From the editor

Suspend judgments, avoid labeling, end name calling, discard threats and act in a nondefensive, nonreactive way.—from Agreeing and Disagreeing in Love

Like most newspapers and magazines, we have allowed letter-writers wide latitude to say whatever they wish on the pages of this magazine. Consequently, some letters have been judgmental and reactive. We recognize that such a policy has not always been edifying to the church and have decided to change it.

During its October 2012 meeting, the board of directors for The Mennonite asked for a change to the letters policy. Specifically: Publish only letters written with a positive tone—even if the letter is offering a critique. The challenge, however, will be in deciding whether a letter is edifying in its tone and content. That will be the responsibility of the editorial team.

While some of the most negative letters are in response to the editorials I write, this is not a defensive move. The editor of our denominational magazine must be open to correction, especially when addressing controversial issues. Now, we will not publish letters that are mean-spirited and serve no positive purpose. Here’s an example from the beginning of one letter last year:

“I see a few people in the pictures in your February issue who are not obese. Are these people really Mennonites? Obesity seems to be a Mennonite value. Have you covered this topic in your rag?”

It is within this slightly more controlled environment, then, that we also lift the 13-year moratorium we have had on letters and articles that address Mennonite Church USA’s teaching position on sexuality. There are numerous reasons for doing so.

First, we think it is possible to have civil and loving disagreements in the church, and those disagreements can be reflected on the pages of The Mennonite.

Second, some readers think we no longer have a moratorium because we publish news stories of congregations or pastors disciplined for various reasons by the area conference to which they belong. These reasons include discipline for pastors performing same-sex covenanting ceremonies.

Third, some readers think we have had the moratorium so the church can quietly change its convictions around sexual practices. These readers want us to publish articles that reinforce the church’s teaching position rather than being silent about it.

We lift the moratorium with some additional conditions (beyond the tone of an article or letter). If a letter-writer is responding to an article we’ve published, we reserve the right to have the author of the article respond to the letter-writer in the same issue. We also will limit the number of letters we will publish on issues related to sexuality and not publish a letter that repeats what was said earlier by someone else.

One of the best documents adopted by our church is also seldom referenced in our articles or by letter-writers: Agreeing and Disagreeing in Love (available at mennoniteusa.org/resources). It begins this way: “Acknowledge together that conflict is a normal part of our life in the church. … Affirm that as God walks with us in conflict, we can work through to growth.”

We acknowledge that conflict is normal and affirm that God walks with us through conflict. We invite you to do so also.