From the Church of the Brethren Leadership Team
During their meeting on March 18, 2024, the Church of the Brethren’s Leadership Team issued a clarification around their May 2020 statement related to On Earth Peace (www.onearthpeace.org) joining the Supportive Communities Network.
“To clear the way for the nurturing of renewed relationships being shaped by the development of new denominational agency covenants, the Leadership Team wishes to clarify that On Earth Peace did not violate the previous agency polity in becoming a member of the Supportive Communities Network,” said David Steele, Church of the Brethren general secretary, on behalf of the Leadership Team.
The Leadership Team’s previous May 2020 statement reasoned that On Earth Peace’s decision to join the Supportive Communities Network positioned the agency in opposition to Annual Conference’s current discernment about covenantal relationships for homosexual persons (as stated in the 1983 Church of the Brethren Statement “Human Sexuality from a Christian Perspective” www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1983-human-sexuality)––but also acknowledged that On Earth Peace’s programs related to human sexuality engage with that same 1983 statement’s call to “extend Christ-like comfort and grace to homosexual and bisexual persons.”
In the months and years following the May 2020 Leadership Team response, uncertainty has persisted across the denomination regarding the polity governing Annual Conference agencies––and what constraints this polity places on agency actions. The ongoing confusion has created ambiguity and tension, at times clouding and constraining common conversations across the Body of Christ.
In their clarification, the Leadership Team acknowledges the ongoing challenges in interpreting and implementing the 1983 Statement on human sexuality––but articulates that On Earth Peace is not in violation of polity, as the agency is carrying out its specialized ministry that is within the scope of Annual Conference directives and congruent with articulated values of the Church of the Brethren (as outlined in Chapter 2 of the Church of the Brethren Manual of Organization and Polity www.brethren.org/ac/ppg).
“We regret the pain and distress experienced over the past years, as well as the additional time and energy required to work through the confusion,” Steele stated, again on behalf of the Leadership Team. “We pray that this time and energy may become a strong foundation for those who choose to partner with On Earth Peace as they live and share the radical transformation and holistic peace of Jesus Christ in their neighborhoods.”
Serving as liaison between Annual Conference and the Church of the Brethren Inc., the Leadership Team––consisting of David Steele, general secretary; Madalyn Metzger, Annual Conference moderator; Dava Hensley, Annual Conference moderator-elect; David Shumate, Annual Conference secretary; Torin Eikler, Council of District Executives representative; and Rhonda Pittman Gingrich, Annual Conference director (ex-officio)––coordinates denominational visioning and serves as the executive committee for Annual Conference.
Included in the team’s responsibilities are interpreting Annual Conference decisions and denominational polity, delegating tasks from Annual Conference actions, and reviewing recommended changes to Annual Conference policies and guidelines.
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