Comments on: Mennonite Conventions: What Happened to Stewardship?

By: Anonymity and Internet communities » Young Anabaptist Radicals

Anonymity and Internet communities » Young Anabaptist Radicals — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 20:17:53 +0000

[…] That being said, I’ve also found myself wanting to know more about my fellow writers here on YAR, beyond the regular posts on ethics/theology/ecclesiology. This happened briefly during the initial 6-person face-to-face YAR meetings in Goshen that sparked this group, and I assume also during the meeting in San Jose a few days ago. But as someone who wasn’t able to attend convention (mostly because of the outrageous prices), I still feel a bit disconnected from most of the other writers on this blog (although I recognize that I do personally know many of you). […]

By: j alan meyer

j alan meyer — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 19:30:36 +0000

While I agree with what you’re saying, Peter, my problem is more along the lines of the amount of money spent on Convention, not simply the locations chosen. I think there’s a lot of value in forcing the Goshen/Lancaster/Harrisonburg Mennos to go be hosted by the groups of Mennos “on the fringes” geographically. And I understand that simply the amount of people attending necessitates a large meeting place, but does that necessitate a large convention center? I may be mistaken, but wasn’t Wichita 95 a much lower-cost convention, partially because it wasn’t held in a convention center? I could be wrong about that, but I think MC-USA could be much more creative about locations to meet that could lower the costs of registration for everyone, and the general materialism of the church — and Eric eating his sushi. But then again, I like sushi too. I was just really turned off after the huge spend-a-thons of Orlando 97 and Opryland 01.

By: Lora

Lora — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 16:09:31 +0000

This question seems to come up every convention year. The main problem is that, like Eric said, it’s an enormous amount of people. Charlotte had more than 8,500 attendees. As I understand it, not even most university campuses have the capacity to deal with so many people; and I think that there’s somehow a link between occupying that many hotel rooms and getting space for meetings (either for free or at a reduced cost).

My concern about planning a convention in an area densely populated by Mennonites is that some of the most interesting and energizing work is being done by churches who don’t fit into the typical Mennonite mold, and those churches are often found in areas where most of us don’t spend much time — large cities, economically depressed neighborhoods, high conflict zones, etc. Having conventions in large cities is one way (albeit a very small one) of helping the church to step out of its comfort zones and see the work of God (and its own mission) in a new way.

By: eric

eric — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 07:17:02 +0000

I’ve often felt similarly, and I think there probably are changes that could be made to the convention model - though I’m not of the mind that frugality is always equal to stewardship. When you look at the numbers, though, it becomes much harder to imagine Goshen hosting such a large event. The youth alone have an attendance around 4,000 here in San Jose, with an additional 2,000 or so adults. That’s with the attendance at roughly two-thirds this year as compared to most years. We’re talking 6,000 to 9,000 people - maybe more if it were closer to a Menno center - for an entire week.

I don’t know any space in Goshen that can support a youth worship service that size, let alone any joint events - then add in exhibits. And how exactly would you do food? Even the large number of local Mennonites would be hard pressed to supply anywhere near the amount of food needed, and the local catering is certainly not up to the task. You could spread it out, but there’s no public transportation, and you’re adding a lot of local driving. You haven’t cut out all the flights (maybe some), but you’ve added a lot of driving (to and around) which might be even less efficient. Then where do you park those cars?

If you see the size effect we have had here, dominating the streets of a major city, it’s pretty hard to imagine Goshen hosting anything like this.

As for staying closer to Menno centers than California: that has been the trend consistently until this year. My understanding is that the west coast Mennos decided it was about time someone else do the traveling, which I can understand.

I have mixed feelings about convention on various levels, but I wouldn’t want to be the one planning an event that size. There’s a lot to think about and plan for.

Anyway, who doesn’t like an excuse now and then to stay in a hotel? Or travel out west? Make a trip of it - there’s some culture worth seeing and beautiful places to hike (and good Sushi).

(In terms of the recreation, this year has been much more reasonable - while still entertaining - than the huge inflatable games and climbing walls of my memory. Is that a step in the right direction?)

By: JUnrau

JUnrau — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:03:02 +0000

The thing about doing these things all the time in Mennopoli is that they can turn into local conferences, with guests. Probably not that good an idea for one area to dominate constantly, especially if the church is trying to deal with people who don’t like playing the Mennonite game and all that.

By: Skylark

Skylark — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:18:04 +0000

It’s worth noting that in two years, the convention will be in Columbus, Ohio. I know at least one Mennonite congregation in downtown Columbus, and it’s only an hour and a half drive from where I live in Mennoville. OK, it’s not called Mennoville, but you get the idea.

When I heard it was going to be so close, I went, “Yipee!” and started mentally cataloguing all the friends I have in Columbus who might let me stay with them at no charge during the conference. They’ve put me up during ethnic festivals and holiday weekends, so a whole week isn’t a whole lot more.

By: paco

paco — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:54:37 +0000

I also feel uncomfortable whenever I hear of Christians (of any kind) renting out huge convention centers and staying in hotels, (often, pretty expensive ones.) That said, I know absolutely nothing about Mennonite Conventions or the one happening right now in San Jose.