Opinion: Ontario Mennonite Brethren Conference finally names the big issue at the heart of the LGBTQ+ discussion: The role and authority of the Bible

Finally—someone said it. 

To date, when provincial Mennonite Brethren conferences resolve to expel churches that welcome and affirm LGBTQ+ people, and support same-sex marriage, they do so because those churches have stepped outside the Confession of Faith. 

But the Ontario Mennonite Brethren Conference (ONMB) has finally named the bigger issue at the heart of this dispute: The role and authority of the Bible. 

In its report to delegates for the ONMB’s annual convention, to be held February 24-25, the Provincial Faith and Life Team explains to delegates why it is proposing to revoke the membership of Southridge Community Church and Toronto FreeChurch. 

This topic, ONMB states, “really matters” because it has “larger implications for how we understand the nature of Christian discipleship, the authority of Scripture, the nature of the gospel, and so on.” 

“We do not see sexual ethics as a standalone issue, but one integral to the overall framework of how we use Scripture,” it goes on to say. 

In other words, it's not just a matter of deviating from Article 11 of the Confession of Faith, which states marriage is only between a man and a women—which they name. It's also about the role, place and authority of the Bible. 

Of course, this is what many have known all along. 

Anyone who has met LGBTQ+ Christian knows they are fine people who love Jesus as much as any straight person—maybe even more because of the challenges and wounds they have endured to keep their faith. 

It’s not about whether LGBTQ+ people can love Jesus and be faithful disciples. They can. It’s about whether the Bible, as some interpret it, is true and can be trusted. That’s the big issue in play. 

I have often likened this to the game of Jenga, where players have to pull out pieces of wood from a tower. Lots of pieces can come out before the final one is pulled and the whole edifice falls down. 

For many Christians today, including many Mennonite Brethren Christians, welcoming and affirming LGBTQ+ people and supporting same-sex marriage is the final Jenga piece. 

They have seen other things pulled out, things the Bible was once believed to be certain about. This includes slavery, divorce and remarriage and the role of women in leadership. These were once seen by some as fundamental to the authority of the scriptures. Those views have changed, yet their faith has continued. 

Somehow, though, this one is different. Perhaps it's because it is about sex, which has always been a volatile subject for churches. But that’s not the only reason. 

According to the late Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence, the topic of LGBTQ+ welcome and affirmation is attracting so much attention, anger and recrimination because it is the last piece to be pulled before Christians today find themselves with a new perspective on the Bible, one that challenges hundreds of years of biblical tradition. 

As she put it in that book: 

To approach any of the arguments and questions surrounding homosexuality in the closing years of the twentieth century and the opening ones of the twenty-first is to approach a battle to the death. 

When it is all resolved—and it most surely will be—the Reformation’s understanding of Scripture as it had been taught by Protestantism for almost five centuries will be dead. 

That is not to say that Scripture as the base of authority is dead. Rather it is to say that what the Protestant tradition has taught about the nature of that authority will be either dead or in mortal need of reconfiguration. And that kind of summation is agonizing for the surrounding culture in general. 

In particular, it is agonizing for the individual lives that have been built upon it. Such and ending is being staved off with every means available and resisted with every bit of energy that can be mustered. Of all the fights, the gay one must be—has to be—the bitterest, because once it is lost, there are no more fights to be had. It is finished. Where now is the authority? 

It's a battle for the Bible for some, in other words. The stakes are high.  

Christians whose faith is dependent on a literal, “plain reading” and inerrant view of the Bible sense the danger in this topic of LGBTQ+ welcome and affirmation. Everything they have believed in is in jeopardy if this piece is pulled. Their whole system of faith could fall apart.

For that reason, churches like Artisan, Cedar Park, Southridge, FreeChurch and Jubilee have to go from the Mennonite Brethren conference. 

Not just because they have made decisions contrary to the Confession of Faith, although that is the reason normally given for justifying their expulsion. 

It's because this time the topic of LGBTQ+ threatens the way many view the Bible, and by extension the very nature of Christian faith as taught by the Mennonite Brethren conference in Canada. 

