J. Tyler Klassen/Photo
Lois Barrett. Church of the Servant, Wichita KS speaks during the delegate meeting about The Corinthian Plan to provide healthcare coverage for church workers and pastors.

A detectable level of tension accompanied Mennonite Church USA delegates into their meeting on Saturday afternoon as they gathered for a final session to discuss a proposed statement about the church’s perspectives on human sexuality.

The resolutions committee drafted the document, titled “A resolution on following Christ and growing together as communities even in conflict,”after receiving differing statements from two groups about the relationship of homosexuals to the church.

After several amendments were carried and one fell short, the resolution was passed by a wide margin of delegate votes and was officially adopted.

The discussion surrounding the document, which was created from two differing submissions to the resolutions committee, included 20 minutes of table talk and then an open mic time. Comments by delegates quickly focused on the two opposing sexuality resolutions that eventually led to the board’s creation of an entirely new document. One delegate wanted to know why the original draft resolutions had not been brought before the delegate body, and why the new document was necessary.

But much of the debate focused on matters of language specificity. A motion for amendment that was proposed and carried was to change the word “affirm” to the word “acknowledge” in the phrase “…we affirm the statements by Mennonite Church USA on Human Sexuality which have been previously passed and are currently in place.”

Two amendments were proposed to change the wording of the “action” at the end of the resolution. One motion carried and one was denied, resulting in this wording of the action: “And so we call upon the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA to work with conferences to provide and encourage the use of resources which assist conferences and congregations to engage in this discernment…” The phrase “to provide and encourage the use of” replaced the word “highlight” in the original wording of the document. A proposal to add the phrase “in a safe place” after “discernment” was rejected.

As the text of the resolution was discussed, a suggestion to table the resolution for two years, until the next church convention, was not supported. Brent Alderfer, a delegate from Blooming Glen, Pa., said that “postponing the pain for two more years isn’t going to help move things forward.”

Another delegate agreed, saying the issue is not about changing the current teaching positions on sexuality but about addressing an ongoing pattern of conflict. The delegates voted on a motion to postpone the resolution indefinitely, in favor of more table discussion, but that motion failed.

After a period of intense debate covering multiple aspects of the issue, Ed Diller, incoming Mennonite Church USA moderator, began enforcing a 30-second time limit on open mic comments, interrupting speakers when necessary. The full two hours reserved for the meeting ended, and Diller brought the overall resolution to a final vote.

While several delegates still waiting in the line at the mic did not have a chance to speak, motions to extend the discussion time were voted down.

A delegate from Salem, Ore., was less concerned with choosing sides than with church unity and oneness.  “[The point is] not to pick what is right and wrong but how we as a body keep this church united.”

J. Tyler Klassen/Photo
MCUSA delegates work in table sessions on The Corinthian Plan to provide healthcare coverage for church workers and pastors.

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.”

While Mennonites were among the first of Christian denominations to ordain women into the ministry, if in very rare instances, women have not experienced equal access to roles of leadership in the church until recent decades. Today, the Mennonite Church supports the ideal outlined in the “Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective,” which states: “The church calls, trains, and appoints gifted men and women to a variety of leadership ministries on its behalf.” A Friday seminar about patriarchy in the church encouraged men and women to further promote equality in Christian leadership.

The seminar, titled “Calling our daughters and sons: Women and men addressing patriarchy in the church together,” was offered for youth sponsors. Todd Lehman, pastor of Zion Mennonite Church in Hubbard, Ore., and Janeen Bertsche Johnson, campus pastor Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Ind., were joined by Joanna Shenk, a recent AMBS graduate, to lead the session.

The three opened their presentation by sharing personal experiences of patriarchy in the church as well as in personal relationships. Speaking to the latter, Shenk talked about her realization that she was becoming unconsciously more subservient to her boyfriend as their relationship wore on — until he broke up with her, citing “burnout” as his reason. Shenk said she recognized her increasing dependency on such relationships, which resulted in a feeling of disempowerment.

