When it comes to LGBTQ+ and the Mennonite Brethren church, what do we know for sure?

 

Rich Janzen is a member of a Mennonite Brethren church in Ontario and was a delegate to the March 2023 Ontario Mennonite Brethren Church convention where Southridge Community Church and the Toronto Free Church were expelled from membership.

 

Prior to attending the convention, he was informed by the leadership of his church that all delegates from the congregation were expected to vote to expel the two churches. Rich responded that he would vote his conscience.

 

Rich provided this reflection on the convention, along with his remarks to the delegate body about expelling Southridge and Free Church.

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When I was young, I had a construction boss who used to greet people with a strange question: “What do you know for sure?”

 

My personality is such that, at first, I thought I needed to answer him literally.

 

After a few mornings of awkward greetings, I came to realize that he was just being playful; inviting me to greet back in an equally flippant way (e.g., “certainly not the weather;” “not really sure;” “who are you again?”) Even so, his odd question has stuck with me. 

 

It came to me again earlier this year after Southridge Community Church was suspended by the Ontario Mennonite Brethren Conference (ONMB).  

 

During the time leading up to the March 2023 assembly, where the vote would be taken to expel Southridge from the Conference, I began thinking about what I would say on the convention floor about the motion to remove that church from Conference membership. How would I organize my thoughts for the brief 3-4 minutes of allotted time? 

 

That’s when I decided to use that question from my old boss to help me frame my response: “What do we know for sure?”

 

I’m not a theologian. I’m not a pastor. I’m not even a lay church leader at the moment. But I know a few things for sure, as found in Palmer Becker’s Anabaptist essentials. Becker boils Anabaptism down to three essential statements:

 

·       Jesus is the centre of our faith

·       Community is the centre of our life 

·       Reconciliation is the centre of our work

 

Becker’s essentials are really just an updated repackaging of Harold S. Bender’s more famous Anabaptist Vision, where he highlights the distinctives of our radical Anabaptist forbearers relative to other reformers.

 

You can see the echo of these essentials in the new organizational tagline of the Mennonite World Conference: “Following Jesus, living out unity, building peace.” (In a recent article in Direction journal, Lynn Jost has offered how this three-part focus could be tweaked to our uniquely Mennonite Brethren context.) 

 

All to say that I felt these three essentials were as good a starting place as any in helping me to frame a response to the unprecedented motion before our provincial conference. Below find what I shared with the convention delegates. I suppose others may have assessed the motion through this lens somewhat differently. But my point in speaking was not only to share my conclusion on the motion, but also that we should frame our assessment of it through the grid of some set of agreed upon first principles. (Not on cherry-picked statements of faith, much less on emotion such as fear.)

 

We now know that mine was a minority opinion among delegates. The vote wasn’t even close. Southridge (along with Free Church) was dismembered. 

 

Over half a year later, I’m left wondering who we are as a denomination. I wonder if there is any consensus on what Mennonite Brethren would say are our essentials. And I wonder who gets to do this framing of our essentials, especially in light of the word “Brethren” in our name, with its non hierarchical and communal overtones.

 

And I also wonder what it means that we have come to dismember our own. (I use the term “dismember” because it conveys literally that some are no longer formal members, but also because it conveys figuratively the pain and loss involved, both to those dismembered and presumably for those who remain).

 

In the last two years there have been a number of Mennonite Brethren congregations across Canada that have been dismembered either actively (by formal vote) or passively (left voluntarily after struggle). Similarly, there have been individuals who have been dismembered from their local congregations—my own congregation has experienced a rash of dismemberings, including long-term members and former leaders.

 

I suspect that this recent inclination of Canadian Mennonite Brethren to dismember will continue. And it makes me wonder what we know for sure, and who we have become.

 

Comments made on the Ontario MB Conference convention floor (February 25, 2023)

 

Hello, I’m Rich Janzen. I’m struggling to see how this motion [to remove Southridge Community Church from Ontario Mennonite Brethren membership] is consistent with our Anabaptist identity. I’ll give three quick reasons for this that are linked to the three Anabaptist essentials that Palmer Becker talks about.

 

First, Jesus is the centre of our faith. We Anabaptists privilege the gospels and read the rest of scripture through that lens of the life and teachings of Jesus.