So good on ONMB for naming the big issue at stake here. Putting it on the table might mean Mennonite Brethren in Canada can now have an honest discussion about the topic of LGBTQ+ and same-sex marriage, and understand why it generates so much bitterness and division.

Ontario Mennonite Brethren Conference publishes resolutions to revoke membership of Southridge, FreeChurch over LGBTQ+ welcome and affirmation

 

Saying that Southridge Community Church and Toronto FreeChurch have chosen “a different path from that as set out in our Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith,” the Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (ONMB) has resolved to revoke the membership of the two churches. 

Delegates will vote on the resolutions to expel the two congregations at the ONMB annual convention on February 24-25. 

In its report, the ONMB Provincial Faith and Life Team (PFLT) said delegates will be asked to “either affirm or reject the recommendation of the ONMB board and PFLT to release and bless these two churches as they pursue a different understanding and belief regarding marriage.” 

In the case of FreeChurch, its membership in ONMB is being revoked because of their “commitment to full inclusion of all 2SLGBTQ+ persons including those who are in or seeking same-sex marriages.” 

For Southridge, it is their intention “to move into a model of full inclusion for 2SLGBTQ+ persons and make the discipleship expectation of sexual intimacy limited to male/female marriage a ‘disputable matter’ and not a requirement for participation and leadership in their church.” 

The recommendations to remove the two from membership are coming to delegates “after much dialogue, interaction, process, prayer, and discernment by both the ONMB Board and the PFLT over the last four years,” said Michelle Knowles, ONMB Board Chair, and Ryan Jantzi, Interim Executive Director in a letter to delegates posted on the PFLT report on the ONMB website. 

In the letter, the two say they “share a deep concern for how we can grow in love and invitation for 2SLGBTQ+ persons,” but believe this is best done “by a careful exploration of the way of Jesus and the ethical expectations articulated in Scripture for disciples of Jesus.” 

These expectations are summarized well in Articles 10 and 11 of the MB Confession of Faith (about discipleship and marriage, singleness and family), they said. 

While stating they believe those articles “faithfully describe the way of Jesus in terms of sexuality and sexual expression,” they go on to say “we need to grow in our posture of love and invitation especially to those who have been excluded and marginalized.” 

At the same time, this state that this topic “really matters” because it has “larger implications for how we understand the nature of Christian discipleship, the authority of Scripture, the nature of the gospel, and so on.” 

For that reason, “we do not see sexual ethics as a standalone issue, but one integral to the overall framework of how we use Scripture.” 

“While some declare that our historic understanding of sexual intimacy for Christians as limited to male/female marriage is really a disputable or secondary theological matter, the Faith & Life Team and ONMB Board believe it is critical to hold fast to our existing convictions. Our ethics cannot be distanced in significance from doctrine,” they said. 

The biblical teaching on the subject of sexuality, “as historically understood and articulated in the MB Confession of Faith, is strong and biblically defensible,” they said, adding by allowing “differing views on sexual ethics, many of our other faith commitments are also dramatically and negatively affected.” 

At the same time, “divergence from sexual ethics expressed in the Confession of Faith would violate our existing commitments both relationally and organizationally with the broader MB community,” they said. 

If a church moves away from its commitment to operate in agreement with the MB Confession of Faith and practices, “it must recognize that this necessarily puts at risk their affiliation with the larger church family.” 

Since both Southridge and FreeChurch “have each publicly expressed their decision to move away from our shared biblical understanding that, for disciples of Jesus, sexual intimacy is necessarily limited to the context of a male/female marriage covenant,” both churches are “violating their ONMB affiliation covenant to operate in agreement with the MB Confession of Faith and practices.” 

Read the full report and letter here. 

Christian Leader, publication of U.S. Mennonite Brethren conference, provides overview of LGBTQ+ situation for Canadian MBs

 

Saying “the Canadian Conference of MB Churches (CCMBC) and its provincial conferences remain committed to the CCMBC Confession of Faith statements regarding marriage,” the Christian Leader, the publication of the U.S. Mennonite Brethren Conference, has provided an overview of the situation in Canada related to LGBTQ+ welcome and affirmation. 

