In a letter to Manitoba Mennonite Brethren Churches, the Board of Mennonite Brethren Church Manitoba (MBCM) shared about its decision to suspend Jubilee Mennonite Church from membership for its decision to welcome, affirm and be willing to marry same-sex people.
“With a humble and careful posture, the MBCM board moved Jubilee Mennonite Church’s membership in MBCM to a status of suspended, as of October 3, 2022,” the letter from Moderator Dave Ens said.
“As per the process outlined in MBCM’s constitution, the MBCM Provincial Faith and Life Team will conduct a review of the circumstances that have led to this suspension. They will report their findings back to the MBCM board. The board will then either resolve to reinstate Jubilee Mennonite Church upon the board’s satisfaction that the concerns have been adequately rectified or provide recommendation to the Assembly of MBCM churches in March 2023 for removal of membership.”
Enns went on to say the MBCM board has offered to meet with Jubilee’s leadership for further dialogue and to resolve the “concerns” related to the church’s decision.
A major concern, as outlined in a previous letter to Jubilee, is how the church’s statement of inclusion “fails to adhere to CCMBC confession of faith” which states that “Marriage is a covenant relationship intended to unite a man and a woman for life. Jubilee’s statement avoids our confessional definition of marriage as exclusive to a man and woman for life.”
To date, Jubilee has not indicated it is willing to change its statement.
Jubilee is also a member of Mennonite Church Manitoba, which welcomed its decision.
The full letter from the Conference is below.
October 21, 2022
To the Manitoba MB Family of Churches.
Grace & peace to you.
This letter is a follow-up to the September 9, 2022
communication you received from us regarding Jubilee Mennonite Church.
The MBCM Board recognizes that LGBTQ+ persons, along
with their friends and families, have experienced exclusion and rejection in
churches. While this is not everyone’s story, we understand that it is the
story of many. We are committed to a future where better stories are
experienced. Each MBCM church is invited to join in this journey, where LGBTQ+
persons and their families experience inclusion and care.
As well, we recognize that some of the implications of
working to include and care for LGBTQ+ persons can bump up against our shared
confession. The MBCM board continues to affirm our shared confession, in all of
its aspects.
On August 5, 2022, you received a communication
informing you that Jubilee Mennonite Church had published a statement of
inclusion related to LGBTQ+ people. While there are many aspects of the statement
with which we agree, the statement disagrees with our confession of faith on
the matter of marriage. At that time, we proposed a town hall meeting on
September 14 to provide more information and give space for questions.
On September 9, a second communication was issued that
cancelled the Sept 14 town hall, indicating that this will be part of the
agenda at the Council of Representatives (CR) on November 19. The board felt it
prudent to cancel Sept 14 given that we had entered into the constitutionally
outlined process in regards to reviewing a church’s membership in MBCM. The
process creates space for us to ensure that both the church and the MBCM board
have clarity on the issue. We recognize that we are working through this as brothers
& sisters and want to do so with humility and integrity.
As is outlined in the process, there has been on-going
communication with Jubilee. While these conversations have been good in many ways, we find
that Jubilee continues to hold to their statement that disagrees with our
shared confession.
With a humble and careful posture, the MBCM board
moved Jubilee Mennonite Church’s membership in MBCM to a status of suspended,
as of October 3, 2022. As per the process outlined in MBCM’s constitution, the
MBCM Provincial Faith and Life Team will conduct a review of the circumstances
that have led to this suspension. They will report their findings back to the
MBCM board. The board will then either resolve to reinstate Jubilee Mennonite
Church upon the board’s satisfaction that the concerns have been adequately
rectified or provide recommendation to the Assembly of MBCM churches in March
2023 for removal of membership.
As we continue in this process, the board has offered
an invitation to meet with Jubilee’s leadership for further dialogue. As
mentioned, there will be time for discussion on this matter at the CR on
November 19, 2022. We invite you to be in prayer for all involved as we journey
through this process. May God work in and through us as we seek to be faithful
in following him.
On behalf of the MBCM board
Dave Ens, MBCM Board Moderator, Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba
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