A Conference in Transition / 269

periodical, a bimonthly, is illustrated and attractively printed. It carries stimulating articles and news of church, mission, educational, youth, and charitable activities. Editors have been Stanford Mumaw, 1947-48; Harold Bauman, 1949-53; David Hostetler, 1953-55; Edward Stoltzfus, 1955-60; Nathan Nussbaum, 1960-65; and Wayne North, 1965

The Annual Conference: A Forum and Fellowship

The annual meeting of the Ohio and Eastern Mennonite Conference is, with all its changes, - still the focal point for dealing with the problems of church unity, church polity, and problems concerned with the ongoing of the faith and life of Mennonite churches. The ever-present problem of balance between congregational autonomy and conference authority continues to go on with dangers of the two extremes sometimes called to the attention of the conference body.

The conference faces problems of ministerial recruitment; it elects delegates to churchwide boards and meetings; it listens to reports of church agencies on missions, relief, education, charitable programs, and alternative service to military conscription. In a changing world the conference is confronted with many problems pertaining to Christian ethics, marriage and divorce, evangelism, education of youth, and standards of faith and conduct. The delegate body is now both the ministry and one layman from each congregation. Thus it is possible to labor for the unity of the church from a broader base of representation.

In the Ohio Evangel of July-August 1963 the editor reported that the Ohio Conference now has 109 congregations from the mountains of North Carolina to southern Michigan and from New York City to Florida. The problem that arises is how to maintain and propagate the faith in this diverse setting. Some idea of the conference's many concerns can be noted in reports by the Christian School Committee, the Historical Committee, the Stewardship Committee, Publications Committee, Mennonite Aid, and the Mennonite Automobile Aid, Inc. Among the more recent emphases of the conference has been stewardship. The aim of the Stewardship Committee under Nelson Kanagy is the spiritual renewal of the church and not the mere raising of needed funds.

At conference time the relation to the Mennonite Church's wider program receives attention. Many of the reports have to do