Report from the meeting of Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba where Jubilee Mennonite Church was removed from membership

 

I did not attend the March 3-4 Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM) convention where delegates voted on the resolution to remove Jubilee Mennonite Church from membership. (I did not think I would be welcome as media.) Some who did attend sent shared with me what happened at the meeting. Below find a summary of that event.  

Prior to the vote, a delegate proposed an amendment to add River East Church to the resolution about removing Jubilee Mennonite Church; to remove that church as well. 

It was ruled out of order since the constitutionally mandated process for revoking RiverEast’s membership has not yet been completed.

Also prior to the vote, a delegate from Fort Garry Mennonite Brethren Church moved that the vote be deferred for at least a year to provide time for more discussion about the topic.

He said the request from deferral was coming from a majority of that church’s members.

Some delegates spoke against the motion, saying what Jubilee had done was “clearly against the Bible;” that there had already been enough talk about the topic; that the Conference needed to "hold to the authority of the Word;" that due process had already been followed; and that a postponement was just “delaying the inevitable.”

Others spoke in favour of it, noting that people read the Bible differently, that more time was needed to discuss it as a conference (in keeping with the Mennonite Brethren commitment to a "community hermeneutic"), and to listen to each other’s views.

One delegate indicated he would have spoken against the motion the day before. But that same evening he learned a teenage girl in his church had just come out as LGBTQ+ and wanted to know if the church would marry her in the future.

Now, he said, he was in favour of taking more time to talk. 

A member of Jubilee also spoke in favour of taking more time, saying they wanted to continue to be part of the Conference.

Another member of Jubilee said in becoming welcoming, affirming and inclusive of LGBTQ+ people, the church knew it was going against the Confession of Faith. Despite that, the church hoped the Conference would still “embrace” them as they “dared to imagine” it might work to stay together.

The motion to defer the vote in favour of more conversation was defeated, with an announced 71% of delegates voting against it.

After that motion was defeated, the vote on Jubilee’s membership was taken. A total of 74.2% of the votes were favour of removing the church. This met the threshold of two-thirds majority needed to pass. 

(Unlike in Ontario, the vote totals were officially shared at the Manitoba gathering.)

After the vote, Jubilee’s former pastor Ken Warkentin offered a blessing to the Conference and then indicated members of the church at the meeting would like to leave.

As members of Jubilee left the meeting, everyone was asked to stand so they would not be so conspicuous in leaving.

Members from at least two other churches exited with them into the foyer to offer personal words of care and farewell.

One observer noted that MBCM Moderator Dave Ens and Parliamentarian Marvin Dyck managed the sessions well, conferring on occasion to clarify rules of order.

Although comments were generally respectful in tone, there was a clear difference of opinion/conviction among delegates on both the amendment regarding River East and the main resolution regarding Jubilee, he said. 

A member of the MBCM Faith and Life Team concluded at the end: “There are no winners today.” He then led the Assembly in prayer.

A request for comment has been made to MBCM leadership and to Jubilee Church.

March 6 addendum: In an e-mail recieved today, Fort Garry Church's moderator confirmed the motion to postpone the vote on Jubilee in order to have a year for study and dialague. The motion was made to reflect Fort Garry's view "that a different path would be preferable to the mutually exclusive options of a 'yes' or 'no' vote" on Jubilee's membership. 

Fort Garry, he said, "saw a different path forward as desireable because the question of how we are to be inclusive of of LGBTQ+ people will continue long after" the vote on Jubilee was taken.