of Douglas Mennonite Church at the Winnipeg airport upon arrival from Colombia. (Note: The names have been changed for the story and caption.) 43

8 General Area Churches Formation Support Services Affiliates Bylaws Actions Recommendations Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Name: Mennonite Disaster Service Region V Inc. 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. Average Annual Budget: $340, Reporting to: Region V Board of Directors, Binational Board of Directors and Delegate Body representative of North American Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren in Christ conferences. Seminars Staff: Lorraine Kehler Plett, Admin. Assistant Nathan Koslowsky, Admin. Coordinator Officers: Gordon Friesen, Chair Waldo Neufeld, Vice Chair Jane Kuepfer, Secretary Betty Kasdorf, Treasurer Help Hotline In September, Fritz Luten received a letter about a new toll-free hotline that was established by MDS to connect drought-affected farmers who needed feed and pasture with those who had surplus. The hotline was certainly a good convenience, said Fritz who was in need of feed and growing weary of searching through advertisements. Fritz Luten runs a family dairy farm in Millet, Alberta. With a stall configuration, Fritz milks 45 head. During a three-month growing season, Fritz must put up enough silage and hay to feed his cows through the winter. There is one thing that Fritz needs in order to make this happen - rain. This year the rains did not come. We never got any rain of any importance, said Fritz. In July, Fritz, a Baptist, joined together with other area farmers to pray. Their prayers did not produce rain and so they met a second time, praying again for relief. A rain finally came during the last week of July. Seeds that had been in the ground for weeks came to life, but it was too late. Fritz yielded less than 1/3 of his hay crop. In order to put up the 800 tons of silage needed for the winter, Fritz was forced to sell 20 of his cows. He still needed more hay. After receiving the letter from MDS, Fritz called the hotline and found out about a few sellers in Manitoba. The prices were not bad, said Fritz, but transportation was expensive. I held out and figured I could always go broke later. Fritz is glad he waited. He soon found out about Donald Saltvold, a Lutheran farmer less than 1.5 hours away. Saltvold s grain crop was also lost to the drought. No good for grain, the wheat was baled like hay and sold for feed at an affordable price. Fritz Luten and his son Andrew stand in their stall barn while one of their dairy cows feeds in the background. photo: Gord Friesen 44

9 Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Activity: Places teams of trained, disciplined Christians in situations of high conflict. Ministry goals and objections: Reduce violence, in partnership with local peacemakers. Average annual budget: $1,200,000 Reporting to: Steering Committee appointed by sponsoring denominations. To My Son... This year Christian Peacemaker Teams placed a team in Iraq. In a letter from Baghdad to his 6- month old son, Foster, CPTer Matthew-Bailey- Dick from Waterloo ON wrote : Today I looked at a photograph that I brought with me to Iraq. It shows us reading a children s book called Where is God? Now I need your help, Foster. I need you to tell me where God is in the hospital that we visited today. The last page of that book says that we can see God everywhere we look. So I need you to show me how to look the way you look with wideopen, trusting eyes so that I can see God in this children s hospital in Iraq. Oh my son, how would you look for God in this place where children your own age are lying in beds without adequate medical attention? Lack of antibiotics for common infections, adultsized oxygen masks used on premature babies, mothers holding up IV bags for their children because of the shortage of staff how would you look for God in such a situation? Photo: Mattthew Bailey-Dick, Feb 2003 Mother and child in children s hospital, Mosul, Iraq. I cried after I left the hospital. I thought about how any of these children could be you, and I found that unbearable. If I were sitting beside your bed in that hospital, I think I would have a difficult time figuring out where God is in a world that maintains these economic sanctions. I think I would be scared and angry. I miss you, Foster. Beyond all the issues around the sanctions, there is the basic level of human connection. Here in Iraq I spent a few precious minutes with children who reminded me of you. The sparkle in their eyes made me long to be back with you, to be together on this lifelong journey of discovering where God works in this world. As for that book, I am going to work with all my might toward a world in which one of the last pages can say, Where is God? God is in the place where people discover how to move beyond the lunacy of war. God is in the finding of a new way forward. Maybe one day you also will be a member of CPT. Maybe you will work for peace together with some of the children I met today. God would be in that place, I am sure. Love, your Daddy. Doug Pritchard Canada Coordinator In Memoriam George Weber talks to Israeli soldier in Hebron Photo: CPT, Sept George Weber, 73, of Chesley ON, was killed in a motor vehicle accident in Iraq on Jan. 6, Weber, a retired history teacher, and former MBM worker in West Africa, served with CPT in Hebron, West Bank, in 2001 and He took a particular interest in accompanying Palestinian children to school through the Israeli-occupied city. Weber said about his reasons for joining the CPT delegation to Iraq, I can t just sit back and do nothing. What would I say to my grandchildren? I have to do what I can to stop this war. This was the first death of a CPTer in the field. 45