Virginia Mennonite Conference

Last updated
Virginia Mennonite Conference
VMClogo.png
MottoAgent of God's Call
Established1835 (first meeting)
Affiliation Mennonite Church USA
Location,
VA
,
USA
Website virginiaconference.org

Virginia Mennonite Conference is a body of Mennonite churches in the south-Atlantic region of the United States, consisting of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky and the city of Washington, D.C. There are 60 congregations in the Conference, and a number of congregations in formation without full membership status. As one of the regional Conferences of Mennonite Church USA, the congregations belong to nine Districts: Calvary, Central, Eastern (VA), Harrisonburg, Northern, Potomac, Southern, and Tennessee/Carolina/Kentucky.

Contents

History

The first meeting at which minutes were taken and preserved, of what would be later be incorporated as Virginia Mennonite Conference, took place in 1835 at Weavers Mennonite Church, near Harrisonburg, Virginia. It is thought that perhaps Virginia Mennonites met in even earlier gatherings. [1]

In 1955, Pilgrim Mennonite Church of Amelia, Virginia, withdrew from Conference and helped begin what are known as the Nationwide Fellowship Churches. See Conservative Mennonites. Later, the Southeastern Mennonite Conference officially began their withdrawal from Virginia Mennonite Conference in June 1972.

Organization and commissions

Virginia Mennonite Conference is overseen by Conference Council, [2] an appointed group that makes larger decisions about the work of the Conference, appoints oversight leaders for the different districts and commissions, and through the Faith & Life Commission, credentials ministers. Congregations appoint delegates to represent them at two meetings a years to discern issues and vote on resolutions.

Within the Conference structure are two Commissions that work on specific foci. The Congregational Life Commission "provides vision for new expressions of Anabaptism, provides the means for congregations, conference-related programs and institutions to communicate and network their ministries, and provides educational resources for congregations to nurture the spiritual formation of their members throughout the life cycle," [3] according to a list of Commission duties.

The Faith and Life Commission strives to "provide leadership for Conference in spiritual, doctrinal, and faith and life issues, be a forum for interchanging concerns relating to congregational life and leadership, attend to leadership needs of congregations, promote unity of faith and practice, issue ministry credentials, and provide professional development, fellowship and inspiration for pastors," [4] according to its list of duties.

Conference commissions and ministries

[5]

Controversy

Virginia Mennonite Conference was in the center of controversy in 2016 when it suspended a pastor in one of its member churches for performing a wedding ceremony between two women. Pastor Isaac Villegas from Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship married the women in May 2016 with the approval of his congregation, and his ministerial license was quickly suspended by VMC with a charge of pastoral misconduct. This decision acted against a church-wide forbearance resolution passed in 2015 by Mennonite Church USA, the denominational body that oversees Virginia Mennonite Conference. Virginia Mennonite's actions were covered in national news outlets, [6] and numerous commentaries [7] and editorials [8] were published in national and Mennonite media sources.

Conference endorsed ministries

[9]

Newsletter

Virginia Mennonite Conference publishes a monthly newsletter Connections in conjunction with Virginia Mennonite Missions.

Related Research Articles

The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces liturgical worship, holiness, and evangelical elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Brethren</span> Anabaptist denomination in the United States, descended from the Schwarzenau Brethren.

The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germany during the Radical Pietist revival. The denomination holds the New Testament as its only creed. Historically, the church has taken a strong stance for nonresistance or Christian pacifism—it is one of the three historic peace churches, alongside the Mennonites and Quakers. Distinctive practices include believer's baptism by forward trine immersion; a threefold love feast consisting of feet washing, a fellowship meal, and communion; anointing for healing; and the holy kiss. Its headquarters are in Elgin, Illinois, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Reformed Church</span> Christian church organisation in the United Kingdom

The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it had approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Church of Christ</span> Protestant Christian denomination

The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran traditions, and with approximately 4,700 churches and 745,230 members. The UCC is a historical continuation of the General Council of Congregational Christian churches founded under the influence of New England Pilgrims, as well as Puritans. Moreover, it also subsumed the third largest Calvinist group in the country, the German Reformed. Notably, its modern members' theological and socio-political stances are often very different from those of its predecessors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooperative Baptist Fellowship</span> Baptist Christian denomination in the United States

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) is a Baptist Christian denomination in the United States. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Decatur, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missionary Church</span>

The Missionary Church is an evangelical Christian denomination of Anabaptist origins with Wesleyan and Pietist influences.

