In early December, the Conservative Mennonite Conference sent an e-mail to their pastors with an update on their proposal for a name change for the denomination. They requested feedback through an online survey of the pastors. The leadership of Pigeon River Mennonite Church decided to also send a letter with additional feedback. That letter is below. January
4, 2018
To the leadership of the Conservative Mennonite Conference,
Grace
to you and peace in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We the elders of Pigeon River Mennonite
Church are deeply thankful for your leadership as well as the resources and
connections that you facilitate among our sister churches. We are thankful to be a part of a family of
faith that is committed to Jesus, the word of God and to sharing those with the
world around us, especially with people who do not yet claim faith in Jesus. It is because of the importance of this
commitment and our shared relationships that we write this letter to you.
Pastor
Dave Maurer has shared with us the e-mail that was recently sent to the
ministers of the conference regarding the ongoing discussions about a name
change for our conference. He has submitted his input through the online
survey that you set up. While you have
not solicited input from the members of our denomination, we feel compelled to
offer our observations. The discussion
surrounding a name change is interesting to us especially given our recent
experiences with our congregation’s name, Pigeon River Mennonite Church.
One of our newest members found us
through an internet search for Mennonite churches. Additionally, Pastor Dave has had multiple
contacts through e-mail and Facebook of people who are searching for a
Mennonite Church to attend. In these
situations, we wonder if these connections would have happened without a
commonly known, though often misunderstood, name. These people were looking for something that
our church has to offer that may be different from what some other churches
have to offer.
Perhaps more significant is that over
the last 10-12 years, our regular attendance has shifted from being about 95%
born and raised Mennonite to about 50% other than Mennonite upbringing. Thankfully, this means that many of the people
coming in to be a part of us do so despite having “Mennonite” in our name. For us the name Mennonite has not been a barrier
to sharing our faith as much as an opportunity.
Given
these experiences, we wonder if changing our name is as significant as some
seem to believe it is. And if it is
significant, it seems that the significance lies at the local level rather than
the denominational level. But perhaps
more significant than changing our name is the ongoing work of changing our
approach to living out and sharing our faith.
Perhaps it is less about “how do we get them in here” (to which words
like conservative and Mennonite may be a stumbling block) and more about “how
do we meet them out there, where they are?”
Out there as we live our lives, we
are simply people and we build relationships like any other people. It is with time and trust that we move deeper
into our faith and our background. It is
with time that people come to know who we are and to wonder about our faith. Perhaps another way of saying this is that it
seems that people’s decision about whether or not to attend our congregation is
more about who they come to know us to be as people and less about who they
assumed we were based on our name.
All this being said, we are aware
that all four of the current name options include “Rosedale” and “Anabaptist” as
a part of the name. While we appreciate
reading the rationale behind this intentional choice, we remain baffled by the
persistence in using “Rosedale” and feel compelled to share our rationale for
not using “Rosedale” in the new name for our denomination. We hope that you will take these thoughts
into consideration as you continue your discernment.
Rationale
- · Rosedale is a place; and it is a place that according to our conference directory, currently has no CMC churches. While it may over time develop as a brand, currently it makes a statement to us in the thumb of Michigan (and we believe others around the nation) that we are on the fringe of rather than an integral part of the conference.
- · Likewise, being primarily a geographical indicator, we believe that it makes a statement to those who are not a part of Anabaptist/Mennonite circles, that we are simply a regional sect. While it may have name recognition within Anabaptist circles; our conference gatherings focus on how we will reach out to people who are not already within Anabaptist circles. If that is truly our heartbeat, “Rosedale” is no more helpful than “Conservative Mennonite” and likely less so.
With this in mind, we propose the following for
consideration…
Proposal
- · Do not base such an important decision on 2/3 of the pastors who come to the February Pastor’s Conference, knowing that not every pastor will be present. This decision warrants input from every congregation and preferably input from more than the pastors of the congregations. This discussion is an opportunity to build ownership in who we are rather than create distance by making a change that is representative of a minority.
- · Do not use “Rosedale” in our conference name. Instead, lead us through a process of “rebranding” not only for CMC, but also RBC, RMM, RIC, & RBG. Guide us in moving beyond our insider discussions to propose a name that represents who we desire to be more than who we have geographically been. Guide us in finding a name that is both authentic to who we are and also accessible to a world beyond our Mennonite heritage.
- · Do not use “Anabaptist” in our conference name. The word Anabaptist provides no more clarity to our identity than “Mennonite” and often leads to additional confusion. We have found that many people either associate this with being some version of “Baptist” or being “Anti-Baptist,” neither of which are accurate. Additionally, broadening our identity to the movement of Anabaptism means that we broaden our perceived association with other Anabaptist groups that are not consistent with our conservative theology. This seems significant given that we are looking at a name change rather than a theological change. It would be similar to the variety of Wesleyan churches (United Methodist, Free Methodist, The Church of the Nazarene, etc.) with their differences in theology emphasizing their shared Wesleyan roots above their current theological identity.
Suggestions
While we believe a larger
discernment process of choosing a name for our shared identity is preferable,
one might also wonder what we have in mind with suggesting a direction other
than “Rosedale.” With that in mind, we
offer the following: less as “this is the one” and more of “here are examples
of a direction.” We would encourage the
leadership of CMC to solicit suggestions from other congregations as well.
- · Mennonite International Conference (MIC)
- · Mennonite Alliance of Churches (MAC)
- · Mennonite International Network of Churches (MINC)
- · Mennonite International Network (MIN)
Thank you for taking the time to
read our concerns and for taking them into consideration as you proceed in your
discernment process. If you have
questions of clarification or would like to talk further, we welcome on going
dialogue about this or any other matters related to our partnership in the
faith. May the Lord’s blessings of peace
and wisdom be upon you in the weeks and months ahead.
In Christ,
The
Leadership Team of Pigeon River Mennonite Church
Pigeon, MI
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