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Mennonite Brethren Herald welcomes your letters on issues relevant to the Mennonite Brethren Church, especially in response to material published in the Herald. Please keep your letters courteous, brief and about one subject only. We will edit letters for length and clarity. We will not publish letters sent anonymously, although we may withhold names from publication at the request of the letter writer and at our discretion. Publication is also subject to space limitations. Because the Letters column is a free forum for discussion, it should be understood that letters represent the position of the letter writer, not necessarily the position of the Herald or the Mennonite Brethren Church. Send letters to:
Letters, MB Herald
1310 Taylor Ave.
Winnipeg, Man. R3M 3Z6
or send via e-mail. (Please ensure that your postal address is included in your e-mail correspondence.) |
Editor’s apology
The letter “To the Board of Faith and Life” (published in the May 2 issue) by John and Katherine Konrad was sent to the Board of Faith and Life, with a copy to the Herald marked “not for publication” (a note which we simply missed seeing). It was not an “open letter”; we mistakenly assumed it was. We are at fault, and the letter should not have been published. We are profoundly sorry, and apologize to the Konrads. While the Herald will continue to publish discussion of the BFL–MCC issue, no letters responding to the Konrads’ letter will be printed. Instead, at the Konrads’ request, they will be forwarded to the Board of Faith and Life and Mennonite Central Committee for their information.
—JC |
Serious issues
The relationship between the supporting conferences (Mennonite and Brethren in Christ) and Mennonite Central Committee is an important and serious issue worthy of careful discernment and deliberation. In this regard, I was pleased that the editorial “Serious issues” (April 11) contained a paragraph regarding MCC. I was disappointed, however, at the tenor of the paragraph. It may be unusual for the Board of Faith and Life to write a formal letter expressing concern to MCC, but it is not at all unwelcomed. A serious relationship calls for expressions both of support and of concern. The paragraph refers to several positions and stances which are called into question. It highlights what are called “theological aberrations”.
MCC’s theological positions are not aberrations. They are consistent with the confessional statements of its supporting Mennonite church conferences. MCC continues and will continue to “serve in the name of Christ”.
What the editorial is reacting to is material – appearing in an MCC-sponsored publication – that pushes at our theological edges. This happens sometimes in MCC publications as it does in other vibrant church publications. We must take care not to confuse the voice of the spokesperson with the official position of the organization. As I understand it, the MB Herald, while supported by the MB Conference, is not the official voice of the Church. We acknowledge that some readers will agree with all of its content all of the time. Some will not. However, respectful dialogue continues. MCC simply asks for the same.
Donald Peters,
Executive Director, MCC Canada
Editor’s Note: The paragraph in question was not nearly as clear as it should have been, and I am very sorry about that. Indeed, the “theological aberrations” about which the Board of Faith and Life is concerned are not found in MCC’s confession of faith or in MCC as a whole but are found in some articles in MCC publications and in some public statements by MCC personnel. I should have made that clear. In any case, the editorial was not about MCC but about theological divergence within the MB Church; my point was that the theological aberrations which have been expressed publicly in some MCC publications and by some MCC personnel also exist in some quarters of the MB Church.
—JC
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The following letter was sent to Mennonite Central Committee provincial directors and boards and to Mennonite Brethren provincial conference ministers and Boards of Faith and Life. The authors have requested that the letter also be published in the Herald.
Dear Friends and Co-workers:
As you will know, there have been several communiqués recently – mostly in the MB Herald – regarding concerns expressed by Mennonite Brethren to and about Mennonite Central Committee. It began with an open letter from one of our churches in B.C. This matter was forwarded to the national Board of Faith and Life so that it would be processed more broadly within an official body of the MB Conference.
Regrettably, when this was reported at the annual Council of Boards in January 2003, it was published in the next issue of the MB Herald before the BFL could write and send its official letter to MCC directly. While the MB Conference sees it as a responsibility as a constituent Conference to raise issues with MCC, the Conference is sorry that appropriate protocol was not followed in this case. It is even more unfortunate that BFL’s affirmation of the good work of MCC, which was also given to the Council of Boards, was not reported in the Herald.