As a result, the February 9 2023 article continues, “in the past year congregations that welcome and include LGBTQ+ individuals have been suspended and pastors and a provincial staff member who have initiated discussions on the topic have resigned. Meanwhile, some are asking for a moratorium on suspending churches that are discussing the issue.” 

Click here to read the article to see what American Mennonite Brethren are reading about things in Canada.

"The Confession of Faith is not written in stone." Thoughts from a Jubilee Mennonite Church member about the upcoming vote to remove their church from the Mennonite Brethren conference

 

Elfrieda and Hardy Schroeder are members of Jubilee Mennonite Church. They came to the dual-conference congregation (both Mennonite Brethren and Mennonite Church Canada) from the Mennonite Brethren side of things.

 

For them, the ability to live together with differences is a hallmark of healthy Christian life. Now they lament being removed from the Mennonite Brethren conference over Jubilee’s decision to welcome and include LGBTQ+ people and affirm same-sex marriage.

 

Elfrieda provided a few thoughts for delegates to the March 3-4 assembly where they will vote on a resolution to remove Jubilee from membership.

 

Both my husband Hardy’s and my family were refugees after WWII. We both experienced homelessness and trauma at an early age. As children, we knew what it is like to be different and we haven’t forgotten.

 

In 1947, my family ended up in Paraguay where my father helped build the village of Einlage and became a pastor there. The school in the middle of the village turned into a house of worship on Sundays. Our village was made up of both Mennonite Brethren and General Conference Mennonites. They worshiped together. It was more important to talk about the things that united us than what separated us 

 

When I was nine years old, we emigrated to Canada. The small Albertan town in which we settled did not have a Mennonite church. We attended an Evangelical United Brethren church, founded originally by Pennsylvania Dutch Mennonites.

 

Our family was treated with love, kindness and respect. We did not have to change to belong there. Everyone was welcome!

 

My family eventually moved again and I was baptized at Springfield Heights Mennonite church by sprinkling. When I met Hardy, who was preparing to go to Congo with Mennonite Brethren Missions, Pastor Quiring of Brooklands Mennonite Brethren church, where Hardy was a founding member, asked if I would consider being rebaptized by immersion.

 

I declined, and the church voted to accept me. The mode of baptism had been an ongoing debate for at least 20 years in the Mennonite Brethren conference.)

 

When we returned from Congo, the debate among Mennonite Brethren was about women in ministry.

 

To those of us who worked long and hard with this issue, it was disappointing to have it defeated in the early 1990s. After 20 years, there is now no problem; it is left up to individual churches to decide.

 

In 2023, we at Jubilee Mennonite church are being denied membership in the Mennonite Brethren Conference because of our decision to fully accept LGBTQ+ in a committed relationship. 

 

Hardy and I were so happy when we moved to Winnipeg to discover a church that had membership in both conferences. Now this will be taken from us. 

 

The Confession of Faith is not written in stone. It will have changed twenty years from now. That will be too late for us.

 

Is there a pattern here? Please think about the significance of your decision!

 

Read an interview with Elfrieda and Hardy titled “I hope the MB conference would give us their blessing” from 2022.

Questions about the Confession of Faith posed to the Director of the National Faith and Life Team

 

I was reading the National Faith and Life Team (NFLT) report to the Mennonite Brethren provincial conference assemblies when two things jumped out at me.

One was about whether there might be some wiggle room in the Confession of Faith for LGBTQ+ inclusion and affirmation, based on the 2006 women in ministry decision that allowed churches freedom to involve women as leaders if they wanted.

The other was a comment about the possibility of amending the Confession. Could that include amending the section on same-sex marriage? 

Wanting answers, I reached out to the report's author, Ken Esau, who directs the NFLT.

“You asked several good questions emerging from my report that I'm happy to respond to,” he said.

My first question.

I see from your NFLT report you are "exploring the implications of our 2006 Women in Ministry Resolution in the light of diversity of views in our national family." Care to add some explanation as to what that might mean? Could it create space for churches that want to be affirming and welcoming of LGBT+ people? 

