Editorial

We received many thoughtful and sensitive letters in response to the question: Should The Mennonite lift its moratorium on articles and letters that address Mennonite Church USA’s teaching position on sexuality? (See “The Dangers of Dialogue,” Sept. 15.) Because of these responses, we are under some obligation to report our current thinking on the matter.

The letters—some for publication and some not—provided broad context for our board of directors’ meeting on Sept. 27. As a result, we decided to search for a way to be helpful to the church as it wrestles with the conflict surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity issues. At our board’s request, I am developing a proposal for a number of article ideas and will ask Executive Leadership whether such a plan would be helpful. The articles include some or all of the following:

• Review of the important Mennonite Church USA documents that establish our denomination’s teaching position on sexuality.

• A feature article on a pastor or a congregation that ministers according to these documents with the most generous interpretation possible.

• A story of a congregation that resolved a deep conflict and the resources they used to do so.
• An article highlighting the different ways we read the Bible.

• An article on how the church can pray about the issue.

• A feature story on a person with same-sex orientation who remains faithful to the church’s teachings on celibacy.

Why not just publish these things without checking with others? Because, in their deliberations last summer, Mennonite Church USA delegates asked the Executive Board to work with area conferences to develop resources for the conflict. The delegates did not ask The Mennonite to do this; we do not want to pre-empt the work being done among conference leaders.

Most of these ideas were suggested by board members during our discussion. I’ve added the last one, however, because it is an issue that is seldom addressed. I also noticed that the broader Evangelical community is now beginning to take a more nuanced look at the question of sexual orientation and faithfulness.

In the October issue of Christianity Today, Bobby Ross Jr. reports on a resolution adopted by the 150,000-member American Psychological Association (ASA) governing council. According to Ross, the resolution acknowledges that “some clients may be distressed due to a conflict between their sexual orientation and religious beliefs.”

Ross also points out that this concession by the ASA “exposed a divide in the evangelical therapy community.” The divide is over reparative therapy—treatment to change orientation as is done by Exodus International—and sexual identity therapy. Ross quotes a Christian counselor who describes this kind of therapy as helping clients “sort out their beliefs and work out an identity and life that fits within the client’s beliefs.”

I do not recall ever reading an article written by a Mennonite with same-sex orientation who shared how he or she remains faithful to the church’s teachings. But I know some committed sisters and brothers in the church who have done so and continue to be faithful. Perhaps these people can provide the most helpful resources. I can imagine that they have thought and prayed about their situations far more than have the rest of us.

Area conference leaders are now being asked by Executive Board to identify the resources they need for addressing the conflict. Congregations and leaders that wish to get involved can best do so by contacting their area conference leaders who are developing responses.

What emerges from this effort may frame the discussion for the next several years. We expect to be a partner in that discernment and will open our pages to discussion of the issue within the framework being established.