Big numbers are one gauge of success — but not the only one, especially in the realm of faith. As a flock of tiny denominations, Mennonites certainly hope so.
This was a prevailing sentiment at the Mennonite Church USA convention July 8-12 in Greensboro, N.C. Conversations about what people thought of the convention often generated some version of “smaller but just as good” or even “smaller but better.”
This year’s attendance was 1,640. Twenty years ago, it was 8,600.
Comfort with smaller gatherings stems partly from the absence of overt conflict. With the departure of many conservative congregations and delegates’ passage of an LGBTQ-affirming resolution in 2022, the convention attracts a more like-minded crowd. The lack of any discernible opposition to LGBTQ+ inclusion was the most obvious example.
During worship, one of the interludes for telling stories from 500 years of Anabaptist history brought an LGBTQ-affirming message to the stage. Actions for justice long ago and today converged in remarks by Jay Bergen, pastor of Germantown Mennonite Church in Philadelphia. The congregation’s progressive identity extends to the first decade of its existence, when in 1688 some of its people signed a Quaker petition against slavery, the first such call for racial justice in America.
When Bergen described Germantown as “a congregation that has welcomed, celebrated and affirmed queer people in leadership for decades,” many in the crowd applauded.
The fact that Germantown was expelled from two Mennonite conferences more than 20 years ago and remains independent yet feels at home in MC USA shows how the tide of history has turned.
The convention’s theme scripture, Luke 4:18-19, cast a spotlight on current efforts for justice that mirror Jesus’ promise to fulfill Isaiah’s vision of bringing good news to the poor and liberating the oppressed.
The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies and actions loomed large as delegates passed an updated version of a 22-year-old resolution to welcome immigrants, forge intercultural relationships and build diverse worshiping communities.
Dianne Garcia, pastor of Iglesia Cristiana Roca de Refugio (Rock of Refuge Christian Church), a Mennonite congregation in San Antonio, Texas, that serves immigrants, emphasized the urgency of action in what she called “this darkest of times.”
In Bible study sessions led by Isaac S. Villegas, a former pastor in North Carolina, delegates got encouragement to do justice and show mercy — and to feel the joy of following Jesus.
“We have to take time to remember the joy of our faith,” he said. “Where and with whom have you experienced the joy of God-with-us?”
Joy abounded in the worship services at Greensboro. The music, led by an excellent band, provided a lot of it. The band introduced memorable songs that likely were new to many, including “Declaring Glory (The Earth Sings Its Refrain),” sung in the voice of the planet; and “God of Every Daughter,” a biblical cry of lament and hope written for the congregation at the North Carolina Correctional Institute for Women in Raleigh, N.C.
Villegas amplified the convention theme, “Follow Jesus,” by connecting the acts of following him and ministering to him. The idea of ministering to Jesus comes from Mark 15:40-41, which says many women followed Jesus to Jerusalem, some even to Golgotha, and ministered to him.
To follow is to minister, and to minister to Jesus is to serve those listed in Luke 4:18-19 — the poor, the captives, the physically impaired, the oppressed.
Villegas cited Mark 9:1, where Jesus says some of his followers “will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” Members of MC USA want to be disciples who help to fulfill this truth in our time. Our purpose as followers, Villegas said, is to bear witness that the kingdom is on the move: “To be followers of Jesus is to give our lives to the aliveness of God.”
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