Ken’s response.

This action comes out of questions that people have asked about how different churches within our MB family can better understand and relate to each other over this “non-confessional question.” 

Our 2006 Women in Ministry Resolution spelled out the parameters for our disagreement and how within those parameters we hoped to maintain mutually respectful relationships. 

We may need to be reminded about what was agreed to in 2006 since we have many new leaders in our MB family who know little or nothing about this resolution.

(I know that some have suggested that our treatment of this non-confessional question could be a model for how we navigate disagreements related to other questions, but this is not what prompted our planned work here). 

My second question.

You also noted you will be looking at how and when to possibly amend the COF. What prompted that?  

Ken’s response.

It is clear that amendments to our MB Confession of Faith are possible (see Article 8: Baptism—2021 Revision). We have not, however, provided a clear procedure for what can prompt an amendment, the acceptable rationale for an amendment, the process of community hermeneutic involved in the amendment, and the approval process for that amendment.

While we are presently updating all the Confession of Faith resources (viz. Commentary, Pastoral Application) that presently accompany each article, we do not have plans to amend any article of our Confession of Faith. 

However, we feel it is best to clarify the process related to an amendment so everyone understands what is involved. We believe that our national MB Church family is best served by open and transparent policies and procedures—and this is one more step in that direction. 

We are doing this as well with the creation of our “Collaborative National Credentialing Policy,” and our “Collaborative National Church Affiliation and Review Policy.” We have also articulated some of these questions in the new “Introduction to the MB Confession of Faith” (2023 version) available on our CCMBC website. 

I noted Ken's conclusion, where he said: "The questions that we are facing within our national MB family are both urgent and significant ones affecting the very fabric of our unity."  

Said Ken.

Yes. There is no question that this is an important moment in the history of our Canadian MB family. As I noted elsewhere, some diversity at a local church and a denominational level is normal, healthy, and a stimulus for energetic growth and positive movement, but too much diversity is crippling to the point that no movement and shared mission is possible.

We certainly need much Holy Spirit wisdom to discern together where we are as a church family on this spectrum of diversity. Once that is clarified, we will need the same Holy Spirit wisdom to know the best steps forward.  

Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba announces resolution for vote on Jubilee Mennonite Church membership; update on River East deliberations

 

Saying it has invited Jubilee Mennonite Church to “join us in embracing a posture of commitment to the Confession of Faith,” the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM) has announced that if Jubilee “cannot respond to this invitation” it will “regretfully acknowledge” that it “has chosen a path that will end their affiliation with MBCM as of July 1, 2023.” 

The resolution to be voted on at the March 3-4 annual assembly states: 

“We, the Assembly of Congregations of the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba, do resolve that, unless Jubilee Mennonite Church returns to an active embrace of MBCM member church expectations by June 30, 2023, Jubilee Mennonite Church’s official membership in the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba will end effective July 1, 2023.” 

In a separate announcement, MBCM told Mennonite Brethren churches in Manitoba that the MBCM board is following the constitutional process in arranging appropriate meetings and follow up with River East Church, which has also announced if affirms same-sex marriages. 

In the coming weeks, MBCM churches can expect to hear from the MBCM board in this regard. 

The full letter from MBCM is below. 

The Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM) 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 specifically 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, Jubilee Mennonite Church (JMC) has made a statement titled “Jubilee Mennonite Church Statement of Inclusion” that substantively is in conflict with the Confession of Faith (see Articles 10 & 11). In so doing, JMC has broken the constitutional commitment to not pass resolutions or practises which are in conflict with the 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 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 JMC is failing to uphold the commitment to the Confession of Faith. 

We invite Jubilee Mennonite Church to join us in embracing a posture of commitment to the Confession of Faith. It is the desire of the MBCM leadership board that Jubilee Mennonite Church would join us as a conference of churches in this important and ongoing work of reducing marginalization and harm of LGBTQ+ persons. If Jubilee Mennonite Church cannot respond to this invitation, and actively return to the shared membership expectations of the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba by June 30, 2023, we regretfully acknowledge that Jubilee Mennonite Church has chosen a path that will end their affiliation with MBCM as of July 1, 2023. 

