Speaking Out

Mennonite Church USA Executive Director Jim Schrag concluded his formal response to the Pink Menno Campaign with these fitting words: “May God continue to have mercy on us and God’s Spirit guide us, inviting us all to extraordinary patience and perseverance with each other in the midst of sincere disagreement and contrasting interpretations of Scripture” (see Readers Say, Aug. 18). As one of the leaders of Pink Menno, I echo these words as we seek to engage one another meaningfully, recognizing that each one of us is working to best live out our calling as members of Christ’s body.

As I initially read Schrag’s letter in July, when it was distributed to conference ministers to distribute to their congregations (or not), I was taken aback. The perspective outlined was completely antithetical to what many had experienced at Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. Schrag and I have since communicated personally about many of the specifics of the letter, but as his letter was printed in a public forum, for which it was not originally intended, it seems appropriate to respond on behalf of Pink Menno in a public forum as well.

While there have been responses to Schrag’s letter that have been more thorough than I can be here (see www.pinkmenno.org), I’ll comment on three of the most problematic components of the letter.

1. All the activities in question at Columbus were lumped under the heading “Pink Mennos” in Mr. Schrag’s letter. While it was flattering to be given credit for the variety of events going on in Columbus related to welcome and inclusion, it would not be fair for Pink Menno to take all the credit. In fact, numerous independently formed groups were present, representing a variety of Mennonite stakeholder groups. And all were eager to talk about the same topic: How can Mennonite Church USA effectively live out our vision of God’s healing and hope flowing through us to the world when we are not providing healing and hope to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer members of our own church body?

2. Although Schrag’s letter calls for “agreeing and disagreeing in love,” Pink Menno was never contacted about any of the “problematic occurrences.” In an effort to “go directly to those with whom we disagree; avoid behind-the-back criticism,” it seems appropriate that Pink Menno had been contacted prior to the distribution of Schrag’s letter. Perhaps this would have cleared up the misunderstandings related to the activities of other advocacy groups that were attributed to Pink Menno. This would have also allowed Schrag to take into account the frequent painful encounters experienced by those wearing pink, including numerous instances of extremely hateful and bigoted behavior.

3. The tone and language of the letter appears to characterize Pink Menno as belonging outside the church. In fact, Pink Menno is made up of Sunday school teachers, Bible-school curriculum writers, music leaders, worship planners, pastors, young adults, older adults, youth, members of Executive Leadership, Mennonite college faculty, missionaries and Mennonite Voluntary Service workers. We are not talking about a group of people outside the church trying to come in and force the church to change its beliefs. Rather, Pink Menno consists of committed, faithful Mennonites who see an area of the church in need of attention.

Isn’t this precisely what we want to see in a healthy church? Passionate, gifted, Spirit-filled prophets who can infuse the church with new life, energy and vitality? Pink Menno is not the “other.” Pink Menno is a representation of what a healthy, Spirit-filled church looks like.

Pink Menno and its wide variety of members, cutting across all sections of Mennonite Church USA, continues to have hope. We continue to envision a church where leadership nurtures the energy, passion and commitment to the church of its young adults. We continue to envision a church where we walk hand in hand, celebrating our similarities and creatively exploring those areas in which we differ. We continue to envision a church that considers the possibility that a grass-roots, lay movement like Pink Menno may actually be the Spirit moving among us.