The vote is in: River East Church has been removed from membership in the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba.
The vote in favour of the special resolution at the January 20 special session to remove the church from the Conference was 261 for and 52 against (83.3%).
To read more about the special session, click here.
“Tonight is a night for listening.”
With those words, Reynold Redekop, Chair of the River East Leadership Commission, welcomed people to the January 14 meeting titled “The Story of our Biblical and Theological Foundations for Inclusion.”
“It’s not an evening for debate,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to hear a different view. We don’t claim our view is correct or the right point of view—we are all on a journey to follow Jesus and live out our faith. We all have a lot to learn.”
He was followed by Janet Schmidt, a member of River East who helped organize the event and the November 26 event where the church told the story of its journey to inclusion.
“This is not a conversation, though we would like to have one,” she said, noting the church had asked the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM) for an open discussion.
“We pleaded with MBCM for an open conversation,” she said, adding that not being allowed to talk about it as a whole denomination “is not the Anabaptist way.”
With that avenue shut down, “we created this event, the only way we could share what we are thinking,” she said.
The event was not intended as a “comprehensive theological argument,” Schmidt said. “It’s just a snapshot of how we embraced inclusion while being deeply rooted in scripture.”
Schmidt noted that for many at River East, becoming welcoming and inclusive of LGBTQ+ people meant “changing our minds” about the subject.
For Mennonite Brethren in Canada, this isn’t the first time members of that denomination have changed their minds, or the Confession of Faith, on topics once considered settled by the Bible, she said.
This included things like whether or not to accept into membership people not baptized by immersion; moving from the German language to English; embracing and supporting divorced people, including accepting them into membership if they remarried; and women in leadership.
The people who made those decisions to exclude others “were good men—and they were all men back then,” she said, adding “they also believed they were following scripture. Yet they did significant harm.”
Now those things are seen as unacceptable today, Schmidt said, noting that the Mennonite Brethren journey on issues like this seems to go from a definite conference-wide decision against something that is supported by scripture and tradition; to a tolerance of churches that hold different ways of practicing the faith; and then to “acceptance without judgement.”
River East believes the Canadian Mennonite Brethren conference is on one of these journeys with LGBTQ+, she said.
After Schmidt spoke, River East pastor Mary Anne Isaak shared some of her experiences as a pastor, including times she was part of excluding LGBTQ+ people from the church.
Back then, she said, “she “felt the Bible was clear, it was sinful.” Today, “still rooted in Jesus Christ and scripture,” she believes otherwise.
“The last 20 years has been a journey of slow change related to same-sex marriage,” she said.
Of the church’s journey on this topic, Isaak said she sees River East as “acting with historical integrity with how the Confession of Faith has been adapted in the past.”
At River East, "we are maintaining a posture of not being afraid to dive into complexity, with a spirit of humility, as we wrestle with biblical texts,” she said, adding “we believe God is calling us to do a new thing.”
Isaak was followed by Aaron Thiessen, also a pastor at River East, who spoke about his own journey of changing his mind about LGBTQ+ and other topics while taking the Bible seriously, and Gordon Matties, who formerly taught Bible at Canadian Mennonite University, who explored a single set of scriptures on the topic to reveal the cultural and other assumptions behind them at that time.
The evening was concluded by comments from Schmidt. Looking ahead to the January 20 vote about whether or not to expel River East from MBCM, she noted that most delegates to that meeting “will vote not having heard our story or how we understand scriptures.”
She said River East had asked MBCM to promote the January 14 event to other Manitoba churches so delegates to the January 20 meeting could learn more about the church's exploration of the Bible, but the request was denied.
In addition to 124 people at the church in person for the event, there were 181 screens for the livestream on Zoom.
Note: I made no effort to try to summarize the presentations by Thiessen and Matties. (Wouldn't be able to do them justice!) The event was recorded and will be available at a later date on the church’s website.
River East has also created a document titled “Talking Points from the Bible for Full Inclusion of LGBTQ+ Persons, and also about the Confession of Faith and Full Inclusion of LGBTQ+.” Find it here.
Forty-nine years ago, I became a member of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.
