Canadian Mennonite
Volume 13, No. 2
Jan. 19, 2009
Readers Write
We welcome your comments and publish most letters sent by subscribers intended for publication. Respecting our theology of the priesthood of all believers and of the importance of the faith community discernment process, this section is a largely open forum for the sharing of views. Letters are the opinion of the writer only—publication does not mean endorsement by the magazine or the church. Letters should be brief and address issues rather than individuals.
Please send letters to be considered for publication to letters@canadianmennonite.org or by postal mail or fax, marked “Attn: Readers Write” (our address is on page 3). Letters should include the author’s contact information and mailing address. Letters are edited for length, style and adherence to editorial guidelines.
CMU president reflects on university’s 10th anniversary
Nov. 18, 2008, marked an important anniversary for Mennonite churches in Canada.
Ten years to the day earlier, representatives of Concord College, Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC) and Menno Simons College gathered in the CMBC chapel in Winnipeg to publicly sign a memorandum of association to create what we called, at that time, the “Mennonite College Federation.” Today we call it Canadian Mennonite University (CMU).
There are, of course, other important dates and events in the formation of CMU, but I always look at Nov. 18, 1998, as the critical date, since it was then that the colleges and their owners agreed to take the risk of working together for the cause of Mennonite higher education.
Anniversaries are a time to step back and reflect on the past. I do this with immense gratitude to all those who had the vision for what came to be called CMU, and who put in countless hours of work to refine and build it. I thank God for leading and blessing us during this decade. The CMU of today may not be exactly as was envisioned back then, but in many ways I would assert that it is much more than we even hoped:
• Students have responded positively; this year some 1,600 students are registered in a program of CMU, with full-time equivalency of around 950.
• Finances always remain a challenge, and yet we have paid for the purchase of 500 Shaftesbury Blvd. (the former Manitoba School for the Deaf, now our Founders Hall); we have constructed a new environmentally friendly residence; and we have ended this period with zero operating deficit.
• Merging three institutions is inherently complex, yet we have come together as a team and are moving ahead into the future with a new vision and a deeper commitment to our mission of inspiring and equipping women and men for lives of service, leadership and reconciliation in church and society.
• And, most recently and very importantly, our admission into the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) is a key step in CMU’s broader recognition by Canada’s educational community.
CMU continues to evolve, and yet its mission is unchanged. Our mission statement speaks of CMU as a “Christian university, rooted in the Anabaptist faith tradition, moved and transformed by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.” Our recently adopted vision statement uses the catch-phrase, a “university of the church for the world,” and then adds that CMU has been “established to build up the church and help it more effectively reach out to society.”
All of these statements highlight that CMU can only hope to achieve its mission if it works in close cooperation with the church which founded it. Together, we have created something marvellous that serves not only our Mennonite churches, but the church at large, and Canadian society in general.
Views of the Bible a source of contention in homosexual debate
The letters to the editor regarding our sisters and brothers in the gay/lesbian/bi-sexual/transgendered (GLBT) community are increasingly offering only a single perspective. Although there have been some letters defending the inclusion and avocation of the GLBT community in the Mennonite Church, there has been a significant imbalance.
For some, this has resulted in cancelled subscriptions. However, I learned from a friend a while ago, that abandoning one’s faith community because there is disagreement is not the answer. Instead, he suggested it is best if one works from within her or his community for change. It is for this reason I wish to offer an additional perspective with respect to the stream of dogmatic letters regarding this hot-button issue.
Understand, first of all, that within the Mennonite community there are many of us who read the Bible metaphorically. We read many of the passages that have been noted in recent months from a much more cultural context than others may read them.
Still others do not see the inerrancy of the Bible as a foundational principle in our faith journey. When letter-writers drop Bible verses and say, in essence, “the Bible said it so that is the end of the discussion,” your argument is unhelpful, for our basis of understanding the Bible is simply not the same as yours.
It is for these reasons that I ask the dogmatists of the church not to attempt to close the door on this issue. We want to be part of the Mennonite community and will continue to work from within the church to see that our sisters and brothers are recognized as full members of our community.
