Canadian Mennonite
Volume 10, No. 19
October 2, 2006
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Over the course of this issue and the next one, Canadian Mennonite presents MC Canada general secretary Robert J. Suderman’s reflections so far on his cross-country tour of congregations. The visits are still in progress until the end of this month. As a tie-in with the most-discussed issue—youths and young adults in the church—we also present Nicole Cober Bauman’s reflections on the experiences of her and five other young adults in an intentional community this past summer. Above, embers of Wilmot (Ont.) Mennonite Church met with Robert J. Suderman during his God’s People Now tour earlier this year. -Ed.
When I was first appointed general secretary of Mennonite Church Canada, I asked myself what I need most to do my job well. One answer seemed logical—I need to hear firsthand about the spirit, challenges and life of the congregations and area churches we are serving.
That answer grounded my efforts to visit each congregation in Mennonite Church Canada, in its own place, in a short period of time.
So now people are rightfully asking, “What have you heard? What are you learning? Are there patterns emerging?”
There are indeed some patterns emerging. I have chosen to highlight 13. The first six (presented in this issue) are in order of the frequency they have been mentioned by our churches. The next seven (presented in the Oct. 16 issue) are not. All have come up often enough to be identifiable as patterns.
1. Youths and young adults
There is a concern about enlisting our youths and young adults for active participation in the church. This needs to be done from the standpoint of a compelling vision of what it means to be the church, and not simply based on what we’ve always done or how tradition and habit have guided us.
In our visits, the very low participation of the 18- to 28-year-olds in congregational life is striking. A corollary to that pattern is the question about why this is so. There is no agreement about why this is happening.
(For a more in-depth analysis of this issue, see “What about the young adults?” Sept. 4 issue. Ed.)
2. Demographic realities
A second concern is related to the growth, or the lack of growth, in the church and the demographic realities facing our church. Regular participation in the church is declining in a number of regions. The depopulation of rural areas, especially on the Prairies, is generating significant stress and distress also in the congregations. While the rural-urban demographic shift is beyond the control of the church, the church is experiencing the impact of the realignments that are taking place. This is dampening the spirit of enthusiasm and optimism in some congregations.
Another demographic reality is that fewer Canadians are committing to regular participation in the church as a pattern for their lives. This shift affects our congregations in all settings, both urban and rural.
There is also a redefinition of what “regular” attendance and participation in the church may mean. Whereas “regular” attendance used to mean attending church services and functions three to four times a month, that number is now down, perhaps once to three times a month, but it is still “regular.” This puts a great deal of pressure on “filling the jobs” that need to be done all the time.
And then there is the aging phenomenon of Canadian demographics in general that is also present in our churches. The “baby boom” bulge is aging, and this impacts the numbers, energy and vision of the church.
This three-fold phenomenon—depopulation, decreased participation and aging—is putting significant pressure on the capacity of congregations to offer the quality of ministry to those who do come that they are used to and that they would like.
3. Unity and diversity
A third concern is related to the unity and diversity we experience in our church. Can we generate enough common ground in our church so that the rich diversity among us can truly be life-giving, rather than energy-sapping?
The focus of the common ground/diversity issue is often, but not always, our understandings of sexuality and the role of the church in advocating for or against the changing understandings of sexual preferences and activities. While the sexuality discussion is frequently the lightning rod, the conversation is often quickly diverted to discussion about how to interpret the Bible adequately and where the authority rests to make decisions for things like polity issues.
4. Worship and music
Yet another concern is the passion generated by preferences of worship styles in the congregation, often, but not always, centred on preferences for music.
I use the word “passion” intentionally to describe this phenomenon, because, next to the sexuality discussion, this is where passion and emotion, anger and exuberance, conflict and joy are most often evident.
I have experienced this as a “turning the corner” phenomenon. Some congregations have “turned the corner” and the related issues have been largely “laid to rest.” In those cases, worship is spoken of passionately as an uplifting, nurturing and joyous occasion where the community of Christ’s body comes together for inspiration in unity and hope.
Some have not “turned this corner” and it is striking how often worship in these settings is experienced as a locus of conflict, division, anger and dissatisfaction. What is very clear in all cases is that “turning the corner” is a difficult process.
5. Leadership development
Another important concern is developing creative, energized, imaginative and “Anabaptist” leadership for the church as it navigates the sometimes turbulent waters of the 21st century.
Some leadership may be highly energized but scarcely Anabaptist; other leadership may try to be very Anabaptist but is not too imaginative.
There is a clear recognition that the church will require a special breed of leadership to move forward joyfully in our century. It is also clear that this leadership will need to be shaped and developed on the “horse” that is galloping—with folks who are already in the harness, so to speak.
