On March 2, 14 individuals representing 11 congregations gathered for sharing, prayer and blessing at Rossmere Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The congregations, all current and former members of Lancaster Mennonite Conference (LMC), had participated in an 18-month discernment process about affiliation. Now that process is nearing its end.

Following LMC’s decision to leave Mennonite Church USA in November 2015, congregations were given two years to discern where they would like to affiliate. At that time, 17 congregations began an intentional process of meeting together to resource each other and to explore options for congregational affiliation.

Of the original 17, seven congregations chose to join Atlantic Coast Conference (four joined the conference at its fall conference meetings and three will join this spring), five chose to remain with LMC, and five congregations are still in discernment processes. Of those five still discerning affiliation, at least one has indicated an interest in exploring joint membership with LMC and an MC USA conference.

According to Keith Weaver, LMC executive conference minister, the conference is open to exploring dual affiliation.

In addition, at LMC’s Celebration of Church Life, March 17-18 at Weaverland Mennonite Church, East Earl, Pennsylvania, the conference welcomed 12 former MC USA congregations into membership with LMC.

Weaver notes that LMC staff have been intentional about not engaging conversations about joining LMC unless congregations have left MC USA and at keeping the lines of communication open with MC USA conference leaders. Weaver notes that the processes of discerning affiliation have not been easy, and he has great respect “for the grace and understanding with which [conference leaders] have navigated these painful transitions.”

In addition to welcoming new members, Weaver said the Celebration of Church Life included a time of prayer and blessing for Atlantic Coast Conference and congregations who had left LMC.

Remembering the process

At the March 2 gathering, each congregational representative reflected on their congregation’s unique process and the difficult decisions each faced.

“There was a sense of appreciation that congregations had for one another, and they weren’t going through this by themselves,” said Todd Gusler, pastor at Rossmere and one of the leaders of the discernment group. “People appreciated hearing ideas of how to process through this and the opportunity to network and to try to be creative. People appreciated not feeling completely isolated in this, even though congregations were on different timelines and in different contexts.”

During this biennium, these congregations were able to continue participating with both LMC and MC USA and had representation at the MC USA Constituency Leaders Council (CLC). At the March 16-18 CLC meeting, attendees acknowledged that this was the last meeting when LMC representatives would participate. CLC chair David Boshart led the group in prayer for LMC and congregations in transition.

Gusler emphasized that this process of having to choose between affiliation with LMC and MC USA was not something any of these congregations wished to go through and that the discernment group was a theologically diverse one, with congregations approaching the question of affiliation from different directions.

“It’s felt so often like we are playing this game without knowing the rules,” said Gusler in a March 9 phone interview. “I think there was also a desire to make sure that we were transparent and that we were trying to process well and not trying to be reactive.”

The group of congregations is working to record some of their process and will send documentation to the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society and MC USA archives.

Featured photo: Attendees at the March 2 gathering of current and former LMC congregations discerning affiliation. Photo by Todd Gusler.