Should this ending of affiliation become a reality as of July 1, 2023, MBCM will continue to extend an ongoing invitation for Jubilee Mennonite 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 Jubilee Mennonite Church. Jubilee Mennonite Church has the option, at a time of their choosing before July 1, 2023, to withdraw from membership with MBCM. 

Special Resolution 

We, the Assembly of Congregations of the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba, do resolve that, unless Jubilee Mennonite Church returns to an active embrace of MBCM member church expectations by June 30, 2023, Jubilee Mennonite Church’s official membership in the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba will end effective July 1, 2023. 

Should Jubilee Mennonite Church’s MBCM membership end as of July 1, 2023, MBCM extends an ongoing invitation for JMC to return to MBCM if they decide in the future to embrace and live in accordance with our shared member church expectations. 

Conditions of return

Should JMC choose to return to an active embrace of MBCM member church expectations, here are the conditions they need to accomplish. 

● Adjust their inclusion statement to reflect our confessional and constitutional commitments and understanding of marriage.

● State their intention to conduct their church life in harmony with MBCM and our shared Confession of Faith. Which includes, but is not limited to, a generous posture toward LGBTQ+ persons and a decision to wholly commit to our conviction that covenant marriage is between a man and a woman for life. 

MBCM/Jubilee Mennonite Church Process Timeline 

It’s important for delegates to orient themselves to the MBCM Constitution Article 3: Membership, with particular focus on Sections 1 & 2. 

2020-2022. 

Jason Dyck (Director of Church MInistries, MBCM) had 3 conversations (Oct 1, 2020, July 7, 2021, January 27, 2022) with Ken Warkentin (Interim Pastor at Jubilee Mennonite Church). The purpose of these conversations were to discuss Jubilee’s intention to have a conversation about how to welcome and include LGBTQ+ persons. Jason’s request was that, in recognition of the unique dual conference reality (JMC is a member of both Mennonite Church Manitoba and Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba), there might be MB voices (external to Jubilee) in this process. 

February 15, 2022 

Jason met with Jubilee leadership council and communicated MB realities in the ongoing work of addressing the marginalisation that many LGBTQ+ experience. During this meeting, Jason indicated appreciation for their work and communicated that efforts to progress in this regard do not necessarily, but have potential to bump up against the MB conviction that covenant marriage is between a man and a woman for life. 

June 21, 2022 

Letter from Jubilee received by MBCM leadership describing Jubilee’s discernment process and articulating their statement of inclusion. 

June 22, 2022 

Jason communicated with Ken W. via email expressing appreciation for work done towards inclusion, but indicating sharp disagreement with MB theology and practice. Jason offered for Jubilee leadership to meet with MBCM leadership, and requested that the statement of inclusion not be made public until after a conversation could happen. Jubilee agreed to this. 

June 29, 2022 

The Provincial Faith and Life Team was provided with an update of the circumstances regarding Jubilee. 

June 30, 2022 

Jason, Cam and Walter Fast (PFLT/NFLT) met with Jubilee Council to hear more about their process of discernment, and to share with them the response of the conference to their statement in step with our MBCM constitution. “The desired outcome, where possible, is for any such issues to be rectified in order for the congregation to remain in good standing with The Manitoba Conference.” (Article 3, section 3, 1.) 

July 4-5, 2022 

Chris Friesen (Moderator, Jubilee) sent an email to Cam and Jason, outlining their understanding of the moment and a draft of a letter to their church community which described the response of the conference to their statement. During this time, Cam met with Chris and Ken. 

July 14, 2022 

Jubilee communicated that their statement had been published on their website. 

August 5, 2022 

MBCM Board sent a letter to MBCM pastors and moderators communicating the recent statement produced by Jubilee, and scheduling a townhall meeting on Sept 14, 2022, for further discussion and information from the board. *Due to timing challenges, this townhall was later cancelled.

September 19, 2022 

MBCM Board sent communication to Jubilee describing the investigation process, informing the church of suspension, and giving time for response (Oct. 3rd, 2022). 

