Where Have All The Dissatisfied Mennos Gone?

How can we maintain the "unity 
of the Spirit" while striving for a 
Biblically-based "unity of the faith"?

"We believe that God intends marriage to be a covenant between one man and one woman for life."

Article 19, Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective

"As disciples of Christ, we do not prepare for war, or participate in war or military service."

Article 22, Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective

In response to the ongoing controversy within Mennonite Church USA regarding same sex marriage (unions MCUSA does not officially support), there has been a significant exodus of folks from our local Virginia Conference congregations. In spite of how strongly they may feel about Article 22 of their Mennonite Confession (second quote, above), they feel the denomination has not taken sufficient action in support of the first quote (above) from article 19. Thus some have felt the need to take their membership elsewhere.

I intend no disrespect in listing the following good local congregations with whom some of those have affiliated. I have great appreciation for the witness of those churches, for their statements of faith, for their pastors and church leaders, and for the good work in which they are engaged.

Here are four of them, along with some of their theological stands, taken from their websites:

1. First Church of the Nazarene (affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene denomination)
"We have our roots in the Methodist tradition that grew out of John Wesley’s revival movement in the 1700’s. We have good fellowship with our United Methodist 'cousins', but we are organizationally separate for historical reasons." (More on the church's beliefs, reflecting a Wesleyan and Arminian theology, can be found at http://www.abeaconofhope.org/what-we-believe/.

2. Covenant Presbyterian Church (a part of the Presbyterian Church in America)

"The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination in the Reformed tradition. It is the second largest Presbyterian church body in the United States and the largest conservative Reformed church in North America and the English speaking world. The PCA is Evangelical in practice, Reformed in theology, Presbyterian in governance and missional minded.

"The constitution of the PCA, which is under the authority of the inerrant Word of God, consists of its doctrinal standards set forth in the Westminster Confession of Faith, together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, and the Book of Church Order."

3. Church of the Incarnation (a part of the worldwide Anglican Communion)
"Church of the Incarnation is part of an international network of churches known as the Anglican Communion. This network grew out of the missionary expansion of the Church of England over the past 500 years. It now consists of 38 self-governing provinces around the world in 164 countries with tens of millions of members. In many places, particularly throughout the Global South, the churches of the Anglican Communion are known for their vibrant faith in God and transformational presence within their communities. We enjoy and benefit from our vital connection to the worldwide Anglican Communion through our membership in the Anglican Province of Rwanda. 

"Our core beliefs are summarized in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. As Anglican Christians, our faith also conforms to the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion."

4. New Beginnings Church (interdenominational, but with former ties to Virginia Mennonite Conference, MCUSA)

New Beginnings has an extensive 24-point description of the church's  beliefs on its website. Included are the following: 
"We believe that marriage is a life long covenant between one man and one woman, that God created human beings as male and female and intended for the expression of sexual intimacies to be fully consummated only within the heterosexual marriage relationship." 
and 
"We believe that peace is the will of God. God created the world in peace, and God’s peace is most fully revealed in Jesus Christ, who is our peace and the peace of the whole world. Led by the Holy Spirit, we seek to follow Christ in the way of peace, doing justice, and bringing reconciliation."

The above represent only a sample of some of the fine churches local dissatisfied Mennonites have joined. These active and growing congregations represent a variety of beliefs about baptism, free will, support for state sanctioned violence, and other elements of belief and practice. Some are more complementary to Anabaptist theology than others, but all affirm traditional views of marriage consistent with Article 19 of the Mennonite Confession:

"We believe that God intends marriage to be a covenant between one man and one woman for life."

It should be noted, however, that none of them affirms the statement of belief that was a foundational part of Christian faith and practice in the first several centuries of church history, and an integral part of the witness of a 500-year Anabaptist tradition, as stated in Article 22:

"As disciples of Christ, we do not prepare for war, or participate in war or military service."

For more on ancient Christian teaching on followers of Jesus not taking part in war, link to 
http://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2011/01/saying-no-to-war.html

When Manchester Was Bombed To Rubble

Manchester was devastated by German air raids in WWII

The whole world mourned the tragic loss of life in a suicide bombing at a concert in Manchester, England, this past week, but that was far from the first, or the worst, of what that city has endured.

Some 77 years earlier, Manchester suffered multiple devastating attacks by Nazi war planes that killed nearly 700 people and injured over 2000 in two nights of raids alone, just before Christmas of 1940, according to an article in Wikipedia: "On the night of 22/23 December, 270 aircraft dropped 272 tons of high explosive and 1,032 incendiary bombs; on the second night, 171 aircraft dropped another 195 tons of high explosive and 893 incendiaries."

Targeted air raids, new in those days, have become the terror tactics of choice for combatants that can afford them. Other fighters may deliver their bombs by more primitive means, often in retaliation for devastating air raids that have destroyed their people, .

But the horror and the devastation inflicted are the same, no matter how today's powerful explosives are delivered or what the motives are behind their use. All bombing is unbelievably barbaric and terrifying.