 

I haven’t heard the rationale of this motion being [explicitly] based on the Gospels, about how Southridge is no longer following the direct example and direct teachings of Jesus. One could argue that Southridge has been following the example of Jesus in his radical hospitality and inclusion.

 

Second, community is the centre of our life, Christian community that is marked by unity in fellowship. This unity was Jesus’s only prayer for us in John 17. Paul picks up on this unity theme in Romans 14 not in some abstract universal big “C” church way, but in tangible local fellowship. He teaches us how we can live together despite strong disagreements. His advice isn’t to check out of community or to push others out of community.

 

In contrast, the motion before us is to dismember Southridge from our community. To me, that seems to reflect the way of the world, which likes to create echo chambers and votes off the island those who are disagreeable or those whose views make one feel uncomfortable. I fail to see how this motion is a fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer for us to live united in community.

 

And third, reconciliation is the centre of our ministry. This point is made in Article 13 of our Mennonite Brethren confession of faith that says that we’re people of peace and reconciliation.

 

The truth is reconciliation between the church and our LGBTQ+ siblings is desperately needed. There has been harm done by the church to the LGBTQ community (something not acknowledged in the Provincial Faith and Life Team report). Southridge has acknowledged that truth and has begun the hard work of reconciliation.

 

That sounds Anabaptist to me. I would humbly suggest that congregations who have closeted the truth of harm or resisted conversations and other efforts of reconciliation are not in line with Article 13 of our Confession of Faith. We should be careful of casting stones.

 

So, three reasons for your consideration. Combined, they raise the question of why this topic is leading us to live outside of our character. I personally think we would do well to wrestle with this question and I think there is wisdom in the calls from across the country for a moratorium on congregational suspensions and pastoral credential reviews until we sort this out.

 

Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba announces timeline, special resolution to remove River East Church from membership over LGBTQ+

 

Saying it is “the conclusion of the MBCM board, following consultation with the MBCM Provincial Faith and Life Team (PFLT) . . . that River East Church (REC) is failing to uphold the commitment to the Confession of Faith expected of MBCM member churches,” the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba has informed the church it will hold a special meeting on January 20 where delegates will vote on a special resolution to remove REC’s membership in MBCM effective May 31, 2024. 

The full letter about the Special Resolution is below. 

Notice of Special Resolution to River East Church, October 19, 2023 

Greetings to you, River East Church. You are a valued part of our Manitoba community. 

You have been at work to enhance the care and inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in an intentional manner for many years now, in particular the last four years. We recognize this effort, even when we experience disagreement with aspects of your approach and conclusions. 

It is our wish to convey gratitude to the leadership of REC in so much that you have invited MBCM leadership to observe your work these past years. In particular, thank you to Rennie Redekopp, for his consistent willingness to proactively engage in conversation. 

A personal note from Jason Dyck, “Thank you Rennie, you’ve been a friend.” 

The MBCM Board recognizes that LGBTQ+ persons, along with their friends and families, have experienced exclusion and rejection in churches. While this is not everyone’s story, we know and have experienced that it is the story of many. We are committed to a future where better stories are experienced. Each MBCM church is invited to join in this journey, where LGBTQ+ persons and their families experience inclusion and care. 

We recognize that some of the implications of working to include and care for LGBTQ+ persons can bump up against our shared confession. The MBCM board continues to affirm our shared confession, in all of its aspects. 

We also recognize that we operate from a place of perceived and actual power. Power is often experienced as force, and there are ample examples of church institutions applying power in ways that fail. Our shared confession states that “The church is a covenant community in which members are mutually accountable in matters of faith and life.” 

We recognize that we serve from a position of authority and remain determined to function from a place of humility and kindness as members of that covenant community. 

As you are aware, River East Church was suspended from active membership in Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba on May 10, 2023. Per MBCM’s constitutional process, the Provincial Faith and Life Team conducted a review of the circumstances of this suspension. The MBCM board has received that review and has subsequently decided to submit the following special resolution to MBCM churches on or before November 3, 2023. 

Special Resolution Preamble 

The Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba recognizes the marginalization that LGBTQ+ persons and families have experienced in churches. We remain committed to our ongoing work to reduce marginalization and the resulting harm, while remaining committed to our Confession of Faith, in all of its aspects. 