Although I am not a part of the GLBT community, I can only imagine a few other things more un-Christian than excluding individuals from becoming full members in our community because of their sexual orientation. They cannot change their sexual orientation. It is us who must change.
Live out a rich heritage of faith left by Mennonites
The Mennonite river of history is red with the blood of its martyrs, men and women who refused to recant their faith in Christ. First known as Anabaptists, they battled for survival, were hunted down like animals and subjected to cruel torture. In the 1500s, more than 1,500 Mennonites met death at the hands of those dedicated to cleansing the land of such “heretics.”
Manias Mayr was drowned at Wier, in the district of Baden, Germany, refusing to recant his faith.
Two young girls, in 1550, were condemned to death following their conversion to Christ by faith, declaring, “Since the Lord Christ wore a crown of thorns for us, why should not we wear these crowns of straw in honour of him?”
An 84-year-old man was burned alive, tied to a stake, refusing to recant his faith. “God carried me for 84 years, why should I let him down now?” was his testimony.
Maerten Jans’s tongue was seared, yet he boldly declared, “Thus I must now testify to the truth; for if I had not cared for my salvation, I would have escaped much conflict and obtained pardon, but now I have fought a good fight, finished my course and kept the faith.”
Five centuries of political turmoil, persecution and starvation, interspersed with times of peace and prosperity, have brought us to who we are and why we are here today, in the free nation of Canada. But the history of the Mennonite people continues to be written. The stern warnings God gave the children of Israel before they entered their promised land might well be directed to not only the Mennonite people, but people of all faiths. The Israelites were warned of the deceit of wealth and prosperity, and we do well to take heed to those warnings.
The haunting question we all must face is simply this: “How would I have responded had I been facing death as did our ancestors? Had it been me facing a firing squad, had it been me with the tip of a sword at my throat, what would have been my course of action: denial or death?”
But perhaps an even more penetrating question might be: “How do I, in the 21st century, live out my faith in appreciation of the rich heritage and legacy left to us by our forefathers and in gratitude and thanksgiving to Jesus who suffered so much more on my behalf?”
‘Negative comments’ about homosexuals may turn to abuse or worse
Agatha Rempel asks, “Why are some people being defensive and ready to pounce on anyone who suggests a negative comment about alternative sexual lifestyles?” in her letter, “Only sex between a man and woman within marriage is holy,” Nov. 24, page 9.
The answer, I suspect, is that gays and lesbians have, over the past few hundred years, been burned at the stake, mutilated, ridiculed, shunned, fired from jobs, run out of town and denied basic human rights. So if they are a bit touchy when someone “suggests a negative comment,” I think it’s understandable.
Similarly, I think we can understand why Jews get defensive when someone makes a joke about the Holocaust; why women might not appreciate being called “the weaker sex”; and why Mennonites might not like being called “cowards” and “draft dodgers.”
In October 1998, Matthew Sheppard, a 22-year-old university student, was murdered because he was gay. He was beaten, tortured and left for dead. I suspect that the hate-filled path followed by his killers began with a few “negative comments” that they heard as children, and then came to repeat and believe as adults.
The same thing happened 2,000 years ago when people began to murmur and make negative comments about a troublesome Jew who refused to accept the status quo.
MCC director addresses Barack Obama in advance of his inauguration
Congratulations on your historic election to the [U.S.] presidency. I pray that God will grant you wisdom and courage as you lead.
In my work with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), the relief, development and peacebuilding agency of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches, I am privileged to hear stories of desire and longing. As you assemble advisers and prepare to take office, there are undoubtedly many voices clamouring for your attention, but I ask that you would listen to the voices that emerge from the communities where MCC works in this country and around the world. Listen to their concerns, their hopes for change:
• People who live in poverty in the United States. They want access to safe, affordable housing, living wages and adequate healthcare. In particular, the federal government should work quickly and efficiently to provide rebuilding assistance, with proper oversight, to Gulf Coast residents who faced the inequities of poverty and racism before any storm hit.
• Young people and adults caught up in our crimi-nal justice system. They need a restorative and holistic response, rather than one that is simply punitive, as well as ways to integrate into their communities upon release.
