Back in 2001 in Nashville, Tenn., I watched as delegates of the General Conference Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Church voted to merge the two denominations and create Mennonite Church USA. That new body officially came into existence on Feb. 1, 2002.

Now, 15 years later, we decided to look back on what Dorothy Nickel Friesen calls this “adolescent church” and consider where it’s been. At the same time, we want to look ahead and see where it might be headed. Or, perhaps, where it should be headed. We could frame it this way: What kind of adult do we want our church to be?

We asked three writers to reflect on this question: Where has Mennonite Church USA been and where is it heading? In different ways, they look at the past, consider the church’s current situation and ponder what may lie ahead. We’ve placed the three that follow in a kind of chronological order, from viewing the past to looking toward the future.

Hannah Heinzekehr interviews Iris de León-Hartshorn, director of transformative peacemaking for Mennonite Church USA, about the denomination’s history of working at anti-racism.

We also invited readers to write short reflections on Mennonite Church USA at 15. You’ll find these scattered through the features.

Recognizing that 15 is pretty young and that adulthood lies ahead, it’s understandable that there have been growing pains. But, as any parent knows, children learn and change—and they don’t always do it on our timetable.

Speaking of timetable, check out the timeline on pages 20-21. There you will find many—though certainly not all—of the accomplishments of the various agencies, entities and boards of Mennonite Church USA.

We believe it is important at this juncture to look back at the history of our denomination and prayerfully consider how we might move forward.

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