As a condition of their participation and membership in the MBCM, every MBCM congregation explicitly commits to an “acceptance of the Confession of Faith of the Canadian Conference” and to not “pass[ing] or accept[ing] resolutions or practices which are in conflict with this [MB] Confession of Faith.” In their sincere effort to offer welcome to LGBTQ+ persons, River East Church (REC) has made statements and decisions (e.g. A Response from River East Church to MBCM Board and PFLT, January 2023) that are substantively in conflict with the Confession of Faith. In so doing, REC has broken their commitment to not pass resolutions or practises which are in conflict with the Confession of Faith. REC has stated their affirmation of the Confession of Faith as well as affirm same sex marriage. MBCM leadership believes this approach to be incompatible with the intent and common understanding of the convictions described in our shared Confession of Faith. 

While our MB Confession of Faith is an expression of what we believe to be truth discerned from Scripture and is therefore changeable by our national MB conference of churches, a local congregation cannot legitimately make changes (actual or interpretive) on its own and then pursue practices in conflict with these nationally shared convictions. 

The conclusion of the MBCM board, following consultation with the MBCM Provincial Faith and Life Team (PFLT), is that REC is failing to uphold the commitment to the Confession of Faith expected of MBCM member churches. 

Special Resolution Explanation 

This special resolution is presented to the Assembly of Congregations at a Special Assembly on January 20, 2024. 

We invite River East Church to join the MBCM and CCMBC community in embracing a posture of commitment to the Confession of Faith. As a part of this return, it is the desire of the MBCM leadership board that River East Church would join us in this important and ongoing work of reducing marginalization and harm. If River East Church cannot respond to this invitation, and actively return to the shared membership expectations of the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba by May 30, 2024, we regretfully acknowledge that River East Church has chosen a path that will end their membership with MBCM as of May 31, 2024. 

Should this ending of membership become a reality as of May 31, 2024, MBCM will continue to extend an ongoing invitation for River East Church to re-apply for MBCM membership if, at that time, they are able to commit themselves to the theological and practical expectations involved in being an MBCM member church. 

With this special resolution, the Assembly of Congregations of MBCM in no way preclude the agency of River East Church. River East Church has the option, at a time of their choosing before May 31, 2024, to withdraw from membership with MBCM. 

Special Resolution 

We, the Assembly of Congregations of the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba, do resolve that, unless River East Church returns to an active embrace of MBCM member church expectations by May 30, 2024, River East Church’s official membership in the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba will end effective May 31, 2024. 

We finally resolve that should River East Church’s MBCM membership end as of May 31, 2024, MBCM extends an ongoing invitation for REC to return to MBCM if they choose to embrace and live in accordance with our shared member church expectations. 

Kind regards, Dave Ens, MBCM Board Moderator, Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba

Christians in Nanaimo, B.C. want to create an ark of welcome and affirmation for LGBTQ+ people and their allies

 

Just as the ark in the Bible provided shelter and safety for Noah and his family, some Christians in Nanaimo, B.C. want to create a safe place of welcome and affirmation for LGBTQ+ people and their allies—and they are calling their new church The Ark. 

The church, which started meeting in September, is being led by James and Janet Toews—formerly pastor couple at Neighbourhood Church, a Mennonite Brethren congregation—together with Elizabeth Kroeker Bach, Rebecca Hill and Julie. (Julie prefers not to use her last name.) 

“We want The Ark to be a place of safety in a storm,” said James, noting that 24 people came to the first service, held in a local community centre. 

The church is particularly interested in welcoming LGBTQ+ people and their parents. “We want to meet the needs of those whose needs are currently not being met by evangelical churches,” said Janet. 

She noted there are mainline churches in Nanaimo that are welcoming and affirming, but those who grew up in evangelical environments don’t feel as comfortable there. 

“Those who come from evangelical backgrounds say those churches don’t work for them,” added James. “It somehow doesn’t fit.” 

The couple also want The Ark to be a witness in the community. 

“So many think negatively of Christianity for how it has treated LGBTQ+ people,” said Janet. “We want to change that impression, if we can.” 

After 33 years at Neighbourhood, the Toews are aware that starting up a new church might feel threatening to people there. 