• Native Americans. They desire acknowledgment of their contributions to the culture and development of this country, and an honouring of the promises and treaties made with them.
• Migrant workers and others who have entered the United States without proper documentation. They hope for immigration policies that allow them to work legally and to maintain ties with their family members.
• Parents around the world who can’t feed their children an adequate diet. They long for sustainable, affordable food, brought about in part by just economic policies. U.S. trade policy should be formulated to respect the rights of other nations.
• People in war-scarred communities. They hope for an end to fighting, and for peaceful relations with their neighbours and global powers like the United States.
• The environment around us. God has entrusted us with the rightful stewardship of the trees, sky and oceans. We can take bold steps to reduce the impact of global climate change and move our society toward sustainable practices.
From Our Leaders
Cast your net on the other side
From Our Leaders
According to John 21:1-8, the disciples fished all night. When Jesus appeared on the shore and saw that they had caught nothing, he said, “Cast your net on the other side.” Then they landed a big catch.
William Barclay writes that this is not necessarily to be seen as a miracle, it’s just how fishing is done in that part of the world. The man in the boat cannot see the fish, which are right next to the boat. The man on the shore, from his perspective, can see the school of fish clearly, so he instructs the fisherman where to cast his net. Jesus was simply acting as a guide to his fishermen friends.
I see in the phrase “cast your net on the other side” a metaphor about the life and work of the church. Sometimes the obvious is right in front of our eyes, and we don’t see it because we’ve gotten so used to it. How often do we step back a few paces to look at the life and work of the church, perhaps through a different lens or point of view? And how ready then are we to try something different?
“On the other side” could mean on this side of postmodernity. This is an era when “truth is stranger than it used to be.” People no longer live by absolutes. People are suspicious of creedal religion. They see various paths to God and various ways to live faithfully. The individual has become the ultimate arbiter of truth.
‘If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.’
We also exist in a post-denominational time. Denominational loyalties hang on a slender thread. So some congregations have developed a kind of corporate “individualism.” In such times, how then can we “cast the net on the other side” to find new ways to be the faithful church? In my work as regional minister, I look for ways in which congregations might form partnerships.
A wise counsellor once said, “If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” If this is true of our personal lives, it is true also of the life of the church.
Maybe we need to think differently about what church actually is, or, for that matter, where it exists. I read in The Collaborative Leader of “a lady who described the desk in her office as her altar. It was there that she daily dedicated herself to God, that she confessed and reconciled, that she sacrificed, that she celebrated life and delivered messages of God’s love to others.”
Cast your net on the other side might invite us to re-examine our church structures to see if they still serve us well. But in the final analysis, what people want is not better structures or more programs. What they want is for the church to be a safe place where their real questions of life and faith are addressed in an atmosphere of unconditional love.
New Order Voice
Resist productivity with ‘delicious time’
I’m at the brink of discovering what I call “delicious time.” It’s hard to find because it is deep and useless. It is rich, yet costs nothing. It’s indulgent. And to me—a life-long Mennonite who needs to change the world, who needs to change myself, who needs to fix, heal, solve something, anything—this delicious time feels absolutely sinful. Wrong.
Here’s an example. It snowed heavily the other day. I guess it was a Sunday, but I lost track because it was one of those times of the year when days fade into a luxurious flow, where you lose the rhythm of a productive week, where you no longer need the weekend to survive the burden of the week.
I guess it was a Sunday morning between Christmas and New Year’s. It had just snowed and there were centimetres of it sparkling in the sun. With my life partner, I walked down the back lane. It was puffy. Long stretches of deep snow sucking my boots into the fluff. No cars had broken the path. I was walking on a cloud so quiet and soft. I looked around and saw familiar buildings, but didn’t recognize my neighbourhood, it was too wonderful. I was lost in a time that felt suspended.
“Let’s walk on the river,” I said. And we did. We broke snow for a while. Strolled along a path, under the bridge. According to my watch, we wandered for hours.
