Outgoing Executive Board members (left to right) Michelle Dula, Jim Caskey, Leslie Francisco, III, and Zenobia Sowell-Bianchi. (Photo by Camille Dager on April 15, 2023.)
The Mennonite Church USA Executive Board thanked outgoing Moderator Linda Dibble and four outgoing Executive Board members for their service at an abbreviated meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 3, 2023. They also prepared for the upcoming Delegate Assembly on July 7-8.
Dibble, who served as moderator (2021-2023) and moderator-elect (2019-2021), will continue to serve on the Executive Board as past moderator for another term. Iris de León-Hartshorn presented her with a gift on behalf of the Executive Board and staff.
Dibble, in turn, thanked outgoing Executive Board members Jim Caskey, Goshen, Indiana; Michelle Dula, Lancaster, Pennsylvania (not present); Leslie Francisco, III, Harrisonburg, Virginia; and Zenobia Sowell-Bianchi, Chicago, Illinois, who all served two consecutive four-year terms.
“We’re grateful because we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us,” said Thomas Dunn, Executive Board member and pastor of Crown Hill Mennonite Church, in a prayer of blessing and thanksgiving for the four. “We’re grateful for the foundation they laid, and we pray that we can continue to build on that and be faithful to [God] in our service.”
The Executive Board thanked the Resolutions Committee members for their work during the past two years in a statement read by Linda Dibble and affirmed by the Executive Board. The 2021-2023 Resolutions Committee members are Jon Carlson, chair; Sarah Bixler; John Goshow; Bonita Croyle; and Rosetta Landis. The statement said:
“The Resolutions Committee of Mennonite Church USA has diligently served the denomination with dedication and expertise. Their discernment and guidance have enriched our denomination deliberations and process. The Executive Board of MC USA expresses heartfelt gratitude to the Resolutions Committee, and we recognize and affirm their invaluable contributions in shaping our identity, witness, and mission.”
Dibble also expressed appreciation for her fellow 2021-2023 Executive Committee members: Executive Board members Carlson, Caskey, Dula and Margie Mejia-Caraballo.
In other business
Executive Director Glen Guyton provided updates on the MennoCon23 convention and reported on the work of the Joint Executive Committee. De Leon-Hartshorn reviewed the agenda for the upcoming Delegate Assembly.
The next Executive Board meeting will be Oct. 18-20, 2023, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Mennonite Church USA is the largest Mennonite denomination in the United States with 16 conferences, approximately 517 congregations and almost 52,000 members. An Anabaptist Christian denomination, MC USA is part of Mennonite World Conference, a global faith family that includes churches in 59 countries. It has offices in Elkhart, Indiana, and Newton, Kansas. mennoniteUSA.org
Written by MC USA staff.