On April 23, 2003, a meeting was held between the leaders of the Canadian Conference of MB Churches and MCC Canada to discuss the reaction that has taken place in our respective constituencies over both the concerns raised and the manner in which they were publicized.
Our dialogue was frank, constructive and collegial. Our hope is to strengthen the bridge between the Mennonite Brethren and MCC.
It was agreed that the following be communicated to our respective constituencies:
The Mennonite Brethren affirm their commitment to support MCC as a partner in ministry. MCC was founded by the Mennonite churches in Canada and the USA – including the Mennonite Brethren – and the Mennonite Brethren have full intentions to continue that relationship.
It should be noted that MCC Canada has received the official letter from the Canadian MB Conference Board of Faith and Life (as of April 15, 2003). MCC Canada is taking these concerns seriously and will respond to the Board of Faith and Life.
Continuing dialogue will occur between MCC and the MB Conference for the purpose of strengthening the lines of communication so that concerns may be addressed within a supportive context.
In May 2003, MCC Canada representatives will meet with Canadian MB Conference and Board of Faith and Life executive representatives.
In December 2003, a request will be made at the meeting of the Canadian Council of Anabaptist Leaders – Council of Moderators and Secretaries (CCAL–COMS) to discuss how partner conferences dialogue with MCC.
We ask that any meetings about this matter in the provinces be characterized by attitudes of support, mutual respect and, if possible, inclusion of others. Let us recognize that the Mennonite Brethren are not the only supporting constituency of MCC, that MCC exists because of the church, and that the church benefits from the ministry of MCC.
Sincerely,
Don Peters – MCC Canada Executive Director
Ron Dueck – MCC Canada Chair
Lois Coleman Neufeld – MCC Canada Program Director
David Wiebe – Canadian MB Conference Executive Director
Jascha Boge – Canadian MB Conference Moderator
Harold Jantz – MB representative to MCC Canada
Walter Unger – Board of Faith and Life Chair
Editor’s Note: The previous letter (“Dear Friends and Co-workers”) concerns discussion between leaders of Mennonite Central Committee and the MB Conference, but also includes some brief comments on the work of the MB Herald. The Council of Boards is an official public meeting of the Canadian MB Conference. It is the responsibility of the MB Herald to report such meetings promptly and competently. Our news story on the Council of Boards was published one month after the meeting, a normal timeline. The BFL report to the Council of Boards consisted of: a written report, an oral report/introduction by the Board chair, and floor discussion. No affirmation of MCC was included in the written report. In discussing the report, the BFL chair made a brief oral affirmation of MCC, but also voiced strong criticism of MCC. In writing our news story, which included only one paragraph on MCC, we omitted all oral statements made by the BFL chair and others and focused on the written report as the clearest presentation of BFL’s intentions. Mennonite Brethren support of MCC was apparently assumed by all at the meeting (including me), but it was never stated pointedly and clearly. The Herald stands by its news story as an accurate presentation of what took place at the Council of Boards meeting.
—JC |
Stories ironic
The irony in the April 11 edition is interesting. One News report (“Defending the divinity of Jesus”) is of an Anglican minister explaining to Mennonite Brethren pastors the deviations in the Anglican Church that have led to the blessing of homosexual couples. According to Neil Mancor, the first stage in the deviations came in the 1970s when the Anglican Church decided to ordain women. Another News report is of the Manitoba MB Conference seeking to undo the General Conference decision of 1993, thereby authorizing women as senior pastors, presumably ordained.
Elmer A. Martens,
Fresno, Calif.
Church needs to deal with issue
We are well aware of disputes over same-sex marriages and homosexuality in our society. Too often I think we believe that homosexuality is something outside our Christian circles, or we’d simply rather not deal with it. We casually throw out a couple of scriptural references that condemn the lifestyle and hope that it’ll go away on its own or that people will see eye-to-eye with us. I’m not too familiar with how the MB Conference is dealing with this issue, but sooner or later this issue will face every church denomination and it will need to be actively dealt with.
