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Reports on the 1999 General MB Conference convention by Carmen Andres and Connie Faber of The Christian Leader and Jim Coggins and Susan Brandt of the Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Some came to bury the General Conference, others to praise it. In the end, both were done. But more than the General Conference, delegates came to praise God, and that was done in abundance.
They 331 delegates from 103 Mennonite Brethren churches across North America came to Wichita, Kansas July 8-10 for the 62nd, and apparently last, convention of the General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. Ironically, the General Conference had been founded on Nov. 20, 1900 just a few miles away in Buhler, Kan.
For once, the convention focused on exactly what was expected. The business was dominated by two major recommendations the presentation of a new Confession of Faith by the Board of Faith and Life and a proposal by the Executive Council to abolish the General Conference and transfer its ministries to the Canadian and US Conferences. The convention also heard generally interesting, upbeat, well-presented and encouraging reports by the other General Conference boards and agencies MB Biblical Seminary, MBMS International, Board of Resource Ministries/Kindred Productions and the Historical Commission.
The convention was well led. The Conference leaders, most notably the two boards with heavy agenda items, established a clear direction, but were gracious to listen and make adjustments.
The delegates also acted graciously. They were, for the most part, the church professionals who have predominated at recent conventions. They worked hard and debated passionately right to the end of the last afternoon. They expressed appreciation and thanks often (including giving the Board of Faith and Life a spontaneous standing ovation). An indication of the spirit of the convention was that, after the crucial vote to divest the General Conference of its ministries, the follow-up recommendations passed unanimously. Humour, often self-directed, was used by leaders and delegates to lighten difficult moments; at other points, leaders and delegates were moved to tears.
The evening sessions were devoted to worship and attracted a few more attenders from the Wichita area. Although it included both hymns and choruses, the music was almost always loud, upbeat and worshipful led by Cathy Beachy and a worship team from Wichita First MB Church and Copper Hills Community Church in Phoenix, Arizona. There were good sermons by Conference moderator Ed Boschman and guest speaker Brian Stiller.
The tone for the convention was set by the first event a "prayer concert" Thursday afternoon, similar to the one held two years ago at Waterloo 97. This well-organized session of worship, singing and prayer, led by Steve Klassen of British Columbia, was appreciated by many delegates. Prayer was a feature of other sessions as well, with opening and closing prayers offered in a variety of languages, including Spanish, Japanese and Low German.
In the background at the evening sessions was a hint of the future the hum of translation for the benefit of international guests who had come early for the meeting of the International Committee of Mennonite Brethren which was to follow.
On the final evening, the Lord's Supper was served under the leadership of assistant moderator Herb Kopp; in a short homily, Kopp summarized biblical history, pointing out humanity's repeated failures and God's restoring grace. The closing worship session also incorporated readings from "Confessing Together," the liturgical version of the new Confession of Faith.
The convention was well hosted by First MB Church, Wichita. The flow of the convention was virtually flawless, and the meals were creative and enjoyable, efficiently served with smiles.
God even provided a sound and light show a dramatic thunderstorm at the supper hour on Friday that briefly left the church without electricity.
"I give thanks to the Lord of the church. His fragrance has been here," concluded moderator Ed Boschman. "We heard the cracking of old (wine) skins and began forming some new ones." Indeed, the consensus was that it had been a good convention, even if it was the General Conference's last and there were even hints of resurrection. JC
Attendance
Attendance at General Conference conventions continued its slow decline, with the total of 331 delegates being down 10 from the 1997 convention in Waterloo, Ont. Those delegates came from 103 churches, only about a third of the total number of churches; only about a quarter of Canadian churches were represented.
Churches Represented
Canada 52
USA 51
TOTAL 103
Delegates
Canada 134
USA 197
TOTAL 331
Guests
Canada 17
USA 54
International 61
TOTAL 132
TOTAL ATTENDANCE 463
Elections
A total of 21 people were elected (or re-elected) to serve on General Conference boards in a single vote of affirmation there were exactly the number of candidates needed.
Delegates agreed to waive the two-term limit and allow Board of Trustees chair Jim Enns to serve a third term. (It was thought that continuity was needed in view of the complex issues of dissolution the Board of Trustees is dealing with.)
All board members (even those whose terms should expire in 2001) will continue to serve until their ministries are transferred to the national conferences.
Those elected were:
Executive Committee
Moderator: Herb Kopp (Winnipeg, Man.)
Assistant Moderator: Lyndon Vix (Wichita, Kan.)
Secretary: Hildegard Bandsmer (Abbotsford, B.C.)
Board of Resource Ministries
Dennis Langhofer (US representative, Fresno, Calif.)
Don Ratzlaff (US representative, Hillsboro, Kan.)
David Dick (Canadian representative, Calgary, Alta.)
Gareth Goossen (Canadian representative, Kitchener, Ont.)
George Klassen (At-large, Manitou, Man.)
Board of Faith and Life
Roland Reimer (US representative, Wichita, Kan.)
Elvera Froese (Canadian representative, Waterloo, Ont.)
Abe C. Klassen (At-large, Saskatoon, Sask.)
MB Biblical Seminary
Verla Dick (US representative, Topeka, Kan.)
Jean Janzen (US representative, Fresno, Calif.)
Bill Fast (Canadian representative, Winnipeg, Man.)
Dan Ratzlaff (Canadian representative, Abbotsford, B.C.)
Peter Durksen (At-large, Breslau, Ont.)
Board of Trustees
Jim Enns (US representative, Fresno, Calif.)
Dean Jost (At-large, Henderson, Neb.)
MBMS International
Dennis Fast (US representative, Reedley, Calif.)
James Nikkel (Canadian representative, Abbotsford, B.C.)
Marlene Wall (At-large, Wichita, Kan.)
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