(From left to right) Pastor Susan Hart, Koinonia Indian Mennonite Church, Okla.; Elder Margaret Behan, Koinonia Mennonite Church, Okla.; Dr. Richard Littlebear, Mont.; Lay Leader John Walksalong and Patty Walksalong, Lame Deer Mennonite Church, Mont.; Pastor Joe Walksalong Jr., Lame Deer Mennonite Church, Mont.; Iris de León-Hartshorn, MC USA associate executive director of Operations and Human Resources; Youth Pastor Teresa Martin, Koinonia Indian Mennonite Church, Okla.; Pastor Suzette Shreffler, White River Mennonite Church, Mont.; Dr. Randy Woodley, co-founder of Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice; Nancy Kauffmann, MC USA interim director of Church Safety; Edith Woodley, co-founder of Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice; Elder Wilma Redbird, Koinonia Indian Mennonite Church, Okla. and secretary for Native Mennonite Ministries. Not pictured: Pastor Scott Shreffler, White River Mennonite Church, Mont.
Ma’heo’o tséxhoháeméhotaétse hee’hahoného’eanȯhemétaenone. Tséne’étamé’tovótsese hee’hahotsea’eneametanéneo’o. – John 3:16 Tsistsistas Bible
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. – John 3:16 KJV
Representatives of Native Mennonite Ministries (NMM), an MC USA Indigenous assembly composed of three congregations in Montana and Oklahoma, recently gathered for their biannual business meeting in Billings, Montana, on April 26-27, 2024.
The three Indigenous churches were founded as Mennonite field missions and have endured and lasted for generations:
- Lame Deer Mennonite Church, Lame Deer, Montana, was established in 1908 and is 116 years old.
- White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church, Busby, Montana, was established in 1904 and is 120 years old.
- Koinonia Indian Mennonite Church, Clinton, Oklahoma, is the oldest Mennonite Indigenous Church in North America and was established in 1894. The congregation is celebrating 130 years of faith along with its fellow churches.
The group enjoyed a time of continued theological education in Indigenous religious culture and fellowship.
In organizing the NMM spring meeting, Rev. Susan Hart, MC USA Executive Board member, chair of NMM and pastor of Koinonia Indian Mennonite Church, said she was reminded of Psalms 107:1-3: “Give thanks to Maheo’o (God), for He is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of Maheo’o tell their story—those He redeemed from the hand of the foe, those He gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.”
“On behalf of NMM we truly appreciate MC USA’s support in ensuring that we had and will continue to have a forum for the Indigenous churches to discuss the importance of integrating our culture and our Anabaptist values and of walking the path led by Maheo’o,” said Hart.
“This year, we focused on providing safe spaces for our congregants and what it means to implement “Safe Church” into our policies. We looked at ways that we, as Anabaptists who strive to walk Jesus’ path, welcome newcomers, volunteers and teachers yet keep our churches safe from harm,” she added.
Cheyenne and Arapaho Elder, Margaret Behan, spoke about Indigenous faith and the 13 Grandmothers. Elder Behan is a well-known Indigenous artist and a member of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers, an alliance of 13 female elders from across the globe that work to uphold Indigenous peace and culture.
Nancy Kauffmann, MC USA interim director of Church Safety, and Teresa Martin, youth minister for Koinonia Indian Mennonite Church, introduced MC USA’s Safe Church ministry practices and resources.
Dr. Richard Littlebear, an accomplished author, public speaker and noted authority on the Cheyenne language, discussed his experience and stressed the importance of the “Survival of Language and Tradition.” Dr. Littlebear is also the former president of Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer, Montana.
Dr. Randy Woodley, an author, speaker and former distinguished professor at Portland Seminary, discussed his early hermeneutic ideals and efforts of integrating Indigenous values and traditional Western-viewed theology. Dr. Woodley presented information and data from his academic studies on “Christian Theology and Indigenous Thinking.”
Iris de León-Hartshorn, MC USA associate executive director of Operations and Human Resources and MC USA staff liaison to NMM, attended the meeting to support NMM in its endeavors to create a welcoming space for MC USA Indigenous Mennonite churches.
“NMM would like to thank MC USA, as well as other Anabaptist organizations and individuals who contributed to the success of the NMM spring event,” said Hart.
NMM is a recognized racial/ethnic constituency group of MC USA.
Mennonite Church USA is an Anabaptist Christian denomination, founded in 2002 by the merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church. Members of this historic peace church seek to follow Jesus by rejecting violence and resisting injustice. MC USA’s Renewed Commitments state the following shared commitments among its diverse body of believers: to follow Jesus, witness to God’s peace and experience the transformation of the Holy Spirit. Mennoniteusa.org