Then, Shenk explained, “I started to dig into the family system. I care about this [be]cause its part of my story and who I am. This is an issue that the church needs to be talking about.”

The seminar leaders distributed a case study for reading and discussion that explored the complexity of the influence of patriarchy. The case study was a brief description of “Steve” and “Mary,” a married couple who experienced confusion when both participated in an ordination ceremony but soon realized that part of the congregation believed that Mary had not actually been ordained. Mary was eventually re-ordained, but eventually she resigned from her pastor position at the church, closely followed by her husband.

Forming small discussion groups, people were asked to discuss questions about the historical institutionalization of patriarchy in the church. “Sometimes with patriarchy, and this is true also of racism, those who have the power don’t realize the way that they use it to subordinate others,” said Lehman.

As the entire group of around 75 people reconvened to discuss the story with the seminar leaders, Bertsche Johnson said, “Storytelling helps us start to see things in a new way. There’s a lot happening that we just have to name.”

Importantly, the discussion turned to the idea that struggling against patriarchy in the church is equally important for male liberation as for female empowerment. Johnson described a man she knew who refused to speak in a mixed-gender group until at least one woman had spoken. “I see him working actively at his own liberation from these systems,” she said excitedly.

Cindy Longacre of Telford, Pa., brought up the contrast between female leadership among youth and adults. “We want there to be a strong man and a strong woman so that the woman can care for the female youth, but then when you get into the adult arena, where is the strong woman for them?” Longacre wondered aloud.

In light of recent progress, the seminar’s leaders still see room for transformation away from the current patriarchal system of the church.

“It takes as long to undo a system as to do it,” said Shenk,”and we’re talking about patriarchy. This…is a life’s work”

The Corinthian Plan is a proposed group insurance plan that would provide health care for all pastors of Mennonite congregations, and also for employees working 30 hours per week or more at a Mennonite congregation.

The project is currently in an enrollment period, which will end Oct. 1.  If enough congregations do not enroll in the plan, it may not be possible to see it through. But if the initiative succeeds, the Corinthian Plan could provide health insurance to even the poorest congregations, whose clergy currently go without insurance.

Many delegates expressed concern over the looming October deadline, but Harder is convinced that the church must reach a timely decision.

“The rationale is that we will have to determine whether or not we have enough participation to have a viable plan,” Harder explained. “Since the plan is slated to begin January 1st, we need that period of time to either make alternative plans or put into place all the details to have this plan up and running.”

Another point of contention was the fact that congregations who do not sign up for insurance through the Corinthian Plan are still asked to pay $2,300 into the fund.  This money goes toward health-care coverage for impoverished congregations that cannot afford to insure their pastors.

“This is the real cost of group insurance,” Harder said. “So many of us have been asking someone else to pay part of that cost. We haven’t really been paying the full cost of what it costs to maintain a group plan.”

Delegates also questioned whether the Corinthian Plan is losing its place in the church’s missional vision and turning into a purely business proposition.

During open mic time, Tim Yoder, a delegate, asked, “How do we get this out of stewardship and finance committees, and get it to other committees that have more of a missional approach?”

Harder responded later to the multiple concerns over the Corinthian Plan’s mission.

“What we’re trying to do is help congregations understand that the cost of the insurance is more than just pure insurance,” he said. “When they get the health coverage through the Corinthian Plan, they are also helping other congregations that don’t have insurance for their pastors.  Many of those congregations are growing, dynamic congregations. Many of them are recent immigrants or located in economically depressed areas that don’t have the resources to buy that benefit.”

A final question that was raised was why the Corinthian Plan will be self-funded, rather than organized as a group plan through Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the provider that will handle claims for Corinthian.

“It gives us maximum control over eligibility and rating and how the plan actually functions,” he said, “whereas if we contracted with another carrier we would lose that control.”

The three resolutions will be considered by the delegates in the Saturday morning session.  The delegates may vote to adopt some or all of the resolutions.

