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MWC in Healthy State in Lead-up to Assembly 15 in Paraguay

ASUNCION, Paraguay — “This is a good moment for MWC,” Larry Miller, Mennonite World Conference general secretary, told the MWC Executive Committee which met here August 1-7. In his “State of the Communion” presentation, Miller cited progress on the program and organizational plans adopted at General Council meetings in Pasadena in 2006, including initiatives to support member churches, and a healthy financial situation.

In Pasadena, the General Council approved reorganizing MWC’s work such as mission, service, peace and faith and life to be done under the rubric of commissions.

The Global Mission Fellowship has decided to work towards becoming an MWC commission, reported Janet Plenert, chair of the GMF planning committee. The Executive Committee authorized MWC staff to work with GMF on developing a missions commission.

Four emerging initiatives being developed since the Pasadena meetings, to some extent growing out of the service consultation at those meetings, are a deacons commission, Global Anabaptist Deacons, a remodelled Global Church Sharing Fund and Koinonia Delegations.

The proposed commissions generally will have up to 15 women and men, including both General Council members and appointed specialists. Discernment on composition, tasks and names of commissions continues.

The Global Church Sharing Fund was established 10 years ago in an effort to share the wealth of Anabaptists in North America and Europe with Anabaptists in the global South. Funds were dispersed to member churches according to defined guidelines.

The Executive Committee affirmed a proposed reconfiguration that would create two accounts within the fund: a deacon account, to be used primarily by the Global Anabaptist Deacons in consultation with the deacons commission and MWC staff, and a jubilee account from which grants to member churches would continue to be made but under new guidelines. The committee directed staff to refine the approval policy, paying attention to balancing dispersal of funds equitably around the world

The first Koinonia Delegation, with representatives from each of the five continental regions, was already in place and headed for Zimbabwe on August 16. Its mandate was to learn, listen, encourage and stand beside the Brethren in Christ Church there which continues to experience much distress. (See the August 15 MWC news release, “MWC will deliver on promise of support for Zimbabwe.”)

MWC finances are “in pretty good shape,” said Paul Quiring, treasurer, largely due to positive response to a “Leadership Campaign” launched last year. The objective was to raise unrestricted funds of $200,000 (US) per year for four years from major donors committed to making annual donations to the campaign. Excellent response has resulted in a new goal: $1 million by 2010. During this period, MWC will continue to work at long-term funding plans.

Also significant to MWC's financial health in the lead-up to the 2009 assembly was a major contribution from MCC to specified restricted funds.

At the end of 2006, the unrestricted fund showed a positive balance of nearly $70,000. A deficit in the assembly fund, as budgeted, will continue to grow as assembly costs mount before registration fees come in.

“Paraguay 2009 is estimated to cost approximately $1.8 million—more than double the cost of Assembly 2003,” noted Quiring. “Almost everything will cost more than in Zimbabwe.”

Registration fees are expected to cover approximately 60% of assembly costs. Paraguay member conferences have agreed to raise $200,000 with additional donations likely to come from the Paraguay business community and the Mennonite cooperatives. “There appears to be strong financial ownership [in Paraguay] in the success of this assembly,” said Quiring.

The Executive Committee devoted considerable time to discussing the July 14-19, 2009 assembly.

Ray Brubacher, Assembly 15 international coordinator, noted that of the 20 Anabaptist conferences with some 30,000 members in Paraguay, eight conferences with more than 22,000 members belong to MWC. These eight conferences, including German, Spanish, and Indigenous, are working together on assembly planning, a first-time collaboration.

Brubacher reported the appointment of a Program Committee to plan each day's events. It includes Markus Rediger (Switzerland), Elizabeth Vado Sandoval (Nicaragua) and Naomi Unger (Canada), all Executive Committee members, and three Paraguayans, Dietrich Panna from Loma Plata (Toba-Enhlet), Juan Silverio Veron from Asuncion (Spanish) and Ed Toews from Menno Colony (German). They spent a day working together immediately after the executive committee meetings concluded. They will meet again in November.

Paul Dueck, assembly music coordinator who lived in Asuncion until age 12 when his family migrated to Leamington, Ontario (Canada), also participated in program planning.

The Executive Committee discussed a range of suggestions before settling on a theme for 2009 related to unity and service, based on Philippians 2:1-11 and charging the Program Committee to define the language. The Executive Committee also agreed to shorten the assembly, starting on Tuesday, July 14 rather than Monday, July 13 as previously publicized.

Executive Committee members and staff visited the Centro Familiar de Adoracion (CFA) complex, the venue for assembly gathered, which is still under construction but will be completed in 2008 and will provide adequate space to accommodate the anticipated more than 7,000 assembly participants. Registration information is expected by April 2008.

Among other updates, the committee heard that the “Shared Convictions” brochure, now available in English, French, Spanish and German, has been well received wherever it has been distributed worldwide. A study guide is in process and will be published in November 2007.

Miller also reported on conversations between the Lutheran World Federation and MWC and with the Catholic Church’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christianity Unity. Miller suggested that in response to a recent statement from Pope Benedict XVI on the status of non-Catholic churches, MWC could take a statement on its view of the church to the Pontifical Council when an MWC delegation visits in late October.

Besides the Global Mission Fellowship, AMIGOS, MWC's youth and young adult committee, also met in Asuncion as did the Assembly 15 National Coordinating Council and representatives of several travel companies planning to bring participants to the assembly.

The 10-year practice of planting a tree where the committee meets continued in Paraguay. Three trees were planted at different churches in Asuncion and one in the Chaco.

Following the Executive Committee meetings, most committee members and staff, including Ernst Weichselberger, national coordinator for Assembly 15, toured the Chaco where Mennonite immigrants first arrived in Paraguay more than 75 years ago.

— Ferne Burkhardt, MWC news editor

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Photos by J. Lorne Peachey available on request
1. Executive Committee members in the future 10,000 seat auditorium of the Centro Familiar de Adoracion (CFA), to be completed by 2008.
2. Ernst Weichselberger, national coordinator for Assembly 15, and Nancy Heisey, MWC president.
3. Janet Plenert (Canada) and Christian Kaeser (Switzerland), of the Global Mission Fellowship planning committee, help to plant the first of 4 trees at the Concordia church in Asuncion.