“We don’t want that to be the case,” James said. “We don’t want to be a distraction from what they are doing. We wish them well. We want to see them thrive in their mission. We just see a need for a church from the Anabaptist tradition that has a different kind of mission.” 

In that regard, the mission of The Ark is to be a “fully welcoming and affirming church,” he said. 

For that reason, the church is not part of the British Columbia Mennonite Brethren conference. “I wish we could be part of that denomination,” said James, who turned in his Mennonite Brethren pastoral credentials before starting The Ark. 

“I reached out to them, but it’s not promising,” he said.   

Looking back, “it’s been quite a journey for us,” said Janet. “We have LGBTQ+ people in our own family, and we have sat with so many other families of gay children who feel the church has abandoned them.” 

Through The Ark, they want to create a place where these people feel welcome. “We hope we can be a family to them,” she said. 

They don’t want their church to only be known for its opposition to the Mennonite Brethren conference. 

“We want to do something positive, make a difference,” she said, adding she felt “an incredible weight lifted off my shoulders at the first service.” 

As people who helped revive Neighourhood in 1990—“we were basically church planters,” said James—they know how hard it is to start a new church. “It will take time,” he said. “We are prepared for that.” 

The Ark Needed “for people like me” 

For Julie, a member of the leadership team, “The Ark is “needed in Nanaimo for people like me.” 

Julie grew up in a Pentecostal home. “When I came out at 17, I was told I would go to hell because of whom I choose to love,” she said. “That I would only have so many chances to repent my sins or God would turn his back to me.” 

Despite what she heard at church, she had “some very beautiful connections with Christ in my youth. It confused me so much to think that this loving presence could hate me so much. I spent many years hating myself. I tried not to be gay and ended up addicted to alcohol and drugs. That was my way of forgetting all these things.” 

After beating her addictions, Julie began to explore spirituality again. She started going to an evangelical church but felt she had to go back in the closet to stay there—she finally left because she was tired of hiding who she was. At The Ark, she doesn’t need to do that. 

“I know there are others like me who want to just be authentic and also find a safe space to connect with our God like we used to,” she said, noting The Ark reminds her of her childhood church. 

“That’s why I am part of this and why I want to help create a space where people can be themselves, grow, learn and also seek God’s will in a safe space with safe people around them.” 

Need for a church that expresses acceptance and inclusion 

Elizabeth Kroeker-Bach is another member of the team. For her, The Ark is needed because “there are many folks in our community who have been rejected and hurt by the evangelical churches they have been a part of. There is a need for a place that intentionally expresses its acceptance and commitment to inclusion.” 

She hopes those who have felt the pain of rejection from their churches in the past will find The Ark to be “a community that creates a safe and caring place where folks can come and not be afraid. To feel truly safe and embraced into a community that searches to live out Jesus’ love . . . a shelter for anyone who comes.” 

At the same time, she hopes it will help all who attend “reimagine ourselves as we search to follow God. My prayer is that this community will serve as a place of healing; a place where folks who have left their faith because of their hurt will be come and be able to feel Jesus’ love and grace; a place where we will encourage one another to continue in our journeys of faith—acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God.” 

Stakes are too high for young people to wait for churches to “figure this out” 

For Rebecca Hill, involvement in The Ark is personal. 

“I found my values and beliefs related to affirmation of the LGBTQ community out of alignment with where my church stood on these issues,” she said, adding it was important that her child could “both attend church with me and feel safe, as well as see my support for their identity reflected in my faith in a real and tangible way.” 

Having seen the pain and struggle her child experienced as they navigated confusion around their sexual orientation and gender identity while attending a Christian School and a church, “I see how detrimental traditional belief systems have been for my child, leading to severe emotional trauma manifested in extreme ways including self-harming behaviour.” 

For Hill, the “stakes are too high for young people navigating these realities to wait for churches to figure this out.” 

At the same time, her involvement in leadership comes after praying and hearing “a very clear direction from God to speak out about this and reach out with a missionary heart to this community.” 

She hopes The Ark will not only be a place of healing and reconciliation but also “provide an opportunity for other church leaders to learn more about what serving, including and affirming this community can look like.” 

As well, she hopes it might draw people who have been rejected by the church because of their sexuality back to faith so they can “find the God who has always loved them and wants to walk their life journey with them.”