Waterloo, Ont. Mennonite Brethren Church current & former members call on leadership to create safe space to talk about LGBTQ+

 

A public letter has been sent to leadership at the Waterloo, Ont. Mennonite Brethren Church (WMB) asking them to “create safe and open spaces for the WMB community to have conversations about LGBTQ+ inclusion without fear of repercussions.”

The letter was signed by 79 current and former members or attenders and participants. Other former members are invited to sign it as well.

(Find the letter and link for signing below.)

Isaiah Ritzman is spokesperson for the group of eight who initiated the letter. When asked why the letter was being sent to the leadership of the church now, he  said they did it “because we believed we were not alone. We believed more people at WMB church believed and felt as we did—they wanted a more inclusive community.”

The group also was frustrated they didn’t have another mechanism to share these concerns.

“We drafted this letter because we believed a public letter would be a means of reaching this larger group, giving them voice, as well as signalling to our wider community of how significant of an issue this is to so many people.”

When asked what the group meant by “safe space,” Ritzmann said “whether a space is ‘safe’ has to be determined by the people who have felt unsafe in the past or continue to feel unsafe.”

Church leaders, he said, “might believe they are creating that space, and perhaps they intend to do so (we're not in the business of judging intentions). But many who signed this letter have not experienced safe space at WMB.”

This was illustrated, he shard, by “the fact that we had people approach us who wanted to sign the letter but were scared to. That says something.”

To date, there has been no response from WMB leadership.

“We respect that it can take time for leadership to respond to the letter,” he said, noting the group went public with it on October 28.

“We hope to hear the beginnings of an answer by November 13th when the Leadership Board is having a townhall on issues such as these.”

Anyone who has been part of WMB in the past is invited to sign the letter, Ritzmann said.

“If you have been part of WMB church in the past we invite you to sign. For others we invite your prayers and moral support.”

Former WMP members who want to sign the letter can do so here. 

To the leadership of WMB Church,

We write out of love and concern for this community.

All of the undersigned have different relationships to WMB. Some are quite involved, others have taken a step back, and still others have left the church community in sadness. 

Alarmingly, some feel they have been kicked out of the church. While all the undersigned have different relationships to WMB, we all come with a common concern: LGBTQ+ inclusion. 

  

Not all of us are of one mind on theology. We range from general traditional beliefs to those who affirm LGBTQ+ people in marriage, membership, & ministry in the church. But we are of one heart - we care about this community, each other, and our LGBTQ+ siblings & neighbours. It remains deeply painful that WMB lacks safe & open spaces to listen, study & dialogue, and even to remain members when and where conscience and conviction differ over such matters.

 

Together we call upon the leadership of WMB church to:

 

Frist, Create safe & open spaces for the WMB community to have conversations about LGBTQ+ inclusion without fear of repercussions.

 

Second, publicly commit to separate membership entirely from personal convictions concerning LGBTQ+ inclusion (as membership is already separate from theological conviction in other areas).

 

We ask these things in hope that change is possible.

 

Members of Ontario Mennonite Brethren Church lose membership over subject of LGBTQ+, but not hope

Their church may not want them as members because they want to talk about LGBTQ+ welcome and inclusion, but a group of former members of the Waterloo, Ont. Mennonite Brethren Church (WMB) aren't willing to go easily—or give up hope for their church.

It goes back to 2018, when WMB—which annually asks members to sign a covenant to remain in good standing with the church—said that signing the covenant also meant supporting the Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith "in word and deed." 

In response, a small but growing group of members indicated they were unwilling to sign the covenant due to their support for LGBTQ+ welcome and inclusion. 

“We are not in agreement with the MB Church’s position regarding people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender,” they wrote to the church’s leaders.

They added the articles in the Confession about marriage and sexuality “have been widely interpreted within the Mennonite Brethren Conference to not allow members or leaders to hold that same-sex relationships can be good and honouring and holy.” 

They also said they didn’t believe the Confession is “timeless, infallible or inerrant.” 

For them “it represents the best of what our community could hear of God’s voice at that time. New understandings emerge.” 

The group pointed out some members of the congregation, including some in leadership, were at odds with other aspects of the confession, such as non-resistance—yet were able to remain in good standing. 

This showed, the group said, “the whole church does not have to agree with the Confession of Faith on every single point. Respect for community and respect for its confession is not contingent on agreement on every point.”

They added there was a time when Mennonite Brethren wouldn’t allow women to be pastors, but this changed over time with WMB helping to lead the way by inviting women to be elders and pastors.

The group—Darlene Bartha, Vicki Brown, Wes Coffey, Isaiah Ritzmann, Doug de’Rozario and Paul Shinkar, Craig Brown and Alison Feuerwerker—continued to meet to discuss the topic and encourage conversation about it in the church.

Then, in fall 2020, they discovered the church had removed them from membership—without any formal follow up.

In a letter sent to WMB leadership, the group stated they had lost their membership “without any pastoral conversations or due process.” 

“Nobody told us we weren’t members anymore,” said Brown.

“Our membership was just gone,” said Shinkar.

Ritzmann wasn’t surprised their memberships were revoked. “But at least talk to us about it,” he said, noting they only learned about being put out second-hand.

Although some group members are now going to other churches as a result of the decision, some have stayed although they can’t vote or be involved in leadership. They continue to hope WMB will be open to exploring the topic of LGBTQ+ welcome and inclusion.

“I think there is long-term hope at WMB and even the wider MB conference for more inclusion,” said Ritzmann, who said he feels called to promote reconciliation with the LGBTQ+ community.

“If we stay, it might have a chance at the church,” he said, adding the group wants to stay in dialogue with WMB leadership and sent them a letter in 2021 to continue the discussion.

“There are a lot of people hungry for conversation about this topic,” he said.

Shinkar agreed.

“I hope by sticking around we can offer ourselves as catalysts for conversation,” he said, adding they want to do it “graciously, seeking God’s heart. Maybe then reconciliation can happen.”

The 2021 letter was sent to all staff and every board member of the church. In it, the group acknowledged the topic is a cause of great anxiety for some, including many MB leaders.

But, the letter said, “this isn’t just an ‘issue.’ It’s about real human beings, their friends and family, and a watching world. To choose to open up the conversation is an act of love.”

Ultimately, the letter stated, “we are calling WMB to lead the way and be a people of reconciliation” with the LGBTQ+ community.

In June some members of the group met with a reporter to talk about their situation at WMB.

When asked why they are going public now, Coffey said each person in the group has their own reasons.

But a main one shared by all, he said, was “we didn’t feel heard.”

“Maybe this is our last kick at the can,” he said about talking to a reporter. “Maybe the church will hear us now.”

Coffey wanted to make it clear the group was not “dissing” WMB. He recognized, however, that the group's raw honesty may be overshadowing their desire to speak the truth in love.  

“We are seeking the Spirit’s guidance in this,” he said.

For Ritzmann, it’s also about letting LGBTQ+ people in WMB and the wider Mennonite Brethren denomination know they aren’t alone.

“It’s about speaking the truth in love, being fully open with our church,” he said, adding “we envision a place where LGBTQ+ people can be involved and included.”

A hopeful sign were two listening circles with members of the group and representatives from staff and lay leaders after the sending of the 2021 letter. But they are still waiting to hear about the issue of their membership. 

To date, no response has been received. But Coffey received a note from the Chair of the Board about finding a time to meet to discuss the group’s concerns. 

For him, "this is encouraging and provides a spark of hope."