Group questions Elkhart, Ind., building project
by Anna GroffPrint Article Email to a Friend
A group of Mennonite Church USA members are protesting the Mennonite Church USA Elkhart, Ind., building project and how this project may affect the denomination's future. Spark Renewal is the group's name, and their Web site is www.sparkrenewal.org.
"Because of the depth of unresolved questions about the wisdom of building a large new office building in Elkhart at this time," says the group's mission on the Web site, "we are asking Mennonite Church USA to put the planned building project on temporary hold, not break ground on June 2010 as planned and initiate a thorough review of the process, including a broad invitation for public comment and suggestion of alternatives."
Sarah Thompson and Nekeisha Alexis-Baker, both of Elkhart, Ind., described the group's concerns on May 4.
"The theological work done around the building thus far has been primarily of financial and environmental stewardship," said Alexis-Baker. "There are missiological and practical issues too."
Spark Renewals concerns include:
What is missional about the building? How do church members feel about the building as an identity piece? How do young adults feel about the building and its location? How does the building affect the denomination’s anti-racism goal? How does the building affect Elkhart? How have the plans changed, or not changed, due to the economic recession?
"This group is really hoping that people will take these concerns seriously and not see it as a done deal," said Alexis-Baker.
"It appears that this building project is not supportive of the stated priorities of Mennonite Church USA," said Karissa Ortman Loewen on May 10.
Spark Renewal started a public Web site that includes a space for people to "register questions, concerns and be counted."
"Though I am involved in many other Christian anti-racism and global connection activities," Thompson wrote in an email on May 10, "I continue to participate with this group because our activism grows out of our yearning for renewal and our commitment to the church."
Leanne Farmwald, director of communication for Mennonite Church USA, provided the following statement:
"The new office building is neither the center of the church nor a center of mission. It is a logistical base to support the many congregations and individuals engaged in the work of Mennonite Church USA around the nation and world.
We are aware that there are questions about the building: it's location in Elkhart, the discernment process, whether it addresses the needs of future generations. The project has been in process for six years. All of these questions were considered at various points along the way by Mennonite Church USA Executive Board and the Mennonite Mission Network board. Though we weren't able to connect with everyone we would have liked to, discussions were informed by opinions gathered from a wide variety of individuals across the church. The decision to move ahead with a building in Elkhart was not because this is a perfect solution to the many issues that Mennonite Church USA needs to address. It was a decision made in good faith given the goals, information and resources available at the time.
We are grateful for both the support and the questions that have come from many individuals from across the church. Those questions helped shape the final building design. We hope that they will also help shape how church wide staff support the many congregations and individuals who are working to join what God is doing, both locally and globally.
There is detailed information about the campaign, the building and the process at www.mennoniteusa.org/joiningtogether."
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Unresolved questions? From Ms. Farmwald's statement and the Joining Together campaign website's FAQ, it seems that many of Spark Renewal's questions have been answered. They may not like the answers, but that doesn't mean they are "unresolved" questions. I, for one, would rather have this process led by the leaders that MC USA congregations have chosen to lead them (through the Delegate Assembly) than by a group of self-selected individuals with “concerns.” Do we really want to be led by the “tyranny of the loudest” or the “tyranny of the most web-savvy” rather than by the people who have agreed to take on the (often thankless) task of leading our denomination? I am not a young adult, but as an under-45 member of a MC USA congregation (Corvallis Mennonite Fellowship) on the geographic margins (Oregon) with neither paid staff nor a building that we own, I am quite content to have the MMN/MC USA building located in the geographic center of the MC USA. It's actually quite sensible. I might have been able to support SR's effort if they presented a clear, workable, alternative proposal rather than just a big "STOP" sign. Stopping a six-year process may be an ego boost for the loyal dissenters, but it doesn't do anything to address the issues that this building campaign was set up to address. I remember hearing that the younger generation was going to have a greater trust of leadership than the Baby Boomers did. So much for that theory.
Sorry about the lack of paragraphs. They were there when I wrote it, but not upon submission. I guess I won't be very tyrannical... Dave