The Ministerial Leadership Committee (MLC) of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) has affirmed its readiness to process credentialing requests for LGBTQ+ ministers.

The committee’s decision comes after careful discernment of listening to God’s Spirit through the diverse feedback from delegates and congregations and with affirmation of the Executive Committee. The statement released by the MLC affirms that it “will respect the position of each congregation to request, or not to request, the credentialing of an LGBTQ+ person (including someone in a same-gender marriage) and will process the request.”

The decision to open credentialing in ACC comes after a time of listening and discernment with ACC delegates on February 4, 2023. During this gathering at Forest Hills Mennonite Church, delegates read statements from their congregations on what their relationship to the Conference means and what extending credentials to LGBTQ+ individuals would mean for their congregation. Delegates also had opportunities to share personal feedback and counsel for the Ministerial Leadership Committee in table groups. This feedback was reviewed and discussed before a decision was made.

During delegate sharing, a majority of ACC congregations and delegates expressed support for expanding credentialing opportunities to LGBTQ+ individuals, including both congregations that have discerned they are ready to call an LGBTQ+ individual to ministry and congregations that respect this position held by other congregations. Other responses shared how difficult such a change would be for their congregation to accept.

One delegate noted the feeling of sadness from individuals approaching the topic from opposing perspectives. “Some are sad for the ways that LGBTQ+ people have been harmed and excluded, while others feel like the conference is taking them in a direction they don’t want to go.”

Others noted their appreciation for the allowance of theological diversity among congregations. “We like that congregations are given freedom to minister within their own contects,” they said. Several congregations and individuals noted their willingness to affirm a change in conference policy to include LGBTQ+ individuals if necessary, although they individually could not agree.

Another theme heard throughout the morning conversations was a desire to extend care and affirmation for those individuals and congregations for which LGBTQ+ inclusion will be difficult. Many heard how difficult a change in credentialing policy will be for several ACC members and expressed concern for the difficult conversations likely to continue in these congregations.

All congregational responses shared during the morning session included deep appreciation for the work of the conference in supporting congregations and providing paths to relationship.

Delegates were not asked to vote on a new credentialing policy because ACC’s bylaws and procedures give the MLC the final say on when to extend or withhold credentials, in collaboration with the Executive Committee on controversial matters.

A prayer team was convened during the special delegate session to listen for the Spirit in the times of sharing. Klaudia Smucker, Christine Good Shenk and Christy Heatwole Kauffman shared some of what they heard during a closing time of blessing and prayer. They noted hearing the appreciation for being something bigger than an individual congregation and a common desire to seek God’s direction together, regardless of the day’s outcome.

ACC leaders felt it important to come to a final decision on LGBTQ+ credentialing following the May 2022 vote by Mennonite Church USA delegates approving the Resolution for Repentance and Transformation which repealed the 2001 Membership Guidelines and called for the full inclusion of LGBTQIA individuals in the church.

Since credentialing is the sole responsibility of conferences, MLC felt a time of processing and discernment should take place to decide whether ACC’s practices would follow the direction decided by MC USA delegates.

ACC also has several LGBTQ+ individuals serving in ministry positions who have not yet been granted a credential by the Conference. In February 2020 MLC received a request to interview and credential an individual in a same-sex marriage. The committee interviewed them and unanimously agreed that, if not for the question of same-sex marriage, they would move forward with granting a License Toward Ordination.

The recent action by MLC will give LGBTQ+ individuals, including those in a same-sex marriage, equal opportunity for a ministry credential through Atlantic Coast Conference. MLC will process any requests for credentialing brought by an ACC congregation. Congregations retain the right to request, or not to request, the credentialing of an LGBTQ+ person.

There remains strong diversity in ACC on the topic of LGBTQ+ inclusion and a host of other questions. ACC since its beginning has affirmed this theological spread and has celebrated the diverse ways that ACC congregations do ministry in their communities. ACC and MC USA continue to view the congregation as the primary unit of the church with broad authority to do ministry as they discern in their own contexts.