September 27, 2022 

Jubilee responded to the MBCM board stating they had begun processing the implications of the Sept. 19th letter, but would not be completed processing before the Oct. 3 deadline. 

October 3, 2022 

MBCM Board decision to suspend Jubilee was formalized. 

October 21, 2022 

MBCM churches were updated on the situation with Jubilee via the following communication: MBCM Board communication to MBCM churches November 19, 2022 - At the Council of Representatives (gathering of MBCM lead pastors and moderators) meeting Chris Friesen (Jubilee Moderator) presented comments regarding the journey and discernment process of Jubilee. Conversation among the representatives followed Chris’s comments. 

November 30, 2022 

PFLT met to examine the circumstances of the suspension, as per constitution. 

December 7, 2022 

MBCM Board met with Jubilee leadership for dinner and conversation. 

January 23, 2023 

MBCM Board received PFLT report regarding circumstances of the suspension of JMC, as per our constitutional process. 

February 2, 2023 

Dave Ens (MBCM moderator) and Cam Priebe met with JMC leaders to communicate the resolution from the board to be brought to Assembly 2023.

No longer sitting in the back row at church; a response to a call for more conversation about LGBTQ+ in the Canadian Mennonite Brethren Conference

 

 

 

In 2021, John Unger, a retired Mennonite Brethren pastor in Winnipeg, spoke to Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (CCMBC) leaders about what he believed was the need for more conversation about LGBTQ+ in the denomination.   

He shared those remarks with Anabaptist World, which published them in an article titled Maybe I could sit in the back row. 

In his remarks to CCMBC leaders, he told the story of two men who had coffee with a Mennonite Brethren pastor after visiting his church for several weeks. 

“We’d like to come to your church,” they said, noting they were gay and living together. “We are not crusaders. We don’t want to cause problems. We just want to worship with the music and listen to the sermon. Is your church safe for us?” 

A month ago, those two men learned about the article. They were surprised to see they were “reading about ourselves" in that paragraph. 

They were the ones who visited that Mennonite Brethren pastor. In an e-mail, they told me about that meeting, which took place in 2004. 

Requesting anonymity, the two—long-time committed partners, now both over the age of 60—explained all they wanted to know was if they were welcome to worship at that church. 

“Our hope was that we could worship just like everyone else attending the church,” they said, noting one of them, who had a musical background, was interested in using his gifts to serve the church. 

“We were not there to be crusaders. Worshipping God and growing our faith was our sole desire,” they added. 

Sadly, “the pastor was clear that this would not be possible at this church due to our sexual orientation and his church’s position on this issue,” they told me. 

They were disappointed by that answer. 

“The Bible teaches us not to judge others, but it felt very much like that was exactly what was happening,” they told me. “We were being judged and deemed to be found unworthy of worshipping God in His house.” 

They did not return to that church since it was clear that denomination “was not welcoming or accepting of us.” 

Intrigued, I asked them for more information. In subsequent e-mails, they shared more about their lives. 

One of the two grew up in a Mennonite Brethren church, the other came from a United Church background. 

For the one who who grew up Mennonite Brethren, “growing up being a Christian was simple. My upbringing was molded by the strict, religious beliefs held by my parents as to what it meant to be a Christian. Views that they accepted as biblical truths taught to them from pulpit leadership in their day.” 

He came to believe “I was a sinner and separated from God, but that I could receive salvation in Christ through repentance and faith. This would mean turning away from sinful ways and trusting in Christ. Sins would be forgiven through the cross and my feet would be set on a path to life with Christ; saved, baptised, and heaven-bound.” 

Much, he said, has happened since those growing-up years on the farm.  

“Living a real life was not my reality for very many years of my life. I was drawn to men already from a very early age, in a secret relationship during the majority of my teenage years with a young man in his 20s and friend of the family.” 

His secret same-sex interest “steadily plummeted my life into a downward, destructive spiral year after year,” he said. 

Opening up his life to a Christian friend or pastor was not an option. 