It was in St. Catharines, Ont. I was 18. I had recently emerged from a difficult and traumatic experience in the Jesus movement.
Feeling lost and hurt, I stopped going to church. Then a friend said there was a local pastor who was good at talking to people in my situation.
One day I went to his church and simply wandered inside. (There were no locked doors and doorbells/intercoms in those days.) I knocked on his office door and said I needed to talk. He dropped whatever he was doing and invited me in.
The church was Grantham MB Church, and the pastor was Aaron Schmidt. (Thanks, Aaron!)
After our meeting, he invited me to visit his church. And that’s how I became Mennonite Brethren.
At the time, I didn’t know it was a Mennonite Brethren church. In fact, I knew almost nothing about Mennonites at all. I couldn’t tell an MB from a GC from an EMC or any other acronym.
My becoming Mennonite Brethren had nothing to do with the Confession of Faith, the peace position, which mode of baptism was best.
It was all about a pastor and congregation saying: “You are welcome here.”
Over time, I found a home in the denomination, being part of the Grantham, Elmwood (Winnipeg) and River East congregations.
I graduated from Mennonite Brethren Bible College, was associate editor of the MB Herald for a year, and served a year with Mennonite Brethren Missions/Services (now Multiply) as a writer.
Later, during the financial and other fiascos of the Sea-to-Sea and Multiply years, including its movement away from traditional Anabaptism and a community-style of decision making to a more top-down Reformed direction, the Conference and I had a falling out.
But as I like to say, I never left the MB Conference. It left me.
In two weeks, all of that will be history. On January 20, I will cease to be a member of the Mennonite Brethren Conference.
That’s when my congregation, River East Church, will be expelled from the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM) at a special session for its stance on LGBTQ+ people and affirming of same-sex marriage.
Unless, that is, something completely unexpected happens and it fails to get the over two-thirds of the votes needed to keep it in.
That is very unlikely.
I hope to attend that special session as a reporter, to be present when my membership in the denomination is ended.
There’s no guarantee I will be able to; when Jubilee Mennonite Church was expelled in March 2023, I was not allowed to attend as media.
(Not the first time that has happened; I have been prevented from attending an online meeting in B.C., and I’ve been told someone was dedicated to watching to see if I attended other online Mennonite Brethren conference meetings.)
Either way, I will provide a report about the event—even if I have to depend on interviews with those who attended it. (As I have done in the past.)
But after that? I’m not sure whether I will keep reporting about the topic of LGBTQ+ in the Canadian Mennonite Brethren Conference. After all, I will no longer be a member of that Conference.
But even if I stop writing about the topic on this blog, it won’t go away. At least three other Mennonite Brethren churches in Manitoba are exploring the subject of LGBTQ+ welcome and inclusion. I’m sure it is on the agenda for other churches across Canada, too.
As for the special meeting itself, here is the resolution delegates will be voting on:
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.
MBCM has posted some materials about the resolution you may want to read.
Special Assembly: Why Are We Here
MBCM Board Letter to River East Church (REC), notice of Special Assembly
Contextualizing the MBCM PFLT’s Theological Report regarding REC
PFLT Report: Theological Concerns for REC
In The Margins: Listening to other cultures and ethnicities within MBCM
For more information, including about eligibility for voting delegates, visit https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/mbcm-special-assembly-2024-tickets-775818482967
A chance to “tell our story in our own way.” That was the goal of the November 26 gathering at River East Church in Winnipeg.
The event, titled “River East’s Journey to Inclusion,” was attended by 172 people in person with 173 screens on Zoom.
The meeting was opened by church member Jan Schmidt, who said the event was being held, in part, to dispel some rumours circulating about why River East had decided to become welcoming and affirming of LGBTQ+ people.
This included the ideas that the topic was being “pushed through by one person,” that the church was no longer Christian, that it had ignored the Bible in making the decision and that its guiding principle was the Canadian Charter of Human Rights.
Since there was no other forum to dispel these rumours, the church decided to create its own, she said.
The other goal of the meeting was to share the story with those who will be voting to keep or expel the church at a special meeting of the Mennonite Brethren of Church Manitoba on January 20.
