Aviva Directory » Faith & Spirituality » World Religions » Abrahamic Religions » Christianity » Church Divisions » Anabaptist » Mennonite » Mennonite Church USA

The Mennonite groups that made the most concerted effort to accommodate to the culture, while affirming their Mennonite heritage, became the largest Mennonite bodies. The Mennonite Church USA came about as a result of the 2002 merger of these two groups: The Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church, but its roots are in the Radical Reformation of the 16th century, and is the major Mennonite body. At the time of the merger, the hope was that this would be an organization that could unite all Mennonites. But not all Mennonites, even within these two bodies, favored the merger. Because of their insistence on freedom from the traditional Mennonite restrictions on attire and technology, the Mennonite Church USA was considered liberal by many other Mennonite bodies, but its theological positions still reflect the Radical Reformation, believing in the baptism of believers, nonresistance rather than retaliation as one’s personal response to mistreatment, and the church as a non-hierarchical community. In keeping with their commitment to pacifism, the Convention take a pro-life stance, and also opposes capital punishment. However, in recent years there has been a decline in its membership. Several conservative congregations have left the body, largely due to its liberal position on same-sex marriage and LGBT members in ministry. Membership is strongest in Pennsylvania and the Midwestern United States. The Mennonite Church USA maintains four church-wide ministry agencies: Mennonite Mission Network, Mennonite Education Agency, MennoMedia, and Everence.

 

 

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