Framework for Global Anabaptist Health Network

Working Document

Contributing Members:

Rick Stiffney

Pakisa Tshimika

Raymond Martin

Wanda Heise

Ron Yoder

Franklin Baer

Ron Byler

Cesar Garcia

Background

The Global Anabaptist HealthLeaders’ Summit, July 20-21, 2015 convenes individuals representing Anabaptist related health institutions and health professionals engaged in health and healthcare settings around the world. This summit builds on an initial gathering in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in conjunction with Mennonite World Conference General Assembly (2003).

The history of Anabaptist engagement in healthcare and professionsis verylong. Engagement is vast. In planning for this summit we were able to identify at least 150 Anabaptist-affiliated healthcare organizations. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Anabaptist health professionals working in other settings beyond an Anabaptist institutional setting. Therefore, as we gather to consider possibilities of developing a Global Anabaptist Health Network, it is critical for all of us to honor our legacy and remind ourselves of our commitment to our Shared Convictions as agreed upon by all the Mennonite World Conference member churches.

It suffices to mention that the initial impulse was to create a network among individuals who serve as leaders with Anabaptist health and human service organizations. We envisioned administrators, trustees, and other such leaders creating new ways of building relationships and sharing resources.

As planning evolved, other individual professionals expressed interest in participating. We broadened the invitation to the Summit. In this process of broadening the invitation to include other healthcare professionals we failed to acknowledge that there have been other efforts underway to convene and build connections between Anabaptist healthcare professionals around the world. The Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship and International Mennonite HealthAssociation are illustrations.

Finally, we are excited about the possibility of developing a Global Anabaptist HealthNetwork that is composed of institutions and individual health professionals.Such engagement rivals the investment of the Catholic and Adventist religious traditions. Yet no such formal network among us exists thus far. Is there need and potential for such a network?

This paper offers a vision for and framework to guide the development of an international network of Anabaptist healthcare institutions and health professionals.

Our Vision

Our vision is to develop a global network of health institutions and health professionals that strengthens the witness of the Anabaptist community of faith, providing mutual encouragement, sharing through peer learnings, and fostering institutional and professional partnerships.

Our Challenges and Strengths

The development of an international network faces some significant challenges. If this were not so, the ideas developed in 2003 at Bulawayo would have matured more robustly. For various reasons they didn’t. As those of us who have gathered consider the possibilities of some kind of international network, we need to embrace a number of significant challenges:

  1. Differences of professional affinity and focus

We represent many different professional and organizational perspectives. Some of us are clinical practitioners. Some are health and health care professionals in consulting and organizational development roles. Others are administrators. Some maybe trustees. Finding common ground and common concern may be a challenge. Defining “for whom” and “for what” will be criticallyimportant.

  1. Cultural diversity

We represent significant cultural differences. This can be a rich resource and with it comes some very real challenges.

  1. Geographic dispersion

We are spread around the world – in developed and developing nations.

  1. Uneven resource distribution and resource constraints

Communication, connectivity, access to resources is a large pragmatic challenge. Even large institutions face stresses and strains in resource availability to just address challenges in their own contexts.

At the same time we can draw on an equal number of strengths to balance the challenges:

  1. A long-term church-church set of relationships represented in Mennonite World Conference
  1. An emerging Anabaptist Global Service Network that may serve as a template for what might work
  1. An existing global communication network that might be leveraged (MWC)
  1. A deep commitment to the development of community and mutuality in relationships
  1. An incredible number of Anabaptist Health Professionals with diverse gifs spread allover the globe seeking for ways to serve their churches although not currently working within the Anabaptist Mennonite institutions or for some during their retirement.

Our Basic Assumptions

The Framework for the Development of the Global Anabaptist Health Network is proposed based on the following assumptions:

  1. We affirm an understanding of the Good News of Christ as the Good News that touches the whole person – mind, body, and spirit;
  2. As individual professionals and institutional leaders we care about the integration of faith and Anabaptist values in our practice;
  3. We believe that a combination of institutional and individual partnership under one network will create a new synergy and energy with new outcome that will go beyond our imagination;
  4. We believe that health ministry in many forms is an important dimension of the church’s witness and service in the world;
  5. Through new forms of relationships we might realize new outcomes or fruit;
  6. We want to support the work of Mennonite World Conference and believe it may provide an optimum place of gathering as well as linking this network’s effort with the larger mission of the Anabaptist community of faith

Our Opportunities and Energies

We believe that through such a network we can:

  1. Encourage each other;
  2. Deepen our appreciation for integration of Anabaptist faith in practice;
  3. Share professional expertise, promising practices, and collective learning, and foster the development of mutually beneficial partnerships around specific projects;
  4. Increase visibility for health ministries in the respective churches represented within the Mennonite World Conference;
  5. Explore possibilities for new common responses to unmet needsthat impact global health.

