Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference Initiates Repentance and Reparations

GOSHEN, Indiana, May 15, 2024 – In March 2023, the Ministry Credentialing Team (MCT) of Indiana-Michgan Mennonite Conference (IMMC) began a process of listening to those who had harmful experiences around being credentialed in the past. A letter was sent out and published inviting those who had experienced harm to contact a representative of the MCT, those individuals were given a chance to tell their stories, and reparations were offered to each.

One of those persons was Karl Shelly, a pastor at Assembly Mennonite Church (Goshen, IN), who shared about the experience of his credential review in 2014. Due to the public nature of this process, and with Karl’s blessing, the MCT has sent a letter of apology to Karl and to Assembly Mennonite Church for the harm that had been done.

This letter of apology was part of the reparations offered and gracefully received by Karl. The letter, signed by the entire MCT, includes this sincere apology: “We are sorry for the ways that we harmed Karl. Our actions worked to shame him and his congregation, causing and adding pain to Karl and to those in his congregation already hurting.”

While actions of the past cannot be undone, the work of repair has provided opportunities for grace, love and peace (three attributes noted in IMMC’s mission statement) to be practiced and embodied by the MCT and the individuals who came forward to share their stories. The Missional Leadership Team (the board of IMMC) is grateful to the MCT for their diligent work and affirms their efforts to seek repair.

Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference is an area conference of Mennonite Church USA made up of 36 congregations in the states of Indiana and Michigan.