Reference Council November 15, 2014

Welcome Clarence Rempel Western District Conference Minister Opening Worship Anita Kehr WDC Moderator Elect

Historical and Current Church Polity Issues Richard Gehring WDC Moderator

Historical Background James Schrag Discernment Task Force Chairman

Definition of marriage as “one man and one woman for life” GC’s – 1986 MC’s – 1987 GC’s & MC’s - 1995

Mennonite Church Canada Mennonite Church USA St. Louis – 1999 Joint session of Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church Mennonite Church Canada Mennonite Church USA Common membership guidelines were written for both denominations.

Constituency Leaders Council CLC Constituency Leaders Council Spanned a broad spectrum of opinion among US conferences.

The common wisdom emerged that the possibility of a merger hinged on whether more “conservative” conferences would receive such a “reassurance” or not.

July 2001 – Nashville, Tennessee MC and GC delegates adopted both the Membership Guidelines and the motion to merge in two separate votes, both by close to 90% approval.

MC and GC delegate bodies used different methods to approve the 2001 merger.

In 2007 the Executive Board of MCUSA carried out a 6-year review of structures

Western District Conference Will delegates approve the resolution from Rainbow Mennonite Church? The resolution would disown the decision of the GC delegate body in 2001. Would reaffirm the recent decision of the WDC Ministerial Leadership Commission.

Ministerial Leadership What the Ministerial Leadership Commission said of their decision

Rainbow Mennonite Church Resolution Richard Gehring WDC Moderator

Current Developments in Mennonite Church USA Terry Shue Mennonite Church USA Director for Leadership Development

Current Polity Work of the Mennonite Church USA Patty Shelly Mennonite Church USA Moderator Elect

Reference Council November 15, 2014

WDC Discernment Task Force Survey Results James Schrag Discernment Task Force Chair

Survey Almost 1700 people. Almost 500 pages. Data does not come from a scientifically-controlled sociological survey. Form a general portrait of our self-understanding as a conference

Who Can Decide What About Matters of Faith and Practice?

Statements from or about our denomination’s Confession of Faith. Statements from or about the Membership Guidelines of Mennonite Church USA. Statements about polity and unity in the church. Statements about views of same-sex attraction and covenant ceremonies.

Worthwhile educational encounter. Particularly help us understand each other’s ways of responding to a changing world around us.

20 Statements, page 40 Authority. Practice. Church documents. Unity and relationship.

About 1 in 5 responders offered comments.

Our Views of Authority in the Church…

Statement 1 A large majority affirmed the authority of scripture over confessions of faith.

About half agree that the Confession of Faith was designed Statement 2 About half agree that the Confession of Faith was designed as a “standard” for judging faithfulness.

“authoritative voice and standard” for discerning truth from error. Statement 3 A large majority agree that scripture is the “authoritative voice and standard” for discerning truth from error.

One-third said that scripture Statement 17 One-third said that scripture or church statements were adequate to guide.

For some, authority means a foundation on which to stand. For others, references to authority generate fears of control and the loss of individual or congregational freedom of discernment.

Our Views of the Theme of Practice…

Statement 4 “Church discipline rightly understood and practiced,” received 2/3 support.

Statement 6 Strong support for conferences having discretion to determine their own practice of values held in common with others.

Statement 7 The disciplining of pastors who perform same-sex covenant ceremonies, is opposed by over half of respondents while it is supported by a strong third.

Statement 18 Over 1/2 view performing same-sex covenant ceremonies as being the same as previous changes of attitude and practice.

Our Views of Official Church Documents…

Statement 5 50% support the Confession of Faith statement that “God intends marriage to be a covenant between one man and one woman for life.” 40% oppose the statement.

Statement 8 Over 1/2 believe the MC USA Membership Guidelines still provide good resources.

WDC congregations should be free to determine their Statement 10 Almost 2/3 believe that WDC congregations should be free to determine their own belief and practice.

1/2 affirm that we should be “subject to” official statements of the denomination.

Statement 12 Consultation of congregations with WDC is supported by a large majority.

MC USA statements should not be “binding” one-half said, while one-third said they should bind us in some way.

Statement 14 Over one-half believe the churches’ “teachings” should only be “advisory” to congregations.

Two-thirds say that resolutions like the one offered by Statement 20 Two-thirds say that resolutions like the one offered by Rainbow Mennonite Church will encourage other congregations to become more “welcoming”.

Our Views of Unity and Relationships…

Over 80% agree that Western District Conference benefits Statement 15 Over 80% agree that Western District Conference benefits from relationships with other conferences.

Two thirds say that unity does not depend upon uniformity. Statement 16 Two thirds say that unity does not depend upon uniformity.

Statement 9 There is a division of opinion about whether unity depends upon common adherence to statements of belief and practice.

Statement 19 Almost 2/3 believe that WDC unity can be preserved if congregations are allowed to choose different practices on same-sex relationships.

Demographic Comparisons Page 39

The older you are the more likely you are to agree with both the traditional definition of marriage and with the ban on same-sex covenants.

The more rural you are, the more likely you are to agree with the traditional views.

Men are slightly more traditional in their views than women.

On the mater of same-sex covenants, all age groups under 75 record more than one-half as being critical of the ban on pastors performing same-sex covenant ceremonies.

Table Responses to Survey

What strikes you most from the survey and what you heard this morning? What surprises are there from the survey results? What questions do you have about the survey results? How do you see the survey results guiding WDC for the future?

Reference Council November 15, 2014