A donation shortfall has prompted Mennonite Church Canada to reduce staff and accelerate structural change, placing more ministry activities at the provincial level.

A Nov. 28 news release cited “a pressing financial necessity” to implement changes proposed by the Future Directions Task Force earlier than expected.

The changes scale back some ministry programs and eliminate the jobs of five denominational staff members — two full-time and three part-time. The remaining 28 staff represent both full- and part-time workers and also include Witness international ministries staff who administer a program covering 25 countries.

As of Oct. 31, MC Canada had a donation shortfall approaching $300,000, or almost 9 percent. The fiscal year, which ends Jan. 31, was budgeted for a projected income of nearly $3.4 million.

“Although a reduction of ministry and staff is always painful, our financial reality necessitated immediate action,” said executive director Willard Metzger.

As of Dec. 1, five office staff were released, with reductions in programming for human resources, finance and Christian formation. The latter’s intergenerational ministry, which is focused primarily on children but also seniors and families, was eliminated.

Although the task force’s proposals require approval from area and national church delegates, the General Board approved the task force’s recommended direction Nov. 14.

Shift toward provinces

The new structure will be based on “a newly constituted national entity that will function under a mandate led by the area churches” — Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia — the equivalent of Mennonite Church USA’s area conferences.

The national entity will focus more strongly on supporting and equipping area church leaders to enable the mission of congregations. A key principle in the task force’s findings is that congregations are increasingly the source of ministry activities, both locally and beyond.

The task force was created to respond to questions of where God’s Spirit is calling Christians in the 21st century and what the best ways are to thrive and grow.

“This is a shift toward area churches — formerly called area conferences in Canada — taking more leadership for discerning and supporting national ministries that we can and should be doing together,” said Dan Dyck, director of church engagement and communications. “The findings of the Future Directions Task Force indicated that the congregation is the foundational unit of the church, and needs to be closer to the discernment and processing of decisions that determine national church activity.”

No painless way

In a Dec. 2 Facebook post inspired by media requests and increasingly contentious social media conversations, former human resources director Kirsten Schroeder said staff had been kept informed of the need for “radical transformation” of the MC Canada offices.

“Nonetheless, it was a shock to us all when we were told that announcements about job cuts would happen within the week,” she wrote. “I anticipated that my role as HR director would be cut, as I had not been consulted during the process.”

In a Dec. 1 follow-up message to MC Canada, Metzger wrote: “There is no painless way to release staff. Our severance policy removes immediate financial concerns, but it does not lessen the emotional impact.”

Schroeder said anger directed at the denomination was misplaced because those in leadership did not approach the decisions lightly.

“The churches have spoken with their financial support, and we know that the church has to change and adapt to a new future,” she said. “ . . . We don’t need to find someone to blame, we need to seek justice and love.”

Metzger had planned to represent the Canadian Council of Churches at the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Conference Nov. 30-Dec. 11 in Paris but canceled his trip in light of the reduction of staff and programs.