Task force wants to hear from you
At Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) 2016 the delegate body affirmed an Ohio Conference “Statement on Remaining with MC USA.” One key element of this statement was that Ohio Conference would “remain a part of MC USA in order to articulate to the denomination our perceptions of differences in doctrine and practice.”
The Ohio Conference Leadership Team has seated a task force of three people, Erin Dye, Darrin Snyder Belousek and Bill Seymour, to take the lead in this endeavor. Erin, Darrin and Bill will work closely with the Leadership Team in this work, but their task is to listen to Ohio Conference congregations to discern these “differences in doctrine and practice” and find avenues in which to articulate them to MC USA as well as reporting to congregations.
The task force hopes to discern the right questions to ask of the right people and to relay edifying information from their findings to all of Ohio Conference. This team is a work in progress and will look to the next ACA for how delegates would like to proceed with commissioning this task force.
Erin, Darrin and Bill have already started their work, and they would like to hear from you and work with you. These members hope the existence of the task force will affirm congregations that their concerns or questions are being heard and that these conversations can bring positivity to our forward journey with MC USA. If you and/or your congregation have a specific discussion you would like to see started with MC USA or a member organization, please get in touch with this task force to begin the process of giving and receiving counsel from MC USA.
About the task force members:
Erin Dye, a member of Oak Grove Mennonite Church in West Liberty, is a chaplain at Adriel in West Liberty.
Darrin Snyder Belousek, a member of Salem Mennonite Church in Elida, teaches philosophy and religion at Ohio Northern University and Bluffton University. He is active in ecumenical relations, currently serving as executive director of Bridgefolk.
Bill Seymour is pastor of Orrville Mennonite Church. He is a past member of the Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team.
Contact Information:
Erin Dye — Erin.Dye@adriel.org
Darrin Snyder Belousek — darrin.w.snyderbelousek@gmail.com
Bill Seymour — omcbill@gmail.com