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June 2003
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Dan Nigh- swander |
June 2003, Equipping
Assembly time is rapidly approaching. You have received registration
information, delegate registration information and soon, the report books—and
all that information is or soon will be on our web site as well (www.mennonitechurch.ca).
I hope every congregation will prepare for this event and participate
in it as fully as they are able.
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A very important part of the assembly is the time we spend together
discerning what God has been doing among and through us in the past
year and what God is calling us to do in this year and the next. I
hope you will prepare your delegates for this through congregational
discussion of: a) the financial issues faced by MC Canada this past
year (check the web site for advance copies of the audited statement;
which will be posted as soon as they are available from our auditor);
b) the “Recommendation on Joining Evangelical Fellowship of
Canada and Canadian Council of Churches” (Report Book, p. 62);
c) the CMU Governance Proposal (Report Book, pp. 32-35); and d) any
other part of the report book that you think is important. Make sure
your delegates know what the congregation thinks, but free them to
consider all the information and discussion from the floor when they
vote. New information, floor discussion, or conversation can bring
new light to the questions. Delegates can get caught between their
congregation’s desires and how their conscience and reason suggests
they should vote in light of the discernment that is happening along
the way at the assembly.
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The time we will spend in worship is very important. Corporate worship
is the destiny of the church (Rev. 7:9-17), and a vital part of our
life now. If you can’t be present at the assembly we encourage
you to use the worship materials that will be posted on our web site
and mailed to you so that across the country we can demonstrate that
we are God’s people worshiping together. (Some churches choose
to use the assembly worship materials on a subsequent Sunday when
their delegates report what happened.)
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Seminars are important opportunities to gather information, learn
useful strategies for building up congregational life and hear inspiring
stories. When the seminar list is finalized, I encourage you to confer
with your delegates and encourage them to attend the seminars most
likely to serve your congregation.
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The fellowship aspect of assembly is always a blessing. Encourage
folks from your congregation to participate in tours and the various
fellowship opportunities. And when they return, ask them, “How
are our sisters and brothers in faith across Canada doing?”
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Finally, urge your congregational members to attend. Send you full
quota of delegates, but also encourage non-delegates to go. Especially
encourage your youth. As of this writing, over 300 youth have already
registered. The assembly provides a rare opportunity to worship, fellowship,
serve and learn with hundreds of fellow Mennonite youth. Anne Campion
and her team have planned an event that will call youth to faith and
strengthen their walk with God. You might even find that when they
return, they will challenge their congregation to greater faithfulness—but
that’s a risk worth taking.
Please pray that God’s Spirit will move mightily among us as we
gather in St. Catharines on July 9-13. And if you can possibly come, do
so in anticipation of a renewal of our shared faith and passion to be
the people that God wants us to be.
Sincerely,
-Dan Nighswander, general secretary |
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