The human sexuality resolution, officially called “A resolution on following Christ and growing together as communities even in conflict,” was drafted after the committee received conflicting statements from interested groups. One group affirmed Mennonite Church USA’s current position, and one questioned it. Rather than attempt to vote on either, the resolution committee decided to draft an entirely new statement.

“It was a prayerful, God-led experience,” said Terry Shue, chair of the resolutions committee. “We read them, laid them aside and created an entirely new document … a synthesis of the two.  It is a brand new resolution whose ownership is solely with the resolution committee.”

The statement reads in part: “We acknowledge the pain and frustration of this issue for a number of conferences, congregations, families and individuals. While we clearly hear dissenting voices, we affirm the statements by Mennonite Church USA on Human Sexuality which have been previously passed and are currently in place.”

Tim Jost drafted the national health care resolution, called the “Healthcare Policy Principles.”  Jost teaches health policy and law in Harrisonburg, Va.  He consulted several people in drafting the document, including Joe Kotva, who works at the Anabaptist Center for Healthcare Efforts at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary.  The document encourages Mennonites to become proactive in pushing for a national plan providing adequate health care for all Americans.

“The primary goal,” Jost said, ” is to urge our congregations to speak to their legislators on this issue.”

This statement should not be confused with The Corinthian Plan, which intends to provide a group insurance plan for all pastors of Mennonite congregations and employees working more than 30 hours per week for Mennonite congregations.

The third statement for the delegates to consider was a call to join with other Christian denominations in opposing human trafficking and all forms of human slavery.

The statement was prepared by Rhoda Keener, of Mennonite Women USA; Susan Mark Landis, peace advocate for Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership; and Linda Gehman Peachey, Mennonite Central Committee, Women’s Advocacy.

According to the statement, human trafficking is the third-largest criminal industry in the world. About 12-30 million people are victims worldwide, and as many as 18,000 are victims in the United States.

Keener said, “I’ve wanted to speak out on this issue for a while, but I never felt educated enough.”

In September, Keener attended a gathering of women of faith organizations across from the United Nations in New York. This gathering inspired her to take action.

Referring to the story in Judges 19 of violence against a woman, the statement encourages Mennonites to “consider it” through becoming educated, to “take counsel” by consulting others, and to “speak out” by joining voices as a body of Christ.

“This is a statement that other denominations have,” said Keener, “and we certainly need to join.”

The Pink Menno campaign encouraged conventiongoers to wear pink this week in support of gay and lesbian church members. But it was a press conference held on Thursday that may be most effective in publicizing the group’s agenda.

Reporters from The Associated Press, Fox News and The Columbus Dispatch were all present as a group of nearly 100 pink-bedecked conventiongoers sang and prayed together.  After a short opening worship, three speakers described the Pink Menno movement.

One of the leaders, Luke Yoder, said: “I will continue to raise my voice when members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities are silenced. I will continue to do everything I can to encourage the church to acknowledge the gifts, talents and passion of all its members.”

As an initial response to the Pink Menno presence in Columbus, the Executive Board issued a short press release, highlighting  the Mennonite Church’s official position on homosexuality.  That position is expressed in what is colloquially known as “The Purdue Statement,” a series of standards adopted in 1995.

The pivotal statement, officially Article 19 of “The Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective,” reads: “We believe that God intends marriage to be a covenant between one man and one woman for life.”

The Pink Menno campaign does not have a booth on the convention floor.  Instead, they share hospitality space in the adjoining Hyatt with another group, which several months ago submitted an open letter to the denominational body, Mennonite Church USA, urging the church to reopen a conversation about its stance on homosexuality.

Until the press conference, Pink Menno’s primary presence had been as a scattering of people wearing pink T-shirts throughout the convention hall, ready to engage in conversations.

The Pink Menno campaign spread virally in advance of the convention, when Yoder created a social network on the Web service Ning. As of this writing, www.pinkmenno.org has 711 members from 35 states and 11 countries.  The site has been visited from 47 states and 30 countries.