The basic energies of this effort would be:

  1. Connecting
  2. Communicating
  3. Collaborating

Our Development Process:

  1. Testing/creating a globally owned vision with representatives engaged from each region of the Mennonite World Conference;
  1. A membership charter and structure blending the engagement of both institutions and individual professionals;
  1. A small and flexible leadership structure that provides coordination, sets broad direction, budget, and simple policies;
  1. The development of a basic funding strategy taking into account the MWC “Fair Share” system and some administrative infrastructure;
  1. An appropriate linkage with Mennonite World Conference as a place of gathering
  1. The development of a data base to support communication;
  1. Agreed upon communication protocols:
  2. Electronic/virtual communication platform
  3. Materials available in English, French, and Spanish

Our Membership

The Global Anabaptist Health Network is an international partnership of Anabaptist related health institutions and professionals.

An Institution as Member

1.Self-identified as related to an Anabaptist/Mennonite related church with formal commitment to the MWC Shared Convictions

2.With a priority ministry that fits within a broad definition of what health means (e.g. hospital, clinics, mental health center, developmental disabilities, rehabilitation center, community clinic, senior services etc.).

3.Where formal organization is evident (e.g., Bylaws, regular meetings, or a structure and work or action plans).

4.Agreeing to share the costs of involvement in the network through the MWC fair share approach or as otherwise agreed to.

An Individual Health Professional as Member

  1. Self-identified as Anabaptist Health Professional from a church with formal commitment to the MWC Shared Convictions
  2. With a priority ministry that fits within a broad definition of what healthprofessional means around the world (e.g. medicine, nursing, public health, laboratory, physical therapy, etc.).
  3. Agreeing to share the costs of involvement in the network through the MWC fair share approach or as otherwise agreed to.

Our Administrative Structure

Coordinating Committee

The Global Anabaptist Health Network shall be administered by a Coordinating Committee whose responsibilities shall include but not be limited to the following:

1.Care-taking of the vision/charter of membership

2.Liaison with institutional and individual members

3.Liaison with the Mission Commission of the Mennonite World Conference

4.Oversee the work of the network

5.Participate in the planning of the commission/network meetings

6.Manage nominations of persons to serve on the coordinating committee

7.Supervise small staff work

Composition of the Coordinating Committee

The Global Anabaptist Health Network Coordinating Committee will be composed of the following members:

1.One member from each continental region (Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, and North America);

Internal Organization of the Coordinating Committee

The internal leadership of the committee will include a chair, vice chair, secretary, one or more advisors as deemed necessary with the assistance of a staff person. The chair of the Global Anabaptist Health Network serves as co-vice chair of the Mission Commission of MWC.This assumes a formal relationship within the Mission Commission of MWC.

Relationship with the Mission Commission

As a network of the Mission Commission, the Global Anabaptist Health Network shall appoint three individuals (at least two of whom should be members of the Global AnabaptistNetwork Coordinating Committee) to serve as members of the Mission Commission. Nominations will take into account the appointments of the Global Mission Fellowship and the General Council of the Mennonite World Conference to achieve an appropriate balance of continental and gender representation.

Functioning of the Global Anabaptist/Mennonite Health Network

  1. The members of Global Anabaptist Health Network shall meet face-to-face every three years, normally in conjunction with the Mennonite World Conference General Council meetings.
  1. The Coordinating Committee shall normally meet face-to-face once every year-and-a-half and also by electronic means as necessary.
  1. The three members of the Global Anabaptist Health Network serving on the Mission Commission shall meet as determined by the Mission Commission.
  1. Additional meetings of the entire network or of the Coordinating Committee can be called by members as needed and as finances permit.

Our Decision-making Process

As a member network of the Mission Commission of the Mennonite World Conference General Council, our official decision-making process shall be by consensus as practiced during all the official meetings of MWC General Council.

Our Finances

  1. The Coordinating Committee shall normally establish athree-year budget for operation and general consultations to be presented for approval by all the members of the network during the face-to-face meeting every three years. The Coordinating Committee will adopt a minimum budget for the initial three year period.
  1. Each participating institution and individual shall contribute to the budget according to the fair share system as practiced by Mennonite World Conference. These contributions will be developed as membership fees.
  1. Other arrangements for financial participation, if needed, shall be made individually based on an individual’s and institutions financial capacity.

Our First 1-3 Year Achievements

1.A charter that addresses a range of start-up network matters

2.The formation of an international coordinating committee

3.Development of a membership and related data of at least 250 individual and institutional members

4.A mapping of member locations and assets (e.g., hospitals) to facilitate geographic networking

5.The development of a “time and talent” bank through which members could make professional time/expertise available or request the same

6.Three peer learning exchanges between participating members that demonstrate or evidence value within the network

Major considerations:

  1. Is there a shared vision?

Is there sufficient vision to advance any elements of this toward reality?

If the vision is to be realized it must be global in character—not just the result of the inspiration of one country or the MWC.

  1. Are there resources to sustain this?

Even at a foundational level, such a network will take time and some money to develop. A membership structure that allows for individual, institutional, and perhaps “globaldonors” might be the mechanism and provide the funding required at the front-end to get started.

  1. What are the options for affiliating with Mennonite World Conference?(See “Global Anabaptist Health Network: Alternative Structural and development options”.)
  1. How might this vision be further shaped, focused, and refined through interaction with Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship and the International Mennonite Health Association? Are there significant synergies possible? Is there a fuller vision that might emerge?

Recommendation:

The working group recommends the adoption of this framework for the development of the Global Anabaptist Health Networkwithin the Mission Commission of Mennonite World Conference.

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