Church delegates on Saturday spoke out against “the evil of human trafficking” and urged Congress to support bipartisan legislation that would provide basic and affordable health care for all Americans.

By a majority vote, delegates approved resolutions on human trafficking and health care. The statements had been presented by the resolutions committee of Mennonite Church USA the day before.

Though most delegates affirmed the statement against human trafficking, there was also a desire on the part of some for the church to find concrete ways to express its opposition to all forms of human slavery, including the sex trafficking into which 2.2 million children are sold each year.

Luke Nofsinger, a delegate from Marcellus, Mich., said, “We hope calling a phone number or visiting a Web site is just the first step in being proactive on this issue.”

Delegates also voted on an amendment to the statement to oppose all forms of human trafficking, not just sex and labor trafficking that were mentioned in the original resolution.

The request for the statement against human trafficking came from the board of directors of Mennonite Women USA.

A  majority of delegates also approved a resolution on health-care access that had been drafted by Tim Jost, who teaches health policy and law in Harrisonburg, Va.

Though supportive, delegates expressed a couple of concerns about the document.  One was an inconsistency in the word choice in the resolution. At times, the words “Americans” and “citizens” were used interchangeably.  A motion was brought to the floor to change the inconsistency, and the motion carried.

Delegates also noted that although the Mennonite Church has consistently advocated for total health-care coverage for Americans, an appeal to legislators may not be the best approach.

Jeff Smith, a delegate from Archbold, Ohio, said: “I applaud our thinking about those in our nation who do not have access to health care. It is a matter of justice that we do everything that we can to provide health care for those who are in need. On the other hand, I wonder if the best use of our time is contacting our legislatures.  I wonder if we could not redouble our efforts at grassroots initiatives to provide people the health care they need.”