Extremely Encouraged and Extremely Disappointed
26 years ago we moved to a new city and found a new church home. We visited many and eventually we plugged into a Mennonite Brethren Church which meets downtown. We don’t have Mennonite heritage so that’s not why we landed there. My wife liked the worship there and I liked the convenience, meeting in the early afternoon meant we could enjoy lazy Sunday mornings.
Learning of a rich history of Anabaptist badassery was a welcome discovery I stumbled into early into the pandemic when, like so many others, I was at home with my thoughts. Much was learned and relearned during that time and many things changed, including my attitudes towards queer people.
I’m still welcome at my church and am among some like minded people there. We don’t all see this the same way but we’re talking about it and voices for change are heard. Unfortunately these voices are not as welcome with the denomination my local church have partnered up with. Last June a sister church in BC invited Dr. Iian Provan to talk about his book on their podcast. He described people holding “radically different ideas about sexual identity” as “threatening the well being of the Christian community” who should be excluded. Four months later Dr. Provan was invited to a national Mennonite Brethren gathering to give a keynote address.
You may know some queer Mennonites which might be confusing so let me unpack the distinctions in our Anabaptist subculture. The Mennonite Church of Canada makes room for this, allowing individual churches to decide for themselves where they land on queer inclusion and/or affirmation. The Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches do not and are taking a hardline stance. While they differ on that point, they hold many similar values including a commitment to peace and nonviolence.
Last month here in Winnipeg both denominations came together, gathering in front of one of our MP’s offices, insisting that they add thier voices to others on the hill who are calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. This was part of a national day of action across Turtle Island coordinated by a new orginization called Mennonite Action. I helped out at the event and met some great people.
That name might ring a bell, as Mennonite Action were in the news recently. 130 were arrested last weekend, singing peacefully while their arms were zip tied behind thier backs.
Tears welled up as I watched their Instagram reel through to the end. Such a powerful witness for peace. They sent me an email, inviting me to attend their debrief. I jumped at this opportunity to be in such good company and was excited to get the follow-up email with zoom details.
Feeling extremely encouraged I added the event to my calendar and when I noticed a conflict, overwhelming disappointment took over. I’d be missing the debrief because of some Mennonite Brethren Church business I need to bear witness to, the eviction of a sister church who’ve “come out” to the rest of the denomination.
It’s quite the emotional whiplash, feeling encouraged by the good work many are up to then disappointed by what we’re doing to each other and to our queer siblings.
It is hard to convince yourself this theology of amputation looks like Jesus and the associated mental gymnastics this requires will leave your head spinning. If you find yourself dizzy take a look our precious queer Christians and see what they have to teach us.
They helped me see the contrast between the hard line church who cast them out and the queer community who embraced them. Even while they held beliefs that the queer community considered harmful, they were welcomed nonetheless. That looks Jesus-y to me and that witness is what opened me up to considering what they had to say about ideas and interpretations I’d held onto. Until I’d heard their story I couldn’t grasp it, and without proximity I’d never have heard their story.
When River East is evicted the Mennonite Brethren are going to lose a huge opportunity to grow. Maybe that’s the point. Dr. Provan did say that radically different ideas are threatening. I’m less concerned with threats to the status quo and more concerned with a church taking these extreme measures to keep love in tidy little boxes.
