Mennonite Central Committee has approved the possibility of exceptions to its lifestyle expectations for MCC personnel. At a joint annual meeting of the MCC Canada and U.S. boards last weekend in Abbotsford, B.C., they upheld the policy that requires sexual celibacy for any person who is not in a heterosexual marriage. But Canadian board chair Peggy Snyder says the new framework approved at the meeting includes a clause where exceptions can be made, for example, for members of the LGBTQ community.

MCC Canada board chair Peggy Snyder"There is now some space to apply some exceptions to this particular policy. The exceptions have not yet been worked out between MCC Canada and MCC U.S. But there is a little bit of space that recognizes some of the differences across the country and across the legal, cultural, social and theological environments across the country and between Canada and the U.S. that gives us an exceptions clause that can be applied."

Snyder says no timeline has been set as to when the details will be worked out. She notes the boards did specify that in any case where an exception is made, the matter will have to be approved by both the Canadian and U.S. national executive directors.

"Any exceptions that come to MCC from our Code of Conduct, would need approval from both executive directors. And like I said, we still haven't figured out how to apply those exceptions."

MCC also notes exceptions will not be granted to leadership personnel, workers with significant interaction with MCC's constituency and workers in international assignments.

Snyder says MCC does receive applications from people in the LGBTQ community.

"We have a variety of people who apply for positions. Just as we have LGBTQ in our faith communities, we also have LGBTQ who would apply for these positions. And remember that we're not rejecting people who are of LGBTQ orientation, it's the lifestyle expectation that applies."

Snyder hopes the MCC constituency will be understanding of this change, noting the organization has been and will continue to be made up of a wide cross-section of people.

"We have to remember that MCC, for 100 years, has been doing good work in relief and development around the world in the most needy and the most desperate of places. And that work has gone on for 100 years and we expect it will continue for the next 100 years, hopefully. "

Here is the statement issued by MCC:

On March 16–17, 2018, the boards of MCC Canada and MCC U.S. held their annual joint meeting in Abbotsford, B.C. Part of the agenda was to review the human resources (HR) framework, one of eight frameworks authorized and approved by the two boards to govern their shared work of relief, development and peace in the name of Christ.

The frameworks are reviewed regularly on a four-year cycle, and this meeting was the culmination of a two-year process around the HR framework, which included input from MCC staff and Anabaptist church leaders in Canada and the U.S. The boards of all provincial and regional MCC offices also processed the framework.

 At the close of the day, the boards approved an updated framework to be implemented in coming months, as well as a code of conduct outlining the faith, personal and professional conduct expectations of personnel and board members.

Along with the faith qualifications and professional standards, MCC personnel and board members are expected to respect and abide by an understanding of sexual intimacy as only within marriage between one man and one woman, among other aspects of personal conduct.

The framework also includes a clause whereby exceptions may be made. The process to apply exceptions is not fully determined, but exceptions must be approved by the two national executive directors, who are responsible to their respective boards. Exceptions will not be granted to leadership personnel, workers with significant interaction with MCC’s constituency and service workers in international assignments.

As is true within the Anabaptist denominations that own and support MCC, this MCC discussion has been long and challenging, and it will continue. Board chairs Peggy Snyder and Ann Graber Hershberger expressed confidence that this framework allows MCC to recognize the various contextual differences in Canada and the U.S. and to continue to focus on its ministry.