‘Seeds scattered and sown: In every seed a promise’

Twenty-five years ago Mennonite Church Eastern Canada gathered at the United Mennonite Educational Institute in Leamington, Ont., for its inaugural annual conference.

Photos of the time show middle-aged white men signing documents that joined together three historic conferences: Western Ontario, made up mainly of formerly Amish Mennonites who came to Canada in the 1820s; Mennonite Church of Ontario and Quebec, made up mainly of formerly Swiss and South German Mennonites who began to come to Canada from the United States and Europe in the late 1700s; and the United Mennonite Conference of Ontario, made up of Russian Mennonites who came to Canada from Europe in waves in the 1920s and ’40s, and from South America in the ’60s.

This year’s annual church gathering, held in Kitchener on April 26 and 27, looked and sounded very different. As Barb Smith Morrison, pastor of Bloomingdale Mennonite Church, and Pader Lee, a female leader from First Hmong Mennonite Church in Kitchener, led worship, a band of men and women from many ethnic groups provided musical accompaniment.

Three new congregations—Bethel Ethiopian Evangelical Church of Kitchener, Medahnialem Ethiopian Evangelical Church of Toronto, and The Commons, an Anglo congregation in Hamilton—added to the colour and sound of the 97 full-member congregations and the 25 to 30 church plants, emerging congregations, and existing congregations exploring joining the area church.

In her April 26 sermon, “Seeds of diverse beauty, lavishly sown,” retired MC Eastern Canada pastor Sue Steiner thanked God for five gifts the area church has received over the past quarter-century:

• A new spiritual thirst and a new yearning for God among individuals and congregations.
• Diverse Anabaptist beauty.
• An eclectic pool of pastoral leaders suited to renewing the diverse garden of the area church.
• A desire to be church differently in urban or rural, new or traditional communities.
• referring to congregations that have closed over the years, for God’s gift of new growth after pruning, and for the gift of hope after loss.

Referencing the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4:1-20, in which people are the soil, Steiner concluded ,“25 years in, we are still God’s new creation. In fact, we always are. For God always calls us to receive the good seed within ourselves and to sow it lavishly, non-anxiously, just like the Gardener.”

Continuing the theme of sowing and seeds the next day, César Garcia, general secretary of Mennonite World Conference (MWC), preached at a worship celebration on the Parable of the Mustard Seed in Mark 4:30-32. Comparing churches to restaurants, Garcia challenged MC Eastern Canada to serve healthy food and to be a healthy area church full of healthy congregations.

For Garcia, healthy congregations are affected by their context and affect their context by staying in contact with God. Rather than being propositional and trans-cultural, the same in belief and structure everywhere, they are like the kingdom of God, vulnerable and weak, natural and spontaneous, rather than independent, powerful, controlling and uniform. They have structures that serve people, and are relational with organic links. Unhealthy churches, on the other hand, are concerned with the health of the organization over and above that of the individuals or congregations, he said.

A highlight of the gathering was a forward-looking dialogue by area church staff, “Sprouting seeds in the next 25 years,” that focused on three strategic directions: Identity and spiritual formation, Congregational health and mission, and Unity in mission. With excitement and hope, the staff painted a picture of congregations and an area church grounded in their relationship to God, maturing individuals and congregations, and united in their core beliefs regarding Scripture, Jesus Christ and a commitment to nonviolent faith.

Church business

With the focus on the 25th anniversary, business was kept to a minimum.

Donations and expenses were balanced as forecast in the budget accepted in 2012, delegates were told.

A new policy for bequests was instigated following the receipt of a multi-million dollar bequest from the estate of Enid and Harold Schmidt. The area church will not put bequest money into endowments, but will spend it over a 12- to 15-year period, with some money shared with the wider church—including MC Canada and MWC. Bequests will be put into relatively secure investments with organizations like Mennonite Savings and Credit Union and Mennonite Foundation Canada; ethical investing will be paramount.

A short report was given on the fate of the Warden Woods Community Centre building in Toronto. It was noted that the area church desires a negotiated solution, but the centre has instigated a court-mandated settlement that is making its way through the legal process.