There is a strong call for better leadership training to be available at local levels without the need to interrupt life with several years of training in a seminary or college. It is evident that our academic institutions are directly touching only a very small percentage of our leadership potential with formal training opportunities. Much of the leadership of our congregations is now in the hands of persons who have little or no “Mennonite” leadership or theological training.
And there are many who assume that if such training is not accessible locally, they will then access what is available. What is clear is that there is a strong call and cry to shape the leaders for the present and the future. This presents a major challenge for us as a church system.
6. Polity, authority and decision-making
The final of the six major concerns is related to issues of polity, authority and decision-making in the church and the congregations. Where does authority lie in the church, and for which questions?
Some advocate for radical congregational autonomy that understands that the locus of authority for the discernment of ethical and doctrinal issues lies, ultimately and squarely, within the jurisdiction of congregational life. Others would like to see more authority given—and taken—by other levels of the church, either at the regional or national level, thereby providing more direction for local implementation of decision-making.
Still others would advocate for some kind of combination. Perhaps, ethical discernment should be done locally and congregationally, but theological and doctrinal guidance should be more broadly based. And then there are those who are simply inconsistent, advocating for more central authority for others and more autonomy for themselves.
Ripe with growth: Embracing community intentionally
Elkhart, Ind.
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We are young, bright-eyed and perhaps a tad idealistic. But this last quality is not one we plan on letting fade any time soon. Instead, we are exploring our hopeful visions for church and life together, testing the capacity of our idealism to fulfil our dreams of transformation.
Mennonite young adults have been talking together and with our peers beyond the Mennonite world. We have gathered—in various places around the globe (in Charlotte, N.C., and Edmonton), at Young Adult Fellowship retreats, and online (through the Mennonite World Conference [MWC] AMIGOS group and the MennoProgressives e-mail list)—for dialogue about who we are, and to explore our visions for the church and for the world. And as we’ve come together, we’ve discovered a great deal of diversity, but also tremendous and rousing commonality.
One of the fundamental terms has been “community,” and, although this word can too quickly lose its depth, it persists to feed my longings for more intimate relationships, spaces for vulnerability and openness, and breaths in which words of doubt and question are allowed to be uttered. I long to be known, challenged and held accountable as I walk with a church family on this road of radical discipleship.
Sounds easy, right? Then why are these genuinely relational communities so hard to find? Why do our deepest longings so often speak to the need to identify ourselves with a place and a people who give life meaning?
Something is missing. That’s what I keep feeling in the deepest parts of me when I look at the world. And that’s what I’ve been hearing in the many young adult conversations I’ve been a part of.
And so this summer I set out with five of my peers to try our hand at unearthing this missing piece. We decided to experiment with intentional community—what was, for me, an effort to explore church in a fresh but old way.
The six of us—called New Hope Fellowship, or, more commonly, the New Hopers—took up residence in Fellowship of Hope Mennonite Church’s meetinghouse in Elkhart. This not only laid the groundwork for transformative and nurturing relationships with members of this small African-American congregation.
Our time was short, but our vision was, and remains, long and deep. We wanted to explore more intentionality in our relationships, to address conflict in the style of Matthew 18, to become immersed and involved in the life of our local church and surrounding neighbourhood, in rich and challenging ways.
We decided to pool our earnings in a common purse, and to share groceries, meals and household roles together. We wanted to flesh out our faith commitments and theological conundrums, and explore spirituality together, to test how it might become a more vibrant, practical and relevant dimension of our lives. We planted a giant organic garden and practised Aiden Schlicting Enns’ suggestion for simple grey water recycling (see “Low-tech for the soul,” May 15, page 8. Ed.). We sought meaningful and frequent encounters with the forgotten of society, in this case, our entire neighbourhood.
We hoped to maintain a mindfulness of peace and justice issues, of gender and race dynamics, of environmental sustainability. We dreamed of living both simply and deeply. Our souls needed more slow living, more beauty, more touching real people.
As I said, our vision is expansive, and trying to emulate the church in Acts is much more than could be realized in one short summer. But, nonetheless, we set out on a journey that will continue, a journey of beginning to explore together these many pieces of church community.
This summer was ripe with growth. We did not arrive at autumn without our share of difficulties in between, but the conflicts and the challenges have left me renewed. I have been left with greater reassurance that this way of life is something I need to explore more fully. I’ve been challenged to explore how the church as we know it might be able to better encapsulate some of what this community experience has taught me. And I’m left with the coming-home sense that this approach to life, borne of a lasting dose of healthy idealism, might very well offer me at least part of that missing piece for which so many of us yearn.