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Covenant of the Atlanta Mennonite
Fellowship
In the midst of a broken world we acknowledge our need for
refuge through this Fellowship, especially through sharing hospitality with each
other and the broader world. We covenant with each other and with God to be
accountable for the nurture and care of these four foundational relationships:
Relationship with God
We desire to deepen our relationship with God. Worship is a time for the community of faith to gather to remember and celebrate God's actions on our behalf, and to discern God's will for our lives corporately and individually. We commit to follow the teachings and way of Jesus the Messiah and seek to be open to the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We understand our community to be a vital part of the universal church which is the present body of the Christ in the world..
Relationship with the Fellowship
Recognizing that we are poor in spirit, we desire to be part of a caring community that shares the theological and ethical emphases of Anabaptism as guided by the Bible and the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective. To make this a freeing and nurturing space for all, we struggle to be open and sensitive in worship through our language, use of images and interactions with each other. We are committed to calling out and developing our gifts and abilities as we work to further our community's ministry and maintain its vision and direction. We endeavor to be actively involved in the life of the community, giving generously of our time, talents, energy, money, and material resources. This includes our willingness to play our part in the shared leadership of our Fellowship.
Relationship with Each Other
As spiritual sisters and brothers, our relationships are founded on love, mercy, respect, honesty and reconciliation. We delight in our diversity of backgrounds and of theological and religious understandings. We accept our responsibility to support and care for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of each other and the children of this community. We commit to give and to receive counsel in a spirit of openness and love, and to discern together how best to walk a life of faithfulness. We agree to resolve interpersonal conflict in the community according to the teaching of Matthew 18.
Relationship with the World
We commit ourselves to helping build the Kingdom of God in this local neighborhood and in the larger world. We recognize the violence of social, economic and political oppression in our city and in our world. In response we live and share the message of Jesus the Messiah. As witnesses of this prophetic message we seek solidarity with those who suffer, we work to resist oppression and violence in their many forms, and we strive to bring about peace with justice. We believe we are called to renounce many of the values of our society by living simply and using the world's resources wisely.
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