Wrapped in an Anabaptist quilt

The colorful strips invite me to live within the story our spiritual ancestors began

First Mennonite Church of San Francisco’s Diagonal Bars Quilt. — Karen Kreider Yoder First Mennonite Church of San Francisco’s Diagonal Bars Quilt. — Karen Kreider Yoder

On my bed is a quilt made by my faith community, First Mennonite Church of San Francisco. Each strip of fabric represents a member’s work or profession, one of their gifts, a hobby they love, an interest they pursue or a volunteer labor they offer. Collectively, they tell the story of our community.

This quilt comes to mind as I ponder the central themes of the Anabaptist movement, how they are expressed in my community and why they are important today.

I imagine a similar quilt made of many colorful strips of fabric our Anabaptist forebears pieced together.

On this Anabaptist quilt, there are strips for:
Siblinghood: voluntary church membership exemplifying a commitment to the living body of Christ.
Believers baptism as a covenant with God and the community of faith.
Discipleship: the transformation of one’s way of life, fashioned after the teachings and example of Jesus.
Nonviolence: an active peace witness that includes love and non­resistance applied to all human relationships.
An active, visible, vibrant community, sharing mutual aid as a sign of God’s “kin-dom.”
A new concept of church, based on the understanding that a person’s faith attains its fullness within the believing community.

Undoubtedly, I understand and live these values differently than my Anabaptist ancestors did. However, just as we wrap ourselves in a real quilt, my Anabaptist quilt invites me to live within the Anabaptist story, to put myself inside its narrative and to embody its convictions.

A First Mennonite Church intergenerational Sunday school class field trip to a community garden. — Randy Yee
A First Mennonite Church intergenerational Sunday school class field trip to a community garden. — Randy Yee

For me personally and for my congregation, this looks like:
— The baptism or rebaptism of mature adults (not just teens), most by full immersion in a river that flows through the Santa Cruz Mountains or in the cold water of the Pacific Ocean (believers baptism).
— The annual signing of our church covenant, affording full decision-making privileges for those who are not baptized or do not wish to transfer their membership from other churches (voluntary church membership).
— The effort to educate ourselves about Christian dominance and antisemitism, including the relationship we nurture with our Jewish hosts, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav. It is the “Christians in Solidarity” singing vigil we have held outside the synagogue before many Shabbat services (discipleship/transformation of life).
— The effort to understand the ravages of a broken immigration system and the effects of heartless capitalism in our city. It is our organizing with Faith in Action Bay Area to create a city where no one pays more than 30% of their income for housing and in which we provide humane services for immigrants (discipleship/transformation of life).
— Our involvement in Mennonite Action, the movement that is organizing for a cease-fire in Gaza and a peaceful solution that honors the rights of both Palestinians and Jews in the Middle East (discipleship/transformation of life, nonviolence/peace witness, a new concept of church).
— The willingness to risk arrest during nonviolent direct action, singing all the while. It is our exploration of war-tax resistance and how we might enact this public witness (nonviolence/peace witness, a new concept of church).
— The sharing of our stories (as sermon reflections during wor­ship) and inviting our honesty and vulnerability to shape our relationships with each other and with God. It is our midweek Bible study, prayer and meditation (a new concept of church).
— The work of our Climate Action Group, which developed an intergenerational Sunday school curriculum that invites us to see everything in the created world (including soil, water and air) as beloved relatives (active, visible, vibrant commu­nity).
— Maintaining a substantial sharing fund and a list for sharing household goods (a new concept of church, mutual aid).

A singing vigil by members of First Mennonite Church of San Francisco at its Jewish host, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav. —Courtesy of Pat Plude
A singing vigil by members of First Mennonite Church of San Francisco at its Jewish host, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav. —Courtesy of Pat Plude

For me, living within the Anabaptist story is all these things and more. It has been a slow process of learning and becoming over many years.

These brightly colored quilt strips inspire my belief that the world needs the Anabaptist movement — the one that is already here and the one that is still becoming — now more than ever.

Patricia Plude is minister of music, arts and formation at First Mennonite Church of San Francisco. For this article, she drew upon the writings of Harold S. Bender, Drew G.I. Hart, C. Arnold Snyder and J. Denny Weaver.

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