Before that though, the campaign started as a family conversation.  Luke Yoder and his sister, Jen, who identifies as queer, were discussing homosexuality in the church last Christmas, and decided that they would take action.  They made a Web site and called congregations and friends, urging them to join.  After members of several churches held events where they took pictures holding pink signs saying “One Love” or “One Hope,” word began to spread, and the online membership skyrocketed.

“We’re hoping to engage a lot in personal individual conversation,” Luke Yoder said. “Our goal is that by the end of convention, everyone will have talked to a Pink Menno, or gotten to know a Pink Menno.”

Pink Menno has used around $4,000 of donated money to make pink paraphernalia, following the approach of many official exhibitors, who give out T-shirts and other freebies.  Pink Menno accessories include T-shirts (“Inclusive and Mennonite, Ask Me How”), LiveStrong-style pink bracelets, buttons, stickers and bandannas with the Pink Menno logo, a circular dove icon that riffs off of the Mennonite Church USA logo.

Other than the press release, the church has issued no public response to the Pink Menno presence.

“We initiated contact,” said Jim Schrag, the executive director of MC USA. “We gave them assurances that we want the convention to be a good time for everyone…they are a part of us…they have a right to be here.”

J. Tyler Klassen/Photo

Not just anyone could easily step into the role of a professional “pray-er” for more than 7,000 people, but Les Horning and Donna Mast, the Prayer Team leaders for Columbus 2009, have taken on the task.

“We are coming with an agenda to listen and to be a presence, to create safe places for people to talk,” said Horning, who has worked on the prayer ministry effort at three conventions.

For this convention, Mast and Horning have put a special effort into providing facilities for people to take a break from the bustling convention hall to pray.

A prayer room is a staple of conventions, but the design this year is much more ambitious.  As you enter the room, situated at the top of the southern escalators in the convention center, you can choose the contemplative area or the conversant area.  The contemplative area, as its name suggests, is more of a quiet place, with a large wooden cross in the center, surrounded by pillows and chairs to accommodate various postures of prayer.  A small, bubbling fountain greets you at the entrance, and there is even a mattress in the corner for the most weary conventiongoers.

The conversant room is more oriented toward group discussion and prayer, with couches around a coffee table with a selection of books such as “Here and Now, Living in the Spirit,” by Henri J.M. Nouwen and “Celebration of Discipleship” by Richard J. Foster.  A table full of modeling clay, crayons, markers and other art supplies encourages creative prayer and reflection.  A small CD player in the corner plays calm, quiet music.

Another available facility for prayer is a cloth labyrinth, laid on the floor of a room at the end of the convention center near the Hyatt.  The labyrinth was brought by Bob Yoder, one of Goshen College’s campus pastors.

Arranging the prayer room was just the beginning of Mast and Horning’s efforts to connect at the convention.  They placed baskets throughout the convention hall to accept prayer requests from adults and youth alike. Each day, the two leaders take a prayer walk, where they collect the slips of paper from the baskets and pray as they go.

“[Tuesday] we had a stack papers an inch and a half thick,” Horning marveled, demonstrating the volume of prayer requests with his thumb and forefinger. “Some of them express very deep pain and anguish, and they trust that these things will be taken care of.”

Once, when collecting prayer requests from a basket, Mast noticed some people looking at her curiously, wondering what was happening.

“When it dawned on them what we were doing, there was an expression of satisfaction — like they realized what was going on and said, ‘OK, this is good,’” Mast said.

During the year, Mast and Horning are both pastors.  Horning preaches at Christiansburg Mennonite Fellowship in Virginia, and Mast is co-pastor at Scottdale Mennonite Church in Pennsylvania.  Both are highly experienced at prayer and ministry, but for the size of this Mennonite convention, they enlisted the help of a prayer team.  Jeff Combs, Karen Howard, Luanne Yutzy, Thinagar Sitther and Elizabeth Soto Albrecht work on daily prayer responsibilities as well.