By Docas Lehman & Joanne Dietzel

Within our conference, women and men often work together in ministry teams of all types. Thanks be to God!  How is that going?  Are we keeping the healthy in healthy boundaries?  Can we name the nature of relationships and the work habits that keep integrity in our mutual ministry? Do we make space to reflect upon areas for growth?

Healthy boundaries are both the work of people and gifts of God’s Spirit. The task of naming and tending boundaries is never once and done, but is ongoing and dynamic. Every leadership or pastoral team, whether in congregations, committees, and nonprofits, needs to build in reflective pauses for this work that is practical, spiritual, and hopeful.

Whole courses, books, and websites are devoted to training that can take you deeper. But here is one simple tool you could use to start a conversation in your committee or leadership group. You might take this to your board room, for example, or to your pastoral team, pastor-congregation committee, or Sunday school class.

Take a look. Circle questions you want to talk about. Write down your own questions.  And if you’d like to talk with someone in conference circles, don’t hesitate to contact Joanne Dietzel at joanned@atlanticcoastconference.net.

QUESTIONS LEADERS (INCLUDING PASTORS) NEED TO ASK THEMSELVES:

1. How and when do you discuss healthy boundaries?
2. Is your congregation or workplace a setting that most people would describe as a good place, with good spirit, where there is good communication, and boundaries are honored? If yes, how is that true? If not, where could you start to change that?
3. How do leaders use job descriptions and role definitions to establish boundaries? Is there more that could be done in this area?
4. Within mixed-gender teams, are members aware of the different gifts that women and men can bring, as well as the “traps” that women or men can fall into?  Is there a particular question that is current for you?
5. In some circles these days, people are asking, how much interaction can men and women have in the workplace without crossing lines? Does this question resonate in your setting? If so, how might you create space for that conversation? If that conversation doesn’t seem necessary, can you identify ways you have created the healthy culture that you want and value?
6. In a leadership or pastoral team, there usually will be power differentials, often for good reasons. How well does your team use power constructively? How do team members share power, while staying true to the different roles and responsibilities of each one?
7. In pastoral or other leadership roles, how are you devoting time and energy to strengthening your own intimate relationships? How do you honor those relationships in others’ lives? 
8. The pastoral role is unique in some ways. Ministers are expected to build relationships where intimacy and trust can grow. If you are a pastor, do you recognize your own risk areas? And, if you are in a leadership role, if you see behavior that risks violating physical, emotional, or work intimacy boundaries, what would you do?
9. As pastors, do you have peers with whom you meet regularly and who hold you accountable? Who is in that circle of accountability?
10. Is everyone in your congregation aware of Atlantic Coast Conference’s Policy & Procedures for responding to ministerial misconduct?  How might you provide that reporting information in a way that increases awareness and adds another layer of safety to your congregational culture?
11. Is there a question about boundaries that needs to be asked that has not yet been named?

If you want to dig deeper into the topic of mixed-gender teams, consider studying Becoming Colleagues: Women and Men Serving Together in Faith by Carol E. Becker (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco 2000). Through research, Becker identified nine behaviors of effective mixed-gender teams. In the concluding chapter, she offers questions for personal reflection and team discussion.

Decisions to retire the Membership Guidelines and to affirm the Resolution for Repentance and Transformation at the May 2022 Special Delegate Session of MC USA have been viewed in a variety of ways throughout Atlantic Coast Conference. In some congregations, there were tears of joy among those who have longed for changes they see as embodying more deeply the way of Jesus, potentially opening into new ministries. Others expressed frustration and concern with the outcome and direction of the denomination and their place in it while struggling to understand the biblical viewpoint of others. As leaders of ACC we celebrate with those now able to expand their ministry while mourning with those who feel alienated by recent decisions.

There is strong diversity in ACC on the topic of LGBTQ+ inclusion and a host of other questions. ACC since its beginning has affirmed this theological spread and celebrated the diverse ways that ACC congregations do ministry in their communities. ACC and MC USA view the congregation as the primary unit of the church with broad authority to do ministry as they discern in their own context.

