The Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) is an
Anabaptist
Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
denomination in the United States. Although the organization is a recent 2002 merger of the
Mennonite Church and the
General Conference Mennonite Church
The General Conference Mennonite Church (GCMC) was a mainline association of Mennonite congregations based in North America from 1860 to 2002. The conference was formed in 1860 when congregations in Iowa invited North American Mennonites to join ...
, the body has roots in the
Radical Reformation of the 16th century.
Total membership in Mennonite Church USA denominations decreased from about 133,000, before the merger in 1998, to a total membership of 120,381 in the Mennonite Church USA in 2001
and 78,892 members in 2016.
In May 2021 the main page of their website stated a membership of about 62,000.
History
Mennonite Church (MC) (Mennonite General Conference and Mennonite General Assembly)
Dutch and German immigrants from
Krefeld, Germany, settled in
Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1683. Swiss Mennonites came to North America in the early part of the 18th century. Their first settlements were in Pennsylvania, then in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. These Swiss immigrants, combined with Dutch and German Mennonites and progressive
Amish Mennonite
Amish Mennonites came into existence through reform movements among North American Amish mainly between 1862 and 1878. These Amish moved away from the old Amish traditions and drew near to the Mennonites, becoming Mennonites of Amish origin. Over ...
s who later united with them, until 2002 made up the largest body of Mennonites in North America (in the past often referred to as the "Old Mennonites"). They formed regional conferences in the 18th century. As early as 1725, delegates from various Pennsylvania Mennonite settlements met to adopt the
Dordrecht Confession of Faith
The Dordrecht Confession of Faith is a statement of religious beliefs adopted by Dutch Mennonite leaders at a meeting in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, on 21 April 1632. Its 18 articles emphasize belief in salvation through Jesus Christ, baptism, ...
as their official statement of faith. The "Old" Mennonite Church was marked by ties of communion, pulpit exchange, and common confession, rather than formal organizational ties. Many, but not all, of the conferences joined the North American conference, the Mennonite General Conference, in 1898. The Mennonite General Conference was reorganized in 1971 as the Mennonite General Assembly. The Mennonite General Assembly merged with the General Conference Mennonite Church in 2002.
General Conference Mennonite Church (GCMC)
The General Conference Mennonite Church was an association of Mennonite congregations based in North America from 1860 to 2002. The conference was formed in 1860 by congregations in Iowa seeking to unite with like-minded Mennonites to pursue common goals such as higher education and mission work. The conference was especially attractive to recent Mennonite and Amish immigrants to North America and expanded considerably when thousands of
Russian Mennonite
The Russian Mennonites (german: Russlandmennoniten it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire occasionally Ukrainian Mennonites) are a group of Mennonites who are descendants of Dutch Anabaptists who settled for abo ...
s arrived in North America starting in the 1870s. Conference offices were located in Winnipeg, Manitoba and North Newton, Kansas. The conference supported a seminary and several colleges. By the 1980s, there remained little difference between the General Conference Mennonite Church and many conferences in the Mennonite General Assembly. In the 1990s the conference had 64,431 members in 410 congregations in Canada, the United States and South America.
Merger
In 1983 the ''General Assembly of the Mennonite Church'' met jointly with the ''General Conference Mennonite Church'' in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...
, in celebration of 300 years of Mennonite witness in the Americas. Beginning in 1989, a series of consultations, discussions, proposals, and sessions (and a vote in 1995 in favor of merger) led to the unification of these two major North American Mennonite bodies into one denomination organized on two fronts – the Mennonite Church USA and the
Mennonite Church Canada. The merger was "finalized" at a joint session in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
, in 1999, and the Canadian branch moved quickly ahead. The United States branch did not complete their organization until the meeting in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, in 2001, which became effective February 1, 2002.
The merger of 1999-2002 at least partially fulfilled the desire of the founders of the ''General Conference Mennonite Church'' to create an organization under which all Mennonites could unite. Yet not all Mennonites favored the merger. The
Alliance of Mennonite Evangelical Congregations
The Alliance of Mennonite Evangelical Congregations (AMEC) is an association of conservative evangelical Mennonite churches. The organization was officially formed in 2002 over concerns relating to the merger of the ''Mennonite Church'' and the '' ...
represents one expression of the disappointment with the merger and the events that led up to it.
Decline
Since its merger, a large number of conservative congregations have left Mennonite Church USA. 2013 saw nine congregations leave, and in 2014 at least 12 did so. In November 2015, the
Lancaster Conference, Mennonite Church USA's largest conference, with 13,838 members in 163 congregations in six states plus the District of Columbia, voted overwhelmingly to leave the denomination by the end of 2017.
By early 2016, the membership had decreased to 78,892 members,
mainly because of the denomination's increasingly liberal position towards
same sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
, which caused many congregations to leave Mennonite Church USA.
In April 2016, the Franklin Mennonite Conference, a conference with 14 congregations and about 1,000 members in Pennsylvania and Maryland, voted to withdraw from the Mennonite Church USA. In 2018 the number of baptized members had fallen to 69,223 and the number congregations to 625.
