Council approves church closure, amends Constitution
Election results
Vice-moderator
1 vacancy
Board of Church Ministries
David Kruse (MacGregor EMC)
3 vacancies
Board of Leadership and Outreach
Abe Berg (Straffordville EMC)
Cameron McKenzie (Fort Garry EMC)
Glenn Loewen (Portage Evangelical Church)
Board of Missions
Gord Utz (Portage Evangelical Church)
1 vacancy
Board of Trustees
Frank Wall (Vanderhoof Christian Fellowship)
Nominating Committee
Sebastian Borda (Steinbach EFC)
Darren Plett (Pleasant Valley EMC)
Anna Bueckert (Bow Island EMC)
3 vacancies
To assist with filling listed vacancies, please contact the EMC office at 204-326-6401 or info@emconference.ca.
On June 3, 2023, Conference Council delegates gathered at Rosenort (Man.) EMC and online on Zoom to manage the business of the EMC. This included approving the closure of Good News Community Church in Steinbach, Man. and approving amendments to the EMC Constitution concerning “The Conference Ministerial” (under Section C. IV.) and “Commissioning, Credentialing and Ordination of Church Leaders” (Section B. III. 3.).
Opening devotional
Ward Parkinson, lead pastor of Rosenort EMC, said we don’t see the early church leaders “mapping out a five-year plan.” When Jesus had opportunity to declare his mission statement, he went to Isaiah 61:1–3. “The Messiah … has now equipped us with that same spirit to be his hands and his feet,” he said, and invited leaders to wrestle with how to implement Jesus’ mission within their churches.
General Board
Moderator Abe Bergen presented the motion to approve closure of Good News Community Church in Steinbach, which carried. While the church has officially closed, “I believe that each one would say that the GNCC chapter in their lives will forever be a part of who they have become,” reads part of a letter from Curtis Reimer on behalf of the church.
Bergen then expressed gratitude to retiring Executive Director Tim Dyck that “in spite of planning to be done a year ago … he joyfully and humbly continued to serve us” because of the turnover in personnel.
Asking “what do I want to say as parting words?” Dyck expressed that “EMC is special place; you churches are special people, and I have lived and breathed in that environment of that specialness for the last 16 years.” He appreciates the growing diversity of EMC, saying “keep it going.”
Vice-moderator Darren Plett then provided a report on the work of the Personnel Committee. He listed personnel changes: Mo Friesen (Director, Next Generation) and Andy Woodworth (Conference Pastor) both began in January 2023. He introduced Emery Plett, EMC’s Executive Director set to begin in mid-July 2023, saying to Emery, “You don’t get to sit at the back much longer.” He also introduced George Dumitrascu (Director of Global Outreach) who was set to begin in August 2023, but has since resigned (see announcement on p. 5). Additional new staff are Betty Ramones (Church Leadership Assistant; just begun earlier that week) and Beth Reimer (Office Bookkeeper; set to begin in the next week or two).
Giving an update on an employee engagement survey initiated by the Board of Trustees, Tim Dyck said, overall, staff are “satisfied and engaged.” He expressed gratitude to Marilyn Funk on the Personnel Committee for her work in creating the summary of the results.
Abe Bergen presented one amendment to the proposed Constitution changes (which were moved and seconded at the Conference Council meeting on November 26, 2022), to add the words “setting apart” to the introductory paragraph. The amended motion carried.
Board of Trustees
Vice-chair of the Board of Trustees Andrew Kampen gave some further information on the employee engagement survey which encompassed national office staff, church planters and EMC administered missionaries. While the results are positive, the BOT will be “analyzing the results to look at areas of improvement,” Kampen said. He also summarized the EMC audited financial statements from 2022.
National Youth Committee
Mo Friesen introduced a video from the first planners of Abundant Springs, EMC’s youth gathering, which is now celebrating 40 years. While getting buy-in for the first event was a challenge, the May 19–22, 2023, event gathered together over 600 people (of which over 450 were students).
Board of Church Ministries
Sarah Barkman, board chair, thanked the National Youth Committee for their “exemplary servant leadership” both during Abundant Springs and in the planning process.
Board member David Kruse, who also serves on the Archives Committee, walked delegates through the process to access photos on the Mennonite Archival Information Database.
Chair of the Education Committee Mike Doerksen said the committee’s current major project is book on interpreting Scripture which they hope will be released at EMC Festival in 2024.
Board of Missions
Board chair Phil Hamm is grateful to Ruth Block in the EMC office and to Rolf Kruse who served as interim Director of Global Mission. Calvin Tiessen, he reported, was in attendance at Abundant Springs talking to youth and will soon be submitting a report on recruiting in the EMC.
Delegates also heard from Kyla Plett, who serves in northern Manitoba (see a summary of her report on p. 33), and from workers involved in people care in Central Asia.
Church Planting Task Force
Chair Glenn Plett highlighted two objectives of the CPTF. The first is to “increase promotion and recruitment for new church planters, including internship, bi-vocational and full-time opportunities.” The second objective is to enhance support for current church planters.
Director Gerald Reimer introduced the poll results as to where EMC delegates see the greatest need for church planting in Canada (see sidebar). He highlighted several church plants that are in the process of adjusting to changing needs of their communities.
Board of Leadership and Outreach
The BLO is working on a Pastoral Ethics Covenant as a resource for churches, said BLO chair Cameron McKenzie. In addition, a Ministerial Misconduct Policy has been adopted and will be incorporated into an updated Minister’s Manual.
Closing
After opportunity for questions from delegates, the meeting was adjourned.