The Rosedale Network of Churches is a Christian body of Mennonite churches in the Anabaptist tradition. Rosedale Network of Churches was originally formed in 1910 by a group of Amish Mennonites to promote unity while preserving autonomy of the local congregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mennonite Church Canada</span> Conference of Mennonites in Canada

Mennonite Church Canada is a Mennonite denomination in Canada, with head offices in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is a member of the Mennonite World Conference and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mennonite Church USA</span> American Anabaptist Christian denomination

The Mennonite Church USA is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the United States. Although the organization is a recent 2002 merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church, the body has roots in the Radical Reformation of the 16th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mainline Protestant</span> Older, more establishment Protestant denominations

The mainline Protestant churches are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States and in some cases Protestant denominations in Canada largely of the theologically liberal or theologically progressive persuasion that contrast in history and practice with the largely theologically conservative Evangelical, Fundamentalist, Charismatic, Confessional, Confessing Movement, historically Black church, and Global South Protestant denominations and congregations. Some make a distinction between "mainline" and "oldline", with the former referring only to denominational ties and the latter referring to church lineage, prestige and influence. However, this distinction has largely been lost to history and the terms are now nearly synonymous.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada is a national evangelical alliance, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Its affiliates comprise 43 evangelical Christian denominations, 66 Christian organizations, 38 educational institutions, and 600 local church congregations in Canada. It claims to represent nearly 2 million Christians. The head office is in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario. Its president is Bruce J. Clemenger.

Amish Mennonites came into existence through reform movements among North American Amish mainly between 1862 and 1878. These Amish moved away from the old Amish traditions and drew near to the Mennonites, becoming Mennonites of Amish origin. Over the decades, most Amish Mennonites groups removed the word "Amish" from the name of their congregations or merged with Mennonite groups.

The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC) is an association of about 400 churches providing fellowship for and services to churches from the Congregational tradition. The Association maintains its national office in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The body was founded in 1955 by former clergy and laypeople of the Congregational Christian Churches in response to that denomination's pending merger with the Evangelical and Reformed Church to form the United Church of Christ in 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franconia Mennonite Conference</span>

Franconia Mennonite Conference was a conference of Mennonite Church USA based in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, with 45 congregations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont, New York and California and 19 conference related ministries. In February 2020, Franconia Mennonite Conference merged with Eastern District Conference to become Mosaic Mennonite Conference. It is a member of Mennonite World Conference.

The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference is a Congregationalist denomination of Protestant Christianity. It is based in the United States.

The Fellowship of Evangelical Churches (FEC) is an evangelical body of Christians with an Amish Mennonite heritage that is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. It contains 60 churches located in Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations.

Emma Elizabeth Richards was the first Mennonite woman to be ordained as a pastor of a Mennonite congregation.

Myron Augsburger is an American Mennonite pastor, professor, theologian, and author. He is the former president of both Eastern Mennonite College and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

References

  1. "Virginia Mennonite Conference". virginiaconference.org. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  2. "Conference Council". virginiaconference.org. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  3. "Congregational Life Commission". virginiaconference.org. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  4. "Faith and Life Commission". virginiaconference.org. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  5. "Ministries". virginiaconference.org. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  6. Preheim, Rich (June 9, 2016). "Mennonite Church Coming Apart of Sexuality Issues". Religion News Service.
  7. Florian, Meghan (May 27, 2016). "Mennonite Pastor Is Suspended". Religion News Service.
  8. Schomburg, Scott (June 9, 2016). "A Movement for LGBT Inclusion in the Mennonite Church". Religion Dispatches.
  9. "Conference Endorsed Ministries". virginiaconference.org. Retrieved 2 September 2016.