“The trust to do so was not there. I had become a sex addict with no hope but knowing deep down in my heart that something had to break. My life had become a façade that I was fearful to give up. At the same time, a huge part of me was aching to be free of the ‘you’re going to hell if you don’t change your lifestyle’ chains.” 

The day came when the chains did break, he said, “and only through the faithful love of God that never ends.” 

Today, he said, “my life has been restored and my heart is at peace more than it ever has been.  In Joel 2:25 the Lord says, ‘And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten’.” 

Today he is grateful to God and to a small number of Christian and non-Christian friends “who journeyed with me through a most difficult period of my life and have continued with offered support and friendship to this day.” 

This May, the couple will celebrate 19 years as gay partners. 

“As our relationship continues to stay true to a monogamous commitment, we also continue to be committed to Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and growing our relationship with Christ. For us, this growth continues to happen through life’s situations,” they said. 

Today they attend a welcoming and affirming United Church. 

“The Bible tells us we need to attend church so we can worship God with other believers and be taught His Word for our spiritual growth,” they said. “We are doing this and with happy hearts knowing we can both worship and actively participate in a safe, accepting and welcoming church.”   

In addition to church attendance, the musical member of the couple has been able to establish and direct two adult community choirs, both of which ran for several years. 

“As a recently retired director, concerts gave me to opportunity to perform a wide range of repertoire with many a concert program including a good number of sacred songs—music that glorifies Christ with its depth of meaning and purpose,” he said.  

In addition to going to church, they have early morning devotional reading time. “We frequently find ourselves in some good discussion following the daily devotional reading from Our Daily Bread Ministries,” they said. 

“This not only is a great way to start the day but also, as their motto states, ‘Helping you connect with God. Every day. Every way.’  Important to us is take the time to learn more about God to help us deepen your relationship with him.” 

Both are currently retired. "The blessings we continue to enjoy are the friendships established, and friendships held to this day. It has been said that good friends are good for your health. Friends can help you celebrate good times and provide support during bad times.  Having genuine friends who do not label or judge our orientation means a lot to us.” 

“It is good to read that the Mennonite Brethren conference is now beginning to address this issue,” they said. “It is our sincere hope that maybe someday all of God’s children will be welcomed to worship within all Mennonite Brethren churches as part of a caring, inclusive church family.” 

In conclusion, they wrote, “we wish to be seen as just a normal couple who just happen to be gay. Being gay does not define us as to who we are, nor should it. We would much rather be seen as any other individuals trying to live a Godly life.”

Jubilee Mennonite Church decides against voluntarily leaving the Manitoba Mennonite Brethren Conference; will await outcome of March 3-4 vote on its membership

 

Despite a call for it to voluntarily leave the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM), Jubilee Mennonite Church has no plans to withdraw before the March 3-4 assembly where a vote will be taken on its continued membership in the Conference. 

Currently under suspension by MBCM due to its stance on same-sex marriage, the congregation will await the outcome of the vote at that gathering, said moderator Chris Friesen.

Jubilee is a dual-conference congregation, belonging to both MBCM and Mennonite Church Manitoba. 

In January, North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Church (NKMB) sent a letter to its members asking them to fast and pray that Jubilee Church would volunteer to leave the Conference before the vote. 

In October 2022, MBCM sent a letter to its churches about its decision to suspend Jubilee. 

In November 2022, Friesen sent a response to MBCM outlining the process that led Jubilee to becoming a welcoming and affirming congregation for LGBTQ+ people. You can read it here.

River East pastor Mary Anne Isaak summoned for a review of her pastoral credentials

On January 25, Mary Anne Isaak, pastor of River East Church in Winnipeg, appeared before the Provincial Faith and Life Team (PFLT) of the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM) for a review of her pastoral credentials. 

More information to follow. 

River East Church sends letter to Manitoba Mennonite Brethren Conference expressing its affirmation for LGBTQ+ persons and same-sex marriage

 

In mid-January, the Leadership Commission of River East Church, a Mennonite Brethren church in Winnipeg, sent a letter to the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM) and the Provincial Faith and Life Team (PFLT) affirming its support for LGBTQ+ persons and for same-sex marriage.

