Canadian Mennonite
Volume 11, No. 13
June 25, 2007
Churches covenant together in special service
Abbotsford, B.C.
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There was something definitely worth celebrating for more than a thousand B.C. Mennonites who gathered together to sing, pray and worship on Pentecost Sunday. And by the time the two-hour service had ended, those present knew the Holy Spirit was alive and actively working in their midst.
The event was a covenant celebration service at Mennonite Educational Institute, climaxing with the signing of a covenant affirming membership and shared ministry in Mennonite Church British Columbia. Some 1,400 people attended from 30 of MC B.C.’s 34 churches, coming from across the province. Most of the participating churches closed their own doors for the day, encouraging their members to attend the joint service.
MC B.C. CovenantA “covenant relationship” for local congregations within a renewed MC B.C. entails a common commitment to: I. Essential doctrine and practice reflecting a biblical, Christian worldview and ethic as stated in our confession of faith and accepted statements. II. Meaningful worship and fellowship among congregations that would be Christ-centred, relationally oriented and celebrative in nature. III. Shared ministries that cannot be effectively accomplished as individual congregations or that are better done together. The focus will be on mission, leadership training and education. IV. A community-based, timely, decision-oriented process of education, debate and discernment that strives toward the goal of oneness in Christ. This discernment will take place at the local congregation level, within the larger context of our mutual discernment and accountability. V. Mutual accountability in a spirit of humility and love. This recognizes the need for ongoing dialogue between and among congregations, and MC B.C. VI. Peace, justice and service in support of Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite Disaster Service and similar church-related service programs. The full text of the covenant can be found at mcbc.ca. |
The service was the culmination of a two-year project of revisioning and restructuring of MC B.C. Over the last few years the conference has dealt with divisive issues, and the executive felt there was a need to rally again around a vision of what the area church family stands for together. This gathering was designed to foster a sense of belonging to something good and worthwhile.
Strengthening links
“The church today continues to struggle with unity and it was, and is, our responsibility to work at unity and reconciliation within the church body,” said conference moderator Gerd Bartel. “We at MC B.C. believe that strengthening the links within and between the MC B.C. churches will help to maintain and build the unity of the body with our brothers and sisters across Canada as well.”
Representatives from many different churches led in worship music, Scripture reading, prayer and preaching. Lorin Bergen, pastor of Living Hope Christian Fellowship in Surrey, gave the message entitled “Glory Days,” based on Philippians 3:7-16. “This weekend of celebration is an opportunity for us to be renewed, refreshed, re-energized and recommitted,” he said. Often people either revel in the past, saying those days were the glory days, or they dwell on past hurts and don’t let Christ heal them, he said. Rather, the church should look forward to the future, believing that the best days are still to come. “Today is a day of new beginnings,” Bergen said. “Here is our moment, right here, right now.”
In a children’s story introducing the theme of covenant, Reece Friesen of Eben-Ezer Mennonite Church held the attention of all ages with an entertaining interpretation of the story of the Old Testament covenant between Jonathan and David.
In what many later agreed was the high point of the service, two representatives from each of the 30 churches came forward to sign the covenant, affirming their congregation’s relationship with MC B.C. and symbolically committing themselves and their congregations to continuing to follow Christ together.
“The idea of written covenant was to provide some sort of definition to what the conference was, is and will be. The ideas contained in it are not new, but they are a public restatement,” explained Linda Matties, secretary of the MC B.C. executive.
Spirit-empowered fellowship
Abe Neufeld of Cedar Valley Mennonite Church in Mission called the signing a “significant, sobering, joyous event,” and added, “The signing of the covenant by the diversity of MC B.C. churches, leaders and representatives demonstrated the culmination of coming together in God’s Spirit.”
Many also commented on the prayer of blessing following the signing given by long-time B.C. Mennonite pastor Jake Tilitzky, which included the words, “We pray that the covenant we have made be a reflection of your many-splendoured covenant, not only by the letter of the document, but in the spirit.”
At the conclusion of the service, Henry Kliewer and his wife Nellie were called forward to be formally recognized and thanked for their many years of service in Mennonite Church B.C. Kliewer will be completing his term as conference minister this summer.
Following the service, everyone gathered under tents outside for the feeding of the multitude—a catered meal of chicken, salads and cake. Despite the cool weather, people enthusiastically fellowshipped around tables as they enjoyed lunch.
Conference leaders were inundated with affirmative messages of all kinds in the days following the service. Comments included praise for the tremendous organization and planning, the spirit of cooperation, the balance in the worship service and the overall theme of unity. Some were asking, “Can we do this again sometime?”
As Kliewer summed up, “Many volunteers worked hard to make this celebration happen. However, none of us could bring about the life-giving spirit; that was God’s doing. As in the early church, the release of the Holy Spirit in our joint worship was marvellous to behold.”