Earlier, I wrote about the decision by Jubilee Mennonite Church in Winnipeg to become welcoming and affirming of LGBTQ+ people.
Jubilee is a dual-conference church, belonging to both Mennonite Church Manitoba and the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba.
I also wrote about the initial response of MBCM to Jubilee's decision.
In September MBCM suspended Jubilee's membership. Read about it in Anabaptist World.
I'm wondering about the "man and woman for life" comment. Will those whose marriages don't last be next on the unwelcome/exclusion list? How does that mesh with Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." It seems some have given up on compassion for all, choosing to focus instead on legalism and judgment. Everybody has baggage; apparently some have perfected the ability to forget and even hide their own challenges.
ReplyDeleteEach time I hear these stories, I walk further and further away from the church and my Mennonite connections. I am so ashamed to read this and that this was done in some misguided attempt to follow God (or is God now the conference?). This is truly heartbreaking and it’s time for me to walk away.
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