The prayer team attends each worship service, sometimes circling the room and praying, sometimes sitting on stage and always listening, trying to stay in tune with the convention, and praying for the general well being of the people.

Before their roles in prayer team leadership came along, Mast and Horning had both been delegates to conventions. When the opportunity arose to be prayer team leaders in Columbus, they jumped at it.

“I enjoy it,” Horning said.  “When I was asked to serve here at Columbus, there was no hesitation.  You’re tired at the end of the week, but I’ve seen that folks really appreciate what we do.”

Jim Schrag arrived at the adult worship service with the future of the Mennonite Church, the rising median age of Mennonites and the importance of a positive vision all on his mind.

Schrag, executive director of Mennonite Church USA, began his speech with the story of Hudson Taylor, a missionary to China. At one point during the voyage, Schrag said, the wind died and the captain requested Taylor to pray for a breeze. Taylor replied, saying that only when the sails were set would he pray to God for wind.

Schrag applied the analogy to the current position of the Mennonite Church: “Yes, pray without ceasing, but first unfurl the sails.”

Schrag spoke to the wrong and right visions facing the Mennonite Church.  “God sent us on a journey, but the sea has become calm,” Schrag said. “We can drift helplessly as any other church… or we can unfurl the sails of our vessel.”

An important focus of Schrag’s talk was the avoidance of passivity and the importance of positive action. Referring to his source scripture, Ezekiel 37 and John 20, Schrag said, “We need to be aware of our own dry bones, and the barred doors in our frightened retreat, locking the world outside.”

“We’ve grown accustomed to the calm of comfort and success that surrounds us, and we judge that our own exile is not such a bad thing after all,” Schrag said, referring to the exile of the disciples after Jesus’ death.

Schrag encouraged audience members to pay attention to the cultural currents that surround and influence the church, and to take necessary action. He challenged the worshipers: “Learn to listen, to see, to feel the presence of God.”

Schrag, who is from Newton, Kan., served as a pastor and worked as secretary for the General Conference before becoming executive director for MC USA.

Before Schrag spoke, Steven Brown, vice chair of Churches Supporting Churches, discussed the church’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Also, members of the band Honeytown led songs from all three hymnals, as well as original tunes, including “Breathe and be filled,” based on the convention’s theme.

Schrag asked the worshipers to stand, clasp hands, and join Patty Shelly in her song “The Lord lift you up.” Ken Medema finished the worship service with his gift for improvisational song, which included a story about an  8-year-old named Bubba  and the chorus to “Breathe and be filled.”

The exhibit hall is a central feature of every Mennonite convention.  Mennonite schools, missions and companies set up their booths to attract students, customers and interested parties, and free stuff flows like water.  Magnetic clips, letter openers, pens, T-Shirts and a mountain of candy are given away by hopeful exhibitors.

The floor at Columbus 2009 is divided into multiple sections: education, missions and publishing.  The colleges and universities all have booths, hoping to woo the Mennonite youth with promises of a superior education, a better future and, of course, lots of free gear.

Local churches like Agora Christian Fellowship are present, as well as national and international organizations like Ten Thousand Villages, Mutual Aid Exchange (MAX) and Eastern Mennonite Missions.

Tantalizing booths aren’t all there is though.  One half of the floor is devoted to recreation, including volleyball and basketball courts, and a kiddy-sized plastic playground.

Navigating through the forest of pillars with signs for various activities and Mennonite institutions is no problem for conventiongoers; as the doors open for the first time, just after the evening worship service, a large crowd had already gathered, and upon a hearty “GO!” from a staffer, eager youth stormed in, laughing and yelling as they ran to the booths.

Sixty-one agencies will be accepting volunteers throughout the week, many of which will take a new group each day. Servant project groups will leave around 12:30 each day, after a brief orientation session in the Convention Center.

Many youth groups consider service projects a necessary aspect of Mennonite conventions.