Denomination resolutions have primarily set policy for the national church while inviting, rather than requiring, congregations into specific work. Like past resolutions, those passed in May are an invitation for MC USA congregations to explore topics relating to LGBTQ+ inclusion, but autonomy remains with individual congregations on where to focus time, resources, and ministry. We understand, however, that many congregations are not in a position to take up this work, and so we bless you to continue focusing on the ministries important in your context.

Many questions remain about how these resolutions impact conference life, including how to respond to ACC congregations who request credentialing for LGBTQ+ persons in their congregation. To address this particular question, a task force has been formed to develop a process for ACC as a whole to discern a way forward.

We believe that conference and denominational relationships and shared resources are of great value to our congregations and will continue to hold a space for a diversity of theological viewpoints. The Executive Committee of ACC remains committed to resourcing and supporting the full breadth of the conference’s diversity and working towards unity while engaging in the ongoing work of Mennonite Church USA. We continue to live into our shared vision on behalf of God’s Kingdom through Jesus Christ who calls us to be centered in Christ, build connections and share God’s love. 

Sincerely,

ACC Executive Committee

March 3, 2022

By: ACC Staff

Atlantic Coast Conference pastors gathered at Neffsville Mennonite Church on March 1 to listen to one another and to the Spirit as part of a process leading up to the Mennonite Church USA delegate gathering in May.

The morning session was designed as a time of listening to better understand the values and practices of those across the conference. The session was also intended to honor the ACC value of placing responsibility within each congregation to discern application of Biblical principles to matters of current pastoral care.

“Our hope,” said Bob Petersheim, chair of the task group charged with planning the gathering, “is that this gathering can be a step toward clarifying the position of others…We need to better understand those with whom we disagree if we hope to continue relating to and loving one another.”

Pastors gathered in one large circle around the light of Jesus Christ, represented by a large candle in the center of the colorful worship table.  In an open ritual of light proclaiming, “Jesus is the Light of the world, of MC USA, of Atlantic Coast Conference”, each congregation added their light around the Christ candle proclaiming, “Jesus is the light of” their congregation. In this way, every ACC congregation’s presence, voice and light was welcomed and recognized.

Throughout the morning, pastors and representatives of ACC congregations were asked to briefly share responses to two questions:

How does your congregation regard the MC USA Membership Guidelines and what effect will retiring the Membership Guidelines have in your congregation?

Responses to this question indicated a variety of thought among, and even within, ACC congregations. Some congregations reported some level of indifference to the Guidelines, naming the Confession of Faith as a more highly valued document.  Others shared that while the Guidelines may not be highly influential, its retirement would signal an uncomfortable shift in policy on the topic of sexuality.

What is your congregation’s response to LGBTQ+ persons? What congregational discernment have you engaged in regarding LGBTQ+ membership, marriage, and/or ministry?

To this question nearly all representatives noted their congregation’s desire to be welcoming but clear differences in biblical interpretation and level of past discernment on inclusion were evident.  Some ACC congregations maintain a traditional view of marriage and sexuality while others have welcomed LGBTQ+ individuals into the life of the congregation to various extents. Some noted that their desire not to be at variance with MC USA policy on issues of sexuality creates dissonance between that policy and their discernment of how God has called them to apply pastoral care to LGBTQ+ members. 

Following the time of sharing and listening, pastors were given opportunity to share what they heard the Spirit saying through the voices of one another. Many of these responses celebrated that faithfulness to God and scripture is a common link among ACC congregations, even if that faithfulness looks different in various contexts.

Knowing one another helps us better fulfill the Biblical call to love one another.

29 of ACC’s 31 congregations participated in sharing. Some have fully engaged the question of whether and how to include LGBTQ individuals and some have not engaged for a variety of reasons.