Are pastors and lay people in positions of authority equipped to deal with church members who are brave enough to come forward and acknowledge their sexual struggles? Just as Jesus reached out to the “immoral” in His time, the church needs to play an active role in reaching out to those lost in the homosexual lifestyle, particularly those within the body of Christ. I hope we will put more substance into the familiar saying, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” Are we truly loving the sinner? Is the church known for its compassion to those who struggle, or more for its condemning attitude? The solution won’t come overnight, and for most it’s just plain uncomfortable to talk about, but we have to start somewhere – before it’s too late.
John Andru,
Burnaby, B.C.
Paraguay coverage
I was glad for your coverage of the Paraguay situation through the article I sent you (“Participation in politics a hot issue among Paraguayan MBs”, April 11). In late April the Mennonite-connected Nicanor Duarte Frutos was elected national president. Exhilarating and scary!
Elmer Martens,
Fresno, Calif.
Basis of Agreement
“Funny how where you end up has a lot to do with where you start!” (tire retailer slogan). The April 11 editorial discussed some issues and practices on which MBs have a diversity of views and practices. My purpose in writing is not to give my views on women in leadership, baptism and membership, or the role of MCC – although I have views on all of them. Rather, since the main thrust of the editorial is to encourage us toward “agreement”, “broad consensus”, “compromise positions” and “living with diversity”, I want to ask questions like:
- Whose church it? Mine? Ours? Jesus’? All of the above?
- If we acknowledge Jesus is head of the church, does He have one “true” answer to these questions?
- If not, can we choose to live with divergent beliefs and practices in the MB Conference and not waste time on seeking full agreement?
- On the other hand, if there is a “true” answer and the others are “wrong”, how do we know what that “true” answer is? By majority vote? Popularity never seemed to be Jesus’ way of knowing truth.
Our MB doctrine is that Scripture is our authority for belief and practice. Is it legitimate to have “different ways of interpreting Scripture” if “truth” is the objective? One big divide in this regard seems to be making our understanding of Scripture fit our current culture versus confronting the culture with what Scripture unchangingly says.
I recommend readers look carefully at the article “Defending the divinity of Jesus” in the same issue to see where denominations head when they make decisions on the basis of consensus and cultural sensitivity rather than on the authority of Scripture. If we can agree that our responsibility as the church is to live under the authority of Jesus and what He says as recorded in Scripture instead of what we may wish, we will have some hope of being in agreement.
Lorne Welwood,
Abbotsford, B.C.
Do we have room?
Do we as Christian Mennonites have room in our hearts:
- For Christian peacemaking team members who go out to be a presence of peace, but also for our own brothers, sisters and children who have joined the military and know that God the Father is with them?
- For soldiers who quit the military because they feel it’s wrong, but also for chaplains who feel that troops also deserve to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and who see the Holy Spirit working mightily in their “congregation”?
- For giving material aid to people in need on both sides of a conflict even if some are members of a ruthless regime?
- For peace marchers who are oriented in the cause of Christ, and also for those who are not?
- For victims of terrorism, but also for the terrorists who can come to know the Lord Jesus too?
- For the Scriptures that call us to work and pray for peace, but also for the portions that speak of specific wars yet to come before the end of this age?
- For Jesus of Nazareth, who empowers us to bring peace to others, but who also stated that He came to bring not peace but the sword?
- For God, who absolutely delights in us, His children, but who also takes vengeance on whom He chooses how He chooses?
- For ourselves, who want to do good but evil is right there with us?
I hope so. Jesus has and does. Let us likewise make room. This is how we will love in action and in truth and be able to rest our hearts in His presence come what may.
Erwin H. Wiebe,
Niverville, Man.
True worship
“God deserves our applause” (Letters, Mar. 21) justifies the contemporary worship style, but the writer’s own quote disproves his assertions. Romans 12:2 states: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Applauding as the world does and dancing are nothing else than conformity to the world. I have a hard time imagining Jesus hollering and dancing. The only time David was dancing cannot justify introducing it into the church. To understand “praising God with your body” as the writer understands it is inconsistent with what Paul meant in Romans 12:1.
Neither the world nor selective passages from the Old Testament can serve as a norm for us today. It is what Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:23: “An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers should worship the Father in spirit and in truth.”
John Schulz,
Kitchener, Ont.
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