Oh, that’s right, we were looking for a coffee shop and nothing was open. It was New Year’s Day, actually, and most things were closed. Resting. Everybody was resting. We were resting from the obligation to go somewhere, to be somewhere. It felt as if no one was watching and I had permission to just be myself.
In terms of saving the world or being Jesus to anybody, it is positively unproductive.
The moments unfolded into, well, nothing. There was freedom to go or stay. We found a diner with weak coffee. She had white toast and bland eggs. I had pancakes. I never have pancakes. They were gooey. But in that time I had the freedom to order anything. It was all delicious.
Why is this pleasure sinful? Because it’s so self-centred, indulgent, it’s not helping anyone. In terms of saving the world or being Jesus to anybody, it is positively unproductive.
And I suppose this is the point in my reflection, dear reader, where I insert some kind of moral to make that useless day seem worthwhile. As one who’s at odds with consumer society, maybe I’d call it a “secular Sabbath,” or “action through contemplation.” Well, in the spirit of offering you your own delicious time, I want to resist the temptation to moralize.
Mahatma Gandhi was a tireless writer and editor of newspapers. He said good journalism should not instill fear, but inspire people to be brave. What about resisting the inner clock of productivity? It may very well be the machine-like side of our minds that’s driven us to gobble up so much time and resources? Oops, I’m getting preachy.
When dissatisfaction with self abounds, when time needs to be filled with more than one task, when a quiet moment needs background music, it may take sheer raw bravery to indulge in aimless activity. When I step into the time zone I call “delicious time,” I enter the same dimension that unfolded in the Garden, when Adam and Eve ate with delight, named the animals and romped around naked. It’s there waiting for me, and maybe for you.
Out of the Box
Lead with your tongue
Each of us is possessed with great influence and a great influencer—our tongues. The words we say matter very much. Even further, identifying those who should have influence over us is founded on whether their words are truly from heaven. Are they truly wise? How do we know? We know because those who have golden tongues are those whose speaking matches God’s speech and whose speaking matches their God-shaped living.
The bishop of Constantinople (present day Istanbul) in the early days of official Christendom was John Chrysostom. In the late 300s A.D., Christianity had become the official religion of the Roman Empire. With this rise to prominence, the church went from being a dynamic, organic movement to a religious institution, and power and money began to erode the truth of the gospel.
Constantinople—named after Emperor Constantine, who legalized the Christian faith—became one of the main centres of Christianity, and John was the preacher of this important city. Because of his masterful way with words, he became known as “Chrysostom” (the golden mouthed). But John did not play the part that the powerful wanted him to. Instead of patting the back and tickling the ears of the comfortably religious, he called for truth, justice and Christ-like living.
If you teach what is right, be prepared! Golden tongues often get not-so-golden handshakes.
In one inspired moment he waxed eloquently, “Do you pay such honour to your excrements as to receive them into a silver chamber-pot when another man made in the image of God is perishing in the cold?” When a church culture pays more attention to poop than people, you know something smells. John’s tongue was a sword of truth. Needless to say, his golden mouth got him into trouble and eventual exile to the hinterlands of the Caucasus. If you teach what is right, be prepared! Golden tongues often get not-so-golden handshakes.
The true teacher knows truth is not negotiable. The true teacher knows whom he or she answers to. The true teacher is captured by the Teacher, lives the faith and yearns for faith to be lived. Words matter. We lead with our tongues.
This is why false teaching is a predominant concern in Scripture. A small bit can control a horse, a small rudder can steer a ship, and a tiny spark can destroy a whole forest. Our tongues—connected to what lives in our hearts and minds—can turn the course of lives and communities for good or ill (James 3:3-6).
What we teach and speak, has influence. Remember Eden: What led us under the bondage of sin? It was not the fruit, but the forked-tongue of the serpent: “Did God really say . . . ?” (Genesis.3:1). Since then, our tongues lead towards hell. Destruction rather than redemption can be our witty aim. We use words to tear down and gossip. Without shame, we’ll even use our sophisticated and learned tongues to twist the speech of God.
Does your tongue guide those you influence into the truth of God? Do your words harness kingdom beauty and strength? Whose teaching is given influence over our communities? Where is the tongue leading these days?