As members of a Lancaster Mennonite Conference congregation, we were discouraged by the decision to leave Mennonite Church USA.

The issue of who could vote has been noted before. Support by 67 percent of the credentialed leadership was required, and the proposal to leave was supported by 82 percent. The difficulty in this decision was that a significant number of these 82 percent were never part of MC USA, even as they have long been part of LMC.

When MC USA was formed, the LMC allowed those congregations that were not supportive to remain a part of LMC but not part of the larger Mennonite Church. This was accepted, and budget support and representation to MC USA was arranged to accommodate it. So part of the voting pastors represented congregations of LMC that were never members of MC USA, from the beginning. If they had not participated in the vote to leave, something they were never part of, the final decision would have looked different.

We do not know if this would have changed the final outcome, but it remains a disappointment, nevertheless.

Judy Zimmerman Herr and Robert Herr
Lancaster, Pa.