“We are hoping those who will be at that meeting deciding our future will take time to hear our story,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt noted that some people might be wondering why River East just doesn’t leave; why wait for a vote?
“The answer for me is this is my family of faith,” she said. “You all mean a lot to us.”
She went on to say that the decisions made by the church were not done quickly or haphazardly. “It was a process that led us to decision,” she said, adding it was “a slow process.”
The process started informally as far back as 2007, she said, and included Christian education classes on the subject and book studies.
The formal process started in 2019. It led to a vote asking if the church should welcome LGBTQ+ people “into every and all aspects of church life.” Ninety percent agreed.
Members were also asked if the church should place limits on LGBTQ+ congregants. 82 percent said no.
When asked if opposing viewpoints on LGBTQ+ inclusion should be allowed, “choosing unity above our differences,” 72 percent said yes.
That was followed by seven congregational meetings, with representatives from MBCM invited to all of them. The Leadership Commission also met four times to discuss the subject.
At the same time, the congregation asked itself what the Bible said on the subject “and then interpreted the Bible into our context,” she said, along with listening to the stories of people inside and outside of the congregation.
The church also created a document titled Talking Points About from the Bible for Full Inclusion of LGBTQ+ Persons.
The congregation continued to meet to talk about the subject through the pandemic. When finally asked to vote on a full inclusivity statement, almost 94 percent agreed with it.
That statement says that everyone is invited to be part of the church’s mission, “whatever their ability, age, ethnicity, family status, gender identity, income level, race, sexual orientation, or other identity distinctives. All are welcome to full participation in the journey of discipleship.” (Click here to read about the statement.)
Also at the meeting, River East pastor Aaron Thiessen explained how the church employed what’s called “the Gentile analogy” from the book of Acts to help it discuss the subject of LGBTQ+ welcome and affirmation.
“When confronted with dilemma, it’s good to see if a case in the past similar,” he said, noting that experience in Acts 15 can be used as a paradigm for approaching questions today.
That chapter describes how the early church was deadlocked over the thorny question of whether to welcome and affirm new Gentile believers, he said.
For some, Gentiles could only be allowed in if they followed Jewish religious customs and laws—especially with regards to circumcision. To bolster their case, they cited verses from the book of Genesis that demanded circumcision to be part of the covenant with God.
After debate and discussion, it was agreed that the Spirit was active among Gentiles, and that Gentile men could be allowed into the church without being circumcised.
Today, Thiessen said, the question isn’t about Gentiles but about whether Queer Christians could be welcomed into the church.
“Is this story sufficiently similar to our dilemma today?” he asked. “Many at River East say yes, having experienced first-hand the Spirit at work in Queer people . . . the book of Acts compels us to take seriously the lives of Queer Christians.”
Also part of the meeting, River East member Don Peters shared a snapshot about the church’s long history of involvement in the Canadian and Manitoba Mennonite Brethren conferences.
In total, current members of River East have given 982 years to the conferences and conference-supported agencies or schools, along with service on conference boards, he said. This includes 173 years of serving as pastors in Mennonite Brethren churches.
As well, about 75 percent of members at a Sunday morning service indicated they had attended a Mennonite Brethren school or one supported by the Conference of Canadian Mennonite Brethren Churches.
“Not only have we been shaped by Mennonite Brethren institutions, but we have shaped them and contributed to them,” he said, adding River East is “a community whose members were nurtured within the Mennonite Brethren family, a community that has contributed to the larger family of Mennonite Brethren and the larger Mennonite faith community.”
Click here for a recording of the event.
Before delegates to the January 20 Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM) special session vote about whether to expel River East Church from that denomination, members of that church would like them to learn more about their journey to inclusion.
For that reason, the church is inviting Mennonite Brethren church members in Manitoba (and beyond) to an in-person and online meeting titled “River East’s Journey to Inclusion” on November 26, 7 p.m.
At the meeting, people from River East will explain how—after years of conversation and study—they decided to welcome and include people regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation.
