"It was everything I hoped for:" Open Space organizers share their reflections on the event

 

At the start of Open Space: A Conversation Worth Having, I asked the organizers to share about their hopes for the event (among other things). In this post, I asked them to share if they thought their hopes were fulfilled. 

The four organizers were David Wiebe, who served with the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (CCMBC), including as Executive Director; James Toews, who retired in 2021 after several decades as senior pastor at Neighbourhood Church, Nanaimo, B.C. (and was a former MB Herald columnist); Danny Unrau, who served as a pastor for 28 years, including at Fraserview Mennonite Brethren Church in Richmond, B.C.; and John Unger, who served as a pastor in various Mennonite Brethren churches in Manitoba before serving in leadership at Canadian Mennonite University. 

John Unger 

We wanted to create a safe space for conversation. The fact that 60 people from five provinces came, most at their own expense, for these three days demonstrates how much the conversation was needed. It was everything I hoped for. 

David Wiebe 

I was very satisfied for a couple of reasons.  

First, people were encouraged who needed encouragement, even if it was simply to be in the room with other like-minded people. The frequent mention of “being safe," and the personal disclosures by several, were indicators of how sacred this time was for them. And so it was for me.  

Second, we assembled in love for Christ and one another, and thus we have that gift of love to try to present to the conference.  

James Toews 

When one has unclear, ambiguous, conflicted, and possibly even low, expectations the bar to passing them is not very high. That said, I came away thrilled by what happened.  

First, I was hoping that this would be a safe place for people who have not had safety within the MB family for many years. That hope was fully, fully met. That alone would have made the event worth the effort that went into it. 

Second, it was also a demonstration that this particular, complex conversation can be done well. We did not accomplish the clarity of issues that I feel is still required, but it set the table for further clarification of the issues at hand.  

Not only did we get to first base on that quest to clarity, but we have momentum and a trajectory towards second base. I feel that strongly that we have good momentum and direction. 

Third, one of the comments that came out of the final discussion was that this was equivalent to an “experimental farm.” I think that is a beautiful metaphor. We demonstrated that this can be done. And so it begs the question: When and where does the next iteration take place? 

Fourth, the event also demonstrated that the MB family does have a living community memory of a better way of being than has been demonstrated for the past few decades. 

Fifth, the three days were equivalent to what I experienced at the last four ICOMB (International Community of Mennonite Brethren) events I’ve attended—a community that simply enjoys being together.  

From that place, the capacity to solve vexing problems is very robust. Conversely, without love and good will, even small problems tear families apart. I don’t think that matter of inclusion is actually that hard, but without good will, it will indeed tear us apart. It DOES NOT need to. This challenge can and should make us stronger. 

Lastly, the most urgent “to do” that arose from the ranked issues, by far, is the matter of a call for a moratorium on the aggressive actions by provincial conferences against churches and individuals exploring what inclusion means. Time will tell whether we can effectively make that appeal, but it was good to have this so clearly stated. That is a worthy accomplishment. Getting that effectively communicated to conference leaders is indeed the next challenge. 

Dan Unrau 

Did we accomplish what I hoped for? The fact that I'm still sorting what I hoped for, notwithstanding, it was hard, it was soft, it was safe, it was not dangerous (at least not in the room), it was family (at its best), it was community, it was gentle, it was provocative, it was tears, it was laughter, it was surprise, it was disappointment, and it was a strange unknown mixture of what felt like a beginning and an end, it was the Church, and it was walking the winding road with Jesus.  

It was raw wounds opened to the 'sky' reaching in hope, all the way to the top of the Museum for Human Rights. Did it accomplish what I hoped for? Still don't know for sure, but it certainly was something very much akin.