When it comes to perpetrating this kind of terror, there is more than enough guilt to go around, but the US, the only nation in history to unleash nuclear weapons, has become known as the chief offender.

Just this past week the Independent published a report in which the Pentagon acknowledges that 105 civilians were killed in a single US raid in Mosul in March. While our Air Force may not deliberately target civilians as do terror groups like ISIS, the use of this means of warfare inevitably results in large amounts of so-called "collateral damage".

I am saddened by the fact that the US seems ever more bent on simply murdering extremists who are labeled as "terrorists" and "killers", without addressing the factors that produce the growing number of these "terrorists" who are bent on destroying us at whatever cost.

We have yet to learn that violence, in whatever form, inevitably results in setting off an unending crescendo of more and more of the same.

Contest Entry Updates (Will Add Until June 14)

photo by UNHCR

See preceding post for contest details, then add your creative entries as comments, below, or send them via email to harvyoder@gmail.com and I'll add them to the list. Thanks!

Here's what we have to date:

1. Give a tithe of what you have in your savings account.

2. Match what you and your household spend annually on eating out.

3. Save the equivalent of a month's rent or mortgage payment to help provide refugee housing.

4. Every time someone in the family has a five dollar bill on them from now until September, put it in a jar.

5. Have a fundraiser yard sale or sell things online, stating what the funds will go to. People are more likely to buy knowing their money is going to a good cause.

6. Grow a "giving garden". Sell the produce at a farmer's market or online. All proceeds to be donated.

7. A thank you gift of $10 for each year of life you have been given, to give a better chance at life for desperate people MCC is working valiantly to serve.

8. Five Dollar Friday: Every Friday between now and the MCC Relief Sale add $5 to a jar, bank, or box. This may feel like an "easy" contribution to make that you might not feel so much. Then at the relief sale you can add to this cash gift. 

9. Buy a bag of coffee beans from an MCC fair trade shop, then brew your own morning coffee instead of buying a coffee every work-day morning.  (The daily savings add up quickly!)

10. Eat more homemade meals, spending family time cooking, eating and cleaning up together.  Give the price of a family meal out to MCC each month.  

11. Sell something you have in your garage or attic that you really don't use any longer.  Give that money to MCC.

12. Take on a lawn mowing job of pay, and donate that time and money to MCC.

13. Involve your children. For example, encourage them to tithe and/or give money earned through mowing lawns, planting and harvesting garden and farm crops, doing car washes, etc.

Note: While the S.O.S.Giving Campaign is officially endorsed by the Virginia Relief Sale Board, this 'contest' to generate additional participation is purely my own.

Harvspot 'Contest' To Boost Relief Sale Income

Everyone in the world should visit this site (Photo by UNHCR)

Some of us have dreamed of doubling this fall's Virginia MCC Relief Sale income for emergency war and famine refugee aid by encouraging attendees to be prepared to give generous cash, check, or credit card donations in addition to their participation in auction and food sales. We feel the extraordinary refugee needs we see in the world today call for an extraordinary response.

The Virginia Relief Sale Board has officially endorsed this initiative and is actively supporting an S.O.S. (Sharing our Surplus) Campaign to promote this between now and the September 29-30 event.

With some 10,000 relatively well-to-do people attending the Sale, most of whom do not participate in the auction, it should be possible to raise thousands in extra revenue by having a table set up for the sole purpose of accepting and receipting cash contributions from attendees--in addition to their auction and other spending.

In the interest of promoting this, I'm announcing a "contest" to gather creative ideas for how individuals and households could prepare to make sacrificial Relief Sale donations--over and above their regular giving--either on the day of the sale, on the Virginia Relief Sale website, or if preferred, directly to the Mennonite Central Committee website.

Examples of ideas to boost cash giving:

1. Prepare to give a tithe of what you have in your savings account.

2. Match what you and your household spends annually on eating out.

3. Save the equivalent of a month's rent or mortgage payment to help provide refugee housing.

4. Your (prize winning!) submission(s).

Please post your creative suggestions as comments below, message them to me on Facebook, or send them to me via email. I will present these to our group at our next meeting June 14.

"Prizes" (funded by private sources) will be awarded as follows:

First Prize: A $250 S.O.S. gift in your name.
Second Prize: A $150 gift in your name.
Third Prize: A $100 gift in your name.

Please share this via social media, emails and/or word of mouth.

Note: While the S.O.S.Giving Campaign is officially endorsed by the Virginia Relief Sale Board, this 'contest' to generate additional participation in it is purely my own.

How Chastity Would Ruin The US Economy

Our overconsumption is also ruining us.

One of our problems in America is that we have an enormous capacity for producing goods, but a limited number of people to buy them. So we’ve developed a huge advertising industry aimed at persuading people to buy more and more of what they don’t need and can’t afford.

Years ago, Christopher Decker, in an article in the Wall Street Journal called “Selling Desire, Why Chastity is Bad for Business," notes that there was a time when advertising emphasized thrift, durability, and economy. Choices were usually made around how good a product was and how long it would last.  