For those attending in person, the church is located at 755 McLeod in North Kildonan. Those who want to attend online can do so at this link. The passcode is journey and the meeting ID is 854 7662 3489.
In preparation for the meeting, the church invites people to read its inclusivity statement.
Dispelling rumours, taking Scripture seriously
Jan Schmidt is a River East member who is organizing the meeting. When asked why the church is inviting people to this meeting, she said the intent is “to share our journey that led to the inclusion statement. We have heard many rumours about how we undertook this process, some of which inaccurately suggest we took the decision lightly.”
Along with that, Schmidt said “we would like to share our journey to individuals and churches who also are embarking on this conversation.”
For River East Church member Don Peters, the goal is to “express our thoughts on a topic that is crucial to the life of our church community and to the wider Mennonite Brethren church family.
"We also want the wider church family to know that we take Scripture seriously and that we have been deliberate, methodical, and prayerful in our discernment process.”
As a result of the meeting, “we hope that the larger Mennonite Brethren family will understand the seriousness with which we’ve approached our study and our conclusion,” he said.
When asked if this was an attempt to sway the vote, Peters replied: “It is an effort to present a perspective. As members who are currently suspended from MBCM membership, we know we do not have voting rights. We know that with a meeting at our invitation, we will have the opportunity to express our views.”
Said Schmidt: “Members
of Manitoba Mennonite Brethren churches will decide whether we can remain
within the Mennontie Brethren family based on our commitment to live into the
inclusivity statement. We would hope that everyone who will participate in this
decision would do so with knowing and understanding our journey.”
You can read more about River East's journey to inclusion on this blog.
.gif)
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
Earlier this year, River East Church sent the
Manitoba Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches a Borderland Congregations proposal.
In it, the church proposed a way for the Conference to allow churches like itself—a welcoming and affirming congregation—to stay in the Conference by finding a home on the “borderland” of the denomination for a period of five to seven years. During that time, they could together discern a way forward on this topic.
Or, as the church put it, a way for churches such as River East to “remain part of MBCM and yet pursue understandings and practices that may border on the edges of common interpretations of the Confession of Faith.”
During this time period, MBCM would not suspend or expel any Borderland churches that sought to be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ people.
At the end of the specified time, there would be a complete evaluation of how the inclusion process is working in both Borderland and non-Borderland congregations as both seek to live out our mission for the world.
If no common ground could be found, churches like River East could be asked to leave the Conference.
The proposal was sent prior to the MBCM Assembly in early March, where the decision was made to expel Jubilee, and before River East itself was suspended.
Now the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches has responded to the proposal the pages of the June issue of the MB Herald Digest, its official publication.
In a cover article titled “Living on the Borderland: What does being a community require of us?”, Brian Cooper, Associate Professor of Theology at the MB Seminary in B.C. addresses the proposal. He finds it wanting.
"In a nutshell, I am convinced that the answer to this question is no, and that attempting to move toward a theological borderland is the way that leads to disaster,” Cooper said.
“The impulse to adapt or change our theological convictions for our context may be common, but it is not the way of faithfulness. Theological review is not a bad thing, if it is motivated by a desire to read Scripture more attentively, faithfully and missionally. The result is affirmation of theological convictions that address the breadth of Scripture well, not only certain carefully chosen texts.”
“I am not convinced that Scripture contains a call from God to a borderland on this point.”
Read Cooper’s entire article here.
People from River East
Church joined with people from other Mennonite churches in Winnipeg to march in
that city’s June 4 Pride Parade.
While people from other Mennonite Brethren churches may have marched, River
East was the only Mennonite Brethren church in Winnipeg to have an official
presence there.
Other Mennonite churches that marched were First Mennonite, Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship, Bethel Mennonite, Hope Mennonite, Home Street Mennonite and Sargent Mennonite. All of those congregations are part of Mennonite Church Manitoba. (If I missed any, let me know.)
River East Church in Winnipeg has been formally suspended by the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM).
The suspension took effect on May 3.
It follows a notice of suspension sent to the church in March and follows a meeting between the MBCM board and River East leadership.
On May 10, MBCM sent a letter to all Mennonite Brethren churches in Manitoba announcing the suspension. The letter is below.
