Mennonites, hockey, forgiveness: a pastor’s reflections

Dale Bauman

When NHL hockey player Dan Snyder, 25, died in a car accident last month, the family asked Dale Bauman, a Mennonite Brethren church planter in Toronto and former pastor in Elmira, Ont. to lead the funeral service. For Bauman, it was “a tough funeral” in which “people come and they want some answers.” Not only was the young player dead, but his friend and fellow NHL player Dan Heatley had been charged with vehicular homicide. Some 1,200 people, including Ron MacLean, Don Cherry and the entire Atlanta Thrashers team attended the Oct. 10 service in the Mennonite community of Elmira.

Later that week, Dale Bauman joined Chris Wells and Dave Balzer by telephone for their Sunday night live radio show, GodTalk, on CJOB Winnipeg.

Wells: I’m going to start off on a lighter note . . . One thing that struck me was the relation between a Mennonite town like Elmira and hockey. What’s the connection between the passive approach to life that Mennonites are known for and the very aggressive sport of hockey?

Bauman: (laughs) Let me put it this way; I find that Mennonites when they play any sport like to win so we’re a competitive bunch. . . .

Wells: In your church are there any discussions about the legitimacy of fighting in a hockey game? Can Mennonites do that?

Bauman: (laughs) I think that’s an on-going discussion, even in church league hockey . . . That aggressive piece gets out of hand. One thing we struggle with is how to have that character approach to it but not be a . . . pushover. If you get the answer to that you should write a book! (All laugh)

Wells: Something very connected to the Mennonite faith was the spirit of the family toward the young man that was driving the car. Dan Snyder’s brother, Jake, said to him, “If you’re one of Dan’s guys, you’re one of my guys. Friends look out for each other no matter how tough the circumstances.” That’s got to be tough to say in that context.

Bauman: It was amazing to me watching the media. . . . we would have got way more media attention (and I’m glad we didn’t) if there had been a family feud developing and this thing’s going to court and I’m gonna get revenge . . . That seems to play louder in our society than this forgiveness angle.

Wells: Can you describe what that felt like when this was taking place in the service?

Bauman: Yeah. Listening to the brother Jake say that and also watching the players file out after the service . . . , what hit me was here’s a roomful of young adult men who basically live their life as indestructible and invincible and they’re in a game where whoever hits you, you can hit him back. And Jake is no pushover himself, saying to them, look, there’s a part of life where friendship comes first and forgiveness is a part of that.

Wells: Do you think Dan Heatley felt forgiven?

Bauman: He heard forgiveness from the father and from the brother. It’s going to be how Dan Heatley works that through in his own life. That’s going to be a tough one for Dan. At some point he’s going to have to be able to do that for himself and that’s probably going to be a tough hurdle for him to jump over but he certainly got all sorts of encouragement from the family to head in that direction.

The full interview can be heard at the GoldTalk website. GodTalk is produced live at CJOB in association with Family Life Network, an international Mennonite Brethren media agency. Dorothy Siebert provided the transcription and introduction.