HILLSBORO, Kan. — Ryne Preheim wanted to be a Mennonite Brethren pastor. He enrolled at Tabor College in the fall of 2014 to pursue that goal and see if he could reconcile his Christianity with being gay. A year later, Preheim is preparing to transfer after struggling with being an openly gay student at a college that upholds a traditional view of homosexuality. But Tabor is also experiencing dissent, including from alumni who believe it should be more welcoming of LGBT students.
ARCHBOLD, Ohio — Representatives of three Mennonite Church USA area conferences — Lancaster, Franklin and North Central — reported on their processes of deciding whether to leave the denomination Oct. 19-21 at the semiannual meeting of the Constituency Leaders Council.
NORTH NEWTON, Kan. — Western District Conference delegates on Oct. 31 gave pastors the freedom to perform same-sex marriages if their congregations approve. The unprecedented action conflicts with Mennonite Church USA’s Membership Guidelines, which forbid pastors to officiate same-sex marriages, and Confession of Faith, which affirms traditional marriage only.