Though the gathering was not designed to reach decisions, it marked another opportunity for ACC leaders to participate in the Anabaptist practice of mutual discernment. For some representatives, the time of listening helpfully illustrated the diversity of thought within ACC. Others noted the fatigue of this ongoing conversation and the toll that it takes on leaders and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Bob Petersheim closed with the encouragement of all to build connections with those who think differently. “The Body of Christ includes those with diverse opinions and the Spirit calls us to know and listen to those who are different. Knowing one another helps us better fulfill the Biblical call to love one another.”

A special session of the MC USA delegate body in May, 2022 will address at least four resolutions:

1. Clarification on Mennonite Church USA Polity and the Role of the Membership Guidelines of Mennonite Church USA
2. MC USA For Justice Resolution
3. MC USA Accessibility Resolution
4. A Resolution for Repentance and Transformation

Several of these resolutions were tabled before the virtual delegate gathering in 2021 in favor of waiting for an in-person gathering. The Delegate Resources page on the MC USA website provides the text of these resolutions, answers frequently asked questions on these resolutions, and offers several helpful webinar recordings to help delegates understand the process and the resolutions.

Each congregation of the Mennonite Church USA is eligible to send one (1) delegate for each one hundred (100) congregational members, or fraction thereof. Also, congregations may send an additional youth delegate (ages 16-21).

Pastors and delegates will have additional opportunity to ask questions and engage in conversation during seminar times at the upcoming ACC Assembly at James Street Mennonite Church on April 23.

ACC’s Executive Committee and Ministerial Leadership Committee have convened a second task force that will develop a conference-wide process to review any ministerial credentialing changes to MC USA policy following the May delegate session.

Dr. Rachel Levine, The Pennsylvania Secretary of Health, answered submitted questions. Summary:

• Churches are considered Life sustaining organizations. It is ok for ministers in communities with stay-in-place orders to travel to their church buildings for office work or to live stream services. 
• New cases of COVID-19 are doubling every 2-3 days. They are expecting 400 cases a day by the end of the week, 800 next week, and so on. Flatten the curve!!! 
• The use of live streamed or recorded service for churches is encouraged. 
• Religious gatherings do not need to cease, but should be done on live streams, etc. for the time being.
• Follow the guidelines for pastoral visits. Wait until the curve is bent down and restrictions have been lifted to do in person visitations. 
• The greatest needs from churches is to provide spiritual care. Leave medical advice to the experts. 
• Limit the number of people who gather together to produce your livestream services. It was asked if 5-6 people would be ok – the answer was “as few as possible.” One person if possible. 
• It’s unknown when this time of distancing from one another will pass. April & May could be challenging months. Pray that it’s better by June. 
• Don’t make any plans for church gatherings until told mass gatherings are ok by the governor’s office.
• The news of new drugs is uncertain. They are untested. 
• Continue food ministries if your congregation is involved in them. But practice all the guidelines that have been given out regarding handwashing, social distancing, and the like. 
• The Coronavirus is more severe than the flu.
• The State will not prevent religious services from happening. Churches will not be shut down by the authorities. 
• Funerals & Weddings are not prohibited. But use wisdom and strictly follow guidelines for social distancing and hand washing. 
• If you are delivering food, medicine, and supplies to people, practice safety guidelines. Leave the supplies on the doorstep, leave the proximity of the door, and inform them that their supplies have arrived (maybe over the phone). 
• A sign that COVID-19 is under control will be there is a decrease in the number of cases in a sustained pattern.
• Covid-19  is not a flu virus. We don’t know if, like the flu, this will be seasonal. So much is not known right now..
• There is little chance of the virus passing through charitable donations. Normal cleaning should prevent transmissions.
• Could we have a sunrise service outside and practice social distancing? This would not be prohibited. But will people abide and stay the proper distance apart?
• Churches should feel free to prepare meals for each other. But follow guidelines for handwashing and social distancing. 
• Could a church have a “drive-by” service for prayer? This would not be prohibited but you would need to find a way to practice social distancing. 
• Dr. Levine finished the service with the following phrase she concludes all of her press conferences with: Stay calm. Stay home. Stay safe.
• The most up-to-date information can be found at health.pa.gov  and/or from the CDC