Winnipeg’s North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren (NKMB) has asked its members to fast and pray that Jubilee Mennonite Church, also located in Winnipeg, will voluntarily leave the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM) before a vote on its membership takes place at the Conference’s March 3-4 assembly.
In a letter sent to NKMB members on January 11, NKMB moderator Tim Giesbrecht wrote “we think the best course of action for both them and MBCM is to have an amicable separation” due to Jubilee’s June 2020 decision to welcome and affirm LGBTQ+ people and support same-sex marriage.
Jubilee’s membership in MBCM was suspended by MBCM in October, last year. If the church, which is also part of Mennonite Church Manitoba, doesn’t change its stance on LGBTQ+ and same-sex marriage, the next step in the Conference's constitutionally-mandated procedure is a vote on removing it from membership. That vote will happen in March at the assembly.
Noting that NKMB council and staff “stand by” the Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith as it pertains to marriage being between a man and a woman, Giesbrecht goes on to say that a peaceful division will give Jubilee "the freedom to worship in a manner that they best see fit.”
At the same time, it would allow the “remaining MBCM churches to seek ways to minister and care for the LGBTQ+ community with compassion and love that is consistent with scripture.”
Staying "in fellowship" with Jubilee would be "problematic for both sides," it goes on to say.
NKMB expects the vote about removing Jubilee to pass at the assembly, which is being held in Winkler, a rural community about an hour south of Winnipeg.
But such a decision is “by no means a certainty,” Giesbrecht said, noting there are members of MBCM who “prefer to stay united, regardless of the differences,” along with some who “are in agreement with the direction Jubilee is going.”
For that reason, he goes on to ask NKMB members to volunteer to be delegates to the assembly. As a large church, NKMB can send 46 delegates to vote.
If the resolution to remove Jubilee from membership does not pass, it would “force NKMB to decide on what to do next,” Giesbrecht said.
Until that vote at the assembly, members are asked to fast and pray “for a peaceful division of Jubilee from MBCM,” for “wisdom on how to proceed if the resolution does not pass,” and for “courage and boldness when faced with opposition, especially from the dominant culture and political climate surrounding us.”
Members are also asked to pray “repentance in the ways we have harmed, side-lined or ignored sexually marginalized” people, for an “increased measure of love and compassion for the hurting people around us, regardless of their sexual identity or gender status” and “for transformation and renewal of all broken people.”
People can gather to pray at 5 a.m. weekly at the church between January 18 to March 1, or at congregational prayer meetings to be held January 28 and February 18.
Giesbrecht concludes the letter by saying “let us continue to live in love and compassion while still holding to the hard teachings of the Bible.”
NKMB and Jubilee are located almost kitty-corner to each other near the corner of Gateway and Springfield in the northeast part of the city.
Comments on the letter have been requested from NKMB, MBCM and Jubilee. Jubilee requested more time to think about the letter before responding. NKMB gave permission to publish their full letter on this blog.
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