But a consumer society has to reverse these values, he says, because if advertising is to succeed and business thrive, people have to be convinced that desires alone are sufficient reasons to buy something and that all of our passions are to be indulged now, rather than denied or postponed. So the very notion of chastity has to go, he says, because that represents a mindset that is opposite from a throw away consumer culture that urges us to get out our Visa cards and to buy and use stuff with abandonment, and then simply discard it for whatever we like even better.

According to Dr. Sut Jhally of the University of Massachusetts, the right question to ask about how a given commercial affects us is not how much it influences whether we buy that particular product, but how advertising as a whole affects our buying into a whole different set of values that are counter to the ones we profess to believe. Modern advertising promotes a magical way of thinking, he says, making fantastic promises about what certain products will do for us, like offer us incredible happiness, gain the gloating admiration of all kinds of desirable people, and transform us into an instant, spectacular success. Consumerism promises all, and as such becomes a kind of religion that replaces the faith we actually claim to live by.

We need to teach ourselves and our children to talk back to the blatantly false messages we’re all hearing on television and other media every day. Or better yet, just unplug ourselves from the barrage of untruths we're being bombarded with and read or tell them some good messages of our own.   

Guest Post: Let's Support Local Poultry Workers

1. President of Faith in Action, Jennifer Davis-Sensenig, with poultry workers at Faith In Action celebration.  2. Kim Bobo with her book on wage theft.  3. Labor organizer in the Kurdish and Iraqi community of Harrisonburg.

Because You Care about Justice for the Poultry Workers

You are invited to join Kim Bobo and the poultry workers movement for an evening of dialogue and coalition building.

The founder of Interfaith Worker Justice and the current Director of the Interfaith Center for Public Policy in Richmond, Kim Bobo, will be meeting with local poultry workers and their religious and community allies  

on Monday night, May 22nd, at 7:00 PM, at Community Mennonite Church.  

This will be an informal opportunity to hear an update from the poultry workers on the progress of their movement to unionize the poultry workers of the Shenandoah Valley and to meet with Kim Bobo who played an historic role in developing church labor coalitions, especially with poultry workers, in her past position as Director of Interfaith Worker Justice.  

This is a great opportunity to hear an update from the poultry workers movement and to meet and dialogue with the workers and  KIm Bobo.   

Come and help build a broader, stronger and deeper, interfaith and multiracial, coalition for justice for the poultry workers in the Shenandoah Valley and across Virginia.

                                                                                                                                                              Michael Snell-Feikema

For More Information Contact: Michael Snell-Feikema, 540-830-1431or sniekema@yahoo.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Bobo

http://www.iwj.org/

http://www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/VICPPP_Newsletter_1_2.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/justiceforpoultryworkers/

https://www.facebook.com/La-Voz-del-Obrero-1325145870829950/

It's Time We Rethink Our "White Race" Label

Here's help for some self-examination.

"God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable." 

Acts 10:34-35 (ESV)

I'm in the middle of an eye-opening book by Debby Irving on racism, one recommended recently by some folks in our local Faith in Action group.

As something of a history buff, I was especially interested in learning more about our nation's attitudes and actions toward native Americans, African slaves, imported Asian workers, and even Irish and other immigrants who were not considered as "white" as those in the majority.

Among the atrocities highlighted in the book are the ruthless killings of native Americans and the destruction of their land and way of life, all justified by the blatantly racist philosophy of Manifest Destiny. To add insult to injury, there was the practice of having hundreds of native American children forced to be in boarding schools where they were denied contact with their families and punished for speaking to each other in their native languages.

Then there are countless examples in the book of the mistreatment of African Americans, beginning with their enslavement and continuing through the kinds of indignities perpetuated before, during and after the Jim Crow era. I had also not been aware of how African American veterans were systematically denied the same educational and housing opportunities through the post World War II GI Bill as were other servicemen and women.

Being white, Irving points out, has long been associated with being inherently superior, and being "colored" means being somehow less refined and less worthy, somewhat based on the assumption that white is the absence of color, and black is produced by the blending of all colors.

But one obvious point Irving doesn't address is that none of us who are classified as white are even close to actually being colorless. Far from representing the kind of "white" in the title page of her book (above), we  who call ourselves "whites" are not even remotely that, but reflect varied shades of tan, rust, pink and other pale-ish and pastel skin tones. Nor are African-Americans purely "black", but interesting and varied shades of brown, dark tan and charcoal. And as Irving's book points out, there is actually more variability within current racial groups than there are between the so-called "races".

Maybe its way past time for us all to see ourselves as "people of color", and to celebrate that as a wonderfully good and blessed thing. And to forever affirm the fact that "God has made all humanity on earth of one blood" (Acts 17:6).

Norman Rockwell's The Golden Rule

Here's a link to another piece questioning our use of race as a category. Should we instead use labels like "Western European Economically Privileged" or "Non-European Economically Disadvantaged"?