This letter is a follow-up to the March 1 2023 communication you received from us regarding River East Church.
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 understand 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.
As well, we recognize that some of the implications of working to include and care for LGBTQ+ persons can bump up against our convictions and practices. The MBCM board continues to affirm our shared confession, in all of its aspects.
The MBCM board is moving River East Church’s membership in MBCM to a status of suspended, as of May 3, 2023. This suspension involves a change in River East’s ability to serve and provide representation.
Members of River East Church will be unable to hold a representative position within MBCM or CCMBC structures and affiliations while this suspension is active. This does not include REC members who are employed by institutions of said structures and affiliations. Additionally, River East Church members will be ineligible to vote on decisions or resolutions considered by the Assembly of MBCM churches.
As per the process outlined in MBCM’s constitution, the MBCM Provincial Faith and Life Team will conduct a review of the circumstances that have led to this suspension. They will report their findings to the MBCM board.
The desire of the MBCM board is to work toward the restoration of REC membership in MBCM. Should this intention find success, the board will then resolve to reinstate River East Church upon the board’s satisfaction that the concerns have been adequately rectified.
Should those efforts prove ineffective, the board will provide recommendation to the Assembly of MBCM churches for removal of membership.
We invite you to be in prayer for all involved as we journey through this process. May God work in and through us as we seek to be faithful in following him.
On behalf of the MBCM board, Dave Ens MBCM Board Moderator
Don Peters, a member of River East Church, wrote an account of the church's journey towards inclusivity. It is shared here with permission from the church.
It is standard practice for churches to include the expression, “All are Welcome!” with their announcement of Sunday morning services. In recent years, many churches, including the River East Church (REC), have become reflective about how the expression “All are Welcome” doesn’t feel welcoming to all. Does the invitation have exceptions? Does the invitation come with limitations?
At River East Church (REC) we grappled with these questions and invited the Manitoba Mennonite Brethren Church (MBCM) leadership to accompany and observe. Our Inclusivity Statement was the result of a lengthy, deliberate process. We were aware that working at the statement, and adopting it, would challenge and change us, and that we were undergoing this work as a discipleship journey, led by God’s spirit, word, and people. On this journey, we worked to identify our blind spots and become conscious of unintended harm we’ve caused along the way.
At REC we have become convicted
to embrace inclusivity as a gift and call of Christ.
At REC we have become convicted to embrace inclusivity as a gift and call of Christ. From the outset, the REC community resolved that our welcome must be an invitation to participate; not merely an invitation to observe. That is, people who enter REC are welcome to join us on a journey of discipleship. In accepting that invitation, they are entitled to the same privileges and responsibilities as any other people on the journey.
At the end of our process, our Inclusivity Statement was approved by the community (1) and circulated.
Here it is in full:
River East Church is a Jesus Community for the world. We invite everyone to join us in living out this mission as followers of Jesus in the Anabaptist / Mennonite tradition. This invitation is extended to all persons, whatever their ability, age, ethnicity, family status, gender identity, income level, race, sexual orientation, or other identity distinctives. All are welcome to full participation in the journey of discipleship. We strive to live as a community of love, even as we acknowledge our different understandings of Scripture. In our diversity, we gather around the Lord’s Table to celebrate our unity in Christ. (2)
Since its release, the Inclusivity Statement has received much attention in the wider Mennonite Brethren community. We hope the welcome it contains will be received with interest by people within the family of Mennonite Brethren churches, by people from other churches, and by people with no church affiliation.
It is in the spirit of engagement and welcome that we write this letter. If we were delivering the letter from a stage, we would think of three components to the audience:
We know that
leaders of MBCM will have interest in what we have to say.
We hope that individual MB churches and people within those churches will have interest.
And we hope that the people groups identified in the Inclusivity Statement will read and consider our invitation.
We understand that all aspects of the Inclusivity Statement will challenge our common practices and understandings of faith and discipleship. We are seeking to attend to all these aspects in our worship and work.
The focus of attention, in the responses we have received, is on just eight: ‘all persons’, ‘gender identity’, ‘sexual orientation’, and ’full participation’.