In sending the letter, the Leadership Commission indicated it “may put us in the category of ‘not in good standing' and a spot on the agenda (along with Jubilee Church) for the MBCM annual meeting March 3-4.” The MBCM board is meeting January 23 to discuss the River East letter.

The letter is below.

A Response to MBCM Board and PFLT

First, we are grateful to the MBCM board and the PFLT for walking this path with us. We thank Jason in particular for attending so many of our meetings to try to understand our motivation and process. And we appreciate your patience as COVID disrupted our ability to meet in person to continue our discussions about our Inclusivity Statement. 

Your request to us is included here for clarity’s sake: 

We expect REC to provide a clear response to the PFLT’s questions by January 31, 2022. 

As a reminder, here are the initial questions from January 18, 2021.              

●    Do you have intent to do anything that disagrees with our shared confession?

●    What do you mean by ‘full participation?’ Have you worked this out?

●     Are you willing to work with us on this journey?

●     Is REC able to affirm our shared understanding of the MB Confession of Faith in regard to Article 11? “Marriage is a covenant relationship intended to unite a man and a woman for life...Sexual intimacy rightfully takes place only within marriage.”

Stories. So many stories. Stories of rejection. Stories of hurt. Stories of being hated. People kicked out of families. Sibling against sibling. Parents against a child. People no longer welcome in churches. People forced into unhealthy lives and relationships because they are ostracized. People with no choice of a committed long-term relationship within a church setting.

Churches have done wrong.

But there are stories of hope. Stories of being loved. Stories of being accepted without conditions. Stories of families reuniting. Sibling accepting sibling and finding forgiveness. Churches accepting people without limits. People entering committed relationships blessed by the church.

Churches can and must do better.

River East Church is trying to enable stories of hope. Our Statement of Inclusivity is broad, yet probably not broad enough. The statement is a goal and we know it’s a goal we’ll never quite achieve. The statement is a challenge to REC congregants to learn, and grow, and act; to break out of a status of fear and enter a posture of love and acceptance.

MBCM is concerned about only a part of our statement; the part that refers to gender identity and sexual orientation. We acknowledge that and the fear and confusion that surrounds this. But the REC focus is broader than this and we do not want to be limited by this. Our main areas of action right now are reconciliation, peace, homelessness, and climate change.

Where does the gender identity part come from? REC has been talking about, trying to understand the science about, praying about, and studying scripture about these ideas for over 20 years. We feel Spirit led to take on this challenge. We have been wrong to ostracize people with different ideas of gender identity or sexual orientation. We all experience some fear in the face of change. REC is no different. LGBTQ+ inclusion marks a change to our worldview and many feel it challenges the Confession of Faith. We need to remind ourselves that the CoF is a changing document; the clauses about gender identity were only added in 1999 as a reaction to other issues at the time. We know more now than we did then, and some of the authors of those changes to the CoF now regret putting in those limitations. We also know that many MBCM churches are out of alignment with aspects of the CoF that they feel are dated or don’t apply to their congregation. Is it better to ignore the CoF and just not say anything or to be honest about places where there is a rub?

REC affirms the CoF and affirms our intent to include same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ leadership. We agree that marriage is for life and that sexual intimacy should be within marriage. Since intimacy should be within marriage we believe that same-sex marriage for life should also be an option since not all LGBTQ+ persons will choose to be celibate.

This affirmation comes after a lengthy discussion process. MBCM leadership has been working with us during the whole process by attending congregational meetings, and having groups meet with our leadership team. Some churches partially align with the CoF and they extend (or diminish) their understanding of each of the articles. Perhaps we can recognize that although we are all part of the conference we all play different roles within that structure and value certain ideals more than others.

So to be clear about what we meant.  When you look at the groups of people we identified, REC will invite all people to worship with us, provide leadership, teach our children, baptize and marry in accordance with our regular discernment of gifts process. We will not treat people differently. Full participation means full participation. As long as people are on the journey of discipleship in Jesus Christ they are included.

With warm regards, Reynold Redekopp, Moderator, River East Church