Since Tuesday the days have passed relatively uneventfully. As the end of convention approaches, so does discussion of the issues that have remained in plain sight and hidden all week.
Wednesday night was the session in the conversation room about sexual orientation and the church. 300+ people participated in a Samoan Circle process to help facilitate respectful discussion. Reviews of the session have been predictably mixed. Many acknowledged, including the room leaders, that this particular model for discussion (Samoan Circle) may not have be the best to use ultimately and did not allow for a safe space for some. Many people spoke openly about their own thoughts around LGBTQ inclusion. There was a lot of pain and some crying too. Much like opening an infected would so the diseased tissue can be removed. Appreciation was expressed for the forum even with its shortcomings, perhaps with some relief that the discussion had begun. But it may have also indicated that much dead tissue remains to be cut away, dead tissue of hate, fear, and ignorance.
The delegate sessions also finally heated up Friday afternoon with the discussion of priorities that were proposed for the next two years. Some of the issues discussed included whether the denomination should be a resourcer or a regulator, whether conference boundaries should block inter-congregational cooperation, and several other dichotomous choices. Overall, much dissatisfaction was expressed at the either/or language, as if you chose one you had to reject the other. It seemed many of the suggestions, while supported in general, also created particular concerns. The general sense was, "this looks good, but it needs tweeking". Promises were made that as changes are made to the plan taking into account comments they would be communicated over the next two years for feedback.
Overall, my sense is that the convention has been successful on a number of fronts. Most importantly, it has hopefully been a first tentative step forward in beginning discussions around issues that we differ on as well as our common faith which should hold us together.
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Faces of the march against NATO
1 week ago
I can relate to your observations of the conference. Shane Hipps was the highlight for me - I heard his call to the Mennonites to be prophetic, to quit hassling over the "disputable matters" (Paul, Romans 12) and begin to find common ground to celebrate and on which to build the Kingdom. I wish more people across the church who weren't there could hear his message, and WOULD hear it. A good friend of mine just got "booted" by the "tyranny of the Minority", and the 80 percent stood by and let them. Mennonites are being sucked in by the standards of society and the Good News of Christ is being replaced by the need for "absolute Truth," which is an oxymoron to followers of Christ. Maybe I'm ranting. I want so much for the Mennonite Church, and am discouraged by what I experience. Conference was okay.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I am belated. I concur with your "tyranny of the minority" comment, bswartzy. A recent survey of mennonites found that 73% are uncomfortable or against the use of feminine language for God. However, you would think it was the other way around at AMBS. What gets lost in the shuffle is that someone/place wanting to have an environment that is safe for discussion is often seen as sympathetic to the "oppressed minority", and thus a hostile environment for discussion for people in the "majority". Homosexuality, God/gender language and other issues are highly divisive in the church. Unfortunately, what makes a church or setting hostile to one side or other is not the slanting of the group hosting the event/discussion, but the patricipants intolerance on EITHER side of the debate. The "i'm right, you're wrong" mentality is so archaic and outdated in Mennonite faith. Mennonites, I believe wish to be servants across the board in all things, and servants to the disadvantaged across the world. What good is that if we cannot deal with each other in the same love, honor and respect we reserve for the subjects in an MCC pamphlet?
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