JohnH wrote: ↑Sun Jun 01, 2025 8:07 pmThat sounds like sheer torture come time for a communion counsel meeting.
Actually, the council meeting is very efficient. A group of 10-20 people goes into the council room, where the ordained are gathered. The bishop then asks" Are you at peace with God and your fellow men, are you upholding the standards of the church and do you desire communion?" this is in the form of one question. He then goes around the circle of standing folks who are all expected to say "yes". Each group only takes a few minutes. The whole Reiff's congregation can finish that part of the service in around 1/2 hr. Occasionally, there may be dissent in the group, which would result in someone voicing concerns, which would take longer. This is fairly rare as folks have learned that if you are in disagreement with the "system", it is best to just quietly leave for another church setting.
Being familiar with the social pressures, gossip potential, and lack of trust in these circles (WashCo and others around them), that seems like a pretty unlikely way to actually hear the honest hearts of the people if there is an actual issue... Is it common for such groups to take such a voice from a mixed group of members, rather than one by one, or is that a unique situation due to the size of the congregation?
Our church does council meeting the same way, even though we're a much smaller congregation than that, so I don't think it's necessary done this way because of the size of the group. It's an efficient way to run through everyone saying the expected line, while giving opportunity to say anything additional in a less public environment than the whole public gathering. It's really not a great way to get the honest thoughts of people, though.
We do have, every other year I think, what we call a "family council," where families meet with the ordained men for a 15-minute time slot. That's definitely more of an opportunity to hear what people are really thinking. After having witnessed a couple of them, I am learning that these councils apparently result in more people bringing up complaints & concerns than our regular councils, which I don't like. Topic for another thread though.
Biblical Anabaptist wrote: ↑Sun Jun 01, 2025 9:37 pmActually, the council meeting is very efficient. A group of 10-20 people goes into the council room, where the ordained are gathered. The bishop then asks" Are you at peace with God and your fellow men, are you upholding the standards of the church and do you desire communion?" this is in the form of one question. He then goes around the circle of standing folks who are all expected to say "yes". Each group only takes a few minutes. The whole Reiff's congregation can finish that part of the service in around 1/2 hr. Occasionally, there may be dissent in the group, which would result in someone voicing concerns, which would take longer. This is fairly rare as folks have learned that if you are in disagreement with the "system", it is best to just quietly leave for another church setting.
Being familiar with the social pressures, gossip potential, and lack of trust in these circles (WashCo and others around them), that seems like a pretty unlikely way to actually hear the honest hearts of the people if there is an actual issue... Is it common for such groups to take such a voice from a mixed group of members, rather than one by one, or is that a unique situation due to the size of the congregation?
Our church does council meeting the same way, even though we're a much smaller congregation than that, so I don't think it's necessary done this way because of the size of the group. It's an efficient way to run through everyone saying the expected line, while giving opportunity to say anything additional in a less public environment than the whole public gathering. It's really not a great way to get the honest thoughts of people, though.
We do have, every other year I think, what we call a "family council," where families meet with the ordained men for a 15-minute time slot. That's definitely more of an opportunity to hear what people are really thinking. After having witnessed a couple of them, I am learning that these councils apparently result in more people bringing up complaints & concerns than our regular councils, which I don't like. Topic for another thread though.
Ken wrote: ↑Mon Jun 02, 2025 12:27 pm
Anyone know what is the actual largest Mennonite church in North America of any flavor?
This thread made me curious. There must be some church out there that can claim the title of largest.
I believe this is First Mennonite Church of Berne, Indiana. According to Gameo they had 1,100 members in 2004. Probably a bit down from that now. First Mennonite was originally a General Conference Church. In 2016, it affiliated with LMC. Adding a church like this to LMC helps to paper over the decline that's happening in the original LMC congregations.
Ken wrote: ↑Mon Jun 02, 2025 12:27 pm
Anyone know what is the actual largest Mennonite church in North America of any flavor?
This thread made me curious. There must be some church out there that can claim the title of largest.
I believe this is First Mennonite Church of Berne, Indiana. According to Gameo they had 1,100 members in 2004. Probably a bit down from that now. First Mennonite was originally a General Conference Church. In 2016, it affiliated with LMC. Adding a church like this to LMC helps to paper over the decline that's happening in the original LMC congregations.
Ken wrote: ↑Mon Jun 02, 2025 12:27 pm
Anyone know what is the actual largest Mennonite church in North America of any flavor?
This thread made me curious. There must be some church out there that can claim the title of largest.
I think Maple City Chapel would be on the top 10; The Meeting House in Toronto would probably be the biggest, since it was hitting 5,000 - 10,000 weekly attendance.
There used to be a Holdeman church in Michigan that had over 600 members and attendance was well in excess of that with younger youth and children. Allegedly, getting through self expression for communion took 6 weeks. Eventually wisdom was seen in dividing it into smaller congregations, and people simply got assigned to one of the "new" congregations. There is still a shared school and shared nursing home up there.