“Its always kind of our expectation,” remarked Jo Ward Selman, a youth sponsor from Waterford Mennonite Church in Goshen, Ind.  “We always do a service project.  It’s never a question: the kids just ask ‘What are we doin’?”

The youth of Vincent Mennonite Church, in Spring City, Pa., feel the same way.

“This is the fourth convention we’ve gone to and we’ve always done the service projects,” said Loren Ruth, one of Vincent Mennonite’s youth sponsors.

The assignments will vary greatly depending on the agency each youth group works with.  Arloa Bontrager, the Servant Project coordinator, and her team, Caty Wall and Lori Hershberger Blair, arranged all of the service locations by cold calling organizations and seeking the cooperation of Robert Seed of Keep Columbus Beautiful.

From picking up trash to helping young children in Vacation Bible School, to removing honeysuckle from a waterway with City of Columbus Watershed Cleanup, most anything is possible for adventurous volunteers.  Youth groups are able to request certain types of work, but for the most part, they find out where they are going and what they are doing at the orientation meeting, just minutes before leaving.

The great diversity in service options is partly due to the response of the city of Columbus to the convention’s infusion of Mennonites.

“The city has been overwhelmingly gracious in receiving people,” Wall said.

“About fifty percent of our new people come from other traditions,” says Steve Goering, who, with his wife, Susan Ortman, serves as pastor of the congregation.  “That really keeps us alive and brings new ideas into our group on a constant basis.  Our new people really enrich us.”

The participation of the congregation at large is an important part of Columbus Mennonite’s identity.  Their worship service is planned by a new person or group each week, with something for everyone.  For Susan Ortman, the variety of the music is especially impressive.

“One Sunday we’ll have all a capella singing, and the next Sunday we’ll have violins and cellos and drums accompanying the singing,” she remarked.  “We have huge musical talent in the church, and people who are committed to bringing that variety.”

Columbus Mennonite is very receptive to suggestions from congregation members.

“We are a church that is progressive in its thinking and in its worship and I think this is one of the keys to young people enjoying the church,” Steve Goering said. “We really try to be a relevant church. We’re willing to talk about all the different and difficult issues in our society within the context of our faith community.”

Columbus Mennonite Church’s history is laced with the kind of inclusiveness and variety that the pastors describe.  After its foundation by Ohio State University graduate students in the 1960s, Columbus Mennonite (then Neil Avenue Mennonite Church) became one of the first churches to be affiliated with two separate conferences.  Since then, the church has changed location several times, and is now located in Clintonville, about five miles north of downtown Columbus.

From a membership of 74 in 1970, Columbus Mennonite’s attendance has grown to between 160 and 170 people each Sunday.

“We have a broad range, from many new young adults and young families with children, to people who have been with the congregation for fifty years,” he commented.

To complement their worship services, Columbus Mennonite members are also highly involved in ministries, both in Columbus and internationally.  The congregation has a strong relationship with BREAD, a coalition of 50 area faith communities that work with health care and housing issues in Columbus and in Franklin County.

Many Columbus Mennonite members have participated in Mennonite Central Committee service terms.  One couple, Danielle and Brandon Donelson-Sins, will head to Indonesia this summer with MCC.  The youth group at Columbus Mennonite regularly volunteers at Agora Ministries, an outreach of Agora Christian Fellowship, the only other Mennonite congregation in Columbus.

Agora Christian Fellowship, which was established in 1996, is heavily focused on outreach programs in Columbus’ inner city neighborhoods.  The founding pastors, Rich and Becky Bartholomew, host community events and ministries for youth on Wednesday and Saturday nights, and many of these young families and their families also attend Sunday morning church services.

Job-training is also part of the mission that Agora carries out.  Neighborhood kids can get paid for doing chores around the church, and as they get older they are moved into more official work positions.

On Tuesday night, Agora plans to hold a grill-out as a fund-raiser and meal option for conventiongoers.  Each day, some of the youth groups that have signed up for service projects will head to Agora’s headquarters to learn about their mission and do  work in the neighborhood.