The statement has around 100 words but the focus of attention, in the responses we have received, is on just eight: ‘all persons’, ‘gender identity’, ‘sexual orientation’, and ’full participation’. MBCM leadership wrote REC to ask specifically what ‘full participation’ means in relation to ‘all persons.’ To the extent that this letter focuses on matters of sexual orientation and gender, it is because that has been the focus of questions from MBCM.
We developed the Inclusivity Statement at a time when many conversations within society were growing louder. This included conversations regarding 2SLGBTQ+ persons, race discrimination, income inequality, climate change, and reconciliation with Indigenous people. We realized that REC needs to do much better on many fronts and that our statement of welcome needed to be broad.
To illustrate, the REC community aspires to deep engagement with matters of reconciliation related to Indigenous communities. There has been no disagreement among us that we need to do better, and we have worked actively to educate ourselves: We set up a committee of members to address the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recommendations that pertain to churches; we’ve invited members of the Indigenous community to speak with us; we’ve participated in listening circles; we’ve offered our facility as a church location for an Indigenous group; we’ve provided food and fuel to an encampment at the Legislative Building; we’ve resourced our library with relevant reading material3 ; we’ve sent our youth and youth leaders to a reservation to build relationships. We are learning what it means to be treaty people.
We share the REC story on matters of Indigenous reconciliation to underscore that developing the Inclusivity Statement was not intended to be a process on 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion per se. Rather, the statement is an invitation to the larger set of communities that we consider to be systematically excluded by the church on account of its particular history, practices, and understandings of faith.
We acknowledge that all of us grew up having been taught, and largely accepting, that “All are Welcome!” did not include 2SLGBTQ+ persons.
That said, the Inclusivity Statement also intends to be a process on 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion. We acknowledge that all of us grew up having been taught, and largely accepting, that “All are Welcome!” did not include 2SLGBTQ+ persons or, if it did, the welcome was limited to observation. Over decades, but primarily over the last decade, many members of our community, because of their work, family, and other connections, had life experiences that questioned their initial upbringing. In the 90’s, a same-sex couple participated in REC for many years. During this time, we had an informal policy of ‘don’t ask’, ‘don’t tell’, ‘don’t talk about it.’ Did the couple participate in our journey of discipleship? After a fashion. Were they welcomed to full participation? Hardly.
We acknowledge that personal stories, especially those that arise within our families and our faith community, have motivated us to re-examine scripture. We ask the question; how can we reconcile what we’ve learned in scripture with what we are learning from experience? We acknowledge that we were not of one mind in this question, and we needed to go through a lengthy process of educating ourselves, studying scripture, hearing stories, and holding experience and scripture together4 . Over time, most of us began to change our minds. REC is known to be a discerning community. It takes questions seriously, as well as the process whereby to address them. In-person discernment is essential, but COVID intervened. Finally, the REC community has been able to meet in-person and has reached broad agreement on the general direction that our Inclusivity Statement will take us.
Our Inclusivity Statement is neither a starting point for what God is calling us to, nor is it an end point.
As we tell the story of how we arrived at this place, it is important to note that our Inclusivity Statement is neither a starting point for what God is calling us to, nor is it an end point.
The Inclusivity Statement is the result of decades long journeys of discernment on what it means to be a follower of Christ today. In the end, the statement is a natural outgrowth of our identity, mission, and core values.
Many people in the wider MB church community will know that REC was in the vanguard of change to MB policy with respect to women in church leadership. REC hired the first full-time female pastor before church policy was changed to one accepting women in all leadership roles. We mention this here because REC, while demonstrating its commitment to this essential aspect of inclusivity, also contributed significantly to the wider MB church.
Within the last decade, REC developed, and posted, our Identity and Mission, and statement of Core Values (4), articulated as “Our Beliefs” on the church website. (5) The details in “Our Beliefs” are rooted in Anabaptist essentials summed up in a statement by Palmer Becker that has become a mantra for many Mennonite denominations, including the Mennonite Brethren (6): “Jesus is the Centre of our Faith; Community is the Centre of our Life; Reconciliation is the Centre of our Work.” (7)
REC understands itself as a “Jesus community for the world” and believes “that church should be a place where anyone can experience belovedness and kinship with God.”