Political Involvement
For most of its history, the Mennonite Church has stayed away from political involvement. This came from a desire to separate the church from the culture of the world. In 1968 Mennonite Central Committee, the governing body for the Mennonite Church, created an advocacy office in Washington DC. This was a drastic shift in how the church approached politics and was not appreciated by many members at the time. Since then, the church has become more politically involved as this became more normalized.
Structure
Convention and delegate assembly
Every other year, Mennonite Church USA holds a week-long, church-wide convention. The convention includes gatherings for adults, youth, junior youth and children (K-5, Preschool and Infants/Toddlers). During the convention, there are worship sessions, seminars, alumni gatherings, and special dinners. Also, taking place during the convention is the Delegate Assembly. Delegates from local congregations, regional area conferences, and constituency groups gather to develop vision and direction for the national denomination. Previous conventions have been held in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
(2001),
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
(2003),
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
(2005),
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
(2007),
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
(2009),
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
(2011),
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
(2013),
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
(2015, 2019, 2021), and
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
(2017).
Area conferences
All congregations in the denomination belong to an area conference, and it is the area conference that is the component part of Mennonite Church USA. There are currently 21 area conferences with many of them overlapping geographically due to conference structures prior to the merger. Recently, some divisions have occurred and the Lancaster Conference (not included here) voted in 2015 to leave the Mennonite Church U.S.A. by 2017.
Agencies
Mennonite Church USA maintains five church-wide ministry agencies: Mennonite Mission Network, Mennonite Education Agency,
[Mennonite Education Agenc]
official website
Accessed 2006-03-14. MennoMedia (formerly Mennonite Publishing Network), Mennonite Health Services, and Everence (formerly Mennonite Mutual Aid).
Mennonite Education Agency
The mission of Mennonite Education Agency (MEA)
is to strengthen the life, witness and identity of Mennonite Church USA through education. MEA helps provide leadership to Mennonite Schools Council, elementary and secondary schools throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. MEA also helps bring support and leadership to Mennonite colleges, universities, and seminaries located throughout the United States. It also works with various people and groups within Mennonite Church USA to help involve them and show the unique qualities of Mennonite education. MEA works with Mennonite Church USA to provide leadership to church educational programs.
Colleges and seminaries
![Goshen College Music Center](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Goshen_College_Music_Center.JPG)
Mennonite Church USA provides denominational oversight through Mennonite Education Agency to five colleges and universities and two seminaries in the United States:
*
Goshen College
Goshen College is a private Mennonite liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana. It was founded in 1894 as the Elkhart Institute of Science, Industry and the Arts, and is affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. The college is accredited by the High ...
in
Goshen, Indiana
Goshen ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka ...
*
Bluffton University
Bluffton University is a private Mennonite university in Bluffton, Ohio. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, with four programs that have earned programmatic accreditation: dietetics, education, music, and social work. The unive ...
in
Bluffton, Ohio
Bluffton, originally known as Shannon, is a village in Allen and Hancock counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 4,125 at the 2010 census. Bluffton is home to Bluffton University, a four-year educational institution affiliated w ...
*
Bethel College in
North Newton, Kansas
North Newton is a city in Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,814. It is located between the north side of the city of Newton (separate entity) and the south side of Interstate I-13 ...
*
Eastern Mennonite University
Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) is a private Mennonite university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The university also operates a satellite campus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which primarily caters to working adults. EMU's bachelor-degree holde ...
in
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is also the county seat of the surrounding Rockingham County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. At the 2 ...
*
Hesston College
Hesston College is a private college in Hesston, Kansas, United States. It is associated with the Mennonite Church USA and has an enrollment of about 400 students who typically come from about 30 states and 15 other countries.
History
In 1909, ...
in
Hesston, Kansas
Hesston is a city in Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,505. Large manufacturing facilities for AGCO (farm equipment) and Excel Industries (lawn mowers) are located in Hesston. It ...
*
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana, east of Chicago, Illinois, and north of Indianapolis, Indiana. Elkhart has the larger population of the two principal cities of th ...
*
Eastern Mennonite Seminary Eastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS) is the graduate theological division of Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), which is an accredited Christian liberal arts university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. EMU was established as Eastern Mennonite College in 19 ...
on the campus of Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia
Secondary schools
*
Bethany Christian Schools, Goshen, Indiana
*
Central Christian School, Kidron, Ohio
*
Christopher Dock Mennonite High School
Dock Mennonite Academy, formerly known as Christopher Dock Mennonite High School and Penn View Christian School is a private school in Montgomery County that is affiliated with the Franconia Mennonite Conference and the Eastern District Conferen ...
, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
*
Eastern Mennonite High School, Harrisonburg, Virginia
*
Freeman Academy
Freeman Academy is a private, Christian elementary school and high school in Freeman, South Dakota, that serves students in grades K-12. The school was founded in 1901 as a junior college, but now functions as only a grade, middle, and high school ...
