The following statements are from the commentary to Article 16 of the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective adopted by the (North American) Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church in 1995 and by the new Mennonite Church USA in 2001:
.…We are united through our common Lord to the universal church, which includes believers in every place and time. We appreciate this wder family of believers and seek to nurture appropriate relationshipswith them.
[The tendency] to promote the congregation as the primary unit…encourages local initiative, but it can detract from the church's wider mission and from broader church cooperation. The church should be viewed as one seamless garment, extending from the smallest unit ("where two or three are gathered," Matt. 18:20) to the worldwide church. Accountability and responsibility apply to every level of church.
The following statement was approved by the general boards of the General Conference Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Church in 1997:
The General Conference Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Church believe ourselves called to nurture understanding, cooperation and unity of faith with all denominations of trinitarian belief who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.We are ready to speak with our fellow Christians who are sincerely seeking God's leading in these days.We are committed to call others to greater faithfulness and to be called by others to greater faithfulness as we seek to follow the leading of the Spirit in our time.
...
We are committed to:
1. Grow in faithfulness and unity with other Mennonite and Aanbaptist conferences, peace churches and believers churches.
2. Engage in "mutual address" with the evangelical and conciliar (ecumenical) movements. This includes the nurture of relationships with inter-church agencies, denominations and individuals.
3. Relate to Christian movements and individuals for whom the Anabaptist tradition offers an alternative to the prevailing order of things. Such Christ-centered, post-establishment, peace and justice-based movements exist in denominational as well as parachurch settings.
Article II (on “Purpose”) of the Bylaws of Mennonite Church
USA, Inc., adopted in 2001 states that one aspect of the role of the
Mennonite Church USA is to:
Be a channel for dialogue and witness to other church bodies and to governing authorities.
Article VI (on “Executive Board”) says that
one of the functions of the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA is
to:
Foster partnerships with Mennonite Church Canada, other Mennonites worldwide, and with other denominations.
November 25, 2002
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