Four Mennonite Church USA colleges have made changes to their nondiscrimination statements in the last two years. The most recent is Bluffton (Ohio) University, whose board of directors voted unanimously on Oct. 10 to add sexual identity and gender orientation to its nondiscrimination statement. Bluffton’s employment statement reads, “Employment decisions are based on merit and university needs, and not on race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other status protected by law. As a religious institution, Bluffton University expressly reserves its rights to appoint faculty and staff who share a commitment to the Christian faith which is consistent with the Mennonite/Anabaptist beliefs of the university’s founding and supporting church.”

Bluffton President James Harder noted via a Nov. 30 email that the change responds to direct questions about employment discrimination that the university has received since the Supreme Court’s July ruling for marriage equality. Harder also noted that some academic and professional organizations require nondiscrimination statements, including reference to gender identity and sexual orientation, before accepting position advertisements for faculty appointments.

“The board believes this is the right course of action for Bluffton at this time, while acknowledging that this decision will not be embraced equally by everyone,” said Harder. “But at Bluffton, by intention, we strive to be a ‘Community of Respect’ where all people are valued and assumed to be people of good will, even amidst times of significant disagreement.”

Kent Yoder, Bluffton board chair from Middlebury, Ind., emphasized that the statement does not represent a significant shift for Bluffton.

“We [at Bluffton] have always hired the best qualified person as long as they demonstrate the desire and willingness to work with our unique Anabaptist faith-based educational principles and mission,” said Yoder. “Basically the intent of our previous employment statement was the same, but organizations we work with were asking for different terminology.”

Because of this change, Bluffton will also withdraw from the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities.

“The CCCU made it clear that schools with nondiscrimination statements are ineligible for membership,” said Robin Bowlus, director of public relations for Bluffton. “Therefore, Bluffton is withdrawing from the CCCU.”

Bluffton joins three other Mennonite Church USA colleges and universities who have updated their non-discrimination policies to include sexual orientation. In July, Goshen (Ind.) College and Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va., simultaneously announced changes to their policies as well as the expansion of hiring practices and benefits to include couples in same-sex marriages.

On Sept. 14, both Goshen and EMU voluntarily withdrew from CCCU in response to several CCCU institutions’ concerns following the July decisions.

In April 2014, the board of directors of Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., voted to add language to its nondiscrimination statement that included sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. The decision by the board followed a recommendation voted on by faculty to update the statement.

“It has always been Bethel’s policy to hire the best person for the job who can support the Bethel College mission statement, which is shaped by our Anabaptist Mennonite heritage and values,” said Lori Livengood, vice president for marketing and communication at Bethel. “The faculty’s vote in 2014 signaled support for more precision within the institution’s human rights and affirmative action statements and an attempt to more closely align that language with existing nondiscriminatory practices in hiring.”

“This summer, the delegate body called all of us in Mennonite Church USA, institutions and individuals, to live with the tension of the Membership and Forbearance Resolutions,” said Carlos Romero, executive director of Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) in a Dec. 4 statement. “These decisions also happen in a rapidly changing cultural and legal environment and in a denomination in which there is a continuum of beliefs and theological understandings that represent significantly different ways of discerning Scripture.”

In his statement, Romero recognizes that when educational institutions make decisions that do not align with denominational teaching positions, they are considered at variance with MEA and Mennonite Church USA. However, “MEA will show forbearance and extend grace” and will remain committed to conversation.

“As Mennonites, we have traditionally described our intent to be a reflection of a third way. If there has ever been a time to live into this reality, it’s in today’s environment,” said Romero. “Mennonite Education Agency continues to support and work with all our educational institution as each one responds to their local context and history in the midst of significant challenges. I hope that as people of faith we are all committed to hold our institutions, leaders and denomination in our prayers as we continue to understand what it  means to be and live as a community ‘of grace, joy and peace, so that God’s healing and hope flow through us to the world.’”