[amc] letter submitted to the MWR concerning delegate sessions
- From: Ruth Anne Abraham <abraham.rad@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Austin Mennonite Church <amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Julia Beyeler <Beyeler@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:55:45 -0500
The following letter was sent to the Mennonite Weekly review some time ago.
Thought you might be interested.
Ruth Anne Abraham
2106 Point Bluff DR
Austin, TX 78746
July 25, 2009
Mennonite Weekly Review
Mennonite USA 2009 had many highlights – great organization, exciting
speakers, challenging seminars. Unfortunately, the delegate sessions seemed
to waste much of the considerable time and talents of the delegates. An
opportunity for true dialogue was impeded by a program which tightly
orchestrated both table discussions and sharing with the entire delegate
assembly. Time slots for sharing with the assembly were restricted to one
minute and sometimes 30 seconds. The time mismanagement reached its climax
on Saturday afternoon when many delegates wanted to share their views on the
resolution concerning human sexuality. (Two original resolutions, one
promoting discipline and the other acceptance, had been submitted to the
resolutions committee. The committee then “substituted” its own “Resolution
on following Christ and growing together ...even in conflict”, which merged
the two original resolutions.) So little time was allotted for discussion
that only about one-third of the persons standing in line to speak had a
chance to say anything. The time to adjourn was fast approaching, so the
delegates were asked to vote to cut off discussion and vote on the
resolution, which they did. Those delegates still waiting in line had
bewildered looks on their faces as they slowly drifted back to their seats.
More time mismanagement was evident when the executive board then went 30
minutes over the scheduled time for adjournment with its congratulations of
its old and new officers. This demonstrated unbelievable disrespect for the
“grass-roots” delegates.
During the sessions, many delegates expressed a wish for less top-down
communication and more grass-roots input. This theme popped up again and
again in various contexts. A true moment of irony was the passing of the
“following Christ” resolution, which called for “ongoing dialogue”. This
controversial resolution was an opportunity for “agreeing and disagreeing in
love”. The delegate session schedule suppressed the very dialogue for which
the resolution called. What message does this lack of discussion send?
How do we as a community intend to practice “following Christ and growing
together even in conflict”?
Ruth Anne Abraham
(512) 328-3532
2106 Point Bluff Dr
Austin TX, 78746
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