MT. PLEASANT, Pa. (Mennonite Mission Network) – Rev. Leonard Dow, the pastor of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church in Philadelphia, told those meeting July 2-4 for the Anabaptist Missional Project gathering at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center to lead others “down the Anabaptist path.”
These words set the tone for the gathering of 50 young Anabaptist and Mennonite leaders from across the country who gathered to reflect on mission, the church, and God’s call.
Dow, along with Mary Thiessen-Nation, a longtime urban mission worker and adjunct professor at Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Harrisonburg, Va., served as mentors and provided input to conference attendees.
Dow encouraged the group to work against racism and classism, and shared about the process that Oxford Circle underwent in order to become a multicultural congregation.
He also recounted his personal faith journey that led him toward acceptance of Anabaptist peace theology, and challenged attendees to share this theology boldly and publicly.
“After a while, growing up in North Philly, violence gets old,” Dow said. “For me, the answer I found was Jesus, and Anabaptists were the people I found who were engaging this … If Jesus loves the city and peace, how will people know? We need to lead them down the Anabaptist path.”
Dow distinguished between two important types of caring within the church: soft care, which includes hospitality and fellowship, and hard care, which involves speaking the truth in love, confronting sin, and moving toward reconciliation.
The Anabaptist Missional Project, a network of emerging leaders who “love Jesus, care about the church, and seek to be a part of God’s mission in the world,” grew out of a group of friends who gathered together in Harrisonburg, Va., for a time of conversation. The group has continued to gather, each time expanding their invitation to a wider circle of others interested in exploring possibilities for the future of the church.
The gathering at Laurelville centered on the theme, “Renewing the Story: Anabaptism and Mission for Today.”
These themes included a renewed focus on church planting. Responding to Dow’s call to share the Anabaptist story more broadly, participants affirmed the importance of planting Anabaptist and Mennonite congregations.
According to Matthew Krabill, Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference administrator and one of the conveners of the conference, “Whether these expressions are called neo-Anabaptist, emergent, immigration or missional, the basic desire to see new members of God’s kingdom gathered in new communities of faith was affirmed.” Growing out of these conversations, a working group has been formed to create or connect with events and efforts that relate to church planting. This group will collaborate with Mauricio Chenlo, the Mennonite Church USA denominational minister for church planting.
Other conversations centered on the importance of formation and mentoring for youth and young adults within the church, and the important role of scripture in shaping methods for engaging the world and defining beliefs.
Thiessen-Nation encouraged participants to keep all of Jesus’ life in focus – his incarnation, teachings, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension – in order to avoid an altered view of Jesus, which can distort personal faith commitments, ministries and spiritual journeys. She noted that if people are not ready to suffer, then they aren’t ready for mission work.
The group closed their time together with a communion service.
“One of the most important insights for me was the idea that this gathering might be able to serve as a bridge movement, connecting folks from a broad theological spectrum,” said Aaron Kauffman, Global Ministries director at Virginia Mennonite Missions and another member of the event planning team. “Finding a sense of shared vision and commitment through conversations – around dinner tables, during ‘open space’ discussions, late at night – with previously unknown brothers and sisters was very meaningful.”
The next gathering, which will take place in Philadelphia in the fall of 2011, will be hosted in collaboration with Dow and members of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church. The group is also hoping to host the Association of Anabaptist Missiologists for a conference sometime in 2012 at a location yet to be determined.
Mennonite Mission Network provided a grant that helped to subsidize the gathering at Laurelville. Eastern Mennonite Missions, Franconia Mennonite Conference and Lancaster Mennonite Conference also provided support for the event.
In addition to Kauffman and Krabill, planners for the event included Sherah Leigh-Gerber, Matthew Hamsher, Joel Shenk, Jeremy Shue and David Stutzman.
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Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact Andrew Clouse at andrewc@mmnworld.net, 574-523-3024 or 866-866-2872, ext. 23024.