If the church “should be a place where anyone can experience belovedness and kinship with God,” then the invitation to “full participation in the journey of discipleship” should be extended to ‘all persons.’
“Our Beliefs” were developed long before our Inclusivity Statement and form the foundation for it. That is, if the church “should be a place where anyone can experience belovedness and kinship with God,” then the invitation to “full participation in the journey of discipleship” should be extended to ‘all persons.’ To limit that invitation would require adding a qualifier to the ubiquitous statement “All are Welcome!” on any and every MB church sign.
REC boldly asserts that we are A Jesus Community for the World:
We are a Jesus Community. We take Jesus and his teachings seriously. We believe that Jesus called us to do justice and to reach out to the marginalized, just as he did throughout his life.
Our community is purposed toward the World. Of course, there are rewards that members of the community realize within REC. But our community does not exist for itself. It exists for the purpose of interaction with others.
This statement of identity, A Jesus Community for the World, is also a statement of aspiration. We take Jesus seriously and we take the World seriously. Specifically, we challenge ourselves to relate to society, our culture, and the environment with the sense of justice, compassion, and inclusion exemplified by Jesus.
Our Beliefs and the Inclusivity Statement, as presented on the REC website, were developed in a Mennonite Brethren church community. We are a diverse community like many others. And like other church communities, we also have a distinct uniqueness: REC has a strong record of support and service for MBCM, the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (CCMBC), wider MB conference, and Anabaptist agencies. Those who have reached agreement on this statement include: past and present leaders of our Mennonite institutions including positions in MBCM, CMU, MBCI, MCC and MEDA; many persons who have sat both on Canadian and Manitoba conference boards as well as national and provincial Faith and Life Teams; a member of our community who sat on the last revision of the MB confession of faith; theologians who have taught in our institutions; and pastors who have served in our congregation and other MB churches.
We are people whose faith has been nurtured in many MB congregational, conference, and agency communities. The MB church has shaped the convictions of our faith and who we are as followers of Christ. We also are a people of many other vocations and life experiences beyond church work and church related academics – teachers, musicians, health professionals, social workers, business people.
Our Beliefs and our Inclusivity Statement were developed in a church community that takes the Bible seriously.
Our Beliefs and our Inclusivity Statement were developed in a church community that takes the Bible seriously. We seek to follow Christ, to study scripture and practices of faith, including the use of the Confession of Faith, and to be attentive to where God’s spirit is moving.
The REC community has searched for Biblical guidance with respect to the topic of inclusivity. This search was deliberate and methodical. (8) For example, community members were encouraged to read, to pray, to reflect; sermon series were prepared, delivered, and received. During COVID restrictions, we had on-line break-out discussions. We heard moving accounts from community members whose minds and hearts were changed by listening to the stories of others, sometimes the stories of family members. (9)
We asked the question, “In our time, who are those that we tend to push away, but that Christ would not?”
We asked the question, “In our time, who are those that we tend to push away, but that Christ would not?” After much reflection, an overwhelming majority of community members are convinced that the Bible can be read with integrity and welcome the inclusion of all persons to full participation in the journey of discipleship. Many of us would state it this way: when the Bible is read with integrity, the Bible welcomes all persons to full participation in the journey of discipleship.
The Inclusivity Statement is not an end point.
It is an invitation to a journey of discipleship, a process that involves people in relationship with each other and with God. We will live into the journey as we walk it.
The Inclusivity Statement is a statement of aspiration, a statement of intention. The REC community aspires to be a healthy home. What does a healthy church home look like when all persons identified in the statement—whatever their ability, age, ethnicity, family status, gender identity, income level, race, sexual orientation, or other identity distinctives—feel welcome? How do we go about creating this healthy home?
The REC Inclusivity Statement is a signal that the REC community intends to be a Jesus community in the world, willing and committed to engage and to serve. We remain committed to the Biblical tradition, a community hermeneutic, and our Anabaptist foundation.
