Franconia Mennonite Conference addressed fractious times within Mennonite Church USA by focusing its annual assembly on being the church together. In a series of statements submitted by congregations, refined by a committee and passed by delegates Nov. 13-14 at Penn View Christian School in Souderton, Pa., FMC acknowledged differences but affirmed staying together as a conference and with MC USA.
HARRISONBURG, Va. — One hundred pastors and credentialed leaders in Virginia Mennonite Conference gathered Nov. 9-11 at Lindale Mennonite Church for a consultation on “Same-Gender Attraction, Relationship, Lifestyle.”
The discussion in Mennonite Church USA about LGBTQ people in the life of the church seems not to welcome the conservative voice. Although many parts of the denomination still are largely represented by the conservative voice and exclude LGBTQ people, the MC USA convention last summer in Kansas City, Mo., represented a dramatic and recent shift.
Franklin Mennonite Conference is taking steps to leave Mennonite Church USA, citing concerns over other MC USA conferences’ allowance of same-sex relationships. A proposal to be discussed Nov. 12 during Franklin’s delegate assembly calls for the conference to withdraw from MC USA and remain without affiliation for one year to “seek new vision for FMC and where the most appropriate affiliation would be for the conference.”
HILLSBORO, Kan. — Ryne Preheim wanted to be a Mennonite Brethren pastor. He enrolled at Tabor College in the fall of 2014 to pursue that goal and see if he could reconcile his Christianity with being gay. A year later, Preheim is preparing to transfer after struggling with being an openly gay student at a college that upholds a traditional view of homosexuality. But Tabor is also experiencing dissent, including from alumni who believe it should be more welcoming of LGBT students.
NORTH NEWTON, Kan. — Western District Conference delegates on Oct. 31 gave pastors the freedom to perform same-sex marriages if their congregations approve. The unprecedented action conflicts with Mennonite Church USA’s Membership Guidelines, which forbid pastors to officiate same-sex marriages, and Confession of Faith, which affirms traditional marriage only.
