When delegates meet for Mennonite Church Canada’s assembly July 3-6 in Winnipeg, Man., one agenda item, “Being a Faithful Church,” could generate a lot of discussion.

The BFC process — to help congregations discern God’s will through scriptural interpretation — has been going on since 2009.

Human sexuality, particularly same-sex relationships, is the topic currently being addressed. Delegates will be asked to approve a set of questions for congregations to discuss. The responses will shape a report and recommendations for the 2016 assembly.

The document to be voted on in July presents the following statements and questions:

• God’s gift of unity in Christ is not invalidated by our disagreement. How shall we maintain our unity in Christ as congregations/area church/national church while understanding matters of same-sex relationships differently?
• Most responses to a BFC document indicated a desire to be “more compassionate and welcoming of those individuals who are same-sex attracted.” Describe how your congregation hopes to reflect this desire.
• What counsel do you have for the area/national church in light of the different understandings of compassionate responses toward people in same-sex relationships?

Priority topics

At each step in the BFC process, MC Canada has invited its 218 congregations to participate through studies and questionnaires. Five priority topics were identified:

• Unity and diversity in the life of the church;
• Being a peace church;
• Confessing and witnessing to Jesus Christ as Lord in a religiously pluralistic context;
• Human sexuality in the life of the church; and
• Ecological concerns from a perspective of faith.

The recommendation delegates will consider in July comes out of the BFC 5 study paper, “Between Horizons: Biblical Perspectives on Human Sexuality.”

Delegates will receive a BFC 5.1 document — the collation and recommendation of responses to BFC 5.

Basic questions

While the issue of same-sex relationships was one of the catalysts for the discussion initially, MC Canada leaders recognized the church has always wrestled with difficult issues and will continue to do so. It became clear that more basic questions included:

• How can Christians avoid using Scripture in unhelpful ways to advance a particular point of view?
• How do people within the church study Scripture prayerfully and sincerely and still come out with different interpretations?
• How do we continue as a Mennonite church body when God seems to guide in different directions?

BFC 5.1 received the highest number of responses among any of the topics.

Undoubtedly, conversations and disagreements around homosexual practice and acceptance in the church, along with legalization of and more societal acceptance for same-sex marriage in Canada, have generated interest.

A number of congregations expressed appreciation for the way spirituality and sexuality were seen as linked in the Bible, along with the concept of “living between the horizons” — namely, creation in the past in the Garden of Eden and restoration in the future in the New City.

Emerging trends

Four trends emerged in responses from congregations, according to the BFC 5.1 document:

• Though congregations did not reach consensus, many stated a deep desire for unity and a hope that discussions about same-sex relations should not cause divisions in MC Canada.
• A significant majority of responses reflect affirmation of the 1986 and 1987 resolutions on sexuality by MC Canada’s predecessor denominations, or of Article 19 in the 1995 Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective. Responses also expressed a desire to be both more compassionate and welcoming of those who are same-sex attracted.
• A significantly smaller number of responses oppose any revisiting of the historical understanding of biblical sexuality.
• A significantly smaller number of responses also call for more inclusion of people in same-sex relationships, including welcoming them as members, leaders and committed couples.

Responses indicated a desire for unity through the Holy Spirit.

“We yearn to be together in congregations, area churches, and the national church,” says the discernment guide. “Is the same Spirit leading us to differing understandings of faithfulness in regards to same-sex relationships?”

The BFC Task Force felt it was important to establish a “Scripture-based study that was bathed in prayer,” said task force member Laura Loewen. “Honoring the gospel of Jesus Christ must remain central.”