, Freeman, South Dakota
*
Lancaster Mennonite High School, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
*
Philadelphia Mennonite High School
Philadelphia Mennonite High School was a private Mennonite high school in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spannin ...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*
Iowa Mennonite School
Hillcrest Academy (formerly Iowa Mennonite School) is an independent, Christian school near Iowa City, Iowa in Kalona, Iowa, established in 1945.
Theology
At Hillcrest Academy, Jesus is the center of their faith. Community is the center of th ...
, Kalona, Iowa
Faith and practice
''Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective''
A ''Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective'' provides a guide to the beliefs and practices of Mennonite Church USA. This confession was adopted in 1995 at a joint session of the Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church in
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...
. It contains 24 articles ranging from the more general Christian theologies of
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
,
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
, and the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
to the more distinct
Foot Washing; Truth and the Avoidance of Oaths, Peace, Justice, and Nonresistance; and The Church's Relation to Government and Society.
Sexuality discussions
The Brethren Mennonite Council has been active since 1976 to encourage "full inclusion" for
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
,
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
,
bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
, and
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
persons in the church. In 1986 the General Conference Mennonite Church (one of the predecessors of Mennonite Church USA), meeting in Saskatoon, adopted a statement on sexuality establishing heterosexuality as the only legitimate form of sexual expression. In 1987, the Mennonite Church (another predecessor of MC USA) issued the Purdue Statement, with similar language. At the 2009 convention in Columbus, some protested for the further discussion of human sexuality. In 2015 discussions revolved around the decision by multiple conferences to license openly LGBT members for church ministry. Two districts within the denomination had licensed pastors openly in committed same-sex relationships. Due to the denomination's increasingly liberal position, the Lancaster Conference voted in November 2015 to leave the Mennonite Church USA.
At the same time, toward the end of 2015, the Western District Conference voted to allow ordained ministers to officiate at and perform same-gender marriages. On 29 May 2022 the church repealed the Membership Guidelines that forbids pastors to officiate same-sex marriages. Most area conferences already allowed pastors to solemnize same-sex marriages. The church also voted in favor of an apology to the LGBTQ community.
Life issues
Mennonites have a commitment to
pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
, and members of Mennonite Church USA have a history of being conscientious objectors in wars as a way to uphold a commitment to nonviolence. They also oppose abortion and capital punishment.
MC USA has passed a resolution committing to creation care (2013) as developed by Mennonite Creation Care Network (MCCN), which in 2013 had a membership directory of 650 individuals to "advance the commitment of congregations and members in caring for creation as part of the good news of Jesus Christ" and a resolution on "Seeking Peace in Israel and Palestine" (2017).
MC USA released a "Churchwide Statement on Immigration" in 2014 that states, "We advocate for just and humane immigration policies for immigrants and refugees, and we empower congregations, area conferences and denominational staff to serve as advocates for these vulnerable groups of peoples and resolutions pertaining to immigration."
MC USA's "Churchwide Statement on Sexual Abuse" (2015) states, "We resolve to tell the truth about sexual abuse; hold abusers accountable; acknowledge the seriousness of their sin; listen with care to those who have been wounded; protect vulnerable persons from injury; work restoratively for justice; and hold out hope that wounds will be healed, forgiveness offered, and relationships established or reestablished in healthy ways."
See also
*
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Community Peacemaker Teams or CPT (previously called Christian Peacemaker Teams) is an international organization set up to support teams of peace workers in conflict areas around the world. The organization uses these teams to achieve its aims ...
*
Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is a relief service, and peace agency representing fifteen Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
...
*
Mennonite Church USA Archives The Mennonite Church USA Archives was founded in 2001 under the denominational merger of the (old) Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church. Prior to 2001, the two largest Mennonite denominations maintained separate archives: t ...
*
Mennonite Disaster Service
The Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) is a volunteer network through which various groups within the Anabaptist tradition assist people affected by disasters in North America. The organization was founded in 1950 and was incorporated as a 501(c ...
*
Schowalter Foundation
The Schowalter Foundation is a Kansas-based Mennonite philanthropic foundation formed in 1954 from the estate of Jacob A. Schowalter of Newton, Kansas.
Initially funded with an estate of $1,157,000, the foundation's assets reached $10,298,000 i ...
Notes
References
*''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', J. Gordon Melton, editor
*''Handbook of Denominations in the United States'', by Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill, and Craig D. Atwood
*''Mennonite Church USA, 2003 Directory''
*''Mennonite Directory'' (1999), Herald Press.
*''Mennonite Encyclopedia'', Cornelius J. Dyck, Dennis D. Martin, et al., editors
External links
Mennonite Church USA official websiteMennonite Church USA History and ArchivesThird Way Café
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mennonite Church Usa
Mennonite denominations
Mennonitism in the United States
Christian organizations established in 1999
Anabaptist denominations established in the 20th century
Peace churches
Congregationalism in the United States
1999 establishments in the United States
Anabaptist denominations in North America