We acknowledge that we are not unanimous in our acceptance of the Inclusivity Statement. We acknowledge that a few community members have left REC in the process of this discernment. We miss them and we are working to remain in relationship.
We acknowledge that some community members are concerned that the direction taken in REC’s Inclusivity Statement will threaten our relationship with MBCM. We hope that we will be able to stay together at REC and model an acceptance of each other.
We acknowledge that some in our community feel that it is necessary to leave the MB conference to stop doing harm to persons and communities who do not understand themselves to be fully welcome. Others within REC remain committed to retaining membership. Many of us hope that the current discussion regarding REC’s Inclusivity Statement will be a catalyst for change within MBCM and CCMBC and, at the very least, will encourage other MB churches in their own discernment processes on the topic of inclusivity.
It disturbs us that some MB conferences are removing or sanctioning pastors and congregations simply because they feel compelled to examine questions related to sexuality.
We conclude our letter with a call-out to the three components of our audience:
To the MB leadership in MBCM and CCMBC: It disturbs us that some MB conferences are removing or sanctioning pastors and congregations simply because they feel compelled to examine questions related to sexuality. Mennonite Brethren history has ample illustrations of imposition and exclusion: those who divorced; those who divorced and then wished to remarry; those who were not baptized by immersion; and going far back in time, those who went to movies. The church has changed its position on these matters and on others more current: leadership positions in the church are now open to women. Even confessional statements change not only as wording is updated but as church conferences modify an article to mirror the church’s conviction. An illustration of this is the USMB modification of Article XIII of Confession of Faith, “Love, Peacemaking and Reconciliation.” Change occurs in our practices, change occurs in our Confession of Faith. The issues that we deal with today, issues that challenge current practices and our Confession of Faith, are not the first nor will they be the last.
Few today would concur with past practices of the church which saw the censure, even expulsion, of members who stepped outside of then current church practices and positions. We aspire to model that it is better to treat differences in the family with listening, tolerance, and acceptance, than with suspension and expulsion.
We have not arrived, and we cannot arrive because ours is a faith journey.
To other MB churches and community members within them: We welcome you to engage with us. We have not arrived, and we cannot arrive because ours is a faith journey. We hope that you recognize the seriousness with which we have engaged this topic and that our work may serve as building block for you. We hope that our story encourages you to be true to scripture and to love and accept anyone who enters your community. We are open to your challenge, to listening, sharing, and examining together.
To “all persons” mentioned in our Inclusivity Statement, including persons who self-identify within the 2SLGBTQ+ community: Our statement means what it says -- “All are welcome to full participation in the journey of discipleship.” We welcome you to walk confidently with us. We welcome you to stumble along with us. You will challenge us; we will challenge each other. You are welcome to join us on a journey of discipleship. We extend this invitation without caveat.
This is our story at this stage of our journey. We know that other MB churches, and members within MB churches, are grappling with the same questions we have been working with and we write this as our invitation to engage with you.
Footnotes
1. September 14-19, 2020; online vote on statement
2. https://rivereastchurch.ca/our-beliefs/
3. As examples,
see: Steve Heinrichs, ed., Unsettling the Word: Biblical Experiments in
Decolonization. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis. 2019; Randy Woodley, Becoming
Rooted: One Hundred Days of Reconnecting with Sacred Earth. Minneapolis:
Broadleaf Books Ltd. 2022.
4. The REC Core
Value Statements were approved by the congregation in February 2018.
5. https://rivereastchurch.ca/
6. Becker’s
statement was a focus of Emerson Cordoso’s plenary address at CCMBC Gathering
in Saskatoon, July 2018. Cordoso is Executive Director of the Brazil MB Church
and on the Executive Committee of ICOMB
7. Palmer Becker.
Anabaptist Essentials: Ten Signs of a Unique Christian Faith. Harrisburg
Virginia: Herald Press. 2017
8. It included not
only the materials referred to in Appendix A but also sermons based on relevant
Biblical material.
9. https://anabaptistworld.org/finding-pride-in-my-brother-finding-my-brother-at-pride/
